Lydia was leaning back against the refrigerator and staring at Tyler.
“I’ll find those kids. This is a small town and there are only so many places they can be.”
A look of disgust crossed Tyler’s face as he considered something.
“What if Tanner took the money from them?”
“He didn’t. I doubled back and watched him leave the house. His hands were empty.”
“If you were watching, why didn’t you follow the kids?”
“I couldn’t. There wasn’t any place to hide the chief’s vehicle and so I figured the kids had run off with the money. Once I saw Tanner walk down the stairs empty-handed, I knew the kids had escaped with the cash, and so I left before Tanner spotted me. I will find those kids, but in the meantime, we need to see to that other problem.”
After saying that last part, Lydia shifted her eyes towards Sherry.
Sherry was seated at the table, where she was drinking beer and smoking a cigarette.
Tyler sent Lydia a slight nod, telling her that he understood, and as he began talking, he eased his way around behind Sherry.
“You have to get back to that jail soon, don’t you?”
Lydia was watching him, waiting to see what he’d do, and it took her a second to realize that he’d asked her a question.
“Oh, yeah, by now the Feds are here and I have to get back there and bullshit them.”
Sherry shook her head.
“That won’t work. If Tanner got free, so did the woman, and maybe he won’t talk, but she will, and she knows that you’re working with us.”
“You didn’t see those two, there’s no love lost there, Tanner got out, yeah, but I bet he let Sara Blake drown.”
Sherry rolled her eyes.
“You thought Tanner drowned, you thought this place wasn’t being used, and you thought you could get back the money from those kids. Tell me something, Lydia, do you ever get tired of being wrong?”
“I’m not burned yet. If I was, the Feds would be here right now. That’s why I think Blake is dead. I’ll call around and see if anybody has spotted those kids. I’ll also put out an alert; the drug angle can still work.”
“It can,” Tyler agreed. “But only if we kill them and Tanner too.”
As he talked, Tyler had moved directly behind Sherry’s chair and gripped the gun in his waistband.
Lydia watched him with a smile forming on her lips.
“Everyone that needs killing will die,” Tyler said. “We’ll make sure of it, and then that money will be all ours.”
Tyler freed the gun and aimed it at the back of Sherry’s head.
Lydia couldn’t resist.
“Sherry.”
Sherry had been taking a drag off her cigarette; after letting out the smoke, she looked over at Lydia.
“What?”
“Bye bye, bitch.”
The shot was loud, Tyler’s aim true, and the bullet passed through Lydia’s head, entered the refrigerator and killed the motor.
Sherry nearly fell out of her seat as she stood up, and afterwards, she looked back and forth between Tyler and Lydia’s body.
“What the fuck?”
Tyler smiled.
“The bitch made plans with me earlier to kill you. She said that it was, ‘Time for a change.’”
“She really thought that you were gonna shoot me? That’s what all that ‘bye bye, bitch’ shit was about?”
Tyler laughed.
“Yeah,”
“But why kill her?”
“You were right; she’s burned and she knows too much about us.”
Sherry studied him.
“You fucked her too, didn’t you?”
Tyler nodded.
“I nailed her in the car.”
Sherry walked over and spat on Lydia’s corpse.
“Stupid bitch! How’s that for change?”
CHAPTER 22 - A fine day indeed
Sara and Cameron found the area around the police station to be a hive of activity, as not only the FBI, but also the State Police had arrived on the scene.
The only body discovered inside the police station was that of the town’s Chief of Police, Matt McCoy, confirming that Tanner had somehow escaped.
Sara silently marveled at the assassin’s knack for survival, and it heightened her awareness of how difficult the task ahead of her was.
The man wanted her dead, and when Tanner wanted you dead, you died. Meanwhile, Tanner had lived through multiple encounters against superior odds and forces, and had already evaded her once that day.
Add to that the fact that the man was as tricky as they came, and Sara knew she could make no mistakes the next time she dealt with him, not if she wanted to live.
The SAC, or Special Agent-in-Charge, was a man named Cooper, while the Pennsylvania State Police Captain was named Doyle.
Cooper was a thin man in his forties with a fringe of brown hair, while Doyle was a very fit fifty, who had a blond crewcut and a muscular physique, which was pronounced, since his gray uniform shirt was wet and clung to his body.
Both men listened to Sara’s story with great interest, as well as Cameron’s account of what she had witnessed just prior to the area becoming flooded.
Once Cooper confirmed Sara’s status as a former agent, his demeanor towards her changed.
She was infamous inside the Bureau, and if Cooper had been ignorant of her past, she knew that he no longer was.
Yes, she had shot her partner, and it wouldn’t be lost on the man that the reason for the shooting was her obsessive pursuit of Tanner.
The fact that she was still tracking the man down after leaving the Bureau only made her appear more pathological.
Despite that, Cooper was wise enough not to dismiss her, especially when she recounted what had happened at the farm hours earlier.
“It sounds like we need to get to this farm,” Cooper said, and Doyle agreed.
***
“It’s clear!”
