The Uninvited (14 page)

“What do you want to do? That freak has his hand taped to that trigger and if we take him out then what?” Lambert asked

“Yeah, Traci’s head disappears in an instant and becomes no more.”

Hardin walked forward in front of the line of fire. “Look, you can still make it out of here. You don’t have to die today. You let her go, and we can get you help, we can do something for you.”

The masked one started to wave his arm, screaming towards them. Lambert said, “I don’t know if he can talk?”

Traci said, “I woke up like this with this taped to the back of my head. Get me out of here!”

She couldn’t turn her head in any way to see who was behind her. Lambert said, “Do you know if the masked person is man or woman?”

Traci said, “Does it fucking matter? No, I don’t know, it’s the entire point of the mask! I’d guess a guy with how strong it was.”

Lambert looked at the person behind and realized the jumpsuit could have been masking some serious muscles but had been expecting a much bigger person, but he’d also expect the person to half look like a monster as well. He wasn’t stupid and knew that there was a very good chance that the killer could look like any of these officers. He whispered to Hardin, “I thought you said how big this son of a bitch was? Christ, he's smaller than you and I.”

Hardin turned giving the chief an eye fucking that he wasn’t used to getting. Hardin said, “Sir…..I'm quite confident that there are much more important things going on right now that has to deal with the life of your goddaughter. I’m sorry if in the stress of a moment that I miscalculated the fucking suspect’s size. I’m quite clear now that I can hand point him out and give you a much more accurate description!”

Lambert said, “You give up now and I promise you that you live.”

When Hardin stepped toward the masked suspect Traci said, “No, no you can’t come closer. He'll shoot me!”

Traci moved forward just enough that the taped trigger pulled and a blast erupted across the forest. The men that had been surrounding them were instantly painted with skull, blood, brain matter, and pieces of her face. The men all fell back, momentarily picking pieces of her off of themselves. Lambert dropped to his knees, watching his goddaughter now headless fall to the ground, a bloody stump on top of her neck staring back at him. “Noooooo, Traci! Oh my god, noooo. Shoot the son of a bitch. Shoot him right fucking now!”

The suspect held up his hand, now free, trying to tell them to stop but still unable to speak. They fired off thirty shots riddling the body with new holes and when they started to stumble to the side could see a metal cord. One that was attached to the tree and to the back of the killer. Lambert saw this first and screamed at the top of his lungs. It was as if he was back in nam. “There’s a grenade, run for cover, do it now!”

The grenade blast was massive and he was sure there was more than one of them. The tree that it had been tied to exploded, sending pieces of wood shrapnel in every direction it could go. Lambert felt a burning sensation erupt through his thigh and screamed as he fell to the ground. Blood began to pour from his leg. He rolled to his side ripping it from its place and stuffing it with a handkerchief that he always carried on him. He wanted to scream, but the crying coming from around him and the visuals was all that he could do to not lose his mind.

He looked around, seeing young men dressed in blood-covered clothes on the ground. Some was their own; much was from others. He crawled to the first man that he could and began emergency triage, seeing what was wrong and then doing what he could to fix it or at the least put a temporary stop. The tree had been decimated and he was confident whatever was left of the killer would need to be put in a baggy. He looked back as he worked, seeing absolutely nothing left but the mask that had been blown off in the force. Hardin was sitting next to a tree with his head in his knees. A slow trickle of blood came from his forehead.

Lambert screamed, “Hardin…..Hardin, Hardin, are you okay? Are you okay, son? Say something, damn it!”

Hardin looked up in a daze, unsure what to say. He shook his head yes, then no, then shrugged. “This isn’t how I wanted it to end. This isn’t how I wanted things to happen. We were supposed to save her. We were supposed to bring her home, god damn it! It was a trap. The entire thing was a trap. He wanted to finish it this way and must have wanted it to be over but on his terms.”

Lambert knew there wasn’t anything he could do to make him feel better and because of that said nothing. He went around to the rest of the men, splitting them basically in half with another man, the only other one that had been in the service and knew how to apply emergency medical care to this degree. Within twenty minutes they had everyone who was alive resting comfortably and waiting for the emergency techs to get back into the woods and see the bloody mess that was their job.

