“Perfect. Now, let’s go finish setting that trap.”
“And see who we catch.”
“I hate to ask you again, but are you absolutely sure it was Peter in the shed with you?”
“Unless someone else has a tattoo of Keren on their wrist, spelled K-E-R-E-N.” Spelling her cousin’s name brought tears to her eyes. “Thank you for doing it this way, Nate. I have to know the truth. I have to know if Keren’s involved or not.”
He reached over and patted her hand. “I understand completely. I’d want to know that too if it was my family.”
“Why didn’t he just kill me after I signed?”
“I can’t tell you what’s in his mind, but I’m guessing he thought that rigged-up bomb would do the trick. He had it on a timer and then made sure he would be with witnesses when it happened so that no one would suspect it was him. Then he could pop up with the will he forced you to sign.”
“Makes sense. Do you think Keren was in on it?”
“I really don’t know, Angelina. She seems to really care about you, but how could Peter have gotten you out of the house without her knowing about it?” He didn’t mention that Keren had never liked him at all.
“How will we prove whether Keren was involved for sure?”
“I’m thinking their conversations should tell us what we need to know. If she’s involved they’ll be talking about it. If they don’t talk about it, I’d say she’s in the clear.”
“That makes sense. How will we do that?”
Nate held up his cell phone. “No time for a bug. I’ll hide this in the kitchen for now. I’ll get a few more bugs set up by the end of the day. In the meantime, you stay in the living room so they have to go to the kitchen to talk privately.”
“Got it. What will you do?”
“After I get the phone in the kitchen, I’ll check out your apartment. See if I can find those ghosts.”
They pulled into the drive. Her car was still in the same spot from the night before.
She looked at Nate. “My car probably has some sort of recorder or player in it. That’s probably how I heard him breathing. And the footsteps.”
“And the voice in your apartment as well. I’ll check it out. But first let’s get in the house before he does. We want to throw him off his game.”
“You can park behind the garage. He shouldn’t be able to see the car there.”
The two of them walked up the steps, hand in hand. She squeezed his. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure. I want to get this all behind you, too. I want you healthy so I can keep that promise.” He winked.
Remembering his kiss, she leaned against him. “Sounds like a plan.”
Before she could press the doorbell, the door opened. Keren squealed. “Angelina. Are you OK? What happened? Where were you?”
“Didn’t Peter call you?”
“Peter? Why? Was he with you?”
“Let’s go in the house, ladies.” Nate herded them in.
“Let’s talk in the living room,” Angelina said. “Nate, would you mind getting me some water?”
“Not at all.” He walked away.
She couldn’t break down now. She had to know the truth. Had Keren been involved? Her heart said no, but her mind said maybe. “I was kidnapped.”
Keren’s eyes grew wide and her face paled. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not quite sure what happened, but I woke up tied to a bed today in complete darkness. Just the way I was in Luther’s basement. It turned out I was at the Diamond plant. In an old guard shack.”
Keren’s hand flew to her mouth. She looked horrified. “Just like before?”
“But it’s over. They arrested someone.”
Keren looked as if she might pass out. From guilt? Her voice was a whisper when she asked, “Who was it? Who did that to you?”
Before she could answer, the door opened.
“Keren? Are you home?”
“In here, Peter.”
He walked in. His mouth dropped open as he stared at Angelina. “I thought you were going to see Dr. Markley.”
“I changed my mind. I wanted to come home. Be with my family.”
Keren hugged her as she said the words.
Please don’t let Keren be involved.
He smiled. “Are you feeling better?”
She nodded. “Peter helped find me.”
“I’m confused. How did you know what was going on? How did you end up at the Diamond plant, Peter?” Keren asked.
“You told me that’s where Nate was going. I wanted to help.”
“I did? I don’t remember that.”
Strike one.
“Probably because you were so upset about Angelina being missing.”
“I guess.”
Nate walked back in the room with a bottle of water. “Here you go, Angelina.”
Peter paled. “Didn’t know you were here, Nate.” His voice was shaky.
Strike two.
“Just getting some water for Angelina.”
“I’d think you’d have a ton to do at the crime scene.”
