Erika (15 page)

* * * *

O’Brien gasped, not believing his eyes. His son couldn’t have murdered two people in cold blood. It was insane. He stammered, “Hawkins, for the love of God, why?”

“You killed Erika!”

“She was only a doll.”

Terrence Hawkins Archibald O’Brien saw his son’s intention flashing star hot in his eyes. He saw the Magnum’s hammer being cocked. Terror he had never felt, never dreamed existed, slashed its way into his body and stayed.

“Hawk, I’m your father.”

“I have no father. You’re somebody who took my mother away from me and now Erika. Was it asking too much for you to just leave us alone? We were so in love.”

O’Brien swallowed his fear. He reached out to touch his son. Yes, that’s what he would do. He would touch his son. He would tell him how much he loved him. He did love him. He’d never said so. Why hadn’t he?

He touched his son. The words formed in his mouth. “Hawkins, I…”

The Magnum roared.

* * * *

Rage seeped from Hawk’s body to be replaced by loneliness. He walked to the kiln and stared into the fire. Only cherished memories remained.

His shoe touched something on the floor. He stooped to pick it up. It was a heart shaped piece of porcelain. He kissed it before putting it in the shirt pocket next to his heart.

Two servants appeared in the kiln room’s doorway. Hawk waved the Magnum. “Don’t try to stop me,” he commanded.

They didn’t.

Spitting on his father’s body, Hawk ran to the gun room for survival gear. Nothing dies harder than hope. Erika was gone from the mansion. Was she gone from the woods? Was some of her life essence still there? He would find out.

“You’ve got to be in the woods, Erika. You’ve got to be. I can’t exist without you.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Shanna and Templeton stopped at Inessa Mansion’s main entrance. The area swarmed with police and S.W.A.T. Team people led by Captain Luskovitch.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” he spit out. “Particularly you, Gordon,” he added with a finger jab. “This is official police business. No fucking slime ball dick with a hunk of tin is going to interfere.”

Templeton stepped from the Volkswagen. Shanna followed him. He faced Luskovitch. The captain was a powerful man but Shanna noted how he appeared to shrink under Templeton’s unflinching eyes.

“You have a disposition to sour milk, Luskovitch. No doubt you’ve been sucking your usual lemon for breakfast. Take off your badge. I’ll be more than glad to teach you some manners.”

“Kiss my ass, Gordon. Now haul your butts out of here.”

“We’ve come to visit Hawk,” said an angry voiced Shanna. “We have that right.”

“That’s right, you do. You also have the right to get your tits shot off, which could happen if you hang around here long enough.”

Templeton growled. “Okay Luskovitch, out with it. What’s going down?”

“About ten minutes ago paramedics hauled away two stiffs and O’Brien. All three had bullet holes in them courtesy of your palsy walsy, Hawk O’Brien.”

“That isn’t true! Hawk wouldn’t do such a horrible thing!”

“Shit,” Luskovitch spat out. “Lady, it’s done every day, every hour, every minute, every second by crazy fuckers just like the O’Brien kid. But don’t take my word about him. You want an ear full of the truth, go ask the servants.”

Shanna did. She was back in minutes, snuggling into Templeton’s arms and shivering with shock. “It’s true. Oh, Templeton. Hawk shot them in cold blood. Oh God. What’s happened to him?”

Luskovitch appeared. “Had enough, I can see. Gordon, get her the hell out of here.”

He turned and walked to his men, gesturing silently at them. Like the man hunters they were, they blended in with the environment. The hunt was on.

“They’re heading for the mansion’s woods,” Templeton said.

“Yes. Hawk loves boating on the lake. He’s probably there now. They’ll hunt him down like some insane animal. I know he won’t let them take him alive, to confine him for life, or perhaps execute him years later. He’ll force them to take his life.”

“I’ll get to him first.”

She stared into his eyes. “You’re not going out there. Oh God, no. Tell me you aren’t.”

“I am.”

“No, you can’t.”

“I have to.”

“Why?”

“It’s something I’ve got to do.”

“Don’t give me that. You don’t have to go. Stay with me.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“You said it yourself, Shanna. He won’t be taken alive. That mustn’t happen. Hawk has just blown away every chance in life a human gets. He needs help, not a bullet from some gun happy cop.”

“What he’s done today convinces me he’ll do it again in the woods. You’ll be a target for him. If you must go, don’t go after him without a gun.”

Templeton shook his head.

Shanna grabbed him. “Stay here. Hawk will kill you. I can’t lose you. I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. But you left me then and you’re going to leave me now. You can’t do this to me. I want to live with you, be your wife, have your babies, grow old and become fat with you. Don’t go. Oh please, don’t. Don’t.”

Templeton gently removed her arms from around him. “Don’t worry, Shanna,” he whispered. “I’m damn hard to kill.”

* * * *

They’re coming.

Good.

I’m their executioner.

“Erika!”

Hawk called Erika’s name again and again. He stood by the maple tree, at the very spot where they melded together in their love dance. The grass was still flattened into an outline of two human bodies succumbing to their sexual passion, their undying love for each other.

He fell into the outlined grass, inhaled its scent, wept for several minutes. “Oh God why, why take Erika from me? Erika, answer me. Erika.” His right hand frantically dug into the ground as if it were alive unto itself. He pulled up some of the flattened grass, put it to his face, kissed it to see if an infinitesimal amount of Erika’s essence might be somewhere among the green softness in his hand.

She wasn’t there. “Erika! My Erika, say something to me!”

Nothing came to him from his love.

But he did hear the voices of his enemy.

He jumped up, grabbed his weapons and ran.

* * * *

“I saw you coming, Templeton. You’re a better man hunter than those other idiots crashing about.”

