Falling for the Law Ch. 11-17

Marley's hands, which had been balled into fists out at her sides, suddenly unclenched into claws, her digits stiffening and forming talons like those found on a bird of prey. Marley suddenly had no intentions of going out as a pacifist if this was going to be her end. No, she would die fighting and battling to find her way back to Allie!

As Travis Lucas lined the crown of his member up with her opening, Marley struck. Her hands came up and found the soft flesh surrounding Lucas's eyes, her nails digging into the pliable meat as her thumbs sought out Lucas's hate-filled orbs in an attempt to blind her attacker.

"AGHHHH! YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Lucas bellowed, his hands abandoning his penis and the knife as they came up to grab at Marley's wrists, attempting to wrench them away from his face. In response, the angry blonde redoubled her efforts, her hands and wrists now slippery with Lucas's blood as her right thumb found purchase inside the soft socket of her attacker's left eye. Lucas's hands flailed in a panic at her wrists, the blood there denying him a firm hold as he desperately tried to rip her vindictive hands from his face. But Marley, strengthened by righteous fury, refused to relent, her thumb sinking deeper into the socket of his eye, the suddenly gooey orb that had inhabited that pocket abruptly popping free as Lucas screamed vociferously.

Travis Lucas stiffened, his right hand flashing downwards as his left continued to try and fight off Marley's prolonged attack. She was only tangentially aware of the sudden movement at first and was unsure of what it meant until the moment she felt the knife's blade pierce the flesh on her left side. It was a sharp pinch, followed briskly by the feeling of having a red hot poker buried inside her body, the knife sinking its full length into her flesh.

It was Marley who panicked then, her left hand abandoning its attack as she reached for the hand impaling her on the knife, her right hand balling into a fist and striking Lucas on the bridge of his nose with all her might...

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Allie hung up the phone, staring down at the receiver resting on her desk as she allowed the information she'd just received to marinate in her mind. The body they'd located was indeed that of Anna Marie Stallworth, the dental records supplied to the county coroner being a near-exact match.

Anna Marie's corpse had been decimated by scavenging animals after being left in the moist and humid atmosphere of the cave, many of her bones scattered about, making it difficult to discern precisely what had happened to her. The coroner had been able to point out some apparent indicators, though, pinpoints on her rib bones that weren't consistent with the teeth marks left by marauding animals. He hadn't been willing to say at the time, wanting to have a closer examination of the body back at his offices, but Allie had suspected he thought them to be knife wounds.

And then there was the cordage tied around her neck, a stick shoved between the binding and her neck and twisted several times.

It was clear enough to Allie what had happened without an official autopsy report. Anna Marie had been tortured, likely raped, perhaps by more than one assailant, stabbed, and then strangled. It would have been a horrific end, and one that Allie could only hope had come a lot quicker for Anna Marie than she was imagining.

The coroner had been able to provide a few new details. He'd found traces of semen on an article of Anna Marie's clothing that had been left behind. And soil collected from beneath the body had come back positive for signs of human urine. The corner had pointed out that these samples were taken near the victim's head, leaving unspoken his thoughts on what had happened.

As a final indignity directed her way, Anna Marie's assailants apparently had taken a piss on her cooling corpse.

Allie studied her notes, a frown coming to her face as she read through the material. The perpetrators of this crime had undoubtedly known what their final resolve would be before they'd ever taken Anna Marie. That made this a premeditated crime, and Travis Lucas would know that. When it came time to take him and his fellow co-conspirators down, Allison knew that they wouldn't come easy.

And that was fine with Allison.

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By lunch, things had begun happening. There were several new breaks in the case seemingly at once, the precinct abuzz with activity as the news came in.

The coroner's preliminary report had come back. There were indications of numerous stab wounds in the victim's rib cage area, and Anna Marie's hyoid bone was fractured. So Allison's working theory based on that information was that after Anna Marie had been taken, she'd either immediately been taken to the cave, or it had happened soon after. She'd been raped, beaten, stabbed, and then strangled to death.

