Low Water Crossing, Author's Notes

·       I set this story in San Antonio, Texas (where I live) because the city is home to a number of low water crossings that have taken a fair number of lives during rainstorms.  It is a fictional story, but there is a low water crossing that had been replaced with a bridge and was the inspiration for the location.  Not incidentally, there is a park upstream from the crossing.

·         I pretty much gave it away with Brandi’s name in Chapter 1.

·         The name Lilith means night monster and storm goddess. 

·         It was important that the rapists drown in the story.  Coming up with where and how was a little bit of a challenge.  SeaWorld was an obvious choice.  The Flood Control Tunnel Inlet Park exists and is actually one of the few places in the San Antonio River where it is deep enough to submerge a car.  The Riverwalk is fairly shallow but if you’re strapped to one of those motorized shopping carts, well…  The elevator, I thought, was an interesting choice.  The locations, if you didn’t notice, start on the far side of San Antonio and draw nearer and nearer to downtown, EXCEPT for the finale where we returned to the low water crossing.

·         I agonized for the longest time about that final fight on the bridge.  I thought about Donovan saving Brandi and having a happy-ever-after ending, but ultimately decided against it.  It is one of the hardest choices that I’ve made as a writer.  It DID set up a nice little Epilogue.

·         This was Donovan’s first story and it established his character as a bit a flawed hero who has trouble holding on to his women in his other stories.

·         Always watch your drinks.

Low Water Crossing, Chapter 14

Dawn, day of the Dedication

            Captain Gonzales approached the ambulance where Bradbury was carefully examining Donovan.  The captain nodded at the M.E. and then began speaking to the detective.  “Well Donovan, let’s hear it.  What do you have here?”

            Donovan sat quietly, his shoulders slumped, his head slowly shaking ‘no.’ Bradbury cleared his throat and spoke instead.  “Whittier’s body was found about a quarter mile downstream.  Shot in the upper torso, but it appears he drowned rather than died from the gunshot wound.  The girl -”

            “She has a name, Doc…”  Donovan spoke for the first time.

            “..The girl -” the doctor continued.

            “Her name was Anne, Doc.  It was Anne Strayer…”

            Bradbury looked sympathetically at his friend and spoke softly, “Donovan, Anne Strayer died five years ago.”

            “She died last night, Doc!” Donovan’s voice started to rise.  “I coulda saved her!  I had her in my hands!”  The detective’s shoulders began to shake as he silently began to sob.  Bradbury reached to comfort him, but Donovan waved him away.

            The medical examiner moved away, taking the Captain along with him.  He continued detailing the crime scene to the captain. “The girl’s body is at the base of the bridge.  She had a rope around her that prevented her body from being washed downstream.  It appears that she drowned as well.”

            Captain Gonzales sighed heavily.  “What about it, Doc?  Is it Anne Strayer?”

            “No!”  The M.E. was startled by the question.  “It can’t be!  I did the autopsy on Anne Strayer five years ago.  It can’t be her…”  There was a slight pause as doubt seeped into his thoughts. “Our young woman has the same dark hair, the same blue eyes, even the same tattoo, but she can’t be ….”

            Bradbury’s thoughts were interrupted by the approach of Detective O’Brian.  “Captain, I think you should see this.”  He handed an envelope to the captain.  “I found it in the young woman’s car.” 

Captain Gonzales opened the envelope and began to read aloud.  “‘They all had to die, and I killed them.  Travis Maynes, Larry Winston, Cooper Greeley, Kevin Whitter.  They deserved to die after what they did to me and my family five years ago.’ ” He raised an eyebrow and glanced up at the M.E. “Well, at least now we know she killed those men.” 

He looked back down at the note and continued to read, “’Now I can finally get some rest… Signed -’ ” He stopped as he read the signature. The captain looked up at the medical examiner and then toward the detective.  “Well, I’ll be -” He handed the note to the M.E. and walked away.

Bradbury quickly scanned the note, blanched, and then hurriedly made his way back to the ambulance.  He hardly knew if he had good news, or bad.

=

Epilogue

            They say that at midnight after a severe storm, when you cross the Strayer Bridge, you can see the ghostly figure of Anne Strayer, who died there when she was left in a park upstream and her unconscious body was washed down to the low water crossing where she drowned.  Her ghost is usually accompanied by the spirit of her sister Brandi, who drowned in the same spot, exactly five years later.

