Chapter 23: Confrontations II

This time, the big old Buick showed up in front of Casey’s new home. Casey’s former parents walked to the front door and mashed the call button. Rei was in the kitchen and could see and hear the feed from the camera above the door on her laptop.

Recognizing Zorah, she pushed one of the house’s big red alarm buttons. After a few seconds, she pushed the button twice more (just to cancel the sirens), leaving the system otherwise activated. Along with Phoenix PD, the security office for their community was also alerted.

“May I help you?” she asked, politely.

“I am Sebulon Pike, I’m here with Zorah to collect my daughter.”

“Not your daughter any more, I’m afraid. I have an order from the Maricopa County courts extinguishing your parental rights.”

“I never signed any documents!”

“You didn’t have to, because of the abuse she has endured.”

“What abuse?”

“There are cigarette burns on her arms.”

“You have nothing to say about how I discipline my daughter.”

“Perhaps not, but Judge Danforth does. And then there’s the bruising around her vagina, and the DNA.”

“WHAT DNA?”

“Perhaps it’s not yours, one of her brothers? It can be hard to distinguish DNA between fathers and sons.”

(Rei was trying to keep the dialogue going, hoping the police would arrive soon.)

“Not my sons. I kept Casey’s door locked and I have the only key.”

“So, Mr. Pike, it must be YOUR DNA, then.”

“NOT POSSIBLE! ALWAYS, I wore a rubber.”

(“Like shooting fish in a barrel,” thought Rei.)

Zorah, at least, realized her husband had just confessed to raping his ten-year-old daughter. She stepped back and hissed at him.

He carried on, bellowing, “I don’t care what you think, bitch. Bring me my daughter!”

“I should point out, Pike, you’re on camera and being recorded, with everything being stored outside the house where you can’t get to it.”

He roared in frustration, producing a double-barreled shotgun and leveling it at the doorknob. Wisely, Zorah stepped back even farther. Foolishly, Pike discharged his shotgun only a few steps from the front door, which was made of steel and only partly damaged by the impact.

And, some of the lead shot actually ricocheted back towards him, perforating his pants and penetrating the front of his legs, making him howl and drop the gun.

The house was designed with a forward front garage, meaning that the double garage door was about 15 feet closer to the street than the main entrance. On the side of the garage was a small door with an open slot for the mail.

The Pikes didn’t notice that Diego had poked his pistol through the slot, and he shot Mr. Pike in the ass. Then he pushed the gun through the slot to fall to the concrete next to Zorah. She picked up the (now-empty) gun and tried to squeeze off shots through the garage side door, to no effect. Then she dropped the gun and went to her husband’s aid.

Diego had pulled the latex glove off his gun hand and retreated inside through the interior passage door. Only Zorah’s prints were now on the pistol, just in case the camera angle didn’t show her actions.

Meanwhile

Sid Carson had pulled up and parked behind the old Buick. After snapping a photo of the license plate, he tried to take in the situation. Carson was a retired deputy from Pima County (Tucson); he took some shifts now and then as a security guard for the community.

When the guns discharged, he decided to act. He was unarmed, so he had to be cautious. Quietly he moved around the left of the Buick and knelt down. Using a key on the valve stem, Carson let the air out of the front tire until it was completely flat, then retreated back to his security car.

Inside, Cia had been drilled what to do in an emergency. The brief activation of the sirens told her it was time for them to hide. She took Casey and a chair into the bedroom hallway.

“Hold the chair, Casey, while I climb up.”

Cia was able to reach the rope hanging down from the ceiling, and gave it a strong tug to release the latch. A ladder spilled out, nearly reaching the floor. Cia jumped off the chair, returned it to the bedroom, and then the two girls climbed up into the attic.