“I’m not leaving you; I’m just leaving the house and the situation. Can’t you see that people think we are sleeping together even though we aren’t? If for no other reason, you should think of how it looks to your students. What kind of example are you setting for them? We have to start defining a new moral world for young people.
“You are right. Jesus is responsible for my decision. He needs to have a place in a moral society. Morality without Him changes and redefines itself according to Man. Man is unable to remain truly moral without Jesus. Our living arrangement is evidence of this. Living together is a sin, particularly when we are allowing people to think – even mistakenly – that we are intimate. But society has abandoned God’s law and now living together is an acceptable thing and a perfect example of the shifting sands of morality.”
Terry remained quiet, so I continued. “I used to believe it was no one’s business but ours. We weren’t lovers and we were the only ones who had to know that – to hell with the rest of the world. But Jesus opened my eyes. By reading the Word, I’ve come to understand just how wrong that thinking was. Even though I’m saved by Jesus – all my sins, past, present and future, forgiven, I still feel I have an obligation to live a moral life. Moral by God’s definition, not by Man’s. And I am accountable for my actions, especially when my sinful actions might cause someone else to sin. Just know that I wasn’t rejecting you, Terry. You are and have always been a dear friend that I love.”
Terry had tears in his eyes. He placed his gun down on the coffee table in front of my chair, but even if I thought I could use it to escape, it was out of my reach. “I love you, too, Brandy. We don’t have to be lovers. I just want things to go on like always. And I want to keep protecting you. I can’t do that if you move out.”
“What do you need to protect me from, Terry? You’ve never needed to protect me.”
“I protected you from things you don’t even know about. All the guys you’ve dated since I’ve known you, none of them were any good, and I made sure they left you alone. Those two men that are always hanging out at that bar, the ones that are always sniffing around you and Alicia – I recently made sure they would never bother you again. And then that Fisher guy – he had to go. When I confronted him, he let me know that he wasn’t done with you. He said he was going to make you pay for how you treated him and for what you did to his truck. He was laughing about what he’d done to your car and that he’d pretty much gotten away with it. I was so angry that my hands were around his neck before I knew what I was doing. I just knew I had to make sure he didn’t hurt you again. I also had to stop that other guy. I thought he was your boyfriend. I just wanted to scare him and bring you back home, but then he pulled a gun. I didn’t know what else to do. Can you ever forgive me, Brandy?”
The things Terry was saying were awful, but I pretended to understand. I wondered what he had done to Curt and Wayne to make sure they didn’t bother me. Hopefully he had just warned them. I didn’t want two more deaths on my conscience. I quickly said to Terry, “Of course I forgive you. But you’ve got to turn yourself in now. Please unlock these handcuffs.”
I was absolutely amazed when Terry came over to me and unlocked the cuff from my wrist. I stood up and gave him a hug. I was still scared to death of him, but I couldn’t let him know that. “Will you go with me, Brandy? I’m afraid of what they might do to me…”
“Yes, you know I will.” I turned to move away from Terry and towards the door, thinking it best to get out of the house before we became stranded. I had forgotten that Terry had positioned the chair in front of the coffee table, and I hit the table hard with my shin. Without really meaning to, I let out a loud scream of pain. Terry rushed to help me. He was the sweet, kind Terry I remembered. The crazy murdering Terry seemed to be gone for now.
Before I could reassure him that I was not hurt, something bashed up against the front door. Terry and I turned towards the sound. There was a second loud thump and then the door burst open.
Chapter 11
I expected to see a multitude of police officers surrounding the house – or at the very least, Adam and Alicia coming to save me. Instead, I saw Rick Hartwood standing there alone rubbing his shoulder. What on earth was he doing here?
“Let Brandy go and I won’t hurt you,” he said. He tried to appear threatening, but his quivering voice gave him away.
“No, Rick!” I screamed. “I’ve got this under control…” But it was too late. Terry had already picked up his gun and he was aiming it in Rick’s direction.
“Things don’t look under control,” Rick said.
