In the Shadow of His Wings

by Pamela Wells

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You should go ahead and apply at the ones you are interested in and go where you are accepted. I know money is a bit tight right now but business will pick up again as people’s memories fade. Like I said, you have to move with your life.”

  “Ok dad, I do have several college and university catalogues as well as applications in my room. Later I’ll go through them and make some choices. But I feel bad about leaving you home alone.”

  “Listen here, I cannot tell you how much help you have all been to me since last fall. Your support, your strength and even your sense of humor is how I got through it.

  Without you here I don’t know what I would have done. However, I now know that I’m not going to fall apart and like I said before, think about what your mother would want you to do. Lacey you go ahead and follow after your dreams. Josh and Maggie, it will be difficult to get married without Laura but we will all come together, and put on a wonderful wedding that you will treasure always. Now, have I made myself clear?” Jim looked at the three of them as they all nodded in agreement.

  “Ok then, right now, get started. Lacey honey, I’ve been hesitant to say this but for heavens sake, clean your room! You probably won’t even be able to find all your catalogues and applications until you do.” Jim laughed.

  “And as for the two of you,” Jim looked at Maggie and Josh, “I want you to start planning your wedding. July will be here before you know it. Get going with a guest list and invitations and whatever else people do for weddings. You need a maid of honor and a best man, have you thought of that?”

  Maggie spoke up first and said, “Lacey has to be my maid of honor. I couldn’t possibly think of anyone else I would rather have.” The two girls smiled at each other and hugged.

  “I really haven’t been spending a lot of time with my friends lately but Tom and I have been good friends since we were kids so I’ll probably ask him.” Josh said with a sigh.

  “Excellent, now get busy, go get started on your plans, and cleaning,” Jim smiled at Lacey.

  The three all went downstairs to help Lacey with her room and to discuss wedding plans at the same time.

  Jim thought of what the wedding would be like without Laura and cringed at the thought. He knew without a doubt that Laura would want them to do this. He prayed she would be home in plenty of time before the wedding. She would really enjoy helping with all the plans and decorations. Please God, make it so.

  Chapter 24

  Hilda started gaining some strength. After a few weeks she begged Gerhard to help her down the stairs where she would be with Christine again. Gerhard happily agreed. He even bought her a cane to assist her.

  “Well sweetheart, did you miss me,” Hilda said to Laura sarcastically.

  “Actually I really did. It’s been too quiet and boring around here with out you.” Laura responded. She actually smiled at the sight of Hilda coming down the stairs and settling into her usual chair.

  “Ok then, let’s get life around here back to normal!” Hilda pronounced.

  ‘Normal’ what is normal? Is this my normal life now and I just have to accept that. Will I ever see my family again? I seriously doubt it because if I go home, Gerhard would go to prison. I know he isn’t the strong, cruel man that I first thought he was, but still, I’m afraid he will do something desperate if means keeping him out of prison.

  Gerhard brought them both some breakfast and then excused himself to go to work. “I WILL be back with a nice lunch for you both. Mom, I don’t think you should be going up and down the stairs just yet. You’ll notice the fridge is well stocked and there are plenty of snacks on the shelf beside it in case I am delayed at all. Have a great day ladies!” Gerhard called out as he headed up the stairs.

  Laura sat on the chair beside Hilda and had to admit she was glad to see the woman settled in again. She showed Hilda one of the completed needlepoint pictures she had done and Hilda, being Hilda, shrugged it off and reached for the TV remote.

  Yes this is normal, at least for here it is. Laura sighed and sat back to watch TV with Hilda.

  Gerhard’s mood brightened considerably as he went to work that day. It was very comforting to know his mother was doing better and that the two women were together. He smiled as he walked into the entrance of his hotel and the staff noticed the positive change in the man right away. Everyone seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Even the sight of Detective Chisholm sitting in the coffee bar didn’t faze Gerhard today. He shouted out “Good Morning” to him as he headed for his office.