When the blast had gone off a local farmer had heard and came over on a four-wheeler instantly. Hardin and Lambert helped getting the injured officers on the man’s four-wheeler who chauffeured them out to the waiting ambulances. They were the last to make their way out, letting everyone else go first. When Lambert had gotten his leg stapled shut after being cleaned out he ignored the pleas of the emergency medical techs to come to the hospital. He hobbled being followed by Hardin who also was trying to convince him to go to the hospital. Hardin said, “Sir, at least we got the son of a bitch. What else are we going to do? We aren’t going to find anything else that we need to know today.”

The chief ignored him and walked around the house. He went through the kitchen, seeing blood, then walked up the stairs following the bloodstains. He saw Brandi sitting in the back of the room in the corner, dead and crumpled. He saw yellow numbers everywhere for blood drips, and other identifying evidence. They had found her purse in the flipped SUV and her ID was inside. Lambert said, “So where the hell is the third woman? We are missing someone. This is Brandi, I find it hard to believe Jack Wallen’s wife didn’t accompany him on a holiday drive to a state park. Her car was parked out front at the apartment of Traci Pendergast's from what Chuck had told me. So where the fuck is she? The killer’s gone, and there is no sign of her anywhere. There isn’t anyone to ask.”

Hardin stared at the scene, “I’ll put it out that she is still missing but this forest expands forever. I know the dogs are still here. We can keep them running until their paws bleed if it means closure for her family.”

Lambert opened his mouth to say something and the horrible realization that he still had to face Chuck and Rosa made him physically sick trying to think about it. Hardin said, “I know it’s a bad scene, Chief. You really don’t have to be here though. You can go to the hospital.”

“I don’t need a fucking hospital. I need a stiff drink and a fucking smoke." He walked back downstairs and through the kitchen, seeing there was a pack on the counter and a zippo, and searched through the fridge until he found a bottle of vodka in the freezer.

Hardin found him lighting up and pouring a shot. “Sir, are you sure that you should be doing that?”

Lambert pulled a second cup, filling three fingers in each of them. He slid one to Hardin straight faced. “Well, then I probably shouldn’t drink alone. One drink isn’t going to hurt a damn thing.”

When Hardin didn’t step further into the kitchen, Lambert clinked the second glass and slammed back one and then the other. He put his head down on the counter, waiting for the burn of the alcohol to make its way through his body. Hardin asked, “Are you okay, Chief? You feel better now?”

Lambert pushed up off of the counter, spinning and throwing the glass as hard as he could against the wall. It shattered, sending pieces everywhere. Lambert said, “I need to go. I need to break the news to my best friend's family. Waiting isn’t going to do anything to help and the last thing I want them to do is sit there thinking that there is still a chance to have their daughter come back to them.”

Hardin asked, “Did you want me to go with you? I can help break the news”

“No, you go home to your family and be thankful that you have got one. I’m sure after your wife hears about this bloodbath that she’ll be thankful for you to come home.”

“You going to take care of the other officer’s families as well, breaking the news?”

“Yeah, it’s part of the job, son. It sure as hell isn’t something I'm looking forward to. I’m going to see if I can get a ride back to the city.”

“I’ll give you a ride, come on. You don’t need to drive after that anyways. I promise we don’t have to talk. I won't try to make you feel better. I'm confident that we aren’t going to feel better for a long time to come.”

They got a ride back to the park and Lambert and Hardin drove back in silence. By the time that they made it back to the police station Lambert was definitely ready for another drink. He patted Hardin on the shoulder, getting out and saying nothing as he walked to his truck.

He rode in silence to the Pendergast's home, running the conversation through his head what seemed a million times over. When he pulled up to the front of their home, Chuck moved the curtain to see who was here from his recliner. He knew god damn well the news before his best friend ever made it to the door. He told Rosa to stay inside and went out to the front to meet Lambert.

