Atrocity

by C. M. Sutter

  “You have to get around them and slow them down, it’s the only way. This car has a V8 engine. It’s much larger than the Accord’s. I know you can pass them.”

  “Right now, I don’t need car facts, Amber.”

  “Then get up on his driver’s-side bumper and do a pit maneuver. He won’t know what hit him. We need to get Kate out of that vehicle.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably the best idea. I hope she’s prepared.”

  “She is, boss. We were taught by the best. Now is the time. He’s slowing for that next curve.”

  Jack stepped on the gas and pulled alongside Nick’s left back bumper. He cranked the steering wheel to the right and hit the rear quarter panel. The car wobbled then corrected itself.

  “Hit him again and harder! Don’t think about Kate. She can handle this.”

  Jack charged ahead and jerked the wheel to his right again. He slammed into Nick’s left bumper even harder, causing the vehicle to do a one eighty. The Accord hit the ditch, and gravel shot skyward like bullets. Jack pushed the nose of our cruiser against Nick’s door. He had no escape.

  “Go, go, go!” Jack yelled as we jumped out of our car with guns drawn. “Nick Connor, roll down your window and show us your hands. Do it now!”

  “I’ve got your detective, and I’m not giving up that easily. She has to be worth something to you. One wrong move on your part and she gets the ice pick to the temple.”

  “Jack, I don’t have a shot, and he has tinted windows. For all we know, Kate could be behind the wheel.”

  “The chance of him having anything in his hand is slim. The way that car spun probably caused everything to go flying.” Jack called out to Kate. “Kate, are you okay?”

  We heard a verbal exchange coming from inside the car. One voice was definitely female—at least we knew Kate was coherent. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “I’m okay!”

  The passenger door swung open, but we couldn’t make out what was going on from our viewpoint. We rushed to that side of the car, where Nick already had Kate pressed against his torso like a body shield. He held her gun to her head.

  “Let her go, Nick. You have no chance of getting away,” Jack yelled.

  “Come any closer and I’ll take her head clean off.” Nick began backing into the woods, still holding Kate in front of him.

  “Nick, this isn’t who you are. Carolyn needs you. Natalie and her family need you. Finn wants to know his grandpa.”

  “Shut up, Amber. They won’t bring their kids to see me in prison. I have nothing to lose.”

  “You’re wrong, you have your entire family to lose. Give yourself up.”

  Nick continued backing into the woods. We were losing all sight of them as he pulled Kate deeper into the brush.

  Jack yelled out. “Kate, think about your hostage situation training. Do whatever you deem necessary.”

  We continued moving forward blindly. Twigs snapped to our left, and we readjusted our course. A scuffle sounded to our right, and we spun in that direction. An ear-piercing explosion of gunfire echoed and filled the air with the distinct scent of sulphur.

  “Kate!” I screamed out and tried to run, but Jack grabbed my arm and held me in place.

  Jack whispered. “Amber, keep still and stay low. We don’t know their exact location. It could be a ruse Nick is using to draw us in. For all we know, he could have shot into the air.” Jack yelled out, “Say something, Kate. We need your location.”

  The woods remained silent. I jerked away from Jack’s grip, determined to find my best friend. Then sounds came from the one o’clock position. Jack pushed me to the ground and held his finger to his mouth.

  “Shh…”

  We crouched with our guns ready and waited.

  Chapter 55

  I held my breath as I listened to twigs breaking and brush rustling. Finally, the sweetest voice I had ever heard spoke up. “I’m okay, but I need your help.”

  I stood, let out a breath of pure anxiety, and tripped over limbs as I ran toward Kate’s voice. Jack was right behind me. I grabbed the silhouette standing in front of us and squeezed.

  “My God, Kate, I thought he shot you.”

  She let out what sounded like a frazzled sigh. “He almost did. Nick fell backward over a limb, and the gun went off. Thank God the bullet missed me. That gave me just enough time to pull out the ice pick I had jammed in my back pocket and bury it in his shoulder. Luckily I found my pistol before he did.” She stood over the moaning man and pointed the gun at his midsection.

  Jack holstered his weapon and hugged Kate. “How did you end up with the ice pick?”

  “I have no idea, but somehow it flew into my lap when the car spun. I grabbed it and stuck it in my pocket when he pushed me out the passenger side.”

  Jack nodded. “Good work, Detective. Let’s get him handcuffed and out of these woods. I want him in the cruiser where he can’t escape. Amber, make a call to Minocqua PD. They’re probably a lot closer to us than the deputies are.”

  “Roger that.” Kate and Jack escorted Nick to the cruiser, and I called the Minocqua Police Department. I asked Dispatch to put me through to Mike Shepherd. I knew things would get done if he was involved. Jack shoved Nick into the backseat and slammed the door behind him.

