Silent Protector

by Barbara Phinney

  “So she stole the petty cash from the resort?”

  “No, she said that Leo claimed to have stolen it and was going to give her some money if she would find out about Charlie for him.”

  “Leo knew about him?”

  “Not at first. But Monica said she was told that Smith saw Leo steal the money and found him in the forest burying it and threatened to tell security at the resort unless Leo could get him Charlie. Leo must have been shocked, getting discovered by a strange man in the forest and then extorted by him.”

  Liz took Ian’s hand and held it. “So, he was willing to part with some of the money for information.”

  “Yes. I think Leo wondered why Charlie was worth so much and what I knew. Leo asked Monica to access my computer for the info, because she was desperate for money, and later, he asked her to help him get Charlie. But I think she refused.”

  “She must have realized the situation was getting dangerous. When I caught her in the forest digging, she must have been looking for the box. That’s when she told me to leave with Charlie. I wonder if she was planning to leave with him.”

  “She said something the nurse couldn’t catch, something about a snake, so I’m betting she was the one who put the snake in your luggage in order to scare you off.”

  “Where does the fire at the Callahans’ fit into all this?”

  “Monica told the nurse about Smith threatening Leo and that Leo was ‘ripe for revenge.’”

  Liz gasped. “So Leo killed Smith?”

  “No proof yet, but Monica claims she heard it. It wasn’t until she saw the belt that she realized what Leo had done to Smith. I’m thinking Smith set the fire with the hopes of scaring Leo into helping more. Smith didn’t dare show himself in the village, and at night, George and I shared shifts to keep an eye on the Wilsons’ house.”

  “Poco got very upset on two occasions. One right around the time Smith was murdered,” Liz answered thoughtfully. “And the other could have been when Leo shot Monica. She must have been a threat to him.”

  “I bet she refused to help anymore, and when she heard about Smith’s murder, Leo decided she’d have to die, too. Good thinking about Poco. I hadn’t considered that he’d be a witness, of sorts.”

  “I think he smelled blood in the air, and with everyone anxious, he was upset, too. But I wonder who tried to run me off the road.”

  “Smith. Leo would have been working, and the security chief didn’t mention he’d been dodging work. But fingerprint tests may prove that, when we locate the car. And that’s just a matter of time. The nurse also listened to Monica say that she meant to take Charlie off the island to save him but was intercepted by Leo. She said something about Leo breaking into the clinic to get stuff to clean himself up. I think that he also took the ether Monica used on Elsie.”

  “Why?”

  “To give to Monica to subdue Charlie, but instead, she tried to steal Charlie off the island.”

  Liz paused. “Leo must have been thinking that he could make more money than what he stole from the resort, by talking to the big boss at the cartel. But first he decided to kill Smith. He wasn’t thinking straight, was he?”

  “The fire and nearly losing his family must have upset him. After he killed Smith, he found the phone and called the cartel with his plan to give them the two of you. You’re right, though, he wasn’t thinking straight. He’d killed the guy he needed to be alive. That’s why he told them Smith was alive, just as Charlie overheard.”

  “His poor family. He must have sent them away in that car we found, and now they have no father and maybe don’t even know it.”

  “‘The Shepherd’s Smile’ will take care of them.”

  “Do you think he was the one who broke into your home?”

  “I think so. I bet that if we searched his house properly we’d find the jacket and surgical mask.”

  She stepped closer to him. Outside, the wind rattled everything, and the roar was deafening. “Enough of this. You need to get some rest. Any questions can wait until tomorrow.”

  “Liz, there are some more things that can’t wait.”

  “There’s nothing, Ian—”

  “No, hear me out. I took the position with ‘The Shepherd’s Smile’ because I wanted to do good things for the people of Moss Point. And I took that last assignment with the U.S. Marshal Service because I figured I could do it all. You’ve taught me that I can’t and I shouldn’t. You also taught me about sacrifice.”

  She lifted her brows. “Sacrifice? How?”

  “How you were willing to do anything for Charlie, even when you didn’t think you could. You were willing to risk it all for him. That’s bravery. To face trouble even when you’re scared.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “That’s why I love you.”

  Before her bravery faded away, Liz leaned down to kiss his lips. He pulled her closer and kissed her hard back. When she lifted her head, she whispered, “I love you, too, Ian. So very much.”

  She curled up beside him and stared up at the ceiling, forgetting for the moment the storm raging, the terrible tragedies and no matter how much they may love each other that there was still a gap of about a thousand miles between them. She lived in Maine, and he was a man on a mission here. She wasn’t mission material, and would Charlie want to stay here, a place with such terrible memories? She had to think of him.

  “Liz?”

  “Yes?”

  “We need to discuss other things. I know I’ve agreed to administer ‘The Shepherd’s Smile,’ but if you don’t think it’s best for you and Charlie, and you want me in your lives, I’ll tell the Vincentis I have to leave. Many good pastors could do my job. I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  “You would do that for us?”

  “If you want me, I would. I trust you, and I know you seek the Lord’s will in all things. I can see that.”

