JACK AND THE GIANT KILLER Read online

  “You don’t have any dots,” Carl snarled.

  Just keep talking; the police should be on their way. Because of the medicine they keep here, it’s a priority response. “I have so many dots now, I could play bingo, Carl. You have the table. That’s a dot. I figured out it was the crematorium when I was eating my sub. You know the little burnt chunks? That got me thinking. What happened?”

  “Like I’m gonna confess.” Carl scoffed.

  “That’d be great, but if you don’t want to, the police have enough evidence.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Okay, let me tell you. Alan Barnes, Eldin Parish, and Henry Clark. You cremated them.”

  Carl’s eyes widened. “I don’t know them.”

  “Sure you do. Alan had that big Saint Bernard, right? You like killing big guys with big dogs. Of course, Eldin and Henry didn’t have dogs, but they were big, and you needed to watch them die. You like watching things die, right? It’s why you work here.”

  “You don’t know crap.” Carl breathed heavily.

  “Am I wrong? I don’t think so, and I can prove it. Where was I?” Jack exhaled. In the distance, he heard the faint sound of a siren. Who the hell is responding to a silent alarm with their siren on? Moron. Jack raised his voice. “But your crematorium is meant for small animals and not really big men. You send the big animals to the farm, but you can’t really do that with a body. So what do you do? You cut them up. At least that’s what happened with Daniel. So you cremated part of him, and then you put his torso in. But talk about bad timing—the crematorium broke. Do you know what happened then? The bottom of the crematorium stays hot for a little while so it seared the flesh.”

  Carl sat up straighter in his chair and cocked his head toward the back window.

  Jack listened, but he couldn’t hear the siren anymore. Hopefully, they shut it off, and they’re pulling up front now. “That’s how I figured out the where. I still didn’t have the who. Do you want to know when it clicked that it was you? I remembered that you called my dog Lady the last time I was here. When you were playing with the puppies. I never told you her name. That means you spoke with Daniel, and you heard his dog’s name before you killed him.”

  “You got no proof.”

  “I’ve got a lot more. I’ve got—”

  Carl lunged out of the wheelchair. Jack saw the flash of metal in his hand and knew it would be a six-inch, drop-point, razor-sharp hunting knife. Carl closed the distance between him and Jack in one long lunge. Carl was huge when he stood up. Jack processed all these facts as he leapt out of the way and blocked with his right arm.

  Jack’s right hand connected with Carl’s forearm, and he grabbed Carl’s wrist. Jack’s left hand slammed into Carl’s shoulder. The knife spun out of Carl’s hand and clattered across the floor. Speed and leverage would be all that was needed for Jack to drive Carl to the floor. The only thing that could stop Jack was the fact that Carl was a giant man whose arms, shoulders, and back had been turned into steel bands by the years in the wheelchair.

  Carl screamed in rage as he twisted around and grabbed Jack. Carl flung Jack against a metal cart. Jack hit the cart with his feet six inches off the floor. His legs shot up, and his head shot down. He tried softening the fall with his hands, but they did little to lessen the impact with the tiled floor. He smashed to the floor and slid several feet before coming to a stop.

  I guess the story of him being a wrestler was true. Jack scrambled to his feet as Carl ran forward. His legs are fine. Damn.

  Jack’s fist shot out, and Carl’s head snapped back. Jack danced sideways as Carl swung at his face. Jack zipped left, and a quick one-two combination drew blood from Carl’s nose.

  “The police are on the way,” Jack said.

  “NO.” Carl howled in frustration and swung wildly, but Jack easily moved out of range.

  He is big and slow. Stay away from him. Jack kept moving.

  Carl grabbed the large metal cart and flung it at Jack. As the cart spun toward him, Jack lunged to the right. He wasn’t fast enough. The cart caught him in the side and sent him crashing into the shelves.

  One of the shelves broke and everything on it clattered to the ground.

  “You’re too slow.” Carl smiled as he reached for Jack.

  Jack did what Carl least expected.

  Carl expected Jack to keep moving away from him. Most people would. Jack didn’t. He went directly at Carl. Jack twisted his waist and his right forearm swept out, targeting Carl’s midsection. The blow hit Carl in the stomach, but Jack kept twisting.

