Without thinking twice about it, he takes off in a dead sprint in the general direction of the carousel, hoping to get there long before any of the people responsible for the operation of the ride are able to flee the area. A long hurdle of the exit gate to the roller coaster allows him to reach the ramp that leads the exiting passengers back onto the midway of the park. Instead of heading back to the front of the park and taking the path that cuts between the carnival games, Mitch decides that jumping the fence and taking a direct path through the trees would be faster. The thickness of the trees and overgrown shrubs make the trek more difficult than he first thought but the music of the carousel is getting louder and louder, so he continues on. Once he gets close enough, the lights from the ride make the task of making his way through the low hanging branches much easier.
Another tall chain link fence, covered in vines, blocks his path to the carousel. Mitch stands well over six feet tall and is able to cross the fence with relative ease. Once he is on the other side, he turns his attention to the music that's playing and the ride that is spinning. To the left of the ride is an ice cream stand that has been secured for the winter months by covering the windows with sheets of plywood. Behind the building he can also make out a shadow and judging from what he can see, it looks like the person is holding a rifle.
Mitch retreats backwards until his back is flush against the fence. He bumps it harder than he would have liked, and the metal makes a ringing sound that he hopes was quiet enough so that the shadow person was unable to hear it. As if on cue, as soon as Mitch raises the rifle to look through the scope, the ride begins to slow. He turns the rifle in the direction of the ride and catches another glimpse of a figure stumbling off the ride to the rear. Smoke is now hovering above the ride and is streaming out of the center as if the entire ride would soon go up in a ball of flames.
Another sound off to his right distracts him from the falling figure and the black smoke. His reaction is too slow to catch any sight of the person that caused the sound and if it wasn't for the rustling of a few branches, Mitch wouldn't even have been certain that he heard anything at all. With the area around him covered in darkness once again, thanks to the ride slowly shutting down, Mitch becomes more daring and heads toward the back of the ice cream building. The person who is hiding on the opposite side is now on one knee, with his rifle pointed toward the now quiet ride. The relief rushes over him the moment he realizes that this shadowy figure is someone he knows. He walks faster than he would if he were trying to sneak up on someone, not caring if the person less than a few feet in front of him can hear him. Mitch retreats a few feet when he taps Fred on the shoulder and the normally brave officer let's out a squeal reminiscent of an elementary school girl.
"Holy shit Mitch, you almost gave me a heart attack." As much as Mitch is happy to see Fred, it fails in comparison to the happiness in the older officer’s voice. Fred had hoped to be the person to break the case wide open, now that there is obviously more going on at Graham Park than he bargained for, he is relieved to have a partner. "Why didn't you use your radio? Have you heard from Stuart?"
Mitch steps closer to Fred and places his finger over his own mouth, the universal symbol to lower your voice. "I dropped my radio when I took off running toward the roller coaster after I heard the shots." If you were not standing right next to him, you would never be able to hear the words that are coming out of his mouth. Fred nods when he hears that Mitch also heard the shots earlier. "I have not heard from Stuart, I was kind of hoping that you knew where he was. I don't think we're alone here. I found this paper that has a list of what I would describe as very bad men. Every one of them are former military guys and I don't think they are here to enjoy the scenery of our great town."
Fred reaches into his chest pocket and pulls out a stack of folded papers of his own. "I found a few things too, are these the same people that are listed on your paper?"
Mitch gives a folded piece of crumbled paper a quick look, nods his head and starts to fold his paper back up. "Where did you find that and what's on the other papers?"
Fred kneels down in front of Mitch, lays out the three pieces of paper across the cement in between them. "I found them all taped to the door of the small beverage hut in the middle of the midway. I ran that direction when I heard the shots. There was a lit lantern in there too, meaning someone had been there recently."
"I found the room too and the lantern was lit when I got there. I didn't have much time to look around because when I heard the shots I took off." He adds extra emphasis on the last line in hopes that Fred would not read too much into the fact that Mitch could have left valuable evidence behind. "I see the list of names and faces and that looks to be a map of the park. I can't make out what's on the small piece, I never learned how to read upside down."
Fred grabs the smallest scrap of paper and turns it toward Mitch. "I'm not sure what it is exactly but it looked important enough for me to snatch it off of the door. It's a list of body parts, followed by a corresponding dollar amount for each. It looks like someone has organized some sort of game where body parts are traded for large amounts of cash."
"That would help explain something," Mitch looks long and hard at the sheet of paper, before returning it to the neatly laid out design that Fred has created.
"Explain something? What do you mean?" Fred looks up at Mitch like a kid who is waiting eagerly for his father to teach him about the facts of life.
"When I got to the roller coaster I found a body in the front car of the train. I searched the body for any identification and that's when I found my copy of the name list." Mitch shakes the piece of paper in his hand for emphasis.
