Jimmy had run out from behind the wall to help Pierce and saw anger and fear reflected on his friend’s face, along with confusion.
“What the hell, Jimmy? Was Bo Raines playing with me or trying to kill me?”
Jimmy grinned.
“Neither, I think he was just herding you out of the way.”
“What do you mean?”
In the next instant, there was a loud explosion. It was followed by an inferno.
The last motorcycle on the left, the one ridden by the Demon named Rum, erupted in flames that engulfed the two men nearest to him. Rum’s body, which had flown into the air, had not yet hit the ground when the next explosion occurred.
Another motorcycle exploded and flames shot to the left and right of it, engulfing all but Moloch and Gorgon. They had recovered from their shock and were moving away together when Gorgon’s motorcycle bloomed into flames beneath him.
The explosion tossed him towards the water of the bay, but unfortunately, for Gorgon, he landed a few yards short. Flames ate at his flesh. Gorgon shrugged off the backpack and clawed at his burning clothes until they were off. Then, mercifully, he made it into the water by crawling.
Moloch was merely singed by the fire, but then, what was left of Gorgon’s motorcycle crashed into him and he went down. The sound of three consecutive shots came, and Moloch yelped in pain. The cry was followed by yet another explosion, as his bike also came ablaze.
He too was now on fire, with both his beard and hair alight. But Moloch was on his feet, and he ran straight for the bay, while limping from a leg wound.
***
Still standing by the wall, Pierce and Jimmy were looking on in both wonder and horror at the devastation taking place.
Jimmy clapped Pierce on the chest.
“Incendiary rounds, Rick; Raines is firing incendiary rounds at their gas tanks.”
Pierce barely heard Jimmy. He was too busy looking at the women who had appeared and run onto the road. One of them was young, but the other had some mileage on her.
She was a good match for the description of Andrea that Chuck Ralston had given Pierce. Although he was too far away from her to say for certain, Pierce thought that he saw a scar on her face, as she swiveled her head to take in the scene.
The younger woman seemed to be in shock by the carnage before her, while the older one was crying and pulling at her hair. When the young one spotted him and Jimmy, she tugged at the older woman’s sleeve and pointed.
When the older woman looked over at Pierce, he could see a visage of hate staring back at him.
She took a step towards him, but the younger woman was shouting at her and telling her that they had to leave.
“Jimmy, go help Jake and the others. I think I’ve just found Andrea.”
“Rick, what about the Demons?”
Pierce looked across the ruined road and saw several mounds of burnt flesh lying among flaming debris. And God help them, but some of the smoldering flesh still lived and moaned in agony. At the water’s edge, the waves had deposited Gorgon and Moloch back on the shore, where they both writhed in pain from the burns that covered most of their bodies.
“The Demons are done for. Now go, please, help my partner.”
“Be careful of that bitch; she’s already killed one cop.”
“She’s mine, Jimmy, now go!”
Pierce looked back at Andrea and saw that she and the girl were fleeing. He went in pursuit, determined to catch Al Finder’s killer.
***
Andrea had been torn between running to the shore to comfort Gorgon, or saving her own ass and getting away.
She chose her own ass, and it didn’t take much urging by Darla for her to do so.
Besides, Gorgon would die, she just knew it. Her father had suffered similar burns when she was a girl, and modern medicine or not, Gorgon was dead.
Those were her thoughts as she fled back to the truck, but when she reached it, she remembered the van was blocking her.
“Darla, are the keys in the van?”
“I don’t know, but look, here comes that man. Is he a cop? Oh shit, he is, I see a badge sparkling on his hip.”
Andrea said a prayer as she ran to the van and ripped open the door. When she saw the key sitting in the ignition she lit up in a smile.
“Yes!”
Darla was nearly left behind as Andrea pulled away. Darla had just climbed in on the passenger side, but had yet to shut the door and almost tumbled out.
Andrea was maneuvering the van around the worst patches of the crumbling road surface. If she got a flat they’d be screwed.
