The Journal: Fault Line (The Journal Book 5) (13 page)

“I’ll take that as a no. You’re coming home
with us,” she stated, taking the leash from Henry. She looked at
Trevor for support, and smiled when he agreed.

***

Henry slowly ate the sandwich Christine
placed in front of him, carefully feeding bits of the crust to
Holly.

“Henry, where is everyone?” Christine
pressed.

“A few days after you left, Katie died from
massive internal injuries that no one had thought to look for. When
Joey got the news, he didn’t take it well. In fact, he went kind of
berserk in the hospital, breaking things, threatening everyone. One
of the security guards ended up shooting him. That’s when Jake
broke. He love Katie and her death weighed heavy on him, and seeing
his best friend gunned down was the last straw. He just walked out
of the hospital and hasn’t been seen since.”

“How sad. Where are Sadie and Michael?”
Christine asked.

“After Joey was shot, the uninjured were
moved out of the hospital into a tent city thrown together and run
by FEMA. We kept trying to reach our daughter, Sarah, Michael’s
mother. She was at work in St. Louis at the time of the earthquake.
We never did find her.” He paused to take a sip of juice, masking
his sob. “As a last resort, Sadie called Michael’s father in
Florida and he drove up immediately to claim his son. I always knew
Sadie was devoted to Michael, I just never realized she would leave
me to take care of him,” Henry paused, thinking of those last days.
“My son in law and I have never gotten along, so when he took
Michael, he said Sadie could go with them, but not me. And here I
am, just me and Holly, both abandoned by those we loved. Excuse
me.” He stood and moved slowly to the bathroom.

Christine looked at her new fiancé.

“Dr. Palazzola can stay with us as long as he
wants, Christine,” Trevor said. “In fact, I think it’s a good idea
to have an extra person here for security.” He looked lost in
thought for a minute. “I think there was a bag or two of dog food
at the Main Street store. It wasn’t something I would put out for
people to take. I’ll see if I can find it.” He left the house,
taking Christine’s car.

***

“Where is that nice young man of yours?”
Henry asked.

“He ran to the store to find some dog food
for Holly.” Christine took Henry’s hand in hers. “Henry, we want
you to stay here with us. You can have my dad’s bedroom, I’m sure
he won’t mind under the circumstances.” She looked at the elderly
veterinarian closely. She knew he was in his seventies, but he
seemed to have aged a great deal in a short time.

“Thank you, my dear, you’re very kind. Would
you mind if I take a short nap? It’s been an exhausting day.”
Christine led Henry to her father’s bedroom and closed the
door.

***

“That’s a big bag of dog food!” Christine
exclaimed when Trevor got home.

“Yeah, it’s bigger than I remembered, and
that’s a good thing, it’ll last longer. Oh, and look what else I
found,” he handed her a rawhide chew toy. “Where’s Henry?”

“Lying down. I think the day has overwhelmed
him.” She slid her arms around Trevor’s neck. “I know this day has
me
overwhelmed.” She kissed him long and passionately.

“Now that we have a houseguest, I’ll need to
be careful about grabbing your butt,” he said playfully.

Holly came skidding into the kitchen and
sniffed at the bag. She sat beside it and whimpered softly.

“I think that might mean she’s hungry,”
Christine got a bowl from the cupboard and put in a handful of dry
food, which Holly quickly scarfed down. Christine put a second
handful in the bowl. “My guess is she hasn’t had much to eat these
past few weeks either. Henry looks much thinner than I
remember.”

“What are you planning for dinner?” Trevor
asked, picking up the bag of kibbles and setting it in the broom
closet.

“I thought I would open some of that stew. We
can have it over noodles or rice to stretch it for three of us,
whichever Henry prefers. Then we can water down any leftovers for
Holly.” Christine ran her hand down the dog’s silky, honey colored
head. She unwrapped the rawhide bone and held it for Holly to see.
The dog promptly sat, happily accepting the chew toy.

