Chapter Fourteen
Tucker heard the soft thud of someone boarding the boat as it rocked slightly. He listened with intent as footsteps crossed the roof over his head. He had hoped for a little more time to make his escape. It’d been his good luck that his father shot hit him in the chest. Ethan wasn’t known for his shooting skills. The blow stunned him, causing him to drop like he’d actually been shot. Unknown to the others he’d worn the Kevlar vest as protection and it alone had saved his life. His father could have just as well hit him in the head or shoulder.
When he recovered from the blow to his chest, he found himself alone. The others were already down in the barnyard and he heard every word they said. He almost laughed out loud, as he slipped down the trap door and made his way to the house. From there, he’d gone directly to the cave. Collecting his things, he made his way to Jasper’s boat.
He had decided to take Jasper’s old boat rather than his because with a new paint job, Jasper’s boat would be easier to pass off than his newer model. Now, he was waiting for night fall to make his escape. He knew this cove was hidden and very few people knew about it, he had counted on Jesse not knowing about it either. When he heard the footsteps, he knew that his hideout wasn’t secret anymore. Roger or Ethan must have told Sebastian about this inlet. It had to be.
Tucker grabbed his knife and ducked down into the shadows. He waited for the door to open. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down the side of his face. He watched the doorknob turn ever so slowly.
* * * *
Sebastian hesitated before he opened the door. He could almost hear Tucker breathing on the other side. Crouching low, he slammed the door open and rolled inside the room. At first, he couldn’t see anything. The room was dark and the shadows hid most of the interior. After his initial movement, Sebastian tried not to move. If Tucker was here, he didn’t want to feel the sharp sting of his blade anywhere on his body.
Sebastian looked around from his position on the floor. He couldn’t hear any movement and he was disappointed. He thought Tucker would be on this boat. He almost gave away his own position, and then something made him pause.
“Well, well, well, look who’s come to play,” Tucker whispered softly.
Sebastian followed the whisper and found himself looking into Tucker’s dark eyes. His own eyes hardened into flint and he grabbed his gun a little tighter.
“So this is how this particular game is going to end. You and me locked in mortal combat,” Tucker spoke softly. “I often wondered about that.”
“Only one of us will walk away from this,” Sebastian assured him.
“Yes I know. But you have the advantage, you have a gun, all I have is a knife.”
“That never stopped you before,” Sebastian reminded him.
“I’ve never been up against a gun before,” Tucker said as he began to inch toward the door. “Nor this close to my opponent.”
“No you always had things your own way before. You’ve always used the night shadows to escape before we knew what happened. Now the odds are stacked against you.” Sebastian sneered.
Tucker stopped and moved back when Sebastian motioned him to. He raised an eyebrow at Sebastian. “Is that what you think? That the odds of my escape are out of my reach?”
“I know they are. Drop the knife or I’ll drop you right here and now,” Sebastian spoke softly and in a deadly tone. He took a moment to cock his weapon. The sound echoed in the silence.
“You’re going to have to shoot me to get this knife out of my hand,” Tucker warned. He was counting on the fact that Sebastian was a cop and that Sebastian would want to take him in rather than shoot him. Sebastian was a cop first, a human being second. “I guess it’s been here too long to give it up now.”
“As long as you have it in your hand, I can shoot you in self-defense,” Sebastian reminded him.
Tucker laughed out loud. “As a police officer, you have to take me in and let the court decide my fate. You won’t shoot me.”
Sebastian’s fingers tightened on his gun. It would be so easy to fire it and let the chips fall. No one could blame him, after all this is the man who’d kidnapped his son and murdered his wife. He would make sure the knife was still in his hand when the proper authorities found his body. He knew for sure he wouldn’t lose any sleep over killing him. A man like Tucker Briggs deserved to die. But he had to know something first. “What did you mean back in the barn when you asked if I didn’t know yet what you were planning?”
Tucker grinned. “I already told you. I wanted to know if you were clever enough to figure out the game we’ve been playing. I’ve been playing the game along time now and I wanted to see if there was anyone out there that could get close enough to stop me. I’ve had others try and join in on the game but you were the best one so far. You got the closest of any of them. Maybe none of them cared as much as you did.”
Sebastian frowned. “This was just your idea of a game?”
Tucker chuckled. “Sure. Only one problem though, you don’t like to play games do you?”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “I don’t like to play with people’s lives if that’s what you’re saying.”