"So, there is definitely something not right happening here, but that still doesn't help me understand why this list of body parts and dollar amounts helps to explain anything. "Again, Fred looks at his colleague with anticipation. While he might be the bravest of all of the police officers in Twisted Timbers, he will never be labeled as the smartest.
"When I first walked up to the passenger car, I didn't really know what I was looking at. The body had hands bound behind him at the waist and there was a ton of blood. The list of body parts you have here, combined with the list of rules on the back of my paper, help me figure out what is going on. By looking at the list of price amounts, it appears to me that the person responsible for killing the man in the roller coaster car is now fifty grand richer."
It takes a while for Fred to catch on to what he is being told. When it finally sinks in, he snatches the paper from the ground, looks down at the column of dollar amounts, finds the row that shows fifty thousand and uses his pointer finger to direct his eyes to the matching body part. "Oh, hell no! The body in the roller coaster is missing a head?"
Chapter 14
Stuart stands motionless, staring at the words written on the mirror, trying to understand the meaning of the message. The first line is a simple single word, written in letters much larger than the rest. The word CREW spelled out in all caps at the top of the mirror is obviously intended to grab the attention of a group or pack of people. The following sentences are intended to inform the so-called crew that there are three new players in the game and that the head of each one is worth seventy-five grand.
Stuart remains frozen in place, staring at the mirror, trying to figure out what is causing him the most fear. On one hand, the fact that the ride started while he was inside is a strong indication that someone knew he was in there and was a few steps away from him without him even knowing it. On the other hand, the last line of the message on the mirror clearly points a finger at himself and his two fellow officers. The last word in the message, again written in all caps, is LAW. There is no doubt in his mind that this refers to the fact that the three people in the park wearing badges are now a part of some sort of game and that the killing of any of the three officers would earn someone thousands of dollars.
Suddenly Stuart Johnson has the feeling as if someone is watching him, sp
ins around and shines his flashlight into the trees behind him. His heart rate has not slowed one bit since the ride started up unexpectedly. With his rifle barrel shaking, matching the motions of the flashlight, he searches the tree covered area behind him. He doesn't know he is doing it but with every swipe of the flashlight from side to side, Stuart takes a small step away from the woods and closer to the carousel. In typical Stuart fashion, it isn't long before he trips over the ledge of the carousel and falls backward. He ends up under the back legs of a giraffe, looking up at the gold painted stirrups. The commotion must have startled someone on the other side of the ride because as soon as he hit the ground he heard a feminine sounding gasp from that direction. He quickly rolls to his stomach, he has gotten very good at trying to disguise his clumsiness over the years. He makes his way to the opposite side of the ride, dodging the animals one by one as if he were on a tour at some kind of crazy taxidermy safari.
Once on the opposite side of the carousel, he uses the bent leg of a white horse to steady his rifle and aims it near the area where he heard the sound. There's an ice cream stand in the middle of the walkway and from this angle he can see a slight beam of light in the space between the building and the fence behind it. His hands instantly start to tremble, his rifle is no longer secure on the leg of the animal and begins to make clanking sounds as the cold metal of the barrel taps against the gold buckles of the reigns on the brightly painted horse.
For the third time in the last hour, Stuart is frozen in place. This time he is certain there is someone just steps away from him and his life is most certainly in danger. This is the first time he has ever thought that his mother was right when she told him that becoming a police officer would be a bad career choice. From deep in his throat he feels a tickle building. It comes on slowly at first but the black smoke he ingested has made fighting off the cough an exercise in futility. In the brief moment before the cough hits, Stuart wonders if anyone has ever been killed as a direct result from coughing.
"Stuart, is that you?" The voice calls out from behind the ice cream stand soon after the sound of the cough subsides. He is so happy to hear a voice that he recognizes that he almost forgets to respond.
"Mitch, are you back there? I am so glad you're here." He waits until Mitch steps out from behind the ice cream stand, followed closely behind by Fred. Stuart practically jumps up from his crouch and leaps from the ledge of the ride like any one of the thousands of young kids who rode this very ride in the past. "Come over here, you have to see what I found written on this mirror."
Mitch and Fred walk side by side toward Stuart, as he happily strides closer to them. His heartbeat has finally slowed to a much more normal rhythm. He no longer fears that he will die alone on a kid’s ride in an amusement park. His fellow officers have shown up and the three of them together will surely be a much more intimidating force than Stuart cowering in the corner alone. As he approaches the other two men his overwhelming feeling of relief is taken over by excruciating pain running through his leg. It's not that he didn't hear the shot come from behind him as much as it was that the instantaneous feeling of pain over-powered his senses. He drops his flashlight and rifle, as his body crumbles to the ground in a heap. The last thing he sees before he passes out is the back of Mitch, as he runs away and disappears behind the building.
Chapter 15
With his five-year advantage in age, Mitch is easily able to beat Fred to the rear of the snack building. They both retreated as quickly as possible after hearing the gun shot and had their backs turned well before their fellow officer crumbled to the ground. The two men dove head first behind the safety of the wooden walls, a collection of legs and arms flying through the air that was surely a spectacle to watch. As they untangle themselves, their attention turns to their fallen partner.
