Tides of Truth [03] Greater Love (37 page)

“There aren’t any other cars in the parking lot besides her vehicle,” the officer reported to his partner. “And I didn’t see anyone in the area.”

“Does Maggie Smith work here?” the older of the two officers asked me.

“Yes. She’s my boss.”

The two officers looked at each other.

“Have there been any other attempted breakins?”

“Not that I know about. I’ve only been here a couple of months.”

“Any alarm system?”

“No. We don’t keep any cash here. There’s nothing worth stealing except our computers.” I paused. “Why would someone try to break in this time of the evening instead of the middle of the night?”

“Happens more often than you’d think,” the older officer said. “Most home burglaries occur during the day. Any activity on this street after midnight would attract attention. Right now, it’s early enough that someone in the area wouldn’t automatically be suspicious. The guy probably didn’t know you were here because the light from your office isn’t visible from the parking lot. Have there been any problems with clients?”

“I can check with the other attorneys, but nothing has been mentioned.”

“Let us know,” the older officer replied. “We’ll file the incident report. The lock still works, although it wouldn’t have taken him long to get past it. Tell Maggie to install a bigger lock and an alarm system.” The officer handed me his card. “I’ve known Maggie since she started working at the DA’s office.”

“Okay. I want to leave with you,” I said.

The officers waited while I quickly gathered my things. My hand shook when I put the key in the lock and realized the intruder had been in the exact same place less than thirty minutes earlier. As soon as I was in the car, I called Maggie. She wasn’t there, but I left her a voice mail. Then I phoned Zach. He answered and I told him what had happened.

“I’m a nervous wreck,” I said. “I’m afraid to go to Mrs. Fairmont’s house alone.”

“Meet me at Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter,” he said. “I’m at home so it will take me ten minutes to get there.”

“Thanks.”

I thought about calling Daddy and Mama but hesitated. Thankfully, nothing bad happened, and I knew they would suffer a sleepless night if I shared the news. We never locked our doors on Beaver Ruin Road, and we slept without fear.

When I reached Braddock, Appleby, and Carpenter, the parking lot was empty. I pulled into the space I’d used the previous summer but kept the doors locked and the engine running. Never had I felt so personally violated. And there hadn’t even been an actual break-in. I glanced up as a dark pickup with heavily tinted windows turned into the parking lot then backed out to go in the opposite direction. Zach, riding his red motorcycle and wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, followed close behind. I got out. Zach got off the motorcycle and took off his helmet. Without a word he stepped forward and hugged me.

The dam of tension inside me burst. I buried my head in his shoulder and cried. I’d never been embraced by a man except my father, but in that moment it felt totally right to be enveloped in the protection Zach’s strong arms provided. I let his reassuring strength flow into me.

“I need a tissue.” I sniffed after a few moments passed.

Zach released me and I reached into the car for my purse. After I blew my nose, I looked at Zach. I wanted to return to the safety I had felt in his arms, but the moment had passed.

“Thanks for coming,” I said.

“I’m sorry this happened,” he said with a fiery look in his eyes. “If I’d been at your office—”

I stared at him for a second, realizing that if he’d encountered the man who tried to break into the office, Zach would have tried to break him in two.

“I’m okay,” I said, “but it scared me.”

“What did the police find?”

“Nothing. The lock was slightly damaged; however, it wasn’t strong enough to keep out someone determined to get in. If I’d not gone into the hall to take a break, I wouldn’t have realized what was going on. I screamed, and he ran.”

I shuddered.

“Did you see him well enough to give the police a description?”

“No. You always hear people say things like this happen fast. It’s true. I couldn’t tell you anything about his face. He was wearing a baseball cap, dark clothes, and white surgical gloves. That’s about it. One of the officers recommended we install a bigger lock and an alarm system.”

“Good idea.”

“I called Maggie, but I had to leave a message. I didn’t phone Julie. She has enough to worry about with her father.”

“Are you ready to go home?”

“If you mean Powell Station, the answer is yes,” I said. “However, that’s not an option. If you could follow me to Mrs. Fairmont’s house, that would be great.”

“Let’s go.”

Zach mounted his motorcycle and followed me the short distance I’d walked to work the previous summer. Now, the thought of being alone on the streets brought a return of fear. I checked in the rearview mirror. Zach was directly behind me. We reached Mrs. Fairmont’s house and I pulled into the single garage. Zach stopped behind me.

