On A Prayer

by Mary May

  “They couldn’t see who it was on the security video, could they?”

  “No, whoever it was knew where the camera was located and kept his face turned away.”

  “Were they able to get any kind of description on him? Height? Weight? Anything?”

  Alec could hear the desperation in her voice. He knew this had shaken her very badly. “I’m sorry. They couldn’t see anything really. He was wearing jeans and a gray hoodie. He was in and out in less than seven minutes. I want to watch the video myself and see if there may be something they missed.”

  Klara just nodded then turned back to the window. In its reflection he could see the fall of silent tears.

  “Welcome to the Majestic; will you be needing a suite?” The curvy brunette behind the counter smiled a bright smile at Alec that frankly made Klara want to smack her. She knew she was being unreasonable, but that was how she felt. Watching Alec return the smile didn’t help her foul mood any either. She crossed her arms across her chest and scowled at both of them. He finally got their room key and they headed up the hall to the elevator. She was still frowning at him when they reached the suite. He unlocked the door then proceeded to check the doors and windows to make sure they were secure. He came back to find her still standing there frowning at him. “Why are you looking at me like that? Have I done something?”

  Klara shook her head. “Oh, no, not at all. Why ever would you think that you have done something wrong? Last I heard you were nearly incapable of it. Notice I said nearly.”

  Alec put his suitcase on the bed then sat down next to it. “Ok, you are clearly ticked off at me about something. Can we just skip the twenty questions I have to ask and you just tell me what it is?”

  If it was possible, her frown got even deeper. “No, I don’t think we can.” She replied through tight lips.

  Alec stood up. “You know what? That’s fine with me; since when have you ever been reasonable anyway? You want to be mad at me then by all means be mad. As a matter of fact, you can be mad at me until the cows come home or your head explodes, whichever comes first!” He barely ducked in time to miss getting bashed by the apple that she had plucked from the complimentary fruit basket and launched at his head; it was followed by an orange, a banana, then a mango. When she reached for the pineapple, he had had enough and tackled her to the floor.

  “That’s enough! What’s the matter with you, woman?” She squirmed furiously under his weight and glared up at him, her blue gray eyes shooting sparks like a Roman candle.

  “Get off of me!” She hissed between her clenched teeth.

  “I don’t think so, not until you calm down and tell me what has you throwing an entire produce section at my head.” Klara fought to get up but Alec had her pinned firmly under his body and held her hands tightly to the floor leaving no other weapon but her head, so she head butted him firmly on the nose.

  Alec roared, “Ok, that’s it! I’m done playing nice guy here.” Alec rolled off of her then quickly flipped her over to her stomach sitting on her with her hands held tightly behind her back. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “I’ll let you up when you stop fighting me, and just so you know, this is a lot more uncomfortable for you than it is for me.” For a full two minutes they stayed in that position. All that could be heard was the sound of heavy breathing.

  “Ok…I won’t throw anything else. Let me up.”

  Alec cocked his head and looked at her. “What’s the magic word?”

  Klara narrowed her eyes at him. “Let me up NOW!”

  Alec released her hands then stood up. “Close enough.” He reached to help her up but she slapped his hand away. He walked away and left her on the floor. Deciding they needed a few minutes alone, he walked to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face then examined his nose where she had head butted him. He wondered if dear old dad had taught her that little move, too. The woman fought better than most men he knew. Deciding he would most assuredly have a black eye come morning, he walked back into the living area to find that Klara had at least made it into a sitting position on the floor. She was sitting cross-legged, twisting her rings. He walked over and held out his hand to her. This time she took it and he pulled her to her feet. She walked right into his arms as soon as she was standing, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burrowing her face in his chest.

  She mumbled something that he couldn’t understand. “What?” he asked as he rubbed her back and held her.

  She looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m having a really really bad night.”

  “Well, I understand that you’re angry about your things being destroyed, but I don’t know why you’re mad at me.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m angry about more than just my stuff; it’s the feeling of being violated…of losing control of my life. I haven’t had any control over anything in such a long time and then I thought I was getting it back and now this…this…crazy person is after me and, to top it all off, I had to watch you flirt with the brunette downstairs!” She finished with a rush, looking at him with miserable tear-filled eyes.

  Alec chuckled, squeezing her tighter. “Sweetheart, I don’t know what you thought you saw down there, but I was most definitely not flirting with the receptionist. She smiled and I simply returned the smile; I was being polite, Klara. That’s it. But I am curious about why it would matter to you if I were flirting. I’m a single man now. Nothing to stop me from smiling at a pretty girl…is there?”

  She pulled away from his embrace and walked stiffly to the bathroom. “Not a thing that I can think of.” Then she shut the door.

  Alec started putting away his things, but he was smiling.

  Klara sat down on the toilet seat, holding her head in her hands. “Oh, God, what’s wrong with me? Am I losing my mind completely? Please…just make this stop. Help me to…to… I don’t know, just help me.” She washed her face and hands then opened the door.

