The Master’s Hand

by Diane Noble

  Paul came around the corner into the kitchen a moment later. Nehemiah followed, hobbling on his crutches.

  As they sat down at the table, Kate told them about her conversation with Caroline and Renee about Brother John.

  “Brother John,” Nehemiah repeated thoughtfully, then nodded, forehead furrowed. “He used to live in the mountains not far from here—though I don’t know if he’s still there now. He was quite a recluse.

  “Rose and I once talked about hiking up to his place to invite him to church, but oddly enough, no one could tell us how to get there. There’s no road, apparently. Just a footpath. We looked around and tried to find it but never did. I would see him from time to time.” He paused as if lost in thought. “He always had a heart for helping the poor, that I do remember.”

  Kate leaned forward. “That look Brother John and Davis Carr exchanged tells me they have some sort of history.” She got up to fill their coffee mugs. “We’ve got a lot of old-timers around Copper Mill...Surely someone will remember him.”

  “Joe Tucker might,” Nehemiah suggested.

  Kate smiled. “True. And I should have thought of this sooner: Joshua Parsons is a treasure-trove of historical information. He’d be the best place to start.”

  AT NINE THIRTY, Kate backed the Honda out of the garage. Nehemiah was in the passenger’s seat, and a container of frosted brownies, packed with a Ziploc bag of ice was tucked in the backseat beside Nehemiah’s crutches. The first order of business was to drive Nehemiah to the doctor’s office in Pine Ridge for a follow-up visit.

  The day was bright and sunny. Dappled shadows fell across the road as they wound along the ridge leading into town. It wasn’t a long drive, but even so, Kate marveled at the clusters of violets, yellow lilies, and mountain laurel on both sides of the road. There was something about the vines of trumpet honeysuckle that pleased her this time of year, maybe just the way it draped across stands of poplars and hemlocks.

  They arrived at the doctor’s office in record time. Kate sat in the waiting room during Nehemiah’s checkup. He was back in only fifteen minutes, still using his crutches, but looking quite healthy and pleased as punch.

  “Another week, and I can get rid of this thing,” he said, looking down at his still-wrapped foot “He says I’ll need to keep it on another week or so, get my strength back, and then I can get rid of the crutches.”

  They walked out to the car together. Kate opened the passenger door for Nehemiah and helped him get settled, then placed the crutches in the backseat beside the brownies.

  “Do you want to stop by Joshua Parsons’ with me?” Kate put the Honda in reverse and backed out of the parking space.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Nehemiah said. “I’m as enmeshed in this mystery as you are. Until this morning, I hadn’t thought of Brother John possibly being involved. I wish I’d seen the monk’s face on the Webcam. I might have been able to tell if it was Brother John.”

  They had just turned onto Pine Ridge Road leading back down the mountain when Kate noticed a white pickup pull onto the road behind her. Although she hadn’t seen any side roads or driveways, she didn’t think too much about it.

  Suddenly she heard the screech of brakes, checked her rearview mirror, and caught a glimpse of the nondescript pickup coming up rapidly from behind. Instantly she slowed down to let it pass before they came to the next curve. As the vehicle came alongside, she saw that it was fairly new—the side windows were tinted so she couldn’t see who was behind the steering wheel.

  Before she could process what was happening, the pickup jerked to the right, directly toward her.

  Nehemiah started. “Whoa! That’s gonna be a close one.”

  Instinctively, Kate slowed down and moved toward the shoulder to avoid a collision. The pickup slowed down as well and again angled to the right, this time making contact with the side of her car.

  “Hang on, Nehemiah!” Kate yelled as she slammed on the brakes.

  The car skidded off the road as the pickup sped up, screeched around a curve, and then disappeared.

  Kate looked across at Nehemiah. “Are you all right?” His face had paled considerably.

  He let out a pent-up breath. “I’m fine. But I wonder what that was all about.”

  Kate’s hands were shaking as she reached for the door handle. She rested her hand on the armrest for a moment and tried to moisten her dry lips.

  “You’re getting out?” Nehemiah looked worried. “The guy might come back.”

