John shrugged.
“I know… I’m worried too. But Katie can take care of herself.”
McGaven and John didn’t have to say they knew Katie would run in alone, guns blazing, if she had to, but they couldn’t do anything but wait.
“Commander, I want to go with the group,” said John.
The commander hesitated but then nodded. “Go get suited up.”
John left.
McGaven wanted to go as well, but his experience wasn’t like John’s. He would stay and coordinate as well as update the appropriate personnel. He was glad John was going.
Katie kept her eyes glued to the cabin. No one came around and she wondered where the men had gone. She took the time to ponder things, trying to connect her uncle to the killing spree from more than a decade ago. They had solved half the murders with forensic evidence, but they still needed more evidence if they were going to close the Griffin Sr. case, not to mention the big question was who were in the other graves.
The weather was cold—and becoming colder. Katie could feel chills throughout her body. She had to focus on moving her uncle to safety and for him to get medical attention. She continued to struggle with fighting her tears. Raw emotions were whirling inside her.
Suddenly, she heard someone coming. Footstepsapproached. She strained to see who it was and when they came into view it was Junior, carrying a container of some kind. To Katie’s horror, she realized it was a gas can as he began dousing the area around the cabin and then went inside and did the same.
No…
Katie didn’t take time to plan; instead, she jumped into action. There were pieces of wood near the cabin, she grabbed one and bolted inside swinging hard. She made a direct hit to the back of Junior’s head and he went down.
She stopped briefly to nudge Junior’s body to make sure he was at least out; she didn’t care if he was dead.
“Katie,” said the sheriff. His voice was strangely raspy as he struggled to move.
Seeing his condition up close made her weep and she didn’t care if she wailed with her pain. She kept looking at the door, expecting Buck to come back. How could he have gone along with something like this? How could he be the killer?
Katie studied her uncle’s restraints. She had never seen anything like it before. She tried to loosen them, but it only caused her uncle to shout out in extreme pain. She pulled her hunting knife and began to try to pry loose the nails in his hands. She managed to free one, but it made him scream in pain. Trying to focus on freeing her uncle, she kept working the weird contraption—which made her think of the trap with the swinging branches at the construction site.
With her uncle’s blood running down her arms, she continued to loosen everything. Finally, his arms were free and dropped downward. She saw him try to lift them, but they were like heavy weights. His neck was in a belting contraption she could easily free him of by unbuckling it. She did so and breathed a sigh of relief, but then her uncle became unconscious and flopped forward. She caught him and, rememberingher training, she was able to put him over her shoulder and move him. Her first priority was to get him to safety and wait for rescue.
Everything was a blur and surreal. Katie couldn’t feel herself moving and pain didn’t seem to register. She heard her uncle moan. She couldn’t think about what would have happened if she hadn’t tracked down the cabin. She let out a frustrated cry as she carried her uncle through the doorway.
Katie moved as fast as she could, trying not to fall or stumble, and went into the forest area near Cisco. She couldn’t carry Uncle Wayne anymore. She gently laid him down, took her jacket off, and covered him.
“Ciscoheir,” she said.
Within seconds, the big black outline of a hero dog appeared.
Katie situated Cisco to stay with her uncle. The dog obediently downed by his side.
The sheriff stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He stared at Katie and gently touched her face with his fingertips. “Go. Get free from here. I love you so much,” he managed to say. “Go…”
“I’m not leaving you. Help is coming,” she said, wiping her tears. “Your department is behind you and coming to save you…”
The sheriff nodded but didn’t say anything. Then his eyes suddenly widened and stared behind Katie.
She turned to see the outline of the big man who called himself Buck. He stood motionless. Arms at his sides. He appeared more like a monster from a horror film and not a decorated Marine living off the grid.
Katie got up and walked toward him. “Buck?”
He didn’t say anything.
“Buck, how could you do this?” She kept walking to him.
“I need to pay for my sins. I want you to know, I only partook in the murder of Bruce Collins—we all did.”
