Sinners & Scarecrows Page 28

  “Affirmative,” the commissioner replied. “We’re right on his tail, over.”

  Blaze violently thrust his foot down on the clutch, dropping a gear, and revving the engine to the max as he accelerated along the highway. Catch me if you can, motherfuckers!

  Chapter 78

  The driver of the armoured van quickly hit the brakes after rounding the corner into a quiet street only one block out from Brighton’s police headquarters.

  Six armed men stood in the middle of the road with their rifles aimed at the windscreen. Their faces were covered with balaclavas. The leader of the men boldly strode up to the driver’s door, motioning for the officer to step out of the vehicle. He was too frightened to move. “Get the fuck out!” the leader shouted. “I won’t ask again!”

  The driver nervously opened his door and stepped out with his arms raised. His offsider slowly reached for the radio. “Don’t even fucking try it!” the leader shouted and cocked his rifle.

  He sharply retracted his hand away from the radio, then he, too, nervously stepped out of the van.

  “Faces on the ground! Now!”

  The group of armed men subdued the officers, using their own cuffs, and forced them into the rear of the van with the highly confused Archer and Francois.

  “Let’s roll!” the leader shouted. He leapt into the cab and took the wheel, while the other five men scrambled for their motorcycles.

  Blaze will be so pleased, Spider thought.

  On their way back to the clubhouse, Spider pulled the van into an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Brighton. He opened the rear doors and ordered the officers to get out. “I’m sorry I had to put you through that,” he said through his mask. “But these men belong to someone else; prison is far too good for them.”

  One of the officers said, “You’ll pay for this! I’ll have every agency in the city looking for you!”

  Spider held up a brand-new burner phone in one hand, and a Glock 17 in the other. “You have one chance to get out of this alive,” he explained. “Either take the phone and call for someone to come pick you up, or keep mouthing off and I’ll fucking shoot you. The choice is yours.”

  The second officer reached for the phone. Spider held it just out of reach. “Please, I have a wife and children. They depend on me.” the officer said.

  “Now you’re talking sense. But if you even think about coming after me, well… use your imagination.”

  The officer gave a pleading look to his angry partner. “Just let it go,” he begged him.

  After a moment’s hesitation, he relented with a nod.

  “I’ll drop the phone at the end of the street. That should give me enough of a head start,” Spider said.

  The rest of the SAS waited nervously for Spider to arrive at the clubhouse. Finally, they heard him roar up the driveway and head straight around the back to Ace’s workshop.

  Ace pulled the roller door down the moment the van was safely tucked inside. “Get them out,” Spider said as he slammed the driver’s door shut.

  Trigger took great delight in shoving Archer out of the van.

  “Get your filthy hands off me!” he said.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Trigger replied. He dragged him past the workbench where Sanchez’s shredded body lay sprawled out like a starfish, and strung him up in chains.

  The much larger and stronger Francois put up a terrific fight. Ace and Papa Bear eventually overpowered him, and within a few minutes, had him dangling from his wrists next to Archer.

  “So where’s Blaze?” Ciggy asked Spider. I thought he’d be back by now. I’m sure he wouldn’t miss this party for anything.”

  “You mean he’s not here?” Spider replied. “Shit! Something must have gone wrong.”

  Archer snickered from his perch.

  “Something on your mind? Trigger asked, and held the barrel of his rifle in Archer’s face.

  “I can tell you what happened to Blaze, but it will cost you.”

  “Oh yeah? What’s it worth?”

  “My freedom.”

  “Mine, too,” Francois added.

  Trigger quietly took a step back, as if considering their proposal. He set the rifle to full automatic.

  Spider quickly said, “Better block your ears, boys.”

  Trigger aimed his rifle at Francois and emptied the magazine. The noise was deafening. The mess was disgusting.

  Archer hung from his chains, in complete shock, splattered in Francois’ blood and chunks of his organs. He desperately wanted to clean his glasses.