“Do you want me to see you safely inside?” he asked.

“Yes. I know there wasn’t anything personal about the man at the office, but I’m having trouble convincing myself.”

When I unlocked the door, we were greeted by the excited antics of Flip. Seeing the little dog turn in circles and wiggle every muscle in his body in welcome helped me return to a sense of normal. I leaned over and vigorously scratched him.

“I’m going to look around the house,” Zach said.

“Okay.”

I took Flip into the den and, while holding him in my lap, told him about my visit with Mrs. Fairmont at the hospital.

“She’s going to come home,” I said, stroking the dog’s back. “I’m just not sure when.”

I could hear Zach’s footsteps on the second floor. There were windows in the den that faced the veranda and the courtyard below. Usually, I didn’t give them a second thought. Tonight, they looked like dark, unseeing eyes. I reminded myself that no one could see inside the house unless they were on Mrs. Fairmont’s property. Zach returned from his mission.

“Everything looks fine,” he said. “You did a good job making your bed and the bathroom was clean. Do you always hang up your towel so it’s exactly level on the hook?”

“Yes, it dries evenly that way,” I said, smiling.

“I don’t have that problem. I only use a towel once before I wash it.”

Zach stood beside Mrs. Fairmont’s chair.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “I’m going to activate the burglar alarm. Mrs. Fairmont rarely uses it, but I’d feel better about it tonight.”

I placed Flip on the floor and went to the closet that contained the control panel. I punched in the numbers to activate the system, but the indicator light stayed red when it should have turned to green. I entered the numbers more slowly with the same result.

“Something’s wrong with it,” I said.

“Operator error?” Zach asked.

“Probably.”

I checked the instruction sheet on top of the unit and repeated the process without success.

“I’m missing a step but can’t remember what it is.”

“Let me see the manual.”

I handed it to Zach. As he slowly turned the pages, I thought again how I’d felt when he hugged me, and, I had to admit, I hugged back.

“Let’s try this,” he said.

He punched in the same numbers I’d entered and flipped a couple of switches. The light stayed red. Flip, who was close to my feet, suddenly started barking and ran toward the foyer. I left Zach and followed. The dog was directly in front of the door, yapping furiously.

“What is it, boy?” I asked.

I glanced through the side glass and didn’t see anyone. I opened the door and stood in the doorway. Flip joined me and continued barking. A pair of squirrels scurried up a nearby tree. I glanced down at him.

“Squirrels have a right to be here,” I said, trying to sound more nonchalant than I felt.

I stepped inside, closed the door, and locked it.

“It has me stumped,” Zach said from right behind me.

I screamed and twirled around.

“Why did you sneak up on me?” I demanded.

“I didn’t sneak up on you,” Zach replied calmly. “I followed you in here from the place you left me.”

“I’m sorry. I just can’t shake the jumpy feeling that came over me after the attempted break-in.”

“Was there anything unusual going on outside?”

“Nothing except a pair of squirrels playing tag.”

Zach eyed me for a moment. “Do you think you’re going to be okay here alone?”

“Of course,” I answered, but my heart continued to beat at a rapid pace. “I’ll have Flip for protection.”

“He’s as jumpy as you are. I’ll be glad to sleep on the sofa in the den.”

Normally, I would have instantly turned down the offer, but in my present state of mind I hesitated.

“You didn’t bring a suitcase,” I replied.

“Which doesn’t matter because I wouldn’t change into pajamas anyway. Look, I can stretch out on the sofa and be fine. You know what the Bible says about the sleep of the righteous.”

“The sleep of the righteous is sweet,” I said.

“That describes me,” he replied with a smile. “And to prove it, let me do a good deed so you can rest. You’ll be fine tomorrow night, but considering what you’ve been through the past few hours, there’s nothing wrong in having a little extra security.”

I tried to think how my parents would respond to Zach’s invitation. Mama would say no; Daddy would say yes. It rarely happened, but when I had to pick between my parents, one always won out.

“Thanks,” I said. “I’d like you to stay.”

