Sinful Crime

by W L Knightly

  Kyle huffed. “Please. You’re so full of shit. All you wanted was his fortune, and the ability to get you your dream job. Which you probably didn’t even appreciate.”

  “That’s not true. I never knew what he would do. He just did as he pleased. You should know that better than anyone.”

  “Yeah, well, he used to do more for me before you came around, fucking things up.” He hated her for being a part of his father’s life and how his own relationship had never been anything compared to theirs. His father’s expression turned to one of pride every time he’d mentioned her name since Kyle had discovered her.

  “I’ve always been in his life, Kyle. I didn’t fuck anything up. But I can make it better now that he can’t. I’d do that for you, brother. I’d help you.”

  He didn’t believe her. She would not help him but betray him. “Stop acting like you care about me. You wanted Dad in your life, but you never once reached out to me.”

  “He kept you a secret,” said Jo. “I’ve always wanted a brother. I care about you, Kyle. In spite of all I know. The same blood flows through our veins. We are family.”

  Kyle laughed. “No, you’re a stranger, and he showed me to the world. You were his dirty secret. You were his other child with his dirty whore lover. That’s all anyone will ever see you as.”

  “I don’t care about that. And don’t pretend that I don’t know what you’ve done, Kyle. I’ll keep the past in the past if you let me take you in. Dannie’s not dead. Let me get her help.”

  “She’ll be dead before the others get here.” She was probably already dead. As if to mock him, he heard sirens in the distance.

  “They’re on their way,” said Jo.

  “Yeah, so I can hear.” He wasn’t going to let her walk away from this. He looked at the side door that led to the outside exit. He could make a break and be done, but what fun would that be? He was ready to live on the edge. And with his father gone and his mother in another country, he had to learn to figure out his next moves on his own. “Fine, I’ll come out.”

  “Throw the gun out first, Kyle.”

  “No way. You have a gun, and I have a gun. We’re even Steven. It’s fair, don’t you think? Why don’t you put your gun down? Show a bit of trust.”

  “Let’s put our hands up, both of us, and step out from here.”

  He watched as her hands went up, and while he thought about shooting, he was eager to look her in the eye. Besides, he wanted a clear shot. With arrest being Jo’s sole point of getting him to surrender, he knew she wasn’t going to shoot him.

  He held his hands up and stepped around the boxes. “You’re brave, sister.”

  “The Hangman wants you next, Kyle. You could help me get him. He killed our father. Sliced him to pieces and hung him from a rope in a dirty building.”

  Kyle wished he could have seen it. The last look on his father’s face. He wondered what the asshole was thinking of before he took his last breath. “Why should I help you?”

  “Because he was our father. Because Madden deserves to be punished.”

  “You’d say the same for me.”

  “No, with you, it’s different. You’re family.” Her eyes pleaded with him, and they were so much like his father’s, it was incredibly creepy. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my family. I guess I’m a lot like Dad in that way.”

  She wanted to compare herself to his father, now? She clearly didn’t know the half of their relationship, where Kyle was a fucking disappointment to his old man. “You look like him, you know? I was always a disappointment with my mother’s eyes. I think if I had looked like him more, he wouldn’t have hated me so much. He thinks my mother is a bitch.” He smiled. “Well, I guess he thought she was. Past tense and all. I’ll have to get used to that.”

  He hoped she would let her guard down if he kept talking. But they still both had guns. Neither pointed at the other, though, which was why he had to act quickly.

  “Do you think you could really love me?” he asked.

  He could see the change in her expression, how much she had to force herself to lie, and in that one distracting moment, she stepped forward to plead with him. To stress how much she meant it. And that was when he fired his gun.

  He had moved too quickly for there to be time to aim, but he’d hit her, and that was all that mattered. He ducked for cover and readied himself to beeline out of the exit. “Sorry, sister. No hard feelings. I just didn’t believe you.”

