Deadly Echoes (28 page)

“I forgot to fasten my seat belt,” I said. I wrapped my right hand around the belt but left my thumb sticking up. I could only do it once and prayed Jeremiah would see it. I reached over with my left hand and pointed three fingers down. I looked over to see Jeremiah staring right at me. I clicked the belt as I watched him in the side mirror as we drove away. Had he understood me? Did he realize what I was trying to say? The chances were very slim, but I had to do something. Anson didn't say anything, so I was confident he either hadn't noticed my sign, or he'd been oblivious to what it meant.

I continued to stare in the mirror as Sanctuary disappeared from sight.

“Get out of the car.”

I'd hoped we wouldn't be the only people at the mine, but it was deserted. Anson ordered Mike to drive around to the side and park in a grove of trees. It made the SUV harder to see, but the way the road curved to the mine, unless someone turned down the mine road, there was no way to see our car from the main road anyway.

Anson ordered Mike and me to stay in the car while he and Cicely got out of the backseat. I took that opportunity to pull Cicely's phone out of my pocket. I turned it on the way Paul had shown me. I was grateful to see that it worked the same way his did. Then I quickly punched in Paul's number. Mike, who saw what I was doing, kept one eye on me while watching Anson. I pressed Send and then slid the phone back into my pocket. Thankfully, Anson hadn't heard the quiet beeps when I dialed the number.

Mike and I got out of the car when Anson told us to. Then Anson held out his hand for Mike's keys. It was clear he planned
to drive the SUV back around near the mine entrance after he dealt with us. That way it would look as if Mike parked near the entrance before we all went inside.

Anson waved his gun toward the entrance. “Get in there,” he ordered.

The boards had been torn away, though I was certain Reuben had nailed the entrance shut after we were here the last time. I wondered if Anson had done it earlier while trying to make sure the mine would accomplish what he wanted. Obviously, this was the “business” he had to take care of the day he'd arrived in Sanctuary. Once we were all inside, he took a flashlight from his coat and shone it in front of us so we could see to walk. He stayed behind Mike and me, still holding on to Cicely.

The mine was musty and dank. Something skittered in the dark. Anything could be living in the shadows. Raccoons, possums, snakes. There were probably all kinds of animals that called the empty mine home.

Cicely suddenly cried out, and I swung around to see what had happened.

“She just tripped on a rock. Keep going,” Anson said gruffly.

We walked deeper into the mine, past the posts that should be supporting the ceiling. They were ancient and split. The rock overhead had already fallen in several places. It was obvious it wouldn't take much to bring it down. For the first time, I began to seriously wonder if we would make it out alive. Then I remembered the magnet.
I Am
With You.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself. My mind drifted back to the conversation Paul and I had about listening to God's voice.
Help me to
listen to you,
I prayed.
Tell me what to do
.
Peace immediately flowed through me.

We finally reached the shaft. Someone had constructed a
wooden fence around it, but just like everything else in the mine, it was falling apart.

“No one's going to believe we all fell down the shaft,” Mike said. “It's ridiculous.”

“I agree. But they will believe the girl fell down the shaft and you were trying to rescue her when the ceiling collapsed.” He walked over to an old beam that was already crumbling. “After I disable you two, my friend and I will attach a cable to this beam, then fasten it to his bumper and pull. The ceiling should cave in nicely. We pull out our cable, and it will look like a tragic accident.”

“So if we resist, what will you do, Anson?” he asked. “Shoot us? Won't that ruin your plan?”

“I'm not worried. Neither one of you will rush me, knowing the girl will surely die. You're hoping somehow you'll be saved at the last minute. People like you never give up.”

He was right. Even though I knew Mike had been involved with my parents' death, I had no doubt he was trying to keep us safe. Just like he'd decided to save Hannah and me when we were children, I knew he'd fight until the very last second to protect Cicely and me now. And so would I.

Suddenly a soft, high-pitched sound echoed in the tunnel. Horrified, I stuck my hand in my coat pocket and tried to silence Cicely's phone.

“Give that to me,” Anson yelled. “What is it?”

Fingers shaking, I lifted the phone out of my pocket. “I . . . I forgot it was there. It's Cicely's. I took it away from her—”

“Shut up!” he screamed, causing Cicely to jump.

Afraid that he might accidentally shoot her, I quickly brought him the phone. He forced Cicely to sit down on an old wooden box a few feet away and snatched the phone from my hand.

“It's on,” he said in a low voice. “Who did you call?”

