Chapter 11: The Escape
Chapter 11: The Escape
Detective James Morrison was already running before he ended the call.
"Ruiz!" he shouted. "Notify Highway Patrol, the airport authority, and every state trooper within fifty miles."
Officer Daniel Ruiz grabbed his radio.
"What are we looking for?"
"A black Cadillac Escalade."
"License plate?"
"We'll pull it from traffic cameras."
Within seconds, the station was buzzing with activity.
If Tyler Walker and Miriam Ross reached the private airport, they could disappear before an arrest warrant was signed.
Not tonight.
Across town, Tyler threw the last suitcase into the back of the SUV.
Miriam Ross glanced nervously at her watch.
"We're wasting time."
Tyler slammed the tailgate shut.
"My father said he'd buy us at least two hours."
Miriam frowned.
"I don't trust him anymore."
Tyler laughed bitterly.
"You think I do?"
She looked at him.
"He'll sacrifice anyone to save himself."
Tyler didn't answer.
Because deep down...
He knew she was right.
His phone buzzed.
One text message.
DON'T COME HOME. THEY KNOW EVERYTHING. — H
Harold.
Tyler read the message twice before deleting it.
"We're leaving now," he said.
At St. Andrew's Medical Center, I had just finished another physical therapy session.
Dr. Emily Carter smiled as she reviewed my progress.
"That toe movement yesterday was encouraging."
"It didn't happen again."
"Recovery isn't a straight line."
She adjusted the blanket over my legs.
"Some days you'll feel like you're moving backward."
"And some?"
"You'll surprise yourself."
Sarah Chen entered the room carrying my lunch.
"You've got a visitor."
I frowned.
"I thought no visitors were allowed."
"They're not."
Sarah smiled.
"But Detective Morrison insisted."
A moment later, Morrison stepped inside.
He looked exhausted.
"They found Tyler?"
"Not yet."
"But we're close."
He pulled up a chair.
"I need to ask you something."
"Anything."
"Did your father ever mention a place called Red Pine Cabin?"
The name hit me immediately.
"Our family hunting lodge."
"Where is it?"
"About three hours north."
"No cell service."
"No neighbors."
Morrison exchanged a glance with Sarah.
"That's exactly where we'd go if we wanted to disappear."
Meanwhile, Tyler's SUV sped north along a deserted highway.
Rain pounded the windshield.
Miriam stared into the rearview mirror.
"I think we're being followed."
Tyler looked.
A dark sedan appeared several hundred yards behind them.
Its headlights never changed lanes.
Never slowed down.
Tyler pressed harder on the gas pedal.
The SUV surged forward.
The sedan matched its speed.
"Police?"
"I don't know."
Tyler reached into the glove compartment.
The handgun.
He checked the magazine.
Loaded.
Miriam looked horrified.
"Don't be stupid."
"I'm not going to prison."
Thirty minutes later, Detective Morrison's phone rang.
Officer Ruiz sounded excited.
"We found the SUV."
"Where?"
"Traffic camera outside Pine Ridge."
"Still heading north."
"Toward Red Pine Cabin?"
"Exactly."
Morrison grabbed his jacket.
"Call the tactical team."
Night had fallen by the time officers surrounded the cabin.
Their vehicles remained hidden among the trees.
Rain continued falling.
Detective Morrison studied the old wooden house through binoculars.
One light glowed inside.
"Thermal imaging?"
A tactical officer handed him a tablet.
"Two heat signatures."
"Tyler and Miriam."
Morrison nodded.
"No sign of anyone else?"
"None."
He picked up a megaphone.
"Tyler Walker!"
His voice echoed through the forest.
"This is the police."
"We have the cabin surrounded."
"Come out with your hands up."
Silence.
Then...
One gunshot shattered the night.
The officers immediately took cover.
"Hold your positions!" Morrison shouted.
Another shot.
This one came from inside the cabin.
Not toward the police.
Toward another room.
Morrison's instincts screamed that something was wrong.
He signaled the tactical team.
"Go!"
The front door exploded inward.
Officers flooded the cabin.
"Police!"
"Drop the weapon!"
They found Tyler standing in the living room.
His gun lay on the floor.
His hands were raised.
"I surrender!"
"Where's Miriam?" Morrison demanded.
Tyler looked toward the hallway.
"I didn't shoot her."
The tactical team rushed deeper into the cabin.
A moment later, one officer yelled,
"Detective!"
Morrison ran down the hallway.
Miriam Ross lay on the bedroom floor.
She was still alive.
Barely.
A gunshot wound stained her shoulder.
She struggled to breathe.
Morrison knelt beside her.
"Who did this?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
"It wasn't..."
She coughed violently.
"...Tyler."
"Who, then?"
Her lips trembled.
With the last of her strength, she whispered,
"Harold..."
Before Morrison could ask another question, her eyes rolled back.
She lost consciousness.
The paramedics rushed in, fighting to keep her alive.
Tyler stared at the scene in complete shock.
For the first time since Bridget's fall...
He looked less like a calculating killer...
May you like
And more like a son who had just realized he had been nothing more than a pawn in his father's game.
To Be Continued...