20

Jessie’s plastic bottle of water was gone and, after two days without any food and very little water, life began to lose its grip on her. She’d yelled for help, begged for mercy, and shed a few silent tears. Nothing happened. Footsteps occasionally tapped on the deck above, but no one opened the hatch, even to curse or torment her. Jessie felt abandoned and forgotten.

She wavered on the brink of unconsciousness. Huddled up against the hull of the ship with the stifling heat pressed like a heavy weight against her chest, she’d even tried to pray. But the mixed-up doses of religion she’d received in random churches and watching Sister Dabney preach didn’t produce much. She ended up muttering to God what she’d cried out for human ears a few hours earlier: “Help, help, help.”

When the hatch finally creaked open, Jessie couldn’t leave the twilight world she’d slipped into. The first man who shone a flashlight into the hold saw her crumpled form and swore.

“You guys are idiots!”

“No, we were following orders.”

“He didn’t say to kill her, not yet. Get her out of there.”

“I don’t want to go down there. It stinks.”

“Get her out or you’re going to spend an hour down there yourself.”

“Tell Nick to do it.”

“I sent him to shore while you were sacked out taking a nap and should have been checking on the girl.”

The second man left and then returned to lower a short aluminum ladder into the forward hold. Too small for cargo, the hold was normally used to store supplies such as rope, paint, oil, and tools. To serve as Jessie’s prison it had been cleared of everything. The man lowered the ladder and tied a kerchief around his face.

“She’d better not be dead,” the first man said. “It smells like death down there.”

“I heard her a little while ago,” the second man lied. “She’s resting.”

The second man climbed down the ladder and went over to Jessie. Shining the light on her face, he patted her on the cheek. She moaned softly.

“She’s all right!” he called up.

“I want her out of there,” the first man ordered.

“Get up,” the man ordered Jessie, shaking her shoulders.

She didn’t move.

“If she’s too weak, you’re going to have to carry her out,” the first man said.

“Get up!” the second man repeated, shaking her harder.

Jessie responded by sliding over onto her side, her mouth gaping open. The first man swore again.

“I’m coming in.”

Jessie wasn’t heavy, but she was dead weight. The two men pulled her up the ladder and laid her on the deck in the fading light.

“Turn the hose on her,” the first man said, “but not too hard.”

When the water hit Jessie’s face and body, she sputtered and weakly moved her right hand to cover her face.

“Give her a good dosing,” the first man said. “It won’t wash away all the stink, but it will make it tolerable.”

Jessie opened her mouth and used her tongue to capture some of the water that ran down the side of her face. The spray from the hose stopped. She rubbed her eyes and saw two figures standing over her. One of them leaned over and placed a water bottle in her hand. She fumbled with the top, too weak to open it.

“Look at that,” the first man said. “It’s a good thing I came on board to check on you. Unscrew the cap for her and prop her up against the bulkhead.”

Jessie gratefully received the water from the bottle. After a few swallows her head began to clear.

“Thank you,” she managed.

“Are you ready to do as you’re told?” the second man asked. “If not, you’re going back down the ladder.”

“No, no,” Jessie croaked, shaking her head. “I’ll do what you say.”

“She’s not going anywhere,” the first man said, nudging her with his foot. “Look at her. She can’t walk across the deck, much less swim for shore. Take her into the utility room. It locks from the outside. Give her another bottle of water and something left over from supper to eat. She can spend the night in there.”

I
TOOK
F
LIP DOWNSTAIRS.
B
EFORE GOING INTO MY APARTMENT,
I checked the windows I’d previously inspected with Jessie. The entire time I’d lived with Mrs. Fairmont I’d never considered the windows potential avenues for intruders, but within the past forty-eight hours, they’d become chinks in the house’s armor.

The window farthest from my apartment provided the least light during the day because a bush on that end of the house covered most of the glass. A storage shelf in front of the window made it difficult to see the latch. I’d tried to make sure it was locked when Jessie asked me to do so, but now I had doubts. I dragged a chair to a spot in front of the shelf and stood on it. The latch appeared solid until I looked closer and saw it was broken. I leaned forward and pushed on the window, but it didn’t budge. It was either painted shut or stuck due to warping of the wood after countless years of nonuse. As I lowered my hands I thought I saw the bush move slightly. Cold chills raced down my body. I stared intently into the darkness but couldn’t detect any further movement. Zach was right. I was way too jumpy to be alone.