Mitch takes control of the situation and is the first to be gutsy enough to stick his head around the corner of the building to check on his friend. Stuart is about fifty yards away from the back side of the building. He lays motionless on the cold ground, his hands out to his side as if he were making snow angles. He is obviously too far away for Mitch to be able to tell if the man is still breathing.
"Did you see where it hit him?" There is a long silence before Mitch returns his head to safety and looks at Fred. "I heard the shot and took off running, were you able to see where it hit Stu?"
Fred returns the question with a shake of the head. It's easy to see that his body is tense, and fear has almost taken him over. He stares straight ahead of him, which causes Mitch to look in the same direction. There is nothing there except a fence, trees and bushes in dire need of trimming.
"Fred, I need you to focus. This is not the time for you to be freezing up on me." The fact that the officer who has long been considered the bravest of them all is having a panic attack is not a good sign for the safety of the men. "We have to get Stuart out of there. If he is still alive, he won't be for long unless we go and get him." Mitch places his hand on the forearm of his fellow officer, squeezing slightly to show him that he has the situation under control.
"You think he's still alive?" Apparently, this notion never crossed his mind and hearing the words out loud brings him back into reality. "I guess he could be, huh? I didn't see where the shot hit him. Is he moving?"
"He's too far away. I can't even tell if he's breathing. All I know is, even if he is dead, we are not leaving him out there alone. Lord knows what these people will do to him, they obviously have a fetish for body parts."
"Damn it Mitch, don't talk like that!" Fred is normally a very laid-back individual but after seeing his friend get shot, he is unable to play the role any longer. "What do you suggest we do? If the guy who is taking shots is one of the guys on that paper, then we are dealing with a professional."
Mitch takes a few seconds to scout the area, looking on all sides and peeking his head around the corner to check on the fallen officer again. "I think we need to get inside this building, we need to grab Stuart and get into this building to regroup. Look on the other side of the building for a door."
Fred first looks hesitant about moving. His back has been firmly planted against the wall since the two men dove for safety. He slides his feet along the wall until he is able to stick his head out far enough to check the side of the building for a door. A look back at Mitch and a nod of the head confirms that the only way into the building is on that side.
Even though Fred is much bigger than himself, Mitch knows that he is going to have to be the one that runs out to grab Stuart and carry him into the building. There is zero cover in the area between the building and where the fallen officer is and if Fred were to freeze up, he would surely get shot. A wave of the hand brings Fred back to Mitch where the younger man gives orders like a seasoned pro.
"You are going to have to use your rifle to get into that room. I don't care how many shots it takes, just blow that lock off. Once I hear the first shot I am going to go get Stu. I need you to help me once I reach the side of the building and close the door again once we are safely inside. Can you handle that?"
It is unlike Fred to be at a loss for words but after hearing the plan that Mitch came up with, his only response is an affirmative nod of the head. He slowly retreats to the opposite corner of the building and prepares his weapon to blast the hanging padlock. The few seconds it takes him to shoot off the lock is the most dangerous part of the plan. Fred will leave his body exposed to the shooter, even if it will only be for a brief time.
Mitch waits for the officer to ready his rifle, the fact that the shot sounded like it came from the west means that Fred will more than likely be hidden by trees to the shooter. When his friend disappears around the corner, Mitch begins to feel the adrenaline run through his body. During his high school football days, he learned how to use this rush of energy in a positive way. In this most serious of situations and seconds before he puts his life at risk to save his friend, Mitch finds the irony in the situation. In high school, whe
n the game was on the line and he was given the ball, scoring a touchdown felt like a life or death situation. He is snapped back to reality with the loud pop of the rifle shot. Like a sprinter, he takes off at the sound of the gun.
Chapter 16
His sprint to save his fellow officer only took a few seconds, but in that time, Stuart was able to raise himself up at the waist and look back at Mitch. The three loud shots from behind him were probably what woke him up and caused him to turn around. The fact that he was conscious made it much easier to move him to the safety of the ice cream building. As soon as Mitch reaches his side, Stuart throws his arm over his shoulder and forces his body to a standing position. The two men move quickly, as quickly as the can with Stuart hopping along with a bloody leg.
Fred is waiting for them at the open door to the building, helps bring Stuart inside and slams the door shut behind them. The three men are now all together for the first time since they left the Ferris Wheel a couple of hours earlier. They have each had their own strange experiences in the park, but this is the first time they will be able to put all the information together. Hopefully the collection of data will allow them to come to a conclusion as to what is indeed happening.
Stuart tries to sit himself down on top of some large cardboard boxes, but his weight is too much. The box rips open on the sides and drops the injured officer down on top of it. Blood has covered the entire lower part of his left leg. His face is pale, but his cheeks are red, more as a result of actually having to exert some energy, which Stuart hates to do.
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