The Devil's Water: Scenic City Murder Series #1 (23 page)

Clutch grabbed his gun off the passenger seat and pulled a flashlight out of the glove compartment. He could tell that someone was in the driver’s seat. Walking over to the passenger side of the vehicle, he shined his light inside the car.

“Oh, Christ.” He whispered to himself.

Jerry Tallent was sitting behind the wheel. His throat was slit and there was blood everywhere. The word ‘pig’ had been scrawled on his forehead with his own blood. The only thing on Jerry’s entire body that wasn’t bloody, was a note that had been pinned to his collar. Clutch assumed that it had been pinned post mortem. Moving around to the other side of the vehicle, Clutch opened the driver’s door and shined his flashlight on the note. The note read:

“I shall ‘Begin the Beguine’ at the Beginning.”

He stuck the piece of paper in his pocket and closed the door. What the fuck did it mean? Clutch stood there lost in thought for several minutes. Obviously, Campbell had Tasha. He always wanted to ‘Begin the Beguine’ with her. But what about the beginning? The beginning had been Carol Shipley. She had been the first abduction. Carol was in the hospital recovering. She had security and people all around her. Surely, Campbell wasn’t talking about going back there. Then, there was Sun Apartments. That’s where the abductions had taken place. Clutch took the note out of his pocket and studied it for a moment. His brow was creased in deep concentration. Somehow, he didn’t think Campbell meant to take Tasha to the Sun. Nothing about that made sense. Suddenly, an idea developed in Clutch’s mind. A very sinister idea.
Mary, mother of God
He thought as he took a deep breath. He knew where to look but he needed backup. Pulling his cell out of his pocket, he began dialing a number. 

CHAPTER 48

The Tennessee River was dark and murky. The black water moved as slowly as sorghum toward Paducah, Kentucky where it would meet with the Ohio. From there, the Ohio River would run into the Mississippi and ultimately empty into the Gulf of Mexico. 

Tasha Yoder was following the beam of a flashlight that shone down toward the water’s edge. David had the flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other which he was pressing against Tasha’s back. Now and then, Tasha would stumble. “Get up, bitch.” David would say, pulling her to her feet and prodding her forward with the gun to her back. Once they reached the edge of the bank, he pushed Tasha forward and took several steps back. “Now, face me.” He ordered.

Tasha turned around. She couldn’t see David’s face since the night was dark and the flashlight was blinding her. She could only imagine that he had the gun aimed directly at her chest.

“Now, let us begin.” He said. His low laughter, cruel and evil, gave Tasha the chills. She could see her breath in the flashlight beam. “What do you want with me?” she asked.

“I want to play a game with you.”

“What kind of game?” she asked.

“Well… I want you to turn around and jump into the water. The Devil’s Water. We’ll see how good you can swim in the dark and cold. If you make it out of the most treacherous spot on this river, you’ll have to swim for the opposite side. If you make it, you’ll have quite a story to tell. By the time you’re found, I’ll be long gone. If you don’t make it, however, they’ll discover your body sometime within the next few days. Either way, as I said, I’ll be long gone.”

“But the water is freezing. I’ll never make it.”

“That’s not my problem. If you don’t jump, I’ll be forced to shoot you. They’ll find you propped up against a tree tomorrow. I know the perfect place.” Campbell said, laughing.

“So if I swim the river, I’ll escape you. If not, I’m dead. Those are my options.”

“Correct. Oh! One more thing. I’ll be shooting at you as you swim. That’ll add a little excitement to the mix.” He laughed again.

Tasha stood there for a full minute trying to think. The night air was cold and the water would be even colder. That wouldn’t be the biggest problem though. Tasha had been used to swimming in the cold water of the Tellico River as a girl. That was pure mountain water and it was freezing even in July.

She also knew that she was a good swimmer. She used to swim a mile a day when she was younger. Crossing the Devil’s Water might be difficult and perhaps it would even take her life but swimming to safety could be done. The biggest problem would be the stray bullets sprinkling the water as she tried to save herself.

The loud pop of the gun pulled her from her thoughts. It took her a second to realize that Campbell had fired a warning shot. “Jump in the fucking water now!” he yelled.

Suddenly, she saw a light. It was shining through the woods about twenty five yards away. Closer and closer it came. Someone was coming to save her. Should she yell for help? Tasha reasoned against it. For one thing, if Campbell got desperate enough, he might just go ahead and kill her before she could be rescued.

“Jump in, goddammit!” he screamed.

“Ok.” She said as she watched the light behind Campbell. It was perhaps fifteen yards away now. “Can I take off my clothes? At least I would have a better chance.”

“No. Do you not see, you dumb bitch, that this isn’t about trying to give you a fighting chance? You’re more than likely going to die tonight and that’s the plan. Now jump in the motherfucking water!”

“Hold it right there, Campbell!” someone yelled in the darkness.

Tasha recognized the voice. David wheeled around with his flashlight in hand. It came to rest on the face of Daniel A. Mclutcheon. Clutch had his gun up and pointed at Campbell.

“Don’t make another move, you fucking bastard.” Clutch growled.

“Oh, so now it’s the both of you isn’t it, Officer Dipshit?” Campbell laughed. Both men had flashlights and guns trained on each other.

