Chapter Thirteen
Goodrich sped down the street with sirens going. He continued to maintain radio contact with directions and streets. They still hadn't identified the driver yet. Three more cars had joined the chase and they were working to get a roadblock set up. They continued to blare towards the city with sirens going as the truck fled.
They were coming up on an intersection as the neared the city. Traffic was increasing and it was worrying Goodrich. They needed to end this soon before someone got hurt. He didn't have to wait long. The truck raced through the intersection on a red light and a car slammed into the bed of the truck. It sent the truck spinning off to the right. The cops swarmed into the intersection. They each pulled their weapon and braced for a firefight. It didn't happen. The driver of the truck didn't move.
Goodrich slowly approached the vehicle on the driver side. He saw the driver slowly starting to move. He raised his weapon and came in along the side of the truck, keeping his body close to it.
"Police officer. Let me see your hands," Goodrich shouted. The man in the truck stuck one hand out the window. Goodrich cursed under his breath, where was his other hand. "Where's your other hand!" he shouted.
"Arm's busted, can't move it," a mumbled voice said from inside the truck. Goodrich was right outside the window now and he turned swiftly on his heal and came up to the window with his gun raised. The man in the truck was bloodied up pretty good and Goodrich could see the right arm was broken.
"Don't move," Goodrich said.
"I don't plan too. Just get a doctor," the man said.
"What's your name?"
"Clifford Jenkins."
"You're not Robbie Beale?"
"No."
Goodrich swore. He used his hand mike to radio back that this wasn't the guy. He sent two of the cars back to the house, code three, sirens blazing. He waited with Jenkins until the ambulance showed up and the paramedics were working on him. He left him in the care of some uniformed officers. He called the CSI offices and told them what was going on, and then he headed back to the house.
Mac struggled to maintain the light. He heard the gun shoot but didn't feel anything. Maybe he was just numb and it didn't give him pain. But he forced his eyes to open. He saw Robbie stumbling to the side clutching his neck. Red. Mac saw red. It dawned on him. Robbie was bleeding and there was a lot of blood. He made a gargled sound as he fell to the ground. Mac looked up, and it caused his head to spin. He was so cold, so tired. He saw someone standing behind the couch, holding his gun.
Kolby James heard the shot and new there was trouble. He heard the window shatter and lamp break. He heard Mac grunt and hit the wall. He heard his mother scream. He pulled himself from her and peaked around the couch. Mac was down, blood was leaking from his shoulder. He didn't look good. Kolby James swore. He heard the door splinter and his mother screamed again. He jumped. Robbie was here. Adrenaline and fear saturated his body. He stared at Mac from his spot. He needed to help him.
He shifted onto his knees and felt his cast bump something hard. He looked down. Mac's gun was sitting on the floor next to him. He reached over with his right hand and gripped the handle. He looked at it. It was time he thought. He peaked around the corner again. Robbie was in front of Mac now. He was saying something to him. Kolby James heard Robbie say he won. He closed his eyes. His heart was beating wildly and it was causing his breathing to increase to keep up with the blood flow. He felt light headed.
He heard a commotion and opened his eyes again, he leaned around the couch. Mac had made Robbie fall and tried for the gun. He was too weak. Robbie stood up. He pointed his gun at Mac's head. Now or never Kolby James thought. The boy stood suddenly and aimed the weapon. It was bulky in his hand. He was aiming for Robbie's heart. He pulled the trigger and the gun jolted in his hand. The noise from the shot stunned his senses for a moment. He felt his whole arm jerk up as the force knocked him back a step.
He took a shaky breath and blinked the sweat away that was dripping into his eyes from his forehead. He heard no more sound. All he heard was his own beating heart and breathing. He realized the gun was pointing off away from Robbie and he corrected it. He aimed again, but then he noticed he didn't need to. Robbie was clutching at his throat, making a gurgling sound. There was blood, lots of blood. Kolby James felt sick. But at the same time he stared in awe. He had pulled the trigger, he had protected them.
Panic hit him then. Fear enveloped him. He leaped from behind the couch, ripping himself from his mother's grasp. He ran up to Robbie as the man fell to his knees. Robbie stared at the boy with shock in his eyes. Robbie went to bring the gun up but Kolby James was ready. He kicked hard and the gun went flying to the other side of the room. Kolby James pushed himself up against Robbie and brought the gun up.
