by Mac Fortner
~***~
Robin spotted Alexis and Chad, still standing where she last saw them. As she was nearing them, she noticed a red dot on Alexis’s dress. “NO.”
“Alexis,” Robin yelled, “Get down.”
Chad grabbed Alexis and pulled her to the ground and fell on top of her. Robin ran to her side, gun drawn from a leg holster. “Everyone, take cover.”
The crowd panicked and ran in every direction. Robin scanned the perimeter looking up the hill, the way the laser had come from. She saw nothing. The FBI men ran down the drive toward the backyard, talking on their radios and waving their guns in the air.
There was no shot. Robin looked back toward Kailey and Bill. Kailey was smiling, but Bill looked ashen. They were looking at each other. Were they too far away to see what was happening?
The red dot then appeared on Kailey’s forehead. Robin shouted at her but was too far away.
Then Robin saw a red dot appear on Bill’s shoulder. She yelled at him, “Bill.” At the same time, he stepped toward Kailey, and his head exploded.
Kailey screamed and fell to the ground. Robin, Chad, and Alexis ran to them. Bill was obviously dead. Robin checked Kailey for a wound. She wasn’t hit, just fainted. She was covered with Bill’s blood.
~***~
I saw a muzzle flash. Instantly the figure from the grass ran toward the van. I could tell it was Eric. He had a gun in his outstretched hand.
“Eric,” I said aloud.
He turned firing immediately. I felt a sting on my shoulder.
He turned back toward the van and fired two shots inside, through a window.
I shot at Eric. At least one of my two shots hit him because he fell and didn’t move.
I walked cautiously toward the van, my gun still raised. This was it, just Bloodshot and me. My nerves were on edge. I felt as if my heart was ready to tear its way out my chest.
I approached the van from the rear. When I was five feet away, it‘s engine roared to life. The backup lights flashed on, and the van surged toward me. I dove to the right barely clearing the rear bumper.
The van stopped and then lurched forward. I jumped to my feet and took aim at the rear right tire. My bullet found its target. The tire slowly lost air. The van sped away, but I knew it couldn’t go far. I ran after it. We were at the top of the ridge. I could see ahead that the road made a one-eighty, five hundred feet down the hill. I cut right and ran across the empty lot toward the street he would be on.
I hid in the sawgrass beside the road. The van came toward me, it’s right rear wheel now rag-dolling the shredded tire. The van wasn’t stable. I stepped into the road and raised my gun when the van was four hundred feet away.
I saw an arm reach out the driver’s window and a handgun popped three times. The van turned toward me. This time I dove to the left barely clearing the bumper again.
The van stopped, and the driver’s door swung open. I was a sitting duck. I rolled into thicker grass hoping to find a little shelter.
Two more pops and the dirt a foot away from me puffed up.
Shit, I’m in a jam.
I had no choice other than to fire back, which I did. The side window of the van exploded sending glass shards flying. I took advantage of the brief pause in his firing and ran to the rear of the vehicle. We were now only ten feet away from each other using the van to hide behind.
“Bloodshot, give it up. You’ll never get away alive,” I said, my words sounding futile to me even as I said them.
“Cam Derringer, what brings you here? Just out for a walk?” he said in his Russian accent.
“I knew you’d be here. I wanted to say “hi.” The FBI are on their way.”
“They’re a little busy down the hill running in circles right now. By the way, you have a lovley daughter,” he said and coughed out a laugh.
Now that pissed me off.
I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere trying to talk to him and the longer we stood here the better chance that he would find a way to kill me.
I dropped to the ground to shoot him in the leg under the van.
To my surprise, he did the same. We were now on the ground facing each other. He was covered in blood. Eric’s bullets must have found their target.
I fired first. Three rapid shots. I saw them hit him in the chest. He fired back in reaction. I felt another sting in the same shoulder. Damn, that hurt.
Andrei rolled onto his back and lay still.
I pushed myself up and slowly moved around the van. He still hadn’t moved. I bent down and felt his neck for a pulse. There was none. It was over.
He had two bullet holes in his left shoulder other than the three I put in his chest. A fitting end for such a man.
Chapter 51
A couple of minutes had passed before the FBI arrived at the van. I was sitting on the ground leaning on the bumper. Three of them pointed their guns at me.
“It’s me guys, Cam Derringer,” I said, raising my hands. “The other two are dead. One over there and the other a street down the hill.”
They slowly walked around the van and checked the body.
“I think we got ‘em,” one of the agents said.
“Good work guys,” I said sarcastically. “Did anyone get hit down there?”
“Yeah, afraid so. Mr. Arlington is dead,” one of them said.
I cursed beneath my breath.
“Are you okay?” one asked.
“I’ll live,” I said. “Help me up.”
I walked back down the hill toward the party with the aid of an agent. When Robin saw me, she ran to my side. “Cam, are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a few nicks,” I said. “What about Kailey and the others?”
“Only Bill was hit. He’s dead.”
