Disillusioned

by Christy Barritt

  Nikki had rushed to meet him. Once she arrived, she’d discovered that Zephaniah and Melanie Wilson were a nice a couple in their forties, no kids. They’d moved to Colombia to serve as missionaries five years ago. Nikki had been in a state of shock when she’d arrived at their house, but the couple had proven to be warm and concerned.

  They’d told her that Bobby had appeared at their door in the middle of the night. He looked like he’d been beaten. He was severely dehydrated and malnourished. They’d wanted to take him to the hospital, but he’d refused. They’d wanted to call local authorities, but he’d also refused. He only wanted to talk to Nikki.

  Zephaniah and Melanie had been gracious. When Nikki arrived, she couldn’t leave until the next day because a storm had blown in. That night, while Bobby slept, she’d talked to the couple for hours.

  They acknowledged that when Bobby showed up, he’d looked halfway crazy. But they’d cited the story of the Good Samaritan. They’d taken him in, fed him, and called Nikki, just as Bobby requested.

  They’d also told her that Bobby said he’d run through the jungle for three days before reaching them. Three days. The good news was that it meant they didn’t live close enough to the detainment camp to be easily discovered.

  After that conversation, they’d talked to her about being missionaries in a foreign country. Something had stirred in Nikki. She’d listened to Zephaniah’s and Melanie’s stories about changing lives in the mission field. They didn’t just talk about the good stuff, they also talked about the challenges. They talked about being homesick and being ridiculed and feeling like they couldn’t do enough to help the poor in the area.

  As quickly as the old familiar longing had stirred, the sweet emotion had gelled and hardened into bitterness. Nikki was mad at herself for giving up on her dream, her calling, and mad at God for abandoning her. Her life wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. It wasn’t that she was an idealist, it was just that when she’d found God, she’d found hope. Then she’d lost her hope. More than lost it. It had crashed down around her like her own personal kind of nuclear war.

  She snapped back to the present and dialed the Wilsons’ number. She wanted to ask them a few more questions, maybe fill in a few more blanks.

  The phone rang and rang. Just as she was about to hang up, a woman answered. “Wilson residence.”

  “Is this Melanie Wilson?” Nikki asked.

  “No, who’s asking?”

  “Just an old friend. I was hoping to catch up with her. Is she available?”

  The woman on the other end sniffled. “No, she’s . . . gone.”

  Nikki tensed. “Gone?”

  “She and her husband disappeared four days ago. No one’s heard from them since.”

  Nikki gasped, unable to believe her ears. It couldn’t be . . . “I’m so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do? No one has any idea what happened?”

  “No idea at all. I’m a part of their mission group, but I live about an hour away. When I couldn’t reach them, I decided to come for a visit. The police are involved, so hopefully they can find some answers.”

  “I don’t want to sound insensitive, but did their house look like something had happened there? I mean, they could have just gone on vacation or something . . . right?”

  “It’s doubtful. A table was broken . . . and there was some ARM propaganda left. It was the strangest thing: there were also articles about that American POW. I think his name was Bobby Wright.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Kade flinched when Nikki appeared outside his bedroom door. He hadn’t expected to see her there with that look of urgency in her eyes. Steam came from the bathroom, and his skin was still damp from his shower, but her appearance made it clear she couldn’t wait one more minute to see him.

  “Things just got worse,” she murmured.

  His hands went to his hips. “What do you mean?”

  She told him about her conversation with a woman in Colombia. The more he learned, the stronger the bad feeling in his gut grew. The missionaries were gone. They’d probably been taken. If they’d left on their own accord, they would have told someone.

  “Kade, what if someone gets hurt because of—” Before she could finish her sentence, she froze and put a finger over her lips. “Did you hear that?”

  He listened, the skin on his back bristling. He heard it too. A car was coming up the gravel lane leading to the house.

  He rushed to the window and stood carefully to the side as he tried to get a glimpse.

