Jay had the burger almost to his mouth when they got the call. Some drugged up son of a bitch was invading a home. The only reason why they headed for it was the perp was reportedly wearing clown makeup. If it was the same guy this would be the fastest case he ever had. Several police cars were already at the scene when they showed up. Frank and Jay took the lead and ran up the stairs as fast as they could. The found the door easily enough, it was the only one open. Jay looked inside to get a quick idea what was going one. There was a family huddled in the corner. Some guy was balled up on the floor holding his head and rocking back and forth on his heels. He nodded toward Frank as they and a couple of uniformed officers walked in. Jay covered the perp and quickly waved the family out of the room.

Frank cautiously approached the perp while keeping his gun trained on him. At his command they circled him. Making sure everybody else was ready Frank took a step forward, “OK pal just relax,” he said. The guy acted like he didn’t hear him. “Look,” he continued,” just come along quietly and we’ll make sure you’ll get the help you need. All you got to do is come with us.” When he still didn’t react Frank reached out and touched his shoulder, “Hey.”

Nobody had time to react when the guy popped up and Frank went flying cross the room. Jay looked right at the guy, he was either angry, hopped up on something or both. And both was not a good thing. One of the officers came in. The guy grabbed the gun as he fired. Nearly taking his finger off as he ripped it out of his hand he threw the gun across the room. He kicked him into a glass coffee table the broke on impact. Jay and the other officer tried to tackle him from behind but he wouldn’t go down. The cop tried to go for his taser. He went down spinning as the guy got away and hit a backhand. Jay felt an iron grip on his wrist. His hand quickly opened and dropped the gun. The next thing he knew he was being slammed against the wall. That same grip was around his neck as he stared into the angry eyes in front of him. Jay knew right then and there he was going to die. He wasn’t going to see Sharron again. The clown’s head twitched slightly as Jay remembered something…

<<<>>>

He and Sharron were standing in front of Walker and Logan’s graves. Sharron was standing next to him crying. He took her hand and said, “We’ll put these guys away. I promise you that.”

<<<>>>

Why did he remember that? Then the pressure started to lesson around his throat and he could breathe easier. The clown looked at him with some confusion. Jay got a good look at his face now, looking past the makeup. He’d seen this guy before. No way… it can’t be. “Walker?”, he whispered.

He looked at him and tilted his head. Almost like he was trying to figure out what was going on himself. Slowly he took his hand off Jay’s neck but he wasn’t backing away. Frank finally got up and pointed his gun at him. “Get on the ground!”, he ordered. Whoever this guy was looked at Frank then headed for the window. “I said get on the ground!” He looked back, it almost looked like he smiled then jumped out the window. “Shit,” Frank muttered, a second later they heard him hit one of the cars below. Frank ran toward the window afraid of what kind of mess he was going to. “What the fuck,” he said when he saw the crushed in roof but nothing else. “I got a contact high off him that’s gotta be it.”

Jay was still trying to figure out what the fuck just happened when he notice the officer going for his weapon. “Don’t touch that gun!”, he ordered. The cop froze instantly but he looked confused. Pulling a pen out of his coat Jay quickly ran over saying, “Somebody get me an evidence bag… now!”

“What is it kid?” Frank asked as he came over.

Carefully using the pen to pick up the gun by trigger guard he was grinning ear to ear, “The son of a bitch barehanded the barrel. We got him.”

“I knew there was a reason why I kept you around,” Frank said looking for a bag. Jay wasn’t sure who he saw just now but he was damn well going to find out one way or another.

***

Angelina only entered Estelle’s room because she knew Kain would be in there. And she wouldn’t have even have done that if they didn’t get word from their informant behind the police desk. When she entered he was there with his shirt off, the only light was from the window and a small lamp by the table. Estelle was behind him tapping a piece of wood with a needle in it over his back, a tattoo session. He claimed it was less painful then the modern methods. She didn’t care either way, but it was a harsh reminder at exactly how many crosses and religious tattoos he had over his body, his protection as he called it. “What is it Angelina?”, he asked.

“Our friend popped back up,” she said. “He broke into some family’s home and scared them half to death.”

“Was he violent?”

“Only when the police touched him. He pretty much kicked their ass from the sound of things.”

“Did he kill any of them?”, he said looking interested now.

“One’s being kept for a fractured jaw but that’s about it.” She knew what he was thinking. He was hoping the thing with Manny was a start of a pattern and not a calculated attack on the boys. And because of that, and the fact Estelle was still in the room, she reluctantly said. “The home he broke into belonged to Walker and your sister.” The witch stopped and gave her a knowing look. If Kain didn’t stand up she would have told her exactly where to stick that look.

“This is too much to be a coincidence,” he said going to a window. After a long time he sighed and asked, “Estelle how do you defeat one of these… creatures.”

“You’re not starting to believe that bullshit she’s spewing?”

“Walker does not have a twin in his family,” he said turning around. “His body disappeared from his grave. There is a man out there who resembled Walker who’s already killed one of the boys. And he showed up at what used to be their home. I am willing to believe anything at this point. Well Estelle?”

“The crow is his link to this world,” she said. “Kill the crow and you will be able to kill him.”

“Really?”, he acted like he was surprised to hear it was that simple. “Angelina, inform the guards they are to shoot every black bird they see flying over the grounds.”

“That’s going to draw attention,” she said.

“I know,” he said as he sat back down, “but if this is Walker then he will be going after everybody involved from that night. And he was one of the very few who knows you were there.” He started stroking her arm, “And I still have need of you.”

“Anything you want,” she said. Exiting the room she looked back and saw the old witch going back to the tattoo on his back. Maybe she should pay for a couple of her own at this point.

***

The alley was busier than usual that afternoon. Currently Lou sat with a smile on his face while Jerry spun one of his stories to past the time. The crowd around him laughed at bit as he finished with the story’s punch line. A few shot a look back at the new arrival. He was staring at the bird with him gesturing every so often. Noticing the silence Lou asked, “How’s our new friend doing?”

The bird squawked loudly and flapped his wings. Brad held his head down before gesturing right back. “Looks like he’s having an argument or something with that bird.”

“Takes all kinds I guess,” Lou said.

“Dude still freaks me out,” weasel mumbled watching him. Jerry gave him a sympathetic look as he glanced back at the two of them.

***

Jay sat as his desk holding his head. In front of him was a picture he was able to sneak out of the apartment of Sharron with Walker and Logan. He tried to picture those lines on Walker’s face and it was the guy he saw last night, but it couldn’t be. The prints off the barrel would prove that. And it was taking forever for those print results to get in. Of course the only drawback was he had to be in the system for them to identify him. So if this was some guy who just went nuts recently they had a problem. But this guy had to be in the system he just had to. Frank got his attention and pointed to the door to the room. A blond haired woman was there looking around and holding a brown bag in her hand and wearing a crystal around her neck. She smiled when she saw him and waved. Feeling his mood get better he waved back and met her halfway into the room. Giving her a hug he said, “What are you doing here?”

“I finally traded shifts with somebody who owed me a few favors,” Sharron said as they walked back to his desk. “We haven’t spent a lot of time together lately so I figured I buy us some lunch. I got you that Italian beef you love so much.”

“Thanks Sharron,” he looked over at Frank and said, “You want me to share with you?”

“Do you want Shirley to kill me after she smells that on my breath?”, he shot back.