“Not at all. It’s not my crime scene. That’s the county.”
He nodded. “OK. Well, if everyone’s all right, I’ve got things to do.” He turned to leave the room.
“Like what, Peter?” Keren’s voice turned shrill. “Angelina just got home from being kidnapped. We need to make sure she’s safe. That she’s all right.”
“She’s safe. She’s here. I don’t know what you want me to do.” Peter looked over at her. “Of course, if you want me to stay that’s fine. I don’t have anything that pressing to do.”
“No need,” Angelina said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I need to go, too.” Nate winked at her. “But first, I’m checking your car and your apartment for tape recorders or mp3 players.”
“Why on earth would you need to do that?” Keren’s eyes widened.
Peter’s eyes flitted from Nate to her to Keren. He seemed ready to hyperventilate.
Nate looked at her. “Didn’t you tell her, Angelina?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I didn’t have time. We think someone’s been gaslighting me. Right, Nate. That’s the right term?”
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t have bad dreams or hallucinations. We’re pretty sure someone planted devices to make me think I was hallucinating. To make me think I was having a nervous breakdown.”
She glanced at Peter. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an upcoming car.
“That’s an awful thing.” Keren was appalled. Either that or she was the best actress Angelina had ever seen.
“Why don’t you go with me, Peter? Out to her car?”
He blinked. “Well, I need to—”
“Need to what? You go help him. There’s nothing more important than proving that this guy was out to hurt Angelina.” Keren looked at her. “Who did you say got arrested?”
“Some guy from my support group.”
“You’re kidding. Unbelievable. I knew that place wasn’t any good for you.” She glared at Nate as if it was his fault.
“Let’s go check out the car, Peter,” Nate said.
“Me, too.” Angelina smiled at Peter. “I want to see it for myself.”
Nate slipped on a latex glove that he pulled from a pocket then opened her car door. He felt under the passenger seat. He held up the prize. “This looks like the culprit.” He pressed a button.
Breathing. And then the voice asking, “Do you want to play a game with me, Ange?”
Keren squinted at the media player. “Peter, that looks just like yours. It even has that scratch I put on it. I—” She stopped speaking as if suddenly realizing what that meant. “Peter?”
“Shut up, Keren. Don’t say another word.”
Strike three.
“I don’t understand.” Keren shook her head. “What did you do?”
“Peter’s the one who kidnapped me. Not
the man from my group.”
Keren’s gaze flew first to Angelina, and then to her husband. “Peter? That can’t be true.”
“I saw his arm with your name tattooed on it,” Angelina told her. “His sleeve slipped when he was taunting me.”
Keren turned to Peter. “Is that true? Why? Angelina’s been so kind to us.” Her voice broke and tears streamed down her face. “Look at all she’s done for us.”
“Kind? Throwing us a few crumbs like we’re dogs. While she had the whole cake. It wasn’t fair. We deserved some of that money.”
And you’re out.
Keren covered her mouth with her hand, her expression melting into horror. “Oh…I’m so sorry, Angelina. I…I didn’t know.” She crumpled to the ground, sobbing. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…”
Angelina’s heart lifted from the heavy pall of mistrust.
Keren hadn’t known.
And that was all Angelina needed to know.
28
Angelina sat in a chaise lounge chair on the deck of her childhood home, alone and in the dark. The stars were twinkling against a velvet black night. Beautiful. She took a deep breath, glad that she could appreciate the beauty of the night again.
For the moment, she and Keren were staying together in the house. Just the way a family was supposed to do. They would get through this together. Keren was devastated, completely stricken by what her husband had done to Angelina. She’d tried to leave, but Angelina wouldn’t hear of it. Keren would need a lot of support to get through this, and Angelina planned to be there through every step.
Hopefully, Peter would forego a trial, but at the moment, he was still insisting he wasn’t guilty, despite the evidence. Which meant a trial.
Angelina was strong enough to handle it—with God’s help. Which was amazing. She definitely wasn’t the same person who’d been trapped in Luther Marks’ basement. Somewhere in the past few days, she’d gotten un-trapped. All those baby steps had taken her to the right place. The place she wanted to be.
