by Lois Kay
“Okay, boss,” he breathed. “What’s next?”
Inspector Wong turned around and motioned Trisha Waters and Peter Jones to come over, which they did, with amazing speed. “Vinnie and I will go around the left side of the house. You two take the right. Let’s see if we can find a way inside. Stick together and don’t forget there are at least two of them. Don’t let them surprise you. We need to get those people out, but be careful. I don’t want any dead heroes.”
Without another word the four of them split up, carefully making their way around the house, staying as close to the wall as possible.
“It looks like all shutters are bolted close,” Trisha Waters said after risking a quick glance around the corner. “They must have locked them in and ran.”
“Bastards,” her partner, Peter Jones growled. “More reason to keep an eye on those bushes, Trish. I promised my wife to be home in time for dinner.”
Trisha let out a nervous chuckle and crouched around a rosebush, cautiously avoiding the sharp thorns. “It looks like they tried to set fire to these as well,” she said, pointing to the small, blackened spots on one of the shutters. “Maybe we got here just in time.”
“Yeah, which means they’re still around.” Peter adjusted the Kevlar vest he was wearing. “Be careful. I’d hate to have to break in a new partner.”
* * *
Inside, the women had arrived in the master bedroom, only to discover the shutters were locked from the outside as well.
“Okay, this is it,” Sam said.” “We have to break through it. I can smell the smoke in here already. We have to get out.”
“What’s the plan, Sam?” Fiona asked.
“Everybody, stand back and keep your heads down. I’ll break the glass first and then I’ll knock those shutters out with the axe.” Sam cast an apologetic look at Sarah, who shrugged.
“Go ahead,” she answered. “It’s just a window.”
“Lucy, make sure everybody is in the back of the room and stay down.”
“Be careful, Sam,” Jody pleaded. “I… be careful.”
“I will.” Sam sent Jody an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve got too much to live for.” Sam lowered her head and placed a soft kiss on Jody’s forehead. The sight of the blood and swelling fueled an anger deep inside her chest. She waited until everybody was in the back of the room, before focusing her attention to the window. It was large and she realized there would be a lot of glass falling inside once she used the axe to break it. Sam took a deep breath and turned her head away from the window. She swung the axe and hit the glass with its heavy, but blunt backside. When the surfaced shattered she jumped back. Shielding her face with her left arm she protected herself from the shards that had nowhere to go but inside. When she cast a look at the damaged window she saw there were only a few sharp pieces of glass stuck in the bottom of the windowsill and it only took Sam one swipe with the axe to remove them and clear the whole area from the debris.
The next swing would, hopefully take care of the shutters. Sam placed her feet apart, so she had a good balance, ignoring the cramp that started in her right leg and grabbed the axe with both her hands. Without thinking twice, she swung it back over her right shoulder and with a powerful movement she buried the sharp metal deep in the wood of the shutter. When she pulled the axe back, she heard a satisfying ripping noise. Through the cracks in the wood, sunlight streamed into the room and Sam knew it would only take a few more blows to either bring the shutters down, or open them up.
“Go for the middle, Sam,” Fiona encouraged. “That might pop them open.”
“Thanks, Fi, I will,” Sam answered. She brought the axe back over her shoulder again and took a swing. Fiona had been right. The next blow sprung the hinges on the outside. The shutters gave way to the brutal force and sprang open. Immediately, Sam jumped back, making sure to stay out of sight. Her eyes locked on Jody’s and she sent her a small smile. So far, so good.
Jody tried not to show Sam how worried she was. The window was open, they could go outside, away from the fire. But where was Little Steven? Was he waiting for them to come out? And where were the police?
Sam inched closer to the battered window, making sure to keep her back against the wall. Her head moved closer to the window sill and from the corner of her eye, she could see the rose garden. There were no signs of life. Sam released the breath she didn’t know she had been holding and moved a little closer so she’d be able to carefully peek around the corner. As she reached the window sill and slightly tilted her head to look around the corner an unexpected motion stopped her dead in her tracks.
“Police! Don’t move. Put your hands where I can see them.”
Too surprised to react Sam stood there. The axe was still clenched in her hand. Her gaze took in the tall, brown-haired woman in front of her and slowly reality sank in.
“Senior Sergeant Waters,” she said. “You’ve got to be more careful. I could have hurt you.” Sam dropped the axe and shot the police woman a grin.
