Chapter 4
Henley
When I pulled up at the convenience store, it was already almost midnight and there were no other cars in the parking lot. Even with my shorts on, the heat of the night instantly brought a light sheen of sweat on my skin when I got out of my car. A chime rang out when I opened the store door, and the cashier briefly looked up from her magazine as she watched me walk inside. Once she’d acknowledged my presence with an unappreciative sneer, she looked back down at her magazine. When I reached into the refrigerator for my soda, the bite of the cold air from the freezer brought goosebumps to my skin. I quickly closed the door, and tried to shake off the chill by rubbing my hand up and down my arm.
I walked down each and every aisle, looking for something decent to eat. When I couldn’t make up my mind, I just started filling my arms with anything and everything that looked like it might curb my growing hunger. By the time I made it up to the counter, my hands were loaded with an embarrassing amount of drinks, chips, and chocolate.
“Did you find everything you need?” the lady asked without ever really looking up at me. She obviously wasn’t happy I was interrupting her reading time.
“Yeah, I think so,” I told her as I looked around the store, feeling slightly ashamed at the enormous amount of junk food sitting in front of me.
After an excruciating amount of time, she finally said, “That’ll be $24.96.”
I swiped my debit card, and when the receipt printed, I quickly grabbed my heavy bag of goodies and headed out into the empty parking lot. As I walked toward my car and started to open the door, I heard a loud thud coming from the side of the store. At first I ignored it, but then I heard it again… louder. I knew I should have just gotten in my car and left, but my curiosity got the best of me. I threw my bag in the front seat and crept quietly over to the dark side of the building. I knew dumb shit like this was what got people into trouble, but I honestly hoped there’d be nothing to it. I just kept thinking that the sales clerk must have decided to pull herself away from her magazine long enough to take out the trash. Little did I know, I was wrong… terribly wrong.
As soon as I made it to the edge of the building, there was another loud crash followed by the sounds of feet scuffling against the concrete. I couldn’t see anything. It was just too damn dark. So I quietly stepped into the shadows and waited for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Shit! Suddenly it wasn’t just noise as the sounds of a man’s grunts and anguished cries echoed along the wall of the building, making my heart nearly jump out of my chest. A feeling of terror washed over me as I realized someone was in trouble. I took one step closer, and my world instantly stopped moving. A man was standing with his back to me, and even though I had no idea who he was, I instantly recognized his black vest with the dark red embroidery scrolled on the back. He was a member of the Satan’s Fury MC, and something was wrong… very wrong.
I was turning to go for help when I heard, “We’re done playing games with you, asshole.”
“Fuck you. I’m not telling you a goddamn thing.”
“Then your time is up, brother.” Two gunshots rang out and my heart stopped as I watched his head jerk back when the bullets slammed into his chest. As I watched his limp body drop to the ground, I felt like someone punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I couldn’t breathe… couldn’t move. I was absolutely frozen with fear. I looked behind me, praying for someone to be there—a car driving by, or someone walking down the street, anyone to help me escape this nightmare—but there was no one. The darkness of the night engulfed me as I realized I was completely alone, except for these monsters standing just a few feet away from me that had just killed a member of the Satan’s Fury club. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled against my skin as I listened to the dying man gasping for breath… then there was nothing, just deafening silence. He was lying dead just a few feet from me, and there was nothing I could do to help him. An overwhelming sense of panic surged through my body as I realized how bad this really was. A small whimper escaped my lips as my chest tightened, and my legs began to tremble beneath me.
I was about to completely lose it when I heard, “HEY!”
One of the men had spotted me, the sound of his voice startling me back to reality. Before I had time to think, a massive shadow began stalking toward me.
“I… uh… I… shit!” I screeched as I twirled around and raced toward my car. My legs felt like jelly as I ran, making me feel like I was moving in slow motion. Behind me, the sounds of boots hitting the pavement filled me with pure terror. I was freaking out. The footsteps were getting closer, and I just knew they were going to get me. I was going to die in the middle of a convenience store parking lot! I ran with everything I had and was relieved when I saw that my car door was still open. My entire body was shaking as I jumped inside and locked the doors. I started the engine, threw it in reverse, and stomped on the gas. I heard one of them hit the back of my car as I sped toward the main road. When I looked in my rear view mirror, two large men were standing under the light of the convenience store… staring at the back of my vehicle with pure rage in their eyes. They were after more blood… mine.
When they were finally out of sight, I reached down in my purse for my phone. I quickly dialed Cassidy’s number.
“Come on… come on. Answer the damn phone!” I shouted. After calling three times without an answer, I gave up. Everything that happened kept racing through my mind. I had to tell someone. Cassidy told me that the club didn’t do cops, but I didn’t know what else to do.
“This is 911. State your emergency,” the operator calmly said.
My hands were shaking, and I was finding it difficult to speak. I took a deep breath and said, “I just witnessed a shooting behind the S&K Quick Mart! There were these two guys, and they shot a man in the alley. I didn’t know what to do and … and… those men… oh my god, I… I think they saw me! They were…”
“Miss, I need you to try to calm down. I am sending an officer to that location now. I will need your name and a phone number where you can be reached,” she answered.
“My name is Henley Gray.” I stammered. I could barely tell the operator my phone number. My hands were shaking so badly I could hardly hold on to the phone.
“Ma’am, as soon as the officers check the location of the shooting, they will call you to make a report. It shouldn’t take long. Please stay close to your phone. I’m sure they will want to talk to you.”
“Okay. I will. Thank you,” I told her.
As soon as I got home, I searched the house for Cassidy. When she wasn’t there, I tried calling her again. This time, I left her a message: “Cassidy, I need you to call me. I saw something tonight. It was bad, and…” Without finishing, I hung up the phone. Those men had no idea who I was, and there was no reason for me to get all freaked out about it. I’d tell Cassidy what I saw when she got home and that would be the end of it. The club would take care of it.
I checked all the locks on the doors before curling up on the sofa, praying that my nerves would settle down, but being in this empty apartment wasn’t making it easy. My test was first thing in the morning, and I desperately needed to get some sleep. I was finally about to drift off when my telephone rang.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Henley Gray?” a deep, raspy voice asked.
“Yes?”
“This is Officer Ronnie Donaldson, from the Williamson County Police Department. I’m calling about the report you made of a shooting at the S&K on Park Street.”
“Yes, that was me. Did you catch them?”
“Ms. Gray, did you know that placing a false report is against the law?” he scolded with his voice deep and forceful.
“What? What are you talking about?” I asked defensively.
“We went to the location, and there was no sign of any disturbance. It’s the middle of the night, Ms. Gray. You wasted our time and the tax payers’ dollars.”
“That can’t be right. I saw them…. They shot him right in front of me! There had to be something… a body or blood?” I pleaded with him, trying to make him believe me.
“There was nothing. I don’t know what to tell you, Ms. Gray. We didn’t find anything. If there really was a shooting, they did one hell of a job of covering their tracks.”
“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked.
“We’ll go back and check things out again in the morning. I’ll contact you if we find anything,” he said flatly. From the sound of his voice, I could tell he had no intention of going back. I was regretting calling them in the first place. Hopefully, the club would be able to figure out what the hell happened.