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Reggie reached under his shirt, pulled out a handgun, and spun around behind his father, pointing it at his head. “Don’t move, Timkin, or my dad dies.” “Reggie, son, whatever’s happened, just relax. Everything will be okay.” “Shut up, Dad. You’re no better than me. You know what it’s like to murder someone you’ve fucked.” I held up my hands to make sure Reggie understood I held no gun. “I just want to talk, Reggie.” “Shut up,” he said. Sweat was running down his face, which had reddened. He was breathing heavily. The gun twitched against his father’s skull. “Yeah, shut up and let my dad talk. Tell him, Dad. Tell him what you did to Mom.” “You can’t believe I killed your mother. I wasn’t even in the country.” Reggie fired the gun, but he had aimed slightly to the side of his father’s head. The bullet shattered the front showroom window. “Tell me the truth or I’ll shoot off your balls.” He swung the handgun between his father’s legs. “Tell me now!” Black hesitated. “Yeah, I did it. But she was cheating on me. I had every fuckin’ right to kill her.” “So you took a private plane back into the country unannounced. That right?” “Yeah.” Reggie pulled the gun back. Black turned to face his son. “I’m sure if you listen to my side of the story ...” Reggie raised the gun until he was aiming directly between his father’s eyes. Black’s jaw moved up and down again, but as before, it did not accompany speech. Reggie pulled the trigger and there was a horrific explosion of blood and skull and brain across the showroom. Sales staff scurried toward exits. Perhaps the first shot had merely gotten their attention. The second shot sent them into flee-mode. Reggie faced me and said. “Don’t try to stop me.” I was still holding up my hands. “I’m smarter than that. But the police will be looking for your car. I doubt you’ll get far.” He squinted at me as though wondering why I was helping. Actually, I was just trying to confuse him. The longer he took to come up with a plan, the more likely the police would arrive before he left. Apparently he realized he needed to hurry. He ran to the corner office, ducked in, and ran out a moment later carrying a key. He jumped into nearest showroom vehicle, a green Explorer, started the engine, and accelerated toward the front of the showroom. I ran after him and pulled out the handgun from my shoulder harness, not intending to shoot him, but hoping I could blow out a tire. The Explorer crashed through the front window, bounced heavily on pavement outside, and sped toward the parking lot exit. I aimed my handgun. A woman walked out in front of the Explorer. Julie Black. I didn’t shoot, fearing my bullet would ricochet off the ground and strike her. For a moment I thought Reggie would run his sister down, but he turned at the last instant. The rear bumper grazed Julie, knocking her down. The Explorer struck the flag pole squarely, which must have been securely anchored, because the flag pole was merely bent by the impact and the Explorer came to an abrupt stop. Reggie, however, didn’t. He crashed through the windshield, tumbled twice midair, flopped awkwardly onto pavement, and rolled half a dozen times until he came to a stop. His skin had been stripped in large patches. Blood flowed freely. He rolled to his side and moved a leg as though attempting to stand, but his leg flopped at an odd angle. Bone protruded from his thigh. I walked toward him and passed Julie. “You all right?” She nodded. “What a rush!” I reached Reggie. “I think I’ll just stand here and watch you die.” His head turned toward me. He winced once. Then his facial features relaxed as though he was accepting the fact he would soon be dead. “What made you think it was me?” “A virgin working at a sperm bank? I figured that had to mess with your mind.” “So you knew?” “I didn’t know. I suspected. You gave yourself away.” He nodded faintly and winced again. He began rolling. I saw him raising the handgun long before he could aim it, and I jumped aside. He fired in the general direction of where I’d been standing. Julie had followed me again, although she was standing still when the bullet struck her shoulder, causing an eruption of blood. She jerked back and frowned. She stared at her shoulder, at the spreading red stain, then her legs wavered and she collapsed. I ran over to Reggie, grabbed the gun from his hand, and fired three times into his chest. Sirens approached. I dropped the gun and returned to Julie. I applied pressure to the wound until the police arrived and took over. She survived, barely, and I think whatever drugs she had been taking probably helped to reduce the shock. Over the next few weeks, I got threatened with murder charges. Eventually the D.A. dropped them because everyone at the dealership called me a hero. Besides, I was an ex-cop. I decided to be an ex-investigator, too. Life was too short. There had to be more to it than uncovering deceit and lies. I
had no idea what I would do, although I liked the thought of automotive
repair. Maybe I would start a business, a body shop. To think
about it, I ordered a pizza. Later I would take a bath. *** THE END ***
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