Darkness Follows (21 page)

As
the car slowly rolled to a stop, Ryanne awoke.

“Look
who’s back,” said the man. “Listen honey, I don’t know who Jeremy is, but after
I’m through with my business, we’re going to have some fun. I can be Jeremy...I
can be anybody.”

The
man winked at her as he exited the car, and when he came around to her side and
opened her door, he pulled her out by her hair.

Ryanne
blinked several times, confused as she regained her balance. The car ride felt
like it lasted for hours, but she must have only been out for a moment. They
were around the back of O’Leary’s. Her head was pounding and her vision only
now started to clear. She wiped her neck and raised her blood covered hand
close to her eyes.

The
parking lot was empty except for two cars. One was Jake’s truck.

The
man pushed her into the building first, and they went through the deserted
hallway. Instead of turning into the bar, the man pushed Ryanne toward the
staircase leading upstairs.

“Don’t
make a fucking sound.” The man told her, jabbing the knife to her back from
behind. Ryanne’s legs shook as she climbed the stairs. When she arrived at the
top she stood still in front of an old wooden door. “Open it, and walk in
slowly.”

Ryanne
did as she was told, and when the door
creaked
open,
she quietly entered a dimly lit room that could have been from the seventies.
Yellow and orange flowers were wallpapered over the walls of a small dining
area, and orange shag carpet covered the floor of the living room.

“Crawley, that you?”
A voice called,
and when Ryanne turned toward it, she saw Bill O’Leary lounging in a lazy boy
recliner with a cigar in his right hand, and a beer in his left. When Bill saw
her, he squinted through the cigar smoke, appearing more confused than
startled. “Who’s that?
Ryanne?”

Ryanne
nodded, and finally, the man took the knife from her back, and put his arm
around her neck, coming to stand beside her.

“Wyatt
fucking
Potter.”
The man spat, and when Bill started to
sit up in his chair, the knife was back to Ryanne’s neck. “Don’t move, you rat
coward.”

Ryanne
began to feel dizzy again, and wondered if she had a concussion. Nothing was
making sense. Why was this man calling Bill O’Leary ‘Wyatt Potter’?

“Don’t
hurt the girl Kal. She has nothing to do with this.” Bill slowly put his drink
down on the end table beside him. “Neither did those other girls.”

“So
you figured it out, did you Wyatt?”

“It
took me a long time, too long.”

“You complacent fucking pig.”

“Pig,
or a rat Kal, which is it
?“
Bill spat, and Ryanne
winced as the knife was pushed against her neck yet again.

“You
really think I won’t kill her after what I did to your bar girls?” He put his
mouth to Ryanne’s ear, “Tell sweet old Mr. Bill O’Leary I’ll do it. Tell him
I’ll kill you.”

“He’ll
do it.” Ryanne breathed. Bill sat up in his chair, nodding.

“This
is between us Kal.
You and me.
Let her go.”

“It
wasn’t just between us when you ratted out half the gang, Wyatt. It wasn’t just
you and me in the club house when we considered you a brother, and it wasn’t
just us in court. It certainly wasn’t you rotting away in jail for fifteen
years. You did that to us.” Kal spat at Bill’s feet, but Bill didn’t so much as
flinch. “So it’s not just us anymore ‘
Bill
’. You did this – what I did
to those girls...it’s on you. And this one too...and you’re gunna watch. Just
too bad I couldn’t get to your son before I kill you. I was gunna make you
watch that too.”

Ryanne’s
eyes widened, and Bill met her gaze.

“My
son is protected; you won’t touch a hair on his head. I might have been late in
realizing you were here, but I have it taken care of now.”

Ryanne
knew Jake must have been at the police station, and thinking about him jogged
her memory and suddenly her thoughts became clear.

“You
were at the lake with us.”

“Saw
me did you?” Kal asked, amused.

“I
knew I saw something. It was you. You were there for Jake.”

“Yeah,
and if the pigs hadn’t shown up to save the day, you’d both be dead.” Ryanne
realized Max must have suspected the killer was someone after Jake when she
told him about the night at the lake.

“How
did you find me?” Bill asked.

“Oh
I knew where you were since I got out seven years ago. I couldn’t come as soon
as I got out; that would’ve spoiled the surprise. I had to wait until you
wouldn’t suspect it, until you grew complacent, and you sure are a complacent
pig, Wyatt.”

“You
don’t want the girl. Let her go, and we can settle this once and for all.”

“That’s
what I’m doing Wyatt, settling this for all of us true brothers you sold out.
We treated you like our own, and you sold us out. You thought you’d actually
get away with it? You knew us better than most Wyatt. So you know how this is
gunna go.”

Ryanne
felt Kal’s arm squeeze tighter around her neck.

