Correctional Captain Makey, Mac, to his friends, deals with hardened criminals on a daily basis. Each day, Mac and his staff are at risk when differences between inmates erupt into riots, stabbings and even murder. Lately, Mac had been feeling his own tensions increase and knew it was time for a time-out. He secretly planned and arranged the vacation of a lifetime for he and his family then presented it first to his wife, Lynn, for her approval before telling the boys. The trip included two weeks at a fully-catered family-run working ranch. The ranch, located high in the rugged Northern California Marble Mountains, provide an array of activities for their guests, some of which crossed the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) where hikers and equestrians had been known to hike the 2560-mile trail from the Mexican border in the south to the Canadian border in the north. When the first body was discovered during an extensive search for two missing sisters hiking the PCT, authorities in the area had to alert the leisure ranch owners and their guests of the potential threat that a vicious killer may be lurking in the area. The intended rest and relaxation planned for Lynn, and the memorable adventure planned for the boys, Sammy and Bobby, turned into a daunting risk of life for all. The Marble Mountain forest became a playground for Emmett Riker, a very troubled young man who was self-sufficient in hunting and trapping, but deadly around people. Emmett's father had taught him how to hunt and survive off the land. However, Emmett felt he had never experienced the same connection of love and devotion the other kids in his school got from their parents and he envied their family life. The day came when Emmett had had enough of the yelling and screaming his mother inflicted at him on a daily basis. When his mother began her tirade, Emmett calmly reached over and picked up a butcher knife and plunged it into her chest and curiously watched the light go out in his mother's eyes. Emmett released a gush of breath and said out loud, "What a rush that was! I should have done this ages ago!" Then he calmly waited for his father to come in for lunch and slashed his throat as he came through the door and dropped dead on the floor in front of him. Emmett gathered some clothing, tools, weapons and food then went out to the barn and saddled the horse his dad gave to him for hunting. He took one last look at the only home he had ever known, then took a can of kerosene and carefully poured it over his parents and the kitchen table, counters and floor, leaving a trail to the back door. Then without remorse, Emmett struck a match and threw it inside the door igniting the fuel. As he mounted his horse he never looked back and left before the fire trucks arrived to fight the swirling black inferno.
About the Author: Gwen Rickman, now retired from the California Department of Corrections, lives with her husband in rural Northern California. Her stories, while fiction, are based on her unique experiences and observations while working at two maximum security State prisons. To better understand her working environment, Gwen earned two degrees, one in Correctional Science and the other in Administration of Justice. Gwen's experience while supervising inmate clerks and porters, and communicating directly with the inmates on the yards, gave her an insight into the troubled and dangerous world of those men removed from society, some of the rest of their lives.