A woman to his right on the sidewalk spoke to him. “Can you believe this? Brother Earl said God would take care of those who broke the rules.” She shook her head.
“Some rules aren’t meant to be broken,” he said.
She sighed. “Some people need to learn the hard way.”
The Trainer took a closer look at the speaker. She was old—too old for his plan but yet she might be good practice. The woman disappeared into the crowd. His breathing evened. No, he had someone else in mind. Someone who also needed to learn about rules.
He leveled his sight on her.
CHAPTER 41
Heavy, dark smoke swept through the street burning Kate’s eyes. The crackling of the fire roared in her ears. Within minutes, the local volunteer fire department was hosing down the building, ordering the gawkers to move back. Kate found Seth at the ambulance where the paramedics still worked on Amy.
She placed a hand on his arm. Seth turned to her with a closed-up expression.
“Let’s go. I’ll drive you home,” she offered.
He pushed away from her grasp and tore through the crowd.
Kate squeezed her eyes shut.
Could she take more death? Or sadness. She opened her eyes and surveyed the people around her. Smiles. Like they were happy with the building’s demise.
And Amy’s.
She needed to get out of there before she threw up.
As she wormed her way through the tangle of people, a voice called from behind.
“Kate?”
David closed the gap between them. He tugged her into his chest with one arm. “Are you okay?”
She forced a smile although her legs were jittery and all she wanted to do was get to her car. “I’m fine. I need to get to work.”
His smile faded. “What about tonight? Are we still on?”
Tonight. The fireman’s carnival. How could he ask? Now?
“I have to cancel. My heart’s not into it.” Or you right now, she wanted to say. Instead, she gave him a lopsided grin and stepped away. Not even David could take away the gruesome reactions she’d seen from the townsfolk.
A muscle twitched in his handsome jaw.
“I’ll call you.” She spun around, pushing her way down the street to where she parked her car. Seth would be devastated if Amy died. He had feelings for the woman. A moron could tell.
She would find him.
###
He was typing at his computer when she entered the newsroom.
“I made coffee.” She heard the now-familiar chugging of the coffeemaker.
“Thanks. Can I get you a cup?” She stopped at his desk. Waited.
Seth raised his face to her. “Don’t play nurse with me, okay? Get your pictures up. I need to turn in this story for tomorrow’s paper.”
Her cheeks warmed. So much for compassion. “Sure. You’re in charge.” She straightened her spine, stalked up to the coffee bar.
Once settled into her seat, she took a sip. Strong. Almost too strong. She bet he did that on purpose.
“Any word on Amy?” Her question fell between them like a gauntlet.
“DOA. Earl is taking care of it.” He swiveled his chair toward her. “You and I will be there.” His eyes blazed with heavy emotion.
She gasped. Looked away. “I’m sorry. But I can’t attend her funeral.”
“You don’t have a choice. It’s your job. Besides, it’s our in.”
She met his gaze. “Our in?”
“Someone did this to her. I want to know who.” His words came out hard, flat, and low.
“Surely not Brother Earl? He might be crazy—but a murderer?”
Seth’s face darkened. “Give me your pictures.” He turned away, once more intent on writing his story.
Kate reached for her camera and started the download. Her breath caught as she stared at the last picture she’d taken. Seth carrying Amy in his arms.
How far would Brother Earl go to save this community?
How far would Seth go to stop him?
CHAPTER 42
The article came out on schedule but Tim made last minute changes, choosing a different heading and photo than the one Seth wanted to use. And a different cause.
REPORTER ATTEMPTS HURCULEAN EFFORT TO SAVE WOMAN FROM BURNING THEATER. GAS WATER HEATER BLAMED.
Below that, Tim used Kate’s picture of him carrying Amy through the front doors.
He’d argued with his editor but Tim’s decision proved final. Everyone loved a hero in their community.
Even if Amy died?
Some hero.
He slammed the paper onto his kitchen table. Daisy jumped off his lap, her tail twitching.
The funeral was set for two today. Great way to spend his Saturday. He raked his fingers through his hair, studied the weather through the window. Summer still barreled down on them. The humidity would be heavy. People would be packed into the funeral parlor. Even if Earl cranked up the air, the place would be stuffy.
Good excuse for him to step outside.
And nose around.
He’d almost spilled all of his information about the Bend to Kate that day in the cafe. How he was sure there was a club of men who used women like toys. Brainwashed them. Held them prisoner. If he discovered that everything he thought was true, he’d contact the New York Times. Blow them out of the water.
Then he’d pack his belongings and leave this place.
And her.
Hesitant to admit it, something about Kate drew him. He’d searched her profile online but found nothing. Zilch. It was like she had no past. No social media whatever. Highly unlikely in this day and age. He reached for his coffee, downed the remaining cold liquid.
She looked shaken when she approached him by the ambulance. More than he expected a seasoned photographer to act because of a fire or death. He scratched his day-old beard. Was she hiding something too?
