by Ronald Craig
The house remained silent as they moved closer to the front door to enter. Peters was crouched ascending the three steps to the porch and then moved into position between the front door and a window on the left side. Edwards followed and moved into position on the opposite side of the front door. Becker set the bullhorn horn down and keyed his mic. "Back covered?"
"One perp down. Back is covered," Walker replied.
"Can we get Sills out before we go in?"
"Give us five, moving slow with cover," Ryan said.
Walker could see the man on the ground was dead due to the head wound. He also recognized him as the man that posed as Special Agent Mills at his police station. He knew children were in there, at least one that Ryan had mentioned. He fought his urge to go inside and protect that child, but his job at the moment was to observe and hold the rear position. He heard the ambulance approach out front and readied himself for going in. Procedure, he reminded himself saved lives, but he knew from personal experience that wasn't always the case.
"Ready," Ryan asked as he circled around the back of the house.
"I'll take point, you back me up," Walker said.
"Yes sir," Ryan said moving in behind Walker as he climbed the back steps.
The front door opened slowly and a little blond haired girl appeared behind the screen. Her hands were behind her back and her face was filled with fear. "I have three in here," a woman called out from behind the child. "Back off or get the pleasure of bagging them."
"Stand down!" Becker shouted into the bullhorn to his men then lowering it and his gun, he said," OK Lady. Let's work this out so nobody gets hurt."
"You mean nobody else. You already murdered my husband!"
"We can work out a deal," Becker said. "Go easy on you for information on…"
"Get your men out of hiding and behind you. The two in back also!" she demanded.
"One in back, the other was shot."
"Don't bullshit me. I want to see my buddy Chief Walker. Get them moving."
The Chief's SUV was beyond the line of sight of the front door and Charlie whispered to Jenny as he slid out the rear passenger door, "Stay here." He crouched low and ran to the side of the house.
"Chief, Ryan come out front," he called. "Off the porch you two." Edwards and Peters avoided crossing the front door and went over the porch rails on the ends and moved in behind Captain Becker.
Charlie reached for a gun as Walker and Ryan passed him on the side of the house. Walker was shaking his head in an exaggerated no, but a moment later dropped his gun before clearing the end of the house. Charlie retrieved it and rounded the rear corner of the house then slowly approached the back door. He was on the first step when he glanced back and found Jenny right behind him. His surprised expression quickly faded when Jenny whispered, "Plan B."
"Stay behind me then," he said, turning back to the steps.
Charlie passed through the back door quietly. To his left was the kitchen and on his right a short hallway and a closed door. He assumed it was a bedroom where Ryan had spotted a child through the window. His line of sight ahead through the kitchen was a dining area at the front of the house. He could hear their conversation; she was in the living room off to the right, out of sight. Jenny moved in close behind him as he moved into the short hall up to the door. It was quiet behind the door but he feared if there was a child in there and he opened the door they might shout out and alert the woman. Charlie held up a closed hand in front of Jenny and extended one finger at a time to show her a countdown. Then pointing from her to the closed door she nodded with understanding. He moved around her and walked slowly to the end of the kitchen, prepared to act. Jenny opened the door half way and looked inside the room.
When Walker and Ryan were out front, Walker said, "Let the kids go. I'll be your hostage."
"We're going for a ride Chief. Captain you can come in and have these two boys when we're out of here. Susie stays with me."
"You have to leave all the children here," Becker said. "You can also take me with…"
"I'm in charge here!" she shouted at him. "You want the kids left here then you can bag them. Get your officers out of here. Then we'll talk."
"Take the two cruisers back to the station, "Becker told his men.
"Edwards ride with Ryan," Walker said.
"Finally you're paying attention," she said. "Edwards these two won't need their guns so take them with you." Detective Edward took the Captain's gun and stood between the woman and Walker going through the motions of retrieving his gun as well.
As the officers walked toward the police cars the young girl cried out, "Don't leave us here!"