“I didn't call anyone.”

He pointed the gun at Cicely and glared at me. “I said, who did you call?”

The fear on Cicely's face made me spit out, “I called Paul. He's been listening to you all this time. I'm sure he's on his way here right now.”

The rage on Anson's face crumbled, and he laughed. “You called Paul?” He shook his head. “Sorry. I've already taken care of Paul. Your deputy friend responded to an accident this morning out on a country road. But unfortunately his car went off the side of the road, down an embankment, and burst into flames. He's dead.”

“What?” My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor.

Anson looked closely at Cicely's phone. “No one's on the line, Sarah. It's almost out of power. That's why it beeped.” With one smooth flick of his wrist, he tossed the phone down the shaft. It took a while before we heard it crash and shatter. Then he took his phone out of his pocket and spoke into it. He put it up to his ear and waited. Someone obviously picked up, because he said, “You took care of that . . . problem, didn't you?” He nodded at the response. “Good. How long until you get here?” Another pause. “Okay, but make it fast.” He disconnected and slid his phone back into his pocket. “I just confirmed that your boyfriend is no longer my concern.”

At that moment, I wanted to kill Anson Bentley. I knew it wasn't right, but anger exploded inside me, making me tremble uncontrollably. I felt as if a part of me had just died, but then I looked over at Cicely. She needed me, and I didn't want to let her down. What could I do? Again, the same strange peace settled over me.

“Well, folks, my ride is on the way, so we need to get on with this.”

“Wait a minute,” Mike said. “At least you could let us say good-bye.”

Anson sighed. “I guess it's only right, but make it fast. And remember, I'm the only one with a gun.”

I got up slowly. “You might as well just shoot us, Anson, because I'm not going to allow you to throw my niece down that shaft. Surely the bullets in your gun will lead the authorities back to you. Then everything will come out.”

“If it were my gun, that might work,” he said. “Unfortunately for you, it's not. In fact, it's registered to your sister. She got it in an attempt to protect herself. The night she was killed, a friend removed it. If I have to use it, it will look like you were the one who took the gun from your sister's house, Sarah.” He sighed. “Overcome by grief, you shot your niece. Mike tried to intervene, and you killed him too. Then, full of remorse, you shot yourself.” He glared at me. “Everything was supposed to end that night, you know. After killing Hannah, I found out you'd gone into the house and removed her papers. I couldn't take the chance you'd track her murder back to me, so my friend grabbed her computer, and we torched the house so that anything else that might lead back to me would be destroyed. If you'd just left things alone, we wouldn't be here now. Now I have to clean up everything. This is all your fault.” He nodded at me. “After your untimely death, I'll send someone to your house to wipe your hard drive and remove any other evidence. All the evidence you've collected will disappear. Just like you.”

I stared at Mike. What could we do? How would we get out of this? And then I saw it. A wink. So quick I almost missed it. What did he have up his sleeve?

“Let Cicely come over here and hug her aunt,” Mike said. “Let us say good-bye. You promised.”

Anson pulled Cicely to her feet and pushed her toward us. She ran to me, and I put my arms around her. I felt something between us and looked down. Cicely was holding a gun in her hand. Trying not to react, I took it from her and put it between the folds of my coat.

Mike walked up to us. “I'm sorry,” he said. The tears in his eyes showed that whatever else he had planned, his apology was from the heart.

He hugged me, and I slipped him the gun. When he backed away, we all looked over at Anson. The next few seconds seemed as if they were in slow motion.

“Get down!” Mike yelled suddenly.

I grabbed Cicely and pulled her to the ground, covering her with my body. Two shots rang out. To my horror, Mike fell next to us, an ugly red stain spreading across his shirt. I waited for the next shot to come from Anson, but there was only silence. When I turned around I saw him lying on the ground, but he wasn't dead. He was struggling to sit up, his gun lying next to him. Without thinking I jumped to my feet and ran toward the weapon. But before I could reach it, Anson grabbed it and sat up. I stopped in my tracks and steeled myself for the bullet I knew was coming. Sure enough the sound of a gunshot echoed through the abandoned mine. But I didn't feel anything. I watched as a look of surprise spread over Anson's face and he fell backward. Not sure what had happened, I spun around and saw Paul standing a few yards away, his gun drawn. Behind him stood Jonathon, William, and Jeremiah.

Tears of relief flowed through me, and Cicely ran over and put her arms around me. I held her tight. “Mike's been shot,”
I said to Paul. He was lying so still, I was afraid he was dead. Paul ran over to check on him.