Seth left his thoughts of Kate at the table and shoved off to change. He would study her reaction at the funeral today. Along with Earl’s. All he needed was one break. One woman to come forward and tell him what she knew. One disgruntled follower to shake up the group he was positive had been formed. More and more the women in the Bend dressed in similar outfits. Grew their hair long and pulled it into a bun. Teenagers were following suite. Dressing like the outside world had no influence in the Bend. A few days ago, Selma hired a guy to cart away her video machines. She wouldn’t talk when he approached. Said she had better things to do than waste her breath on a reporter.
He handed her his card.
Encouraged her to call him if she needed him.
From the corner of his eye, he watched as she tore the business card into tiny pieces, letting the shreds flutter into a nearby trash bin.
###
Seth ducked beneath the onslaught of rain as he left his car and sprinted toward Kate’s porch. He’d tried to get her to meet him at Earl’s but she insisted they ride together. Safety in numbers.
He checked the darkening clouds. It wasn’t supposed to storm but then when did forecasters ever get anything right? He rapped on the front door.
She answered on his second round.
“I’m ready,” she said, as she pulled on a light raincoat. She raced him to the Jeep, jumping in as he shut his door. “Anyone ever teach you manners?” She brushed her hair back from her cheeks with a swat.
“Such as?” He turned the key, looked over his shoulder as backed out.
She groaned. “We’re going to be early.”
“I did that on purpose. I might get a chance to look around.”
“Snoop around. Really? You think you’re going to uncover something about Brother Earl at a funeral? The best you might find is he gets a little carried away like he did at that rally.”
Seth tightened his grip on the steering wheel as they crossed a bridge covered in puddles.
“That won’t surprise me. I’m actually hoping I might talk to his wife. One of his many wives.”
&nb
sp; “I thought you said he didn’t marry them.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what I believe.”
She didn’t say another word until they drove up to the gate. It was open. Several cars filled the parking area already. “So much for early,” she said as she unbuckled.
A funeral for a stranger could bring out the whole town. Especially if Earl was going to speak. Seth was positive Earl would point out that Amy had been an outsider—bringing in unwanted devices.
Kate grabbed her purse. “Ready or not.” Her shoulders firmed.
“Are you going to be okay? You don’t look well.” The color had drained from her cheeks. Maybe he shouldn’t have pushed her to go with him. Maybe she had a fear of funerals.
A look of terror passed over her face before she spoke. “I’ll be fine. You worry about staying out of trouble.”
His thoughts teetered. “I can take you home if you want.”
“Let’s get it over.” She slammed out of the car and hurried to the front porch. Overhead a clap of thunder sounded. Seth joined her after glancing one more time around the parking lot. Two more cars had arrived. He stomped his feet and followed her through the door marked Visitors.
CHAPTER 43
Kate searched the half-full room for David. Once she was certain he wasn’t present, she allowed herself to breathe. She had ignored his calls yesterday and the day before, not ready to delve into a deeper relationship with him right now. Not after what happened to Amy. Or the way the townsfolk reacted to the disaster.
She took the lead and found two empty seats toward the back. Seth shuffled in next to her, loosening his tie as he did. Only then did she dare to look toward the front again. Dozens of pink carnations surrounded a simple coffin. The odor found her nose. She sneezed wishing she had taken an allergy pill before coming. Since her grandfather’s funeral, she harbored an aversion to enclosed spaces filled with flower arrangements. Her grandmother told her it was all in her head. It wasn’t. She hated the sight of bouquets.
“Does she have family?” she whispered to Seth who plucked at the cuff of his jacket.
“I couldn’t find any. Neither could Earl from what I was told. An only child. Her folks passed away a few years back. This was her new beginning according to friends.”
He pointed to a couple near the front. “That might be them. I’m going to ask.” He left her side and worked his way to the couple who huddled in two arm chairs nearest the coffin.
His absence gave Kate time to compose herself. She listened to the soothing music that played through the overhead speakers. Several more people converged in front of the coffin, touching the flowers, shaking their heads.
If only she could hear what they were saying. No one looked or acted particularly grieved except the couple Seth was speaking to in hushed tones. She watched how his lips twisted and he pressed his fingers against his forehead several times. Like her, he didn’t go up to the coffin, merely offering a quick glance. After a lengthy five or ten minutes, he returned to her side.
When she could no longer stand his silence, she touched his arm.
“She lost a child and husband last year.” His voice came out strangled. “In a house fire.”
Kate removed her hand. Her fingers trembled as she clutched them together. Had Amy planned her own death? No, she was starting over. They said it was a faulty gas water heater. Still, would someone try to stop her from reclaiming her life? And why?
She shushed her crazy thoughts. She was getting as paranoid as Seth.
From the back of the room, a door banged.
Followed by another clap of thunder from outside.
Kate twisted in her seat to see Brother Earl. He was working the crowd much like a politician. Shaking hands. Patting shoulders. Nodding and smiling. Smiling? Her stomach lurched. Beside her, she noticed Seth’s eyes bore into Brother Earl’s back. She should calm him but doubted she had the energy. Already her pulse raced as images from her parents’ and brother’s funeral trounced into her mind. The local funeral home had held off the spectacle in order for her to be well enough to attend.