  Carl doubled up. Jack’s fist shot down and drove into the back of Carl’s head. The blow sent Carl face-first into the tiled floor.

  Jack staggered sideways and knocked Carl’s wheelchair over. Carl moaned on the ground and held his stomach. Jack grabbed a pipe from the shelving unit and pulled it free.

  “Stay down, Carl,” Jack ordered as he tried to catch his breath. “Don’t move.” He pointed the pipe at him.

  “FREEZE!” The double doors smashed open.

  About time. That response time sucked.

  Jack started to turn around.

  “DROP THE WEAPON. DO NOT MOVE.”

  Murphy.

  Jack dropped the pipe and raised his hands. He winced as he felt something in his side pull.

  “INTERLOCK YOUR FINGERS BEHIND YOUR HEAD.”

  “Murphy, you idiot, it’s—” Jack started to say.

  Carl sat up, pointed at Jack, and screamed, “HE’S GOING FOR HIS GUN!”

  Murphy fired his Taser.

  Jack screamed as all of his muscles seized up. His side burned, and he felt himself pitching face-first onto the tiled floor. His body twitched and his eyes rolled up in his head.

  Murphy rushed over and cuffed Jack.

  Jack tried to speak between his clenched teeth. “Watch out.”

  “Jack?” Murphy clicked the handcuffs closed. “You’re attacking a guy in a wheelchair? Why? For drugs?”

  Jack groaned. “Moron.”

  Carl slammed the pipe into Murphy’s head. Murphy crumpled and fell on top of Jack. Carl grabbed Murphy’s belt and tossed him toward the shelves.

  Jack lay on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back. As he tried to get to his feet, Carl kicked him in the face. The blow rolled him onto his back and everything spun and flashed.

  He heard Murphy whimpering as Carl dragged him over to the shelves along the wall. Carl grabbed Murphy’s zip ties and fastened his left wrist to the shelves. Murphy cried out and went for his gun. Carl grabbed his wrist. Murphy screamed as he struggled with the much stronger man. Carl punched him in the side of the head with his free hand. Murphy pulled his hand down, shoved the gun through the grate in the floor, and let go.

  Carl smashed Murphy in the mouth. “Stupid cop.” He grabbed Murphy’s right hand and tied it to the shelf. When he finished, he turned to glare down at Jack. “This is all your fault,” he screamed before kicking Jack in his side.

  Jack groaned and gasped. “How’s that work? You’re killing people, and it’s my fault you’re going to jail?”

  “Shut up.” Carl held the side of his head with both hands. He suddenly ran out the double doors.

  Jack rolled back over onto his stomach and spit the blood out of his mouth. “Murphy? Where are the cuff keys?” Jack pulled his legs up and crawled on his knees toward the shelves.

  “My pocket.” Murphy mumbled.

  “What pocket?” Jack growled.

  Murphy shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “Calm down or—”

  The doors opened again, and Carl stormed back in. He picked the pipe up off the floor. His eyes darted around the room until they settled on Jack.

  “The police are on their way.” Jack spit more blood out of his mouth. He looked at the window on the side wall. It was closed. No one would hear him scream.

  Carl shook his head. “I shut the alarm off, and he,” Carl poin
ted to Murphy, “shut the police lights off.”

  “I pushed the silent alarm. Dispatch sent him. Just because he’s a freaking moron who doesn’t follow one procedure doesn’t mean the other people who DESERVE to wear a uniform won’t. Seriously, Carl. You don’t think the police dispatch won’t notice he’s gone?”

  “Shut up. I need to think.”

  “Carl, look at me. This can all stop. I know you want it to stop. That’s why you haven’t killed anyone since Freeman. You feel bad—”

  “Feel bad? Feel bad? I don’t feel bad. There has to be some way out of this.”

  “There is. Give up.”

  “Shut up.” Carl paced. “Tell me. What other evidence do you have?”

  “Do you think you’re going to undo this?” Jack scoffed.

  “Shut up. How? How did you figure it out?”

  Keep him talking. They have to come looking for Murphy. Just keep talking.

  “I knew you had some feeling in your legs. The puppy bit you and you winced. The foot pedal under the table. Carl, there’s a boatload of facts, and they all point to you. Even your job here gave you away.”

