The Road To Deliverance

by James, Harper

  A hand on her shoulder.

  ‘Don’t touch her.’ A high, insistent voice cutting through the static, taking control. ‘She might have a broken neck.’

  Voices fading, slipping away. Letting her be. Silence, deep and comforting. Pain subsiding as death’s own true messenger, shock, stole like morphine into her body.

  Then merciful darkness claiming her for its own.

  Chapter 42

  JAY WANDERED AIMLESSLY, ended up in a small park on the banks of the Mobile River. He sat there all morning. Doing nothing, trying to clear his mind. No chance. And if he couldn’t clear it, he might as well start to fill it up with all the information he didn’t have.

  Because somebody was going to pay.

  Sarah had some of the answers. Where it all went down, maybe a description of the men who shot Cole, a name dropped carelessly. She might even have their license plate number. He wished he hadn’t walked out so abruptly. She’d started to say something as he jumped up.

  Something strange happened.

  He should have let her finish. The word strange should have alerted him. Especially after what Cole had told him a couple of weeks ago.

  I think someone’s following me. And I’m sure my place has been searched.

  At the time he thought he was being paranoid. Now he wasn’t so sure. He needed to talk to Sarah. He called her on Cole’s phone.

  ‘Yeah?’

  A man’s voice. For one brief moment he thought it was Cole.

  ‘Cole?’

  The name was out of his mouth before his brain caught up. That wasn’t Cole’s voice. And Cole was dead.

  ‘Who is this?’

  The connection was cut. He checked his phone, made sure he hadn’t called the wrong number by mistake. No, it was the right number. He redialed. It went straight to voicemail.

  He stood there, mouth half-open, on the verge of leaving an irate message.

  Who the hell is this? Why have you got Cole’s phone?

  Then he thought better of it, cut the call without leaving a message. Maybe Sarah had called her husband and he’d driven down to pick her up, answered Cole’s phone while she was busy. If that was the case, he’d have said so, wouldn’t have hung up. He needed to go back to the café, see if she was still there.

  He knew something was wrong the minute the waitress walked over to take his order. Her step faltered, the smile sliding off her face as soon as she recognized him. Surely, she couldn’t still be pissed because he spilled some coffee.

  Then she surprised the hell out of him. She put a hand on his shoulder. The look on her face wasn’t anger or irritation. That he could deal with. This was something much worse. His stomach turned over.

  ‘How is she?’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Your friend. How is she?’

  Whatever had hold of his guts tightened its grip. The waitress’s hand came off his shoulder and went to her mouth. Her eyes widened, welled up.

  ‘Oh my God. You don’t know?’

  He wanted to jump up, grab her shoulders. Shake her.

  ‘What? What don’t I know?’

  ‘The girl you were with. I thought you knew her.’

  She dropped into the seat opposite him, her head shaking in disbelief. He put his hand over hers.

  ‘What’s your name?’

  ‘Laura.’

  ‘Okay, Laura, why don’t you tell me what happened?’

  ‘After you left, your friend—’

  ‘Sarah.’

  ‘Sarah stayed and had more coffee. I think she was hoping you’d come back. She looked so sad. She reminded me so much of my daughter when her boyfriend dumped her.’

  He nodded sympathetically, forcing himself to relax. Took his hand off hers before the bones cracked.

  ‘I said to her—your friend I mean, not my daughter—I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end. I don’t think she was really listening, poor girl.’

  He told himself a few more minutes getting to the damn point didn’t matter, wouldn’t hurt him.

  ‘So when she knew you weren’t coming back’—she looked straight at him to make sure he understood the blame for whatever was coming next was laid squarely at his door—‘she got up and left. She was so upset. In a daze.’

  His mouth was so dry he was tempted to ask for a coffee. He didn’t want to distract her now she’d finally gotten into the swing of her story. He swallowed drily.

  ‘You want a coffee?’

  She went to get up.

  ‘No, I’m fine. Really.’

