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Staying low to the ground, Faith led Turk around to the front of the cabin. The cabin had one window that was currently shuttered. Faith had a sinking feeling that this cabin would turn out to be abandoned.
There were three rivers within an hour of Philadelphia that matched the description Dr. West gave. It was a long shot that he was at any of those rivers and not in an entirely different country at this point, but Faith looked anyway.
She found the cabin while searching along the Titmouse River, the second of the three rivers. The Titmouse ran for ten miles from a spring at the foot of a large hill through an ash forest where it emptied into the Schuylkill. The cabin was three miles from the spring.
Faith slowly crept to the door, taking care not to make any noise. Turk had an easier time keeping silent but a much harder time hiding his frustration at how long it was taking them to get inside. He shifted his weight back and forth, his eyes riveted on the door.
Finally, Faith stood, slowly rising and trying to keep out of sight of the window. She drew her service weapon and put one hand on the door. She took a deep breath and nodded at Turk.
As she released the breath, she turned the handle. It turned easily, and she pushed the door open and rushed inside.
Dr. West stood in front of her, holding an aerosol can, a pleasant smile on his face. He squeezed the handle, and a spray of yellow liquid erupted from the can right into Faith's eyes.
Instantly, a horrible burning sensation attacked Faith. She screamed and fired her weapon, getting two shots off before Dr. West hit her wrist, knocking the gun from her hand. A crashing blow to her midsection knocked the wind out of her, and she collapsed to the floor, her chest hitching as she struggled for breath.
She heard Turk growl, and a moment later, she heard him yelp in pain.
“Don’t you dare hurt my dog!” she shouted.
God, she hated the whine in her voice.
“Relax,” Dr. West said. “I just sprayed you two in the face with ammonia. Your eyes are going to burn for a few hours, but you’ll be okay in a few days. Right as rain.”
Faith couldn’t see his smile through the burning fog that covered her vision, but she could hear it. She gritted her teeth against the pain in her eyes and said, “Dr. West, you’re under arrest for the murders of thirty different people over the past two years, including the murder of Supervisory Special Agent Gordon Clark of the FBI.”
Turk growled again, and Dr. West lifted the ammonia.
“West!” Faith shouted.
He sprayed the bottle and Turk yelped again. She saw his shape collapse to the ground, writhing and whining as he pawed at his face.
“Asshole!” she shouted. She got to her feet and rushed Dr. West. “I told you not to hurt my—”
She couldn't finish the sentence because Dr. West sidestepped, and this time, it wasn't his fist but his knee that caught her solar plexus. She dropped immediately and retched, her stomach convulsing as pain seared her core.
“You know, I thought you’d be here sooner,” Dr. West said, crossing the room. “I figured you’d remember that little conversation about the cabin and get here a few hours after I did.”
He reached her and stepped carefully over her. She tried to summon the strength to kick him, to trip him, to slap him, anything, but her body could only gasp and retch and shake from the blow she had endured a moment ago.
She followed the shape of Dr. West as he moved through her hazy vision. He bent over and picked something up from the ground. When she heard the click of the hammer dropping, she realized what it was.
“You even had a round chambered,” he said. “Why Faith Bold. If I didn’t know you any better, I would say that you’re not here to simplyarrestme.”
“Fuck you,” she wheezed.
“I imagine you’re not here to do that either,” he said. “It seems like you’re here to try to kill me.”
Faith gritted her teeth and pushed up on one elbow. A wave of nausea nearly floored her again, but she fought it back and rolled onto her knees.
“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
She ignored him and lifted her left leg until she got her foot planted underneath her.
“Oh, come on," he chided, "there don't need to be any secrets between us. I alreadyknowthat’s why you’re here. Just say it. Just admit that you’re here not to arrest me but to kill me.”
“You don’t tell me what to do,” she said through gritted teeth.
“On the contrary, Faith, I think I determine exactly what you do. I think, in fact, that I could get you to do anything I wanted with just a touch of pressure in the right places.”
