The Bend

by Terri Tiffany

  She glanced around her. Would anyone help? Sweat poured down her back. A heavy cloak of fear choked her as she contemplated what the next few minutes would bring. Would he kill everyone here too? Like her school?

  “You still don’t get it!” He grabbed her shoulders, causing pain to shoot through her back. “This is the moment! Our time together! We should have died with everyone else. Now we will! No more reporters hounding you. No more running. You will be set free! I will be set free!”

  She was trapped with a maniac. “You can’t believe that. We lived for a reason. We have to find that purpose. Not this, Todd.” Her voice shook as she pleaded with him. Tried to reason with whatever reason remained in his warped brain.

  “Time’s up. Let’s go. It’s showtime, love.” He unlocked her handcuffs and gave her one final warning look.

  She would follow his instructions if it meant saving lives. But would she be able to save her own? He helped her from the truck like he might a real date. His actions sickened her. Then he hooked her arm on his and pointed then toward the church where several people still straggled in.

  Her feet would not move and more than once he had to pull up on her. As they neared the structure she focused on the cross hanging above the doorway. Please, please, God. She begged Him to hear her prayer to let someone stop this crazy man from what he was about to do. She sought the faces around her, hoping to send a message.

  Todd opened the double door. She tripped on the sill but he caught her. He put his mouth next to her ear. “Don’t blow this or everyone in here is gone.” He led her in with a crowd of people, whispering to her to keep her head down.

  She scanned the auditorium filled with children, women, and men from the community as discreetly as possible. Maybe if she screamed. No, he was so crazy he’d kill her in a second and those around them. There had to be another way.

  As he pushed her toward the middle row, she searched the pews behind her. She froze.

  Seth. Sitting in the last row. But he didn’t see her due to a crowd of people behind her.

  Todd motioned her to sit. Kate swallowed hard. She could smell her fear it was so thick. The voices around her laughed and called out to each other as they waited for Earl to start the show.

  And what a show it would be.

  Todd kept a firm grip on her arm and with the other, a grip on a briefcase he’d brought with him. If only she could signal someone. Her brain struggled to form a plan but nothing came.

  “Kate? What are you doing here?” She looked up. Seth.

  He stood at the end of the pew, glaring at her. Todd’s grip on her arm tightened. “Answer him, my darling.”

  She cleared her throat. Forced the tears in her eyes to stay put. “Hey, Seth. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been with an old friend.” She tipped her head toward Todd. “Todd. A friend from my old school.” She gave a weak smile.

  Todd stood, letting go of his hold on her to stretch out his hand. “Good to meet you. Seth, is it?”

  His acting sickened her. Seth glanced at her, confusion written all over his face, and ignored Todd’s outstretched hand. Didn’t he recognize Todd?

  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You look sick. Are you ok, Kate?”

  Her heart broke. How could she save him from her abductor? “You know me. Of course, I’m fine.” She blinked fast. Would he recognize her fear? “Seeing Todd and meeting up with him happened so fast. I dropped everything.”

  Seth’s face reddened. She knew that look. He was disgusted with her. No, she couldn’t let her life end with him angry at her. “Thanks for the notice. Have a good life.”

  “Wait, Seth.” Todd’s hand returned to her arm. “Tell Tim I won’t be back.”

  “I don’t think that decision is yours anymore.”

  “You’re right. Okay. Thanks.” She gave a slight wave of her hand. The sign for H.

  Would he remember?

  ###

  Seth worked his way to the back of the church. He wanted to curse at Kate for making him worry like he did, for acting like a fool searching for her. And now she pranced in like a princess on the arm of some guy from her past. He stared at the back of their heads. He would have to find Earl and stop the announcement. No need looking like a bigger fool.

  He pushed past a mother and three kids to get to the aisle that led up front. He couldn’t help another look at the guy by Kate’s side. Something about him pricked his memory. He stopped.

  The delivery guy from work.

