Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Marty woke to the lights in the backyard, only this time, he burrowed back under the covers. “Tell the kid next door to stop sneaking in or else you’ll arrest him,” Marty grumbled as Eddie got out of bed. He peered out the window and hurried out of the bedroom.
Marty drew the bedding upward and closed his eyes to block out the light but gave up.
So, he slipped out of the bed and dressed before leaving the room.
Movement in the living room drew his attention.
Marty didn’t know where Eddie was, but he knew he wouldn’t have moved like that.
Eddie was more fluid. He wondered if he should return to the bedroom—if someone was in the house, he was trapped.
Still, he went back inside and closed the door, grabbing his phone off the bedside table.
He sent a text to Eddie. There’s someone in the living room.
He shoved it in his pocket and pulled open the closet door, found one of Eddie’s baseball bats, and said a silent prayer of thanks and a vow that he was going to grow to love the sport if it killed him.
He closed the door and backed away, crouching around the far side Eddie’s dresser.
He could only hope that Eddie saw the message and was on his way back.
Marty kept still as the bedroom door opened slowly.
He held his breath and waited as the nightlight from the hall shone in the room.
He hoped that whoever it was would see the empty bed and leave again, but they seemed to stand still.
Marty knew his only chance was to outwait this asshole, so he held stock-still, not shifting his weight and breathing as slowly and steadily as possible.
A shadow retreated before the door closed once more.
Marty allowed himself to breathe for a moment but didn’t move.
The last thing he wanted was for whoever was in the house to return.
After slowly pulling out his phone, he checked his messages quickly and sent one more to Eddie before messaging Brian and Kerry.
Someone had to be up. Then he checked for a response from Eddie, but didn’t see one, and he wondered if something might have happened to him.
Units are on their way, Brian sent.
Marty put his phone away just as the bedroom door opened again. He took the bat in both hands, ready to lash out as soon as whoever was here got within range. Marty was well aware that he was only going to get one shot at this and had to make it a good one.
The intruder moved farther into the room, leaving the door open. Marty held still, his muscles flexed, until a figure appeared around the corner of the dresser. Not waiting any longer, he swung the bat with everything he had.
Marty connected with the man with a satisfying crack.
It must have been bone, but he wasn’t sure where he hit him.
The figure went down, and Marty hit again before running out of the room.
“Eddie!” he called, trying to find him. He was only half dressed, and the air outside was damp and cold, but he didn’t care.
He was out of there. Marty called out again as sirens sounded and grew closer.
Brian was the first to arrive, followed by a group of squad cars. “Are you all right?” Brian asked.
“Yeah. I hit the guy with a baseball bat and left him in the bedroom, but I can’t find Eddie.” His anxiety began to shift to panic.
“We’ll find him. You get in the car where it’s warm,” Brian told him, and Marty got inside as officers fanned out, guns ready. All he could do was watch out the window, hoping that Eddie was okay.
An ambulance pulled up. Marty began chewing his fingernails as he continued to wait.
The paramedics went into the house, escorted by officers, and brought out someone on a stretcher.
It must be the guy he hit because it definitely wasn’t Eddie.
Finally, Brian came out of the house, propping up Eddie.
Marty opened the door and dashed across the yard. “What happened? Where are you hurt?”
“He’s going to be okay. We’re going to take him to the hospital so they can check him out. He got hit in the head, and they are going to want to check for a concussion,” Brian explained.
“I’m fine, just a little woozy,” Eddie said as he tried to get away from Brian. “You don’t need to mother hen me.”
“Fine. Then I will. You gave me one hell of a scare. I couldn’t find you anywhere.” He took Eddie’s arm and guided him to a second ambulance. “Where were you?”
“He surprised me in the garage. I had my gun, but he knocked me out before I could get a shot off. I suppose I’m lucky he didn’t kill me.”
“He was looking for me, I think. I hid in the bedroom and used a baseball bat on him when he got close enough.” Marty was still shaking.
Eddie let the EMTs put him on the gurney, and they loaded him into the ambulance. They explained where they were taking him, and Marty nodded, intending to finish dressing and to head right over. They closed the doors, and the ambulance headed out.