Trishia Waters chuckled and lowered her gun. “It’s okay, Peter,” she called out to her partner, who was standing on the other side of the window. “It’s just an ax-wielding blonde.” Her face turned serious. “Are you all okay? And where is Hayes?”
“We’re fine now,” Sam answered. She motioned the others to come to the window. “But no thanks to Hayes. He wanted to burn them alive. I guess he took off.”
“Is Megan okay?” Sarah nervously asked as she stepped closer to the shattered window.
Trishia Waters nodded. “She’s at the station. We’ll let her know you lot are okay. First, we must get you all out of here. The front of the house is on fire, although it looks like it’s mostly the veranda. The fire brigade is on its way, so hopefully the damage will be limited.”
Sam grabbed Jody’s hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Stay close to us,” Trishia Waters said, extending a hand. “We’re not sure where Hayes went to, he could still be around.”
Sam nodded and carefully helped Jody climb through the window, making sure that there was nothing she could hurt herself on. Trishia Waters and Peter Jones grabbed her arms and gently lifted her to the ground.
Trishia looked at Jody’s face and winced in sympathy. “Did he do that you?”
Jody nodded and stepped aside to make room for Fiona. “Bastard,” she heard Trishia Waters say.
Sam grabbed Fred’s arm and non-too gently pulled him to the window. “This is Fred. He was with Little Steven and I’m sure you’ll know what to do with him.” Sam pushed him forward and grimaced when Peter Jones unceremoniously pulled the young man through the window. Before Fred could utter a word, his hands were cuffed behind his hands.
Peter Jones, assisted by Inspector Wong and Vinnie quickly escorted Jody, Sarah, Fiona and Joan to the waiting police cars and urged them to keep their heads down. Just in case. Fred was pushed onto the backseat of a second police car.
Sam and Lucy were the last ones to climb through the window and Lucy gratefully smiled into a pair of green-blue eyes, when a strong hand grabbed a hold of hers while she climbed out. “Thank you, Senior Sergeant Waters. We should stop meeting during these stressful situations,” Lucy said wryly.
Trishia Waters grinned. “I agree, although you don’t strike me as the damsel in distress type. So, hopefully this is the last time.”
Sam, who witnessed the exchange, hid a grin and made good use of her long legs to jump out of the window without any help. Immediately regretting it when a spasm shot through her right leg, making her groan out loud.
“That’s what you get from showing off,” Lucy mumbled.
“Come on, let’s get you two to the car,” Trishia interrupted. “It might not be safe yet.” She hardly finished her sentence when Inspector Wong called out. “Trish. Get down!”
Thanks to years of training and excellent reflexes Trishia Waters grabbed Lucy around the waist and pulled her down with her. With an audible thump, t
hey hit the ground as Trishia shielded Lucy’s body with her own.
A gunshot shattered the silence.
A sound behind her taught Trishia Sam had hit the ground as well and she hoped it wouldn’t have been the bullet that had brought her down. Without changing position, she craned her neck to look behind her. “Are you—?”
“I’m fine,” Sam croaked. “Shit, what a mess.”
“What the hell was that?” Lucy muffled voice came from underneath Trishia’s body. “Are we being shot at now?”
“Stay down, Trish,” Vinnie’s voice came from somewhere behind one of the police cars. “Whatever you do, don’t get up until we say it’s okay.”
Trishia shifted her body to give Lucy a little more room to breathe, which earned her a soft “Thanks.”
“I guess our friend is still around.” Lucy let out a groan. “I knew it was almost too good to be true to be rescued and live happily ever after.”
“It will be over soon,” Trishia answered. “We’ll get him, it’s just a matter of time.”
“Keep your eyes on that line of trees,” Inspector Wong ordered. “Bob, Carl and Peter, cover our backs. Vinnie and I will try and get behind him.” She crawled away from the car, closely followed by Vinnie, who held his gun tightly clenched in his fist. His eyes never left the line of trees behind the house. He knew that if Steven Hayes was still around he was probably able to see them. Everything was silent. Even the birds, startled by the gunshot were quiet. There was only the soft rustling of the leaves and, in the distance, the rapidly approaching tell-tale sound of a fire truck’s siren.
