Slow Bullet: A Novel

Wrong Hand

1

The sound of Huey Helicopters in the distance meant the beginning. The ironic part was I never felt more alive than when I faced death. I checked my ammo and loaded a full magazine into my M-16. The barrel was cold and damp from a long night of silence. A slow wind brought a lingering smell of garlic that told me Charlie had arrived.

The rising sun silhouetted the hoard of gunships in the morning sky as they fired rockets at enemy positions. The screams of death fueled my basic instincts of survival and a feeling of exhilaration flooded my mind. Better him than me. I heard the dreaded sound of an incoming mortar round that exploded a few feet from me. The concussion of the blast knocked me down. I checked all my body parts. I didn’t see any blood, but my ears wouldn’t stop ringing. I put my hands over my ears and the ringing still wouldn’t stop.

My eyes popped open. I was in bed, the phone ringing. My pulse was racing, my brain speeding through a forty-year corridor from past to present. I switched on a lamp and fumbled on the table for my cell phone. I knocked an open bottle of Jack Daniels off the table and spilled most of it on the floor. I took a deep breath and said, Hello.

Colonel, it’s Bobby Spicier. Sorry to wake you so early.

Not a problem. I wasn’t sleeping good anyway. How’s my godson?

I have bad news…my mom and dad are dead, he said, his voice cracking.

I was wide awake now. What happened, a car wreck?

No. The D.C. police called about 1:30 this morning. A neighbor found them sometime after 10 last night. Said it looked like dad shot mom then turned the gun on himself. That’s crazy, he would never do that.

My mind instantly traveled back in time. My A-Team was dropped into a firefight by helicopter on a bloody hill in Vietnam. I was hit, blood gushing from my leg, Charlie closing in for the kill when Captain Robert Spicier charged up the hill, guns blazing. He lifted me on his back and outran Charlie to our lines, firing an M-16 over his shoulder to slow them down. He never got a scratch.

Colonel, you still there?

Yes, Bobby, I’m here. I was thinking about your dad. Did they find a note?

Nothing, there was nothing. You think it had anything to do with the company?

Could be. Anything’s possible when you work for the CIA. How’s your sister taking this?

Don’t know, I haven’t been able to locate her. She may have seen it on the news. Last I heard she had joined the Army and was in Iraq. She never bothered to tell us what unit she was in. She hurt mom and dad bad. They had a daughter in the war and didn’t know where. That boyfriend of hers was over there. I think that’s why she joined. I haven’t talked to her in over a year.

That’s too bad. I’ll see if I can find her.

Thanks, Colonel. Can you come to Washington and help me sort this out?

I’ll see when I can get a flight.

I don’t want to stay at the house, he said. I’ll rent us a motel room. Call my cell when you get there.

See you in Washington, I said.

I got up and walked stiff-legged to the bathroom. The natural effects of a man soon to be eligible for Social Security made it harder to get everything working like it used to. I looked in the mirror and saw what was left of Clark McKay, a once-proud man.

I looked like shit. I needed a haircut and had a four-day-old beard. My eyes looked like a lightning storm and my hands were shaking.

I got dressed, cleaned up the best I could, packed a bag and booked a flight to Washington. I wasn’t the man I used to be, or even the one I pretended to be, but I owed it to myself as well as Robert to try to find the courage to make one last run. I knew he would do it for me.

I was good at killing people, finding a killer was a different story. It might be more than I could handle.

I picked up the whiskey bottle, shook it, turned it up and drank the last drop. I realized what I was doing and threw it against the wall, busting it into a thousand pieces. I stared at the man in the mirror, looking for a sign of the old me but didn’t see one. I wiped a tear from my eyes.

This was going to be hard.

2

The flight from Dallas to Washington lasted through two double shots of Jack Daniels, a bag of peanuts, a trip to the bathroom, a short snooze and 20 pages of People Magazine, give or take a page or two.

I got my bag, picked up my rental car, bought a fifth of Jack and found the motel with some help from a grizzled old man walking his dog. I pulled into a parking space next to Robert’s Lincoln Town Car. For a moment, I could see him sitting behind the wheel smiling at me.

Bobby appeared at the motel door. Thanks for coming, Colonel, he said.

I’m so very sorry, Bobby. I know how it feels to lose your family.

I know you do, he said. I picked up dad’s car. I’m having mom and dad transferred from the morgue to a funeral home as soon as they’re ready. No word from Pepper yet.

Maybe we will hear from her before the funeral, I said. He nodded and carried my bag into the motel room.

I went to the house, he said. I didn’t get to go in. The police were there. I did get the neighbors to take care of Scooter and meet the lead detective. Here’s his card.

He handed me the card and I couldn’t help grinning when I saw the name. It was an oxymoron. Maybe Lieutenant Sonny Goodnight was still there. We needed to talk. I dialed the number and a man with a gravelly voice like a bullfrog and a New England accent answered.

Desk Sergeant Baldona, how can I help you? he said.

Lieutenant Goodnight, please.

He’s gone for the day. Can I help?