Low Water Crossing, Chapter 13

Midnight, before the Dedication

            The rain drummed steadily on the roof of her car as she drove around the barricades.  The bridge wasn’t officially open, but she had business here.  She made her way to the center of the span, and then stopped the car.  With the engine and lights off, she sat quietly for a moment.  Then, giving a tired sigh, she placed an envelope on the seat beside her.  She opened her door and with a coil of rope in her hand, she stepped out into the rain.

=

            His car burst through the barricade and in a flash of lightning, he spotted her standing at the guardrail of the bridge.  He sped toward her then stomped on his brakes, the car slewing to a stop, pinning her in the headlights.  His door flew open and he was on her in seconds.

=

            She reeled backward from the impact, slipping and falling hard against the pavement.  Dazed and disoriented, she gasped as she recognized the figure before her.  “Kevin!” she moaned, “You’re supposed to be dead!  You were supposed to drown!”

            He glared at her and spat.  “You fucked up, bitch.  All that water in the elevator busted the doors open.  I want some payback.”  His eyes took in the rope which was tied to the bridge railing; the other end looped around her neck. “Works for me-” he snarled and pulled her to her feet.  “Let me give you a hand…”

            She came up swinging.  “NOO!” she screamed as he dragged her toward the side of the bridge.  “You have to die for what you did!  I can’t go until you’re dead!”  They went down in a heap, a wet flurry of arms and legs and rope.  She went after him hard, scratching and kicking, using her elbows, knees, fists and feet.  He fought back, cursing as he tried to block her blows and too tangled in the rope to strike her.

            Kevin managed to stagger to his feet and stood there for a moment panting.  She crouched and in an instant, leaped at him, driving him against the rail.  He grabbed at her and they spun around, fighting and cursing.  He managed to get his arm around her neck and pulled her toward the side.

=

            What happened next would replay in Donovan’s mind for the rest of his life.

            He had chased the car on the slippery streets, making his way to the bridge where the low water crossing used to be.  Through his rain streaked windshield, he saw that it was Kevin that had stopped sideways on the bridge and now there was a violent struggle in the headlights.

            He skidded to a stop, jumped out of his car; then, as the scene lit up from a bolt of lightning, Donovan froze in his tracks as he spotted the dark haired girl.

“…Anne?...”

Kevin was dragging her to the side of the bridge. 

Donovan shook the rain from his eyes and drew his gun.  “Whittier!” he shouted, “Police!  Freeze!”

Kevin lurched toward the railing, dragging her.

Donovan fired. 

The bullet struck Kevin, and it spun him around.  His hands flew up, grabbing his chest. He looked stunned and confused as he slowly toppled off the bridge…leaving her behind.

Her eyes were grateful…

The rope made a whipping sound as it raced over the edge…

She gave a small gasp and reached toward him…

Donovan leaped for her, his hand outstretched...

She was yanked from his grasp.

And then she was gone.

Low Water Crossing, Chapter 12

Night

            Donovan quickly dialed another number.  “O’Brian? You got an address for Kevin Whittier? … Look it up! … No, not the Wiseman address.  We’re here and he isn’t.  How about a work address? An office or something? …  North St. Mary’s? … Get over there and have a unit meet us there as soon as possible. …  I KNOW things are busy with this storm!  Just get there!”

            Dammit, he thought.  North St. Mary’s was going to be twenty minutes at least.  And with this rain, Whittier might be dead by then.

=

            Donovan’s car skidded to a halt, and the detective sprinted through the rain to the front of the building.  A patrol officer was huddled in the doorway.  “Looks like the storm knocked the power out,” the officer said, then pointed to a sign.  “Whittier has an office on the fifth floor.”

            Donovan nodded, speaking softly, “Where’s O’Brian?”  The officer shook his head.  “Okay, it’s just us,” the detective said grimly. “Stay alert.”  The two men entered the building, Donovan pointing at the stairs. “Alright, power’s out” he whispered, “We take the stairs.” 

            At the top of the stairway, they listened carefully at the door.  The detective counted down silently, and then they burst in shouting. “Police!” 

It didn’t take long to see that no one was there.  Lightning flashed and it cast eerie shadows into the darkened space.  Furniture had been knocked over and there were papers strewn across the floor.  Next to the desk, there was an ominous dark spot.  But there was no Kevin Whittier.

Donovan looked out the window in frustration, and pounded his fist against the glass.  He stared down toward the street and thought to himself, “Where do we go now?”  Suddenly, he was startled by the sight of a car skidding from the parking garage and onto the street.  “You stay here!” he shouted to the patrol officer and he sprinted down the stairs.  By the time he made it to his car, he could barely see the tail lights from the other vehicle.  Within seconds, he was racing down the road.  It did not take him long to realize where he was headed.