Alliance

by S. R. Franklin

  She thought it was Morgan. She waved at him. He smiled and ran in the opposite direction.

  It couldn’t be him. Samantha pulled her pistol and ran after him. This had to be the Handyman. No one else had any reason to run.

  Samantha ran to the back of the hotel and followed the man. She was only a few seconds behind him. She ran all the way up the street behind the buildings. “Where the heck did he go?” She said to herself.

  Samantha turned and walked back. She tried every back door to see if one was unlocked. The last one was open. She held up her pistol and walked inside. It was pitch black. The only light was what was coming through the door. She stopped and propped the door open with a rock laying close to the outside.

  Entering, she realized she was in a storage room. She thought it was the back of the department stores she had visited a few days ago. The store room appeared to run the length of the building. She walked forward to the doors leading into the store. They were locked, too. She went to the next and the next. All of them were locked. It was quiet. Samantha had made her way to the end of the hall. She could barely see.

  Samantha cursed under her breath. She put her pistol back in the holster. Walking towards the open door, she checked all of the doors again. One door budged. Samantha took both hands and pulled hard. It wouldn’t open.

  “Samantha,” someone whispered behind her. She whipped toward the voice. Before she could grab her pistol again. Someone put their hand around her throat. He was holding a knife. He chuckled. “You’re my 31. Soon Samantha soon.”

  He pulled the knife across her neck cutting her. He let her go and pushed her to her knees. He hit her hard with his fist. Samantha fought hard to get to her feet. She heard the door slam shut. It was completely black.

  Chapter 42

  JJ hung up the phone. She ran out of the conference room. She was trying to find anyone of the girls. She found Cameo. “Do you have any idea where Lisa and Diane are? We have to get to Samantha quick. She found the two FBI agents that are missing.”

  “Yeah, they just left to go to the motel. I told them Sam wanted us outta here.” Cameo pointed to the front door.

  JJ ran out the front door. She saw Diane and Lisa a few blocks down the street.

  “Hey Lisa, Diane. Wait up.” JJ ran as fast as she could to catch up. “Samantha needs us at the motel fast. She found the FBI agents.”

  The trio walked the remaining two blocks to the motel. They split up when they arrived. Neither could find Sam. JJ walked around the edge of the building. Diane walked to the front desk. Lisa headed back up the street. There was no sign of Samantha.

  They gathered around the door to her room again. JJ knocked. No answer.

  “Go back to the front desk and get a key.” JJ pointed towards the door.

  Lisa ran to the office and came back with the key. All three pulled their pistols and entered the room. They went in separate directions. JJ went into the bathroom. She saw the towels and the box. She whistled for the others.

  “Looks like this is what Samantha found.” Lisa spoke first. “Look in the shower.”

  JJ walked over to the shower and opened the door. “Yep, Samantha found our missing FBI agents. Looks like their throats have been cut.”

  “They’ve been cut up like our other victims. Do you think Samantha walked in on him?” Diane put her pistol back in the holster.

  “No, she called me. But, where is she? Diane, call the coroner and start processing. I am going to walk around the building and look for Sam. Don’t leave until we find something.” JJ held her pistol up as she went around the edge of the building. He heard a door slam and turned towards the noise. Samantha was coming out of the building. All JJ could see was blood. Samantha had her hand on her neck. Blood was still running down her hand and arm. She was half conscious and stumbling. JJ holstered her pistol and ran to her.

  “Samantha, what in the name of all that’s holy?” JJ put her arm around Sam’s waist.

  Samantha bent over and took a deep breath. “He was here. He could have killed me, but he didn’t. He’s playing his game.”

  “Did he say anything?” JJ bent down in front of her.

  “Yeah, I’m next.” Samantha stood up. “We have to end this now. I will not be the last if we don’t kill him. We have to find him, and I know how.”

  JJ helped Samantha stand up and the two walked back to the hotel. Diane and Lisa were still inside the room. JJ yelled for them as she moved closer to the door of Sam’s room. Diane ran outside and helped JJ bring Samantha into the room.

