Purge (Death Crusaders Motorcycle Club) (11 page)

When I hear the first boom
I’m surprised I don’t feel any pain. Could he have missed my leg from this
close? When I hear one more shot and still don’t feel a thing I open my eyes in
shock. The detective is laying back on the couch with a red patch blossoming on
his chest and another small hole in the middle of his forehead just above the
bridge or his nose. I hear footsteps thundering behind me and to my shock I see
both Piper and Blade with their weapons drawn. At first I feel super relieved.
For about two seconds then I remember who it is that murdered my best friend
and I launch myself at him despite his drawn weapon.

“Get out of here you lying
piece of shit!” I scream at the top of my lungs. I trusted you. I loved you!
How could you do this to me?” I scream again, then I just burst into tears as I
fall face first on the floor devastated.

Right away I feel strong arms
around me as Blade kneels at my side. I elbow him hard in the ribs just to let
him know that I don’t want anything to do with him. I feel him rise up and move
away from me totally bewildered. I hear the two of them conversing through my
sobs. After a few minutes I feel someone else at my side. I can tell it’s Piper
this time.

“What’s happened Jen?” He
asks softly.

“I found out w-who k-killed
my best…friend.”

“They told you who?” He asks.

I nod miserably. “They told
me the whole story Piper. They even told me the name of the witness. They
didn’t have any reason to lie to me because they were going to kill me. I’m
sure they told me the truth.”

“And they said Blade killed
her? I don’t know Jen. Could they have had a reason to lie to you? Rack your
brain girl because you’re breaking his heart. Do you really think he is capable
of killing your best friend?”

“Well no but it wasn’t like
he meant to. There was this shootout between you guys and the Sleazebags and
cops descended on the place and she drew down on the bikers and he just shot
back on instinct. Now that I think about it maybe it was not on purpose but he
should have told me the second we saw each other again at the cemetary.”

“That’s a rough conversation
to have with somebody especially when you haven’t seen each other in two years
and…I don’t know Jen. Try to look at it from his point of view if you can. I’m
sure he’s wanted to tell you and it’s probably been eating him up.”

“I guess so.”

“You need to be sure though
and the only way you can do that is to find that witness and ask
her
what happened and who really shot your best friend.”

I nod again. “You’re right of
course Piper. Will you come with me to find her?”

“Wouldn’t miss it girl. But
let me go talk to him. I’m sure he’s completely confused right now.”

“Wait, how’d you guys find me
anyway?”

“Blade started to wonder what
you were up to and went to his computer to track the GPS in his truck and
that’s how we found out where you were headed. Of course we didn’t know your
final destination so we just followed behind you using his laptop in the my
Land Rover. We had no idea what you were up to but both of us had this weird
feeling that you were going to need some back up.”

“Damn you were right about
that.”

Piper gets up and walks out
to talk to a very confused Blade. I am so glad Piper came along. If it wasn’t
for him things between Blade and me would have gone from bad to irreparable in
a split second. What a freaking mess I’ve gotten myself into.

Chapter Twelve

Witness to What

While Piper talks to Blade I
collect up my gun and make my way through the carnage and outside making sure I
don’t leave any bloody footprints that can be traced back to me. In fact, when
I get back to Blade’s house I think I’ll just trash my shoes just in case I’ve
left a footprint somewhere on the property in my sneaking around earlier. With
a retired detective dead and a dead Sheriff’s Deputy there’s bound to be one
hell of an investigation.

A few minutes later Blade
walks over to me, but doesn’t say anything. He knows better than to try and
convince me of anything right now so I break the ice.

“Okay… I’ll allow that the
Detective could have been wrong about you. He may have even known, in fact he
did know I think that I am your old lady and maybe, just maybe he said that to
just get at me. After all he was going to kill me and he knew I would never be
able to talk to the witness and get the truth. I can accept that. But don’t you
say one word in your defense or to try to change my mind or further convince me
of your innocence because there’s nothing you can say to me that will help your
case. You got that?”

“Yes Ma’am.” He replies.