“Why the heck did you try to break the door down?” Terry asked. “It wasn’t locked. All you had to do was turn the knob. Now it might not close back and – in case you didn’t notice – there’s a hurricane outside. Get your ass over here and sit down. I’ve got to decide what to do with you now.”
I was surprised by how cool Terry had become. He wasn’t acting like a madman any longer; he really did seem to be more like the Terry I had known for all these years. Too bad the gun in his hand kept me from actually believing that.
Terry forced Rick to sit down on the sofa, and then he closed the front door. The door wasn’t broken, and Terry seemed pleased. Then he looked at me. “Did you know this fool was coming? Who the hell is he?”
“I had absolutely no idea he was coming. I haven’t seen or heard from him since I went to Biloxi to his concert. This is Rick Hartwood, the singer.” I noticed that Rick grimaced when I introduced him this way. He probably thought I would say he was a magnificent superstar whom I idolized, but I was so over that. “But Terry, it doesn’t matter. We can still go to the police together. Rick can go back to wherever he came from – no harm, no foul.”
“You almost had me going, Brandy. All your talk of Jesus and wanting to help me. All the while you were stalling; you were waiting for this joker to come in and save the day. Too bad he’s such a wimp. You should have put your hopes in someone better than this.” Terry then turned to Rick, “By the way, I hate your music – it sucks. I never could understand Brandy’s fascination with it.”
Terry crossed over to where I was standing. He grabbed my arm so tightly that it hurt. He jerked me over to the sofa and pushed me down beside Rick. “Now I’ve got to decide how to take care of the two of you.” He laughed, “Yep, I almost bought into your act, Brandy. I’ve been such a fool, but no more. You aren’t any better than all those men I’ve sent on their merry way – all of your so-called boyfriends. I killed for you. And this is how you pay me back. Well, this was the last straw, Brandy. I won’t be turning myself in.” Terry had the handcuffs and he used them to bind Rick and me together.
I looked over at Rick and he was turning white from fear. Whatever had possessed him to come to my rescue, I was betting now that he wished he’d left me to Terry’s devices. Of course I didn’t blame him. I didn’t want to die either. But it looked like we weren’t going to have much of a choice. Terry had managed to move past the emotional crazy he was channeling earlier today. The lost, broken soul had turned into a rational, cold-blooded killer. I would never be able to talk him down again. Only God could save Rick and me now.
Terry was suddenly distracted by a noise on the front porch. He went to the door and jerked it open, but no one was there. I had once again hoped that the police had arrived to save the day – hoping that Rick (or maybe Adam or Alicia) had called them. But it wasn't so. If someone had called them, they didn’t seem to be coming.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered to Rick.
“Saving you, what else?” he answered.
“Well, let me tell you, you’re doing a bang-up job of it. Don’t give up your singing career just yet.”
“Nice to see you can still be funny – even when a maniac is standing over us with a gun.”
“Shut up you two,” Terry bellowed. “I don’t want to shoot you. I’d prefer leaving you somewhere where the storm can do all the work. Give you
a little tiny bit of hope that you might be able to survive. But if you don’t stay quiet, I’ll finish it all right here.”
Another loud noise came from outside. This time it was like something had smashed up against the house. Terry yanked the door open again. This time he walked out on the porch. I looked around and tried to figure out a way Rick and I could escape. The handcuffs were going to be a problem, but we still might be able to lock Terry out of the house. Before I could relay my plan to Rick, I heard a whisper from the back of the house calling my name. I turned around and saw Alicia motioning for me to come towards the backdoor. Rick had seen her, too, so we both got up and hurried in her direction. We were heading out the door when I heard Terry say, “Stop right there, or I’ll blow his head off.”
We all turned around. Terry was standing in the middle of the living room with his gun pointed at Adam’s head. We all stopped dead in our tracks even though Adam yelled, “Run! Don’t worry about me.” Terry then hit him hard on the back of his head, and Adam went down to his knees. There was absolutely no way I was leaving Adam. I pulled on Rick’s hand to indicate that we needed to go back into the other room.
