“Hold on, it just clicked, all of you are the ones who brought down a secret government corruption ring?” Cris asked as he looked back and forth between all four of them.
“Yep, that was us, but don’t ask us the details or we might have to kill you. Maybe you will read about how it all went down one day though,” Princess Hardass said as she smirked behind her beer.
“Kylee told me during that time when you were separated from each other in hiding you all found the loves of your lives,” Arie said as she looked at them.
Cris rolled his eyes and said, “They brought down a corruption ring who could have done damage to us and all you can think about is that they have significant others now?”
“Hell yeah, that is so romantic,” Arie said as she hit Cris in the shoulder.
“Kind of like you two getting together while trying to find your best friend and save her from a madman, no offense Maximum,” Kylee yelled out rather loudly.
“Shut up, Ky, before you wake up the dead or something,” Arie said as his face turned slightly red from embarrassment.
They stayed out there for two more hours getting to know each other over beers before they all headed to their separate houses and went to sleep.
Chapter Eleven
Arie plopped down on the couch and blew out an exhausted breath. She had just gotten in from a lunch with the Craigs while Cris went fishing with his cousins. It was fun yet exhausting. It had been a month since they found Kylee in the abandoned sugar factory and they still hadn’t found the Daytime Killer, which was weighing heavily on both Arie’s and Cris’s minds so much so that it was hard for them to sleep or think about anything else. The only good they could see out of it was he hadn’t taken a new victim since the fiasco with Kylee.
Arie moaned and closed her eyes as events of the past month clouded her mind. They had exhausted all their leads from Grace’s notes and their own. They even brought in a fresh pair of eyes but nothing was working so far. Neither of them was happy and the case was taking over their lives. It was starting to put a strain on their lives. So Cris felt as though they should take a small step back and start over from the beginning to see if they missed anything.
Cris had also taught Arie to drive in the past month and she had gotten her license. She thought since she could drive a boat since she was eight that driving a car would be easy. It wasn’t easy. It took a while for her to get everything under control, especially watching out for the crazy drivers who seemed to make up their own rules on the road.
Arie was drifting into a much needed sleep when a vision overcame her. She could see herself running into the woods at a fast pace trying to outrun something. No, she realized it was Grace running from somebody when the person called out Grace’s name. Arie tried her best to turn around so she could see the person chasing Grace when she realized it was more than likely the night she died and the person chasing her was the Daytime Killer. Just as she thought she wasn’t going to see the killer, Grace turned her head around and Arie was looking into Tate’s eyes.
She was pissed off when she startled awake. She had suspected him for a long time now and never said anything.
“Shit,” Arie mumbled when she remembered she let Cris borrow one of her father’s fishing boats. Now Cris and Mark both were in danger out on a fishing boat in the middle of the ocean.
She jumped up off the couch, hurriedly slipped on her shoes, grabbed her car keys and the keys to her father’s boats, and her gun. As she ran toward the car, she took out her phone and called the captain telling him to send backup to the Marina and that Cris was in danger and on a boat with the Daytime Killer.
Ignoring the captain telling her to stay home the police would handle it, she jumped in her father’s car. As she drove toward the Marina, she called the Marina’s office so her boat would be ready to sail as soon as she arrived. Since Cris, Mark, and Tate were on one of her father’s many fishing boats he gave her so she knew their coordinates. The Marina manager was also one of her father’s friends so he didn’t really ask her any questions.
Twenty minutes later Arie was pulling up to the Marina. She parked as close to the docks as she could and ran straight to the boat she needed, a Hison Jet boat since its Suzuki engine made the least amount of noise and the waves would drown out the rest. As she rounded the corner toward the boat she noticed someone was already there untying the boat for her.
“Thanks, B,” Arie said as she jumped on the boat as the Marina owner’s son untied it for her.
“No problem, A, I already gassed her up for you. Be careful there is a small storm rolling in,” Brandon said as he threw the rope into the boat just as Arie started it.
“I need one more favor, the cops will be here soon, give them the Chapattis coordinates and one of my boats if needed. Also cut off all communication to my radio unless I initiate it,” Arie said before taking off.
Arie felt at home as the smell of the ocean hit her nose and the wind blew through her hair. She never thought she would be able to glide her boat across the ocean again. She felt alive and nothing else mattered to her when she was on the ocean. Everything that was happening on land went away and it was just her and the water.
She looked over at the coordinates and knew exactly where they were anchored. They were up a few more miles ahead either inside of the hidden cave she and Brandon spotted when they were younger or somewhere around it.
The waves whispered her name every time they crashed against her boat, well at least that’s what she heard every time they hit the boat when she was on the ocean.
Stop thinking about the ocean, Arie, you don’t have time for that. You have to save Cris from Tate. Come on, you only got a few more minutes to go, time to get your head in the fight, Arie thought as she sped the boat up.
****
Five minutes later Arie was making sure everything was shut off on the boat as she coasted into the cave. She stopped the boat a few inches away from the fishing boat and tied the rope Brandon tossed on board to one of the rails on the back of the fishing boat. There was just enough light coming down from the hole in the top of the cave for her to see what was happening on the boat. Cris and Mark were hanging from a rope tied to the head of the mast.
