On A Prayer

by Mary May

  “You have my Matthew? How is he? Is he…ok?” Klara assured her that he was fine. She hesitated about telling her the whole truth, but at Alec’s encouraging nod she told her everything.

  Haylie rolled her head to look at Derrick who was standing on the other side of the bed. “Please go with them and get our son. This is an answer to my prayer.” Then she looked back at Klara. “I prayed and told God that I wouldn’t ask forgiveness of my sins or entry into heaven if he would only make sure that Derrick and Matthew found one another before I passed.” She wept quietly for a moment. “He heard me,” She whispered.

  Klara reached and took Haylie’s hand. “Haylie, if you know you need to ask for forgiveness, then please do so. You want to make sure you are waiting for Matthew when it’s his time to go home. The greatest gift you can give to your son now is the assurance that you will be together again in heaven.”

  Haylie spoke so low that Klara had to lean down, placing her ear against her mouth. “It’s too late…I can feel my spirit trying to leave my body now. I’ve done too much to be forgiven. I wish…I wish I could be there for my Matthew…when he goes to heaven.”

  Klara cupped Haylie’s pale face and looked her straight in the eyes, speaking to her firmly and with utmost conviction.

  “Haylie, listen to me. As long as you have breath in your body, it’s not too late. Jesus is waiting for you to accept Him. He has His angels ready to come escort you to the throne room of heaven if you will only ask Him. The Bible says that we all have fallen short of the glory of God, all of us. But it also says that God so loved the world that He gave his son Jesus so that whoever will believe in Him shall be saved. Haylie, the world is you and me and Matthew. All you have to do is believe, Haylie. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and to welcome you into the kingdom of heaven. He loves you so much he heard your prayer and he gave that to you so you could leave this world knowing that Matthew would be with his true father. Your heavenly father is waiting to bring you home, Haylie…just reach out to Him.”

  Haylie’s breathing was slow and shallow when she drew in a deeper breath to speak again; Klara could hear the unmistakable sound of the death rattle in her lungs. “How?” she asked.

  “Just say these words, if you are too weak to say them, then just think them in your mind with all your heart. Do you understand?” Haylie nodded weakly. “Jesus, I’m sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I believe that You died, and rose again so that I could be with You in heaven. Please come into my heart and make a place for me in Your paradise.”

  Haylie repeated the words so quietly that Klara thought she might have mouthed some of them, but then she smiled. Her face relaxed with such peace that Klara knew that she had accepted Jesus. Suddenly the room was filled with the presence of the Lord so strongly that Klara felt goose bumps rise up on her arms. She looked at Alec and Derrick and they felt it as well. Haylie looked at Derrick with a tender smile. He took her hand, holding it to his face, kissing it as she spoke to him.

  “Tell Matthew that I love him so much…I will never stop loving him. Tell him…I’ll be waiting for…him…in heaven. I love you, Derrick. I’ve always loved …you.” Then her eyes turned toward the ceiling and with a small smile on her lips she whispered her final words. “Oh, they are so pretty.” Haylie Kelley was taken home.

  The trip back to St. Louis was a somber one. Derrick stayed to take care of the arrangements to have Haylie’s body shipped back to St. Louis for the funeral. He said he wanted her to be close so they could visit her gravesite. Klara had wept tears of joy that Haylie had accepted Christ and would be waiting for her son in heaven. She wept tears of sorrow for Matthew for his loss. Then tears of joy again that Derrick and Matthew would be together. Alec reached over and took her hand. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t offer any words of wisdom or comfort. He simply offered her his strength and let her cry her way through the various emotions that were going through her heart.

  “I don’t know how to tell Matthew his mother has gone to heaven. He is just a baby; how will he ever understand?”

  Alec shook his head. “Matthew is wise beyond his years. I think if you explain it to him he will understand. The bigger shock may be that Derrick is his real father. That may be harder for him to accept.”

