And Then Came A Lion (Lions and Lambs Book 1) (19 page)

***

The following Sunday came as quickly as the last, but this time the butterflies in her stomach didn’t make her ill.

She analyzed her reflection in the full-length mirror.

“Buddy, what do you think? Does this look okay?”

Buddy wagged his tail.

Bending down she ruffled his ears. “You always like anything I say or do, except when I limit your cookies.”

She didn’t think to ask how to dress. Surely, it wouldn’t be anything special, just a casual dinner. In which case the sundress, without heels, just dressy sandals, would be perfect regardless of where they went, right? She slumped down onto the bed. Who was she kidding? There was so much more at stake besides whether she was dressed appropriately or not. Somehow, she had to convince this man that his logical, scientific world wasn’t the only reality. Other worlds intersected, interacted, and influenced theirs, realms few recognized and fewer wanted to accept. She wouldn’t have, except for recent experiences. For some, seeing is believing, and rarely would they believe without seeing. So, how was she supposed to convince anyone using only words?

The mantle clock in the den struck the hour and set the butterflies in her stomach off on a new migration.

She looked at the woman in the mirror. “Okay, just stop now. You are not a giddy teenager. You are a grown woman with life experience, for goodness sake. So get a grip and act like one.”

The doorbell rang.

“Oh God, I don’t know if I can do this.”

Too late to change her mind, after all, she couldn’t leave the man standing on her doorstep, could she?

Her heart skipped a beat when she opened the door. Ginny was right. She had to keep an open mind and just see where things led.

She stepped back. “Come in.”

Buddy was on him instantly.

“Buddy, get down. I’m sorry he gets overly exuberant when I have company. Can’t seem to break him of it.”

“It’s okay. I like dogs. Wish I could have one now, but my job keeps me away from home a lot, and it isn’t fair to leave a dog alone so much.”

“Understandable.”

He stood up. “Are you ready?”

Susannah nodded.

Val stepped aside and gestured for her to pass. He closed the door. “Locked?”

“I’ll just set the dead bolt with the key.”

“Good.”

Val took her arm as they descended the steps. Her heart was soaring in spite of the cautionary voice that told her to slow it down.

He opened her car door and then hurried around to the driver’s side. “I’ve made reservations at Alexander’s. I hope that was all right?”

Susannah’s heart skipped. Alexander’s was Mark’s and her favorite restaurant. But, maybe it was time to forge new memories.

“Oh, that’s fine. I love their food, and the view.”

The waiter escorted them to a table on the terrace overlooking the river and handed each a large menu. The specialty of the house was a wide assortment of Pacific fish and seafood.

“Is this table okay?” Val asked.

“Perfect.”

“Good.”

Susannah made her dinner choice and set the menu aside. “So, tell me, what lured you into police work?”

“Well, most of us do not go into law enforcement with the altruistic notion we are going to save the world. We get into it because we’re adrenaline junkies, and the work is interesting. Then in the course of doing something exciting and interesting, we get a chance to do some good.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“When officers first get into the business, they can’t believe they are getting paid to do the job. After a few years, that wears thin. The excitement is actually sporadic. Most of the time the job is grunt work, tediously following up on leads. But, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

“Well, I’m grateful there are men like you who want to be in law enforcement. Without you, our world would be in chaos.”

“Sometimes it seems we just spin our wheels. For every creep we pull off the street, it ten more fill in the gap. But, at least we stem the tide a little and save one or two lives.”

Starfish.

“Ginny tells me you are assigned to the local chapter of the National Amber Alert Coalition.”

“Yes, by presidential mandate, the Secret Service gives forensic and sometimes field expertise to local law enforcement for missing children investigations.”

“Do you ever act on Amber Alerts?”

“No. Local enforcement responds to those calls. Our crime lab offers assistance with the analysis of forensic evidence and we agents are sometimes called to the crime scene to assist, but we mostly work after the fact.”

“The Amber Alert has sure saved a lot of lives.”

“Yes. The quicker officers can react, the better the chances the child will be rescued. Of course ninety-percent of the child abductions are by a non-custodial parent or other family members, and so not necessarily a direct threat to the child, in most cases.”

“It’s the stranger abductions that are the most frightening.”

“Unfortunately, those do not usually end happily. Human trafficking is escalating and becoming a real problem, even here in the Northwest, and too many people have their heads in the sand.”

“At least the Coalition is making people more aware. I see their posters in so many businesses.”

