The Rented Mule (38 page)

He yanked the board free, threw it aside, and ignoring the pain, stood on his toes to look through the window. He could only see a few pieces of old furniture and several boxes stacked against the far wall. This time, he carefully eased to the next window, taking extreme care where he stepped. He looked in, and from this vantage point he could see that the living room furnishings consisted of an old couch, a few chairs, and a television set with an aluminum foil–wrapped, rabbit-ear antenna. Oddly, on the coffee table was a jar of fresh-cut flowers. Cooper wiped the rain from his face and
then carefully moved to the next window. This room was dark, so he kept moving toward the back of the house.

When he got to the back of the mansion, he noticed that the kitchen door was slightly ajar, so he quickly went past to a window so that he could determine if anyone was inside. On the inside wall, he noticed a small door that was closed, but the lock hasp was empty.
That’s it! He must be down in the cellar right now.

Cooper took a deep breath and then squatted down. He turned to lean his back against the side of the house while he thought of exactly what to do next. He felt an intense urgency, yet recognized that he needed to be careful and exact in his actions. The element of surprise at the moment was his most valuable weapon. He silently prayed that he had it.

Pulling out the personal locater beacon, he held it close to his eyes. He knew that once he set off the distress signal, Emergency Response Officers monitoring the system would know who needed assistance and exactly where he was located. Cooper figured that it would take at least twenty minutes for a response team to arrive, and based on his popularity in the media, more than just first responders would be arriving, loaded for bear. Hopefully, he would have time to surprise Kelly’s captor and hold him at gunpoint until the cavalry arrived. Cooper also decided to call Obermeyer to alert him. As he fumbled for his phone, he heard a blood-curdling scream.
Shit!

He immediately stuck his phone into his pocket and quickly punched the 911 button on the orange beacon and then set it on the windowsill. He took a deep breath, quickly made his way to the back of the house and slipped quietly through the kitchen door. He noticed the pungent, musty smell of the old house right before he stepped on a wide
pine board that creaked. He froze for a moment, expecting violence. There wasn’t a sound, so he carefully tiptoed across the kitchen to the cellar door where he heard muffled voices rising from below. He cautiously turned the glass knob until the hardware retracted enough for him to quietly pull it open. His heart was pounding so intensely that his vision was blurry.

Cooper pointed his pistol inside the stairwell as he followed the growing slice of light that the moving door created. One bare bulb illuminated the bottom of the stairs and a half moon of the dirt floor for a few feet out. Before he could see anything, he could smell urine and hear the thumping of music that appeared to be coming from some distance. Blinking his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Cooper was shocked to see Kelly strapped to a cot and Brooke bound to a chair.
What the hell!

He dropped his gun to his side. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Nothin’ makin’ sense. Somebody’s really screwin’ with me!

Cooper’s first instinct was to dash down the stairs, grab the women, and get the hell out of there as fast as possible. On his first step, a thought brought him up short—the guy behind all this was down there, somewhere. He quickly raised his weapon as he surveyed the room again as best he could and then hurriedly slipped down the stairs.

When Cooper got to Kelly, he said softly, “Kelly, it’s me. Cooper. Are you okay?”

Brooke’s eyes were wide, unblinking. She was trying desperately to speak but couldn’t because her mouth was duct-taped shut.

Cooper easily cut Kelly’s restraints with his pocketknife. He helped her to sit up and then hugged her reassuringly. He whispered again in a panicked voice, “Are you okay?!”

She struggled to faintly say, “Cooper!” Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“Are you all right?” Cooper asked, trying to look into her eyes while scanning the room for threats.

“You came for me. I’m so sorry about everything! I love you!” Her voice was weak.

“I’m here, baby. I love you too. Don’t talk now. SShhhhhh… I’m gonna get you outta here. Can you walk?” he asked, helping her turn to sit up on the edge of the cot. Cooper was horrified at how weak she looked.

Once she was sitting up. Cooper looked around the room again, noticing the dark tunnel with a hint of light at the edges. The pounding bass was coming from it.

He touched Kelly on the shoulder. She looked up at him. He said, “Can you sit for a second?” She simply nodded.

Cooper moved quickly to help a frantic, distraught Brooke. He pulled the tape off her mouth. “It’s my ex-husband, Mark… Mark’s done all this… the bastard’s got Grayson down in that hole! I gotta get my son!”