When she heard the truck start up behind her, she threw caution away and pressed down on the pedal.
That made the ride rougher, but increased her speed and kept a gap between her and the truck. She knew that if she could just get on the expressway, she could make it into the city and lose the cop among the crowds on the boardwalk.
She was looking in the side view mirror when the van’s left front tire fell into a deep hole. In the interior of the van, it felt like they’d fallen off a cliff as the van jounced in and out of the hole. Darla left her seat with a scream and wound up on the floor.
Andrea kept her seat, but lost control of the wheel as her foot left the gas pedal. The van skidded along the chain-link fence to her right, cracking the mirror on that side and sending sparks flying. Andrea gripped the wheel, righted the van, and was stepping on the accelerator when the truck slammed into her hard enough to rattle her teeth.
***
As Andrea had done with the van, Pierce had shouted, “Yes!” when he saw that the truck had keys. The small box truck had an automatic transmission and he had it moving in no time.
The dips and bumps in the road were heinous and Pierce felt like he was riding a wild bronco. But he held on, he pressed down on the gas, and he kept up with the van.
When Andrea lost control and her foot slipped off the gas, Pierce moved up on her rear. Before she could get back up to speed, he rammed the van in such a way as to drive it into the fence.
Andrea tried to get off the fence, but her efforts were useless, and when she slammed into a support pole, the chase was over.
The chase had ended, but not the struggle.
Andrea leapt from the van clutching a knife and charged the truck. Pierce had just stepped out and was still getting his footing on the uneven ground. When he looked at her, he saw the scar on her cheek, along with Andrea’s knife, which was gleaming in the moonlight.
The blade came down towards his chest, but it never connected, because Pierce sent a vicious right into Andrea’s face that broke her nose.
When Pierce saw that she still gripped the knife, he kicked her. His foot connected with her chin and sent her head snapping back, and the knife went spinning away.
A quick look told Pierce that Andrea was out cold, and he approached the van with his weapon drawn.
“If I see a gun I will kill you!” Pierce shouted.
“I ain’t got a gun! I ain’t got a gun!” Darla yelled in a voice that was nearly a scream.
Pierce advanced cautiously on the vehicle and looked inside, with his weapon leading the way.
Darla was still on the floor of the van. She sat in front of the seat with her back against the door. Her empty hands were held high, and there was a tentative smile on her face.
“Hey, see, I ain’t armed, and you know what, I can help you.”
“How’s that?”
Darla’s smile formed fully.
“I want to make a deal.”
CHAPTER 27
Bo Raines stepped out of the weeds and debris to walk among the dead and dying. He then moved down along the shoreline until he stood above Gorgon and Moloch.
The two burnt men were in so much pain that Bo wondered if they were even aware of his presence.
Bo had been about to move on when the glitter caught his eye. A small hole had been burned into the top of the backpack, and a gold bar was v
isible. When Bo looked inside and saw the rest of the treasure, he shook his head in amazement.
A glance around the area told him that he was alone with the Bay Street Demons, or rather, what remained of them. Bo let his rifle lean against his legs and shouldered the backpack.
Both Gorgon and Moloch were moaning from the agony of their wounds, and for an instant, Bo was tempted to place a mercy round into each of their heads. The impulse passed swiftly when he thought of his sister, and he knew that the human devils laying at his feet couldn’t suffer enough.
Once he had the backpack secured, Bo gripped his rifle, but before he could lift it, he heard Pierce’s voice come from behind him.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to move along; as you can see, there’s been some trouble here.”
Bo turned and saw that Pierce was approaching him with his weapon holstered. He sent him a nod.
“Yes, Detective, I was just leaving.”
Pierce sighed.
“Where will you go? What will you do?”
Bo looked down at the groaning, writhing forms of Gorgon and Moloch.
“Scumbags like these two aren’t rare. There are other girls at risk out there because of it, girls just like my little sister. I couldn’t save her, but maybe I can save others. I’ll keep busy, Detective, oh, you can count on that.”
