Killer in The Woods: A Psychological Thriller

by Flowers, R. Barri

  Ashley fought through the pain and gathered the courage she needed if she was going to get out of this alive. You’re trained to do battle with people bigger than you—use what you’ve got!

  When Robert threw his fist at her face again, Ashley instinctively moved her head to the side so the punch hit nothing but air. While he was slightly out of position, she countered with her fist, smashing it into his right cheek. It was the first time she had ever hit him, and Robert looked momentarily disoriented.

  Using that to her advantage, Ashley rammed her knee as hard as she could between his legs. He bowled over in agony. She hit him again hard in the face. Robert went down, but was not out.

  Seeing the man she’d once loved lying there dazed and in pain shook Ashley to the core. Her heart went out to him and she wanted to cradle him in her arms and make it all better. But the greater part of her knew that the only way to make it better was to leave Robert for good and stay alive at the same time.

  Deciding it might be too risky to engage in further fisticuffs with him, Ashley bolted for the door and down the steps. Her first instinct was to seek safety outside the house. Fearing he would only track her down, Ashley ran to the den where she kept her gun.

  Moving briskly through the room, Ashley opened the cabinet and removed her Glock. Just as quickly, she released the safety. She turned around and saw Robert lumbering towards her. His face was contorted with fury and he muttered a few indecipherable words.

  It was the exact scenario Ashley had feared most. Yet somehow she knew it was unavoidable. Their relationship had reached a boiling point and it had come down to this.

  She sucked in a deep breath, pointed the gun at her husband’s chest, and said, “Stop where you are, Robert. I mean it!”

  He came to a halt a couple of feet away from her. Blood trickled from the corner of Robert’s mouth and there was a fair sized welt on his right cheek.

  “You shouldn’t have hit me, baby.”

  “I didn’t want to. Why couldn’t you have just stayed away like you were supposed to?”

  “Because this is my house, dammit, and you’re my wife! No judge is going to deny me that!”

  “I’m through being your punching bag, Robert! Get out of this house now! Please...”

  Robert tossed his head back and laughed derisively, masking his pain. “Are you going to play cop and shoot me, Ashley?”

  “Only if I have to.”

  “Well you will, if you think that’s going to scare me away,” Robert said with a smirk. “But I don’t think you have it in you. Give me that gun, bitch! I’ll show you how it’s done—”

  He took a step forward and Ashley yelled, “STOP, Robert!”

  “Make me! I’ll show you what happens to wives who try to go against their husbands...”

  When he lunged at her, Ashley stepped back involuntarily and the gun went off. It struck Robert in the stomach. He put his hands on the bloody hole in shock, glared at her, and then fell to his knees.

  Ashley’s heart skipped several beats as she came to terms with what had just happened. She’d just shot her husband after fearing for her life. Now it was his life that hung in the balance.

  For an instant, Ashley was unable to move as Robert lay in a fetal position moaning in agony. Then her maternal instincts took over and she rushed to him, cradling him in her arms.

  “See what you made me do,” she sobbed, his blood covering them. “It didn’t have to be this way, Robert.”

  Ashley doubted that he heard her, as he’d lost consciousness.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  On Sunday morning, Pastor Luis Ramirez had just finished the sermon and the organist began to play somber music. He gazed at Selene and Quinn seated in the front row next to Julian and Loraine McKenzie.

  “I want to take a moment to talk about Quinn Herrera...” Pastor Ramirez said. “I don’t think I have to tell anyone here that Quinn has been under the gun by dark forces seeking to separate him from the man we all know him to be. Well, let me just say that we stand by you, Quinn. God is with you and Selene as you deal with these outrageous allegations. We know that this will all be cleared up soon and those who doubted your innocence will have shame on their faces. Amen to you, Quinn Herrera.”

  The congregation offered amen en masse.

  Tears filled Selene’s eyes. She was grateful for the love and support of those surrounding them in God’s house. She looked to her right and saw the McKenzie’s smiling generously.

  “We won’t abandon you in your time of need,” Julian said.

  Selene thanked him for his kind words, knowing that Quinn was just as moved.

  “Thank you, Pastor Ramirez,” Quinn said. “And to the entire congregation I can only say, God bless you all—”

  * * *

  That afternoon Selene went to S.A.W. House. She felt some measure of comfort that things were slowly returning to normal at the shelter after the fire. The basement had been given a fresh coat of paint and new furnishings had been donated by some local businesses.

  Selene was sorry to hear that Ashley Leighton had decided to leave them that morning. She worried about her safety, as she did for all who passed through the house. She hoped that with Ashley’s plight now in the open, Robert would not dare try anything.

  Selene’s mind drifted to her ex and his continuing presence in Bluffs Bay. What was Michel up to? His strange silence of late was as much a mystery as a blessing. Had he gone back to California?

  Selene doubted that. She still believed Michel could be responsible for the fire as well as trying to ruin her life with anonymous phone calls.

  Selene was moderating a group counseling session with victims of domestic violence. She recalled that such gatherings had helped her greatly when her victimization was front and center in her life. She encouraged the women to openly share their feelings and listen to the others.

