“You’re not,” Kate said, “as long as I don’t have to move.”
Buck eased into his rocking chair. “I talked to Pastor Windsor. He called in the elders and the prayer team to pray for Jesse’s safe return. He offered to come wait with us.”
“Please tell me you told him no,” Kate said, louder than she meant to. “I can’t handle—”
“I know. I know. Don’t worry,” Buck said. “I told him you cope better with a little solitude. And that all of us are mighty grateful for the prayers.”
“Thanks, Dad. You’re a dear.” Kate’s cell phone rang, and her heart nearly stopped. She sat up straight, grabbed her phone, and read the caller ID. “It’s Hawk.” She took a deep breath and put the phone on speaker. “Did they find Jesse?”
“No,” Hawk said. “But something’s going on. Colleen Berne was here earlier with two deputies and went inside the command post. She was in there almost thirty minutes and then came out a side door with the sheriff and left with the same two deputies. Right after that, Sheriff Granger issued the Amber Alert.”
“Did you ask him what she said?”
“No, the area is roped off and I can’t get to him. But there’s a lot of law enforcement coming and going—deputies and police officers. Mostly drinking coffee and grabbing doughnuts and fresh batteries. I suppose if they had found Jesse or had a hot lead, they would all jump in their squad cars, turn on the sirens, and rush out of here. They’re not. I think you should call the sheriff’s cell and ask him what Colleen Berne said.”
“Oh, I hesitate to do that.” Kate looked over at Elliot. “After Virgil told us about the Amber Alert, he promised he’d call if something happened that we need to know. He’s always been good about doing that.”
“Who determines what we need to know?” Hawk replied. “I want answers. I’m not getting them here. There’s nothing to stop me from talking to Colleen myself.”
“Hawk, you know Virgil asked us not to do that.”
“We’re talking about my little brother’s life. I can’t just sit around and do nothing!”
Kate didn’t bother arguing with him. She knew her eldest son’s determination would trump any effort on her part to stop him.
“Unless you’re going to call Sheriff Granger,” Hawk said, “I’m going over to the Bernes’ house and talk to Colleen.”
Kate looked at Elliot and then at her dad. Both shrugged as if to say it was her call.
“Hawk, I’m honestly not comfortable calling Virgil at this point. At least not until you find out what Colleen has to say.”
“All right, Mama. Sit tight.”
t
Virgil moved around the command post, studying maps and charts and every bit of new information as it came in. Jesse, where are you?
Reggie came over and stood next to him. “I need to run something by you.”
“Shoot.”
“My officers have finished covering all four sectors in town, including businesses along Pine Street, door to door in the neighborhoods, and every business downtown. We’re close to wrappin’ up the interviews on our list.” Reggie folded his arms. “The only areas left to search are the acres of undeveloped land within the city limits. We only searched about a hundred yards in because they’re so densely wooded. And without the bloodhounds, it would take my officers and the core volunteers an inordinate amount of time to search them. I’m wonderin’ if our resources might be better spent by joining forces with your deputies and the core volunteers and finish searching the outlying areas first. And then, if Jesse isn’t found, bring everyone to town and search deeper into those undeveloped areas. All that manpower combined will get it done faster. Just a thought.”
“Sounds like a good move.” Virgil mused. “I’m really disappointed the Amber Alert hasn’t produced some leads.”
“Yeah, me too,” Reggie said. “What are we missing?”
“Darned if I know.” Virgil put his hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go run your idea by Kevin.”
Virgil walked over to Kevin’s station with Reggie, a hundred thoughts bouncing off his brain. But the one thought he continually dismissed was his fear that Jesse had been missing too long and was already dead.
God, I don’t deserve any special consideration. I know I haven’t been to church in a while. But I’m not asking for me. Help us bring Jesse home to Kate.
t
Jesse stopped walking and looked around, his frustration coming out in an audible groan. Suddenly the trees all looked alike. Why couldn’t he figure out how to get back where he had started? He was cold. Hungry. Tired. And not in the mood to deal with another crisis.