  “I know. That’s why I’ve got to get the car back on the road—and fast.” She reached across the space between them and patted his arm. “I just need to find a way. Please pray I can. “She tossed him her cell phone. “See if you can get a signal and call Paul.” Though she knew the area well, service was iffy at best.

  The car had kicked up a cloud of dust as it came to a halt in a shallow ditch. The particles still hung in the air, and Kate coughed as she looked for a way to get the car back on the highway. The berm above them was high, and the angle in which the car had come to a rest was awkward, but with a lot of prayer and a bit of fancy driving—which she wasn’t the best at—she’d get the Honda back on the highway and, she hoped, out of danger.

  She trotted a short distance along the side of the road to see if she might find a shallower berm, but it became higher, a steeper incline had they gone over the berm just a few yards farther up the road. She didn’t want to think what would have happened if they’d rolled off that steep incline. As it was, her knees were still weak.

  She was hurrying back to the car, when a movement in the distance caught her attention. Kate stopped and shaded her eyes, her gaze fixed on a thick stand of trees on the far side of a small meadow. At first she didn’t see anything unusual. Then she scanned the forest again. Her heart gave a little extra thud of alarm.

  There, at the forest’s edge, stood Brother John. Watching her. She couldn’t see his expression, but she sensed that he had been there awhile and possibly had seen what happened. She shivered. Why hadn’t he come to help? She’d heard both good and bad about him. Now she was leaning toward believing the bad, the crazy, the strangeness about him.

  But she had to give it a try. He was a witness. “Hello, Brother John,” she called out to him with a wave. “Did you see what happened?” She started to stride across the meadow toward him. “Will you wait?” she called, then remembering her dream, added, “I need to talk to you...about a lot of things. Please don’t leave. It’s important.”

  Kate trotted back to the Honda for her handbag, where she kept a notepad and pen.

  “Don’t bother,” Nehemiah said quietly. “He’s gone.”

  Kate glanced up from her handbag and followed his gaze.

  “He stepped into the forest the minute you came back to the car.”

  Kate slid under the steering wheel and reached for the key, still in the ignition. “I was right, wasn’t I? That was Brother John?”

  Nehemiah nodded. “Yes, it was.”

  “Were you able to reach Paul?”

  “No signal. But we’re not alone. God’s with us,” he said quietly.

  She gave him a quick grin. “You talk to Him on behalf of us both. I’ll drive.”

  She backed up as far as she dared, then adding a whispered prayer to Nehemiah’s, she gunned the accelerator to get the car up to speed, praying it would have enough power to get across the berm and onto the paved road.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kate tried to stop her knees from shaking as she drove back to Copper Mill.

  “Nice work,” Nehemiah said, shooting her a grin.

  Kate swallowed hard, still trying to calm her racing heart and quaking knees.

  “There are times when I’m certain God sent his angels to sit on the hood of the car I’m in—whether I’m a passenger or driving.” He chuckled. “More often it’s when I’m driving and not paying as much attention as I should.”

  Kate let out a deep breath; some of her pent-up tens
ion tumbled out with it. She glanced at Nehemiah, who was studying her with real concern written into the lines of his face.

  “You look pretty shaken up. Do you still want to stop by Joshua’s place?”

  “I’m okay. Really. My only concern is getting a description of the vehicle to the sheriff as soon as I get a signal for my cell phone.”

  After a minute, Nehemiah said, “I wish we could have stopped Brother John from leaving.”

  Kate nodded. “It happened so fast—first the pickup trying to force us off the road, then once we were safe, looking up and seeing Brother John standing in the shadows of the hemlocks.”

  She rounded a curve and then checked her rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t being followed. She breathed easier as they headed into a straight stretch and no one was behind them. Through the trees, they could see Copper Mill in the valley below.

  “Tell me what you remember about Brother John.”

  Nehemiah studied the road as he spoke. “When he was younger—right after I became pastor of Faith Briar—I’d run into him once in a while at the Mercantile. He was always dressed the same—worn blue jeans, flannel shirt, boots that looked like they’d been through a war. Sometimes he wore a denim jacket, sometimes not. He carried a backpack for his supplies and always wore that camouflage slouch hat over that horse’s tail. Then later I’d see him striding out of town toward the mountains. One time I was in my car and caught up with him, asked if he wanted a ride. He declined, which didn’t surprise me.”