Those words were spoken by Captain Doyle, who insisted that his troopers enter the farmhouse first, while the FBI, Sara, and Cameron, stood by.
He had called out from the porch steps, but walked over to meet them as they exited their vehicles, which were parked behind Tanner’s pickup truck and the chief’s SUV with the shattered rear side window.
Sara had already remarked over the absence of her car, from where she had left it parked at the end of the driveway, and an alert had been put out to locate it.
Cooper spoke to Doyle.
“What have we got in there?”
“There’s a deceased Caucasian male wrapped in sheets on the porch there, and inside, on the kitchen floor, is our missing female deputy. It seems our happy foursome is now down to two.”
“Any idea of how long ago they left?”
“It wasn’t long; I’m no coroner, but I’d say that the deputy was killed less than an hour ago.”
“All right, I doubt we’ll get any usable prints off that minivan left at the jail, but we should get some here, and I’ve got a forensic unit in route, plus, we know from what Ms. Blake overheard that their first names are Tyler and Sherry.”
“Then there’s just one more thing to do,” Doyle said. “I’ll shut this town down tight, no one in or out unless they pass through a checkpoint. We not only have to find the bank robbers, but also those kids, and the sooner the better.”
***
Cooper moved his team into the barn and out of the rain, where a makeshift table was erected using sawhorses and a thick sheet of plywood.
“What about Tanner?” Sara asked.
“Your Tanner is half-myth, and the last word I remember hearing about him said that he was dead.”
“He was believed to be dead, yes, but he’s here and I’ve been after him all day.”
“If he’s still in the area, we’ll get him. You said you chased him into the woods earlier, that’s probably where he’s hiding right now. I’ll send people out to look for h
im.”
“I found him literally hiding in a hole in the ground, an abandoned root cellar; if you’d like, I’ll guide your people to its location, and remember, it appears as if he’s armed, likely with the chief’s gun.”
Cooper smiled.
“Your boogeyman Tanner may be armed and dangerous, but he’s still no match for my people, or Captain Doyle’s men. If Tanner is in the area, he’s likely hunkered down out there in those wet woods somewhere, all alone, tired, hungry, and cold.”
***
Tanner was actually none of those things, as four miles away, he was sandwiched between the lovely naked forms of Brittany and Amber, the two young ladies whose acquaintance he had made the last time he was in town.
They knew him as Romeo, and when he showed up on their doorstep, they welcomed him with not only open arms, but also kisses, a home-cooked meal, and the pleasures of their bed.
Brittany was a blonde. She was embraced in Tanner’s right arm, while his left held Amber, whose hair was dark.
Brittany walked her fingers across Tanner’s taut stomach and asked a question.
“Did you hear about the flood caused by the Evansville Lake overflowing?”
“I may have heard something about that.”
“Amber and I went and took a look and the police station is underwater, along with the old firehouse.”
“Were there any cops around?” Tanner asked, and Amber answered.
“We saw state troopers and a few guys in suits. I also heard that the people who robbed the bank in Ciderville may have passed through here on their way to Philly.”
“For a small town, a lot happens here,” Tanner said.
Brittany’s fingers took a walk south along Tanner’s body and her hand began massaging a sensitive area, when said area responded, Brittany’s head disappeared beneath the blanket.
Amber then stood and placed a foot on either side of Tanner’s chest. He looked up at her, enjoying the view, and she smiled down at him and asked a question.
“Hungry?”
“Starving,” Tanner said, and Amber bent her knees.
Despite the fact that he’d been hounded, imprisoned, shot at, threatened with castration and nearly drowned, Tanner thought the day to be a fine one.
CHAPTER 23 - Nobody does it better
Sara escorted two of Cooper’s agents to the abandoned root cellar, while others searched the surrounding woods.
Her car had been found in the parking lot of a strip mall, but was being held as evidence, and so she teamed up with Cameron Ryder to search.
They were looking for the bank robbers, Tanner, and also Dean and Amy.
It seemed a possibility that the robbers had fled the area before the town was put on lockdown, because that would be the smart thing to do.
However, although ruthless and in some ways clever, Tyler and Sherry did not seem very smart, or else they wouldn’t have killed Lydia, because dirty or not, she was a cop, and that meant that police departments nationwide would hunt them down.
Cameron suggested searching inward from the borders of Ridge Creek and working their way towards the town’s center, where most of the shops were, and Sara agreed.
They covered the outskirts of the community in quick fashion, because they knew that the Feds and the state troopers would be performing a more thorough search, such as checking out barns, abandoned buildings, and even storage sheds, like the large one where Cameron had held Sara.
They did pause at the damaged bridge on North Street, where Cameron’s truck had nearly fallen into the river, and Sara marveled at the close call her new friend had survived.
And they were becoming friends, Sara realized, for she and Cameron were much alike in their independent nature. They also both knew what it was like to lose someone you loved, and to burn with a desire for vengeance.
“They’re still here somewhere,” Cameron said, as she cruised around town. “They won’t even think of leaving until they get that money back.”
Sara pointed up the street, where two of Cooper’s agents were talking to a store owner.
The shop sold stationery and greeting cards, along with stuffed animals and other knickknacks.
