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

by JR Thompson

  He reread the passage. Not only has God witnessed every abominable thing I’ve ever accomplished, but He’s observed the exceptional things. He’s noticed the trials I’ve endured. He’s mended my heartaches.

  Brock suddenly felt like God had wrapped his arms around him. Tears swelled up in his eyes.

  “Oh, God, I don’t ever want this feeling to depart. I desire this close of a relationship with you every day. Thank you for being my Father!”

  CHAPTER 34 – SHE’S WATCHING

  That evening, when Brock got to church, he opened up his hymn book to find a sticky note inside the front cover.

  “I heard about your baptism this morning,” it read. “Congratulations. I love you.”

  Beneath that last line, the note had been signed by Victoria.

  Brock hurriedly stuffed the note in his pocket, hoping no one had seen. Victoria was here? How did she know where I sit and which hymn book I use?

  After the hymn, Pastor Brown asked the congregation to turn to Mark chapter ten.

  While they were turning, the pastor said, “This evening I had planned on preaching a message on stewardship. However, God changed my plans. About an hour before church started, the Holy Spirit touched my heart. He told me that someone in this room needs to hear this particular message tonight. I don’t know who it is. Maybe there’s even more than one person here who needs it. But God would not give me comfort about preaching anything else.

  “Now that you’re there, let’s begin in verse seven,” Pastor Brown continued. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.”

  Brock listened intently as the pastor preached hard on God’s idea of marriage. He preached on how a husband is to love his wife. On the beauty of two souls becoming one, with Christ in the center of their home. He spoke about how every marriage comes with difficulties and doubts. He emphasized, however, that a man and a woman should never marry unless they were completely settled on the fact that they would keep their pledge to God and remain with one another until one of them had passed away.

  Glancing over at the Russells, Brock saw Collin had his arm around Alayna. He thought back to the times when Victoria would curl up next to him in front of their fireplace. He remembered when they used to be able to stay up all night long talking and laughing.

  What happened? How did we go from being one flesh to being separated and not speaking to one another?

  ◆◆◆

  “Everything okay, Brock?” Collin asked when they got home.

  “Sure. Why?” Brock asked.

  “I don’t know. You just seem a little down tonight, that’s all,” Collin told him.

  Brock told Collin he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the pastor’s message. Even though Victoria had her problems, he still loved her. He was ashamed of himself for leaving her. He missed Victoria more than anything — actually he missed her and Scottie equally.

  The pastor’s message had cut him right to the heart. “I am uncertain of how to behave, Collin,” he said. “I wish to find myself in God’s divine will and I believe a part of that will is for Victoria and I to become reunited.”

  Collin was at a loss for words. He had no idea Brock still had any feelings for Victoria whatsoever. He simply said, “That’s a tough one. Sounds like something you need to pray about.”

  Alayna, who had appeared to be in her own world throughout the rest of the conversation suddenly jumped in. “Brock, I believe you’re right. I think you and Victoria need to get back together.”

  She continued on, explaining how her parents had separated when she was ten years old. They had gotten to the point where they fought about anything and everything. “They couldn’t stand each other,” she said.

  Alayna remembered her mom’s friends encouraging her to leave her dad. They would tell her it wasn’t good for her or Alayna to be in a house where so much feuding was going on day in and day out.

  Eventually, Alayna’s mom caved into peer pressure. She took Alayna and fled. Her dad sent her birthday cards every year and he sent child support, but she rarely saw him.

  “It hurt me so badly,” she said. “Every year at Father’s Day, I would go through stores and see all of the things people could buy for their daddies, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t get to see my daddy. Sure, I could have mailed something to him, but it wouldn’t be the same.”

  She said Christmas was just as bad. For that matter, every holiday was bad. When she would go to stores with her mom, she would see a little girl holding her daddy’s hand and would find herself getting jealous.