  When Harriet Johnston walked into the room and gave her the eye, Selene knew something was up. She appointed one of the women to assume the leadership role and excused herself.

  “What’s going on?” Selene asked.

  Harriet caught her breath. “Ashley Leighton just shot her husband—”

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  Freda Gardner was on break at the department store where she worked as a sales clerk. After finally getting up the nerve to leave her abusive boyfriend for good, she was trying to get her life back together. She had quit smoking and drinking, was exercising more, had her own place, and even met a man who seemed like he actually cared about her feelings.

  But behind the pretty picture, Freda feared that she was only a step or two away from falling back into her old life of low self-esteem and boyfriends who were losers. She hoped that if it happened again she would be able to right the ship before sinking with it.

  As she often did when on break, Freda walked through the huge two-level store, browsing and making note of items she wanted to buy with her employee discount. She ended up in the entertainment section and was eyeing televisions when her eyes locked on the recognizable face filling the screen.

  It was a picture of police officer Ashley Leighton. Freda recognized her from S.A.W. House, where they had met. A reporter came onto the screen and said that Officer Leighton had shot her husband in an apparent domestic dispute. The husband, criminal defense attorney Robert Leighton, was currently at Bluffs Bay General Hospital, where he was listed in serious but stable condition.

  Freda’s head snapped back when she saw the face of Robert Leighton appear on the screen. She knew that face! It had been in her dreams ever since the night of the fire at S.A.W. House. Even though it had been dark, they were practically under the streetlight when he nearly bowled her over in his haste to get away from the shelter. But not before she got a pretty good look at him, even if she couldn’t quite get it down for a sketch artist.

  Freda was certain that Robert Leighton was the man who had started the fire at S.A.W. House.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
>
  Selene and Harriet entered the emergency room waiting area at Bluffs Bay General Hospital where Robert Leighton had been taken. Word was that his condition was serious.

  Selene gently squeezed Harriet’s arm supportively.

  “There she is!” Harriet practically shouted, pointing across the room.

  Selene saw Ashley standing there unsteadily, seemingly caught up in her own world of grief and disbelief. They made their way to her, and the three women embraced as if their lives depended on it.

  “Tell us what happened,” Selene said softly.

  Ashley wiped away tears and stammered, “Robert came to the house. He refused to leave me alone. Then he hit me. I hit him back and tried to get away.” She sighed and looked away. “I got my gun from the den, but only so I could keep him at bay while I left. But Robert came at me...threatening me. I was so afraid of what he might do... Then the gun went off. I never meant to shoot him—”

  “Oh, Ashley, of course you didn’t, honey,” murmured Harriet, taking her into her arms. “We never do, till they force our hand.”

  “But what if he doesn’t survive?” Ashley said, sobbing. “How am I supposed to live with killing my husband?”

  “You did what you had to do,” Harriet said.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Ashley,” Selene added. She remembered how close she had come to attacking her abuser on more than one occasion. “If you hadn’t defended yourself, it would likely be you in the ER right now. Or worse...”

  Ashley’s lips trembled. “Why couldn’t he have just left me alone? That’s all I wanted... I just didn’t want him to hurt me anymore...”

  “Sometimes this is what it comes down to,” Selene said bluntly. “It’s never easy for any of us to fight the men we love and thought loved us. But he chose to violate the protection order, stalking you, till you had no other choice than to fight back—”

  Fresh tears streamed down Ashley’s cheeks. She was a wreck right now, even though she was trying to be strong. There would be questions she would have to answer over and over to the police, press, and even to herself. Right now, she could only think about Robert. If he survived, then maybe he would change for the better.

  But Ashley knew that even if Robert pulled through, she would not be able to live with him anymore.

  “You’ll get through this, Ashley,” Selene said. “Harriet and I will be there to help any way we can.”

  “Thank you,” Ashley said.

  The three women huddled together while they waited to find out what Robert’s prognosis was.

  * * *

  An hour later, the doctor informed them that Robert had survived the surgery. He was expected to make a full recovery. Selene knew that healing his abusive soul would take much longer, whether Ashley remained in his life or not.

  When Dennis Cramer entered the waiting area, Selene greeted him. Harriet stayed with Ashley.

  “How is she?” he asked, looking weary in a crumpled suit.

  “She’s hanging in there. Especially now that Robert’s out of the woods—no pun intended.”

  Cramer knitted his brows. “Yeah, nothing funny about shooting one’s husband. I’ll need to talk to her.”

  Selene nodded. “I know. Just go easy on her, Dennis. This was clearly a case of self-defense.”

  He ran his hand across the length of his chin. “Guess I should’ve seen this coming. You did—”

  Selene met his eyes. “That’s my job. Yours is to investigate crimes after they happen. Besides, it’s easy to dismiss the warning signs of abuse where it concerns people you work with who sometimes seem immune to the problems many of us have experienced...”

  “I suppose,” Cramer muttered. “I wish she had come to me with this in the beginning. Might have made a difference.”