  I stood at the front of the car and looked it over. “Do you think it’s capable of getting us back to North Bend?”

  Jack rounded the cruiser and checked the front right bumper. “Yeah, the quarter panel is crunched, but the wheel well isn’t pushed in. We should be good.”

  “How are we going to transport Brian and Nick back to Washburn County?” Kate asked.

  Jack pulled out his phone to check the time. “Damn, it’s nearly daybreak. Amber, contact Jamison and have somebody from Patrol drive the jail van up here. Tell them we’ll be waiting for them at the Minocqua Police Department.”

  I made the call and updated Jamison. Seconds later, a squad car from the Minocqua PD pulled up. A single officer stepped out of the vehicle and approached us. He extended his hand and shook Jack’s.

  “I’m Officer Mike Shepherd, sir, and I’m happy to oblige. What can I do to help?”

  Jack chuckled. “You and your team have done quite a bit, Mike. We need to transfer this man to the hospital for now. I want my detective checked out too. We’ll follow you if you’d like to lead the way. I have a transport van heading north, but it’s going to take a while to arrive.”

  “Understood. We’ll hit the hospital first and our precinct after that.”

  “Sounds good. One of my detectives will have to ride with you.”

  “I’ll go with him, boss. You and Kate need to talk, anyway.” I climbed into the passenger seat of Officer Shepherd’s car and fastened my seat belt.

  “Crazy night, huh, Detective?”

  I sighed. “You can say that again. Do you mind if I make a call?”

  “Nope, go right ahead. We have about a ten-minute drive to the hospital.”

  I gave him a nod and dialed Jade. “Hey, Sis, I didn’t want you to worry. We’re all fine.” I held the phone away from my ear as she yelled at me. Officer Shepherd gave me an eyebrow raise and smiled. I shrugged. “I know, I have a lot of explaining to do, but can it wait until later? We’re going to be busy for a few hours. Uh-huh, that pretty much puts the nail in Nick’s coffin, so to speak. He and Brian are both in custody, and we have his ice pick too. Yeah, that is creepy but good evidence. Okay, I have to go. I love you, and I’ll tell you everything tonight.” I clicked off the call and pocketed my phone.

  “Older sister?”

  “Yeah and she worries a lot, but in her defense, she’s seen everything.”

  “Really, how so?”

  I smiled. “She used to be a sergeant at our sheriff’s office, but now she works in the Serial Crimes Unit at the FBI.”

  Mike whistled. “I wouldn’t want to mess with you two.” He pulled into the parking lot of the medical center. “Here we are.
This is where we transported Mrs. Cox earlier. I’m sure a doctor will go over her prognosis with all of you soon. What’s wrong with her?”

  “Would you believe she was given a lobotomy just for fun? We think her husband wanted to turn her into a submissive wife.” I shook my head to try to get that evil out of my mind.

  “Holy cow, I guess there are more perverted acts committed on innocent people than I ever imagined.”

  “Yeah, and we’ve seen plenty.”

  Jack, Kate, and I walked with Mike into the emergency entrance of the hospital. Most hospitals had protocols on how to handle criminals, and the medical center was no exception. They whisked Nick away to an exam room, cuffed to their own special gurney. The attending doctor said he’d be back with his report as soon as Nick was examined.

  “I’d like somebody to check out my detective too.”

  “I’m fine, boss.”

  With a stern look from Jack, Kate went with the orderly to an exam room of her own.

  Jack left to get information on Trish while I waited with Mike Shepherd. We sat in two chairs in the waiting room. “Did Brian say anything during his transport to the jail?”

  “Yeah, he was yammering about being misunderstood and how people should appreciate what he and Nick were trying to do.”

  “Really? What an idiot. He should know better than to spill his guts to an officer of the law.”

  Mike smirked. “He didn’t seem that bright. He went on to say how women were put on the earth to serve men and that they were righting the wrong one woman at a time.”

  “Wow, I can’t believe their atrocities.”

  “I’m sure justice will be served. I hope it will be swift and harsh, Detective Monroe.”

  I smiled. “So do I, and you can call me Amber.”

  Jack returned minutes later and took a seat next to us. He tipped his head toward the hallway where the emergency exam rooms were located. “Is Kate still in there?”

  “Yep. Did you locate Trish Cox?”

  Jack nodded. “The doctors have already done an MRI and are ordering a PET scan. Her family has been contacted, and they’re en route as we speak.”

  “Did they have a prognosis?” I was hopeful for a good outcome.

  “It’s too early to say. The PET scan will tell them more. Maybe with plenty of therapy, she’ll recover.”

