by Sandy Kline
“Stop right there Ms. Clarkson.” Says a man’s voice. “Put your hands up.”
My blood freezes and I wonder, is there any way out of this? Is there any excuse that’s going to explain me sneaking around his property with a gun in my purse?
“How’d you know my name?” I ask, raising my hands in the air...
“Let’s just say I’ve been looking forward to a visit from you. I’d have come to meet you myself but you’re always surrounded by those biker scum. But now that we have you alone I think it’s high time we got to know each other don’t you think?”
“Thrilled.”
I start to turn around to look at his face but he stops me.
“Don’t even think about it. Just keep your head straight and march yourself to my back door. Oh, and I’ll take your purse too.” He says as he grabs the strap to my purse and slips it off my shoulder. A little heavy for a purse this size.” He comments.
I keep my mouth shut. I can hear him rustling around in my purse for a moment before he stops. “Holy crap! The lady’s carrying a piece. Nice one too.”
I turn around to look and this time he doesn’t try to stop me. He racks back the slide and sniffs in the opening. “Been fired recently too. Did you shoot someone Ms. Clarkson?”
I don’t give him the satisfaction of an answer so he points me back towards his back door. When we get to the patio the door opens and out walks another man. He’s clean cut, physically fit and wears a stern expression on his face. On his right hip is some kind of handgun and the way this guy carries himself I am pretty sure he’s a cop as well. Judging by his age I’d say he’s still on the job unlike the detective behind me poking me with his gun.
“Look what the cat dragged in Jacob.”
“What do you know, it’s another rat.” Jacob replies. “We been getting a lot of them lately haven’t we?”
The man who is Jacob holds the door open for us. As I walk in I wonder how the hell I’m going to get out of this scrape. I’m outnumbered two to one and they’re armed and I’m not. What can I possibly say to these guys that will not only convince them to give up their star witness, but to also let me live? In what world will it not be bad for their careers to shed light on the fact that they probably coerced the witness into picking out the wrong person? I suppose I should start talking.
“So you’re the ones that have been following ever since I got back into town?” I ask as they lead me into the living room.
“That’s correct.” The Detective replies.
“Why?” I ask.
He’s clearly the one in charge here and the young one is just taking orders. Maybe the young guy is the weak link.
“You been poking your nose where it don’t belong. No amount of research, no amount of answers is ever going to get your friend back. You do know that right?”
“The wrong guy’s in jail and I’m not going to stop until the real killer is behind bars.”
“The guy’s behind bars are killers Ms. Clarkson. What’d you think they are Boy Scouts?”
“Of course not but they didn’t kill my best friend and I’m not stopping until her killer is behind bars.”
“Well that’s where you’re wrong.” The Detective says. “This gets dropped today. No more running around playing at my job. You’re not even a cop for crying out loud.”
“I can’t do that Detective.”
“Do you realize the havoc you’re going to cause if you force the DA into re-opening the case? Already guilty people could, would end up walking free. Good cops could lose their pensions over this.”
“That’s what you’re worried about? Your pension and not men who are imprisoned for something they didn’t do?”
“And you talk like we’ve got Mother Theresa and Gandhi behind bars.” The Detective replies. “Well now that your cards are all on the table what do you expect us to do?”
“Let me walk out of here with the name and address of the witness. I’ll give you three days to wrap up your affairs and get out of town. That’s my offer.”
They actually laugh at me. “Would you care to hear my counter offer?” The Detective asks.
I nod.
“We give you ten minutes to get your affairs in order before you meet your maker.”
“Or…”
“What? There’s no or. Here’s how I’m going to call it in. Unknown woman breaks into house waving gun around and threatening to kill us. We tried to talk her down but she just opened fire fatally wounding Sheriff’s Deputy Jacob Anderson.”
“What the fuck are yo-”
As quick as lightning the Detective turns and fires one shot with my gun into Deputy Anderson’s face. I jump about three feet in shock as the slain Deputy slumps back into the couch leaving a large patch of gore behind his head and the wall behind where he was sitting. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. And I had the gall to actually threaten them and tell them to get out of town before I ratted on them. What an idiot I am. My heart falls as I come to the realization that I’m not getting out of here alive.
“Will you at least tell me who killed my best friend?” I beg.
“You want me to tell you who killed Alex Morgan?”
“Why not?” I say. “What the hell do you have to lose? You’re going to kill me anyway so why not give me the peace I’m looking for by telling me who killed my friend.”
“Well…I guess it won’t hurt. It’s not like you can do anything anyway.”
“Was there really a witness?”
“Yeah…some bitch…Anna Watson…she walked out of the theater and right into the shootout. She was like three feet away from the shooter. She could see the color of his eyes that night.”
“And she’s not in witness protection?”
“No she’s in Cave Junction. Why are you even asking these questions? You act like you think you’re going to get out of here alive or something.”
“I just want peace, that’s all.”
“Fine. I guess you might as well know who killed her then.”
