Gecko (6 page)

“
I said you didn’t have to come along.”

“
And I said I was with you, but I want to know. Why did you nearly kill that child molester?”

“
It wasn’t just the baby-raper,” Washington said, “that was just the end of a long, hard time for me.” He paused, “Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“
Yeah.”

“
It started three years ago, the end of June, two weeks into my daughter’s summer vacation. She was fifteen. Did you know I was married?”

“
I heard you were separated.”

“
Yeah, we’re separated,” Washington said. Then he went on with his story. “It was one of those hot days, you know the kind, you sweat like there is no tomorrow, so I came home around noon to change. I’d been out in the field all morning and my clothes were wet as a rag.

“
Jane was at work and Glenna, that’s my daughter, was supposed to be spending the day with a girlfriend, but she wasn’t. She’d lied so she could spend the day with a boy. You know how girls can be.

“
I knew something was wrong as soon as I got to the door. It wasn’t locked and the stereo was blasting away. Jane always locked up. She was a stickler about it. And we never played the stereo that loud. So, I went into the house quiet like, but I coulda made all the noise in the world and nobody woulda heard over the Rolling Stones. It was Midnight Rambler and Mick was screaming through the speakers, ‘Rape her in anger,’ and his song about rape almost covered the sound of Glenna screaming from our bedroom.

“
I pulled my piece, ran down the hall and burst into the room. I found my daughter, my beautiful fifteen year old daughter, beat up and bleeding, on my bed, and this big, muscular punk was just climbing off her,”

“
Jesus,” Walker said.

“
I let him get as far as the floor before I emptied my piece into him. Then I untied Glenna and she dashed from the room and everything was quiet as it could be with the Rolling Stones tearing the house down and then Mick hit the chorus again, ‘Rape her in anger,’ he was singing and I went a little crazy. I reached into the nightstand, where I keep a loaded forty-five auto and I went out into the living room and shot the stereo. It was like I was killing the song.

“
Now the house is stone-cold-dead-silent, except I hear Glenna sobbing in her room. And, guess what? I hear this moan coming from my bedroom, so I go in to see what’s what and son of a bitch, if that bastard wasn’t still alive.”

“
You’re kidding?”

“
No, he was lying in a lake of his own blood, trying to hold on to his guts and whining like a dog hit by a car and that’s probably how he felt. I must have looked like a big black god to him, cuz he looked up at me and said out of his bloody mouth, ‘Help me.’

“
I blew his face off. Then I went out to the living room and called it in.”

“
Jesus,” Walker said again, “what did they do to you?”

“
I called it into Homicide. Fifteen minutes later, Jimmy Gordon, my partner and two other guys, Sammy Powers and Steve Hodges, show up. Jimmy tells me to pack some things for myself, Jane and Glenna. ‘Go to the school, pick up your wife, take a couple of weeks. Let us handle it,’ he says. And that’s what I did.”

“
What did they do?”

“
I never asked. However, I did see in the Press Telegram the next day that a white male in his early twenties had been found in a condemned house, beaten, tortured and killed. The result of a drug deal gone bad, the paper said.”

“
I didn’t know.”

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Nobody does,” Washington said. “That was the start of everything going wrong. Jane blamed me for what happened. She thought if I would have been closer to Glenna, she wouldn’t have lied to us that day. It was just the way she had to deal with it. And I blamed her. I thought if she wouldn’t have been working, it wouldn’t have happened. She moved out six months later.”

“
That’s too bad,” Walker said.

“
Yeah. Things starting going downhill after the separation. I couldn’t concentrate on my work. I was pissing off the people around me, coming in late, leaving early, drinking, then came the baby-raper.

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I was off duty at the time, at the Cerritos Mall. A couple of years had passed and I was just starting to get things back together. I went to the mall to get a pair of running shoes. I was going to get back in shape, quit the drinking. It was time to get my life straight again.

“
I had just pulled into a parking place when I see this man grab a little girl and throw her into his van. I threw old Power Glide into reverse and backed down the aisle till I was behind the van. I jumped out of the car and tried to open the van door. Naturally the perp wasn’t interested in opening up, so I yell, ‘Police, I’m gonna count to three and then I start shooting.’

“
That did it, he opened the door pronto and I could see that the little girl was crying. In just that few seconds the bastard had got the girl’s dress off and his pants down. I mean he was one jackrabbit-fast motherfucker and he really pissed me off, so I pulled him out of the van and pistol whipped him so bad that his face will never be the same. Then I started kicking him in the nuts till I was damn sure they were fucked up beyond repair.

“
I was about to shoot him, when some guy jumped out of the crowd that had gathered and ripped the gun from my hand. I guess if it wouldn’t have been for that good Samaritan, I’d have done a second degree murder. Anyway there were enough witnesses to make sure it could never be hushed up. They busted me back to sergeant and put me back on the street again. It could have been worse.”

“
We’re here.” Walker pulled up the driveway to Washington’s small apartment.

“
Call you in the morning.” Washington got out of the car.

He watched Walker’s taillights as he reached for, then rejected, a cigarette. He shook his head and stumbled into his apartment, more asleep than awake. He fell into bed without taking his clothes off.

He didn’t see the small green gecko scurry between his feet, then dash under the bed.

Chapter Four

“
Hello Roma,” Jim Monday said as she rushed into his arms, no longer trying to hold back the tears. “What are you doing here?”

“
I came as soon as I heard you’d been arrested, but they said there was no bail set. They said I’d have to come back later.”

“
I know,” he said.