  “Then you said he stopped coming into town?”

  Nehemiah nodded. “One day he was here, and the next he wasn’t. Because he was such a recluse, no one missed him much.” He shook his head slowly. “I haven’t thought about him in years, but now I remember that Rose and I would talk about him, wondering what had turned him into such a recluse.”

  “What did you come up with?”

  “We never figured out why he chose to live so far away from the rest of us, but Rose always thought he must have a good reason. She said there was something about his eyes that told her he was a good man.”

  They were coming into the outskirts of Copper Mill, and Kate watched for Joshua Parson’s place. She checked her rearview mirror again as she slowed the car. When she spotted Joshua’s house, she pulled into the gravel driveway and stopped to check the signal power on her cell phone. It was good.

  The first number she punched in was Faith Briar’s so she could talk to Paul. She wanted to tell him what happened, but more than that, she needed to hear the comfort of his voice.

  Millie Lovelace, the church secretary, answered the phone in her usual husky voice.

  “Is Paul in, Millie?”

  “Oh, hi, Kate. Pastor Paul is in a meeting. Do you want me to interrupt? He said he didn’t want to be disturbed...but, of course, I can make an exception for you.”

  “No, please don’t bother him. I’ll try again later.”

  Next she dialed Deputy Skip Spencer’s office number. He picked up almost before the first ring. The deputy was good-hearted, though a bit bumbling, which caused the sheriff to keep him behind the desk rather than on a case. Kate knew from experience he’d be glad for the call.

  “Deputy Spencer here.”

  “This is Kate Hanlon, Skip. I need to report something that happened a few minutes ago.”

  “You here in town?”

  “Yes, but the incident occurred while I was on the road coming back from Pine Ridge.”

  “What happened?”

  Kate gave him a brief description of the pickup, then a blow-by-blow account of what had happened and where.

  “Any witnesses?”

  She told him about Nehemiah being with her, then added, “And a man they call Brother John was standing a ways away, half hidden by the forest.”

  “I know all ’bout Brother John,” Skip said. “Doesn’t surprise me either way—that he was there or that he disappeared. That’s just the way he is—and always has been.”

  After a pause, during which Kate assumed the young deputy was taking notes, he continued. “What else can you tell me ‘bout the vehicle? Did you get a look at the driver?”

  “The windows were too dark. I couldn’t see anything or anyone.”

  “How ’bout plates?”

  “It happened too fast.”

  “But you said the vehicle passed you in the end....”

  “Yes, but by that time, I was in the ditch. I don’t think I could have seen the plate if I’d tried. The driver hit the accelerator so hard, the tires squealed as he, she, or they sped away.”

  Kate heard a tap-tap-tap through the phone. It sounded as if Skip was tapping the end of his pen or pencil on his desk. Finally he said, “Well, I’ll get the word out to the proper authorities, call the sheriff with the report, and we’ll see what we can do.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You want to come by and fill out an official report, sign it, and all? Wouldn’t take you but a few minutes.”

  “Good idea. I’ll stop by later. Meanwhile, I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.”

  “All right,” he said, “and if you think of anything else, you be sure and...” He paused, then sounding a bit sheepish, said, “I guess you covered that.”

  Sometimes Skip’s youth slipped out from behind the uniform. Picturing his red hair and freckles, Kate grinned as she restarted the car. “Yes, Deputy, I did.”

  “You drive safe now, ya hear?” His voice was gruff, as if he was trying to sound like he’d just given her a speeding ticket.

  “Yes sir, I will,” she said and winked at Nehemiah, whose expression said he’d surmised Skip’s end of the conversation.

  MOMENTS LATER, Kate parked the Honda in front of Joshua Parsons’ house, and after she helped Nehemiah out of the car and handed him his crutches, she grabbed her handbag and the container of brownies.