Another
police car and an ambulance raced right behind Max, following him to the
alleyway where he found Burrows lying on her side, unconscious in a pool of
blood. They had gotten the call over the radio that there were multiple reports
of gun shots fired by the Prickly Pine.

Crawley
came into the alleyway then with two paramedics and a stretcher. While the
paramedics loaded Burrows onto the stretcher, and into the ambulance, Crawley
and Max ran down the alleyway toward the sobbing sounds near the parking lot in
the back.

“Help
me please.” Jessica
Winters
. Max barely recognized her
from his last visit to O’Leary’s. Her face was covered in blood, and it looked
like she was still bleeding from several cuts across her forehead and cheeks.

“Which
way did they go?” Jessica pointed down the alley, and Crawley, with his gun
drawn, followed her direction.

“Did
you know him Jessica?” Max realized her clothes were soaked in blood, and
reached his hand out to her. “Do you know who attacked you?”

“I’ve
never seen him before.” She shook her head violently, her body shaking. Max
called Officer Pearce down the alley, and they both helped Jessica to her feet.
Crawley came jogging back down the alley toward them.

“No
sign of him,” Crawley shook his head and stepped closer to Jessica. “Was he
driving a car?”

“Yes,
I think so, but I didn’t see it.” Jessica couldn’t stop sobbing, and two more
paramedics came rushing down the alley with a blanket, which they wrapped
around her, and lead her as she limped back toward the second ambulance that
had arrived.

“You’re
going to be okay.” Max heard one of the paramedics tell Jessica.

“Chief,
I think they might be in that black car I saw the other night. We need to look
for that car.”

“When
Bill came into the station earlier trying to convince me that Jake was
innocent, he brought up the idea that it could be someone after him.
Someone from his past who had finally found him.
I didn’t
dismiss his idea, but I didn’t totally buy it either, but the more I thought
about it after he left, the more sense it made. I thought he came to get Jake,
but he actually made me promise to keep him there. We need to go to Bills.”

Max’s
head was spinning, remembering the recent murders, and how Jessica was lucky to
be in the condition she was in.
Able to walk.

“I'll
call for back up.” Pearce called as they raced down the sidewalk. Crawley
pulled his gun back out of its holster, and stopped them before they were in
front of O’Leary’s.

“Pearce,
I want you to go in from the front. Make sure no one comes in or leaves.” Chief
nodded to Pearce, and he nodded back. “Max, you’re with me through the
back."

Pearce
nodded once more and headed for the front door.

Max
followed the Chief across the empty parking lot to the back door and hoped they
weren’t too late.

“We
brought you in Wyatt, we trusted you, and you did us greazy.” Kal grabbed Ryanne
closer and whispered, “I wanted to kill your son in front of you before I
killed you…but she’ll have to do.
So much blood on your hands
old man.
At least you won’t have to live with it for long.”

Ryanne
sensed that the energy in the room had changed. Kal’s grip around her neck had
loosened, and as she finally saw fear in Bill’s eyes, she knew their
conversation was over. She thought of Burrows’ blood on the knife that was held
to her neck, and knew it was her last chance to do something. She wouldn’t let
the opportunity pass her by again.

Ryanne
felt herself break out of her frozen stance of fear, and without a moment’s
hesitation she gained her balance on the ground, using it to push back and let
her weight press on Kal. Ryanne was far from Kal’s size, but her adrenaline and
his surprise brought them both flying backwards.

As
Ryanne fell, she saw Bill jump from his chair, dropping his cigar, and
scrambling for the knife that flew from Kal’s hand towards the dining table.

“You
fucking bitch!” Kal yelled, wrestling Ryanne off of him as he noticed Bill
reaching for the knife.

Kal
crawled on his hands and knees towards it, with Ryanne clutching his foot to
stop him. Kal looked back at her and kicked her hard in the face. Another hard boot
to the head, and she lost her grip. Blood came gushing down her nose. Her
vision was blurred as she watched the two men struggle on the carpet, vying for
the knife.

Then,
in a haze of blood and tears she saw the cigar that Bill dropped. Fumbling for it,
she staggered back to the wrestling men. With a scream that startled both men,
she fell on Kal’s back, stabbing the still-lit cigar hard into his eye.

Kal
bellowed and bucked, knocking Ryanne off his back toward the front door. Bill
was on his feet and had the knife trained on Kal, but Kal, holding his eye,
began to charge at Bill.

Ryanne
heard the gunshots
first,
and then nothing but muffled
shouts and a ringing in her ears. She saw Kal’s body jerk several times, and
then fall to the ground revealing Bill O’Leary standing angrily with the knife
still in his hand. Ryanne watched Bill watch Kal fall to the ground, and as he
seemed to make a move toward the fallen body, Chief Crawley rushed past Ryanne
to the kitchen, and grabbed Bill by the shoulders.

