She Knows Her God

by Joy Ohagwu

  When June didn’t respond, Asia pressed. “We’ll be discreet and thorough, and we’ll make sure you are comfortable with our choices before we finalize. I’m your sister. I would never send someone in your path who means you harm. Plus, I’ll be sure to let them know that, if they mess with you, they’ll have me to deal with.”

  An accepting sigh sailed through, calming Asia’s anxiety. “Alright. I guess we’ll see about it when you come home? Be careful out there, okay? As you think of me, think about yourself too. Your job is too risky and life-threatening. I wished you did some other kind of work. I love you, and I won’t lose you due to your work. You should start to consider safer professions than finding missing persons. Not that I don’t care, but maybe something that keeps you at home and safe. Even a police career is better.”

  “I’ll promise to think about your suggestion. You know why I got into this.”

  A brief pause punctuated the call. “Yes, I do. But maybe it’s time to give it up and let things go.”

  “I don’t think I can. If it were me, would you give it up?”

  “No.” June’s answer was quick. “But I’d be searching out of love and not guilt or blame,” she countered, her words prickling Asia’s heart.

  “I’m sure you would. You know me well.” She was about to get defensive when her phone chimed with another incoming call. “Someone is calling. I’ve got to go. I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetie. How long until you come home?”

  “A couple of days.”

  “Please keep me posted, okay?” June’s yawn was enough of a dismissal even if a call wasn’t lingering.

  “I will. And, yes, I’ll stay as safe as possible. Bye.” Asia moved the phone from her ear and rose. Something cracked against her window as she hung up, so she dove under the bed and bit her lip.

  Maybe she should’ve taken the tub as her bed tonight.

  Chapter Five

  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. Isaiah 43:2

  * * *

  Marcy Bancroft stared at the road before her. She wasn’t sure whether her hands gripping the steering wheel shook harder or her lips that wouldn’t—couldn’t—utter the words she fled the house with. “She hates me.” The words dragged out like a cigarette on its last draw as she recalled from her smoking days. “Julia hates me.” She sniffed, but the cold air snapping into her lungs did nothing to calm her wound-up nerves. “And it’s my fault.”

  She was already on the path to blame. Why stop now? “I ruined everything. I didn’t trust her when I should’ve.” Her bottom lip trembled more violently. A vehicle crawled past her, some young men blasting music inside it, but her mind was deafened to it.

  “Sweet Jesus, please, God, lay Your holy hand on my heart. It’s crashing. It’s bleeding. It’s broken. It needs You. I need You, Jesus my Lord. What am I supposed to do now?” She stared out the windshield. The vehicle with the young men had disappeared from her view as fog welled up from the road. Maybe it would rain? She didn’t hear anything in the forecast. “I better go now or else…”

  She couldn’t trust herself in the house alone with her wild negative thoughts. Since the chances were slim that Julia would call again and Marcy didn’t care for anyone else’s call, she turned the ignition and shifted the gear into Drive.

  Better to arrive at Pastor Yohanna’s church before it got too dark or started raining. She hated driving on wet roads. She drove out into the street, glanced through her mirror, and entered traffic. Pastor Yohanna had to know what state of mind she was in now. She’d called the church, hoping for over-the-phone counseling, but when she learned the pastor was free, she’d chosen to drive in. With her unsure about the state of her emotions and her ability to transmit their overwhelming power over the phone, a physical visitation felt better. Her choices narrowed further when she saw her phone’s battery was down. She’d forgotten to charge it the previous night and had been busy through the day. So, tossing it on the kitchen counter before leaving the house—with a plan to plug it in her bedroom where her charger was when she returned—felt like a good idea. She’d use the church phone if needed. Besides, she’d make it back by dinner so she could be home should Julia decide to show up. Thankfully, enough food was already prepared and in the fridge for both of them—if they summoned an appetite.

  Pushing aside thoughts of dinner, she eased into the road and guided her car to the intersection. Turning right, she proceeded to the windy, cool, and darkening roadway. About fifteen minutes in, she was a few minutes from the church premises when thunder crackled overhead.

