Hidden in Harmony: Danger is Imminent (Harmony Series Book 1)

by JR Thompson

  Collin knew the family didn’t have the resources to acquire a lawyer, but he also knew he was a child of The King. God was able to take care of all of their needs. If it was in God’s will for them to obtain legal counsel, God would make a way. If it wasn’t in God’s will, well, at least he would have time to figure out what to say or not to say about Brock.

  Once the sheriff left, Remington told his side of the story. Miss Aragon had been out sick and a substitute teacher, Mr. Twang, had filled in for her.

  Mr. Twang was a new substitute — one Remmy had never seen or heard of before. He was a short and stout man and Remmy guessed he was in his mid-twenties. He described Mr. Twang as being quite different. “He brought a two liter of orange soda to class,” he said. “He didn’t pour it in a cup. He chugged it straight from the bottle.”

  Remington went on to explain that Twang had been wearing two jackets, but at the same time he had shorts on — and no socks. Before Dad could ask, Remmy informed them he had been sporting a pair of black cleats. Not only were his mannerisms and dress different, but Twang didn’t seem to know what he was doing. He appeared nervous, as if it was the first time he had ever subbed anywhere.

  “Anyway,” Remmy continued, “Mr. Twang said he wanted to get to know us. So he went around the room, asking all of us to tell a little bit about ourselves.”

  Collin was concerned, “What kind of information did he ask you to share?”

  “Just basic stuff — our name, age, who we live with, where our parents work, and stuff like that.”

  Remmy said Mr. Twang jotted down notes on their answers — not on every student’s answers though, just on some of them.

  “Right after I answered him, he excused himself for a moment to go to the restroom. The next thing we knew, Mrs. Randolph came over the intercom system and said there was an emergency evacuation and that we all had to leave the building. Mr. Twang rushed back into the room. He led us outside and we just mixed into the crowd of students and teachers.”

  Apparently, the sheriff showed up at their safety zone and talked to Mrs. Randolph. Mrs. Randolph took the officer to Remington.

  He asked Remmy if he knew how a bomb had gotten into his locker and when he told him no, the officer doubted his honesty. He then asked him if he had given anyone else his combination. Again, he told the officer no. Other students, and even a few teachers, kept coming close, trying to see what was going on. Mrs. Randolph would tell them to walk away and they would for a moment or two, but then they would come right back.

  Eventually, the school busses arrived at the safety zone to take everyone home. “The sheriff said I couldn’t ride the bus, so he brought me home,” Remington said.

  Brock suddenly crept in from the back door. “What was that all about?” he asked.

  CHAPTER 23 – TURNING UP THE HEAT

  The locker bomb caused Remington to be suspended from school for the first time in his life. No concrete evidence of his involvement with the bomb had been found, but the school said they could not take any chances. They had already received numerous phone calls and until the source of the bomb had been discovered, Remington would not be permitted on school grounds.

  The boy felt horrible. It wasn’t so much that he was being punished for something he didn’t do; it was more the enormity of the accusation that had been placed against him. For the school to suspend him meant they thought there was a real possibility he had done it. The teen wondered why anyone would want to frame him.

  “The only thing I can think of, is that God wants to get glory out of this,” he said. “He has a great plan of some kind. He might be planning to use this whole thing to make us all better people, like he did with Joseph.”

  “Is this Joseph you reference someone from the Bible?” Brock asked.

  If there was one thing about Brock that Remington enjoyed the most, it was definitely his ignorance of the Bible. Remington loved knowing more about a topic than an adult. “He is. He was his father’s favorite son. His brothers hated him because of the favoritism his dad showed him.”

  ◆◆◆

  Remington paused for a second.

  Realizing his son was about to rattle out a story that was going to last an hour or more, Collin dismissed himself from the living room.

  Unlike Remmy, Collin knew exactly why his boy had been framed. It was to tell Collin, “I wasn’t bluffing. I know where your family is and I have access to them.”

  Collin told Alayna he had to visit his prayer closet. Planning on being gone for a while, he ordered her to keep Remington inside and to keep the doors locked.

  Taking his Bible with him, Collin headed out to his special prayer place. When he got there, he found a piece of paper tacked to a beech tree right at eye level. Each word of the note had been cut out of various magazines and newspapers — someone was careful to not use their natural handwriting or even their computer to print the note. Collin was certain it had no fingerprints on it.

  The note read, “Collin, Collin, Collin. I certainly hope you got the message. No one has gotten hurt, yet. Call off the investigation or you will be sorry.”

  Collin was shaken. Whoever had called the store knew where Remington went to school and even which locker he used. They also knew where Collin’s special place of prayer was — the Russell family had a stalker.

  Nervously, Collin looked around him. Was it possible he was being watched as he took down the note? He peered up in the trees, looked over the creek bank, and glanced around in every direction. He saw no signs of life, but there were trees everywhere. It would have been simple for someone to have been watching him.