  On a regular basis, Alayna said her mom and grandparents would speak negatively of her dad. They tried to not do it right in front of her, but she overheard a lot of it.

  Her mom got remarried a couple of years later. The guy she married was good to her mom and good to Alayna, but he would never be able to replace her daddy. She loved him. He belonged to her and she belonged to him.

  “It wasn’t fair,” Alayna said. “I know they argued a lot, but they could have worked it out. Collin and I have had our arguments at times too, but marriage involves a commitment. During good times and bad times.”

  “So you are declaring my leaving Alayna is ruining Scottie?”

  “Ruining might be a strong word. A lot of kids grow up in broken homes and are just fine. I don’t have psychological problems because of my parents’ separation. I’m okay. But it did hurt.”

  Brock knew Alayna was right. He remembered what it felt like when his dad ran out on him and his mom. That’s why he had said he would never follow in his daddy’s footsteps.

  Brock excused himself from the Russells and went back out to the shed.

  “Dear God, please pardon me for withdrawing myself from my wife and my son. A big part of my identity desires to be with them, but I’m not apt. I don’t have any income. I don’t have my own place of residence. Emotionally, I’m a wreck. How do you desire me to behave, God? If you desire Victoria and I to get unite, you’re going to have to make it occur. I’m scared, God.”

  ◆◆◆

  As days and weeks passed, Brock drew closer and closer to God. He developed a routine of praying for an hour every morning, another hour in the afternoon, and another hour every evening.

  He set a goal of reading a minimum of ten chapters of his Bible every day. It was a goal he often exceeded.

  CHAPTER 35 – MY BABY

  While Brock was in the shed praying one Saturday afternoon, a police car pulled into the driveway. Collin and Alayna stepped outside, hoping for good news.

  The officer took his hat off and walked toward them slowly.

  This is not happening, Alayna told herself. I’m having a nightmare.

  “Folks, I don’t quite know how to say this —,”

  Alayna turned and ran into the house crying, “No! No! Not my baby! It isn’t fair! Not my baby!”

  “Mr. Russell, the body of a young, unidentified teenage boy has been located in the Mighty Oak Wilderness. From what I understand, it appears the boy has only been dead for a couple of days.”

  “No,” Collin said. “It can’t be Remmy. Remmy is still alive. I know he is!”

  The officer hung his head. “I’m sorry, Sir. But we need you and/or your wife to come down to the morgue with us to identify the remains.”

  “Wait here, officer. Let me have a word with my wife,” Collin said.

  ◆◆◆

  I’m not going down there, Alayna told herself. She had heard every word. I can’t see my baby like that. Why? Why Remmy?

  “Hon,” Collin said as he approached her in the living room.

  “No, Collin. No. I’m not going.”

  “Hon, it’s not him. Remington is alive. I can feel it!”

  “No he’s not. Somebody killed my baby. My baby is dead,” Alayna shrieked. “Somebody murdered him!”

  For ten minutes, Collin held her snugly
in his arms. He told her she didn’t have to go if she didn’t want to. He could go alone, but he would prefer to have her there. If he was right and the body did not belong to Remington, she would know for sure and wouldn’t have to wait until he came back home with the news. If, on the other hand, Alayna was wrong, Collin didn’t want to be there alone. He wanted his wife there for support.

  Alayna didn’t say anything. She released herself from Collin’s hug and walked to the door. I can do this. I’m a strong woman, she told herself.

  The cruiser was silent all the way to the morgue. Upon arriving, the officer opened Alayna’s door, but Alayna didn’t move.

  “We’re here, Mrs. Russell,” the officer told her.

  Alayna didn’t speak. She wasn’t crying. It was as if she was in shock. Collin wrapped her hand in his. “Sweetheart, we have to do this. Come on,” he told her.

  Somberly, Alayna stepped out of the car. I can do this, she told herself. I can do this. I am a strong woman.

  Collin got out and stood beside her. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it as tight as she could without breaking any of his bones.

