Desperate Rescue

by Barbara Phinney

  Eli stared at the house. Selfish for wanting Phoebe free? Or selfish about Kaylee, not wanting her to change?

  Didn’t he want Kaylee to change, to accept Jesus as her personal savior? Why would he not want that?

  Why?

  Because if she accepted Christ, you’d have to admit something you’re not prepared to admit, an inner voice whispered. Something about how you feel about her? Right now, you can keep her at bay, can’t you?

  Eli scrubbed his face one more time, hoping to scour away the disturbing thoughts. Oh, Lord, do something. Now.

  He looked up, bringing Kaylee’s small bungalow into focus.

  All of a sudden, her home blew apart.

  SIXTEEN

  Unlike in the woods surrounding the compound, Eli froze.

  He gaped at the house as the back portion of it exploded, sending a small fireball into the darkness. Brilliant flames shot into the night sky.

  Kaylee! Jolted into action, he scrambled out and he tore down the street. He nearly barreled straight into Reading, who raced from the house across the street. The cop caught Eli at the midpoint and with a tackle, drove him to the ground.

  “No! Don’t go in there!”

  “Kaylee’s in there!”

  “Wait for the fire department. I just called them.”

  Lois’s front door banged open and the older woman heaved down the front steps. Reading released Eli to intercept her. Eli heard him order her into the house he’d just vacated.

  Eli leapt to his feet. The back of Kaylee’s home raged with wildfire. Be with her, Lord, please.

  He couldn’t wait for any answer. Ignoring Reading’s shouts, he tore up the driveway to her house.

  The front door flew open and Kaylee stumbled out.

  They met on the lawn. He folded her into his arms. The roar of the fire and the scream of sirens closing in on them drowned out any words she might have said.

  Kaylee tilted her head back to peer at the house. In the orange glow, he noticed the welt above her eye. And a gouge forming on her hand as she automatically touched her brow.

  He wrapped his left arm around her waist and swung his right one behind her knees to lift her up. Reading was already in the driveway when Eli reached him.

  “Is she okay?” the officer barked out.

  Eli stared down at Kaylee, his throat clamping off his breath. Then he remembered the cut on her hand. “You’re hurt.”

  “I’m fine. I was walking into the kitchen when…it simply exploded. I think I hit something and…” She blinked and shook her head. “You can put me down.”

  He set her on the sidewalk across the street from the inferno that had become her house. She tore her eyes away from that sight to ask, “How did I get here? Did you come in?”

  “I was on my way in, when you ran out your front door.”

  “Oh.” She glanced over her shoulder at her burning house, as if looking at it like it belonged to some stranger. “Wow. Look at the flames.”

  Shock, Eli thought. It hasn’t sunk in yet. He pulled her tight, tucking her in to hide her face so she couldn’t watch. The fire trucks had arrived and behind them with lights also flashing, was the ambulance. Several horrified neighbors had come out of their homes. One couple had hurried into the house Reading had used and were now taking Lois back to their home.

  A knot gripped him inside, and he jerked with the sudden pain. Kaylee had nearly died. He’d nearly lost her.

  She means a lot to you, a voice within him whispered. You deserted Phoebe. You deserted Phoebe when you should have gone after her, just to stay with Kaylee.

  She snuggled in close to him and he continued to hold her. So what next? Tell her? Tell her that she meant more to him than Phoebe and then, when all the dust settled around here and they’ve caught Noah, leave her to go and find his sister?

  He couldn’t do that to her. She had to deal with too much now. And she was just beginning to explore the faith that had been torn from her so brutally by Noah.

  She needed faith more than anything right now.

  He clenched his jaw.

  She lifted her head. Her hollow look told him the shock was wearing off. “Noah did this.”

  He fought the anger inside of him. “I know.”

  “Will they find him?”

  “If they don’t, I will. I’ll stop him.”

  Pushing him back, she pivoted to stare at the house. “Before it gets any worse?”

