Killer Reads: A Collection of the Best in Inspirational Suspense

by Luana Ehrlich

  Reggie closed the door behind her and went back to the window. Two uniformed police officers stood talking with the manager and the husband. Frank, stood in the middle of the group with a worried expression and pointing at the door. A complete change of demeanor.

  She inched the door open so she could hear.

  “I’m sorry I acted like a crazy person before, but you don’t know my wife. She’s unstable. I need to make sure she and the kids are okay.” His voice cracked. “Especially the kids. They’re my life. I don’t know what I’d do without...” His voice broke and he put his hands up to his face.

  The manager handed the policeman the key card.

  How could they be so naïve as to fall for this guy’s act? Especially the manager, he’d seen Frank screaming and carrying on.

  The group disappeared from sight as they moved into the motel room.

  Moments later, the yelling started again. Not a happy camper. Frank wanted his punching bags back. And that wasn’t going to happen if she had anything to say about it.

  Reggie unlocked her adjoining door and opened it, hoping to hear what was happening. Putting her ear to the other door, she could just make out what was being said.

  “You need to calm down. She’s not here. Nothing we can do about it.” The policeman sounded exasperated. “It’s a free country and—”

  Frank’s next words showed his true colors.

  “I told you once to calm down, and I’m not going to tell you again.” Good, the police man wasn’t as naïve as she’d first thought. “This is a domestic dispute and not our business. She’s not here. Her things are gone, meaning she left.”

  “Then, why’s the car still here?”

  “Maybe, she decided she’d had enough of you. She left the car so you couldn’t follow her. I have no idea but the point is we’re done.”

  Reggie smiled.

  The manager’s voice was shaky. “And you didn’t pay for the room so you have no right to stay here.” Much braver with the police by his side.

  “It’s my car. I proved that. I showed you the registration.”

  “Yes, sir it is. And you have every right to take it.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Don’t know. Not my problem.”

  Good, it didn’t sound as if the policemen were buying his loving husband and doting father act. The tone in their voices said it all. They had no plans to help the creep.

  “Fine, I’ll go pick up my brother to drive it back home.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.”

  “You got a problem with that, Mr. Manager?”

  “Nope.”

  “Don’t you touch that car. And if you see that wife of mine, you tell her she better hightail it home if she knows what’s good for her.”

  “I’ll be sure to give her the message.” Sarcasm dripped from the manager’s mouth.

  The door slammed and she assumed the group had left. She walked back to the window and saw the policeman heading to their cruiser. Frank walked over to the VW and locked the car with his own keys. Moments later he drove away.

  Reggie let out a sigh of relief and dropped the curtain back in place. Then walked over to the bathroom and tapped on the door. “It’s okay. He’s gone.”

  Misty stood up. Suzie continued to cling to her mommy but Noah walked out of the room, seemingly unaffected by all that had transpired. “Can I go outside for awhile?”

  Misty locked eyes with Reggie for a moment then looked at her son. “Let’s wait a few minutes before we do that.”

  “Aw, come on, Mom. You said I could go swimming.”

  “That was before your dad found us.”

  “That’s not my fault.”

  Misty bit her lip and tears welled up in her eyes. “I know that, honey. None of this is your fault.”

  Noah glared at his mother for a moment before grabbing the remote. He threw himself on the bed and within seconds was engrossed in the TV show. Misty put Suzie on the bed. She crawled up beside her big brother and started giggling at the onscreen antics.

  Reggie walked away from the kids and motioned Misty to follow. “Frank said he was going to go pick up his brother and then come back for the car. Where do you guys live?”

  “Bowling Green. He teaches at the university there. But his brother lives in Norwalk. About an hour from here.”

  “He’s a college professor?” Boy, had she pegged him wrong. She was still working on not stereotyping people.

  Misty nodded.

  “That means an hour there and an hour back.” Reggie moved to the small table in the room and sat in one of the chairs. Misty did the same. “What’s your plan?”

  “I don’t have one, not really.” Misty rubbed her hand against her forehead. “After he hit Noah, I waited until he left for work and we left. I didn’t really have a plan, just figured I’d drive to my parents.”

  “But that’s probably the first place he’ll look for you. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to give up easy.” Reggie didn’t add that the most dangerous time for an abused woman was after she left her abuser.

  Misty blinked back tears. “I don’t want to put them in danger. I don’t have much money, just a couple of hundred dollars I managed to save. He won’t let me have the checkbook or ATM card. I guess I’ll just drive south and when I run out of gas, that’s where we’ll stay. Hopefully, I can get a job waitressing somewhere to pay for food and a place to stay.”

  Reggie felt that tug on her heart again.

  God was telling her something.

  She’d come to the motel to figure out what God wanted her to do. She hadn’t expected him to be quite so clear. Dylan and his family had taught her a lot in the past year and a half, but the biggest thing she’d learned is it always pleases God when you helped others in need.

  And Misty certainly qualified in that respect.

  It was time for her to step up. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea. First of all, I think you should leave the car here.”

  “I have to have my car. I can’t just leave it.”