Blood typing had been done from the semen collected, and the coroner had determined that there were at least two contributors. He'd sent the evidence collected to the state GBI labs to do DNA testing on the samples. The GBI was also scheduled to run the resulting DNA profiles through CODIS, or the Combined DNA Index System. Allison was hoping that they would get a hit.

Lastly, a witness had come forward. Titus Conrad, a dairy farmer whose farm was located in the shadows of the mountain where the cave was located, had come into the station. The night of Anna Marie's disappearance, he'd been concerned about a pregnant cow that had gone missing. He'd thought perhaps she'd laid up in a pine thicket on the south end of his property and took the road off the cave to reach the stand of young pines. On the short drive over, he'd spotted two vehicles parked on the side of the road, one, an older model Nissan pickup, and the second, an older model sports car with a shiny paint job. There'd been two men standing at the bed of the truck with the tailgate down. It had been dark, though, and he'd been moving too fast to make any kind of identification.

With no pictures of the rides owned by Lucas and his crew on hand, Allison found photos on the internet of similar vehicles and placed them in a photo lineup, asking the older farmer if he could pick out the two autos most like the ones he'd seen that night.

Conrad had carefully studied the picture through his bifocals, his face squinching up as his eyes narrowed in concentration. Finally, he'd pointed an aged and yellowed finger at the two images Allison had picked out to represent the suspect's vehicles. It wasn't an ID that would stand up in court, but it gave Allison hope that it might be good enough to earn her a warrant to search both vehicles.

BOLOs on Lucas and his lieutenants had gone out with both of Allison's patrolling officers and the county's sheriff's deputies searching for the suspects in Anna Marie's death.

There was a lull after that rush of activity, with Allison staying close by the precinct in case any new reports came in.

Shortly before five o'clock, things seemed to go haywire all at once. Reports came in of shots being fired into several homes on the western edge of town. And while no one had been hit, the shaken homeowners had understandably inundated the precinct with calls. Allison had sent both of her on-duty officers out to view the scenes and canvas those affected for any possible witnesses. They'd been joined by county deputies, with Ted Olsen taking the lead on the scene.

Allison took reports by cell and worked with dispatch to coordinate the efforts to find the culprits when another call came in that sent things into further disarray.

Citizen reports from just down the road had called to report that the diner was on fire. Details were sketchy, but those witnesses on the scene said that it appeared as if a vehicle had crashed through the rear of the older restaurant and exploded. Allison had grabbed her things and been headed out to her cruiser to go to the scene when a figure had quickly approached her, momentarily startling the police chief.

"Chief Gardner?"

Allison's hand went to the grip of the nine-millimeter on her hip as she turned to the figure. But she recognized him at once, the coiled tension in her body relaxing somewhat while still remaining vigilant.

"What do you need, Jackson? I'm in a bit of a hurry here. In case you aren't aware, this whole damn city has gone crazy," Allison said sternly, as she stepped around the young man to reach for her car door.

"I know!" Jackson proclaimed, reaching to grab Allison's arm. "But you don't understand, it's all a smokescreen!"

"I don't have time for this, Jackson. What are you talking about?" Allison barked in frustration, as she yanked her arm away from the young man's grip.

"The shootings and the fire are all a distraction!" Jackson Perry yelled frantically. "It's Travis! He's going after your girlfriend!"

That stopped Allison in her tracks, her stomach instantly knotting up as her mind immediately went to the violence perpetrated on Anna Marie Stallworth. Fear raced through the chief's being as she imagined the woman she loved being victimized by Travis Lucas.

"You're sure?" Allison asked, as she grabbed the young man's shoulders firmly.

"I'm positive, Chief! I was supposed to throw Molotov cocktails into several abandoned buildings on the south side of town, but I came here, instead!" Jackson answered.

"Listen carefully, Jackson," Allison ordered with intensity. "I want you to go inside the precinct and find my assistant Molly. You tell her what you've told me and tell her I said to pull Ted and Alex off the shooting scenes and have them sent to Marley's address on the bluff. You make sure and let her know that I'm en route now."

