by BJ Bourg
CHAPTER 60
A week later…
“I still can’t believe you shot at a moving train,” Dawn said as we walked into Skylar’s hospital room.
I grunted. “And I can’t believe I got away with it.”
The federal investigators were not amused that I’d shot out the headlights and the crossing lights on their train, and there was talk of “reckless endangerment” and “criminal negligence”. However, the fact that I was familiar with the Maque Trax train and knew that the conductor was seated high above the lights and out of danger, immediately dispelled their accusations.
It had taken days for us to complete the investigative report, use of force reports, and crime scene sketches. Expedited DNA tests confirmed that Keenan Tipton was the real killer, and a citizen had come forward to say he’d picked up a hitchhiker in the area of the tractor shed on the day Debbie Brister’s body was found. He later identified Keenan from a photographic lineup.
We also confirmed Keenan was the one who leaked the information about the “sinner” note. Two days after his mug appeared on the local news, a cashier who worked at Plymouth Shop—the only grocery store in Plymouth East—identified Keenan as the person who mentioned the “sinner” note in the store.
“I wondered how he knew so much about the case,” the young girl had said when we interviewed her. “Now I know!”
When we re-interviewed Shelby Rove and showed her a photographic lineup containing a picture of Keenan, she immediately picked him out as the one who mentioned the “sinner” note to her.
After we had wrapped up the case and presented the file to the district attorney’s office for review, the sheriff urged Dawn and me to take some time off.
“When you get back,” he told me in confidence, “I want you and Dawn to start training Abraham Wilson. I’m transferring him to the detective bureau immediately. That boy’s the future of this department.”
I was thrilled the sheriff had recognized his talent and drive, and that his self-initiative and hard work on this case had paid off for him. Dawn was equally excited and we couldn’t wait to get back to start working with him.
But for now, we wanted to visit with Skylar before finally heading to Tennessee.
Skylar lifted her head when we ducked into her room. She smiled and waved a bandaged hand. “I’m so glad I get to see you two again.”
Dawn smiled warmly, pulling the stool close to Skylar’s bed. “We’d never think of leaving without saying goodbye.”
I stood at the foot of the bed and smiled down at her. The woman had courage…that was for sure. Even while nailed to the railroad ties waiting to be cut loose, she had given a coherent statement. The sheriff had covered her nude body with a blanket and she explained how Keenan had flashed out when she told him she thought Virgil was the killer.
“Are you the reason Virgil’s in jail?” Keenan had asked.
When she told him about the tip she’d called in, he went berserk and began beating her while he was driving. His back-fist had busted her nose and dazed her. “You’re the reason those women are dead!” he had yelled. “The Lord wanted you dead, but I decided to spare you—to give you a chance to walk away from your sins. Not once, but twice did I warn you. But did you listen? No! You betrayed God and you betrayed the very man who gives you everything! You’re a sinful woman and the wages of sin is death!”
Dawn had interrupted her to point out that she told us she had stopped seeing the farmer after Debbie’s body was found. She had tearfully admitted she lied to us.
“I thought I was being careful, but when Virgil came home early and caught me on the phone, I thought he knew about us, and I thought he would kill me next. That’s why I called the tip line—to protect myself. But when he took me to dinner, I began to think I had misjudged him and that it was all a coincidence.
“Come to think of it, I put a target on my back by calling in the tip line. Keenan said he was going to punish Gretchen next for cheating on Father Masters and he was saving me for last, but…”
When she hadn’t continued, Dawn had finished for her. “But then you added insult to injury by having Virgil arrested.”
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “He loved Virgil and was extremely loyal to him, but I would’ve never thought he’d do something like this.”
“Do you know why he decided to start killing these women?”
“He said God told him to do it. He said God was talking to him through Father Masters and directing him to purify the church.” She had stopped when the paramedics had arrived and gave her something for the pain. When she continued, she said Keenan had been opening Virgil’s envelopes for a while. “He said he began opening the packages over a year ago to read for entertainment, but he realized God had placed the envelopes in his hands. He knew about a lot of adulteries, so I asked him why he only killed the women from the church. He said that’s all God told him to kill. He said we were held to a higher standard and he had to purify the flock for Father Masters.”
“How’d he know about Gretchen?” Dawn had asked. “Virgil personally delivered that envelope to Nehemiah.”
“He saw them together one night in Virgil’s office. I was at the grocery store and Virgil didn’t know Keenan was at the house.”
Dawn scowled. “Then why didn’t he kill Virgil? He committed adultery, too.”
Skylar had grunted, and then winced in pain. After taking a few breaths, she explained that the standards were different for men and women in Nehemiah’s church. “I know it’s not like that everywhere,” she had explained, “but Nehemiah believes the women in the church are second-class citizens.”
“Well, he’ll enjoy being a second-class prisoner,” Dawn had said as we stepped aside so the medics could begin working on Skylar. After watching them in silence for a few minutes, Dawn had said, “You know, this case was so bizarre that Keenan would’ve probably been found not guilty by reason of insanity.”
I couldn’t argue.
Now, I stood watching Dawn tell Skylar how much of a fighter she was. “You’ve got true grit, girl.”
Skylar smiled and wiped a tear from her eyes. “Did you hear Virgil and me are calling it quits? And I’m not going to take his business. He worked too hard for it, you know?”
“To be honest, I think it’s the best thing. There’s been too much damage in your relationship. It’s time both of you started off fresh with someone new.” Dawn glanced at me and winked, then turned back toward Skylar. “Just make sure you learn from your mistakes.”
“I will.” Skylar took a breath and exhaled, tears clouding her eyes. “Virgil told me he and Gretchen are going to make a run at it. He wants to help her raise their child, and he can protect her from Nehemiah—if the man ever gets out of prison.”