***

“That was delightful, my dear,” Henry told
Christine, mopping up the remaining gravy with slightly stale
bread. “I never had beef stew on linguini before.”

“Yes, it was a bit unusual, but I liked it,”
Trevor added.

Christine cleared the plates and added some
water to the pot the stew was heated in. She poured the slightly
warmed mixture over another handful of kibbles for the dog.

“Holly is such a well behaved dog, Henry,”
Christine commented. “Did you have anything to do with her
training?”

“No, I didn’t. She had a special trainer.
Holly wasn’t just Katie’s service dog, Holly is a therapy dog. Do
you know what that is?”

“Not really.”

“A therapy dog is trained to provide
affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes,
disaster areas, and nursing homes,” Henry informed her. “They’re
not usually also service dogs, although they can be. Golden
Retrievers like Holly are exceptionally good because they are so
good natured and take to strangers well. Almost all institutions
recognize their value and the kerchief they wear, and allow them
into places other dogs can’t go.”

“Holly certainly is special.” Christine
stroked the dog’s head again, sending her tail wagging in glee.

***

He walked the dark streets, pausing
occasionally to push the button on the control hidden deep in his
pocket
. What an idiot that shop owner is,
he thought. The
guy didn’t even check to make sure his new employee had locked the
doors of the cars left outside. When parking the PT Cruiser, he’d
noticed the full tank of gas, and that the gas cap release was
inside the car. Not locking the car up let him come back later and
syphon out most of the gas for himself. The bonus was when he
spotted the garage door opener. That hot blonde chick was in for a
surprise… if he could find the right house.

“I think I’d like to go
to the thrift store and find Henry a warm coat,” Christine told
Trevor while their guest was in the shower. “I know it’s the middle
of December, and it’s getting chilly, but he really should be
getting outside more. He needs the exercise and so does Holly.”

“That’s a very thoughtful idea,” Trevor
answered. “I’ve got some errands to run and I need to check on the
stores, even though they’re locked up. Would you like me to find a
coat for him?”

“Thanks, I’d like to get out of the house for
a while myself though. Maybe I’ll take him with me. Are you taking
the Mustang or do you want my car? I can use my dad’s.”

“I feel strange driving the Mustang when
there are so many limited now to walking,” Trevor lamented. “Tell
you what, if you really don’t mind, I’ll take your car and top off
the tank at Exit 31.” He didn’t want her to know what errands he
had to run. Christmas was just ten days away and he had a special
gift to find for her.

***

“This should be fun, Henry. I love to shop
and I’d rather do it with someone,” Christine said. “Besides, I
want to find something for Trevor for Christmas.”

“Sadie enjoyed yard sales and always dragged
me along. I wouldn’t admit it to her, but I found them enjoyable
and entertaining,” Henry replied. “Can Holly come with us? I don’t
like leaving her behind. She’s adapted well to a new master,
however there are times when I think she feels abandoned.”

“Of course she can come.”

***

They stopped at four sales that people had
set up in their garages.

“As I clean the house, I’m constantly finding
things I don’t use or don’t need, so this is a perpetual sale,” one
woman explained. “I figure if someone can use it, all the better.
Besides, I need the money for groceries.”

Christine smiled, feeling a bit guilty
knowing they had money and still had plenty of food. The woman, not
much older than Christine herself, was painfully thin, and probably
didn’t have much weight to lose when supplies were shut down. Guilt
seeped into Christine again. She had lost some weight too, though
she and Trevor both still looked healthy and fed. She wandered
through the garage and found a rack with men’s clothes. Flipping
through shirts and jackets, she found several things in excellent
condition.

“Henry, try this jacket on,” she said,
handing over a heavy wool jacket done in brown and green plaid.

“It fits well, Christine. You shouldn’t be
spending your money on me though,” he protested.

“Nonsense! It’s only five dollars and you
need a coat to walk Holly,” she countered. She picked up another,
longer down-filled jacket in a deep hunter green that looked brand
new, checked the size, and bought it for Trevor as a Christmas
present.

