“You should have told me.”
“I thought you wouldn’t let us stay out there, and if anything happened to the alpacas—”
“You should have told me anyway.”
“I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to him,” I said, tearing up.
“If you and Bryce want to stay the night again, it’s okay. I just don’t want you outside. Understand?”
I nodded.
“Pastor Andy called and wants to talk to you. I saw him at the grocery store yesterday and told him what you were doing this weekend. He wondered if you’d do a short devotional before Sunday school. He said you could tell what you’ve learned about alpacas.”
“I’m not sure I’ve learned anything.”
“Call him. Maybe by tomorrow something will come to mind.”
Chapter 76
I wondered why Pastor Andy didn’t ask me to talk abut the alpacas, which is probably why I started calling my sister Reverend Ashley. Later I taped a sign on her door: “Saint Ashley of the Alpacas.”
We thought about parking our ATVs in the barn to keep them out of sight, but Ashley was afraid that would scare Whitney. We drove them into the woods behind the house and hid them behind some brush. We didn’t want the thieves to show up and see somebody in the house.
I found a two-by-four we could wedge under the door handle to the den. We tried it out with Ashley inside and me locking her in. She pushed and pushed but couldn’t get the door open. We also made a hiding place beneath the stairs where we could wait for the intruders. I would call 911 from the Morrises’ cordless phone as soon as anyone entered the house.
Though the TV wasn’t as good as the one upstairs, I watched the Cubs game in the den so no one could see it glowing from outside. They led the Cardinals until the ninth inning. Two outs, two on, two runs ahead, the pitcher gave up a home run and the Cubs were down a run. They almost scored in the bottom of the inning, but a guy got thrown out at home for the third out. I don’t believe in luck, good or bad, but I’d say the Cubs have had their share of the bad.
We checked the alpacas one more time before we holed up for the night. Ashley said she thought Whitney didn’t seem to be humming as much. I said she should take Whitney to church and see if she could teach her “Amazing Grace.”
Chapter 77
Bryce and I sat in the dark under the stairs, listening, the heavy blanket from the safe draped over the opening. We had pillows and a flashlight, the two-by-four, and Leigh’s can of Mace. (She noticed it was missing, and I asked to borrow it one more night.)
It got creepily quiet, and every creak and noise made me think someone was there.
Bryce asked what I was going to talk about in Sunday school the next morning.
“Psalm 23,” I said.
“I thought that was about sheep.”
“Yeah, but any animal will do.”
“What’s the point of the . . . you know, the message?” He seemed interested, not just wanting to make fun of me.
I shrugged. “I guess I’ll talk about how peaceful they are and how much they trust their owners. That they don’t worry about anything when they’re being taken care of.”
I pulled out my notes. “I wrote down the verbs, all the stuff a shepherd does for his flock. ‘Leads, renews, guides, prepares, honors, anoints.’” I had written several sentences for each, using characteristics of alpacas I had found on different Web sites.
“That’s pretty good,” Bryce said. I was waiting for some joke, but he said, “Don’t you wish Dad could be here to read that?”
“I always wish Dad could be here. Except . . .”
“What?”
“I don’t know. I wonder why God let him die. I don’t think we’ll ever figure it out, but I wonder if part of it has something to do with us becoming a family with Sam and Leigh.”
“God would kill Dad for that?”
“No, I don’t mean that. It’s like the verse that says whatever happens to a Christian, God can make something good out of it, even if it’s bad.”
“And what if Sam and Leigh never believe in Jesus?”
“Guess we have to rest like the alpacas, believe God knows what he’s doing, and have a little faith.”
Chapter 78
My back ached and my butt felt so numb I doubted I could ever stand. You could have hit me with the two-by-four and I never would have felt it. All I heard was the creaky house and the wind. I put my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.
When the Morrises’ cordless rang, I nearly threw the thing through the wall. I looked at my watch—11:45.
The Morrises didn’t have caller ID.
“Should we answer?” I said. “It could be Mr. Morris.”
“It could be Eddie and his people.”
“It could be Mom.”
“Just pick it up and don’t say anything,” Ashley said.
“Hello?” Lewis said upstairs. “Hello? Thank you for calling!”
I mashed the Speakerphone button and heard something like a rushing wind. “Sam?” I said.
Click.
Ashley shook her head. “Why did you do that?”
I couldn’t speak. Had I just given us away?
Chapter 79
The phone rang again, and I felt like throwing up. Bryce looked at me, and we didn’t have to say anything. We just let it ring. The answering machine picked up upstairs, and when the beep finally sounded, whoever it was hung up.
“What time is it?” I said.
Bryce hit the light on his watch. “Midnight. Couple minutes before.”
Suddenly my heart leaped. My medicine!
I have to take medicine for a seizure disorder. If I don’t, my brain gets messed up and I can pass out.
I pulled the capsules from my pocket. “I need water.”
“Bathroom’s down the hall.”
“I’m not going alone.”
