by C. E. Nelson
The Little boy was standing now. An easy shot. Felder stopped and raised her weapon.
Felder went down face first on the paving stone patio, her head hitting the surface, the gun flying from her hand. Grace raced to her, gun leading, and quickly picked up Felder’s gun, stuffing it in his belt, along with his own. The woman was bleeding from her shoulder and seemed unconscious. He called for a paramedic and backup and then knelt, applying pressure to the wound.
Michael was hugging his mother, dwarfing her, the woman crying. To the right, Grace could see Austin sitting. He called for another ambulance and then shouted to Cheryl Little. “Mrs. Little. Please stay there until the ambulance crews arrive.” She looked at Grace, nodded, and then took Michael by the hand, leading him to where Austin sat.
Chapter 53
Dave and Melanie followed the ambulance with Don to Methodist hospital. Don was whisked to the ER, still unconscious. They both sat. Heavy sighs.
“Will he be OK, Dave?”
“He’s never been OK before. Why should he be any different now?” Dave looked at Jenkins to see tears running down her cheeks. Hugged her around the shoulder. “Sorry. He’ll be fine. This will be a minor annoyance compared to the last time.”
The last time had been a severe head injury resulting in fluid on the brain and an induced coma. They both remembered.
He handed her a tissue from the table next to him. She wiped her cheeks.
“You mean there’s going to be more?” She tried to smile and then started to cry again.
Dave held her for a while longer, got uncomfortable with it, and removed his arm. When she had quieted, he stood. “I need to find out about Daniel.”
He walked across the room and called the Minnetonka police again. Was given a number to call.
“Palm.”
“Dave Trask. Did you get him?”
“Yeah. He made it to the freeway, went south. Got him just north of Crosstown. Yelling he was innocent and crying for a lawyer.”
“I take it he is locked up this time.”
“Yeah.” Trask was silent. “Um, how’s your brother doing?”
“In the ER now. Don’t know yet.”
“He’ll be OK. I got the feeling he’s a pretty tough dude.”
“No doubt. Thanks.”
Two officers came running down the hill between Felder’s house and her neighbor, saw Cheryl Little and the two boys, and ran that way.
“Over here,” shouted Grace.
The men stopped and then hurried to where Grace was leaning over Felder.
“She’s been shot. One of you keep pressure on the wound. I need to go see about them.”
Grace stood, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm, and walked toward the Littles and the Newman boy. As he reached the fence that had tripped Michael, he saw the paramedics coming down the hill, and pointed them to Felder. Grace reached the trio, Cheryl Little kneeling in front of Austin, Michael standing watch. Grace eyed the knife in Michael’s hand, its blade bloody. Knelt next to Cheryl Little.
“Austin, I’m Detective Grace. How are you doing?”
“I’m hungry.”
Grace reached out and tapped the boy on the knee. “Not to worry. We’ll get you something to eat real soon.”
Grace stood now, looking at Michael, noticing the dinosaur in his other hand. “Hi Michael. Are you all right?”
“Hungry.”
Grace smiled. “I’m hungry too. I think we all need something to eat. Why don’t you put the knife on the ground, and your mom can take you home to get something to eat? Would that be OK?”
Michael looked at the knife, seeming to be thinking about whether he wanted to give it up. Cheryl Little stood.
“Michael. Please do what the detective asked. Put the knife on the ground.”
Michael lifted the knife in front of his face, staring at the blade. Grace tensed and backed away half a step, feeling for his weapon.
“Michael. Put the knife down now!” said his mother in a stern voice.
Michael looked at her, let his arm fall to the side, and then dropped the knife on the ground. Cheryl stepped up to her son and turned him toward their house. Started walking in that direction, hand on Michael’s elbow.
“Mrs. Little?”
She stopped and turned to Grace.
“Please don’t go anywhere but to your house. Wait there, and I should be along shortly.”
“All right.”
“And I know it’s tempting, but do not clean your son in any way. Not even his hands. He needs to be examined.”
She looked at Grace with lost and tired eyes for a moment before turning and continuing across the yards. Grace watched them go and then went back to the boy, kneeling beside him again.
“Austin. Can you tell me what happened?”
By the afternoon Don Trask was resting comfortably and out of danger. He had been sedated, the doctor not sure when he would wake. Dave waited with Jenkins in Don’s room, got restless, told her he wanted to see if there was anything new with Daniel. She said she would wait with Don and call Dave when Don woke.
Dave walked into the Minnetonka police department, asked to see Detective Palm, and was asked to wait. Palm walked into the waiting area a few minutes later, looking like he had been camping out in his clothes and not getting any sleep for several days.
“Sheriff.”
Dave stood. “You look a little tired.”
“Maybe you should be a detective.” Palm looked at Trask. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
Dave gave him a tired smile.
“Come on back.”
Dave followed Palm through a maze of cubicles to a small office, Palm sitting behind his desk, motioning Dave to one of the two chairs in front.
“You come from the hospital?”
“Yeah.”
“How’s your brother?”
“He’s still out, but he’ll be OK.”
“Good.” Palm took a sip of coffee from a black ceramic mug. “You want some coffee?”
“No thanks.”
“You could have saved yourself a trip. I was heading down there.”
“To see Don?”
“I’ll need to talk to him eventually, but, no.” Palm took another sip. “It was one crazy shit morning.”
Palm relayed what had happened on Creekside Drive. Trevor Cousins dead, Blake Cousins stabbed but stable, Mike Cousins arrested. Ginger Felder shot but expected to live, both Michael Little and Austin Newman found safe.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, and that doesn’t include the child porn bust of John Volk. I’ve got more crime scenes to go over and witnesses to interview than is probably humanly possible.”