  The guy he’d teased Kate about having a crush on her.

  His heart zoomed to his throat. He stepped closer to the wall, watching. Kate didn’t look like she was enjoying a reunion with an old friend. She looked like she did that day at the bowling alley. Cornered.

  Kate turned his way again. Gave another quick wave. Was it a sign?

  And then he remembered the story she told him about her grandmother. How Kate used the sign letter H for help when she found herself in a situation she couldn’t handle.

  She had given him that same signal.

  He glanced to the podium where David was sorting papers. He glanced back at Kate and her friend. If he was wrong . . . no, he wasn’t. He slid along the wall. Worked his way toward one particular area. His hand connected with cold hard metal—the solution that might save Kate.

  He pulled the fire alarm.

  CHAPTER 98

  The earsplitting shrill of the fire alarm penetrated Kate’s fear-ridden brain. Around her, men and women, crying children bolted toward the marked exits screaming fire! Todd clamped onto her waist as she struggled to rise. “There’s a fire! We need to get out.” She met his penetrating stare. His pupils had widened but his face remained calm.

  “It doesn’t matter for us. The show just got better.”

  “You’re crazy! I’m not doing what you asked. You can’t blow everyone up now. Let me go! Your plan is ruined!” She shoved at his arm but he was stronger than her. He forced her to stand and dragged her toward the front of the church where a ten foot cross stood.

  “It’s our time—with or without anyone else!” he screamed at her. “This is our destiny!” He shoved her to the floor.

  She watched in horror as Todd opened the briefcase and brought out a remote. “No! Please don’t do this! Please!” she shrieked.

  ###

  Seth was pushed with hundreds of others out the church doors into the parking lot. He shoved past men in a desperate attempt to return to Kate like a fish swimming upstream. He’d seen the crazed look in her captor’s eyes and knew he had little time to save her. He would not fail. He stepped over another woman who had fallen in her haste to get out of the building. Seth continued to push forward until David grabbed him by the shoulders.

  “You’re going the wrong direction. There’s a fire in there. Are you crazy?”

  “Get out of my way.” His chest heaved with exertion. “Kate’s in there!” He ripped David’s hands from his grasp and hurdled himself back through the doors.

  “Kate!” he shouted. “Kate!”

  He saw her. Up front at the altar. Rising from the floor.

  “Run, Kate!” She met his stare and bolted toward him.

  Todd held something in his hand high above his head, a murderous grin on his face.

  Instantly, Seth knew what Todd planned to do.

  Blow them up.

  “Noooo!” he screamed.

  The blast threw him backward.

  ###

  Hands pulled at him. Tugged him into the grass. The roaring in his ears split through his brain. His arms ached. His back felt as though it was on fire. “Are you okay?” Was that David? Yelling at him?

  Seth opened his eyes. He was surrounded by people. “Where is she?” He pushed from the ground. Struggled to rise.

  Heavy smoke filled his vision. The church. In shambles and flames. Distant sirens faded in and out of his consciousness. Where was Kate? Did she make it out? He stumbled forward while hands tried to hold h
im back. Kate. She was inside with that monster. He lunged forward again and pushed past the anxious bystanders. One side of the church still stood along with a large part of the roof.

  If there was a chance. He bent his head down and blasted into the blackened remains. His soot- filled eyes struggled to take in the chaotic scene before him. “Kate? Kate!” The sanctuary—torn apart. Pews shredded like paper. No one could have made it out alive. He tore his glance to what remained of the front. The gold cross had crashed to the floor crushing a body.

  He searched the aisles. Heard a low moan. Kate. Behind a nearby pew.

  Seth pushed as quickly as he could through the rubble.

  He dropped to his knees beside her still body. He scooped her into his arms and as he did, he heard a small gasp.

  David and a few other men met him as he reached the exit. “She’s alive!” Seth forced fresh air into his lungs. “She’s alive.”

