A New Game Read online

  A New Game

  Book 2

  of the

  Next Move, You’re Dead Trilogy

  Linda L Barton

  Inspired by

  Bob G Barton

  Copyright 2012©Linda L. Barton

  Published by Deadly Reads at Smashwords

  All Rights Reserved

  This book or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Smashwords License Statement

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  For my loving, husband Bob.

  You are the true driving force

  in this writing adventure.

  For it’s in your creative mind

  where our stories are born.

  A Special Thank you

  “Woman With Wet Hair” by marin

  Freedigitalphotos.net

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3,

  Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6,

  Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9,

  Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12,

  Chapter 13

  Prologue

  “It’s my fault they’re all dead! My choices caused their deaths, and I do not deserve to escape my punishment! He thought me a coward, and that I would take the easy way out, but I couldn’t bring myself to dishonor her memory. She died because I was too weak to stop him, and I know he is out there right now planning his next game. Erebus will destroy more lives, and no one will ever stop him! He’s a demon sent from hell to destroy as many lives as he can. I thought that I had killed him, but how does one kill a demon? You have to let me go! I am the only one who knows he exists! Let me out of here…Let me out…LET ME OUT!”

  ***

  “Doctor, do you think he’ll ever get better?” Tom Riggs hated to see John in this condition. Once sentenced for the murder of his wife, Kathy, John was sent to a mental hospital for the criminally insane.

  “I wish I knew who this Erebus was. John speaks of him as though he’s a real person, but that does not make any sense,” Tom watched John through the two-way mirror.

  “Mr. Cooper is trapped in a world of his own creation. He believes this Erebus to be a real person and that he is killing people while framing others for the crimes. He said it was all part of some sort of game, which he was supposed to figure out the different moves, and stop this Erebus before he killed again. In one of our sessions, he said that he believed it was Erebus, and not his wife he had strangled. John said he has no memory of her even being in the house until he found her dead at his feet.” Dr. Jenkins watched John through the two-way mirror and wrote something on his clipboard then he turned back to look at Tom.

  “I’m sorry to say, but I don’t know when, or even if Mr. Cooper will come back to our world. He has lost all concept of reality and is a danger to himself, as well to others.”

  Tom did not know how to react to this information. The night Kathy died he had been sitting at home reading a book, and John had called and asked him to come over because something terrible had happened to Kathy. When he arrived at their house, he had found John calmly sitting at his desk and covered in blood. He noticed John’s revolver sitting on the desktop, and he could tell what John was planning to do by the look in his eyes.

  “John, what happened here? Where’s Kathy?” Tom did his best to remain calm.

  “She’s upstairs. I thought it would be for the best. There was so much blood; I tried to wash it off, but there was too much,” he stared at the revolver, never looking at Tom.

  “Why don’t you let me have the gun, okay?” Tom did not like the look on John’s face, so he wanted to get the gun away from him before something happened.

  “Why don’t you move back a bit,” Tom held his breath, waiting for John to slide his chair back away from the desk and the revolver.

  “That’s good. Here, I’ll just take that with me,” he took a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and wrapped it around the gun, and then put it in his pocket.

  “You know I have to cuff you for your protection. I’m sorry, but you know the procedure.”

  John leaned forward and put his hands behind his back allowing Tom to secure the handcuffs on him. Neither said a word, as the handcuffs clicked or when Tom placed his hand on John’s shoulder in a show of affection.

  “Okay, the other officers are here now, so I want you to stay here with them while I go upstairs and check on Kathy.”

  When Tom had arrived, he had called for backup once he saw the broken coffee table covered in blood. He was heartbroken to think John had hurt her, but once he walked into John’s office and saw the look on his face, he knew the worst had happened.

  “I’m in here, and everything’s secure,” Tom shouted to the officers, as they entered the front door.

  He walked to the officers, as they stood outside the office door and whispered, “Watch him, and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. I’m going upstairs to check on his wife.”

  Tom had started walking up the stairs to the bedroom when the paramedics came through the front door.

  “Follow me; I sure hope your services are needed upstairs,” he walked up the stairs, as the paramedics followed closely behind him.

  ***

  Nothing could have prepared Tom for what he found in their bedroom. Kathy appeared to be asleep, but her ashen complexion gave her away.

  Oh God, what have you done! The words echoed in Tom’s mind, as the realization hit him with full force.

  He walked to the bed and stood a moment to gather his strength before he pulled back the sheet covering her body. The deep cuts on her arms and the dark bruises on her throat told the horrible story. He stepped back, letting the paramedics check her pulse, but he knew it was no use. “I’m sorry sir, there’s nothing we can do.”