“I know you’re busy with this clown guy but have you made any headway on who did that to Brad’s grave?”, she asked.

“Forensics is still trying to sort out the clues,” he told her. Quickly he said, “But I’m working on it. The moment we get a solid lead I’ll be on these guys so fast they won’t know what hit them.”

“Careful what you’re promising there kid,” Frank muttered. Before they could leave somebody ran up to them with a folder in his hands. “That better be what I think it is.”

“The guy didn’t have criminal record,” he said as he handed it to Frank. “I had to go outside the system to find anything resembling a hit.” Frank opened the file and read it. He glanced a bit at Jay, and he did not look happy. Afraid of what he was going to see Jay took it before Frank could stop him. He saw an all too familiar face and the name Walker, Brad by it.

“Is this your idea of a joke?”, Jay snapped.

“That’s what came up when we ran the prints.”

“Fucking run them again!”, Jay demanded. “Son of a bitch!”, Jay pounded his desk after he left.

“I’m sure it was just a glitch in the system kid,” Frank assured him.

“What’s going on?”, Sharron asked. He was going to tell her it was nothing. Then he noticed she found the picture he took. Frank saw it for the first time too.

“That looks pretty damn close to the perp actually,” he mumbled.

“The clown looked a little like Walker,” Jay admitted. “I’m trying to prove to myself it’s not him but so far everything going against me.”

Sharron started twirling the crystal around her neck. She was into the new age stuff so he had an idea where her mind was going. “Was there a crow or a raven with him?”

“You think it’s one of those ‘Birds’ freaks,” Frank smirked making quote marks in the air. Jay looked at both of them confused. This was not where he was expecting this conversation to go, at least not with Frank. “It’s an urban myth that pops up every so often. Some dead guy comes back and kills the guys who killed him. There’s usually a bird seen around the scene somewhere. Or some bullshit like that.”

“So what do you think it is then?”, Sharron asked.

“Personally I think it’s a guy who’s off his rocker trying to fix any injustice he finds across the country,” he explained. “But he only comes out for the really nasty pieces of work which is why we barely see him.”

“That legend has been around for centuries,” Sharron informed him.

“Then it’s a league of guys, or a bunch of copycats or something. There is nothing supernatural about this guy. He just got a real good bag of tricks.” He remembered the disappearing act from the night before, “A really good bag of tricks.”

“I have to agree with Frank,” Jay said. “We’re dealing with somebody human here. He just happens to look like your friend.” Now if he only believed that one fully.

***

Sharron walked him back to the station. That late lunch turned into an early dinner as she and Frank got into it about the clown. More about who or what he was more than anything. Luckily he was able to get Sharron out of there before both of them really got rolling. He had seen both of them argue with people and he did not want to be in the middle of those two. She had calmed down enough that their early dinner was a pleasant one. They briefly caught up on the parts of the lives they missed so far since both of them were so busy. Although she did call him on giving an eye to a mime they passed on the street. When they reached the steps of the station both of them jumped when a crow sitting above the doorway cawed at them. Jay chuckled a bit, “Guess we’re a little jumpy.”

“Look Jay I know you don’t believe in everything I do,” she told. “But could you at least consider it.”

“Baby I got to believe in the facts. That’s what gets people convicted. And quite frankly no DA in the country is going to buy a zombie going around killing people.”

“He’s not a zombie…”, she started to say.

“Look I know you want those guys to pay,” Jay told her. “Hell I wanted to shake the guy’s hand after I saw what he did to Jones. But we still have to stop him, it’s my job.”

“I know,” she said. Giving him a hug and kissing him on the cheek she said, “Be careful. I don’t want to see anybody else I care about in the ER.”

“I’ll do my best.” Jay watched her leave before heading in. When he looked up he saw the bird had already flown away. He decided to walk up the stairs for the exercise, and in case Frank was still in a fighting mood. Walking by a set of windows he had to look twice when he saw another crow sitting in an open window looking at him. He passed the evidence room when it opened up and somebody dragged him inside.

A cold hand clamped over his mouth. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness but he saw the clown right in front of him holding a finger to his lips. Removing his hand Jay demanded, “How did…?” The hand clamped itself back over his mouth. With his free hand he made a waving motion, his hand getting lower with each wave. Jay figured he wanted him to talk softer. As he removed the hand again Jay decided to go a different direction than demanding answers. “I know who I think you look like,” he said softly. “And I know that can’t be the case. So how about you tell me what’s going on.” The clown shook his head. “Why not?” He didn’t expect the clown to open his mouth. He expected even less to see what wasn’t there. “Holy shit,” he remembered they cut out Walker’s tongue. “Oh my God it is you isn’t it?”

Brad pointed at himself then at all the evidence lockers. When Jay didn’t get it right away he did it again, a little more forcibly. “Where’s your case file?” Brad nodded. “It’s over here,” he led him there. If the dead guy could help with his own case what could it hurt? Finding the right one he opened it and quickly found Walker’s file. Brad tore it out of his hands and flipped through, getting more frustrated with each page. He found a damaged picture of himself and Nancy. Showing it to Jay he pointed at her then back at the lockers. “Her file’s right over here,” he said. Then he looked around until he found a box with everything they had on the case. “I wish I had answers for you,” Jay told him as he put it in front of him. “Hell I was hoping you had some answers for me.” Brad walked away clutching Nancy’s file. “I know how you feel alright. Four guys did this to you and all of them got away scot free, it makes me sick.” Jay was caught off guard when he held up and hand, finger spread. “Five? There were five of them?” He nodded. “Do you remember what the fifth guy looked like?”

He stormed over and shoved Nancy’s file in his face. Not understanding Jay said, “She had something to do with it?” Brad snarled for a brief second before he slapped him, knocking Jay to the ground. Kneeling down on top of him he shoved the file back in his face and pointed at something. It took Jay a second to realize it was the F under sex. “It was a woman? The fifth one was a woman.” Brad grabbed Jay by the hair and violently shook his head yes. “Fucking stop it will you,” Jay demanded as he tried to free himself. Brad finally got off of him letting him get up. Holding his neck Jay told him, “I know you’re frustrated but don’t break my neck getting your point across.” Brad backed up a bit, Jay hoped that meant he understood. “Alright it was a woman, can you describe what she looked like?”

Brad put his hands by his chest indicating breast then wasn’t sure what else to do. He grabbed at his hair and walked away. “Calm down,” Jay told him. “We’ll figure this out.” Rubbing his forehead he muttered, “Even if you could talk to a sketch artist you’d be arrested on the spot. How do you even begin to prosecute a dead man?” He watched as Brad went through the box. He got that confused look again as he pulled something out. It was a newspaper clipping. Jay walked over to get a look. He had to read the caption find out it was a picture of Logan’s brother Kain. He was staring at the picture, almost shaking. Then he pointed at a woman behind him. “She looked like her?” Brad shook his head in the negative than pointed harder at the woman again. There was something about the way he looked at her, “She was the one there? Are you sure?” Brad reached for his head again. Backing way Jay said, “Ok you’re sure you’re sure. But why would she be there?” Even if he could say anything Brad couldn’t answer him.

One the other hand something finally snapped into place for Jay, a piece of the puzzle he never even thought about until now. When he looked up at Brad he was surprised to see a faraway look in his eyes. What he didn’t know was that the crow had spotted the guy in the red leather jacket, he was close. Brad pushed him aside and shot out of there like a bat out of hell before Jay could stop him. “Wait somebody’s going to see you.” When he hit the door there was nobody else in sight. “I seriously don’t need this shit.”  Looking back into the room he figured he better straighten it up before somebody noticed.

