The Ultimatum

by Nancy Moser

  Eighteen

  “Do not be afraid of them,

  for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

  JEREMIAH 1:8

  MERRY AND KEN PULLED IN FRONT of the McFay residence and shut off the car.

  “Both vehicles are here,” Merry said.

  Ken tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel. “Wherever they've been, at least they're home now. But I still can't believe Annie and Avi would miss the pageant.”

  “Whatever it was, it must have been important,” Merry said. “All Avi could talk about was being an angel and wearing a halo.” She took a breath and put her hand on the car door. “Let's go find out what happened.”

  They got out of the car and headed up the walk. Ken retrieved the Sunday paper, tapping it against his hand for emphasis. “This is odd. It's nearly noon.”

  Merry shook her head. “Annie isn't one to sleep late, and even if they've just gotten home, you'd think they would have gotten the paper.” She looked at him. “Wouldn't you?”

  Ken looked at the house as if seeing it for the first time.

  As they went onto the front stoop, Merry felt a chill and sensed it had nothing to do with the weather. “Something isn't right.”

  Ken rang the doorbell.

  Ding-dong!

  Annie's heart stopped, then started double time. Finally, someone was here!

  She took a step from the stove toward the front—

  “Stop!” Jinko hissed and held up a hand. “Nobody move. Be perfectly quiet.”

  The doorbell rang again. Was it Merry? Please be Merry! Please see my message on the window.

  Cal glanced toward the kitchen door. Yes! The next logical step would be for Merry to come around back and peek in the glass of the kitchen door. She'd see them and then—

  Jinko must have also seen the direction of Cal's eyes because suddenly he said, “Everybody down! Get in the corner away from the window and the door.”

  Reluctantly Annie left her spot by the stove. She left the burner on. Maybe if the cheese sandwiches started to burn, and Merry saw the smoke…

  The four of them huddled on the floor in the crook of the kitchen, Jinko on the outside, his gun raised. Within a minute there was a knock on the kitchen door. Annie could imagine Merry cupping her hands against the glass, looking in. What would she see? Unfortunately, nothing unusual. If only Annie had already set the table for four—that would have looked suspicious.

  Another knock. “Annie? Cal? You in there?”

  It was Merry! Annie had the urge to cry out. Scream. That would get her attention.

  Her face must have revealed her intentions because Jinko touched the gun to her cheek and whispered, “Don't even think about it.”

  Cal took her hand and squeezed. They exchanged a look of helplessness.

  They heard Ken talking. “Maybe they went for a walk? A run?”

  “It's below freezing,” Merry said.

  “Let's get back to the car.”

  Silence. They were gone.

  That's it? They gave up so easily? Annie wanted to stay where she was forever, curl up in a ball, and let someone tell her when it was over. She was tired of thinking, of trying to find a way out. Let someone else do it for a while.

  Let Me do it.

  Gladly. God could have it with her blessing.

  Merry and Ken got back in his car, but Ken didn't start the engine.

  His action spoke volumes. All Merry said was, “I know. Me, too.”

  She leaned low and peered out the window at the McFay house. The sun hit the front windows…

  She saw drawing on the ones upstairs. “What's that in Avis window?”

  Ken looked in the direction she was pointing. “Some kids drawings. And…well…writing?”

  Merry squinted. Amid the child's doodling was some adult penmanship. M.C. Ps 140:1-2 AM.

  Ps?

  Postscript? Psst? Ps…

  Psalm! Ps was the abbreviation for the Psalms! She read the line again, the singular letters forming a message. She sucked in a breath. “Ken! There's a message up there! For me!”

  “Where?”

  Merry leaned over him. “See? M.C. stands for Merry Cavanaugh. Ps 140:1-2 is a Bible reference. And A.M. is Annie McFay. She's written me a message.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  Goose bumps took Merry's arms captive. She grabbed her Bible from the backseat and turned pages frantically. She pegged the verses with a finger and read aloud. “‘Rescue mey O Lordyfrom evil men; protect me from men of violencey who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.'” She looked up. “Rescue me. Evil men! It's a call for help!” She looked at the house. “Someone has them hostage!”

