Plain Target

by Dana R. Lynn

  Seth read what the other man didn’t say. If they had believed him, maybe none of this would have happened.

  “No use second-guessing. It is what it is.”

  Jess. Always practical.

  A dog growled right outside the door. It was joined by a second one. The barking resumed. One of the dog’s yelped in pain. And it was too close to the house.

  A new aroma wafted in the window.

  Smoke. Something was on fire.

  “Seth!”

  He nodded. “I smell it. Something’s burning. Stay low.”

  The smoke started to drift in the air. It formed a hazy cloud.

  “It’s coming from the back door.” Levi stated. His voice was calm, in contrast to the ashen cast on his face.

  On hands and knees, Seth crawled to the sink. There were several damp clothes hanging on it. He handed them to Jess and Levi. He grabbed a third. It wasn’t as damp as he would have liked, but would have to do. Indicating that they needed to hold it over their mouths and noses, he began crawling toward the next room. His injured arm throbbed. Gritting his teeth, he kept crawling. He’d rather deal with a little pain than be dead. Entering the living room, he saw immediately that the smoke was thicker. It hung in the air like a wet blanket. Heavy.

  He stopped.

  Because he had no idea where to go. The shooter was out there, and there was smoke coming in by the back door. Was the killer trying to force them out the front door?

  A few seconds later, he grimly dismissed that idea. Smoke had started to pour in under the front door. The idea evidently wasn’t to smoke them out. No. The killer had no interest in luring them out into the open.

  The sadistic person waiting outside the house had decided to burn them to a crisp. And the fact that there were innocent bystanders inside with him and Jess didn’t seem to bother him, or her, overmuch.

  “Seth. Now what?”

  Seth winced at Jess’s hoarse voice.

  He was out of ideas.

  They were trapped.

  THIRTEEN

  Her lungs were burning. She blinked to clear her vision. It did no good. Water continued to pool in her eyes. A blurry shape was coming her way, wriggling like a large caterpillar. Seth. He army-crawled to her.

  She blinked again as he put his face a couple of inches from hers.

  “Are you okay?” he mouthed. How she wished she could hear his voice!

  She nodded, but it was a lie. No, she wasn’t okay. She was terrified. And in pain. But he didn’t need to know that. Why place that burden on him when he couldn’t change the circumstances? He yelled something at Levi.

  Squinting, she was just able to see her old friend pointing. When Levi started crawling toward the other side of the house, Seth gestured for her to follow.

  A spark of hope lit inside her soul. Could there be another way out? With renewed vigor, she crawled after Levi, praying as she struggled along. Every few feet, she glanced back over her shoulders, heartened to see Seth coming along behind her. He could have moved faster if he was ahead of her. But he wouldn’t do that. The man she had come to know and trust in the past few days would never take the chance that she would be left behind.

  Immediately upon entering the room, she noticed a decrease of smoke. Seth came in behind her and closed the door. That would buy them a few extra minutes.

  Levi waved Seth forward, and together the two men pushed an oval area rug out of the way. A wooden trapdoor was revealed. It had a single slide latch lock near the bottom corner.

  The cellar.

  Jess hadn’t seen it in so many years, she had entirely forgotten it existed.

  The two men cleared the rug the rest of the way off the door and Levi wrestled with the latch. Come on, come on, she urged silently. The lock was stuck. It would open. It had to. She refused to believe they had come this far, only to die now. Frantically throwing her glance around the room, she spied a large tool near the wood basket. A maul. For splitting wood. A weird place to find such a tool. But she didn’t have time to wonder about it now.

  “Seth!”

  His head whipped toward her and she pointed at the maul. His face cracked into a relieved grin. Grabbing the maul, he marched to where Levi was. Levi backed off to allow him to swing at the latch. It was lifted clear off the door with the first blow. Levi opened the door, wrinkling his nose.

  A second later, so did Jess. The rank odor of mold and stale water rose out of the cellar and assaulted her nostrils. The rain had flooded the cellar.

  Jess shuddered, a horrible realization slamming into her. The open door yawned before her, leading into a dark, swampy pit. She was going to have to wade through the dark again. Her life depended on it. Fear held her legs paralyzed.

  The two men hadn’t noticed her predicament yet. Instead, they were rounding up candles and matches. Levi lit his candle. The flame danced, flickering like it was laughing at her cowardice.

  Seth lit a second candle. He turned to her, an expectant smile curling the corners of his mouth. The smile faded as he took in her frozen posture. Concern etched itself on his handsome features.

  “Jess?” He signed as he spoke. No wonder. Smoke was starting to come in under the door. The air was beginning to get hazy. “Jess, we have to go, honey. This is our only chance.”

  “It’s dark.” She knew she was whispering, even though she couldn’t hear her own voice. But she knew Seth heard it when his brows rose. Then his frown deepened.

  “It’s dark, yes. But we have candles. And we’ll be together.”

  She nodded. Forcing her legs into motion, she gripped the hand he held out to her.

  “Afraid of the dark?”

  “And small places.”

  His eyes softened in tender understanding. The cellar was both. “Let’s pray.”

  Astonishment flashed through her as he said a simple prayer. “Lord, protect us. Help Jess through her fear. Amen.”