  “Sit on the bed.”

  Sam plopped onto the bed, covering her neck.

  “Stop fidgeting and let me see.” Diane moved Samantha’s hand away from her neck. “Lisa, grab me a towel or something.” Diane bent down beside her sister. She helped her remove her jacket. “Lay down and try to relax.” She tried to clean the blood from Samantha’s neck. It was still bleeding. “She’s going to have to have stitches. We need to get her over to the coroner’s office. That’s the closest clinic. Sam, can you hold this? We need to get this taken care of before we can do anything else.”

  Samantha sat up and looked around the room. “This s.o.b. is getting on my nerves.” Sam stood up and the four of them walked out of the room. Sam threw the towel on the ground. Blood was still streaming down her neck. “Close this off until the coroner gets here. Call Kirkland, make sure there is someone with Mama, Daniel and Karen and that Alexis is there. I want him in cuffs before dark.” Samantha headed up the street. “I’m tired of playing his games. Now we play a few ourselves.”

  Samantha walked into the coroner’s office. She headed to one of the tables and sat.

  Diane came in shortly afterwards. “Get out of that jacket and shirt.” Diane put surgical covers on Samantha’s shoulder and around her neck. “This would be easier if you laid down.”

  Samantha swung her legs up on the table. Diane and Lisa fumbled through drawers and doors until they found everything they needed.

  “Samantha, there is something funny about this case. This man has been killing for years and never been caught. He has come in and out of this town unseen and bothered nothing or no one. So why now? Why is he coming out? He trying to get caught. He is spiraling out of control. This makes twice this week that he has attacked one of us. I swear, this man knows you.”

  “Listen, right now we need to go somewhere and regroup. We have to make a plan to catch this guy. Davie is the key. He’ll lead us right to the Handyman. We need to let him go.” Samantha tried to sit up.

  Lisa pushed her back down.

  “Wait a minute. You’re still bleeding.” Diane held Samantha down.

  Chapter 43

  “Woohoo, that was fun. Look, she’s coming. Samantha will be here soon and we will be together forever.”

  “Hahahahaha, you’re a stupid loser.” Amanda was almost too weak to speak. She couldn’t hold her head upright for more than a few seconds. “Samantha will never kill me. She’s an FBI agent and nothing like you. She’ll catch you and let me go home.”

  “No, see you are wrong. I was there. I saw her kill that man that took her son. That’s when I knew. I knew we would be together. Besides, she hates you. You are a baby killer. I know my 31. She will kill you and love it. We are the same person.” The Handyman stood up and began to walk through the room. “Now we have some work to do before she gets here. This place is a mess.” He went to the closet and grabbed a table cloth. He shook it off and walked to the small table in the room. “Let’s see, move this over here and this can go here.” The Handyman worked through the small shack, mumbling to himself.

  Amanda’s head fell back on the pillow. She was too weak to care. Her eyes got heavy and closed. She hoped Samantha would come soon. She just wanted to go home. Daniel would be there. He would make everything okay. She was sick. He knew that. He would forgive her again. She knew he would.

  Chapter 44

  JJ gathered the last of her things and walked it
out to the SUV. The town was still quiet. Most people had left town and gone home. She knew from talking to them that they had given up on ever having a normal quiet town again. The sheriff said he was still at a loss. And no one could believe this man could have been in their town all this time. The small town coroner was once again collecting bodies. This time they were too close. How could The Handyman have moved two bodies into the only hotel in town without someone seeing him? He was getting help. Or he knew something no one else did.

  Samantha came walking across the street with Diane and Lisa.

  JJ was standing beside the car looking into space. She seemed dazed.

  “What is wrong with you?” Lisa said as she put her bag in the back of the SUV.

  JJ crossed her arms. “There’s something we have not considered. How is this man moving through town without anyone seeing him?”

