The Antagonist (A Sarah Roberts Thriller, Book 10)

by Jonas Saul

  Barry told Colin about saving the attempted suicide and how Sarah had showed up and talked shit. Then she interrupted his dinner with two other members of the force and pepper sprayed them.

  “I heard about that. What the fuck, man? Who is this woman?”

  “I don’t know a thing about her. I just met her yesterday and she won’t tell me what she’s up to. All she does is show up and direct her pissy attitude at me. I’m trying to do the right thing, here.”

  “Why didn’t you arrest her at the Tomato when she sprayed you guys?” Colin asked.

  “Because she made it look like police brutality. Some asshole was filming it. We didn’t identify ourselves right away. It sounds like she knows the law, too. I just don’t get it.”

  “Tell me what she looks like.”

  Barry described her to Colin as Sarah’s knees protested her scrunched position. Sweat rolled down her forehead. If she moved, they would see her. The only plus was the cruiser’s engine still idled, which would cover any minor noise she made.

  “I’ll let some of the guys know to keep an eye out for her.”

  “And Colin.” Barry put a hand on Colin’s shoulder again. “Once she’s off the street, come on by the Garden. I’ll send three girls into your room this time, free of charge.”

  “You don’t have to,” Colin protested.

  “No. I do. It’s my way of thanking you.”

  “Just send in that Lesley girl. She’s the one I want.”

  “Oh, I can’t.” Barry tapped his lower lip with his finger as if was contemplating something important. “After what happened at the bridge, I think she’s going to have to take a leave of absence.” He stopped tapping his lip. “A permanent one.”

  “However you run your business is up to you. Not many employers could get away with firing someone for an attempted suicide, but you can. I know some of the guys are going to miss her.”

  “I think she’s been passed around a little too much anyway.”

  Sarah felt like throwing up. Either that or stand up and murder both men in an uncontrolled rage. Her stomach clenched and she almost coughed. She sent out a prayer for Lesley and thanked Vivian for sending her here. The Garden of Eden was going to be closed for business by the end of the week if Sarah had anything to do with it.

  The men embraced again.

  “Oh, and Colin, she rides a motorcycle. I think it’s a BMW, but I’m not sure. I’ve only seen it from the distance.”

  Colin got in his cruiser. When he pulled out, he swung the nose of the car the other way, sparing the headlight glare flashing across her position.

  Moments later, as his engine noise faded in the distance and Sarah’s knees were aflame, Barry slowly made his way back up his driveway.

  His front door opened and closed softly.

  Sarah crawled to her fence, got up and stumbled to her back door on cramped legs. Once inside with the hat and gloves off, her hand went numb.

  Vivian.

  She grabbed a pen and paper and lay down on the living room floor, breathing steady, trying to quell her pulse. She had no idea how she was going to sleep tonight.

  Then she blacked out.

  A few moments later, she woke to a note.

  The exact spot where the remains of Maxine Freeman’s body had been buried were written down.

  Sarah was also told to be at the Garden of Eden studio at 3:17 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. She would know what to do, Vivian added.

  Vivian said she was sorry, but this had to be done.

  She also said she trusted Sarah to handle this task, but to be prepared for a darker truth.

  Sarah looked up at the ceiling. “Are you saying the drugs and the rape of all these women aren’t all that I’m here for?”

  She blacked out and came to seconds later, another note beside her hand.

  The drugs and the rape are the barnacle on this mother ship. You’re in Kelowna to stop something much darker. I’m keeping it from you for a reason, but you’ll learn what it is soon enough. For now, sleep. You’ll need it.

  “Shit,” she mumbled to herself. “What’s worse? What’s a darker truth?”

  Chapter 10

  In the morning, Sarah made coffee and turned on her MacBook Pro to catch the news.

  At the top of the list under the Kelowna tag, Castanet was reporting on the grisly findings of a human body in a wooded region off of Bear Creek Road. The body had been found in a garbage bag. There were unconfirmed reports that the body was female and that animals might have tampered with the remains. The BC Coroner’s office would determine cause of death after an autopsy over the next few days. Police were still scouring the area for more clues.

  Before bed, Sarah had made an anonymous call to Castanet’s phone lines to report that she had found something suspicious. After giving the directions supplied by Vivian, she had hung up the phone and then gone to bed. That was five hours ago.

  “At least now Maxine Freeman will be able to rest in peace,” she said to herself.

  Another report on Castanet showed a sketch artist’s drawing of a woman that the police were looking for. The woman had been involved in various crimes throughout the city, the article said. If anyone had seen this woman, they were directed to contact the police. A phone number was supplied.

  The sketch artist’s drawing resembled Sarah.