  He sat down, clutched his Bible in his hands, and began to pray, “God, things are getting worse. I don’t understand. Why did you allow us to take Brock in, knowing what was going to happen? You knew Brock was going to be there that night when we got home. You know I prayed and asked you what to do. God, I thought you told me to take him in. I thought you told me everything was going to be okay. I thought you showed me in the scriptures that you brought Brock to us for a reason. Why, God? Why aren’t you blessing us? Why are you letting us go through these trials?”

  Collin wasn’t praying silently. He prayed out loud, fervently. After about an hour or so of praying, Collin flipped his Bible open; he turned to one of his favorite stories. The one about Paul and Silas being whipped and thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. He had loved that story for years. It never ceased to amaze him how God allowed the two men to be arrested, beaten, and fastened in the stocks – all so the prison keeper and his family could end up getting saved.

  Tears began to swell up in Collin’s eyes. He was so thankful for the precious Word of God. If it wasn’t for that Living Book, he didn’t know how he would ever know what to do or where to turn.

  He had never been much of a decision maker. Before he met God and learned to seek and understand God’s will, he had made a lot of foolish decisions. Decisions that had cost him jobs, relationships, and a horrible reputation. It was a comfort to have the omnipotent, omniscient, all powerful, mighty God aid him with his decisions.

  A snapping twig startled Collin. He closed his Bible and hopped to his feet. About one hundred yards to his right, he caught sight of Brock.

  “What accomplishment are you seeking to master out here?” Brock called out.

  Why is Brock out here? Collin thought. Shouldn’t he still be listening to Remmy’s story? Collin didn’t know what to do or what to even think for that matter. Even though God had showed him several times through scripture that he and his family would not be harmed, he also felt Brock was a danger and he had to be cautious at all times.

  “I just came out to get a breath of fresh air. You ready to go back to the house?” Collin asked.

  Without mention of the mysterious note or how Brock had gotten out of the house so quickly after Collin’s departure, the two men began their journey back to the residence. The brief walk gave Collin just the amount of time he needed to ask B
rock about one of the things Nikki had mentioned to him at Just Right. “Brock, I have to ask you something. I hate to bring it up, but I don’t want things to stay bottled up anymore. No more secrets,” he said.

  “Ask away,” Brock replied.

  “Nikki happened upon an old newspaper article. It said you had been dismissed from Harmony High School for some kind of misconduct. Would you mind telling me what that was all about?” Collin asked.

  Brock chuckled nervously. “It was a huge misunderstanding.”

  “Well, tell me about it.”

  Grinning from ear to ear, Brock began telling him how the school had hired him to build a greenhouse for their community service class. Somehow, Brock said he misunderstood the whole concept of a greenhouse. “My contemplations were off kilter. I grasp the concept of a greenhouse. But without reason, for that juncture of time, my brain forsook me.”

  Brock said he built a small cabin behind the school and painted it green — he literally built a green house. The principal of the school felt like Brock was being a smart aleck. She had told him no one in their right mind was stupid enough to not understand those simple directions.

  “How is that even possible, Brock? How could you have misunderstood what kind of a greenhouse they wanted?”

  “I am as perplexed as you are. My only supposition is perhaps I was stupid enough after all,” Brock chuckled.

  Collin thought back to the allegations Victoria had made — the ones about Brock telling stories that made no sense whatsoever. This sure sounded like one of those “luring the neighbor’s cow back in the fence” kind of tales.

  By the end of their conversation, they began smelling something burning. With everything that had taken place, Collin sped up and Brock stayed by his side.

  As the house came into view, they could see a small cloud of smoke hovering just above the roof.

  “Alayna? Remington?” Collin called.

  There was no answer.

  “Wait here!” Collin ordered before running into the house.

  In the living room, he found both Alayna and Remington. They had been hogtied, blindfolded, and gagged. Alayna was tied so tightly her wrists and hands were beginning to turn blue. Remington was crying hysterically; his whole body was trembling.

  With the house quickly filling with smoke, Collin quickly picked Alayna up and carried her out into the yard. “Untie her, now!” he barked at Brock before running back into the house for Remington.

  He scooped the frightened teen up in his arms and ran him back out to the yard. Glaring at Brock, he warned, “You had better not have had anything to do with this. Get the ropes off of both of them!”

  Collin darted back into the house and grabbed the fire extinguisher. He rushed into the kitchen to find smoke rolling out of the oven. Apparently Alayna had been cooking a meatloaf when she had been grabbed from behind. At least there wasn’t a fire — just a Crispy Meatloaf Casserole.

  Collin turned the oven off and opened all of the doors and windows before going back outside to check on his wife and son. They were both sobbing and hugged his neck tightly, while Brock stood silently gazing at the house.

  Alayna said she hadn’t even seen her attacker. Someone, male or female she wasn’t sure, had ran up behind her and covered her face with a towel or some other kind of cloth. She remembered letting out a scream, the cloth dropping away from her face, and something being stuffed in her mouth and tied around her head. In what seemed like only seconds, she was dropped to the ground, had her arms pulled behind her, and her hands tied together. She had been so terrified she hadn’t even had time to think about how to defend herself. The attacker quickly blindfolded her before binding her feet and tying her wrists and ankles together. She couldn’t move.