Jesse cupped his hands around his mouth. “Mr. Berne,” he shouted into the dense darkness. “Can you hear me? Mr. Berne!”
It was no use. He was never going to find the man. Coming back here was a lame idea.
He sat down on a hollow log, then blew on his hands and rubbed them together. Whether he found Mr. Berne or not, he needed to start a fire and thaw out—or risk frostbite or hypothermia. What if he couldn’t get a fire started? What then?
Jesse felt trapped. His heart pounded and he broke out in a cold sweat, light-headed and sick to his stomach. He breathed in slowly and let it out. Then did it again, aware that he had sweat all over his face and was shivering. He wondered if he was having a panic attack like the ones his mother used to get.
God, don’t let me do this. I need to get a fire started before I’m too cold to move.
He heard a noise and turned his ear toward the sound and listened.
“Help! I’m over here.”
“Mr. Berne?” Jesse called. “Is that you?”
Jesse sprang to his feet and moved toward the voice, winding through a maze of tree trunks. He came to a small clearing and stopped. It looked familiar. This had to be the same open space he had crossed when he left.
“I’m almost there,” Jesse hollered. “Call me again. I need to follow your voice!”
“Over here …”
Jesse crossed the clearing, shivering but excited that he had finally made it and thinking how good it would feel to sit by a roaring fire. He stopped and looked around. “I just crossed the clearing. I’m really close. Call me again so I can get my bearings.”
He listened intently for a voice. Instead, everything was quiet. Too quiet. “Hello? Mr. Berne?”
A twig snapped in the stark stillness, sending a chill crawling up Jesse’s spine. He stood still and tightened his grip on the gun, his hands shaking, not knowing what he was going to encounter. The woods were quiet except for the hooting of an owl and Jesse’s breathing.
Jesse moved forward, taking slow, silent steps. He heard a dull thud, and the back of his head felt as if someone had blown it up with a stick of dynamite. The gun fell out of his hands as his knees gave way. He knew he was falling, but it seemed as if it were happening to someone else. His shoulder hit the forest floor with a powerful jolt, the side of his face pressed into a prickly mound of pine needles. He lay dazed, unsure of what had happened.
When he finally opened his eyes, he could barely make out a shadowy form crouched next to him. In the eerie stillness, he could hear it breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Terror seized him.
God, I need Your help!
Jesse clamped his eyes shut and lay still as stone, the rhythm of his heartbeat wild and erratic, sounding like a war drum pounding in his head. He felt something warm and wet under his cheek. Blood! Had he been attacked by a black bear? Had the bear come back to finish him off?
And then he heard it—a still-fresh-in-his-mind sound that filled him with dread—the unmistakable click of a gun being cocked. Jesse took a shallow breath and didn’t exhale. The shadowy form was human. And he was going to die.
Chapter 31
Kate sat on the couch with Elliot, comforted by th
e sound of her dad’s light snoring as he napped in his rocker. She took a sip of warm tea and heard the door handle turn. The front door flew open and Hawk stumbled in, followed by a swirling blast of cold air and dried leaves.
“Stupid wind.” Hawk leaned on the door with his back and closed it.
“Please tell me you don’t have bad news.” Kate put her hand over her heart.
“No, I came to get my down jacket and a stocking cap. It’s freezing out there.”
Hawk picked up the dried leaves and tossed them in the fire, then patted his grandfather on the head and sat on the piano bench that had hardly been used since Micah died.
“Did you go see Colleen Berne?” Kate set her cup and saucer on the side table.
“I did. Big waste of time,” Hawk said. “Deputies Duncan and Hobbs were there with her and I didn’t get past the front door. I did ask her why she went to see the sheriff and whether she knew something that would help us find Jesse.”
“And what did she say?”