  Eli handed her a cool wet cloth. “Here.” Kaylee took it and set it gingerly against her forehead. It had been hours since the firefighters got the fire under control, but the welt throbbed more now, driving pain across her scalp. “Is a cut supposed to ache this much?”

  “I imagine.”

  She winced as she moved the cloth across her face, following the paramedic’s orders and to keep a cool cloth on the bruise now growing on her forehead.

  “How could he do this?” she asked, half to herself.

  Eli knew who she meant. “Noah’s evil, Kaylee. We have to stop him.” His voice cracked. “I just can’t believe I put your life at risk.”

  “Don’t start blaming yourself,” she said. “I agreed to it and Officer Reading approved the plan, too. I’m just not sure how—”

  Reading opened the door to the small interrogation room. Another man followed him in. Kaylee recognized the man from the police station in Houlton. Immediately, she felt her shoulders stiffen.

  “This is John Wilcox,” he introduced. “He’s from the Maine State Police. I called him and he asked if he could sit in while we ask you a few questions.”

  “So you think Noah blew up my house?”

  “The preliminary tests indicate that similar explosives were used in both your home and The Farm in Maine. We have no proof yet, but it’s good place to start.”

  She drilled the American with a hard look. “So you’ll believe me now when I say that Noah killed my sister?”

  “One step at a time. We’d like to find Noah Nash, first.”

  Reading sat down. Kaylee shifted her chair closer to Eli, to accommodate both men, but Wilcox remained standing.

  “I’ve been sitting in a car for the last three hours,” he explained. “I’d rather stand.”

  “Let’s go over what happened,” Reading said. “Do you feel up to telling us?”

  She nodded. “I’ll do my best. But to be honest, I’m not sure I can remember everything. It’s all pretty fuzzy and it happened so quickly.”

  Eli took her hand. “Maybe if we start talking about it, it’ll come back to you.”

  She swallowed. The three men around her waited patiently for her to start, but she couldn’t. All she could think about was Noah, trying to kill her.

  And these three men wanting to stop him.

  Confusion swirled around her. That was good, wasn’t it? It had to be done, right? And yet, she thought, peeling her hand free, this is all they want from me.

  To find Noah. Reading and this state police officer, Wilcox, she could understand. They wanted justice, to stop a madman and keep Riverline, and her, safe.

  But what about Eli?

  He wanted to find Phoebe. And he wanted revenge on Noah for taking her. He’d get it at any cost.

  Kaylee shivered.

  Eli leaned forward. “Do you need more time?”

  She bit her lip, afraid to face the hurt forming in her heart. He said he was a Christian, a man who wanted to follow his Lord, but did that include putting her life at risk? Yes, the explosion shocked him, but before that, did he really think she was expendable? Noah had considered others expendable, even Trisha. Phoebe had once said those not chosen by Noah had to die when the world ended.

  Did that attitude run in the family?

  And what about justice for Trisha?

  “I can’t.” She rocketed out of her chair and turned away from the men. “I don’t remember! I don’t know what to say!”

  Eli and Reading leaned back in their chairs and all three men let ou
t a collective sigh that bore a frustrated note.

  She spun around to glare at them. “I don’t remember, okay? It’s hard. And I keep thinking of Trisha. Noah killed her and the police didn’t do anything about it. They believed Noah over me.” She heard her voice start to rise. “How do I know you’d believe me now? Sure, you’re starting at an obvious place, Noah, but what guarantees do I have that you’ll stick with him as the main suspect? What about justice for Trisha? People think she committed suicide! That’s not fair to her.”

  Reading rose, but she caught a glimpse of Eli holding out his hand to stop him. Eli was the one who spoke. “Give us a couple of minutes, will you?”

  The two men left her alone with him. She stood staring at a small poster that listed some basic human rights in three languages. English, French and an aboriginal language she didn’t recognize. Her head hurt, she felt grimy and her stomach growled. And now the room smelled stuffy and hot.