“They radioed me and said you killed Bloodshot and another man,” Robin said.
“Eric Meninx,” I said.
“So, it looks like you were right, this was a hit. Down here it looked like the game went bad. The laser was on Alexis, then Kailey and then Bill’s shoulder. He took a step toward Kailey just as the shot was fired and hit him in the head,” Robin said.
“Now the question is, who set all this up?” I whispered through the pain, “and which one of them was the target?”
“We need to get you an ambulance,” Robin said.
“I'm all right,” I said, “I need to talk to the others.”
Robin pulled my suit coat off gently and ripped my shirt sleeve open, exposing my wound.
“Congratulations,” she said, “this time you actually did get shot.”
“Thank god,” I said, “I don’t think I could live through another humiliating coffee burn.”
Kailey was sitting up and crying. Alexis was bent over Bill, also crying. Chad was trying to comfort her.
I went to Kailey. “Are you alright?” I asked, putting my good arm around her.
She just cried harder. When she saw the wound on my arm her eyes widened, “Are you okay?” she said, panic on her face.
“Don’t worry about me. I'm all right,” I said.
“Why, Why,” she said, bowing her head and crying more.
The ambulance arrived. I told them to take Kailey first. She seemed to be in shock. When they put her in the ambulance, she called my name and reached out.
I looked at Robin. She said, “Go with her. We have it covered here.”
I stepped into the ambulance and took Kailey’s hand.
“Good job Cam,” Robin said. “You got ‘em.”
I nodded to her as they closed the door.
They took Kailey to a room at the hospital and sedated her. A nurse led me to another room, and a doctor soon arrived. He cleaned and bandaged my wound. “You’ll be okay,” he said, “I’m going to give you some pain meds and an antibiotic.”
I went to Kailey’s room. She was groggy but seemed to be doing okay. The doctor came in.
“We gave her a mild sedative,” he said. “We didn’t want to give her much consid
ering her condition.”
“Her condition?” I said.
“Yes, her pregnancy,” he said.
“Okay,” I said, “Thank you, doctor.”
He nodded and left the room.
“You’re pregnant?” I said to Kailey.
“Yes. I had told Bill seconds before he was killed,” she said and started crying again.
I bent down and hugged her.
“It’s my fault. He stepped toward me to hug. If I had waited he would have only been wounded like the rest,” she said and cried again.
“It’s not your fault Kailey,” I said. “I think he would have been killed either way.”
“Why?” she said through her tears.
“I think Brady Osborn hired him to kill Bill.”
“But Brady is dead,” she said.
“No, he isn’t. His brother is the one who was killed,” I said.
“His brother?” she said.
“Yeah, It looks as if Brady paid him to swap lives.”
“So Bill had his brother killed?”
“Looks that way,” I said.
“Have you got him yet?”
“I don’t know. I called McNally when I found out.”
“I hope you get him and kill him,” she snapped.
“At least Bloodshot is dead.”
“He is?” she said.
“Yes, him and a man named Eric Meninx. Eric wounded Bloodshot, and I killed Eric. Then I had a shoot-out with Bloodshot.”
“Good. I knew you would get him,” she said and squeezed my hand.
Kailey’s doctor came back in to check on her. “You can take her home now whenever you’re ready,” he said.
“Stay here and rest Kailey. I’ll call for the limo,” I said and stepped into the hall to make the call.
The limo arrived, and I walked beside Kailey, who was being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse.
The evening had turned chilly. I gave Kailey my jacket and held her until we got in the car.
We rode in silence back to her house. She leaned on my good shoulder the whole way.
Robin met us as we pulled into the drive. The FBI and local police were still there.
I saw McNally and excused myself, leaving Kailey with Robin.
“Hello Cam,” he said. “You look like you’ve had a rough day.”
“Yeah, a little. What’s the word on Brady?” I asked.
“I sent some men over to question him. We don’t have any proof he’s not James,” he said. “But if he is we’ll find out.”
I informed him of information about the scar and reminded him that he told me he was going to blackmail Bill.
“Why would he kill someone he was going to blackmail?” McNally asked. “That just doesn’t add up.”
“Yeah, I can’t figure that out either,” I said thoughtfully.
“Let it go, Cam. You got Bloodshot and Meninx. They were the problem.”
“Someone hired them. Don’t you want to know who it was?” I said.
“Everyone is dead that would know, thanks to you. Unless someone came to me and says, “Hey I had William Arlington killed” we’re not gonna catch ‘em.”
I looked around. The party was over. A few of the guest were still here being questioned by the FBI, but the bright lights that were on now changed the whole ambiance.
“Okay, will you let me know if something breaks?” I said feeling defeated.
“Sure, Cam. You do the same,” he said and turned back to his business.
Chapter 52
The next few days went by slowly. I busied myself at the office. Chad was home with Alexis. Losing her father was very hard on her.
The funeral was set for tomorrow. I thought I would go check on Kailey later today. I called Robin to see if she wanted to join me for lunch.
