by Judy Candis
The driver seemed to get the message right away. He started the engine and pulled off, leaving a mist of dust behind them. Upton finally sat up and wiped the blood from his chin with the back of his sleeve. In the rearview mirror, Jael could see not only the rapid swelling of his right eye, but the look of revenge he wanted to convey to her through tightened lips and heated huffs. Jael placed the barrel of the gun at his throat. “Keep your eyes straight ahead. I’m tired of looking at your ugly face.”
Upton did as she said, mumbling under his breath. Jael lowered the gun to the base of his head, leaning it against the backrest of his seat.
As a seasoned officer who’d seen plenty of active duty during her time on the streets, she’d shot a suspect in the leg once during a robbery attempt, but had never had to actually kill another human being. Today, however, she was sure she could do it. The only thing keeping her in check was her personal witness of God’s intervention on her behalf. No one would ever be able to convince her it was a coincidence that Big Jake and his boys had arrived when they did.
God had proven beyond any more doubts that he was the orchestrator of this entire episode in her life, and never before had she felt so much like a soldier in the Lord’s army. Thus, she would continue to believe He was protecting her every step of the way and wouldn’t want her to take a life out of anger or revenge. But she felt good having the gun in her hand and having the fear reversed to the other side.
As the car moved along at a more rapid pace than before, Jael took in as much of her surroundings as she could while keeping her eyes trained on the men. With the shrill of a phone, she automatically lifted the one in her hand before realizing it was the cell phone in her pocket. The atmosphere in the vehicle turned to icy tension as everyone seemed to hold their breaths. The driver gave her a warning look in the rearview mirror. Slowly removing the phone from her pocket, Jael returned the driver’s look with one of defiance, as she pressed the YES button and placed the phone to her ear.
“What’re you guys doing? Put a rush on it. I have a little something special planned for that screwup, Upton.” The caller clicked off without waiting for a reply.
A lump formed in her throat as she instantly recognized the voice. There could be no further doubts, she thought, as she slowly placed the phone on the seat of the car. The voice had been unmistakable. How could she have missed it?
When she noticed a slight movement at her left, she quickly spun her gun in that direction and gave the man one good wallop on the neck. He slumped forward, and that felt good to her.
Suddenly a surge of victorious triumph washed over Jael, and she began to speak out loud in prayer.
“No weapon formed against me shall prosper! The Lord shall make my enemies my footstool! Fret not thyself because of evildoers, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass! The Lord shall deliver me from the hands of the unrighteous!”
With each word that poured from her mouth, Jael jerked her head in a sista’s “right on” gesture. Upton and the driver exchanged nervous looks. It was obvious Upton’s bravado was for sneak attacks only. He couldn’t stomach his own pain. Nor, she thought, would he be able to handle the surprise awaiting him. It seemed just the mere words she spoke filled the men with a fear she could never have imagined. Jael let the anointing pour forth with a holy vengeance.
“I have not seen the righteous forsaken! The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid!”
Chapter
43
For ten minutes or so they drove through a dense, unpaved area of what seemed to have once been an old cornfield, before veering onto a dirt road surrounded by acres of thick grandfatherly trees. After a deep bend in the road, the car pulled out of the wooded area in front of a huge, dangerous- looking fence with barbed wire across the top. Several men, in military fatigues and carrying rifles over their shoulders, moved in squads behind the fence.
Above them the day was becoming increasingly overcast. Dark ominous clouds crept slowly across the sky in thick patches. Another wave of rain could strike at any moment. The atmosphere made the men marching around behind the fence seem even more frightening. One walked away from the others and swiftly moved toward the gate entrance as it electronically opened. As the car slowly rolled into the tightly secured area, Jael scanned the base for any sign of Ramon. She would not let herself even think about Terrell.
Within the campground were numerous makeshift tents, with both women and men trampling in and out of them, several holding hot camp grills. The place was frenzied with activity as many rushed to break down tents and pack. It seemed they were in the process of clearing out.
Long tables with rows of radio equipment and things Jael couldn’t even identify issued static noises, while somewhere in the background a sultry male voice singing some kind of country and western tune poured over the site from a loudspeaker.
Before the vehicle came to a full stop, Jael pressed the nose of her gun between the front seats and into Upton’s side.
“If even one man so much as raises an eyebrow of curiosity or gives a sign that something’s amiss, I won’t think twice about shooting you in the heart, Upton, then your partner for good measure. So don’t play me.”
Upton nodded, and the driver nodded several times, even though Jael was not speaking to him.
As they pulled farther into the campsite, one of the men, holding a threatening-looking Uzi, glanced over in Jael’s direction, and she responded in surprise. It was Officer Manning, the clerk from the property room. She’d not added him to her earlier equation; more of the pieces were now falling in place.
When the car came to a complete stop, Upton leaped out, and for a horrifying second Jael thought he was about to scream an alert. Instead, he hitched his pants up over his hips and spoke calmly to the man at the gate.
“Glad that’s over.”