  CHAPTER 99

  The bag of Tootsie Pops slapped Seth’s desk as they landed. He looked up with a smile tugging his lips. “Chocolate?”

  “Twelve in the entire bag. It was the best I could do.” Kate gave him a crooked grin. The bruises on her face had been artfully hidden with makeup. She couldn’t look more beautiful. Seth tore his eyes from her. Typed a few more words into his computer. Since moving to Dallas, it was all he could do to stay on top of the news.

  She rolled up a neighboring chair, her camera slung over her shoulder. “Do we have something?”

  He typed a few more sentences. Spun toward her. “I think so. Give me five and I’ll meet you in the Jeep.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Not going to let me drive yet, are you? Aren’t you excited to ride in my new car? Smells so fresh.” She inhaled and giggled. After the accident, (they preferred calling it that), she rid herself of everything that reminded her of the Bend. Even her old car.

  But then she could afford it. Finding the killer of those other girls paid a handsome reward. Seth preferred to hang onto his share. He never knew when this new job might blow apart like others.

  “Hey,” she said, shoving his arm. “Daydreaming again?”

  “Just debating if my ace photographer is up for this assignment. This cult sounds as evil as Earl’s.”

  She shrugged. “All cults are evil. Besides, I’m tired of covering everyday news. That’s why they hired us. Let’s do it.” She spun out of her chair and danced down the newsroom’s hallway while blowing kisses back to him.

  She hid her fear well. He gave her that much. When he found out she survived with only a few cuts and bruises, he’d wept harder than when his mother passed. Something about Kate stirred him. After placing her in the ambulance, he had returned to the blown-out building. The firemen had long since doused the flames and were carrying another body out on a stretcher. Todd.

  “Wait.” He flashed his palm. Flipped back the sheet. He wanted one more look at the man who tried to destroy his world. Seth held back a curse. Flipped the sheet into place. He didn’t need to see the monster’s face any more. There would be plenty to replace his.

  ###

  Kate pushed the elevator button as she waited for Seth. She strolled to the large window and watched fresh flakes float to the street below. Since moving to Dallas for the job Seth and she managed to wrangle together, she found little time to think about the events that led to her leaving the Bend.

  When she could have visitors at the hospital following the explosion, she had found Seth at her bed. “You scared me,” he said.

  “I’m sorry. I promise I won’t disappear again.” Smiling hurt, but she had tendered him her biggest grin.

  “They found the bodies of other women. I guess he practiced before you, cutting women up. Torturing them. They found a journal he kept. His father dismembered his mother after killing her. Todd wrote that cutting and torturing gave him a feeling of power. Guess his mother would not have won the mother-of-the year award from the sounds of his ramblings.”

  Kate shivered. “I almost feel sorry for him. He did me a favor though.”

  Seth’s eyebrows rose. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. Before he took me to the church, he showed me a photo of us as children. I saw auras around us even though I didn’t take the picture. But I didn’t die. My curse doesn’t always mean death. It means I might be able to help someone because of it.”

  “What if it’s gone? What if the blast knocked it out of you like when you first got it?”

  “I guess time will tell. You aren’t going to write about that part, are you?” Seth would get the long awaited credit for the bombing story but she hoped he wouldn’t share the part about her auras.

  He shook his head. “That’s between you and me. Never know when I’ll need you to use it again.”

  “What about Earl and his craziness?”

  Seth moved closer. “That’s all covered. Looks like his promoting of women is over. He might be in some deep legal trouble for nonpayment of taxes on his business. The Feds shut his place down after a little chat with me. Found out he'd stolen his father's money and there's a possibility they died with a little help from him. But it also helps that we made the front page of the NY Times.” He reached behind him. Pulled out a newspaper.

  The headline said it all. Small Town in PA Subject of Cult-like Operations.

  He had bent down and kissed her forehead before leaving the hospital.

  She thought of that one kiss as she waited for him to ride down to the street. She touched her forehead.