  Alec was on the phone. “Yes, I do have access to my email. Thank you I would appreciate it. Have a good night.” He hung up then turned to her. “That was the security supervisor from the other hotel; they are going to email me a copy of the video from the hallway. They have a computer downstairs. Let’s go see if you can recognize the man. Tell me if you think it’s the same man that was in the street outside your apartment.”

  “I can’t imagine it being anyone else, but ok.”

  They borrowed the hotel’s guest computer and Klara watched everyone in the lobby anxiously. She felt so exposed here. She hated feeling like this, so vulnerable and completely at the mercy of a mad man.

  “Ok, here it is.” She turned to see a man in a gray hoodie and jeans walk casually up to their hotel door. He produced what looked like a keycard then slid it in the door and walked in. A few minutes later he walked out, keeping his head turned from the camera, but then at the last second he lifted his head slightly and saluted. Klara studied everything about him, his clothing, his boots, his stance. Nothing triggered anything for her.

  “I’m sorry, Alec. I don’t see anything that reminds me of anyone I know.”

  She looked down to see Alec’s hands clenched in a fist and his lips were in a tight line. “Didn’t you tell me that the guy saluted you outside your apartment the first time you saw him?”

  Klara nodded. “Yes, why? Does that tell you something?”

  He pointed at the screen. “Look at the boots he is wearing. Those are standard issue military combat boots. Klara, I know who this guy is. The cops were right. It’s not Marcus, and this doesn’t have anything to do with Matthew.”

  Frowning she looked at him. “Then who is it, Alec?”

  He looked up at her. “That is Clarissa’s brother, Roy.”

  Chapter 20

  “Clarissa’s brother? Why on earth would he be trying to kill me? I have never even met the man.”

  Klara watched Alec, as he suddenly seemed to age before her eyes. “Because of me would be my first
guess, and the fact that he isn’t exactly playing with a full deck would be my next guess. Roy is ex-military and has been trouble since he emerged from the womb. He is scary smart, but he is also just plain scary. He was kicked out of the military for smuggling weapons to known gunrunners and he did some time. I actually saw him at our divorce hearing and wondered why he was out of prison.”

  Klara’s eyes were big as it sunk in just who they were dealing with. “Ok, but that doesn’t explain why he is after me.”

  “The only thing that Roy loves more than being a bully and obnoxious is his baby sister. The way I see it Clarissa probably thinks you are the reason I wanted a divorce. If you’re out of the way, then she may be able to get her cushy life back.”

  Alec paused and Klara asked if he thought Clarissa actually wanted her dead. He thought for a moment then shook his head.

  “No, Rissa is spoiled and selfish, but I don’t see her as a killer or even having someone killed. I think she told Roy to scare you a little and Roy being Roy probably decided that wasn’t entertaining enough for him. Like I said, he isn’t exactly stable.”

  Klara suddenly smiled. “It’s over. We know who it is now so the cops can pick him up.”

  Alec cut his eyes up at her. “Don’t be too sure. Knowing who it is and catching him are two different things. Back to what I said before, Roy is highly intelligent and if he finds out that we know it’s him he will go into hiding.”

  Klara hugged her arms around her middle, feeling nervous again. “So what do you think we should do? Should we even tell the police?”

  Alec closed out of his email and deleted the file. He shook his head slightly. “No, we are going to keep this to ourselves for now, ok?” Then to go a step further he went in and scrubbed the email account all together. After he had done that, he set up a dummy account so that Roy would think that he found something. He would send a fake email from the last hotel to himself tomorrow from their guest computer. He just hoped that Roy wouldn’t find the phony email account tonight before he could get back over there. Finding out who they were dealing with did not ease his mind in the least; in fact, knowing Roy was the one after Klara made his stomach cramp.

  They went out and bought Klara a few items from a nearby outlet mall. Alec tried to get her to go to somewhere a little nicer, but she refused. “Why would I want to spend money on something Roy will probably just destroy if he gets the chance? I only need a few things to make it until we go home. This is fine.” Alec kept a very close eye on Klara while they were out. He wouldn’t even so much as let her go to the restroom alone until he had checked it out. They continued to search for Haylie, but by nightfall of their second night they didn’t know any more than they did the day they arrived. No one had seen or heard of Haylie Kelley. Alec was able to go back to the hotel and send a dummy email to his new account. They still didn’t have any more information for him, but that was ok. Alec knew all he needed to know. He didn’t tell the security department that he knew who it was. He wanted Roy to think he was still the one in charge of this sick game for now….

  “I feel terrible leaving without finding out a single thing about Haylie. This trip was a total waste!” Klara plopped down on the couch across from Alec who had been on the computer for the last two hours. His face was a study in concentration, as he would type something then wait then curse then type something else. He hadn’t spoken more than two full sentences to her during that time. She finally got up and looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He was looking through prison files. “Why are you looking there? Roy isn’t in prison anymore.” Alec stopped typing and stretched his arms up over his head, twisting his torso from side to side then popping his neck. He tapped on a name on the inmate list at Nevada State Prison.

