by Diane Burke
He tenderly ran his hand down her arm. “I know the timing of all of this stinks. But I can’t let him go through this alone. Truthfully, Lizzie, you wouldn’t want me to, would you?”
She had a shell-shocked look in her eyes. She glanced at Jeremy and when she looked back at Adam, her maternal instincts were front and center.
“Of course you must go. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself. I don’t want Jeremy to have to make this transition alone.”
Adam nodded. “I knew you’d understand.”
“How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Liz made a sweeping motion with her arm. “What about all of this? Your plans for the safe house?”
“It’s waited fifteen years. I’m praying it can wait a little longer.”
They stared into each other’s eyes and knew they weren’t just talking about the house.
Liz nodded. “It’s a strong house, built on a firm foundation. It will be here when you get back.”
Realizing that she would be saying goodbye to the three people in her life that had managed to penetrate that I-don’t-need-anyone protective armor she’d surrounded herself with for years, her emotions sprang to the surface and he could see she was having a difficult time keeping them at bay.
“Excuse me. I have to go and make a last-minute check to make sure we’re not leaving anything behind,” she whispered, barely able to make eye contact with him.
Just our shattered hearts.
He sighed and watched her race up the stairs. A little voice inside his head got louder and stronger. Turn it over to God. Trust in the power and goodness of the Lord. And he did.
FIFTEEN
Liz closed the bathroom door and collapsed back against the wood. Could this day get any worse? She’d have to arrest Sal, once she found him. She had to say goodbye to the one true female friend she’d made since high school. She’d never see her precious, precious Jeremy again.
That thought alone plunged a knife right through her heart.
Now Adam was leaving—again.
She understood why. On a deeper level, she even admired him and respected him for his choice.
But to lose him again?
How many times can a heart break?
She knew the answer to that from firsthand experience—a heart can shatter a million times. People leave. Luke did. Her mother did. Adam did.
People disappoint you. People hurt you. But God never will.
Liz whispered a prayer of thanksgiving that Adam had helped her find her way back to the Lord…to depend on the Lord to see her through the storms. She whispered gratitude for the blessings He brought to each day. Even days like this God would use for the greater good. She knew that He would be by her side and give her the strength to let go of Jeremy…of Adam…of Charlie…of Sal, no matter how difficult it would be.
A warm inner peace filled her being. God had heard her prayers.
She dashed water on her face, plastered a Charlie-size smile on her lips, and went downstairs to finish the job she’d started.
She had reached the bottom step when she looked through a pane of glass in the front door and saw a vehicle engulfed in a dust cloud coming up the driveway at a high rate of speed. She motioned everyone into the living room, drew her Glock and took position behind the front door. Once the car screeched to a stop and she could identify the driver, she holstered her weapon and stepped outside.
“Tom. What are you doing here? I’m expecting Darlene and Paul any minute now but I didn’t call you.”
“They’re not coming.” He took long, determined strides toward her.
“I don’t understand.”
“Have you seen Sal?” He climbed the steps and stood beside her.
“No. He left before…” She scrunched her face and chewed on her lower lip. “I haven’t seen Sal. Why are you here?”
“You need more than a Barbie doll and a wuss to help you.”
Her face colored and she fought to control her temper against this Neanderthal.
“Paul is not—”
Tom placed a hand on her arm.
“Look, Sheriff, I don’t have time for you to start with your politically correct jargon. Now, get the boy and let’s get out of here.”
Adam stepped onto the porch, the Glock visible in his hand.
“Lizzie? Is there a problem out here?”
Tom instantly released his hold, stepped back and pushed his hat back on his head. “Hi, Doc. Didn’t see you standing there.”
“Tom.” Adam acknowledged the greeting but didn’t lower his weapon.
“What’s got into you?” Liz brushed her arm where Tom had grabbed it. “What are you doing here? Where are Darlene and Paul?”
“I told them to stay at the station.”
“What? Who gave you the right to—”
“Sal did.”
Liz stared at him as if he were crazy.