  Ken stared at the house, his head shaking. “I may be a cop, but come on, this is Steadfast, Kansas. People aren't held hostage here.”

  Merry bit her fingernail. The entire scenario flew in the face of the it-can't-happen-here, it-can't-happen-to-me philosophy.

  But what if it was true? She read the verse again but was interrupted when another car pulled to the curb and parked directly across the street from them. It was Bailey.

  He saw her and got out. Ken rolled down his window. “Bailey, get in.” He motioned to the backseat.

  “What?”

  “Get in!” Merry added.

  He did as he was told. “What's going on? You look like you're going to burst.”

  She turned around to face him. “We think someone is holding the McFays hostage.”

  Bailey laughed. “What are you talking about?”

  She told him the entire story. The phone calls, the pageant, knocking on the door, the cars being home, the newspaper, and finally, the message on the window.

  At the end of her recitation, Bailey fell back against the seat. “They're in there now?”

  “I believe so.”

  He sat quietly a moment. “Why didn't Annie just write ‘Help!’ on the window?”

  Ken took over. “She'd be afraid the men would see it and get angry.”

  Merry pointed to the window. “The way she did it is brilliant.”

  “But how did she know you'd come by?”

  “She didn't. But she had a good idea I would when they didn't show up at the pageant.” She thought of something. “Why are you here?”

  Bailey looked at Ken, then away. “I wanted to talk to Cal about something.”

  Ken mouthed a word to her: Jered. Suddenly, Merry remembered. “Jered! Oh, Bailey, I'm so sorry. I saw it in the paper this morning, but with all this… Do you really think he's involved in burglaries?”

  Bailey picked a piece of lint off the car seat. “I don't want to think about it.” He waved a hand in front of his face, as if that could handily wipe the reality away. “So. What do we do about this? About here. Now.”

  Ken started the car. “I'll go call it in. Get some help out here.”

  “Isn't that a bit drastic?” Bailey asked.

  “Maybe. But I'd rather feel foolish and find them sleeping in than ignore it and have someone get hurt.”

  Merry nodded. “Poor Avi. She must be so scared.”

  Just as Bailey couldn't think about Jered being involved with bad men, Merry couldn't think about Avi being held captive by one. Or some.

  There were too many unknowns. Ken pulled away. It was time to get some answers.

  “Jered, go check out front and see if the busybody is gone—and don't let yourself be seen.”

  Duh. Jered moved to the front of the house, hugging the walls of the hallway. The front door didn't have a window, but he tried the peephole. He hoped he wouldn't find someone looking back at him.

  He didn't. But what he saw was almost worse. Directly across the street was his father's car, but it was empty.

  He tried to see to either side of the stoop, but the peephole had its limits. He moved to the living room and carefully pulled aside one of the drapes. He didn't see anyone.

  Where was his dad? And w
hy had he come over? Did he know Jered was there?

  “Jered!” Jinko's whisper was harsh.

  Jered hurried back to the kitchen, his mind swimming.

  “Is she gone?”

  “She's gone.” He took a fresh breath and made a decision. “The coast is clear.”

  Kind of. Sort of.

  Dad? Where are you?

  Annie checked her watch. It was almost one. She wanted to cry. It had been an hour since Merry had stopped by, which meant she hadn't seen the note and help was not on its way. Though she'd managed to slip Avi some food, her daughter couldn't stay in the cubby forever. Annie wanted it over. Soon.

  Their only hope was for Jinko and Jered to get their coins and leave. Scott Wheeler was due within the hour. If Scott brought his Barber coin collection, and //”Jinko managed to take it from him quickly and cleanly, then they would get in their car and—

  Annies head whipped toward the garage. Jinkos car—the getaway car—was hidden in the garage, blocked by Cal's truck and Annies van. Even if Jinko did manage to steal the coins from Scott, he wouldn't be able to get away without more fruit-basket-upset with the cars. And she couldn't imagine Jinko giving up his Mercedes for one of their clunkers.

