South River Incident

by Ann Mullen

  “To be honest, I was hoping for a moment of weakness on your part. I knew that if I had that one moment, I could win you back.”

  “I don’t think you want me back as much as you want to take me away from Billy. You hate the fact that he stole me from you, don’t you?”

  “You might be right. I never thought of it like that. I can’t stand to be defeated by him. We’ve always been in competition with each other. Of course, neither one of us would ever admit to it.”

  “Why don’t we forget this ever happened and move on? We need to figure out what we’re going to do. We need a plan.”

  “Does that mean that you’re not going to tell Billy about our little romp in the sack?”

  “Stop it, Cole. You’re... did you hear that?”

  “It’s Chicky,” Cole whispered. “He’s coming back. Don’t panic.”

  Chicky opened the bedroom door and walked in.

  Cole grabbed me by the arm and slung me down on the bed. He jumped on top of me, raised his hand back, and then slapped me across the face.

  “Don’t you dare talk back to me. When I tell you to do something, you had better do it. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes,” I cried.

  His slap took me by surprise, but it didn’t hurt. He was doing this for Chicky’s sake.

  It worked. Chicky turned and walked out of the room.

  Chapter 24

  Cole and I devised a plan. I was to convince Chicky to let me have my last meal in the kitchen while Cole stood by refuting my request, saying it would be a mistake. Eventually, Cole would relent, and the two of us would turn the tides on Chicky. The goal was to get downstairs and be closer to an exit when Billy was brought in.

  I sat at the kitchen counter and pretended to be watching television as I ate a ham sandwich, and checked out the room.

  Chicky and Cole were in the far corner with their heads together, laughing and telling jokes; one of them oblivious to my surveillance.

  “Where’s everybody?” I turned my head, butting into their conversation. “I thought your boss had an army of men. It looks to me like he left you two guys all by yourself.”

  “I guess he figured we could handle the situation,” Chicky chuckled. “Besides, you ain’t much of a force to reckon with. I bet you don’t weigh more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. I think we got it under control.” He took a deep breath and stuck out his chest. “Why are you asking so many questions? Are you aiming to overtake us and escape?”

  “I was just wondering who was manning the camera. I’m sure your boss has a camera to monitor us. Where are all the guards?”

  “We don’t need any help,” Chicky retorted. “We’re big boys.”

  Things were going as planned. Cole was supposed to distract Chicky while I nonchalantly pumped him for information. Fortunately, we both were accomplishing our missions.

  Chicky’s ego had gotten the best of him and he had spilled the beans. He bragged about the fact that Tyler and Hudgins were on their way to pick up Billy, and he was left in charge. He was running the show. He was the big man. He was the chief. “I guess that makes me the boss,” he boasted.

  We had our information and it was time for action. We had to make our move if we were going to break free. In one quick motion, Cole punched Chicky in the face with his fist, and knocked him to the floor. I jumped up, grabbed a butcher knife from the rack, and stuck it up against Chicky’s throat.

  “You move, and you die,” I promised.

  Chicky wasn’t going anywhere. He was out cold. Blood streamed down the sides of his mouth from his nose, and his eyes were wide open in a dismal stare. I checked for a pulse.

  “He’s dead, Cole,” I said, backing away from the body. “What did you do to him?”

  “Old special ops trick,” he replied, not feeling the least bit sorry. “Come on and help me. We need to get rid of the body.”

  I was shocked by his aloofness and obvious lack of remorse, but I obeyed his command without hesitation. Together, we wrestled the body to the pantry, shoved it in a corner, and closed the door.

  A sharp pain slammed me in the chest and then ran down my arm. I couldn’t catch my breath. I fell to the floor, gasping.

  “What’s the matter, Jesse?”

  I clutched my chest and said, “I can’t breath. I need a paper bag.” I gasp for breath. “I’m serious, Cole. Find me a bag!”