“Mark? Mark Wright? Mark Wright’s your ex-husband? Shit! Okay! Okay! I’ll get Grayson,” Cooper said, looking at the tunnel.

The U2 song “Bullet the Blue Sky” was thumping through the earth and out through the tunnel, permeating the cellar.

Cooper couldn’t understand how or why Mark Wright was responsible. But that didn’t matter—seeing how Kelly suffered made him wild. He quickly cut the tape binding Brooke’s arms and legs. She immediately took off running toward the tiny tunnel. Cooper caught her by the arm and wheeled her around toward him. He held both of her arms and in a forceful whisper said, “NO! Listen to me… get Kelly out of here and call the police! Tell ’em where we are.
I just sent an SOS through an emergency beacon, so somebody’s gonna be comin’ soon.”

“No! I’m goin’ after Grayson!”

“Listen to me! I’ll get him. Brooke, look at me! I will get him. You and Kelly hafta get outta here. Take care of Kelly, and I’ll take care of Grayson. Okay?”

Brooke nodded and started crying.

“Does Mark have a gun?”

Through sniffles, she said, “Probably.” She paused a moment and then continued, “That son of a bitch’s crazy! He’s off his meds. He planned all this… and only the good Lord only knows what he’s…” Her voice trailed off as she looked into the tunnel.

Cooper could see something primal in her face—fear or horror or worse. Whatever was on the other end of that passageway, she believed it evil.

“Okay listen… get outside and call the police; then y’all go hide in the barn until the cops get here. Here, take my phone. Get help here fast,” he said, placing his phone into her hand.

“But Grayson!”

“Look at me. I’ll protect Grayson. You gotta trust me, and you’ve gotta take care of Kelly. She’s in bad shape. Okay? Okay, Brooke?”

Cooper didn’t know what to do other than directly confront Mark. What he really wanted was a few pounds of flesh and some answers. He helped Kelly to her feet and then Brooke helped Kelly climb the stairs. Kelly was very weak, and Brooke was terrified.

As the women neared the top of the stairs, the music stopped. They froze and looked expectantly at Cooper. He was signaling for them to continue when they heard Grayson
scream and a grunting sound from the tunnel. Brooke wheeled around, causing the stair tread to creak loudly. The trio froze.

“Brooke, you bitch! You better get your ass back down here!” Mark yelled and then cranked up the music again.

Cooper gestured wildly for Brooke to get Kelly out of there. He started toward the tunnel, his pistol aimed at the opening as he moved.

Cooper screamed over the music, “I don’t know what the hell’s goin’ on, but it’s over. Let Grayson go!”

Mark didn’t immediately respond—obviously surprised to hear his nemesis—then confidently yelled, “Boy, this day just keeps gettin’ better and better! How lucky you came to me. Did ya bring your checkbook?”

“I want Grayson. I just wanna get him outta here.”

“I don’t give a shit what
you
want! By the way, how’s life been treatin’ ya lately?” Mark replied boldly and laughed.

“I’ll write you a check… how much!”

“Actually, I’m gonna need cash. I don’t think your credit’s good anymore,” Mark said, laughing.

“I can get cash! Whatever you want! Just let me have Grayson, and I’ll personally get you anything you want,” Cooper said while still holding his shaking pistol in Mark’s direction.

“You don’t know what I want?”

“No, no, I don’t, but I think you’d rather have me than Grayson. Think about it. He’s just a kid.”

“Brooke, get your ass back here or you’ll never see Grayson again!” Mark screamed from the darkness.

“Brooke’s gone. It’s just you and me!”

“You’re trustin’ her?” Mark laughed wickedly, “She’s part of this; don’t ya see?”

“What?” Cooper asked in obvious confusion. While keeping his pistol pointing in Mark’s direction, he quickly glanced toward the top of the stairs.

From the kitchen Brooke yelled loud enough for Mark to hear, “I don’t know what he’s talkin’ about!” Quietly she said, “He’s insane.”

“Dixon, you’re such a fool. You tryin’ to have her just proves it,” Mark said with another laugh.

“Give me Grayson!” Brooke shouted, almost in hysterics.

“I’m only gonna say it one more time: get your pretty little ass down here!” Mark screamed.