And the reporters.
She blinked remembering the flashes of light from the photographers’ cameras.
That’s the moment she decided to become a photographer. Promising herself she would never do to others what they did to her.
Brother Earl tapped the mike. He checked his watch, took a sip of water from a paper cup behind the podium. Cleared his throat.
A flash of lightening bolted across the coffin.
Kate straightened in her chair, tugging her skirt closer to her legs.
Another flash followed by booming thunder.
“Don’t worry folks. A little storm.” Brother Earl picked up his Bible, flipped open to the middle. He set aside a bookmark.
More rumbles of thunder. Deafening.
Kate covered her ears. She hated storms. They reminded her too much of the blast.
“It’ll pass.” Seth. Trying to help.
Then the entire room flickered into darkness.
CHAPTER 44
Seth slipped into the dark foyer amidst the gasps of people around him. He hated leaving Kate alone when she was upset but what better opportunity than a power failure? He opened the front door and peered into the angry clouds. Instead of two o’clock, it was as dark as midnight.
Earl’s generator would kick on any minute. He didn’t have much time.
He left the porch and turned left following the lines of the house. He stumbled through bushes and stumps. Twice he flattened himself against the wood siding as lightening shattered around him. His clothing soon grew heavy with moisture. His shoes took in fast-rising water. How would he see anything in this sheet of driving rain?
He reached the backyard minutes later. Tearing across the expanse, he followed a path that led into a cluster of pine trees.
A metal fence identical to the one out front greeted him.
Seth glanced upward. Could he climb it? But the gate was topped with pointed spears every six inches. He slammed his fist against it—pushing his face as close to the opening as he could. In front of him he could make out the same cabins he’d seen from above. A clothesline. A wheel barrel. A child’s toy.
Then movement.
Seth slid behind a tree and watched as a woman dressed as an extra in Little House on the Prairie rushed from one cabin porch to the next.
Was that screaming?
Another round of thunder exploded over his head.
He would learn nothing more today.
Seth left the fence and raced across the backyard against a wall of rain. When he reached the corner of the building, a light flicked on. He froze.
“Thought you might need this.”
David stepped off the back porch with an umbrella over his head. “Every hero needs a little help now and then.”
###
“We must believe her death was for a reason. The good Lord would not take his child for any other purpose. And that purpose, Brothers and Sisters, is sin. Yes, sin! This woman was a scab on our community. Refusing to follow the rules. Refusing to honor those who know what’s best for the Bend.”
Kate’s chest froze. She glanced at Amy’s friends in the front row but they sat ramrod straight. How could Brother Earl speak like this at a funeral? About a woman he didn’t know? Her jaw tightened.
And where was Seth? The generator had kicked on right after he left the room. She should leave to find him. She clutched her purse and slid past the people on the end of the row.
As she did, Brother Earl stopped speaking. Kate remained still, hunched over at the end of the row.
“When we refuse to listen, we bring trouble into our lives.” His voice grew nearer.
She dared to look toward the front. Brother Earl stood three feet from her.
###
Seth took the proffered umbrella. “Thanks. But I’m not a hero.”
David tipped his head toward the gates where Seth had come fr
om. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know. If Earl caught you back here he wouldn’t be happy. Come on.” He sprinted toward the gate, punched in a few numbers and waited while they opened.
Seth followed but took his time. He wasn’t about to let David think he controlled him. Even if he was trespassing. Let him wait, although strolling in a thunderstorm didn’t make a lot of sense.
He caught up with his benefactor right as the gates closed behind them. The slight click reverberated through Seth’s chest. David ignored him and headed in the direction of the cabins. When they stood in front of the first one, he waved his hand. “You first.”
Since the storm was letting up, Seth lowered his umbrella but hung on to it. The cabin was constructed from bare wood. One story. A front door. Someone cared more about function than style when they built them. He opened the door and stepped into a dimly lit room. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw a cot, a sink, and a toilet. A counter hung from the back wall with several bowls and cups stacked on it.
It looked like a hunting cabin one might rent in the mountains.
“We rent them to people who want to get away from the rat race. Nothing fancy. Functional.”
So he agreed. Seth tapped the rocking chair that faced the only window setting the chair in motion.
“Who rents them?”
David joined him. A smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Whoever feels the need. Mostly women. Women who want to get back to basics. Earl’s wife offers classes. Those who choose to take them leave with a new sense of worth. A purpose. Their families thank us.”
He was talking crazy. What woman would want to stay in a place like this for any length of time? Seth took another glance around the dingy quarters. He might as well ask.
“Mind if I write a story about it? Human interest. Maybe interview some of the women who are here taking the course?”
David’s smile grew broader. “Now that’s a question for my brother seeing how he’s in charge. Why don’t you return to the funeral that you came here for and ask him before you leave?” He pulled the door open.
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