  Diane approached the SUV. “What are you thinking? We already know he has been getting help from Davie.”

  “Did anyone get the geological survey for this place?” Samantha turned to her team.

  “Yes, but it didn’t show anything,” Lisa said.

  “But where were we looking?” JJ pointed to the hotel.

  “Spit it out, JJ, what do you think?” Samantha put her hands on her hips.

  “I’m not sure, but he has to be moving during the day as well as at night. We’re missing something.” JJ looked at Samantha. “We need to talk to the sheriff. Can we ask him to join us outside town?”

  “Yes, but not now. Right now we have to come up with a plan. This man cannot kill another woman.” Samantha put on her sunglasses and got in the passenger seat of the black SUV.

  The others followed. They pulled over to the sheriff’s office. Cameo came out carrying her briefcase. Kirkland was with her.

  Samantha sat up straight. “We are going just outside town. I need you to release Davie first thing in the morning. I don’t care how, just do it. He will lead us to this killer. We should be ready by then.”

  “How do you plan to do this, Deputy Director?” Kirkland looked over his glasses at her. “This town will riot if we release him.”

  “Again, I don’t care. Take him out the back and drive him out of town. Do it quietly and before the sheriff or his deputies get in. Cameo, you go with us. Kirkland, after you drive him out of town, keep driving.” Samantha laid down back in her seat and rolled up the window.

  Cameo jumped in the back with Diane and Lisa. “Just how do you plan to get this man. Sam?”

  “Don’t worry Cam, I have a plan.”

  JJ drove for what seemed like hours to the remote spot she’d found. They finally came up on a small cabin. It was out of the way. It was in the open, visible from all sides. This was a good hunting shack. Team One got out of the SUV. Each grabbed their gear and walked to the cabin. The door was solid wood and heavy. JJ walked through first. “We have to light lanterns.”

  Each threw their bags on the floor beside the door and walked over to grab a match. The lanterns were all over the room. This place was beautiful. Not too big but all wood. It shined as the lantern light flickered against the wood. This would be a perfect place to get away if they were not hunting a killer. There were two large doors in the back of the room.

  Samantha walked over and opened one. It was a bedroom. Peeking inside the other door, she saw that it was another bedroom, making three in all.

  Samantha turned to her team. “You guys share.” Sam walked in her room and closed the door behind her. She walked to the bed and sat down hard. She leaned forward and put her face in her hands.

  JJ was right, there had to be a way this man was moving through town without being seen. Samantha laid down on the bed. She had to clear her head and think. This killer was not getting away from her again. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her mind began to race through past cases, people, places, killers. She slowed her breathing. Think, remember, she told herself. You know this, you can figure this out.

  Soon she began to dream. Her dreams were fitful. She was fighting against the biggest monster she had ever seen. It had huge teeth, long arms. She could not see its face. She pulled her gun and ran closer to it. Its face was coming into view. It was Morgan. Morgan was the killer. He ran away from her and jumped into a large hole. Samantha pulled her pistol and followed. There was a tunnel. The monster motioned for Sam to follow. He was calm as he walked. Sam lowered her pistol and approached the monster. He pointed ahead of them. Sam peered toward a dim light. She could see Amanda lying on a bed. She was bleeding. Morgan was standing beside her with a knife, smiling. “You’re my 31,” he said as he cut Amanda’s throat. Samantha opened her eyes and sat up. She checked the time. An hour had passed. What was Morgan telling her? And where had he been? She couldn’t remember where she sent him.

  Wait, she thought. The hole. The tunnel.

  She jumped up and ran out of the room. Samantha called for all of her team to come into the room.

  Everyone ran into the living room. “A tunnel, there has to be a tunnel or a sewer system that goes under the town or at least part of it. That is how he’s moving. He’s going through a tunnel.” Samantha paced back and forth. “JJ do we know if there are other cabins like this?”

  “Sam, slow down, you aren’t making sense,” Diane said.