  “Hey, Red!”

  She looked up.

  Seth held out his hand in the familiar sign for H. A warmth exploded in her chest. If he hadn’t listened to her that night . . .

  “I gave you candy, what more do you want?” She held the elevator door open with one foot.

  Seth breezed past her. “Just testing. Never know when it might come in handy again.”

  The door rolled to a shut. The elevator lurched. She smiled at her new partner as the elevator carried them down to their next assignment.

  Thank you for purchasing this book. If you would take a moment to rate your experience with The Bend, I would appreciate it. Every review on Amazon points another reader toward my books. Amazon

  If you would like to learn more about my writing and life, please check my website.

  Penny Hope is about to find courage in places she never imagined.

  WINTERHEART

  Coming in 2018

  1

  Steam Hollow was nothing more than a dab of paint on the wall. It would never be the whole bucket. Just one more picturesque farm town in the middle of Pennsylvania. But it was home.

  Penny Hope perched on a kitchen stool with her second cup of coffee, gazing out at the neighbor's tulips. She needed that second cup. Needed this break from work and from her mundane life. Sitting, sipping, and admiring spring growth was nice, but it wasn’t getting new underwear bought. She grabbed her sweater and car keys for the short drive to Jolie’s Lingerie.

  The trip downtown took all of five minutes. Spying an open parking spot beside the Union Bank, she made a dive for it. Jolie’s was two stores up. She snapped off the radio and Dolly Parton's latest effort. Leaving the comfortable solitude of her car behind, she wished she'd stayed tucked in her warm bed, listening to Howard, the St Clair's bulldog, bark at the robins. Instead, she checked the sky for clouds and ducked into the store with her shopping plan pasted in her brain.

  Thankfully, the place wasn’t too crowded yet.

  Another shopper, her hair braided in an elaborate twist speckled through with bits of gray like Penny's, smiled in greeting as they met at the counter with their purchases. A child's toy peeked out of a weathered leather bag slumped from the woman's shoulder. The woman’s smile held mischief as she waved around a gaudy housecoat that reminded Penny of a neon sign.

  Penny blinked and gulped. Were fuchsia and chartreuse back in vogue?

  “Don’t you just love these bright colors? My grandkids a
re going to be tickled pink when they see me sashaying around the kitchen in this get-up. I saw the sale in the paper and told myself to get down here and buy something before I regret it. What did you find?”

  “Underwear.” Penny held up the plain, dozen white ones she'd chosen, wishing now she'd grabbed the hot pink ones on the far table but certain her mother would have rolled over in her grave if she had. She could tell by the woman's limp expression she wasn’t impressed with her selection either.

  The customer smiled anyway. “You never know when you’re going to be in an accident. You don’t want to be caught with holey pants, as my mother would say.” A raised eyebrow accompanied her statement.

  “Your mother sounds like mine. Full of warnings about life.”

  “That’s why I ran away to Paris when I was eighteen.” She winked. “You must live life while you can.”

  The only place she'd ever run to was her bedroom when her mother threw too many chores at her. “You're a brave woman.”

  The woman’s mouth curved into a bigger smile. Penny spied a dimple in her left cheek.

  “How about we meet for a cup of tea after we check out? I hear that new tearoom on the corner is offering a special. Two for the price of one. I’ll share with you how I got brave. I wasn’t always, you know.” She nodded toward the open doorway where a pretty teenager entered.

  The piped-in music changed to a delicate waltz as Penny envisioned this woman dancing beneath the Eiffel tower twirling in the arms of a handsome man.

  “Tea? That sounds so lovely, but unfortunately I have a ton of work to do at home.” Penny's face heated. She imagined the awkwardness they'd go through—not knowing each other— struggling to be chatty. Penny paused with another protest on her lips. Something about this adventure called to her—to throw caution to the wind. “Wait . . .Yes . . .Why not?” She laughed, feeling lighter than the scented air surrounding them in Jolie's.