by Ann Mullen
Cole patted the gun strapped to his hip and said, “Go ahead, but just remember, if you try anything funny, I won’t hesitate to shoot you. To be honest, I relish the idea. Since I was told not to kill you, I guess I could just shoot you in the leg. It’ll hurt so bad, you’ll wish you were dead.”
I slid off the bed and turned my back to him, tilting my head sideways. “Well, I can’t pull my pants down with my hands tied.”
Without warning, the bedroom door burst open and Larry Hudgins walked into the room.
My mouth dropped open. He was indeed my worst nightmare. I had forgotten all about him. The last I had heard, he was supposed to be incarcerated, awaiting trial, along with his psycho son and lesbian, murderous wife. The three of them had been charged with a string of counts relating to the abduction and murder of Helen Carrolton (our first big case), and they also had charges against them for the abduction and attempted murder of yours truly... me... and Rose Hudgins.
Poor Rose... she was the best of the lot. She had no idea her family was involved in a murder—the death of a young woman at the hands of her own mother. When she found out, it was too late. Her family was willing to do anything to save themselves even if it meant killing her. They tried, but thanks to me, a little luck, and my trusty Jeep, I saved the day and our lives. The rest of the bunch was sent to jail. So what was he doing out?
My bladder let loose.
He smiled a menacing smile as he glanced down at my jeans. “I see you recognize me. Your fear shows.” His laugh was loud and scary. He was in control, and we both knew it. I had destroyed his life and now he was going to destroy mine. “What comes around, goes around, Miss Watson. All we need now is that Indian. Then everything will be perfect. I can’t wait to watch the two of you die a slow and painful death.”
“You’ll never capture him. He’s too smart for the likes of you.” I was petrified, but I wasn’t about to succumb to the indignities of lowering myself to his way of thinking. I knew that Billy would save me. “You’ll lose in the end.”
Larry Hudgins exploded. His face turned red as if he was holding his breath. His eyes bulged. “It doesn’t matter who wins or loses. Don’t you understand? You destroyed my family, and you killed my Rose. She was the only one who was ever worth anything. Because of you and that stupid Indian, she’s dead.”
“If I’m not mistaken, you were the one who tried to kill her.”
“I panicked. I was trying to protect my wife. I was confused at the time and I made a mistake.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I uttered.
“Of course, you don’t,” he lashed out. “You go in and do your thing, but you never follow-up. You put people in jail, and then you’re finished. Don’t you ever wonder what happens to those people and their families? Don’t you read the papers?”
“Not too often,” I replied.
“Well, you should,” he blasted me. “If you’d taken the time to do what you were supposed to do—investigate and follow up—you would have found out that Rose took a bottle of sleeping pills and died from an overdose, four days after she was released from the hospital.”
“I didn’t know,” I sighed. “I’m so sorry.” I was overwhelmed by sadness. Momentarily, I forgot about my current dilemma, and reflected on my memories of Rose. She didn’t deserve to die. She was a victim of circumstances. She was a good person.
“There was never any doubt in my mind that I would seek revenge on you and Billy Blackhawk, but I had to figure out a way to do it,” he continued. “Being in jail does tend to put a cramp in one’s style. So I enlisted the help of my old buddy Clayton Tyler. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were nipping at his brother’s heels. He secured my release and together, well, as they say... the rest is history.”
“Yeah,” Tyler stepped forward, “after talking with Larry, I knew if you could cause that much trouble for my pal, it was only a matter of time before you’d be snooping around in my business. You were hot on the trail of my brother and eventually it would lead to me. People like you don’t give up... you just hang around and cause problems.”
“Why did your brother kill that woman?” I asked. “I know it didn’t have anything to do with her writing a bad check.”