  Don Chisholm was a little confused about the change in Gerhard. Something must have happened for him to feel so confident today. Normally he seemed to be uncomfortable with the detective around but today he didn’t seem to care at all. He hoped whatever changed was a good change as far a Laura was concerned.

  So for both families life went on. Everyone was doing what they could, to make the best of the situation. Lacey was accepted to a university in London, Ontario.

  She decided to make music her major as that’s what she felt God had gifted her with. It was a two hour drive from home so she had to look for living quarters in London and was checking out some possibilities. Josh and Maggie worked through most of the details of their wedding on their own. They decided to keep it quite simple, and tasteful. They just couldn’t handle the thought of having a grand and fancy wedding with a dance afterwards with Laura still missing. So what they decided on was a Friday evening, candle lit ceremony. Then afterward the reception would be finger food and desserts downstairs in the church gym. They would still take plenty of pictures and hired a professional photographer for that. Both Josh and Maggie were very pleased with the plans they had made. It would not dishonor Laura in anyway and hopefully, prayerfully, she might even be there! They hunted around for a suitable apartment. Delighted to find a town house complex right in Niagara Falls that would have a vacancy at the end of June. So they signed a contract to take it over the following month.

  The next few months went by quickly for some, slower for others. Either way July 11th was soon upon them and Josh and Maggie were married. There was an air of sadness since Laura wasn’t there but she wasn’t forgotten. When Josh gave his speech he spoke of his mother, encouraging people in the possibility that she could still be alive and to remember to keep praying for her. Then he honored her with a toast. Maggie looked absolutely gorgeous in her white wedding dress and the candle light wedding was wonderful. The day was a huge success; with the exception that one very important person was missing.

  Chapter 25

  The days rolled by monotonously for Laura although Hilda seemed content enough. She tried occasionally to get Laura riled up in an argument but Laura always remained calm and refused to take Hilda’s bait. Laura was trying not to get drawn into the lives of the soap opera characters but had to admit, after all this time, she couldn’t help it. She now sat and watched them with Hilda every day.

  Gerhard seemed a little stressed at work but had calmed down. Detective Don Chisholm still liked to pop in on Gerhard from time to time, testing the man’s reactions but he had to admit, if the man was guilty he was hiding it well. Gradually he stopped coming around so often.

  It wasn’t long before fall was upon them and Laura longed to see the changing of the leaves, to breathe the fresh air, and to see the sky. She begged Gerhard for this but he wouldn’t even bend on the subject. He just told her to go change the picture in the window frame in her bedroom. Which Laura would do, with a sigh, still wanting to rip the window frame and pictures apart. Hilda improved enough to get back to the routine of going up the stairs to make lunch so Gerhard no longer came home in the middle of the day.

  One day however, Hilda didn’t quite seem herself again. She managed to get up the stairs to make lunch but she only had the energy to make simple sandwiches. By the time she got back downstairs she was perspiring, breathing way too hard and very red in her face. Christine led Hilda into bedroom an
d had her lie down. The redness in her face soon faded. She seemed pale though and her skin had a grayish tinge to it. Her lips were looking a little blue and she complained to Laura,

  “The bed feels like it’s moving, I’m so dizzy. Something feels really tight on my chest; did you put something heavy on me Christine?”

  Laura assured her she had not and she was very concerned about Hilda’s condition.

  “Mom, I think you may be having a heart attack. I need to call 911 but I can’t get upstairs to use the phone. What can I do for you?” A very worried Laura pleaded.

  Hilda gasped, finding it hard to even talk now. “You really think it’s a heart attack? I don’t want to die,” tears started running down Hilda’s cheeks.

  “Then help me out here mom, I need to call 911! Do you have a key to my handcuffs? ”

  “There is another key”, Hilda choked the words out. “It’s in the bottom drawer of my dresser on the right hand side.”

  Laura tried to get to the drawer but her chain would not let her get that far into the room. She started looking around for something she could use to reach the drawer and hopefully pull it out. The cane! That would work perfectly.