“What did I tell you about looking at past cases?”, Frank said coming in. “I told you to do it after you retire. You’ll have less hair to pull out trying to figure out what you missed the first time.”

“I was just thinking about something while I was talking to Sharron,” he lied. “Do you remember that lawyer who defended the guys who murdered Walker and Logan?”

“Yeah Phillip Turner, he was one of those high price defense lawyers you usually see defending celebrities or CEOs. I always wondered how those four dirt bags was able to pay for him.”

“So did I,” Jay said putting the case box back. “Word going around at the time was some company paid for him. But it just hit me, why would some company pay for a defense lawyer for those four?”

With a knowing smile Frank said, “Maybe somebody should check it out.”

“Maybe somebody should.”

“Not you of course,” Frank said. “You’re too close to things. On the other hand you just happen to be partners with a man who’s drinking buddies with the ADA. I’ll give him a call. I’m sure he’s wondering about this too.”

***

Thriller ran the street with the top down on his convertible. He was looking for anything to entertain himself. He was supposed to be finding the guys who dug up Walker but he got bored of that. What he wanted was to find the guy who killed Smallfry. But Victor gave that job to Big Ben, just because he had more connections. So he just drove around town, giving the police station he passed the finger. Going a few blocks he pulled into a gas station. Looking at the little filly inside the gas station he smiled to himself. “Maybe I’ll show you why they call me Thriller.” He said.

Getting out of his car he took out a cloth and gave the hood a quick rub seeing a spot. Seeing a van pull up next him he warned, “Hey don’t be parking so close to my ride with that hunk of junk.” Looking up he saw somebody coming at him. His clothes were so dark he almost missed him. But that was the whitest face he had ever seen. “What the fuck are you looking at freak!”, he shouted as the guy got closer. “What the fuck,” Thriller squinted as he kept getting closer. The guy was wearing makeup. “You’re the freaked who fucked up my little buddy. God damn this is my night.”

Brad saw him pull a gun and he kept heading toward him. The guys in the van saw it and quickly ran. Thriller shot him, he recoiled from the impact but he kept walking.  “You’re supposed to die now!” Thriller shouted. Brad didn’t here that, all he heard was “Please tell me you’re hitting that every night.”

He started running at him as Thriller continued to fire away. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!,” Thriller cursed as he kept coming. “What are you?” He fired one more time as he leaped at him. Thriller was knocked to the ground as he fell on top of him. He screamed as the body moved and tried to strangle him. He started punching him trying to get this freak off of him. Hand reaching out for anything Thriller found the handle of a forgotten squeegee and tried to slam it through his head in desperation. Brad was distracted enough that Thriller got away. “Not so tough now are ya you son of a bitch?!”, he said as he continued slamming the end of the squeegee into his head like a pickaxe. “Fuck it man, you got no idea who the fuck you decided to mess with!”

Dropping the squeegee Thriller walked around the van. “Fuck,” he muttered as he realized the girl behind the register was still there. Now he had to take care of her before she could identify him to the cops. She looked liked she’d be a nice piece of ass too, damn it to hell. Taking off his belt as he walked toward the station he stopped when the van rocked slightly. He looked up and dropped the belt, “Shit.” Brad was perched on top of it like an animal ready to pounce. Predatory eyes fixated on Thriller he jumped at him before he could react. Brad hauled him up and slammed him into the side of the van. Holding him up by the jacket he repeatedly punched him in the gut. Coughing up blood Thriller barely noticed his face was being slammed into the hood of his car before it was too late. Brad pulled him back and threw him into the windshield. Making a spider web like crack Brad pulled him off and threw him again, this time through the windshield cutting his face to ribbons.

Brad backed away and let Thriller pull himself free of the window. Jumping on top of the hood he squatted to look him in the eyes. Smiling slightly Brad took his arm and quickly broke it in one snap. “Argh fucking shit!”, Thriller cried out as Brad reached over him and quickly broke the other one. With a foot he pushed him to the ground then jumped off. Thriller could only watch as Brad went over to his belt and picked it up. “You’re dead you sick fuck!” he spat through the blood. “Do you have any idea who I am? Do you have any fucking idea who I work for? You’re dead. You are fucking dead!” Brad just smirked as he walked toward him. Grabbing him by the shirt he picked him up and held Thriller next to his car. The he put the belt around his neck and used the hole in the windshield to tie him to the car, making sure the buckle was behind his head so he couldn’t get it. “What are you going to do?”

Brad noticed a note on the gas pump and looked inside. The girl was still there, too frightened to move. Looking around the station he found the way in to the register behind the glass. Kicking the door in the girl screamed. He pointed for her to get out but she froze up again. Getting frustrated he pulled her out into the open. She just stared at him. Brad turned her around until she faced the other direction then gave her a small push. She quickly got the message and ran for her life. Going back inside he turned on the pump then noticed a small security camera. He stared at it for a bit before returning to Thriller. Let’s see them ignore this message. Checking Thriller’s car he found a book of matches in the glove box, perfect. Then he pulled the nozzle off the pump and squeezed the trigger.

“What are you doing?”,” Thriller demanded as he let the gasoline pour all over the hood of the car. Then he put it over Thriller’s head. He spit and spat and did everything to keep the gasoline out of his mouth. “What the fuck…?”, Brad slapped the taste out of his mouth to quiet him. Turning his attention to the interior he made sure everything was nicely soaked before dropping the nozzle and walked away. With Thriller still yelling at him Brad returned his attention to the book of matches in his hand. Taking one he struck it against the stripe and got fire on his first attempt. Opening the book he quickly used it to light the other ones. Watching it burn in his hand for a moment he was interrupted by the sounds of approaching sirens.

Four police cars surrounded him as the officers inside opened their doors. Using them as shield they pointed their weapons at him. “Drop it and get on the ground!” One of them ordered. Brad just looked at them. Then with a casual flick of the wrist he tossed the book at the car, landing on the corner of the hood

The gasoline fumes caught on fire first as the flame hit them. The fire quickly spread across the hood like a tidal wave. Thriller was caught up in it in a matter of seconds, his body registering he pain only after his skin started burning. He screamed with all he had before the flames cut off what air he had. “Holy shit,” one of the officers said as they looked on stunned. Brad ran at them and jumped on top of one of the cars. They regained their senses and fired at him and gave chase. Most of them knew they scored at least one direct hit if not more but he kept running. Before long they lost track of him.

***

The next morning news of the gas station got out fast. The security footage got out even faster. The only live footage of the “Killer Clown” as the media dubbed him was the first story on every show. Interviews with police officers at the scene, their superiors during the news conference, to the firefighters called, to the woman working last night was just about everywhere. And the city was held at attention at this turn of events. The police asked if anybody recognized this person to get in contact with them as soon as possible.

At the Logan estate Kain was sitting on his couch only glancing up at the screen in front of him every so often. In front of him was a picture of Walker he found in Nancy’s belongings. With a black pen he diligently drew the lines on Walker’s face in the picture. When the show played the footage again he paused the feed. Behind him Angelina knees almost gave out as she looked at both of them. “Oh my fucking God.”

Normally he would have chastised her for using such a word in the same sentence as the Lord’s. But this time all he could say was, “This has nothing to do with God my dear.”