"Shut up!" the woman said. "Do you want a bad time out?"
"No. Please I'll behave," she said with fear choking off her voice.
"We won't leave you, sweetheart," Walker said.
Charlie took a quick look around the corner, the child's plea stabbing his heart. He saw the young girl pressed up to the screen door and the woman on her knees tucked behind her. The woman's left hand was between them and possibly holding the girl's bound hands, he reasoned, but her right held a small caliber pistol close to the girl's head. He needed to be smart, he told himself and not react to the anger consuming him. He saw no way to tackle the woman because the moment he moved she could fire the gun. They were too close together for him to fire without possibly hitting them both. He knew though that as long as she held a gun he couldn't risk the young girl's life attempting to grab the woman. He would have to shoot.
Charlie heard the police cars out front drive away. "You two turn around slowly so I can see there are no guns," the woman ordered. Walker and Becker complied revealing they were unarmed. "I am armed," she told them. "And will not hesitate to shoot any or all if you try something."
Charlie heard the woman shuffling to stand up. He thought as she stood she would relax her positioning of the gun to the young girls head, thinking she held the only gun. Maybe I won't have to shoot he hoped as he jumped around the corner with the gun pointed.
"Don't move!" Charlie quickly realized he had misjudged this woman's relaxed position and the gun in her hand was only inches away from the girls head. The gun was moving back up as the woman turned her head to face him. Her expression was cold and determined. He fired three times not allowing for a miss and endangering that young life she held.
The girl screamed and pushed through the screen door, then she ran into the arms of Chief Walker, already on the porch. Captain Becker entered the house and found Charlie standing frozen staring at the woman lying on the floor. He had dropped the gun on the floor beside him.
"You didn't have a choice," Becker said.
"She did."
"Yes, she did. Like I said, I saw her choice as her gun moved up not down. I feared the sight of that beautiful young girl falling dead to the floor before you would be able to fire."
Charlie, hearing the sirens back in the front yard, pulled him out of his stare. "I have to check on Jenny," he said, turned and headed through the kitchen. The bedroom door was closed and when he opened it he was shocked to find no one was there. He went to the closet and opened the sliding door and, again, no sign of Jenny or the boys. Becker came up behind him.
"I didn't check this room!" Charlie said in panic. "Was there someone else here, holding the boys and now has Jenny?" Charlie ran for the door when Becker called him back.
"Look," Becker said looking out the back window. Charlie rushed back and saw Jenny at the back of the garage walking toward the house, hand in hand with two little boys.
Chapter 18
Charlie met Jenny and the boys beside the garage in the backyard. "I was so worried when I found the bedroom empty," he said.
"I had to get them out of the house," Jenny replied, then squatted down beside the boys. "This is Charlie. He wants you to get home too. Charlie, this is Timmy and this little guy is Josh."
He went down on a knee and smiled, "I am very pleased to me you, Timmy and
Josh."
"Did you get the bad lady?" Josh asked.
"She will never bother you again."
"We ran when the loud noise scared us, "Timmy said, still very shaken.
"Halfway through the yard," Jenny said. "It's all I can do now that it's over, to hold it together."
"Let's get you guys out front and on your way home." He stood up and almost broke down himself when Timmy extended his arms to be carried. He picked him up and they walked on the far side of the house avoiding the body at the back door.
"Social Services are on their way," Becker said as they approached him out front. "Priority one is to get them with their families."
Chief Walker was still holding the little girl and offered them a smile. "This is a good day. A really good day," he said. "Suzy gave us her phone number in Tracy, single mother. She's on her way to the station now."
"Hello, Suzy. My name is Jenny. You were very brave back there. Can we talk a little?"
"Ok," she replied, slowly. Is my mom ok? She told me…my mom was in the hospital."
"Yes, your mom is OK and she is coming to get you. They told you a lie, Suzy. Is that the woman, behind the door?" Jenny asked.