  “No rain, please.” It was more a wish than a prayer. She drove on, and raindrops pelted her windshield. She switched on her headlights and her blinkers, and was pressing the brake to reduce her speed when the full downpour pummeled the area. Already the tip of the cross rose over the church around the bend. So she increased her speed slightly but, apparently, too soon.

  Marcy didn’t see the vehicle that had stopped in the middle of the road.

  Nor the man who stepped out without looking.

  Music blared from the inside speakers.

  She swerved.

  But instead of gaining control, she heard a thud, and then her heart hammered her chest. Had she—yes, she’d hit the man! But he’d merely been sideswiped and was alive, scrambling to his feet.

  The vehicle careened down the gravel shoulder and rammed into a sprawling oak. Something pierced her side and her midsection, and warm wetness soaked her clothing. Her vision blurred as the rain slapped the windshield and something cracked. The windshield shattered, and splinters of glass rained on her. She attempted to cry for help—now, more than her heart was cracked, broken, and bleeding—but fluid filled her lungs and spread like fire inside her, sealing the words from utterance.

  As she bowed over, pain cascaded over her body inside and out. Was she dying? She groped toward the door, but her hand fell limp on the armrest just when a tree branch crashed on the car, sinking the roof toward her head.

  The airbag deploying was the last sound she heard. Julia—and the secret surrounding her birth that she hadn’t gotten to tell her—was her last thought before she faded into blackness.

  “I counted. You’re short by one girl.” The voice boomed.

  Still rubbing cream over the bee stings from earlier, the lead kidnapper sighed. When did this restinging stop? “We were blindsided. One girl made trouble. We—I lost her. That shouldn’t be a problem for the boss.”

  “Wrong. You’ll want to go and get a replacement soon.”

  “I’m dealing with swells around my body from these terrible bee stings.” He growled. “You don’t expect me to work under such conditions, eh?”

  “Are you new to this job? Your bee stings don’t matter. In fact, I’m looking at the boss holding a gun to Diego’s head. He will pull the trigger if you won’t go.”

  Another growl escaped. Diego was a good fellow. No use losing the man’s life over a girl. “Fine. Tell him I’ll go.” He got up.

  Just one more girl.

  “Boss man said you better get that girl in one hour or Diego would be dead.”

  “Don’t threaten me! Fine. I said I’m going. Now.” He hung up, rounded up three men, and headed back up the hill. Just one more girl. Then he’d get paid and disappear.

  Asia dropped her phone to silent and crawled to the far wall. Then she waited. If someone tried to hurt her, she would fight back—hard. Realizing she’d disconnected the second incoming call as well, she groaned. Reaching over, she retrieved her phone and hit redial without checking while eyeing the window as the curtain flapped. Was it open before she arrived or did that happen through someone else while she was in the shower?

  She gave herself a mental shake. Had someone entered the hotel room, she couldn’t have missed it. Certain she was alone, she continued to the call.

  “Hello? Miss Asia?” a male voice said when they picked up.

  As she recognized the vaguely
familiar voice, her shoulders slacked a bit. “Police Officer Ramirez?”

  “Yes. I threw a stone to your window to alert you. I will be entering the hotel in a few minutes and heading to your room. I didn’t want you to open the door shooting.”

  “Whew. You scared me.” She pushed off the ground, walked to the window, scanning the dark outdoors, and smiled. There he was, clad in a casual dark-blue shirt with gray pants, looking like his picture. When she waved, he waved back. “Alright. I’ll use the time to unclog the door so you can enter.”

  “Unclog?” His voice inched up a few notches.

  “Oh, that’s my way of saying I piled stuff against the door. You know—”

  “Oh, for safety reasons. I got it.”

  “Great. I’ll see you soon.” She disconnected the call and moved to declutter the doorway.