  “Apparently I have anger issues,” Trigger said to Archer as he casually removed the magazine from the rifle and tossed it aside. “Now, tell me: what—happened—to—Blaze?”

  Archer didn’t hesitate this time. “The commissioner double-crossed him.”

  “Fuck!” Spider cursed. “I knew this would happen!”

  “But his detective friends turned up in the nick of time and took off with him,” Archer added.

  “Really? Where did they take him?”

  “I don’t know. But if I know Blaze, I’m sure he will find his way home soon enough.”

  “He fucking better. I can’t keep you locked up in here indefinitely.”

  “Why not? I’m dead anyway, right? Why don’t you just get on with it.”

  “I don’t think so. I wouldn’t want him to miss the family reunion.”

  “Reunion? What are you talking about?”

  Lemon chuckled in amusement. “This is so brilliant. He has no fucking idea!” he said, then walked up to Archer, and asked him, “Have you ever wondered why Blaze is such a crazy motherfucker? And why his birth date, unbeknown to you, is the same as the combination on your safe at The Underground? Maybe you should ask yourself why he handed you over to the commissioner? Or why he visited your parents in Worthington when we were passing though.”

  Archer was puzzled. He didn’t understand what Lemon was getting at. “Why would Blaze have visited my parents in Worthington? Besides, I heard they were murdered during our time down there.” As soon as he said it, he remembered Blaze mentioning he was wanted for a double homicide. The timing fitted perfectly. “Was it Blaze that killed them?” he asked.

  “Don’t be daft,” Lemon snickered. “He wouldn’t hurt his grandparents like that.”

  Archer’s vision blurred. His pulse quickened. The shock of Lemon’s words rattled his mind. “You mean, Blaze is my son?” he finally said.

  “Look at that, the genius figured it out.” Lemon chuckled. “Welcome to the family, asshole.”

  Chapter 79

  The metallic blue paint of Blaze’s Mustang gleamed under the blinding beam of light coming from the chopper above as the chase continued along the highway.

  “Go faster, you moron!” the commissioner yelled to his driver. “He’s getting away!”

  Blaze held his foot flat to the floor, thinking of Zoe, and how he would likely never see her again. She deserves better, he thought.

  He knew the commissioner would never give up chasing him. This was personal. There were only two outcomes; death or prison—ultimately the same thing in Blaze’s mind. He finally decided to call her. He felt he owed her that. When she picked up, he said, “I just called to say I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” she said groggily.

  “Turn on the news.”

  She flicked the television on. And as he predicted, there was a live ‘breaking news’ story of a high-speed chase down the Brighton Highway.

  “Blaze…?”

  “There is a piece of paper with a bank account number written on it in my safe at the clubhouse. In that account is enough money for you and the guys to get by for the rest of your lives. Spider and Papa Bear have the number as well. It’s undetectable to the authorities; it’s my inheritance from Archer’s secret bank account, so you have nothing to worry about if I don’t make it.”

  “What do you mean, if you don’t make it? Why are they after you?”

  “I’m sor
ry, baby. My past has finally caught up with me.”

  “Just turn yourself in; I’ll wait for you.”

  “Go and live your life, Zoe. I’m not worth it.”

  Tears started trickling down her cheeks. In her emotional state she didn’t hear the ‘click’ from the back door as someone entered the house. “I love you, Blaze,” she said, then suddenly panicked as she felt a presence in the room.

  Zoe turned to find Charlotte standing there, with a pistol outstretched in her arm. “Is that lover boy Blaze, you’re talking to?” she said with a cruel grin.

  Zoe nodded.

  “Good. You just saved me a phone call. Now hand it over!” Charlotte demanded. Zoe just stood there, too shocked to move. “Give me the fucking phone, bitch!” Charlotte screamed.

  What the fuck? Blaze thought as he heard the sudden commotion.

  Zoe tossed the phone over. Charlotte held it to her ear, and said to Blaze, “I hope you said your final goodbyes.”

  “Charlotte? Is that you? What the fuck are you doing at Zoe’s?”