“Next time I won’t be so gentle,” Terry was saying to Adam. Then he turned to Alicia who had followed Rick and I back into the house. “There’s some nylon cord under the sink in the kitchen. Get it.” While Alicia was retrieving the rope, Terry forced Adam into the chair I had been handcuffed to earlier. When Alicia returned with the yellow rope, Terry said, “I want you to tie this guy up. And make sure it’s tight. If you don’t tie him good, I’ll have to shoot him – and maybe you too.”
Alicia proceeded to tie Adam to the chair, tying his hands in front of him. I thought Terry would stop her and make her tie them in back, but he didn’t. Adam struggled a little, but when Terry pointed the gun at me, he stopped fighting completely. Next, Terry made Alicia unlock the handcuffs that held Rick and me together. He then had her handcuff my hands behind my back and tie Rick’s behind him. Finally, Terry tied Alicia to a chair that he pulled up beside Adam.
“Looks like the gang is all here,” Terry said with a laugh. “All except that dead guy back on Alicia’s floor. You’ll all be joining him soon enough. I’ll just use that truck out there to make my escape. I’d like to say I’m going to miss you, Brandy, but I don’t really feel it right now. I’m so glad your friend Rick showed up to help me get over you completely.”
I had to try and stop Terry. “Please, Terry, you can’t do this. You aren’t really a killer. You only killed Fisher to protect me, and Jack forced your hand – that was self-defense…”
Alicia interrupted. “You killed Fisher? If I wasn’t tied up, I’d shake your hand, Terry.”
Terry ignored Alicia. He was looking at me. “Just shut up! I’m through listening to you. You’re just trying to save your neck – and your boyfriend’s.” He shot Rick a look of contempt.
Rick spoke up, “I’m not her boyfriend. I was looking for my friend Adam. I thought he was over here with you and Brandy. When I was about to knock on the door, I heard Brandy scream. I thought she was in trouble, so I tried to help. I think you’re just a little confused and a lot upset. I’m sure we can straighten this out.”
“Great, Rick,” Alicia said, “Now you’ve really pissed him off. Didn’t I once tell you that you always say the wrong thing?”
“Everybody just shut up! I’m about to kill you, and you sit here yakking like you’re at a party.” Terry was getting angrier by the second. “And I don’t care if you’re her boyfriend or not,” he said to Rick. “It’s gone beyond that now. Everybody has to die. And I think I’ll start with you…”
Terry turned around and pointed the gun at Adam’s head. I screamed, “No!” and jumped up off the sofa and in front of Adam. Terry didn’t fire, but he had a smirk on his face.
“So this is your boyfriend. I should have known. Brandy always likes the pretty ones.”
Rick just couldn’t let that go. “Hey, I’m better looking than he is.”
“So does that mean you want to go first?” Terry asked, turning to face Rick.
“No, no. That’s quite alright.”
“You, Mr. Hartwood, are a piece of work. You think quite a lot of yourself. And you are a coward. Still, I won’t hold that against you.”
Terry continued to talk to Rick. He didn’t seem to mind that I was in front of Adam. I felt Adam’s hand touching mine and I wanted to cry. But he wasn’t trying to hold my hand to reassure me. He was unlocking my handcuffs! I had no idea where he had gotten the key, but I didn’t remember Alicia ever returning them to Terry. I glanced over at her and she smiled wanly. Adam freed my hands and tucked the handcuffs under one of his legs so Terry wouldn’t see.
My hands were free, but now what?
Terry wasn’t paying attention to anyone except Rick. Rick was going on and on about how he could make Terry rich and help him disappear if Terry would just let him go. He didn’t seem to be arguing for our release, but then he was Rick – what did I expect? At least Terry wasn’t yelling or pointing the gun. In fact, his grip on the gun was slipping. He was becoming animated as he taunted Rick, and he was so engrossed that he had forgotten about the gun.
Very deftly, I plucked the gun out of Terry’s hand.
Chapter 12
Terry whirled around in a flash, but he was too slow. I already had a bead on him, and I had backed up out of his reach.
“Okay, Terry. The shoe is on the other foot now. You need to untie my friends before I put a hole in you.” I remained amazingly calm, but I was praying under my breath. God was in control, and I was so thankful that it wasn’t me.
