“I will,” Pierce said. “But I hope to God you’re wrong.”
***
Chuck Ralston had been released from jail as Al’s funeral was in progress.
His father had wised up and hired a lawyer better suited for criminal cases. The end result was that Chuck Ralston was free, but would be on probation for one year.
Chuck’s father had hired a car to meet him outside the Flemington jail and bring him home. The car had just dropped him at the foot of his driveway, and Chuck waved to the driver as the man pulled away.
Chuck had big plans and was looking forward to partying with some of his friends from school. It was Chuck’s eighteenth birthday, and now he was a man.
He was a dozen feet from his front door when a bullet struck him in the left temple and blew out the back of his head.
The courts might be willing to treat Chuck Ralston with kid gloves for serving up Jenna Raines to The Bay Street Demons, but Bo Raines wasn’t as forgiving.
When Pierce learned about the slaying, he simply shrugged.
CHAPTER 29
A week after Al Finder’s funeral, Pierce and his partner Jake Collins were in a room inside the county jail. Sitting across from them was Darla and her attorney, Owens.
Owens looked annoyed. He started in on Pierce right away.
“My client has an iron-clad deal in place, Detective Pierce, so just what are these new charges you claim she’s guilty of? I’ll tell you right now, this better have nothing to do with the abduction and murder of the Raines girl or the assault on her parents’ home.”
Pierce looked over at Darla and saw that she appeared worried. That was good; she should be worried. She was about to be charged as an accomplice in the deaths of six people.
He sent a nod to his partner and Jake held up a plastic bag that contained a gold coin.
Pierce saw Darla gasp and clutch at the end of the table.
“A gold coin?” Owens said. “What is its significance?”
“This is one of seven gold coins we found in your client’s possession at the time of her arrest,” Pierce said. “It was stolen from a home in Pennsylvania over a week ago, on an early Saturday morning. This coin still held the right thumbprint of the man they were stolen from.”
Owens sighed.
“So you’re charging my client with robbery?”
“No sir, Pennsylvania law enforcement will handle the charges; I’m just here to deliver the news. Also, your client is facing more than robbery charges.”
Owens looked as worried as his client as he asked his next question.
“What are the additional charges?”
“Well, it gets a little complicated, but I was told that she’ll be charged with six counts of murder.”
“What?” Owens said with a shocked expression, as beside him, Darla shook her head violently.
“I was not in Pennsylvania. I was here that night and I can prove it,” Darla said.
“Please do,” Pierce said.
The worry left Darla’s eyes and a look of smugness replaced it.
“I was right across the street from the police station with Andrea. That was the night we dropped off that girl’s body by the dumpster.”
Owens exhaled a slow breath.
“If that can be substantiated, then my client is in the clear. Per our agreement, she cannot be prosecuted over any activity that involves the Raines’ family.”
Darla grinned.
“There were cameras by the dumpsters. There’s got to be a video.”
“Oh there is, and I’ve seen that film,” Pierce said. “As has my partner here. Jake, what does that video show?”
“It shows two individuals dressed in bulky clothing,” Jake said. “They’re also wearing hoods and sunglasses, and have scarves covering the lower half of their faces. They could be almost anyone.”
“No! no, talk to Andrea, she’ll tell you. That was us, me and her.”
Pierce smiled.
“You want us to talk to Andrea Kasseri, the woman who you betrayed, by giving us her bloody clothing? Is that the Andrea you want me to talk to, hmm?”
Darla grabbed at her hair.
“No, damn it! I didn’t kill anyone. I was never in Pennsylvania.”
“I also hear there’s a witness,” Pierce said. “A young mother was awakened by her baby’s crying and happened to look out the window of the nursery. She says that just minutes before the shooting started, she saw two large ‘biker types’ walking towards the house with a woman between them. She didn’t get a good look at the woman, but her general description matches your size and height, Miss Switzer.”
Owens had a pained expression on his face.
“There were six people killed at that house?”
“No, there were three at that house. Another three, all minors, were found deceased at a property that can be linked to the dead Demon named Moloch. It appears the murders all took place within a short time.”
When Darla looked at her lawyer, the expression on his face did not appear to be hopeful.
“Pennsylvania authorities will contact you later today, Mr. Owens, and they’ll most certainly get in touch with you Miss Switzer. Thank you both for coming.”
Pierce waited until Darla was almost out of the room, and then he signaled the female corrections officer to wait a second.
“Miss Switzer, were you aware that Chuck Ralston was killed last week?”
Darla looked surprised by the news, but then made a face at Pierce.
“What, you gonna pin that one on me too?”
“No, we’re fairly certain that it was Bo Raines who killed Chuck Ralston. Actually, Mr. Raines seems determined to kill anyone who had anything to do with his sister’s death. If you do end up back out on the street somehow, I would advise you to keep looking over your shoulder. Bo Raines is still out there.”
The color drained from Darla’s face. She was looking at doing hard time in a Pennsylvania penitentiary for crimes she didn’t commit, or, she could be found innocent and be set free, to then be hunted down like a rabid dog.