Pierce cleared his throat.
“As I said, you should be moving along, and may God protect you.”
“You too, Detective Pierce, you too.”
Pierce watched as Bo walked towards the drainage ditch, upon reaching it, he went left, in the opposite direction of the warehouse. When Gorgon emitted a hoarse scream and reached out a beseeching hand, Pierce ignored him, and took out his two-way radio.
Jake Collins answered and had good news, the battle at the warehouse was over, and none of their group had been hurt.
“Jimmy filled us in on what happened to the Demons, but what about Bo Raines?”
“Raines?”
“Yeah, Rick, did he get away?”
“He’s in the wind, partner, but I think we haven’t heard the last of him.”
“Rogers dispatched two ambulances and a patrol car to your location, but you’ll have to meet them out by that fence.”
“Will do, and I’ve apprehended two women, they’re handcuffed to a van, and Jake, one of them is Al’s killer, Andrea.”
“Great, Rick, and we’ll meet up soon. What a night, huh?”
“More like a nightmare, and yeah, I’ll see you soon.”
***
The Salvadorans had bitten off more than they could chew and were all killed during the gun battle they’d begun.
The three girls being held captive were freed. However, Homeland Security’s undercover officer turned out to be the man who was executed from behind. Two more Homeland agents died, and a third was saved by mouth to mouth resuscitation administered by Stacey.
Homeland Security wasn’t buying the, “We just happened to be in the area,” bit that Pierce and the others were trying to sell. But, they were so grateful for the help they received that Homeland, along with the Atlantic City Police, decided not to press the issue.
They also allowed Rogers and Abrams to cart off Darla and Andrea. That pleased Pierce, as he was looking forward to interviewing them both. They still didn’t know why Andrea killed Al, while Darla told Pierce that she could help him get Andrea convicted.
***
Pierce stood with Jimmy, Jake, and Stacey as they watched the Atlantic City CSI’s go over the debris from the ruined motorcycles.
One of the techs pulled a sealed white garbage bag from a compartment on Moloch’s bike. He made a face when he cut open the bag and peered inside. He then brought it over to a folding table that had been set up. The table had a powerful lamp attached that was being powered by a nearby generator, and the tech held up a dress to examine it.
“Is that blood?” Pierce asked the man. “If it is, it must be fresh.”
“No Detective, I think it’s just red food coloring.”
Jake shrugged.
“I don’t get it. Why would one of the Demons be carrying that around?”
Stacey pointed at the dress and made an observation.
“It also looks like something an old lady would wear.”
***
The following Monday morning, Darla was smiling at Pierce, as he interrogated her.
“I can give you the clothes that Andrea was wearing when she killed that cop.”
“Yes, you claim to have the clothes? How did you come by them?”
Darla, whose full name was Darla Switzer, fluttered her eyes at Pierce.
“I’m not just another pretty face.”
“I’m beginning to see that,” Pierce said. He was alone with Darla and her lawyer inside an interview room. Behind the mirrored glass, Jake and Stacey watched, while Jake also took notes.
Darla wanted to walk on all charges. In exchange, she would tell them where to find Andrea’s bloody clothes. She had never given them to Moloch. She had only handed him a dress that she had dyed with food coloring. If Moloch had ever bothered to open the bag Darla had given him, her ruse would have been discovered.
Andrea’s bloody clothes, dress included, were buried in the backyard of the old lady’s house they had crashed at the night the first Demon died.
Darla might be a nymphomaniac, but she wasn’t stupid, and she knew Moloch planned to keep those clothes as a get out of jail free card. It was a card she would play instead.
The Demons were all dead. Gorgon and Moloch expired overnight within minutes of each other. The other Demons had all died at the scene.
Pierce would hate to let Darla walk away scot-free, but the DA wanted those bloody clothes to use against Andrea.