“I know it’s hard, but you’ll be fine.” Dawn frowned and brushed the hair off of Skylar’s forehead. “It sounds like you’ve got a good man now, and you two can always adopt some children.”
Skylar nodded, cheering up a bit. “I’ve actually been thinking about that for a while. I mentioned it to him and he’s open to the idea.”
“Well, I’ll always be around if you need anything.”
CHAPTER 61
After leaving the hospital, Dawn and I drove the ten hours to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, arriving just after three o’clock their time. When the supervisor at Blue Summit Mountain Rental had found out why we’d missed our reservations, she put us up in a better cabin free of charge. Even the photographer had moved her schedule around to accommodate me.
After an amazing dinner at a place called The Peddler, Dawn and I retired to the cabin, got the first real sleep we’d had in weeks, and then woke up the next morning and headed for Cades Cove. I’d decided to drive to the Abrams Falls trailhead instead of making Dawn hike it, and we enjoyed the Loop Road immensely. We saw two black bears cross the road—a mother and a cub—before we even reached the trail, and Dawn was itching to see more.
“Do you think we’ll
see some along the trail?” she asked when we parked and unloaded our rucksacks.
“I hope so,” I said idly, scanning the faces of the people scattered across the grassy parking area. I sighed with relief when I saw the photographer—I recognized her from the picture on her website—fiddling with her camera, pretending not to notice us. Pleased that everything was coming together, I hoisted my pack and said, “Let’s do this!”
We crossed a weathered wooden bridge and hit the trail with the gusto of two people who had never had a vacation before. We had been so surprised our phones hadn’t rung on the drive up here that we kept checking to see if our batteries had died. And once we hit the mountains, we’d lost service. For that, I was secretly thankful.
The trail was rocky and rugged and we stared in awe at the beauty that surrounded us. We did see a bear, but it was too far away and hidden in the bushes, so we only caught a fleeting glimpse of it. Two hundred yards farther, we began hearing the roar of the waterfall.
“It sounds so big!” Dawn said as we drew nearer.
“It should—it’s the most voluminous waterfall in the Smoky Mountains.” I said it with my chest puffed out a little, proud of the research I’d done.
Of course, none of the pictures I’d found compared to seeing it in person for the first time. I gasped out loud when we rounded a turn in the trail and the waterfall came into full view. It was majestic and powerful. A mysterious-looking fog floated over the pool of water at its base. I stood staring—I even think my mouth was hanging open—and didn’t look away until Dawn tugged at my arm.
I turned to look at her and she shot a thumb over her shoulder. “I think that woman’s following us. She’s been on our trail since we left the parking area.”
I glanced over and saw the photographer pretending to mess with the buttons on her camera. She was ten feet away and we were all aligned perfectly for her to get a picture of the waterfall behind us. I quickly dropped to one knee and looked up into Dawn’s eyes.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked.
I had spent countless hours rehearsing what I was going to say to her at that moment, but, suddenly, the words wouldn’t come. Her eyes melted me. The significance of the moment rendered me speechless.
Her eyes slowly widened. “Are you…?”
“I am.” I had to holler above the roar of the waterfall. “You’re the first and only women I’ve ever met who could get me down on one knee—and I’m not getting up until you agree to marry me.”
The photographer began snapping pictures and Dawn turned in her direction, her mouth agape. She then slowly took in our surroundings, from the thick forest to the waterfall. “You did all of this? You set this up?”
I grinned and nodded.
“I had no clue what you were up to.” She shook her head and giggled. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
I cocked my head sideways, not sure how to take her comment. “What do you mean?”
“This is so romantic. I didn’t expect it.”
“What’d you expect?”
“I don’t know—maybe for you to propose at the shooting range or a crime scene. Maybe have me place my left hand on your sniper rifle and raise my right hand and swear to love and cherish you for all of my days.”
I laughed, but the sharp rock I was kneeling on was beginning to tear into my kneecap.
“So…your answer?” I asked.
She feigned surprise. “What…are you still down there?” She bent and kissed me fully on the mouth, cupping my face in her cool hands as she did. When she pulled away, her eyes were glistening. “You already know my answer, London Carter. I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
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About the Author
Click here to visit BJ's website and join his mailing list to get the latest news on upcoming releases, appearances, and more.
BJ Bourg is an award-winning mystery writer and former professional boxer who hails from the swamps of Louisiana. Dubbed the "real deal" by other mystery writers, he has spent his entire adult life solving crimes as a patrol cop, detective sergeant, and chief investigator for a district attorney's office. Not only does he know his way around crime scenes, interrogations, and courtrooms, but he also served as a police sniper commander (earning the title of "Top Shooter" at an FBI sniper school) and a police academy instructor.
BJ’s debut novel, JAMES 516, won the 2016 EPIC eBook Award for Best Mystery, and another of his novels, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, is a 2017 EPIC eBook Award Finalist in the Mystery category. Dozens of his articles and stories have been published in national magazines such as Woman's World, Boys' Life, and Writer's Digest. He is a regular contributor to two of the nation's leading law enforcement magazines, Law and Order and Tactical Response, and he has taught at conferences for law enforcement officers, tactical police officers, and writers. Above all else, he is a father and husband, and the highlight of his life is spending time with his beautiful wife and wonderful children.
http://www.bjbourg.com
NOVELS BY BJ BOURG
Clint Wolf Mysteries
But Not Forgotten
But Not Forgiven
But Not Forsaken
But Not Forever (Jan/Feb 2017)
Magnolia Parish Mysteries
Hollow Crib
Hollow Bond
London Carter Mysteries
James 516
Proving Grounds
Silent Trigger
Bullet Drop
Elevation
Blood Rise
Stand-Alone YA Mystery
The Seventh Taking