  “What? How could you know from my job?” Carl rubbed his forehead.

  “It’s why you got a job here. You kill big dogs. You like watching them die. Why big dogs? Why big guys? I mean, you’re a giant yourself…oh.”

  “Oh, what?”

  “You don’t like being big; is that it? You like being the helpless guy in the wheelchair. No one asks you to do anything. You get the occasional sympathy sex—”

  “GET OUT OF MY HEAD.” Carl kicked the cart across the room.

  “Just answer this. This I don’t know.” Jack rolled up on his knees. “The wheelchair angle. Is that just totally fake? Like an insurance scam? I know you use that whole poor-me-I’m-helpless act to get your victims to drop their guard. That’s why they came right over, and you could stab them in the back.”

  “I did get hurt. I’m not a liar,” Carl snarled.

  No, you’re a serial-killing psycho, Jack wanted to say, but clamped his mouth shut. “You’re not a liar. You told me you got hurt. Wrestling, right?”

  “I did get hurt. I hurt my back, but you know what? When I was in PT, and people saw me in this chair, they were nice. They stopped asking me for stuff.”

  “So you stay in the chair just to keep up appearances?”

  “Yes.” Carl swung the pipe. “Do you know how people treat you then? It’s great.” Carl walked forward, bent over, and picked up the knife. “But I guess it’s time to move again.”

  Murphy started to cry.

  “Don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me.” Murphy’s legs pushed against the floor, and he shook his head.

  “Wait a second, Carl. I have a couple more questions. Just a few. Why do you like to watch? That’s why you flipped Davis over, right? So you could look at him? So you could look in his eyes while he died?”

  Carl gazed at Jack. He studied his face. “You were a soldier. Have you ever seen it? Have you ever seen someone’s light go out?”

  Jack nodded. “Too many times.”

  “Liar!” Carl smashed a shelf with the pipe. “You never really saw it. It’s like that green flash at sunset. Special sunsets. If you wait until that second right before the sun disappears, you can see the green spark. It’s the same with people. But with their eyes. Right before they go, there’s this flash.”

  “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME.” Murphy sobbed and pulled at his restraints. “Kill him,” he cried and angled his head toward Jack.

  “You piece of garbage,” Jack growled. “I hate your guts, Murphy, but I’m not offering you up to him.”

  “Who else knows?” Carl now held the knife in one hand and raised the pipe with the other.

  “Everyone. Carl, it’s so past trying to hide this. Seriously, you have two choices. Run or give up. You run—they catch you. Give up—they help you.”

  “They can’t help me. I need to see it.” He shook his head. “You can see it in the big dogs, but it’s not as bright. It’s different with people. But if you find a big guy who’s bonded with a big dog then the flash is really huge.” He turned and smiled at Jack. “How tall are you?”

  Damn. “I’m like five four. I wear heels.”

  Carl grinned. “You’re almost six two, and you’ve bonded with Lady.”

  “Bonded with the beast?” Jack laughed. “Me and her? Are you kidding me? You are crazy. That dog hates me.”

  “No, she doesn’t. She loves you. You’re connected now. Now you’re special.”

  Do I roll or try to hop onto my feet? I can still kick, but if he swings the pipe, I’m done.

  “I don’t have that flash.” Jack tried to move back so his toes would grip the tile, and he’d have something to push off from. “I’m not special. I have a black heart. It would be like a black flash. Nothing.”

  “You’ll have the flash.” Carl nodded.

  In the window behind Carl, two of the prettiest eyes Jack ever saw appeared. Large deep honey brown eyes blinked at him as Lady stood up on her hind legs and peered into the window.

  Jack exhaled and then smiled. He inhaled deeply before he screamed, “LADY, SIC HIM!”

  Carl looked back at the window, but it was now empty. Jack waited a second, but nothing happened. Carl turned back to Jack and laughed. “You tried the trick I just used on you. What do you think I am? Stup—”

  The window shattered as the giant dog burst through it. Glass and wood sprayed across the room. Lady landed and sprang forward at Carl. Her jaw clamped down on his uplifted arm. He shrieked and then dropped the knife.