I couldn’t see, but I’m sure Bryce rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said.
We felt our way down the dark hallway and found the bathroom. I cupped my hand under the faucet, popped the pills into my mouth, and slurped until they went down.
After another half hour of seat-numbing sitting, we were antsy for the robbers. It was like waiting for Christmas, only you didn’t want it to come. I wanted to catch these thieves, but if any part of our plan went wrong . . .
Finally, Bryce said, “Let’s go upstairs and have a look.”
Chapter 80
I could tell Ashley was scared by the way she stayed really close, but I was just as scared. What if Eddie had parked at the gate and walked to the house? What if he and whoever was helping him were already inside or watching through the windows?
We had left the range light on in the kitchen, so we stopped when we got near the top of the steps and looked around. Everything was quiet. Ashley pushed me, but I stayed where I was.
“Come on, Bryce!” she whispered.
Something moved outside—past the patio door. Animal or human, I couldn’t tell, but something was out there. I motioned for Ashley to go back downstairs. We hurried, trying not to make noise on the steps.
Back in our hideout, I told Ashley what I had seen.
“They’re out there?” she said.
“It could have been Mr. Bear, which might be worse. I say we stay here until we hear them come in the house.”
“Wouldn’t they have pulled the trailer close to put the stuff in?” Ashley said. “They’re not going to lug that safe all the way to the road.”
“Maybe they’re making sure things are clear, and then they’ll pull it up to the house.”
“Either way, I think we should call the police. It’ll take them a long time to get out here.”
“The plan was to wait until they—”
“Plans change,” she said, and I could hear the emotion in her voice. “It’s better if they catch them pulling out with all the stuff than to not catch them at all. What time is it?”
I hit my
watch light again. A half hour had passed, and it seemed like two weeks. “Okay, I’ll call.”
I hit the Talk button and started dialing. The beeps sounded, but when I held the phone up to my ear there was nothing. I clicked the Talk button off, then turned it on again and listened.
“No dial tone,” I said. “I’ll use my cell.” I dug it out and punched it on. Nothing.
“Don’t tell me you left it on!” she hissed.
“I thought I recharged it.”
She grabbed it and punched the top button, frantically trying to turn it on. Then she took the other phone and tried again.
I tried to smile. “Maybe the bear cut the line.”
“Not funny,” she said. “What now?”
“Plan B.”
Chapter 81
I didn’t care what Plan B was. I just wanted to do something.
Bryce totally caught me off guard. He burst out of our hiding place and turned on every light he could find. “You take upstairs!” he yelled.
I raced up, keeping a close watch on the patio door and the windows. I turned on all the lights in the bedrooms, and when I came out the radio and TV were blaring. The light coming from the house lit up the yard, and the noise was deafening.
“What are we doing?” I hollered.
He bolted into the kitchen and threw open the cabinets. “Letting them know we’re here. They’ll leave when they see what’s going on.”
“But don’t we want to catch them?”
“Not tonight,” Bryce said. He pulled out two huge boiling pots and handed me a wooden spoon. “Pretend it’s New Year’s!”
We beat on those pots like we were in a rock band. I’m not proud of it, but I imagined Liz’s face on my pot and whacked it even harder.
Bryce moved toward the window, something I wasn’t ready to do. His eyes grew wide, and he dropped his pot and spoon and hurried to the front door.
“What?” I screamed, but he was already outside.
I followed him into the yard and toward the barn. Taillights flashed as a trailer bounced down the dusty road.
“Come on!” Bryce yelled.
My fear of the robbers left when I saw the barn door open and several alpacas out, humming loudly under the moonlit sky. Bryce flicked on the fluorescent lights inside. We counted the animals and came up five short.
“Count again,” Bryce said.
“Wait,” I said, running toward the back of the barn. “Where’s Whitney?”
Chapter 82
I kicked myself for not figuring it out. Eddie couldn’t have known about the Morrises’ safe anyway. He had gotten the trailer to steal alpacas.
“Go to Denise’s and call the police,” I said. “I’ll try to follow them.”
I knew Ashley didn’t want to go back to Denise’s place any more than I wanted to chase alpaca thieves on my own, but I wasn’t about to let them get away without a fight. I ran to my ATV in the underbrush and tried to drive around the trees, but the fence blocked me. I circled back, found a small clearing through the woods, and shot out the other side.
The moon made driving over unfamiliar territory a little easier as I sped down the hill to the road. The taillights of the trailer glowed in the distance. The road was so bumpy that there was no way they could drive fast, so I thought I had a chance.
It reminded me of the old joke about a dog chasing a car—what would he do when he caught it? I didn’t know, but I wasn’t about to stop.
When I got to the road I pushed the thumb accelerator all the way and let the four-wheeler go as fast as it could. When the road curved I saw the truck and trailer pulling onto the main road to my left. They were only about a quarter of a mile ahead, so I shifted my weight and kept the accelerator down as I rounded the corner.
Something black darted across my path and I swerved to miss it, but the ATV plunged off the road.
