Desperate Rescue (9 page)

E
li stepped out from under the deck.

She sighed, sagging enough to feel relief turn her bones to jelly. Her hand went to her heart. “You scared me! I didn’t know
what
was underneath.”

The sun relented in its fight against the storm and the yard around them dulled into windy darkness.

“Sorry.”

“Why are you here?”

“To keep an eye on you.” Evenly, he surveyed the short backyard, especially where the drop off to the ravine began. “And to check the area out.”

She bit her lip. To keep an eye on her? For how long?

Her heartbeat bumped up a notch. “Is everything all right?” She wanted to ask him what he meant by his words, but what if he wasn’t staying? What if this was the last time she’d see him?

Disappointment caught in her throat, but she forced it down again. He was itinerant and Phoebe needed him. She didn’t.

She toyed with the idea of inviting him for supper, but held back. With just a minimum-wage job, she had very little in her house to feed him. She didn’t even have enough money to order in pizza.

Not a good idea, anyway, whether or not he was leaving Riverline.

She grabbed the leash still tangled around the wood. “Help me with this leash. It must belong to Lois’s dog. I’ll give it to her tomorrow.”

Without speaking, Eli stepped closer to the deck and began to untangle the leash. She watched the cuff of his jacket catch slightly on the wood. Uncertainty floated through her as she looked down through the deck boards at him. The sun tried one more brief attempt to break up the clouds and in that moment, the yellow rays turned Eli’s skin a pale color. Pale like Noah usually was, made worse by the faded blue jacket. Eli was more tanned, no doubt spending more time outside than his brother did. The weak fall sun, however, wasn’t doing him the justice he deserved.

She should really offer him something, she thought as he reached through the deck to pass her the leash.

Maybe just a cup of coffee?

She stooped to take the leash and their fingers brushed at the tips. She pulled hers back, feeling foolish that she’d even noticed it. “Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”

The sun retreated behind a bank of rain-laden clouds. The only light came from the kitchen, now casting a dull glow onto them. She waited for his answer.

A small smile tugged at his mouth, nothing like she’d seen before. So like Noah’s she had to shake off the mental image. “Would that really be a good idea?”

“It would only be a coffee. I know you want to maintain a certain decorum. Pastor Paul talks about that sometimes, but surely you can spend
some
time alone with a woman.”

He laughed and tilted his head down. She couldn’t see the expression well, especially in the encroaching darkness.

He shook his head. “Kaylee, all men are alike. Never forget that. We have our own individual standards, yes, but inside, we’re all the same.”

“You’re not the same as Noah!”

“We’re more alike than you realize. Growing up together, it wasn’t hard to see we were cut from the same cloth, as my grandmother used to say.” His smile drifted off. “She didn’t like Noah, said he was bad. But she liked me. Said I wasn’t the same.”

“You aren’t.”

“No. I
am
the same as he is. Saved, yes, but always one step from sliding into the evil that
is
Noah. Always remember that, Kaylee.”

He looked up at her and a shiver danced down her spine. So like Noah. And yet, here was Eli, the kinder, gentler brother, warning her that he was just as bad as his brother was. That kind of honesty was touching.

And true, maybe? Was she getting involved with a man who was so much like the very man who’d killed her sister?

The wind slid across him and up toward her as she remained bent down. She caught the sweet scent of gum or candy. And something else, too. The smell of cooked eggs, or matches just lit? What was it?

A strange mix of smells, it was. Sweet and yet acrid.

But the sweet smell was by far stronger. Was he chewing a fresh stick of gum?

Having caught that smell, her stomach growled. She shut her eyes briefly. She hadn’t had the stomach for junk food lately and her doctor had advised against it, but now that Eli had some…

When she opened her eyes again, he was gone.

Unnerved, Kaylee straightened slowly, the leash still dangling in her hand. The wind, supposedly warm according to the forecast, turned suddenly cold.

“Eli?”

No answer. He was gone without a goodbye. Was this for good? She hated that she didn’t know him well enough to make an educated guess.