Chapter 23
Little Steven Hayes had been hiding in the bush beyond the tree line, and with disgust he had watched the police arrive. When he witnessed the women he had locked inside the house come out unharmed, he had cursed under his breath. “Filthy traitor,” he had mumbled, watching Fred meekly follow one of the police officers to the car. “I’ll get you for this.” But what finally pushed him over the edge, was the sight of a tall blonde emerging from the house. He realized Sam Stevens must have been inside the house while he was still there. That knowledge made his blood boil and he ground his teeth in frustration. “Joe’s gonna have my hide,” he growled. Without thinking twice, he had pulled his gun and aimed it at the back of Sam. “Die, bitch,” he had whispered before pulling the trigger.
Little Steven had no idea how the petite Inspector had been able to spot him. But the moment his finger was about to pull the trigger, she shouted a warning and the three women close to the house, including Sam Stevens, suddenly dove to the ground. Maybe she had seen him move through the dense bushes. Maybe the sunlight had bounced off the metal of his gun. But he missed. And he knew he didn’t have another chance. Little Steven did the only thing he could think of that moment. He ran and disappeared in the forest behind the house.
* * *
The silence was tense. Inspector Wong and Vinnie had circled around and were finally able to give a sign that all was clear.
“Great,” Lucy muttered. “I was about to fall asleep.”
Behind her, Sam chuckled. “Don’t mind her, Trishia, ‘sarcasm’ is her middle name.”
“It’s a sign of intelligence, Sam,” Lucy argued. “You, of all people, should know that.”
“It definitely is not a sign of modesty,” Sam retorted. She got to her feet and dusted off her pants. Her eyes took in the scene in front of her and she stifled a laugh. Trishia Waters still had Lucy pinned to the ground and much to Sam’s surprise, Lucy seemed to be quite comfortable. Sam swallowed a teasing remark when her gaze locked with Lucy’s and she noticed her cheeks took on a pink hue.
“Let’s give the fire department some room,” Trishia said, rolling off Lucy and quickly jumping to her feet. She extended a hand to Lucy who grabbed it and was helped up.
“Thanks,” Lucy mumbled, wondering why she wasn’t freaked out. She had been shot at and could have been injured, or worse, but instead of being intimidated by that, she felt completely safe. She cast a sideway glance at the woman next to her. A pair of sparkling green-blue eyes seemed to look straight through her and much to her annoyance, she could feel a blush creep up her cheeks. She was very much aware of Sam’s eyes watching her.
“If you two are done staring at each other, could we maybe get away from the house? I’d hate to be doused,” Sam said. She pointed to two firemen who were pulling a hose out of the truck. “Besides, that bullet might have missed me, but my leg is killing me. And I want to go see my girlfriend.” Sam limped off toward an ambulance that had arrived at the scene, happy to see a paramedic was already tending to Jody.
Trishia watched Sam walk away and a small smile tugged the corner of her mouth when she noticed Lucy was still looking at her with an unreadable expression in her dark eyes. “Let’s go,” she said. Her body still tingled from the contact.
***
It had taken the fire department less than ten minutes to put out the fire that was set on the veranda. After the flames were extinguished, the only reminder of the fire was the smoke emanating from the ruined furniture, the blackened door and outer wall of the kitchen.
Sam had been glued to Jody’s side while a paramedic gently cleaned her face from blood and closed the small cut in her eyebrow using a butterfly bandage. He had given her an icepack for the swelling in her cheek after he had made sure her face had not sustained more damage. “I’m afraid your face will be sore for a few days, young lady,” the paramedic said. “And you’ll sport a nice, big bruise, but I don’t think there’s been done any more damage than that.”
“Are you sure?” Sam asked, not entirely reassured.
“There seem to be no fractures,” the paramedic patiently explained. “Of course, it’s always possible there’s a hairline fracture, but there’s nothing we can do about that. Something like that will heal by itself.” He turned his attention to Jody. “If you’d like, we can take you back to the hospital with us to take an x-ray.”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you,” Jody answered. She looked up at Sam and grabbed her hand. “Sam, I’m fine, I promise.”
“You’ll be fine, lass. Continue to ice the area.” The paramedic smiled. “But you’re always welcome to come by the hospital later if you think anything is wrong.”
“I will. Thanks,” Jody smiled back, which wasn’t easy because of the swelling on the side of her face.