  If he could surrender enough to pray, she could walk through the dark at his side.

  They descended the stairs one at a time. Sandwiched between the men, Jess alternated between feeling safe and wanting to scream as claustrophobia skittered down her nerves. She arrived at the last step and put her foot down into six inches of water. She was so sick of being wet. It sure beat being dead, though, so she held in her sigh of disgust.

  The light from the candles danced, casting eerie shadows on the stone walls. She shuddered and tried to ignore them.

  As he stepped down behind her, Seth placed his empty hand on her shoulder. She reached up and held on to his hand. The warmth of his palm sank into her skin, bringing comfort. She wasn’t alone.

  Sloshing through the ice-cold water, the weary trio made their way to the wall on the opposite side. If memory served, there should be a door leading to the outside there. If things went their way, it would be unlocked and easy to open.

  Once at the wall, they followed the light slipping through the cracks in the door. Jess ignored the icy water which slapped against her legs and slipped over the top of her boots to soak her feet.

  In less than a minute, they arrived at the door.

  Apprehension settled in. What if the shooter saw them? Granted, the door was on the opposite side of the house. It was more likely that the shooter was watching the main entrances and the windows on the ground floor.

  They were about to find out.

  Seth joined Levi at the double doors and the two men shoved them open. Fresh air rushed inside, soothing her lungs.

  Seth helped her exit the cellar. Jess was tempted to tell him that she was fine, but allowed herself the comfort of his assistance rather than sticking to her pride.

  As they emerged, a commotion near the front of the house drew their attention. Several Amish buggies were in the driveway
, the horses placidly grazing on the grass while their drivers were working together to put out the blaze. Or what was left of it. A young woman wearing capris pants and a frilly top was talking a mile a minute on a neon-pink cell phone, waving her bangled arms as she talked.

  Her mouth was moving too quickly to read everything she was saying. Her bright pink lipstick helped, though. Jess was able to make out enough to know the woman was talking to a 911 operator.

  Reluctantly, Jess forced herself to survey the damage herself. She turned. And grimaced.

  The front porch seemed to have taken the brunt of the damage. Black scorch marks clawed from the porch up the door. The doorknob had fallen clear off. She had no idea how the back door fared, but suspected it was heavily damaged, as well.

  “Levi, I’m sorry—” she started, but he wasn’t there.

  Seth touched her arm. “You know he doesn’t care about the house,” he signed. “He cares that you are safe, and that his family wasn’t home.”

  “But if I hadn’t been here, none of this would have happened.”

  “Maybe.”

  The word pierced her. So she was to blame.

  “Or maybe not. But aren’t you the one always telling me God provides? He provided for us today, and no one was seriously injured. That’s the important thing.”

  Jess opened her mouth, then snapped it shut when she realized she didn’t know what to say to that. God had provided for them. More importantly, at least in her mind, Seth was acknowledging His care. Blessings came out of tragedy. She had read that several times in the past. Now she was seeing it in action.

  * * *

  The amazement and wonder on Jess’s face made him squirm. And when she smiled at him, man, that dimple just about did him in. He felt like a hero. Saving people had become commonplace given his job. He never thought of himself as a hero before. But Jess was focusing those big hazel eyes on him and smiling softly and now he felt he could do anything.

  A siren rent the air. A fire truck swerved into the driveway, and a crew of firefighters spilled out. A couple of minutes later, an ambulance pulled up. Seth closed his eyes. His chin sank to his chest as emotions engulfed him. For a moment, he couldn’t trust himself to speak.

  “Seth?”

  Opening his eyes, he grinned at Jess. “Sorry. Just momentarily overcome. That ambulance is from across the creek. Which means the water has gone down. We can go home.”

  He wasn’t prepared for her reaction. Those hazel eyes filled with tears and she flung her arms around him, squeezing him tight. Smiling, he gently closed his arms around her and hugged back.

  “Anyone inside?”

  The fireman’s question, spoken to Levi who had approached the scene, broke the spell. Slowly, he backed away from Jess. Reluctant to break the contact completely, he slid an arm around her waist. She leaned against him.

  “No. We were inside, but we got out,” Levi explained.

  Seth nudged Jess, motioning with his head that they should move closer. Levi explained what had happened inside the house and how they had escaped. The neighbors gasped and exclaimed as they listened in.

  A second siren shrieked in the distance.

  “Police are coming,” Seth signed to Jess.

  She tightened her jaw and visibly stiffened her back. She still expects to be blamed, he realized. Without consciously deciding to do so, he caught her hand in his.

  “Hey,” he said softly, knowing they were close enough for her to read his lips in the waning daylight. “They can’t accuse you of anything. You have an alibi and witnesses to everything. Do you understand me?”

  She bit her lip and nodded. He relaxed.

  “I know that. It’s just that I haven’t had the best track record with the police.”

  Leaning forward, he planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. “I’m here. I won’t leave you to fend for yourself. Promise.”

  And he didn’t. Even as the paramedics came and checked the three of them out, he stood beside her, insisting they look them both over at the same time. His arm was cleaned and bandaged. It was determined that the injury was fine, and wouldn’t need stitches.