Cooper inched closer to the tunnel opening. He couldn’t make out Mark’s outline against the rough tunnel wall. A few more inches or a different angle and Cooper might have a clear shot. He heard Grayson crying. Cooper was confused by Mark’s comments. He wanted this to be over, but he knew that there was a small boy who desperately needed his help.

“Look, Mark, it’s over. Whatever’s going on, it’s over. Just let me have Grayson. He’s scared. He’s just a boy. Let me take him outta here,” Cooper pleaded in the calmest tone he could muster.

Mark screamed, “If you leave this house, you’ll never see Grayson alive again!”

“Mark! Mark?” Cooper yelled.

“What?!”

“You’re wrong about me and Brooke… there’s nothin’ goin’ on between us!”

“Bullshit! You’re keepin’ me from gettin’ her back. Don’t you understand? I want
her
, but she wants
you
.”

“This is ridiculous; let Grayson go, and you and I can talk about it… this doesn’t have to go bad. I can help you.”

“Oh, it’s going bad, and you’re going with it.”

“Mark, the police are on their way! It’s over!”

“Well then, looks like we better get this party started before they get here.”

“I’m sick of this! Give me Grayson, now!”

Brooke and Kelly could be heard faintly sobbing. Kelly was coherent enough to know what was going on but couldn’t walk without assistance.

Mark said, “Whatja gonna do, Cooper? Shoot me?”

“I will if I have to!”

At that moment, Brooke and Kelly knew they had to get out of the house. Brooke yelled as loud as she could, “I hate you, Mark!”

Mark realized that she was leaving and became enraged. “Okay, bitch! You’ve made your decision,” Mark yelled, pulling the shock collar control from his pocket. Smiling, he depressed the button, unleashing a piercing, excruciating scream from the tunnel.

After Grayson quit screaming, Mark yelled, “Cooper, if you want Grayson, you gotta come into my world and play.”

“Stop, Mark! It’s all over!” Cooper yelled as he tried to aim at the center of Mark’s body moving in the shadows. Cooper didn’t take the shot because he couldn’t see Grayson.

Cooper watched Mark’s shadow vanish. He knew that he had to follow him down the black hole.
I shoulda shot the sonofabitch when I first had a chance.

His mind raced, trying to make sense of it all. Cooper looked at his watch—it wasn’t there. He tightly squeezed the pistol.

“Shit. Here goes,” he said softly aloud, sticking his head into the dark tunnel, preparing himself to kill Mark Wright.

T
he minimally maintained house was dark. No vehicles were in the driveway. It appeared to the detective that no one was home, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Obermeyer always did everything by the book. He carefully made his way onto the unlit front porch. He placed his left ear to the front door to listen for a while. He was on full alert.

After a long moment, Obermeyer pounded on the front door with his weak side hand, his strong hand was on the butt of his service weapon, announcing, “Montgomery Police! Anyone home?”

The door creaked open a half inch. Realizing that it hadn’t been securely shut, Obermeyer quickly drew his weapon and without hesitation entered. Upon methodically clearing each room, he realized that he was standing in a psychopath’s home.

The walls of the den were covered with clippings of hundreds of newspaper articles. One wall was nothing but the latest Montgomery rape articles. Another was Cooper’s trials
and tribulations. The detective recognized each story. He walked around slowly, absorbing every detail.

Scattered on the kitchen table and the living room couch were books on the Underground Railroad, bondage, sadomasochism, and aggressive interrogation techniques.

Obermeyer pulled on a pair of exam gloves as he walked down a hallway to meet an officer who was calling his name. The officer was standing outside a padlocked door. Tensions were high as the big detective walked up and pounded on the door while calling out to see if anyone was in the room.

Two assisting patrol officers were looking around the house. Obermeyer worried about entering the locked room and how to ensure that he wouldn’t be in legal hot water. He didn’t want anything he might find inside to be inadmissible at trial, but he knew that he needed to get inside that padlocked room fast.

“Don’t touch those,” he stated emphatically to a young officer who was reaching to pick up some notes written on a yellow legal pad. The officer immediately backed away. Obermeyer relished the thought of what he would find on this guy’s computer. He knew he had one somewhere. Obermeyer redirected his attention to the locked room. The hallway was too narrow to get a running start or to kick it in.

“Hey, uh,” Obermeyer said, looking at the name tag of the officer standing beside him. “Officer Jones… run out and get me the tire iron from your cruiser.”