“
Oh, Jimmy, I thought you were so close. How could she do it?” She tightened her hold on him. “What are you going to do?”

“
We have to leave here.”

“
My car’s over there.” She pointed.

They walked, arm in arm, away from the police station and crossed the street. Roma led Jim to her car. A red Porsche Targa. She handed him the keys, like she used to do before he married her sister. Then she got in the passenger side. Roma hadn’t locked the doors, something his wife never would have forgotten to do.

“
It’s horrible about David,” she said. “He was such a nice man.”

“
I loved him like a brother.” Jim keyed the ignition, started the car.

“
I know you did,” Roma said.

They drove in silence for about a half mile, then Jim said. “Listen, I have to talk to somebody. I need to try and understand what’s happening. He checked the rearview, pulled over to the side of the road and parked.

“
Why are we stopping?”

“
So I can explain,” he said. Then he relived the horror, telling her about the gray Buick Regal. About how it looked like it might have been murder. About how he broke his arm. About someone shooting at him in the police car. About the lawyers that weren’t lawyers. About how he recognized one as the driver of the gray Regal. About how he killed them both. About how he found the dead policeman outside the room. About how he dragged him in. And about how he walked out of the police station. He didn’t tell her about the voice in his head.

“
What are you going to do?” she asked.

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I don’t know.”

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You can’t go home and you can’t go to the condo. The police will be waiting.”

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I didn’t think of that.” He knew she believed him unquestionably. Julia would have asked a million questions, doubting every answer.

“
You can go to my place,” she said.

“
I think the white car back there is following us.” Donna interrupted his thoughts before he could answer. He looked in the rearview and saw a white Ford parked a block behind. There were no other cars parked on the busy street.

“
Are you sure?” he thought back. He was getting used to silently talking to her.

“
Yes, it’s been following us since we left the police station and it parked when you did.”

“
Roma, I think we’re being followed.” He started the car and eased back into the traffic.

“
Police?” She turned to look behind.

“
I don’t think so.”

The Ford accelerated.

“
They have a gun!” Roma screamed.

Jim turned, saw a cannon-like shotgun sticking out of the passenger window.

He stomped on the clutch, dropped the Porsche back into first. The rear wheels started spinning as he cut off a FedEx van in the left lane as he made a screeching left turn against the light. He heard the shotgun go off, felt the car jerk. Then he heard the crash as the Ford plowed into the van. He grabbed a glance into the rearview in time to see it bounce off.

“
They’re still coming!” she said.

“
They can’t keep up with us.” He checked the mirror. “Shit! We got smoke coming from the back.”

Then they lost power.

“
They must have hit the engine,” she said.

“
Yeah.” He slammed on the brakes. “Come on. We’ve got to run for it!”

They jumped out of the car as the dented Ford came screaming up behind them. The driver stood on his own brakes, but he wasn’t quick enough and the Ford slammed into the rear of the Porsche.

“
Let’s go!” Jim grabbed her by the hand, led her, running between two houses.

The way to the alley behind was blocked by a white, two foot fence. The gate was locked, but they didn’t know it, because they jumped the fence and headed into the alley. They had a fifty yard head start on their pursuers.

“
Quick, through the gate!” Jim pushed Roma through a wire fence gate just as they heard the boom of the shotgun. They dashed through a backyard, ran along the side of an old wooden house, burst out onto a residential street.

“
Which way?” Roma said.

“
Cross the street.” Jim led her across, up the driveway of another house, into another backyard. “No gate,” he said. “I’ll boost you over.” He laced his fingers together, made a stirrup for Roma to step into. “Come on, quick.”

She stepped into his fingers and he bit his lip against the pain shooting up his broken arm as he boosted her up. She pulled herself over as Jim grabbed onto the top of the fence and struggled, trying to pull himself up. It had been a long time since he had to physically exert himself and he was out of shape. He didn’t think he was going to make it.

“
There they are!”

The voice sent a lightning bolt of straight fear through Jim, forcing him to draw from a hidden reservoir of strength. He pulled himself up and over the fence as the shotgun blasted again. He felt, as well as heard, the pellets flying over his head.

“
Run,” he wheezed, grabbing Roma’s hand. They took off down the alley, but this time it was Roma who was doing the helping.

“
Come on, Jimmy, Come on,” she pleaded, and he fought to keep going.

“
There,” he said, and Roma opened a gate into still another backyard.

They dashed through and she screamed as a German Shepherd sank its teeth into her forearm, dragging her onto the lawn.

“
No.” Jim slammed his cast down on the dog’s head, knocking it out or killing it, he didn’t know. Then he helped her up. “The house,” he said, and they limped across the yard, opened and entered the back door of a pleasant, peaceful-looking home. The back window blew out right after Jim slammed the door.

“
What’s going on?” an elderly lady screamed.

“
Take her into the bathroom.” Jim was still wheezing. “Lock the door, get down and don’t come out till I come back.”

“
Where?” Roma said to the lady.

“
This way!” The woman might have been old, but she wasn’t stupid.

Jim opened the front door, then dashed around the side of the house just as the back door burst open. He ran up the driveway and into the backyard. He reentered the back door as the two men erupted through the front, back onto the residential street.

“
Where did they go?” one voice asked.

“
Don’t know,” a second voice answered.

Then they heard sirens off in the distance.

“
Time to get out of here,” first voice said.

“
Ditch the gun.”

First voice tossed the shotgun into the old lady’s living room, then closed the door.

Jim picked up the shotgun and started for the front door, opened it in time to see them calmly walking away.