Chapter 37

Some of you have asked about the Matt Preston series. If you go to Amazon and enter “Matt Preston”, my novels will come up. (they are available in print and on Kindle) There is an author named Matt Preston who writes cookbooks, no relation to my Matt. HOUSEBOAT is the first novel in the series. There are seven in total. Each novel stands on its own, however if you have read HOUSEBOAT, you’ll have met most of the major characters. Again, thank you for your interest in my novels.

It was raining lightly when I pulled off the ferry. Driving as fast as I dared up the island, I kept thinking my biggest fear was Sakol had caught the ferry before me and may have tried to go after Hollis by himself. I had no idea what Hollis would do to him. I was grateful it was Christmas morning, and the traffic was light. A couple of times I think my truck went faster than it ever had in its life. I know I took some of the corners way too fast and I was grateful there was no oncoming traffic as I drifted through them.

The old lighthouse is located at the rear of the abandoned fort and when I arrived, I entered through the old sagging gate and headed towards the back. Once I reached the old fort’s deserted upper parking area, I slipped the transmission out of gear and let my truck slowly coast across the sloped and weed-choked parking lot. Considering the deplorable condition of the lot, it was obvious no one had used the entire area in a long time.

I let the truck continue to roll down the lot while I kept alert for any movements. It had been a long time since I’d been in Nam and had to rely on my instincts for survival. I could feel the adrenaline rush surging through my body as I carefully inspected every bush surrounding the back lot of the park.

I slipped the truck back in gear and slowly continued to circle the parking lot, headed towards the furthest back part of the park. Even though no one had used the parking lot for several decades, I still thought it was quiet; too quiet for my taste.

It was raining harder and, in the distance, stood the old, abandoned lighthouse, looming over the landscape. Its once white tower now grimy, weather-beaten and rust stained while most of the lower portion of the tower, as well as the old lighthouse tender’s cabin was covered in ivy and moss.

I turned off the motor and coasted to a stop. Hollis’ old dark blue former state patrol Ford, the same one I’d seen a few nights ago when he shot Jeff, stood abandoned. The driver’s door was open, and it stood next to a pathway leading towards the old lighthouse. It appeared the car was left standing where it stopped near the path.

Towards the far end of the lot, sitting on four flat tires, was an old derelict truck with both its doors and hood missing. Every piece of glass was busted out by vandals. I noticed a Seattle Police undercover car, also vacated, near the old truck. I assumed it must be Sakol’s squad car. The trunk was open, and it looked like Sakol removed his shotgun from the trunk before he went after ... after whom?

From what I was seeing in the parking lot, it had to be Hollis. I had tried to call Sakol on his cell phone as I drove up the island without any luck. I didn’t hold out much hope, but I left a message on his voicemail anyway asking him to please call me.

I hoped Sakol wouldn’t put himself in a position where Hollis felt he’d have to defend himself. By now, we both knew Hollis would stop at nothing. At this stage of the game, shooting anyone meant nothing to him, even another cop. Sakol probably had his shotgun with him, but that did little to ease my fears for his safety.

I pulled out the pistol I kept hidden under the passenger’s seat and checked to see it was loaded and had a bullet in the chamber. Taking a last look around, I bailed out of my truck at the back of the lower parking lot and moved as quickly as possible through the bushes up towards the derelict lighthouse, trying to remain hidden from sight as much as possible. Within a few feet, the wet bushes had saturated my clothing. I found even though the years had put a few pounds on my frame, a lot of the old training was coming back, and I was moving quickly towards the lighthouse.

After years of hooligans shooting out every piece of glass, none of the windows remained intact throughout the entire structure. I remember reading online that the lighthouse was on some list for restoration someday, and it was considered a historic landmark, but as far as I could see, nothing had been done.

I moved to my left cautiously as I continued using the bushes and sand dunes to cover my approach. I didn’t want to give Hollis any chance to see me from the lighthouse if possible.

When I reached the last bunch of bushes I’d be able to use to cover my next move before I’d be exposed, I stopped for a moment, waiting for my heart to stop trying to jump out of my chest. It had been a long time since I’d stalked anyone. Some of the old training was coming back, but the fear of failure this time was new. I’d always had some fear in the past when I was on patrol back in country, but I’d always believed I had the upper hand. That attitude came from what I perceived as the better training, if you will, which I realized was arrogant on my part, but it was how we were trained and how I felt all during my time in SE Asia. Now years had passed, and I had no idea how much the old training was going to help keep me alive.

I peeked over the last bush. What I saw lying on the wet sand realized my worst fears. There was a man on the ground, and from the size and his dark hair, as well as a shotgun lying a few feet from an outstretched hand, I was afraid it was Sakol.