Maybe it was best that he declined her offer to come inside. If she got involved with him, what kind of future would she have? He only wanted one thing.

And Eli had just warned her that he was as dangerous as Noah was, too. How easy would it be for her to become involved with Eli? Too easy. She’d listen to him, understand him. Be influenced by him.

She shivered and the sting of tears began again. No. Go inside. Forget them both, especially Eli.

Hastily, she retreated inside, where the small supper of a sandwich and some raw carrots waited to be prepared. She should eat. Yet she knew it was going to sit hollowly inside of her.

The rain began overnight. Kaylee awoke early to the heavy drum of it. The house creaked and groaned from the wind. It wasn’t going to be a good walk down to the gym. And with this dampness, she didn’t dare take the car and have the temperamental thing quit while she was going downhill in the rain.

The phone rang, causing her to jolt. She threw off the covers and hurried into the living room to answer it. “Hello?”

“It’s me, Jenn. I cancelled all the activities because of the rain. But I’d still like you to come in this evening to clean. I hear the rain’s supposed to let up by then or at least taper off. I’ve put a new box of detergent by the washer. We went through the last one pretty fast, but I need you to wash the jerseys. By the way, our dryer is acting up again. We’re supposed to get a new one. Be careful.”

Kaylee stifled a yawn. A day at home sounded good to her. “Thank you.”

“Hey, maybe you can get that new boyfriend of yours to come in with you,” Jenn teased.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” She cringed when she heard the chill in her voice.

Jenn seemed unaffected. “Not yet. But I’d say that could change. He’s been making himself well known around here.”

The wind slashed rain against the sliding door to the deck. Jenn let out a soft, disapproving snort. “Listen to that gust! I should go. I have a few more calls to make. Come in around five, okay?” She laughed. “And don’t forget your rubber boots, girl. You’re going to need them for the walk down here.”

“I imagine.” Hopefully, she thought, the weather will have calmed down by the time she had to leave for work.

The rain had eased, but the wind continued, shoving Kaylee down the hill toward the river. Temporary barricades warned people away from the low spots on the roads and she automatically avoided the narrow park that skirted the now fast-flowing river. Not a single soul was out, not even the curious teenagers who might defy parents’ orders to see the storm damage firsthand. A sense of waiting had descended on the downtown area.

When she reached the gym, she saw Eli pull into one of the many vacant parking spots. “I stopped by your house,” he said as he strode toward her. “I was hoping to take you to work.”

He hadn’t left. Elation plowed through her, and she found herself grinning foolishly. “No need. I had that gale to carry me down the hill,” she said, flicking her head toward the west. “But a ride home would be welcomed.”

“Uphill and against the wind, huh? I wouldn’t want to battle it.” He grinned back, so differently than the brief humorless smile he’d given her in her backyard last night. That one had felt almost smug. “I wouldn’t want you to end up in the river.”

She unlocked the door and walked inside, heading straight to the gym to survey how much cleaning she needed to do.

A layer of rainwater spread across the length of hardwood floor. She groaned. “Speaking of rivers.”

Eli came up close behind her. “Where’s it coming from?”

“The back emergency door. Thankfully, Jenn had this floor resealed this spring, but I’m still not sure that this won’t do a load of damage.”

“We’ll have to push it back out and keep it from returning.”

“Then out the side door would be best. It can drain over to the road and down the storm drains.” They walked around to it. As soon as she opened it, the wind blasted rain into the gym.

Pulling up the hood on his jacket, Eli dove out into the storm. “Where are the sandbags?” he yelled, pointing to the edge of the playground where the trees met the grass. “Over in that shed back there?”

Kaylee shook her head as she peered out. “No, that’s not used anymore. The sandbags should be lined up along the back wall. They’re going to be heavy. I’ll help you.”

“No. You start pushing this flood toward this door. I’ll manage.”