“But that’s the fun part.” Tucker nervously wet his lips with his tongue. “I picked you for this particular game because you were the best cop I’d run into over the years. I got tired of the way the others left the game, so I just gave you a little extra incentive by taking your wife’s life before the game started that’s all. I wanted to see if you could stop me and you failed.”
“Oh yeah, then why is it that my gun is pointed right at you? I don’t consider that a failure.” Sebastian pointed out. “And you’re right about the incentive part. You murdered my wife and took my son. After that there was no way I wasn’t coming after you.”
Tucker shook his head. “Yeah, but you have plans to take me in and then things will get messy with a judge and a jury. I can’t allow that to happen. I made up my mind to that a long time ago. I’d rather be dead than in jail and you’re too much of a cop to just shoot me. I’ll walk away from this encounter and after a while, I’ll go back to killing people again. You’re just like all the others.” Tucker eased his way closer to the door. He was so confident in his assessment of Sebastian’s character that he’d been shocked when he heard the sound of Sebastian’s gun being cocked before. He paused and stared at this detective. He saw that Sebastian wasn’t weakening in his resolve.
Tucker played one last card. He grew impatient and snarled, “If you’re going to shoot me, then shoot me. What are you waiting for?”
Sebastian hesitated and watched as Tucker snarl turned into a sneer. “You’re about as worthless as a screen door on a submarine, you and the rest of the world. No one has any guts anymore.” Tucker turned and began walking toward the door.
“Tucker Briggs!” Sebastian shouted. “Turn around.”
Tucker snarled and turned to face Sebastian. The knife in his hands raised to a defensive position.
Sebastian could see that he was ready to charge at him and he didn’t hesitate. His index finger tightened slightly and the gun in his hand exploded.
Tucker was surprised and looked down at his chest. Blood stained his shirt. He looked as if he hadn’t expected this turn of events. He’d been so sure that Sebastian wouldn’t shoot. He had counted on him not being able to shoot him.
Tucker fell to his knees. His lungs felt on fire as his heart tried to beat faster. The pain in his chest was incredible. His breathing was shallow and as he tried to suck in more air. Tucker began choking as he coughed, blood spewed from his mouth. He fell to the floor and tried to speak but the words wouldn’t come. He tried to scream but not even that sound could get out.
Finally, there was silence.
Tucker Briggs was dead.
Sebastian moved away from the shadows and stood over Tucker’s body. He saw that Tucker’s eyes were open and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. The front of his shirt was red with blood. Sebastian reached for his neck but didn’t find a pulse. He grabbed the knife from Tucker’s hand and walked away from him.
The boat rocked as Jesse jumped aboard and Sebastian met him at the door. Jesse took one look at his face and backed away to let Sebastian up on deck. He disappeared below for a minute then came back and joined Sebastian.
“Well, it’s over this time for sure. Tucker won’t hurt anyone else ever again,” Jesse stated in a shaky voice.
Sebastian stared at him. “I didn’t have a choice. He had the knife in his hand and he was coming for me. I didn’t want to shoot him. I wanted to take him in. I hope you understand that. He said that the game was really to find out if anyone could stop him. He told me that others have tried but no one ever got as close as we did and no one ever kept coming like we did. He had such a look of stunned disbelief on his face when I shot him. He didn’t think I would do it.”
Jesse looked at Sebastian and he could read the truth in his eyes. “I know. There was something different about Tucker and nobody knew what to do about it. He died the way he lived, on his own terms. Maybe this was the way it had to end the whole time. He knew you wouldn’t let him go. Maybe you were the only one that could stop him all along.”
Sebastian looked at Jesse and then at the doorway that led below deck. “We’d better call John Sanders. He’ll want to be notified that there is a body now.”
Sebastian left the boat and walked to the water’s edge. His nightmare was finally over. He had a lot to make up for, but killing Tucker was something that had needed to be done. Suddenly, he couldn’t wait to see his son. He wanted to feel Wyatt’s arms around his neck again. Life without Carolyn would be hard but at least he still had Wyatt and he knew they would somehow make it. They both lost so much in the last few weeks but together, they would survive.
* * * *
Jesse was glad the nightmare was over as well. He could get back to his own life now. Or maybe start a new life with Kelly. He’d just barely tasted her and he knew in his heart he wanted more. He only hoped she did too.
When they got back to where the boat was shored he looked at Kelly and saw the promise in her eyes. He knew there would be questions to answer and family to settle but he also knew she would wait for him.