  They slammed into Jack and knocked him over. Lady growled and tore at Carl’s arm, but the man somehow remained standing. He yanked Lady up into his arms and heaved her into the wall. She crashed against the cement and then fell into a heap.

  Screaming, Jack rolled onto his feet. Carl grabbed Jack by the shirt and flung him into the cabinets. Glass broke and fell all around him.

  Jack ignored the pain and started to rise. Carl snatched the pipe off the floor. Jack surged forward but Carl was already swinging. Carl struck low. The pipe caught Jack in the thigh. Pain shot up his leg, and he dropped to one knee. Carl swung the pipe again. Jack tried to duck and turn with the blow, but the metal smashed first into his shoulder and then his head.

  Spinning, Jack crashed to the ground. Carl groaned and grabbed the wall for support.

  Blood ran down Jack’s face from an opened cut over his left eye. He inched over toward Lady. She lifted her head and tried to stand but fell back onto the tile, whimpering. Her jaws snapped at the air as she moved closer to protect Jack.

  Jack pulled himself onto his left knee and growled at Carl. Everything was blurry as Jack worked at getting the room back in focus. He shook his head. Jack could see out of his right eye again, but what he saw didn’t look good. Carl grabbed the handle of a cabinet door and yanked it open. He turned back around and held a large cleaver. Carl wasn’t smiling now. Now he just looked completely insane.

  Carl stumbled to the left, and Jack and Lady shifted over to face him. Side by side they lay on the floor as their backs pressed against each other. Carl raised the cleaver.

  Lady growled and Jack drove the toes of his left shoe against the wall to prepare for one last lunge.

  Carl lifted the cleaver higher over his head. His eyes went wide. Saliva ran down his chin as his lips twisted into a crazed grin. The cleaver trembled as he drew himself up to his full height. He towered above Jack and Lady.

  Carl shrieked. His whole body convulsed as his wail continued to go higher. The cleaver fell from his hands, and he tumbled backward and writhed on the ground.

  Replacement stood outside the window with her little pink Taser shaking in her hands.

  Lady barked.

  “What is wrong with you?” Replacement screamed at Jack as she scrambled to jump up and pull herself through the window. “You go after a serial killer and don’t bring me?
” She tumbled through the window and awkwardly landed on her feet. “Lady!” She pushed an overturned cart out of the way as she hurried over.

  “She’s okay. Call the police. Call the police.” Jack panted.

  Replacement ran into the hallway and pulled the fire alarm. Lights blared and sirens wailed. Lady howled.

  “I heard the call about the alarm on the scanner and came right away.”

  “Get the handcuff keys before he comes around. They’re in Murphy’s pocket.”

  Replacement turned and Carl groaned. She jumped sideways as Carl rolled onto his knees and forearms.

  “Move back,” Jack ordered.

  She grabbed a metal tray and slammed it down on the back of Carl’s head. He crumpled to the floor and didn’t move.

  “He hurt my Lady,” she growled. “And you.” She stormed over to Murphy.

  “Don’t go too close to his pants pocket, if you know what I mean.” Jack managed to sit up.

  Replacement reached into his shirt pocket, gagged, pulled out the keys, and hurried back over to Jack. “Don’t get too close to his back pocket,” she whispered.

  Jack chuckled and groaned. Replacement undid the handcuffs and knelt beside Lady. Sirens wailed in the distance. Jack tried to stand, but his right leg wouldn’t bear his weight.

  Lady whined. Replacement gently talked to her as she rubbed her back.

  Jack looked at Replacement’s foot. One sneaker was missing. “What happened to you?” Jack asked.

  Replacement scowled. “I got stuck on the stupid fence.”

  “POLICE!” Jack heard Kendra Darcey shout from the front entrance.

  “KENDRA! BACK HERE,” Jack bellowed.

  Kendra burst through the door and her shotgun swept the room.

  “Guy on the ground near the window. Cuff him.” Jack’s head started to spin again, and he leaned back on his elbow. “Someone needs to cut Murphy free and hose him off.”

  “Are you okay, Jack?” Kendra asked.

  Jack tried to flash a smile, but his cut lip wasn’t cooperating. “I’m fine. I need you to call someone to look at my dog.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX