What Joshua had intended as a distraction for the killer ended up being a distraction for him. There was information here that they needed. Information that meant that taking Preston in alive had become even more of a priority. Joshua needed an opening now more than ever.
“If by improved, you mean dumbed down and turned into a made-for-Lifetime movie of the week, then yeah, I would have to agree with you.” Joshua braced, knowing what was coming next.
And sure enough, Preston didn’t disappoint. He reared back with his foot, connecting with Joshua’s left side with a savagery that left Joshua clinging to consciousness. But it also left Preston unstable. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Joshua rolled, catching Preston’s legs and sending him sprawling, almost sending him over the edge of the baler.
Joshua tried to push him over the edge, looking to get off of the deadly machine, but his body betrayed him. Pain shot through his side, crippling him.
Preston pulled himself out from under Joshua, rabbit punching him in the side, each blow a punctuation for his words. “You. Are. Old. Washed up.” He stood finally, pointing the gun at Joshua’s head. “And now you’re finished. Maybe I’ll just shoot you in the stomach so you’ll still feel it when you go through the baler.”
A shot rang out, but it wasn’t from Preston’s gun. A police cruiser had come up beside the tractor, its passenger-side window open. Agent Cooper was hanging out of it, pointing her weapon up at the baler.
A shoulder shot to this bastard would be really helpful right about now, but Joshua had to keep her from killing him. They might be moving slowly, but there was no way she could aim well enough in a moving vehicle at the best of times. And Joshua was pretty sure this wasn’t the best of times for her. Doing his best to ignore the pain it caused, he pushed himself up to a kneeling position, putting himself enough in the line of fire that he knew Coop would stop shooting. It seemed to work, as the firing stopped. The cruiser raced up ahead.
But now there was nothing to hold Preston back. He reigned blows down on Joshua, forcing him ever closer to the gaping hole in the top of the baler.
“You like my modifications, Joshua?” Preston panted. “I took off all of the safety features. Nothing to stand between you and the baler.” He kicked out at Joshua’s head, catching him just under the jaw. Joshua fell back, managing to twist away from the opening at the last moment. As he did so, he felt something pop inside of him, and new pain blossomed, a dark flower that spread through his torso.
And suddenly, the tractor stopped. Peering forward in the darkness, lit only by a half-moon, Joshua could see Coop at the wheel. She must have jumped from the car.
“No!” Preston screamed, leveling the gun at Agent Cooper.
There was nothing Joshua could do. He was too far away. But just as Preston went to squeeze the trigger, a blonde blur shot past, latching itself onto the killer’s ankle.
It was Bella.
Preston swore and lashed out with his foot, flinging the puppy away from him. He then turned the gun on her and fired.
Bella screamed once, an unnatural sound that shot through the air, bludgeoning Joshua, the sound a sledgehammer to his soul. Time shattered into tiny fragments, moving forward in increments of ever diminishing duration.
This man was the key to finding his family’s killer. This man had just shot Bella, who had risked her life to spare his and Coop’s.
It wasn’t even a decision any more. He scooted forward, ignoring the pain, and hooked a foot behind Preston’s knees, forcing them to buckle. Preston pitched forward toward Joshua.
Using all of his remaining strength, Joshua rolled to the side, grabbing Preston’s shirt and twisting him down toward the opening at the top of the baler. The torque from the movement pulled at Joshua’s ribs, and agony exploded outward, but he kept the pressure on.
Preston slid around sideways, his left leg catching in the mechanism. He screamed as his leg was shattered into a million pieces by the compression within.
“Please, help me!” he cried out, his voice hoarse with pain.
Joshua just watched.
The killer reached his hand out, trying to grab for something, anything. But there was nothing there. He’d gotten rid of all of that.
“Think about this,” he panted. “Without me, you can’t find the man who killed your family.”
Once more, that gave Joshua pause. He glanced to where Bella was huddled. Preston’s death wouldn’t bring her back. And it could bring closure to him and a lot of others. Maybe that was more important.
Preston’s body slipped down into the machine even farther, and blood spurted up and out of his mouth, spattering against the side of the baler.
Joshua moved toward the opening, grabbing the attendant’s hand. Pain shot through his side, hampering his efforts to pull Preston to safety.
But then Had was there, and they were pulling together, each one attached to one of the killer’s arms. They pulled hard, harder, fighting the suction of the hay baler.
And suddenly, Preston came free.
Well, part of him did.
Like a grotesque mockery of the earlier crime scenes he’d created, Preston’s severed torso flopped onto the upper surface of the hay baler, bathing the old paint in new, glistening red.
He was beyond dead.
Joshua swore. “He was our chance to find Humpty.”
“Oh,” Had answered. “That’s why you were saving him. I didn’t know.”
“What?” Joshua did a double take. “Then why did you try to pull him out?”
“Because you were doing it,” he answered simply. “And it looked like you needed some help.”
There it was. It was Had to a T. Helping just because someone needed the help. No other reason. No need to explain the whole thing. Just there to give a hand.
And then, as the adrenaline rush faded, Joshua felt himself drifting into blackness, and hoped as he faded out that Had would be there to help him once more.