No, I need to talk to the Lieutenant. Would you leave a message for him that Bobby Spicier and Clark McKay will be in to see him tomorrow, it’s about the Spicier case.

He may not have time to see you.

I’ll take my chances, I said and hung up.

Bobby and I talked about old times before forcing ourselves to talk about the funeral. Since he couldn’t get in touch with his sister, he and his aunt Sara decided to bury them in their hometown of Hustly, South Carolina. Listening to him talk was like being with Robert 30 years ago. He had the same good looks as his dad, smile and voice, even the little nostril flare when he took a deep breath. But his personality was more like his mother’s, quiet and unassuming.

On the other hand, his sister had that same fire in the belly as her dad and marched to her own drum. She almost didn’t graduate from law school because she refused to be on the same stage as the commencement speaker who she neither liked nor respected.

I wondered how she was taking this. She had to know by now. I hoped she didn’t do anything foolish.

3

The morning came quick, and we arrived at the police station a little after 9 A.M. There was a no parking zone in front of the station so I parked in a paid parking lot across the street.

The police station was a two-story, red brick building with bar-covered windows.

We approached a desk that had an information sign dangling on a chain from the ceiling. Behind the desk on the wall was a picture of the President. A foul perspiration odor danced across the room – too many people too often.

A small pudgy man with receding hair, beady eyes, and a too-tight uniform with sergeant stripes looked up from the desk, saw us and stood up. He rested his right elbow on the butt of an automatic strapped to his waist and stuck the thumb of his other hand in his gun belt.

Can I help you gentleman? he asked. It was the bullfrog.

We’re here to see Lieutenant Goodnight. It’s about the Spicier case, I said.

I recognize that voice, he said. You’re the guy I talked to yesterday. You’re not from around here.

Nope, I said.

Don’t know if I should bother the Lieutenant this early, he has a lot of reports to look over.

Sergeant, we’ve come a long way. We need to see him.

He hesitated for a moment to consider, pointed to a hallway. Last door on the left.

I knocked on a door with ‘Lt. Goodnight’ painted on it. A voice from the other side said, Come in.

I opened the door and a tall thin man in a dark blue suit with a neatly-trimmed black mustache and horn-rimmed glasses stood up and motioned for us to come in. He had a dimpled chin and needed a sharper razor. His thick black hair parted in the middle made him look like one of those untouchable characters from the gangster movies. He was placing a telephone back in its cradle. A call from the sergeant no doubt.

An In and Out basket was overflowing with papers. Several folders were stacked on the desk. The folder on top had Spicier written on it. An 8x10 picture of a pretty dark-haired woman with two small boys in a silver picture frame sat on the other side of the desk. A college diploma and two commendations for valor hung on the wall behind him.

Lieutenant Goodnight, I’m Clark McKay and this is Bobby Spicier, Robert’s son.

Yes, Bobby and I met yesterday. He mentioned you.

We shook hands.

Have a seat, he said.

We sat down and Lieutenant Goodnight expressed his sympathy for Bobby’s loss of his parents and asked my relationship to the deceased. I explained I was a longtime friend and Bobby was my godson. He didn’t say anything but I could tell he was a bit surprised.

Bobby referred to you as Colonel, Goodnight said. That honorary or military?

Military. Army, I said.

Goodnight nodded and looked at the folder. You never know what people will do, he said, clasping his hands together on the desk in front of him, his thumbs making circular motions as he spoke.

That’s why we’re here, Lieutenant, I said.

Bobby wrinkled his brow and leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Goodnight in a cold stare. The first thing I want to know, Lieutenant, is why you think my dad could do such a thing? I can’t imagine that possibility.

I’m sorry, Bobby. There may be things that you don’t know. Secrets that a father didn’t want his son to know. I’ve learned to never assume anything. The facts we have indicate your dad shot your mother, then himself. We’ve finished the preliminary report. Normally we don’t show family members our reports, however in this case there seems to be reason for an exception. I can show you the report if you think you can handle it. It’s very graphic. It may be something you don’t want to see.

What do you think, Bobby? I asked.

Little beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his forehead, sighed and placed the handkerchief back in his pocket.

Yeah…I have to know, he said, nodding his head up and down.

Show us, I said, leaning closer to the desk.

He picked up the folder and began sorting pictures and papers.

There was no forced entry, he said. Nothing to indicate anyone else had been in the house. No unknown fingerprints. Nothing appeared to be missing. Bobby, you can verify the contents later if you will.

Bobby nodded.

The only ones who saw or heard anything live next door. A Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. They heard the Spiciers’ dog barking, went to check, saw them through a window and called 911. The only thing out of the ordinary was a faint odor that we have not identified. The lab boys are working on that. We believe Mr. Spicier shot his wife in the head, then himself. You can see from these pictures that the bullet entered the left temple just above the ear of Mrs. Spicier and exited on the other side of the head.

A colored 8x10 showed a small hole in her left temple with a trickle of blood running down the side of her head. Another picture showed a hole the size of a baseball where the bullet came out, with brain matter and blood splattered on her head, neck and the shoulders of her bright emerald green house coat.