As
Crawley looked into Bill’s eyes, she saw him speak, but couldn’t hear the
words. Her ears were ringing, and the pain in her face was excruciating. She
suddenly felt arms around her shoulders, and saw Max lifting her to a seated
position against the hall wall.

“You’re going to be okay,” Ryanne read
Max’s lips before he pulled her to him.

She
thought she heard sirens drawing close, but before she could decide, she
started to pass out. As she slumped, Max was shaking her, trying to keep her awake,
but her head was clouded, and she just kept feeling like she couldn’t stay
upright. All the pain and sound grew numb and distant. Finally, everything
turned black.

As
the clock in Chief Crawley’s office struck midnight, Max sat beside Bill
O’Leary, and across from the Chief on the other side of his desk. He held a mug
of coffee in his hand, which he hadn’t taken a sip from since Max entered the
office.

Max
had been briefed on Burrows’ status when he and the Chief arrived at the office
by Marty. On the way to the hospital the paramedics managed to slow the
bleeding and keep her alive. She had come out of surgery and was in the
Intensive Care Unit. Marty had been told that nothing was certain.

Max
was told that Ryanne was taken to the same hospital where Blake and Aurina met
her, and the latest update Marty had been given was that Ryanne had suffered
severe trauma to the head, but was stable. They would be testing her to see if
she had incurred any brain damage from her head injuries as soon as she was
well enough.

When
Max and the Chief entered Bill’s loft, and saw Ryanne on the floor, he was
stunned. He knew Burrows was out, probably getting dinner, but he hadn’t
considered the possibility that Ryanne might be with her. When he saw her body
slumped and her face and neck bloodied, his heart dropped.

He
had been sitting in the Chief’s office waiting, as the Chief met Bill at the
front entrance when he arrived back from the hospital and reunited him with
Jake, and they were brought up to speed. Max had been trying to figure out how
he had missed the signs that pointed to Bill O’Leary.

Max
was angry at himself and the Chief for not seeing it sooner. He was also angry
that Bill O’Leary himself didn’t put it together, that someone could be after
him; that someone was killing those he cared about, and coming after him and
Jake. Bill realized the possibility before anyone had though, which made Max
even more furious with himself.

“Max,
I appreciate what you three did tonight.” Bill O’Leary had nodded to him as he
and the Chief had taken their seats. Max did not make a move to acknowledge
him.

“Bill
O’Leary has been in our Witness Protection Program for many years now, without
any incident,” The Chief broke the silence, “When the murders here in town
began a few weeks ago, Bill did not suspect they were connected to him because
they happened so close to the arrival of the Patrick sisters. I asked him to
keep a look out for me when I wasn’t there. I figured it was a matter of time
before they would make it to the town pub.” Crawley nodded to Bill. “Would you
please tell Max what you told me this afternoon?”

“I
was on the lookout for the suspect, Jeremy, specifically. When Anne Marie was
murdered, I wrongly assumed that he must be to blame. It had been so quiet for
me here for so long, I just didn’t think that the murders were connected to me.
And then the people of Dersten were so quick to point the finger at my son,”
Bill clenched his fists into balls, and took his time to continue, “I had to hold
my tongue about what I knew while the town started their witch hunt.” Bill
shook his head, looking between the Chief and Max, “I just wasn’t thinking
straight. But, after Lynn was murdered, I started
thinking,
it was all too close to home; too close to me.”

Max
nodded politely, but in his head, he was yelling, ‘Of course it should have set
off alarms.’ He looked to the Chief again, and noticed his chest rising and
falling quickly.

“I
asked Crawley if he thought it was possible that it might be directed at me,
and Crawley agreed it might be. That was not two hours ago now.” Max continued
to stare at the Chief, and finally he looked Max in the eyes. Was the Chief
angry with both of them, Max wondered, as the Chief put down his mug.

“I
should have put it together,” the Chief growled. “But I was focused on
protecting the Patrick sisters and increasing security here in town. I had to
explore all leads, and although I couldn’t truly believe Jake was the killer, I
had to question him.” Max looked to Bill who rolled his eyes with a shrug. “I’m
not makin’ excuses, but Max, it’s been over twenty-five years since Bill
arrived here and made Dersten his home. It wasn’t my first thought, and now,
good people, innocent people, have gotten hurt.
Lost their
lives.”
Crawley stood from his desk, and went to his window near the
corner of the room. He was silent for a moment. “Bill and Jake will stay here
for now. Marty is in communication with Camden Hospital receiving updates on
Burrows and Ryanne.”

Max
nodded again as the Chief ushered Bill out of the room, and he saw Jake sitting
back at Pearce’s desk in the main room, waiting for his dad.

“Max,
you’re free to go for now.” The Chief told him quietly. Max stood quickly, and
as he left the Chief said, “Call me when you get to the hospital.”