Sarah heard a tire screech outside. She glanced out the window and saw Detective Torres pull into the driveway of Dale’s house, throw open his car door, and charge up the walkway to Dale’s front door, his gun pulled. He kicked down the front door and went inside.
Moments later the street filled with black-and-white patrol vehicles and one Saturn hybrid SUV.
“They’re coming for you, Dale. You don’t have much time. You’d better get it up if you want to get in one last fuck before they send your crazy ass to the gas chamber.”
She reached out for him again. This time he had both hands on his bleeding head, eyes closed, grimacing in pain. She grabbed his cock, testicles and all, and twisted as hard as she could. When Dale cried out, she balled up a fist and punched him in the mouth as hard as she could. The gun flew and Dale dropped to his knees. Sarah never let go of his testicles. She was trying to tear them clean off his body. She punched him again, aiming for his bleeding head, and then again in the face. Then she grabbed his testicles with both hands and twisted his cock in one direction and his balls in another. Dale screamed like a woman.
The bedroom door flew open and Josh burst inside. He took one look at Dale lying on the floor with Sarah tugging at his crotch and an expression of white-hot rage twisted his features. He grabbed Dale by the throat and lifted him from the floor as effortlessly as a mother would have lifted a newborn. He began strangling Dale. Sarah did not object. She did not implore him to stop as she would have thought she might have. She remained on the floor, watching her big, strong husband, the love of her life, strangle her tormentor to death, waiting for Dale to die. She wished she had a cigarette. Revenge was even better than sex. Then Detective Torres walked in and ruined everything.
“Put him down, Josh. Let him go.”
The detective was pointing a gun at her husband.
“He tried to kill me! He kidnapped me and was going to rape me!”
“I know, Sarah. But I can’t let him do this. This ain’t the way. You said it yourself, you don’t want Josh going to jail for you and that’s what will happen if he kills him.”
Torres was right. She didn’t want to lose Josh. She needed him.
“Then you kill him. Just shoot him. You kill him!”
“I can’t do that, Sarah. I’m a cop.”
“Where’s Harry?”
“I don’t know. I can’t get a hold of him or Trina. I thought they were at the motel. That’s why I went there looking for them. That’s Trina’s car out front. I need to find out what this piece of shit did to her and I can’t do that if he’s dead. Let him go, Josh! Now!”
Dale was turning blue and had passed out. He would be dead soon. A bunch of uniformed cops spilled into the room. Two of them tackled Josh. He tossed them aside like they were rag dolls and went after Dale again. Three more cops jumped on top of him but Josh continued to fight, almost managing to break free again.
“Don’t hurt him. He’s the victim here. Just get him under control. Calm down, Josh. It’s over. You and your wife are safe.”
Josh stopped struggling but the police officers continued to hold him. One of them had his cuffs out and was reaching down to slap them onto Josh’s wrists. Sarah scrambled over to her husband and pushed the offi cer away.
“Cuff
The officer looked over at Detective Torres, who raised an eyebrow and gestured toward Dale, who was lying unconscious on the floor by the window. His head wound was bleeding profusely now and only then did Sarah realize that it was a bullet wound.
They rolled Dale onto his stomach and handcuffed him. Then they began to search him, finding the diver’s knife, a cell phone, and the keys to the BMW.
“Wake him up! Throw some water on him or something. Bring him here!”
The officers dragged Dale’s limp, unconscious body over to Detective Torres, who led them into the master bathroom. Torres pulled Dale into the tub, then stepped out and turned on the shower. Dale woke up immediately, swallowed a mouthful of water, and began to cough. Torres shut off the water.
“Where the fuck is Detective Lassiter? What did you do to her?”
Dale smiled.
“They’re dead, both of them. They were trying to keep me from Sarah.”
Sarah’s heart sank. Harry and Trina had died because of her.
Detective Torres fell back against the bathroom cabinet, eyes wide, stunned.
“I should have let him kill you, you sick bastard. Where are they? Show me.”
Dale pointed toward the back of the house.
“The house next door.”
Torres nodded to the other officers.
“Go check the house. I’ve got him. All of you, go!”
The officers filed out, leaving Sarah, Josh, and Torres alone with Dale. Detective Torres withdrew his pistol from his holster again. It was a Glock .40 just like the one Harry carried. Just like the one Dale had been carrying. He pointed the weapon at Dale’s head.
“Don’t. He can bring them back.”
Torres paused. Tears were streaming down his face. He no longer looked like the macho asshole Sarah had taken him for, the one he always pretended to be.
“Bullshit. I don’t believe all the magic bullshit.”
“He can. You saw it on the tape. He can do it and if there’s a chance you have to let him.”
The detective’s radio squawked and he removed it from his belt clip, still pointing his gun at Dale.
“Detective Torres? We found Lassiter and Malcovich. They’re dead. He killed them. He tore them apart. It’s awful.”
Torres looked at Sarah, then back at Dale.
“Can you really do it?”
“I have to. Murder is a sin.”
Torres called back over the radio.
“Get everybody out of there. I don’t want anyone touching anything. Wait for me outside.”
“Should we call CSU or the ME?”
The detective looked at Dale with obvious suspicion, then held the radio to his mouth again.
“No. Don’t do anything until I get over there. Just wait.”
He grabbed Dale by the shirt and dragged him out of the shower.
“Come on.”
Together they walked out of the bedroom, out the front door, and into the detective’s car. They drove around the corner in silence. Sarah didn’t want to see what Dale had done to the detectives but knew she had to. She had to see it, but more important, she had to see him bring them back.
They pulled into the driveway where a dozen cops stood in front of the house. The neighbors had come out of their houses to see what was going on and the police were already having a hard time trying to manage them.
“Get some yellow tape up and get all these people behind it. Where are they?”
“In the kitchen,” one of the officers, a short black cop shaped like a fireplug with arms almost the size of his clean-shaven head, replied. Torres nodded and began walking up to the front door, dragging Dale with him.
“You can’t take them in there. It’s horrible. You can’t let civilians see that.”
Torres whirled around, his face twisted into a scowl, tears in his eyes, obviously trying hard but having a difficult time suppressing his emotions.
“That’s my partner in there and a guy I’ve known since I’ve been on the force. Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. Just shut the fuck up and keep these people away from the crime scene. I’ll handle the witnesses however the fuck I want to.”
He stormed up the walkway and into the house. Sarah and her husband followed.
The officer on the radio had not been exaggerating. Dale had torn the two detectives to pieces. He had cut
