The Fiercest Enemy

by Rick Reed

  Jack got Shaunda to her feet when he heard heavy boots on the stairway and Sergeant Ditterline came around the corner, gun in hand.

  “What the hell?” Ditty said, taking in the scene. “Did she shoot the chief?”

  Jack put Shaunda’s revolver in his waistband and said, “I’m taking Chief Lynch with me. Liddell will explain everything. Check on that ambulance, will you?”

  “Just did on my way up here, Agent Murphy. They’ll be here any minute now,” Ditty said.

  Jack unlocked Shaunda’s handcuffs and gave them to Liddell. “How’s your side?” he asked Shaunda.

  “I’ll live. Let’s get going. I think I know where she’ll be taking Pen.”

  Sergeant Ditterline stood at the top of the stairs and yelled down to them, “Stay with Liddell and put out a BOLO on Rosie. She may be in that little Ford Ranger truck. She’s got Pen with her.”

  “Let’s take the Tahoe,” Shaunda said. “We’re going to be off-roading.”

  Chapter 43

  “Where are we going?” Jack asked.

  Shaunda had insisted on driving. She’d left a rooster tail of cinder and gravel and had a death grip on the steering wheel, leaning forward, mouth clamped shut. She said with a nervous tremble in her voice, “I know where she went. Or at least I think I know.”

  “That’s what you said back at the bar. Where do you think she’s gone?”

  “The mine,” Shaunda said.

  “Which mine?”

  “Dugger Mine. Or the old Sunflower. We’ll go to the Dugger Mine first. We should see her truck.” She continued to drive like a bat out of hell toward the lake where they’d fished out Brandon Dillingham’s body only a day before.

  “You said you’d tell me everything,” Jack said.

  “About Rosie and me? Well first off you know I lied about my aunt Eunice.” Shaunda leaned back in the seat but maintained the tight grip on the wheel. “My aunt told you everything, so you know all about my shitty life growing up with religious sickos for parents. I had just found out I was pregnant when I came to live with her.” She turned her head toward Jack and he nodded.

  “I didn’t tell you about Aunt Eunice because my past is long buried and I don’t like digging into old dirt. I finished my sophomore year when I found out I was pregnant. My parents somehow found out and were forcing me to have an abortion.” Her eyes teared up again at the thought. “Pen is my life. I snuck out and went to Aunt Eunice. She let me stay for a while but I had to leave.”

  She didn’t mention the cousin that was molesting her so Jack didn’t either.

  “I quit school. I could never come back to my home. We would have been treated like lepers here. I couldn’t do that to Pen. Do you understand?” When she asked she turned her head toward Jack and almost went off the road.

  Jack said, “I get it. Now keep your eyes on the road. We can’t do Penelope any good if we wreck.”

  Shaunda stared through the windshield and was in her own world. “When I was a sophomore, Lamont Washington and Daniel Winters were seniors. On the baseball team. Popular. Good looking and knew it. There was a pre-graduation party each year. Kind of a tradition for the seniors, but they invited some junior girls. The party was always held out at Dugger Mine. In the mine and down at the lake. I was a sophomore but Rosie was a junior and she was invited to go to the party. She had a crush on Leonard DiLegge. The high schools played against each other but DiLegge and Troy Junior had a bromance going with Washington and Winters. Where you saw one you saw them all.”

  She stopped talking long enough to cross into oncoming traffic going around a semi-truck and trailer. She whipped back in front of the truck as easy as if she were chewing gum. “Rosie got me invited too. DiLegge was supplying her with grass. Marijuana. She’s never given the stuff up.

  “No way I could get permission to leave the house at night much less go to a party of drunk teenagers. Rosie came by with some other girls and picked me up. We went to the party that night. There were fifty, maybe a hundred teenagers. They’d built small fires to keep their hands warm but they weren’t warming their hands with the fire if you get my meaning. I’d see a little kiss here and there at high school, and maybe some necking in the parking lot, but I’d never seen anything like what was going on.

