by Sharon Sala
The shocked expression on Tom Jack Bailey’s face faded, like the light around him. He fell backward into the farm pond with a loud splash and slowly sank.
“For once, you were right. You don’t see. Not anymore.”
Franklin threw the gun into the deepest part of the pond and then brushed his hands off on his pants as he walked away.
Seventeen
I t was just after 3:00 a.m. when Maria came to.
Pain, coupled with panic and confusion, rolled through her body in waves. She could hear muted voices and repetitive beeping. The room she was in was dim and scary. When she drew breath, the scent of antiseptic stung her nose. Her gaze fell on the thin beam of light beneath the door.
For no reason, she felt panic, then fear. She closed her eyes, willing the image away, but instead it grew. Something was out there. Something evil.
Mommy!
She flinched. That voice… It didn’t belong here. Panic grew. A dark, swirling mist was right in front of her, and then it began to morph into a hall. There was a noise, then someone screamed.
Mommy Mommy Mommy!
She clutched her covers as her eyes flew open. The voice wasn’t real. Unwilling to follow that hallway any farther, she made herself concentrate on where she was now.
It felt like a hospital, but she couldn’t remember what had happened or why she would be here. Then she saw a Stetson hanging on the back of a chair. Her heart quickened as her gaze moved down.
Bodie. He was asleep in a chair, his head on her bed and his hand on her arm. Whatever had happened, he hadn’t left her. She started to cry as she reached for him, her fingers tangling in his hair.
Bodie woke, then sat abruptly. Someone had pulled his hair. His gaze went straight to the bed; then he gasped. Maria! She was awake. He jumped up, talking in an urgent whisper.
“Maria…sweetheart…thank God, thank God.”
She tried to speak, then winced as she licked at her lips.
“Don’t talk,” he whispered, then grabbed a damp washcloth and dabbed it along her dry lips. “You’re in ICU. You’re going to be okay, but you need to stay still.”
Maria tugged on his hand.
He leaned closer.
“What…?” she asked, her voice trailing off.
He frowned. He wasn’t sure how much to tell her, but he could see the stress and need to know in her eyes. He leaned closer. When her fingers curled around his, it felt as if she’d wrapped them around his heart. Then he bent down, whispering.
“I need to go let them know you’re awake, so I’ll make this quick. You were coming out of Becky’s house when your car blew up. Someone put a bomb in it. We’re dealing with it. All you need to do is get well.”
Maria’s fingers tightened on his. Her eyes widened, then closed. When tears rolled down her cheeks, Bodie wanted to cry with her.
“Maria…baby…don’t cry. It’s going to be okay. Are you in pain? I can go get the nurse.”
Her grip tightened as she shuddered on a soft, quiet sob.
“Okay, I won’t leave you.” His voice broke. “I don’t want to ever leave you again. Maria…sweetheart…I almost lost the chance to say this, so you’re going to have to hear it whether you’re ready or not.” He paused, put his own finger to his lips and kissed it, then brushed it gently against her lips. “I’m falling in love with you.”
The words affected Maria like water on a fire, cooling the heat of panic and filling her with a strength she hadn’t known was missing. For a moment the uncertainty of the past seemed unimportant.
Her hands were shaking as she put a finger to her own mouth, then lifted her hand toward him.
He caught her hand, pressing the kiss against his lips.
“Thank you, baby. Hang in there for me. I’ll be right back.”
Bodie headed for the nurses’ desk, where the RN on duty looked up as he approached.
“She woke up,” he said softly.
The nurse came out of the chair and immediately went to Maria’s bed. She began running a thorough check of Maria’s vitals as Bodie stood out of the way.
“I need to notify her doctor,” the woman said, and went back to the desk as Bodie resumed his seat.
Again Maria reached for his hand. The moment they touched, she took a slow breath and fell back asleep. But this time it didn’t matter. This time Bodie knew she was going to get well.
When the shift changed at 7:00 a.m., Bodie stepped out into the waiting area to use his phone. To his surprise, not only was Becky there, but so was Sam.
