by Willow Rose
“Stand down, everyone,” Sheriff Howard said. “SWAT team, stand down. We have movement by the front door. Hold your positions.”
All guns were pointed at the door, and Matt’s eyes were glued to it as it opened slowly. His heart was pounding in his throat as he watched the woman he loved so deeply walk out, arms held high above her head.
“Don’t shoot,” she yelled. “I am unarmed.”
“Step down from the porch slowly,” Sheriff Howard yelled. “Move slowly toward us, no sudden movements.”
Eva Rae did as she was told. Matt could tell she was shaking as she walked forward, knowing that one small movement could prove to be fatal, one arm falling below her waistline could look like she was going for a weapon. It could be so easily mistaken in a tense situation like this.
As Eva Rae took the final step from the porch and ended up in the driveway, Sheriff Howard yelled:
“Now, get down to your knees, hands behind your head.”
Eva Rae paused for a second, then did as she was told, keeping those hands up behind her head. Soon, she was surrounded by SWAT officers pointing guns at her, searching her, then taking her away from the scene.
As she was pushed forward against a car and cuffed, she yelled. Her voice was quivering, and it occurred to Matt that she was terrified.
“I need to talk to Sheriff Howard. Please. It’s important. There’s something you need to know. If you want to save the lives of those people in there, then please listen to what I have to say.”
Chapter 54
“First of all, it’s not a real gun. It’s a replica,” I said.
The sheriff had come closer and told his deputies to stand back. My hands were cuffed behind my back; I posed no threat anymore.
“The gun in Mr. Johnson’s hand,” I continued, still breathing raggedly in fear and agitation. “When I was in there, I got a good close look at it, and it’s not real. I guarantee you. I know my way around guns. It’s not real.”
Sheriff Howard gave me a stern look. “Why would he hold a replica against his wife’s head?”
“To make it look real,” I said. “They’ve been set up. They were told to stay in that position no matter what happened.”
“By whom?” he asked, still skeptical.
“By the same guy who called it in.”
“But the call came from the house—the man calling identified himself as Rob Johnson. He said he was going to kill his wife and unborn child.”
I nodded. “I know. I know. But it wasn’t him who made the call. Someone who wants to hurt them did this. He told them to sit like that, placed the replica in Mr. Johnson’s hands, and said that if they moved, he would know, he would see it. He has been watching them from his computer, he placed her laptop so it could record everything, and my guess is that it has been live streaming to Twitch all this time, so others could watch along. It’s what this guy does; he wants the world to watch it.”
“But why did they stay after he left?” Matt asked. “He couldn’t get to them once the police were here.”
I sighed. “Because she has a younger brother. He threatened to kill him if they didn’t do exactly as they were told. He’s thirteen years old.”
Sheriff Howard lifted his hat and rubbed the hair underneath it. “So, let me get this straight, I need to get the basics straightened out first. The guy is holding a replica to her head, right? He’s not trying to kill her? There is no danger?”
I shook my head. “No need for the SWAT team or even weapons. They’re terrified in there. They don’t dare to move. Not even when I was in there, but no one wants anyone to be killed.”
Matt and Sheriff Howard shared a look. “And you can vouch for her, Detective? You know her well enough to stand behind what she’s saying? No matter how crazy it all sounds?”
Matt nodded. “Yes, sir. She’s been tracking this serial swatter for quite some time. She knows his ways. She might not always play by the book, but she is very good at what she does.”
Sheriff Howard nodded and signaled for his deputy to release me.
“All right, then. I’ll buy into it…at least for now. But you’ve got to help me out here. What do I do next? Do I arrest Rob Johnson for holding a replica to his wife’s head? Or what? The way I see it, if you’re right about all this, then we have a thirteen-year-old boy that we need to save. Because if this guy, whoever he is, was watching, then he must have seen you and know that it’s all been exposed.”
I exhaled, relieved, as my hands were once again free, then looked up at both of them.