  It was a sheriff’s cruiser. This wasn’t good.

  “We need to hide. Get Bobby and go upstairs. Now!” Kade said.

  Kade found Ten Man and quickly told him what was going on. Then he grabbed any evidence he could find that they’d been here and hurried upstairs, just as someone knocked at the door.

  Opening the door at the end of the hallway, Kade ushered Bobby and Nikki to the attic stairs. Thankfully Bobby was compliant. They moved slowly enough to remain quiet but quickly enough to make it to the top before the door opened.

  Upstairs, they scattered, each finding a dark recess. The smell of dust and old wood surrounded them. A few slats of light slithered into the room through the planks of a small window in the corner. Old furniture was covered with musty sheets, and stacks of boxes speckled the floor.

  Had they been discovered? How?

  Kade looked across the room and saw Nikki crouched near Bobby. Her eyes were wide and her expression tense.

  He only prayed that Bobby didn’t do anything foolish. If he remained still, they’d most likely be okay. But one wrong move, one squeaky board, one hint that they were up here, and all of this would be over.

  His mind raced. Thankfully he’d hidden his SUV behind the barn. He’d reviewed all of this information and possible worst-case scenarios with Ten Man when he’d arrived. Ten Man could handle himself in these situations. Kade knew he could, or he wouldn’t have asked him to come.

  Voices drifted up. “So this will be Hope House, huh? Do you know when it’s opening?”

  “In a month, if everything goes according to schedule,” Ten Man said.

  “Where did you say Savannah and Jack went?”

  The sheriff almost sounded like he was testing Ten Man.

  “On their honeymoon to the Caribbean. If anyone deserves to relax a little, it’s the two of them. They’ve been through a lot over the past year.”

  “No one around here can argue with that.” The footsteps stopped, and a door creaked open.

  The door to the attic?

  Kade’s gut lurched.

  “How’d you say you know them?” the sheriff asked.

  “I don’t,” Ten Man said. “Not very well, at least. But I was on a task force for human trafficking. I met Savannah and Jack at a meeting in Virginia Beach. As soon as I heard what they were doing, I knew I wanted to help. I’ve seen things in my time overseas, things that no human should endure. I knew I had to give back.”

  Good man, Ten Man, Kade thought. The best part was that he was sincere. All of that, except for his connection with Savannah and Jack, had been true.

  Kade held his breath, praying the sheriff didn’t check the attic.

  “It looks like everything is clear. You understand that I just like to keep my eye on things here, especially when people are out of town. These waters seem tranquil, but sometimes they’re a breeding ground for illegal activity. I don’t like crime to happen on my watch.”

  “I don’t like crimes to happen period, so we’re on the same page,” Ten Man said.

  “If you need anything while you’re here, let me know.”

  “By the way, did someone call you out here?”

  “No, but I knew they were leaving, and I just wanted to check on things.”

  Kade raised his hand, motioning for everyone to stay put. He had to make sure the sheriff was gone before anyone moved. So far things had gone over seamlessly, but it wasn’t too late for it all to blow up.

&n
bsp; He waited three minutes until he heard the door open below. Footsteps plodded up the steps until finally Ten Man came into view.

  “The coast is clear,” Ten Man said.

  Kade let out the breath he held and stood. “Good job down there.”

  “I thought this was all over,” Ten Man said. “I was certain the sheriff was coming up here and that he’d find you.”

  “Thankfully he didn’t.” Kade motioned to Bobby and Nikki. “But this should serve as a reminder of how quickly things can go bad.”

  He started back toward the stairs, and then he paused. Something looked out of place in the corner. The blue sheet looked new, cleaner than the rest of the linens covering the furniture and boxes. Scuffle marks had stirred the dust on the floor, indicating someone had recently been up here.

  He moved the sheet. Acetone, concentrated hydrogen peroxide, and a couple of other chemicals were stockpiled there.

  Acetone? Hydrogen peroxide? There was only one thing someone would want to do with these.