  Alec called his granddad and told him everything that had happened. When he told him that Roy was the one after Klara, his granddad was very concerned. He knew just how dangerous the man was. He asked his granddad if he would call the prison and have them do a body check. He hoped once they realized that Roy wasn’t there this whole nightmare might end a lot sooner. He didn’t understand how he could have fooled the system for this long. Like Klara said, they do body counts twice a day, sometimes more, so how was he getting away with it? It seemed such a waste to have such a brilliant mind and never use it for more than what he could get away with.

  It was well after midnight by the time they got back to Abraham’s. Klara was exhausted both physically and emotionally. They had decided to wait until tomorrow to talk to Matthew. Right before Alec left, he pulled her to the side. “Do you mind if I tell you about an observation I made while we were in Nashville?”

  Klara looked at him curiously then nodded. “Ok.”

  “I noticed that when you were speaking with Haylie and leading her to the Lord that you didn’t seem like a woman who was angry with God. I just wondered if something had changed.”

  Klara sighed then was silent for a moment. “Did something change? Not really. God is still God and I never stopped believing in who or what He is. I was incredibly angry and hurt; I still am, although it’s getting better. I will never understand why He allowed my family to be taken from me. I have heard that once we reach heaven all will be explained. I honestly doubt that even then I will truly understand, but maybe. What I have come to understand is that even with not understanding all the whys and tragedies of this world, that my life is infinitely better with God in it. I know that I chose to walk the path of grief and sorrow alone. If I had turned to him instead of away from him, the healing would have happened so much quicker. I still have a few things to sort out with God and we will get around to that in time, but now I’m at least open to the possibility.” She looked up at him. “Does that answer your question?”

  Alec smiled then kissed her forehead. “Yes, ma’am, it did. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then he quietly shut the front door.

  Alec pulled out of the driveway so deep in thought that he nearly missed the dark sedan that pulled out behind him. “I see you.” Alec whispered. Then he did a series of crazy turns and looped back to his starting point just to make sure he was really being followed. The car made the last turn behind him then waited for Alec’s next move. Alec was sure that he didn’t expect him to throw his car into reverse and gun the motor, shooting the car backwards. He slammed into the front of the dark sedan, knocking it backwards, pinning it between Alec’s car and a large oak tree. Alec leaped out of his car and ran to the driver’s side of the dark sedan, yanking open the door and dragging the driver out. The man was dazed and offered no resistance as Alec rolled him to his stomach to pin his hands behind his back. Once he was secured with Alec’s belt, he hauled him to his feet and propped him up against the car to get a look at him.

  “Are you freakin crazy, man? What the hell kind of move was that? You smashed my car!”

  Alec didn’t recognize the man that was spewing out curses as fast as he could form the words. He was about mid-twenties with a stocky build and covered in tattoos. Alec recognized a few of them as gang-related. “Why are you following me? Don’t make me ask twice,” he warned.

  The young punk spat out a mouthful of blood at Alec’s feet then sneered up into his face. “I’m not telling you nuthin, man. Who says I was even following you? It’s a free country; I can drive where I want when I want.”

  Alec nodded then grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him to the front of his car. He opened the passenger door and
tossed him inside. He walked around the other side and got in. “Where are you taking me?”

  Alec looked at him and smiled as he fastened his seatbelt. “Like you said, it’s a free country so I’m driving where I want when I want and right now I feel like driving very fast toward that brick wall.” He started the car, punching his foot to the floor. The motor screamed as they barreled toward the massive brick wall less than a quarter of a mile away. Alec looked at the man beside him. “There is a chance this may not end well for you. You will notice that I’m wearing my seatbelt and I have an airbag. You’re not belted in and I just disengaged the passenger side airbags. So, I’ll ask you again, why are you following me?”

  The man looked frantically at Alec then the wall that was growing closer with every passing second.

  “You won’t do it, man, I know you won’t! You’re just as likely to get killed as I am!”

  Alec shook his head. “No, while there is a possibility that I may die, it’s a definite sure thing that you will die.” When the man didn’t answer Alec reached down and pushed the button that kicked the car out of overdrive, sending even more power to the horses racing under the hood.

  Realizing that Alec wasn’t going to stop, the man screamed. “Ok! Ok! It was Roy Bennett! Please stop! I’ll tell you whatever. Just stop!” Alec slammed on the brakes, wrenching the car hard to the left, and they came sliding up to rock gently against the brick wall. “You are crazy, man!”

