Ashes to Ashes

by Nathaniel Fincham

Chapter 58

  “It just rings busy, now,” Oscar said, but still attempted another call. “Busy. Damn it. Someone took the phone out. It doesn’t look like anyone wants to speak to their neighborhood police department.”

  “Does Scott Walters have a cell?” Wiles asked.

  Oscar grunted. “Scott ditched his cell long ago. Son of a bitch. We are deaf and blind and dumb.”

  “I wouldn’t say dumb, Detective Harrison,” Wiles replied.

  “Dumb,” Oscar repeated, with emphasis.

  “What should we do?” the Oak Hill police officer inquired.

  Putting up a single finger, Oscar asked for a minute to think. From their distance, he could see that the light still burned beyond the front windows. Even though the rest of the house remained dark as death, a single beacon of light still burned.

  What exactly did it mean in the scope of things? Oscar contemplated.

  A single light in a house of black could mean a few things, some good and some bad. It showed him that all the activity was most likely taking place in a single room, which was good because the bodies, bad guys or good guys, were not spread throughout the house. They were in the same location. That meant that a strategic entry was possible, if it came down to it.

  But that also meant that those inside, those who were in charge, most likely Lucky Barrett and however many men who came to his aid, was dug deep into a central location. They would have eyes on the surrounding entranceways. Oscar was sure that had seen shifting of the curtains by someone inside who was moving the fabric aside in order to see. They would know from far off anyone was coming.

  Or would they? If they were all in the living room, there would be no eyes on the back of the house, especially since the two assassins in the back yard had been dealt with. But Ashe didn’t honestly know for certain. There could other men hiding in the darkened areas of the house, the sight focused outward, watching and waiting for any movements from the police.

  He just didn’t know for sure. And it pissed him off.

  Amber Barrett’s body was still lying on the sidewalk, Oscar could see her form beneath the onslaught of rain, which also pissed off the homicide detective. It was wrong in many ways. He was sure that the young girl was as much as victim as Scott. And he wanted to get the dead young girl out of the rain, away from the madness, but he couldn’t send any of the officers close to the house. They would be in harm’s way. And he didn’t know if the men inside would take the opportunity to shoot at a cop. He wouldn’t take the chance, even if it meant leaving Amber Barrett where she fell, no matter how much his religious and professional ideals yelled at him. Oscar could continue to argue with himself, but he knew that he would simply have to wait, wait until the moment presented itself and then he would make sure that moving the young woman’s body was a priority. He would see to it himself that she was handled with respect and sent along to a proper burial and a peaceful rest.

  “Did you talk to…ummm…Sheldon…the lead sniper?” Oscar asked Wiles, who was yelling orders into his cell phone, which also acted as walkie-talkie. “How is his crew looking?”

  “What was that, sir?” the young officer asked.

  “Never mind,” Oscar grunted. He grabbed the phone from the officer’s grip and pressed the same button that he watched the young man use. The phone beeped to life. But before speaking into the device, the detective gave Wiles a look and waited to see how the young man would react. The young officer stayed docile and allowed Oscar to proceed. Oscar spoke into the phone, which was connected to the phones every other officer. It worked like a two-radio. “Sheldon. Officer Sheldon. Do you read me?”

  A voice spoke up. “Yes. Who am I speaking with?”

  “Lead officer Wiles has some requests of you and your men,” Oscar continued. “He would tell you himself but he is tied up right now. So I am speaking on his behalf. He wants your men planted on the rooftops across the street. He wants your scopes to be continuously pointed at that house. You never know when an opportunity or a life-saving shot will arise.”

  “Who is this again?” the deep voiced shooter asked.

  “Am I clear? Or should I tell Officer Wiles that you aren’t following his lead?”

  “I read you loud and clear, sir,” the voice in the phone replied.

  “Did you hear that, Wiles?” Oscar asked while handing back the young man’s phone. “The accurate guns are about to put their scopes on the front of the house. Sound good to you?”

  “Yes,” Wiles said. “But I don’t know how much good it will do. That house is as dark as a deep cave.” He took the words straight for Oscar’s brain. “And the curtains are still drawn tight. We can only barely make out that single light. Nothing else. Snipers can’t shoot if they can’t see anything. They are no good without a target.”

  “I know,” Oscar agreed. “But I want them in place in case a target presents its smiling face.”

  Oscar became quiet for a few seconds.

