Desperate Rescue (16 page)

The smell of smoke permeated the car even before they reached Kaylee’s cul-de-sac. In the stark morning light, the house looked irreparable. Kaylee let out a soft moan.

Then they noticed the TV crew from a station that reported all the news in the Maritimes. Eli parked down the street a bit. Several neighbors hovered a safe distance away and half a dozen or so kids had gravitated closer to the camera. An elderly man was being interviewed.

“Let’s wait here. Maybe the news crew will leave without seeing us.”

“You have New York license plates, Eli.”

“But they may not notice us. Let’s pray they have enough of a story.”

“I didn’t see them last night,” Kaylee mused.

“They may have only found out this morning.”

Finally, the interview ended and the crew climbed into their van and drove off. Hulking down, Eli and Kaylee watched a tall woman with blond hair drag on her seat belt as they drove past. “I’ve seen her on TV,” Kaylee mused.

“Safe to get out now.”

The bright yellow police tape cordoned off the entire lot, and Lois’s, as well. Kaylee’s house looked as if a giant torch had crushed down on one side of it. The other half appeared normal, but Eli knew that the brick exterior would be cracked, the mortar pitted and no longer waterproof. Most likely, the house would have to be torn down.

Reading spotted them from inside the tape and after flipping up the yellow plastic, he strode toward them. “It’s not looking good inside,” he said. “A lot of water damage. There’s nothing left for you to salvage.”

Kaylee blinked. “That’s all right. I didn’t have much. My aunt has most of my stuff.” Her gaze wandered to Lois’s house. “What about hers?”

He shook his head. “We haven’t been in to look yet. Aunt Lois wanted to come by earlier, but my wife convinced her to go back to bed. Her house seems to have sustained some heat and smoke damage and my wife didn’t want her inhaling any of it.”

“Wise.”

“Her insurance-company adjuster was here earlier. He said you have a policy with him, too.”

She nodded. “I forgot completely about that. Yes, just a renter’s policy. And not for very much.”

“He said he’ll be back. I know him. He’s good at helping people. I told him where he could reach you, both at the motel and at your work.” Reading looked up at Eli. “I assume you heard about the test?”

“Yes.”

“The coroner ordered a more complete DNA analysis plus a tox screen and blood tests. We’ve fast tracked this case, so it could take as little as a day or two.”

“Do you think Noah was under the influence of drugs?”

Reading shrugged. “Possibly, or perhaps there was something medically wrong. It’s part of the autopsy. We’ve also had the explosive experts in and they’ve taken their samples, too.” He turned to Kaylee. “The building inspector’s here now. It doesn’t look good.”

Tears filled her eyes. Reading reached out to take her hand. “The guy who did this is dead, Kaylee. That’s one thing we can be thankful for. He won’t be hurting you again. And this is just a house—a house that can be replaced.”

She took back her hand and pulled her jacket closer around her. “I know. But just when I was getting my life together, this happens. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

Eli bit back his answer. This was not the time for a sermon. He’d be doing more damage than good. Instead, he offered up a silent prayer.

When another officer called Reading over, he left. Kaylee remained staring at the blackened brick and charred roof trusses. “Noah’s gone. And you’ll have to tell Phoebe.” He heard her draw in a long breath that had a shaky edge to it. “So when do you leave?”

I
must really love to torture myself,
Kaylee decided as soon as the words left her mouth. Why else would she ask Eli such a painful question?

And with Eli’s frown deepening, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to hear the answer. Her heart seemed to stall as if she stood on a precipice, both wanting and not wanting to fall over the edge.

“I’m still waiting for my investigator to get back to me with a photo.” He paused, shooting a scowl at the remains of her house. “Plus, I want to wait for the results of the DNA test.”

An excuse? she wondered. Did it matter, anyway? He was still leaving. “It was him. I can feel it. The same feeling I had at The Farm.”

His blond lashes hooded his eyes. “It’s not me I want to satisfy.”