  She scrolled down further. Below the original article was another picture. This one was blurry but wasn’t hard to make out. It was definitely Sarah.

  “Shit. How did they get my picture?”

  She saw the sand behind her in the image. Castanet had filmed her at the beach. Sarah had used it as a warning to Barry to keep him calm. He must’ve asked for their footage and then Photoshopped it enough to make it as clear as it was.

  She would have to leave the house in disguise. Getting arrested would not work. She had to find out what Vivian meant by the darker truth. And she had to be at the Garden of Eden at 3:17 p.m.

  After her shower, she dressed and got ready to go. She logged into the GPS tracker on Barry’s vehicle and checked where it had gone and where it was now.

  According to the tracker, he was parked a block from the main RCMP detachment downtown. The history of Barry’s travels revealed that he drove right there from home without stopping. This meant he probably called Castanet and asked for the picture, then drove to the station where he helped prepare it. This also meant that every police officer on the street was a threat, and they would be looking for a female on a BMW motorcycle.

  She had to ditch the motorcycle. She would have to rent a car.

  The number for Enterprise Car Rental was an easy one to find. She called them because their ad said they would pick her up at home.

  After their standard greeting, Sarah said, “I need a car for a couple of days.”

  “Are you looking for small or mid size?”

  “Mid size. SUV if you have it.”

  “You’re in luck. We’ve got a 2014 Jeep Cherokee in from Alberta right now.”

  “Perfect. Hold that one for me.”

  “Done. Your name?”

  “Sarah Roberts. And I’ll need a pickup.”

  “No problem. Your address?”

  “I’m out on Bennett Road in McKinley Landing.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. That’s on the outskirts of Kelowna and outside our pickup area. Is there any way you could get here on your own?”

  Sarah sighed. “Yes. Just hold the Jeep. I’ll be there in an hour or so.”

  A quick ride using side streets wouldn’t be a problem. Not every street will be guarded by the cops.

  Half an hour later, dressed in jeans, a heavy shirt and a red baseball cap in her pocket for when she took her helmet off, Sarah stepped outside, locked her door and got on her bike.

  She logged in on her cell phone to see where Barry’s cruiser was and discovered that he was on the move. She watched his direction and tried to guess where he was heading. The Garden of Eden was on the north side o
f town, just off Harvey Avenue. Barry was on Glenmore heading north.

  That could only mean one thing. He was coming home.

  She would be housebound if he got here first.

  She raced down Bennett Road and then along McKinley which led out to Glenmore. It was the only way in and out of McKinley Landing. They would pass each other on the two-lane road if she didn’t hit Glenmore before he came onto McKinley. Glenmore was also a two-way, but it had a center median. There would be distance between them. She could be just another passing cyclist, as far as he was concerned.

  On the last curve before Glenmore, she pulled out her phone and checked on his location. He was still two miles from McKinley Road.

  At Glenmore, she turned right, heading into town. She would see his unmarked cruiser coming her way soon.

  She came up to a green light at Union Street and waited in the left turn lane. Taking Union was a shortcut to the north side of Kelowna and would take her to the car rental place faster. It would also avoid driving toward and having to pass Barry’s vehicle.

  But the traffic didn’t lighten up in time.

  Barry’s brown unmarked cruiser came into view heading her way.

  “Damn,” she said under her helmet. “So close.”

  She waited at the light, her signal on. He entered the intersection and then passed her without looking over. When she could, Sarah took the turn as if she wasn’t in a hurry and continued along Union until she took another left onto Sexsmith Road. In her mirrors, no one followed her.

  She continued along the curvy Sexsmith, watching for any sign that she was being tailed.

  After a particular long bend in the road, she straightened the bike, set her speed to five over the limit and checked her mirrors.

  An engine revved loud and clear through the helmet.

  She snapped her head around.

  It couldn’t be.

  Somehow Barry had made her, did a U-turn on Glenmore and gave chase. Without her noticing, he caught up fast, which wasn’t too hard as Sexsmith twisted and wound its way to the north part of town.

  She sped up, knowing now that she couldn’t just drive to Enterprise and get into the Jeep. She had to lose him first.

  His sirens trilled once, then again. There was no way she would pull over for him, let alone on this back road where there would be no witnesses and he was the only one armed.

  She kept up her speed, but the corners slowed her down. He tried to overtake her once, coming very close to the shoulder of the road as she dipped into a turn.

  “What the fuck are you trying to do?” she shouted under her helmet.

  She snuck a quick look in her mirror as she prepared for another corner. A minivan came from the opposite direction. Just as it passed, she dipped for the corner and heard Barry’s engine rev at the same time.

  When she righted the bike, he was directly beside her. She looked through his passenger side window at him. She could read his intentions in those dead eyes.

