Page 64 of So Twisted

“Charlie was your dog?” Faith asked.

“Yes. But I don’t know how many other dogs died. I just hate thinking about how many animals got hurt because of me. They didn’t deserve it.Ideserve it.” He shook Lisa. “Theydeserve it.”

He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, the tears were gone. “I killed them the way they deserved to be killed. All of them. I tore Marcus Reeves’ throat out the way the lions and tigers he abused should have. I poisoned Alison Chen with King Cobra venom out of respect to the reptiles she trapped. I tore Elena Vasquez apart like the poor wolverine forced to get his checkups from her drunken hands. I ripped into Sarah Clement the way her birds should have ripped into her. Now I’m going tofeed Lisa Hartley to these mountain lions. It’s a better meal than she ever gave her own cats.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Faith insisted. “There’s a better way to make up for what you’ve done.”

“How? Go to prison where no one will care?”

“You can write a book. You can tell your story. People will sympathize with you. Animal rights is a huge cause. People will understand why you did what you did. Even if they don’t agree with your actions, you'll raise attention to this issue. People will take action to stop dogfighting rings poorly run zoos, and people who abuse their pets. You can make a difference. What you're doing now won't make a difference."

“What I’m doing now makesallthe difference.”

The back door opened, and police officers poured into the enclosure. Faith turned around and saw they were all animal control. “Get the animals back into their enclosures for now,” she called. “We have a situation here, and we need uniforms ASAP.”

“Will do,” the lead animal control officer called. “But that will still take about fifteen minutes.”

“Faster would be better,” Faith said.

“Take your time,” Jason countered. “It won’t change anything.”

“Jason, we’re trying to be understanding,” Michael said, “but you will not hurt Lisa Hartley.”

“You’d defend her? After what she did?”

“What did she do?” Faith interjected. “Tell us.”

“She lied. She claims to care about animals, but it’s all a lie. She feeds her animals crap. They’re sick all the time. She’s not rehabilitating them. They’re sick because of her. She just wants her name in the news. She thinks she can get famous by exploiting animals. It’s bullshit. I’m going to punish her for it. It’ll be my last atonement.”

"You won't survive this," Michael said. "You hurt Lisa, and you die. If you want to live, if you want a chance to tell your story to the world, then let her go and surrender. You have my word we won't hurt you. You'll get a chance to share your side. But we can't let you hurt her."

Jason nodded. "You're right. I was too late. I let the animals loose, thinking that I was doing something kind to them, but I just wasted my time. I can see you putting them back in cages. I could have finished my atonement if I'd remained focused. I made a mistake."

“It’s a good thing,” Faith told him. “You gave us a chance to help you. This isn’t atonement, Jason. It’s just murder. I know it feels like you’re taking revenge for the animals by killing these people, but you aren’t. You’re just doing more harm.”

Jason sighed. His shoulders slumped, and he nodded again. “You’re right about that too.” He chuckled. “I guess I wanted to believe there’s another way, but you’re right. There’s only one thing I can do to make this right.” He turned to Turk and smiled. “I’m so sorry. For everything I did. I’m sorry. I hope that what happens now will make up for it in some small way.”

Before Faith could react, he drew the knife across Lisa Hartley’s throat. She watched in horror as he shoved her to the ground, blood spurting from her neck.

Jason leaped onto the mountain lion fence and scrambled to the top. Faith’s eyes widened when she realized what he was about to do. The lions grew instantly alert, anticipating the meal they were about to receive.

Gunfire split the night. Jason jerked several times as he was hit. Faith glanced behind her to see that the uniforms had made their way to the habitat. She heard a desperate cry and turned around to see Jason dragging his bleeding body to the top of the fence. Another volley of gunfire hit him at the top. He wavered atthe top for a moment, then with a final gasp, grabbed the fence and toppled himself into the cage.

The mountain lions fell on him before he hit the ground. Faith turned away, but she could still hear the sound of the animals tearing his flesh from his bones.

Jason Merrick had atoned for his sins.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Faith, Michael, and Turk sat in Detective Cuthbert's office. Their coffee mugs had cooled long ago but remained untouched. No one had spoken since arriving back at the precinct early that morning.

Cuthbert broke the silence. “Lisa Hartley should be all right. Well, she should live, at least. Paramedics stopped the bleeding and gave her four units of blood on the way to the hospital. Last I heard, she’s still unconscious but expected to pull through.”

“That’s good,” Michael said.

Turk whined mournfully, and Faith reached down and stroked his fur. There was another minute of silence. Cuthbert broke it again by saying, "I apologize for not having faith in your K9. Turns out he actually has the best sense of smell in the world."

“That so?” Faith asked.

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