Justifiable Homicide

Jerry pulls up to find several servers standing at the front of the truck stop. A tall thin older redhead was waving her hands around, clearly upset over the tragedy, the loss of life.

Maybe she knew the man, he reasons.

Climbing out of his car, he continued to watch the distraught lady. She reminds me of my late wife, Julia, he thinks, teary-eyed. Both have the same hair color, no-nonsense attitude and build. His wife's tongue lashings come to mind as he continues across the lot.

~~~~

"I asked you to fix that a month ago, Jerry, a month, and it still isn't done," Julia yells.

"I'll get to it, honey, I promise," he says, kissing her on the cheek.

She glares at him. Her hands turn into fits by her side. "Don't you dare try that mussy stuff with me, mister. Don't you dare 'cause it won't work this time." She stomps her foot, glares at him, and adds, "You're in deep shit, bud, deep shit, and the only way out is to fix a few things."

His dad shakes his head and says, "You should've known better than to fall for a redhead, son."

"Tell that to my heart."

"Yeah, well, then you better get used to this 'cause I have a feeling this is going to be a daily thing." Shaking his head, he chuckles and walks away.

"You're not even listening to a thing I say. You're impossible, Jerry. Just impossible." Julia throws her hands in the air and storms away.

~~~

I miss her so much, her temper, her drama, and everything in between. Jerry recalls cuddling on the couch. I wouldn't give anything to have those days again.

His wife and daughter were killed in a drive-by twelve years ago. Everyone said it'd get easier with time, but the pain and emptiness never seemed to disappear. Wiping a tear from his cheek, he steps up to the staff.

"My name is Detective Bower. I'm with the Berryville PD." Taking a notebook from his pocket, he looks up and asks, "Can you please tell me what you saw?"

The redhead with the name Meg scribbled across her uniform glances at her watch and says. "I have to pick up my kids from their dad's in a bit.

"I understand you're in a hurry, ma'am ..."

"Good, then talk to the others and leave me alone." She turns to leave.

Jerry grabs her arm to stop her. "I'd much rather hear it from you."

She exhales as she spins around. "Fine, but I have to hurry. Jack will be pissed if I'm late again."

"I'll make it quick, I promise."

Meg thumbs behind her. "So, I'm inside watching the news when I hear a gunshot."

Jerry looks up from his paper. "You heard a single shot?"

She nods. "Yes. So, I ran outside to see what was happening and saw a woman covered in blood running towards the highway." She pauses.

Jerry looks up from his notes. "What happened next?"

"I run inside and call you guys." She glances at her watch again.

"Can you describe her?"

"She's about five foot three. She has a light complexion and bright red hair."

A puzzled expression crosses the detective's face. "Red, you say?"

"Yes, yes, fire engine red." She holds out a strand of loose hair. "A little darker than mine."

"What was she wearing?"

"A denim jacket and light green pants. I explained all of this to that rookie." She points to a young cop standing watch.

"I appreciate you going over it again with me."

"Yeah, well, I really need to go."

"If you think of anything else, I want you to call this number." Jerry hands her a card. Grabbing it from his hands, she storms inside.

"Detective, we found this in their shower stall," Matt holds up two clear plastic bags. One contains a used box of red hair dye and the other freshly cut hair.

"It looks like Janet changed her disguise. Jerry then recalls what Rachel had said. "Let's send it to the lab to be sure it's her."

"Yes, sir."

Jerry sees Jeff processing the truck when he walks across the parking lot. "What can you tell me?" he asks, stepping up to the cab.

The stench is so overpowering that he has to step back. I'll never get used to that stench. He takes a jar of Vicks from his pocket and dabs some under his nose. An old trick the captain taught him years ago. Jerry inhales. Much better. He turns toward the cab.

"I did the same thing, Sir." Jeff smiles.

"It keeps us from losing our lunch," Jerry smiles.

"That it does, sir." Jeff laughs.

"So what can you tell me?"

"I'd say he tried to force himself on her; she grabs a gun and shoots him in his head. According to the projection of the bullet, I'd say she was sitting on his floorboard when the shooting occurred."

"So she kills him in self-defense."

"I believe so, Sir." He points to the corpse's junk hanging out of his pants.

Jerry nods as he answers his phone. "Hi, Captain. The killer is at the Barry residence." Jerry feels his phone vibrate in his hand. "I just received the address. I'll load up a team and head over there now. I will keep you posted, sir."

Jerry sees an officer walking toward him, a denim jacket in hand.

"I found this at the edge of the highway, sir."

"Good find, son."

****

The killer is standing over her victim's bloody body with a large knife in her hand. Willy is spread eagle across her bed with his hands and feet secured to its frame.

"You don't need to do this over a few bucks. You really don't," Willie says, eyeing the knife again. He gulps and adds, "I…I'll make a deal with you. I'll call your debt good and give you the room for as long as you like if you let me go.

"It's not over money, bud. It's about how you treat women." She leans in closer. When they're face to face, she says, "You act like we're only here to please you, to fulfill your sexual needs. I'm here to tell you that WE'RE NOT pretty playthings that you can use and toss aside."

"No, no, you have it all wrong. That's not me. That's not how I think at all. I adore women. All women, no matter their shape or size."

"I bet you do, especially when they're in your bed pleasing you, right.?"

"No, no, you've got it all wrong."

A skeptical look crosses Penny's face as she circles the bed. "Do you get your jollies from little girls too?"

"No, never. I'd never touch a child."

"Is it little boys, or maybe you like watching them do each other?"

Willie's nose crinkles. "That's disgusting."

"Is it, now? Then how do you explain these?" She shows him snapshots of naked children performing on each other. She found them when she was searching for a knife in his room.

"My friend brought them over, so I could post them to his website. I didn't want to do it, honest I didn't, but he didn't give me a choice."

"These don't turn you on?"

"No, I ...I'm not like that, I'm not."

She glances between his legs. "He's saying something different."

Willie gulps and says, "I ...I'm thinking about you, doll face."

"Sure you are." Penny glances at his photos again. These faces look familiar. She quickly runs through the stack. It can't be. She looks through them again. They're the kids that disappeared over a decade ago. She spent the majority of her police career searching for these children. I would've found them if not for my ex.

He broke into her apartment late at night and forced himself on her. She tries to kill him in self-defense. The cops stopped her before she could finish the job

The judge declared Penny mentally incompetent to stand trial. They shipped her off to the insane asylum, where she spent nearly a decade trying to escape.

I could finally put an end to this case and give their parents some closure. Throwing his pictures on the table, she turns towards her victim. "Where are they, Willy? Where are the kids?" she screams, holding her knife to his throat.

"I don't know what happened to them, honestly. My friend brought them over, I took pictures, and they left," he cries.

"What's your friend's name, and where does he live?"

"His name is Jacob Myers."

"Where does he live?"

"He's ...he's dead," Willie bawls.

"Where are the kids?" He doesn't answer. "I said, where are the kids?"

He looks straight at her with fear in his eyes.

She presses the knife against his throat. "You can either tell me where they are or meet Jacob in hell."