At that same time Sharron was watching the same thing and recognized Brad almost immediately. Twirling the crystal around her neck all she could was watch.

Jay and Frank watched the press conference from the station. Frank was muttering about some sort lunatic there was dealing with. Jay was torn, he knew this was a man getting the guys who killed him. But as an officer of the law he was supposed to protect everybody. Trying to get out of this headache he said, “You get anything from the ADA yet?”

“What?”, his partner was confused for a second. “Oh yeah, He remembered looking into it when he first found out. The…” he searched his pockets looking for the napkin he wrote it on, “New Life Organization paid for it. He was told to stop looking into it by the DA after awhile, said it had nothing to do with the case so he had to concentrate on that.”

“New Life Organization?”, Jay said taking the napkin. “I never heard of it.”

“Neither did he,” Frank said. “But apparently it’s been around for awhile. It specializes in giving people a second chance after they screwed up.”

“I think this goes a little beyond screwing up,” Jay told him. “They had to have a friend or two in there somewhere.”

“That’s what he thought too, but after the case got thrown out he was rushed onto another case before he could look even deeper.” Frank smirked, “Of course anybody with a computer and some time could find out a little something if they knew where to look.”

“Off the record and on their own time of course,” Jay said getting the message and pocketing the napkin. “Of course the way things are going free time’s going to be on short supply.” Frank grunted in agreement.

The streets were buzzing with news of the clown. For the most part people where afraid. Some were flooding the police and 911 lines reporting anything that looked like the clown. A few that didn’t really care joked that the mimes were off the street for the moment. A couple of police officers in particular were sipping their morning coffee when a homeless person walked up to them. “Hey Jerry,” one of them said. “What kind of story do you have for me today?”

“They offering a reward on this clown guy?”, Jerry asked. “Because I know where he’s at.”

“That isn’t funny,” the other officer said.

“Now wait a second,” the first one cut in. “I’ve known Jerry for a couple of years now. He’s never tried to cash in on anything like this before. It’s not in him.”

“So why is he doing it now?”

“He’s making my friend nervous,” Jerry said. “I don’t like it when my friend’s nervous. He’s not as fun when he’s like that. So is there a reward for info on this guy or what? Maybe I can get him in the hospital so they can fix him.”

***

For the most part the others in the alley pretty much figured out to leave him alone during the day. The crow flew off to leave him in his current state and to find something to eat. Brad sat as far away from their whispering of the others as he could. Sitting against the wall he started at the back of his left hand. In his head memories of Nancy flowed freely. Him kissing Nancy on the top of her head while she slept against him on the couch. Nancy pretending to like his newest kitchen experiment before spitting it out behind his back. Endless walks in the park and the streets, her hand in his.

“Drawing a love seal. Sharron showed me how before we met. I drew one on my hand already. It means we’re going to be with each other forever.”

Rubbing the fingertips of his right hand on the back of his left he wondered why she drew it. There were no problems in their relationship that he noticed. And if she was planning on breaking up with him she wouldn’t have bothered with something so silly. But she was trying to tell him something but what was it?

The crow came back cawing manically. The other looked and wondered why the bird went crazy. Brad was confused for a split second before he saw what the crow saw. The first cop was already coming into the alley by the time he got to his feet. More came from the other direction trying to cut him off. He just stood there as they surrounded him weapons pointed at him. “Put your hands on your head and get on your knees.” Brad put his hands on his head but remained standing.

Somebody grabbed him saying, “On your knees.” That guy was on the ground before the other officers knew it. A hint of a smile playing on his lips he went after the cops. They tried to use their numbers against him but he was easily overpowering them. He got a brief flash when he grabbed one’s wrist. He was distracted enough that a couple of them were able to knock him down.

“The rest of you stay back,” the first one told the others in the alley. They were too afraid to move at this point. They tried to cuff his hands behind his back but he regained his senses and broke free. Knocking out a couple of the he was able to get enough room to run out of there. They weren’t his targets, at least not yet. But if they got in his way he wouldn’t hesitate to take them out too. “After him!” They chased him down the alley way he went but like the night before they lost him the moment they lost sight of him.

“How the fuck does he do that?”, one of them asked.

“Just find the sick son of a bitch. Spread out.” They did just that, sticking with their partners just to be on the safe side. Above them Brad followed a pair in particular after they split off from the main group, knowing he had the right one. Because now he knew who told them where he was. And a particular bit of extra information.

<<<>>>

On his cell phone the cop who talked to Jerry waited patiently for an answer. “Listen we got a lead on that clown guy. We’re going after him in a few minutes.” An all too familiar voice answered, it was the guy who cut out his tongue.

“Godman wants him alive,” he said. “You do everything possible to make sure that happens. If you got to shoot him do it in the legs or something. But feel free to rough him up a bit first.”

“I’ll make sure the camera’s off.”

<<<>>>

Brad looked at the crow sitting on a vent. It knew what he had in mind and it wasn’t exactly rejecting the idea. Smiling to himself he waited until they got a little further away from the others.

A few of the officers were getting ready to call it quits after they couldn’t find the clown. With all the twists and turns in this place he had to have gotten out by now. Then somebody came back without his partner. “He got Jake!” he said falling into one of their arms. “I swear to God he just came from out of fucking nowhere.”

“Come on they gotta be close.” Wanting to save one of their own fueled their actions now. Trying not to let desperation get to them they checked everything that looked like a hiding place. Then one of them heard a low moaning. Heading for it they stopped horrified. The cop was still alive. His shirt was ripped off his body. Part of it was used as a gag, the rest was tied around his wrists connecting him to a couple of poles. Carved on his chest in bloody letters was “THEYRE NEXT”. A bloody piece of glass nearby was the obvious instrument used. Nobody noticed the crow flying over their heads with a laugh like caw as they cut him down.

***

“You shouldn’t have done it,” weasel said, “you shouldn’t have done it. He’s mad Jerry mad.” He paced back and forth as the others gave him room. Jerry held his ground while most of them looked at him with contempt. “Now he’ll be worse.”

“I did what I thought I had too,” Jerry repeated for the God knows how many times. “We all heard the rumors. Fuck his clothes have more holes in them every time we see him.”

“We don’t turn on our own Jerry,” Lou said, obviously disappointed. “We haven’t survived this long by turning our backs on each other.”

“He wasn’t one of us,” weasel spoke up. “He’s an outsider, not one of us.”

“We were all outsiders once,” Lou reminded him.

“Yeah but this guy is bat shit crazy,” Jerry spoke up. “They have him on film burning that guy alive last night. How long before he snaps and takes us out. Hell did any of you see what he did to that cop?”

“And not all of us are all that stable to begin with,” Lou said off handedly. More than a few glanced over at weasel still pacing the ground not noticing.

“Leave him out of this!” Jerry exploded. Before anybody could respond a hand clamped around his throat and pinned him to the wall, “Urk.” An angry painted face was the only thing he saw as he was picked up off the ground.

“Fuck,” one said as they tried to get Brad off of him. Nobody was sure where he came from. The bird with him hovered nearby not really saying anything

“Let him go!” Weasel started pounding his fist into his back. “Let him go… please.” Brad glanced back at him, seeing how desperate he looked to save his friend. Slowly his fingers started to loosen and Jerry dropped to the ground. They gave him room as he backed away and weasel went to Jerry. “Thank you. I told you he was mad, did you believe me?”