“Nice hit, by the way,” Brian told him.
“Huh?”
“The intruder. You took him out with one blow. His gun went under the bed, and apparently you whacked him a second time for good measure and got him in the back.”
“I hope I didn’t hurt him too badly,” Marty said. “I mean, I wanted to stop him but not kill him or anything.”
“You did that. He has a broken arm, probably a concussion, and you got him in the kidneys pretty good. He’s going to be black and blue, and his bones are going to take a while to heal, but the bastard will live long enough to stand trial.
We’ll get DNA from him and make sure it matches to our samples taken from the murder scene, but you got him for us. ”
All Marty had been able to think of was protecting himself and getting to Eddie. That had been all that mattered.
“Go get dressed, and I’ll meet you at the hospital once we’re finished here.”
Marty hurried inside and got a shirt and shoes.
He pulled them on and grabbed his jacket off the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
Then he made sure the officers knew what he had done and left them to their work.
He took Eddie’s truck to the hospital and hurried inside. Eddie was in the ER, so he hurried in.
He didn’t need to ask where Eddie was—the group of officers nearby told him plenty. “Are you okay, really?” he asked, taking his hand.
“Yes, I’m fine.” His words were soft and a little halting.
“You are not. You have a concussion, and we’re going to keep you here for a while until we’re sure you don’t have any ill effects,” the doctor scolded lightly.
“No giving him a hard time,” Marty said. “That’s my job.” He glared at Eddie. “You’ll do whatever the doctor says, you understand me? You scared the crap out of me.” Marty held his hand and didn’t let it go.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly.
“Good. You should be. Now let the doctor help you so I can take you home as soon as possible.” He sighed and closed his eyes. Eddie was going to be okay, and hopefully, all of this was going to be over.
“It will be all right. I’m a tough old bird, and I’ll be home soon.”
“Let’s hope so,” the doctor said. “I’m going to order some tests, so we’ll know the extent of any brain issues.”
“Okay. He’ll be ready.” Marty intended to stay right where he was and make sure Eddie did as he was asked.
“What happened to you? I heard one of the guys say that you took him out.” Eddie closed his eyes, and Marty squeezed his hand.
“Baseball bat I found in your closet. Brian said I clocked him good.” He smiled. “They were bringing him in, too, but I’m not sure where he is.”
“He’ll have police guards and isn’t going anywhere. So don’t worry about him.”
“But what if I had killed him?”
Eddie patted his hand. “You were defending yourself—and me—from an intruder. What you did was justified. He was the one who wasn’t supposed to be there, and he intended to hurt both of us. I have no doubt that he was looking for you.”
“I know, and judging by what he did to Bryce, when he found me….” Marty didn’t need to say the words. He knew that their intruder would have killed him and then he’d have returned to finish off Eddie.
“The important thing is that you defended yourself, and you did a good job of it.” Eddie squeezed his hand, and Marty found he could hold it together. He had to for Eddie, but just holding his hand gave him strength… until they came in to wheel him away.
The orderly took Eddie out in the bed, leaving Marty alone in the ER room. He followed them to the door and then returned.
“How are you doing?” Brian asked.
“I’m okay.” He sat back down and tried not to let his thoughts run amok. “Eddie is going to be fine, but what about the guy I hit?”
“He came around in the ambulance and was put under arrest. We’re still compiling charges, and we got a DNA sample from the blood on the floor at the house.
We’re matching that to what we took at the other crime scene, and if we get a match, then we’ll have a good case for murder.
I tried to speak with him, but he asked for a lawyer right away. ”
“So we aren’t going to get answers?” Marty asked.
“Not immediately. But we were able to find out where he is living by going through his car. We searched the residence and came up with thousands in cash. We’re pretty sure that’s the money he was paid up front.
It’s been confiscated. We also found the coat as well as the clothes you described him wearing at the McDonald’s and at the office.
So, we’re pretty sure he’s the person behind the killing…
and if nothing else, we have him for attacking a police officer. ”
“But how did he know where I was?” Marty asked.