  I sat back and managed to take in a few deep breaths while Cole tried to analyze the situation. He was confused and looked as if he was going to lose his mind. He searched every drawer in the kitchen until he finally came up with a grocery bag.

  “You’ve got to be kidding? You couldn’t do any better than this?”

  By the time I got the bag, I was starting to get my wind back. Instead of breathing into the bag, I put it over my head. I sat there until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I broke out in laughter as I pulled the bag from my head.

  Cole had not moved. He had been petrified at the sight of my strange behavior. He didn’t know what to think when I laughed.

  “Have you lost your mind? You scared me half to death. I thought you were having a heart attack. Were you jerking me around?”

  “I was having an anxiety attack,” I said. “It looks like a heart attack to other people. It usually freaks them out.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. I just need to sit here for a minute and try to relax. A few deep breaths and I will be as good as new. All I need is five minutes.”

  “We’ve brought one bad guy down and we have eight more to go,” Cole said, handing me Chicky’s gun.

  “How do you figure that?”

  “Well,” he said, counting on his fingers, “You have Tyler, Hudgins, and six of Tyler’s men. My guess is that’s all of them.”

  “What if there’s more than eight? What if you’re wrong?”

  “It won’t matter much, we’re outnumbered anyway. We’ll do what we can and hope for the best.”

  “Oh, that’s a positive attitude,” I hissed. “One minute you’re General Lee leading his men into battle, and the next you’re Custer making his last stand. What gives?”

  “Jesse, if this doesn’t play out right, I want you to know that I truly did love you, and I still do.” He reached over, grabbed me, and then kissed me. “Let’s go.”

  I was still standing in the same spot with a gun dangling from my hand and my mouth hanging open when Cole walked out of the room. Touched by his last minute declaration of love, I was at a loss for direction. I couldn’t seem to move.

  “Come on, Jesse,” Cole barked from the other room.

  I took off running, caught up with him, and clung to his side. “What do we do next?”

  “We’re going to attack as soon as they walk in the door,” he said, flicking off the living room light switch.

  “Why don’t we just call someone for help?” I asked, finding my way in the dark to the telephone on the table by the door. I picked up the receiver and was about to start punching in 911, when Cole snatched the phone from my hand.

  “We can’t use this phone. Hudgins knows every time it’s in use.”

  “Don’t you have a cell phone on you?”

  “Jesse, I’m undercover. I don’t carry my cell phone when I’m undercover. It’s hidden in my Jeep.”

  “Let’s go get it!”

  “It’s too dangerous. What happens if they pull up the minute we walk out the door?”

  “What happens if we just sit here and do nothing?” I was beginning to question Cole’s involvement in this whole incident. Was this just another one of Tyler’s games and Cole really was a part of it or was my imagination running wild? Why was Cole—a Greene County Deputy—working undercover? He wasn’t a detective. Why didn’t he want to take the easiest way out? We could call for backup and just wait. Was there not going to be any backup? I had to find out. “I’m going to get the phone. You can stay here if you want.”

  Cole grabbed me by th
e arm; his grip firm. “You’re not going anywhere... without me.”

  Relief overwhelmed me. My fears and anxieties about Cole were squashed. He wasn’t the bad guy after all.

  “Just remember one thing, Jesse. If it comes to it, shoot first and ask questions later. Backup might not get here in time.”

  “For someone who is undercover, your plan of operation seems a little flawed. Can’t you do any better than this?”

  “The truth is, I don’t have a plan of operation. I didn’t have time. I got a call from Tyler and he wanted me right then. So I had to go. I had no idea he was planning this until the last minute. I was still trying to prove myself to him, when he told me what was happening. I had to go along with it. Chicky and I were in the car behind you and the girl when you wrecked. We were told to bring you here if the girl failed.”

  “Does that mean that nobody knows where we are?”

  “Sort of,” he replied. “I was supposed to check in an hour ago. Someone will know there’s a problem. I’m sorry, Jesse. I’m a deputy, not an undercover agent. I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances.”