  “Questions, questions, questions,” she replied. “All right, let me spell it out for you: I’m here to make sure you feel my pain—the pain I’ve been living with for the past eight years—before my father crushes you into the ground!”

  Blaze knew exactly what she meant. “Charlotte, please, don’t! I’ll give you anything!” he begged her.

  “I only want one thing, you self-righteous son of a bitch! I want my mother back!” she screamed, then aimed her pistol at Zoe’s head and pulled the trigger. She slumped to the floor after the bullet mercilessly tore through her skull.

  Blaze heard the gunshot ring in his ears. “You fucking bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!” he seethed.

  “Now we’re even,” she said coldly, then clicked off, destroying the phone with a second gunshot.

  Blaze’s heart exploded. Tears of unimaginable grief streamed from his eyes. He almost lost control of the Mustang as he sped around a long, sweeping bend in the road, adjacent to the Sterling River below.

  The commissioner noticed he was suddenly gaining on Blaze. He leaned out the window and opened fire.

  “Fuck!” Blaze cried as the rear windscreen shattered all over him. The sudden burst of flying bullets and smashing glass knocked Blaze out of his funk. He felt a searing pain in his shoulder along with the warmth of his blood seeping through his T-shirt. The pain from the fresh bullet hole was unbearable. He fought with his senses until he spotted what he was looking for: the large bluffs that lined the Sterling River.

  Another wave of bullets ricocheted off his rear end. Come on, Blaze, hang in there a little further.

  More bullets pinged off the paintwork and whizzed past his ears.

  Without warning, Blaze closed his eyes, and sharply turned the steering wheel, crossing over all four lanes and ploughed through the barrier at the top of Cooper’s Bluffs. I’m sorry, Zoe, he thought as the car twisted and nose-dived to the river below.

  KA SPLASH!

  The river swallowed the Mustang in seconds.

  The commissioner’s convoy screeched to a halt. The men eagerly ran to the edge of the bluff. The commissioner radioed the chopper. “Give me some light on that goddamn river!” he ordered.

  The chopper hovered over the ripples where the Mustang had gone under. “No sign of the suspect,” the pilot replied.

  “Keep searching!” the commissioner screamed.

  The chopper roamed back and forth, combing the steady current for signs of life.

  The commissioner radioed the pilot. “Have you got a visual on the suspect, yet?’

  “Negative,” the pilot replied. “If he was trapped in the vehicle, he’s a goner by now.”

  “Get a team of divers down there, stat!” the commissioner yelled.

  Within the hour the divers were suited up and on the water. The commissioner observed proceedings from the edge of the boat, living in hope that they at least recovered Blaze’s body. He squinted as the glow of their powerful searchlights dimmed the further they sank beneath the surface with their motorised dive scooters. They were lucky it had been a dry summer. The water levels were the lowest they had been in years, making a search operation possible.

  The divers found Blaze’s Mustang resting on its roof top on the river bed. There was no sign of his body. They turned their attention to the surrounding area, searching within an acceptable radius of where his body might have drifted within the time frame.

  The commissioner was waiting impatiently when team leader resurfaced. “Well?” he asked curtly.

  The team leader removed his mouthpiece and mask. “I’m sorry, sir, there was nothing to recover down there. I’d say he’s eel food by now,” he replied. “No one could have survived that fall.”

  The commissioner strained his neck as he stared up to where Blaze had come crashing through the barrier. He sighed. “Very well. Let’s pack this up, people!” he commanded.

  At long last the commissioner felt the weight of the world slide from his shoulders. He gazed up at the stars. A tear slid from his eyes. You can rest now, Hazel, my love.

  Chapter 80

  “So, what now?” Sandra asked Ryan as they finally arrived back at The Underground after their long walk back from the gas station. They had tried calling a taxi, but there was none available at this time of the morning.

  “First thing’s first; we find out what happened to Blaze,” he replied. “He’s bound to be nationwide news by now.”

  Ryan’s car was still parked in the alleyway. He got in and found the round-the-clock news broadcast on the radio.