Then Piper walks up. “Are we
good?” He says to me.

I nod. “Yeah…we’re good. Now
let’s go find this witness.”

“You got any ideas on that?”
Piper asks.

“Actually I do. Those guys in
there know who the witness is. The detective told me himself. So it stands to
reason that he also probably knew where she lives just in case he needs access
to her for any reason.”

“I guess that makes sense.”
Piper replies.

“And I’m guessing,” I begin,
“that they probably wrote it down somewhere. I bet on some scrap of paper is
written her name and address.”

“You mean like this?” Piper
asks, holding up a coffee stained piece of paper. On the only white spot left
is the name Anna Watson 2324 Broken Tree Lane, Cave Junction.

“Oh my god, you’re amazing.”
I exclaim, snatching the paper from his fingers.

“How do you know it’s your
witness?” He asks.

“Because when they were about
to shoot me they let me ask a few questions like who killed Alex and who the
witness was. They figured no harm telling me since they were about to shoot me.
What could I possibly do to them in that period of time? Anna Watson is the
witness. How far is Cave whatever from here?”

“Cave Junction is about fifty
miles from here.” Blade replies. “If we’re going there we better go fast
because as soon as investigators get here they will assume that they were
killed to obtain the witnesses name and address. That of course means that you Jen
are going to be at the top of the suspect list. You have motive and means and
the gun you’re holding was used to shoot the Sheriff there. You’re about to
have a helluva lot of heat coming down on your head pretty soon.”

“Yeah Belize is starting to
sound really good right about now.” I reply. “The only way I’m going to survive
this is to get a video statement from the witness saying she was coerced. She
has to tell the proper authorities that she was told who to pick out of the
lineup.”

“Then let’s get going.” Piper
says then turns to Blade. “Why don’t you take your truck this time and Jen and
I will take mine. She’ll drive so I can use my gun in case we have a problem on
the way there or on the way back.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Blade
replies.

The three of us pile into Pipers
Land Rover. I drive so the two of them can shoot if we’re followed and
attacked. Piper puts the address into the trucks GPS system. I’m guessing that
little Anna is alive and well. Although they would actually gain from her
death. As long as she is alive there’s a chance she could rat them out. Smart
money says that at some point they kill the only witness just to make sure she
doesn’t have a change of heart later. Let’s just hope that hasn’t happened yet.
I share my theory with the boys who agree completely.

“Step on it girl.” Blade
advises.

According to GPS we’re
supposed to arrive at 11:45am but it’s only 11:20 when we pass into the Cave
Junction city limits; population 1,440. To reach Anna’s house we have to drive
through the city proper and then up into the hills behind the main part of town.
Supposedly there’s a whole cave complex somewhere up there. I don’t like dark
caves so I’m hoping our witness doesn’t either.

“Do you think she’ll be
alone?” I ask. “Even if the cops back there aren’t missed for a few days are
there anyone else who might have a reason to kill her?”

Piper thinks for a minute
before replying. “The person who really killed Alex will not want her to talk.
In a perfect world he’s not going to know where she is and he won’t be there
waiting for us after having killed the only witness to the crime.”

“So we have a dirty Sheriff’s
Deputy and a dirty Detective so far. How deep does this corruption go?”

“You know we had a couple brothers
who were also Whispering Pines PD right?” Piper asks.

I nod my head.

“We also had a number of cops
on the take as well. I’m not privy to all the information but our former
President knew which brothers are cops as well and he’ll know how many cops we
have on the payroll as well. During the Purge things got really fucked up! We
didn’t know who to trust and brothers were dying and getting arrested right and
left, including a couple cops died and a couple were thrown into jail. I’m just
glad I’m alive and free and Blade too.”

“I knew some of the cops we
had on our side but Piper’s right. Pres. was the only one who knew everyone and
he’s dead so…”

“There’s gotta be a lot of
guys…cops who are dirty and after me too.” I begin. “For them to know the day
and time I’m back in town takes someone well connected and motivated. After all
they’re gone after me two times already.”