  They’d want to make a bomb.

  His gaze found Bobby. “Is there anything you want to explain?”

  “I don’t know how that got there,” Bobby insisted. “I’m telling you the truth.”

  They’d moved downstairs to the kitchen. Bobby sat with his hands on the table and his shoulders slouched. Kade stood in front of him. Ten Man paced behind them. Nikki sat beside her brother, speechless. Deflated.

  “I can’t imagine Jack and Savannah leaving those things in the attic,” Kade said. “Nor can I picture Nikki or Tennyson doing it. That only leaves you.”

  Bobby lowered his head, drawing in deep breaths. “I don’t know what to say. Your mind is already made up. You think I brought those things into the house, but I didn’t. How would I have even picked them up? I don’t have a car. You would have noticed if I left for any amount of time.”

  Kade leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Someone around here was going to build a bomb. Anyone else have any ideas?”

  Nikki’s stomach twisted. She’d tried and tried to trust Bobby, but maybe that was an impossibility at this point. Who else would have left those materials in the attic? Then again, Bobby had raised a good point: How would he have gotten those chemicals? They would have definitely known if he took one of their cars and went for a drive.

  “Have you guys been out of the house all at once since you’ve arrived?” Ten Man asked.

  Nikki and Kade exchanged a glance.

  “Twice,” Nikki said. “If you include the confrontation we had in the barn. We were outside . . . maybe an hour during that incident.”

  It was long enough for someone to plant bomb-making materials. But why not just kill them? Why make things so complicated?

  “What were you going to do with those supplies?” Kade asked. “Can you tell us what you were planning?”

  Bobby’s hands hit the table and his voice rose. “I’m telling you the truth. I’m not planning anything. I don’t know what I can say to get you to believe me.”

  “There’s enough chemicals up there to blow up a shopping mall, Bobby,” Kade continued. “Speaking of which, Ten Man, I need you to get rid of them. All of them. Do whatever you have to do. I want all of it out of this house. Now.”

  Ten Man nodded and stomped up the stairs.

  Bobby hung his head, his face haggard. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to be honest,” Kade said.

  “I have been!” Bobby rushed to his feet, his energy level surging. “I’ve told you everything I can remember. I don’t know what else I can do.”

  “We only want to help you, Bobby.”

  “I want to help me.” Bobby’s shoulders slumped, and he sat down again. “But I don’t know how to do that. Hook me up to a lie detector. Do whatever you have to do. If you think the world is better off with me being tied up and locked away, then do it. But I’m innocent. Someone is setting me up. I’m telling you—someone left those materials in hopes that you’d find them and turn me in.”

  Kade stood and began pacing. “This just doesn’t add up.”

  “I know!” Bobby agreed.

  “You tried to kill a local teenager. You came after me with a knife. And now this.”

  The hopeful look disappeared from Bobby’s eyes. “What do you want me to do? It’s your call. I’ll understand your decision.”

  “I need some time to think.” Kade sounded grim.

  Bobby stood again, his jaw set and his eyes somber. “I’ll be up in my room.”

  As soon as he disappeared, Nikki and Kade turned toward each other. Kade looked exhausted. For the first time since this ordeal started, he also looked baffled and a little lost.

  “What do you think?” Nikki asked. The pressure inside her felt so strong, like something that must combust at any minute. How could this nightmare continue to escalate like this?

  “I should ask you the same thing. I don’t know what to think, Nikki. I want to believe the best, but that’s becoming increasingly hard. We may need to consider the possibility that your brother is guilty. Maybe it’s because of the drugs or the effects of the torture he experienced. Maybe he’s up to something.”

  She shook her head. “I just can’t believe that. I have moments when I wonder, but deep inside, I know Bobby’s not that guy.”

  “Maybe he wasn’t that guy, Nikki. But he changed after what happened to him.”

  “Are we doing a disservice to the country by not turning him in?” She regretted the question as soon as it left her lips.