Allison jumped into her cruiser without saying another word and fired the engine up, throwing the vehicle in gear and flooring the accelerator. The tires on the car baked into the blacktop surface of the parking lot as the cruiser fired backward, white smoke billowing up in its wake. Its backward momentum barely stopped before Allison had thrown the car into drive, lurching out of the parking lot, and turning east on Main Street, headed towards the bluff.

As she drove east towards the road that would lead up the mountain pass, Allison pleaded with God to keep Marley safe. There was also one added caveat to her prayer.

Please place Travis Lucas in my path.

Chapter Fifteen

Marley crawled away from the prone form of Travis Lucas; her injured attacker had rolled off her and onto his side as blood poured from his smashed nose, his one good eye cinched and tearing. Finally putting a little space between them as she reached the hall entrance that led to her bedroom, Marley managed to come up on all fours as she began to crawl towards the safety of her panic room. The burning and pain in her side were severe, and Marley could feel blood seeping from her wound. As she struggled towards her bedroom door, Marley felt blood streaming down her left leg and knew that was her life leaving her body, the thought breaking her heart, though not for selfish reasons. No, her heartbreak was directed towards Allie, who'd already been so unlucky in love. Marley knew that her death would likely kill Allie, or at the very least be the death knell of her romantic life. And the thought of the auburn-haired beauty going loveless for the remainder of her existence was gut-wrenching to Marley.

"I'M GOING TO GUT YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" came the sound of Lucas's voice from behind her, causing Marley to look back over her shoulder. Her attacker wasn't immediately present, but Marley knew he wasn't likely to be very long in continuing his pursuit. That knowledge gave Marley a sudden surge of energy, the injured blonde crawling faster and finally reaching the door to her room just as panic began to swell inside her. Marley's hands went to the door frame, her arms straining against the wooden surfaces as she came to one knee and started trying to force herself to stand. The muscles of her right leg trembled mightily, as they strained to heft her slight frame into an upright position, her hands hooking the inside trim of the structure and pulling with all her remaining strength.

"AAARGH!" Marley wailed, as she struggled to finally reach her feet, steadying herself momentarily before stepping forward. She was just feet away from safety now, the security of her safe room calling out, the protection it offered beckoning her to hurry. But just as she took another step closer to her ultimate goal, a fist slammed into Marley's back, sending her stumbling forward hard into the wall in front of her, Marley's head crashing into the drywall.

"The bedroom seems like a grand idea!" Lucas growled. "The last thing your dyke ass will feel is my big cock stuffing that tight little pussy of yours!"

Marley had crumpled back down onto the floor after crashing into the wall. Momentarily staggered by the head blow, her breath stolen away by the punch between her scapula, Marley fought the urge to blackout. She knew doing so would mean her death, and she so desperately wanted to live, even if it only meant living long enough to see Allie one final time.

"Time for some fun!" Lucas crowed jubilantly, his fists sinking into Marley's thick blonde curls and grasping tightly, using her locks as a handle to roughly lift her from where she'd collapsed; he tossed her over onto the bed.

Panic now wholly overtook Marley, her eyes wide with fear as she watched Lucas again unsnap his pants and begin to lower them as he crawled up onto the bed, a sneer gracing his countenance. He grabbed her left leg, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her inner thigh violently as he forced it open, allowing him to settle between her two lower limbs. Marley desperately tried to squeeze her legs closed with all her remaining strength, trying to jettison her attacker from between her legs to no avail. Her efforts only seemed to enrage Lucas all the more.

"Stop fighting me, slut," Travis Lucas roared as he brought his free palm raining down against Marley's right cheek, the blow snapping her head to the left and briefly making her see stars. The resulting disorientation proved all Lucas needed to seize his advantage as Marley's body went limp and ceded him the opening he desired.

"I'm gonna show you what its like to be fucked by a man," Lucas announced, as his hand snaked up underneath the hem of the skirt she wore and found the silk of her panties. His arm coiled, the wiry muscles in his arms going taut a mere instant before he yanked violently, ripping the thin material from Marley's body.

The young author's mind finally began to come back into focus. Marley looked down in horror, as Lucas grasped the shaft of his penis, and noted two things. One, his "big cock" actually seemed relatively small, and two, the knife was no longer in his other hand.