She sighed. So true. As much as she hated to admit it, the strength she had years ago was gone. She’d be more of a hindrance than a help. “Okay. We have a mop somewhere. I’ll go find it.” She shook her head, then threw Eli an apologetic look. “This is going to take a while. You don’t have to stick around. I’ll call in Jenn.”

Still outside, he put his back to the wind. “It’s all right. I want to help. You’ll need the muscle, even after Jenn gets here.”

She smiled. “Thanks. There should be at least thirty sandbags out there. The town uses them to hold down the tent they have for summer camp. Perhaps you can dam up whatever is causing this leak.”

“I’ll redirect it toward the road. You find the mops.”

Kaylee hurried down to the cleaner’s room, detouring through the women’s change room to grab the towel she kept in her locker. There weren’t many janitor supplies for the building—Jenn had allergies—but the cleaner’s room was big and held the washer and dryer used for sports clothing. Located in the older part of the center, it had a constant smell of old, stale sweat that Kaylee hadn’t yet been able to remove.

She flicked the light switch, but the room remained dark. With a quick glare at the burned-out bulb, she pushed the door open farther.

In the dim light, she located the mops, tucked in behind the dryer. “I found them!” she called over her shoulder, despite knowing that Eli probably wouldn’t hear her.

“Ow!” In the dimness, she hit the dryer base with her boot. Her rubber boots were secondhand and donated, not to mention slightly small for her feet. She smacked the base of the old machine with snug and pinched toes, and it hurt.

Why on earth was the dryer sticking out so far? Someone must have been cleaning behind it. Jenn was always after the town to replace it. They must have relented.

She leaned forward, pressing her knee against the partially open door of the dryer, all the while reaching for the mop behind it.

Something snapped at her leg. In the dimness, she caught sight of a brilliant blue arc of electricity, just as it spiked again, a jagged bolt too bright and too painful to ignore.

She stumbled backward, slipped in the puddle she’d made with her boots and fell.

Automatically, she reached for something to grab, anything to catch her before she fell to the hard cement floor.

Without thinking, she chose the dryer door.

Another bolt crackled across to her hand. Fiery pain shot up her arm and she felt her body jerk and jerk again, backward or forward, she wasn’t sure.

She felt the smack of cement against the back of her head.

Nothingness. Then, as she sucked in a needy lungful of air, she came alert with a start.

Her whole body ached. Her head throbbed hard, and when she tried to sit up, putting her hand to the slippery floor, she fell back again.

She let out a cry, half in pain and half in panic at the horror of what had happened.

She’d been electrocuted! Was she going to die? Alone, here?

Her legs shook, her arms had turned to jelly and sweat broke out on her face and back. She struggled to sit up, but just couldn’t do it.

Her whole body ached.

“Eli!” she coughed out. “Eli!”

No answer. She called again. But already her throat refused to work, her vocal cords locked in some kind of tight, shock-induced spasm of their own.

Her head swam and throbbed. Even in the half dark, she felt the room spin around her.

She sank, crumbling at the base of door.

Her thoughts battled the fog in her brain. Confusion swirled in. She was alive. She should be able to stand, right?

But her muscles refused to work. Her head pounded more, stopping another attempt.

“Eli!” she tried again. Her throat felt as if she’d swallowed a thousand needles. Panic swept through her.

When she cried out one more time, she could barely hear herself. How would Eli hear her? He was outside, dragging and stacking sandbags in the middle of a storm. The remnants of a hurricane, no less. He’d never hear her over the wind.

With a frustratingly weak smack of her hand against the cement floor, she dropped her head and felt the dizziness overwhelm her.

T
he lights flickered, then returned. Eli knew he should hurry before the power went off completely. Just as he set one of the last sandbags down, a noise cut weakly through the rain and wind.

What was that? He paused, the last sandbag in his hands, his head cocked to listen against the sounds of the storm. He’d taken longer than he thought. Someone had moved the sandbags, causing the eavestrough’s downspout to direct rainwater into the gym.

He listened again for the muffled noise. What was it? Kaylee rummaging through the cleaning closet for the mop?