  ‘It was really busy in here. I didn’t see what happened. I sure heard it. Suddenly there was this loud screech of car tires. Then the most awful scream I ever heard. Every head in the place snapped around to look. You could’ve heard a pin drop.’

  Her hand hovered over her mouth again. His chest was so tight he couldn’t get any oxygen in.

  ‘Then everything went crazy. We all ran outside. There she was, lying in the middle of the road. This big black ugly car with those blacked out windows like the drug dealers use had hit her. It knocked her in front of a truck. I don’t think the truck hit her because he was way up on the sidewalk. Nearly killed a bunch of people.’

  She paused to get her breath.

  ‘Can we go outside. I need a cigarette.’

  He nodded, waited while she got her bag. Followed her out even though the real reason for going outside was to show him the exact spot where it happened. He had to get some fresh air anyway. He touched her arm.

  ‘Was she okay? Just tell me. Then you can tell me all the rest.’

  She nodded as she fished her cigarettes out.

  ‘She wasn’t killed, if that’s what you mean.’

  He let out the breath that had been on hold inside him for about a week.

  ‘She was unconscious, but she was still breathing. Let me show you.’

  She took hold of his arm, led him to a gap between two parked cars.

  ‘They said she ran out right here. She was looking at her phone.’ Something registered in her eyes. She gave him a piercing look. ‘That wasn’t you calling her was it?’

  He shook his head. She didn’t look as if she believed him. But that wasn’t what put the frown onto his face.

  Who tried to call Cole?

  It wasn’t Lucas or any of his guys. They knew Cole was dead. It might have been nothing more than one of Cole’s buddies catching up. Somehow, he didn’t think so. The waitress was still talking.

  ‘Whoever called her as good as—’

  ‘I’m sure whoever it was didn’t mean anything like this to happen.’

  Or did they? A shiver rippled across the back of his neck, made him glance up and down the street, as the words came out of his mouth. She accepted it grudgingly. Pointed into the road.

  ‘She was lying over there. All twisted up. Her shoes had come off. They said she was thrown ten feet in the air. Ten feet. Her face was covered in blood. Somebody wanted to move her, someone else said don’t touch her. I think maybe her neck was broken.’

  Her words faded into the background as he tuned out the exaggeration and blatant fantasy. He stared at the spot Laura had pointed at—thanked God she hadn’t insisted they go over to take a closer look—but there was only one thought going through his mind.

  Did my best chance of information just go up in smoke?

  Immediately a wave of guilt swamped him, guilt that his first thought wasn’t about her but what she might do for him.

  Laura touched him on the arm.

  ‘You okay? You want a coffee now? Something stronger?’

  He shook his head, ran his fingers through his hair.

  ‘No, I’m good.’

  ‘Then the ambulance came. The paramedics were really nice. Even if they did try to get us all to go back inside. It’s not as if something like this happens every day. We were concerned for that poor girl. Anyway, they said she was unconscious. At least she was still breathing.’

  ‘Did they say
anything else?’

  She took hold of her chin, rested her elbow in her hand to make sure he knew she was thinking hard. He wanted to scream at her.

  Tell the truth. Don’t make anything up just so it makes a better story.

  She must have read his mind.

  ‘I don’t think so.’

  ‘Where did they take her?’

  ‘To the hospital, of course.’

  He took a calming breath instead of poking her in the eye. She’d never know how close a call it had been.

  ‘Which one?’

  ‘Providence Hospital, I think. Out on Airport Boulevard.’

  A thought crossed his mind—maybe that was who had answered Cole’s phone: a doctor at the hospital. He dismissed it immediately. They’d want to know who was calling in case it was the next of kin, wouldn’t hang up rudely.

  She took one last heaving drag on her cigarette. Dropped the butt on the sidewalk, ground it out under her shoe. He seized his chance. He was halfway down the block by the time she looked up again, not knowing what the hell he was going to find when he got there.

  It was a lot worse than he could ever have expected.

  Chapter 43

  STOP!

  She saw the SUV this time. Saw the evil black grille coming right at her. Like it was aiming for her and only her. Just not soon enough.