As she crouched down and took her gun out, she quietly made her way to the stern of the boat. She was being as careful as she could since she hadn’t seen Tate since she stepped foot on the boat.
“Cris and Tate, I didn’t want to kill you two, but neither of you know how to mind your own business. I wouldn’t have to kill you like I had to do Grace’s nosey ass. She just didn’t know how to mind her own business. Now not only do I have to kill you two but I have to fake my own death,” The Daytime Killer said to Cris and Tate as they struggled against the rope.
What the hell, Mark is the killer not Tate? Arie thought as she turned her head, squinted her eyes, and realized it was Tate tied to the mast not Mark. She turned back and watched as Mark picked up his gun and pointed it at Cris.
Her heart pounded and her hands became sweaty when she realized the gun was pointed at Cris. She knew it was time to make her move now or let Cris die and she couldn’t lose him. If he died, it would be her fault and she didn’t think she could live without him.
A distraction was what she needed to make her move. She picked up a large lug from the boat and threw it into the water on the other side of the boat. She quickly climbed on board as Mark was leaning over the railing looking for what made the noise. She kept her eyes on him as she made her way toward the guys. He was still leaning over the boat checking to see what, if anything had fallen off, giving Arie the time she needed to sneak behind him.
Mark quickly turned around when he notice a hint of a reflection. Arie kicked his gun out of his hand and sent it flying into the water when he turned back around.
“Bitch!” Mark screamed out as he punched her in the face.
Arie stumbled back a few steps but she quickly caught her balance and recovered. She wanted like hell to go after
him for what he did to Kylee and Grace, but she couldn’t let her emotions overcome her. She waited until he charged at her to make her move. Before Mark knew what was going on, Arie had dodged out of his way and landed two successful punches, one in his stomach and the other in his throat, knocking the wind out of him.
“Put your hands up slowly and turn around,” Arie said as she pulled her gun out and pointed it at Mark.
Mark wasn’t going down this easily without a fight. He pretended like he was going to cooperate as he slowly raised his hands. Before Arie could blink, Mark knocked her gun out of her hand and sent it a few feet to the right of her.
Don’t dive for the gun and let him get the upper hand on you, Arie thought just as the boat began to rock slightly.
Arie noticed the cause of the sway of the boat. When she looked out the corner of her eyes she saw Cris was screaming behind the Duct tape trying to get lose from the ropes. His moving was causing the boat to sway.
“Stop moving, Cris, you’re making it worse,” Arie said, never taking her eyes off Mark as she spoke to him.
Arie couldn’t figure out how and didn’t have time to ponder on it as Mark somehow managed to get her legs out from under her and she landed on her back with a thud. She groaned as he landed on top of her and then quickly drew in a deep breath as his hands wrapped around her throat. Instead of panicking, she thrust out her palm striking him in the nose as hard as she could. As blood squirted from his broken nose, he howled then immediately covered his nose with his hands. She knew she could recover so she struck him again, this time in the chest, sending him flying off her.
Before he hit the ground, she was reaching for her gun. Her hands brushed against the steel of her gun just as he began pulling her toward him by one of her feet. Dumbass, she thought when she realized he had just her left leg in his hand. She wiggled and twisted until she was in the right position, raised her right foot, and kicked him as hard as she could. As he was stumbling back, she managed to grab her gun this time.
Cris’s screams drifted into her ears as she saw something metal glisten in Mark’s hands. She quickly took off the safety on her gun and shot him twice in the chest and once right between the eyes as he pointed the gun in his hand at her. His body dropped onto the boat and halfway into the water causing the boat to lean onto its side.
Arie ran over toward him and pulled Mark’s dead body back into the boat before he made the boat tip over. After checking his pulse to make sure he was dead, she reached into her boot and pulled out a knife. Cris was still screaming at her as she pulled him and Tate’s bodies onto the boat. First she cut them loose from the rope before ripping the Duct tape off their mouths. She didn’t want to hear whatever Cris felt like he had to yell at her about.
“Why the fuck would you come out here alone knowing a killer was on the boat?” Cris screamed as he pulled her into a hug; he was more scared of what Mark was going to do to her instead of himself.
She could feel and hear his heart as it thumped loudly against her head.
“Thanks for saving my life, Arie. Oh, you’re welcome, Cris,” she said sarcastically as she reached for the radio to radio it in to the captain.
“Whatever, smartass, you almost got yourself killed, but thank you for saving mine and Tate’s lives. One minute we were drinking beer with Mark and the next we were hanging from the ropes as Mark told us about each woman and animal he ever killed—” Tate interrupted Cris before he could finish.
“Cris, my wife,” Tate said as he jumped up and began pacing the boat.
“Arie, get the captain on line and tell him Mark had Tate’s wife locked in his house with a bomb and some trip wires surrounding it. Tell him to send out the bomb squad as quickly as possible, she’s pregnant,” Cris said to Arie as he tried to get Tate to calm down.
Arie quickly relayed everything to the captain that Cris and Tate had told her as she guided the boat back to shore.