Tasha thought of trying to charge David but thought better of it. He had a huge advantage over her in that he had a weapon.

“Let’s see who I want to kill first. Will it be the fat pig cop or the whore FBI agent? Decisions, decisions…”

“I would think about that long and hard, Campbell.” Clutch said. “You’ve already killed several people and today you killed a cop. He was a fucking kid, you son of a bitch! You know what happens to cop killers, asshole? They get the fucking needle. If it was up to me, you’d be drawn and quartered! I’d love to go medieval on you right now.”

“Try it, pig.” David sneered, still holding his weapon on Clutch.

The two men stood their ground staring at each other. Tasha had no clue what to do but she moved forward and tried to get away from the edge of the Devil’s Water. As she took three or four steps from the water’s edge, she saw blue lights flashing across the night sky. They lit up the branches of the tall trees leading down the bank to the Tennessee River. More and more flashed, illuminating the woods surrounding her, Clutch and Campbell.

“It’s over, Campbell.” Clutch said. “DWK is over. Put the fucking gun down and get on your knees.”

“I’m not going out this way!” Campbell cried. He brought the gun up to his own temple and cocked it. “I’ll kill myself before I give in.”

Tasha watched in horror as the man stood there defiantly. Clutch still had his Glock aimed directly at him.

“Put your gun down.” Campbell said, “or I’ll pull the trigger.”

At that moment, Tasha remembered what had happened to her father, Wallace Yoder. She was sure that Clutch was thinking of it too. Clutch stood frozen and said nothing.

“I mean it! Put your fucking gun down! I’ll shoot myself and then those families will never have closure. They’ll never know exactly what happened to their loved ones! Put it down and I’ll put mine down.”

Clutch began lowering his gun slowly.

“No!” Tasha screamed. “It’s a trick!”

Like lightning, Campbell brought the gun down from his temple and pointed it at Clutch. Right before he pulled the trigger, a shot rang out. Campbell fell to his knees, grabbing his abdomen. Tasha watched as blood began soaking his jacket dripping down on the brown leaves beneath him. David Campbell landed face first on the ground. He was dead before he ever hit the dirt.

Tasha rushed over and embraced Clutch as a team of armed officers made their way down to the Devil’s Water. Jeff Wilder was in the lead. “You OK, Boss?” he asked as he neared them.

“Never better.” He directed at his deputy. Turning back to Tasha, he looked her straight in the eyes and smiled.

“That one was for Wally.”

EPILOGUE

It was a bright, early spring morning. The sky was cloudless and birds were singing. The Tennessee Valley was growing greener with each passing day as the grass was coming alive along with the leaves on the trees. Dogwoods were in bloom and Chattanooga was experiencing a seasonal rebirth. Red buds added further grandeur to the landscape.

Tasha Yoder held her head to the heavens, her face basking in the sun’s glow. She looked across the valley, from her perch upon a ridge, and rejoiced in the day. She’d been sober for over thirty days. Last night, she had picked up her thirty day chip. In a little under two months, she would celebrate ninety days in the program. She’d even gotten a sponsor which was something she never thought she would’ve done.
Momma and Daddy would be so proud
she thought as she lowered her head and gazed down at the massive tombstone. Wallace and Elaine Yoder had been buried beside each other at their request. Tasha figured she would be somewhere close to them when the time came.

“Whatcha thinkin’, kid?” Dan Mclutcheon asked as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“Nothing, really. I’m just happy and that’s a feeling I haven’t felt in a very long time.”

“Yeah, I remember when I first got sober. It took a little while but I remember feeling so relieved and glad to be alive. Amazing things can happen when you crawl out of the bottle.”

“Well, I would say that part of it is due to my new found sobriety. Part is the satisfaction I felt, and still feel, about breaking the case. Most of my life, I wanted to be an FBI agent. When that was taken away, I just felt worthless. Now, I guess I feel like I’m worth something again. We caught DWK, Clutch. That
was
worth something.”

“Yeah, the families of the victims agree with you. I just talked to Buck Shipley on the phone earlier. He said that Carol is starting to talk. She’s growing stronger day by day and soon, they hope she’ll be able to walk again.”

“See? That’s a success story. Right?” Tasha asked looking up at him.

“Damn right. Even Flo is a success story. Last I heard, she was taking a Greyhound up to Philadelphia to live with her sister for awhile until she can take care of herself. She said that she’s given up the street life.”

“How did Rico Savoy take that?”

“Well, she was his best prostitute but I think he’s too scared to do anything about it. He knows the cops are keeping an eye on him.”

“Clutch?”

“What’s that darlin’?” he asked.

“Sometimes, my memory of mom and dad is so clear. It’s almost like I can see them in front of me. Other times, my dreams of them are so vivid. Do you think they’re still with me in spirit?”

“Yeah. I really do believe that” he said, rubbing her shoulder. “Keep those memories near to you. Never forget. You want to know why?”

Tasha nodded her head as she gazed at him.

“Because, in the end and in one way or another, memories will be all you have.”

Tasha’s eyes filled with tears and, as she blinked, two drops began trickling down her cheeks. “I love you, Clutch.”

“I love you too, kid.”