He paused again. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, really, except for that one flicker of the security lights, something expected in a storm.

And the fact that Kaylee wasn’t the kind to be disorganized. A police officer friend once jokingly called a neat desk the sign of a sick mind. A workplace should be disheveled and well lived in.

Kaylee’s cleaning closet wouldn’t be disorganized. She’d only be gone a moment. And that moment had passed minutes ago.

The cry reached him again and he straightened, listening more closely, through the rain and gale in his ears. And yet, above and beyond the elements, the hairs on the back of his head stood up.

The rain eased right then, from steady downpour to drizzle. Even over it, he found it hard to hear. And somewhere down the street, a road crew started a diesel truck.

Goose bumps rose on his skin.

He stepped gingerly over the river he’d made, then, with a sense of urgency growing exponentially, he found himself racing toward the side door.

When he reached the gym, he threw a fast glance one way up then the other. “Kaylee?”

He raced into the hall. Four doors, three of which stood closed. The last one was partially open.

He galloped down there. “Kaylee!”

With the light from the hall, he could see her on the floor.

His heart leapt in his throat. “Kaylee!” He dropped to her side.

Help me, Lord. Help us both.

She looked so pale, so small, so—

No! He pressed two fingers along the soft flesh of her throat.

A pulse. A pulse! She was alive! He glanced around. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to him…except that the dryer seemed pulled out. His gaze swept up past the machine, to settle on the mop handle behind it.

Had Kaylee pulled out the dryer to reach it? Had she slipped and fallen while pulling it back?

Hastily, he scanned the scene. In the next second, he lifted Kaylee’s hand, ignoring her mild response of tugging back. Two red spots discolored the tips of her fingers, as if she’d been burned. From the dryer? He gasped, remembering that a few minutes ago, the security light outside had flickered. Had the dryer shocked her? Has she been lying here that long?

With tight lips and clenched jaw, he pulled her away from the dryer, did a quick primary survey according to his first-aid training, then, for the second time in a week, he scooped her up. And she was still far too light, far too delicate.

Lord, be with her.

In his arms, she shifted. He could feel her breath on his face as she stirred in his arms. Keeping himself steady with a wide stance, he rose.

He carried her down to the office, kicking the door open. The door slammed against a chair behind it and flung back to hit Eli’s elbow as he barreled in.

Kaylee still lay limp in his arms. As he set her down on her side, her eyes opened and she groaned.

He threw back his head and laughed. Caught by his movement, a piece of paper from the nearby desk fluttered down on her. He set it back on the desk and laughed once more.

The clouds opened again and hard pellets of rain dashed against the window across the office from him. The overhead lights flickered once, twice, before steadying.

Kaylee flopped over onto her back, opened her mouth and blinked at him through the few hairs that had fallen in her face. “Why are you laughing?” she whispered hoarsely.

He sobered and drew her into his arms. “I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“Well, I sure don’t feel that way.” She groaned and with a grimace, rolled her shoulders.

Her beautiful face. His heart leaped into his throat. Her beautiful face scrunched up into a painful grimace.

“What happened?” she asked.

He tried to focus on her scraping words, but with the drumming rain and his own heart pounding in his throat, he couldn’t manage. Finally, her words sank in.

“You don’t remember?”

She shook her head and touched it gingerly. “No.”

“I found you on the floor in front of the dryer.”

She sat up, with one hand gripping Eli’s and the other reaching for the top of the desk. That sheet of paper fluttered around with her movement, and she grabbed it and slammed it up on the desk. She winced and checked her fingers. “The dryer? I remember! I was electrocuted!”

“Shocked, actually. Electrocuted means you died by electricity.”

“Whatever.” She glanced down at her hand. “I slipped and grabbed the dryer. It gave me a shock. Whoa! I hit my head and my knee.”

“A buffet of injuries for your first aider, hmm?” He reassessed her vitals, touching her forehead with the back of his hand and rechecking her pulse and breathing.