Chapter 83
I knocked lightly at Denise’s, hoping somebody might be awake. When no one answered, I rang the doorbell.
I looked through the little windows beside the door and saw someone marching down the stairs in a long robe. I backed away as the light came on and the door unlocked. It was Denise’s father, and he was clearly angry.
“Sorry to wake you, but my brother and I are watching the Morrises’ farm and—”
“Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”
“I just need to use your phone—”
“Your mother assured my wife you wouldn’t bother us again, and look at the time!”
“But, Mr. Ruger—”
“Get out of here now! Understand?”
I ran to my ATV without looking back. I roared up the road to the next house and slid to the porch. These people had to be nicer than the Rugers.
An old man came to the door, adjusting his hearing aid.
“Please!” I said. “I need to use your phone. There’s been a robbery.”
His wife joined him, looking suspicious. “Where?”
When I told them, the woman took my arm. “You poor thing. Come on inside.”
Her kindness nearly made me cry as I choked out the details. The man kept adjusting his hearing aid.
“Call the police,” she told him.
A few moments later her husband brought me the phone. “They want to talk to you,” he said.
I told them everything, even why we thought it was Eddie, but they said to save that for the officer who would arrive shortly.
I called Mom, and about half an hour later she showed up with Bryce, who had scratches all over him.
“What happened to you?”
“Had a run-in with a bear . . . or something that crossed the road just as I was about to catch those guys. Plowed into some scrub oak.”
We thanked the old couple profusely, and I followed Mom and Bryce to the farm in time to meet the officer. He said they had found the phone wires cut at the back of the Morris house. He wrote down everything we told him, including what Bryce had learned at Carhardt’s Garage.
The officer pushed his hat back and studied us. “How do you know all that about this Eddie character?”
Bryce hesitated, looking at me, Mom, then the officer. “I overheard him talking about it.”
“When?”
He looked at Mom again.
She sighed. “It’s okay. I know you were at the garage.”
Bryce looked as stunned as I felt. How in the world . . . ?
Bryce told the officer everything. The officer snapped his writing pad shut and put it in his pocket.
“What about Buck?” I said.
The officer turned. “Who’s Buck?”
When I told him he said, “I don’t see how this changes anything. A dog that attacks like that has to be dealt with.”
“But if it’s all a plot—I mean, if we could prove Buck didn’t really bite the girl, wouldn’t that change things?”
The officer nodded. “Sure.”
Chapter 84
Mom told us to go to bed and that she would tell Pastor Andy we wouldn’t be at church for Ashley’s devotion. I dreamed we were crying at the edge of a grave as Buck’s casket was lowered by two alpacas. Three others held guns on their shoulders and fired into the air seven times. An alpaca 21-gun salute. Mr. Morris and his family wouldn’t even look at Ashley and me.
When I awoke and went downstairs, I found Ashley with Mom, who was on the phone with someone at the sheriff’s office, pleading for Buck’s life.
When Mom hung up she said, “There’s nothing they can do, no one they can talk to until tomorrow morning.”
“But that’s when they’re going to kill Buck!” Ashley said.
“We have to find the jogger,” I said.
“But the police and the paramedic won’t give us the name,” Ashley said.
“Someone else knows who she is.”
“Right,” Ashley said. “Eddie.”
“Someone else.”
“Who?”
“The only other person who saw h
er. Denise.”
Chapter 85
Bryce walked, and I drove my ATV to where he had crashed the night before. Bryce’s vehicle was buried in the scrub oak and scratched up, but we were able to get it out and head to the farm. We had lost five alpacas worth tens of thousands of dollars. I prayed we’d get them back before the Morrises got home, but my biggest concern was Whitney. She was in no condition for a bumpy ride like that.
Every one of the others seemed spooked. Last night had taken its toll. After we fed them and while we were cleaning the stalls, a car pulled up to the front gate. Doors slammed.
I looked at Bryce. “Who could that be?”
We walked out to find three people heading toward us. Denise, her mom, and her dad.
“Get ready to get chewed out,” I said.
Denise’s dad spoke first. “Ashley?” He put his hand on Denise’s shoulder and puffed his cheeks. “I want to apologize for last night. We heard what happened. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Denise told us what really happened at school and at the amusement park,” her mom said. “We were unfair to you.”
Denise looked at the ground and spoke softly. “I really didn’t see that girl get attacked.” I wondered if her parents made her say it.
“There may still be time to save Buck. Can you help us find the girl?”
Chapter 86
It was Ashley’s idea to look at Leigh’s high school yearbooks. She had two of them, so we started with the most recent.
Denise described the jogger as about Mom’s height, long hair that looked dyed black, brown eyes, and a small mouth.
“Anything weird about her?” I said. “Scars or something?”
“Her hands were mostly red from the blood,” Denise said. “But she had dirty fingernails. And there was something on her arm, maybe a tattoo. Her sleeve covered most of it, but I think it was round.”
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