Chapter Twenty Five

The killer was tall and lithe with long legs and a track star's build. He maintained his distance from Faith even though she was running faster than she ever had in her life.

But Turk could outrun any human, and he quickly closed the gap. The killer looked over his shoulder and saw there was no way to outrun Turk. So, he lifted his whistle to his lips and blew.

Turk yelped and slowed, stumbling over his paws and crashing into a fence. He bared his teeth and tried to resume the pursuit, but the killer blew the whistle again, and Turk slowed once more. He growled and pressed forward, but every few seconds, the whistle blew and Turk lost ground.

Faith leveled her weapon at the killer and shouted, "Drop your weapons! Both of them! Do it now!"

The killer ignored her and blew the whistle again. Turk cried out in pain and came to a dead stop.

Anger surged through her. "Don't you dare hurt my dog!"

The killer ignored her again, and she called. "Damn it, I will shoot you if you hurt him again!"

She couldn't really follow through on that threat in a residential neighborhood, but she was hoping he wouldn't realize that.

He didn't, but unfortunately, instead of stopping and surrendering, he just veered right down a street, taking him out of her sights.

"Damn it," she swore. "Come on, Turk! Just a little more!"

Turk got up and, with a deep snarl, lunged forward. He quickly outpaced Faith, and though he still cried out and stumbled every few seconds, he managed to keep moving forward.

They rounded the corner, and Faith swore. The killer was gone.

"Damn it! Turk, go find him. Come on, boy."

Turk growled and put his nose to the ground. He trotted forward, and Faith noted that the killer didn't use his whistle anymore. He was hoping to lose the dog, but he didn't count on Turk's sense of smell. A moment later, Turk barked and rushed toward another house.

He leaped into the air, and the killer emerged from behind the house and blew the whistle directly into Turk's ear. Turk twisted in the air and fell heavily to the ground, whining like he'd been shot. The killer drew his knife with a snarl and lunged for him.

"Hey!" Faith cried, leveling her weapon again.

The killer stopped and stared at her. He blanched and ran down the street, waving his knife wildly behind him. "Stay back!" he cried out. "Leave me alone!"

Faith dropped to the ground by Turk, who was getting shakily to his feet. "Come on, boy," she said. "Almost done. I need your help. I can't catch this guy on my own. He's too fast."

Turk shook his head, then bared his teeth and sprinted after the killer again. Faith followed after, lungs burning, as the killer led them through the neighborhood. Doors and windows started to open as residents heard the commotion and looked out to see what's going on.

"Stay in your homes!" Faith called to them. "The suspect is armed and dangerous! Stay inside!"

"No!" The killer shouted. "They're the dangerous ones! I'm trying to help all of you! They can read your thoughts!"

"Drop your weapon!" Faith called. "Come quietly, and I promise I won't hurt you."

"You're a liar!" The killer shrieked.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Turk once more gaining. He yelped and brought his whistle to his lips again. Turk yelped in pain, but this time, he didn't slow.

He dove for the killer's ankle. The killer cried out and jumped into the air, then kicked down, sending Turk sprawling. He broke into a dead run once more, heading for a neighborhood park.

"Turk!" Faith called. "Are you all right?"

Turk got to his feet, shook himself and followed the killer. Faith sighed with relief to see him okay and followed him.

"Please!" The killer cried. "Leave me alone! I don't belong to you!"

"I don't want to hurt you!" Faith called after him, leaping the fence to the park and rolling back to her feet on the other side. "But if you keep trying to hurt my dog and flee the scene of an attempted murder, I will have to! Surrender, and everything will be okay!"

The killer laughed and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, nice try. I really believe that! You want to read my mind? Read this!"

He stared intently at her but said nothing as he ran. The absurdity of it almost made Faith laugh, but the guy had just tried to stab Turk, so her humor was short-lived. She lifted her handgun and said, "There's no more homes around here, so if you don't comply, I will shoot you. Put your weapon down!"

"Fuck you!"

The killer dove into the trees, and Faith swore and went after him. Turk entered a few yards to the side and tried to cut the killer off, but the killer blew the whistle and lunged with the knife at the same time. Turk sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the blade, but the killer swung it crazily, and Turk was forced to back away.

Faith had nearly reached him when the killer stepped back and drove the knife toward her head. She ducked just in time. She could hear the soft whirr of the blade as it pierced the air above her.

She spun on her heels and drove her fist toward the killer's liver, but he backed just out of the way and lunged with the knife over and over again. She slipped right, bobbed left, twisting and fading out of the way of the blade, but he kept her on the back foot, and after her first swing, she couldn't attempt any more offense.

She lifted her gun, and the killer sliced the blade across her fingers. She cried out and dropped the gun, and he stabbed at her neck. She just managed to parry the knife before falling to the ground.

Turk leapt over her and snapped at the killer's knife hand. The killer cried out and fell backwards, lifting his whistle and blowing it. Turk kept his mouth around the killer's forearm, but when the killer blew the whistle directly into his ear again, he cried out and let go.

