Freeman's Front Porch Musings

The bomb squad parked on the asphalt and suited up. Lilly stood on the porch and waited for them to disengage the jerry-rigged shotgun. From the second floor of a ramshackle barn down the road, Jackson Titus watched the going ons. The long shadows cast by the ceiling hid him, as well did the rotten hay bales and a straw-colored tarp.
He dropped the crosshair of his scope upon the chest of Konan and flicked off the safety of his rifle. A cold smile crossed his face as his finger caressed the trigger.
“It would be so simple to kill him now,” Titus muttered.
Jackson Titus flicked the safety back on and withdrew from his sniping nest. There would be time enough to kill him later. For now, he needed to evade the authorities and complete his task.
After disengaging the booby-trapped door, the bomb technicians cleared the house. It was slow going, but they managed to clear the house with zero casualties. One walked out on the back porch and whistled. My leg had begun to ache, and my foot felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds.
“I wouldn’t drop that foot, boss man.”
“Oh yeah,” I growled at the tech. “You wanna take my spot for a while?”
“No thanks,” she responded.
“How much longer before I can get up from my knees?”
She gave me a smile and walked to the edge of the porch. A giggle escaped her, and she covered her mouth with her hand. My leg seemed to grow heavier with every passing second.
“Um, you can put your foot down.”
“What?”
“There’s nothing behind you. Put it down.”
As I eased my foot down, I closed my eyes. Whatever happened, I wanted to be oblivious to it. The technician watched me, and when nothing happened, I let out a heavy sigh. I could hear her giggling.
“You can unclench your sphincter now,” she said laughing.
It took several hours for the bomb squad to clear the back yard. After I took several minutes to compose myself, I went to help Lilly. The forensic team swept the entire house, dusting for prints, gathering evidence. Lilly watched me as I walked in. She gave me a smile and motioned for me to join her in the hallway.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Lilly. Considering I almost became red mist, I am fine.”
“The first victim is Jackson’s father. It looks like he sealed himself in, and someone shot him.”
“I didn’t notice any broken glass.”
“Yeah. There is, you missed it because you leaned against it to push the door open.”
I walked over to the window and looked at it. The window itself was nothing special, but it was broken into squares. There were 16 individual squares, and the last square in the middle row-all the way to the right-was the only one broken.
“The forensic team thinks he approached from the left. When the old man walked into the room, the killer fired three rounds. One to break the glass, followed by two more rounds that killed him.”
“Yeah. Stand there where the old man fell. I want to check something.”
I walked out to the end of the driveway and moved to the left. As I crept up, I held my arms out like I held a weapon. At the porch, I stepped onto it. Lilly saw me, and I stopped. She frowned, her eyebrows furrowed, and she waited for me to say something.
“He saw him, Lilly.”
“How do you know that?”
“How could he not? You looked at me as soon as I stepped onto the porch.”
“Yeah, but if he did it at night…”
“When was the old man killed?”
“Um, hold on,” Lilly said flipping her notebook open. “Ashley called time of death 7.5 hours ago.”
“It’s 1430. So, he was killed after daybreak.”
“What are you saying, Konan?”
“Dad saw his killer. He recognized him, and then the killer shot him. When the techs finish with the backyard we can check the bodies back there, and we will have a complete picture then.”
“You think Jackson Titus did his whole family in? Is that what you’re thinking?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a cold bit of business if you think he did that to his own flesh and blood.”
“Killing is a cold business, Lilly. Bloodlines have nothing to do with it.”
Even as I said it, I knew it to be false. Sometimes blood had everything to do with it.

The problem with rattling bushes is that you never expect what falls into your lap. Or at least that’s what my mother said to me. “If you go looking for trouble, you’re bound to find it.” Mad Michael wasn’t much of a father, but even he knew you don’t hunt trouble.
You let it come to you.
As Lilly and I drove to the address provided to us by Paddy, I thought about the man I had seen last night. Lilly drove, so I had time to think of other things. Mostly because her ability to avoid collisions, and the high probability she’d cause one, had taught me the value of turning my attention elsewhere while she drove.
My partner was an expert behind the wheel, according to her, but my stress level would hit all-time heights if I didn’t avoid looking at the road. Lilly had her right hand on the wheel, her left hand held her phone, and she was trying to talk to me. All while driving.
“What are you thinking about, Konan?”
“There was a guy sitting on the bench last night when I boarded the bus. I’m trying to picture his face.”
“What did he look like?”
“He had a beard, like a blonde Viking would have.”
“So, he was a blonde?”
“Maybe.”
“What else do you remember about him?”
“Not much. It was dark.”
I put my left hand against the roof of the car and held onto to the bar above the door with my right. Lilly sighed, took a sip of coffee, and said, “I’ve got it, Konan. Sheesh. You worry more than an old woman.”
Lilly avoided the car, the owner of the Buick SUV jammed on the horn, and I leaned back against the seat. It was totally within the realm of possibility that one day I would file a disability claim for a bad back.
“Do you think the guy has something to do with our case? Was it Titus?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t look like Titus, but if he’s back he’s bound to change his appearance.”
“We ran him out of town, and he never showed to any of the usual ports. Do you think he survived?”
“I’d put money on it.”
“Why?”
“Survivors are fighters, Lilly. Titus didn’t give up when Bronowski got pinched. He didn’t turn himself in when his other cohort killed herself on the church steps. Titus continued to fight to not only exist but to escape.”
“You admire him? Do I need to remind you of what they did to Bradley Freeman?”
“Nope. I don’t need reminding. Drop me off about a mile from our destination. You continue going to the home. I want to check something out.”
“What?”
“Just drop me out. Don’t get out of the car until I peck on your window.”
“Konan, what is going on?”
“Glance out your side mirror. Do you notice that black truck three cars back?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s been with us the whole way.”
“Do you think it’s Titus?”
“I don’t know. Speed up and pull off somewhere. Let it pass us.”
Lilly sped up and raced toward a small community. A bridge crossed a small creek prior to entering the community. She pulled the car off the right side of the road and popped the hood. I got out and lifted it. The black truck passed us, and I tried to get a peek at the driver, to no avail.
The windows were pitch black. It continued into the community, and I pushed the hood down. I climbed into the car, and Lilly proceeded to the address. There was no black truck in sight.
“Where did it go?”
“I don’t know, Lilly, but I don’t like it. Something isn’t right.”