Free Relentless Pursuit by Kathleen Brooks

catch a cab home?”
    The bartender cocked his head and looked her over. He wasn’t going to answer. “I know who you are. You’re the pretty lady attorney for that boy standing trial for murder. I gotta say I’m surprised the police haven’t been snooping around.”
    “Would you mind telling me what you remember about Mr. Davies?” Tammy asked with as much honey to her voice as she could muster.
    “Sure. He drank two glasses of bourbon, complained about Greece, or something like that, and then tossed down a huge tip and then headed down the street toward the courthouse.”
    “Thank you so much for your help!” Tammy jumped off the stool with a renewed energy. There were at least five bars between here and the courthouse, and she’d visit them all if it meant helping Pierce.
    Tammy headed back down the street and skipped over some yuppie bars until she found another hole-in-the-wall place. She walked into the dark bar and had to wait for her eyes to adjust. A local country band was playing and the place was surprisingly full. Tammy made her way to the bar.
    “Excuse me!” She waved to the bartender. When he arrived, she held out her phone with Pierce’s picture. “Was this man in here on Saturday night?”
    “I don’t know. I wasn’t working then, but Zack was. He’s the server over there.” The bartender pointed to a man setting down drinks at one of the many standing tables.
    “Thank you!” Tammy called out as she moved to intercept the waiter. “Excuse me!” Tammy waved as the waiter hurried toward the bar.
    “Yes?”
    “Do you remember this man here on Saturday night around midnight?” Tammy showed him the picture and held her breath.
    “Yeah, I do. He was drunker than a hillbilly at a rooster fight. He was complaining about Greece invading our state and stealing our women.”
    Tammy tried not to laugh, but she was starting to understand the Greek references. “Did he leave here in a cab?”
    “Nope. Some people took him home. I was going to call a cab, but they told me they had it.”
    “Do you remember what they looked like? Their names? Anything?” Tammy asked as she felt her excitement growing.
    “Not really. Just remember one of them was a tall, stronger fellow. He ran into me as they were helping your friend outside. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get this drink order in.”
    “Thank you so much for your time.” Tammy flashed him a smiled and hurried out of the dark bar. She couldn’t wait to tell Pierce what she had found.
     
    Pierce tossed and turned in his bed as he tried to control the thoughts running through his head. They just wouldn’t stop. Images of Tammy dancing with her date at Miles's wedding flashed through his head along with memories of shooting bourbon and then waking up to Dr. Oldham’s body. No matter what he did, he couldn’t escape it. He couldn’t shut it off.
    Deciding sleep was just not going to happen, Pierce rolled out of bed and tossed on a pair of athletic shorts. He schlepped down the stairs and was turning into the kitchen when he sensed something wasn’t right.
    Pierce narrowed his eyes and scanned the dark kitchen but didn’t see anything. He was just jumping at shadows, surely a result from not sleeping since that horrible night.
    Turning back around and heading for the living room, Pierce called out, “Gus, wanna watch some television? I’ll even try to find your favorite show…”
    Before Pierce could finish his sentence, the shadow in front of him moved. Prongs shot out and connected to his chest. His muscles spasmed as he lost control of his legs and collapsed to the ground. Peirce groaned as he felt hands grabbing him under the arms and start dragging him across the floor.
    He tried to kick out, but his legs wouldn’t respond. Panic welled as the dark figure hauled his unresponsive body onto a living room chair. Ropes tightened around him as he strained to see who was tying him up. The man was strong and of average height but