  “Kaylee, I know where you’re coming from.”

  She turned to him. “Do you?”

  “I do. It’s frustrating when no one believes you and you know you’re right.”

  “And when has that happened to you?” she asked dryly.

  “When Noah graduated high school and was working for John, our cousin, I knew something wasn’t right. They spent a summer together doing some truck driving and when they returned, things were different with him. Noah was suddenly interested in things he hadn’t been before.”

  “Like what?”

  Eli rose. “He started to check out things like different kinds of security, weapons, even explosives. He started to talk about the military. Our father just said he was trying to decide what to do with his life. Dad wouldn’t have minded if he’d enlisted, but I knew Noah wasn’t going to take orders from anyone. However, whenever I brought the subject up, no one would believe me.”

  They were getting off-track here and Kaylee didn’t want to hear about Noah’s younger years or how he began his reign of manipulation and evil. “Eli, I appreciate what you’re trying to say here. Your parents couldn’t bring themselves to believe that Noah would go bad, but that’s not the real point here. I don’t think I can help anyone. I don’t remember what happened.”

  “You need to tell them exactly what you do remember. These men are trained to ask the right questions. They can help you.”

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  He pursed his lips. With a careful step forward, he searched her face. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

  “No.”

  “It’s about me, isn’t it?”

  She turned away.

  “Answer me, Kaylee. Is this about me?”

  Even small movements stabbed pain into her forehead so she stayed dead still. Why weren’t those painkillers working?

  “Kaylee? What’s going on?”

  She couldn’t answer him. Answering meant admitting that she cared for him and that he would hurt her when he left. And regardless of what he might say, Eli was planning to leave.

  He ran his hand over his face. “We’ve got to find Noah. You know that.”

  A hard lump formed in her throat. “I know.”

  “And you can help with that.”

  “So you can find Noah.” Inside of her swirled hot emotions—fear, anger, hurt. But she needed all those feelings to stay in check or else they’d spill out and hurt both of them.

  It took her a few minutes before she realized that Eli hadn’t said anything. She dared a painful look at him, finding that same odd, frowning expression he wore after he’d carried her off her lawn. Were the same swirls of emotions inside him? For a moment, she considered reaching forward to smooth away the frown.

  But she’d only be torturing herself further.

  “So I can find Noah, yes.” Eli finally said. “Is that it? You don’t want me to find him?” He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re not still thinking Noah’s this world’s savior, are you?”

  “No!” Her eyes widened. “I know he’s not! I know that what he thinks and what all of them think of him is wrong! He’s evil, plain and simple.” She clamped her mouth shut. Oh, did she have to spell it all out? Did he have to force her to admit that she cared for him?

  Wetting her lips, she sat down again. Eli bent his knee to come to eye level. He looked as if he wanted to say something, too, but was holding back.

  Kaylee felt her insides clench. “Say it. Tell me I’m wrong for not being more helpful to Officer Reading.”

  “You’re not wrong. You’re confused and upset and no one will blame you for not wanting to talk right now.”

  “Then what do you want to say? I know you have more than that on your mind.”

  He didn’t say anything. And she couldn’t read his answer in his eyes. Finally, he took her hands in his. “Let’s pray.”

  She wanted to tug back her fingers, but remembered the conviction Lois once mentioned. God would want her to help the police, not protect her selfish emotions.

  Before, yes, she’d felt convicted and helped Eli. Now, her house gone, her life a mess—

  As if sensing her animosity, Eli gripped her hands tighter. “Kaylee, for me, please? Let me pray. You can just listen.”

  He prayed. She watched his bowed head until guilt told her to close her own eyes. There was no sense of the peace that was supposed to come with prayer. All she could think of was how much God must hate her for the things she’d been forced to say and the things she’d eventually thought and the things she refused to do now.

  Yet, Eli’s soft words did make her feel a bit better. Still just as sad, still just as worried for what would eventually happen, but she did feel a little better.