The moment Sam saw him, he was on his feet. His expression seemed calm, until Bodie looked into his eyes. They were deadly.
“How is she?”
Bodie shoved a weary hand through his hair. “She woke up. At this point, the doctor is expecting a full recovery.”
“Thank you, Jesus,” Becky said, and dissolved into tears.
But Sam’s expression never changed. “I’m here. I’m not leaving her. I won’t walk away from this like I did before.”
“Don’t worry. When they move her out of ICU, I’ll have a police guard outside her door round the clock.”
“And I’ll be right there with him. In fact, if no one’s in the room with her, I’ll be in a chair beside her bed. No one gets to her again while I’m alive.”
Bodie hesitated. Allowing a civilian to participate in a police operation wasn’t kosher, but in this case he had a feeling Sam was going to do his own thing, regardless.
“We’ll work it out on a day-to-day basis,” Bodie said.
“Can we see her?” Becky asked.
“As soon as the shift change is complete, the next visitation is allowed. She’s allowed two visitors at a time, so you guys go. I’ll wait until you’re done before I go back in.”
“They’re letting you stay?” Becky asked.
“I didn’t give them a choice,” Bodie admitted. “I need to make a call to her family back in Montana…let them know about her progress.”
“I’ll be in there ’til you get back,” Sam said.
Bodie eyed him. “Be right back,” he said, then walked a short distance away to call Bud Tate, forgetting about the time difference.
Bud’s call to Savannah and Holly about Maria’s attack had been difficult. After getting them on a conference call, he told them what had happened. Their shock had turned into disbelief and then fear. The attempt on her life had driven home to them in the most brutal of ways that what they were doing was dangerous. After tears and plenty of warnings from Bud, they’d promised him faithfully that they would be careful.
After the call, sleep had been impossible. He’d finally drifted off around 3:00 a.m. When the phone rang only a couple of hours later, he woke up with a jerk. His first thought was that Maria had taken a turn for the worse.
He sat up, his voice shaking as he picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Bud, this is Detective Scott. Just wanted you to know that Maria woke up. The doctor is satisfied with her progress. I’m expecting them to move her to a private room sometime today, or early tomorrow at the latest.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Bud whispered, then swiped a shaky hand across his face. “Thank you, God.”
“Yes, I agree. I don’t have anything further to tell you about the bombing itself, because I haven’t been to the station. As soon as I find out more, I’ll call.”
“You stayed with her last night?”
“Right beside her bed.”
“I thought she was in ICU?”
“She is. Because of the danger, I forced them to make an exception.”
“Thank you, sir. Thank you for watching out for our girl,” Bud said.
“Make it Bodie, okay? Remember, I’m staking a claim on your family, if she’ll let me.”
Bud’s relief was so great that he grinned. “Yeah, right. Bodie it is.”
“Later,” Bodie said, and hung up.
Despite the hour, Bud turned right around and called Maria
’s sisters. Savannah first, because she was in Florida, where it was a little after seven o’clock, then Holly in Missouri, which was in the same time zone as Oklahoma. After reassuring them that Maria was going to get well, he lay back down, and for the first time since he’d gone to work for Andrew Slade, he overslept.
It was another day before they moved Maria from ICU to a private room. Bodie had a guard waiting at the door. And as they were wheeling Maria down the corridor, he realized that the guard already had company. Sam was sitting in a chair on the other side of the doorway, glaring at everyone who passed by, even though she wasn’t even in the room yet.
Maria was awake, but still groggy from pain meds. She knew Bodie was walking beside the gurney. When she couldn’t see him, she could still hear him—his stride was long, his steps solid.
As they stopped to turn the gurney into her new room, she saw the uniformed policeman on one side of the door, and then she saw Sam on the other.
She reached for his hand.
He patted her arm awkwardly, his eyes blurry with tears.