"No, in a mail truck. She was taking me to see my mom," Suzy said, clinging tighter to Walker.
"A different woman? Do you remember when that was?" Jenny asked.
"Let's move over to my car," Walker said. "Things will get real active here shortly."
Jenny turned to Josh who was still holding her hand. "How are you doing, Josh?"
"Can I go home too?" he asked.
"Yes sweetheart, you and Timmy are going home too," Jenny said, giving him a big hug before they all walked over to Chief Walkers SUV. Timmy was still in Charlie's arms being carried to the car as the Crime Scene van and an unmarked detective's car pulled up.
They all watched as four crime scene investigators carried equipment out of the van and entered the house. Jenny was in the back seat with Suzy and Josh. Charlie was still holding Timmy in the front seat and Walker was keying in data to his on board computer. He looked over the front seat. "Josh do you know your whole name?" Walker asked.
"Josh Mitchell, Mr. Chief."
"That’s very good, Josh," Walker said, entering the name. "Do you know what city you live in?"
"It’s a green house, I have a swing in my back yard," Josh said.
"So Josh, are you four or five years old?" Walker asked, studying the screen.
"I'm big. I already had my five birthday."
"Yes you are, Josh. Do you know your mommy's name?"
"Mandy, but I call her mommy and daddy calls her Dandy."
"Dandy, that’s a funny name," Walker said pushing numbers into his phone. "Hello, is this Mr. Mitchell?"
"Yes, who is this? Is it about Josh?" he asked anxiously.
"First, Mr. Mitchell, I'm Chief Walker and Josh is safe with me now. I am giving him the phone now." He passed the phone over the seat to Josh.
"Daddy, Daddy." was heard by all. Jenny couldn't stop the flow of tears.
Walker turned to Timmy. "Ok Timmy it's your turn."
The detective on the scene knocked on Charlie's door. "Mr. Watson, can we talk over here a minute?"
Charlie opened the door. "Timmy you stay with Chief Walker and I will be right back, OK?"
"It's ok Timmy. We are going to help Chief Walker get you home," Jenny said.
"Yeah, Timmy, Josh and me are going home and so are you," Suzy added.
"OK…., I want to go home," Timmy said.
Walker had the phone back and was giving information to the Mitchells to come for their son. Charlie followed the detective to the side of the house.
"I'm Detective Tom Wu. I've spoken to Captain Becker and Detective Edwards and need your statement, sir."
"Of course, I'm Charlie though."
"You and your wife were in Chief Walker's car, with Detective Edwards when you arrived on the scene. What happened next?"
"Two officers ran to the back of the house and two were positioned on the street. Walker and Edwards were on either side of the front porch and the captain was between them calling for the people to come out."
"Did you hear any reply from the house?"
"No, it was quiet. The captain called again into the house for them to come out. A minute later we heard gun shots in the back."
"How many shots did you hear?"
"Three. The first was quieter then the last two."
"Quieter?"
"Yes, either a smaller caliber or further away," Charlie said. "Then we heard an officer was down and the captain called it in. One officer, Ryan I think, was helping the wounded officer walk from the back. Chief Walker moved to cover the back of the house."
"When did you leave the vehicle?"
"We realized the woman had a child at the front door. She was telling the captain to bring all his men out front. We couldn't see through the screen and it occurred to me she didn't know we were there. I got out and passed the Chief and Ryan on the side of the house."
"I thought Ryan was helping Officer Sills out front?"
"He did and then returned to cover the back of the house."
"OK, so you were passing Chief Walker and Officer Ryan on the side of the house, is that where he gave you his service weapon?"
"He dropped it and I retrieved it. He didn't want me involved, but I think realized I could help. We, Jenny and I entered the back…" Detective Wu cut him off.
"Let's back up. When you passed the man at the back porch, did you touch or move the body?"
"A quick glance convinced me he was already dead and we moved past him."
"Did you see or retrieved a gun there, around the man?" Wu asked.