Lambert was walking in a daze and Chuck’s heart broke for him and for the news that he knew was coming. Nick looked up to his friend with tears in his eyes. His emotional limit had been reached and seeing Chuck’s tired eyes was the breaking point. He walked up and gave his friend a hug, a long one. “It’s okay Nick, I know you did everything you could. I know that you did your best”

Nick said, “Chuck, I don’t know what to say, brother. We did everything we could. That son of a bitch was waiting for us. He took three of my men…..three of my good men out today. I just don’t know what to say. We got him though, but unfortunately it was too little too late.”

Chuck pointed down to Nick’s pants. “Is that your blood Nick?”

“The killer was rigged with bombs. After he shot Traci we unloaded on him. I’m sure it will come up as police brutality somehow by the fucking liberals if there would have been some way to account for how many shots he took. But I don’t feel bad about it. Not for one goddamn moment. When he fell over a bomb that he had rigged to the tree detonated and I took a piece of wood in the leg. Three more men were killed from the blast. Pieces of the tree shot through their necks, ripping them in half and leaving them to bleed to death. There was nothing that we could do to help them. “

Chuck asked, “But you got the son of a bitch? He won’t be able to hurt anyone else?”

“Yeah, when I say that there isn’t anything else left of him I am not saying that subtly. That bomb fucking destroyed him completely. Traci's friend Katy is still missing. We have a APB out on her, but I'm pretty sure after everything that I've seen today that she’s dead. God knows how, but dead is dead, and if she’s gone the pain is no longer for her. Is there anything I can do for you though?”

“No brother, you go home to Tricia. I'll let you know what details there are later and when the services will be. I appreciate you trying. It was all that you could do and I know you did your best.”

Nick said, “It won’t ever be enough. This is going to be waiting for me every night for as long as I can imagine.”

Chuck went to go inside. Nick asked, “What are you going to do now?”

Chuck turned around and he looked like he’d aged ten years in a matter of five minutes. Tears were starting to roll down his face. “I’m going to go and break my daughter’s mother’s heart and tell her that we won’t ever see our baby again.”

Nick nodded slowly, knowing there wasn’t anything he could say to make anything better. Chuck tried to smile, but the face he made actually made Nick feel worse, which wasn’t something he thought that he could feel right now. As he walked slowly to his pickup, the screams and cries poured out from the house by Rosa and Chuck in unison. The block was filled with the sounds of horror and sadness and grief all put together in one terrible orchestra of emotions.

Chapter 25

Tuesday

"Thank you for joining us today on this occasion. I know that this is heartbreaking for many. No one wants to be thinking about how temporary our life is. I would be sad and I would feel sorrow if it was not for the fact that I know that Traci Pendergrast is resting with the angels of heaven. She feels no pain and has no fear. She is smiling in the heavens, watching us from above. Please join hands as we send the final blessings to God above.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

When the preacher finished his speech Chuck helped Rosa to her feet and walked her to the casket almost in a dazed state. Rosa knelt next to the coffin, giving it a kiss. They stood next to each other as they slowly lowered it to its final resting place. Chuck and Rosa both dropped a white rose on top of it. Rosa's shoulders began to shake and Chuck did what he could to console her. He had been telling himself over and over again for the last few days that it was not too late to grieve when this was done. He knew that he needed to be a crutch for Rosa, but didn’t know if his heart would be able to handle any more pain. He did not know if his mind could handle that.

When the funeral was over, those in attendance gave their condolences. They could tell just by looking at them that there was nothing they could possibly say to make them feel any better. Rosa had been sick of people telling them how Traci was in a better place, how she would feel no pain. She didn’t even have the opportunity to see her baby whole before being laid to rest.

She had fought back and forth with Chuck and Nick to see her daughter. The two of them had both been without question when they told her that in whatever way she could remember her daughter was better than trying to remember what was left of her now. The blast had been horrible and left nothing positive of her daughter to remember. In the end she had decided that the beautiful daughter that she could remember was better than trying to add fuel to the guaranteed nightmares that would haunt her until the end of her days.