He stood, pulling her up with him, then setting her down in one of the chairs. After that, he called 9-1-1. Over the insistent drum of heavy rain, he gave a swift rundown of what had happened. Seeing the insistent shake of her head and the pleading in her eyes, he declined the ambulance for her.

Her color was much better, thankfully. Alert now, she listened to his report to the authorities.

“Why did you call 9-1-1?” she asked when he hung up. “I’m fine.”

“You had a severe shock.”

Kaylee leaned over and rubbed her knee. She then tested the feeling in her fingertips, all that with another pained expression.

She caught his stare. “I’m fine. And on a night like this one, we should save the ambulances for real emergencies. Besides, I can’t afford one.”

“I believe there’s no charge in New Brunswick.”

“Maybe so, but I don’t want to owe you anything, thank you.”

“Why?”

“Because—” She shut her mouth, but he knew the reason. He was Noah’s brother. The sooner she was rid of him, the better.

With a bitter taste at the back of his mouth, he let the subject drop. His being there was bad enough for her.

A noise sounded at the far end. “Hello, anyone here?”

He jumped up and walked out into the hall. Officer Reading, the man he’d met in the vacant parking lot near the cul-de-sac, stood by the door.

“The dispatcher called us. We can’t let a 9-1-1 call go unanswered. What’s going on?”

Eli gave him the same rundown he’d given the dispatcher. He was actually glad that Reading had shown up. As a local in a position of authority, Reading might be able to convince Kaylee to see a doctor. Eli would take her, but he didn’t think the hard feelings that might ensue would do their relationship any good.

Relationship? Did he and Kaylee actually have one?

“I don’t need an ambulance,” she was saying, “regardless of what Eli thinks. I got a nasty jolt, yes, but I feel fine. You can tell your dispatcher that, please.”

Reading studied her, then nodded.

“I don’t understand,” Kaylee told the man after he’d finished speaking into his shoulder mike to cancel the ambulance. “I know the dryer is old, but I’ve touched it a hundred times or more. I’ve never been shocked by it.”

Reading disappeared down the hall, only to return less than a minute later.

“Was it always pulled out like that? It seems as if it’s sitting out about a foot more than it should be.”

Kaylee frowned. “Yes, it is. I had to lean over to reach for the mop.”

“What else is kept there besides the squeegee?” Reading asked.

“Not too much, just some stuff needed to tidy up the gym. A bit of vinegar for glass cleaner is the closest thing to chemicals we have here. Jenn is very sensitive to cleaning chemicals, so she insists that we only use natural products. I end up using a bit more elbow grease than I would expect. And a lot of old towels—”

She stopped speaking. Eli leaned forward. “What is it?”

“I actually slipped on the cement, thanks to these old boots and the puddle I made.” She drew in a shivery kind of breath. “I guess they saved my life.”

Eli exchanged a look with Reading. The officer spoke. “The rubber boots insulated you. And losing your balance helped you, too. You slipped away from the dryer.”

Eli wanted to remind her who had orchestrated the events, but kept quiet. In Kaylee’s mind, the Lord shouldn’t have allowed it all to happen in the first place.

She stood and walked, however stiffly, into the hall, rubbing her neck as she went. Eli and the policeman followed. At the cleaning-room door, she stared in. “Perhaps Jenn pulled out the dryer. She’s hopeful the town will buy a new one soon. This one’s old and sometimes it didn’t heat up.”

Reading stepped past her.

“Don’t touch anything,” she cautioned him. “That dryer is live.”

“I’ll be careful.” He had been bent down to peer at the dryer. Then, he strategically dropped a thin knifelike tool he’d pulled from his belt. The thing hit the floor at the same time a bright blue arc crossed from the dryer to the tip. Behind them the lights flickered. After the knife conducted the electricity, it clattered away from the dryer. With the tip of his boot, Reading pulled it closer to him and picked it up. “I’d say that dryer is quite live. Two hundred and twenty volts, with amperage to kill, I’m sure. Where’s the circuit breakers? We should turn it off.”