"No. I had a weapon and he was not a threat, so I didn’t look for one either."
"OK. You and Jenny entered the house then."
"I sent Jenny to a back room off the kitchen and I moved to the end of the kitchen. I was there maybe five minutes or so. She was talking to the captain, but I couldn't see her. I did a quick glance around the corner."
"Talking to the captain? Possibly surrendering?"
"No way. She was shouting orders for the officers to leave or the kids would wind up in body bags. I didn't know what was going on outside, but there was a change in her tone, she sounded confident, like she knew she was in charge. When I heard her shuffling to stand I rounded the corner and yelled 'don't move'. I saw two things, Suzy's terrified and tear soaked face and the woman's hand was bringing the gun back up toward Suzy's head and then I fired."
"How many times did you fire, Charlie?"
"I don't know, twice maybe."
"You shot her three times."
"I had one chance to save Suzy's life. If I'd missed hitting the woman with a single shot…I would have seen that girl die. I'm surprised, now, that I didn't empty the clip."
"I think that’s all I need, Charlie. I've been on the force over fifteen years and never had to make the choice you had to make in there, and I hope I never have to. Given this situation, I might have emptied the clip. Thank you, Mr. Watson," Detective Wu said then walked away.
Charlie walked back and found the Chief's SUV empty and saw them all gathered around a car on the street marked 'Salinas Social Services'. He walked towards them and saw Jenny hugging Suzy before she entered the car. Josh was already in the car and Timmy beside Jenny turned and saw Charlie approaching. He ran the fifteen feet into Charlie's waiting arms.
"So you're heading home little buddy?" Charlie asked, holding Timmy in his arms.
"They said a better place."
"You didn't talk to your mommy?"
"She wasn't in the box, like Josh's daddy," he said sadly.
"They'll find her for you, Timmy," Charlie said as he reached the car. He saw real pain and sadness in Jenny's face as she looked at him. He squatted down to let Timmy get into the car but Timmy's arms pulled him tighter. He looked at Jenny for information but she clearly couldn't speak. The Socia
l Service woman came over and squatted beside them.
"Hello, Timmy. I'm Susan and we are going to find a really nice place for you to stay while we find your mommy."
Charlie looked again at Jenny and saw her nod yes. "He can stay with us, Susan," he said.
"Mr. Watson that’s very kind, but I'm sorry you and your wife are not in our foster home system."
"I will vouch for the Watsons," Walker said. "Given what Timmy has been through, I think it is in his best interest."
"These three children are free today solely because of Jenny and Charlie Watson," Edwards said.
"I can see they care, but…" Susan started to say. She pulled out her card and handed it to Jenny. "Let me see what I can do. Call me tonight around six, no promises though."
"Thank you, Susan," Charlie said.
"I will need some preliminary information to start a file," she said while standing to retrieve her briefcase from the front seat. Jenny took the form and started writing.
"Timmy, if we don't see you tonight, we will come and visit you," Charlie said.
"I want to stay with you."
"And we want that too, but there are rules and you need to go with Susan right now."
Timmy wasn't happy but released his grip around Charlie's neck. Susan helped him into the back car seat and strapped him in. Charlie went over to Jenny and added some information and his signature to the form. Susan took the form and with a weak smile said, "No promises, call me."
"We will," Jenny said.
The children returned Jenny and Charlie's wave as the car pulled away. Captain Becker walked over to them. "We'll be here another hour or so wrapping up. Jenny, Charlie, because you were in the house, we'll need your prints for elimination. Rodney, there's no reason you can't take them home after that. I'll send a full report when I have it." He turned and extended his hand to Charlie, "I can't thank you enough, Mr. Watson for your actions here today. As I said inside the house, she gave you no choice and I thank God you didn't hesitate. That being said; please talk to a psychologist trained to help you deal with this kind of trauma. I will make ours available to you if you need." He turned to the crime scene tech. behind him and said, "Take their prints right away so we can let them go."