“What was the holdup?” Jael heard the man ask him. “You’re five minutes behind schedule.”
“We got sidetracked. This woman put up a real fight.”
The gatekeeper was astonished as he looked first at Upton, then into the vehicle. His face broke out in a wide grin. “I don’t believe it. The three of you let one little woman beat the shit out of you like this.”
“Hey, she’s a trained police officer,” Upton huffed with indignation. “The boss said don’t kill her, just bring her to him. No one said she couldn’t kick our asses.”
The man opened Jael’s door and grabbed her roughly by the arm, yanking her from the car. She barely had time to secretly stuff the gun inside her skirt under her jacket.
“Okay, Mrs. Police Officer, time to pay the piper.”
“Where’s my son?”
“Well, well, if we aren’t about to have a regular little party here.”
The voice came from behind her, and Jael turned, instantly recognizing it as the voice on her cell phone.
Even with the knowledge she’d put together a few minutes earlier, it was still a major jolt to actually see him.
Chapter
44
Jael couldn’t help feeling like she’d been slammed in the chest with a two-by-four as Captain Slater sauntered up to her with a grin as big as a slice of watermelon on his face. Her worst suspicions were confirmed. Why hadn’t she recognized his voice much earlier? The person on the phone had never seemed to camouflage it, but spoke in a rather natural tone.
Answering her unspoken question, the Captain replied in his standard station dialect. “I see by your expression that you realize I’m a man of many talents, Detective. I’ve loved doing impersonations since I was a kid. What you heard on the phone was my famous Andy Griffith imitation. Kinda have the ole Mayberry boy down pat now. Never knew how useful his voice would turn out to be someday.”
Jael opened her mouth to respond, but could think of nothing to say.
Now she knew why the voice had dredged up memories of years gone by. She’d thought it
was someone she’d known personally from her past, and in a way it was. She’d watched The Andy Griffith Show on television for years.
When she saw Tammy move up beside the captain, dressed in similar military fatigue, she felt nothing. Everything was making sense now, horrible sense. She only wondered how far the Klan had infiltrated the police force.
“You don’t seem surprised. I guess I should have known with a hound dog detective nose like yours, it wouldn’t take you long to figure out Tammy was sending the calls through and following your every move.” He slipped his arm around Tammy’s shoulder, giving her a pat of approval. “She’s my girl all right. Proud to have her on my team.”
Jael screwed her lips together and with a slight nod of her head said, “As for you, you only threw me for a second . . . RED DOG.”
The captain’s smirking smile faltered, giving Jael her own minute of satisfaction.
“Actually, I’m the Grand Dragon,” the Captain threw back, dropping his arm from around Tammy while puffing his chest out. “And all that time, right under your big nose. You didn’t think a little internal affairs probe really cleaned house, did you?”
Jael understood that Slater was referring to the internal affairs investigation into the force three years ago concerning racial discrimination charges. Only one police officer had been terminated from the department, with a few others placed on probation. At the time, Slater had been the driving instrument in the sweep. Apparently his outrage and disgust back then had been as much a masquerade as his later voice change. She, like others, had assumed that the majority of dirty cops had been cleaned out. Obviously they hadn’t been. And no wonder, when the corruption started at the top.
“How could you do this? How could you take my baby and use him as a pawn to get your dirty work done?” she asked, aware of the desperation creeping into her voice. She covered it by raising her voice louder. “You could have gotten all those things you demanded from me yourself!”
“This is a war, Detective, and there will always be casualties in war.” He grinned a heinous, self-satisfied grin. “But we could never allow even the slightest trace of evidence to lead back to me.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“Oh no? Well, think about this—everything will lead back to you, Reynolds. All the missing items from the property room—the gun, the phone book. And everyone at the station will attest to the fact that you were acting strange. You see, with your interference, I had to keep changing my original plan. When I was bragging to your FBI agent about what a great officer you were, that was to throw him off. Make him believe I was a serious nigger lover.” Everyone around her joined the Captain in a hardy laugh at that one. “But he knew without my telling him about the history of your little drug problem. So when they find your body, and your son’s, the medical examiner will discover a large amount of it in your system. And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what dirty business that will bring up again.”
Jael was struck speechless. Slater had supported her when she came up for dismissal, saying she had his complete backing. He’d even fought the reprimand to keep her on his team. Drugs were not the issue then. He was obviously just waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it against her. But it didn’t make sense. Why so much support when he could have easily had her terminated?
As Jael stood stunned, a movement drew her attention, and she turned to see Upton attempting to sneak away, a huge smirk on his face. In desperation, Jael pulled the gun from her waistband.
“Everyone hold it right now.”
At the sight of the gun, everyone either froze or slowly backed away. But Slater responded with an even wider grin.
“Oh, you’re making this so easy for me. Playing right into my hands.”
Jael refused to be intimidated. “You’ve got to be a fool, Slater, if you think no one will put the pieces together and know this was all a setup.” Jael knew she’d have to play every card she had. This was no longer just a kidnapping. Somehow, Slater meant to leave her and her son behind to take the rap for the drug murders. “People are looking for me right now.”
