Too Far Gone

89

Leland Ticholet worked his way back toward the cabin. He wasn’t frightened, but he was losing a lot of blood. He wasn’t thinking about the fact that he needed medical attention. With his boat gone, all Leland could think about was punishing the people responsible.

He couldn’t let the cops take the other boat and get away. He had to make sure they didn’t get to it.

He was sure he had killed the short cop. He was sure of it because he’d shot him in the head twice. The other cop with the rifle and the woman cop with the shotgun were all that stood between him and returning to life as usual. If they hadn’t come here, everything would have been fine.

He was feeling a little dizzy, and he knew he had to stop the bleeding. He removed his boxer shorts and twisted them into a tight rope. Using his teeth and his good hand, he tied a knot in the end and slipped the loop up his arm above the wound. By turning a stick he’d picked up, he tightened the tourniquet until the blood flow slowed. He pinned the stick between his arm and his side so could pick up the rifle. He slipped five of the large bullets between his teeth and walked slowly toward the cabin, totally focused.