The Train: Episode 46

Tommy Carpenter had struck a deal to save his neck from the blonde assassin. He would confess to the hit and run and then say he had murdered his entire family. Ronald Brewer, the spineless traitor, had taken his statement, cuffed him, and now was talking to the two cops in the front seat of the squad car while Tommy sat in the back waiting to be driven to jail. It burned him up knowing that the woman who killed his family was getting away. Taking the deal might seem like the coward’s way out, but Tommy knew he wasn’t finished with her. This would buy him time to work out a plan. Then when he got out, he’d hunt her down and kill her.

A few hours later, the sun was just coming up as the patrol car passed the city limits sign. At this time of day, there wasn’t much traffic on the roads, and the streets were quiet and still. The patrol car pulled to a stop at a traffic light right before a pedestrian bridge crossover.

“You’re going down for a long time, Tommy my boy,” one of the cops laughed.

Joining in, the other cop said, “Yeah. Long time Tommy. I like that. That’s what we’ll call you.”

As the two cops waited for the light to change, a young woman stepped off the sidewalk and passed in front of the patrol car. She wore shorts that barely covered her smooth, golden skin, and as she hurried across the street, she looked up at the officers and offered them a warm smile.

“H-e-l-l-o!” one of the cops said as he leered at her.

Tommy managed to pull his eyes away from the woman long enough to see a truck barreling towards them.

“Look out!” Tommy yelled, bracing himself.

Before the driver of the patrol car could take evasive action, the truck slammed into them head on, pushing them backwards.

The impact threw Tommy into the security screen, and he tasted blood. Stunned from the hit, he struggled to breathe as smoke poured in the car.

In a daze, he watched as two men hopped out of the truck and approached the vehicle. The lead guy headed straight for the car while the other held back, gripping a crowbar in his fist.

“Dead,” the lead guy said after examining both cops.

At that, the man with the crowbar walked over to Tommy’s door and began prying it open while the other man pulled at it.

“No time for this,” one of the men said.

Smashing the window with the crowbar, the two men reached in and began pulling Tommy from the car.

“Careful. He wants him alive,” the lead guy said.

Tommy tried to struggle but he was too weak to do much. As the two men lifted him up, he felt nauseous and then passed out.

*          *          *

As Tommy began to come to, he heard the steady rhythm of dripping water and the scream of seagulls nearby. The pungent smell of sea air and old motor oil invaded his nostrils.

“Wake up, lad,” a man’s voice instructed.

“Yea. This isn’t any fun if you’re asleep,” another voice said.

“Shut up, Greg. That’s my nephew,” the first man said.

Tommy’s eyelids fluttered, and when he opened his eyes, he discovered that he was strapped to a chair in what looked like a warehouse. Through the open front door, he could see several boats being circled by seagulls.

Tommy slowly lifted his throbbing head and saw that standing in front of him was a tall bearded man with thick leathery arms. He looked like an angry lumberjack.

“Listen, lad, I’m only going to ask this once,” the man warned, pointing at Tommy with a doubled-sided ax.

“Did you murder your daddy and brothers?” the man demanded.

“What do you care?” Tommy asked.

Swinging the ax in a wide arc, the man stepped in closer. Tommy could feel the stir of air then the blade’s edge pressed against his cheek.

He screamed then began to pant in terror.

“Answer me, son. Did you murder your daddy and brothers?” the man repeated.

“No! No, I didn’t do it. Some blonde woman did. I think she’s a professional assassin or something. I just agreed to take the fall for it if she wouldn’t kill me. But, believe me, it’s all a ruse.”

The man held the ax pressed against Tommy’s cheek as he studied the frightened boy.

Then he pulled the ax away and took a step back saying,

“I believe you, lad.”

Nodding to one of the other men, he slipped his right hand from the ax handle and extended it to Tommy.

A tall lean man walked over to Tommy and removed the handcuffs.

Tommy rubbed his sore wrists, and when he reached out to take the man’s hand, the large man pulled him in and hugged him.

“I knew no nephew of mine could kill his own kin.”

“Bobbi, you and Jake bring him in,” the man told the girl wearing the tiny shorts.

The two left the room and quickly returned dragging behind a bloody Ronald Brewer.

“Sit down and stay put,” the man told Tommy then looked over his shoulder at Brewer.

Turning around, the large man walked slowly toward the battered detective and asked,

“Is it true that a hired assassin killed my little brother and his boys?”

Brewer looked up through one swollen eye and nodded.

“Is it also true that you let my only surviving nephew take the blame for it?”

Again Brewer nodded.

“Then why shouldn’t you pay for what you let happen?” the man asked.

Before Brewer could answer, the ax came down and its blade disappeared into Brewer’s head. As the detective fell over dead, Bobbi giggled with pleasure and the man said,

“Never mind. Not interested in your answer.”

As he walked back over to Tommy, a smile spread across his face. Lowering himself down to look Tommy in the eyes, he said,

“Tommy, my boy, I’m your Uncle Robert. Your father Russell was my little brother. I’ve been away for a long time, but when I heard about my brother’s death, I knew I had to come back and fix things. Now tell me. Where can I find this blonde woman who killed my little brother?”