  He jerked on the wheel of his car and the unmarked cruiser hopped to the right. The front right fender of Barry’s cruiser smacked the bike. If Sarah hadn’t lifted her left leg, it would’ve been crushed between his passenger door and her bike’s engine.

  The bike veered to the right, and for a brief second she was sure she would fly off the edge. As she attempted to correct her steering while half on, half off the bike, her left leg still in the air, the front wheel wobbled back and forth. There was no way she could keep the bike on the road.

  Past the point of no return, Sarah and her bike sailed over the lip of the shoulder and took air. The bike dropped below her as she released the handlebars and prepared to land and roll. The ground came fast and with it, trees, stumps and large rocks. The ground sloped at an angle away from the road. When she hit the grass, she rolled, twisted and turned until she got to the bottom of the hill twenty feet below.

  The wooden base of a thick pine tree connected with her helmet and ceased her descent.

  It also ceased all cognitive thought.

  Chapter 11

  Once the bike disappeared from view, Barry continued along Sexsmith Road as if nothing had happened. He adjusted himself in his seat, wiped his brow, and checked the mirrors to see if anyone stopped to help the girl.

  He made a U-turn three hundred yards away from the incident and started back to where the girl and her bike went over. He pulled up and looked down from the driver’s side window. Her body was twisted at an impossible angle, her head hidden behind the base of a tree. It was as if she was in the middle of attempting a somersault. He wanted to walk down and wrap his hands around her throat until she gasped her last breath. But as he watched, she didn’t move. She didn’t even twitch.

  Maybe she was already dead. If not, when she was discovered, she would end up in the hospital and then get arrested. He’d get his day.

  A Hydro truck passed on the road beside him. There was no one else around. After the girl flew over the edge, no one had passed going either way until the truck.

  He pushed the accelerator and pulled away.

  “I hope you’re dead,” he said to himself.

  At home, he parked behind his wife’s Bug, got out and took a deep breath of fresh air. It was good to be home. Good to have solved everything. The meddling girl was probably dead or would be hospitalized soon, and this afternoon he would deal with Lesley Wright. Anything of recent concern would go away and life would go back to normal soon enough.

  The only thing left to deal with was his crazy wife. She knew too much and was threatening to leave him. She had to stay in Kelowna or be placed in a garbage bag and discarded like Maxine Freeman had been.

  He had no idea how that happened to Maxine. He had left her at the bus depot. She was warned to never come back. Maxine’s brother had asked him about his sister weeks later, but that was one time he didn’t have to lie. He really did drop her off and let her go. She had been terrified of him. She had been tortured to a perpetual state of paranoia. She probably killed herself on Bear Creek Road and offered the coyotes and mountain lions some dinner.

  With that thought on his mind, he adjusted his jacket and entered the house.

  “Deb, I’m home.”

  She didn’t respond. A bottle of wine sat half empty on the kitchen counter.

  What a fucking drunk.

  The rocking chair on the deck squeaked. He grabbed a glass, poured himself some and went to join her. As soon as he gave her a malefic warning, he would spend the afternoon flash blooding at the Garden of Eden. He would enjoy himself at Lesley’s expense until she passed out from too much in her system. Then the real fun would begin. His stomach twitched in anticipation at the wild afternoon he was going to have.

  The sliding door hadn’t closed fully when his wife started up.

  “Now what are we going to do?” she asked.

  The cut on her face looked terrible and her eyes were wounded and red. There was a moment when he felt pity, but then brushed it aside.

  Your blood is so thin from the alcohol you can’t even heal normally.

  He brought the wine to his lips, savored its taste, cleansed his palate and swallowed. Then he did it again to really taste the wine. A nice Shiraz.

  Damn, it’s good to be in control.

  “What are you talking about?” He leaned on the deck’s railing and stared out at Okanagan Lake. A water skier fanned back and forth behind a boat. Two jet skis raced each other.

  “Maxine Freeman. I want to know how you did it.”

  He turned to her, offended she would just assume he killed her. “I’m many things, but I’m not a murderer of innocent women.” Although that changes today …

  “Are you denying it? Even after I saw you with her that day? It has only been eight months. People will remember she worked at the Garden of Eden and that you two were close. Some people might even know that you drove her to the bus depot. That might make you the last person to see her alive, which is a big deal.”

 
; “Don’t go witch hunting. You’re always borrowing trouble.” He pumped his hand in the air, open-palmed. “Just bring it down a notch.”

  “And what about Sarah?”

  He squinted and looked sideways at her. “Who’s Sarah?”

  “The girl who lives next door.”

  He shook his head in confusion. “What? What are you talking about? Didn’t a couple live there until a month ago or something? Jacob and his girlfriend?”