Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  Polly leaned back to see the clock on the dining room wall. If they were leaving from Omaha, Stephanie and Kayla could be in Bellingwood just around nine o'clock.

  "Don't call him until the last minute," Polly said. Her relief that he promised not to hurt Rebecca began to break through the haze in her mind. "I'll ask Aaron to be here when you arrive. This gives us some time to find them. Even if you do make that call, we certainly don't want you to have to see him."

  "I won't let him hurt Rebecca," Stephanie said. "Even if I have to go back to him myself, he won’t hurt those girls. No way."

  "We won't let that happen either, Stephanie. I promise." Polly looked up at Bert and was grateful she was thinking clearly again. "Can you give me your password for the phone number? I want the police to hear those messages now. Especially this last one."

  "Sure," Stephanie said and rattled off four numbers. Then Polly remembered. The code was Rebecca’s birthday. She took a deep, dragging breath and repeated them to Bill. He nodded, then pulled a card out of his shirt pocket and waited while Marie found a pen for him.

  "Be careful coming back, Stephanie. Don't hurry. This is all going to work out."

  "I know it will," Stephanie said. "I'll make sure it does. Okay, Kayla is here now. I'm already in the car. We’ll call you when we get to Bellingwood."

  "I tell you what, Stephanie. We'll move a truck out of the garage. You pull in there, so no one knows that your car is here, okay?"

  "Thanks, Polly."

  Polly hung up and then took the card and pen from Bill. She wrote Stephanie's phone number on it and handed it up to Bert.

  "Stephanie's father has been leaving her voice mails. That's her number and her pin. He left one this afternoon telling her that he'd taken Rebecca, but wouldn't hurt her if Stephanie brought Kayla back to him. They're on their way to Bellingwood right now. Maybe you can get something from his messages?"

  "I'll call this in," Bert said. "You did good."

  Polly looked around. "Where's Henry?" she asked his father.

  "The crowd was too much for him. He said the dogs needed a walk and left with them about twenty minutes ago."

  "I need to find him." Polly turned to Marie. "He's really messed up about this. I don't know how to help him."

  "He feels the same way, dear," Marie said, taking Polly's hand. "You two just need to keep talking to each other."

  "I'm worried about Heath and Hayden."

  Marie nodded. "I'll talk to the boys. You go find your husband."

  "But what about everybody who's here?"

  Lydia stepped in and sat down on the table in front of Polly. "We're all here for your family. You don't need to be here for us. Go on. Find your husband and take care of each other. I'll call you if I hear anything from Aaron."

  Polly stood up and headed for the front door, turned to look around the room. Finding all of their stares uncomfortable, she opened the door and bolted down the steps. She quickly crossed to the addition and ducked inside, taking refuge in the dark and quiet hallway. Then she called her husband.

  "Hi Polly. I'm sorry I left."

  "It's okay. I left too. Where are you?"

  "In the barn with Eliseo."

  "Do you care if I come down?"

  "As long as you don't bring a crowd."

  "Your mom and Lydia have that under control."

  Polly darted out the door and ran down the sidewalk to the gates, opened them, and headed for the barn. She took a deep breath when she opened the barn door. It had only been three years since these horses had come into her life, but just the scent of them was enough to steady her nerves. Passing Daisy's stall, she opened the door into Demi's and slipped inside.

  "Do you mind if I take a minute with you?" she asked him.

  He nosed her hands, looking for a treat.

  "That's the way it is? I'm falling apart and you want something from me?" She reached up and stroked his shoulder, then leaned against it. "You are so strong." Polly stepped back. "I remember the first time I saw you in that farmer's pen. Your coat was a mess and honey, you could barely lift your head. I hope you never remember those awful days." She smiled and touched his chin. "And then there were all of those days when I had no idea what I was doing. But you just let me learn. You didn't judge or criticize me. Nothing. And that's the way it is with my kids. I feel like I'm always tossed into the middle of the fire, then I have to learn something new so I can get out. But I don't know how to handle this. I can't fix it. I can't feed her good food or brush her coat or do anything." Polly leaned on him again. "I can't even tell her I love her and it's going to be okay. I've never been so scared in my life."