“They were having an affair and when he tried to break it off, she started running her mouth. She threatened to go to the police. You see, Miss Watson, we have a good system in operation and I’m not about to let some stupid woman interfere.” Tyler shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and started rocking back and forth, grinding on my nerves, as he continued with his story. “Doug can be a real pain sometimes, but I need his store. I need all my stores. I have very expensive tastes, and when you add all those dinky little establishments together, they make for a hefty income. My distribution center distributes more than just... (rock... rock)… shall we say... (rock... rock)... products for the general public.” Tyler’s shoulders started doing some kind of dance to the beat of his rocking body. “I told him to get rid of her.”
It was all I could do to keep from laughing at Clayton Tyler. He looked ridiculous bouncing around and acting tough, trying to inflate his ego while Larry Hudgins, a man twice his size and obvious intellect, stood by waiting for Tyler’s spastic fit to pass. I reined in the need to laugh myself to death. Instead, I opted for a more sane approach.
“What about Mary and Roy? Did they threaten your little operation? Is that why you killed them?”
“They got greedy,” Clayton replied, slowing down his dance routine. “It’s simple, Miss Watson. My brother got rid of his problem, but you wouldn’t leave him alone. Then Larry asks for my help, and you and your boyfriend’s name pops up in the conversation. While all this is going on, I’m right in the middle of a kidnapping operation I’m trying to run. I had to do something to get Roy to straighten up. Then it came to me. Why not kill Mary and make it look like you did it. I could rid myself of another incompetent, and Larry could get his revenge. If I had to, I could kill Roy later, which of course, it turned out that I had to. He was beyond redemption. I arranged the whole thing to look like a kidnapping gone bad, and you and your boyfriend were to take the fall. That way, you’d be off my back, and Larry could have his revenge. But it didn’t work out quite the way I had planned. You didn’t go to jail, and that really jerked my chain. So I sent a few of my people to throw some fear into you before the grand finale. The picture was just a ruse. Unfortunately, you turned out to be more of an adversary than I had expected.” Tyler paused and then smiled, his mood becoming more relaxed. “I was impressed when you killed Laura and Brad. That took a bit of courage.”
“That’s where I came in,” Larry said, his manner calm. “Clayton and I agreed it was time to take matters into our own hands. At first, I wanted you and your boyfriend locked up. I wanted you to know what it felt like to be in jail for something you didn’t do.”
“That’s bull, and you know it,” I hissed, cutting him off, my anger and pain beginning to get the best of me. “You were guilty as sin. You deserved to be in jail. You tried to kill your own daughter, the same daughter you now seek revenge for. I’m confused.”
He ignored my statement, his snarl revealing a sign of his unhappiness at being the recipient of my accusation. “Instead of seeing you rot in jail, I’d rather see you die, and I want you to suffer. Before I’m done with you, you’ll be begging me to put you out of your misery.”
The tone of his voice and the demonic look in his eyes gave me reason to believe this was going to be the end. He wanted revenge and would stop at nothing to get it. He had me locked up in his own private jail cell, and I was afraid that it wouldn’t be long before his men captured Billy. I had confidence in Billy, but he was just one man against an army of killers.
At the snap of Clayton Tyler’s finger, one of his cronies walked in carrying a folded pile of clothes. At the same time, the temperature in the room felt like it had dropped ten degrees. The man was Chicky, the EMT who had tried
to attend to me that terrible night. Tyler motioned to the guy, and then turned his attention back to Hudgins.
Larry Hudgins’ mood changed. “I’m going to give you the opportunity to cleanse your soul before you go to meet your Maker. That is, if you have one,” he said, his cold, dark eyes finding their way into that secret place where I kept all my fears hidden. “While we wait for your boyfriend to arrive, I thought you might like a bath and some fresh clothes. Chicky will see to your injuries. You don’t mind wearing some of Rose’s clothes, do you, Miss Watson? You’re about the same size, and I think it’s only fitting that you should die in the same clothes Rose was wearing when she died. Don’t worry, they’ve been washed.”
I was too shocked to speak. I glanced at the clothes that had been placed on the bed and thought, was he serious? What kind of sick game was he playing? My stomach churned as I read the words Piney Mountain Grill on the folded T-shirt. I felt like crying.