  After waiting for a series of advertisements to finish playing, the radio host said, “A high-speed car chase has ended in the North Island on the Brighton Highway where the driver of the vehicle lost control and crashed through the safety barrier along Cooper’s Bluffs. New Zealand Police Commissioner Peter Stuart stated that the car plummeted a little over thirty-five metres into the Sterling River, and after an extensive search, the body of the occupant of the vehicle—a known and previously convicted criminal, Bobby Blaise—was unable to be recovered and is presumed dead. And in a related incident, a young woman was found murdered in her home this morning after neighbours heard two gunshots fired from her residence. Police were immediately called to the scene where the woman’s body was identified as that of Zoe Harper—the partner of the driver involved in the high-speed chase. Police are calling for any witnesses or information in relation to the shooting, and are treating these potentially connected cases as highly suspicious.”

  Ryan flicked the radio off. He closed his eyes and started trembling.

  “Are you okay?” Sandra placed a comforting hand on his thigh.

  He didn’t answer. He felt as though he’d lost a close friend. He hadn’t realised just how close he and Blaze were until now.

  “You know, the report said they never found his body,” Sandra encouraged him.

  “All that means is he got knocked out and swept away by the current. He’s probably wedged under a log or rock somewhere downstream.”

  “Maybe, but from everything I’ve seen and heard about Blaze, he is as resilient as they come. Maybe he made it?”

  “I guess you never know,” he conceded. “But I highly doubt it.”

  They remained silent until Sandra said, “So who do you think killed Zoe? And why?”

  “The obvious answer would be the commissioner. But we know he was off on a fox hunt, so it can’t have been him.”

  “You have to admit the timing is kinda spooky.”

  “Perhaps he hired someone to do the job?”

  “It’s possible. I’m sure he wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. Perhaps it was a fail-safe in case Blaze went back on his word on delivering the shipment of girls. In fact, that’s quite plausible after we helped Blaze escape. He wanted to hurt him; I could think of no better way to do that than to shred his heart in two. Some would call it sweet revenge.”

  Again, they
sat in silence. They were both exhausted.

  Ryan was about to start the car and drive back to his hotel when Sandra said, “You know, I’m surprised Blaze crashed his prized Mustang. He sure had a good handle on it when he was throwing us around in the back seat. And to run off the road at Cooper’s Bluffs of all places…he must have really lost it to cross all four lanes and plough through the barrier.”

  Even at this early hour, Ryan’s brilliant mind found an extra gear and sprang into action. He frantically reached for the keys and fired up the engine. He screeched out of the alleyway at a terrific rate of knots.

  “Where are we going?” Sandra asked nervously.

  Ryan kept his eyes fixed on the road as he replied, “I need you to arrange a search warrant for the commissioner’s residence. Now that you know for certain what he’s hiding, I’m confident you can get the job done.”

  “Okay, but what about you? Where are you going?”

  She heard the steel in his voice, as he replied, “I’m going on a fox hunt of my own.”

  Chapter 81

  “Someone’s coming!” Ace cried out as he heard a car racing up the driveway towards the workshop. “Gag him!”

  Spider quickly taped Archer’s mouth shut.

  Everyone grabbed a weapon.

  Ace breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who it was. “False alarm; it’s just the detective,” he said.

  Ryan slammed his car door shut and marched into the workshop. He shook his head in disbelief when he saw the armoured van complete with Archer hanging by his wrists alongside Francois’ massacred body. He almost dry-retched when he noticed Sanchez’s remains lying on the workbench.

  “I see you’ve all been busy?” he said, unamused at the horrific scene. “And you kidnapped one of the most wanted criminals in the country! Do you know how many people will be looking for you?”

  “Watch your mouth, detective,” said Spider. “You ain’t got no business coming in here and telling us how to run our affairs. I’m only giving you the courtesy of walking out of here with your bones still intact because Blaze has a soft spot for you. But believe me when I say that not all of us are as comfortable having a cop looking over our shoulders every five fucking minutes.”