Owens wagged a finger at Pierce, and then he followed his client out of the room.
Pierce and Jake Collins sat and waited.
They had another piece of business to take care of.
***
Andrea was escorted into the room ten minutes later, and without a lawyer.
She had waived her rights to have one present. Andrea had already made a deal with the DA to serve a sentence of Life, with the possibility of parole in thirty years.
Andrea looked haggard by her incarceration, and she was grieving the loss of Gorgon. Around her eyes, faint signs of bruising remained from when Pierce broke her nose.
“What’s this all about. I already signed the plea agreement.”
“Miss Kasseri, I’d like to know why. Why did you kill Detective Al Finder?”
Andrea stared at Pierce, locking eyes with him. When he didn’t look away, she shrugged.
“The bastard grabbed me and kept saying my name while he touched my face, my scar. I can’t stand it when anybody touches my scar... except for Gorgon.”
“You received that scar while you were still very young, correct?”
Andrea nodded.
“I was told that you were scarred when you ran back into a house that was on fire, sprinted up a burning staircase, and rescued your brother. There are burn marks on your legs as well, but that scar is the result of jumping headfirst through a second-story window while shielding your baby brother in your arms. Your mother survived with only a burned hand, but your father died in that fire.”
Andrea looked puzzled by Pierce’s knowledge of her past.
“How do you know all that?”
“That story was told to me by a close friend.”
“A close friend? A close friend of yours?”
“Yes,” Pierce said, and then continued. “You grew up in a little town just south of New York State and ran away from home when you
were sixteen. Why didn’t you ever go back, or try to make contact?”
Andrea laughed.
“Go back? After doing the shit I did to get by? You think my mom would have liked seeing me with Gorgon and the Demons?”
“She might have, and oh, she remarried after you left. Were you aware of that?”
Andrea shook her head.
“I don’t even know if she’s still alive.”
“I’m sorry to say she’s dead, and so is your brother, but you have an aunt that’s still living, your father’s sister.”
Andrea leaned forward as she became animated.
“Wait! Whoa, go back. My baby brother is dead?”
Pierce ignored her question, or rather, he decided to let her answer it herself.
“When your mother remarried, she wed a man named David, David became a second father to your little brother, and he raised him like a son. David Finder was a good man.”
Andrea looked blank for a second, then said, “Finder? Like the cop?”
Pierce sent her a solemn nod. For a moment, he wondered if Andrea’s brain was too befuddled by all the years of drugs and alcohol to make the connection.
When she suddenly sucked in air and exhaled it in a great heaving sob, he knew that she had understood, and that she was coming to terms with the monstrous act she had committed. When she spoke, her voice was laced with pain and disbelief, as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“That cop, Al Finder? That was my baby brother? That was Albert? He changed his last name?”
“You cut yourself while you were stabbing him to death. Your blood was found on your dress along with his. DNA testing has confirmed that you were siblings.”
“No! no, no, no, nooo,” Andrea said, but she knew, she knew.
“Al said your name and touched you on the cheek because he recognized you. He had been searching for his big sister for decades, and fate had finally brought you two together. You once risked your life to save him, and then you ended that life.” Pierce shook his head sadly. “It’s Goddamn Shakespearian.”
Jimmy Drake had remembered Al Finder talking about a sister named Andrea, and how even after so many years had passed, he still looked for her. Al still held out hope that someday they would reunite, and he could finally have his sister in his life again.
Pierce stood with Jake and headed for the door, when he looked back, he saw a woman suffering in emotional agony. Andrea might someday be released from prison, but the knowledge of what she had done would never leave her.
Jake patted him on the shoulder, and the two of them left the jail with heavy hearts, while missing their friend, Detective Al Finder.
CHAPTER 30
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
Pierce and Val laughed along with Jimmy and Ginny as they watched little Kimberly Raines chase after her new puppy.
Six-year-old Kimberly was the sister of Cindy, and the sole survivor of the gold robbery that Gorgon and Moloch had committed.
When Bart Raines and his wife, Karen, learned that Kimberly had been left all alone in the world by the actions of the Demons, they decided to petition the court to adopt her. Because of the deaths of her sister and parents, Kimberly faced a grim future.
Pierce and others intervened on the Raines’s behalf and red tape was pushed aside to speed up the process.
Kimberly’s adoption was made final only hours earlier, and was celebrated with the addition of another new family member. It was a puppy named Daisy, who little Miss Kimberly had named herself.
Jimmy Drake and Val’s friend, Ginny, had been dating since shortly after their introduction at Al Finder’s funeral.
Val had warmed up to Jimmy once she began spending more time around him, and the two couples were often seen together. Val and Pierce were set to wed within a few short days, and Val’s diamond engagement ring sparkled in the sun.
Pierce’s partner, Jake Collins had planned to come to the farm as well, but Stacey’s daughter, Christine, was having a school play, and as Stacey’s boyfriend, Jake wanted to be there to applaud her performance.
***
After dinner at the farm, Bart Raines sent Jimmy Drake a nod and then stood up from the table and patted his stomach.