“We’ll deal with Jerry later,” Lou said. “But stranger…”

“He’s already leaving Lou,” the one next to him said. He just nodded and let the man take him back to his usual chair. Although he heard the bird with him shouting out one last caw before following. Lou knew it was just a bird but he could have sworn he heard contempt in its voice.

***

Dead or not Walker was not making his headache get any smaller. Bad enough he’s killing the guys who killed him now he’s carving up cops. He barely knew they guy who he did it to, but when it was one of your own you tended to take it a little personal. Trying to get his mind off of it he worked this New Life Organization angle from his laptop at home. While he wouldn’t be confused for a hacker… ever… he could find a thing or two when he really put his mind to it. After a couple of hours he found that New Life was owned by a parent corporation, which in turn was owned by a larger business. Something told him this was going to be a long trail to follow.

Rubbing his hands over his eyes when they got tired he felt a pair of hands over on his shoulders. Grabbing one he looked up to see Sharron smile down at him, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I told you I’m part ninja,” she kissed him on the forehead. “So what are you looking up now?”

“I’m trying to find out who paid for the lawyer for those four,” he told her truthfully. She was going to find out any way, there were time he thought she was part detective rather than ninja. “I thought if I could figure that out I could find out how they got off.”

“Will you be able to charge them for their murder again?”

“I doubt it, any halfway decent defense lawyer could get it stopped because we’re trying to charge them with the same crime twice. But if I can figure out if the person who paid for the lawyer had something to do with it I can arrest her.”

“How do you know it’s a ‘her’?” Damn it why did he let that slip? She saw him wince, “What aren’t you tell me?”

Damn it to hell. “Let’s say I’m starting to believe what you said about the clown being Walker. He found me in the evidence room yesterday.”

“Oh my God,” she said as he immediately went around the couch to sit next to him. “What did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything,” she nodded remembering what they did to him. “Sharron I want you to be honest with me, what was he like before he died? He wasn’t violent or anything was he?”

“If you trying to ask if he ever hit Nancy then you would be dead wrong,” she said getting huffy. “Brad was the nicest, kindest guy I knew. Hell I was the one that talked them into getting together. Do you really think I would have done that if I even suspected he had a violent side? I would never put Nancy into that sort of situation. And I sure as hell would have done everything to get her out of it if she was.”

“Then how do you explain what he’s been doing?”

“And how would you react if a bunch of assholes killed you and raped me?”, she shot back. Jay didn’t have an immediate answer. “I can’t explain what he did to that police officer.”

“What do you know about these… things?”

“Not much, Frank probably knows more about it than I do to be honest. But all I know his he won’t go away until he gets them all.”

“If that true then we got three more to go,” he muttered.

“Three? I count… never mind. Personally I think they deserve it. God we were right there when that young punk sneered at us and said ‘Ask and God will deliver’. I wanted to kill him right then and there myself.”

“No,” Jay said as the memory hit him, “he said Godman. Ask and the Godman will deliver.” Jay went back to the laptop. “I’ve heard a couple of variations on that saying, Godman was never one of them.”

“So somebody was behind it?” Sharron asked.

“There’s a small chance,” Jay admitted. “It makes sense, the night it happened the apartment building phone lines were cut and the cell phone providers and 911 centers were cyber attacked so nobody in the area could get a call out to anywhere. But more than likely it’s somebody they know in this particular organization, maybe even somebody who owed them a huge favor. But if I can find a way to connect him then I’m jumping on it.” More or less to himself he said, “Then maybe they can finally get some justice.”

***

With Kain’s order still in effect Angelina was surprised any birds still flew over the estate. She still jumped when one of the guards fired at one. They were just lucky that they were so far out that nobody really complained yet, but that was bound to change sooner or later. Somebody was going to call the police, or worse PETA, on them. And don’t even get her started on Estelle. The moment it was clear this maniac was Walker she had this “I told you so” look on her face. But of course nobody else saw it, not even Kain. God it was frustrating.

Good thing she had a way to get away from the frustration, at least for a little while. Alone in her room she sat at her dresser, a small mirror laying on top of it. She tried not to react too much as another shot fired off. She was in no mood to redo the lines of white powder she had in front of her. Leaning in she used a finger to close off one nostril as she used a piece of paper to inhale one of the lines. She sat back waiting for the effects to kick in. Of course Kain would choose then to come in, unannounced of course. “I am so disappointed in you Angelina. I thought you were better than this.”

“You obviously thought wrong,” she said starting to feel the effects.

“We got you past this young lady,” he said sternly. God he was scolding her, this was too funny. “With some very hard effort we got you clean of this devil drug. Why would you fall back now?”

“Why would I fall back?”, she said with a laugh. “A dead man is walking the Earth. The boys are dying as soon as he sees them, and I’m on the hit list. Why the fuck wouldn’t I fall back now?”

“I need you to have a clear head Angelina,” Kain said taking the mirror away. She wanted to protest but she really didn’t give a fuck right now. “You’ll be safe here, nobody is going to get you here. But only if you stay here. Going out and getting this… I worked too hard to get you were you are.”

“Maybe I should get on my knees and pray for forgiveness.” She did that right in front of him. He didn’t really protest all that much as she unzipped his pants.

In fact his only reaction was after she started, “Lord forgive me this moment of weakness.” But he didn’t make her stop.

***

With the death of Smallfry and Thriller Victor had Big Ben push his connections even harder to find the son of a bitch responsible. And they knew what he looked like thanks to the video footage the news ran almost continuously. They even figured out what he would look like without the makeup up on. Victor didn’t really care it just made their job easier. But both him and Ben looked at each other when they realized he did look like Walker. Both of them would hate to be around Angelina right about now, especially with Estelle in the room.

Big Ben was in the bar holding court standing on a table and handing out papers with this guys picture on it. “Now I want this bastard alive. You can fuck him up the ass or break his legs if you want but as long as he’s alive you get paid. Is that understood?” There was an almost universal yes from the crowd.

“Damn straight,” some white guy said in the back. “This bitch ain’t gonna know what fuckin’ hit him. You know what I’m saying.” A few of the other white guys in the room shook their heads in disgust and moved away from him.

Big Ben squatted down and nudged the arm of the guy next to him, “Who in the hell invited the wigger wanna be?”

“He just came,” was his answer.

“We’ll feed him to the freak first,” Big Ben said. The other guy quickly agreed. “What are you bastards standing around for? Go find this bitch!” The roar in the bar was defining as they piled out of the building. “Come on,” Big Ben said jumping off the table, “we catch this guy first we don’t have to pay these guys anything.” Before they made it to the door the wanna be came flying through the window. They were stunned just long enough as the clown perched himself in the windowsill and stared at him. For a brief second Big Ben felt a shiver go down his spin. Then the clown looked back outside and held up a finger. He jumped out of the window as somebody fired a machine gun from outside. “Shit!”, Big Ben and the others in the bar dove for the floor to avoid getting shot. “Get that son of a bitch.”

“What the fuck?”, the white boy said as he staggered to his feet.

“Get out of the fucking way,” Big Ben said as he shoved him down and jumped out the window. Keeping his head low to avoid any more gun shots he tried to locate the clown. Something dropped and everybody looked in that direction. The clown stood over a body. A couple of them fired at him. He stood there taking each shot. Then he revealed the machine gun in his hands, “Oh shit.” Big Ben ran as he mowed down the ones that shot him. This guy wasn’t human. Suddenly the shooting stopped and he looked up, the guy was gone.