  He tried to grab for the handle of the door with his hands that were tied behind his back, but Alec snatched him up and with his face inches from him, he asked, “Why does Roy have you following me? Does this have anything to do with Klara?” The man struggled and tried to head butt Alec in the temple, but Alec saw that move coming, thanks to Klara’s little lesson. He jerked his head to the side then he popped the guy’s head against the window hard enough to make him see stars. “Does this have anything to do with Klara Martin?” he growled.

  “Yeah, yeah, it does, ok? He wants the blond chic for whatever reason. I was hired by his sister to follow you at first, but after the divorce was final Roy hired me to keep tabs on blondie. I told him she wasn’t worth this much trouble, that there were a lot more easier pickings elsewhere, but he wants her. I don’t know why.”

  Alec shoved him up against the door as he let go of his shirt. “So why are you following me tonight?” As soon as he asked the question, he knew the answer. Swearing, he jumped out of the car and raced back toward his granddad’s house…

  Chapter 23

  Klara sighed as she sank into the hot bubble bath. Her neck was so knotted up with tension she would have to soak for a year to get relaxed. She had just closed her eyes for a few minutes when a noise from her bedroom made her pop them back open again. She cocked her head and listened harder. It sounded like her bedroom window had just slid open. She strained to hear any other noise, but all was quiet, so she settled back down in her bath. She tried to relax but she couldn’t. She kept thinking she could hear something or someone in her bedroom. “Ok, get a grip. You know you’re being paranoid,” she told herself. After a few more minutes she gave up trying to relax and decided to go check it out. She got out of the bath and wrapped a towel around herself. “You’re going to feel real silly when you see it’s Scooter.” She opened the door slowly, looking around the room. She didn’t see or hear anything, but every warning bell in her body was going off. Trying to listen over her pounding heart was nearly impossible.

  “Here, kitty, kitty…” She called out, hoping Scooter would come out from under the bed. She looked all around her room but didn’t see anything. Sighing, she turned and went back to the bathroom. She picked up another towel and wiped the condensation from the mirror and started taking off her makeup. After she had brushed her teeth and put on her favorite oversized tshirt to sleep in, she walked back in the bedroom turned off the light and climbed into bed. She had just snuggled down into the covers when she felt a warm breeze blow across her face. She rolled over to see the sheer curtains blowing inward from the breeze coming in through the open window.

  Klara felt her blood freeze in her veins. She knew Roy was in the room with her. She could feel his presence…dark and sinister. She looked around the room slowly without moving her head; she didn’t want him to know that she knew he was there. It was nearly impossible to see anything in the dark room. The only light came from the quarter moon that shone in through the window. Where was he? She tried to keep her panic from taking over. She held her breath, trying to hear any movements or footsteps on the carpet. In her mind all she could see was the mutilated rat and her ripped up clothing. Was that her fate as well? She prayed desperately in her mind for rescue…for Alec!

  Klara scanned the part of the room she was facing, looking for darker shadows, anything dark and man- shaped. Suddenly she felt hard hands grab her ankles and jerk her to the foot of the bed and into the floor so fast she didn’t even have time to cry out. She landed hard, bouncing her head off the floor, stunning her and driving the air out of her lungs. She gasped and choked, trying to draw in enough air to scream while she kicked with everything she had to free herself, but he was so strong! With one hard yank he had jerked her off the bed and onto the floor where he pinned her down with his body clamping his hand over her mouth like a vise.

  “Hello there, pretty Klara, I told you I would see you real soon.” He nuzzled her neck and hair, inhaling deeply. “Ah, nothing like a warm woman fresh out of a bubble bath.” She could see the smile on his face as he gazed down at her. Klara forced her body to go limp as she frantically tried to think of something she could do to throw him off of her. “Now you and me are going to take a little ride. I will be just as nice to you as you are to me; do you understand what I’m telling you?” He dug his fingers in deeper into her jaw.

  Klara felt her stomach roll dangerously, but she nodded.

  He smiled. “Good girl, now we are going to get up nice and easy no funny business or I might accidently cut you.”