  “Look at that name and mug shot and tell me who does it say it is.” Klara looked at the grainy picture of a man in his early thirties. He was clean-shaven with a rugged masculine face. His dark hair was cut short in a typical military buzz cut. She couldn’t tell what color his eyes were as this was a black and white picture, but they looked dark as well. Under his picture was the name, Roy Edward Bennett, under that the words currently incarcerated. “How is that possible? He is out, you saw him! How do they not know that he isn’t there?” She asked in stunned disbelief.

  “I have no idea. I told you he was extremely intelligent. I’m not surprised he found a way to fool the system. He is a cocky son of a gun, I’ll give him that. He was standing in that courtroom surrounded by law enforcement officers and didn’t have a care in the world and this is why. He knew no one would be looking at him or for him because they think he is still in prison. So even if we tell them we know he is after you, they won’t believe us; he has the perfect alibi.”

  Klara sat down suddenly as her knees gave out. “Then he could kill me and get away with it. Alec, we have to find a way to show them that he really isn’t still in prison! How hard can it be to have them actually go look? I mean, fooling a computer is one thing, but don’t they do actual body counts or something?”

  He turned around to face her. She looked on the verge a panic attack. “Klara, I don’t how he is doing this…yet. But I will figure it out and I will keep you safe. I promise.”

  “How can you say that? I mean I’m not knocking your skills, Alec, but can you figure out what he is going to do next?” He reached and took her hand. “The first step to defeating your enemy is knowing who your enemy is. We know that much. While I may not be a borderline genius, I’m not exactly a dimwit neither. I’m not criminally minded, but I have been around enough of them to know how they think. Another thing that may give us an advantage is the fact that he doesn’t know that we know it’s him. I will figure out his game plan.”

  Klara looked him in the eye. “I hope you’re right, because if you’re not, it’s my life that’s on the line here. I know I tried to end it myself not long ago, but I don’t feel that way anymore. I want to live my life, even as crazy as it’s been here lately; I want to be here to live it,” she admitted quietly.

  “What do you think has changed to make you feel that way now?”

  Klara shrugged slightly. “A lot of things, I think. I’m speaking with my parents again, going to therapy and I have Matthew to focus on. I have even started talking to God again…a little bit.”

  Alec smiled and arched an eyebrow at her. “Really? So you and the Almighty are on speaking terms again?”

  Again she shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we are. I’m still mad at Him, though. I don’t know if that will ever change, but for some reason it’s easier to talk to Him now. I feel the need to talk to Him that I haven’t had in a very long time.”

  He reached out, squeezing her shoulder. “That’s great, sweetheart. I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Alec? Do you have a relationship with God? You said you were happy to hear I was praying again.”

  He got up and sat next to her on the couch. He was quiet for a minute then he nodded. “First off let me say I do think prayer is important. Do I do it enough? Not nearly. I was saved when I was a teenager and I was pretty devoted. But when I went to college I drifted away from my relationship with God. After the affair I actually tried to get back into church, but Clarissa wouldn’t hear of it. I think if we had that might have saved us.” Then he sighed running his fingers though his dark hair. “Or maybe not. That mess may have been beyond even what God can save.”

  “Do you think maybe she wasn’t the one God intended for you? Maybe that’s why it couldn’t be saved?” She asked. Alec chuckled softly. “Well, I can promise you God was never asked His opinion when I got with her. I know she wasn’t the one he would have chosen for me, but I said marriage vows before God and was expected to uphold those vows and I didn’t. I actually do believe if Clarissa and myself had gotten our lives right with Him, he could have turned our disaster into something beautiful. Even though our marriage wasn’t part of His plan, He wouldn’t have held that against us if we had turned to
Him. He would have taken our mistake and made a miracle.”

  Klara smiled at him. “That was a beautiful thing to say. Turning a disaster into something beautiful, a mistake into a miracle.” He smiled slightly. “Well, they aren’t just pretty words. I’ve seen him do exactly that first hand with my grandparents.”

  Klara sat back in surprise. “Really? If you don’t think it would be an intrusion into their privacy I would love to hear the story.”

  He nodded his head and Klara settled in to hear what had happened with Abraham and Amelia Adams…

  Chapter 21

  “Let me start with saying that my grandfather was not born rich. He was born dirt poor and I mean literally dirt poor. He was raised in a shack in foothills of Tennessee with twelve brothers and sisters.” At Klara’s shocked expression he smiled. “You heard me right…twelve. His parents were what was known as traveling farmers or harvesters. They would travel to the big farms and gather the produce, getting paid two or three cents a bushel, and they could have some of the damaged produce. It was a miserable life, backbreaking work, and they wouldn’t even make enough money to eat properly.

  My granddad told me stories of his mother actually boiling the cornhusks with a spoonful of lard just have something to put in their stomachs to stop the hunger pains. The younger kids would steal grain from the farmer’s horse troughs or fight the pigs for the scraps they would throw out. They were always on the verge of starvation. My granddad was the next to the oldest boy and he had to work from sunup to sundown every day like a grown man. He said that hunger burning in his belly went deeper than what a good meal could cure. It lit a fire in his soul to better himself and never know hunger again.