  What was a problem was that both he and Jess had started to cough. Rough, harsh gasping coughs. It sometimes happened after being exposed to smoke. The police had finished collecting reports from the neighbors and Levi, since he was the only one of the three who wasn’t coughing.

  “We need to take you folks to the hospital.”

  Levi declined treatment, claiming he was fine.

  Soon they were bundled into the ambulance and en route to the hospital.

  Once there, they were separated while they were checked out.

  Seth was relieved to see his brother-in-law, Dan, there, along with Gavin Jackson. Jackson was skeptical when Seth started telling about everything that had happened over the past two days. Dan, however, knew him well enough to know that Seth was not prone to exaggeration.

  “Jackson, I want you to be in charge of making sure there is an officer looking out for Miss McGrath while she’s here.”

  Jackson wasn’t a fan of the idea. “Dan, do we really have the manpower for—”

  “I’m not asking for your opinion. Do it!” Dan barked.

  Jackson straightened his shoulders, he nodded, face blank. Pivoting on his heel, he strode away, speaking into the radio hooked onto his shoulder as he went. Seth watched him, uneasy.

  “Will he cause trouble?” Seth queried. They already had their share of that and didn’t need more.

  Dan waved his hand, dismissing the idea. “Jackson’s a good guy. A little hot headed sometimes, but he never stays mad. And he doesn’t hold grudges. In fact, he’s probably one of the most honest and hardworking men I know in the department.”

  “He doesn’t seem to like Jess.” He should let it go, but he couldn’t. If Jackson’s attitude put her in danger, he wanted to know.

  “It’s nothing to do with her. He has had some personal tragedies in the past two years. They have made him cynical. But he’ll be fine.”

  Seth raised his eyebrows questioningly. Dan shook his head. “No, I’m not telling you. You may be my brother-in-law, but you know I don’t tell tales.”

  He did know that. It was one of the things he liked about Maggie’s husband.

  A brisk footstep in the hall heralded the entrance of the doctor. He examined Seth quickly. Seth bore with it the best he could, tempering his impatience. He was fine, he knew it. All he wanted was to go and find Jess, make sure she was all right.

  “Well, Travis, you seem to be fit, except for some irritation from the smoke. I think you should consider taking the next day or so off to let yourself recover, but then you should be fine.” Dr. Adams typed something into his tablet before glancing up at his patient. Shoving his reading glasses up on his thin nose, he stared at Seth over the top of them. Patent disbelief was stamped all over his narrow face. “What, no objection?”

  Although the tone was mocking, Seth didn’t take offense. Any other time, he would have objected, or at the very least, let his displeasure be known. He hated taking time off. Too many people in this town thought he had it easy. As if growing up rich had made him soft. To compensate, he worked extra hard to prove himself. But now he had a more important goal than proving himself to those who didn’t matter to him anyway.

  “No, sir.”

  The doctor waited, but he didn’t expand on his answer. Finally the doctor sighed. “Okay, Travis, you’re free to go.” The doctor made to leave.

  “Wait, Doc!” he blurted.

  “Yes?”

  “My friend, Jessica McGrath, how is she?”

  “Oh, she’ll live, too. You can both go home. Remember, I don’t want to see you until Wednesday.”

  He was good with that.

&nb
sp; Hopping off the low bed, he made to go find Jess.

  “Hey, Seth, you still haven’t answered all my questions.”

  “Aw, Dan. Can’t we answer them at Jess’s house? You are going to give us a ride, aren’t you?”

  He swallowed a grin as Dan sighed hugely. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go collect your friend. Than I can brief you and get home to my family before Maggie puts the twins to bed.”

  Dan radioed Jackson to bring Jess down to meet them in the lobby.

  When she arrived, Seth couldn’t resist the impulse to go to her. It was too strong. Ignoring the narrowed eyes of the sergeant standing next to her, he ran a tender hand down her cheek.

  “You okay?”

  “Peachy keen.” He got an impudent wink for his trouble. “But I’m so ready to go home.”

  “I scored us a ride.” Hitching a thumb over his shoulder, he indicated Dan.

  “Hey! Is that all I am? A ride?” Dan’s voice was insulted, but he knew better.

  Jackson stepped up to him. With his back to Jess, he murmured softly to Seth. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, Travis? You might want to think twice about getting too friendly with her.”

  “Step back, Gavin. She’s been through enough. And frankly, so have I.”

  “Whatever. It’s your funeral.” Jackson shrugged, but his mouth turned down.

  So he wasn’t happy with Seth’s decision. That was just too bad.

  Fortunately, they didn’t have to ride in the car with him back to River Road Stables. Sitting next to Jess in the backseat, Seth heard her happy sigh as they pulled into the driveway. In the fading light, her eyes shimmered.

  “Wait, Dan. Her front door is open. It wasn’t open when we left.”

  “Are you sure it latched completely?” Dan asked. Putting the car in park, he slipped his hand into his jacket. Getting his gun.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. I watched her turn the bolt. You know I wouldn’t forget.”

  Dan nodded. Seth didn’t brag about it, but he knew that his recall ability had frequently impressed those who knew him.