  “I did wonder why you were working undercover. I didn’t think that was something you would normally do.”

  “It was because of my relationship with you and Billy. The police are desperate. They will use anybody to obtain their objective. They know Tyler’s always on the lookout for a cop that he can bring into the fold. They figured Tyler would think jealousy was a good enough motive to turn a good cop into a bad one. My rivalry with Billy was living proof.”

  “Don’t you mean the history you two share with women?”

  “I guess you could call it that.”

  “What have you learned about the guy since you started working for him? Is he redeemable?”

  ”He’s one bad dude, Jesse. The cops need to take him out of society. He kills for the fun of it. The only life that means anything to him is his own. So you had your doubts about me, huh?”

  “Maybe a little,” I turned on the charm, hoping he would forgive me.

  Our words were silenced by the headlights of an automobile shinning through the living room windows. Seconds later, another car pulled up beside the first one.

  For a minute, Cole and I panicked. We ran around in circles, bumping into each other before I finally grabbed him by the sleeve, taking control of the situation.

  “Listen, you stick to your day job, and let me handle this one,” I said. I realized that Cole had been thrown into a position he was not familiar with, and was having a hard time getting it together. His job had always been one of break the door down, kick some butt, and make the arrest. He wasn’t used to lying his way out of trouble. I, on the other hand, had many months of sneaking around, following people, and slipping away undetected under my belt. Sneaky was my middle name or it would have been if I had one.

  “We’ll slide out the back door, come up behind them, and let the element of surprise work for us.”

  “Sounds like a winner to me.” Cole grabbed my hand and we took off running to the kitchen, my heart shipping a beat with every step.

  In my hurry to flee, I committed the ultimate act of clumsiness. I bumped into the doorjamb with my shoulder, and knocked Chicky’s gun from my hand. The two seconds it took to bend down and retrieve it, were two seconds too long. Timing was everything.

  The front door opened, and Tyler and his men walked in. Someone turned on the living room lights. It was at that precise moment that Tyler realized he had been double-crossed by Cole.

  Cole and I were still standing in the doorway to the kitchen when I saw the flicker of flame from the barrel burst forth. I felt the whiz of the bullet brush past my ear before it struck the wood, sending splinters through the air. Everything went crazy. A hail of bullets, voices screaming, and flashing blue lights ensued, as I tumbled to the floor from the grip of Cole’s hand dragging me down. I looked over and stared into the lifeless face of the man I had once loved. Cole was dead from a single shot to the head. At that moment, I lost yet another piece of me.

  I was crying hysterically when the officer in blue walked over and pulled me away from Cole. “Come with me, Miss,” he said. “We need to get you out of here.”

  Paramedics rushed past us, as I held onto the officer who was leading me away from the horrible clutches of death that had seized my beloved Cole. But I knew their effort was in vain. Cole was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Nobody could save him. I knew I would never be the same. I was lost in grief... until I saw Billy.

  My whole life changed in an instant. I knew if Billy had died, somebody would have to take me out back and shoot me, because I would never recover from the loss. I couldn’t live without him. I broke away from the officer and ran to Billy’s side.

  “Are you going to make it?” I cried, brushing his long hair back out of his face. “You look bad.”

  “Yeah, well, I feel like it,” he said as his hand touched my face. “You don’t look too good yourself. Where’s Cole?”

  “I’m afraid he’s been shot. He’s ...” I started to say, but was interrupted by the shout of one of the paramedics.

  “We’ve got a pulse.”

  I jumped up and ran to them as they carried Cole out on a stretcher. “Is he going to make it?” I cried.

  “He’s still alive, ma’am,” one of the men answered. “That’s all I can tell you now. We’ll know more as soon as we get him to the hospital.”

  “Thank God.” I put my hands together in prayer. “Thank you, Lord.”

  I turned my attention back to Billy and to the scene within the room. Cops were everywhere. Clayton Tyler was slumped over, handcuffed to the banister of the stairway while three of his men lay dead in a pool of blood on the floor. His other cronies were down on their knees cuffed to each other. Larry Hudgins was nowhere in sight.

