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“Put the gun down, Ernie!” Detective Jason Knox screamed at the most wanted fugitive in Ohio.
Minutes earlier, Ernie Page saw his childhood friend Jake Kingston pulling his boat into the Edgewater Park Marina and he got out of his car to meet him at the dock. Ernie was going to wait for Jake’s charter group to get off the boat and then inform him that he was going to take her for a late night spin to clear his mind. In reality, he was going to drive as far north and as fast as he could until he reached Canada.
What Ernie didn’t see was the unmarked police cruiser pulling in to the parking lot as he walked toward the dock. The detectives inside the cruiser couldn’t believe their eyes when the man they feared had already fled the country was just steps away from them.
Commander Mick McCarthy immediately radioed in for back-up and let dispatch know that they had located Ernie.
“Unbelievable,” Jason said to Mick when he witnessed Ernie walking along the edge of the dock.
“He obviously thought he was only running from the Russians and not us,” Mick replied.
“How are we going to do this?” Jason asked as he gestured towards Jake’s charter group which was just now exiting the boat.
“We can’t risk him getting in that boat, but we also can’t risk him taking a hostage. His brother said that he likely has that gun from his safe on him, too.”
Jason and Mick decided that they’d wait to try and sneak up on Ernie and get close enough to him to safely fire their guns if need be. Jake’s boat was about fifty yards from the parking lot, so Jason figured that they might be able to get halfway there before they were spotted, which is exactly what happened.
After the last of Jake’s charter group had exited the boat and headed towards the parking lot, Ernie greeted him. His back was to the parking lot, so Jason and Mick were hopeful that he wouldn’t see them at all as they approached him.
“You really want to go out on her this late? Must have had a fight with Ellie, huh?” Jake asked his old friend.
“Yeah, man… real tough week. I just need to feel the open water,” Ernie replied.
Jason and Mick were about halfway to Ernie when Jake noticed them walking up. They had decided not to draw their guns out until they were close, so Jake had no idea who they were.
“Are those guys going out with you, too?” Jake asked Ernie, who spun around to see Jason and Mick approaching. Ernie immediately pulled the .38 caliber pistol he had tucked into his belt and aimed it at the detectives, who also drew their firearms.
Ironically, Ernie detested guns, but he knew that there might come a time when he would actually need it to survive. That time had come.
“Put the gun down, Ernie!” Mick yelled as he and Jason continued to slowly approach.
“Ernie, what the hell is going on?” Jake asked, in total disbelief at what he was witnessing.
“Get away from here, Jake!” Ernie yelled at his friend, who immediately hopped in his boat and got down in case bullets started flying.
“Ernie, drop the gun, man. This isn’t going to end well for you!” Jason yelled, still slowly approaching his suspect.
Ernie didn’t budge. He kept his pistol pointed in the direction of the two approaching officers, who had begun to separate from each other so he’d have two targets to try and cover with his gun.
“I’m not the monster you think I am!” Ernie declared while alternating his aim.
“Nobody said that, Ernie! We just want to talk to you, but you’re complicating things!” Jason replied.
“Oh yeah? I know why you’re here. You think I killed all those girls. You think I’m the EPK killer!”
“We don’t think anything, yet, Ernie. That’s why we just need to talk to you, so put the gun down!” Mick ordered.
“The other two girls… I didn’t kill them! Only Stoya…” Ernie confessed.
“See, Ernie, that’s why we need to talk to you. You can tell us what happened and set the record straight,” Jason replied as he tried to calmly coax Ernie.
“There’s nothing else to say… I killed Stoya. It was an accident! But I did not kill those other two. Somebody’s sure trying to make it look that way, though. Real convenient for them, huh? Probably those Russian pricks!” Ernie yelled, still pointing his gun at Jason and Mick who were now ten yards away.
“We believe you, Ernie, just put the gun down,” Mick pleaded, also lowering his voice like Jason.
“No… no, you don’t… nobody else will, either…tell Ellie I’m sorry...”
Ernie raised the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger before Jason or Mick could stop him. The sound of the gunshot was deafening as it reverberated off of the boats that lined the docks.
“Ernie!” Jake Kingston jumped out of his boat and was the first to reach his old friend. It was too late.
Ernie was gone.