  "Polly?" Henry came into view.

  "Hi. I'm just getting some strength," she said.

  He bowed his head. "I'm sorry I ran out on you."

  "Don't be. There were too many people up there. Andrew just showed up. He's completely freaked out."

  Henry ran his hand through his hair. "I can't stand the waiting. We should be doing something."

  "Stephanie called."

  "Oh god," he said. "It is him." Henry started to retch and Polly rushed to his side.

  "No. It's okay," she said.

  It was too late. Henry ran for the front door of the barn and she heard him throwing up outside. Polly sank to a bench and started crying again. This was more than she could handle. She couldn't worry about her daughter and her husband.

  "He'll be okay," Eliseo said, coming up to stand in front of her. "He just needs to take it all in."

  "I keep trying, Eliseo, but I don't know how to do this."

  "The first month after I was burned, I said those same words every time I was alert enough to focus on my body. I heard doctors talking about how I should have died and they couldn't believe I was still here. And then they weaned me off the drugs that kept me knocked out. I wanted to scream because of the pain I was in, but I couldn't find my voice. I couldn't even scream. I had no idea how I was ever going to come back from that. The buddies who made it out without injury felt guilty, so they quit coming to see me. I was alone and didn't think I could do it."

  He smiled again, his eyes showing Polly how much he loved her. "But every day, a young man stopped by my bed for just a few minutes. He turned my hand so that my palm was up and he could touch my skin. And he closed his eyes for a minute. I knew he was praying. Then he smiled at me and told me that I had the strength to get through anything. I never spoke to him; I never found out his name. He was gone by the time I was mobile and starting physical therapy. But I want to tell you that you have the strength to get through this. Both of you do."

  Polly looked up to see Henry standing in the doorway.

  Eliseo continued. "You have friends up in your apartment that are praying for you and for Rebecca. You have the strength to get through anything." He gently squeezed Polly's shoulder and walked to the back of the barn, disappearing into the feed room.

  Henry came over and sat down beside her. "I'm so sorry. I've never felt like such a weak human being in my life. What did Stephanie say?"

  "He does have Rebecca. He called and left a voice mail on her phone. But he told Stephanie he wouldn't do anything to Rebecca if she consented to bring Kayla back to him."

  "We can't do that," Henry said, pounding his fist on his thigh. "We can't let her do that."

  "We won't," Polly said. "Stephanie is supposed to call him tonight at nine o'clock to tell him what she plans to do. That gives us some time. And once she makes the phone call, that gives us even more time. And if they set up a place to meet, that gives us something more."

  Henry looked at the watch on his wrist. "I can wait until nine o'clock. What did people say when you left?"

  "Lydia told me not to worry about them. She and your mom will take care of everyone upstairs. We don't have to go back tonight if you don't want to."

  "I don't want to," he said. "Can we just stay here?"

  "Sure." Polly leaned up to kiss him and he backed away.

>   "Not yet. Let me clean my mouth." He stood. "Eliseo, do you have gum or something?"

  The door to the feed room opened, its light shining into the barn's alley. Obiwan, Han, Kirk and Khan all dashed out, running for Polly. Obiwan jumped up on the bench, taking the spot where Henry had been sitting and pushed his head into her body.

  "I know, bud, I know," she said. "It's going to be a long night."

  He whined and lay down beside her, his head and front paw on her lap. Han wagged his tail in happiness and when she scratched his ears, he settled on the floor in front of her. She petted Khan and Kirk and then ran back to the feed room to find Eliseo.

  "Where are the donkeys?" she called out.

  "Do you want them in here?" Eliseo asked, stepping into the alley. "I shut their door so they'd stay out in the pasture while you two were here."

  "Ask Henry," she replied. "I'm fine with having as many animals around as I can."

  Henry came back, holding a Diet Dew. "Want it?" he asked, then held up a Coke that had already been opened. "Eliseo's got everything we need down here."

