On a hunch, Inspector Troutman made his way to
the
Crenshaw cabin totally unaware that Ike had been secretly busy
safeguarding
the cabin from visitors. This time Troutman was wearing his gun. He
would
not be taken off guard another time. He turned off the road down an
overgrown
dirt road. The road showed signs of recent travel. About a half mile
down the road, Troutman stopped the car. He decided to get out of the
car
and walk the rest of the way to the cabin.
The walk gave him time to think, time to plan
and time remember better times. It would also give him a chance to
enter
a different state of mind - a killer's state of mind to try to figure
out
how Ike would play his next hand. This showdown would be different. It
would
be one on one and there would be no police backup this time. There must
be a winner and a loser. But this time, Troutman was the one with the
ace
up his sleeve.
The walk to the cabin was a short one in the cool
winter air. The birds chirpped wildly as if cheering on their would-be
hero
to a boxing or wrestling ring. The area looked deserted except for the
fact
that the front door of the cabin was open. Troutman looked around
cautiously,
gun in hand. There was no car but there were fresh tire tracks heading
towards the lake. Maybe he'd made a mistake coming here. Maybe the
cabin
was sold and there were boaters on the lake.
He made his way to the front door and looked in.
Empty. He pushed the front door completely open. Not a single person
would
surprise him from behind a door today. He steped gingerly into the
cabin.
Nothing too out of the ordinary could be seen except a roll of duct
tape
and sewing kit near the kitchen sink. He took a quick look in the
smaller
bedroom and found nothing. He walked toward the kitchen sink.
Without warning, a trap door opened from the
floor and Ike surprised Troutman from behind. He grabbed Troutman from
the
back of the hair and snapped Troutman's head to the floor. Troutman
fell
on his back. The fall dislodged the gun from his hand but he was able
to
roll out of the way as Ike drove a knife into the hard wood floor.
Stunned
but not quite dazed, Troutman was able to get to his feet and hit Ike
in
the face with a back kick sending the teen tumbling to the ground. The
knife flew from the boy's hand. Both mortal enemies were now unarmed.
Blood
began to drip from the stitches in Troutman's leg.
"Don't make this any worse than it has to be Ike!"
Ike regrouped and got to his feet. He was totally
unaware that he too was also bleeding from his previous battle wound.
"Why'd you kill Speed? He was a good kid."
"He was a
good kid. But he was going to kill me.
I had no choice!"
Ike laughed the comment off.
"You're gonna wish it was me that you killed."
They both stood about twelve feet apart facing each
other. The knife was about six feet to the right of Ike and the gun was
about
five feet from Troutman. Troutman knew that now was his time to act if
he wanted to end this now.
"I had more of an interest in you and your family
than you think, Ike."
Ike was momentarily distracted by the comment. He
remembered the picture in the Inspector's home.
"What do you mean?"
The Inspector cautiously continued.
"Why do you think I have followed you boys
and have had an interest in everything you have done?"
Fury, fear and anger filled Ike's watery eyes.
"Because I loved your mother, Ike. I wanted to keep
you all safe!"
"YOU NEVER KNEW MY MOTHER!!!!"
Troutman slowly took one step towards the gun.
"Ike, I loved your mother. Your mother and I were
lovers and were going to be married. I knew what your father was
doing to you and your brother and we were trying to get you all away
from
him."
"YOU"RE A FUCKING LIAR!!! MY MOTHER WAS A DEMON
AND NEEDED TO BE SACRIFICED!!"
Ike eyed the knife. Troutman desperately tried to
calm the boy down.
"How do you think I knew about this place? Your
mother and I used to come up here all the time. It was our special
place."
"I don't believe you and you will pay dearly for
what you have done to my family."
Ike took a step towards the knife.
"Ike no! Don't do it son. Please don't. It wasn't
your fault.Too many people including your innocent mother have died."
Ike could not hear the voice of reason. He lunged
for
the knife. Troutman reacted quickly and lunged towards the
gun. Because of Troutman's leg wound, Ike was able to reach the knife
before
Troutman could get the gun. Ike turned and threw the knife just as
Troutman
grabed the gun. Troutman turned and as the knife lodged into his
shoulder,
he fired the gun.The gunshot caught Ike squarely in the head. Troutman
and Ike both fell flat on their back.
The Inspector removed the knife from his shoulder
and was able to get to his feet. He walked over to the teenager and
looked
down at the dead boy.
The carnage was over.