The Antagonist (A Sarah Roberts Thriller, Book 10)

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The Antagonist (A Sarah Roberts Thriller, Book 10) Page 18

by Jonas Saul


  One of her arms was wrenched down and something cold and metallic slammed into it. The other followed.

  “You are under arrest for the murder of RCMP Officer Barry Ashford. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say …”

  But his voice faded for her. She was watching as the other man bent down and tended to Sarah. He examined her feet and then lifted her eyelids.

  The man was crying.

  How odd.

  Lang shoved her through the door and into the sunlight.

  It was over. She had no idea how they found out, but it was over. Even though she had covered all her bases, and was sure they had nothing on her, she knew this was it.

  Maybe in jail she would become a vegetarian.

  That would really fuck with their heads.

  Chapter 32

  When Sarah woke in the hospital, they had already operated on her foot. They added titanium plates and screws to help mend the bones. It would take months, but she’d be able to walk again. Until then, she would have to learn how to use crutches.

  She had given her statements to the police, which took up most of the first two days she was awake. She explained to the police that her main focus was getting Lesley out of the Garden of Eden. When Greg tried unsuccessfully to remove her from the premises, they went back together.

  Sarah abducted Barry Ashford so she could secretly record his confession. She had no idea that Deborah would kill him, just as she had no idea that Deborah would try to kill her. She had assumed Barry was the threat.

  Detective Colin Lang had asked what possessed her to think she could abduct a member of the RCMP without consequences. She felt Barry’s confession would be enough for any jury to let her walk. After all, the man was committing heinous crimes against the female employees of the Garden of Eden.

  The massage parlor had closed down. The city revoked their license and refused to issue a new one.

  Greg and Lesley had come by to visit. They brought flowers. Lesley thanked her for saving her life and Greg thanked her for everything else. During their visit, Sarah had teared up as the room filled with emotion. Lesley would soon be heading to rehab where she would get the help she needed.

  Sarah talked to her mother on the phone and reassured her everything was okay. Aaron had called, too. They planned a reunion at her house in Santa Rosa where she was going to recuperate with her parents.

  Exhausted, weak and ready to sleep, she lowered her electric bed, swiveled the food tray to the side and laid her head on the pillow.

  Her door opened.

  “Yes?” she said.

  No one answered.

  She opened her sleepy eyes and lifted her head.

  Parkman.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice soft, not angry.

  “I think it’s about time we talked about what happened in Santa Rosa.”

  He closed the door and headed for the chair beside the bed.

  “Parkman, there’s nothing to talk about. I pulled a gun and was about to shoot you for something you didn’t do. Even when I had the evidence in my head, had I taken the time to think about it, I would’ve known it wasn’t you.” She cleared her throat. “In my mind, some things are unforgivable. What I did to you falls in that category.”

  “Are you willing to take into account that you were suffering from a head wound? You don’t think that had anything to do with your confusion?”

  She turned away to hide her pain. She didn’t deserve his friendship, his love. Her single act had made her unworthy of him.

  “I can hear you,” he said.

  “What?” She looked at him.

  “Inside, you’re fighting yourself and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose because in the end, you’ll lose.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You and I have known each other for years. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in law enforcement you trust. We’ve been through a lot together, covered each other’s backs together. But you made one mistake and called it quits. That doesn’t sum you up. You’re different.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. “So tell me, what’s really going on?”

  “I almost killed you, Parkman. I don’t deserve people in my life when I’m a danger to them.”

  “Are you a danger to me?”

  “Well, no, not now.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “What do I have to do to get you back? We have history together. I won’t let that fall away because you’re upset about a little gunplay.”

  “It wasn’t a little gunplay and you know it.”

  “Sarah, this seems unreasonable. And it seems that it’s more about you than me. Why are you hurting yourself this way?”

  “It’s what I deserve. For what I did.”

  “You didn’t do anything.”

  “You don’t understand, Parkman. To see that image in my mind.” She wiped at the tears tickling her cheek. She hated to cry but couldn’t help this one. “And to think you betrayed me. To want to hurt you. Those were black heart days. Then to find out you were trying to save me.” She covered her face with her hands. “I was devastated at what I did. I am devastated.”

  “Then let me help you,” he said. “What would’ve happened had Detective Lang and I not shown up at that house?”

  “I don’t know. I was knocked out.”