"You're going to enjoy this!" Lucas boasted, as he slid forward slightly and began to direct his less-than-impressive member towards her sex. Her panic complete and knowing that she only had one small hope of saving herself, Marley's left hand slid down her side, her fingers searching frantically for the knife that had pierced her side.

"Get ready, bitch!" Lucas growled triumphantly as the crown of his cock pressed between her legs in search of her vaginal opening. "You're about to find heaven in a couple of ways!"

Marley's body felt two things at that moment, Lucas beginning to press the stubby head of his cock in an attempt to gain entrance into the dry vestibule of her sex, and the cold steel four-inch blade of the knife that had come to rest beside her left leg.

Marley gripped the blade, sliding it forward and finding the knife's hilt, steeling her nerve for what she was about to do...

Chapter Sixteen

The engine of Marley's cruiser roared loudly as she flew down the road, its sirens wailing loudly to help clear any oncoming traffic. The speedometer read a hundred and ten, as the car seemed to float over the pavement, Allison's lips working in silent prayer as she concentrated on the road ahead of her.

She'd already contacted the precinct and ordered them to dispatch an ambulance to Marley's address, praying for the best outcome while preparing for the worst. Allison knew the county had a limited number of EMTs on duty at any given time and was aware that one had already been called to the fire scene at the diner. Allison did her best to put those worries aside, focusing on the modest traffic before her with a single-minded determination.

She was barely aware of the chatter coming in over the radio, but did take in enough to ascertain that the diner was fully engulfed in flame. That was a problem for the fire chief and his men as far as Allison was concerned. The entire town could burn down, and the auburn-haired beauty wouldn't care as long as she was in time to save Marley.

Allison decelerated as she approached the turnoff to the pass leading up the bluff, begrudging the loss of speed necessary to make the turn. Her tires squealed, the rear chassis of her squad car fishtailing slightly, as Allison fought not to overcorrect. The motor on her vehicle again whined as she floored the accelerator, Allison's body pressing back into her seat as the mighty engine lunged the car forward. The chief gripped the steering wheel tightly as her car slalomed through the turns up the mountainside, her mind once again focusing on the blonde she desperately wanted to find safe up on the bluff.

The short trip up the mountain road seemed to take an impossibly long time for Allison, each second of travel an eternity that left the chief in agony as her mind tried desperately not to dwell on negative thoughts.

At last, Allison reached the turnoff that led to Marley's home, her tires squealing as she braked sharply before cutting the wheel and veering off onto the gravel path. For a moment, the back end of her cruiser kicked sideways, and Marley was sure that she'd erred and was about to crash. The rear of her vehicle slid precariously to the left towards the hardwoods lining the driveway, Allison gritting her teeth and bracing for an impact. But at the last second, the car's rear held, her tires finding purchase and sending Allison barreling up the long driveway.

Finally pulling within sight of the house, two things registered in Allison's mind. One was a brown delivery truck sitting in front of Marley's home, and the second was the sound of the home's panic alarm blaring through the open front door.

Allison slid to a stop, throwing the cruiser's gear shift into park, even as she was opening the driver's side door and leaping out, her hand going to her gun and thumbing the snap holding it in place. She ran around the front of the car, leaping up onto the porch and drawing her pistol before slowing down as she brought her weapon into a shooting position and entered the house.

The klaxon sounding above her was deafening and slightly disorienting as Allison took in the room around her. Immediately, the police chief noted that the coffee table in front of the couch was kicked askew. She stepped around the sofa, and her heart dropped as she instantly saw blood covering the floor on the far end, with more puddled next to the end of the coffee table. The sight brought a sense of dread to Allison, who forced herself forward in search of Marley and the villain, the chief suspected was still present.

Allison stepped around the end of the couch and saw a smear of blood trailing along the floor. It was readily apparent to Allison that someone had either been dragged or had pulled themselves along the wood floor towards the hallway leading to the back of the house. Taking a deep breath, Allison quickly stepped around the door casing leading into the hall and pointed her weapon down the empty hallway. There was more blood present there, but the smears were gone, regular splotches and drops lining the length of the hall and stopping at the entrance to Marley's bedroom.