Bobby’s eyes began to water. He jumped up and ran from the room to the bathroom. I followed him. He was vomiting in the commode. When there was nothing left he wiped his mouth with toilet paper.

My god, how could anyone do such a thing. She never hurt a fly. This is something I wasn’t prepared for. I don’t think I can go back in there. He dabbed at the tears on his face with more toilet paper.

Why don’t you wash your face and wait for me up front, I said. I’ll see what else he has and we’ll get out of here.

Yeah. I’ll do that. He wiped more tears. Sorry, Colonel.

Hey, it’s okay. I’m barely hanging on myself. We walked out of the bathroom. I returned to Goodnight’s office and Bobby took a seat by the front door.

He okay? Goodnight asked. I warned you.

Yeah he’ll be alright.

He paused for a few seconds to give me time to change my mind, and then continued. He laid more pictures on the desk showing the wounds and the death faces of Elle and Robert. Robert was wearing a blue sweat shirt and jeans with the same bullet effects as Elle. They both had their eyes closed. That in its self seemed unusual. Something about dying from the shock of a bullet left most people with an open eyed fixed stare. Not always, but most of the time. Goodnight waited for me to finish my examination of the pictures and continued.

Mr. Spicier’s fingerprints were the only ones on the .45 automatic that inflected the wounds, he said. There was residue on his left hand. As an old friend, I am sure you know Mr. Spicier was left-handed.

None on the right hand?

No, why?

Then he didn’t do it. He was left handed but he shot with his right hand.

Goodnight laid the folder down, clasped his hands and began the circular motion with his thumbs again.

The autopsies are not complete but we know for sure they were shot while sitting because of the lack of blood flow in the lower extremities of the bodies. We believe Mr. Spicier did it. They were sitting in the chairs watching TV. The TV was still on. Mr. Spicier shot Mrs. Spicier, who was sitting to his right, in the left temple with his left hand by turning in the chair to his right and raising the gun to her head with his left hand. Then he placed the gun to his left temple and fired. I’m sorry, but that’s what happened.

With that remark, he closed the folder. That was supposed to be my cue to leave. I sat staring at the closed folder thinking it sounded so logical, yet knowing that’s not what happened.

Lieutenant, I have to agree with Bobby. This whole thing just doesn’t ring true. I knew the man for over 40 years. He was one of the most confident, self-assured individuals I have ever known. He wouldn’t doubt himself enough to pull the trigger on his life or anyone else’s. He loved life and his wife too much to do that. We were both left-handed, but fired weapons right-handed, not left-handed. You form habits. I don’t think he would have reverted to something foreign to him. His military file will verify that. It would have been very difficult to shoot himself in the left temple with his right hand, which is the hand he would have fired the weapon with. That’s how I know he didn’t do it.

That’s pure speculation. You can’t change the facts, Mr. McKay.

That’s where you’re wrong, I said.

He removed his glasses, ran a Kleenex hard over them, put them back on and leaned back in his chair.

Mr. McKay, I don’t make this stuff up. These are facts. The residue was on his left hand. None on the right as I told you before. He looked at the folder and tapped it with his index finger. Facts, he said. Facts, not hearsay.

Goodnight, whoever killed Robert and Elle made the same mistake you’re making. They thought they did their research and placed the gun in his left hand, but that was wrong. They were murdered and I’m going to prove it.

His jaw tightened, his eyes blinked. I had pissed him off big-time. He pushed the folder aside and we both stood up watching each other like two boxers waiting for the other one to throw the next punch.

You’re over your head, McKay. Start meddling in this case and I will get a restraining order. You and Bobby take care of burying the Spiciers and let me do my job. I know Mr. Spicier was a war hero and a good black man. I am sorry this happened. I—

What do you mean a good black man? I interjected. If it were me, would you say I was a good white man? I don’t think so. How about a good man period. I clenched my fist then realized what I was doing and relaxed my hands.

It was just a figure of speech, he said. I didn’t mean any harm. This is beginning to get out of hand. Being belligerent won’t bring your friend back, McKay. I suggest you leave now and remember what I told you. Stay out of this.

Gladly, but you should know - I got a good memory, it’s just short.

Goodnight took a deep breath, dropped his head slightly and looked over his glasses. Well, maybe you better take a memory course, McKay, because I meant what I said.

So did I, I said. So did I. Is it okay for us to go in the house?

As long as you don’t remove anything without clearing it with me, Goodnight said. He reached in his desk drawer and took out two pair of nylon gloves. Slip these on when you go in. It will make it easier for the lab boys. We should be through with the investigation in another day or two.

Okay, I said and took the gloves from him.

After a brief stare down, I walked away.

Bobby was sitting on a bench with two women. They looked like prostitutes from the way they were dressed. Bobby politely said goodbye to the smiling ladies and joined me. We pushed open the double doors and walked across the street to Robert’s Lincoln.

Learn anything that will help us figure this out, Colonel?

Your dad didn’t kill your mother and he didn’t shoot himself.

"I