“You’re right about that, Sheriff. And I think I might have an idea, but you’re probably not gonna like it.”
Chapter 55
Skyler sipped his can of CULT with one hand while the other still tapped on the mouse. He reached for a handful of chips and put them in his mouth and chewed. Austin, who was sitting next to him at the Gamers Respawn Gaming Café, stared intently at the screen in front of him and didn’t even notice that Skyler was looking at him. Austin was his best friend, and they had known each other since third grade when they sat next to one another in Mrs. Fischer’s class.
“Oh, man!” Austin exclaimed and threw the mouse down. He took off his headset in frustration and drank from his Mountain Dew. Finally, he looked at Skyler and made an annoyed face.
“I hate that guy.”
“Was it the same dude?” Skyler asked. “The one who killed you last week too?”
“Yeah, he’s so annoying. I spent three hours getting to where I was. Now, I lost everything.”
Back when they just met, Austin had barely ever talked to Skyler. Not until he found out that Skyler’s much older sister was a famous esports gamer and YouTuber. Austin dreamt of becoming like her, and so once he found out she was Skyler’s sister, they had become friends. Skyler wasn’t stupid. He knew that was the reason why Austin hung out with him, not because he thought he was cool or even liked him much. Austin was one of the popular boys in school, one of those that hung out with the popular girls at lunch and on the weekends. He would post pictures of himself with them on Snapchat as they hung out by the pool at Patricia’s or Malia’s house. Skyler didn’t care much about those no-brained cheerleading girls or hanging out at their pool, but he did care about Austin. A lot. He liked hanging out with him and felt such deep jealousy when he saw snaps of him with them.
So that was why he had promised him to help him become a famous gamer and YouTuber. Somehow, Skyler had managed to make him believe that he knew how his sister had become who she was today and that he could help him out. But the fact was that Austin wasn’t a very good gamer and teaching him anything had proved harder than Skyler had thought.
“Go at it again,” Skyler said.
Austin sighed. “I don’t feel like it.”
The thought that Austin would want to go home now made Skyler panic. He didn’t want this to end, them spending time together like when they were younger before the girls came into the picture. “Try something else. We can play Call of Duty Black Ops III if you like.”
“Nah,” Austin said and ate chips from Skyler’s bag. “It’s boring.”
Skyler looked at his watch. It was almost midnight. The gaming lounge didn’t close till two in the morning, and Skyler had hoped they’d stay till then. His dad had told him he could stay and that he’d pick him up when they closed. It was his parents’ biggest wish for Skyler to follow in his sister’s footsteps and become an esports gamer, but he just didn’t have it in him. He liked to play, but only for fun. He didn’t like the pressure of having to win or even perform well. And he wasn’t very good at it either.
“So, what do you want to play?” Skyler asked nervously. “Fortnite?”
Austin looked at his phone with a deep sigh. Skyler ate some more chips while trying to suppress the feeling of sadness that overwhelmed him from time to time, especially when he was lonely.
Austin looked at him and shrugged. He received a text and smiled when he read it. Skyler’s
heart dropped. He knew that smile. That meant one of those girls had texted him again. Once they did, Skyler knew that the fight for Austin’s attention was lost.
Austin texted the person back, then took a selfie and sent it. Skyler rolled his eyes, annoyed, then put his headset back on and continued his game.
Chapter 56
“Attention, all units. We have a possible 10-32 at The Riverside Shopping Center. I repeat we have a 10-32. Any units in two minutes or less?”
Deputy Adams stared at Sheriff Rogers, who was sitting next to him in the cruiser. He had only been with St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department for what felt like ten seconds, and was out on his first patrol, driving with the sheriff when the call came in. It had been a slow Friday night so far. They had stopped a guy who had run a stop sign and given him a ticket, and then they had gone to the burrito place to eat dinner. Adams had given up on anything interesting happening before his shift ended at midnight. But then this call came, and he could barely believe it. 10-32, that was man with gun. Did they seriously have a man with a gun on his first night on patrol?