  “No. According to Mrs. Ashford you were not knocked out. She claims you woke up and said your name was Vivian. But forget that for a minute. I came for you. I pulled a lot of strings to get a look at that murder scene. Let’s say I saved your life. Now you owe me. How’s that? You have to come back. You have to let me back in. Deal?”

  Her hands still over her face, she heard the pain in his voice.

  Then he was moving. His arms wrapped around her. They tightened. She shuddered. They cried together.

  After a few minutes, he released her.

  “I’m so sorry, Parkman.”

  “I know you are, and so am I.”

  He grabbed a Kleenex box, and handed her some. After wiping her face, she pulled a notebook from under her pillow. “Here.”

  “What’s this?”

  “Read it. You’ll know.”

  Parkman read the first few pages fast, then looked up.

  “Vivian really did this?”

  Sarah nodded. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

  “Wow. I had no idea she could.”

  “Neither did I. The drugs incapacitated me. But nothing man-made can incapacitate Vivian. She said it was a struggle to channel through me, but it was easier as I wasn’t fighting against her.”

  “How did she let it get so far? If we didn’t show up when we did, you could’ve been killed, or worse.”

  “I suspect Vivian let it go that far because she knew you were coming. She wanted us to be close again and allowing you to find me … well, maybe it was her way of fixing us.”

  “If that’s the case, then I’m happy you were stuck in that basement.” He smiled. “You almost dying at the hands of a cannibal turns out to be a good thing.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  “There’s something else.”

  “What?”

  “Some colleagues of mine are having a problem.”

  “What kind of problem?”

  “Dead bodies.”

  “I can see how that would be a problem. Are you going to tell me more?”

  “Will you help?”

  “On that much information?”

  He shook his head. “No, Sarah. I want to know if telling you is a waste of time. Will you be willing to help me? This could be a chance for you to clean whatever stain you’ve allowed on your soul.”

  She dabbed at the last of the tears on her cheeks. He was right. This was a chance to do something for Parkman. To redeem herself with him. To make things right, even though it felt like their fences were already mended.

  “Will I be working with you?”

  “Almost the whole time.” />
  “Then I’m in. One hundred percent. I want to redeem myself with you.”

  “That’s not what this is about.”

  “It is now. Tell me more.”

  “In and around Los Angeles, the Catholic Church has had four priests murdered. There’s a threat that more murders will take place. The police have nothing to go on. One of their sergeants is an old friend of mine, David Hirst. He knows about you and asked if we would be interested in looking at the case.”

  “You mean you want me to become some kind of psychic detective? You want me to help the police? The very people I don’t trust and who I just spent the greater part of last week antagonizing?”

  “That’s exactly what I want.” He crossed his arms and stared down at her.

  “Then I’ll do it. It’ll give me a chance to redeem myself with the police forces who heard of my involvement here. I don’t want itchy fingers on guns wherever I go because they didn’t hear the whole story. If I can do something good in Los Angeles, then I will. Call Aaron. Tell him we’re not going to Santa Rosa. We’re on our way to Los Angeles. See if he can join me there. When do we start?”

  “As soon as you’re fit to travel.”

  “Get me crutches. We’ll leave now. Grab my clothes in that closet.”

  “You just had your foot set. You can’t leave yet.”

  “Parkman, when have you ever seen me overstay my welcome in a hospital? Maybe I’ll need a wheelchair, or maybe I’ll hop on one foot down the hall, but I’m leaving today. Let’s do this. I want to be a psychic detective. I want to help the police this time. I want to redeem my name with them and with you. I want to be The Redeemed. Grab me my fucking clothes and let’s go save the priests. I need to make this right with you. There will be no more shit between us or I’ll kill both of us.”

  Without another word, Parkman grabbed her clothes.

  Dear Reader,

  My wife and I make it a habit to maintain our buy-a-cop-a-coffee campaign. Whenever we find ourselves in a Starbucks, or some other coffee shop, where we see a uniformed officer or a fireman, we take it upon ourselves to head over to the counter and buy their coffees.

  In a Subway Sandwich Shop once, we bought three firemen their entire lunch.

  We don’t do it because we want a thank you or any kind of praise. We do it to say thank you. We do it to praise the work these emergency services members do every time they don their uniforms. These hard-working men and women go to work and risk their lives every day. The least we could do is say thank you.

  I’ll never forget how I felt when I watched in horror as the towers fell that fateful day in New York on a sunny September morning. All those lives lost. The firemen running inside the building. The police officers following them in.

  I’m still moved to silence.

