It was easy to think happier thoughts after laughing with Mandy, but something still nagged at me. I finally decided, despite my best effort to explain, she hadn’t found logic enough in what I’d said to believe my truth.
Maybe she can’t believe because it changes her perception of reality. Good and evil now each have two faces, the physical and the spiritual, and both can interact with her. She probably thought of the spiritual world as being in the next life.
A part of me had hoped she would be excited by the prospect of hunting spiritual bad guys, and maybe even want to help, but I’d underestimated the impact chasing would have on her.
I closed my eyes and set my heart on prayer. I prayed for Buddy, Sarah, Mandy, Journey Chapel, and my own ministry. There were many others on my list, but sleep took hold. I couldn’t remember who I was thinking of last when I fell asleep.
*******
In my drowsiness, I began to hear running water, like a stream. No, not a stream, maybe a waterfall. No, it wasn’t strong enough for a waterfall. What was it?
I started to gain some visual focus, and a white oval began to take shape below me, shining in the light, but rippling. Suddenly, I knew what the water was. A tub faucet!
The sound of the running water continued as I settled on the floor below the tub rim. Something soft was under me, a bath mat or bathrobe maybe, and I was completely relaxed. I tried to move my hand to feel the softness, but my hand wouldn’t respond.
The water sound stopped, and I felt myself being lifted up by strong hands. I watched as the rim of the tub came closer. Without realizing it, I was in the water, looking up from beneath. I still couldn’t move, but my lungs were exploding. Everything went black.
When my focus returned, I could see up to the surface, and there were police and EMTs looking down at me. But now I was looking up through blue water, not the clear liquid from earlier. Everything went black again.
When I came around the next time, I was standing in a tunnel, looking toward a bright light. Walking into the light was a woman. She stopped, looked back at me, and then continued toward the light.
Just before she passed into the light, she turned and ran back at me. She was a tiny woman, in her late twenties to early thirties, with black hair and blue eyes. When she raced past me, both the vision and bright light, disappeared into a vacuum.
I awoke with a start, sweat soaking my bed, and rolled to look at my clock. Three in the morning. I picked up the pad I kept on the floor by the bed, uncapped a pen, and wrote down what I could remember of the vision.
I would research it in the morning, after I had some more sleep. This Runner vision had scared me like no other, in part because I’d never been in the place of a drowning victim, which is what it felt like. But there was something more, something hidden, and I could feel it.
*******
The next morning, I was dressed and headed for the office early. I wanted to do some research on the previous night’s vision before I had to leave for the hospital. Bear was not happy to be left behind again.
“I know, girl. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
If a dog can look skeptical, Bear has it mastered.
Stopping at a Conoco station, I grabbed a coffee and a newspaper. A quick glance at the front page told me my Runner wasn’t headline news. Ten minutes later, I unlocked my office door.
The usual pile of junk mail was on the floor, and I gathered it up to throw it out, when a plain white envelope caught my attention. It was addressed to ‘Chaser,’ and didn’t have a stamp.
I could think of only one person who would leave me an envelope like that. I tore it open.
Chaser,
You will not escape alive again.
H.
I instinctively turned the letter over, looking for something more, and what I found was a list. Four names, scribbled quickly, and nothing else.
Richard Douglas
Bartholomew Wesley
Betty-Mae Parsons
Franklin David Carver
The handwriting on both sides matched, meaning Harbinger had written the names. The obvious question was who were these people, and why was Harbinger writing down their names?
The only thing I did know was Harbinger had delivered a message, but not in person, which said to me he was unsure of himself. Twice now, he’d failed to kill me, and it appeared to be getting to him.
The threat was nothing different than I’d received before, but it let me know Harbinger was still around, still watching me. I decided not to leave Bear home again. At least, not until this business was done. She was an alarm system I didn’t want to be without.
Putting the note back in the envelope, I tucked it into my wallet and sat down at my desk. I unfolded the newspaper and, as was my habit, went to the obituaries first. There was nearly half a page of them, but none seemed to fit the circumstances of my vision.
Next, I went to the City section. Several pages of local stories, everything from robberies to hit-and-runs, but nothing involving water. I followed that by going through the State news section, coming up empty again. Either the Runner must have died prior to yesterday or after the morning paper was printed.
The paper was put to bed about one in the morning, so if it happened after that, I might find it on the webpage.
Opening my laptop, I pulled up the website of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I did a search for drowning victim and several stories popped up. The oldest went back three years, but the newest was from that morning.
I clicked on the story.
Police were called early today to a residence located on the 5200 block of Plaza Hills Drive, in south-central St. Louis. A woman was discovered unresponsive at the bottom of the family pool around 3 A.M.
She was found by her husband, who immediately called 9-1-1. Tracy Adams, 31, was declared dead at the scene.
Police said it appeared to be an accidental drowning, and alcohol may have played a part. An autopsy will be conducted today.