"Where are they?" he screamed. "What did you do with them?"
Robbie only smiled at him as he his hand dropped from his neck. The blood squirted and then Robbie fell to the ground. He convulsed for a second then was still. Kolby James kicked the man hard in the ribs, but it was useless. He was dead. Kolby James felt the hot sting of tears on his cheeks and hurriedly wiped at them. He looked at the gun then down at Robbie.
Mac was still fighting to remain conscious. Robbie was falling, and Kolby James was yelling at him. Nothing registered with him though. His arm was aching now, and his shoulder was warm with blood. Blood had soaked down the entire front of his shirt and he could feel the film of it underneath on his chest and down his arm. He felt the red hot searing pain again, but it did little to bring clarity to him. He struggled greatly and turned his head to look at the wound and saw a hand pressing on it. He looked up and saw Mady standing over him crying. He tried to smile, to reassure her it was ok, but nothing worked. Darkness came. Darkness enveloped.
Mady was crying as she pressed into Mac's shoulder. She felt him stir a little when she first applied pressure but that was all. He looked at her once, a small smile curling on his lips before his eyes closed and his head slumped to his chest. The rest of his body went limp as well. She called to him several times but he didn't answer.
While still applying pressure to his shoulder she looked at Kolby James. He stood over Robbie's dead body with the gun still in his hand. He looked defeated, he looked empty. Mady feared for her son at that moment, but didn't dare take her hand off Mac's shoulder. He had lost so much blood already. She heard sirens coming back now, in the distance and she only hoped they made it in time.
"Kolby James, come over her," she said softly. The boy didn't stir. He didn't move or look at her. He continued to stare at the body. He gripped the gun tightly in his right hand. She pursed her lips and looked at Mac. She then looked at her boy. She applied pressure with her left hand and reached as far as she could with her right. Her fingers came in contact with Kolby James left hand. She couldn't grip it because of the cast, but the contact seemed like just enough. He looked over at her with a confused look.
"I lost them," he said in a strangled whisper. The sorrow and sadness in her son's eyes cut her deeply. He continued to stare at her, seeming to seek approval, love, anything from her. She felt crushed, she felt like someone kicked her in the stomach.
"We'll find them," she said. "You didn't do anything, baby, he did," she continued pointing at Robbie.
"I let him," he said, the tears burning his cheeks again. He didn't make an effort to push them away. They felt good, scorching his face, making him feel. His heart pounded. His head spun. He looked down at the gun. It was still clamped in his fingers. He looked down at Robbie, the hole in his neck. The blood on his body, shirt, the floor. He looked at Mac. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the floor falling away from the body. Mady took a shuddered breath and willed the cops to get here fast.
Soon the sirens were outside the door. Two cops in uniform burst through the busted front door and made Mady jump. She turned and looked up at them begging for them to help. Kolby James was still on the floor, motionless, with the gun still in his hand. The cops approached slowly and the first one nudged Robbie's lifeless body to see if he was conscious. Nothing. He went to the boy as the second cop radioed for a couple ambulances, before stepping over to Detective Taylor. Mady refused to leave until the ambulances arrived then she and Kolby James was forced to ride in a police car to the hospital. She was checked out and released as was Kolby James. She didn't leave. The cops wanted to take her to another safe house. She refused.
Stella showed up at the hospital with Danny and Aiden. The three had heard about what had happened at the house. Stella saw the cops that brought Mady and Kolby James in then she saw the two. She went over to them with Aiden and Danny on her heals.
"Ms. Beale, what happened?" Stella asked as she came up. Mady searched her face and felt the tears come back.
"My ex-husband came. He shot Mac…he's…I don't know…" Mady said as the tears fell again. She was very tired of crying but she couldn't stop. Kolby James sat silently on the bed, stiff as a board, staring off at nothing.
"Tell me what happened," Stella said with compassion. She stepped up next to Madison Beale. The other woman nodded and looked at her boy while she spoke.
"The truck showed up. Then it sped off. The outside cops chased it. But Robbie wasn't in the truck. He was at the house. He shot Mac through the window then came in the house. Mac was hit bad in the shoulder. He lost his gun and was too weak to fight Robbie off. Robbie was going to kill him, he…he was about to pull the trigger. Kolby James just stood up. I don't know how he got Mac's gun but he had it. He fired…he shot…he hit Robbie in the neck…"
Stella felt her gut turn hard. Robbie Beale was dead. They had to find out where he hid the children without his help. It made things more difficult. She turned and saw Danny staring at the boy. Aiden was biting her lip. She looked around for the cops that brought them in.