Larry Hudgins said nothing else. He turned and left the room. Following his departure, Clayton Tyler rocked, danced, and bounced his puny, skeletal body behind his idol. It was obvious to me who was in charge. Clayton Tyler might be the one with all the power, but for some reason, Larry Hudgins ran the show. Was I wrong? I could have continued to debate the pecking order, but at the time, my mind was on other things like… how many people am I going to have to kill to get out of this? Silently, I chastised myself for thinking such a thing, but truthfully, that’s what it had boiled down to. Billy and I, most likely, would be killed; Cole would not get out of this unscathed; and what about Mom and Claire? Would Larry Hudgins’ revenge end with the death of Billy and me? I didn’t think so.
“I want a bath and a meal,” I demanded, looking at Cole and then at Chicky. “You heard him. He wants me to cleanse my soul.”
Cole, who had not said a word or moved a muscle since Larry Hudgins walked into the room, was the first to react. “Don’t be giving us no mo’ orders Miz Watson,” he said, trying to imitate the accent of a Southern slave. “Cuz we’s be movin’ fast’n we kin.”
Chicky and Cole seemed to get some inner-buddy-thing going as they laughed and made fun of me.
I took advantage of Larry Hudgins’ offer. I wanted to get cleaned up, put food in my belly, and have my pain relieved as much as possible. Nothing was ever mentioned about food, but I figured if Hudgins was going to clean me up, surely he would feed me.
I’d been soothing my soul in a hot, bubbly tub for almost thirty minutes, planning my next move, when Cole came into the bathroom with his gun drawn. He looked like a cowboy.
“Haven’t you been soaking long enough?” he roared.
The bedroom door slammed.
“What was that?” I cried. I grabbed a towel from the stack sitting by the tub and covered my body. “Was that Chicky leaving?”
“Yes,” Cole whispered, pressing a finger to his mouth. He put his gun back into the holster. “He’s going to fix you some food so we don’t have long to talk. Listen carefully. Regardless of what you might think is going on here, I can assure you everything’s under control. You’re safe. It’s a long story, one that I’ll tell you all about at some other time. But for now all you need to know is that my department has been working with CPD trying to nail Clayton Tyler. A couple of hours from now this will all be over. I’ll get you out of this. I promise.”
“Someone mentioned that you were monitoring the CPD calls on your scanner the night Laura and Brad broke into my house. I thought that was a little strange. It’s been eating at me ever since.”
“Forget about it. We have bigger worries.”
“What about Billy?”
“I promise you, Jesse, I would die before I’d let anything happen to either one of you. Please believe me. I overheard Tyler talking on his cell phone and I think his guys are closing in on Billy. We can’t leave him behind. Tyler would kill Billy in an instant if you escaped.”
My heart did a somersault at the mention of Billy being harmed. “They will never get the upper hand on my Billy,” I protested. Tears welled in my eyes. Billy was a bull of a man. Nobody was going to get the best of him. Nobody would bring him down... I hoped.
“Jesse, I know Billy’s a tough man, but Tyler sent six of his best guys. They will get him. You need to prepare yourself for what you’re going to see. Tyler’s men will probably beat the crap out of Billy, and then drug him to keep him under control. That’s the way Tyler operates. I’ve seen it firsthand. Concentrate on what you’re going to do once he gets here. We need a plan so we can be ready at a moment’s notice. Hurry up and get dressed. We don’t have much time.” He turned his back to me, leaving me to the privacy of my tears. “Just in case anything happens to me, I want you to know I have a gun strapped to my left ankle and the keys to my Jeep are under the driver’s floor mat. No matter what happens, you have to save yourself.”
“Don’t talk like that. You’re scaring me.”
“You need to be frightened of Clayton Tyler and Larry Hudgins. They’re evil men who kill without remorse. They might not actually do the killing, but they give the order.”
“Are you afraid of them?”
“Yes, I am. If they thought for one minute that I was a plant, they’d put a bullet in my head.”
“What do you think our chances are?”
“Not the best, because we’re dealing with a couple of cold-blooded killers. But that won’t stop me. I refuse to give up.”