  Next thing she knew she was on the ground.

  She couldn’t move. Was she paralyzed? Would she ever walk again? The thought scared her more than kneeling on the ground next to Cole, about to meet her maker. The ground was cold and hard under her head. Blood leaked out of her hair, ran into her eyes, blurring her vision. Faces peered down at her. Distant voices chattering inanely.

  Across the street the grill of the black SUV seemed to laugh at her.

  Gotcha!

  The driver’s door opened. Feet swung out. A man’s feet. They started walking towards her. They looked familiar. Stupid. She didn’t know any men’s feet.

  People shouted in protest as the man with the feet pushed them roughly out of the way. Strong hands on chests, shoving, clearing a path towards her. Pretty soon people moved aside without waiting to be pushed. So, somebody important. A doctor.

  Get out the fucking way.

  Is that how doctors talk?

  She knew that voice. She didn’t know if that was good or bad.

  He towered over her. The sun was behind his head. In her eyes, blinding her.

  ‘Hello Sarah.’

  Jay.

  She wanted to cry. Everything was going to be okay. She didn’t care about the pain any more.

  ‘Hello Jay.’

  She lifted her arm towards him. He didn’t want it. And why was he driving the SUV?

  ‘Did you think you’d get away with it?’

  What was he talking about? Suddenly the pain was back. Twice as bad.

  ‘Did you really think you could leave him there in the mud and the rain? Leave him to die at the side of the road like a dog that’s been run over.’

  ‘I didn’t—’

  ‘Shut up, Sarah. I’ve had enough of your lies. You think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know what really happened?’

  ‘No. It’s not like that—’

  ‘At least you finally got what you deserved.’

  No!

  People shouted. Somebody said call 911. Jay silenced them all with a look. Concerned voices fading to nothing in the face of such conviction. And anger. You don’t argue with a man like him. Not if you know what’s good for you.

  ‘Leave her there. Let her die in the middle of the road. Like Cole.’

  He leaned down. Snatched at something around her neck. Ripped it away. She felt it snap, didn’t know what it was. Only that it was important.

  May God defend me from my friends.

  He turned on his heel, walked away.

  Then the pain jumped eagerly into the void left by his leaving. Exploding through every cell in her body. And when the everloving darkness reached for her, she sank gratefully back into its embrace.

  SARAH OPENED HER EYES. The light was piercingly bright, a sharp stab of pain at the back of her skull. She gasped, closed them again, thankful for the soothing darkness. It had been long enough to see a man hovering over her.

  She cracked her lids open a fraction. Took in the room around her. Some of it was nice—early morning light filtering through blinds at the window. Crisp white sheets on the bed. Some of it not so nice—that institutional smell they could never quite hide. An IV bag suspended on a pole at the side of the bed.

  A hospital.

  Lots of medical equipment. Good to see those lines going up and down. At least she wasn’t dead.

  She opened her eyes fully. The man was still there, a look of concern masking his features.

  ‘How long have I been here?’

  ‘A couple of days. You’ve been unconscious the whole time.’

  ‘Am I alright now?’

  He smiled. It was a nice smile. Reminded her of someone.

  ‘You tell me.’

  She moved her arms, flexed her fingers. Tried her legs and toes. So far, so good. Turned her head from side to side. It made it spin. Apart from that everything was fine.

  ‘Everything working okay?’

  ‘I think so.’

  There were two questions she wanted to ask.

  ‘What happened to me?’

  His face creased unhappily. Like she’d done or said something wrong. She didn’t know what. He looked like he might cry. Big baby.

  ‘You were hit by a car.’

  That rang a bell. The grille of a big black SUV coming at her out of nowhere. Then another memory overrode it, made her snap her eyes tightly shut. A man’s voice. Angry, full of hatred.

  Leave her there. Let her die in the middle of the road. Like Cole.

  Who was Cole?

  ‘Who . . .’

  No. She couldn’t worry about that now. There were more pressing questions. She hoped it wasn’t rude to be so direct, hoped he didn’t look like he was going to cry again.

