Val took her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. Susannah glanced down and smiled. It felt so natural, like finally coming home, yes that was it, home.
They moved from the bridge back onto the path, passing through the Maple Grove and into the Ash.
Val pointed to a stone bench. “Let’s sit a moment.”
Several ducks floated on the mirrored surface of the small pond, doves dipped down for their evening drink, and a chorus of songbirds serenaded from seemingly every bush and tree. A red-gold sunset glimmered on the horizon.
Val touched her cheek, turning her face toward him. His kiss was gentle, sweet.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Susannah watched Val back out of the drive, the worst part of dating. Someone always had to leave. She locked the door and turned toward the kitchen. She listened for noises, nothing but a hollow silence. That was fine. She’d take the silence and the loneliness over other things.
The old Indian appeared. With a gesture, the walls disappeared, transporting Susannah to the parking lot of a neighborhood convenience store. A small SUV sat close to the door. A young child sat buckled in a car seat in the back, no adult. A white van pulled to the side of the building and two thugs climbed out and approached the vehicle.
The scene evaporated, leaving Susannah standing in the middle of her kitchen. She ran for her car.
At the convenience store, she parked next to the SUV and got out. She bent down and peeked in the back window. The child was asleep, probably why Mom or Dad didn’t want to take the child in with them. Bad choice.
The two thugs ambled out from the alleyway and moved down the line of parked cars.
Susannah stayed next to the SUV. The men passed on down the row. Seconds later, they peeled out of the parking lot in a small red pickup.
A woman emerged from the store with a jug of milk and a small sack. “What are you doing with my car?”
“Guarding your baby. Two thieves were scanning the parking lot, obviously looking to steal a car. I think they just stole a pickup.”
If child was their target, why steal the truck? She glanced over to the side of building. The white van was gone.
The woman eyed her suspiciously, but before she replied, a man carrying a six-pack of beer ambled out of the store, brushed by her, and stopped in front of the empty space where the truck had been.
“What the ―. Hey, who took my truck?” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.
The woman with the SUV looked back at Susannah, her eyes wide with fear. “Thank you. Never, never again will I leave Cindy in the car. I just wanted to run in for a second. She’s so hard to get to sleep and I didn’t want to wake her.” The woman shook her head. “Seconds. Only seconds.”
“That’s all it takes.” Susannah walked back to her car.
Back home, she sat in the bench seat in the breakfast nook, absentmindedly rubbing Buddy’s ears. “What will I do if that happens while I’m with Val?”
Buddy wiggled his tail.
“I need to tell him soon, but I’m afraid he’ll think I’m some kind of nut and break off our relationship before it even gets started. I didn’t expect to like him this much, this soon.”
Divine promise or not, the man had a free will.
***
Susannah sat in the breakfast nook, sipping her coffee, her mind still racing over last evening’s events. She had wrangled with many different scenarios, but none seemed to solve her problem. Her cell phone rang, forcing her to get back up and retrieve it from the counter.
“Hi, Ginny. Everything okay?”
“That’s what I want to ask you. Come to the shop first this morning. I do have some displays I’d like you to set up before you go to the greenhouses, but the most important thing is inquiring minds are dying to find out what happened last night.”
Susannah groaned. “Not much to tell. We had dinner and took a walk. End of story.”
“Not good enough. Your fan club wants details. See you soon.”
Fan club? Inquiring minds? Right. Just two nosey friends. But, that wasn’t really true, was it? They wanted the same thing she did.
Rachel met her in the show room. “Ginny has tea and scones set up out back.” She paused, concern reflected in her eyes. “Did everything go all right last night?”
“Yes, I thought so.”
“Good.”
Rachel led the way to the little back patio. Ginny had a tray laid out with cups of herbal tea, and freshly made orange-cranberry scones, thinly disguised bribery.
Susannah settled into one of the rattan chairs and accepted a steaming mug.
Ginny laid a scone on a small paper plate and handed it to her. “Actually, all teasing aside, everything okay?”
“Yes. We chatted through dinner, took a walk and he took me home. There were no extraneous visitors or incidents. I didn’t mention any either. I’ll give it a little more time before I bring up that subject.”
Ginny smiled. “Well, that’s a good start, don’t you think? Given a little time, I am sure there will be an opportunity to mention the other subject. Val is a man of impeccable honor and morals. A high caliber gentleman is what Dave calls him ― one of the rare breed these days.”
“I get that impression from him, all the old fashioned chivalry. It’s kind of nice.”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, I like that too. Makes me feel special.”
Susannah said, “Yes it certainly does.”
Ginny warmed her tea, set the pot down, and leaned back. “Oh, Val can be tough. Dave told me he was nicknamed Mr. Responsibility in college. Never caroused or made trouble like the others. I understand he got into quite a bit of trouble while in high school and some cop straightened him out. That was one reason he decided to go into law enforcement.
“I guess a lot of his friends were shocked with the change. A kid barely keeping out of jail going into law enforcement. Dave doesn’t know the details, Val won’t talk about it.”
“I see. Interesting. A man with a past.”
Ginny and Rachel laughed.