“They do make a difference. Many successful rescues happened as a result of good citizens recognizing and reporting sightings.”

“Then, there are the runaways.”

“Those are the ones most likely to end up in trafficking rings. So many of those kids just disappear without any trace.” He set his menu aside. “You seem to have quite an interest and knowledge of this.”

“Well, I have personal experience. I was assaulted.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was lucky. I lived. It breaks my heart to think of those who don’t.”

“Have you ever thought of doing something to help? Volunteer at the Coalition, or something?”

“Oh, I do I volunteer my time and a few talents.”

Was that what she was doing, volunteering time and what skills she had? She hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it fit. Some volunteered for charities, crises hotlines, or homeless shelters. She followed the guidance of a divine spirit disguised as an old Indian and ran interference for children against pedophiles, except, now that had changed. The men now snatching the kids had other motives far worse than the individual pedophile. How could she make enough of a difference against an enemy as powerful as them? 

The conversation gradually turned to happier subjects, history, outdoors, childhood antics. They lingered over the main course, then coffee, both declining dessert.

As they exited the restaurant, Val said. “We’ve got an hour or two before sundown. Feel like a walk?”

“It’s such a beautiful evening, I’d love to.”

Ten minutes later, they parked at the Finch Arboretum, sixty-five wooded acres of over six hundred varieties of trees, flowers, and shrubs.

Val opened her door, took her hand, and helped her to her feet. “I hope this is okay? I know Manitoba Park is a favorite of most, but I thought something a little less crowded would be nice.”

“This is perfect. I don’t feel like a crowd tonight either.”

“Shall we?” He indicated the trailhead.

They passed through the Walnut, the Dogwood, and the Mock Orange Groves, and paused on the bridge spanning Garden Springs Creek. Susannah flashed back to another bridge.

This time the man won’t leave.

Susannah closed her eyes. If those words were indeed a promise, she’d accept, right now, this moment, without reservations and with her whole heart.

Val took her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. Susannah glanced down and smiled. It felt so natural, like finally coming home, yes that was it, home.

They moved from the bridge back onto the path, passing through the Maple Grove and into the Ash.

Val pointed to a stone bench. “Let’s sit a moment.”

Several ducks floated on the mirrored surface of the small pond, doves dipped down for their evening drink, and a chorus of songbirds serenaded from seemingly every bush and tree. A red-gold sunset glimmered on the horizon.

Val touched her cheek, turning her face toward him. His kiss was gentle, sweet.

Susannah watched Val back out of the drive, the worst part of dating. Someone always had to leave. She locked the door and turned toward the kitchen. She listened for noises, nothing but a hollow silence. That was fine. She’d take the silence and the loneliness over other things.

The old Indian appeared. With a gesture, the walls disappeared, transporting Susannah to the parking lot of a neighborhood convenience store. A small SUV sat close to the door. A young child sat buckled in a car seat in the back, no adult. A white van pulled to the side of the building and two thugs climbed out and approached the vehicle.

The scene evaporated, leaving Susannah standing in the middle of her kitchen. She ran for her car.

At the convenience store, she parked next to the SUV and got out. She bent down and peeked in the back window. The child was asleep, probably why Mom or Dad didn’t want to take the child in with them. Bad choice.

The two thugs ambled out from the alleyway and moved down the line of parked cars.

Susannah stayed next to the SUV. The men passed on down the row. Seconds later, they peeled out of the parking lot in a small red pickup.

A woman emerged from the store with a jug of milk and a small sack. “What are you doing with my car?”

“Guarding your baby. Two thieves were scanning the parking lot, obviously looking to steal a car. I think they just stole a pickup.”

If child was their target, why steal the truck? She glanced over to the side of building. The white van was gone.

The woman eyed her suspiciously, but before she replied, a man carrying a six-pack of beer ambled out of the store, brushed by her, and stopped in front of the empty space where the truck had been.

“What the ―. Hey, who took my truck?” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

The woman with the SUV looked back at Susannah, her eyes wide with fear. “Thank you. Never, never again will I leave Cindy in the car. I just wanted to run in for a second. She’s so hard to get to sleep and I didn’t want to wake her.” The woman shook her head. “Seconds. Only seconds.”

“That’s all it takes.” Susannah walked back to her car.

Back home, she sat in the bench seat in the breakfast nook, absentmindedly rubbing Buddy’s ears. “What will I do if that happens while I’m with Val?”

Buddy wiggled his tail.