Sheriff Rogers grabbed the radio. “217 received. En route.”
“217, additional information. No shots fired yet. Call came from one of suspect’s friends who said that he had brought a gun to the gamer’s lounge called Gamer’s Respawn Gaming Café. He is planning on attacking at midnight. Gunman’s name is Skyler Griffin. I repeat Skyler Griffin. Shooter is black, wears white hoodie.”
Deputy Adams looked at his watch. “Midnight? That’s fifteen minutes from now.”
Sheriff Rogers nodded. They were only two minutes out from the shopping center. He rushed the cruiser into the road.
“Let’s get him before he pulls out that gun.”
Rogers grabbed the radio again. “217 received. Advise SWAT.”
“217, will do.”
Rogers put the radio back, then took a sharp turn and turned on the wailing siren. Adams sat back in his seat, then felt for his gun in the holster, secretly hoping he’d get to pull it out. He had been training for this for so long. This was the type of stuff that made him want to join the police in the first place.
Was he ready for it?
As he saw the lights flickering in the distance and heard the other patrols joining in, he nodded to himself. Yes, he felt ready. Scared as heck, but ready. This kid wasn’t shooting anyone tonight; Adams was going to make sure of that. He would be proud to be the one to have prevented the next big mass shooting.
Chapter 57
Skyler sighed and looked at Austin, who continued to text and take snaps and send them. What was it about those girls that made them so important that Austin forgot everyone else around him? Skyler didn’t get it. He didn’t understand why Austin was always on his phone, either. Skyler always left his in his backpack and never took it out if he didn’t need to use it. But then again, Skyler didn’t have any friends on Snapchat, and he didn’t use any social media, so there was no need to be looking continually at his phone. No one would be texting him either, except for his family.
“You want some candy?” Skyler asked and showed him the twenty-dollar-bill his dad had given him when driving him to the lounge. He nodded toward the vending machine by the end wall.
“Sure,” Austin said with a shrug.
Skyler rose to his feet. He didn’t even notice that his phone was lighting up in the front compartment of his backpack or that he had received more than thirty calls and texts. Instead, he walked to the vending machine and pressed the numbers to get a packet of Skittles and two Hershey bars, one for him and one for Austin. He knew how much Austin liked chocolate.
He looked back toward him when the phone by the counter rang, and the guy managing the store picked it up.
“Hello?”
Skyler opened the bag of Skittles and poured out a handful that he put in his mouth and chewed. The guy behind the counter looked paler than usual. He had a ton of piercings and a long beard that he was now fiddling with as he listened. Then his eyes grew wide.
“Really? What the…?”
The guy grew quiet as the other person spoke before he said:
“Yes, yes, of course. Right away, ma’am.”
He hung up the phone and seemed to be gathering himself for a few seconds before he looked at all the kids in the lounge.
“Uh, guys. Listen up. I need to get you all out of here. As in right now. I just spoke to someone who said there was a bomb inside the store.”
The guy’s eyes grew even wider as he spoke the words like the realization was just now sinking in. Skyler was still chewing his Skittles, wondering if it was some sort of joke or if he had actually heard him right.
“I mean it,” the guy said. He grabbed his phone and a hoodie, then looked at all the kids who were staring at him, eyes wide. “There’s a bomb in here. Get out!”
And just then, panic set in. The few kids that had actually heard him because they weren’t wearing a headset threw everything they had in their hands and stormed for the doors. Seeing this, the other kids took off their headsets and stared at the guy who kept yelling at them to get the heck out of his store before the bomb exploded.
Skyler had only one focus, and that was Austin. Austin was in the middle of playing Counterstrike and hadn’t heard a thing. Skyler ran to him and pulled his headset off.
“There’s a bomb. We have to get out of here now.”