  “Mom where is your cane?” Laura pleaded.

  Hilda didn’t even seem to hear Laura so she began looking around the basement for it.

  If I can’t find it then it means she left it upstairs. No, I’m sure I saw her come down the stairs with it. Was that just first thing this morning, or did she use it when she brought lunch down. Think! I think she used it because she carried the sandwiches in one hand.

  Did she use the cane or just hold the rail?

  Laura remembered that when Hilda came down the stairs at noon she went straight into the bedroom. She rushed to Hilda’s room and checked under the bed, it wasn’t there. She looked all around Hilda’s room but couldn’t see the cane. She must not have brought it down. Laura wanted to scream in frustration but instead she began to look around the basement for something else that would work. Anything that was long enough to reach out and tug on that drawer. That’s when she spotted it. The cane! It was on the floor by Hilda’s chair. She never took it upstairs when she went to make lunch! Laura didn’t waste any time, she grabbed the cane and ran back to Hilda’s room. It was just long enough, she hooked the handle of the drawer, pulling it right out. After it landed on the floor she used the cane to pull the drawer close to her.

  Laura dug frantically through the drawer which contained old magazines and some crossword puzzle books. She pulled them all out but still didn’t see the key. Then she remembered how she hid Lacey’s picture and peeled back the paper lining of the drawer. The key!! Laura wasted no time. She unlocked the handcuff, assured Hilda she would be right back, and she ran up the stairs. Once in the kitchen she looked around for the phone. Where was it? She remembered the base was in Gerhard’s office so she ran over to that room. Laura found the phone and quickly dialed 911. She told the operator that she didn’t know the address; she was somewhere in Niagara Falls. She also told her that she thought Hilda was having a heart attack. She remembered something she could say that would help the operator locate the house faster.

  “The residence of Gerhard Bloone!” Laura shouted.

  The operator assured her that help would be on it’s way soon. Laura hung up the phone.

  She hesitated for a few seconds. She could call home! There was nothing she could do for Hilda. But then she thought how weak Hilda was. She was probably terrified. She put the phone down and to the stairs. She hurried into the bathroom and got a wet cold cloth and used it to wipe Hilda’s face. Hilda opened her eyes and although she still seemed very week, she was a bit stronger.

  “You could have run away. It would have been so easy for you to run out the door, why didn’t you?” Hilda asked.

  “I called 911 and they are sending some help. I came back downstairs because I was worried about you. I knew you were probably scared and would want my company” Hilda sighed and then asked, “Who are you?”

  “Mom, it’s me, Christine!” Was Hilda losing her senses?

  “No it’s not. You aren’t Christine. I knew within a day or two of your arrival that you were not my daughter. You were too nice, too polite. You did as you were told and never yelled or argued. My Christine would never have been that docile. I didn’t say anything because I was so lonely, so desperate for company. So my dear,” asked Hilda,

  “What is your real name?”

  “Laura Reid.” Laura spoke quietly, stunned to find out; Hilda knew all along she wasn’t her daughter.

  “Well Laura, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I allowed you to be held here against your will. I’m sorry I let Gerhard do this to you. Do you have family at home?” Laura’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded and said, “I have a husband and two children and they must all think I’m dead by now. I want desperately to go home to them.”

  “You shall go home. I will tell Gerhard it’s over and he must let you go.” Hilda then asked another question of Laura, “You’ve tried for so long to get me to invite Jesus into my life. Well how about we do that now? I don’t know if I’m going to live through this and I want to have some of that wonderful peace you always seem to have.” More tears streamed down Laura’s face as she led Hilda in a prayer to ask for forgiveness, to acknowledge Christ as the true Son of God, and to invite Him into her heart.

  “Wow, I really didn’t think it was that easy and that I would feel a sense of peace so quickly, but I do!” Hilda said excitedly.