Cameron parked nearby, and she and Sara reached the store just as the agents finished their interview.
“Any leads?” Sara asked.
The agents were a man and a woman, both young and with serious demeanors. The man was white, while the woman was black.
The male agent presented Sara with a look of disgust before turning his back on her. His partner stared at Sara for a few moments, but then she spoke.
“The kids were here, maybe fifteen minutes ago. The shop owner says they bought out his supply of note pads, along with a stuffed bear, some Velcro, two candy bars, a greeting card, and a bag of chips, and oh yeah, the girl paid with her mother’s credit card.”
“That’s an odd assortment. Did he see which direction they went in?”
“No.”
“Thank you,” Sara said.
“Just keep an eye out for those kids and call it in if you see them.”
“We will.”
Once they were back in the pickup, Cameron pointed back at the agents.
“What was with the attitude?”
“I left the Bureau under less than ideal conditions.”
“What’s that mean? That male agent looked like he wanted to shoot you.”
“I... used extremely bad judgement.”
Cameron gazed at Sara, expecting her to say more. When Sara kept quiet, Cameron started the truck’s engine.
“I see, and I won’t pry.”
They got moving again, and the only sound in the truck was the furious beating of the windshield wipers.
After three minutes of silence, Sara began telling her story, starting with Tanner’s murder for hire of her lover, and ending with their first face-to-face confrontation in Las Vegas, where Sara shot her partner, Jake Garner, as Garner tried to keep her from killing Tanner.
“I can’t say that you did the right thing, but I can understand getting carried away.”
“Thank you.”
“What happened to your partner?”
“He’s... actually, he’s a friend.”
“Even after you shot him? Honey, that boy wants more than friendship, to forgive you that way.”
“He’s a good person overall, and better than I deserve, that’s for sure, but... nevermind.”
“Back there at the farm, what did Cooper mean when he said that Tanner was half-myth?”
“Oh, Tanner has no first name, at least none that anyone knows. It’s also a fact that a hired killer going by that name has been involved in scores of murders going back decades.”
“Maybe he started young, some do.”
“And Tanner is one of them. I found a cold case file from the late-nineties, where the perp fit his description in an incident that took place in Texas, and he was likely no more than twenty, maybe even younger.”
“He looked about thirty-five to me when I saw him sitting in that jail cell.”
“Yes, if I had to guess, I would say that Tanner is in his mid-thirties, possibly a little younger, but someone calling himself Tanner has been killing as far back as the 1920s.”
Cameron let out a boisterous laugh that surprised Sara.
“What’s funny?”
“You’re chasing a damn demon.”
“Sometimes it feels that way, but I think Tanner is just a name that’s been passed down. We—those in the Bureau, know of a case of grifters called The Sullivans, who had been conning people since the 1840s. When the current gang was caught ten years ago, they admitted that the name had been passed down to them.”
“They were descendants of the originals?”
“No, it’s more like an honor given to the best of the best, by the best of the best, and it looks like the name Tanner is handed down among assassins, at least, that’s the theory.”
“So, Tanner is not just a
nother punk with a gun?”
Sara answered, but did so grudgingly, and through clenched teeth.
“He’s the best, hands down.”
CHAPTER 24 - Not just another pretty face
Tyler and Sherry were parked across the street from a deli that appeared to cater to the teenage crowd, as nearly a dozen of them were congregated inside, after having left school for the day.
Sherry pointed at a redheaded boy who had long hair tied in a ponytail.
“Is that him?”
“No, his hair wasn’t that bright or that long, and he was older, almost a man.”
They were sitting in a car they had stolen out of the parking lot of an office building. It was a brown 1995 Chevy Cavalier. The car blended in well and probably wouldn’t be missed for hours, Tyler had popped the ignition switch with a screwdriver while Sherry dumped Sara’s car.
“Once we find them, then what?” Sherry said.
“We follow them, and when the time looks right, we’ll take the money from them.”
“What if they left the money in one of their houses, or hid it somewhere?”
“Then we’ll have them take us to it.”
“Should we still kill them? I mean, there ain’t no way the cops haven’t figured out who we are by now.”
“I don’t care what happens to the girl, but I’m going to blast that boy for warning that guy, Tanner. If the kid had kept his damn mouth shut I would have killed Tanner and we’d be long gone.”
“Alright, but I’ll let the girl live, unless she screams.”
“She’ll scream.”
“Yeah,”
***
“A beauty salon?” Tanner said.
“Yep, and we have the location all picked out,” Brittany said, as she and Amber spoke excitedly about their dream of opening their own salon.
“Are you going into business here?” Tanner asked.
“No, in Philly,” Amber said. “The store we want used to be a hobby shop, but it’s in a perfect location and it even has an apartment above it that we could live in. Somebody else will rent it before we can though, since it will be over a year before we have enough money saved.”
Tanner nodded at them, impressed by the fact that they had goals and a plan to fulfill them. They were in the apartment’s tiny kitchen, having coffee.
The TANNER Series - Books 4-6 (Tanner Box Set Book 2) Page 8