“Phoebe? You don’t think she’ll believe you?”

“I don’t know. It’s been seven years since I saw her. And who knows what Noah’s been feeding her all that time.”

“I know. I was also feeding her lies near the end.” She shut her eyes. “But only during prayer vigils. Eli, they’re such fools. I’m glad Noah’s gone, as unchristian as that sounds. After each vigil, Phoebe used to tell me that I had such a wonderful gift. She refused to remember that I was being kept against my will.” She cringed inwardly. Was she trying to convince him that going to Phoebe was a mistake? How could she be so cruel?

“Then how did Noah convince them that you were genuine? I mean, there must have been some opposition, especially after you kept telling them you were being held against your will.”

She opened her eyes. “Remember I told you that some women asked Noah to get rid of me? Phoebe wasn’t one of them. Noah told her that I was fighting my natural gift of prophecy, and that it was the evil in me, that God was telling him to save me.”

Though the memory didn’t hurt as much now, she still found herself biting her lip as she finished. “When I got scared that he was going to hurt me, or worse, I just obeyed him, kept quiet and did my best.”

“And the opportunity to escape never arose?”

“No.” When a cool breeze drifted in, she hugged herself. “I was watched all the time. Normally, I like to be alone, so you can imagine how awful that was. Trisha pleaded with me to give the cult a try. Phoebe told me I had natural gifts and the sin in me was fighting them.

“After Noah threatened me that one time in the basement, I got really scared and tried my best to do what he said.” She stared at him. “I would cry through the prayers and Noah told everyone that was good, that it meant I was being cleansed and the truth was finally being freed.” With a wash of sudden embarrassment, she turned away.

He touched her shoulder. “Don’t say any more. I know it hurts.”

She turned, shaking her head. “Yes, it does, but you know what? It’s getting easier to talk about it. Besides, I don’t want to dwell on what’s just happened. Noah’s dead. It’s all over.”

“Kaylee, you should—”

She ignored him and kept on talking. “I figured that if I did a good job at prophesying, Noah would stop his threats. Each day that he held those prayer vigils, he’d coach me. I was terrified, not to mention hungry and tired. Sometimes, if I did a good job and didn’t mess up, he’d give me a reward, like a sandwich or something.”

The memory was humiliating, yes, but when she relived those events, like the way she wolfed down those thin sandwiches ravenously, she didn’t have to focus on the house that could have been her tomb.

Eli slid his hand down to meet hers, something she liked very much. He felt wonderfully warm. “Whatever happened there was not your fault. And if Phoebe doesn’t believe me about Noah, it won’t be your fault, either. Or mine. I just want to provide her with the irrefutable proof that he’s dead, along with the proof of what he did to you.”

He steered her to face the house. “Don’t force yourself to relive old pains because the present pain is too hard. Don’t live as a victim of your own bad circumstances. Face what’s happening. It’ll help you to deal with it. God can help you, you know? All you have to do is ask.” His fingers tightened around her hands.

She couldn’t say anything. Was he right? If God was so kind, why did He let her suffer so much in the first place? Would He really help her, if she just asked? Hadn’t she been asking before? Had she been asking for the wrong things?

Only empty silence answered. She shoved the questions aside. “You should be getting the proof you say you need, instead of helping me. I’m coping the best way I know how.”

“Do you think Phoebe will accept my word alone?”

Her heart leaped. Was he thinking of leaving right away? “No,” she answered. “No, she won’t. She believes so totally in Noah’s vision of the future and that he’s chosen by God that you won’t convince her with just your word.”

“No one ever mentioned me? Phoebe? John? Noah?”

He shouldn’t ask her that. It would hurt him too much if they talked about it. She glanced up at him, her answer obvious on her face.

He lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just thought someone might have.”