Templeton noted the assault rifle pointed at his stomach with Hawk’s right index finger precariously close to the weapon’s trigger. He swallowed the brassy taste in his mouth and said, “It was calculated guesswork. You enjoy the beauty of Cannon Beach so I walked to the most beautiful area in the woods.”

“That was smart of you.”

“Not really.”

“Everything I loved died today.”

“Do you mean Erika?”

“Yes.”

“How did she die?”

“My father smashed her into bits. He burned her life essence in mother’s kiln.”

“You say her life essence?”

“The Erika doll contained Erika’s life essence.”

“Do you mean her heart?”

“I guess you could call it that, maybe a combination heart and soul. When father burned the Erika doll, Erika died.”

“Is that why you killed those two men and wounded your father?”

“Yes. Father’s still alive?”

“I heard he was. That might not be the case now.”

“I hope he’s dead. He deserved what he got. I love Erika more than I can ever express.”

“Yes Hawk. I’m sure you do.” Templeton sighed before adding, “Well, I expect we’d better be off.”

“Where are we going?”

“First, back to the mansion. Then for help.”

“No.”

“Yes. It’s the best thing for you.”

“You came unarmed, Templeton.”

“It seemed the right thing to do.”

“Why?”

“Oh, I guess you might say for lots of reasons.”

“I see. Shanna is one of them, no doubt. Does she love you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love Shanna?”

Yes.”

“You two have my blessing.”

“Hawk, it doesn’t have to end here with your face down on the grass, dead from police bullets. Come back with me. We’ll find help for you.”

“I’ve had years of help. Has it really helped me?”

“I can’t answer that.”

“I can. Help has gotten Erika killed. I have an idea. We never did go target shooting. So how about the two of us having a shootout right now? Are you game?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Nonsense, Templeton. Don’t be gutless at a time like this. Tell me, have you ever seen the movie, A Most Dangerous Game?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent. We’ll do our own version of the movie. We’ll hunt each other. I’m a target for you. You’re a target for me.”

“No, Hawk. We can’t do that.”

“Oh? Why can’t we? Consider it the ultimate challenge for our survival instincts.”

“We’re not going to use each other for targets.”

“Ah, but you have no choice in the matter. He held out a weapon. “Take it,” he commanded.

“No, Hawk.”

“Take the Contender or I’ll shoot you where you stand. The .357 Magnum barrel is on it and it’s loaded.”

“That’s hardly even odds. How many rounds are in the assault rifle and your revolvers?”

Hawk threw aside his rifle and the .44 Magnum. “Now I have only my holstered .38 Special. True, it contains six bullets. But you need only one. Now, would you like to find out who’s the best shot, right here, or do you prefer to run around and sweat before we do the kill or be killed final scene?”

Templeton shook his head. “Forget it. I won’t play your game. Put the gun down. I’ve got to take you in before Luskovitch and his idiots find us. They won’t hesitate to shoot you on sight.”

Hawk smiled. “I’ll get them in my sights before they even know I’m around. And you’re a damn fool with no instinct for survival. Or am I wrong? I will now draw my gun and shoot you. Three seconds is all the time you have left to defend yourself.”

“You won’t shoot me, Hawk. You’re too much in love with this game.”

“Sure I love the game. But you’re wrong. I will shoot you. So get ready. It is almost bang-you’re-dead time for Templeton Gordon.”

Hawk reached for his .38 Special.

* * * *

Templeton waited for the opening he knew would come. His muscles tensed. He was fast, trained himself to be that way. He could avoid a bullet.

“No, Hawk!” shouted a voice.

Hawk froze. Both men turned. A fierce warrioress with the likeness of Shanna Mason stared at them.

“Stay away, Shanna,” Templeton commanded.

She walked toward them. “Not a chance. What do you think you’re doing Hawk? Put that gun away before I ram it up your ass.”

Hawk smiled. “I was getting ready to shoot your boyfriend.”

“You’ll have to shoot me, too, if you can.”

“I can, Shanna. Believe me I can.”

Hawk rubbed his eyes. Shanna blurred into action and grabbed the Contender.

“Well, those karate sessions certainly made you fast, Shanna. However, I doubt that you know how to use the Contender. It really is too bad for you and your spineless boyfriend that you hate man’s finest killing weapons and have never shot one in your life.”

Shanna cocked the Contender’s hammer. “I heard Templeton telling you how to fire his gun.”

“Yes, I remember. However, the Contender bucks quite a lot when you shoot it. I doubt you can hit me.”

“Don’t make me find out, Hawk.”

“Give me the gun, Shanna,” Templeton commanded.

‘I can’t. I know Hawk is too fast. He’ll shoot us both.”

“Give him the Contender, Shanna. Templeton doesn’t have enough sand in his spine to shoot me.”

“You’re wrong, Hawk. I’ll protect Shanna with my last dying breath.”

“Hawk, don’t. I’m not six feet away. I couldn’t miss shooting you.”

“We had some good times together, Shanna.”

Hawk’s hand dropped an inch.

“I will shoot you, Hawk.”

“What a shame, ending everything this way. I liked you, but only a little. You know, I should have suspected something so obvious. You’re against me like everybody else. You all say, oh, poor Hawk is insane, so let’s lock him up. Well, not today or ever.”

Hell breathed. Hawk’s right hand blurred. It came up with his weapon. It roared.

As Templeton shoved Shanna to one side he felt something smack his right rib cage, knocking him flat. Two more explosions were heard in almost unison. Templeton struggled to a sitting position. Shanna was down. Hawk was sprawled sideways. He was holding his shoulder while attempting to aim his gun.