That didn’t worry Javier. He would’ve preferred it that way anyway.
The bus started to move. They rolled out from below the courthouse into the dark night. A storm had rolled in. There were cracks of lightning in the distance, highlighting the sky with flashes of yellow.
“Hey,” the other prisoner called out as the bus pulled out onto the street. He was standing on the seat. “You’re going the wrong way.”
The guard with the shotgun stood and banged the butt of the gun against the cage. “Shut up, back there.”
The other prisoner sat back down and looked over to Javier. “I reckon they don’t want to drive past the police station. They’d be mostly drunk as well, but there’s that one goody-goody cop who wouldn’t be. Jack Yale, that’s his name. Goody-goody cop. He arrested me last time. I reckon these guys don’t want to get pulled over for drunk driving a prison bus. They’d lose their jobs if they were caught.”
Javier looked out the window. They were heading to the edge of the city, past the mechanic shop owned by the Townsend family. Once on the country road, the moonlight lit the beef farms around them, as the heavy rain continued.
There was a wind swirling, swaying the trees, dancing in the night. The rain echoed throughout the bus, hitting hard on the metal roof, a rhythm of life, drowning out Javier’s thoughts. A sheet of rain blew through with the wind. Javier smiled. He loved summer rain. He loved the showers that pelted down from the clouds. He loved the refreshing smell of the warm August night.
The bus began to swerve on the wet road.
Javier looked up, distracted from the window. The driver was slumped forward. The back end of the bus began to slip.
“Hey!” The other guard shouted as he leaned across to grab the steering wheel. “Hey! Wake up!”
The bus was swaying. Javier grabbed the seat in front of him, holding on tight.
The tires of the bus slipped. The weight of the vehicle began to move sideways. The back end of the bus skidded down the road. The driver woke up, desperate to save the vehicle.
The bus hit a ditch at the side of the country road, and Javier was flung in the air. His world moved in slow motion, heightened by the sense of awareness. Then came the impact.
It was deafening. Crunching. The bus had flipped. Smashed onto its side. The sound of breaking glass and collapsing metal was thunderous. Javier was thrown to the front of the bus, his shoulder crashing into the gate. The metal gate swung open.
The windows were gone. The roof smashed sideways. The front door was missing.
Javier leaped to his feet, fueled by a rush of adrenaline. He looked around the wreck. He could see blood. A lot of it. When his vision focused, he could see the other prisoner was already in the front of the bus, shotgun in hand. He was pointing it at the guards.
The guards were alive, but only just. They were bleeding, scarcely conscious. The bus was on its side, leaning in the ditch as the rain poured in.
“Wait!” Javier called out as the other prisoner picked up the gun. “Don’t shoot them!”
“What are you talking about, man?” The other prisoner shouted back over the heavy rain. “This is our chance! This is a God-given gift to us. He works in mysterious ways, but I ain’t about to argue with him!”
“Our chance for what?” Javier stood, trying hard to recover his balance.
“To escape.” The man pointed over his shoulder. The door was swinging open. “If we don’t shoot them, then we’re all screwed. You’re either with me, or against me. I won’t hesitate to shoot you as well.”
Javier looked around and then back down to the bus driver and guard. The other prisoner aimed the weapon at the guard.
“No!” Javier stepped forward as the wind howled through. “You can’t do that!”
“I’m going away for life, man, and this is my chance! If you let them out, then I won’t see my freedom ever again.”
“No!” Javier said. “I won’t help them out, if you don’t shoot them. I’ll let you run away with the gun!”
The prisoner hesitated, before he reached forward and grabbed the radios from the guards’ shoulders and their mobile phones from their pockets. The guards struggled to stay conscious. The other prisoner turned and jumped out of the bus. Javier looked back at the guards.
Then he looked out of the bus.
This was his chance.