“And Daniel?”
“He’s not going anywhere, but we need to charge him. Just not sure what. The DA can decide I guess.”
“But he’ll get bail?”
“No doubt.” Palm leaned back. “Listen, I’ve had about an hour of sleep in the last two days, and it doesn’t look like I’m going to add to that total anytime soon, so, if that’s all…”
Trask stood. “Thanks for your time. And for helping Don.”
Palm stood and walked around his desk to Dave. “Um, in case anyone asks, you and the inspector went in the Daniel house after we arrived.”
Trask put out his hand. “Understood. Thanks again.”
Chapter 54
Four days later.
Don Trask walked into his office, bandage around his neck easily visible under his open-collared dress shirt. Larry Stoxon immediately stood.
“Sir! You’re back! I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”
“Yeah, well, I figured I’d see if I could catch you goofing off.”
“I never goof-off, sir.”
Trask looked at Stoxon, shook his head, winced at the pain, and walked into his inner office.
“How are you feeling, sir?”
“A little tired, but all right. Lost a few pounds but
I wouldn’t recommend the torture diet to anyone.”
“I’ll try to remember that, sir.”
Trask sat behind his desk, his assistant in front with his pad. Trask looked at a pile of phone messages.
“So, what’s new?”
“Nothing really. Those phone messages are for your information only. I have advised all of them that you would not be in for at least another week, possibly two. The files on your right are new cases. I have assigned those to the staff. The papers in front of you are copies for your reference only. They needed your signature so I signed them for you and took the needed action.”
“Well, it’s good to be needed.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
Trask leaned back in his chair. “I talked to Pike on the way in. He said you cleared me.”
“I may have had a small part in that.”
“Yeah, not from what I heard, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome, sir.”
Trask looked at Stoxon. Stoxon had crossed and re-crossed his legs several times. He was fidgety. “So, who set me up, Larry?”
“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know.” Stoxon went through what he had learned.
“We’re getting close. I’ll get the bastard if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Yes, sir.” Stoxon still seemed anxious.
“So, what else?”
Stoxon looked at his pad, not wanting to make eye contact. “Um, the superintendent would like to see you right away.”
Trask knew Stoxon was connected to the grapevine better than anyone he had ever known. “This isn’t good, is it?”
Stoxon’s eyes were filling. “I don’t think so, sir.”
Trask stood, said, “I better go see what the asshole wants,” and left Stoxon in his office, tears rolling down his cheeks.
One week later.
Dave Trask stood in the bow of his boat, working the trolling motor with his foot, guiding the boat through a large patch of reeds in a shallow bay. He cast a white spinnerbait with a curly-tail grub run up the shank of the hook. With his rod held high, he moved the bait through the reeds, keeping it just under the surface. His eyes were on the water behind the bait, watching for any trailing fish or the wake of a bigger fish about to attack.
“I feel a little sorry for Palm and Grace,” said Dave.
Don was in the back of his brother’s boat, throwing a Johnson silver minnow, also with a curly grub trailer.
“Yeah. It’s hard to imagine that much happening in that short a period of time in that limited an area. Everything just kind of blew up.”
“So, from what he passed on, apparently the Cousins kids were dealing drugs, the older one, Blake, killing his father. The Cousins kids take off. Blake sees Michael Little behind their house, thinking they can use him as a hostage. Michael stabbed him, may or may not have been intentional, and then took off. Michael tries to hide from the younger Cousins boy shooting at him and finds Austin Newman in the Felder house where she was holding him. Michael helped Austin to escape, took off with him. Grace sees Felder come out of her house after them, about to shoot them, and takes her down.”
“Unbelievable.”
“And I guess Felder admitted kidnapping Newman.”
“Yeah. I talked to Grace on the way up here. They found the bodies of three other kids in her freezer.”
“Oh God.” Dave released another cast. “He say anything else?”
“She had the kids in classes where she was a substitute teacher. She claims they needed to be disciplined.” Don lifted his bait from the water and stared at it as it spun on the end of his line. “He said they found a bracelet too. Libby Carlson’s bracelet.”
Dave finished his retrieve and looked at his brother. “So, it wasn’t Daniel?”
“No. It was never Daniel. They found child porn on his computer, but he didn’t kill her.”
“Let it go, brother. You did what you thought was right.”
“I went too far.”
Dave looked at Don until Don pulled his rod up and fired another cast. Dave did the same.
“Have you decided about the job?” asked Dave.
When Don had met with the superintendent, his boss had given him back his badge and weapon. He had also told Don that he would now be in charge of internal affairs for the BCA as well as his current position. Bob Lake had been fired. There would be no increase in salary.
“I don’t know. The IA guys are not going to be any happier about it than I am. May be time to move on.”
“Where?”
“Maybe I could run for County Sheriff somewhere. Seems to be a pretty easy job.”
“Whoa!” Dave leaned back, rod bent, as a fish came flying out of the water shaking its head. “Bonus smallmouth!”
Don had turned to see the fish jump when he felt his line being jerked away, instinctively pulling back. Another smallmouth broke the surface. “Double! Mine’s bigger!”
Thanks for reading PURGATORY CREEK. You can find links to my other books and a little about me at www.cenelsonbooks.com. If you’d like to join my mailing list just go to the Contact tab and put “Mailing List” in the subject line. (I will never share your email with anyone.) And if you enjoyed this book, please leave a brief review on Amazon. Just click on the link above to find the link to the book on Amazon, scroll down and click the “Write a customer review” button, and sign in to Amazon. Thanks!
C.E. Nelson