“Yeah, I can get away for lunch, but I have to get right back for a one o’clock meeting,” she said.
“How about that hotdog in the park,” I said. “It should be safe this time.”
She laughed.
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll humor you this once, but those things will kill you.”
“Somehow, I think they’re the least of my problems as far as health goes. See ya at twelve?”
“Perfect.”
I called Chad to check on Alexis.
“She’s keeping busy,” he said. “It’s hard on her, but I think with a little time she’ll be okay.”
“What about Kailey?”
“She’s taking it worse than I thought she would. I guess she really did love him,” he said. “And now being pregnant with his child makes it harder yet.”
“Yeah, I can see how it would,” I said.
“I hope we can find out who did this, and why,” Chad said.
“Me too. If we figure out who, we’ll probably know why.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Chad said.
“I was going to drop by and check on Kailey around one-thirty if that’s alright,” I said.
“That’ll be good. Alexis and I have to go to the funeral home at one. I was worried about leaving her here by herself,” he said.
“Okay, I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
I left the office at eleven-thirty and walked to the park. It was a beautiful day.
I had fifteen minutes to kill, so I sat on a park bench not far from the hotdog stand and watched the joggers and walkers pass by.
The wind had picked up a little causing the hot dog vendor to lower his umbrella.
To my surprise, Brady Osborn stopped at the stand and bought a dog. He looked around for a place to sit. When he looked my way, I waved him over.
He stared at me for a moment, apparently trying to decide if he wanted to join me. He decided to.
“Cam Derringer,” he said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Have a seat,” I said, moving over to give him room.
He sat. “You caused me some trouble the other day. The police came to my apartment.”
“I know. It’s probably because you’re not James. You’re Brady.”
“You have a wild imagination,” he said.
“Do I?”
“Why would I pretend to be James?”
“So William would think you’re dead,” I said.
“I am,” he said and laughed.
He took a bite of his frankfurter, dripping mustard on his chin. He wiped it with his napkin.
“I love these things. I really missed them when I couldn’t come out in public like this,” he said and took another big bite.
I waited for him to finish chewing and swallow.
“No sauerkraut?” I said.
“Too ethnic,” he said.
“Maybe if you weren’t blackmailing Bill, you could have been enjoying these all along,” I said.
“Let it go, Cam. You’ll never prove anything,” he said.
“Yeah, I’ve been told.”
“How is Kailey doing?” he asked.
“You know Kailey?” I said.
“No, just what I read in the paper.”
“She’s fine,” I said. “Did you have Bill killed?”
“You are blunt, aren’t you?” he said smiling.
“Yep.”
“The answer to that is, no I didn’t. His death has cost me a considerable amount of money.”
“But you know who did, don’t you?” I said.
“I have my suspicions,” he said and stood to take his last bite of the dog.
“It was good seeing you again Cam. Goodbye.”
He walked away as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
Maybe he doesn’t.
Five minutes later Robin sat down next to me.
“You look deeply engrossed in thought,” she said.
I didn’t even see her sit.
“Sorry, I am.”
“Let’s get some hotdogs, and you can tell me all about it,” she said.
She took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
We ordered our hotdog
s. She got one with mustard. I got one with chili, onion, cheese and peppers and one with mustard.
“No sauerkraut,” she said.
“Not into ethnic clichés,” I said.
We sat down on the bench again.
“What brought on the cliché thing,” she said.
“I just had a talk with Brady Osborn.”
“Here?”
“Yeah, he was eating a hot dog, no sauerkraut,” I said.
“What did he have to say?” she said.
“He said he didn’t have anything to do with Bill being killed and that it actually cost him his inheritance.”
“You mean his blackmail money?” she said.
“Yeah, It does seem right,” I said.
“Does he have any ideas about who did have him killed?”
“Yep, but he’s not talking,” I said.
We ate in silence for a while. I managed to drip chili on my shirt.
Robin gave me the look.
“Well, we’re working on the case still, so why don’t you take a break and enjoy life for a while?” she said.
“Yeah, you’re right. I think that’s what I need,” I said.
“Good.”
“So what’s new with you?” I said to change the subject.
She looked worried.
“What’s wrong?” I said.
“Well,” she hesitated, “I received my new assignment this morning. I’m going to LA in two weeks.”
We were silent again while we pretended to enjoy our hotdogs.
“I’m happy for you,” I said. “This is a good thing. It’s the break you’ve been waiting for.”
“Yes, I have, but…”
“No buts,” I interrupted. “We’ve discussed this, and we decided it’s what’s best.”
“Will you be going back to Key West?” she said.
“Yeah, as soon as I get caught up on my work here and make sure Chad and Alexis are alright.”
“And Kailey,” Robin said, “Make sure she’s okay too. I kind of like that girl even though she wants my man.”
“Yes, Kailey too,” I said, “I’m going to check on her when we leave here.”
“Good.”
“Are you free tonight?” I said.
“Thought you’d never ask.”
“How about a real meal then. Let’s say chicken on my grill.”