“What the hell is this shit?”, somebody looking directly at Big Ben said.

Big Ben grabbed him by the shirt, “He’s trying to play games with your head. Now get the son of a bitch!” He shoved him ahead, but Ben stayed close. If he had to he’d use this dumb fuck as a shield. More gun fire went off and they hugged the wall. Then more came from behind them.

“How many of these guys are there?”

“I told you he’s playing games now concentrate on finding this son of a bitch.” They regrouped with a smaller version of the crowd. “How many more of you are there?”

“You’re looking at it,” somebody informed him. “I don’t know who the hell this fucker is but he will not go down. I know I fucking shot him four times.”

“Damn it!” Big Ben shouted. “Why couldn’t this fucker stay dead?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Shit there he is?” Almost as one they pointed their weapons in the clown’s direction. He stood there and dropped the guns he was holding but he walked foreword. Ben found himself backing up, making sure the group was between him and whatever that was coming for him. “A bird,” he muttered as he remembered something he overheard from Victor. “Somebody look for a black bird and kill it.”

“I don’t have time for that shit,” somebody shouted back. “I got that fucker coming right at us.”

The clown seemed to zero in on him and ignore the rest of them as he continued foreword. Ben was about to run for his life when a car came out of nowhere and hit the clown dead on. He went flying over it as the car came to a stop. To everybody surprise the wigger came out from the driver side door looking all proud and shit.  “That’s how you fuck somebody up… oh shit.” Ben ran though them to see what was happening. The clown was slowly getting to his feet. How do you keep this fucker down?

“I think you made him mad man,” one said as the clown stumbled foreword a bit and stared at him.

“Oh Yeah?”, the white boy said. He pulled a taser out of his pocket and ran at him. The clown was still hurt enough that he could do anything as he jammed the taser into his gut. “Oh yeah!” he screamed. The clown went down and he pressed the taser into his gut again. “Let’s see you get back up from this!” That was the last thing he said as a hand reached up and clamped itself over his mouth. He struggled to get free as the clown slowly stood up. Taking the taser from him he hit him in the eyeball with it. A muffled scream later the clown flicked his wrist and the white boy stopped moving and threw him aside. He returned his attention to Big Ben and started toward him again.

“Guns won’t stop him, a fucking car couldn’t stop him. What fucking chance do we have?!”

“Just look for that fucking bird!” Big Ben ordered. Looking round in desperation he saw a construction yard. Grabbing a few men he said, “Come on,” and ran for it. The others saw them run. A few fired at the clown who just smiled, the rest ran for their lives and prayed he didn’t come after them. Reaching the construction yard he looked around muttering, “Come on there’s gotta be something around there that’ll hurt him.”

Brad went past the opening before hoping the fence. Dealing with what was left of that mob wasted his time, his target as getting away. The crow caught him a few time but had to fly away momentarily when they fired at him. Looks like he was on his own for this one. Brad slowly walked around looking for any sign of them. He saw one trying to sneak around but he didn’t notice him yet. Getting behind him he put a hand over his mouth and put his finger behind the trigger so it couldn’t fire. Slamming his head into the wall in front of him took care of him. That was one down two more to go.

“Where did Sam go?”

“Shut up,” Big Ben told him. “He’s in here somewhere. I just feel it.” Big Ben tried to find his phone, maybe 3-Knock could get a hold of some reinforcements, or get Godman to get the police or something. If not this freak was going to kill him. A falling pipe made both of them jump, his companion actually pulled the trigger on his semi automatic. “Don’t waste a shot unless you see him or that damn bird!”, he scolded.

“I’m going to waste bullets even if I do see him,” he shot back. “And what’s with you and this God damn bird?”

“Ok fine you’re going to let him know where we are!”, Big Ben said through his teeth. Almost on cue there was some movement over head. This time they kept their finger off the triggers. “He’s just playing mind games man, that’s all he doing. You hear me? Hey say something when I’m talking to you.” Ben turned around and found himself alone. “Oh shit. Where are you?” He looked around, guard up for anything. After several long moments he heard a sound and movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and fired at a man sized shape silhouetted against the chain link fence. He stopped firing when the shape wouldn’t drop. The lights suddenly came on.

“Oh shit oh shit oh shit,” Big Ben muttered. He shot a man all right but the freak clown tied the guy with him to the fence and duct taped his mouth closed. Looking around frantically he saw the clown standing by a generator powering he lights. He didn’t hesitate in firing but all he got was a click, he was out of bullets. “Oh shit,” he mumbled as the clown slowly started to grin.”Come on you son of a bitch,” Ben said as he dropped the gun and pulled a knife, “you ain’t taking me without a fight.”

Brad waved him on and Big Ben obliged. With no problem he got the knife away from him and threw him to the ground. Throwing the knife into a wall he walked toward Ben who started crawling backwards. Quickly getting up he ran deeper into the construction with Brad slowly giving chase. Big Ben was trying not to panic as he looked for anything. Finding a discarded drill he pressed himself against the wall and waited. He heard him getting closer. Then Brad punched through the drywall and pulled him through it. Staring into the dead man’s eyes all Ben could do was pull the trigger on the drill and plunge it into his leg. Brad let go of him and clutched his leg. Feeling some bravado Big Ben claimed, “You think you’re some silent deadly fucker huh? I’m going to find a way to make your dead ass scream like a little bitch.” He tried to do more damage with the drill but Brad grabbed his wrist and tossed him. Big Ben dropped the drill but quickly saw a power saw that was hooked up to the generator. “Alright fucker, let’s see how tough you are without a head. Hell I’ll skull fuck you like I did your bitch!” Something in Brad’s eyes made him step back. “Come on you dead piece of shit!”

Brad ran at him ducking the initial swipe with the saw. Ben kept swinging for his life to keep him away. Finally he was able to back him off, in fact he was running. “Let’s see how you like being the hunted you dead piece of shit!” Following him deeper in the building he swung for his head every time he got close enough. At one point he cut through a pipe and water came pouring out. Getting hit by the spray he looked around and yelled swung the saw with all his might. Brad easily stopped him and knocked it out of his hands, “What the…?” he got out as the stood there. Then Brad pulled something out of his pocket. It took Ben a second too long to realize it was a taser right as he jammed it into this wet clothes. Ben dropped to the floor almost immediately and couldn’t get anything to move.

All he could do was watch as Brad picked the saw up. For a brief second Ben thought he was going to use it on him but he started cutting into more pipes, unleashing more water. Ben couldn’t figure out what was going on, was he trying to drown him? Dropping the saw Brad started pulling at some exposed wires. Ben was finally able to turn over, probably not the best idea with his face that close to the water, but he had to see what was going on. Standing under a light he saw Brad give one last tug and pulled the wires from its socket and was temporarily shrouded in darkness. It wasn’t long before he came back into view, wires in hand. Waiting until the water almost touched his boots Brad dropped the wire and walked away. Ben could only watch as the exposed ends of the wires hit the water. Then all he could do was shake and convulse as he was electrocuted.

***

The sun was just starting to crack the horizon and Jay was still on the computer. Sharron was sleeping on the couch. In front of her was a half eaten pizza Frank had brought over right before they got the call about another Walker sighting. Frank covered for him so he could continue working on this, he wanted to see where this particular trail ended too. Another hour and he was pretty sure he found the end of the line and mumbled, “This makes no sense.”