Somehow, Joshua had a feeling that he would.
* * *
Sariah walked toward the ambulance, watching as the paramedics finished up with Joshua. Bella was bandaged up. Joshua had forced the paramedics to treat her first. It turned out, the bullet went through her haunch, and the shock of the impact had knocked the puppy out. She wiggled in his arms, and would thrust her face up into his from time to time, licking his nose with vigor.
They had been lucky. She could recognize that. But the faces of the dead kept intruding, superimposing themselves on the faces of those who had survived. They were all dead because of her. Tears threatened again, and she turned her thoughts to the positive. Or at least she tried.
Not only had the entire third team that Reggie was with escaped unscathed, but also none of Joshua’s injuries had been too serious. Although Sariah wasn’t so sure he would feel that way about it. He was going to be in a lot of pain for the next few weeks.
Had, on the other hand, had come out of his kidnapping experience with nothing more than some light chafing on his wrists where the rope had been tied too tight. He seemed even more chipper than usual, and was there, right at Joshua’s side. It appeared that he was dividing his time between telling Joshua all about what had happened during his capture, and asking the paramedics what they liked best about their jobs.
The most miraculous part of the scenario was that Joshua didn’t look annoyed. Not only did he not appear irritated, he seemed to be enjoying himself, laughing and then wincing at something Had just said. If Sariah hadn’t seen it, she wouldn’t have believed.
Just as she was coming up close to the two men, a taxicab pulled up. Before the vehicle even came to a complete stop, the back door swung open and a tiny woman leapt out, rushing straight for them.
“Kyle, sweetie, you’re okay,” she gushed as she pulled Had into a bear hug. How a woman that size managed anything close to a bear hug was beyond Sariah, but she couldn’t deny the evidence of her eyes.
“Ms. Hadderly,” she said.
“How—?”
Had’s mother pulled away from her son with obvious reluctance, and turned her gaze on Sariah. It was in that moment that Sariah remembered her last almost-conversation with the woman in front of her. All of the sudden she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be here.
“You must be Special Agent Cooper,” she said, looking her up and down. “You’re a lot prettier than your voice sounds on the phone. Not that I had much of a chance to find out…” She glared at Sariah, moving in to face off with her. How did such a tiny woman manage to be so damn intimidating?
“Right,” Sariah said. “About that…”
And then Ms. Hadderly’s face broke out in a smile. “Aw, honey, I’m just yankin’ your chain.” She reached out and drew Sariah in for a squeeze. “My boy’s all right, the killer’s dead, and I brought a picnic. Far as I’m concerned, it’s all good.”
“It wasn’t Humpty,” Joshua spoke up, then winced. “But they had met.”
“Oh, you must be Joshua,” Had’s mother gushed. “I’ve heard all about you. And you need to stop being such a grumble-puss all the time. This killer’s dead. The other one can just wait a spell.”
“Did you say picnic?” Had asked, his face hopeful.
“Oh, right. I’ve got it all there in the cab. Hold on, sugar.” She shuffled back to the taxi and started pulling out bag after bag. “I brought all of your favorites and then some. I got collard greens and baked beans and cornbread and some brisket…” Her description continued as she unloaded the equivalent of a busy restaurant on a weekend out of the back of the car.
It seemed only moments before a feast was spread out on a huge homemade quilt, and everyone there, including the paramedics, were busy chowing down on the finest southern meal Sariah had ever seen. The woman had somehow even managed to produce a pitcher of lemonade. Impossible. She’d have to talk to her about how she’d managed to get that past security at the airport.
“But how did you get here so fast?” Joshua asked, moving his face away from another of Bella’s demonstrations of love.
“Oh, honey, I started movin’ the second my boy stopped answerin’ his phone. He may not talk to me as much as he should, but he knows better than to screen my calls.”
“Okay, fine,” he said, waving off her explanation. “But how did you know we were out here?”
“Sugar, please.” She pulled herself up, offended. “If you can’t figure that out, you ain’t much of a federal agent.”
That echo of Sariah and Joshua’s earlier argument almost pulled a smile from her. Almost.
The most shocking part of the meal, though, was the fact that Joshua stayed there in the midst, eating some of everything he could put his hands on. And he was smiling. Well, nearly. It was what Sariah imagined passed for a smile with the former agent.
And Reggie was right there as well, looking more a part of the team than Sariah herself. Maybe that was something that she should make official. They had certainly benefitted from her presence, and now that it was clear that Humpty was still out there and active, they could use her help.
As Sariah looked over the group, she was overwhelmed with how much they looked like a family. They fit together. As distinct and separate as they all were, they belonged.
And she did not.
She turned to find a darker corner where she could deal with her feelings alone. There was no need to impose her negativity on the celebration that was happening around her. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.
A hand rested on her shoulder. Sariah turned around, expecting to see Had, or maybe Reggie.
It was Joshua.
He was holding Bella still, and the puppy tried to sit up when she saw Sariah, her tail wagging. Sariah reached out to scratch her ears, but Bella attacked the hand with her tongue before she got there.
“What is it, Joshua? I kind of wanted—”
“Shut up, Coop,” he cut her off. “Shut up and come eat some food.”