“He's alive, but we've got to get him to the hospital.” He radioed the station and requested an ambulance. Then he put his hand on the wound and pushed down. “I need to apply pressure until the ambulance gets here. We don't want him to bleed out.”

“Will he be okay?” I asked through my sobs as Cicely and I clung to each other.

Paul smiled. “Yes, I think we're all going to be just fine.”

After two days of intensive questioning by officials from the Kansas City Police Department, Paul and I were finally free to go on with our lives. We decided we were past due for our first date, so the first Friday after we returned to Sanctuary we made reservations at a wonderful pasta restaurant in Farmington. As I waited for Paul to pick me up, Janet cornered me in the living room.

“Before you leave, I have a few questions,” she said. “You haven't shared much about what happened in that mine. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”

“I . . . I do, Janet. It was just so awful that it's hard to talk about. Anson Bentley was a terrible man, but I'm not rejoicing over his death. I thought I wanted revenge, but in the end, I only felt sad. What a terrible waste of a life.” I shook my head. “The experience was so traumatic for all of us. Paul had never taken a life before, but he did it to save us. And no child should have to endure what Cicely went through.”

“Oh, Sarah,” Janet said, her voice catching. “
You
endured it. And who better to help her now? No one can guide her through this better than you.”

I stopped to think about what Janet had just said. It was true. Experiencing my parents' murders meant I could understand Cicely's pain. It was a terrible thing to share, but maybe God could bring healing out of it.

“Thanks, Janet. I hadn't really thought about it that way. Ask me whatever you want to. I'll do my best to answer your questions.”

“I understand you made a ‘help' sign to Jeremiah when you drove past him. But how did he know you were going to the mine?”

“He didn't, really. But after I made the sign, I quickly flashed an
M.
I just prayed he'd get it. Not sure what I meant, he ran after the car and watched us turn right onto the road out of town. The mine is really the only thing that way except for your clinic and some farmhouses. That's when he decided the
M
had to be for
mine.
”

“Oh, honey. You took a real chance. What if Bentley had seen you?”

“Well, he didn't. But in the end, that wasn't what saved us.”

“Are you talking about the gun?” She frowned. “Where did it come from?”

“Mike had it in his ankle holster. He figured Anson would find it, so when he went upstairs, he shoved the holster under Cicely's mattress and gave her the gun. It never occurred to Anson to check a little girl for weapons.” I smiled. “I wasn't referring to the gun, though. In the end, God used Paul to save us.”

Janet smiled. “Bentley really underestimated Paul. He assumed he was an easy target for his gorilla, but Paul took control of the situation and arrested the man Bentley sent to kill him.”

“Yes, and then Paul got a call from Evan Bakker. Not having a phone, William had gone to Evan and asked him to contact
Paul after Jeremiah told his father he thought we were in trouble. Realizing there was no way out, Bentley's partner decided to spill the beans. When Anson called to make sure Paul had been taken care of, Paul answered the phone and pretended to be Anson's partner in crime. By that time, he was already on his way to the mine.”

“So now the police will fully investigate your mom and dad's murders as well as Hannah's?”

I nodded. “Not sure how much investigating they'll need to do. They have all the answers now. Mike told them everything. The guy who was supposed to kill Paul is the same man who murdered Hannah. He's asking for a deal.”

Janet shivered. “Will the authorities really make a deal with that scumbag?”

“I don't know. If they can get everything they need from Mike, they'll have no reason to work with him. He's a terrible person, Janet. A violent drug dealer. Hannah isn't the only person he's murdered for Anson Bentley.”

Janet paused at the stove and turned around to study me. “You're glad Mike survived, aren't you?” she asked quietly.

“Yes, I am. His cowardice may have cost Hannah her life. I'll never be sure about that. But I can't hate him. He saved Hannah and me when we were children, and he tried to save Cicely and me, even putting his own life on the line.”

“Too little too late, as far as I'm concerned,” Janet huffed.

“I know. I truly believe he started out as a good man who got in over his head. I guess when that happens, it's like quicksand. Mike got in deeper and deeper, and before he knew it, he was drowning.”

Janet snorted. “You make it sound as if you know what that's like. You've always been an honest, decent person.”

I sighed. “We all have the ability to deceive ourselves, Janet. Maybe the deceit in my life didn't lead to violence, but I spent a lot of years elevating my own insecurity above my faith in God's plan for my life.”

“Burying your talents in the ground. Just like the man in the Bible.”

“Exactly.”