They followed a few more signs leading them
to more sales where Christine insisted Henry get two shirts and
another pair of pants. “You can’t keep wearing my dad’s clothes,
Henry!” Then she whispered, “And these people need the money.”

“Even though Holly is in her glory with all
the attention she’s getting at every stop, it’s late and we should
be getting back,” Henry said, reluctantly agreeing to the new,
gently used clothes.

***

He walked the streets again, picking a
different neighborhood, one that was more upscale. Again, he pushed
the button on the remote. This time he heard a door lifting and
stopped the door with another hit on the button. He scanned the
houses he was near, and spotted a garage with the door partially
raised. Watching carefully, he touched the close button, and the
door lowered. He smiled and jotted down the address.

“I promised the chief I
would stop at his office tonight. I’m not sure what he wants to
talk to me about, though I do know he’s overwhelmed with all the
new people housed in the school,” Trevor said, slipping on his warm
hoodie jacket. “He told me earlier half of his force is now
patrolling the school, inside and out. There’s been a definite
increase in crime.” He frowned. “I promise not to be long.” Trevor
gave Christine a quick kiss and went out into the night.

***

He had waited patiently for almost a week
after finding the right house. Now he watched the PT Cruiser back
out of the driveway and head north toward the center of town. One
less person to worry about he thought, and it also meant that hot
blonde was alone. Standing just to the side he used the remote to
raise the big door a foot or so and slid under the opening, leaving
it up for a quick escape. He pulled a flashlight out of his pocket
and turned it on.

“
Bonus donuts!” he breathed, looking at
all the stacked boxes of food. “These folks must be rich.”
Grinning, he silently headed for the door to the house.

***

“What was that noise?” Henry asked, coming
out of his bedroom.

“It sounded like the garage door going up.
Trevor must have forgotten something,” Christine said absently, and
Henry went back to his room, Holly at his heels.

Christine filled the sink with hot water to
wash the dinner dishes. Henry had insisted on fixing dinner for
them and used quite a few pots in the process. She thought the real
spaghetti sauce he made was worth washing every pot and pan in the
house. The water splashed hard, drowning out the subtle noises.

The door leading into the house from the
garage opened slowly, and the young man crept quietly up behind
Christine as she rinsed a plate. In a practiced move, he clamped
his calloused hand over her mouth and slid his other arm around her
waist, lifting her off the floor. Christine tried to scream but all
that came out was a muffled whimper.

“Quiet! Or I
will
kill you,” he
growled in her ear. She stopped struggling and went limp, just like
she was taught to do, forcing the assailant to take on her full
weight. He dragged her into the dining room that faced the long
hall and dropped her onto a chair.

Christine tried to stand once she was free,
and he backhanded her, leaving a trickle of blood oozing from the
corner of her mouth. Stunned, she sat there while he ran duct-tape
around her wrists behind her back.

“Just keep quiet and I won’t have to hurt
you.” She nodded in compliance. “Good, now I’m going to check out
what else you’ve got here.” He sneered at her and said, “I’ll be
back for
you
soon, real soon.”

He shoved a table napkin in her mouth and she
got a good look at him just before he slipped a dark plastic bag
over her head. He was rail thin, with long black hair tied in a
ponytail. His dark gray eyes smoldered with evil, and the jagged
scar down his left cheek added to the sinister appearance. She let
go with an involuntary shudder.

He walked down the hall snickering, thinking,
“That was too easy
.”

Christine started to cry from the pain of
being hit, and then she thought about Henry and Holly, hoping they
stayed in their room. There was nothing holding the napkin in her
mouth so she worked her tongue around the cloth, slowly pushing it
out of her mouth. She couldn’t see because of the dark plastic, at
least she could breathe easier now though, as long as she kept her
face down and didn’t breathe heavily, pulling the plastic closer to
her face. She slowed, forcing herself to concentrate. She could
hear noises like drawers and closets being opened.