In The End

19

       "I can't believe I'm doin' this" Turner mumbled angrily to himself while shaking his head, "Getraer's gonna kill me... Im'ma get fired... probably never gonna let me be a police officer again-"
       "Turner It's not that bad" Harlan said from the back seat, leaning forward. Jeb looked into the rear view mirror and raised an eyebrow while shifting uncomfortably. "Have you met our sergeant?" He asked sarcastically.
       "Sorry, but I'm with Harlan on this one Jeb. It's not really that bad... Ponch and Jon get away with this kind of stuff all the time... don't they?" Sindy said also leaning in to see out of the front window.
       Turner continued muttering under his breath as Harlan gave up on seeing out the window and sat back. "Do you have your seat belts on?" Jeb exclaimed beginning to panic again. Sindy rolled her eyes. "For the last time, yes!" Harlan replied.
       Jeb's eyes quickly shifted to Sindy. "Doesn't matter, the road is right there" she said pointing quickly. He went wide eyed.
          "Where? Where?"
          "Right there!"
          "That's not the road Cahill"
          "Yes it is!"
          "Not it's not. It's the next road over"
       Harlan watched as they drove by the road they were arguing about. "Actually... Sindy was right Jeb. You just passed it" Harlan stated. Sindy smiled and crossed her arms. "Point one"
      He made a face and turned the police cruiser around to head up the road that faded to dirt and disappeared into big, rolling, hills.   
      "Getraer is gonna find out" Turner warned again. "No he's not because none of us are going to tell him" Sindy said slyly.
      Turner laughed. "And what makes you think I won't tell..." he trailed off when he realized that he would also get in trouble. "He's still gonna find out! He always finds out. Now, yall are gonna get me in trouble and it's not often I get in trouble! Harlan, you understand don't you?"
       Harlan folded his arms. "Sure. I get in trouble because of you guys all the time but when I need a favor you dissappear" He said, frustration creeping into his voice. "Erika is my best friend and I know you both care about her too, so can we just get on with this"
       Both officers remained quiet until the car came to a stop in front of a big white farm house. The number 707 was marked clearly on a mailbox by the door but that was about the only thing familiar about the place anymore.
      It became very obvious how much work Erika had to put in to keep it looking nice... and how far downhill it could go without anyone tending to it for a year and a half. It was beginning to look run down.
      The front lawn was in desperate need of a lawn mower and the hanging plants on the wrap around porch had all died and withered away. In fact everything was either over grown, or dead. Even the grassy hills and feilds in the back had grown taller without the horses to graze.
       Sindy looked to Harlan. "Are you alright?" She asked. The last time Harlan had been here, he had discovered Erika on the floor in a heap bleeding because of a gun shot wound. She had called to ask him if he could help fix her motor and Harlan told her he'd be on his way in a little while.
       However, the murderer and a partner had shown up before Harlan and attacked her when she went to open the door thinking it was the mechanic.
      Harlan nodded a tried to keep any emotion off his face as he pushed the car door open. Jeb and Sindy did the same. They all paused.
      "This is a bad idea" Jeb said again scanning the area and remembering there was a whole barn and a shed outback. No one had been here after Jon picked up her horses and taken them to the same stable he kept his at.    It was a pretty ideal hideout.
      Sindy shrugged and tried to ignore her own fear. "There might be clues here. What if the detectives missed something?" She said before walking up to the front door. Jeb shook his head but followed. "How do we even get in?" He argued hoping she didn't have any ideas this time.
       To his dismay, Harlan cleared his throat and held up a single key. "How on earth did you get that" Oscar asked, almost whining the question. "As I said, we're best friends. Besides that, she's an excellent mechanic herself... we build top secret cars and motorcycles..."
       Sindy watched in amusement as Harlan pushed past the officer to unlock the door. Turner looked to Sindy and shook his head as it swung open. She laughed and stepped inside after Harlan.
       A thick layer of dust had settled around the place, no doubt caused by the dirt roads and dust kicked up by cattle and other livestock. Everything was straightened however. Jon had come back to fix everything at Erika's request.
       A chilling silence flooded the house and made their footsteps seem louder than they really were. Jebidiah slowly walked over to the tan couch in the open concept room and ran a hand over the leather. At his touch dust swirled through the air.
       "I don't know what to say..." he commented, gesturing to the house, "She always seemed so happy in this house" Jeb pointed to the kitchen. "Max used to love that kitchen. Remember?"
      Sindy smiled saddly. "Yeah. It seems like just yesterday they were small. Max was in the kitchen trying a new recipe while John was working on his art... and Erika was encouraging them both to greet and talk with their guests"
       Harlan smiled slightly at the older memories of Erika's two adopted boys. The had moved out and gone to college a few years ago. Max was already married and John was still studying art.
      They continued to wander around the house searching through the dust for answers. Harlan walked over to Turner who had seemed to find something of interest.
       "Find something?" He asked tilting his head. "Yeah" Jeb replied handing him a big note pad. It was filled with random dates and phone numbers. However, none of them were marked with names or explanations. They were just... there.
      "You would think Erika would be a little more careful than that... do the dates follow a certain pattern?"   Turner wondered before waiting on Harlan's answer. "It just a bunch of random dates. No pattern... no importance, or at least that I know of. We can ask Erika about it though"
       Harlan turned to continue searching  for some clue but paused at seeing Sindy. She was standing in front of a wall of framed photographs with her hands in her pockets and her head down.
       "Are you alright" Harlan asked quietly, coming to stand next to her. She nodded with a slight smile before looking up at the wall. "It would just be so painful if she couldn't come back to the CHP or her home. It's crazy how she's gotten so lucky... but she might not be next time if we don't put this guy behind bars."
       Sindy pointed to an old, black and white photo. "Look. It's Erika and her dad" she stated. Harlan wasn't sure why she'd brought his attention to this picture in particular, but she had.
      There were three people standing on, what looked to be, a doc. A younger Pete Malloy was standing next to Robert and Erika. A big house was in the background along with some more people but it was a little blurry.
       "Why this photo?" Harlan asked. Sindy just shrugged. "It looked a little strange... I couldn't figure out why" She studied some other pictures while Harlan tilted his head. Sindy was right. There was something a little off here, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.
       "Guys!" Turner yelled making them turn around. He had just come in through the door. Harlan assumed that he had been out to check on the radio. "It's Getraer. He knows we're not on our beats and wants to know where we were when we get back to central... which would be now"
      Sindy sighed and watched Harlan in amusement. "How? How could he have possibly known?" He asked in shock while trailing out of the door and out to the car.
       Turner followed as Harlan and Sindy talked. He turned suddenly to stare into the backyard. It was foggy and only a faint outline of the barn was visible. A rattling noise had alerted the officer. His heart beat faster as he watched the white scene.
Nothing else made a noise. Nothing else moved. It was like the fog was trying to hide something.
       After a few more moments of watching he heard his name being called. "Yeah... I'm coming" he yelled back to his friends. Jeb turned cautiously and got in the drivers seat before they drove off leaving nothing but a dust trail.

       Rusted tin cans and car parts rattled as they were kicked aside. He watched the car lights fade and stepped out of the fog. His eyes narrowed and twitched while his grip tightened on a gun, turning his knuckles white. His blood began to boil and he felt the need to- no... not quite yet... there would be another opportunity to strike soon.