Patterson found himself back at the Unger farm. It still looked deserted, but appearances could be deceiving and he had been deceived the first time here. After killing George Killian, he’d gone to pay Lee a visit. Lee had been willing to talk, to tell secrets, one so devious, it had nearly resulted in Patterson killing him.
However, Patterson had regained control before lashing out at the man. Besides, his real rage was not aimed at Lee, it was at Gertrude. He held a piece of paper in his hand that made him shake with the rage. It was an unnotarized birth certificate with the name Tennyson August Unger, Junior on it. His sister had actually considered naming her son after her rapist. If Patterson could kill Unger all over again, he would. It was also the reason he was back on the Unger farm. The registrar currently had the deed registered to Tennyson Unger, Junior.
Night had descended upon Patterson hours ago. He had been leaning against a tree on the far side of the property for several hours trying to decide what to do. Obviously, the Marshals knew that August was alive and suspected he was responsible. He was waiting for them to come bursting through the trees and take down August. Yet, they weren’t coming. He’d left a message at the hotel for Aislinn.
He wanted to kill August, but he didn’t want to get caught. He had other things to do. It disturbed him that even with Nina’s help, Aislinn wasn’t charging in to capture the bad guy and possibly, kill him. Why wasn’t she responding to his messages? That nagged at him more than he had ever thought possible.
The answer was obvious. In his own way, Patterson had come to know Gabriel Henders, Xavier Reece, and Lucas McMichaels. He didn’t know the new guy. He suspected the new guy was intercepting all of his communication attempts with Aislinn.
Patterson dug out his cell phone and dialed a number. The line rang and went to voicemail. He immediately redialed the number.
“Hello?” Lucas McMichaels’ voice came over the line. He sounded wide awake.
“Hello, Marshal McMichaels,” Patterson answered. “This is...”
“Patterson Clachan,” Lucas answered. “Malachi told me a few days ago that you were The Butcher. We all know by now.”
“Yes,” Patterson said. “I suppose you do. However, that isn’t why I’m calling. I believe there is a problem within the SCTU. A very serious problem that if not addressed will become monumental.”
“The SCTU is fine,” Lucas answered curtly, but didn’t hang up.
“How often have you known Aislinn to ignore my communications when I have passed along tips to her?” Patterson asked. Lucas was silent, it spoke volumes. “Exactly. I have attempted four times to contact her and tell her that August isn’t dead. Yet, she didn’t find out until today. This means that my messages never reached her. In the past, the SCTU has encouraged her to communicate in an attempt to track and identify The Butcher. Now, I am suddenly not getting any responses. Have orders changed? If so, is the SCTU ready to take responsibility for another dead body at the hands of August Clachan? Because he has killed since I sent the first message to her.”
“When was that?” Lucas asked.
“The day the feet were found hanging on the wire.” Patterson answered. “I wanted her to stay uninvolved in this, I had planned to take care of it. You see, I found out about it within the same week. So, I was going to make the problem go away. However, she became involved and well, I can’t walk into his house and slaughter him then hope she finds the surviving victims. Out of necessity, I left a message at the hotel for her this evening, telling her that I thought I knew where August was hiding. I’m here. The SCTU is not.”
“Where are you?” Lucas asked.
“I have been trying to make this easy for the SCTU and I have gotten no response. Until you clean house and fix your problems, I’m done. You may deal with August on your own. Tell that leader of yours that if Aislinn dies because of this, I will personally come after all of you.” Patterson thought for another second. “And I won’t just stop with team members. I will hunt down loved ones as well. I might be old, but I am not incapable.”
“I am well aware of what you are capable of,” Lucas sighed. “We found your work today, tied to a recliner, his organs strung about his house. We haven’t told Aislinn because she doesn’t remember George Killian and we aren’t sure how it connects to her, we just know that you did it.”
“Then I’ll tell you, George Killian has been stalking Aislinn since Alaska, killing people to frame her. He tried to kill her in high school in a drive-by shooting, but failed. It took me a while to connect all the dots, but I have nothing but time on my hands and Eric helped.”
“You’re in contact with Eric?” Lucas asked.
“He reached out after he was sent to The Fortress. He was worried that only Malachi and Nyleena would be looking out for Aislinn. She is capable of getting in her own way and Malachi is both a positive and negative influence on her. So, yes, I have been in contact, sporadically, with Eric.”
“I will investigate your claims. I’m guessing you came to me because you knew I wasn’t with the team.”
“That is correct. I would have gone to Blake, but he has other issues to deal with right now.”
“Will you tell me now where August is holed up?” Lucas asked.
“No, you can call it petty, but I have always been helpful to your cases when it was needed and now, when it is needed the most, I don’t even rank high enough to have my messages passed along to my granddaughter.” Patterson paused. “On another note, I have found your sniper. The SCTU can’t go after him, it will look like revenge when you kill him. So I am doing it for you. You may thank me later.”
Patterson hung up. He stared at the house. The lights were still on. He had a feeling that August was still awake. Rushing in would be a mistake and he knew it. He could beat August, but August liked dangerous pets and he didn’t think he was a match for any predators that might be skulking around the house. He was well past his best days, he didn’t think he could break the neck of a boar hog with his bare hands anymore.
Besides, Nyleena had picked up Nina today. He had to return home to carry out his sister’s last wishes.