Faith rushed him before he could stab Turk, but he swung the knife again before saying, "Get out of my head!" and sprinting deeper into the trees.

She cursed and drew her flashlight. She found her gun a few yards away and tested her fingers. They bled profusely and trembled slightly, but they could still grip. She switched the light to her injured hand and took the gun in her left.

"Come on, Turk."

Turk's legs were shaky when he got up, and he didn't move as fast when he restarted the pursuit. She felt a rush of worry for him. Would this damage his hearing permanently? Should she just wait for backup?"

Turk barked at her and sped forward, and she felt her courage renew. Turk was right. They had to be willing to sacrifice whatever it took to stop this killer before he murdered anyone else.

They moved through the trees, barking and calling for the outlaw to surrender before he got hurt. Faith heard a rustling sound and aimed her handgun just as Turk leaped at the killer.

The killer swung his knife toward the K9, trying to stab him in the air. Faith grabbed his arm and struggled to control his wrist. Her intervention allowed Turk another grip, this time on the arm with the dog whistle.

"No!" The man shrieked. "No! Give that back! Aaahhh!"

The bloodcurdling shriek at the end of that came with a sudden burst of adrenaline. The killer threw Faith off of him, then punched Turk hard in the jaw. Turk let go and whined, dropping to the ground.

The killer aimed the knife at them and cried, "Back off! I'm warning you!"

Faith aimed her gun and retorted, "And I'm warning you. Turn yourself in, or I'll shoot!"

The killer released noise that sounded like a whine. "Damn it, I didn't do anything! Why are you guys chasing me?"

Turk rushed him, and the killer stabbed with the knife, forcing Turk to plant his feet and come to a halt. Faith fired, but the killer saw the shot coming just in time and dove to the ground.

"Now, Turk!"

Turk's hand clamped down on the hand holding the knife again. The killer brought the whistle to his lips, and Faith rushed him.

She grabbed his hand and yanked the whistle from his mouth. He yelled and struggled, but Faith and Turk pinned him down, holding his hands to the ground.

"Please!" he cried. "I'm sorry! I'll let you read my mind, I just…" he burst into tears. "Please don't hurt me!"

"You have to release your weapons," Faith told him. "As long as you're armed, we're not letting you go."

"Why?" he whined. "Why are you doing this to me? Why me? There are other killers, worse killers. Why are you sending people after me."

"We send people after every killer," Faith said. "You can have a chance to tell your story, but not as long as you're an active threat to innocent people."

"But I'm not threatening innocent people! It was just one person. Everyone else was a government agent sent to arrest me! I was only protecting myself!"

Faith frowned at him. "What the hell are you talking about? You killed four innocent women."

"What was I supposed to do? Just let them kill me?"

Faith blinked. Insane criminals were nothing new to her, but this was the first time a criminal claimed to be defending himself from people trying to kill him.

But whatever his delusion, he had murdered innocent people. She could hear his side later. She planted her knee on his wrist and twisted the whistle from his grasp.

"No! No, no, no, no, no!"

"Now drop the knife," Faith commanded. "The last thing you want to do right now is hurt me or my dog."

He looked like he was going to continue resisting, but at long last, backup arrived. A searchlight shone through the trees and illuminated him, and a moment later, Michael and four armed police officers burst onto the scene.

The killer dropped his head to the ground and let the dagger slide from his hands. He wept softly, tears streaming from his cheeks.

Faith stood and kicked the knife away. The killer made no attempt to dislodge himself from Turk's grip.

"All right, Turk," she said. "Let him go."

Turk released him, and the police officers quickly rolled him onto his stomach and cuffed him. Michael kept his gun trained on the killer until he was handcuffed, then holstered it and turned to Faith. "You all right?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm okay. How's the victim?"

"Hysterical," Michael replied. "They had to sedate her to get her into the ambulance. But she's okay. No injuries."

Faith nodded and turned to their killer, who continued to sob as they led him away.

"What's his story?" Michael asked.

"He thought he was defending himself," Faith said.

Michael's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Looks like it."

"Damn." He shook his head. "Why?"

"I don't know. We'll ask him later, I guess."

The police sergeant grinned at Faith and clapped her on the shoulder. "Good work, agent."

She managed a smile and thanked him, but she didn't feel the ordinary sense of accomplishment that came with an arrest. Their killer could be lying about defending himself, but the trembling in his body as he allowed the officers to place him in the cruiser suggested he wasn't.

How horrible to be so sure that evil threatened him that he became the very evil he feared. How cruel to be so certain of innocence even when one's hands dripped with the blood of the truly innocent.

Faith didn't exactly feel sorry for Ethan, but she felt little of the satisfaction that usually came with apprehending a killer. She hadn't triumphed over a villain. She'd only rescued a sick man from acting on his own illness.

She sighed and ruffled Turk's fur. "Come on, boy. Let's go get some rest."

Turk barked in agreement. Faith had no doubt Turk would find rest tonight. As for herself? She doubted that she would find relief anytime soon.