  Weak, but not totally out of it, Billy stepped up to my side.

  “How many times have I told you not to pick up strangers? Am I going to have to keep you locked up in the house all the time?”

  I turned to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “So you know all about my indiscretion? Well, you can punish me later.” I kissed his bruised lip. “Tyler really worked you over, didn’t he?”

  “Oh, you have no idea,” he said as Wake Hudson walked over to us. “If it wasn’t for this man, we might all be dead. He was the one who put Cole right in the middle of harm’s way.” Billy grimaced at the sheriff. “But it was his expertise that saved our lives. It seems, not only was I keeping tabs on you when you went out shopping, but so was the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, and the Charlottesville Police Department. It was all a part of their sting operation. When Cole didn’t report in, everybody went on alert. Me, I was just doing it because I love you and knew what kind of trouble lay out there. It was Jonathan who uncovered the details. He was the one who discovered the connection between Tyler and Hudgins. Once I heard the name Larry Hudgins, I knew we were in for a world of hurt. I was sure he would have it in for us. Then I got a call from Beth saying you had picked up some girl she had seen earlier, loitering outside the restaurant. I put in a call to Sheriff Hudson and told him I thought Tyler was making his move, and as you see, we all came together as one big happy family... as you would say.”

  “I can’t believe you’re saying that. Cole might very well die, and you’re saying we’re one big happy family?”

  “You misunderstood me, Jesse. What I meant was the bad guys lose, and the good guys win.”

  “Where’s Larry Hudgins? I don’t see him handcuffed and down on his knees. He’s a killer and he belongs in jail!”

  Nobody had an answer for me. My worst nightmare had once again eluded the police. I knew he was out there and he was not going to give up until he had his revenge—especially after what just went down. I was sure of this. He would never give up.

  I turned to Billy. “He’s still out there and we have to find him.”

 
“Forget it, Jesse,” Billy replied. “Let the police handle it.”

  “I assure you, Miss Watson, my men will find him. He won’t get far,” Sheriff Hudson said. “But for right now I think we need to get Billy to the hospital and have him checked out.” He turned and made a motion to one of his deputies, and within minutes, Billy and I were in the back of an ambulance and on our way to UVA Hospital.

  “We can’t trust the cops to catch Hudgins,” I leaned over and whispered into Billy’s ear.

  “Ma’am you’re going to have to wait,” one of the paramedics said, giving me a gentle nudge. “Please, just sit there until we’re finished. You can talk to him later.”

  “But...”

  “Please, ma’am, we need your cooperation,” the other paramedic beside me said. “It’ll be easier if you hold off on your questions.” He had been silent up until now while he took notes and assisted his partner. He put the clipboard down and pulled out a pen light, shinning it into my eyes. “How do you feel? Are you having any dizziness, nausea?”

  I glanced over at Billy, caught the wink he shot my way, and took it as a sign to shut up and cooperate. So I did.

  Once we got to UVA, Billy and I were placed in separate ER rooms. I didn’t like it, but there was nothing I could do. I went through the motions. I opened wide, breathed deeply, stood, walked, turned, and did everything, but dance. When the nurse wanted to draw blood, I had a fit.

  “We have to do a toxicology test when a death is involved, Miss Watson,” she said. “It’s routine.”

  “What does that mean? You’re testing me for drugs?”

  “Hey, I don’t make the rules, I just follow orders,” she answered as she stuck me with a needle and sucked out my blood.

  Finally, twenty minutes later, a familiar face entered the room.

  “Dr. Bryant! I’m glad to see you. How’s Billy? When can I go see him? He’s going to be okay, isn’t he? He’s pretty tough, you know.”

  “He’s going to be fine. Those guys beat him up pretty badly, but Billy’s one tough guy. He’ll recover from his bruises in no time at all. I just left him,” he said and smiled at me. “Let me have a look at you.”