We stop a few blocks from her
house to make a plan. That’s when we notice our first mistake. It’s Friday
afternoon in April. Anna is going to still be in school. Now we have to wait
three or four hours till she gets home. If her parents work we may even have to
wait until they pick her up from afterschool so that could put her getting home
as late as five or six tonight. That’s not going to work. There’s too much a
chance that Detective Morris or the Deputy will be missed and checked on. If
that happens we’re not going to be the only people with guns knocking on the witness’s
door tonight. We can’t just show up at school either. We’d look like pervs.
We’ll have to watch the school and intercept her on the way home. Of course we
don’t know what school she goes to either. We also don’t know her age or what
she looks like so sitting on the school is useless.

“We have to break into her
house.” Blade decides. “We need to get some pictures and other information
about her. We don’t even know what she looks like.”

The three of us get out and
walk the last few blocks up to her house. I’ll knock on the front door to ask
for help. I’ll pretend to be out for a walk and injured my ankle. I’ll even ask
for some ice and while I’m icing my leg I’ll talk about the night she was asked
to take a look at a line up. If she’s not home we’ll break in and look for
pictures and school information. If an adult answers I’ll pretend to be lost
and looking for Pine Brook Lane. We discovered that that street is not far from
where Anna lives. It gives us a plausible reason to be there on her doorstep.

We sneak up to her door as
much as we’re able. Both Piper and Blade stay out of site while I make the
final approach and knock on the door. We have previously worked out a couple
hand signals in case of trouble or just to relay information. If just the girl
answers and seems to be by herself I won’t do anything with my hands. If
someone who appears to be her mother or father I’ll scratch my head. If the
person answering is a cop or some other trouble then I’ll put both hands on my
hips. If I’m in immediate danger, like I see a weapon pointed at me I’m to drop
to the ground if possible and keep my head down. Both men will then fire away
at the door. It seems like a good system so I hope I don’t give the kill sign
when it’s just a cute little girl that answers the door.

Chapter Thirteen

And My Final Answer Is…

There are no cars in the
driveway or in front of the house so maybe we got lucky and no one is home. I
walk casually up to the front door and ring the doorbell. I stand and wait for
a couple minutes, then raise my hand to knock this time but the door pops open.
Standing in front of me is a beautiful girl of about fifteen years. She’s an
attractive girl, about five foot five, lean with long brown hair and smoky
brown eyes. She appears to be wearing pajamas.

“Didn’t your parents tell you
never to answer the door when you’re home alone?” I ask her.

“What makes you think I’m
home by myself?”

“Because the windows are
open. That means I can hear if someone in the house is talking and when I rang
no one yelled out for you to not answer or to make sure you looked through the
peephole first.”

“I’m home sick today.” She
concedes.

“Are you really sick or just
felt like taking a day off from school?”

“What are you a truant
officer or something?”

“No, we just want to talk to
you about the murder you witnessed a couple years ago.”

“Who’s we?” She asks,
becoming slightly alarmed.

I put my foot just inside the
door so she won’t be able to shut it if she decides to go that route. I’m just
about to explain who
we
is, when both Piper and Blade pop up. That
convinces her to shut the door and fast.

“Not so fast.” Piper says as
he pushes his way into the house.

The poor girl is terrified.
At first I don’t get it, then I look back at the guys and it hits me. I am so
used to seeing big thug like guys in ink and leather cuts that it doesn’t faze
me. This is a new experience for her and I imagine she expects to be raped
right about now.

“It’s okay…it’s okay Anna. We’re
not here to hurt you.”

“Then what are you here for?”
She asks.

“We just want to ask some
questions and ask you to take a look at a couple pictures.” I begin. “Can you
do that for us?”

“It’s not like I have a
choice do I?” She asks.

“Not so much. Can we sit down
someplace?”

She nods and leads us to her
living room and points to the couch. I walk over and sit down then pat the spot
next to me inviting her to sit.

“Come on Anna, I won’t bite.”

“They might.” She says,
indicating the boys.

“I promise none of us will
bite you.” I reply. “I just want to see if you recognize anyone in my photos.”