“Come on, Brandy. Give me the gun back and I won’t have to hurt you.”
I aimed above Terry’s head and squeezed off a round. I was certain he could feel the breeze off of the speeding bullet. “I said untie my friends.”
Terry kept walking towards me. I didn’t want to kill him, but I wasn’t going to let him get the gun. I was a decent shot; Vince had insisted I practice at the shooting range after Sam had been vandalized. I moved the nozzle of the gun down and aimed for his right shoulder. “I will shoot, Terry. Please don’t make me.”
Terry wasn’t buying my act. He was getting way too close and I was almost against the wall. I prayed that I wouldn’t kill him, and then I pulled the trigger. The bullet tore into Terry’s shoulder and he fell to the ground, shocked and in pain. I started to move passed him, and Adam said, “Brandy – here.”
I looked in his direction and he was holding the handcuffs in front of him. He then moved his hands down and tossed the cuffs onto the floor in front of me. I grabbed them and turned back towards Terry. Terry was now in a sitting position and trying his best to get up. I turned the gun on him and said, “Don’t move, Terry. Put your hands behind you.”
He glanced over his shoulder and saw the gun aimed at him. He gave a defeated sigh and put his hands behind his back. I quickly locked the cuffs on him as tightly as I could. While still holding the gun on him, I went into the edge of the kitchen to locate a knife so I could set everyone free. The knife block was sitting right on the end of the counter, so I was able to locate a sharp knife and still train my gun on Terry.
I cut Alicia loose, and then Adam. I contemplated leaving Rick tied up, but he looked so pitiful that I decided to go ahead and free him. I longed to fly into the safety of Adam’s arms, but I knew we still had to make sure Terry was secure and then we had to get away from the house.
Adam and Rick lifted Terry to his feet and laid him down on the sofa. Terry was clearly in a lot of pain and he was bleeding profusely. All of the fight had gone out of him, and I was afraid he was going into shock. As best as I could, I tried to alleviate his bleeding and Alicia found some Ibuprofen to give him. I was sure it wouldn’t help the pain, but Alicia wanted to try. Even though Terry had wanted to end our lives, we were desperate to save his.
I picked up our house phone to call 911 for an ambulance and
the police. The phone had no dial tone. Earlier I would have imagined that Terry had cut the line, but now I could just as easily blame the storm. We were going to have to take Terry out of here ourselves.
I wasn’t sure how long it had been since Terry forced me to leave Alicia’s with him. It was dark outside, but I didn’t know if that was because night had fallen or because of the storm. “We’ve got to get out of here. The phone is dead. Terry is in bad shape, and we will be too if we get caught up in this storm.”
Just then, there was an earsplitting crash out in front of the house. Adam rushed to the front door, switched on the porch light, and jerked the door open. We were all horrified to see that a huge pecan tree had split almost in half and fell, landing squarely on the Meyers’ truck. The windshield was shattered and the cab was crushed. My heart sank when I realized we were now faced with another obstacle.
“It will still run, won’t it?” Alicia asked.
“No, Alicia, I don’t imagine that it will,” Rick answered. “And even if it would, there’s a several hundred pound tree lying on top of it. We wouldn’t be able to move it in that wind.”
“We’re all going to die, aren’t we?” Alicia remarked. As she began sobbing, Rick took her in his arms and tried to comfort her. I was touched by his show of concern for someone other than himself.
Adam was trying to figure out a plan to keep us safe. We couldn’t possibly walk out of the neighborhood the way Terry and I had walked in. Apparently Alicia and Adam had walked in too since there were no other vehicles in sight.
“We’ve got to get the doors blocked while we still have power. The wind is getting strong enough to blow them open. We won’t be able to stop the flooding, but hopefully we can climb up on something to keep us dry. I’m hoping the water won’t get too high, but I saw some crazy high waves on the bay earlier. They are bound to be worse now, and this house isn’t too far from the water.” Adam was acting calm, but I knew he was worried about all of us. He asked Rick to help him move some of the heavier furniture in front of the doors, and they soon had them secured – unless, of course, a tornado struck. Then all bets would be off.
For The Least Of These Page 26