“You mean your FBI agent? I knew he was sweet on you—that little spat between you two worked in our favor. Still, I don’t expect him to give up that easy, so I’ve got another little trick up my sleeve for him. By the time he locates you, I’ll have everything in place.”
“You can’t fool him. He knows everything!”
“Not everything, my dear. Certainly not that at this very minute, I’m not in my office but out attempting to locate you because of a tip I received: that you’ve slipped and reverted back to your old ways.” His voice took on a phony inflection as he tilted his head with mock sorrow. “I’ll be so sad when I have to tell everyone that to hide your addiction from the force—which was far more than simple painkillers as you’d led us to believe—you went to extreme measures. I’ll feel regret for covering for you. Sorry I’d given you another chance when so many people’s lives were at stake. To cover up, you tried to make it look like the Klan was the culprit. It goes on, and on, but I guess you get the drift.”
“That’s about the dumbest thing I ever heard. No one will believe that!”
The Captain gave a slight nod of his head in the direction of one of his men. The man stepped up behind Upton and yanked him aside. At the same time, someone behind her knocked the gun from her hand as another man roughly gripped Upton’s free arm. It all happened so fast. Surprise and realization dawned on Upton’s face as he began to struggle.
“Hey now, wait a minute,” he squealed. “I did everything as you asked.”
“And you gave your life for the cause,” the Captain said with a sickening smile. “As our selfless Lone Wolf, you will be rewarded in heaven.” To the men holding Upton he said, “Take him away.”
Upton’s eyes nearly bucked out his head. “No! You said you’d take care of everything. Keep me from prison!” He struggled uselessly, his voice cracking as tears welled in his eyes. “You can’t do this, you lying son-of-a-bitch.”
“Tsk, tsk, better watch your tongue. You know how Detective Reynolds hates a foul mouth.” The Captain broke out laughing at his own cruel joke.
“Whatever evil plot you are planning will backfire,” Jael screamed, rubbing her wrist after the assault by the man behind her. “No one in his right mind will ever believe it.”
“Oh yes they will. As you can see”—he waved his hand in a wide berth to include the many smiling faces around him, as Tammy snuggled even closer to him and gave Jael a coy smirk—“I have lots of witnesses. And your ex will be quick to add his two cents when he learns certain dealers were holding your son as collateral.”
She studied him for a long moment, holding herself still, but the fury she felt emanated from her like waves off hot, black tar. “You low-down, no-good—”
Jael didn’t see the shadow that suddenly rushed up behind her, seconds before the back of her head exploded into a cistern of pain. The hard dirt ground raced toward her face as blackness claimed her.
Chapter
45
Pinpoints of dancing light fought to penetrate the shroud of fog around her, arousing her out of the depths of unconsciousness. As she slowly began to come awake, Jael’s head felt as if it were splitting into a million pieces, while a small voice as familiar as her own soul continued to push its way through the haze. A sound she needed to cling to, a tiny whisper that pressed against the heavy fog, demanding she comprehend. Finally, a single word broke through, bringing her fully awake.
“Momma?”
Lifting her lids was torture.
“Momma, Momma, please. Are you all right?”
The words penetrated the fog and Jael rose, then fell back again. Her head was pounding and something was holding her arms so tightly she felt paralyzed. As she began to focus, zeroing in on the words floating toward her, her world soared with relief. There across from her was the sweetest sight she’d ever seen. Ramon was lying on a military co
t a few feet away. His arms were tied in front, he looked extremely frightened, but otherwise he seemed okay.
As she tried to rise toward him, she realized that the feeling of paralysis came as a result of her own hands’ and ankles’ being tied. Her suit jacket had been removed, along with her shoes. Of course, her stockings were now nothing more than shreds of material along her legs and her blouse was a little rumpled, but otherwise everything seemed intact.
“Baby, baby, you okay?”
The scared look in his eyes and the quiver in his lips tore at her heart.
“I . . . I guess so,” he whispered. “I . . . What’s happening, Momma? Why are you here tied up like this too?”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be all right.”
Ramon continued to stare at her, his worry creasing his sweet face. Jael shifted and gave him a reassuring smile before turning her gaze to take in her surroundings.
They were in some kind of old dilapidated barn, filled with the smells of dried hay, mildew and dung. If windows were anywhere, it was hard to locate them, because the area was dark, with the only glimmers of light coming through the slats in the roof and a few split boards on the walls of the barn. Otherwise, there was nothing in the center area outside of the two cots she and Ramon were on and some misshapen shadows, which were possibly old farming tools and machinery, in the darkened corners.
Where was Grant? Where was Big Jake? And did she dare ask where was God? Why was it each time she could taste victory, the devil seemed to be one step ahead of her? How could God expect her to hold on to her faith when she was blocked at every turn? But all she had right now was her faith. Her only weapon was staying strong in the words of the Lord, even when she was plagued by emotions of confusion and disbelief.