Sam wrapped her arms around Jody, enveloping her in a warm hug. She was grateful for the way things had turned out. Yes, Jody had been hurt, but it wasn’t anything serious. Everyone else was fine and Sarah and Megan’s house had only sustained minor damage.
“So, what happens now, Sam?” Lucy asked. “I’m in dire need of a cup of coffee. I know, I’m an addict. Just thinking about coffee makes me smell it.”
“That’s called hallucinating,” Fiona chuckled from inside a police car. She glanced at one of the other police cars, looking at Fred’s bent head. He had been quiet and subdued when he was handcuffed and put inside the vehicle.
“Is that really necessary?” Joan McDonnel had asked Peter Jones. Deep down inside, she felt sorry for the boy, because in her eyes that was all he really was, just a boy.
Peter Jones had been kind, but determined. “He was at The Reef when the shooting took place, Mrs. McDonnell. He might not have pulled the trigger, but he’s an accomplice in a murder attempt.”
Fred cringed when he heard those words and bent his head in shame.
“Is he going to prison?” Fiona asked Trishia Waters, who was leaning against the car.
Trishia’s eyes rested on Fiona’s worried face and she couldn’t help smiling. Again, the uncanny resemblance between the teenager and Lucy was remarkable. “He’ll be held in custody,” she explained. “There are a lot of charges against him and his partner, I—”
“His ‘partner’ was trying to kill him as well,” Fiona voice was full of disgust. “He was trying to help us, you know, Fred.”
“You can e
xplain all that at the police station, Fiona, when you give your statement.” Trishia sent Fiona an encouraging smile. “I’m sure that will help his case, but I’m not going to lie to you, he will end up in jail.”
* * *
Megan had been a nervous wreck while she was waiting at the police station. When the call came in about the fire, she had almost jumped up and ran out, but was held back by the strong grip of Anthony Gates. It had taken all her willpower not to slap the police officer and make a run for it. But she had stayed, nervously pacing the room with a ball of anxiety that had taken up residence inside her chest. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shake the image of the lonely car on the side of the road, with its two lifeless occupants. It made her sick to her stomach and only fueled her fear when she thought the person responsible for the ruthless death of those police officers was out there, maybe even in her house.
Time had crawled. To Megan the hands of the clock on the wall moved in slow motion. It was as if it was mocking her, trying to make her lose her mind. Finally, after what had seemed like hours a call had come in informing them that Sarah and their friends were all safe. Megan had plopped down in a chair, her hands covering her face, crying out of sheer relief and gratitude.
But then impatience had taken over and there was only one thing she wanted: going back home and seeing for herself that Sarah was alright. So, after mumbling she was going to use the restroom, she quickly exited the building, jumped in her car and began her short trip home.
* * *
Little Steven Hayes stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He had been running for fifteen minutes. He was not used to such a strenuous exercise. His lungs were burning and his muscles ached. His face and hands were covered with scratches he had sustained when he ran through the dense bushes, trying to stay ahead of the police he knew was chasing him. At first, he had moved in a wide circle, away from the house, with the intention to make it back to the stolen car he had parked behind the house of one of Sarah’s and Megan’s neighbors. But after a while he had lost all sense of direction and looked around puzzled. He was surrounded by a wall of green. The only thing that indicated where he was heading, was the fact that he was still running downhill. He knew that, eventually, he would reach a creek, or, even better, a road. He was panting and thirsty as he pushed his way through tall ferns and continued his way down. He tried to be quiet, but the dense bush didn’t give way easily and he had to use his whole body to push himself through. He nearly screamed when he walked straight into a spider web that was ingeniously built between branches and he came face to face with a huge banana spider that was residing in the middle. Frantically, Little Steven started pushing away the sticky but firm substance that clung to his hands and face. He almost panicked when the spider quickly moved, aggravated by the unexpected and violent intruder. He stumbled backward and nearly fell in his attempt to get away. His eyes, round with panic didn’t leave the big spider, that was scurrying away in the opposite direction. Little Steven managed to get back to his feet and without looking back he ran like he was chased by the devil himself. Sweat was dripping down his face and his back, drenching his shirt that stuck to his body. His mouth was wide open and every breath he took caused a wheezing sound. His body was desperately trying to get much needed oxygen to keep the bulky body going.