  Remington, on the other hand, had a slightly different story to tell. He had been using the restroom when Alayna screamed. After pulling his pants back up, he ran toward the kitchen and got there just as the attacker was finishing with the hogtying of his mother.

  The attacker had a black ski mask on; he was facing the doorway and saw Remington. Remington screamed and ran back to the restroom where he locked himself in. The attacker didn’t speak a word; he just started ramming his body into the door. Remington said he was terrified. He cried and begged the person to leave him alone.

  There was no response. The attacker slammed himself into the door a few more times. Remmy tried to unlock the bathroom window, but his fingers wouldn’t cooperate. Before he could get the window open, the door burst open. He said he was certain the attacker was a grown man. He couldn’t see his face and never heard his voice, but he could tell from the build. He said, as much as he hated to admit it, that the guy was built somewhat like Brock.

  “He was wearing black gloves and a dark colored hoodie,” Remmy said. “I tried to push my way past the guy, but he was much stronger than me. He twisted my arms behind my back. I screamed and told him he was hurting me. He pinned me down and tied my hands behind my back. Then he tied my feet together and connected the rope that was on my feet to the one on my hands.”

  The silent attacker didn’t take anything from the house. He didn’t hurt either one of them. All he did was scare them within inches of their lives and left.

  As soon as everyone had calmed down, Collin said he felt it was time to involve the police. He knew there was a chance he could go to jail or at least get fined for breaking and entering. Protecting his family would be worth the risk. Alayna was in complete agreement.

  CHAPTER 24 – DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED

  “Dad,” Remington objected, “I know I am supposed to submit to authority, but is it okay if I voice my opinion?”

  “Sure, Remmy. What’s on your mind?” Collin asked.

  “Won’t it look suspicious if we call the police and report this on the same day I was questioned about a bomb?”

  That thought hadn’t crossed Collin’s or Alayna’s minds. They were speechless.

  Brock, on the other hand, wasted no time in joining Remington’s side, “Your boy’s veracious. With all of the outlandish events that have recently transpired, the police are going to be suspicious of why we chose today of all days to report anything.”

  Not knowing what to think, Collin broke his pattern of going to his special prayer place alone. He told everyone to get their Bibles and follow him. They were all going to accompany him to the creek side for some prayer and Bible study. There was no way Collin could go by himself and have to worry about the safety of his family at the same time.

  When they got to his prayer closet, Collin asked everyone to sit down. He said a quick prayer out loud and asked God to guide them to the scriptures they needed for the moment.

  After the “Amen” had been spoken, Brock said, “When I was a little boy, I recollect a loyal companion informing me of a sonnet in the scriptures. It told of cattle pastures and flowing creeks. I presume it was intended to be a comforting sonnet to aid us when enduring harrowing tribulations. Are you familiar with the sonnet I am referencing?”

  “I don’t have a —,” Collin started to say before Remington jumped in.

  “Do you mean about green pastures and still waters?”

  “That’s it!” Brock said, excitedly.

  “The 23rd Psalm! Can we read it, Dad?”

  With nothing else in mind, Collin agreed and everyone opened their Bibles to the book of Psalms.

  Collin asked Brock if he would read it aloud.

  “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

  Alayna interrupted the Bible reading with a loud whisper, “Did you hear that?”

  “What?” Collin asked.

  Alayna held her pointer finger up to her lips, “Everybody be q
uiet. Listen,” she whispered.

  There it was. A creepy, serial-killer-in-the-midnight kind of whistle. It was a tune of some kind. Someone was in the woods whistling, as if to say, “I’m still here. I’m watching you.”

  “Keep reading Brock,” Collin said.

  Nervously, Brock continued to read, while the rest of them looked around, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

  There was the whistle again. It sounded even more sinister the second time. The worst part was, all four people thought it came from a different direction. The only thing they could agree on is that it was close. Whoever that was wanted them to know they weren’t alone at the creek.

  Collin told the group it was time to stick together and head back to the house. They would have to continue their prayer service behind closed and locked doors.

  As they walked back to the house, they heard unusual sounds that seemed to come from every side. Sticks cracking, things dropping out of trees, and every now and then, the scarier than all get-out whistle nightmares are made of.

  It seemed like it took forever to get back to the house. As soon as they got inside, Collin locked the door behind them. If nothing else, he now knew Brock was not the person responsible for all of the weird things that had been occurring. At least, if he was responsible, he knew he wasn’t acting alone.

  Collin asked everyone to sit on the couch for a family-devotion type of meeting, “Okay. Before we left the creek, Brock had just done a wonderful job of reading the 23rd Psalm. Does anybody have any thoughts on what was read? In particular, does anyone feel like they could relate that Psalm to what we’re facing right now and the decisions we need to make?”

  The room was silent, but only for a moment. It was filled with a loud banging on the back door.