Chapter 3 - Walters
“Let’s park on the other side of the garage and come in through the field this time,” Delilah suggested as they arrived back at the home of the Krugers. “The damsel in distress routine did not quite work so well last time,” she proclaimed touching her bandaged leg.
Boone saw Delilah touch her leg. “How does it feel?”
“I think it is healed. There is no pain, but I know it is there. It tingles a little.”
“So, you are ready to try this again?” Boone asked staring straight into her eyes, searching for the truth.
“I do not want to wait until tonight. I do not want to do this in the dark,” Delilah decided after a few minutes of deep contemplation. “I will take the front door. You take the back.”
“It sounds like the woman is in the living room. I can hear her sobbing. It is soft, but she is crying. I can also detect a third heartbeat. It is faint. I think it is Mr. Kruger. I believe he is hurt, maybe unconscious. And I smell blood. But I cannot tell if it is his blood or hers.”
“Where is Walters?” Delilah asked.
“He is in the front of the house, in the living room. But I cannot discern his thoughts.”
“So you go around back and break in from the kitchen. When Walters hears the door being busted off the hinges, I will enter from the front. Then we will take him down.”
“Get your rope ready and let’s get this over with. We have spent too much time on this one. I am ready to get this done and go home,” Boone snarled.
“No need to growl at me,” Delilah chuckled. “Save the teeth and fur for the sicko inside.”
“Works for me,” Boone snickered. “Just do not be shocked if a large tan wolf comes through the door.”
Delilah smiled. She had only seen Boone as a wolf from afar. Of course, she would never admit it. “Whatever it takes to get the job done. Then we can collect our money and go home.”
Delilah and Boone prepared to storm the farmhouse; Delilah with her knife and rope; Boone with his knife in his boot and his pistol tucked into his pants. They moved to the corner of the garage and peeked towards the house. Boone gazed at Delilah for a moment; a tender moment and winked. “Please, do not get shot again,” he begged. “My heart could not take it.”
“Just worry about yourself. I am ready for the asshole this time,” Delilah smiled. “Get going already.”
Boone took off running towards the back of the house, and Delilah moved to the porch. Once on the porch which framed the entire front of the house, Delilah flattened herself to the front facade of the house next to the door. Silently she waited for Boone to enter from the kitchen. When she heard Boone’s massive shoulder connect with the wooden entrance, she busted through the front door. Suddenly a feeling of dread surrounded her. It happened so quickly. Too fast for Delilah to even think about anything. The sound was so loud she nearly froze in her tracks. Her body shook with fear as the house shook around her. She could feel the house and the ground shake. She could hear the breaking glass and the tearing of wood and metal. She could smell smoke and blood.
It only took seconds for Delilah to comprehend what had happened. Walters had booby-trapped the back door with explosives. The blast was not large enough to destroy the entire house, but it was sufficient to kill the person entering through the kitchen door. Delilah’s level of fear jumped a gazillion percent. Not fear for her safety but for Boone’s.
Delilah had to make a snap decision. Rescue Boone or capture Walters. Her fear quickly turned to anger. She was incensed with the idea that Boone was hurt, probably burned, or possibly dead. And Walters would pay. He would pay dearly.
She looked up and saw the surprised look on Walters' face as he saw a tall, shapely and beautiful woman coming towards filled with enough vehemence to take down the whole world with her bare hands. With her golden colored rope in her hand, Delilah moved towards Walters with determination. Her goal was to capture Walters and then rush to Boone. She silently prayed he was okay. Maybe the blast only knocked him out, she thought.
Walters raised the shotgun he had beside him and aimed it towards Delilah. As the barrel leveled mid-mass, Delilah screamed. “Not again, asshole!” she seethed and started twirling the rope as if it was a lasso.
Walters paused in confusion. How was a tall, dark-haired Barbie Doll going to take him down with a piece of rope no thicker than an electrical cord? He nearly laughed at the thought. When Delilah saw the familiar smile of amusement on Walters' face, she knew she had won. It was the same face each of her conquests exhibited right before she ensnared them. She smiled back through her clenched teeth.
Delilah was barely cognizant of Mrs. Kruger tied up in a kitchen chair which had been placed in the middle of the room. Nor did she acknowledge the barely breathing and unconscious body of Mr. Kruger lying behind her. Delilah was focused on capturing Walters and finding Boone before it was too late. She had to save Boone despite any collateral damage.
It only took two twirls of the makeshift lasso before Delilah tossed it. How many times have I done this? Delilah thought to herself. She had never counted, but she knew it was a lot. The lasso caught Walters’ free arm, but it was all that was necessary. One circle of the rope encircling any part of his body was sufficient. “Drop the gun and tie yourself up,” Delilah laughed. She knew the magic of the rope. Walters would have to do whatever she wanted.
Delilah dropped the end of the rope still in her hand and ran to the back of the house. Entering the once quaint country kitchen, she saw the kitchen door, and its frame was destroyed. Delilah rushed to the exit. She could see the back porch had collapsed. The blast had been strong enough to blow Boone back into the yard behind the house. There was debris everywhere. From the doorway, Delilah scanned the burning wreckage for Boone. Seeing a fire extinguisher next to the stove, she grabbed it. “Boone,” she called out in panic. “Hooxei, where are you?”