  The officer led them into the morgue to a private room where a body was covered with a pure white cloth.

  “My baby!” Alayna screamed. “My baby! Who would do this to my baby?”

  “Officer, can you give us a minute?” Collin asked.

  “Yes, Sir.” The officer said before walking away from the grieving parents.

  Collin and Alayna hugged each other and just looked at the figure before them. It had to have been the hardest thing they had been through yet. Children weren’t supposed to die before their parents — it just wasn’t natural.

  After several minutes, Alayna whispered, “I’m ready. Let’s get the officer.”

  Collin gave her an odd look and said, “Hon, do you want me to do that or would you rather be alone with me when we find out?”

  “Are we allowed to do that, Collin?”

  “He didn’t say we couldn’t.”

  Together, they walked to the gurney, trembling. Reaching toward the boy’s head, Collin pinched the sheet between his thumb and forefinger. Ever so slowly, he pulled it back, revealing the boy’s face.

  “Oh my goodness!” Alayna screamed. “It’s not Remington! It’s not my baby!”

  The officer ran back into the room. “Are you folks okay?”

  “Officer, we’re wonderful! It was a false alarm. This is not Remmy.”

  The officer scratched his head. “If it’s not Remington, we know who he is. We had it narrowed down to either your son or a boy who lived over in Harmony. He disappeared a few days ago.”

  Alayna’s joy vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. “That boy’s poor parents,” she said, while looking at his body. “Such a nice looking young man. Why, officer? Why did this happen?”

  In almost a whisper the officer said, “I only wish I knew, Ma’am. I only wish I knew.”

  ◆◆◆

  Arriving back home, the Russells noticed the Wagoneer was not in the driveway. What now? Collin thought.

  Before they could even get in the house, Brock started coming down the driveway. Nikki was following him in her car.

  Collin and Alayna had no idea why Nikki was with him or where Brock had been, but they stood still, patiently waiting to share their news.

  Nikki got out and walked to the trunk of her car. Brock got out of the Wagoneer and joined Nikki. Seconds later, the trunk closed and the two approached the Russells with several bags full of groceries.

  “We are so sorry,” Nikki said.

  Brock hung his head, unable to speak.

  “It’s okay, guys,” Collin said. “Remmy is alive!”

  “He’s alive?” Nikki asked excitedly. “What? Did they revive him?”

  “No,” Alayna said. “The boy at the morgue wasn’t Remington. He was a boy from Harmony.”

  “But you know Remington’s alive? They found him?”

  “No, they haven’t found him,” Collin said. “But they will. Remmy is alive! I feel it in my bones!”

  ◆◆◆

  Even though Collin was confident that Remmy was alive and well, Alayna was not so sure.

  That boy could have been Remmy. Malachi and his mom disappeared from Harmony. They’re both dead. This kid disappeared from Harmony. He’s dead. Who am I kidding? The chances of Remmy still being alive are slim to none.

  Alayna, afraid of spreading her negativity, walked into her bedroom without saying a word to anyone.

  There, she laid down on Remington’s blankets. She smelled his pillow, hoping to get a scent of her boy. Then she kissed it. “Remmy, my precious Remmy,” she sobbed.

  Nikki tapped on the door. “Alayna, are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m okay. I just need some time to myself,” Alayna said, sniffling.

  Nikki opened the door and walked in. “It’s okay, girl,” she said, sitting down next to her. “You just hold that head up high.”

  Alayna wanted to smack her. Hold my head up high? What are you? Some kind of an idiot?

  Alayna didn’t say a word. She just continued sobbing.

  “Mrs. Russell,” Nikki said. “What you need is some girl time. Let’s go out and get our hair and nails done.”

  What is wrong with you? I am in here crying because my baby has probably been murdered and you think I need to go out and get myself dolled up?

  Nikki gently rubbed Alayna’s back. “I’ll leave you to get yourself together. When you’re ready to go, just come out and let me know.”