Helping others really worked. It didn’t make sense but she was finding out that was true about a lot of things in God’s Kingdom. Now, she had to help Keren, who’d given so much to help her.
Her gaze moved up to the night sky once again. Thousands of stars twinkled to remind her that God was still God and that He loved her. And His love was enough, no matter the circumstances. “I don’t know what will happen. But I want You with me on the journey. With You, all things are possible,” she whispered into the heavens.
The stars seemed to twinkle brighter for a few seconds as if God was agreeing with her. She sat in the chair staring into the night sky, savoring the feeling of complete peace, even in the midst of the storm she’d been in the past few days. She heard a rustling and then footsteps. But instead of being afraid, she leaned forward, eager to see who the steps belonged to.
“Hey, Angelina.” Nate walked up the back steps of the deck. “What’s going on?”
“Just sitting here and enjoying the night. It’s a beautiful night, don’t you think?”
He arched a brow. “I thought you were afr—didn’t like the dark.”
“Things change.” She shrugged as she scooted down on the chaise lounge, making room for him. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come or not.”
“Are you kidding me? After you left me such a mysterious message to meet you on your deck after dark, how could I resist? So why exactly are you sitting out here in the dark?”
“Two reasons, actually.”
He sat down beside her. “That sounds intriguing. Do tell.”
“First, I wanted to prove I wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore.”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me.”
She looked over at him with a smile. “I wasn’t trying to prove it to you. That was for me.”
“Oh. Makes sense. So did you prove it to yourself?”
“I think I did. Something feels different. Inside me. Sometime in the past few days, my stopwatch started ticking again. I’m not trapped in Luther Marks’ basement.”
“That’s terrific news.” His hand touched hers.
“There might still be some setbacks, but I’m ready.”
“Ready for what?”
Her pulse quickened. “That brings me to my second reason for being out here.”
He smiled. “What’s that?”
“Before I tell you, I want you to know that God’s a part of my journey now, and that won’t change. Ever. So…” She shrugged, her courage was failing. “I…I just wanted you to know that before I tell the other part.”
“That sounds pretty good to me. What’s the other part?”
She scooted closer to him. “I think I’ve made a giant leap forward to the healthy me. And I’m ready.”
“Ready for what?” He leaned closer.
She smiled. “For you to keep your promise.”
Their lips touched. She closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
They parted.
“How’s that for a promise kept?” Nate asked as he touched her cheek.
“Not bad, but I think we can do better.”
A Devotional Moment
So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ~ Matthew 10:31
Fear is a double-edged sword. Being scared stops some from fulfilling their dreams, their purpose, and their full potential. But fright can also be caused by others who seek to harm. When one is trapped within the evil intent of another, it can be difficult to break free. Surrounded by distress, pain, and fear, one can feel heart-wrenchingly alone. Evildoers may claim that their victim is unworthy, unlovable, has no value. But that is not true. God loves, values, and believes in us all. With His help we can overcome fear, no matter what the circumstances, whether it is fear to overcome our own issues, or fear from another. God can release us from the chains that hold us back from achieving our goals.
In Trapped, the protagonist is in fear for her life. While alone, she has time to reflect that she has not used her God-given talents or lived up to the potential of all she could be. When she is freed, she discovers that she is still trapped in fear. Her captor haunts her, but her sins haunt her even more.
Have you ever felt trapped and alone—even in the midst of family, friends and coworkers? It can be depressing and debilitating. But, did you know that through the power of the Most High God, you have the ability to free yourself from fear? It takes an act of the mind and the will. It might not be easy, but whenever you’re in a situation that has you feeling trapped and alone, remind yourself that God loves you, values you and will never forsake you. The very fact that you can draw your next breath is proof that you are not forsaken or undervalued. And because of that, you have no reason to fear or to feel trapped in a situation that is out of your control.
LORD, FREE ME FROM MY SIN AND HELP ME TO USE THE TALENTS YOU HAVE PROVIDED AND ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN FOR ME. GIVE ME COURAGE AND STRENGTH TO MOVE FORWARD IN FAITH. IN JESUS’ NAME I PRAY, AMEN.
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AMDG
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