  I write about bad cops. I hurt bad cops. I have rogue cops murdered in my book, in the worst possible way. I do this because they’re not just bad or rogue. They’re disgusting. Mind you, this is just my opinion, but when authorities break bad, they don’t just disgrace the uniform, they disgrace the name of every officer and every fireman who has died in the line of duty. Every emergency services employee that has ever died trying to carry a child out of a burning building. Every cop who was shot after pulling a car over. Every single one of them has been disrespected when a cop goes bad, and I despise that.

  So for fictional purposes, I wanted to write about Barry Ashford because Kelowna, the gorgeous city that it is, has bad cops.

  The Buddy Tavares story in the novel was true. The RCMP officer kicked him in the face when he was already down and got off lightly. This officer was suspected in other cases of violence while on duty, but that’s another story.

  Watch the video here,

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiFjz0PSckg

  In addition to that touchy subject, I wanted to explore what Sarah is going through after the previous novel, Killing Sarah. I think some of us do a little self-loathing at times for the decisions we’ve made and then make new decisions that sabotage us. Sarah has issues to work through, but in this novel she needed to be alone and just work with Vivian and get a lot of anger off her chest. Coming to Kelowna to deal with Barry helped her. Seeing what Parkman went through firsthand, knowing she was probably going to die in the Rankins’ basement, gave her a new perspective on life and a new look at her relationships.

  Now that Sarah and Parkman are back, they will be on a wild ride in The Redeemed, Sarah Roberts Book Eleven.

  She will redeem herself with him, with police forces around the world and with Aaron. By the time we get to the next book, The Haunted, Sarah Roberts Book Twelve, she will just have memories of these days. Memories that will haunt her. And then we get to The Unlucky, Sarah Roberts Book Thirteen. Well, you’ll have to wait and see just how unlucky Sarah gets in that one. It’s a ride that doesn’t bode well for Sarah, but I think she’ll be up to it. Maybe, just maybe …

  Until then, thanks for reading as always. I do this for you. Without you, I couldn’t do this. That’s why I love you all.

  Forever yours,

  Jonas Saul

  Good reviews are important to a novel’s success. If you enjoyed The Antagonist, please leave a review wherever you purchased the book.

  Sincerely,

  About Jonas Saul

  Jonas Saul is the author of the Sarah Roberts Series and The Mafia Trilogy. Visit his Amazon page for a complete listing of his books.

  Visit his website, www.jonassaul.com for upcoming release dates, and to sign up for the newsletter. Jonas lives in Washington, USA.

  Contact Jonas Saul

  Website: http://www.jonassaul.com

  Twitter: @jonassaul

  Email: [email protected]

  Or send mail to Jonas Saul ℅ Imagine Press Inc.:

  American Address:

  900 Front Street, Suite C #137

  Leavenworth, Washington

  98826

  United States

  Canadian Address:

  101 - 1865 Dilworth Drive

  Suite 366

  Kelowna, B.C.

  V1Y 9T1

  Canada

  Jonas Saul Titles

  The Sarah Roberts Series

  1. Dark Visions

  2. The Warning

  3. The Crypt

  4. The Hostage (*Featuring Drake Bellamy from The Threat)

  5. The Victim (*Featuring Aaron Stevens from The Specter)

  6. The Enigma

  7. The Vigilante (*Featuring Aaron Stevens from The Specter)

  8. The Rogue (*Featuring Darwin and Rosina Kostas from The Mafia Trilogy)

  9. Killing Sarah

  10. The Antagonist

  11. The Redeemed

  12. The Haunted

  13. The Unlucky (Coming Soon)

  14. The Lost (Coming Soon)

  The Mafia Trilogy (Starring Darwin and Rosina Kostas)

  1. The Kill

  2. The Blade

  3. The Scythe

  Standalone Novels

  1. The Threat (Starring Drake Bellamy)

  2. The Specter (Starring Aaron Stevens)

  3. A Murder in Time (Starring Marcus Johnson)

  Compilations

  1. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 1-3

  2. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 4-6

  3. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 7-9

  4. Sarah Roberts Series Vol. 10-12

  5. The Mafia Trilogy

  6. The Jonas Saul Thriller Trilogy (The Threat, The Specter, A Murder in Time)

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Imagine Press Inc.

  ISBN: 978-1-927404-34-8

  The Antagonist

  Copyright © 2014 by Jonas Saul

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Beginning

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

&
nbsp; Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

 

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