Saving Sam

by Lynnette Beers

  “Sure, might as well make this as fun as possible. You know...ya keep dragging me to the gym, and I’ll have my girlish figure back in no time. I’ve moved down a full belt hole since I’ve been staying with you.” Annie tightened her belt then secured the gun holster on her hip. She zipped up her jacket—the thick, waterproof material bulky. The Schwinn wobbled as she balanced on the small bike while she pedaled up the driveway and to the dirt road.

  Sam quickly caught up to Annie and breezed along the road for a couple minutes. Soon, they cruised down the main street for several minutes until Sam waved an arm and motioned for Annie to cut across the bridge and ride along a dirt path on the other side of the Okatoma.

  Sam grinned and hollered to Annie nearby, “Now this is mountain biking.” With the cool air on her face, she felt invigorated on Robert’s old Raleigh ten-speed, thrilled to feel her muscles working again. When she glanced at Annie riding right behind her, she was surprised but relieved to see her keeping up with her. Pleased to see that Annie was barely out of breath, Sam felt happy that the two of them were out biking together.

  “Never thought I’d be riding your childhood bike down a dirt road,” Annie yelled at Sam who pedaled a couple yards in front of her.

  “Well, and I never thought you’d be crashing on my couch for so many nights,” Sam said over her shoulder and slowed her pace.

  “You know me, here to protect and serve.”

  “You still think it’s necessary to guard me? I mean, I enjoy the company but—”

  “What? Am I’m getting on your nerves?”

  “Not at all, but...I just don’t think it’s necessary, you know?” Sam grimaced and waited for Annie’s response. Although she did enjoy Annie’s company, she didn’t necessarily want that to continue for too much longer. She’d barely had a moment to herself in weeks.

  Annie didn’t answer right away. She rode next to Sam for a couple minutes then finally responded. “I had the same thought last week. Patterson isn’t after you. It’s clear he was only out to harm Robert for killing Chuck.”

  Sam thought carefully of what she should say in response, realizing that this would be the perfect time to convince Annie that it was unnecessary to have her staying with her every night. “Then why have you been staying with me for the past month? You still think I need to be protected?”

  “From a law enforcement perspective, no, but...from a personal perspective, yes.”

  Confused at that answer, Sam again felt perturbed that Annie was under foot almost all the time. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Can I help it if I want to make sure you’re fine, that you’re coping okay? Besides, where else am I gonna get fresh baked pie a few nights a week?”

  “Annie, I’m fine. What happened years ago is in the past. Really, I’m okay. I don’t need you babysitting me every night of the week.” Bugged that Annie was so unrelenting, Sam longed for some time to herself.

  “There you go with the age thing again.” Annie laughed and sped past Sam.

  When they reached a wider part of the trail, Sam pedaled hard to try and catch up to Annie, but she was surprised she couldn’t quite reach her. “Annie, be serious!” Sam yelled and pumped her legs until she was a bit closer “Hey, hold up. Look, it’s been nice having you around, but...I’m not so sure it’s right, you know? Shouldn’t you sort things out with Marsha? I mean, at home and face things head on.”

  Annie slowed down so that she was biking right next to Sam. “Sam, she and I are done. It’s over.”

  “Then why are you two still living together? Well, when you actually do sleep in your own house. Why not get your own place? Or maybe stay with your parents for now?” When she stared at Annie and waited for a response, Sam noticed that Annie wouldn’t look at her. Familiar with that look, Sam knew Annie wasn’t being totally honest with her. For a flash second, Sam wondered if maybe Annie was hoping they’d get back together. Although they had such a loving and passionate relationship in the past, Sam knew it was just that—in the past. Plus she knew Annie hadn’t fully untangled herself from Marsha.

  “It’s just a matter of convenience, I guess,” Annie said quietly and kept her eyes on the trail.

  “Maybe it’s time you figured things out once and for all. I don’t want to be a factor in your uncertainty about anything.” Sam focused her eyes on the rocky path below the front wheel of her bike. She gripped the handlebars as the tires bounced over loose rocks and sludge.