  He darted for the door, and the sirens were close now. He could see the lights flashing. He wasn’t about to go out front and hoped they hadn’t yet covered the back. He went to the back gate and hurried out across the neighbor’s lawn and into their front-yard bushes, where he stopped to catch his breath. He couldn’t get to his car. He was stuck on foot, but he knew if he could get to the gas station at the end of the street without being noticed, his chances of calling a cab or stealing a car would be much better.

  On his way, he heard dogs barking at him. It brought him back to the night he’d killed Madden’s family, the last time he’d run for his life. He had been high then. And he realized he had the vial of Dannie’s coke in his pocket, along with the cash.

  He had to get a ride. He decided to duck out behind a house that was for sale. The realtor sign and complete darkness were a dead giveaway that there was no one around. He sat in a chair as if he belonged there and took out the vial of coke. After taking a bump, he took out his phone and called for a ride. He walked around front for the address and then paced in the darkness of the front porch for the ride to show. Luckily, they had been just down the street.

  As he waited, he thought about what he wanted to do. His father was gone, and the plans would have to shift a bit as far as him getting out of town. He still needed his Kendra. She would either forgive him and help him, or she would have to die. With her gone from the world, what would he have left? A mother who had abandoned him a long time ago.

  Kyle saw the car pull up and ran out to get in. He hoped he wouldn’t have any lip from the driver and decided to go in like nothing was wrong. “Thanks, man. Take me to West Forest.”

  “You want to go to West Forest?” The man turned in his seat.

  “Yes, I live there.” He gave him a dirty look. Kyle saw by the way the man looked back at him that he didn’t believe him. And why should he? Kyle was shirtless, covered in sweat and blood, and he was noticeably coked up.

  The man looked at Kyle like he was a piece of trash. “Dude, I can’t help you. You’re going to have to get out.” The man pulled the car over before he even reached the end of the street.

  But Kyle wasn’t having it. “Drive,” he said. He held the gun to his face, and the driver’s eyes widened.

  He cowered away. “Okay, man. Don’t shoot me.” He closed his eyes for a moment but opened them to beg. “I’m a new father. I have a kid.” He stared at the gun as his lips trembled.

  “Well, if you want to see them grow up, you should quit your fucking backtalk and take me to West Forest right now.”

  “No problem.”

  As Kyle lowered the gun, the man turned in his seat and took off like a shot, all but squealing his tires. Kyle could see him shaking like a leaf, and if he was in any other situation, he would have liked it. But there wasn’t any time for fun, and he wasn’t about to add another murder to his list, at least not one he couldn’t have a little fun with first.

  “I hope you’re a better father than mine was.” He eased back in the seat and looked out the window, relieved to be out of Dannie’s fucking neighborhood. Hopefully, by the time the cops figured out where he might have gone, he’d have Kendra and be long fucking gone.

  With any luck, his sister was dead, and maybe they wouldn’t even know it was him.

  He’d been lucky before.

  Chapter 31

  Jake

  Jake saw the street sign as Sam turned on Spring Path. There was only one other car there at the time, and he jumped out of the ca
r to tell the officers to let him lead. “Stand down. I’m going in. Sam, cover me.”

  “Dispatch had them on, but they were disconnected,” said Officer Duncan.

  Jake nodded, and just as he was about to go inside, he heard another gunshot. The officers armed themselves, and Jake ran toward the sound. Jo was in there, and all he could think about was her being hit.

  He shouldered his way through the front door, which he found ajar, and then as he stepped inside, he saw a body lying on the floor in the hall.

  “Lang,” he told Sam, who was making his way in behind him. “Check the other rooms. The sound was muffled. I think they’re in the basement.” He could see a light coming from below where the access door was open.

  “Be careful. They’re desperate if they’re killing cops.”

  “And crazy.” He knew what Kyle was capable of. His hunch had been right, and it was him. He had his work cut out for him.