  As she finished, someone rapped on the door, and she opened it. “Thank you for coming.” She’d just stepped aside to allow him in as her phone rang. So she walked back to the bed and picked it up. Accepting the call, she waved Ramirez in, and he stood a bit from the doorway, glancing around the room. “Hello? Who is this?”

  “Asia, it’s me.”

  A slight pause was all it took before Asia blinked. “Latricia? Sis, are you alright?” Her sister hadn’t called her since she left her a message a couple of days earlier. She’d never heard her speak with such uncertainty—and she didn’t recognize the number she’d called from. Asia had made a mental note to reach out to her when she was back in town. “Did you get my voicemail?”

  The pause came from her sister’s end this time. “I–I’m here. Yes, I got your messages, and I called the police station, telling them I was your sister and that I needed to see you so they gave me the hotel address. I just reached near the hill and maybe I took the wrong turn.”

  Asia’s mouth dropped open. “Do you mean you traveled here to see me? Here in Mexico? And you’re close to my hotel? Wait—are you near the hill?” Placing a hand over her heart did nothing to still its faster beating.

  “I can’t get into all the reasons on the phone.” Another brief pause. “Plus, I think I’m lost. Can you please come get me?”

  “What are you wearing?”

  “A blue dress. Well, and sneakers. Not a great combination, but I guess when you have to leave in a hurry it doesn’t matter.”

  Pushing her curiosity aside, she focused on her sister’s safety. “We’re on our way. I’ll be wearing a peach color jacket so you can easily spot me. Trish, don’t move, don’t go to the very top of the hill, and please stay on the phone.” Asia said just as the network on her phone flashed No Service, disconnecting the call. “We lost the call.”

  She waved to Officer Ramirez and grabbed a jacket, then retrieved her gun and a flashlight from her luggage. “Latricia has really done it this time! A sudden visit outside the country is one way to make an entrance.” No reason to tell him her sister loved attention and surprising others. This was not a pleasant surprise. And she would make that clear. “She’s my little sister.”

  Just in case he missed that. She led the way out of the room, stepped into the hallway, then locked the door. “She’s here. I think she might be near the top of the hill.” As they walked, she detailed to him what had happened to her there and how she’d escaped.

  Officer Ramirez’s eyes rounded. “That same hilltop where you were nearly taken is where she is right now?”

  Asia nodded, they stepped out of the hotel, and a driver pulled up. “I think so. She said she’s lost, so I assume she’s left her ride and is walking, matching up the addresses.”

  “The addresses here are not synchronized. It ends at the top on one side and continues from the bottom of the hill back up on the other side,” he informed. “It’s something they did to discourage crime.”

  “Which means Latricia might be headed up the hill, regardless?” She sighed as they entered the unmarked police car. “The network is still off. Please, hurry.”

  The man spoke in Spanish, instructing the driver. The driver followed the instructions and made a U-turn to navigate toward the top of the hill. “I’ve called to request backup just in case.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” She detailed what Latricia was wearing. “I have not forgotten the main reason you came. We’ll talk about the missing girls later.”

  “We can discuss them upon our return to the hotel.”

  They reached the incline leading to the hilltop, and her heart pounded hard.

  Why had Latricia come here? She didn’t exactly like international travel, but she loved going to quaint local places to spend some time. Her comment about leaving in a hurry offered no consolation either.

  What if she was in trouble?

  What kind of trouble could she be in?

  Was Asia the best person to help her?

  They’d struggled to agree on anything when it came to addressing Latricia’s deficiencies because her sister became defensive. Who knew what caused this visit and if Asia could do anything to help?

  While the driver eased toward the roadside to idle and wait for them to find Latricia on foot, someone who resembled her sister stood at the top of the hill, fumbling with her phone. Asia gasped. “That might be Latricia standing up there. But it’s a bit dark there, so I need to get closer. I said she shouldn’t go up there. Why didn’t she listen?”

  “Don’t get annoyed. Frankly, as an adult, I wouldn’t get it either unless I understood why.” His gaze trailed Asia’s pointing finger. “If that’s her, she’s not paying attention to her environment. Her eyes are on her phone.” He jumped out of the car before it fully stopped. So did Asia on the other side.

