Excellent A Detective John Dutton Novelette Shape Shifter : Shape Shifter Part Twenty-One by Brett Matthew West

Serene, Adler squealed a high-pitched yell above the rustle of the wind through his rolled down window, "I know about the department's sanction. Go on, Dutton. Take me out, Mr. Big Shot. I want you to do it for old-times sake!" Dutton vociferated back, "Pull over, Adler! There's no sanction in place." Urbane in his grey Armani, Adler scintillated his best killer's coy smirk. He threw his head back and bayed with laughter, "Terminate me, Dutton. That's the reason you wanted me in that house!" Adler's hysteric apish chatter grabbed Ballister's attention. He commented, "That's the craziest sound I've ever heard. His body language, and the expression on his face, dares us to shoot him at 110 miles an hour on this two lane. The monster wants to burn." Pinned on Adler's tail, Dutton flew by a tall stand of knotty pine trees that lined both sides of the blacktop. "This would be a good place to fire your weapon, Mark." "Adler's slaughtered at least two dozen people we know of. He's never going to stop," Ballister responded. With a thunderous bellow, Dutton screamed again at Adler, "Pull over, you worthless piece of putrid garbage!" "I can't quit killing indiscriminate, transient, skanks, Dutton. I like the act. You heard me, Dutton? I said I can't stop killing," Adler responded. Dutton understood Adler's confession. He'd honed in on the chilly message the first time Adler slew a victim. Dutton also realized if Adler escaped he would strike again and again. Adler's Camero Z28 Sport Coupe rocketed down a chuckhole-filled gravel side road. At the speed he traveled, Dutton was amazed the butcher succeeded in the maneuver. Now behind him, Dutton lost sight of Adler's whereabouts. A bedraggled choreography stopped Dutton's sedan. He cut a sharp U-turn as the car's tires and brakes droned their defiance. Hellbent for leather, Dutton beelined back to the location where Adler exited the county lane. He found Adler's vehicle three miles from that point. The car abandoned, fast pulpitations from a quick sprint pounded in Dutton's chest. He noticed how abundant the overgrown woods around them were. Getting through the impenetrable underbrush became impossible. Adler vanished. Frustrated by the dead end they encountered, Ballister, his discouraged tone apparant, asked, "How does Adler keep disappearing like he's channeling some kind of Houdini-like imitation?" Gridlocked in heavy traffic that crawled along the main drag back towards town, Dutton watched an exuberent profusion of vehicles pass by. "Once again, Adler has rubbed our faces deep into our pathetic failure. The whole hunt for the worst killer I've ever chased. But, I have another idea, Mark," Dutton moaned. "Flying around in your own parallel universe?" Ballister wanted to know. "If we stay in place we'll only be stuck in the middle of a mess when we need to follow up on this hair-brained notion floating through my mind," Dutton reasoned. "That would be?" Ballister inquired. Dutton turned onto the exit ramp out of the flow of snarled traffic surrounding them. He said, "There's one final angle we haven't tried." "Care to enlighten this tunnel?" Ballister asked. "Depends on what you believe of my wild goose chases. We need to head north. There's too much stress in life these days," Dutton told him. Ballister snatched his protective vest off the car's backseat and assured his partner, "I'm in this stew up to my eyeballs. You go down, I fall beside you." "Get ready to stir the kettle, Mark. I saw in Adler's eyes earlier he's ready for his murder spree to end. But, like he's always been, Adler needs to feel like he's in control all the time. I have no doubt Adler's known all along how he wanted his rampage to cease," Dutton replied. A blank expression crossed Ballister's face. He questioned, "You know how Adler wants this to end?" "Adler's going to place himself in harm's way one last time. He's that insane. I bet my career on it," Dutton remarked. Author Notes usa police car, by Hagan W, selected to complement my novelette. So, thanks Hagan W, for the use of your picture. It goes so nicely with my novelette. Should you desire to read the previous parts of my novelette click on the blue numbers at the top of the page.

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