“Just that she was sorry about Jesse and knew about the Amber Alert. But that she’d been instructed not to talk about the case. Duh. I should’ve known. How many times have we heard that?”
“Does she understand that her brother is suspected of taking Jesse?” Elliot said.
“I’m sure she does.” Hawk leaned forward, his hands clasped between his knees. “But Deputy Duncan never left us alone. She couldn’t say anything even if she’d wanted to.”
“Colleen was just doing what she was told to do,” Kate said. “We know how that works.”
Hawk’s eyes turned to slits. “Yeah, but I’d sure like to know what she said to the sheriff. Mama, I really think you should call Virgil. There’s more going on than he’s telling us.”
“Anything we need to know,” Kate said, “will be forthcoming through Roberta. I trust Virgil. I’m surprised you don’t.”
Hawk sighed. “It’s not that. I just don’t like being left out of the loop. I’m about to climb the walls. I feel responsible for what happened to Jesse.”
“Don’t,” Kate said. “He should’ve been perfectly safe at Evans’s. We all know that.”
Hawk rubbed the dark stubble that had almost become a mustache. “You should’ve seen Colleen’s face. She knows something.”
Kate squeezed Elliot’s hand. “Do you think I should talk to Virgil?”
“Sometimes it’s good to be proactive. Probably should run it by Roberta first.”
“Run what by me?” Deputy Roberta Freed stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, her dark skin blending into the evening shadows.
Kate told Roberta about Hawk’s brief conversation with Colleen Berne and his concerns.
“I was just coming to tell you that Sheriff Granger called,” Roberta said. “He wanted me to let you know that after he and Chief Mitchell met with Colleen Berne at the command post, they’re convinced that Liam has Jesse or knows where he is.”
“Let me guess,” Hawk said sarcastically, “the sheriff didn’t say what it was that Colleen told him?”
“No, he didn’t.”
Hawk rolled his eyes. “Of course not. He acts like it’s none of our business. Only it is our business. We have a right to know.”
“Hawk, I can imagine how frustrating this is,” Roberta said, her voice calm and reassuring. “The sheriff is taking every measure we have available to find your brother.”
“I just wish you’d keep us informed,” Hawk said.
Roberta smiled. “I just did.”
Hawk held Roberta’s gaze, his jaw set. “But what I want to know is what Colleen told the sheriff. We know she heard the rumor at the middle school that Jesse was an eyewitness to her mother’s murder. She must’ve told Liam. The fact that Liam is suspected of taking Jesse makes me think one of two things: Either he didn’t buy Jesse’s retraction and decided to make him talk. Or he’s the one who killed his mother, and wants to shut Jesse up.”
“It’s dangerous to make assumptions.” Roberta folded her arms across her chest. “Believe me, I understand that you want answers. But I don’t have them.”
“Or aren’t authorized to tell us.”
“Hawk, that’s enough,” Kate said, trying to process the implications of Liam Berne having killed his own mother.
Roberta went over and sat on the piano bench next to Hawk. “Hey, we’re all on the same team here,” she said softly. “The sheriff will tell me what you need to know. I trust him. You should too.”
“Listen to Roberta,” Kate said. “Virgil has always been straight with us. Let him do his job.”
Hawk’s eyes were suddenly dark pools, his chin quivering. “Jesse’s been missing for ten hours. With that monster. We have to find …”
Elliot stood and held out his hand to Kate. “How about we get the rest of the family in here and pray again. The sheriff may not know where Jesse is, but God certainly does. We need to be strong and trust Him to help us.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, and while Hawk went to round up the others, Kate’s mind flashed back two years, to the command post where her family nervously waited for news about Abby, never dreaming that God planned not only to bring her home safely but also to bring Riley back after five long years.
The Lord had proven Himself faithful. Kate chose to believe He would do it again. But if He didn’t, if His will was to take Jesse from her the way He had taken Micah, could she handle it?
t
Jesse trembled, waiting for the gun to fire, hoping his death would be instant. Instead, he felt the tip of a boot prod him in the ribs.
