As Melina, Hawke, Doug, and his team pulled up to the bar in unmarked vehicles, four patrons came running out.
“What’s goin’ on?” Hawke hollered at the fleeing couples.
“Some of the Javelinas are tearing up the place,” One woman replied. “They act like animals. They don’t care who they hurt.” The two couples hurried to their bikes.
A man, bleeding from the head, stumbled out the door. Shouts and screams rolled out from the bar, too. Pandemonium erupted inside Already, the situation had gone from worry to chaos.
Doug spoke to the patron, bleeding from a head wound. “What can you tell us?”
Suddenly a young girl stepped forward, tears running down her face. “There’s a biker gang in there. They’re all fighting over some missing drugs. I was behind the bar when the fight erupted but managed to escape through the back door. I saw at least two guns.”
Doug instructed the tactical teams to surround the bar. He lowered his voice when he spoke to Hawke. “I sure hope the undercover officer escaped without being wounded.”
The officers on the scene started the evacuation of the immediate area, under Doug’s orders. The tactical teams were in place and ready.
“Looks like we don’t need to worry about blending in,” Melina remarked.
“Let me talk to them, Doug,” Hawke pleaded.
Doug shrugged. “Have at it.” He tugged a slip of paper form his pocket. “Here’s the phone number of the bar. Do your best to coax the gang out.”
Detective Hawke pressed the buttons on his cell. Finally, someone answered. “This is Detective Hawke. We need to talk.”
“We ain’t got nothin’ to say, especially to no cops,” came a rasping voice from inside.
“Pete, I know this is you. What’s going on, man? You know what Ian did to Abby. You helped him cover it up. Now, you can’t take it anymore. I’m betting you realized you loved Abby yourself.”
“Man, shut your mouth. You have no idea about anything.” Pete shouted.
“Listen, I can help you. Ian is the one to blame. Now, there’s been enough killing. Let’s not make it any worse. Let us come in and get any injured people out of there. That will show you are willing to cooperate.”
“Pete, where are Ian and the biker gang members?”
“Ian’s not here. He’s at the warehouse. The Javelinas are in the other room. Ian made them mad when he sent me here to tell them the price of the drugs had gone up. They said they were going to kill us. Then, suddenly, guns were pulled, so I hid behind the bar while they shot up the joint and started hitting everyone in their path.”
Hawke realized this was his chance. “Pete, I can help you if you speak to me. Ian killed Abby, didn’t he?”
Pete’s voice grew shaky, “Yeah, man, he did. She caught him with the biker gang and the drugs. She stated she had to tell law enforcement. Ian promised Big Man he would take care of her.” Sobs filled the phone.
He must calm him down. He needed him as a witness, needed him on his side. “It’s okay, man. Look, you’re doing the right thing. Abby would be proud of you. Tell me, who is Big Man?”
“He’s the main leader of the Javelinas. He’s crazy. Got no heart. Ian killed her then called me to help dump her body. I did help him, like an idiot. I pray Abby can forgive me.”
“Sure she will because you are doing the right thing. I’m going to come into the bar. Can you guide me so I will know where the members are?”
“Hold on, let me look around. Place is destroyed. Some girls are huddled in a corner. Ah, hell….”
“What? What?”
“Big Man. He’s looking for me. I know it. He’s going to shoot me,” Pete whispered.
Hawke nodded at Melina and Doug. They ran to each corner of the building. Hawke worried over the safety of Melina but forced those fears from his mind. He had a job to do.
He turned his focus back to Pete. “Okay, speak to me. What are they doing? I’m fixing to enter the back door.”
“Come down the hallway but stay low. The bar is close, so stay down.”
Hawke spoke as he hurried toward the back door. “Pete, does Ian have a big operation here in Vegas? Can you take me to the warehouse?”
“Sure, man, just get me out of—”
Pete’s voice stopped. Hawke feared the worst. He yanked the back door open and stepped inside. He sensed fear and uneasiness. Where was Melina? He feared for her safety as no doubt she feared for his.
Pete whispered, “Big Man is standing up, scanning the area. Be careful.”
Hawke could not see the bar. Suddenly, he heard Melina scream. His heart seized for a moment. Cold fear raced through his system. No! No, she had to be all right. Then he heard her speak in a commanding voice. “Everybody, just stay calm. Okay, sir, you put the gun down.”
Hawke flattened his back against the wall of the hallway and peered around the corner. Melina stood behind the side door, gun drawn and aimed, as she instructed the man he believed was Big Man to put his gun down.
His stocky build made him resemble an overgrown gorilla. Long, shaggy hair was pulled into a bandanna. He stood over the body of the undercover officer. He smiled at Melina and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. As he moved toward her, she warned him to halt.
“I’m gonna cut you, bitch. Cut you into a billion pieces.” Big Man stepped toward her, brandishing a large knife. “See, I don’t think you’ve got guts enough to fire that thing.”
Hawke never hesitated. He pulled the trigger, hitting the burly man between the shoulder blades. As he fell to the floor, Melina jumped to her feet.