  Tom could see the look of shock and sadness on the young man’s face. “We’ll notify the coroner.”

  Tom stood transfixed on the cold figure that was once a treasured friend. “I’m sorry, Kathy. I wish I had known,” his eyes were moist with tears.

  ***

  The buzz at the station was one of shock and disbelief. No one could believe that Detective John Cooper was sitting in jail for the brutal murder of his wife. The prosecutor had wanted the maximum punishment, but after extensive tests, they pronounced him unfit to stand trial and sentenced him on an insanity plea. Tom had tried several times to reach into the world John was hiding and pull him back to reality, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. John found himself trapped in a battle with the unseen Erebus, and there appeared to be no escape.

  Chapter 1

  The Introduction

  “Oh crap, it’s six o’clock already?” Detective Lucinda Mackey groaned and then rolled over to hit the snooze button on her alarm clock.

  “Five more minutes is all I need.” She was tired, and her body ached. Yesterday had been a rough day, much more than usual because she had finally gathered enough evidence to bust the group running the mobile meth labs in the area.

&
nbsp; They had gone in silent, to use the element of surprise, but while getting in position around the RV, a dog had alerted the suspects of their presence, and all hell broke out. One of the suspects had decided to run as the other three stayed behind and began to fire on the approaching officers. Mac, as she preferred to be called, noticed one of them escaping out the back door, and gave chase.

  He had a good start on her but got himself tangled up in some barbwire when he tried to climb over a fence. As she caught up to him, she saw him thrashing around and howling like a wounded animal trapped in the sharp, torturous wire. He was frantically rolling on the ground and fighting to get free, but this only caused the wire to cut into him deeper with each movement.

  Mac knew if did not stop thrashing about, he would seriously injure himself. Always known for doing things her way, Mac sometimes found herself in trouble, but she knew she had to act fast to keep him from further injury.

  She took the club off her belt and hit the man on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. “Hold still while I get you free, dumb-ass!”

  As the man lay unconscious, she loosened the barbwire and gently pulled it away from his bloodied body. It amazed her how badly he was cut up, but none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. She was about to put the cuffs on him when he suddenly rolled over and hit her squarely in the jaw.

  “Get off of me, bitch!” He yelled, fighting to get on his feet.

  Mac reacted immediately and pinned him in a chokehold. She was able to get a handcuff on one wrist then she twisted his other arm to get the second one locked in place. “Shut up asshole! You messed with the wrong bitch today! Now sit there, and behave yourself!”

  “Mac, are you all right?” Officer Jay Ramirez yelled as he ran up to the scene.

  “Yeah, I’m all right. Nothing I couldn’t handle. He wasn’t as tough as he thought he was.” She stood and brushed the dirt off her clothes. “Are the others secured?”

  “Two are, but the third one is dead. Boy, this one looks like a pit bull chewed on him. I guess no one ever told him to leave barbwire alone,” Jay laughed.

  Jay looked at the chunks of meat hanging from the wounds all over the arrestee’s body and shook his head at how foolish people could be.

  “Come on; let’s get you to the hospital, and once they get you put back together, you’ll get to have a little visit with the judge.” Jay reached down and helped the man to his feet.

  “Good job, Detective. I sure wouldn’t want ever to piss you off.” His words floated on the air, as he led the bloodied and battered man back to the others gathered by the RV.

  Mac looked around on the ground to make sure nothing had fallen out of the man’s pockets, and once she was sure the area was clean, she rejoined the group.

  ***

  Mac groaned when she heard the alarm on her clock. Shit, it’s six o’clock already.

  She turned off the alarm and then sat up on the edge of the bed.

  “Damn, my jaw is sore. I should have hit the bastard harder,” she laughed to herself. “Well, I guess I cannot put it off any longer.”

  She walked to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower to let it get warm.

  While she waited, she noticed the bruise on her face in the mirror. “Damn, that looks like crap. No wonder it hurts.”

  She knew that no amount of makeup would ever be able to cover the large, dark bruise on her swollen jaw.

  “Oh well, I’ve had worse,” she snickered as she stepped into the shower with the warm and inviting water.

  Mac knew the people at the Department would have something to say about her new look, so she was not looking forward to all the jokes and smart-ass comments. “Well, no sense in delaying the inevitable.”

  ***

  Once Mac had parked in her parking space at the Department, she looked at the bruise on her jaw in the rear view mirror. “Shit, it’s worse in this light.”