Detective Nathan Talbot of the St. Louis Homicide Division said the husband is co-operating with law enforcement, and the couple’s two children were not home when the drowning occurred.
Further details will be reported as they become available.
I had found my Runner, but now I needed to discover why she ran and where she was headed. My best guess was the most common destination: home. She probably wanted to say something to her husband or her kids.
I’d known Nate Talbot for years, so I pulled up his number on my phone and pressed the call button.
“Hello?”
“Nate, this is Jack Carter.”
“Hey, Jack. It’s been a while, how have you been?”
“Good, you?”
“I can’t complain, except I’m on the graveyard rotation this month. It makes for long nights.”
“No doubt! Listen, the reason I called is the case you had this morning over in Plaza Hills.”
“The drowning?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. You still calling it accidental?”
“So far. The autopsy won’t be done until later today, but it looks pretty clear cut. What’s your interest?”
“Just came across the story and was curious. Why is it clearly an accident?”
“The husband told us she takes sleeping pills, and we found a half-empty glass of wine by the edge of the pool. The husband said she often dangled her feet in the water when she couldn’t sleep.”
“Where was he?”
“The husband? He was in bed, and when he woke up, she wasn’t there. When he looked for her, he discovered her in the pool. Hey Jack, do you know something I don’t?”
I chuckled. “No, I’m afraid not. Just curious, but if I hear anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
“I appreciate that. How’s the gumshoe business?”
I snickered. “Oh, you know. Just another day in paradise.”
Nate laughed. “I bet! Anyway, I gotta run, Jack. See ya.”
�
��Bye Nate, and thanks again.”
*******
I was just pulling into the hospital parking lot to meet Sarah before Buddy’s surgery when my phone rang. I dipped into a space and answered it as I put the car in park.
“Hello?”
“Jack Carter?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
“Rachel Tanner.”
“Oh, hi Rachel. I gather Brother Edwards gave you my number.”
“Yes. I hope that’s okay.”
“Sure, no problem,” I thought back to our meeting yesterday. The red hair and green eyes were hard to forget, but I hadn’t noticed how silky her voice was until now. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, we didn’t get much of a chance to talk yesterday, so I was hoping you would join me for dinner.”
I was caught off guard, and I didn’t know how long Buddy’s surgery would be, nor if I would hear from Mandy. “Well, I’m not sure.”
“Oh, come on. I won’t bite, I promise.”
I laughed, although I wasn’t sure I believed her. “It’s not that. Buddy Daniels is going into surgery shortly, and I promised his wife I would be here with her.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Her voice was heavy with concern. “I forgot about that. Brother Edwards mentioned it early this morning. Don’t worry about dinner, we’ll talk later.”
I didn’t have plans for dinner, so I wanted to keep the option open, and I was curious to know more about this Chaser turned envoy. “How about this? If all goes well, and I can get clear by dinner, I’ll call you. Sound okay?”
“Sounds great. You have my number on your caller ID?”
I checked. “Yeah, it’s here.”
“Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you. In the meantime, I’ll be praying for Buddy.”
“Thanks, Rachel. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I hung up and looked at the time. Ten forty-five. I needed to hustle.
*******
I found Sarah sitting in one of the surgical waiting rooms on the fifth floor of the hospital. The waiting area was less a room and more of a large space, divided by random glass panes. Comfortable chairs, multiple TVs, and coffee machines were dotted around the transparent cubicles.
Sarah got up and hugged me when I came in.
“Thanks for coming, Jack.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m here for you and Buddy, anytime.”
She sat back down and I took the chair next to her. She pointed to a giant screen on the far wall. “You can follow along as his surgery progresses.”
The electronic board had multiple columns, with random colors, and names running down the left side. The colors matched various stages of surgery, and each patient’s current status was being tracked. Red for Surgery Prep, yellow for Pre-op, green for In Surgery, blue for In Recovery, and so on.
I found Buddy’s name, a yellow block next to it. At that moment, the color changed to green. “He’s in surgery now, Sarah.”
She looked up from stirring her coffee, and then glanced at her watch. “The doctor said I should expect the surgery to take two and a half or three hours.”
The clock on the wall said eleven fifteen.
*******
For what felt like the hundredth time, I looked at the color next to Buddy’s name, still green, and then at the clock. It was now two forty-five and Buddy had been in surgery for three and a half hours.
Sarah had gone silent nearly forty-five minutes ago, no longer pretending to be upbeat, but seemingly entranced by the surgery board. Worry etched her face, and I understood why.
Did something go wrong? What am I going to say to Sarah if her Buddy doesn’t pull through? What would I do without my friend and mentor?
I chastised myself for thinking the worst. I was well aware Buddy was in the Lord’s hands, and my fretting was not doing any good. I closed my eyes to say another prayer, something Sarah and I had done together multiple times this afternoon, when I felt her grab my arm.