She was touched by his determination to watch over her. And Bodie… He had overwhelmed her in so many ways she couldn’t count. He wasn’t just becoming her knight in shining armor. He had claimed a place for himself within her world, whether she was ready or not.
“Bodie?”
“I’m here,” he said, as they pushed her into her new room.
Bodie waited in the hall as they transferred her to the bed. As soon as the orderly came back out pushing the empty gurney, Bodie was back in the room and pulling up a chair beside her bed. He paused to sweep a lock of hair from her forehead.
She moaned.
“Are you hurting, honey?”
She exhaled slowly, then nodded.
“Hang in there. They said a nurse was bringing you something for the pain.”
A muscle in her leg began to spasm. She clutched his hand even tighter as she tried to ride out the pain, and was exhausted and shaking when a nurse finally came in carrying a syringe.
The nurse nodded at Bodie, then moved to the other side of the bed, where the IV was hanging, reached for Maria’s arm to check her identification bracelet, then eyed the drip before turning to Maria.
“Maria, my name is Carol. I’ll be taking care of you until the shift change at midnight. Are you in pain?”
Maria nodded, then gritted her teeth as another muscle spasm racked her body.
I know, honey, I know,” the nurse said sympathetically as she saw Maria wince. “That move from ICU was rough, but as soon as this kicks in, you’ll be able to get some rest.”
Maria eyed the meds she was being given. “Is this going to make me pass out?”
“Yes, ma’am, and I suggest you enjoy the ride,” Carol said, and then winked as she emptied the syringe into the IV port, before leaving the room.
Outside, Sam had taken note of the nurse, as well as her name tag. He was watching her walk away when an elderly black man and a teenage boy half his size turned a corner and started up the hall. To his surprise, they stopped in front of the policeman guarding Maria’s room.
The guard stood up as the older man spoke.
“Excuse me, but is this Maria Slade’s room?”
Sam stood up.
“No visitors,” the policeman said.
All of Sam’s protective instincts kicked in. They’d barely gotten her moved and someone was already seeking her out.
Then the old man nodded his head, as if he’d expected the answer, and smiled.
“Do you think there is any way you might tell her Preacher Henry and Tyrell are here. I think she’d liked to know.”
“Wait here,” the guard said, and ducked his head into the room. “Detective Scott? A moment, please.”
Sam eyed the newcomer’s clerical collar with distrust, aware such things could easily be faked.
“You claiming to know her?” he snapped.
Henry smiled. “Yes, we do, don’t we, Tyrell?”
Tyrell just glared.
When Bodie came to the door and saw the strangers, his first instinct was distrust.
“What’s going on?”
Tyrell glared again.
Preacher Henry just smiled.
“We heard on the television about what happened to Miss Slade. I wanted to come say a prayer for her.”
“You can pray in church,” Bodie said.
“Yes, sir,” Henry said, trying to hide his disappointment. “But maybe you would tell her we came. Tell her Preacher Henry and Tyrell from the John 3:16 Mission was here.”
All of a sudden the connection clicked.
“Wait,” Bodie said. “She does know you, doesn’t she? She ate at your mission, right? You were talking to her about where she used to live.”
Henry beamed. “Yes, sir, that’s right! And she ate beans and corn bread with us, then washed dishes with Tyrell here, didn’t she, son?”
Tyrell wouldn’t give anything past a nod, but Bodie noticed the boy was at least eyeing him with curiosity rather than the baleful glare that was undoubtedly his normal reaction to “the Man.”
“She also gave us a whole new kitchen,” Henry said.
Bodie suspected that Maria would want to see them, but he wasn’t sure she was up to it.
“Look. She’s had a rough morning and is just falling back to sleep, but you can come in long enough to let her know you came, okay?”
“Thank you, thank you, and God bless,” Henry said. “Come on, Tyrell. Come say hello to your dishwashing partner.”
They went straight to Maria’s bed.
Bodie watched the shock come and go on the preacher’s face, but the boy’s expression was harder to read.
Then the preacher laid his hand on Maria’s fore head.