  She glanced at Jinko, eating his second sandwich. Did he realize this? He seemed to have everything under control, and yet, if he did, had he figured out how they were going to leave? Above everything else, she wanted them to leave.

  Suddenly, her stomach wrenched. The only safe way to buy Jinko and Jered time to escape would be to kill everyone in the house. No, that can't happen. No, Father, don't let that happen!

  Jinko looked at her. “What's wrong with you?”

  Annie couldn't show her fear. She couldn't. Calm, lord, give me calm. She actually managed a smile and turned to Jered, “Now that we have time, tell me about your music. Merry told me you want to be a composer and a performer.”

  Jered was so shocked by the question he nearly choked. “I'm working on it.

  Jinko made a harrumph sound, and Jered's stomach grabbed. He stared at him, hoping he'd interpreted the sound wrong. Jinko took a drink of coffee.

  “Don't you believe in Jered's music?” Merry asked Jinko.

  So Jered hadn't interpreted it wrong. Jinkos harrumph was a sound of contempt. Of making fun. Of unbelief. “Yeah. I want to hear too,” Jered said. “Don't you believe in my music?”

  Jinko looked up from his plate. “Watch it, kid.”

  Something swelled inside Jered that forced its way out. Maybe it was brought on by the sight of his dads car. Maybe it was brought on by the fact his name had been announced as a criminal on the evening news. “I need you to answer me. Don't you believe in my music?”

  Jinko dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “No. No, I don't.”

  Each word was a slap. “But you've been promising me a private audition with a producer. You've been setting it up.”

  “Actually, I haven t been setting it up.” He curled his fingers under and checked his nails. “You're not good enough, kid. I've heard you sing. I've heard your so-called compositions. Mediocre at best.”

  “That's rude,” Annie said.

  “Hey, the truth is often rude. But that still doesn't make it any less the truth.”

  Jered couldn't breathe. “So you've been stringing me along, pretending you were going to help me, making me help you?” What little pride he had shriveled and died. He shoved back from the table. “You've been using me!”

  “Take it down a notch, kid. You benefited, too; don't act like you didn't. You've gotten paid.”

  “I don't care about money.”

  “That's a lie.”

  “I don't care about money as much as you do, Jinko. I was helping because of the promised audition. And…I wanted you to be proud of me. The money was nice, but I don't care about it. Not really.”

  Jinko reached out, as if to touch Jered, but he pulled farther back. “Hey. Kid. I am proud of you. I've never had anyone learn as fast as you've learned. You were by far the best.”

  A puff of air could have knocked Jered over. The others. He'd known there were others. The kid who disappeared, for one. He'd known. But to hear Jinko say it…

  “They didn't have the persistence you do, kid. Nor the courage. They'd handle a few opportunities, then chicken out. Leave town. You're the only one who stayed. That's why I let you move into my house. As a reward for your loyalty. I told you that.”

  Jinko had told him that. Loyalty. Not love. Why hadn't he seen the distinction?

  Now it was too late. He was involved in a hostage situation. The cops in Eldora knew about some—if not all—of the burglaries. They'd traced his car to Jinko's. They'd said his name on TV. He was going to jail. His life was ruined. Forget the music. The dream was dead,

  Jered bolted from the room.

  Annie stared at Jinko. Though she'd known he was a thief and a wicked man, she hadn't thought he was evil. Until now. “How could you lie to that boy? How could you promise him something you weren't going to do? And now, how could you crush his dream like that?”

  Cal put a hand on her arm, trying to calm her. “Annie. Shush. This is none of our busi—”

  She pulled her arm away. “But it is our business!” The last twenty hours had taken away her ability to be subtle. She pointed toward the front of the house. “That boy is one of Steadfast's own. He's Bailey's son. You, of all people, should be defending him.”

  “I don't even know him.”

  Her voice rose. “He's a kid in trouble. You don't need to know him!” She turned to Jinko. “I want to talk to him, and I really don't care if you give me permission, but I'll ask for it anyhow. Can I go?”