“We’re no match for Sal. None of us are and you know it. When I found out he was missing—”
“He’s not missing.”
“No? Then you know where he is? You have him locked up tight somewhere?”
When Liz didn’t immediately answer, Tom said, “That’s what I thought. Look, you can dock my pay, ream my butt, doggone it, you can even fire me when all this is over. I don’t care. But I need you to grab that kid, get in the car and get out of here before Sal shows up and you and the kid are the ones who are missing.”
“He’s right, Liz. We need to move.” Adam holstered his weapon at his side.
Liz stepped into Tom’s personal space and shot him her most intense glare. “You’ve stepped over the line, Officer Miller…again. Do it again and you’re fired.”
“Yes, Sheriff. I hear you. Now, can we please get out of here?”
“You get back in the car and scoot down. I don’t want Jeremy to spot your uniform. We can’t afford a meltdown right now. You can ride shotgun for us.”
Liz yelled into the house. “Charlie, I need you to get Jeremy and Rerun settled in the car. We’re leaving right now.” Her eyes caught Adam’s. “You and I will grab the bags and pack the SUV.”
Everyone scattered to do her bidding.
Minutes later the bags were loaded into the back of the SUV. Adam closed up the back and walked around to the driver’s side.
“I’ll lead,” Liz shouted, and ran back to her patrol car.
Tom blasted his horn to get her attention. Annoyed, she jogged over to see what he wanted now. He lowered the glass as she approached. She leaned her hands on the door and bent down to see him, face-to-face.
“What now?”
“You drive with them, Sheriff. Leave your car here. The team and I will make sure it gets back to the station.”
She opened her mouth to protest when he patted her hand in a fatherly way. “I know how much that boy has come to mean to you. Ride in with him. Take the time to say goodbye.”
Her heart clenched. She had such a tiny window of time and then Jeremy would be gone from her life forever. She smiled. “Thanks, Tom.”
Liz waved her hand for them to wait and she sprinted toward the vehicle. When she got there, chaos surrounded her. Charlie was wrestling with Rerun. The dog had Jeremy’s bear in his mouth and this time was not going to give it up. Jeremy had unlatched his safety belt, climbed out of his car seat and was tugging on the dog. Adam muttered a word she hadn’t ever heard him use before, pushed off from the steering wheel and got out of the car.
Liz opened the back door to help get Jeremy back in his car seat. Rerun didn’t hesitate. He saw a chance to escape and knocked her backward as he leaped out of the car. Charlie yelled at Rerun, got out the other passenger door and chased the dog through the field. Jeremy scooted across the seat and made his getaway, chasing Charlie and Rerun. Adam helped Liz to her feet and both of them joined the chase.
The whole ridiculous scenario couldn’t have taken more than sixty seconds.
But it was sixty seconds that saved their lives.
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When the SUV exploded, the ground shook and a massive fireball shot into the sky. The force of the explosion lifted both Adam and Liz off their feet and slammed them to the ground. The impact stole her breath and froze her in place while pain radiated through each strand of hair and coursed down to her toes.
Liz raised her head in time to see Charlie, Rerun and Jeremy huddling together in the tall grass about fifty feet ahead. She turned her head to the left and saw Adam. He had propped himself up on his elbow and was shouting something at her. Her ears rang. His muffled voice sounded like she was underwater.
The heat was intense and seared her skin. Sparks, ash and pieces of metal fell from the sky like fireworks debris.
Adam jumped to his feet and helped her up. Then with his arm wrapped around her waist, they ran as far away from the flames as they could and joined the others. They sat in a huddled group on the ground and watched in shock and amazement.
Tom Miller jumped from his car and ran through the tall grass, too. When he reached them, Liz offered a silent prayer that they were all alive and unhurt.
Then she saw the gun in Tom’s hand—pointed right at her heart.
“I can’t believe it. You just won’t die, will you?”
Adam started to rise but stopped when he saw Tom release the safety on his weapon.