“Hey there, young lady. What did you go and do to yourself, huh?”
Maria’s eyes fluttered, then opened. The moment she saw the duo beside her bed, she managed a smile.
“Preacher Henry…Tyrell…I can’t believe you came to see me.”
“Why wouldn’t we, girl? Looks to me like you need prayin’ over. You got any problem with that?”
“No, sir,” she said softly.
“That’s good…that’s good. So let me do my thing, and then we’ll let you get some sleep.”
He laid his hand on her arm, closed his eyes and prayed a simple “Says it all” prayer.
“May the grace and healing of our sweet Lord fill your body and soul. Amen.”
Moved by the gesture, she touched his hand. “Thank you, Preacher Henry.”
“You’re welcome, young lady. Be well. I’ll be praying for you.”
Her gaze slid to Tyrell. “Good to see you again. Been back to the mall since I saw you last?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Then he moved a little closer to her bed.
His eyes grew bigger as he stared at her injuries, then the machines and IV. “Someone really tryin’ to kill you?”
Henry frowned. “Tyrell!”
He backed off a step. “You know I’m askin’ for a reason, okay?”
Bodie frowned. “Like what kind of reason?”
“Where I live, I hear things,” Tyrell said.
Maria’s eyes widened as Bodie grabbed the boy by the arm.
“Outside. With me,” Bodie said, and walked him out of the room.
“Sam. Inside with Maria.”
Sam didn’t have to be asked twice.
Bodie walked Tyrell to an alcove across the hall. “What do you hear?”
Tyrell looked defensive. “Stuff. Like someone wants her iced.”
Bodie’s heart skipped a beat. “Who’s the someone?”
Tyrell shrugged again. “Don’t know who put out the hit, but I heard somethin’ about who might have taken the job.”
God in heaven… Was the first break in this nightmare going to come from a kid who hadn’t even been born when this all began?
“I need a name,” Bodie snapped.
Tyrel
l glanced over his shoulder, making sure there was no one else around, then shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Maybe I heard someone say Tom Jack Bailey.”
Bodie was writing down the info as fast as Tyrell talked.
“Do you know him? Do you know where he lives?”
“Uh-uh,” Tyrell muttered. “All I hear is he’s from somewhere up around Claremore, but that ain’t sure.”
Bodie took a card out of his pocket and put it in Tyrell’s hand.
“Thank you. Very much. If you hear anything else, give me a call.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Tyrell muttered, but he dropped the card into a pocket, then looked around to spot the old preacher, who was standing by the door with Sam.
“You done, boy?” Henry asked.
Tyrell nodded.
Bodie stopped at the door. “Thank you for coming…both of you.”
“We won’t be bothering you again,” Henry said. “But we’ll still pray for her…for all of you.”
Bodie was punching in the number of the precinct as they walked away. He counted the rings impatiently, then relaxed when Carver answered.
“Lieutenant…Bodie Scott. I just got a tip on our bomber.”
Phil Carver reached for a pen. “I’m listening.”
“According to my informant, there was a hit out on Maria Slade, and a man named Tom Jack Bailey took the job. Might be from up around Claremore, but that’s not a firm location.”
“Good news for a change,” Carver said. “I’ll start the ball rolling here, and I’ll call the Rogers County sheriff. I’ll have him send some men out to pick the guy up for questioning. If he’s our bomber, we might finally find the man behind the money.”
“Yes, sir,” Bodie said, then headed back to Maria.
She wakened to a tapping sound, but it was the moon light coming through the threadbare curtain hanging beside the bed that kept her from going back to sleep. It was making scary shadows on the wall.
When she swung her feet down to the floor, she gasped. The floor was cold.
“Mommy. Mommy. Where are you?”
Then she saw a light—a light under the door that led out to the hall. It was reassuring, but the noises in the hall were not. She was afraid to get out of bed. Some thing bad was out there—in the light.
Someone was yelling. It was Mommy! Mommy was yelling. She had to help.