  “Wait,” JJ said. “That makes perfect sense. Cameo, can you find out if this town has an old sewer system or tunnel system?” JJ walked over to the small table.

  “Absolutely, if we were in town. But there’s no internet here.”

  “Okay,” Lisa said as she joined the group. “Let’s do this the old-fashioned way. Ask the oldest person we can find.”

  “We don’t have time for a history lesson, Lisa.” Samantha leaned against the fireplace. “This man gave us two days. After that, whatever he has planned will be done and he will be gone. He will start somewhere else. He will never stop. He is too good at it and he likes it too much. The hunt, the game, and the torture. That’s all this guy knows. Kirkland’s going to set Davie loose before eight in the morning. We have to be ready. We will follow him. Cam, while we are doing that go to the library or somewhere and find out if there is a mine shaft of some sort or a sewer system, something. Tomorrow is the last day. His big finale. We either catch him or wait another fifteen years until he surfaces again.”

  Chapter 45

  Davie wrung his hands and pacing back and forth in front of the cell door. His partner had not gotten him out of jail. He knew he would get the death penalty if they pinned these murders on him. Dying was not the bad thing. Waiting in a 5 x 9 cell for ten years, that was what he couldn’t stand. He had to be free. It wasn’t his fault anyway. They made him like this. He just had to be free. Out in the woods, that’s all, not in a cell.

  He was almost sick with fear. This could not be the rest of his life. He had to get out of that cell. Dee was not coming this time. He was on his own.

  “Okay, Davie, it’s feeding time. Come and get it. You know, you’re pretty lucky. Three meals a day and nothing to worry about.” The deputy turned his back towards the cell and sat the food tray down on a stool. He stood back up and Davie grabbed him around his throat. The deputy was large and heavy. It was hard to hold him still. But after several minutes, the deputy stopped struggling.

  Davie lowered him to the floor. He took the keys from the deputy’s side.

  Free, he was finally free. There would never be another cell for him. He would die first.

  Davie walked to the back of the sheriff’s office. The back door was unlocked. That was stupid, he thought. He cracked the door open. There was no one in sight. Davie stepped out into the sunlight. Free, there will never be a cell for me, he thought. He walked to the back of the department store. The tunnel for the old sewer system was there. It led right out of town to the old sewer plant. He could get out of town and never be caught.

  He had to warn Dee that they were closing in on him. Then he could leave Forrest Ranch, and they wou
ld never find him.

  Davie opened the door. He walked inside, feeling his way in the dark. All the way to the end. He bent down and felt for the door. There, there it is. Davie slipped down into the tunnel. He and Dee had put lights down there. He fumbled for the switch. Now he could take his time. He could get some sleep. No one would find him down here. These tunnels had been forgot about thirty years or more ago. Stupid idea anyway. A sewer treatment plant in the mountains. Stupid. Davie slid down the wall. He put his head back and drifted to sleep.

  Chapter 46

  Daniel couldn’t believe that in two days he would be burying his only son. Adam was the only reason he had for living. Chicago DA meant nothing to him without his boy. Now Amanda was missing. He didn’t really care. He hoped someone had ran off with her. The thoughts of being free of her and his in-laws was comforting, but losing Adam took any joy away he could ever have.

  Daniel was in his wheelchair at the edge of the front porch of their home. He was staring into the backyard where he and Adam had played ball. He could never live here again. The apartment would be the same.

  Other images surfaced. Memories of the afternoon they were shot were coming back to him. He had been on his way to pick up Adam from daycare and take him to Cheddars, his favorite place to eat, and then to the park. He had gotten an apartment in town a few months ago. That’s where they were staying most of the time. Just Adam and he. Adam was happy being away from his mother. He didn’t understand why she yelled at him all the time. Adam was scared of her, and truthfully so was he. But he never thought she would shoot Adam. How could she kill her own flesh and blood?

  He remembered that he had sent the driver home. And that the stupid daycare worker had allowed Amanda to pick up Adam.