  “I’m thrilled mom, um, I mean Hilda” Laura smiled and kissed Hilda on the cheek. “I’m going to run upstairs and see if the ambulance is here yet. They might have trouble finding you down here. I will be back, I promise!” Chapter 26

  Laura rushed up the stairs, excited about Hilda’s salvation, yet still concerned about her health. Going quickly through the pantry doorway, she rushed towards the front entrance, eager for the ambulance to arrive. She hurried down the main hallway and ran smack into Gerhard!

  “What are you doing!” he shouted, as he grabbed Laura’s arm.

  “Gerhard! It’s your mother! She’s having a heart attack!” Laura screamed.

  “Let me go! I have to open the front door for the ambulance!”

  “Oh no you don’t!” a confused, scared Gerhard yelled. He quickly pulled Laura back down the hallway and towards the rear entrance of the house. Laura tried desperately to pull away but was no match for Gerhard’s strength. He practically dragged Laura out the back door and through the rear entrance of the garage. Forcing her into his van, he quickly reached for a roll of duct tape, restrained her arms, putting tape across her mouth as well. Laura kicked out with both legs, hitting Gerhard on his side. Her kick was at an awkward angle, having little effect on the raging man. He wrapped more tape around both ankles, stopping her from further attempts.

  “I can’t let them find you!” Gerhard yelled in a panic. Forgetting about his mother, he jumped in the driver’s seat, backed out of his garage, and sped down the driveway. Gerhard didn’t even know where he was going; only that he must leave as fast as possible. He sped down the Niagara Parkway, hearing the sound of sirens in the distance as the ambulance rushed to his house. He had returned home at lunch time, to pick up some papers he had left in his office.

  It’s a good thing I came home when I did. She almost got away! Now what do I do? Gerhard’s mind raced with thoughts and confusion. He pulled into a small park along the edge of the parkway, stopping behind some trees.

  Think! What do I do with her! The rapids! I could throw her into the Niagara River! The rapids are strong along here and will quickly pull her under.

  Gerhard scrambled out of his van, looking around for potential witnesses, he went to look out over the river. He was relieved there were no people around. Tourist season was past, and the place was deserted. Looking over the edge of the river bank, a few feet down, he saw large rocks and the speeding rapids of Niagara River. He’d have to drag Laura
over the edge and throw her into the water. Racing back to the van, Gerhard yanked open the side door, pulling a terrified Laura out. Unable to walk, with her ankles bound, he threw Laura over his shoulder, and headed for the river bank.

  Suspecting what he was about to do, Laura struggled, powerless, trying to break free.

  Her eyes wide with terror, she stared at the speeding rapids. With great effort, Gerhard climbed down the river bank. Winded, he set Laura down on the rocks. Out of breath, he stopped what he was doing and stared down at Laura.

  “I’m truly sorry. I have to do this! I can’t go to prison!” Gerhard said as he began to weep. Laura looked up at him, her eyes pleading. Gerhard then thought of his sister, how he lowered her body into the water after she died. He knew then that he couldn’t do it again. This time his sister, or rather Laura, was alive. He could not be responsible for her death. Gerhard sat on the rocks beside Laura, head in his hands, he sobbed. “I don’t know what to do!”

  He slowly stood up, shaking his head, “I can’t go to jail. I have to get away!

  I’m going to leave you here. You’ll be all right, someone will find you. Goodbye Christine. Goodbye Laura!”

  Laura watched as Gerhard climbed back up the river bank, returning to his van, relieved at the sound of the vehicle pulling away. She was uncomfortable, but she was alive! Laura, with her hands taped together in front of her, was then able to pull the tape from her mouth. With her teeth, she removed the tape from her wrists. Tears of relief, now flowing down her cheeks, she thanked God as she stripped the tape off her ankles.

  Laura climbed up the river bank and looked around for help. Not seeing anyone she began to walk. Singing praises to God, she walked down the parkway road, knowing she was free at last!

  Laura didn’t know how long she walked, wasn’t sure which direction she was heading in. Her only thoughts were of her new freedom and of returning home to her family. The sound of a car pulling up alongside her, barely registered.