“I need to tell him soon, but I’m afraid he’ll think I’m some kind of nut and break off our relationship before it even gets started. I didn’t expect to like him this much, this soon.”

Divine promise or not, the man had a free will.

***

Susannah sat in the breakfast nook, sipping her coffee, her mind still racing over last evening’s events. She had wrangled with many different scenarios, but none seemed to solve her problem. Her cell phone rang, forcing her to get back up and retrieve it from the counter.

“Hi, Ginny. Everything okay?”

“That’s what I want to ask you. Come to the shop first this morning. I do have some displays I’d like you to set up before you go to the greenhouses, but the most important thing is inquiring minds are dying to find out what happened last night.”

Susannah groaned. “Not much to tell. We had dinner and took a walk. End of story.”

“Not good enough. Your fan club wants details. See you soon.”

Fan club? Inquiring minds? Right. Just two nosey friends. But, that wasn’t really true, was it? They wanted the same thing she did.

Rachel met her in the show room. “Ginny has tea and scones set up out back.” She paused, concern reflected in her eyes. “Did everything go all right last night?”

“Yes, I thought so.”

“Good.”

Rachel led the way to the little back patio. Ginny had a tray laid out with cups of herbal tea, and freshly made orange-cranberry scones, thinly disguised bribery.

Susannah settled into one of the rattan chairs and accepted a steaming mug.

Ginny laid a scone on a small paper plate and handed it to her. “Actually, all teasing aside, everything okay?”

“Yes. We chatted through dinner, took a walk and he took me home. There were no extraneous visitors or incidents. I didn’t mention any either. I’ll give it a little more time before I bring up that subject.”

Ginny smiled. “Well, that’s a good start, don’t you think? Given a little time, I am sure there will be an opportunity to mention the other subject. Val is a man of impeccable honor and morals. A high caliber gentleman is what Dave calls him ― one of the rare breed these days.”

“I get that impression from him, all the old fashioned chivalry. It’s kind of nice.”

Rachel nodded. “Yes, I like that too. Makes me feel special.”

Susannah said, “Yes it certainly does.”

Ginny warmed her tea, set the pot down, and leaned back. “Oh, Val can be tough. Dave told me he was nicknamed Mr. Responsibility in college. Never caroused or made trouble like the others. I understand he got into quite a bit of trouble while in high school and some cop straightened him out. That was one reason he decided to go into law enforcement.

“I guess a lot of his friends were shocked with the change. A kid barely keeping out of jail going into law enforcement. Dave doesn’t know the details, Val won’t talk about it.”

“I see. Interesting. A man with a past.”

Ginny and Rachel laughed.

Rachel set her mug down and looked closely at Susannah. “But, I think you’ve got something else on your mind. What else happened?”

“I never could keep anything from you, Rachel.” She told them about the thwarted kidnapping. “What should I do if I get one those premonitions when I’m with Val and I need to act immediately?”

Rachel answered first. “Better to tell him now. Give him a chance to understand what he’s getting into.”

Susannah winced. “That sounds bad.”

Rachel shook her head. “It isn’t bad, Susannah. You would be the first to admit your life is a little out of the norm and it will take a special kind of man to deal with it.”

Ginny added, “I think Val is the right man, but he will need the opportunity to sort it out. Trust him.”

Trust, she had been doing a lot of that lately.

***

Susannah set the bag of dirt on the greenhouse floor and fished her phone from her pocket to answer the call. Val.

“Well, good morning. How are you?”

“I’m good, Susannah, and you?”

“Perfect.” A little lie wouldn’t hurt, would it?

“Perfect?”

“Yep.”

“Good to hear someone is having a perfect day in this rather imperfect world.”

“Are you having a bad day?”

“Some days are better than others and this doesn’t happen to be one of them. However, I just wanted to call and tell you I had a wonderful time last night.”

“I did too. Thank you again for dinner and the walk.”
And the kiss
.

“It was my pleasure. I was wondering if you’d care to spend the day with me at Lake Coeur d’Alene next Saturday.”

“I’d love to. Anything special you’d like me to bring?”

“Not a thing. This is my treat.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up at nine. Oh, and I thought we’d take Buddy along.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.”

She dropped her phone back in her pocket. Four days to decide how to tell Val about the old Indian.

***

Bright light flashed in Brian’s eyes. A rough voice barked at him.

“Get your stuff. Boss wants to see you.”