Austin grabbed his phone and backpack, and they ran outside, joining the others. In the distance, they heard sirens. Skyler stared at the building in front of him, then felt Austin’s hand in his. With a slight gasp, he looked at him, and their eyes met. Austin seemed scared.
“Do you think we’re far enough away?” he asked, his voice shivering. “If it explodes?”
“Maybe not,” Skyler said. “Let’s move to the other side of the street.”
They walked across the road just as the police cars rolled up. Skyler’s heart raced in his chest; he had never seen so many police cruisers at the same time. Being black and having been told scary stories of innocent people of color being killed by police, his legs began to shake beneath him. His parents had instructed him carefully on how to react when stopped by the police, but it still scared him like crazy.
Don’t run. Whatever you do, don’t run. And do everything they tell you. Make sure you tell them you are unarmed. Don’t give them a reason to believe you’re a threat.
Skyler watched as about ten police cruisers drove up in front of the store. At the same time, another big grey police cruiser drove up behind him and opened its side door. A set of strong hands reached out for him, grabbed him around the shoulders, and swiftly pulled him inside. Next, the cruiser took off, tires screeching on the asphalt.
Chapter 58
“Please, don’t,” Skyler cried desperately. “I didn’t do anything.”
“It’s okay, Skyler. No one is accusing you of anything,” Matt said, using his soft voice to calm the boy. He was holding him tightly in the passenger seat until he relaxed, and he could let go of him. It took a few seconds for him to realize he wasn’t in trouble. Skyler finally eased up, and he sat up straight, while Matt continued talking to him, assuring him that we weren’t out to hurt him.
“We’re here to help you, Skyler. We’re not the enemy. We’re going to take you to your sister’s place now.”
Meanwhile, I floored the cruiser, and we took off, leaving the shopping mall behind us. I could see the blinking lights of Matt’s CBPD police cruiser in the rearview mirror for a long time, and I didn’t feel safe until we reached I95, taking off toward Fellsmere, where Skyler’s sister and her husband were waiting for us with Sheriff Howard.
When we finally got there, Skyler spotted his sister. He seemed dumbfounded yet relieved. I parked the cruiser in the parking lot by the sheriff’s office, and Matt and the boy got out first.
“Skyler!” Susan Johnson exclaimed, then ran for him. She grabbed him in her arms and hugged him tightly, closing her
eyes.
When I stepped out of the car, Sheriff Howard came up to me, a sly smile on his lips. “It worked. I wasn’t sure it would. And I certainly didn’t like any of it; you were right about that part. Still, I gotta hand it to you. Clever thinking.”
“Yeah, well, since the boy didn’t answer his phone, there really was no other way to get to him quickly enough when he was more than an hour’s drive away in a different county, which was run by a different sheriff. I knew we couldn’t make it there in time to stop them after they received the call.”
“St. Lucie County was out of my jurisdiction, and before I could explain the situation to my colleagues and convince them of this strange story, it would have been too late.”
“Nothing clears a building faster than a bomb threat,” I said with a chuckle. “Even if it was a controversial move.”
“The boy could have been seriously hurt or even killed,” Sheriff Howard added. “Racial bias in law enforcement is, unfortunately, very real. And if they believe he has a gun, then…well, we’ve seen it happen too many times if you ask me. The climate of fear and the expectation of violence accelerates the serious risk of overreaction and excessive use of force.”
I smiled. “You’re a good man, Sheriff Howard.”
“I still don’t like it much, but it seems you might have saved the day,” he said. “So much could have gone terribly wrong tonight, but instead, no one was hurt, and that pleases me.”
I shook hands with the sheriff before I walked back to Matt’s cruiser. Before I got in, I turned around and threw one more glance at Susan and her brother, who were still hugging.
My eyes met hers, and I felt a pinch deep in my stomach. We had won this round. It was a good feeling. I had broken the Swatter’s code and found part of his pattern. It was bound eventually to lead me to him if only I kept digging. At some point, I would get to him. I knew I would.