  Alayna couldn’t have been happier when Nikki left the room. Finally, she thought. She caressed Remington’s blanket, while thinking, I would do anything to get him back. A moment later, she had a brainstorm. Nikki wants us to have some girl time. Maybe, just maybe.

  Wiping her tears with Remmy’s blanket, Alayna grabbed her purse and walked out to the living room.

  “Collin, Nikki and I are going to go out. We need some girl time,” she said.

  “Where are you going? How long are you going to be gone?” Collin asked.

  “I don’t know. We’re just going to go into town and we’ll see what we can get into.”

  ◆◆◆

  Nikki drove straight to the Clayville Hair Salon. “This is going to be so much fun,” she said.

  Alayna didn’t understand how Collin could possibly put up with Nikki five days per week. She had to be one of the shallowest women she had ever met.

  The good side to that is she will probably fall for just about anything.

  Once inside, Alayna told Nikki she should go first. “I need some time to decide what I’m going to have done,” she said.

  Sure enough, Nikki fell for it. As soon as the hairdresser led her around the corner, Alayna left the salon. Something had been on her mind for weeks. She just had to check it out for herself.

  She walked a few blocks over to the Creepy Masselli Place, in hopes of figuring out what had happened to Collin when he had been inside. Perhaps he missed something. Maybe there’s something hidden away in there that would be a dead giveaway as to who was behind the disappearances.

  ◆◆◆

  Arriving at the house, she almost chickened out, but then she asked herself, What’s the worst that can happen to me?

  The only answer that came to her mind was death. She thought about Remington. His life was at stake as well. He might have already been killed. Other people were disappearing and some were even dying. Someone had to be willing to stand up for what was right — regardless of the risk. That somebody was going to be Mrs. Don’t-Mess-With-My-Family-Russell!

  Angry Momma confidently walked up to the door and let herself inside. The mildew stench nearly knocked her off her feet. As her husband had done previously, she walked through the house checking every nook and cranny. Something had to be in there. She was sure of it.

  When Alayna got to the restroom, she nearly hyperventilated. This is where Collin got attacked.

&n
bsp; Picking up the plunger for protection, she whipped the closet door open. Thankfully, no one was in there this time. She put the plunger down and gave the closet a quick going over.

  What’s that? she asked herself, looking toward the ceiling. It looked like the entrance to an attic. Who puts an attic entrance in a closet?

  Using the plunger handle, she pushed on the odd-looking board. Sure enough, she was able to lift it up and slide it to one side. It was an attic indeed!

  Alayna remembered seeing an old step ladder hanging on the side of the house when she walked up. She ran down the stairs and out to the side of the house.

  As she was taking the ladder down, a voice called to her, “Lady, what do you think you’re doing?”

  Looking over her shoulder, she saw none other than Gossiping Jake. “Mind your own business for a change,” Alayna said.

  Angry Momma was on a mission and nothing was going to get in her way. She toted the ladder back inside, up the stairs, and into the restroom.

  After setting it up, she slowly and carefully made her way up the steps. When she peeked her head into the attic, she was surprised to find a little bit of light shining through a vent on the end of the house. She was also surprised to see it had solid, carpeted flooring. It was more like a loft than an attic.

  She spun her head around in different directions. The loft had a small desk and chair sitting in it. Alayna had to get a look at that desk.

  Struggling to lift her own body weight, she managed to pull herself up into the attic. Unfortunately, just as her foot came off the last step, the ladder went crashing down. Oh, no! How am I going to get myself out of this mess?

  For a few moments, she sat there contemplating her next move. I’ll figure that out later, she finally convinced herself. For now, I’m going to make the most of my time.

  Alayna walked over to the desk. Testing the folding metal chair, she discovered it was still strong enough to support her. She sat down and tried to think. Why would a desk be up here in an attic like this? Maybe Masselli liked to write his articles in a more remote part of the house?