Brian rolled off the cot, grabbed his duffel bag, and followed the man out into the warehouse. A white van sat in the center of the cavernous room.

“Get in.”

Brian complied.

They rolled out of the building and onto the street, turned south, and took the freeway out of town.

The big man pointed to the back of the van. “Got some snacks and drinks. Grab us a couple.” He offered his hand. “By the way, I’m Rab. Yeah, I know, odd name.” He shrugged. “Folks are German history buffs. Better than Sky or Ocean or some crap like that.”

“Right.” Brian unbuckled his seat belt and climbed into the back. He retrieved some cold drinks and a bag of trail mix from the cooler, and crawled back to his seat.

“So, where exactly are we headed?”

“The big city, Seattle. Looks like your stint in the small town is over. Big Boss understands you have certain skills he can use.”

“I see.”

“Couple of things. In the Boss’s presence, you call him Ba’al.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, something to do with his religion.”

“Religion?

“Not what you think. This is some African thing. Pretty powerful stuff. I suggest you don’t run afoul of the Boss.”

“Right.”

Guess he could pretend right along with the others, for surely they didn’t believe in all that hoodoo-voodoo stuff, all just the workings of a clever charlatan.

Four hours later, they pulled into a huge concrete compound. Brian whistled under his breath at the sight of all the high tech, expensive security. It would test even his considerable skills.

Another man met them. “Boss isn’t here. Take him to the barracks.”

Brian followed Rab to a low building off the right of the main structure. The interior was comprised of a maze of corridors and small rooms.

Rab lead him through several hallways until stopping and opening a door midway of yet another extensive corridor.

“This is yours. Not much on space, but comfortable. There’s a cafeteria at the end of the next hall. Meal times are posted. Snacks and drinks are always available. By the way, these are accommodations only when you are called to the compound. Otherwise you find your own lodging anywhere in the city you can afford.” He grinned. “I have my own little mansion along the river.”

He held out a small pager. “Keep this with you always, even in the shower.”

Brian took the pager. Rab nodded and continued down the hallway. Brian entered the room and closed the door.

The room was indeed small. A single bed set against one wall. A nightstand stood next to it, jammed between the bed and the opposite wall. A chair and a small desk sat near the doorway. He pushed his duffel bag under the bed and stretched out on the mattress. Within minutes, he was out.

He hadn’t slept long when he woke with the uncomfortable feeling he wasn’t alone. He flipped on the bedside lamp. The room was empty, but he heard something moving out in the hallway, not footsteps. He shook his head. Was he hallucinating? It sounded like nails or claws scraping along the concrete flooring, accompanied a by slithering sound.

He remembered Rab’s warning. Apparently, this
boss
put another whole new twist on the cliché of things that go bump in the night. 

***

Susannah stared at the computer screen. So many websites offered self-defense advice and weapons. Which was the most accurate? Which were just scams? The one she had open seemed a bit more legitimate to her untrained eye. At least the man claimed he was more concerned with safety than with making money.

As for weapons, a stun gun was out of the question. Effective, and would have been her first choice, but when the gun was fired, confetti littered the scene. Each piece held a bar code with an identifier giving the owner’s identity, address, phone number, age, sex and probably color of underwear worn at the time of use. A bit of exaggeration, but the police would have no problem tracking her down. Although she would never use the device except in self-defense, the proverbial question of, “How did you happen to be there?” would be a big issue.

And, no real gun either. That entailed a whole lot more she wasn’t prepared to address, particularly the training required to become proficient and safe using the weapon, not to mention the questions should she need to use it. No, it looked like her best option was pepper spray. Not ideal, the user could receive some backlash from residual mist, but it was better than the alternative, becoming a victim.

The website sold police-grade propellants effective up to ten, or twenty feet, depending on conditions. Of course, the further out the target, the wider the spray pattern, something to bear in mind if the victim were within range.

The spray was not safe to use indoors, too much of a chance of the user being incapacitated right along with the criminal. Instead, she have to carry one of the smaller containers for those encounters, which meant getting too close and too personal when the whole idea was to keep out of reach. So, she was back to the high-powered spray, and staying outdoors, if possible.

The man running the self-defense weapons site claimed he was an ex-cop who just wanted to help civilians feel safe, but how could she know for sure how sound his advice was?

She shut the computer off and went out to the kitchen. She paused beside the sink and stared at the coffee pot. Did she want another cup, or tea? Neither, water sounded better. She filled a glass and sat in the breakfast nook.