  “He can report it stolen since it’s registered in his name, and then it will only be a matter of time before he finds you.”

  Misty’s blue eyes filled with tears. “I know, but I can’t go back there. It was bad enough when he hit me, but I won’t let him hit my children.”

  She reached out and touched Misty’s arm. “I agree, but I have an idea. Why don’t you leave the car here and you can stay with me for awhile?”

  Misty’s mouth fell open. “Why would you want to do that? You don’t know me.”

  A thousand different reasons came to mind. If Dylan hadn’t been willing to help her she’d probably be dead, but for sure she’d still be lost and struggling to find a little happiness.

  God had put her in this motel room beside them for a reason. And she knew the reason. She didn’t have to ask if Dylan would help them, she knew her husband would even if he didn’t want to be married to her any longer.

  She shrugged. “Because it’s what Jesus would do.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Misty’s confused look reminded Reggie of her own reaction when Dylan had said the same words to her when they met. She’d thought he was crazy when he’d risked his own life to save her, a woman he barely knew.

  Now she understood. Christianity wasn’t just a religion to Dylan, it was a way of life. He believed in helping others even when it put himself in danger. And she was willing to do the same.

  Wow! She hadn’t realized how much she’d changed.

  “I know it’s hard to understand, Misty. But Jesus commanded we love others and He didn’t mean a pretend love. He meant help others when they need it and it looks to me as if you need some help now. So, let me help.”

  Misty cast her gaze downward as if she didn’t deserve such help. “But—”

  “No buts. Let’s get out of here and we can figure out your next move later. It’s up to you, of course, but I really think you should
leave the car.”

  Misty bit her lip. “I hate to do it, but you’re right. That must have been how he figured out where I was.”

  Thinking back to her own harrowing ordeal when she was the target of a hit man, she said, “He might have some kind of GPS tracker on it.”

  Misty’s jaw dropped open. “You’re right, he might. He’s insanely jealous. For a smart man, he sure acts stupid.”

  Reggie didn’t say anything. The man hadn’t looked all that smart to her. She sighed. But looks can be deceiving. She’d thought Dylan was just a simple farmer when she’d met him and look how wrong she’d been.

  After the packing was done, Reggie looked at Misty. “I’ll take the stuff out to my car and you can tell the kids. By the way, do you have a cell phone?”

  Misty nodded.

  “Leave it in the car. That’s another way he can track you.” She grabbed her suitcase and things and walked out to the car.

  “How do you know so much about all this cloak and dagger stuff?”

  “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”

  Misty’s eyes grew wide.

  “Sorry, I’m just kidding. It’s an old joke my husband and one of his Marine buddies say all the time. Actually, I had a little trouble last year and learned more than I ever wanted about such things.” An understatement if she’d ever heard one but no reason to terrify Misty any more than she already was.

  “Oh.” Misty looked relieved.

  After going to the office and paying her bill, she walked back in the hotel room. Noah stared hard at her. “Why are you being so nice to us?”

  “Because that’s what God wants us to do, Noah. Be nice to each other. Help each other.”

  “Are you an angel?” Suzie asked.

  Noah laughed along with Reggie and his mother. The laughter felt good and broke the tension. “Everyone grab something and then we can get out of here. I don’t have a swimming pool, Noah, but we’ve got a pond.”

  “Can I go swimming there?”

  “Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow. We’ll see.”

  Suzie grabbed her teddy bear while Misty and Reggie grabbed suitcases. Noah grabbed two bags of their toys. “The trunk’s open. Put everything in there and we’ll stop later if you want a toy or a book or something out of the trunk.”

  Reggie didn’t want to waste time getting them settled in. They could do that later. At the moment, her only concern was to get as far away from this motel before Misty’s husband came back with his brother.

  She’d seen Frank and his temper. No way did she want to tangle with him and his brother. His brother was probably more of the same.

  Misty walked directly to her car and unlatched the child safety seat Suzie needed and tossed her phone on the front seat. She hurried back to Reggie’s car and began the process of buckling in the child safety seat.

  Reggie slammed the trunk shut and went to help Noah into his seat.

  “Yeah, exactly what I thought. You old busybody. I knew you were involved.”

  She straightened up in time to see Misty’s husband running toward her.

  CHAPTER 23

  Reggie’s heart skipped several beats. Frank was running straight at her and with amazing speed. His blond ponytail bounced behind him. Reggie yelled from her side. “Misty! Get in the car. He’s coming.”

  Misty screamed and jumped in the backseat and slammed the door. As she ran to the driver’s side, Reggie hit the lock button on her key. A short horn blast told her she’d been successful.

  She got to her door at the same time as Frank. Turning around, she glared at him. “You need to leave or I’ll have you arrested.”

  “Arrested for what? That’s my wife and kids. I have a righ—”

  “You’re right they are your wife and kids, but they aren’t your property. You have no right to stop them from leaving if that’s what they want to do. And that’s what they want to do.”

  His green eyes turned black with anger. “Lady, you have no idea what you’re doing. I’m not the crazy one.” He nodded toward the car. He lowered his voice. “She’s the one with the mental problem, not me. I think she stopped taking her meds a couple of days ago.”

