Private Lies Part 55 War in the Heavenlies

our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but rulers and authorities,
the powers of this dark world and spiritual forces in high places.
—Eph. 6:12

The red ball of the sun had sunk beneath the tree line and now the woods were murky and filled with the soft cooing of birds settling down for the night. At most, they had only another ten minutes before it would be pitch dark. Brad sped up, closing the gap between Star and him.

Star stopped dead with ears pricked and body rigid. His right rear leg was trembling and he was sniffing the air. Brad came up beside him and using a downward hand signal, got him to lie down. He held up the flat of his hand in a halt gesture, commanding him to wait. He crept forward as quietly as possible.

He emerged at the edge of a rocky clearing. He could hear voices off to his right. He crouched and moved forward stealthily making sure not to allow his foot to slip on the mossy limestone slabs. He knelt behind a stunted pine and could just make out two figures standing near the cliff’s edge. They were arguing.

“I can kill you now,” Cal threatened, “ and I will if you don’t let me undo your bonds.”

“What’s the difference? You’re going to kill me anyway.”

“True, but I like a nice, neat job and a bullet through the head would be a pretty violent way to go. Now, on the other hand, I push you off and you strike your head on the way down and you won’t even know when you hit bottom. Besides, that’s how Da made an end of it and it just seems appropriate.”

“Cal, please—you don’t want to do this.”

He paused and leered at her. “Ah, but that’s the shame, milady—I really do want to do this. Now, I’m going to unbuckle that belt tying your hands and I’m warning you now—if you so much as flinch, I’ll use my gun on your noggin. A few more bumps wouldn’t look out of place considering the height from which you’ll fall.” He caught himself, realizing the unintended witticism. “Now that’s ironic,” he chuckled.

He reached behind her with his left hand and loosened the belt, all the while threatening her with his gun held high in the other. The belt slid off her wrists and she let it fall behind her while she rubbed and chaffed her wrists trying to ease the pain of the welts

“Good idea,” he smirked, “we probably should wait a minute or two for those marks to go away.”

She continued to massage some circulation back into her wrists and hands.

“Move back a few steps,” he ordered. She shuffled backwards.

“That’s perfect—it’s as close as I can get to where Da slipped. It’ll be a fitting memorial—a consummation to be desired—short of ending it with a bare bodkin,” he cackled.

“Nice to know you got something out of those English classes you audited.”

“Shut your mouth, bitch. Yours was the only class I audited—the rest of my classes were credits I earned. Old Archibald Leech and your aunt paid for those.”

“Aunt Alicia?”

He nodded. “Never met the old dame myself—worked through Archie mainly—it kind of worked for both of us—know what I mean? He got status with your aunt and he left it up to me to try to drive you away. Maybe you should have done a bunk and ran—you silly bitch—but then, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of killing you.”

The fact that Alicia had actually used the vicar not just to stonewall her but also to pay someone to stalk her slowly began to sink into her brain.

How much did she hate me?

Cal’s tongue was loosened and he went on a jag. “Yeah, that pompous old fart. Gave the parole board the impression he was rehabilitating me—Ha! He’s the one who belongs in prison.”

While Cal was going on with his rant, Brad had been circling silently behind them. His pistol was out and he was trying to position himself at an angle where he’d get a clear shot without endangering Hailey. He was almost set when Hailey’s hand suddenly flashed out and hit her captor with a glancing blow to his right forehead. As the man staggered backwards, Hailey turned to scamper away and slipped on the rocks.

“Bitch!” The man thundered, mopping his wound with his right sleeve, “You’ll pay for that.” He extended his right arm and cocked the pistol at Hailey lying prone on the rock face.

Brad raised his gun but before he could fire, a dark form flashed through the air and Star’s jaw clamped down hard on Cal’s outstretched arm.

His gun went off with a blinding flash and a great roar, but the bullet ricocheted off the limestone ledge and out into the darkness.

Star let go of his arm and Cal staggered backwards, trying to lift the gun to fire at him. There was a scrabbling of pebbles and Cal lurched sideways, his feet out from under him.

There was a shrill scream and then his shoulder hit the ledge and the backward momentum carried him over the edge.

There was a moment’s pause and then a crashing and splintering of branches from below—and then, finally, silence. Hailey sat up, weeping and holding her right shoulder.

Star went to her and pressed the side of his body tightly up against her injured shoulder as a support.

“Star?” She whimpered, clinging to his neck with her left arm.

“It’s okay, Hailey, I’m here too. Star tracked you and we got here just in time.”

“How did you know?”

“Birdie got a call from the 911 operator—you must have tried dialing for help and lost your phone in the scuffle. Fortunately, it stayed on and we were able to track your GPS signal and Star and I figured out the rest.”

She smiled through her tears at Star. “Animal Hero First Class.”

“Now don’t be turning his head,” he quipped as he helped her to her feet.

Flashlight beams stabbed out of the darkened woods and within moments they were surrounded by OPP officers.

“The cavalry has arrived,” he whispered in her ear.

She reached down and rubbed Star’s head and then leaned over and kissed Brad’s lips. “I think they were already here,” she smiled.

Parts 1 -48
Part 49
Part 50
Part 51
Part 52
Part 53
Part 54

To be continued...
© 2017, John J Geddes. All rights reserved


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