“Um…I guess I can look.” She
says, biting her lower lip.

“Great.”

The first picture I take out
is one of Alex and a group of police officers standing around shooting the
breeze.

“Have you seen anyone in this
picture?” I ask her.

She looks at it long and hard
before answering. She points to Alex’s picture.

“I-I saw her b-before.” Anna
says. “And…”

She stops speaking in the
middle of something she was about to reveal and she shuts her eyes and clenches
her fists,

“What’s wrong Anna?”

“It’s him! He’s there in the
picture.”

Then it hits me and I shoot
Blade a venomous look. “You mother fucker!”

“What?” He asks giving me
his,
hey I didn’t do it
look.  

“She just picked you out of a
line up asshole.”

“What?”

“No I didn’t.” The girl says.

“What?” Both I and Blade
chime in together.

“Oh he’s in the picture
alright but he’s not the one who shot the lady cop.”

Blade shoots me his,
I
told you so
look.

“What do you mean he didn’t
shoot here? Detective Morris even said you picked him out of a line up.”

Now it’s her turn to be
surprised. “What are you talking about? I picked out some dude who goes by the
name of…of Trash…or Trashcan. No…Trash Man. They called him the Trash man, for
some reason.” 

Now Blade is pissed. “You
fingered Earl?”

“What?” She asks.

“You picked Trash Man out of
a line up for the shooter?” Blade asks again advancing on her.

She sinks back into the
couch, cringing away from him. “They told me I had to pick him.”

“Why him?” Blade seethes.

“Cause they didn’t want me
picking him!” She yells, pointing to another man in the picture.

I grab the picture to get a
closer look at the man she just singled out.

“Him?” I ask. “Are you
freaking serious?
That
man shot my best friend?”

“Yes!” She yells, pointing to
my ex-boyfriend Mark. “That man shot the lady cop and they didn’t want the
crime landing on him so they said I had to ID the Trash guy or they’d kill my
mother and my little brother.”

The girl is in tears now and
I’m in shock! I can’t believe it was Mark that murdered my best friend. It
makes me want to vomit.

“Who told you to pick him?
Who told you they’d kill your family if you didn’t pick him?” I ask the girl.

“Detective Morris and this
young Sheriff’s Deputy. I don’t remember his name. But mostly it was Detective
Morris. He was the leader of the group.”

“What group?” I ask her.

“There was a group of dirty
cops and they were run by Detective Morris and that guy I just showed you;
him.”

“Do you know that man’s
name?” I ask her.

She thinks for a second.
“Brown I think. Officer…Mark Brown.”

My stomach sinks even
further.

“Detective Morris and Officer
Brown and I don’t know how many other cops were all dirty. They’d take cash and
drugs from drug busts and split the cash and sell the drugs back to the dealers
they let walk. There was supposed to be some cops who were also bikers in
secret too but I didn’t know any of them.”

I think I’ve heard enough.
I’m going after Mark.

“You may be in some danger
Anna. Detective Morris and the Sheriff’s Deputy were gunned down sometime this
morning and whoever did this probably wants you dead too. Is there somewhere
you can go to be safe until this blows over?”

“I can go to my aunt’s house
I guess.”

“And what about your little
brother and your parents? Can you make sure they don’t come home?”

“Yeah… my brother has a cell
phone too so I can call him and our parents. She’ll just get him from school
and my aunt, she can pick me up from here and we can meet mom at her house.”

“That sounds like a plan. You
better get going and we will too.”

“Um…okay yeah.”

She gets up to retrieve her
phone and I take back my pictures. I still can’t believe that Mark killed Alex.
It’s just too much to conceive right now.

“Are you okay?” Blade asks
me.

“No…but let’s get out of here
before trouble finds us too.”

“Good idea.” Piper says.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

While Anna’s making her calls
we go back to Piper’s Land Rover to leave. We’ll go back to Blade’s house and
devise a plan from there. I have made it clear that I’m going after Mark the
since they didn’t try to disturb me I guess they’re going to help. We get
twenty minutes down the road before Blade instructs me to pull off to the side
of the road.