“But I—”
“I said, shut up. You’re part of this, whether you feel like it or not. Whether you admit it or not. You are sitting down with us, and you are eating this amazing food.” He stared at her for a long moment. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you earned this.”
He grabbed her by the arm, even though she could see it was painful for him, and dragged her over to the inner circle, pushing people aside to make room for her as Had shoved a plate overflowing with food at her.
What else could she do?
She sat down and broke bread with her new family.
* * *
Another airport after another flight in another airplane that looked just like every other airplane in the US. Man, Joshua hated to travel.
But at least having Bella with him made it more interesting. Two different flight attendants had given him their number on cocktail napkins. The puppy was like a magnet.
Bella hadn’t left his arms since the paramedics had placed her there two days ago. Made showering a bit awkward, but at least it kept her clean.
Reggie was with them. It had taken some serious talking on their parts to get her boss to part with her, but when she asked if he would put her on full-time status, all of the sudden his arguments evaporated. She looked over at him, possibly having felt his gaze, and smiled. That was a dazzling smile. One of which he was going to have to be wary.
Once more, Had was off talking to a newly acquired friend from the flight. Agent Cooper was standing by herself, watching the interaction with a look that someone else might have thought was wistful.
But Joshua knew better.
They were back in DC, and in a few minutes Bilal would be picking them up to take them back to Quantico. It was time to start back up on the search for the real Humpty Dumpty killer.
But what Coop, Had and Reggie didn’t know was that Joshua had a side trip he had to take first. He approached the agent, watching her come back to herself as she felt his presence nearing.
“How’s the ribs?”
“Still broken,” Joshua replied.
“Yeah, I guess so.” And as if he had just accused her of breaking them herself, she dropped her gaze to the ground.
“Hey,” Joshua said, bending down to catch her eye. Wow. That was painful. He reminded himself not to try that move again. “You’ve got to stop this.”
She said nothing for a bit, and then gave him what looked like a grimace. It might have been meant as a smile.
“I did everything right, Joshua. Everything.”
“Yeah,” he sighed. “I know. Look, last time I said this, I was yelling at you, but let me try it again. Sometimes you do everything right, and it still goes to shit.”
“But that’s—” she began.
“Life,” he finished for her. “It’s just life. Sometimes it sucks.”
She nodded once, looking out over his head, her gaze unfocused. “I get that.”
“Not sure you do,” he said. “But you will. Listen,” Joshua changed tracks, “I’m not coming in to Quantico with you right this second.”
Her attention returned to his face, her eyes questioning. “Oh?”
“I’ve got… Well, I’ve got some things I need to take care of.”
There was another long pause, in which Coop seemed to be trying to read his soul. He shifted from one foot to the other.
“Okay,” she said finally. “I trust you.” She turned to walk away, but then added one more thing. “Besides, you’ve still got that monitor on.”
True enough. Joshua watched as Bilal pulled up to the curb and his three teammates piled into the cab. He would see them soon enough.
Right now, he had an appointment with his family.
His family, and a nasty old man.
EPILOGUE
Sariah stared at the front door.
She’d been standing there for what felt like an hour, moving closer, then changing her mind and coming back to stand in the shade of the oak tree out in front of the modest home. It was one of those manufactured ho
uses, in an area that had nothing but manufactured houses.
After months of agonizing and obsessing, Sariah had found out more than she’d ever wanted to know about Curtis Howse and his family. Part of the story that had started to come out was just why it was that he had acted so guilty.
Curtis had a secret. It was the reason he’d killed himself rather than have his family invaded. It was the reason that, even though truckers made pretty good money, his home was modest.
The trucker had spent his time and money on helping illegal immigrants escape from immigration. He would pick up families that were about to be deported, skipping or only taking small parts of lucrative hauls in order to carry those looking to stay in the US.
The house of cards had come tumbling down after he died. He’d made bribes and faked manifests, all to get around the weigh stations. But with his death had come questions, and the puzzle had started to come together for those who had been keeping an eye on him for a while. It hadn’t taken long for Sariah to get them to open up about it.
The man had done it all for the love of his Latina wife. From what Sariah could tell, it was her family that had needed his help first, and what had started him on his crusade. Thirteen years ago.
And now, here she was, trying to force herself to talk to Curtis’ widow. She couldn’t imagine that the meeting would go well, but she owed it to the woman. Curtis was dead because of her.
It was time to pay the piper.
Sariah took one last deep breath, walked toward the door and rang the doorbell before she gave herself time to rethink. She heard footsteps approach the entryway, the tread light.
The door opened, and there before her was Lupe Howse, widow of the late Curtis. Her eyes widened in recognition.
“Agent Cooper? I’m so glad you’re here. Hold on a moment.” She shuffled off down the hallway, disappearing for a moment around the corner.
Sariah had no idea what to make of this. Was Lupe going for a gun? It wasn’t that much of a stretch, and Sariah wouldn’t blame her if she did. But her attitude upon seeing the agent on her doorstep hadn’t been adversarial.
Humpty Dumpty: The killer wants us to put him back together again (Book 1 of the Nursery Rhyme Murders Series) Page 29