  Tears sprang in her eyes. “I try to. I always thought I wasn’t strong, but you’ve shown me that I am.” She paused. “But I don’t know about Charlie. He may not want to stay here. There have been so many awful things happen to him here. Is it right to keep him here?”

  Something hit her hard on her right side, the one not touching Ian. “No, Auntie Liz, let’s not leave Moss Point! Please! Not ever!”

  She bent her head down, and seeing a short scruff of bleached hair at her elbow, she sat up. Charlie clung to her legs, and with pleading eyes, he stared up at her. “I don’t want to leave Moss Point! I mean, your home is fun and all, but I like it here. I like Ian and George and Joseph and all my friends here. I don’t want to leave them.”

  “You said it was too hot here.”

  “We’ll buy an air conditioner. We’ll borrow Elsie’s fan. It’ll be okay. Let’s not leave, okay? Okay?”

  Liz smiled at Ian. “I’m beginning to see that the Lord wants us both down here. Out on Spring Island, building a church.”

  “There may not be much of an island when we get back. The storm surge could swallow it all up.”

  “Then we’ll be helping the community rebuild itself.”

  Ian’s cell phone rang and he grimaced as he answered it. Liz stayed close. Finally, after he hung up, Ian lay back and spoke. “Because of Leo’s call to Sabby, the police were able to trace him. They arrested him at a New York airport, trying to leave. And they have enough evidence to charge him with Jerry’s murder.”

  She looked down at Charlie. “Is hearing this sad for you?”

  “Nope. God keeps me safe everywhere, even when I act up. So I have to stay here cuz it’s part of the deal I made with God. I stay here and tell Ian about the men who killed my dad and God will make sure I don’t get hurt anymore. That’s the deal I made with Him. He’ll take care of you again, and make you strong, too. We’ll lift weights together to help.”

  Laughing, she squeezed him close, as Ian squeezed her close. “So where else can I learn about God and His love but with a pasto
r husband and a boy who loves the Lord, too? In a village that teaches us so much?” She met Ian’s lips with her own and shut her eyes.

  The storm blasted on, and she could hear the nurse talking in the hall about the hurricane.

  But they were all safe and together. In love.

  Dear Reader,

  As someone who lives in a cold climate, I love to vacation down south. Naturally, the hot summer weather I avoid, but I often thought of those who must make that transition. And of course, I think of how exotic even Florida seems to me and how I would love to set a story where the heat practically becomes a character in the story.

  But it’s more than just a story set in hot weather that drove me to write Silent Protector. Children touch our lives all the time, and when they are in danger even childless adults are willing to die for them. It’s something I believe God has set in our souls. And as a writer, putting a child into a story is a joy. They are so innocent, so sweet, it’s wonderful to write them. So when they are put in danger, the tension ratchets up in exciting increments. I hope you feel the same way Liz and Ian feel when they learn to work together, find love and save those who mean so much to them.

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Once he starts talking, Charlie sometimes tries to talk his way out of doing chores. In that sense, he’s trying to manipulate people. While he’s just a small boy and it’s cute to read about, have you ever found yourself doing the same thing sometimes? What was the result?

  Liz doesn’t think Ian cares enough for Charlie. In a way, she sees only one side of a story, and is accusatory because of it. How does she change throughout the book?

  After Liz is pulled from her sinking car, and after she’s dried off, she realizes that she needs dry clothes and a shower. She offers a simple prayer to God, stating that He knows her basic needs. Do you take your basic needs to God? Do you have a laundry list of wants? Or do you think you should wait until there is something important? What should prayer be?

  We are to have faith like a child. How do you perceive that? Who in the story had that type of faith? Who did not?

  What is your first impression of Ian? Does he sound like someone who can and will get the job done? How is that a good thing? How is that a bad thing?

  In the book of Exodus, Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, tells him to get help, that he’s doing too much. George says something similar to Ian, but how does he respond? How should he respond?

  Ian believes he’s better than he was before. Do you agree? Why?

  Liz is afraid that she’ll fail Charlie. Do you see her doing that? What do you think she should be doing or thinking?

  Liz learns that she can do all things with God’s help. Read Philippians 5:12-14 and ask yourself how the verses affect you. What can you attempt today with God’s help?

  Charlie makes a deal with God that he’ll tell what happened to his father and God will protect him. Charlie is just an innocent boy, but what was your reaction when you read that? Have you ever made a deal with God? Is it the right thing to do?

  Liz admits she was wrong when she is found on the trail. She even goes as far as to thank Ian for pointing out the fault. Have you ever done that? What was the result?

  Liz needs confidence, but she doesn’t realize how courageous she is when she thanks Ian for pointing out her fault. What is Ian’s reaction? What would you do in his place?

  When Ian brings Charlie down to Moss Point, he alters the boy’s appearance. The results are mixed, though. Now the killer has several boys to choose from, and Liz is scared he’ll kill them all. What Bible stories does this remind you of? What did God do in those situations? How were those two stories connected? How were Moses and Jesus connected?

  What stopped the random killings in this story?

  Do you think Liz was right to go after Charlie even though the authorities told her not to? Why or why not?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-6511-4

  SILENT PROTECTOR

  Copyright © 2010 by Barbara Phinney

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

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