  They were within about ten yards of the front door when it opened and “Old Man” Parsons, as he was sometimes called, stepped out and gave them both a big grin. “To what do I owe this...,” he started in his reedy voice. Then he blinked and squinted. “Is that you, Pastor Jacobs?”

  “It is, indeed.” Nehemiah hobbled a little faster along the pathway, trying to avoid getting the crutches caught on a stepping-stone. “In the flesh,” he said.

  Joshua tottered down the front steps and gave Nehemiah a bear hug, nearly knocking him over. “Saints be praised, you’ve come to your senses and come home,” he said, then he squinted at Kate.

  “It’s good to see you too, Kate.” His eyes twinkled as he spotted the brownie container. “And what have we here?”

  “Double-fudge brownies, frosted.”

  “You know the way to a man’s heart.” His grin widened, above a stubbled chin and jaw. “Come in, come in,” he said, “I’ve still got the coffee brewin’ from breakfast. Cowboy coffee. Just boil it all day.”

  Kate and Nehemiah followed him up the steps and into a dimly lit living room filled with stacks of newspapers and books. He pulled back the curtains to allow some light to enter.

  He peered at Kate. “I’d sure like to try some of those brownies. Can I offer you two some?” He chuckled, looking pointedly at the container that Kate was still holding. He shuffled toward the kitchen. “You just set those down while I get us some plates.”

  Kate placed the brownie pan on the rickety card table and pulled up three folding chairs as he turned from the kitchen, plates and small spatula in hand, smacking his lips in anticipation.

  “Now then,” he said, after he’d swallowed his rather large second bite of brownie, “I know you didn’t just stop by to say ‘howdie,’ though I’m glad you did. Especially ’cause I didn’t make it to church last Sunday, Pastor. I tell you, we’ve missed you around these parts.” He looked at Kate. “No offense, Kate. I think mighty highly of your husband and his preachin’.”

  Kate smiled. “I understand. You all love and miss Nehemiah.”

  Nehemiah lo
oked uncomfortable with the adulation and studied his brownie for a moment before saying, “God uses us in people’s lives for as long as we’re needed. Then he leads us to someplace else, where he has others who need us. That doesn’t mean, though, that we love those we left behind any less. Or pray for them any less.”

  Joshua finished chewing another big bite of brownie. “Now then, what brought you out to see me...”He nodded toward the plates and between chews, added, “Don’t be shy. Help yourselves. Not that you aren’t always welcome, especially if you bring dessert.”

  Kate laughed as she scooped up a brownie and put it on a plate. “I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Brother John.”

  He scooped another brownie for himself, then licked the dabs of frosting from his fingers. “Brother John, eh?” he said thoughtfully. “I know who he is, but I’ve never been to his place. He’s a strange one, all right. One time I was out deer huntin’ and heard a noise in a thicket. Crept closer, wonderin’ if it was the sound of the magnificent buck I’d been tracking. Good thing I peered through the trees before shootin’. It was Brother John, sittin’ there as big as day. And you won’t believe this: He was preachin’ to some animals. And even stranger, they were looking at him like they understood what he was sayin’. There were a couple of little sparrows on the bottom limb of a hemlock, heads cocked, eyes bright. A red squirrel was on the branch just above them, and two more on branches above him, all of ’em looking at Brother John, still as a statue.” He paused to take another bite of brownie and shook his head.

  “But the craziest thing—and I know people don’t believe me when I tell ’em—but that buck with antlers bigger than I’ve ever seen in these parts was standin’ in the shade of the same tree, standin’ utterly still, starin’ at Brother John.”

  Kate leaned forward with interest. “And Brother John was talking to the animals?”

  “Preachin’ a real sermon. He was tellin’ ’em how God created them unique and magnificent and how much he loves ’em.” He paused. “Don’t that just beat all?” He looked out the window. “Some people think he’s off his rocker, but I don’t. I don’t know what it did to those animals,” he said, “but it changed me. I couldn’t kill another deer if my life depended on it.” He turned back to face them again. “And I’d only killed what I needed for food anyway. Don’t anymore, though. Just get what I need at the Faith Freezer.”