  A doctor wearing a white lab coat approached us. “We’ve stitched up the prisoner. He’ll be sore for a while, but he’ll make a full recovery.”

  “That’s too bad,” I said. “He deserves far worse.”

  The doctor smiled. “We’re almost done with your detective’s exam. Other than being scuffed up, she looks perfectly fine. She should be out in ten minutes or so.”

  “Thank God and good police work,” I said. “As soon as our transport van comes, we can get those dirtballs out of your beautiful county.”

  Mike chuckled. “We get our share of crime, but it’s mostly people fishing without a license.”

  Jack stood and let out a puff of air. “I’ll be back soon. I have to make that unavoidable call to Carolyn Connor.”

  Chapter 56

  I checked the time—7:18. It was Saturday night, we were back in North Bend, and our gang sat at our kitchen table after dinner and discussed the last six days.

  Jade informed the rest of the group that Spelling had called last night with the coroner’s findings. All three murder victims in the St. Paul case, as well as Candy Dennis, had traces of alcohol in their brain tissue.

  “Alcohol is used during lobotomies,” she said.

  Jack nodded. “Another thing to add to the list of evidence against Nick. Brian and Mark will be charged harshly too. I can’t explain their behavior, only that they are the true definition of misogynists, and the three of them together created the perfect storm.”

  Kate huffed. “I’m sure Nick will sit in prison for a good amount of time. Then there’s Brian and Mark. They won’t have to concern themselves with women’s roles in life ever again. With any luck, they can be the new bitches in prison for other inmates. That would be true justice.”

  Jade shook her head and laughed.

  “What? I’m only saying what the rest of you are thinking. And as far as Carolyn goes, she said she’s filing for divorce and will live the rest of her life enjoying friends and family here in Wisconsin. I’m really happy for her.”

  I let out a sigh. “I don’t get why he used the name Cole instead of Nick.”

  Kate continued. “Carolyn said she figured it was just a shortened form of Nicolaus. He went by Nick or Cole, and apparently he used both depending on what he was up to. That could be why the plat book showed C.C.—possibly Cole Connor.”

  I tapped the table while I listened.

  “Got something on your mind, Detective?” Jack gave me a glance, his lip curled upward to form a grin.

  “Yeah, I was wondering how it would feel to have an uneventful week.”

  He chuckled. “You’d be bored out of your skull. Look how much you cry when you have to file paperwork.”

  Kate was about to speak up when Jack jerked his head toward her. “That goes for you too, Pierce. You’re no better.”

  Clayton and Billings laughed. “I’m jealous that we missed all the action,” Billings said.

  Kate gave him a scowl. “Yeah, thanks, buddy. I’ll remember that when you have a gun and an ice pick pointed at your head.”

  Jade stood and went to the refrigerator. “Speaking of that, how about some dessert, Kate? We have ice cream, iced tea, iced coffee, shaved ice, ice pops, and um…”

  Kate laughed. “You’re going straight to hell, Jade. I’ll pass on everything with the word ice in it for a while, but I’ll gladly take a piece of apple pie.”

  “Okay, and how about the rest of you?” Jade gave me a wink.

  “Apple pie sound great,” I said, “but I’ll take mine à la mode.”

  THE END

  Thank you!

  Thanks for reading Atrocity, the fourth book in the Amber Monroe Crime Thriller Series. I hope you enjoyed it!

  Start at the beginning of the Monroe sisters’ saga by reading the Detective Jade Monroe Crime Thriller Series. This is where it all began, and Book 1, Maniacal, the flagship book, introduces the newly promoted Sergeant Jade Monroe, a detective in the sheriff's department of a fictitious Wisconsin town. Jade has more crimes to solve and murderers to apprehend than most detectives, but she's a tough cop, determined to prove herself, and gets the job done. The books are listed in order below:

  Maniacal

  Captive

  Fallacy

  Premonition

  Exposed

  The Agent Jade Monroe FBI Thriller Series follows on the heels of Exposed, Book 5 in the Detective Jade Monroe Crime Thriller Series. Jade has advanced to the big leagues. She’s now an FBI agent in the serial crimes unit. She has more ground to cover and more criminals to apprehend with her new partner, J.T. Harper. Currently available books are listed in order below:

  Snapped

  Justified

  Donors

  Leverage

  Malice

  The Amber Monroe Crime Thriller Series follows on the heels of Malice, Book 5 in the Agent Jade Monroe FBI Thriller Series. This series focuses on Jade’s sister, Amber, a new recruit in the Washburn County Sheriff’s Office. She has big shoes to fill, and all eyes are on her. Currently available books are listed in order below:

  Greed

  Avenged

  Vendetta

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