  “I was a little scared, but excited too. I’d never done grown up stuff. Here, I was part of this. Rosie went somewhere with Leonard and Troy Junior came over. He was supposed to be a big man at school, but he acted like he was nervous or embarrassed to be talking to me. I found out later what he was nervous about.”

  She turned into the Dugger Mine property through a missing section of chain link fencing and continued across the rubble and brush. The Tahoe bounced and rocked but Shaunda didn’t seem to notice. Jack had to hang on.

  They topped a small rise and he could see the top of a vehicle the same color as Rosie’s truck come into view. Shaunda slowed and came to a stop. “We need to go in on foot from here.”

  Jack agreed. “Do you think she’d shoot you?”

  “I don’t want to find out if you don’t mind.”

  Jack said, “Finish your story so I know what I’m getting into here.”

  Shaunda took a deep breath, let it out and said, “Troy offered me a sip of what he was drinking. It was in a Coke can. He laughed when I told him I couldn’t.”

  She saw Jack’s eyebrows raise and said, “I know Aunt Eunice told you they drugged me. She was the one that suggested that that’s what happened. I went along with her story because she couldn’t believe I’d ever do anything like that, what with my upbringing.”

  Jack nodded.

  “Rosie came back with Leonard, Winters and Washington. They were all smoking a joint. Rosie was giggling and she had been drinking. She told me to lighten up and enjoy the party. She promised nothing would happen and that she’d get me home before my parents woke up.

  “I trusted her. She was my best friend. Like a sister. I’d never smoked or drank before and I was getting high. The boys wanted to go into the mine. It didn’t seem like a big deal. Just us and the three boys. Troy said they were going to tell ghost stories and had built a small campfire down there. I should have known no one would build a fire inside a mine but I was with Rosie.

  “The rest of what I told my aunt was true. I was high, drinking spiked drinks, smoking whatever they were and I remember feeling happy. I was free for once in my life. Then Troy started groping me. Rosie and Leonard were making out and the other two were just egging Troy on with these moronic grins on their faces. I tried to get Troy to stop. He slapped me hard and knocked me down. He straddled me and started ripping my blouse open. I heard Rosie yelling at him to stop and Leonard punched her. She fell down and we were looking at each other when they took turns with us. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes. Betrayal, hurt, fear, anger. She looked dead. Like there was nothing behind those eyes.”

  Jack felt a chill run up his spine and down his arms. He wanted to kill the assholes himself. She went on in a fading voice.

  “They were laughing and giving each other high fives when they left. They had taken our clothes. All except our underwear. It was cold. The ground was especially cold. It was in March, just like you guessed. We lay there a long time. Too ashamed I guess. I didn’t want anyone to see me. I was afraid they were waiting.”

  “How did you get home?” Jack asked.

  “Rosie had left her car at the party and came to pick me up with some other girls. Her car was still there. The party was breaking up and we were able to get to her car without seeing anyone. She had extra clothes in the trunk. She gave me a sweatshirt and pants but we had to go barefoot. We made a pact that we would never tell anyone what happened. Who would believe us anyway. They’d say it was our fault for leading those boys on. The baseball players were heroes to the school. They could do no wrong. We’d be labeled as sluts. Plus,
I could never let my parents find out.

  “I was able to sneak in and we saw each other at school. The next couple of months were a nightmare and then I figured out I was pregnant. I told Rosie and she said we should just take off somewhere out west. We could get jobs and no one would know. Her parents weren’t much better than mine. They just had more money.

  “School was over. Before we could come up with a plan my mom accused me of being pregnant. She found the pregnancy test I’d done in the trash. Her and my dad prayed and screamed and cried and prayed some more. I was going to hell. The baby was born in sin. That kind of stuff. They told me it would have to be aborted. Dad found a guy in Sullivan that would do it. I said I wouldn’t go with him. He beat me. Said he would beat the demons out of me. Thought I was possessed. I packed that night and left. I slept in the woods for a night or two and finally had to go to Aunt Eunice.”