Pierce remembered something he’d seen in Darla’s file, and he decided to use it to buy time. Ignoring Darla, he spoke to her lawyer, a public defender named Owens. Owens was a good lawyer, and he knew that if his client was telling the truth, he held the upper hand.
“Mr. Owens, the DA is willing to drop all charges save one against your client.”
“That one charge better not be accomplice to murder,” Owens said. He was in his thirties and overweight, with sparkling blue eyes and thick wavy brown hair.
“Your client is wanted on a possession charge. We want her to serve 90 days on that and we’ll drop all the rest.”
It was a lie. The DA didn’t give a damn about the marijuana possession. He only wanted Andrea’s bloody dress so that he could have a slam dunk case against a cop killer.
Owens nibbled his bottom lip.
“Why should my client do any time at all?”
Pierce smiled and spread his hands.
“It’s an election year, Owens. It doesn’t look good if she just skips on everything. The 90 days is to ensure that the Press doesn’t report that she was released without even a slap on the wrist. The voters wouldn’t like that.”
Owens considered the offer, and then he and Darla whispered back and forth. When they were finished, Owens had a counter offer.
“Thirty days in county, and the DA signs an airtight agreement that she won’t be charged with anything having to do with the Raines’ family.”
Pierce hated to agree. He knew that the conniving little bitch sitting across from him was an accomplice to the Demons’ crimes. However, given the DA’s eagerness to reach an agreement, he also realized that the 30 days was a gift.
“It’s a deal,” Pierce said. “I’ll sell it to the DA.”
Darla grinned at him, and it was all Pierce could do to stop himself from reaching across the table and slapping the smile off her silly face.
CHAPTER 28
The funeral for Detective Albert Finder was held on Wednesday afternoon.
To no one’s surprise, numerous women showed up to pay their respects. They were not former lovers; they were the beneficiaries of Al Finder’s dogged determination. Many of the women had bee
n young runaways who had become involved in prostitution. Al had convinced many of them to either go home or to seek the help of a women’s shelter.
Some had even been abducted and rescued by Finder. They cried as many tears as his friends did, and felt the loss of the detective just as deeply.
Pierce attended with Val at his side, and they were accompanied by Val’s best friend, Ginny. Ginny was a dark-haired pixie of a woman. She and Al Finder had once gone on a blind date set up by Val. The two then dated, but Ginny was put off by Al’s obsession with his job. They had ended as friends, and she was shedding tears at graveside.
Pierce was pleased when he saw Jake and Stacey arrive together, and he sensed that there was something going on there. Jimmy Drake came alone, but was dressed in a suit, while his shaggy beard had been combed along with his hair.
As Jimmy walked towards them in the cemetery, Ginny grabbed Val’s arm.
“Who’s that?”
“That’s Rick’s friend, Jimmy Drake; you’ve heard me mention him.”
“That’s Jimmy Drake? Why didn’t you tell me that he was gorgeous?”
Val opened her mouth in shock.
“You think Jimmy is hot?”
“Oh yeah, look at all that hair. It’s so sexy.”
When Jimmy joined them, Pierce made the introductions, and it seemed to Pierce that Jimmy’s eyes often looked in Ginny’s direction.
The funeral ended, and Pierce stopped to speak with a relative of Al’s, an aunt who lived in Florida. As they spoke, the aunt lamented the sad fate of her nephew. When she mentioned something about the family history, Jimmy, who was standing next to Pierce, snapped his fingers.
Pierce looked at him.
“What? You just thought of something?”
Jimmy pulled Pierce aside as Val continued talking with Al Finder’s aunt.
“You remember when I said that the name Andrea struck a chord with me?”
“Yeah, why?”
Jimmy told him what he had just recalled, and when they confirmed that his memory was correct with Al’s aunt, Pierce still couldn’t believe that Jimmy’s suspicion could be true.
“I know it sounds crazy, but check it out.”
Demons (A Detective Pierce Novel Book 2) Page 11