  "It's probably not a good idea to get completely drunk and pass out, is it," she said.

  "Not tonight."

  She reached for the Dew and popped it open, the fizz and citrus scent a safe, comfortable sensation.

  "I never thought that having kids would be so difficult," Henry said. "Until Rebecca and Heath came into my life, I never felt like this." He took Polly's hand and looked desperate as he spoke. "I want to kill this man, Polly. I want to hold him down and choke him until I see the life leave his eyes. I've never felt that way about anything or anyone before. Ever. And if he does hurt her, I don't know how you’ll keep me out of jail for what I plan to do to him."

  "I know," she said.

  "We can't have any more kids in our lives."

  Polly frowned. "What?"

  "I can't do this."

  "Are you serious?"

  His shoulders drooped. "Probably not. I'm not handling these emotions very well, am I?"

  "Neither of us are. Don't you think we'll be better when Rebecca is home?"

  Henry reached across her lap and stroked Obiwan's head. "How am I going to let her walk outside by herself ever again? How will I let her go off to college? How will I let her..." He stopped. "I want to fold her up in bubble wrap and lock her in her room."

  "The thing is, Henry, we can't stop her."

  "I know. It's what I want to do, though."

  "All we can do is teach her how to be strong and confident so she can take care of herself. I don't want our daughter to think that she has to rely on you or any other man to keep her safe."

  "Kind of like you?"

  Polly gave him a crooked smile. "If this man's balls aren't kicked clear up to his teeth at the first opportunity she has, I'll be very surprised."

  "Do you think she'd do that?"

  "In a heartbeat," Polly said. "We've talked a lot about how girls are taught to be nice and not fight back when they're being attacked. That's wrong. If someone tries to hurt you, don't worry about hurting them in order to protect yourself. I've shown her how to poke at eyes, rip at nostrils, grab or kick at nuts." Polly smiled. "You men have a lot of tender parts and they're fair game when abuse is involved."

  He took a deep breath. "I hope she remembers everything you taught her."

  "She's a smart girl, Henry. She’ll be watching for any chance to get away and find safety. If it requires her to hurt him, she'll do it. If she has to take a beating to get out of trouble, she'll take it. We talked about how a person recovers from those types of things. She won't like it. She didn't like it when she took that punch at school, but she lived through it and now it’s just a memory. As long as he doesn't touch her, Rebecca will be fine."

  "He'd better not." Henry shuddered at his words.

  "Stephanie thought that he'd wait for her to get here with Kayla. And speaking of that, we need to move one of the trucks out of the garage so she can pull in and hide her car."

  "I can go do that. I'll bring my truck down here," Henry said. He reached out and pulled her close to him. "As much as I don't know how to do this," he whispered. "I would be lost without you. I don't know how you do it."

  "Do what?"

  "You take strength from everyone around you and then you give it back ten-fold. I saw you drawing it from Demi and that blew my mind."

  "He's a big horse," Polly said with her arms around Henry's neck. "He has a lot to share."

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Overcome with emotion, Henry and Polly finally said goodbye to Eliseo and walked up to Sycamore House, hand in hand, the dogs running by their sides. They went around back so Henry could move his truck. Polly went on in and up the back steps with the dogs. He'd be a few minutes since he was parking it down at the barn. Many of the people that had come to stay with her had gone on home. She'd responded to texts, telling her that they were loved.

  When she walked into the media room, Hayden jumped up from the sofa where he was sitting with Heath, Jason and Andrew. He pulled her into a tight hug, but couldn't find the words to say anything. Polly smiled at him, put her hand on Heath's shoulder and walked on through to the living room.

  Bert Bradford had been joined by Stu Decker and Aaron Merritt. Bill and Marie Sturtz were talking quietly with Lydia, but everyone else had gone home. Polly was thankful for some quiet in her household. They didn't need everyone here while the rest of the night unfolded.

  Aaron stood and pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, honey. We have everyone on the lookout. I wish we could have gotten more on that car."

  "I know," she said. "Thanks for coming back." Polly glanced over her shoulder at the clock. "They should be here pretty soon. What is Stephanie supposed to say to him?"