“He’s blue!”
My first thought was Buddy had been wheeled past and he was dead. “Where did you see him?”
“No, not him. His name.”
My heart began to beat again as I looked up at the surgery board. Buddy’s name was now flanked by the color blue—he was in recovery.
A disc sitting on the table started flashing and vibrating. I stared at it like it was a bomb. Sarah picked it up. “We need to go to the nurses’ station.”
“What is that?”
“A kind of beeper thingy. They gave it to me when I got here.” She stood, gathered her bag and purse, and headed in the general direction of the nurses’ desk without waiting for me.
When I caught up with her, she was already speaking to a nurse. “My thing was flashing.”
“Your name?”
“Sarah Daniels.”
“And the patient’s name?”
“Buddy Daniels.”
The nurse consulted her chart. “Yes, Mrs. Daniels. The doctor will speak to you in room C. It’s right across the hall.”
We walked over to the room she pointed out. The doctor came in just after we were seated at the round table. He shook hands with both of us.
“Sarah, I’m happy to say he came through with flying colors.”
Yeah, I know. Flying surgery board colors! I wonder if that’s his favorite cliché!
Sarah took a tissue from the box in the middle of the table and dabbed at her eyes. “It took longer than you said. I was beginning to worry.”
The doctor nodded. “I know, and I’m sorry, but your husband has a hard head!”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I could have told you that!”
“We had a more difficult time attaching the steel plate than we anticipated.”
“When can I see him?”
The doctor, still standing, crossed his arms. “Well, he’ll be in recovery for at least another hour, and then he’ll be moved back to ICU. You can see him then, but he still won’t be conscious.”
“When will that happen?”
“Well, he’ll be removed from all sedatives, but when he emerges from the coma will be up to Buddy.”
Sarah nodded, and shook the doctor’s hand again. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“You’re most welcome, Sarah. I’ll see you tomorrow morning on my rounds.”
With that, the doctor left, and I helped Sarah up. I do believe she felt a little lighter when I took her arm.
Worry is a heavy burden for anyone to carry.
chapter 5
After meeting with the doctor, Sarah said she wanted to go clean up. She had been at the hospital almost constantly for the past several days. I drove her to the home she and Buddy shared, a small yellow matchbox house with white trim, the lawn green and manicured. A cement walk divided the lawn in two, leading up from the street, to the house.
While she showered and changed, I tried calling Mandy. The call went to voice mail again.
“Mandy, it’s me. I was thinking we could meet for dinner, but I guess you’re busy. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”
I hung up, feeling frustrated she was staying out of touch again. I thought we might have gotten past that after our time together the previous night, even though we hadn’t discussed chasing.
I looked at my watch. Four o’clock. I still had time to call Rachel Tanner. I called the saved number on my phone.
“Hello?”
“Rachel, it’s me.”
“Hi, me.”
“I’m sorry. It’s Jack Carter.”
She laughed. “I knew it was you, Jack. Are you free for dinner after all?”
“It appears so. Is around five okay?”
“No, too soon.”
“Oh, well…”
“Jack, a girl needs time to get ready,” she laughed. “How about six thirty? Pick me up at the Ramada Inn, just down from Journey Chapel, Room 237.”
“That sounds good. Where do you want to eat?”
“I picked the time, you pick th
e place. Fair?”
I smiled into the phone. “Fair. I’ll see you at six thirty.”
“Don’t be late!” She hung up.
I closed the phone. “I won’t,” I said to myself.
“Won’t what?”
I jumped, and looked up to see Sarah watching me in a flower-print dress. Her hair was pulled up in a fresh bun, and she looked better than I seen her in days.
“Oh, nothing. I was talking to someone on the phone. You look great!”
She did a little spin, flaring her skirt out. “Thank you, sir.”
I stood up. “Are you ready to go back to the hospital?”
“I am.”
I bowed deeply at the waist. “Then, Madam, your chariot awaits.”
*******
I went up to the ICU with Sarah, but Buddy was still unconscious. She took her now familiar seat in the waiting room, and shooed me away. “Off you go. I’m sure you’ve got things to take care of, and there’s nothing for you to do here.”
“Are you sure?” I still had an hour and a half before I needed to pick up Rachel, and I didn’t like leaving Sarah alone.
“I’m sure. Besides, I believe Brother Edwards is coming by this evening.”
“Very well.” I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.” She got out her Bible and started to read. I headed for the elevator.
On the way down, my phone began to vibrate.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jack. You left a message about dinner.”
Oh crap! Now Mandy calls me back.
“Yeah, I was hoping we could get together and finish the discussion about my ministry.”
“I don’t know, Jack… I thought you just wanted a dinner companion.”
“Well, I did. However, since I left you that message, someone from the ministry and I made plans to go to dinner.”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you came.”
DESTINY (THE CHASER CHRONICLES Book 3) Page 3