The dispatcher’s voice came over the radio trying to get Pell to respond, as he opened the passenger door, and slid out onto the ground. Looking from under the cruiser, he could see that the cop still sat up, shakily, but up. On an adrenaline high, Pell made a run for his car. His chest was on fire. What had he done! If he didn’t get out of here now, he would be spending the rest of his life in a little jail cell.
A flurry of poorly aimed, convulsive shots chased him as he staggered to the car and climbed in, started it up, and sped away. In his rearview mirror he could see the cop trying to get another clip into his gun as he fell down onto the road on his back.
Prayer wasn’t something he did often but he mouthed a simple one several times, “Please don’t let him die.”
He easily doubled the posted speed limit as he sped along. He had to get off this road. Looking down at his blood-covered chest for the first time, he also knew that he had to stop the bleeding. His head reeled from the pain and his chest felt as though a pile of bricks were stacked on it. Was it just from the wound or had the bullet hit a lung. If it were the latter, Pell knew that without immediate medical attention, he wouldn’t have a lot of time.
12:57 pm Quincy, Massachusetts
Chris slipped quietly into his house. The shades were drawn. The silence was absolute.
“Hello?” He said softly.
No answer. He looped through the four rooms before climbing the stairs to the master bedroom. The door was ajar, and he had a horrific flashback to what had been going on last night. The room was a mess. But most importantly, Karen wasn’t there. He should have been happy with this, but as he stared at the clothes strewn on the floor and bed, he wasn’t. She had made one hell of a mess while she packed. He dropped down onto the edge of the bed and started to cry. He couldn’t imagine the pain going away – not anytime soon at least.
The wedding picture that he had smashed over her lover’s head lay on the floor in its shattered, bloody frame. He picked it up and looked at the happy couple standing in front of a fireplace at their reception. They were so young; their innocence and excitement for the future flowed from within them.
He snapped the frame in half and tossed it across the room.
If he could have turned back time, he would have done it. Just turn it back enough so that he wouldn’t have gotten home while his wife was messing around – play the happy fool.
He went downstairs, grabbed a bottle of Irish whiskey and a glass from the dry sink, and went into the living room.
The next few hours he flip-flopped from rage to grief only allowing himself a few drinks. He didn’t need to slip into some alcohol-induced fit and end up doing something he regretted.
His alcohol-mellowed mind shifted to Pell and from there to Sarah Burns. If she really existed, she was fascinating. It sounded like something out of a Hollywood script. He had hardly slept in over three days now and even though his mind was racing, he dozed.
When he awoke, the room was dark. He must have slept through the entire afternoon. As he pulled himself out of the chair, he heard a muffled cough.
He sat frozen in terror. Someone was in his house. He stared into the darkness, trying to see through it, but it was pointless – dark shadows were everywhere. Slowly he rose and crept toward the front hallway. Inching by the fireplace, he picked up the poker, took a deep breath and prepared to search his house. Was it the same people from the Wild Bear?
His heart tried to punch a hole through his rib cage as he walked toward the front door. He strained to hear something again, but all he got was an ominously pervasive silence. Then he saw it. A motionless, dark form on the floor just inside the door. What should he do?
Silently he tiptoed to the light switch. Holding the poker at the ready, he flicked on the light.
5:45 pm PDT Malibu California
Sarah was surprised when Camilla returned with Mike Kemper. On the patio, even at this late hour of the day, the southern California sun soothed her body. She was wearing shorts and a loose cotton shirt and was enjoying the rare opportunity to relax on a sun lounger and forget the stress of the last few months for a few moments.
She blushed as Camilla said, “Sorry to disturb you, Sarah. Are you enjoying the sun?”
“It’s a big change from Maine,” Sarah replied as she glanced at Mike curiously. Why was he here?
“I met with Mike this morning and told him about what’s been happening back in Maine.”
Sarah’s chest tightened and blood pressure soared. “I thought we didn’t need to share this?”
“I know, but I thought that he could help.”
“I want to help,” Mike said. The sunlight hitting his beard brought out red highlights that contrasted handsomely with his dark brown eyes and bright white, Hollywood teeth. “I wanted to get involved – be more hands on.”
“That’s nice, but, like I told you yesterday, Camilla, Seth has everything under control.”
“I don’t doubt that he does, but you’ve got to admit that you’ve lost three men. Three out of six – that’s a chunk. You’re going to need some help, and between Mike and myself, we can fill in the gaps.”
Mike said, “I don’t care if I’m just an errand boy.”
Sarah stared blankly at her friend. “I guess we could use the help,” she said finally. “When are you going to be ready to go?”
“Right now,” Camilla said. “I just need to talk to Albert about a few things and then we can leave.”
Sarah left to get her things. Even though she was still angry with him, she wanted to talk to Seth, who was probably almost to Eureka by now. She needed to hear some reassurance from him. Just a simple ‘Everything’s going to be alright.’ would do. Their house in the woods was about twenty miles out of town. It was the perfect place for anonymity. In Humboldt County, people respected land and privacy. With all of the marijuana farmers up there, snooping around was highly discouraged in a variety of ways.
As she threw the last few things into her packed her bags, Mike slipped silently into the room.
“I hope you aren’t upset with Camilla,” he said softly, but his voice still startled Sarah, who turned and glared at him.
She went back to zipping up her bag as she said, “I’m not mad, just surprised, that’s all.”
“Why are you surprised?”
“Because I thought that everything except financing was my responsibility. Camilla would raise the cash, and I’d do the rest.”
“It’s got nothing to do with your competence, Sarah. Camilla has nothing but the highest regards for your abilities. We just think you could use some extra man-power.”
Sarah finished with her bag and turned to Mike. “Thanks for saying that. I’m sorry if I seem a little bitchy; there’s just been a lot of pressure lately.”
“I understand,” he replied as he and Sarah reached for her bag at the same time. Their hands touched and their eyes met for a split second.
“Let me get this,” Mike said.
He picked up her bag, and Sarah followed him down to the foyer where they waited for Camilla, who appeared almost immediately, jingling keys in her hand. “Is everything okay?”
They both nodded.
“I’m driving to the airport,” Camilla said. She obviously didn’t drive much.
“Where’s Albert?” Mike asked as they all walked toward the garage.
“In his quarters. He’ll be heading up tomorrow morning with the truck. There’re a few things that he needs to attend to here first.”