  Lydia handed Stephanie's phone to Polly. "Jeff brought this up so she could call him from a familiar number."

  "Thanks." Polly turned back to Aaron. "I don't want her or Kayla put in harm's way over this. Rebecca would hate that."

  "I'll talk to her," Aaron said and gestured for an unfamiliar woman to join them. "This is Lenore Hart. She's a psychologist and a negotiator in situations like this. I want her to spend a few minutes with Stephanie and Kayla, to measure how they're handling this. If she thinks they can be strong, we'll recommend that Stephanie agree to meet him and we'll be right there to protect her."

  Polly nodded at the woman who had come up to stand beside Aaron. She was medium everything. Medium height, medium length-medium brown hair. Just medium. She looked nice enough, pleasant even, but she would easily get lost in a crowd. In fact, Polly hadn't noticed her in the living room until Aaron called her up.

  "You don't think he's stupid enough to just tell them to meet him somewhere and then actually be there, do you?" Polly asked.

  Ms. Hart shrugged. "He's in unfamiliar territory, and he's been on the hunt for these girls for a week at least. All he's thought about is getting to Kayla and punishing Stephanie. That's his focus. He's been frustrated by the fact that they weren't immediately accessible to him. In looking at his background, the man isn't extremely intelligent, so I don’t expect him to come up with an elaborate, convoluted plan to sneak the girls away from us. In all likelihood, he'll bully his way through this. He probably has at least one weapon - a knife and maybe a gun. He will threaten Rebecca's life. Will she remain strong if he does?"

  "She sure will."

  Polly heard Henry's footsteps behind her. "This is my husband, Henry Sturtz. Henry, this is a negotiator with the Sheriff's Department. She says that Stephanie should agree to meet him."

  He heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I know it isn't fair, but I just want my daughter home."

  "It's okay, Henry," Aaron said, taking Henry's hand. "We all do. But we will keep the Armstrong girls safe, too."

  "He killed their mother," Henry said. "And then he escaped from prison in order to track them down. Keeping them all safe just can't be that easy."

  Aaron sm
iled as he released Henry's hand. "I've spoken with the warden and state police in Ohio as they've tried to figure out just how he managed to escape. The man took advantage of a hole in their security that rarely happens. Everything had to come together just right and one night it did. The power cut out for a few minutes due to a storm coming through. A delivery truck was right in the middle of crossing through a gate. Before the generator could start up and the gate could manually be closed, several prisoners were gone into the darkness. He made it out, and while the others were captured, he'd known exactly where he was headed."

  "To Iowa," Henry said.

  "We'll get him," Aaron said.

  Obiwan and Han skittered across the floor, heading for the back door.

  "They heard the garage door," Polly said, and followed the dogs. She got to the top of the back steps when she heard a quiet knock on the door at the bottom and ran down to open it.

  "We shut the door, is that okay?" Stephanie asked.

  "I hoped you would. Come here. I've missed you," Polly said and pulled both girls into a hug. She shut the door behind them and pointed for them to go upstairs first, even though they'd be greeted by the two dogs.

  Kayla sat down on the top step and pulled Obiwan into her arms, hugging him. "I've missed you guys. Did you miss me?"

  "Get up, Kayla," Stephanie said, tugging at her sister's arm. "You're in the way. Go on into the apartment."

  Kayla stood up, brushed her bottom off and headed for the media room.

  "I'm so sorry for all this trouble, Polly," Stephanie said. "Kayla really has no idea what's going on. I told her that Dad kidnapped Rebecca, but she doesn't know what he wants. All she knows is that we're here to help get her friend back."

  "You don't have to apologize for any of this," Polly said. "It isn't your fault."

  "If I hadn't left, Mom would still be alive and Rebecca would be here."

  "And you'd have to put up with continual abuse as well as watching your sister go through the same thing."

  "It's just that..."

  "It's just nothing," Polly interrupted. "Aaron is here and wants to talk to you. They're going to recommend that you agree to meet your father."