Chapter 43
The lights were swirling around the country road, creating a mess of red and blue beams. Hunter slowed his car and pulled over to the side of the road. Five cars and five trucks filled the country road ahead, all pulled alongside each other. The rain had eased to a drizzle. Hunter leaped out of his car, running towards the gathering. He could see Jack Yale ahead, talking on a radio.
The whole Police Department of Longford had assembled. They all had their guns ready. This was a manhunt, not a rescue mission.
“Shoot on sight!” Chief Richardson yelled to the group of ten men gathered in front of him. “These are dangerous felons. We’ve got two murderers on the run, and I don’t want to hear that they’ve murdered someone else! Don’t hesitate to shoot!”
Richardson dismissed the ten men, and they all raced towards their cars, weapons drawn. As Richardson went to his police car, Hunter grabbed his arm.
“You can’t shoot on sight.” Hunter’s teeth gritted. “Javier’s innocent. The appeal will show that.”
“Get your hand off me,” Richardson growled. “He’s a fugitive. He had the choice to stay or to run, and he chose to run. He’s dangerous. You’ve had your chance to deal with this. Now it’s time for the real men to step up.”
“He’s innocent.”
“Get out of here, lawyer. I don’t have time for your games.” Richardson turned, not engaging with Hunter any further. Richardson put one foot in his car, before he turned to Jack Yale, standing nearby. “Have you got reinforcements?”
“They’re on their way,” Yale responded.
“Good. Search everywhere. They couldn’t have gotten far in this weather.” Richardson slammed the door of his police car and squealed his tires, blaring his sirens as he raced away. Two other cars followed. Their lights were shining on the fields surrounding them as they raced down the country road.
Hunter turned to Jack Yale. “What happened?”
“I can’t help you tonight.” Yale looked at Hunter. “Javier shouldn’t have run. That’s a big problem because he’s a fugitive now.”
“What happened? I need to know.”
“The bus driver lost control. Barry slipped on the wet road.” Yale avoided eye contact. “And then he crashed into the ditch, and the windows were smashed out. The two prisoners ran.”
“What were they even doing out here? This is miles from the prison.”
“It’s the back way if…” Yale shook his head and leaned closer to Hunter. “If you want to avoid the center of the city.”
“They were drunk, weren’t they?”
Yale nodded. “All I know is that there was an accident, and now, we’ve got two fugitives on the run, and one of them is armed with a rifle.”
“You need to capture them alive.”
“If they give me that chance, I will, but I’m worried about Richardson.” Yale looked away. “If no one else is around, he’ll blast Javier’s head off the second he gets the chance. He’s already talked about being the one to take the shot at Javier.”
“You need to stop him from doing that.”
“I’ll try.” Yale agreed. “I’ll follow Richardson, and I’ll have my body-cam on. If he does anything out of the ordinary, then I’ll catch it on camera. But I’ve got to keep my distance. Richardson won’t like me following him while he’s trying to catch a killer. It’d be my job on the line if he sees me keeping tabs on him.”
Yale turned and entered his police car, racing off after Richardson.
Hunter returned to his car and thought for a moment. He knew exactly where Javier was going.
Chapter 44
> Hunter sped down the road, heading towards the edge of Longford, focused on his destination.
A number of pick-up trucks raced past him in the other direction towards the crash site. The whole city was swinging into action to find the missing fugitives, and soon, there’d be a lot of angry men with hunting skills trying to find Javier. Hunter didn’t have long to find him.
His phone rang, and he put the call on speakerphone.
“Have you heard?” It was Carol.
“I didn’t want to wake you.” He looked at his watch. The time had ticked past 1am. “I’ve just been to the crash site. Javier and another prisoner ran after the bus crashed. The guards are ok, but a bit beaten up after the accident. Richardson has put out shoot-on-sight orders for both fugitives.”
“Maggie would’ve heard,” Carol said. “The whole city would’ve heard by now. News like this travels fast. They’re bringing in other departments to track down the prisoners who escaped,” Carol said. “Where are you headed?”