  Annie became quiet as she huffed and lingered a few feet behind. The trail became more uneven as Sam rode for a few minutes over rough gravel. She glanced at the river next to her and then stood up to pedal when she reached a slight incline. The sky greyed; a light mist dampened her exposed face. Several feet behind, Annie leaned into the handlebars and rocked her body forward with each pump of the pedals.

  Eventually, they biked along an untended path in the woods—the thick canopy of trees providing shelter from the drizzle. The chilly air stung Sam’s face as she rode along the dusty track and glanced back at Annie who pedaled far behind. When she approached the end of the woodsy area, Sam braked to allow Annie to catch up. She placed both feet to the sides of her bike and checked her phone to find a couple texts from Kim. Her messages lately seemed more like texts from a trail buddy—the words totally void of suggestive innuendos. But what could Sam expect being so many miles away for so long now? She was the one who suggested Kim date others and not put her life on hold since Sam had decided to stay in Covington County until Robert was settled in a care facility.

  “How’d we end up here?” Annie asked, out of breath once she finally caught up to Sam.

  “We’re not far from home,” Sam said and waved her arm toward the water. “See? There’s your squad car in the driveway.”

  “You mean to tell me we rode forty-five minutes to get only a few yards from your mom’s house? Can we just wade through the creek to go home the short way?”

  “The water’s deeper than it looks, especially this time of year. Plus, it’s freezing right now. We’ll have to ride back the same way we came. Imagine how great you’ll sleep tonight after a 90-minute ride.”

  “Are there any bathrooms on the trail?” Annie asked and glanced around her.

  “Yeah, right here,” Sam said and waved an arm toward the woodsy area.

  “Real funny.” Annie paced a few feet beyond their bikes and grimaced then peered across the creek. “Seriously, that coffee’s gone right through me.”

  “Whose idea was it to make lattes this morning right before we hit the trail?”

  “My idea of a workout is a bathroom and sauna a few feet from the exercise equipment.”

  Sam felt herself getting more and more irked at Annie’s complaints. “Well, we can either hoof it back to Mama’s house, or you go in the woods.”

  “I’m not about to pee out in nature.”

  Sam pursed her lips and shook her head. Kim would never whine like this out on a trail ride. “Can’t you hold it for forty-five minutes? Thirty if we sprint back home.”

  Annie glanced back at the woodsy trail then at a dilapidated house nearby. “Maybe I can ask the owner of that house to let me use their toilet.”

  “You’re out of luck. That house is abandoned. That’s Miss Patterson’s place. You’d have better luck peeing in the woods.”

  “Oh, right, I stopped here with the officers when we were trying to locate Virginia Patterson. Well, I think I’ll knock anyway. There’s always a chance she sold it.” Annie stomped through the overgrown weeds toward the shabby dwelling.

  Sam shook her head and reread the texts from Kim. She leaned against the handlebars of the ten-speed and viewed nothing but platonic messages. Even though they’d settled into a reasonable friendship, Sam braced herself for any details about whoever Kim was dating.

  She paced along the trail while she waited for Annie to come back. She supposed the home was still owned by Miss Patterson, but now that she was frail and senile in
a nursing home, she’d never dwell in this house again. Annie was likely out of luck in finding anyone to let her in.

  Sam couldn’t see the front door from where she stood, and when Annie didn’t come back after a few minutes, she grew impatient. She traipsed across the unkempt yard to see why Annie wasn’t back yet and froze the moment she could see the front porch.

  Two people were locked in a struggle in front of the door. The taller of the two, a man, was grappling with Annie, trying to get hold of her gun. He had one arm wrapped firmly around her throat and the other near the weapon’s grip.

  Sam froze when the man’s gaze turned toward her. She’d recognize those piercing eyes anywhere. Johnny held Annie against his chest, his free hand now holding her gun—the muzzle pressed firmly against her temple. Sam started to take a step forward.

  “Babe, don’t—” Annie stopped when Johnny shoved the weapon against her head so hard she winced in pain.

  “Babe?” Johnny looked at Sam. “Is this someone special to you? What are you gonna do, babe?”

  Sam trembled and glared at Johnny. A wave of dizziness washed over her as she stared at the man she’d feared all these years. Every muscle in her body remained paralyzed.