  He lifted his head when he ended the prayer. “We’ll find Noah, I promise.”

  She freed her hands. And what then, she wondered? How long will it be before you leave? She should leave first. That way, it wouldn’t hurt as much. That way, she could stop Eli from using her as bait. And doing those things that Christians shouldn’t do.

  “Eli?”

  He glanced up at her. “Yes?”

  Claiming that she was stopping him from doing sinful things was just an excuse to cover the truth she didn’t want to admit.

  She couldn’t fool Eli. “Nothing. I—I’m ready to help now.”

  The door swung open and in walked Reading and Wilcox. Each man wore a grim expression. Reading spoke. “The fire department just called.”

  Her house was totaled, she thought. Gone, and there was no reason for her to stay. Another reason to leave Riverline. A good solid excuse this time.

  “And?” Eli prompted.

  Reading cleared his throat. “They found a body in the kitchen. It’s badly burned, not recognizable at all. But from the preliminary exam, the coroner says it was male, about the same height and weight as Noah Nash.”

  SEVENTEEN

  Relief drenched her. She heaved out a much-needed sigh and felt her shoulders droop.

  Beside her, Eli went rigid, cool. “Are you sure?”

  Reading lifted his eyebrows, his grim expression changing to uncertainty. “Not sure, yet. The coroner is taking the body down to Fredericton for an autopsy. What you can do to help prove it’s Noah is to give a sample of your DNA. We can match it, if you both have the same parents.”

  “We do. Where do I go to give a DNA sample?”

  “We’ll make the arrangements for a mouth swab.”

  “How long will it take to find out for sure?”

  Reading shrugged. “Local DNA analyses are done in Halifax. But it could take weeks to confirm it. I’ll see what I can do to speed things up.”

  Eli’s expression turned as grim as Reading’s had become. Kaylee stood. “But it’s a good chance that it was Noah, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Reading’s statement confirmed it for Kaylee. She drew in her breath. With Noah dead, there was no need for Eli to stick around. She may as well get the rest of the difficult stuff over with. It was bett
er than brooding on things that could never be. She looked at Reading. “You wanted to interview me? I’ll do my best this time.”

  They all sat down. She began. “I was sitting in my living room, flicking through the TV channels. It must have been the top of the hour because the shows were starting. That’s when I first heard a noise.”

  Reading leaned forward. “What kind of a noise?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. A clicking sort of noise, but not like the back door opening or closing. That door squeaks. This was more like electronic clicks.”

  “Where did they come from?”

  “The kitchen. I thought at first that I should call you. Or Eli.”

  Reading wore a question on his face. “You didn’t call me.”

  Eli shook his head. “You didn’t call me, either.”

  “No,” she corrected. “Then I thought that it might have been the refrigerator making noise because the back door didn’t open. I was alone. Or so I thought.”

  “What happened next?”

  She grimaced. “Someone was there in the kitchen. I think whoever it was had been hiding in the house.”

  Eli shot a frown toward Reading. Kaylee easily guessed the men’s thoughts. For the last day, they’d let it be known she’d be alone tonight. They should have cleared the house first. Was it even procedure to do so? She didn’t know. Nor did she want to point out such an obvious error in case they hadn’t done it. These men already knew what should have been done.

  Too late to be concerned about that.

  “I remember walking into the kitchen and seeing movement—” She stopped, realizing she didn’t know what happened next.

  Frustrated by the sudden gap in her memory, she sat back.

  “The electronic clicks, then—” she whispered, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her right ear.

  Eli leaned over. “You heard them again?”

  She tunneled her hair with her fingers, cringing when she brushed against the scrape on her forehead. “Arg! This is crazy.” She looked up, blankly. “I should be able to remember.”

  Eli was about to answer when Wilcox spoke. “You heard the clicks, then walked into the kitchen. Close your eyes, picture it in your head.”