  “Get this parameter tight,” Oscar moved on, pointing at the barricades that were being placed a little ways up the street in order to close off the roads. He knew that more barricades were being set up on other streets, forming a solid parameter between the outside world and the situation at hand. “Make sure no one gets through without credentials. I know there aren’t many onlookers now but the word is spreading as we speak and the gawkers and reporters will slither out from under their rocks in no time.”

  Wiles yelled orders into his phone, demanding several more bodies to man the barricades. “Get those things squared away…now!”

  “Let’s get the evacuation to move faster,” Oscar barked. “Bystanders are a big risk with these houses being so close together.” The two-story buildings that sat adjacent were too near for his comfort. Stray bullets have been known to penetrate nearby walls and injure innocent children while they slept in their beds. Oscar motioned to the adjacent residences, “I want these people gone. I also want the houses across the street to be emptied as well.” He considered the back yard, which he had been in for a short second. The house’s yard seemed to put a good amount of distance between it and the home behind it. But he had to be safe. “I want the house directly behind cleaned out too. Along with the ones diagonal to the scene as well. I want the civilians far away from any possible crossfire. And don’t take no for an answer. I know you said you were getting some resistance, but if you explain to them why they have to leave, and by blunt about it, they are more than likely willing to obey. Sound good?”

  “Yep.”

  “In fact,” he quickly added. “Tell Sheldon that I want a man placed on that back house as soon as the occupants are clear. We need an accurate gun pointing at the back door, as well. I would like to get snipers on the sides too, but those houses are too damn close. It doesn’t matter. If anyone decided to exit the house unauthorized, they would be seen from either the front or the back at some point. You understand, amigo?”

  Wiles nodded.

  “Then get those orders out there,” Oscar demanded. “They need to hear my voice as little as possible. You are in charge in their eyes, remember?”

  “Of course.”

  The Youngstown Detective listened as the young officer relayed the wishes. He added just enough authority to get it done without overdoing it. He was trying not to rub the squad the wrong way, was a smart move. The kid had good instincts.

  “Ashe is still in there,” Detective Harrison muttered to himself, loud enough that Wiles could hear as well. “And he has had plenty of time to make some kind of move, whatever that might be. Don’t count him out, just yet. He has his own way of doing things, but he gets results. Maybe I will show you the case files containing the work my friend and I have done over the years. The man used to pull stuff out of his ass at the drop of a dime. Never seen anything like it. He has been out of the game for a while, I will have to
say. Rusty. I even stood in his way for minute. But he has gotten back into the groove and I think his mind is finally fully oiled, loosened, and at top performance.”

  “I’ve heard the name before,” Wiles admitted. “Every cop in Northeast Ohio, maybe even all of Ohio, from low to high, knows about what happened to his wife.”

  “Don’t hold that against him,” Oscar asked.

  “No one does,” the young officer clarified. “We empathize with your friend. Some of us even hope to be the one who finally catches that psychotic asshole. But we won’t arrest him. No. We will hand feed that son of a bitch to Dr. Ashe Walters ourselves, just to be present when Ashe gets the chance to rip that man apart from nose to toes.”

  “Good. Excellent. Then you must have recognized my name as well…you little prick.” Oscar smirked, shaking his head. He wanted to pursue his gripe further, but instantly changed the subject. It didn’t matter that the young man had played dumb and gave him a hard time. That was behind them and unimportant. He might bring it up to the young man later down the road, though, by giving him a stern kick in the ass. “SWAT on ready?” Oscar asked, nodding to the black van that had just recently arrived on scene. He already knew the answer. They were antsy for some action, as SWAT teams often were. They may get their adrenaline fix soon enough. “Never know when we may need to go in there,” he told Wiles. “When we move…I want it to be fast and without mistake. You understand?”

  Wiles once again showed that he did.

  “Okay,” Oscar stated. “If we have to force our way into the house, it will be in a hurry and it will most likely be messy. Are you ready for that, in case it does go down that way?”

  Officer Wiles was without a doubt ready, even if his hands were trembling. Oscar noticed the shaking limbs, but decided to give the man some slack. Not everyone had the nerves to handle certain kinds of circumstances. Especially the unique type of shit in which they were currently buried chests deep in. When things exploded, which they were probably going to sooner than later, Oscar would pay close attention to how young Wiles handled himself. Because the current mess was exactly the type of situation that showed a man exactly how thick his spine was. And what it might take to snap it like a twig.