“Okay Justin, tell me when you are coming out and an officer will give you directions. Be sure to come out without any weapons and with your hands high in the air. We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Okay,” is all King says. He then disconnects his phone.
“He’s offline,” Masters shouts to the Commander. The Commander communicates this to his team.
SWAT officers now wait for King to exit, ready to give him commands for a safe conclusion.
King remains sitting on the floor of his condo and is now crying. He can’t believe it has all come down to this. King uses his cell phone to call his mother who now lives in a retirement community in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is 76 years old.
“Hey mom, it’s Justin.”
“Oh hi Justin, so nice of you to call. Is something wrong?”
“No, why mom?”
“You usually don’t call this late, but so glad to hear from you. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing well mom,” says King as he tries to hold back his tears.
“And how are those grandkids of mine?”
“Oh, they’re still growing. They’re fine mom. I was just thinking of you and wanted to call to let you know how much I love you.”
“That is so sweet of you. I love you too Justin. You sound sad, are you sure you are okay?”
“Yep, I feel better having called you to hear your voice. How is your arthritis?”
“I’m managing. The pain is not so bad right now. When are you bringing the kids down to see me?”
“Probably later this summer mom, but hey, I’ve got to go. Again, I love you, please remember that.”
“Well thank you Justin, and remember that I love you too.”
“Okay, goodbye mom.”
“Goodbye Justin.”
King puts down his phone and stands up. It’s time to go outside and take his punishment. King moves the chair away from the front door and lets the door swing in, giving him a view outside. He sees bright spotlights pointed at the front of his condo, making it look like a bright sunny day. An officer on a megaphone starts giving King commands to come out with his hands in the air.
King reaches behind his back with his right hand and grabs the semi-auto handgun tucked into the back of his pants and pulls it out. It is now in his right hand hanging at his side. He hears more shouts to come out with his hands up. King takes one more deep breath, then bolts out the door, running straight toward the bright lights. As he gets a couple of steps outside, he quickly raises his right arm, points it at the lights, and starts to pull the trigger.
KABOOM! KABOOM! BAM! BAM! KABOOM!
Shots ring out across the complex shaking windows. King first gets hit in the right shoulder with a .223 rifle round, ripping flesh and bone from his body. He then simultaneously gets hit in the abdomen with a twelve-gauge shotgun blast and another .223 round into the left upper chest. Both shots are fatal as King crumples toward the ground. As he is falling, another shotgun blast hits him in the chin and neck, seriously disfiguring his lower jaw. King is only able to get off one round into the ground before being pelted with police fire. There is no need for medical help. King is clearly dead.
The Following Monday
Detectives Masters and Tippen are back in the office on Monday morning finishing up reports from last Friday’s events when the Police Chief stops by to congratulate them on their investigation.
“You two did one hell of a job in getting to the bottom of this one,” praised the Chief. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of a case quite like it.”
“No sir,” says Tippen, “it had us stumped for a while. Had King not made a few mistakes, I think Mr. Cooper would have been convicted of killing his wife.”
“It wasn’t just his mistakes,” replied the Chief, “it was also the tenacity and work you two put into this. I just wanted to personally congratulate you. Really great work.”
“Well, thank you, sir,” says Tippen.
“Yes, thank you, Chief,” chimes in Masters.
Shortly after the Chief leaves, Tippen receives a call from DA Simmons.
“Just wanted to let you know we filed to dismiss all charges against Ryan Cooper this morning. He will be out of jail before noon today.”
“Thank you for letting us know,” replies Tippen.
Tippen turns to Masters, “Cooper is getting out this morning.”
Masters sighs, “This was one hell of a case Jane, and I hope we never get another one like it.”
Tippen laughs, “Me either Bill.”
About The Author
Mark R Beckner
Mark Beckner is known in Colorado from his time with the Boulder Police Department from 1978 to 2014. He rose through the ranks to become Boulder’s Police Chief in 1998 and remained in that position until his retirement in 2014. Chief Beckner took the reins of a department that was in turmoil and suffering from widespread criticism in the wake of the 1996 JonBenet Ramsey murder. Given the propensity of strange and unusual happenings in Boulder, the Department and Chief Beckner often found themselves in the news. However, it wasn’t until he took over command of the JonBenet Ramsey investigation in late 1997 that he became known across the country by those interested in the bizarre nature of JonBenet’s death. While the case has never been solved, Chief Beckner was able to bring order to the investigation and played a role in getting the case to a grand jury. Most within the local media respected Chief Beckner for his honesty and straightforward approach. Mark Beckner still lives in Colorado and is now using his law enforcement experience and writing skills to create dramatic, suspenseful, and realistic murder-mystery thrillers.