I toweled off and dressed in the clothes Larry Hudgins had insisted I wear, and much to my surprise, they were the right size. The jeans fit me just the way I liked, but the picture of a big, burly man with a potbelly blazing across the front of the black T-shirt, was a little too much. Sadness and a feeling of remorse came over me as I stood critiquing poor Rose’s clothes while she lay dead. I couldn’t help but think that if I had followed up on her, she might still be alive. I could’ve helped her get counseling or I could’ve done something.
As if to read my mind, Cole whispered softly, “It’s not your fault, Jesse. Rose had been emotionally crippled long before you came onto the scene. Her fate was sealed when her own family tried to kill her. It was more than she could handle. Don’t blame yourself.”
“How can I not blame myself, Cole? If I had...”
“Stop it,” he demanded, turning around to look at me. “It wasn’t your fault. Larry Hudgins is the one to blame.” A moment passed between the two of us as I shivered. Cole put his arm around me and patted my back. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out where I went wrong with you. I thought for sure you were happy, and then the next thing I know, you dump me for Billy. Where did I go wrong? How could you fall out of love with me so quickly? I just don’t understand.”
I pulled away from him, and backed up. I didn’t want to look into his eyes. I was afraid of what I might say or do. The wound was still fresh.
He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me within inches of his face. His lips came down hard on mine. His hands caressed my body as he led me over to the bed. In one swift movement he picked me up and then laid me on the bed. He was on top of me. His breath was hot on my neck. He kissed me forcefully until finally I pushed him away.
“Stop, Cole,” I said. “I don’t want to do this. Back off! This is not going to happen. What’s the matter with you?”
“Why did you let me kiss you?”
“I guess it was because I was scared and needed to be comforted. I don’t know. But even if I wanted this to happen, this is not the place.”
“Does that mean you want me back when this is over?”
“You’re insane!”
“Then why don’t you deny it?”
“I’m in love with Billy. We’re getting married.”
“I don’t believe it. You couldn’t have kissed me that way if you were in love with someone else. I could feel your love. Don’t you feel it, too?”
“Cole, I’m scared of what’s going to happen and I’m not thinking straight. Please get off m
e, and let me up.” I pushed him, and then stood up. I straighten my T-shirt and jeans. “This can’t happen again.” I was shaken by the touch of his lips and his body on mine. The familiar feelings came rushing back. It sent a shock wave through my body. A moment of uncertainty flashed before me. I pulled myself together. I loved Billy and would not lose him over a moment of weakness. I would deal with my own fears. I did not need Cole to help me.
“It can happen if we want it to,” Cole said as he rose from the bed. He stroked my face with the back of his hand. “I still love you, Jesse.”
“Don’t say that,” I said, pushing his hand away. “I’m in love with Billy.”
“I guess if you say that enough, you’ll convince yourself of it.” He reached over and pulled me close to him and kissed me again.
“I mean it, Cole,” I said, breaking free of his embrace. “I’m sure that I love Billy. I’m just trying to convince you.”
“We can have it all back if you want. All you have to do is say the word. If it’s Billy you’re worried about, I’ll break it to him.”
“I’m sure you would,” I said, stepping back and giving him a queer look. “But I don’t think so... not this time.” It was finally clear to me. Cole didn’t love me, he just thought that he did. Perhaps all he wanted was to win one against Billy. His reasons or feelings didn’t matter to me. My concern was for the love I had for Billy. Even though I fell into Cole’s arms and forgot about Billy for a minute, when it was over, I was still in love with Billy... not Cole. I had made a mistake. I never should’ve let Cole put his lips on mine. I should’ve stepped back and said no. But I didn’t and now I would have to deal with my own guilt. In the meantime, I wanted Cole to know that it was a mistake. I didn’t love him... anymore. “Billy’s the man for me. He’s everything that I’ve always wanted.”
Cole’s ego was deflated. He knew he would not take me away from Billy. “Well, you can’t fault me for giving it one more try.”
“I’m sorry, Cole, but I think we weren’t meant to be.”