  “Sam, leave,” Annie managed to say. “Get out of here.”

  “Annie, I’m not leaving you here with him.” Sam took a couple steps back, and then she saw it: a rifle lay on the ground near the porch steps. She was only a few feet away from it. Without hesitation, she reached for it and held it in front of her body. Familiar with some of her father’s weapons, Sam figured they were the same: point and shoot. She set a finger on the trigger and hoped for at least one bullet. One shot was all she needed to end this man’s life. She gripped both hands around the rifle and kept her eyes on her target.

  “Let her go!” Sam clenched her fingers over the width of the rifle. As she tried to steady her shaking body, she glimpsed at the barrel of the firearm and realized it was a hunting rifle—most likely the same weapon Miss Patterson used to kill Fred.

  “You think that thing’s loaded?” Johnny asked, his voice tinged with anger. “My aunt never kept bullets in that thing. Must be my lucky day, huh?”

  “Sam, get out of here,” Annie said and gritted her teeth.

  “No, I’m not leaving,” Sam said quietly and shook as she saw the woman she’d once loved so deeply surrender to this evil man.

  “How’s your brother doing?” Johnny said and chuckled. “I stopped by to see him weeks ago. Got in the ICU late one night by telling them I was his cousin. Them nurses are so gullible. They’ll let anyone into that hospital, anyone who seems to give a flying fuck about the condition of their cousin on life support. Looks like I did a pretty good job making him nothing but a vegetable. Serves him right for what he did to my brother.” Johnny laughed, and his arm loosened a little from around Annie’s neck.

  Annie took advantage of the move and rammed her left elbow into his gut. He stumbled back, gasping for breath, at the same time releasing his hold on her. Annie cold-cocked him with a right hook. Johnny fell to the floor, dropping the gun. Annie flipped him onto his stomach and kept her knee on the small of his back, pinning him to the ground.

  It all happened so fast that Sam simply stood there gripping the bullet-less rifle. Then she rushed toward Annie.

  “Sam, don’t come any closer. Call 9-1-1,” Annie said.

  Sam reached into her pocket for her phone and called 9-1-1, stammering out a few panicked words. But then she watched in horror as Johnny shoved his body upward, dislodging Annie. He reversed their positions and used his weight to hold her down while he pounded his fist into her face. With Annie down, he got to his feet and fumbled for the gun.

  A surge of nausea traveled into the pit of Sam’s stomach, and her knees gave way. Annie remained supine on the porch—bloodied. Sam cowered as Johnny towered over Annie with the handgun pressed against her head.

  Johnny grabbed Annie by her hair and forced her to stand. He pulled her off the porch and stepped close enough to Sam that she could smell his unwashed body. Annie’s face was bloody, but her eyes shone with anger and fear. He shoved Annie to her knees and backed up a step, far enough that Annie couldn’t reach for him. He leveled the pistol at her head.

  Sam still had the rifle aimed at him, but Johnny laughed. “Weapon ain’t no good without bullets. Good thing I’ve got them.” He tapped the pocket of his shirt. “So pointing that thing ain’t gonna save her. Say goodbye to babe.”

  Sam had no time to think. She grabbed the long barrel of the rifle and with a strength she didn’t know she had, used it like a baseball bat and slammed the butt into Johnny’s face.

  “You took my brother away from me, but you’re not about to take her away, too!” Sam screamed and hit him again, hearing the wood of the rifle butt crack with the blow. She hovered over Johnny’s shaking form, barely registering that he no longer held the pistol in his hand. “Maybe it’s about time you joined your brothers,” Sam said and swung the rifle back for another blow.

  But it never hit her intended target. Instead, Sam turned to find Annie’s gentle gaze on her, her hand holding the rifle back. “Sam, stop. I’ll take care of this.”

  Annie was now in possession of her service weapon again. It was aimed at Johnny, who wasn’t making any attempts to get back up.

  “Shoot him!” Sam said. “End his life right now. If you don’t, I will.” Her body shook with rage and fear.

  “Sam, step away from him,” Annie said quietly as she tried to pull the rifle from Sam’s strong grip. “Trust me, he’ll pay for what he’s done. I won’t let you murder him.”