She bit her lip. “No, and I know why. Phoebe wouldn’t talk about you because you didn’t share their vision of the future. Of course, we didn’t share a lot of small talk. She would get chatty now and then, mostly in the evening during the summer, when the upstairs was hot and we’d have to open the living-room window. When I was allowed downstairs. There was no screen, so we’d keep the window open only until the mosquitoes started to come in.”

“What would she talk about?”

“Mostly she’d talk about the new world they were preparing for. There would be no bugs in it. The weather would be perfect. And there wouldn’t be any night.”

“What else would she say?”

“She said that Noah was chosen to prepare for this new world and he could choose who he wanted for it, like Peter was allowed to choose who gets into Heaven.” She gently tugged her hands free of his and rubbed her forehead, feeling another headache move in.

“Did Phoebe hurt you?”

“Only with her words. She’d say I should be honored to have been chosen. That life wasn’t just about material wealth and possessions, but about the journey we take, the way we react to trouble.”

“How did that hurt you?”

“Try to understand something. I was confused. It hurt when she suggested I was materialistic and selfish. She was always calling me selfish.”

Pain flickered over his face. She longed to know his thoughts. But sharing such intimate details would make the inevitable break that much harder. She was barely hanging on with her own pain, he didn’t want to add more to it. But was she as selfish as Phoebe accused her of being?

No, she wasn’t. Nor should she let one misguided woman tell her so. Not wanting to be hurt wasn’t being selfish.

They stood in the sunshine, the cool wind drifting the stench of charred wood and brick over their faces. To prove to herself that she wasn’t selfish, Kaylee said, “You should go as soon as you can.”

He stiffened. “Yes.”

“Go, then. Get a head start, especially if you plan to drive to Florida. Reading can send you the proof you’ll need.”

His expression changed, became more pensive. She swallowed. Oh, mercy, he was actually considering it.

Suddenly, the moment peaked, and she tore her gaze free. He
was
going to leave. He was actually planning the trip in his mind at that moment.

The cold breeze changed direction and she turned away from the house. “I should go down to the rec center. I have to work today.”

Eli didn’t answer and she didn’t steal a glance to see what he might be thinking. Instead, she walked past his car and toward the road that led into town.

And as much as it hurt her, Eli didn’t follow, nor did he call out an offer to drive her down.

It’s okay,
she told herself. She needed to walk and he realized that. It was safe for her walk alone now, and Eli would see she needed to release her nervous energy.

She picked up her pace.

As soon as she entered the rec center, she saw the boxes stacked along the wall. Hearing the door open, Jenn poked her head out of the office.

“They’re for you,” she said, indicating the boxes.

Curious, Kaylee knelt down in front of the nearest one. “What’s in them?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that some of your church members dropped them by a few minutes ago. Open them.”

Most of the sturdy boxes were scrounged from the local grocery store. She opened the biggest one. Inside was a pot set.

The next one had brand-new bedding and towels. Another had canned and dried foodstuffs. Kaylee looked up at Jenn, blankly. “For me?”

“Your church heard about the fire. Your pastor came by with Hec Haines. That was when I first found out about it. Was anyone hurt? You should have called me!”

“I’m fine, surprisingly. No smoke inhalation or burns or anything.” She wet her lips. “But there was a body found in the house.”

Jenn gasped. “Who was it?”

“Noah Nash.”

“The guy who kidnapped you? He was here? Oh, Kaylee, how awful!” She let out a much-relieved sigh. “I don’t know how you’ve managed.”

“I don’t feel like I have.”

Watching Jenn rise and carry one of the boxes into the office, Kaylee grimaced. “I should call my aunt. She’ll hear of the fire pretty soon.” The local TV crew had already come and gone. It would be reported on the noon news, something her aunt never failed to watch.

“Use the office’s phone,” Jenn invited, returning to retrieve another box.

“Thanks.” Grabbing a box, she followed her boss into the office and quickly dialed the familiar number.