Before Hawke realized what he was doing, he ran toward her, screaming, “What the hell did you think you were doing? You could have been killed.”
Melina stared into his eyes, “I can take care of myself. You interfered.”
Her cold words made him focus on what he had just done. He turned to look at the bar.
“Pete, come out now.”
Pete stood, his hair hanging loosely down on his shoulders, and his hands rose.
“Come with us.” Hawke had one objective: to get his hands on Ian Guidara.
Doug and his team took the rest of the Javelina gang members into custody as Hawke spoke to Pete. “Now, tell me everything you know about the Javelinas.”
Pete shook as he spoke. “They have a clubhouse near the warehouse. It’s a big place. Ian’s working with them on this big drug ring. They make a lot of money. Big bucks. Abby came across the key to the warehouse and put it on a feather. Then Ian brought her out to Vegas, and she followed him to the warehouse.”
Pete sobbed as he continued. “She walked in on them exchanging the drugs and money. Big Man demanded Ian kill her. After the hit, Ian called me. Told me what happened. Said he wanted me to help him get rid of the body. Claimed he’d give me drugs as payment. He tossed her body in the truck and drove out to the Eagle Nest Butte area.”
Melina stepped next to Hawke, “Pete, you must take us to the warehouse.”
Pete nodded as he stood. “Sure. I’m glad to rid my mind of this horror.”
“Okay, Pete, just hang loose. We’ll go in a few minutes. Just have a seat for now. You try to sneak out, and I’ll hunt you down.”
Melina turned and walked away. Stepping out into the night, her shoulders shook with her sobbing. Hawke followed her, guessing she felt the same sadness overwhelm her soul as he did.
He sat quiet as his thoughts rushed through his mind. Suddenly, he took Melina’s hand.
“The worst thing about this is we did not get a full explanation of why this had to happen. How can I explain this to her mother?”
Melina held him in her arms. He had no doubt she would help him through this. His heart ached for the young woman who had so much to live for. Such a tragic situation. Hawke held everything that affected his people close to his heart.
The time to end this investigation drew close. With Pete’s testimony and anything they could get out of the bikers, they could present the case to the DA. This would draw closure for some. Ian was the killer, but why he actually followed Mr. Big’s orders and killed his girlfriend remained a mystery. If he had done things differently, Abby would still be alive.
“I promise you, we will continue until we can uncover the entire thing. I know there is somebody who knows as much if not more than Pete Crowe does. Ian will have to explain to the court why he killed this young woman.”
Hawke nodded. “You are right. Pete is just part of the answer. I know he can tell us a lot, and that is the reason I’m trying to convince him I’m a friend.”
Before she could respond, he grabbed her by the hand and went back inside the bar.
“Okay, Pete, let’s go.”
Melina motioned for Doug to follow. “I cannot leave the scene just yet. Go ahead and take my car. I’ll get there as soon as I can, but under no circumstances do you enter the warehouse until I arrive with backup.”
He threw the keys to Hawke. As he walked outside with Pete in tow, he warned, “You best help us as much as you can, if you don’t want to die.”
Pete started trembling again. “Look, I’ll cooperate to the fullest. I will tell you in detail of the night at Eagle Nest Butte. Believe me, I’m sorry for my part in this. I want to do what is right for Abby.”
***
They sat in silence as they made their way to the warehouse. In a way, Ian Guidara had made his own demise. Life has a way of cleansing itself, and for Ian, death might be his only relief once he sat in jail.
Hawke glanced at Melina. The softness in her face revealed what he had always known. This woman wrote the manual on one of a kind. The type of woman who could protect herself but also needed protection from the horrible ways of the world.
As they drove in silence, the night sky blanketed with stars. Hawke felt as if Abby tiptoed upon each one. Sometimes life just couldn’t be understood. The Creator knows what is to be, and we walk upon Mother Earth giving thanks for each day.
Brother Wind walks with us, too. He tries his best to help us in our time of need. He listens and then carries our worries to the Creator. His grandfather had spoken many times to Brother Wind. He had been young and did not understand at the time, but he remembered.
Now, he totally understood. He must speak to Brother Wind so his hatred would leave his inner being. He hated what had happened to Abby. He hated the persons responsible.
Suddenly, a star drifted down to Mother Earth, crashing into the night air. Hawke pulled the car over to the side of the road and got out, staring into the darkness.
Once Hawke cleared some distance between him and the roadway, he kneeled in the dirt. He opened his arms and raised them to the sky, turning his head in an upward motion. Then he brought his arms back down, cupping his hands together, and said a prayer offering.
“Brother Wind, I need your assistance. My heart is bleeding for Abby Winters. Her death was sudden and uncaring. Please take my anger and deliver it to the Creator. Let my anger turn to justice as I get the parties responsible for her death. Give her peace and let her family cope. Thank you Creator and Brother Wind. You will deliver all of us from anger and hurt.”
Then Hawke stood and returned to the car. As he started the engine, silence overtook them, and not a word or grunt was spoken, but Hawke knew deep inside the healing had just begun, not just for him, but also for all involved.