  Johnny closed his eyes and slumped forward. “You fucking cunt. I should’ve taken care of you years ago. Never should’ve left the scene without having my way with—”

  Annie shoved him onto his stomach again, her knee in his back and the gun pressed against his head. “Patterson, you’re done! You’re lucky your aunt didn’t shoot you years ago, lucky she didn’t end your life once and for all like she did to Fred. She would’ve done the same to Chuck had Robert not taken care of him. Y’all are nothing but scum.”

  “My aunt? Never thought she had it in her to shoot anyone, much less my little brother.” Johnny’s eyes widened as he tried to look up at Annie. “Got nothing to be afraid of at this point. Been waiting for y’all to find me. I’ve been watching you two across the river for a couple days now.”

  “It’d be so easy to end this right now, but I’m not gonna make this easy on you. You’ve gotta face the consequences in front of a judge. By the time you’re behind bars, you’ll wish I had killed you,” Annie said. “Ginnie shot Fred right through the heart. You ever wonder what he felt when that bullet hit him?”

  “When I was a kid,” Johnny said, his voice raspy, “I always looked up to my older brother. Always wanted to end up like Chuck...till he done what he did to Aunt Ginnie. The first time he hurt a girl, I was only thirteen. Saw him tie the girl up and have his way with her. He told me if I ever told anyone, he’d say I was the one who participated in beating the girl nearly to death. Once I got older, I learned the way you got a woman was to use force. But Fred...he always was a little soft around the edges. Never did lay a hand on Aunt Ginnie, never actually touched a woman in that way.”

  “But he thought it was okay to go after a little girl,” Annie said, her jaw rigid as she glanced at Sam. “He had no right to do what he did.”

  “Fred wouldn’t have done what he did had we not urged him on,” Johnny said quietly. “To this day I regret what me and Chuck said to Fred to get him to...do what he did. Didn’t think he had it in him to even know how to remove the panties from a girl.”

  “He ripped my underwear off!” Sam said, her body shaking.

  “She was eight,” Annie said.

  “And you stood there cheering him on,” Sam said.

  “Wasn’t right what I done to you, but your brother killed Chuck. Not right that he did what he did to my brot
her. Had to finally come after Robert after all these years. An eye for an eye. Isn’t that what the bible says?”

  “Don’t go quoting the bible,” Annie said. “You had no right to go after Robert. He was only protecting his sister.”

  “I never once set a hand on a child before that day. Might’ve done some bad things to women, but...never to a little girl like I done to you.” By now, Johnny’s eyes were filled with tears as his body shook.

  Sam relaxed her grip around the barrel of the rifle. She stared into Johnny’s eyes—the same eyes that peered down at her twenty-four years ago as she lay helpless on the ground.

  “Probably would’ve been best if all three of us had been killed that day. Would’ve stopped me once and for all. The drinking, the robberies, the assaults...what I almost did to a girl like you. Go ahead, shoot me. As God is my witness, I face my punishment.”

  Sam saw Annie’s finger quivering near the trigger. In a matter of seconds, this could all be behind them. Johnny could be obliterated with just one shot. But Sam knew that one bullet wouldn’t erase what happened. She threw the rifle a few yards away from where they stood and said, “Trust me, God knows what you’ve done. At this point, a bullet’s not gonna save you. You’ve gotta face the consequences.”

  “Jonathan Patterson, you’re under arrest,” Sam heard faintly.

  While Annie read Johnny his rights, Sam felt her body finally relaxing. The rage she felt earlier melted into a measured confidence. Here before her sat a coward—someone lacking power over her.

  “Yes, that’s what I said,” Sam heard Annie speaking. “It’s Lieutenant Wright. I’ve arrested a suspect. His name is Jonathan Patterson. He’s accused of attempted murder. Send backup immediately.” Annie ended the call then glanced at Sam for a flash few seconds, her face relaxing into a smile.

  Sam locked her eyes with Annie’s and took a couple steps back. She slumped onto the porch steps, her body still trembling. It was hard to know how long she sat there before she heard sirens in the distance. Soon, flashing lights strobed the entire property, and officers flooded into the yard. Annie directed an officer to Johnny, and he was immediately cuffed and removed.