Her aunt’s voice sounded wonderful, Kaylee thought. She hadn’t heard of the fire, yet, but to her credit, though, she didn’t fret and cry. She listened carefully to all the details that Kaylee gave her. Her only words were, “Come home, dear. We miss you. I ran into a few of your friends yesterday and they want to see you. They’re good friends and want to help you. We all do.”

An alluring wash of homesickness warmed her. She should go home. She should face the questions and clear up the rumors about Trisha. Maybe it was time.

And Eli? She couldn’t exactly drag him along, not with the trip to her hometown taking him farther away from Florida.

He needed to go there.

“I need to stay here a few more days to sort some things out,” she told her aunt. “I’ll call you again, okay?” After hanging up, Kaylee turned to Jenn, who was furtively poking into the boxes, obviously curious.

“What’s in the rest of them?” she asked her.

Hastily, Jenn shut the one box. “Mostly stuff you’ll need to get your life started again. One box has some clothes and another has toiletries and one even has a phone. They’ve thought of everything. How sweet!”

Tears stung Kaylee’s eyes as she dug into the boxes herself. Lois’s church cared. They were doing God’s work, like Eli had said. Not for salvation, but for love of Him. Did that mean that they were her church, too?

She slammed shut the one box. Jenn peered across at her inquiringly. “I have to find a place to stay before I can use any of this stuff,” she explained.

“Where did you stay last night? Don’t tell me you stayed up!”

Kaylee shook her head. “I went to the motel.”

“With Eli?” Jenn’s eyebrows shot up.

Despite everything, Kaylee laughed. “No! I mean, he drove me up there. I had my own room. Get your mind out of the gutter, Jenn.”

Jenn shrugged. “I didn’t mean for it to go there. It’s just that he cares for you. Everyone can see that. I was only wondering how far he’d take it. It must be hard on you, he being Noah’s brother and all. He’s got to remind you of Noah…” Her words died away and she cleared her throat. “Listen to me ramble. Sorry.”

Sobering now, Kaylee gave her boss a stern look. Yet underneath, the questions Jenn raised lingered. Did Eli care for her? Was this
thing
they were sharing getting personal for him, too? One thing she was sure of was that she no longer thought of Noah when she looked at Eli. She thought of Eli, of how much she was starting to care for him.

It wasn’t going to lead anywhere. And as a Christian, he would choose to save himself for marriage to a nice girl who shared his faith. Kaylee knew that much. Pastor Paul had delivered a message on that theme at last week’s sermon.

And Eli was sensible enough to know his time in her life was brief, only for a season. They both knew it.

But it hurt.

Thrusting away the thought, she stacked the boxes in the far corner. “Can I store these here for a few days, until I find another place?”

“Of course. And if you need any time off, just say so. In fact,” Jenn said as she rose to scoop up a candy wrapper that had drifted to the floor with the draft Kaylee created. “I can clean up for a few days. It won’t kill me. I’m planning to chase those kids out the next time I catch them in here. I think they’re sneaking in here when I have to leave the office for something. I’ve lost my scissors, papers have moved. I’m going to start supergluing everything to my desk.”

Kaylee watched her thrust her fists against her waist. Jenn took care of all the paperwork, and worked hard, but she didn’t see half the messes and mischief the teenagers got into. Perhaps she was just lightening the moment with humor. It didn’t matter. She appreciated her boss’s attempts to keep her spirits up.

“Thanks, but I’d like to work for a bit. You know, something to keep me busy? The insurance agent is supposed to call.”

“Whatever you think is best. There’s some sweeping needed in the hall.”

Kaylee started her work. The hall smelled of the candy being made next door. The smell of butter and caramel and fresh mint teased her stomach into growling. She hadn’t eaten yet today. When she first arrived in Riverline, the doctor had warned her to eat at least three light, bland meals each day, giving her a sample menu to follow. It didn’t include candy, but now, the sweet smell tempted her.

The morning and most of the afternoon flew by and Kaylee was already done most of her tasks when Eli walked in.