Rachel set her mug down and looked closely at Susannah. “But, I think you’ve got something else on your mind. What else happened?”
“I never could keep anything from you, Rachel.” She told them about the thwarted kidnapping. “What should I do if I get one those premonitions when I’m with Val and I need to act immediately?”
Rachel answered first. “Better to tell him now. Give him a chance to understand what he’s getting into.”
Susannah winced. “That sounds bad.”
Rachel shook her head. “It isn’t bad, Susannah. You would be the first to admit your life is a little out of the norm and it will take a special kind of man to deal with it.”
Ginny added, “I think Val is the right man, but he will need the opportunity to sort it out. Trust him.”
Trust, she had been doing a lot of that lately.
***
Susannah set the bag of dirt on the greenhouse floor and fished her phone from her pocket to answer the call. Val.
“Well, good morning. How are you?”
“I’m good, Susannah, and you?”
“Perfect.” A little lie wouldn’t hurt, would it?
“Perfect?”
“Yep.”
“Good to hear someone is having a perfect day in this rather imperfect world.”
“Are you having a bad day?”
“Some days are better than others and this doesn’t happen to be one of them. However, I just wanted to call and tell you I had a wonderful time last night.”
“I did too. Thank you again for dinner and the walk.” And the kiss.
“It was my pleasure. I was wondering if you’d care to spend the day with me at Lake Coeur d’Alene next Saturday.”
“I’d love to. Anything special you’d like me to bring?”
“Not a thing. This is my treat.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up at nine. Oh,
and I thought we’d take Buddy along.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
She dropped her phone back in her pocket. Four days to decide how to tell Val about the old Indian.
***
Bright light flashed in Brian’s eyes. A rough voice barked at him.
“Get your stuff. Boss wants to see you.”
Brian rolled off the cot, grabbed his duffel bag, and followed the man out into the warehouse. A white van sat in the center of the cavernous room.
“Get in.”
Brian complied.
They rolled out of the building and onto the street, turned south, and took the freeway out of town.
The big man pointed to the back of the van. “Got some snacks and drinks. Grab us a couple.” He offered his hand. “By the way, I’m Rab. Yeah, I know, odd name.” He shrugged. “Folks are German history buffs. Better than Sky or Ocean or some crap like that.”
“Right.” Brian unbuckled his seat belt and climbed into the back. He retrieved some cold drinks and a bag of trail mix from the cooler, and crawled back to his seat.
“So, where exactly are we headed?”
“The big city, Seattle. Looks like your stint in the small town is over. Big Boss understands you have certain skills he can use.”
“I see.”
“Couple of things. In the Boss’s presence, you call him Ba’al.”
“Okay.”
“Yeah, something to do with his religion.”
“Religion?
“Not what you think. This is some African thing. Pretty powerful stuff. I suggest you don’t run afoul of the Boss.”
“Right.”
Guess he could pretend right along with the others, for surely they didn’t believe in all that hoodoo-voodoo stuff, all just the workings of a clever charlatan.
Four hours later, they pulled into a huge concrete compound. Brian whistled under his breath at the sight of all the high tech, expensive security. It would test even his considerable skills.
Another man met them. “Boss isn’t here. Take him to the barracks.”
Brian followed Rab to a low building off the right of the main structure. The interior was comprised of a maze of corridors and small rooms.
Rab lead him through several hallways until stopping and opening a door midway of yet another extensive corridor.
“This is yours. Not much on space, but comfortable. There’s a cafeteria at the end of the next hall. Meal times are posted. Snacks and drinks are always available. By the way, these are accommodations only when you are called to the compound. Otherwise you find your own lodging anywhere in the city you can afford.” He grinned. “I have my own little mansion along the river.”
He held out a small pager. “Keep this with you always, even in the shower.”
Brian took the pager. Rab nodded and continued down the hallway. Brian entered the room and closed the door.
The room was indeed small. A single bed set against one wall. A nightstand stood next to it, jammed between the bed and the opposite wall. A chair and a small desk sat near the doorway. He pushed his duffel bag under the bed and stretched out on the mattress. Within minutes, he was out.
He hadn’t slept long when he woke with the uncomfortable feeling he wasn’t alone. He flipped on the bedside lamp. The room was empty, but he heard something moving out in the hallway, not footsteps. He shook his head. Was he hallucinating? It sounded like nails or claws scraping along the concrete flooring, accompanied a by slithering sound.
He remembered Rab’s warning. Apparently, this boss put another whole new twist on the cliché of things that go bump in the night.
***
Susannah stared at the computer screen. So many websites offered self-defense advice and weapons. Which was the most accurate? Which were just scams? The one she had open seemed a bit more legitimate to her untrained eye. At least the man claimed he was more concerned with safety than with making money.
As for weapons, a stun gun was out of the question. Effective, and would have been her first choice, but when the gun was fired, confetti littered the scene. Each piece held a bar code with an identifier giving the owner’s identity, address, phone number, age, sex and probably color of underwear worn at the time of use. A bit of exaggeration, but the police would have no problem tracking her down. Although she would never use the device except in self-defense, the proverbial question of, “How did you happen to be there?” would be a big issue.