“Get up!”
Jesse knew Liam’s voice. That wasn’t him.
“You deaf, boy? Up on your feet!”
Jesse’s eyes flew open. He scrambled to his feet, face to face with what appeared to be a tall, thin, bearded man holding two guns, one of which was likely the one Jesse had dropped.
“Who’re you?” the man demanded to know. “And what’re you doing in these woods?”
“My n-name is Jesse. Cummings.”
“Stop your stuttering and finish answering my question,” the man said. “Why’re you here?”
“I–I came back to help Mr. Berne.” Jesse’s head hurt so bad he wanted to cry. “His legs are pinned under a tree limb, and I—”
“Where’re the others?”
“There’s no one else. I’m by myself,” Jesse said, immediately regretting having admitted that to a man holding two guns on him.
“How come? I thought you were going to fetch the sheriff and those medical folk.”
How did he know that? “I–I was. But I changed my mind. I thought if it took too long, Mr. Berne might not make it. It’s really cold. So I came back to get a fire going.”
“No need to worry about ol’ Liam. He’s just fine.”
Liam? “You know Mr. Berne?” Jesse said.
“Let’s just say we’ve been getting acquainted. He’s a tad cranky. But we had us a little chat about attitude. He’s thinking on it. My name’s Slick. You two are staying the night at my shelter. It’s just over yonder.”
Jesse glanced at the two guns pointed at him. “Mister, you don’t need those. I’m not a threat.”
“Now that’s the right attitude, boy.” He handed Jesse a flashlight. “Turn around, why don’t you, and start walking. Keep your hands so I can see them, and that light so we can see where we’re going.”
Jesse did what he was told, wishing he could take one of the painkillers that had helped Hawk when he sprained his ankle. “Did Mr. Berne tell you why he’s here?”
“Yep.”
“So you know he drowned his mother?”
Slick laughed. “To hear him tell it, he did her a favor.”
“The sheriff doesn’t see it that way,” Jesse said. “I’m sure he’s look
ing for us. I heard the Search and Rescue helicopter fly over a couple times.”
“Cops are crawling all over Foggy Ridge too, going door to door, asking about the both of you. They came to my place and showed me photos. Asked if I’d ever seen you or Liam. I told them no, but I didn’t like the way they were eyeing me. So, soon as they left, I stuffed some essentials into my backpack and took off running in the woods. Thought I’d just camp out here till the ruckus dies down.”
“Why, are you in trouble with the law?” Jesse said.
“Let’s just say I’m pretty sure the cops that came to my door looking for you recognized me. I’m not going to jail, I promise you that. And you, young fella, are my insurance policy.” Slick gave him a shove. “Keep walking. It’s not far now.”
“Your insurance policy?” Jesse asked.
“Yep. If the cops find us, I’ll have leverage. I can offer you and Liam in exchange for them letting me walk. And seeing as how the whole town wants you home, and Liam’s already killed once—and will surely kill you if he isn’t locked up—they’re going to want you both back a whole lot more than they want to lock me up.”
“But they may not even come here,” Jesse said. “They can’t search everywhere.”
“Then I won’t be needing you.”
“So you’ll let us go, right?”
“You ask too many questions. Walk.” Slick shoved him again. “If the sheriff does show, you better hope he’s agreeable to doing things my way. Because I’m telling you straight out: I won’t hesitate to blow your head off—and Liam’s—if the law tries to pull a fast one with some smooth negotiator and fancy SWAT team. If they try and take me down, you’re going with me.”
“Don’t worry,” Jesse said. “The sheriff is a friend of my family. He’ll listen to me. I’ll make sure they don’t try anything.”
“I like your attitude, young fella. You might oughta convince your buddy Liam that it isn’t going to do him any good to fight me again. Keep moving. The shelter’s just up yonder.”
Only by Death Page 24