Haunted (Michael Bennett 10)

Sadie directed her comments to Streeter. She said, “I’m going to make you talk. You’re going to tell us about all the shit you’ve done around here.”

“I’m not saying nothing. You can’t make me talk. I don’t even have to invoke my Fifth Amendment rights. You’re not a judge, and I don’t have to say shit.”

That’s when Sadie pulled the trigger again.

Chapter 85

I flinched at the sound of the gun going off. Inside the cellar, with the tight walls and good insulation, it sounded like a bomb. The acrid smell of gunpowder made me queasy when I thought about the consequences.

The croak that came out of Dell Streeter when the bullet struck him made me realize there was no turning back. He let out a strangled cry. No real words, just some whimpering.

And Sadie kept her steady stance, with the pistol still up in front of her. She was cool and calm. And that was frightening.

I looked over at Dell Streeter, who had fallen back onto a box. The second bullet had struck his other leg almost at his hip. He squirmed in pain as blood pumped out of the wound.

Now it was important to keep Sadie engaged with me. I had to keep her mind off what she had just done. I didn’t want it to be a stepping-stone for something worse. Although at this point, it couldn’t get much worse.

I said, “Sadie, look at me, sweetheart.”

She kept her focus on the wounded Dell Streeter.

“You have to believe me when I tell you this will all work out. Just give me the gun, and we’ll walk out of this house together. No one will hurt you. I swear to God.” I meant that more than anything else I had ever said. I would kill anyone who tried to harm this girl. This girl who, despite everything else, was still just a child. Vulnerable and desperate. I had to help her.

Sadie said, “You’ve been good to me. You’re a good father. Living back in the Ghost House with your family showed me what life could be like. What I missed out on. And it’s all because of men like this. And nothing ever happens to them. Bad things only seem to happen to people around them.”

I thought about the drug dealer who had used Brian. How Brian’s life was ruined because he met that man. Maybe Sadie was right. This was the only way to deal with scum like this.

Sadie took a step forward.

I could see a change in Dell Streeter’s attitude as she crept closer to him with the gun still in her hand.

Sadie said to Streeter, “Tell us about all the evil that went on around here. Tell us where you hide your drugs. Tell me how you’re going to explain yourself when you meet God.”

Streeter started to jabber at me. “Bennett, stop fooling around. Do something. You’re a cop. You can’t let this happen.”

Damn it. He was right. But I couldn’t hurt Sadie, either.

Now she was standing directly in front of the drug dealer. He still hadn’t admitted to anything. He hadn’t done anything other than plead for his life. It made me wonder how many people had pleaded for their lives in front of him. Had he ever listened?

Then Sadie touched the barrel of the pistol to his chest.

Chapter 86

I watched, frozen in time and space, with Sadie holding the gun to Dell Streeter’s chest. I calculated the distance across the room and realized Sadie would have plenty of time to pull the trigger before I made it halfway there.

Dell Streeter’s face reflected the light from the single bulb hanging in the middle of the room. Sweat poured off his nose and chin as he tried to maintain some sense of composure. But his body betrayed him. He was shaking uncontrollably. The blood from the bullet wounds in his legs had now stained his pants past his knees.

And the girl he had tried to bury alive was holding a gun to his heart.

I felt helpless as I watched the scene unfold.

Sadie didn’t look nervous or frightened. This was something she had considered doing for a long time. Then I realized that part of her motivation was to protect my family. She didn’t want anyone from the town, or Dell Streeter himself, to do anything that might hurt one of the kids. She was trying to help.

Quickly I said, “Sadie, I can protect the family. I can protect you. The kids, Mary Catherine, and Seamus are all safe. We’ll be headed back to New York soon. You don’t have to do this.”

Sadie kept staring at Dell Streeter, not moving the gun an inch. She said, “What about protecting the kids he keeps selling this shit to? What about the next time he gets away with some terrible crime? What happens if he just runs away and I have to worry about him coming back to kill me someday?”

“I can protect you.”