  Jinko patted his gun and nodded toward Cal. “I have my insurance policy, so go for it, lady. Right the wrongs of the world. Make the little boy feel all better.”

  She found Jered on the front stair, his head in his hands. She sat sideways on the step below him, put a hand on his knee, and let it linger there until he glanced up. “I'm so sorry, Jered. Don't let him get to you.”

  Jered sniffed and looked toward the wall, wiping his eyes using the shoulder of his shirt. “I believed in him. I thought everything would be all right with him helping me. Though it's been kinda messed up, I thought he was leading me to good things. Better things.”

  “He's leading you in the opposite direction, Jered. He's working on the side of evil. He took you, an innocent boy—”

  Jered snickered. “I'm far from innocent.”

  “Agreed,” Annie said. “None of us are. But you weren't involved in bad things before, not to the depth you are now, were you?”

  “No. Never.”

  “Then he's led you astray. Evil does that. Good leads you to better your life, and to better the lives of others. Evil only looks out for itself and leads to dark places.”

  He looked at the railing. “The whole world's dark.”

  Annie realized an opening had been made. She glanced toward the kitchen and heard Cal and Jinko talking. She stood and slipped the pocket Bible from the back waistband of her jeans.

  Jered saw the Bible. “You've been carrying that around with you?

  “You never know when you might need it.” She couldn't pinpoint any particular verses but knew the gist of what they said—what she had to say now. “Listen, Jered, we often make our own hard times. God gives us free will to make choices. Some good and some bad.”

  “You got that right.”

  “Some are just dumb or misguided choices, but some are dipped in evil.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “I think Jinko is more than a misguided man. I think he's evil. He does evil.”

  “But he can be real nice—”

  “You think evil shows itself with claws and growls? It's a lot more successful when it's nice to us, doing us favors, being the essence of charm.” His eyes showed that he got the connection. “But the good thing is, even in the darkest, scariest times, even in the times when we want to kick ourselves for getting int
o such a mess, God is with us. He'll help us win against the evil, resist it. He'll lead us through. This book is the map and prayer is the vehicle.”

  “God may help you, but He won't help me.”

  She put a hand on the Bible. “That's not true. He loves you, Jered. You, Jered Manson, are a child of the Father. And He wants you to take a stand against this evil you've been associated with. He's offering you a choice.”

  Jered shook his head. “There's no way out. We're wanted by the police; Jinko's in the kitchen with a gun. You don't know what I've done. I've taken lots of things from lots of people. I know God doesn't like that. No one has to tell me that. So how can He want anything to do with me? It doesn't make sense.”

  “It may not make sense, but it's a truth—the truth. God loves you and will forgive you if you confess to Him and ask for His forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross for just that reason, for just this moment when one of His own realizes he needs Him and wants Him in his life.” She realized the verse that had dogged her sleep for days was the only one she could remember now. She found the page and showed him. “Here. This is the essence of it all. Read it.”

  Jered held the Bible. His reading voice revealed more intelligence than his previous actions. ‘“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’” He looked up. “Eternal life?”

  “Up in heaven. There is more than this life, Jered. It doesn't end here. But it can start here.” Annie was a little nervous but decided to go the final step. “Are you that person, Jered? Do you realize how much you need Him and His forgiveness? Do you want Him in your life forever and ever?”

  Jered angled away from her. He bit his lower lip. Then his face crumpled. Tears came but he didn't wipe them away. “I…I want everything to change. I want things to be better. I want to be better. I'm tired of my old life. I want to start over.”

  She put a hand on his head. “Oh, Jered. Jesus is the King of starting over.”

  Jered covered his face with his hands and cried. Annie got on the step next to him and took him in her arms. It was a good start. A very good start.

  Where are they?

  Cal kept looking toward the front of the house where Annie and Jered had gone. He didn't like being alone with Jinko. Not that his wife could protect him from this man, but somehow her mere presence seemed to calm things. Why was that?