I knew I had to quickly extinguish those thoughts. I had to keep a calm head, but things were becoming difficult. I found my mind quickly awash with fond memories I had of Sakol. I knew I didn’t have time to reminisce, and I had to force myself to wrap up those thoughts. I consoled myself with the knowledge I’d have time to deal with those feelings later, but it was becoming increasingly more difficult to stay focused. With the loss of Blackjack and seeing everyone who meant anything to me getting hurt, it was making it almost impossible to keep my mind clear.

I was aware the longer I delayed behind the bushes, the more time I was giving Hollis to become entrenched wherever he was hiding in the lighthouse. I knew I had to make a move, and I had to make it now.

After I took a quick breath, as quickly and as quietly as possible, I started to run zigzag to an opening which I assumed must have been the main opening to the lighthouse at the side of the tower. Every moment I expected to hear a gunshot, or even worse, feel the hot searing pain of a bullet tearing into my flesh.

By the time I reached the shadow of the tower, my heart was pounding again, and once more I had to force myself to take slower breaths to calm down. Trying to settle down, I glanced back and from this new angle, I could tell it was Sakol on the ground. He moved slightly, groaned, and then settled into the wet sand again. My heart soared to see he was still alive, for now anyway. I wanted to go and cover him up from the rain and tell him to stay quiet. If he could just do that, then everything would be all right, but I didn’t want to give Hollis any idea of how many people had arrived, or of my location. I was positive he must’ve heard my truck drive into the parking lot, so he knew there was at least one more person at the lighthouse. I found it impossible to believe he wasn’t aware there was someone new on site.

Several plans flipped through my mind and as I thought each one through, I discarded each in turn. It seemed the only way I could reach him was to go up the stairs around the walls that wrapped through the center of the lighthouse. I knew the correct thing to do was wait for help. Frank was on his way, the island police were on the way, but that wasn’t good enough for me. No, this was something I wanted to do for myself. Hollis had called the tune, and he had made this a personal matter. I had no idea what I was going to do to him; I just knew I wanted to be the first one to see Hollis.

I reached the opening and quickly peeked inside the tower, then pulled my head back. What I could see of the inside of the tower was empty. The mossy concrete steps circling around the inside of the tower were tiled and the center cavity of the lighthouse was empty from the bottom to the top.

Cautiously I slipped inside the tower and moved over to the first step, keeping my back tight against the wall. I could feel the cold dampness through my shirt from the tower wall as I tried to keep my body as close to the wall as possible. Although there was a great temptation, I resisted the urge to lean forward to try and look up through the center of the tower to see if I could spot Hollis. For a brief moment I wondered when I looked up the hollow shaft, I might spot him, or better yet, be able to get a shot at him. Just as quickly I realized there was one big flaw in my thinking. I knew if he saw me first, any advantage I might have up to that point would be lost, and in addition, he’d have a direct shot at me.

I had just started to take the next step up the stairs when the stone tower was filled with noise as Hollis fired his gun. It startled me and I thought what an idiot I was for even trying to climb up the steps. The noise trapped inside of the tower was deafening and my ears rang from the loud report. I heard gunfire being returned from outside the tower, telling me someone else with a weapon had shown up, and Hollis was shooting at them. Hollis fired two more times, the noise filling the tower again with the loud bark of his gun. I had no idea what sort of gun, but from the sound of it, it must be a large caliber. I tried to take some comfort in knowing he had three bullets fewer than before, but it did little to calm my nerves.

The exchange of gunfire masked any noise of my movement, and I moved up several steps. I had the pattern of the height of the steps down and I no longer felt the need to look down at my feet. Each step moved up the inside of the tower, closer to the top. I was covered with goosebumps, and I didn’t know it if was from the cold in the tower or from fear.

Finally, I’d climbed up far enough I was now in a position where I could see a little of the top floor. I’d reached the point now with every step I’d be able to see more across the top floor. The downside was anyone on the top level would have a clear view of me. I stood there wondering what to do next when Hollis stepped into view. Quickly, I pointed and fired twice using all the training Uncle Sam had provided me, so long ago.

Hayward screamed and fell to the floor grabbing one of his knees and rolled away from the opening. Keeping my eyes on the opening above me, I started moving around the stairs again until I was in full view if anyone glanced over the ridge of the top floor. With my gun held in front of me, I knew I had to take advantage now. Without looking at my feet, I continued moving up the stairs, as quickly as possible.

Hollis was quiet now, too quiet. I continued to keep my eyes trained on the rim of the top floor where I’d seen him fall, ready to take another shot if I had an opportunity. My focus was completely on watching what was above me when suddenly one of the stairs was just different enough from the rest that I tripped, causing me to fall forward onto the remaining stairs. When my body hit the steps, the pain in my ribs made me gasp, and I let out a loud groan. I glanced down to see what had tripped me and when I looked up, Hollis was looking down at me with a grin on his face, aiming his gun at me.