Kaylee told him where to find them. After several minutes and a few flickering lights, the dryer went dead.

Reading returned. “I’d say we’ve got cause for a new rec-center dryer now. That thing’s shot.” With a gingerly touch, he bounced his fingers off the top of the machine to test it. No sparks. Then, with his flashlight, he leaned over it to peer down the back.

“What do you see?” Kaylee asked.

“The rubber mat the dryer sits on is curled up here. And a few loose wires. It needs to be cleaned back here. Dust bunnies.”

“Gee, thanks,” she muttered.

“No offense was intended. Back of my dryer at home must be worse. Except I may not have as many candy wrappers in back of mine.” He stooped down to pick one up.

Candy. Eli felt the color drain from his face, but kept his expression passive and his thoughts to himself. One member of Kaylee’s church met Noah downtown here, walking distance from the store next to the center. The one that sold every piece of popular candy going. Noah had always loved candy.

“Can I take a look?” he asked the officer. Nodding, the man backed away from the dryer.

Eli took the flashlight Reading offered and peered in. He carefully surveyed the entire back of the dryer and the floor behind it. Leaning down, he wiggled the wires. They were loose and one even fell out onto the others from where it was set touching the outer case of the machine.

“We should ask Jenn if she moved this thing, and how far she went in disconnecting it,” Reading said.

Eli looked up at him. “Why would she strip the wires and loosen them enough to touch each other? Why not just unplug it?”

“Those are questions for Jenn.”

“I don’t think she’d do it,” Kaylee said. “She’s too busy to waste time fooling around in here. Would she even know what to do?”

Reading looked at her. “Her father was the town mechanic for years. Before she started to work here, she used to help him in his garage. She’d know what she was doing back there.”

“She wouldn’t loosen wires and leave them in such a hazardous way and then leave the circuit breaker on,” Eli countered. “That would be plain stupid.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions here.” Reading answered. “Everyone makes mistakes. This is a minor accident. They’re nearly all caused by stupidity.”

“Jenn’s not stupid,” Kaylee argued. “I can’t even see her doing this by accident.”

“Maybe so. The only option right now is that someone doesn’t like Jenn,” Reading countered. “We all know she can be strict when it comes to the rules here. Even my own kids have complained about her telling them off.”

Kaylee shot him an exasperated look. “Your son was kicking the volleyballs around. That’s a big nono and he knows it.”

“He got grounded for that incident.” He shrugged. “My point is that if there was foul play here, I’d suspect one of the teenagers first. My son said that they’ve started a new shop program at school about electricity. The kids may be experimenting. Has she caught the kids doing anything else wrong?”

Both Reading and Eli looked at Kaylee. She nodded. “Well, there were obscenities on the chalk-board of the women’s change room, but we don’t know who wrote them. You know the rules. Swearing isn’t allowed. There’s an automatic one-week suspension from the center.”

Reading lifted his eyebrows. “Then if this was deliberate, whoever did this was after Jenn and we were just plain fortunate that you didn’t get hurt too badly.” He peered at her. “You really should get checked out by a doctor.”

Kaylee lowered her gaze. Frustration rose in Eli. “He’s right, you know? If you won’t let us call an ambulance, I’ll take you in myself. Kaylee, you’ve been shocked and hit your head. You have to be seen by a doctor!”

She touched her head and winced. If she’d allow him to check her, he knew he’d find a goose egg there. And she’d say she couldn’t afford to take time off—not while the remnants of a hurricane flooded the gym.

Reading flicked off his flashlight, just as his radio crackled. He spoke on it briefly before looking at her again. “I’ve got to go. The road by the park is flooding. If you think of anything else that I should know, I’m going to be around all night. And,” he added, focusing his attention on Eli, “if there’s anything you think we can do to help, let me know, okay?”

With a nod, he left.

Eli heard Kaylee sigh. He could guess her thoughts. They were as easy to read as the defeated look on her face.

“I better call Jenn,” she said, walking back into the office. She looked tired, pale and ready to drop.