****
Cris crossed his hands across his chest and leaned forward as he sat across the table from Tate in the interrogation room. He knew the only way for them to get the full story from Tate was for him to do the interrogation.
“Mom, come in,” Cris called out as he leaned back into the chair and knock on the window behind him. Tate didn’t need to know he was bluffing about his mother being there and that she was at the hospital with Tate’s wife.
“No, man, don’t bring her in, I will tell you everything you need to know,” Tate said as he immediately started telling what happened the night Grace was killed.
“Meet me at the family cabin, I have something you want.” Tate heard Mark say to him on the phone as soon as he answered.
“Look, Mark, I’m at work. I cannot leave for another hour or two,” Tate replied as he blew out a frustrated breath.
He knew Mark was just playing a cat and mouse game with him since he hadn’t talked to him for two weeks after seeing him try to hit his wife for not bringing him a beer. He was pissed at Mark. He couldn’t understand what kind a brother tried to hit his pregnant sister-in-law for not getting him a beer.
“If you love your wife you will be here in an hour,” Mark said as he hung up the phone.
“Fuck,” Tate screamed as he logged out of his computer and ran out his office door.
He drove as quickly as he could to the family cabin without giving the police anything to pull him over. As he pulled up to the cabin he noticed Mark whistling with a shovel in one hand and a bag in the other.
“Where is my wife, Mark?” Tate asked. He had tried to call his wife the whole time he drove there and she never answered, which was so unlike her.
She always answered the phone for him no matter where she was or what she was doing.
“I’ll tell you after I finish burying this stuff,” Mark said as he lifted up the clear plastic bag enough for Tate to see the contents in it. “I will know if you try to call Cris and tell him or leave. I have a tracking device on you and your phone,” Mark called out as he continued to make his way into the woods.
Tate couldn’t believe it, he saw the jewelry the victims of the Daytime Killer were wearing prior to them being kidnapped in the bag Mark had. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t hear the person approaching him until it was too late.
“Tate,” the woman whispered before she turned around and took off running.
He took off running behind her, he didn’t want his brother to catch her before he was able to get her out of there.
The deeper she ran into the woods the more scared Tate became. He knew Mark had probably heard her running through the woods now and was lying in wait. Fuck, I have to get her out of here now, Tate thought as he tripped over a branch, but he quickly recovered.
“Come here, Grace, I just want to talk to you, you know I will never hurt you like he did the others, we are family, stop,” Tate yelled loud enough for her to hear but not loud enough for his brother to hear.
Come on please, Supreme Holy Spirit, help me stop her before she gets herself killed. Tate began to pray to their ancestors and every spirit he could remember. He just needed her to stop for him.
“Grace!” Tate screamed as he saw Mark coming from behind the trees.
He ran faster trying to get to her when he saw Mark raise the shovel. A sickening crack vibrated through his ears as the shovel made contact with the back of Grace’s head. He dropped to his knees and crawled to her body when he got close enough.
“Stop, stay back, unless you want to go to jail for her murder,” he heard Mark’s voice drift into his mind as Mark pulled him back from Grace’s body.
Tate’s hands shook as he pulled out his phone attempting to dial Cris’s number.
“Your wife is in my house with a bomb, all I have to do is push a button and she is dead. Both of you will be killed by trip wire surrounding my property if you even attempt to try to rescue her. If you try to call Cris, his mother, or anyone from the police, I will press the button. I have a monitoring device on your
phone and a tracking device on you,” Mark said as he searched his bag and pulled out hazard mat suit.
Tate watched in shock as Mark slid on the suit and picked up Grace as if she was nothing. He couldn’t understand how someone could kill their own cousin and act like nothing happened.
“Go home and don’t say anything to anyone or your wife is dead,” Mark said as he got up and left Tate kneeling on the ground.
Tate stayed like that for hours. Until rain started pouring down on his head and he had no choice but to get up and go home.
After Tate finished talking about the episode leading up to Grace's death that day, Grace began to whisper her own account of what had happened to Cris.
‘My heart pounded loudly, the beat reaching my ears as I ran through the forest, drowning out everything else around me for a second. I felt so stupid, I had always promised myself I wouldn’t be like one of those girls on television or in the movies who gets caught or killed by the suspect they were going after. I could hear him getting closer to me as I ran deeper and deeper into the woods.
‘I knew I should have told you, Cris, that I had a suspect in mind, but I didn’t want to believe who the suspect was so I said nothing. Now here I was running from that suspect as he taunted me.
‘He must be stupid if he thinks using my nickname is going to make me stop running, so his crazy ass could kill me, I thought as I kept running. I knew he was lying and wouldn’t let me go if he caught me so I kept running.
‘I couldn’t believe what was happening, all I wanted to do was help the police figure out the identity of The Daytime Serial Killer and it was our cousin Tate the whole time. I will not trip over anything and I will get out of here in enough time, I thought as I jumped over a log in front of me.
‘The trees all became a blur as I ran through them. My face was now numb from all the branches I had run into. I knew my face must be scratched up but I didn’t care. All that was on my mind was getting to the road before he caught me.
The Eyes Tell No Lies Page 13