  From her peripheral vision, something caught her eye, and she turned her head. A jacket she recognized came into view. Now, where had she seen it? It hit her—at the same moment she became sure the person at the top of the hill was Latricia.

  The jacket belonged to the man who’d tried to kidnap her—and his gaze pinned on Latricia.

  Adrenaline raced through Asia. “Ramirez! That’s the guy who tried to kidnap me.” She pointed him out. “Detective, he’s got his eyes on my sister.”

  She wanted to shout to warn her sister, but that could warn the kidnapper too—especially if he recognized her.

  Pulling her gun out and taking off the safety, she kept it pointed to the ground.

  “These guys must be reckless and assuming they’ll keep getting away with it. Go left while I go right,” Ramirez instructed. “Backup is on the way, but we don’t want the kidnapper knowing we’re hot on his trail.”

  “Got it. I defer to you as the officer on site.” She wasn’t an officer and was limited in what she could push for. Which made her consider the change of career she’d been advised on. She pushed that to the background and focused on their task—intercepting a kidnapper and extracting her sister to safety. “I’ll approach from where she can see me.”

  A quick nod trailed her words.

  Asia angled her body to hide when they parted, and the kidnapper—as though sensing he was being followed—stopped and turned. Some other men also turned.

  So, he was not alone.

  Ramirez, nearly on the other side of the street, nodded in her direction before approaching from the opposite side. With most of the shops closed, those still open were shutting down, the smaller kiosks tarping their wares.

  She narrowed past them to the top of the hill, and her gaze locked on the kidnapper.

  His brows dipping, he clenched his hands upon sighting her. “You!” He pointed at her. “The girl who made the bees sting me.” Only a slight hesitation paused his steps—like he would flee. Then he frowned like he’d recalled something and reconsidered—before he grabbed Latricia’s hand, hurrying her in the opposite end.

  “Freeze!” Asia shouted. “You can’t take her.”

  The other men began rounding off Latricia who screamed. “Asia, help! Who are these men?”

  Her sister’s cry reached somewher
e deep inside her, so deep she simply reacted. Asia tucked her gun, then ran forward, ignoring the pain in her arm. She pounced on the man and pummeled his head. If she shot at him, he might use Latricia as a human shield.

  “Get off me!” He pushed at her—still holding onto Latricia—but Asia didn’t budge. She had her hand around his neck, squeezing until he released Latricia. He punched her belly with his now-free hand. She groaned and doubled back, but Ramirez claimed Latricia and ushered her toward safety.

  Only then, did Asia raise her gun. “If you follow us, you’re all dead.” She hoped they took that seriously.

  At least, they paused long enough for Asia to ease away while he ground his teeth at her. “We’ll get you!”

  “You missed your chance.” Falling behind Latricia and Ramirez, she reached the car. When they all got in, the driver revved them out of the area. “Wait. My stuff is in the hotel.”

  “We’ll get it in the morning. There’s no way you’re staying in the lion’s den tonight. This entire area may be part of their network.”

  “I need to find those girls! If this is what happened to them, I have to see what else I can find.” At her words, Ramirez stared sternly, but she stared right back. “Their families are counting on me. I won’t give up.”

  He sighed. “We’ll go back tomorrow. For now, let’s get you and your sister to safety and regroup.”

  She could accept time to regroup. “Alright then.” Only then did she turn to Latricia—whose eyes blinked wide like she was dreaming. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

  “From who?”

  “I’ll explain.” But would Latricia be ready for the long story Asia hadn’t planned on needing to tell?

  Chapter Six

  Then I will cause him to draw near… Jeremiah 30:21

  * * *

  “Get me everything you know about that house,” Detective Gary Jeremiah Bancroft ordered. Hours had passed, and he was no closer to finding his niece. But he had no doubt. There had to be a connection between what she’d asked him to help her look into and her sudden disappearance. Worse still, at the time, he’d only paid half attention to her.