  He eased his way down the stairs, not bothering to announce himself. The room was so quiet that all he could hear was Sam’s footsteps in the other room. The first thing that came into view was Dannie’s lifeless body. But he ran over and checked her pulse.

  It was still faint, but she was hanging in. He had to make sure that the place was secure before he could call in the paramedics, who were already on their way from the sound of the sirens outside.

  He noticed some boxes out of place and the door to the outside exit standing open. “Shit.”

  Sam came down the stairs behind him, and he turned, his gun ready. “It’s me,” said his friend. “The upstairs is clear.”

  “Get the boys to search the neighborhood. Our suspect is on the run. Believed to be Kyle Young. Son of Senator Young. And get an ambulance. Dannie’s still alive.” He gestured to the other side and realized that from where Sam was, he couldn’t see Dannie.

  Sam turned and ran as Jake caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Jo, who was partially covered by a mess of scattered boxes. She was not moving.

  “Jo!” he screamed as he darted for her. He cleared the boxes from around her but couldn’t do anything about the one she was lying on. He did a quick assessment and realized she’d been shot in the shoulder.

  He prayed for a miracle and cried for mercy as he felt her pulse. For a split second, he felt nothing, but then, a tiny tickle of her pulse hit his fingertips. But that didn’t mean shit as long as she was lying there on the floor in a puddle of her own blood.

  He had to help her. He heard the paramedics coming into the house, and as much as he wanted to help Jo first, he had to tell them to take Dannie, who was in much worse shape. “Get another stretcher back here. We’ve got another officer down.”

  Sam hurried down the stairs. “What?” He stopped and looked at Dannie as the medics crowded around her. Then he walked over to Jake. “Is she dead?”

  “No,” he said with wild eyes. “She’s been shot in the shoulder and lost a lot of blood.” He could see losing her, and it hurt worse than anything he’d ever felt in his life. He couldn’t imagine if it really happened.

  Soon, another stretcher was brought down, and he moved out of the way and let the medics do their job. He waited until they brought her up, and he followed. He saw Duncan standing by the door. His hat was off and over his heart, his face looking grim. “The boys haven’t found anyone.”

  “Get to the Rockford. That’s where the little fucker stays. I want him dragged in and locked up when you do find him. And call me!”

  “Will do.”

  “Are you going to ride along? Your car is down the street a few houses.”

  “I’ll drive.”

  “How about I drive you,” said Sam. “You’ve had a hard night.”

  “No harder than you,” he said, knowing the man had cared about both of the women.

  “Yeah, well, it looks like you might need some help in the weeks to come. I’m your man, so I’ll do the driving. Besides, I’ve always wanted to drive your car.”

  “Now’s as good a time as any.”

  As the ambulance took off, Jake went to his car and got in the passenger seat. He was glad Jo thought to leave the keys in the thing, but Sam didn’t even have to move the seat back, which told him that Lang had driven his car. One last thrill. He couldn’t even be mad at the rookie.

  They hurried down to the hospital and went to the emergency entrance. Sam found a place to park, and Jake jumped out as soon as he put the car in park. He had to get to Jo and make sure she made it on the way, but when he approached, they were rushing her in, yelling out shit so fast he could barely understand.

  All he knew was something was wrong. “What is it?”

  A nurse who overheard stepped up. “Are you her husband?”

  He knew that unless there was a family connection, things would be tough to find out. “I’m her partner, yes.” He didn’t see any reason to clarify what type of partner.

  “There’s a problem with her blood pressure apparently. They are taking her into surgery.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sure they’ll do all they can. And I know they’ll keep you updated. If you could come with me, we have some paperwork you could fill out.”

  He realized that he wasn’t going to be good at filling out her paperwork, but he took the stack and went out to the waiting room.

  He had to call her mother, but there wasn’t any way to get her personal effects to find the number in her phone or wallet.

  Sam came out of the back, looking for him. “There you are. Any word on the girls?”