  ‘Who are you?’

  His face fell even further. What had she done wrong now? She decided to keep quiet for the moment. Because she’d lied when she said she had two questions. She had another one. The biggest one. She felt silly asking it. She’d keep that one for later. Maybe she’d work it out for herself before then.

  PART THREE

  Beyond Deliverance.

  Present day.

  Chapter 44

  ‘SHE COULDN’T EVEN remember her name?’ Evan didn’t recognize his own voice when finally he found his vocal chords, coaxed them into forming coherent words.

  Jay shook his head.

  ‘The doctors said long-term memory loss isn’t common in cases of traumatic brain injury, but you never can tell with head injuries. Anything can happen.’

  He went to fetch two more beers to add to the growing line by the side of each man’s feet. Talking was thirsty work. So was listening to a story that blew your mind away.

  ‘She had no ID,’ Jay said, passing the beer into Evan’s eager hand. ‘I knew her as Sarah, that was all. No last name. When she came out of the hospital, she had a couple of bucks in change and Cole’s dog tag.’ He took a long pull on his beer, avoided Evan’s eyes. ‘She didn’t even have her wedding ring on. She was wearing it when I first met her. Maybe she lost it. Maybe somebody stole it at the hospital.’

  Or maybe she deliberately left it behind.

  ‘She didn’t remember me?’ Evan said in a small voice that came from a long way away, down a deep well that he was nowhere near hitting bottom.

  ‘No. Her memory started to come back but only from the point where she was abducted’—he made air quotes as he said it—‘by Cole. She didn’t remember meeting me in the bar beforehand or anything before that. A complete blank. That’s what she said anyway.’

  Evan was on it almost before the words were out of his mouth.

  ‘You didn’t b
elieve her?’

  Jay was shaking his head.

  ‘I shouldn’t have said that.’

  ‘There’s something you’re not saying.’

  Jay held his gaze and Evan knew he was right. And now that he’d pushed him, he didn’t know if he wanted to hear it. Because there was something in Jay’s eyes that nobody ever wants to see. If it wasn’t pity, it was pretty close.

  ‘I got the impression she didn’t want to remember, that’s all.’ He showed Evan his palms. ‘That’s just me talking. Not her. And she’d get angry if I tried to push her. I told her I knew she was married. She’d told me. I’d seen the ring. She wouldn’t have it.’

  He spread his hands in a what could I do? gesture. If Evan could have dredged up a smile from somewhere, he’d have smiled then because he knew they were talking about the same woman.

  ‘I don’t know why she thought I’d make something like that up. So I let it drop.’

  Evan was finding it difficult to get his mind around the situation. He was sitting talking to another man about his own wife, listening to what sounded like the life he’d known with her. It was time to work the knife into his gut a little deeper.

  ‘She was living with you by then?’

  Jay nodded, dropped his eyes to the line of empty beer bottles at his feet. He answered the unspoken accusation even before Evan gave voice to it.

  ‘What was I supposed to do? Say no, wait, the husband you don’t believe exists will be along sometime soon? Well, you sure took your time.’

  He kept his eyes on his feet as he said it, including the final counter-accusation. Both men knew it was the right thing to do.

  ‘She didn’t even want to try to find out who she was.’ The need to justify himself was loud and clear in his voice. He kicked the empty beer bottles across the porch, jabbed his thumb into his chest. ‘I tried more than she did.’

  ‘You didn’t get anywhere?’

  Evan kept his voice level, the tone neutral. He didn’t want it to deteriorate any more than Jay did. Because Jay felt the exact same thing he did. He wanted to lash out. And he didn’t much care who or what was on the receiving end.

  ‘I had this great idea. I’d go back to the bar where we first met and ask around. I didn’t tell her what I was doing.’ He shook his head at the retrospective stupidity of his plan. ‘Lord knows what I was going to do if I got lucky and somebody said, yeah, that’s Sarah Buckley. I hadn’t thought it through that far. I suppose I wasn’t expecting it to pan out.’