  “You left Eunice’s and had the baby where?” Jack asked.

  “St. Louis, Missouri. I was on the street for a long time until a cop caught me shoplifting food. He took me to a women’s shelter and they had a doctor that delivered Pen. She was born with a spinal defect. Spina bifida. It got worse as she grew and her speech started to change and she was losing the use of her legs. They could do surgery but I couldn’t afford it on a part-time waitressing job. I saved enough to get her in to a surgeon and he said he could do something but she may get worse even with the surgery and it was risky because of her particular condition. I think you know the rest.”

  “When did the killings start?” Jack asked. He hadn’t heard any sirens like Sergeant Ditterline promised. He needed to call Liddell, but Liddell would have figured out what was happening after a few minutes of the ambulance not arriving.

  “Baker was first,” Shaunda said. She’d relaxed now. Telling a story that she’d kept inside all these years. “Rosie ran into him in a restaurant in Sullivan. He was with his wife. He recognized her and just sat there looking her up and down and smiling.”

  “Why kill Baker?”

  “Baker was a substitute teacher at Union. He was at the party too. He came into the mine and saw what was happening to us but he just stood there and watched. He never tried to stop them. Never told anyone. In a way he was the worst of all.”

  “Who killed them, Shaunda? You? Rosie? Both of you?”

  “Rosie did. I swear on my daughter’s life. Rosie killed Baker and told me about it. I was going to come home but my parents were still alive and I just couldn’t. When they died and Rosie hadn’t done anything else crazy I decided to come home. I got the job I have and I let it go. She was my best friend. I couldn’t arrest her. I thought she’d gotten her revenge and she was through. Look, Baker was a psycho. He molested children. He deserved what he got.”

  “What about the rest?” Jack asked.

  Shaunda sat silent. She took the keys from the ignition and opened her door. “Let’s go. If we come out of here alive I’ll tell you the rest.”

  Jack said, “What if we both don’t make it?”

  “I plan on staying alive. How about you?”

  “Good plan,” Jack said and they exited the Tahoe.

  They moved as quietly as they could across the rock strewn ground, circling around to the back of Rosie’s truck. Jack looked in the bed and saw several blue tarps still in the package, a coil of boating rope, a shovel and several cinder blocks. It might have been there for legitimate purposes but he didn’t believe that was the case.

  They stopped at the wide entrance to the coal mine, their backs against the wall. Shaunda asked, “Can I have my gun back?”

  “Only if you promise not to shoot me,” Jack said and she gave a weak smile.

  He took the gun from his waistband, opened the cylinder, snapped it shut and put it in the holster on her gun belt. She put the strap over it, snapped it down and nodded.

  “Glad to have you back Chief,” Jack said.

  “Glad to be back. Not glad to be going up against my best friend. Promise me you won’t kill her.”

  Jack said, “No one will get shot if we do this right. Let’s get your daughter and get the hell out of there. We have her pinned in. There’s no need to get in a gunfight, right?”

  Shaunda put a cautioning hand on Jack’s arm before they entered. “I’m familiar with these places. Don’t touch the walls. Don’t touch the supports. Don’t make loud noises. Don’t fire your gun unless absolutely necessary. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Yeah. Thanks partner.”

  “I’m injured remember. You’re the man. You get to go first.”

  Jack gave her a sarcastic look.

  She said, “That’s what happens in all the movies.”

  “Bite me, Shaunda.”

  “Maybe if we live through this,” she said, and gently pushed him into the entrance and followed close behind.

  Chapter 44

  After Jack and Shaunda left Liddell had begun to feel uneasy. Jerrell was in bad shape and he didn’t hear the ambulance. He knew every minute was precious if Jerrell had a punctured lung and was bleeding internally.

  “Where’s that ambulance coming from?” Liddell said out loud. He should have heard something before now. “Hang in there, Chief. I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

  Ditty had gone into one of the bedrooms and came back with a blanket. Liddell thought he was going to make a pillow from it, or use it to keep Jerrell warm, but Ditty just stood there looking down at them.

