Chapter 25

He felt a fury inside him that couldn’t be described. Not only was he mad at Douglas, but also at himself for not seeing any signs that he was the killer.

Maybe it was true that having gotten involved with her caused him to miss signs that he normally wouldn’t have.

“Damn, it’s really down here,” Chad said as they made their way down. “Are you sure he would have taken her this way?”

“I’m not sure of anything, but I’ll know when we get there.”

“How so?”

“Because I boarded it up and put a lock on it.”

When they got there, Dexter cursed when he saw the door was opened. He turned to Chad. “Yes, he brought her this way. Call your guys and tell them to follow us.”

When they stepped outside, he looked around. “There are only two paths he could have taken. We’ll have to split up. You take that path,” he said, pointing in one direction. “I’ll go this way.”

“Dexter, be careful. This guy is extremely dangerous and unbalanced. Anyone who will pass himself off as a butler and wait ten years for revenge is capable of doing anything.”

“Don’t worry about me. And if you find them first, call me.”

They headed off in different directions and could hear the police sirens as they got closer to the mansion. He took out his flashlight and searched the ground as he made his way through the woods.

He could hear the crunching of his footsteps as they stepped on twigs and branches, but no other sounds.

He was hoping that Douglas hadn’t gotten too far ahead of him and that he would hear her screaming or the sound of their voices.

Then, looking down, he saw something sparkly. It was one of her diamond earrings.

He picked it up and placed it in his pocket, and his gut was telling him she dropped it there on purpose, hoping he would find it.

He also saw two sets of footprints in the dirt, one belonging to a woman, which he knew was hers.

Knowing he was going in the right direction, he continued, moving faster as he held onto his gun, ready to shoot Douglas the first chance he got.

Moving deeper into the woods, he couldn’t help but wonder what Douglas was up to. Why didn’t he go out of the woods and to the dirt road?

Was he planning on killing her and leaving her body where the wild animals could feast on her corpse?

As he went further, he found her other earring, and that’s when he knew for sure she was leaving clues.

He thought he heard voices. So, stopping, he listened, and sure enough, he could hear both Douglas and Roxie talking.

He crept slowly toward them, his gun raised, until he got close and hid behind a tree. There was no way he could take a shot at the man, since he was too close to her.

He stepped out from behind the tree, his gun pointed at Douglas. “Freeze!”

They both turned their heads in his direction. “Dexter,” she shouted out and tried to run to him, but Douglas grabbed her.

Getting behind her, he put his arm around her neck and held the gun to her temple.

“Drop the gun, or I’ll kill her.”

Dexter lowered his gun but did not drop it. “Douglas. Or should I say, Jeff? I know who you are, and I know it was your daughter who Thomas hit and killed with his car.

“I feel your pain, the loss of your daughter and the baby she was carrying. But this isn’t going to bring them back. Thomas is the guilty one. Roxie had nothing to do with it.”

He looked at her. She was so scared. In order to save her, he had to keep Douglas talking until Chad showed up, if he ever did. “It’s her father you should kill, not an innocent woman.”

Douglas was sweating like crazy, even though the night air was quite cool.

“Killing him would be too easy. I want him to suffer, to live a long life knowing his only daughter is dead, and for him to feel the pain every day, as I’ve had to.”

“Tell me about your daughter.”

His eyes teared up, the gun still at Roxie’s temple.

“I didn’t even know she existed for the first fifteen years of her life, until I ran into her mother. The bitch never told me, and she married someone else.

“We were just getting to know each other, and I was so happy to find out I was going to be a grandfather.”

He looked at Roxie, pressing the gun harder against her. “But your father took that all away from me.”

Dexter saw how the man’s hand was starting to shake from anger. He had to calm him down.

“You’re right. He took everything from you that day. I understand that. But he’s the one you should hurt. Why did you wait so long to get your revenge on Thomas?”

Douglas was feeling agitated. He had to sit down, so pulling her along with him, he sat on the ground.

“I knew he had a daughter, a thirteen-year-old. My Sally was twenty-three when she was run down and killed, so I came up with a plan to kill Roxie when she turned twenty-three.

“I found someone who got me a fake ID, changed my name, and everything. I applied for the butler job and earned his trust and waited ten years for my revenge.”

“Tell me, Douglas. Would your Sally want you to do this? Just look at Roxie, the same age as your daughter. Picture her being Sally. Look at her.”