“That’s right, Doc. You just set yourself back down nice and easy, now.”
Rerun barked furiously and strained wildly at his leash. Charlie had her feet braced on the ground and was trying with all her strength to get the animal under control.
Jeremy didn’t cry. He simply stared at Tom. Then he pointed his finger. “Bad man shot Mommy. Bad man. Bad man.”
Liz’s sharp intake of breath made her shudder and tears sprang to her eyes. She looked from the boy to the man hovering over her…and to his gun pointed inches from her chest.
“Tom? It was you?”
“Do you think I wanted this to happen? Any of it? But things just got out of control. One mistake led to another…and another…and…”
“‘Mistake’? You murdered two innocent people in cold blood, Tom.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen!” he screamed. “Don’t you understand? It all started when I got in a fight with that drug dealer behind Smitty’s bar. We were fighting. I pushed him against the wall and he went for my gun. What was I supposed to do, let him kill me?” Tom couldn’t hide the hysteria building in his voice. “I covered it up. I thought I was in the clear. But someone else was in the alley that night. They decided to blackmail me. They sent me a picture on my computer at work that they got off the security camera of what I’d done.”
Tom stepped closer.
“It’s your fault, anyway. You had to have the newest technology—like Country Corners ever needed any of that junk. So, you hired Henderson to install all that computer garbage with screens and GPS in our cars. But that wasn’t enough. You wanted new software uploaded to our office computers, too. Henderson was working on my computer. I knew from the expression on his face and how fast he hightailed it out of the office that he’d stumbled upon the picture.”
He shrugged a shoulder.
“I didn’t go to the house to kill him. I just wanted to talk to him, find out what he knew or thought he knew. But he freaked out. I made a mistake. I wish I hadn’t killed him. The whole thing just keeps growing and growing and I just want it all to go away.”
“Murder’s not a mistake! Dear Lord, Tom, you killed a young boy’s parents!” Liz screamed at him and raised herself to a sitting position. Adam inched closer to her.
“Don’t move!” Sal stood up from his hiding place in the brush, his gun pointed directly at Tom. He was covered with dirt and sweat and his chest heaved as though he had just run a marathon.
Tom swung his weapon toward Sal, both now in a standoff.
“I wondered when you were going to show up. The great Detective Rizzo, Mr. Hero-To-The-Rescue. Sorry. Today’s not hero day.” He placed the gun against Liz’s head. “Lower your weapon or I’ll shoot.”
“Don’t lower your weapon, Sal. That’s an order,” Liz yelled.
Tom pressed the barrel harder against her forehead.
“I’m not counting to three, boy. I said do it now.”
Slowly Sal lowered his gun to the ground and took a step back.
Rerun rent the air with continuous, frantic, furious barks and strained against his leash despite the choker collar.
“Shut that mutt up!” Tom yelled.
Charlie’s voice shook as she commanded Rerun to sit multiple times. But the dog was out of control. He ripped the leash out of her hand and lunged toward Tom, who took a startled step back…
A gunshot sounded.
The dog yelped.
Silence.
Then everything happened at once. Both Jeremy and Charlie screamed and threw themselves on top of the fallen dog. Adam sprang up and lunged himself at Tom. Tom turned and pointed his gun at Adam’s chest.
Before he could squeeze the trigger, Liz pulled her weapon and fired—again—and again—and again.
SIXTEEN
Liz marched into the emergency room, straight to the nurses’ station, and waited impatiently for someone to acknowledge her.
“Jeremy Henderson? Adam Morgan? Sal Rizzo?”
“They’re over here.” Charlie joined her at the desk. “I saw you come in and I can use your help. I don’t know which one of them is harder to keep down. I’m ready to insist on restraints.”
The nurse laughed. “She’s right. It’s been a difficult few hours. They want out of here. Which is what I’m doing right now—typing up their discharge instructions. They should be ready to leave in just a few more minutes.
“Thanks.”
Liz entered the room indicated and pulled back the curtains between the gurneys. Jeremy spotted her first.