“What’s going on?” I ask him.

“I got a bad feeling about
something.”

“You too?” I ask him.

Ever since we left I have
been feeling like we better go back there and make sure she’s alright.

“You don’t think she’s okay?”
I ask.

“Someone could have found
Detective Morris and the other dude by now you know.” Blade explains. “I just
have this weird feeling that we’re being tailed although I haven’t seen anyone.
If someone has been following us they may have gone to the girl’s house after
we left. I mean it’s kind of a long shot but it’s possible isn’t it?”

“Yeah but why would anyone
think something is wrong with the detective?” I ask. “Your scenario would only
come about if the right person found the detective murdered. Only that would
have set off the chain of events we’re talking about right?”

“Maybe someone followed you
when you came out here by yourself or maybe someone followed Piper and I out
here. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time you were followed so why not
follow you today?” 

I nod. “I hope you’re wrong
Blade, I really hope you’re dead wrong, but I’m afraid you’re right.” I have a
bad feeling about this. 

“What do you think boss?”
Piper asks.

“I think that girl is in
trouble bro.” Blade says.

“I was thinking the same
thing.” Piper replies. “But It’s a long shot. And she’s probably gone to her
granny’s house by now right?”

“Her grandma had to come get
her. She could still be at the house.” I argue.

“Alright, we go back.” Blade
decides.

He puts the truck in gear and
does a U-turn in the road. In a cloud of dust we’re flying back the way we just
came desperately hoping the girl got out of there in time. My heart is pounding
in my chest as I finger Piper’s gun in my lap.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Blade
assures me. “I’m pretty sure they could not have connected the dots that fast.
We’ll just go there and confirm she’s gone so we can rest easy that we got her
out of there in time.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,
but step on the gas just in case.”

Blade hits the gas but the
whole time it takes us to get back to her house I am on edge. I have a really
bad feeling about this and I don’t think I’m being paranoid. As we pull up in
front of the house everything is quiet; too quiet.

Blade starts to get out, then
reaches behind the seat and pulls out a shotgun. “Why don’t you stay in here?”
He advises.

“Sure, no problem,” I reply,
getting out of the other side of the Land Rover.

“What are you doing?” He
demands.

“If she dies her blood is on
me. I’m the one who started digging around and got her in this mess. If not for
me she would have been safe.”

“No way Jen. They would have
eventually gone after her. Leaving her alive means there’s always a chance the
guilt that’s been eating at her will cause her to do the right thing and tell
the authorities about the coercing and the threats on her family.”

Having settled our little disagreement
the three of us get into action. We approach the back door this time. Blade
turns the knob and the door opens. That’s probably not a good sign. Blade walks
in first followed by Piper with another shotgun and then little ole me with
Piper’s handgun. I watch as they enter the house checking and clearing it one
room at a time like a couple of cops or military men. I’m just about to breathe
a sigh of relief when Blade walks into the back bedroom and freezes. He holds
up his hand for us to stop. He waits for a tense minute before entering the
room. Both he and Piper disappear into the room and when it’s my turn to look
in I just about faint. The first thing I notice is a strong coppery smell;
fresh blood. I know what I’m going to see around the corner but it still shocks
me. There are three bodies arrayed on the bed. I see Anna first and an
involuntary gasp escapes me. She’s been shot in the forehead. There’s a large
pool of blood surrounding her head on the teal bed sheets. Next to her is what
must be her aunt and then her mother; or the other way around. They too have
been shot in the head. The only person missing is her little brother. Why
didn’t anyone get him?

“Clear!” Piper shouts.

I am crushed! I got these
people killed. On the way out of the bedroom I catch my toe on the edge of the
carpet and go down hard. Piper’s gun goes skittering out of my hands and
halfway down the wood floored hallway. Once down I don’t have the strength to
get back up. I curl into a fetal position as gut wrenching tears rack my body.
Both men are immediately at my side, thinking I got hurt or something but the
hurts I have now can’t be fixed by them or any doctor I know.