  “Nothing on Dannie, sorry. You’ll have to tell them you’re her family to get anything from them. This is for Jo. They have her in surgery. Her blood pressure dropped dangerously low.”

  “She must have been bleeding internally. Probably didn’t help to move her. But at least she’s getting the care she needs.”

  “They both are.” Jake let out a long breath. “I don’t know what she was thinking, going off like that on her own.”

  “She knew you were working the scene, and she didn’t think they were going to do anything but talk to Dannie about Kyle. I’m sure it only escalated when they got there.”

  “I don’t want to lose her, Sam.”

  “No one does.” He patted him on the back. “She’s like an instant mood booster, you know? I always like it when I go in and see her.”

  “I’m in love with her, Sam.”

  He nodded. “I know. I thought I was. But I don’t know. Here we are, and all I can think about is Dannie. She deserved better, you know? I know people think she’s all bad, but she’s not. She’s just spoiled and wants better than her mother had in life. She’s actually kind of sweet at times. Did you see what that animal did to her? He cut her up like she was a piece of meat. I don’t understand it.”

  Jake could tell he really cared about the woman. Defending her bratty behavior was the tip off. “She’s just stubborn enough to survive this,” said Jake, trying to offer strength in return, even though he felt like he was suffocating with worry. “She gave out information of a crime that led to another crime. I’m not sure she’s going to have a job when this is all over. She’ll be lucky if she does.”

  “She’ll be lucky to have her life,” said Sam. “I think I’ll go and see if I can find out something. Are you going to be all right? I’ll just be a minute.”

  “I’m fine.” He didn’t need a babysitter, but the company was nice. He closed his eyes and hoped he wouldn’t have to wait long for answers to the questions buzzing around in his head.

  Suddenly, there was a voice from across the room. “There you are, Detective,” the chief said. “I heard about Jo and Dannie. I came as soon as I heard.”

  “Jo’s in surgery. Sam went to check on Dannie.”

  She looked frazzled, her hair stuck out in all directions, and she had large bags under her eyes from the stress. “Do you have any idea who did it?”

  �
�Kyle Young.”

  “What about the Hangman?”

  “Kyle’s our copycat. I’m sure of it. All we need is Jo’s word on that. I sent some of the boys to bring him in.”

  “You better not be wrong about that, Jake. His father just died, and now you’re dragging him in when you don’t have any evidence against him?”

  “Dannie and Jo know the truth.”

  Milner gave him a withering look. “Then you better hope they pull through.”

  He had enough of her and her lip. “No, you had better hope that nothing happens to them. This happened on your watch, Chief. Not mine. You’re the one who has hindered this investigation every step of the way, and if you think that just because your partner in crime is dead that this won’t get out, you’re sorely mistaken.”

  His phone rang, and he walked away as he answered it. “Yeah?”

  “I wondered if I should call you or not, Detective.”

  The Hangman’s raspy voice sent ice water through his veins. “It’s a bad time to call me. So, unless you have something important to say or you want to turn yourself in, I’d hang up now.”

  He knew the Hangman wasn’t going to give him anything. He had only taunted him with the letters and the friendship talk, and he didn’t have time for his bullshit.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, sounding sincere. “I really hope she pulls through. I’d like her to be around when I kill her brother.”

  Jake realized that the Hangman knew she’d been shot. “How do you know that?”

  “I have ears, I pay attention, and I watched your girl, Jo, go into that house. I watched Kyle come out. I had to keep my eyes on him. Being my next victim and all.”

  He’d been that fucking close. “Not if I get to him first.”

  “So, you’ve finally figured out he’s the copycat?”

  “It’s a recent revelation,” said Jake. He didn’t want to talk to the Hangman or give him any more information about Jo.

  “Well, I just wanted to let you know that I’m nearing the end. I know the senator’s death will bring in the FBI. It’s been good working with you, Detective. But I’ll take it from here. After all, it’s time justice finds Kyle Young, don’t you think?”