Robert C Waggoner - John: The Senior Killer (A Brad Pratt Novel)

John: The SeniorKiller

Robert C.Waggoner

Copyright 2006 by Robert C.Waggoner

Smashword s Edition

Prologue

Candice, I declare this isthe finest afghan Ive ever seen, a perfect voice for an old ladywas heard.

Oh go on with you. That oldthing. I made it twenty years ago when my dear husband felt thechill upon him, she replied in a likewise creaky voice of hereighty plus years.

I know dear, as shefingered the material, but such design and color.

Im glad you like it and Iwould like to give it to you for a present.

No, I couldn't accept sucha fine gift and it was your husbands. I dont want to takesomething you can remember him by, she said with an eye on hisvictim.

He was dressed like an oldwoman. A perfect disguise as it was his profession. Now he had hissights on ending Candices life. She was too old and time for herto move on. Under his long dress in a special holster on one leg, aMarlin spike lay ready to end her life. On the other leg a hammerin another holster waited for use against the head of the Marlinspike. Now it was time to put it to use.

Candice said, I insist youtake it. I know you are moving to Redding and Ive no need for ithere in Barstow.

Changing the subject hesaid, while rubbing his neck, I have been having trouble with myneck muscles lately and the doctor suggested a neck rub would do aperson good. Do you ever have a stiff neck Candice?

Oh my yes, even now I feela tightness there.

Let me show you how thedoctor showed me to rub the stiffness out, as he slowly rose upand moved behind her. From his dress pocket he took out a bottle ofEfficascent Oil. He showed her the bottle and said, This iscamphor plus menthol and it feels wonderful on the skin and relaxesthe muscles.

Candice looked at the bottleand smelled the contents as she removed the lid. My, this is niceand I love the smell. Do you mind putting some on myneck?

Not at all but could youunbutton a few of your buttons so I can reach your neck easier?Candice did as she requested and soon he had a nice view of herneck and where the spinal cord entered the skull. Please lean youneck forward a little dreary so I can better rub your tired oldmuscles. He began to slowly rub the oil on her skin and soon theroom smelled like camphor.

My, that is nice and feelsso warm. Already I feel better.

This only takes a fewminutes, he said as he reached for the spike with one hand andquickly grabbed the hammer with the other as Candice gave offlittle moans of delight. He had the spike by the sharp end and wasrubbing with the heel of his hand while placing the sharp end nextto the entry hole to the brain. He practiced this many times on amannequin and gave the blunt end of the spike a blow sending thetip straight up into her brain. In one second she was dead. The oilfell from her hand to the old rug. He wiped off the spike on herold dress and returned it to the leg holster as well as the hammer.He picked up the bottle of oil and placed it in his bag; walked tothe door of the tiny house and looked back once at the formerCandice from Barstow, California. She was leaned over in her rockerwith arms hanging down. She never knew what hit her.

Walking with a cane heclosed the door quietly and slowly walked down the street to hisold non - descript car. He didnt care if someone saw him, he wasjust another old lady in a world that was fast becoming aged and hemeant to whittle the old folks down a little. Like in his favoritebook, Sherlock Holmes says to Watson: The game isafoot.

Chapter

Precarious was not the wordBrad Pratt was thinking about. Stupid might be more like it. Aroaring sound in his ears both from the sea and the wind made himthink of being out here on a day like today; and the salt air andspray from the waves crashing into the rock, sent the pungent smellof the sea into his nose like someone using an inhaler for anallergy. It was a November afternoon with the tide coming in andhanging by his fingertips onto the rock wall of a sea stack provinghe still had it after all this time. His mate, lying flat on thetop of the rock, coal back hair flying in the wind stared at himthrough equally colored eyes without expression. His hands werenumbing up and what footholds he had were not going to last long ifhe didnt move. Up was the only way to go; down was to be thrashedagainst the rock from the pounding waves coming through the narrowgap into a bowl like cove from which he foolishly decided to provehe could climb the vertical wall without the use of pitons or suchuseless things. His ego always got the best of him and this timewas no exception. He glanced down at the angry sea stirred up bythe coming storms known as the Pineapple Express during this timeof year in the Pacific Northwest.

Sweat dripped into his eyesand looking up again he saw a small smile raise her brown cheeksimplying, what now big boy? You got yourself in this mess and nowyou get yourself out of it. Her grin pissed him off and withrenewed determination he spied a finger hold and moved up a footcloser to the top. His heart pounding but his breathing normal hemethodically made a plan and scampered to the top rolling over onhis back as both his dog and his mate climbed on top of him whilehe let out a crazy laugh. He was soaked to the skin from firstjumping into the water from the top at slack tide and from thespray from the waves crashing into the wall as he began his accentto prove he could still do it.

Lying on his back with Sujinon top of him brought back the nightmares that plagued him sinceAfghanistan. He lay wounded in a small cave completely deliriousfrom the infection in his leg. To keep him quiet she lay on top ofhim with her hand over his mouth as the sounds of the Talibancrossed the rocky mountain trail. If found, she didnt want tothink about what they would do to the both of them; stories ofcaptured enemy made her shudder and move her knife in her otherhand closer to his jugular vein. First she would cut him and thenherself if discovered. Sounds of rocks rolling down the mountain asthey walked by; little conversation was heard, mostly just anoccasional grunting as someone slipped on the narrow trail and morethan one had met his Allah on such trails in the rugged mountainsbetween Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He was still moaning fromthe fever, but the howling wind masked his sounds as all was quietexcept the wind. She waited a few minutes more to make sure all wasclear. His moaning stopped as he fell into a deep sleep. Shecrawled to the small opening cautiously to peer out and see if theyhad left a trailer behind as they usually did with mountains fullof caves. She sniffed the wind and lay waiting for the next thirtyminutes or so before she crawled back to check on the woundedAmerican soldier. There was nothing on his person to say who hewas. However, she could tell by his uniform and haircut he wasAmerican. Where did he come from and when she found him lying facedown on the rocky trail she thought he was dead. Listening for aheartbeat through his back she heard the steady beat of a heartthat was strong and regular, albeit fast. He was not small and ittook all her strength and effort to drag him to a cave just largeenough for a body to fit the opening. He must have sensed someonehelping him as once she stood him up the pain of his leg must havebrought him around, he used his hands and arms to drag himself intothe cave only to pass out again as she followed him in. Goingthrough his pack and pockets she found some meds. Totallyunfamiliar with the names written on the meds, she discovered somepacks with antibiotic written on them.

Part of her originallymission to Pakistan was for humanitarian reasons. The basics offirst aid she knew, and quickly she opened the pack and shot him inhis white butt with the injection. Next she looked at his wound inhis thigh. The bullet had missed the femur and passed through themuscle and exited cleanly. Hed administered first aid to himselfand had stopped the bleeding. She wondered how far he had traveledsince being wounded. The old bandage she removed was smelly andcaked with dried blood. From her pack she took some precious waterand washed the wound. Applied a new bandage from his store of medsand waited for him to regain consciousness.