"Stay here," she said to Danny and Aiden. She then walked over and got a report from the cops. They told a similar story and Stella was told it was Clifford Jenkins driving the truck. She knew that already from Goodrich calling in. They were on their way here when the call about Mac went out.
"Danny, I need you to talk to Clifford Jenkins. He's down the hall," Stella said walking back over to them. "Find anything you can as to where Beale may have taken the children."
Danny nodded and left them then. He walked down the hallway and found where Jenkins was. He entered the exam room and looked around. Jenkins was hand cuffed to the bed. There were two cops in the room. Danny asked them to leave them for a moment and the cops nodded. Once they were gone Danny approached Jenkins. Jenkins had a look in his eye that said he knew it was going to be bad.
"Robbie dead?" he asked Danny. Danny considered him a moment then nodded.
"Yeah, but he shot a cop before he went."
"Cop dead?"
"No," Danny said coldly. Jenkins took a deep breath and nodded. Danny thought he saw relief glint in Jenkins' eyes. He glared at the man.
"Robbie has those kids."
"Do you know where?"
"He said he had them at the house in the woods."
"Do you know where that is?"
"I've been there twice, but I don't know where it is. Robbie always drove and we only ever went there after dark. It was further upstate, that's all I know. It's about five or six hours from here."
"How does Beale have this property? There isn't anything in his name."
"Robbie Beale isn't his birth name," Clifford said with a wince. He had shifted his body and pain ran through his body.
"What is his birth name?"
"He's had several legal names over the years. He has id for all of them. I don't know what his original name was, but the family in Nebraska gave us the last name Thomas. Then he took another name in the foster home after the Thomas…murders…then the Beale's took him in."
"What was the name he used in the foster system?"
"I can't remember," Clifford said feeling the pain killers take effect. Danny pushed down on the cast on Cliff's arm and watched as the man's eyes grew and came back.
"Remember now?"
"Look, I don't know ok, I just know he kept changing his name. Man was fucking loony. I don't know what the fuck was wrong with him, but he was fucked you know? Damn maniac. Fucking flipped out when he was thirteen. Fucking lucky I'm alive, ok?" Clifford said his voice raising in anger the more he said.
"Tell me about it," Danny said nonchalantly.
"You have no idea. Ok, he just butchered the Thomas family. Fucking killed them. I was…I fucking walked in on him doing it. Came home early. Should have fucking stayed. Bastard turned on me too but I convinced him he needed help to cover it up. Needed to clean up. Saved my own life there. He changed his name then. He changed his name after the California incident. I swear he fucking killed that guy too. Don't you see? He sees things, hears things. He acts on them."
"Delusions."
"Yeah, just like he thought Kolby James was a demon. Mother fucking crazy you ask me."
"What about the property. You think it was in another one of his names?"
"I don't know. Probably. He seemed like he owned the place when we were there. Knew the land like he was natural there."
"Hunting land."
"Yeah. Mr. Beale used to go hunting up state…"
"Where?"
"It was in the Catskill Mountains. I don't remember the town, maybe started with a G. Use his names, Thomas, Beale, uh…"
"Catskills huh?"
"Roberts. That was fucking it. He changed it to Roberts in California, shit I don't remember what it was before Beale, but there you have three other names to look. I've told you everything I know."
"I'll check into it. Why'd you help him?"
"Are you serious? If I didn't help him I'd be dead right now."
"And if Detective Taylor dies, you'll get the needle."
"I'm sorry," Jenkins said sincerely then looked away from Danny. Danny glared hard at the man in the bed but then turned and left the room. He went down and found Stella. There was still no word on Mac. He glanced and saw Madison Beale and her son were still there. He questioned Stella why. She told him they refused to leave. Danny raised an eyebrow and Stella gave him a look to leave it alone. Danny noticed the boy hadn't moved much since he had left.
"What'd you get from Jenkins," Stella asked while biting her lip staring at the door to the ER. A doctor was coming towards them.
"Tell you after we hear from the doctor," Danny said his attention focusing on the man coming towards them.
TBC…