  “I don’t know. But we need to think long and hard about that.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Kade decided to fix breakfast for dinner. Maybe focusing on something else would allow him to see everything more clearly. Bobby had decided to burn off some steam by doing push-ups in his bedroom. Thunder rumbled overhead as an autumn storm showered the area.

  Kade turned his thoughts over as he cooked. Could Bobby have really been planning to build a bomb? If so, what had he intended to do with it? Blow up this house while Kade and Nikki were here? Or was he going to take it someplace where a greater number of lives would be destroyed? Somewhere like . . . a baseball game?

  Kade had promised Nikki he would give this a couple of days, but he was leaning more and more toward turning Bobby in immediately. His friend could honestly be a threat to national security. He didn’t want to admit it, but how could he deny the facts?

  Kade had checked the Major League Baseball schedule and had discovered more than forty separate games going on this week alone. There was no way to know which one ARM would target.

  As he was frying up bacon, Nikki came downstairs, a burdened expression still on her face.

  “You look about like I feel.” She pulled her green Reggie’s Oyster Bar sweatshirt closer.

  “Overwhelmed? Trying to eat the elephant all at once instead of bite by bite?”

  “Exactly. But bacon always makes everything better, right?” She sat at the farm-style table and watched him.

  He left the bacon cooking and poured a cup of coffee for her, added the sugar and cream, and set it in front of her.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  At once his mind was filled with images of doing this forever. Except he wanted it to be more than this, more than him being her bodyguard. He’d never stopped loving her. He never would.

  If they didn’t resolve this situation, he might never have the chance to tell her.

  Nikki rubbed the smooth ceramic coffee mug with her thumb and studied him for a moment. Kade felt her gaze, but didn’t shy away from letting her look at him. He missed the days when he could stare at her all day without seeming creepy.

  “You seem like you’ve done really well for yourself, Kade.”

  He shrugged. “I can’t complain. God has really blessed me.”

  She let out an airy laugh. “The roles have reversed, haven’t they? I used to be the one who couldn’t talk about God en
ough.”

  Kade put his fork down. “What happened?”

  She shrugged, her eyes somber. “Life. I think I used to be an idealist, even when it came to God. Then I realized that if He was real, He just didn’t care.”

  This situation must be serving as a reminder of that to her. Even for a person of faith, the stress of their current circumstances could easily make them question all the beliefs they held dear.

  “It’s a shame you think that way.” Nikki had been such an inspiration. A true rock. Utterly unshakable. “Because I happen to know that God cares about you very much. Enough to send His son to the cross to die. I can promise you He’s here with us now, mourning with us through the hard times and rooting us on in victory.”

  Something flickered in her eyes. “Depends on who you ask, I suppose. When my faith was tested, I realized just how fragile it really was. Maybe it’s better that I discovered it sooner rather than later. There’s no need to live a lie.”

  Kade paused from cooking, and their gazes connected. He wanted to drive home his point. “I don’t think God’s done with your story yet.”

  Nikki put her coffee mug down and cleared her throat. “Well, I do. Even God can’t get us out of this situation.”

  “But He can. Even if He chooses not to, He still deserves our praise.”

  “You taking a cue from Esther?”

  “Wasn’t that your favorite story?” He knew the answer: yes. Back when they were dating, her eyes had lit up when she’d talked about the story and her passion to help others.

  And now Nikki worked in fundraising. An ache formed in Kade as he realized the spiritual battles she must have endured. It wasn’t that fundraising wasn’t worthy—it was a noble profession that did a lot of good in the world. But fundraising hadn’t been her dream. Her passion had been to go overseas and spread the gospel message.

  “It was. ‘For such a time as this.’ I thought there was no better life verse that I could choose. I was put in the perfect place at the perfect time to carry out His perfect will. I was a fool.”

  Kade put a plate of food in front of her, wishing they were in a place in their relationship where he could reach out. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But just like Esther, maybe this was the moment you were created for. For such a time as this.”