“I think we all do that to some extent,” Janet said. “We tell ourselves we're just being humble.”

“Maybe, but I've come to the conclusion that true humility is believing what God says about you when everything inside you screams you're
not
who He says you are.”

“And now you believe you're good enough.”

“Good enough for God. And good enough for me.”

“And what about Paul?”

I smiled. “He seems to think I'm good enough for him too. Hence our first date.”

Janet sighed. “It's about time.”

Cicely came into the kitchen. “When does Paul get here?”

She'd been traumatized by our narrow escape. Last night and the night before she'd slept in my room. I'd called Jonathon earlier in the day and asked him to visit with her. I felt having someone like Jonathon to talk to would help. He'd agreed but had insisted I come too.
“You both have emotions to work through,”
he'd said.

I had to admit he was right. Since the incident with Anson, Cicely had clung to me. Even though I'd begun to feel like a real mother, I didn't want her feelings for me to be based on one traumatic moment. We had a long way to go, but I finally felt confident that with some effort and a lot of honesty, we'd do just fine.

“Aunt Sarah,” Cicely asked softly. “What will happen to Mike?”

“Why, honey?”

“I . . . I like him. I know that he did wrong things, but I hope he gets another chance.”

“He's working with the police in Kansas City to catch some other really bad guys. Because he's trying to help them, he might not go to prison. Either he'll be put on probation, or he'll be put into something called witness protection.”

“What's witness protection?”

“It means Mike would change his name and become someone else. The authorities would move him to a different city, and he'd have a new life. That way the bad guys he turns in can't send people to hurt him.”

She considered this. “I think that sounds like a good idea. But what about his daughter?”

I looked at her in surprise. “How do you know he has a daughter?”

“He told me when he came upstairs and he asked me to take that gun. At first I said no because I was afraid of it. But he told me I reminded him of his daughter because I was so brave. That made me feel better.”

“You really were courageous,” I said. “I'm very proud of you, Cicely.”

“I'm proud of you too, Aunt Sarah. I've never known anyone as brave as you—except my mom.”

“She really was brave,” Janet said. “If it wasn't for her, Anson Bentley would have continued to hurt people and ruin lives. Your mom just wouldn't give up. Wouldn't quit fighting for what was right.”

Cicely nodded. “I know.”

I hadn't told Cicely that Anson was her father, and I didn't
intend to. At least for right now. It would be too hard for her to deal with.

“William stopped by while you were taking a nap,” Janet said. “He wanted to see how you were doing.”

“How nice of him,” I said with a smile.

“And he wanted me to tell you that he's ready for Jeremiah to learn sign language. He wondered if you'd teach him and Trina too.”

“That's wonderful. I'd be honored. We owe Jeremiah and William a lot.”

“I wonder if William will let Jeremiah and me be friends,” Cicely said.

“Let's take one step at a time,” I said. “But it might help if you went to William and apologized for getting Jeremiah in trouble.”

She nodded. “I will.” Cicely took a deep breath. “Aunt Sarah?”

“Yes?”

“I know it might seem silly to ask about this now. Everything has been so weird . . .”

I put my hand over hers. “What, Cicely? You can ask me anything.”

She frowned. “It's just . . . you know, it's December. . . .”

I caught Janet's wink and smiled. “Are you asking about Christmas?”

She cast her eyes down and nodded. “I know it's awful to bring it up.”

“Oh, honey,” I said. “It's not awful at all. It's perfectly normal, and I think we're all ready for some normal.”

Someone knocked on the front door, and Murphy began to bark. “Why don't you open the door? I think Paul has something for you.”

She got up and hurried to the living room. Janet and I fol
lowed. When Cicely swung the door open, she saw Paul standing on the front porch with a Christmas tree that was bigger than he was.

“Awesome!” Cicely said. She turned and ran over to me, throwing her arms around me. “Thank you, Aunt Sarah!”

Paul, who was trying to hold on to the tree, knocked on the outer glass door.

“I think you just closed the door on the guy with our Christmas tree,” I said, laughing.

Her eyes got big and she rushed back to open the door.

Janet came up and put her arm around my waist. “We're going to be all right.”

I nodded. “I think so too.”

As we watched Paul and Cicely struggle to bring the huge tree into the house, I silently thanked God for never leaving me. A voice inside told me that the dark echoes of the past were finally fading, and a new chapter in my life was beginning. As if he knew what I was thinking, Paul looked over at me and smiled.

I smiled back. “Awesome,” I whispered.