Delilah thought she saw some of the burning wood moving. She jumped to the ground and rushed to the spot and aimed the fire extinguisher at the flame. “Hold your breath while I put out the fire!” Delilah screamed just before discharging the extinguisher. Once the fire was out, she threw the empty canister down and started digging through the rubble. She could hear a soft cough, maybe a growl. She wasn’t sure which, but she knew Boone was buried under the wreckage of the porch. Digging frantically, Delilah's tears came torrential.
Then she saw him. Not Boone the man but Hooxei, the wolf. She sighed once in relief because she had found him. Then her adrenaline really kicked in. “I am here Hooxei. I will have you out in a moment.” Delilah frantically moved pieces of wood and metal off of Boone. She stared at his tan fur and at his size. He was so much larger than a natural wolf.
When Boone was nearly freed, Delilah leaned in and kissed him in the middle of his back. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Say something!” Delilah beseeched.
Of course, the wolf could not reply in human words. He growled softly and started moving as if he was trying to shake the rest of the debris off of him. Delilah jumped up in anticipation of her wolf standing. And he did. Delilah nearly jumped with joy. “You are okay,” she cried. But this time, her tears were ones of joy, not fear.
Delilah stared into the emerald green eyes standing before her. So happy, she hugged the wolf’s neck. Boone pushed her back. He shook himself again like a wet animal shaking off water and then he took a deep breath. Exhaling he turned human.
“Did you get the bastard?” Boone screamed furiously as he took inventory of himself and his clothing. His clothes were riddled with holes both from the fire and the explosion. He had several cuts and burns over his body and face.
“You know I did.” Delilah laughed. “You look a little worse for wear, though. How do you feel?”
“The blast was just enough to blow up the door and porch. My clothes are charred, but overall I am okay. It is nothing a hot show
er and a cold beer cannot cure.”
“Let’s get back to Walters and get the hell out of here,” Delilah exclaimed. “This is the worst grab and go ever.”
“I think we are going to have company soon. I hear a fire truck,” Boone revealed. “And I am sure a cop or two.”
Boone and Delilah rushed into the house. Walters was sitting on the floor where Delilah had left him. Boone laughed as he saw nothing but a loop of Delilah rope around Walters left wrist. “Damn woman. You gotta get me one of those.”
“Flex cuffs,” Delilah replied.
“Flex cuffs?”
“Give me your flex cuffs before the locals get here,” Delilah explained. “They are much easier to explain than my rope.”
“Oh yeah,” Boone mused and reached into his back pocket. He slammed Walters to the ground, face down and secured the orange plastic cuffs around his wrists. He rolled Delilah’s rope into a small loop and slid it into his pocket for safe keeping.
“Let’s take a look at Mr. and Mrs. Kruger while we are waiting,” Boone suggested. “We have a few minutes before the Calvary arrives.”
“I will untie the missus,” Delilah replied now cognizant of the elderly couple. “I do not think the old man is doing so well.”
“He is alive. His heartbeat is weak, but it is beating steady. I will heal a few of the more severe external injuries while you clean up Mrs. Kruger. They will both be fine physically, but the emotional scars are going to run deep.”
“Is there anything you can do?” Delilah asked.
“Not with company coming up the road. I do not have time to heal them and erase the memory of what has happened today. Mr. Kruger is going to need more than I can do within the next two minutes.”
Delilah frowned. At least they did not see the wolf.
Boone leaned over Mr. Kruger. He pushed the will to live to him. Boone told him he would be okay; his wife would be fine. It was all he could do before the local authorities arrived. He quickly moved to Mrs. Kruger and pushed a similar thought to her.
Boone moved next to Walters, who was still on his stomach restrained. Delilah stood next to Boone. Moments later two local police officers rushed through the front door, guns pulled and pointed at Boone and Delilah. Boone extended his right hand with his bounty hunter credentials displayed.
“My partner, Delilah,” Boone stated as an introduction. “Are there any EMTs with you? Mr. Kruger needs a doctor and soon. Mrs. Kruger could use a little medical attention as well.”
The officers stared at Delilah in amazement and in awe of her beauty. And then they saw the crime scene around them. “What happened here?”
Delilah spoke first. “This is Carl Walters. He is wanted in Wisconsin for the murder of ten college girls. There is a big bounty on his head, dead or alive. We have kept him alive. He needs to suffer for what he did to those poor girls.”
“You caught this guy? What happened to the back of the house?”
“Booby-trapped,” Boone explained, displaying his charred clothing. “But there was not enough explosives to take down the entire structure. It was just enough to slow me down a bit.”
“Do either of you need any medical attention?” one of the EMTs asked while staring at Boone and his burnt and torn clothing.
“We are fine,” Boone stated for both him and Delilah. Boone knew most of his cuts and burns had already healed. He looked worse than he actually was. He would be totally healed by the time he reached the hotel. “We just need a shower and a change of clothes. After we get our paycheck, we will be on our way.”
It took only a few minutes for the EMTs to load the Krugers into the back of the ambulance and leave for the nearest hospital nearly twenty miles away. “I will call some friends to secure the house after we process everything. We will have the place cleaned up before Ethel and Martin come home,” the police chief announced. “Martin was a loyal civil servant for over forty years. He is like a father to all of us.”
The police chief sighed again as he surveyed all the damage. “Why don’t the two of you get cleaned up and come down to the station. We will need your statements, and then we will get y’all paid.”
Boone and Delilah nodded and left. A few minutes later they were back in Boone’s SUV and headed into town. “Are we spending the night?” Boone asked as they arrived at the motel where Delilah’s SUV was still parked.
“Get two rooms,” Delilah sighed. “I have been shot. You have been blown up. I am too tired to drive home.”