CHAPTER IX: „The last page"

=== In the old barn ===

„They will find us… I know it…"

„Don't." He put a finger on her lips. But this time he could not convince himself. The fail-safe seemed to have stopped functioning. He felt weak. He let his face sink into her hair. They were alone, exhausted, without any hope. She was right, and the truth was a merciless blade. Much colder than the one Nelson had thrust into his body 14 years ago.

Detective Caulder stepped forward as cautiously as he could, his gun at the ready and listening out in the moonlit night. Was he watched already? He was prepared to shoot at any sign of hostility; however, he preferred to bring the fugitive down without lethal violence. He was not the one to give a final judgment – he should only make sure the criminals showed up to get their judgment at all!

He entered the old barn first because this was the first building on his path. Maybe he had better taken his colleague along – but now it was too late for those considerations. The other officer waited in their SUV outside the old farming complex and held a connection to the central.

There! Human voices! The Detective deactivated his flashlight. The moon shining through the half-rotten roof provided just enough illumination, at the moment. And he did not already want to draw too much attention. Surprise was always an essential factor! He still didn't know if the fugitive had a weapon!

Two steps ahead, behind a concrete column for cover, Caulder got a clear sight at his targets. What was going on here? The scenery looked more like an apocalyptic version of Romeo and Juliet (he remembered the woman bore this very name; what a sick joke!) than a psycho-kidnapping! The woman gave certainly no impression of being hurt or being afraid. He swore silently. Exactly the situation a police officer wants to discover when chasing a dangerous killer! Caulder did not want to risk anything, as long as the man was that close to the woman! It looked peaceful so far – but who knew? He had read the psychological profile of that man. And where was this girl?

„Kill me, too, Stephan…" Juliet's voice sounded to him like a breath of desperation. „And all will be over…"

„You don't know what you are saying, Juliet."

She clung to him and cried. „When they find us… and take you away again… how should I still live? Kill me. You said we will run into heaven tonight!"

Clearly understanding the last words, Detective Caulder shifted his weight and tried to get a lock on his target. Useless! Fuck it! He was on the wrong side of the area, and the man was simply too close to the woman. He would kill them both! Somehow, he had to separate them…get his attention… even if this was risky, too!

Stephan's fingers stroke over Juliet's neck and further down her body. „You know I can't… How should I do this? Killing my angel…? Without you, I would have been dead for a long time. I would not have even been … alive, really alive. And Tessa. She needs us."

„Please… I don't want to be without you again and knowing I can't do anything for you. Stephan, you said you love me…"

What does a god want?... Death or redemption? … What if Redemption means death? You don't know the answer, Nelson, do you? …

Blood…Death…Redemption…

He squeezed his eyes, shook his head to get rid of the disturbing memories invading his mind again. His hand wandered up again and then his other, too, until he had placed them around her face. „My love, my angel… "

„HANDS UP! This is the police!" The voice echoed through the dark building. Juliet looked around in panic. „Hands up, I said! Move away from her!"

Caulder stepped forward into the dim light.

„Don't shoot! O my God, DON'T SHOOT!" yelled Juliet. Stephan spread his arms, but she did not let go, rested pressed against his chest and arms put around him. „Don't shoot, please, please don't shoot!"

„I won't if you do as I say," Caulder answered as calm and yet determined as he could manage. What the heck was going on here? Stockholm syndrome? Slowly, he spread his arms too, held his weapon to the side. „I am not here to injure anyone. Do you understand? I am here to help you. Answer me, do you hear what I'm saying? Do you understand?"

„Do you understand me?" Caulder asked again, more pressing. For now, the man had not made any move and had given no sign he could grasp the situation. He stared at him with an indecipherable glance. The woman did not move, either, dammit!

Tessa was on her way back from the old farmhouse. It had taken a while until she had found a can opener as well, and a bottle of mineral water. Her findings carrying in her lifted up shirt, she crossed the yard - and discovered the police SUV some hundred meters down. So these motherfuckers had found them! Shit! How many were they? Only this one car? She had to inform Stephan… Sneaking through the cover of the nightly shadows, Tessa entered the old barn some minutes later. Luckily before she called out for Stephan, she discovered him kneeling on the ground, arms stretched to the side. Her Mom cowered in front of him, a frightened expression on her face. And four meters away, a police officer!

Tessa did not think or calculate anything. She reacted impulsively, took one of the cans, and threw it. She had been good at Baseball - it was the only thing she ever had been good in! It was too dark; she did not succeed in a direct hit. However, it was strong enough to let the officer lose ground and his weapon. The girl jumped forward, grabbed the pistol before the dizzy, and bleeding Detective could react.

„Don't move!" she shouted now, targeting him.

„Hey… kid…" Caulder touched his head and swore when his hand came back covered with blood. „Don't make any crap … the gun is loaded…"

„I bet it is! Stay on the ground! - Stephan?" The girl didn't dare to take her eyes away from the police officer.