“What doesn’t make what”, Sharron muttered as she slowly woke up.

“New Life Organization’s owner,” he said. “There are several businesses and organizations between them and the top but it’s all owned by one guy,” still in disbelief he finished with, “Kain Logan.”

“Nancy’s brother?”, Sharron said waking up fully. “Are you sure?” He nodded, “Why would he ok getting that lawyer to defend the bastards that killed her.”

“Maybe he didn’t know,” he offered. “It’s a big organization, something’s bound to escape his notice.”

“No,” she said, “Nancy told me how he runs thing. He would have authorized payment for that lawyer and his expenses. He had to have known what was going on.”

“Unless that insider’s a little further up the food chain than we thought.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure,” Jay said. “But the woman Walker identified as the fifth person was Logan’s assistant.” She was speechless. “He was pretty adamant it was her too. I don’t suppose you have any ideas how long he’s had her do you?”

“I only know what Nancy told me,” she answered. “She never really got too deep in his business, she always did her own thing.”

His cell phone going off Jay only answered when he saw it was Frank, “What do you got?”

“You can cross off ‘Big’ Ben Johnson of the list.” Jay silently cursed. He listened quietly while Frank gave him the detail. “We got to get this son of a bitch Jay. There’s only one guy left and don’t want to lose this guy if he gets him.”

“I know Frank, I’m working on it.” Sharron started to say something but he quickly held up a finger. “Keep me updated.” Hanging his head as the call ended he told Sharron, “This might go a little easier if Walker didn’t keep killing the guys who could connect the assistant to all of this.”

“That’s why the crow brings them back. We got to find him before Frank and the others do.”

“We?”, Jay asked. “Do you have any idea how much trouble I can get in if the others find out I know where he is and not arrest him or inform them?”

“And I’m thinking of Frank and the others,” she shot back. “You heard what happened yesterday, they can’t stop him. Somebody’s going to get killed if they try again.” One more time he couldn’t respond. “When you talked to him did he say why it happened?”

“I didn’t think to ask,” Jay said standing up. “And he couldn’t if he wanted to after they did that to him. You said he was a photographer right? Maybe he took a picture of something or somebody that somebody didn’t want taken.”

“That sounds too much like a bad TV plot,” she said.

“I know but it’s the only thing I have at the moment. Could he be hiding out at his old studio?”

“It was sold off a month after they died,” Sharron answered. “It’s a dress shop now. And after what happened at his old apartment I don’t think he’ll be there. And I’m drawing a blank for anyplace else he could be staying.”

“Well if we want to find him first we better figure out something.”

***

Kain got to where he was now because he was a man of patience. His fortune, his status, his very war was all because he could wait for the right moment to make his move. Not once did he ever act on impulse. His Father usually acted on impulse, and they found themselves in debt more times than not. A lesson he was forced to learn when his Father couldn’t, or refused to learn. But his near legendary well of patience was sorely being tested. First of all Brad was currently mowing through those responsible for that night. Secondly Angelina and Victor were currently bickering with each other because of that very fact. Estelle was quiet in the corner going over her cards, but he could swear he saw her smiling every so often.

“Get bent asshole!” Angelina shouted.

“Blow me bitch!”, Victor shot back.

“Enough,” Kain said calmly but forcibly. They quieted right down. “This is getting us nowhere. Panicking is not going to help.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Victor snapped. “He doesn’t know you’re even involved. You got a fucking free pass in all of this.”

“Go into hiding Victor,” he said. “Someplace he can’t find you. And I suggest you do it soon seeing how the sun is still out. So far he only appears at night but that doesn’t mean that won’t change. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of this.”

“So say the guy in the mansion and armed guards,” Victor said leaving the room. “I might as well get out of town.”

“You should watch him,” Angelina said after a moment. “How do you know Victor won’t try and rat you out to save his own skin?”

“I trust Victor my dear,” was his answer. “He won’t betray me.”

“You’d be surprised what a person will do when their life is on the line.”

“Do not worry my dear, I had something in place to protect both of us going back to the trail. Because if any of them was going to betray us it was going to be then. But for now we have a bigger question, where Brad is right now.” Turning to Estelle he asked, “Do you have any insights on the habits of these particular… entities?”

Still flipping over her cards she said, “They usually stay close to something familiar. A home, a friend something they had a connection too.”

“Well his home’s a bust,” Angelina said sitting on the couch. “And I’m not sure what kind of connection he had to that alley.”

“Find out who he was friends with,” Kain said, “and put them under surveillance. Do the same with Nancy’s friends as well. From what she’d told me they were starting to share the same circle of friends. Some were probably closer than others.”

“I’ll get that going,” she walked out of the room already on her cell phone. This would take some time, more than likely time they didn’t have. At best they were simply delaying matters. But in his war he has learned one thing. Power like the thing that brought Brad back wasn’t infinite. And in that he knew all it took was a little patience.

***

“Are you sure about this?”, Jay asked as he followed Sharron down the alley near sunset. He wasn’t sure what to think when she suggested this closed down thrift shop she used to work at when she was in school training to be a nurse. But she insisted that it was the only thing she could think of. Apparently this was where Nancy and Walker met and spent a lot of time at when they started dating. Right know he was questioning his decision to go with her, hell to let her come here at all. But she insisted to come along saying he couldn’t get in without her, whatever that meant.

“You can’t back out now,” she told him as he headed for the back door. When they got there he saw a heavy looking door that looked like it hadn’t been moved in a while. Some of the garbage on the ground suggested otherwise as it looked pushed to the side.

Testing the door Jay found it wouldn’t budge. He kept trying and almost strained something. Letting go in frustration he wiped his brow saying, “Now what?”

“This,” Sharron told him. Grabbing the handle she did something and opened it right up.

“How did…?”

“Honey just about everybody who worked here knew about this.” She entered before he could go in and check it out first. Closing the door behind him he stopped his hand going for his gun several times as they looked around. The last thing he wanted to antagonize Walker even further. A discarded suit was on the floor. Then he noticed the open box of Halloween makeup in the corner. He’d been here all right, Jay felt it in his gut.

“If he’s here just stay behind me.”

“He’s not going to hurt me,” she assured him. “He’s only going to want those who killed him. We’re safe as long as we don’t get in his way.”

“And how long before that happens?” A scuffling sound made both of them stop. Jay looked over as his hand instinctively went for his gun. A white and black face stared back, “Shit.”

“Don’t”, Sharron said grabbing his hand. Making sure he didn’t have the gun in his hand she turned toward Walker. Glancing down at all the bullet sized holes in his clothing it was probably a good thing he didn’t. “Hi there,” she took a step toward him over Jay’s objection. Walker took one back. “Brad, honey it’s me Sharron. Do you remember?” He glanced behind her toward Jay before nodding in the affirmative. She reached out for him but stepped back again, almost looking ashamed of himself. “It’s all right Brad, I know why you’re doing all of this.”

Brad motioned his head in Jay direction, “I don’t think he wants me here.”

“He came to you first remember,” she said. “Honey, it’s alright you can relax. He’s not going to do anything.”  She took a cautious step forward, Brad didn’t react but he didn’t back away either. “We’re going to try to help you. But we got to know, do you know why it happened?”