“Everyone is looking for Javier, thinking that he’s probably trying to run over state lines, but I’ve headed the other direction. If we find Maggie, we find Javier. And if we find him first, we might be able to keep him alive.”
“That’s good thinking,” Carol replied. “I’ll keep you updated. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know first.”
“Thank you, Carol.”
Hunter raced his BMW through the streets, speeding towards Richardson’s home near the edge of the city. At the end of Elliston Avenue, Hunter slowed his car and parked behind a large oak tree, just out of view of Norwich park. He switched off his headlights and reached across to the glove box, removing his handgun. He checked to make sure it was loaded, before he started towards Norwich Park. Two more cars raced past in the night, speeding to get to the crash site of the prison bus.
As he walked to the edge of Norwich Park, through the darkness, he saw a shadow move over the bridge where Chad Townsend died. The shadow was moving towards the hut where Javier and Maggie had shared their first kiss.
Hunter approached the hut with caution, his gun ready.
The hut door was left ajar. Hunter reached for it and drew a long breath. With a slight pull, he opened the door. It creaked.
Gun first, he stepped forward into the darkness of the hut. He couldn’t see anyone, but there was movement in the shadows.
A person stepped out. And the man was holding a rifle, pointed directly at Hunter.
Chapter 45
“You.” Richardson stepped into the light at the end of the hut. He shone a flashlight at Hunter. “Where’s Javier?”
“I don’t know. I’m here to find him,” Hunter replied. “I thought you went to the fields to look for him running towards state lines.”
“I did.” Richardson started shining the flashlight around the hut, before he moved back towards the door. He pushed past Hunter and stepped out into the park. “But then I was thinking—where would he run? Javier would know that he couldn’t outrun us. He would know that the Longford Police Department would catch up to him. He knows how good we are. So, where would he go? He’d go for help.”
“In a hut?” Hunter followed Richardson towards the bridge in Norwich Park.
“You think I don’t know who he met in here?” Richardson scoffed as he shined the flashlight around the park, looking for any movement.
“Who?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, lawyer. I know he told you the truth. I know he told you everything about me, Maggie, and this place.” Richardson shined the flashlight back into Hunter’s face. “Where is he? That’s the last time I’ll ask you.”
“I don’t know.” Hunter was firm. “I’m here looking for him to make sure you don’t shoot him first.”
The rain had started to fall again, drowning out any other sounds. The thick clouds above them blocked out any moonlight, and the shadows were pitch black in the park. They were careful where they stepped.
There was movement to the left of them. In the bushes. Richardson reacted by pointing his flashlight and rifle in that direction. Hunter moved closer to Richardson.
“Come out, Javier!” Richardson shouted. “It’s over. There’s no time to run!”
There was no response.
“Come out!” Richardson continued. “Or I’ll start shooting into the bushes! You’re a fugitive and I’ve got you! I know you’re there.”
“Wait!” It was a female voice. She stepped out from behind a bush, her face towards the light. Twenty yards away. “Don’t shoot, Dad. It’s just me here.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Richardson lowered the rifle. “I know you used to come here to meet that Mexican scum. I know you used to meet him here in the park.”
“He’s not scum.”
“And I know he’s over there in the bushes with you. Where else would he run to?” Richardson shouted. “Of course, the scum would run back here.” Richardson raised his weapon again. “Come out, Javier. It’s time to face the music!”
There was movement behind Maggie. Javier stepped out from the shadows and stood next to Maggie. Richardson raised his rifle. Hunter was poised to dive at him.
“No, Dad.” Maggie stepped in front of her boyfriend. “I won’t let you do this.”
“Get out of the way, Maggie.” He grunted. “I need to shoot that fugitive.”
She didn’t move. Richardson steadied, aiming at the pair of them.
“Not like this,” Hunter said. “You don’t have to shoot him.”
“It does have to be like this. I know that my daughter, my own daughter, used to meet her Mexican boyfriend here. Now someone has to pay for Chad’s murder, and it’s going to be Javier.”
“Don’t you dare blame Javier!” Maggie shouted. “I was here, Dad! I followed you here. I know what you did to Chad!”
Richardson paused for a moment as he looked at his daughter. He lowered his gun slightly.
“That’s right, Dad,” she continued. “I was here. I saw it all.”
“You stupid girl.” He shook his head. “You knew the truth, but you still got up in the courtroom and lied? Why would you do that?”
“I knew there was no way you were going to take the fall. Nobody would’ve believed that you killed Chad. I would’ve been laughed out of court. But me? Yeah. The jury could’ve believed that. They could’ve believed that I pushed my abusive ex-boyfriend and he fell.” She gritted her teeth. “I followed you here that night. I saw it all.”
“I didn’t touch him.”
“Don’t lie to me! I saw you! After you talked to Chad, he left our place, but you followed him into the park. I followed you and I saw it happen. I saw you grab him from behind and then beat him. I saw you hit him again and again, and then you stomped on his head when he hit the ground. I saw you do it. You’re a murderer!” Maggie spat out. “And you blamed it on Javier!”
“Chad was alive when I left,” Richardson mumbled.
“He was not!” Maggie shouted. “I checked on him five minutes after you left—he was already dead! I was so scared that I locked myself in my room for days.”
“You silly girl,” Richardson grunted. “You should’ve stayed out of it.”
“I saw you beat Chad to death and you showed no remorse at all!” She shouted over the rain. “You’re pure evil!”
“I do what I have to.” Richardson raised his weapon.
“Don’t shoot,” Hunter’s voice was firm. “We’re witnesses to this.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Richardson grunted. “No court is going to reopen the case of a dead fugitive. Not even you could get a court to consider this case.”
“I won’t let you kill Javier.” Maggie stood in front of him. The rain became heavier. “You won’t shoot me!”
“Really? I’m a good shot, sweetheart, and I need to kill him now.” Richardson aimed his weapon. “I’m not about to let that fugitive go.”
“Richardson.” Hunter’s voice was firm. “Don’t do it.”
<
br /> He looked at Hunter and smiled.
And then a shot rang out through the air.
Chapter 46
Hunter looked at Maggie. She was still standing. He looked at Javier. He was standing behind her. There was no blood. He looked back at Richardson, the shock spread across his face as the blood started to creep from the inside of his right shoulder.
Hunter turned around.
It was Jack Yale, walking towards them with his handgun drawn.
“What?” Richardson whispered as he became woozy. He fell to the ground, one knee supporting him for a few moments. “What did you do?”
“I saved you from killing an innocent man.” Yale came to Richardson’s side, gun still drawn, and nodded at the weapon in Richardson’s hand. “I did my job as a police officer.”
Richardson dropped his rifle and steadied himself, leaning his weight on his knee. He was determined to keep fighting, determined to stay upright.
“You can’t prove anything,” Richardson mumbled as he held his shoulder. “It’s your word against mine.”
“And ours,” Hunter said. “You have four witnesses here.”
“You think that matters in my city?” Richardson was breathless. “I own this city.”
“I think this will help.” Yale tapped his body-cam. “You told me I had to have it on at all times. I was sure that you were tracking me, but now it’s worked against you.”
“I never trusted you,” Richardson whispered, looking at Yale, confusion on his face. “You’re too noble.”
Richardson fell with a thud. Yale holstered his weapon and then put his hand over the wound in Richardson’s shoulder. “Put pressure on here. I need to call a bus.”
Maggie Richardson reacted before Hunter did. She ran forward, placing her hand on her father’s gunshot wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. With some final strength, Richardson reached up and held his daughter’s hand. Yale ordered the bus, informing them he’d shot Richardson.
Natural Justice: A Legal Thriller (Tex Hunter Legal Thriller Series Book 6) Page 21