  Meds. Reggie looked at Misty huddled in the back seat crying.

  Frank continued talking, calmly and rationally. “If you want to help her go right ahead. Good luck with that. Maybe, you’ll have better luck than me. Lord knows I’ve tried and tried. But you aren’t taking my kids. I won’t let her put them in danger again. She’s done it enough times with her psychotic delusions.”

  Something in his tone made her wonder if he was telling the truth. Could she have read the signals wrong? Could Misty be the abusive one? She looked back at Misty. Her black eye stood out against her pale face.

  A spark of anger. “How’d she get the black eye?”

  He shrugged. “How should I know? She probably did it herself to make me look bad. It wouldn’t be the first time. I told you she’s crazy.”

  Thinking back to the ruckus he’d caused earlier. “No need to do that. You seem to be able to do that quite well all by yourself.”

  He shook his head, his breath ragged, and his voice intense—almost pleading. “I’m not kidding you. She’s a paranoid schizophrenic. I think she stopped taking her meds. You don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

  “Just let me have my kids. If she wants to leave, I won’t stop her.” He took a deep breath. “Besides, it won’t take you long to find out I’m the one telling the truth. Not her.”

  “He’s a liar. I’m not schizophrenic.”

  Frank shook his head. “They all say that.”

  I’m not leaving my children with you.” Misty clutched her daughter to her breast with the fierceness of a mama bear.

  Frank lunged past Reggie and pounded on the window. “Open that door.”

  God give me wisdom. Her gaze strayed to Noah. He was staring wide-eyed at his father and shaking his head no. His whole little body shook and he rubbed at the scar above his eyes. The little boy was terrified of the man he called Dad.

  Just the way she’d been of the foster father who’d locked her in a closet for three days.

  Husband and wife took turns screaming at each other. She slid her hand behind her back and fumbled with the key until she felt it slide in the lock. She twisted and felt the lock release.

  Misty must have heard the lock because she looked at Reggie. Their gazes met. As if on cue, she yelled louder and rolled the window down an inch. Frank moved closer trying to reach through the window.

  Just the distraction Reggie needed. She took a deep breath and opened her door. Frank turned toward her and tried to grab the door but she was quicker. She slammed it and hit the lock button.

  Her hands shook as she put the key in the ignition and started the car. Frank went wild, screaming and hitting her window. She slammed the car in reverse but before she could move the car, Frank jumped behind her. She grimaced and called back to Misty. “Hold on.”

  She moved the gearshift from reverse to drive and pushed down on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward as the tires came into contact with the sidewalk. She gave it more gas and then turned it sharply to the right as they drove up on the sidewalk.

  He ran after them and pounded on the trunk of the car. “Stop this car or I’l—”

  Reggie stomped on the gas. Couldn’t it go faster? The car surged away from Frank. Suzie was wailing while Noah tried to comfort his little sister.

  She hit the gas and widened the gap between them, gave a sharp right turn of the wheel as they bumped off the sidewalk. He picked up a rock and threw it at the car. It slammed against her back window.

  A spider web spread.

  She moved forward through the parking lot, but kept her eyes peeled in the rearview mirror. A crowd had gathered by their doors. Frank ran to his own car to, no doubt, give chase. Two men jumped in front of him blocking his way.


  Thank you, God.

  It would give her the time they needed to get away from this maniac

  CHAPTER 24

  Reggie drove down familiar roads toward home.

  She knew Dylan well enough to know he’d welcome Misty and her kids without hesitation. His own sister had been the victim of domestic abuse from a boyfriend. She turned and looked at Misty, keeping her voice low. “You can stay with my husband and I for a few days until you figure out what you want to do. Try not to worry too much, it will work out.”

  “I can’t believe how nice you’re being to us. Won’t your husband mind us showing up out of the blue?”

  “Not in the least.” She lowered her voice so the kids couldn’t hear. “His sister was killed by a violent boyfriend. He would never turn his back on a woman in jeopardy or her children.”

  Misty stared at her but said nothing.

  “So, you and Frank live in Bowling Green?”

  “Yes, he teaches at the university.”

  The picture of the tattooed man with the blond ponytail flashed in her mind. Not exactly what she would have guessed he did for a living. “I admit that surprises me.”

  Misty laughed, but there was a sadness in the laughter. “I know he doesn’t look like a typical college professor.”

  “No, he doesn’t.” Reggie had assumed he was uneducated and struggling to get by, the picture in her mind of what a typical abuser was. Even though, intellectually she knew abusers crossed all educational and socioeconomic levels. “What’s he teach?”

  “He teaches history.”

  “You wouldn’t think he’d risk losing his job by, you know, doing what he did to you.”

  Misty sighed. “We don’t really socialize with the people he works with. He keeps his work life separate. And with my family being in another state, I’m pretty isolated.”

  “Doesn’t matter now. You’re not isolated any longer.” She reached over and patted Misty’s hand. “You’re safe now. We’ll take it one step at a time.”