He looked at her. “I am sorry, Miss Greene. You were always so nice to me, and I wish there was another way. But your father needs to feel the pain that I’ve been feeling for years now.”

“Douglas, I’m sorry for what he did to you, but it was an accident, and he did turn himself in. He told me how bad he felt, and that he paid for the funeral and everything else.

“You have to understand that he heard about my mother and the accident, and he was in a rush to get to her.”

He pushed the gun harder against her temple. “He left her lying in the street, dying, as one does with an animal.”

“I’m sorry for what my father did. It was wrong of him to leave the scene of the accident. Douglas, please, you don’t have to do this,” she said, begging him to let her go.

He looked over at Dexter. “I want Mr. Greene to watch his daughter die. Get him here now. And don’t bring the cops here, or else.”

“Okay. Just remove the gun from her head, and I’ll call Chad to go get him.”

When he saw that the gun was moved from her head—though Douglas kept it pointed at her, with his arm around her neck—Dexter called Chad’s cell.

After instructing him to get Thomas and giving him their location, he hung up. “You do know you won’t come out of this alive, don’t you?”

“I’ve got nothing to live for. That bastard took everything away from me. Put the gun down and kick it over here, now.”

Dexter dropped the gun, kicking it over to him, where it lay by their feet.

“Now sit down.”

“Okay, I’m sitting. Just stay calm. Douglas, look at me. There’s a way out of this. Just let her go, and leave. I won’t try to stop you or go after you.”

“Just shut up,” Douglas yelled, wiping his brow with the back of his hand and then resting the gun on her neck.

Half an hour later they heard people approaching, so he got up, dragging Roxie up with him.

Standing behind her, his arm going back around her neck, he once again pressed the muzzle of the gun to her head. He saw the man he knew as Chad walking alongside Thomas.

“You. Toss your gun down and kick it away.”

“Roxie, are you all right sweetheart?” Thomas asked and started walking toward them.

“Stop right there, Mr. Greene.”

“Douglas, I know who you are now and why you’re doing this. Don’t hurt my daughter. Kill me instead. I deserve it for what I did to your daughter. Chad here told me everything.

“I have a lot of money. It’s all yours. Just let her go.”

Douglas laughed. It was an ugly laugh. “You act like you love Roxie.”

“I do love her.”

“Where was that love when you ran over Sally? Or when you were in bed, fucking Claudia, the day your wife died?” He saw the shock on Thomas’s face and heard Roxie gasp.

“That’s right, Miss. Your daddy, the man who claimed to love your mother, was screwing your stepmother. And to think he married that nasty bitch.”

She felt the tears falling down her cheek. “Dad, tell me this isn’t true.”

“Tell her the truth, or I’ll kill her right now.”

“Yes, it’s true. I’m so sorry, but I want you to know I did love your mother, very much. Please forgive me.”

It was killing him to see how much hearing this was hurting her. She had been so close to her mother, and he’d never wanted her to find out.

“If you’re wondering how I knew, it was because I overheard you and that witch talking about it one night—or should I say, fighting.”

While this was going on, Dexter looked at Chad, nodding his head as they both slowly took a few steps closer to them.

He noticed the gun was removed from her head and was pointed at Thomas, and that Douglas wasn’t looking at him, which gave Dexter the perfect opportunity to rush him.

Yes, it was dangerous with Douglas’s arm over her throat, but he had no choice. At any second she was about to be shot.

Douglas was taken by surprise when Dexter pounced on him. He let go of Roxie, and they wrestled with the gun. Chad grabbed her, pulled her away, and took her over to where Thomas was.

He reached down and picked up one of the guns, pointing it at Douglas.

But then the men fell to the ground, rolling around, still fighting over the gun, and Chad was unable to get a clear shot at Douglas.

Roxie pulled away from Thomas when he tried to wrap his arms around her. She went to go over to Dexter but was held back by Chad’s arms.

“Dexter,” she silently cried out, watching in horror as they rolled around, punching each other, as they still fought over the weapon.

All three stood by helplessly. Chad was still unable to take a shot at Douglas without accidentally hitting Dexter.

The night was quiet except for the grunts and groans coming from the men fighting. Then, suddenly, a shot rang out, a scream was heard, and everything went deadly quiet.