“Lizzie. Jeremy needs Lizzie.”
Liz gathered Jeremy in a tight hug. “Lizzie needs Jeremy, too.” She ruffled the child’s hair.
“About time you got here,” Adam grumbled, and glowered like a bear with a thorn in his paw. “Nobody here would tell me anything. I didn’t know where you went or if you were okay.”
Liz laughed. The sound surprised her. She’d been laughing more and more the past few weeks. If she wasn’t careful, people might mistake her for the perpetually happy Charlie.
She perched her hip on the edge of his bed and clasped his hand in hers.
“I’m told doctors make the worst patients. Are you trying to live up to that reputation?” She ignored his under-the-breath muttering and tilted her head toward Jeremy. “What do you think, Jeremy? Dr. Adam has bandages over both of his eyes this time. Think he can wiggle them like eyebrows?”
Liz knew Jeremy wouldn’t understand that she was making a joke but couldn’t resist. She laughed out loud when he said, “No bandages. Jeremy likes eyebrows on Dr. Adam.”
“Me, too, sweetheart.”
She gathered Jeremy in her arms, sat back down on a metal stool with wheels and rolled both of them a few feet past Adam. She pulled back the curtain separating Sal from the rest of them. She was surprised to see Charlie already standing on the other side of his bed. She couldn’t be sure but she thought she’d caught a little hand holding going on before Charlie took a step back. At least, she’d hoped she had.
She’d thought she’d picked up a vibe between them at the barbecue and, now that she thought about it, Charlie had seemed to gravitate to Sal each shift or visit to the house.
Charlie and Sal.
Liz thought if she smiled any wider it wouldn’t fit her face. She would hate to lose Sal as her right-hand man. But the thought of her two best friends building a relationship together? How wonderful was that?
“You could have called or sent a message or something. You’ve been gone for hours.” Sal’s glowering expression warmed her heart.
“I’ve had to take care of a few things.”
“‘Things’?”
Sal raised an eyebrow.
“More important things than us?” Adam crossed his arms and gave her his fiercest glare.
Liz and Charlie looked at each other, shrugged and laughed some more. Sometimes men were simply taller boys.
“Let’s get everyone home. We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.”
“Home. Jeremy wants to go home, Lizzie.”
Liz held the boy against her heart. She’d never known it was possible to love a child as much as she loved this child. She offered a silent prayer of thanksgiving to the One who had brought them all together and protected them through the storms.
* * *
A week later, the four adults were gathered in Adam’s backyard, lounging in chairs, nursing iced teas and enjoying the welcome stillness of the night. Crickets and frogs softly serenaded them. Candlelight flickered on the tabletops. The patio lights, the floodlight on the pond fountain, and the hanging lanterns along the brick pathways illuminated the darkness.
Jeremy was sound asleep upstairs with Rerun sprawled across him. The dog’s bullet wound had not hit any vital organs. A few sutures, a thick bandage, some pain pills and Rerun was good to go. People said that dogs didn’t have expressions, but Liz didn’t believe it. She’d never forget the pure joy on both their faces when boy and dog were reunited.
Charlie held up the remnants of Jeremy’s teddy bear. “Well, Rerun won this battle.” She plucked out the few pieces of stuffing still visible in the toy. “This bear has bit the dust. I’m throwing it away while Jeremy’s sleeping.”
“At least we understand now why the dog kept trying to destroy it.” Adam sipped his iced tea before continuing. “Who would have thought that Dave hid a flash drive inside the bear?”
Liz shrugged. “He probably thought it would be the last place Tom Miller would look for it and he was right.”
“Rerun connected Miller’s scent from the night of the attempted kidnapping to the bear. That’s why he kept trying to pull it away from Jeremy.” Charlie, who was sitting on the arm of the Adirondack chair Sal sat in, grinned. “I raise smart dogs, don’t I?”
Sal looked up at her and flashed those white teeth in a broad grin meant just for her before he looked over at Adam and Liz.