Nick came across to shake Chuck’s hand and when he came to Rosa gave her a hug and kiss. Tricia gave her a hug as well. She was an emotional wreck over what had happened and it wasn’t so much about the loss of Traci but the idea, that at any given moment could lose one of her boys, or god forbid her grandchildren.

Later, when the people who had only come for the service had left, those left sat around reminiscing about Traci's life and all the good that she had done. Her mother had gotten even worse when personal belongings had been returned to them and there was an engagement ring that she had not had the pleasure to be able to share the joy of her news with.

Nick came up to hand a beer to Chuck, patting him on the shoulder. “Chuck, how are you doing, brother? You look like shit. Did you get any sleep the last few days?”

“Yeah, I sleep like a baby for about twenty minutes until the nightmares set in and then after that I wake up screaming in a cold sweat. I go out to the kitchen and get a glass of water. I’m old, so after that I go try and take a piss for another five minutes. Then I start the process over again.”

“A simple no would have worked. I’m sorry man, I just want to say something. I just don’t know what else-”

“Jesus Christ Lambert, right now isn’t the time to talk about this. Today isn’t the time to talk about it. If you keep apologizing for this I’m gonna knock your ass out. I can’t have this extra emotional stress right now, do you understand me?”

“You know that’d be assaulting an officer of the law, right?”

“Your wife would stick you on the couch for a month if you tried to put me in jail.”

“One month, are you kidding me? I’d have to buy a damn air mattress. I’d never make my way back in after that. I just feel horrible.”

“That just means that you have a soul, Lambert. Not that I ever questioned that before. Why don’t we go into the garage, that’s where I keep the good stuff. If I pulled out a bottle today Rosa would have my balls in a vice.”

Nick followed him out to the garage and Chuck took a bottle of Maker’s Mark down, blowing the dust off of the bottle. “I’ve been saving this. Originally it was for a special occasion, but I need something to dull the pain.”

“You know a shrink would probably tell you that isn’t healthy behavior, Chuck.”

“Well, fucking lucky for me that I’m not seeing one nor will I, damn it. I don’t care what Rosa says. That bastard that killed her is dead, and that’s all the closure I need. If I feel pain it’s because I loved her and that’s what you are supposed to feel. I don’t need a head shrink quack telling me that I’ll be better over time. The only thing that is going to make me feel any better is when I’m dead and I can reunite with her in heaven.”

Nick held up a glass and did the sign of the cross. He thought about the son of a bitch and couldn't get the mistakes out of his head, the tripwire attached, the explosion going off, the duct tape around them. It just didn’t add up. Serial killers didn’t tire of killing, that is how they became serial killers. Chuck was staring at his friend and after knowing him for over forty years he knew that he wouldn’t let anything go. Nick said, “Do you need some help clearing out their place?”

Chuck said, “No, I already talked to their landlord, Peter. He said that we could have as long as we needed to do. I asked for a week and then we'll go in after that and clean it out. I can’t imagine the two of them having too much shit to go through.”

“Well, I think that you might want to think about that. There might be a good chance that they can collect more stuff than you can imagine.”

“No, we will be okay. I’m going to donate all the furniture to the Goodwill, we have all that we need and more now.”

“There isn’t any reason at all to give yourself more things to remember her.”

“I don’t have any problems remember her. This is one bad memory where I have a million good ones. It is just this one time, which is enough to haunt me for the rest of my life. Someone so beautiful, so wonderful, is going to leave me dreams that I cannot find a way to get rid of. I never thought that after Vietnam there would be a reason to have to deal with this again.”

Nick said, “I don’t know, brother, but you let me know if you want any help. I know that Tricia and I can take off any time that we need to, to come and help.”

“I appreciate that, Nick. I will take you up on that though more than likely. I’m no use when it comes to packing up kitchen shit. If I do it wrong then I won’t ever hear the end of it from Rosa. Because it’s a crime to not properly wrap some dishes just so a dumbass minimum wage immigrant can go and throw half the shit and break it anyways.”