I wait on baited breath for him to finally solve the mystery that has consumed me from the moment I saw Alex’s headstone. I’ll finally have some relief. It’s just too bad that I can’t put the bastard behind bars.
“So…who did it? Who took my best friend from me?”
“Well I don’t know his real name but they call him Blade.”
And my world comes crashing down around my ears! How the fuck…what…what…I just can’t believe it.
“No way! That’s a fucking lie. He did not kill my best friend. He wouldn’t do that to me or to her. Come on, who really killed Alex?”
“I’m telling you he’s the one who shot your best friend. It wasn’t planned. Blade and several of his guys got into it with some dudes from the Sleazebags MC and calls went out over the air and cops descended on the place. We got there just as the Crusaders opened up on the Sleazebags and bullets were flying. Most of it happened in front of the Egyptian Theater. Apparently this girl walks out as this dude; Blade opens fire on your friend. That girl was so close she got sprayed in the face.”
“You know what, just do it. I’m ready. Just shoot me and get it over with.”
“What…oh…you and this Blade. Are you… you’re his old lady aren’t you?” Then when I nod. “Oh man that’s fucked up. That is really fucked up man.”
“No shit, now just do it. I don’t have anything left to live for anyway.”
He takes Deputy Anderson’s weapon and carefully aims it at my legs.
“What are you doing? I thought you were gonna kill me.”
“Oh I am but I gotta make this realistic. I’m just gonna give you a flesh wound with his gun and then I’ll do the fatal shot with my own weapon.”
I nod. I don’t have anything more to say. At least I’ll be out of my misery soon. The Detective takes the Deputy’s service revolver and brings it up to bear on me. It’s a weird thing looking straight down the barrel of a gun knowing that in a second it’s goin
g to blow your head off. Then he lowers it and points at my thigh. I decide I don’t want to watch anyway so I just close my eyes and take a deep breath.
When I hear the first boom I’m surprised I don’t feel any pain. Could he have missed my leg from this close? When I hear one more shot and still don’t feel a thing I open my eyes in shock. The detective is laying back on the couch with a red patch blossoming on his chest and another small hole in the middle of his forehead just above the bridge or his nose. I hear footsteps thundering behind me and to my shock I see both Piper and Blade with their weapons drawn. At first I feel super relieved. For about two seconds then I remember who it is that murdered my best friend and I launch myself at him despite his drawn weapon.
“Get out of here you lying piece of shit!” I scream at the top of my lungs. I trusted you. I loved you! How could you do this to me?” I scream again, then I just burst into tears as I fall face first on the floor devastated.
Right away I feel strong arms around me as Blade kneels at my side. I elbow him hard in the ribs just to let him know that I don’t want anything to do with him. I feel him rise up and move away from me totally bewildered. I hear the two of them conversing through my sobs. After a few minutes I feel someone else at my side. I can tell it’s Piper this time.
“What’s happened Jen?” He asks softly.
“I found out w-who k-killed my best…friend.”
“They told you who?” He asks.
I nod miserably. “They told me the whole story Piper. They even told me the name of the witness. They didn’t have any reason to lie to me because they were going to kill me. I’m sure they told me the truth.”
“And they said Blade killed her? I don’t know Jen. Could they have had a reason to lie to you? Rack your brain girl because you’re breaking his heart. Do you really think he is capable of killing your best friend?”
“Well no but it wasn’t like he meant to. There was this shootout between you guys and the Sleazebags and cops descended on the place and she drew down on the bikers and he just shot back on instinct. Now that I think about it maybe it was not on purpose but he should have told me the second we saw each other again at the cemetary.”
“That’s a rough conversation to have with somebody especially when you haven’t seen each other in two years and…I don’t know Jen. Try to look at it from his point of view if you can. I’m sure he’s wanted to tell you and it’s probably been eating him up.”
“I guess so.”
“You need to be sure though and the only way you can do that is to find that witness and ask her what happened and who really shot your best friend.”
I nod again. “You’re right of course Piper. Will you come with me to find her?”
“Wouldn’t miss it girl. But let me go talk to him. I’m sure he’s completely confused right now.”
“Wait, how’d you guys find me anyway?”
“Blade started to wonder what you were up to and went to his computer to track the GPS in his truck and that’s how we found out where you were headed. Of course we didn’t know your final destination so we just followed behind you using his laptop in the my Land Rover. We had no idea what you were up to but both of us had this weird feeling that you were going to need some back up.”
“Damn you were right about that.”
Piper gets up and walks out to talk to a very confused Blade. I am so glad Piper came along. If it wasn’t for him things between Blade and me would have gone from bad to irreparable in a split second. What a freaking mess I’ve gotten myself into.
Chapter Twelve
Witness to What
While Piper talks to Blade I collect up my gun and make my way through the carnage and outside making sure I don’t leave any bloody footprints that can be traced back to me. In fact, when I get back to Blade’s house I think I’ll just trash my shoes just in case I’ve left a footprint somewhere on the property in my sneaking around earlier. With a retired detective dead and a dead Sheriff’s Deputy there’s bound to be one hell of an investigation.