  She had left home early with the plan to work out in the weight room before hitting the paperwork stacked on her desk. After her little altercation, she hoped some exercise would help relieve the tightness in her muscles.

  Mac had always enjoyed an early workout in the weight room at the Department. Usually, no one was using it that time of the morning, so she could do her routine without being bothered. She walked straight to the weight room, doing her best to avoid eye contact with anyone. The last thing, she wanted to hear, were comments on her appearance. Unfortunately, you do not always get what you want.

  “Holy crap, what happened to your face?” Officer Jake Preston cried out when she walked into the room.

  “I heard you had some trouble yesterday, but damn.” He rubbed his chin, as though trying to ease an imagined pain.

  Mac ignored the question, as she walked to the treadmill and set her duffel bag down on the chair beside it. All, she wanted to do, was to work off her sore muscles and bruised ego. It had been difficult for her to gain the respect of her fellow officers, but after eleven years of service, she had finally achieved her goal.

  Mac climbed on the treadmill, adjusted the digital settings and pushed the start button…nothing happened. “Come on, did someone break the damn treadmill?”

  “No, it worked fine a little while ago,” Jake, laughed as he added more weights to his machine.

  Mac reset the machine and pushed the start button again, but what appeared across the digital screen took her by surprise. You have been chosen for The Game.

  “What the hell? Okay, you got me. What game was I chosen for?”

  “What did you say? You’ve been chosen for a game? Where did you hear that?”

  “I’m talking about this damn message on the treadmill.” She looked back to the screen, but it had disappeared.

  “It was right there!” Mac stared at the screen dumbfounded when a new message appeared on the screen. Enjoy your workout, as we have much to do.

  Mac reached for her cell phone hoping to get a picture of the message, but when she turned back to the screen, it was gone.

  “What is going on here? Who’s making those messages appear on the treadmill screen?” Mac was in no mood for jokes this morning.

  Jake walked to the treadmill and looked at the screen.

  “I don’t see any message. Maybe that guy hit you harder than you thought?” he laughed and then realized his mistake.

  Mac shot him a disapproving look. “No, you have to push the start button first,” she reached for the button again.

  “Watch this,” but as soon as she hits the red button the treadmill jumped to a start, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the floor. “Damn it!”

  “Mac, are you all right? Here let me help…” Jake reached for her, but she brushed his hand away.

  “I can get up myself!” Mac stood and looked at the screen again, but everything was as it was supposed to be.

  “That doesn’t make any sense; I know what I saw! It said I was chosen for some sort of game, and I should enjoy my workout because I had something to do! It was there, I swear it was!”

  Jake was not sure what to say, as he looked at the screen again.

  “I’m sorry Mac, but there isn’t any message on here. Maybe you need to go home and get some rest,” he held his breath and waited for the reaction he knew would come next.

  “I don’t need to go home because I’m just fine! I have no idea how they did it, but someone is screwing with me. They may be laughing now, but you can bet your sweet ass they won’t once I find out who it is!”

  Mac never enjoyed being the target of someone’s sick joke, and she had full intention of making him or her pay. She stepped back up on the still-running treadmill and increased the speed without saying another word.

  Jake took this as a sign she was through with him, so he walked back to the weights and restarted his workout in silence.

  ***

  The sweat was pouring off Mac when she stepped off the treadmill and reached for her bottle of water. She was the
only one left in the room now because Jake had finished his workout and left.

  She placed her duffle bag on the floor and sat down to relax a moment. What was that all about? I know what I saw, but how did they do it? “Crap, it’s getting late,” she moaned.

  She grabbed her bag and walked into the shower room to clean up, but as she stood with the water flowing down her body, a thought flowed into her mind. What if it wasn’t a joke?

  ***

  The call came into the police station of a five-year-old boy who was missing from his backyard. The frantic mother said he had been playing with the family dog when she heard the dog whimper as though he was in pain. She said she had looked out the window to see the dog lying in the yard, and the back gate wide open.

  The mother said she had run outside immediately and called to her son, but he never responded, and none of her neighbors had seen him leave the yard.

  “I can’t find him anywhere! He has never done anything like this before, and he knows not to leave the yard. Besides, Rex is dead! I cannot tell you how, but he is dead. Rex would never have let someone take Joey!”

  When Mac pulled up in front of the house, there was a large group gathered around an officer taking statements. When she walked to the group an older man came up to her, “You will find him, won’t you?”

  “Thank you for your concern. I can assure you we will do everything we can to find him.” Mac knew they wanted answers, but she needed some answers first.

  “You can handle this one; I need to go talk to the mother,” Mac nodded to the officer then walked toward the front door.