Chapter 14 - The Chase in the Woods
The cool evening air hit their faces like a wall of ice as Clara and Elena burst out of the boathouse doors, sprinting across the damp, moss-covered ground toward the safety of the dirt road. Behind them, a furious roar echoed from inside the boathouse, followed heavy, pounding footsteps splashing through the shallows.
"He's right behind us!" Elena screamed, her breath coming in ragged gasps as her heels sank deep into the pine needles.
"Don't look back! Keep running!" Clara yelled, clutching the heavy metal briefcase tightly against her ribs with one arm while grabbing Elena’s hand with the other.
They reached the edge of the tree line just as a heavy iron wrench whistled through the air, embedding itself deeply into the trunk of a pine tree barely a foot away from Clara’s head.
Marcus emerged from the boathouse, breathing heavily, wiping blood from his nose with the back of his sleeve. He didn't have a weapon anymore, but his stride was fast and merciless.
"You can't outrun me in those shoes, Clara!" Marcus shouted into the darkening woods, his voice echoing menacingly across the silent lake.
Clara’s high heels were a massive disadvantage on the uneven forest floor. With a sharp groan of frustration, she stopped for a split second, kicked off both shoes, and kept running barefoot over the cold, sharp pine needles and roots. Elena did the same, tossing her ruined black dress's hem out of the way as they scrambled up the steep embankment toward the main road.
Through the trees, the headlights of a parked car suddenly cut through the gloom.
A police cruiser was parked right where they had left Clara’s sedan, its emergency lights flashing a rhythmic red and blue against the dark bark of the pine trees.
"Over there! Officer Vance!" Elena screamed at the top of her lungs, waving her arms frantically as they burst out onto the dirt road.
The driver’s side door of the cruiser opened, and Officer Vance stepped out, drawing his service weapon immediately as he saw the two terrified women running toward him, followed closely by his armed former-chief brother emerging from the tree line.
"Hold it right there! Federal and state police!" Vance bellowed, aiming his pistol directly at Marcus.
Marcus skidded to a halt at the edge of the road, his hands flying up into the air as the flashing red and blue lights illuminated his bloodied face.
"Don't shoot, Vance! It's me!" Marcus yelled, taking a step forward.
"Stay where you are, Marcus!" Vance commanded, his voice cold and steady. "Drop to your knees and put your hands behind your head. You're under arrest for the murder of Edward Miller."
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Clara collapsed against the side of the police cruiser, chest heaving, the heavy metal briefcase still clutched safely in her arms. She looked past Vance down the long, dark road winding back toward the town, knowing the nightmare was finally over.
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