  It was then that Klara saw the large serrated army knife that he held in his hand. She remembered what he had done to her clothes in Nashville and to the poor rat with probably that exact same knife. She felt her stomach heave, but she breathed in deeply through her nose to try and calm it.

  He stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth to gag her then flipped her over onto her stomach and tied her hands tightly behind her back. His hands slid over her bare stomach. “Mmm… you are so soft,” He whispered in her ear softly. He pushed himself to his feet with one hand, bringing Klara up with him in one smooth motion. The man was rock solid with muscle. Klara knew she would have to outthink him; she wouldn’t be able to out power him. Then she remembered what Alec had said about him being a genius. She felt a flicker of anger flare up inside of her. She was not going out like this! Taking her own life was one thing, but losing it to this creep was not going to happen! She decided that genius or not, he would make a mistake and she would be watching for it and be ready.

  “Ok, let’s go out through that window.” He nodded toward the open window then he helped her climb out and slide down to the ground. Roy never let go of her. Once outside he walked her quickly toward the rear of the property where it was thickly wooded. The grass was wet with dew. Klara slid and slipped over the grass and stepped on rocks and sticks that felt like they were ripping through her bare feet. After she had almost fallen for the third time, Roy swore then hefted her up, tossing her over his shoulder. His hand latched on to her bare thigh, giving it a hard slap then a squeeze. Having his shoulder jammed into her stomach and the rolling motion of being held upside down as he walked was doing really nasty things to her already rolling stomach. Klara shut her eyes, trying to take breaths in through her nose to keep from being sick. She was afraid he would let her choke to death on her own vomit before he would risk removing the gag. He carried her through the woods behind the property. As the house faded from view, Klara felt her heart sink.

  Alec rounde
d the backside of the house then stopped and threw himself to the ground. Ahead of him he saw Roy help Klara out of her bedroom window. She was gagged and her hands were tied behind her back. Alec’s fist clenched and he had to stop himself from jumping on the man and tackling him to the ground. The only thing that stopped him was the sight of the large knife that Roy held dangerously close to Klara’s throat. He knew him well enough to know that he would slice her wide open to prevent himself from getting caught. He followed along quietly, staying just out of sight, praying for her safety and for strength and wisdom to defeat Roy.

  Klara had very mixed emotions at the sight of the old black SUV that was parked on the dirt road. She felt immense relief when he finally tossed her to the ground with a hard thud, because now she could breathe. She was worried because he was going to take her away from the property. She looked around, trying to see where she could run to if she managed to get free. All she saw was more woods and she would bet he had already scoped the place out so he would know the terrain far better than she would. No, she would have to come up with something better than just running.

  She finally managed to bring herself into a sitting position. Roy was rearranging something in the back seat of the truck. Probably making room for her, she thought. He really wasn’t watching her too closely, so she twisted her wrists with all her might, trying to free her hands. She could feel the rough rope breaking the soft skin on her wrists; then she felt the warm stickiness of blood. She twisted some more and realized the blood was actually helping! It was providing some lubrication and she finally was able to slip one hand free.

  Roy came back around to where he dropped her and Klara held her hands like they were still tied and waited. When he reached down to pick her up, she saw her chance and with both hands she reached out and grabbed his head, slamming her forehead into his nose with enough force to snap the bone. He pulled back in pain and surprise, exposing his throat. Taking the opportunity, she punched him as hard as she could then shoved him aside as he choked and gasped trying to breathe through his damaged windpipe. She scrambled to her feet and ran silently, thanking her daddy for the self-defense moves he had insisted that she learn. She raced around and got in through the open back door of the truck, slamming it shut behind her then locking the door. She climbed into the driver’s seat only to find the keys were not there. She looked out the window to see that Roy was making his way to his feet and the deadly gleam in his eyes promised swift and deadly retaliation. She searched the truck frantically for some kind of weapon. He had boxes of stuff everywhere: camping gear, clothing and under an old army blanket, a shovel. Klara tried not think about what he was going to use that for. Roy was now on his feet and coming toward the truck. He held out the keys with the remote in one hand, smiling at her. Klara heard the door locks pop open…