  “I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Ditty said.

  “Of course, he is. We should get him comfortable and warm. Give me the blanket and see if you can find a pillow.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to need it,” Ditty said.

  Liddell thought it was a callous remark. He looked up into Ditty’s face. He saw the flat eyed stare Ditty was giving him and a chill shot up his spine.

  “See if you can hurry that ambulance up, Sergeant,” Liddell said, thinking Ditty was in shock at losing his Chief.

  “I can’t do that, Agent,” Ditty said, and pitched the blanket on top of Jerrell’s face. “Use that to cover him up. Stay put where I can keep an eye on you.” Ditty’s duty weapon was in his hand and pointed at Liddell from five feet away.

  * * * *

  It was full dark now. Shaunda and Jack were fifty feet into the mine; no lights, feeling their way along the steel rails. Jack could feel the dampness that clung to his skin. There was a bad smell, like old sweat and dirty clothes and dust motes that hadn’t settled out of the air for a hundred years. His throat had a sudden tickle. He put his arm across his nose and mouth but it didn’t do much to muffle the cough.

  Shaunda whispered from off to his right, “It’s only going to get worse. That’s coal dust and you won’t ever get it out of your lungs. Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it in ten or twenty years.”

  “Just what I needed,” Jack said. “Do you know where we’re going?”

  Instead of an answer a powerful flashlight beam came on and found him. “You got a light?” Shaunda asked.

  Jack had one but he’d hoped to not use it if Shaunda knew where they were going. Not yet anyway. He pulled a small but powerful flashlight from his jacket pocket but didn’t turn it on. “Get that light off of me,” he ordered Shaunda. The light went off and the darkness seemed to deepen. He stepped over the rail, moving closer to Shaunda’s last position with his gun in his hand and the other feeling for Shaunda, feeling for anything in this nothingness.

  His fingers touched cloth with something soft and giving beneath.

  “Whoa there sailor,” Shaunda said.

  Jack pulled his hand back and leaned in. In a low voice he said, “Use the light sparingly, on and off. Or at least hold it out to your side.” He couldn’t believe she’d gone through the police academy and hadn’t learned the basics of not mak
ing yourself a target. Or making him a target.

  Shaunda flipped the light on and off several times. “Like that?”

  Jesus. “Better yet hold your hand over the end to limit the beam. Like a nightlight. She did so but still very close to her body. Jack took her hand and pulled the arm out to the side between waist and shoulder level. It was the best he could do for her.

  He could see well enough with the dim light but felt in front with the toe of his shoe before planting a foot. He was glad he did because a moment later his shoe struck something hard and unmoving. He risked the low beam light and saw it was a light gauge rail for a coal car that was crossing the track they had followed. They were at a four way intersection. The ground and tracks were heavy with moisture. Where the tracks intersected one rail was bent outward and the ground beneath was half a foot lower than the rail.

  “That’s called a fall,” Shaunda said. “These mines sometimes flooded or the ground was softer and the weight of the coal cars would put pressure on the intersections. Not a problem usually. It was flooding, or gas, cave-ins or fire that closed most of the mines.”

  “I feel much better now,” Jack said.

  “You’re welcome. We go left here.”

  “How do you know?” Jack asked. He knew how to get back but he needed Shaunda to feel she was in charge.

  “Because when I look that direction I get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

  This is where it happened.

  They turned left. Jack had changed places with Shaunda putting her closer to the wall on his left. He kept his right foot close to the track. They were separated by just feet and she was falling behind. He could hear her regulation boots scuffing from time to time. She wasn’t making a great attempt at being quiet and unnoticed except for whispering.

  “Where are we going Shaunda,” Jack said in a normal voice, not slowing.

  She uncapped her hand from the front of her flashlight and shined the beam directly on him. He stopped and turned to face her. He heard her unsnap the holster. He could only make out her shape behind the blinding beam. The light glinted on the stainless steel gun barrel as she motioned he should keep going.