Page 23 of Dad's Cop Buddy

“What do we do, Sir?” an anxious young officer asks.

“Follow him but stay back. We don’t want to tip him off. Maybe we can catch him before he gets inside the house.”

We set out after Sanders. I’m in the lead with a parade of patrol cars following behind. It’s dark so he probably didn’t notice us in the parking lot. That was a lucky break. If he had, we would have had to lay chase on him. I don’t want to catch him on the highway. I want him at that cabin so there can be no doubt that he’s the perpetrator. Red-handed. That’s how I want him.

He turns off the highway onto an overgrown dirt track and we can’t follow. I don’t think he has many neighbors back there. Our parade of headlights will surely tip him off, so I drive past the turn-off with my posse in tow. We drive about five miles in the opposite direction then turn around. I radio the other cars and tell them to turn off their lights. Two cars remain on the highway blocking the end of the dirt road while the other two follow me.

A small weather-worn and tattered shack sits at the end of the dirt path. There are no lights on inside, and I don’t see Sanders’ car but I know he has to be here. There was no other direction for him to go.

I open my door and step out onto the ground, motioning to the officers to stay put. Creeping ever so carefully, I make my way to the side of the shack and look behind it. Bingo. That’s where he parked his car but our little detour gave him enough time to get inside before we arrived.

I fight the terrible thoughts that begin to race through my mind. What unspeakable things could he be doing to my girl in there? The windows are covered with heavy, dark fabric, but as I start my ascent around the back of the house, I notice a clear spot in the corner of a window. I lean forward and peer inside. The room is dimly lit, but I can make out two figures in one corner of the room and Sanders with his feet propped up and his eyes closed in a recliner on the other side of the room.

“Two girls?” I shake my head. What are the chances Casey Miller is still alive and has been here this whole time?

I creep back to the waiting officers and call them out of their cars.

“He’s asleep. I don’t know if he’s armed or not, but we can catch him by surprise if we bust in right now.”

“Do we have cause to do that?” one officer asks.

“Yeah, he has two hostages and I have reason to believe that one of them is a missing coed from three years ago.”

The sun begins to rise as we work out our plan of attack. Daylight is better. That way, we’ll have better visibility in the dark cabin. My men surround the place, and I prepare to bust through the door, praying he’ll give me a reason to knock his head clean off his shoulders. There’s no controlling the rage brewing inside me. Today might be the day that ends my career in law enforcement. Just putting a set of cuffs on this son of bitch won’t be enough for me.

Midway through my approach, the front door of the cabin opens. I duck down next to the porch in hopes he hasn’t seen me. He has the other girl by the throat, leading her outside. She’s barefoot and wearing nothing but an old, dingy bra and panties. Her matted hair covers her face. Her shoulders rise and fall as though she’s been sobbing. He stops on the porch and picks up a long-handled shovel.

That’s when I realize what’s unfolding before my eyes. This is the girl’s death march. He thinks he’s found her replacement so he’s getting rid of her. He has a handgun holstered on his side. I suspect that he plans to use it on her and then bury her somewhere out here.

He takes two steps off the porch and stops in his tracks. The rising sun reflecting off my windshield has caught his eye. He knows we’re here. He begins to back up toward the cabin, and I know I can’t allow him to make it inside. His smug expression has turned to one of panic. He’s desperate now and desperate men do final things. I can’t let him near my girl, which is why I choose that moment to step out to confront him.

“Your sick game is over, Sanders. We’re here for the girls.”

“You? Of course, it’s you. You just can’t get it through your thick skull, can you? Kendal is mine and you can’t have her.”

My inner monologue tries to calm the impending explosion.He’s crazy and twisted. That’s his delusion talking…It doesn’t help. She’s not his, she’s mine.

“Let the girl go and put your hands up, motherfucker,” I shout.

“Or what?” he cackles.

“Or I end you right now. Just say the word.”

As we continue our banter, a patrolman slips onto the porch behind him and creeps through the door of the cabin. If he does go inside, there will be a surprise waiting for him. Still, I need to be the one to take him down. This has become personal.

“Let her go, you sad, sick, twisted son of a bitch. I’m not gonna tell you again.”

“You just don’t get it, and you never will. This one is all used up now. She’s like an old dog that can’t hunt. It’s time to put her down.”

“No, asshole. She’s a kid. A kid that you stole from her life, from her family. If anyone needs putting down, it’s you, you sick son of a bitch. Now, let her go.”

“No, you don’t make the rules. I do. You don’t belong here. This is my property. She’s my property,” he shakes the poor girl, “and so is Kendal.”

He reaches for his gun and I see red. I rush him like a grizzly bear charging at my prey. I push the girl to the ground and jump on Sanders, taking him down. Sitting on top of him, I bestow an arsenal of pent-up hostility upon his face and chest.

The blood from his broken nose causes my punches to slide off his face. I can hear the officers yelling as they rush to Casey Miller’s aid, but my vision is a blur. I’m bent on revenge and nothing is going to stop me from getting it. I continue beating Sanders long after he’s lost consciousness. I would have beaten him to death, but the sound of Kendal’s voice hits me like a bolt of lightning.

I look up and see my sweet girl. She’s shaking, crying, and has her arms stretched out to me. I lift myself off Sanders’ lifeless body and remove his gun from his holster. Handing the weapon to the officer beside me, I tell him to cuff him.

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