Brad just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. Jay asked, “Were there any warning signs? Maybe somebody trying to get a picture you took back from you for some reason.” Again he shook his head. “Is there anything you can think of? Somebody you might have pissed off?”

Shrugging his shoulder harder he grabbed his head again and walked away. “Relax honey relax. We’ll think of something. We’ll find a way you can tell us too.”

“I really wish I thought to bring some paper and a pencil,” Jay muttered. “You think there’d be something around here.” Waving a hand around Brad looked disgusted. “You looked huh?” He nodded the affirmative. “Well it’s a thought.”

“Come here honey,” Sharron said as she pulled Brad closer. She wrapped her arms around him and tried to comfort him, “It’s going to be ok. You’ll be able to rest soon.” Brad almost relaxed, then his eyes snapped open as Sharron remembered something.

<<<>>>

The ER was hectic that night and she was having a hard time keeping up. She knew it was going to be a long night when the moment she entered they got at least three shooting victims in the first five minutes. A few hours later things weren’t going any better and she almost moaned audibly when they got two home invasion victims. She was told to help with the male while a trauma team went to work the female victim with stab wounds to the vaginal area. “I think we got the easy job,” the other nurse with her said. “This poor lucky bastard died on the way here due to blood lose.”

Walking into to the room and saw all the blood soaking the sheet covering the body. “Lucky isn’t the word I’d use,” Sharron commented. She looked at the chart and nearly had a heart attack when she read the name. “No,” she ripped the sheet off the body and saw Brad lifeless eyes stare back at her. “No.”

“Sharron,” the other woman reached out for her. The other victim was female. She shot out the room and headed to where they put her before the other woman could stop her. She found doctors and nurses trying to calm Nancy down. One of them moved and she saw how soaked the sheet was around her legs.

“Nancy!” she burst into the room and pushed some of them aside to take her hand. “Hang in there Nancy. Please hang in there.”

Tears streaming down her face she looked at her. “Brad…,” she cried…”the baby…” Nancy looked down at the blood, remembering where she was stabbed, multiple times.

Holding her friend hand tighter and brushing her hair back she told her, “They’re fine. The doctors are going to do everything they can. You just need to hang in there.”

Nancy face twisted as a sadness over took her, “Liar.” Then Sharron felt the grip on her hand loosen a little and the machines hooked to her went off.

“She’s going into shock!”, A doctor said. A nurse pulled her away as they did everything to save. But they couldn’t, one of the doctor said it was like she lost the will to live.

<<<>>>

Sharron teared up slightly as Brad pulled away. He tried to mouth a word but was stuck on the first syllable. The wide eyed look on his face told her what he was trying to say. “She never told you about the baby?” He clutched at her as he fell to his knees, shaken to the core. “Oh God Brad I thought you knew.” He grabbed her wrist a little too tightly as he received another memory flash from her.

<<<>>>

“Oh God what am I going to do?”, Nancy said as he covered her face and leaned on the waiting room desk. “Brad is going to freak.”

“Brad is going to be excited,” Sharron told her. “He’ll probably ask you to marry him on the spot.”

“I want Brad to marry me because he wants to not because he thinks he has to,” she said. Placing her hands on her stomach she continued to look worried. “What is he going to say when he finds out about this?”

“You’re worrying yourself over nothing. Brad, yeah he might be shocked at first but he’s going to love the idea that he’s going to be a daddy.” She didn’t look convinced. “Come on now. You know Brad, it’s not like you planned this behind his back or anything.”

“I know,” she said, “but weren’t always careful either. God we never talked about the possibility of having kids yet. I don’t even know if he wants any.”

“You’re thinking about this too much. Look if you’re that worried about it just do that love seal thing I showed you. Hey it couldn’t hurt right?”, she added when her friend didn’t look convinced.

“Nancy?”, her brother came up to them. While her back was still turned to him she quickly wiped her face dry and tried to get herself under control. “Are you alright? You never told me you were going to the hospital.”

“I just came in for a checkup,” she told him. Sharron notice the glances she was giving her and kept quiet. “I knew Sharron was working today so I decided to visit with her a bit after I was done.”

“Of course,” Kain said slowly as he at looked her a little funny, at least he did to Sharron. Whatever it was soon disappeared as he said, “Do let me know if everything is ok. You know how I worry about you.”

“Of course,” Nancy said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

Kissing her on the check he said his goodbyes and left them. After a moment Sharron asked, “Why didn’t you tell him you were pregnant?” She quickly hushed her before looking back at her brother.

“I don’t want him to find out before Brad,” Nancy said. “Besides he’s lecturing me now for ‘living in sin’ with Brad as it is. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of sermon I going to get when he finds out I’m having a baby out of wedlock.” Sharron nodded in understanding having met her brother before. When she looked up she saw him look in their direction. He was talking on a cell phone with a sad expression on his face. She couldn’t figure out why.

Things flashed foreword about a week and she was at their funeral. She was laying flowers on their graves when Kain and his assistant came up to her. He didn’t hug her, he didn’t comfort her. He looked at her dry eyed and simply said, “Thank you my dear,” and walked off. His assistant just smirked as she followed behind him. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out what that was about.

<<<>>>

That was then. As for now, combined with what she knew from Jay, she knew exactly what he meant. “Oh God,” she said as those tears started to flow. “It was me. He overheard me say she was pregnant. I was the reason why this happened.”

“Sharron what are you talking about?” Jay asked as he tried to get Brad to let go of her. Brad slowly stood up and looked at her with stone cold eyes. No emotion crossed his face as he did let go. He started shaking and she backed up. “Now wait a second,” Jay tried to get in between them. Brad violently shoved him to the ground and walked after Sharron. She tripped on a box and fell backwards. Brad stood over her shaking in anger looking like he wanted to cry, his hands balling up into fists. Then he walked away, kicking the door open on his way out.

Finding her voice Sharron called out, “Brad!”She got up and tried to follow him. A crow quickly flew in the door and got in her way. She started again but it landed on the floor in front of her and cawed at her. When she tried again it cawed louder and flapped its wings furiously. Sharron got the hint and said, “Tell him I’m sorry. Please tell him I’m sorry.” The bird bobbed his head once then flew off after Brad. “Dear god what did I do?”

“Sharron what going on?”, Jay demanded. “Why did it look like he wanted to attack you?”

“It was her brother,” she said. “He’s the one who did this to them.”

“You’re not making any sense. Why would he do anything like that?”

“He’s an ultra religious freak that’s why!” she yelled at him. “Anything that didn’t fall in his line was automatically unholy most of the time.”

Jay grabbed her, “Calm down. You got no proof of that.” When she protested he told her, “Listen to me. I don’t know what happened just now with you and Walker but it affected you in some way.”

“It makes sense,” she snapped. “He had to okay the money to get the lawyer. He didn’t even fucking react at the funeral. It was him I know it. You got to arrest him now!”

“With what evidence? Sharron there’s nothing tying him to their murder.”

“You said his assistant was part of it.”

“It doesn’t mean he was. Sharron go home, just go home. I’ll work on this assistant angle some more.”

“But…,” she protested.

“Just go home Sharron, I’ll deal with this.” She looked like she wanted to say something but kept quiet as she walked out the door. Jay raced after saying, “I’ll call you later and see how you’re doing.” She didn’t even answer as she walked away. “God this is getting more complicated by the fucking minute.” Both of them were so preoccupied they didn’t see the man following her down the street.

***