And, no real gun either. That entailed a whole lot more she wasn’t prepared to address, particularly the training required to become proficient and safe using the weapon, not to mention the questions should she need to use it. No, it looked like her best option was pepper spray. Not ideal, the user could receive some backlash from residual mist, but it was better than the alternative, becoming a victim.
The website sold police-grade propellants effective up to ten, or twenty feet, depending on conditions. Of course, the further out the target, the wider the spray pattern, something to bear in mind if the victim were within range.
The spray was not safe to use indoors, too much of a chance of the user being incapacitated right along with the criminal. Instead, she have to carry one of the smaller containers for those encounters, which meant getting too close and too personal when the whole idea was to keep out of reach. So, she was back to the high-powered spray, and staying outdoors, if possible.
The man running the self-defense weapons site claimed he was an ex-cop who just wanted to help civilians feel safe, but how could she know for sure how sound his advice was?
She shut the computer off and went out to the kitchen. She paused beside the sink and stared at the coffee pot. Did she want another cup, or tea? Neither, water sounded better. She filled a glass and sat in the breakfast nook.
Perhaps she could broach the self-defense subject with Val, in a sort of a what-would-you-recommend-for-me-if kind of scenario.
The clock struck nine. Susannah drained her glass, set it in the sink, and walked into the living room. Val was climbing out of his car, always punctual.
She opened the door as he stepped onto the porch. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Are you ready?”
“I am. I’ll just get Buddy’s things.” She stepped into the kitchen, grabbed Buddy’s lead, water bowl, and some treats. Leaning out the back door, she called him in. He rushed past her and bowled into Val. After the enthusiastic greeting, they locked up the house, and loaded into Val’s SUV.
They took the South Palouse Highway to Highway 27 and continued southeast into Idaho. Susannah knew the city of Coeur d’Alene lay much further to the north.
“Are we going someplace other than Coeur d’Alene?”
“Well, Coeur d’Alene Lake. I thought we’d spend the day picnicking and hiking around Heyburn State Park. Might be a little less crowded than parks closer to the city.”
“I haven’t been to Heyburn in ages.”
“So, that’s okay?’
“Absolutely.”
An hour later, they pulled into the day use area and picked out a table nestled under a canopy of pine boughs with a great view of the lake. Susannah thought of all the summer camping trips she enjoyed with her folks. A pang of guilt stabbed her conscious. She hadn’t talked to them in weeks. They didn’t know she was seeing someone, well sort of seeing someone.
They would be supportive, but cautious. After Mark’s passing, her dad had given her the old be-careful-dating speech as if she were just a kid. Being respectful, she had only nodded and promised to heed his advice.
What would they think of Val? Would they like him? And that, was something else to think about, just when to make those introductions ― if that moment was ever reached.
Val packed an amazing lunch. He even remembered a thermos of coffee.
“This is wonderful.” Susannah said, gesturing at the table.
“I love to cook. It re
laxes me. Sometimes I think I should have been a chef.”
Susannah tipped her head and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, only for a few minutes. You’re right. It wouldn’t be fun if I did it as a day job. And, yes, I’d miss the thrill of law enforcement, all the fun, and intrigue.”
“Now you are stretching it.”
Val laughed.
“Thinking of history.”
“We were thinking of history?”
“I was.”
“Okay. It’s a good subject.”
“If you could meet anyone in history, who would you meet?”
“Just one?”
“Not necessarily.”
“There have been so many great minds: Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Churchill to name only a few. Yet, there was one man I would like to have met, Jim Corbett.”
“Jim Corbett? Never heard of him.”
“He was a British hunter-turned-conservationist who lived in India around the late 1800s up to the 1940s. He became famous for hunting man-eaters, leopards and tigers, terrorizing northern Indian villages. He was, and still is, a hero in India. They have a reserve named after him. But his books deal with more than just the hunting. He goes into great depth about the culture of the hill people and some of their beliefs. He recounts some incidents that defy logic, explained only by what some call the sixth sense. Fascinating.”
“Sounds interesting.” Especially the part about the sixth sense. Could that be her opening?
“Who would you like to meet?”
“It’d be hard to choose. Lincoln, of course, and Teddy Roosevelt, but I’m not sure. It would take some more thought.”
“What’s your favorite period of history?”
“Let’s see, pre-history to now.”
Val raised his eyebrows. “Really? Pretty broad spectrum.”
“I know, but it’s all so fascinating…”
Conversation flowed from history, to family, to childhood, to books, and movies, and then back to history. The flow was easy, natural, and in some ways it felt like she had known Val all of her life. Did he feel the same, and if he did, would he still, after she dropped the Big Bomb?
They gathered up the remains of their lunch, packed it in the car, and with Buddy on heel, took off on one of the area trails. Susannah soaked in the sights and scents, the feel of Val’s fingers interlaced in hers, Buddy’s characteristic, high-stepping walk. Birds sang overhead. The sunshine was warm and the sky a mesmerizing blue. Could she ask for anything more? Well, maybe just one.
And Then Came A Lion (Lions and Lambs Book 1) Page 20