A few minutes later Blade walks over to me, but doesn’t say anything. He knows better than to try and convince me of anything right now so I break the ice.
“Okay… I’ll allow that the Detective could have been wrong about you. He may have even known, in fact he did know I think that I am your old lady and maybe, just maybe he said that to just get at me. After all he was going to kill me and he knew I would never be able to talk to the witness and get the truth. I can accept that. But don’t you say one word in your defense or to try to change my mind or further convince me of your innocence because there’s nothing you can say to me that will help your case. You got that?”
“Yes Ma’am.” He replies.
Then Piper walks up. “Are we good?” He says to me.
I nod. “Yeah…we’re good. Now let’s go find this witness.”
“You got any ideas on that?” Piper asks.
“Actually I do. Those guys in there know who the witness is. The detective told me himself. So it stands to reason that he also probably knew where she lives just in case he needs access to her for any reason.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Piper replies.
“And I’m guessing,” I begin, “that they probably wrote it down somewhere. I bet on some scrap of paper is written her name and address.”
“You mean like this?” Piper asks, holding up a coffee stained piece of paper. On the only white spot left is the name Anna Watson 2324 Broken Tree Lane, Cave Junction.
“Oh my god, you’re amazing.” I exclaim, snatching the paper from his fingers.
“How do you know it’s your witness?” He asks.
“Because when they were about to shoot me they let me ask a few questions like who killed Alex and who the witness was. They figured no harm telling me since they were about to shoot me. What could I possibly do to them in that period of time? Anna Watson is the witness. How far is Cave whatever from here?”
“Cave Junction is about fifty miles from here.” Blade replies. “If we’re going there we better go fast because as soon as investigators get here they will assume that they were killed to obtain the witnesses name and address. That of course means that you Jen are going to be at the top of the suspect list. You have motive and means and the gun you’re holding was used to shoot the Sheriff there. You’re about to have a helluva lot of heat coming down on your head pretty soon.”
“Yeah Belize is starting to sound really good right about now.” I reply. “The only way I’m going to survive this is to get a video statement from the witness saying she was coerced. She has to tell the proper authorities that she was told who to pick out of the lineup.”
“Then let’s get going.” Piper says then turns to Blade. “Why don’t you take your truck this time and Jen and I will take mine. She’ll drive so I can use my gun in case we have a problem on the way there or on the way back.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Blade replies.
The three of us pile into Pipers Land Rover. I drive so the two of them can shoot if we’re followed and attacked. Piper puts the address into the trucks GPS system. I’m guessing that little Anna is alive and well. Although they would actually gain from her death. As long as she is alive there’s a chance she could rat them out. Smart money says that at some point they kill the only witness just to make sure she doesn’t have a change of heart later. Let’s just hope that hasn’t happened yet. I share my theory with the boys who agree completely.
“Step on it girl.” Blade advises.
According to GPS we’re supposed to arrive at 11:45am but it’s only 11:20 when we pass into the Cave Junction city limits; population 1,440. To reach Anna’s house we have to drive through the city proper and then up into the hills behind the main part of town. Supposedly there’s a whole cave complex somewhere up there. I don’t like dark caves so I’m hoping our witness doesn’t either.
“Do you think she’ll be alone?” I ask. “Even if the cops back there ar
en’t missed for a few days are there anyone else who might have a reason to kill her?”
Piper thinks for a minute before replying. “The person who really killed Alex will not want her to talk. In a perfect world he’s not going to know where she is and he won’t be there waiting for us after having killed the only witness to the crime.”
“So we have a dirty Sheriff’s Deputy and a dirty Detective so far. How deep does this corruption go?”
“You know we had a couple brothers who were also Whispering Pines PD right?” Piper asks.
I nod my head.
“We also had a number of cops on the take as well. I’m not privy to all the information but our former President knew which brothers are cops as well and he’ll know how many cops we have on the payroll as well. During the Purge things got really fucked up! We didn’t know who to trust and brothers were dying and getting arrested right and left, including a couple cops died and a couple were thrown into jail. I’m just glad I’m alive and free and Blade too.”
“I knew some of the cops we had on our side but Piper’s right. Pres. was the only one who knew everyone and he’s dead so…”
“There’s gotta be a lot of guys…cops who are dirty and after me too.” I begin. “For them to know the day and time I’m back in town takes someone well connected and motivated. After all they’re gone after me two times already.”
We stop a few blocks from her house to make a plan. That’s when we notice our first mistake. It’s Friday afternoon in April. Anna is going to still be in school. Now we have to wait three or four hours till she gets home. If her parents work we may even have to wait until they pick her up from afterschool so that could put her getting home as late as five or six tonight. That’s not going to work. There’s too much a chance that Detective Morris or the Deputy will be missed and checked on. If that happens we’re not going to be the only people with guns knocking on the witness’s door tonight. We can’t just show up at school either. We’d look like pervs. We’ll have to watch the school and intercept her on the way home. Of course we don’t know what school she goes to either. We also don’t know her age or what she looks like so sitting on the school is useless.