  “And it might not have,” Selene said. “When domestic violence reaches a point of no return, nobody can predict the outcome.”

  Cramer sighed. “Yeah, well I’m glad to hear that he’s on the mend, if for no other reason than to spare Ashley even more grief. But his troubles are just beginning...”

  Selene assumed that Cramer was referring to pending charges against the attorney for domestic violence.

  Cramer moved a little closer to her and said lowly, “Freda Gardner, the witness who apparently came face to face with the arsonist at the shelter, has come forward to say that Robert Leighton looks very much like the man she saw running away from S.A.W. House that night.”

  “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Selene said. “He certainly had reason to want to get back at me and the shelter for taking Ashley in and getting her away from him. But it’s still hard to believe he’d take it to that extreme, given everything he had to lose.”

  “Maybe he should have thought about that beforehand,” Cramer said, “as well as beating the hell out of his wife and forcing her to shoot him.” Cramer sighed. “Of course, it’s still speculation right now that he’s our arsonist, but we intend to take a much closer look at Leighton. And we’ll see if Ashley can provide any information that might substantiate this.”

  Selene gazed sadly at Ashley. “She’s been through a lot in a short time.”

  “Don’t worry too much about her,” Cramer said. “She’s a hell of a lot tougher than she appears.”

  “Yes, we all are,” Selene said knowingly.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  Several days after the bullet was removed from his stomach, Robert Leighton felt good enough to sit up in his hospital bed. He was still in a state of shock that, not only had Ashley fought with him, she’d actually shot him. As angry as he’d been, Robert feared what he might have done had he taken that gun from her. The outcome could have been far worse.

  He sipped lukewarm orange juice through a straw. Ashley had been to see him and wished him a speedy recovery. But she’d deflected comments about them and their future, which left Robert feeling empty.

  Damn, I really messed things up this time. Can I blame her if she leaves me for good?

  He still loved her and always would. There was nothing like a brush with death to make a hardheaded, self-destructive man reassess his life.

  But what could he do to hang on to the only woman he’d ever really wanted to be with for a lifetime?

  That had to take a backseat for now, as he was forced to answer some tough questions from Detective Dennis Cramer. Not wanting Ashley to be blamed for something that was entirely his fault, Robert was prepared to take his lumps and absolve her of any guilt for shooting him.

  Thinking as a lawyer, Robert figured that he could plead guilty to violating the protective order and maybe even roughing up Ashley a bit. At worst, he would get probation and a firm requirement to go to anger management therapy.

  What he hadn’t counted on was underestimating Cramer’s agenda and apparent desire to take him down.

  “Aside from the way you’ve mistreated your wife and my employee, we’ve got another not so little problem, Leighton...” Cramer said.

  “Yeah, what’s that?” Robert asked uneasily.

  As if on cue, another man came into the room.

  “This is arson investigator Blake Piazza,” Cramer said.

  “Got here as soon as I could, Dennis,” Piazza told him.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Robert tried to control his nerves as he looked from man to man.

  Cramer didn’t mince words. “It involves a fire that was set at the battered women’s shelter on Wilson and 51st Street last month. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Leighton?”

  Robert flinched, sensing that the detective already knew the answer. Still, the attorney in him could only think: deny, deny, deny.

  So he did. “Not a damned thing. Why the hell would I?”

  Hovering over him, Cramer said, “Because a witness is prepared to testify that she saw you running from the building shortly after the fire started.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Robert said haughtily. Still, he remembered seeing
a woman that night when he made his way to the street thinking that he was free and clear. He’d assumed it was a dead issue, since she’d been inconsistent in her statements to the police about who or what she had seen.

  “There’s more,” Cramer said. “We got a court order to search your house and office and found some clothing fibers and carpet fibers that match some found at the scene of the fire.”

  Robert attempted a sardonic chuckle, but it hurt too much. So he tried to belittle the detective. “We both know that those so-called matching fibers don’t prove a damn thing. They could have easily come from any number of sources. It’ll never hold up in court—”

  “Maybe, but strands of your hair can only come from one source, Leighton...”

  “What are you talking about?” Robert was suddenly perspiring.

  “We believe you left critical evidence that will definitely hold up in court when you broke into the basement window...or when you were trying to get out of S.A.W. House. DNA evidence won’t lie, as I’m sure you tell your clients all the time.”

  “We know you set the fire, Leighton,” Piazza added. “The only question is do you plan to come clean about it now or pay the price later?”

  Cramer added, “When you put it all together—including your wife’s statement that you came in late that night, smelled like smoke, and changed clothes—it doesn’t look too good for you.”

  Robert was starting to see that, and it scared him like never before. He mentally reviewed his options. The last thing he wanted was to go to prison for arson. Yes, he had wanted S.A.W. House to go up in flames. But it was never his plan for anyone to get hurt. He’d counted on those bitches to have more than enough time and common sense to evacuate the burning shelter.

  He had only wanted to scare that conniving bitch Selene Herrera off her high horse enough to get her to back off from interfering in his private life. He’d decided that Ashley would not become another one of her pet projects that she could save from her big, bad husband. Not if he could help it.