„Tessa… what are you doing?"

„Saving your ass? How does it look like, man? What are you waiting for! Handcuff him! There, on this grid in the floor! - And you, don't the fuck move!"

„Calm down, okay? … No one will harm you… Put this gun down!" Caulder tried again, with no effect. This little hell-brat seemed in fact ready to shoot him, damned shit!

Stephan stared at the handcuffs fastened to the belt of the officer and did not move. He heard the anxious and agitated voice of his daughter, but it cost him some effort to put his body into action. What would happen if he touched these… devil's bracelets again? He turned his head, searched for help from Juliet. But she was looking to Tessa.

„Stephan! SHIT! Get up and HELP me!"

Finally, he was on his feet, and a moment later besides Caulder, stretching his fingers after the handcuffs. What would happen? Would the devil come back? And then? He felt sweat run over his body, despite the coldness. I can't… I can't…

Only a small space was still between his fingertips and the shiny cold metal. One last move - and he had opened the snap hook. The devil's bracelets lay in his hands. Nothing happened. It was just a piece of cold metal! The world did not end. And the memory, this particular cursed memory was still confined to its place in the past. It was not coming and enslaving him!

„Do you believe in redemption?" Stephan asked the stupefied Caulder, and then he acted as fast as he could. Pressing the police officer down, grabbing his right arm, chaining him to the rusty grid in the floor.

„You have no chance," Caulder attempted to reason. „This makes everything worse for you. You won't get very far!" He got no answer. Some minutes later he had to discover he was alone.

Shortly after, his colleague in the SUV was startled, when he heard a young and angry voice shout „Out of the car!" Looking out, he discovered two sparsely clothed adults and a girl with a gun! The fugitive and his hostages! It was given him no time to ponder about this or the whereabouts of Detective Caulder. Obviously, this little bastard was completely out of her mind!

„OUT! MOVE! I shoot!" And she did, missing his right shoulder only slightly, a fact that shocked Tessa even more than the police officer. She did not really want to injure or even kill anyone. But she had never had a gun in her hands before, and the damned thing did not make what she wanted!

Finally, the officer had left the SUV. Somehow they were inside the next instant, and the bullets now fired after them, smashed the back window. They sped out in the night, over the rough ground.

=== One year later / Police Station at Fresno ===

Detective Caulder sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned back. It had been a long day. And it was his birthday! This reminded him of the awful birthday-weekend he had last year, first with the search for the missing orphan girl, and then with the hunt after this psycho-killer. It didn't turn out very well, then. Some hours after the incident in the abandoned farming complex, the Highway Patrol had discovered the burned-out wreckage of the stolen police car. After weeks of closer investigations, the three fugitives were officially declared dead. No one took notice; it was just paperwork. As Senior Detective Rowleys had mentioned, nobody was interested in a youth delinquent - orphan and a kidnapped woman from a mental institution. Not even the yellow press wanted to write about a serial killer whose kills lay 14 years in the past! Yes, it had just been shitty paperwork…

Caulder yawned and decided to finish the rest of the work tomorrow and now to go home and have a little fun. At this moment, the door to his office opened, and his colleague showed up. „O no, don't say yet another emergency… I just wanted to switch the lights off!"

„No! Birthday present!" She smiled and handed over a little package. "It came two days ago. „As it had no correct address and sender on it, I opened it for safety reasons. Then, I wanted to give it to you earlier, but… well, had to read it myself first."

„You read at work; just don't let the boss hear this…" He began unwrapping the present. Who would send him a book?!

„Uh, I couldn't stop. It was that … fascinating creepy, you know! You'll like it, I think!"

Eventually, the Detective held the book in his hands.

‚Redemption' was the title. The name of the author was not written - only some Initials. Well, Caulder thought, one of these newcomers again, trying to put his/herself into perspective with a little mystery! He turned the first pages until he reached the first chapter.

The sun was shining brightly this morning', he started reading. ‚It was a particularly wonderful morning. From the sea, a salty breeze swayed over the town, and from the forest the smell of growing green, of new flourishing life. I was seventeen years old. I was hungry to grasp the life on my own, to explore its depths…'

Detective Caulder continued the whole night, not only captured by the shocking, frightening atmosphere of this book, the desperate longing flashing through every page - no, when he reached the last part, he discovered congruences with the events of last year. Too much, too clear ones to be mere coincidence! He was terrified and yet compelled to read on, up to the last page.

‚…Her love redeemed me, and our love redeemed us all. For a long time, I was not sure if there was such a thing as redemption… especially for me. Now I do. I can feel it in the touch of my Angel. I can see it in the smile of my daughter.'

Caulder felt still frozen. He was not even tired after the whole night reading. He had completely forgotten his birthday and he had not noticed his ringing cell phone. Now he lay the book on his desk and closed his eyes. His memory sketched the vision of Stephan in the old barn, asking him if he did believe in redemption...