“Oh that was good, Karen, excellent, but now I think I’ll go outside and have a cigar.
Jimmy said, “I’ll join you, Bart,” and the two of them left the house and walked over to the barn. After lighting up their cigars, they looked around to make certain that they were alone.
“Is there any news from my boy, Jimmy?”
“Yeah, Bo liked those pictures of Kimberly and thinks it’s great that you’re adopting her.”
“Does he need money? Maybe he should have held on to some of that gold he sent us.”
“No, he doesn’t need money, and anyway, that gold belongs to Kimberly.”
“Where is Bo now? The last I heard of him was when he wiped out that group of white slavers in Texas.”
“I don’t know where he is, Bart, but when I hear from him, I’ll pass it along.”
Bart held out his hand.
“You’re a good man for doing this for us, Jimmy, a damn good man.”
Jimmy smiled as he gripped Bart’s hand.
“Not as good as your son. Now let’s get back inside; I saw an apple cobbler in the kitchen and I’m not missing out on that.”
***
At that moment, in a back alley in New York City, three men looked on in amazement as the skull of a forth man was torn apart by a round sent forth from the fire escape above them.
The weapon that fired the round was equipped with a sound suppressor, but the shot still echoed off the brick walls of the alley as if someone had struck them with a hammer.
Two of the remaining three men went down as they were trying to free their guns. The forth man was slower to react because his hands were full. He finally dropped the bundles of cash he had been holding.
He then backpedaled towards a nearby van, as he freed his gun and aimed upward. He was cut down by three rounds in the chest before he could fire his weapon or escape in the van.
A figure dressed in black made his way down to the alley. When he scooped up the fallen cash, he placed it in a pouch on his belt. The money would serve as a war chest for future campaigns.
He found the keys for the van in the jacket pocket of the last man he killed. He used them to open the back door of the van. There were three girls inside, and not one of them was older than fourteen.
They were terrified. They had been abducted while walking home from school two days earlier, and had been in the van ever since. They had received nothing but a little water during their ordeal and were forced to soil themselves whenever they had to urinate.
Bo Raines smiled and spoke to them in a quiet tone as he freed them from the zip ties that bound them, and removed the gags from their mouths.
“I won’t hurt you, and the men who did hurt you are dead. I know you’re all scared, but it’s over and you’ll be going home.”
Bo helped them to climb from the back of the van, and pointed out towards the avenue.
“Walk down the alley and out to the street. There’s a pizza parlor there and I’m sure the owner will call the police for you.”
The girls appeared dazed and had suffered abrasions on their wrists from failed efforts to get free of the restraints. Although young, they moved stiffly at first. Their imprisonment in the van, along with the accompanying emotional and physical stress had served to deplete their youthful vitality.
One of the girls was blond and had a bruise on her cheek. She looked so much like Bo’s sister, Jenna, that it broke his heart a little to look at her. She sent him a tentative smile.
“Mister, did my daddy send you?”
“No honey, but I’m sure he must be dying to see you, now go, all of you, and try not to look at the bodies.”
The other two girls were crying and holding each other, while the blond girl glanced about at the men Bo had killed.
When her eyes fell on the man who had died last, the one who had possessed the keys to the van, a look of hatred hardened her innocent face.
“Go now, girls,” Bo said. “The people in the restaurant will help you.”
The little blond girl tore her eyes away from her former captor, and when she looked back at Bo, she smiled.
“Thank you.”
Afterwards, she reached out and took the hands of the other girls and began hurrying away down the alley.
Bo watched them in the mirror as he drove off in the van. When the girls reached the avenue and turned towards the pizza parlor, he took out a picture of Jenna and kissed it.
“For you, little sister, that was for you.”
COMING MAY 7, 2016!
ANGELS – A Detective Pierce Novel – Book 3
COMING SOON FROM REMINGTON KANE
UNLEASHED!
In the year 2033, the police don’t uphold the law, they unleash it.
A PLEA
Thank you, precious reader, for spending time with one of my books. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please consider writing a review. Without reviews, an author's books are virtually invisible on the retail sites. Let other readers know what you thought! You can leave a review by visiting the book's page and I will greatly appreciate it.
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—Remington Kane
ALSO BY REMINGTON KANE
The TANNER Series in order
INEVITABLE I - A Tanner Novel - Book 1
KILL IN PLAIN SIGHT - A Tanner Novel - Book 2
MAKING A KILLING ON WALL STREET - A Tanner Novel - Book 3
THE FIRST ONE TO DIE LOSES - A Tanner Novel - Book 4
THE LIFE & DEATH OF CODY PARKER - A Tanner Novel - Book 5
WAR - A Tanner Novel - Book 6
SUICIDE OR DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 7
TWO FOR THE KILL – A Tanner Novel – Book 8
BALLET OF DEATH – A Tanner Novel – Book 9
MORE DANGEROUS THAN MAN – A Tanner Novel – Book 10
TANNER TIMES TWO – A Tanner Novel – Book 11
Demons (A Detective Pierce Novel Book 2) Page 12