Putting Sue into a headlock, he began dragging her toward the back door.
CHAPTER THIRTY
The house was deathly quiet. Too quiet. Setting the gruesome photograph of Jenny Lou Parklyn on the floor, Gil stood to her feet. When had Sue stopped singing? Cautiously tiptoeing to Danny’s doorway, she peeked around the corner and saw Sue struggling against Rick—a red cord wrapped tightly around her throat.
Gil gasped and ran full tilt into the grappling couple. As they fell to the floor, Gil grabbed Rick’s head and slammed it against the wall. Before he could recover, she kicked him in the stomach, causing him to temporarily lose his grip on the cord. Gil watched as Sue frantically scrambled on all fours and knocked the phone to the floor. As Sue reached for the receiver, Rick seized her ankles and pulled her back toward him. Sue’s fingers scrabbled fruitlessly along the floorboards as Rick flipped her onto her back and straddled her.
Gil beat against Rick’s back, but he ignored her. She could see Sue trying to scream, but Rick had his thumbs pressed to the tender hollow of her throat, cutting off the stillborn sound. As Sue scratched wildly at his gloves, Rick rammed his thumbs down even harder, chuckling softly as Sue’s mouth widened into a gaping, silent scream. Gil watched in horror as Sue’s eyes rolled back until only the whites were showing and a trickle of foaming saliva trailed down her chin.
Knowing that Sue was out of time, Gil kicked Rick again. He whipped around and grabbed at the air, catching her foot and tossing her off balance. As she fell, Gil hit her head on the living room doorway. Lying in a huddled heap, she stared at Rick. She knew he couldn’t see her, but he obviously wasn’t thrown by having an invisible adversary. If she’d been afraid before, she was terrified now.
Feeling sick and more than a little shaky, Gil rose to her feet. As Rick started dragging Sue toward the back of the house, Gil picked up the phone and pressed speed dial one. On the other end of the line, she could hear Sam saying hello. Knowing that he couldn’t hear her if she spoke, Gil began banging the receiver against the wall. Through the line, she could hear Sam yelling Sue’s name. Within seconds, he was lunging against the bolted door.
Gil shuddered at the horrible gurgling sound coming from Sue’s throat. Dropping the phone, she grabbed a vase and swung it at Rick. He dodged to one side and dove at the vase, hitting Gil in her midsection. The vase fell from her hands and shattered.
“I don’t know what you are,” Rick snarled as he found Gil’s throat and squeezed, “but get outta my way!”
Rick hurled Gil like a ragdoll against the wall. As she fell, she saw Sue trying to crawl away. Rick kicked Sue’s head and shoved her face against the floor. As he rewrapped the cord around her neck, Sue clawed at the floorboards with broken, bloody nails.
As Sam continued to throw his weight against the door, Gil struggled to her feet. Seeing Sue’s fingers splayed outward and trembling in taunt desperation, she grabbed fistfuls of Rick’s hair and yanked. Letting go of the cord, he swung around and jerked Gil’s feet out from under her. When he had her down, he threw a punch that sent her sliding down the hall on her back. As Rick rolled on top of Sue and tightened his cord, Gil scrambled to her feet and sprinted to the door. Quickly unbolting the locks, she jumped out of the way as Sam burst through.
Gil heard a sound of pure rage bursting from Sam’s lips as he dove at Rick and knocked him away from Sue. With a roar, he crashed his fist into Rick’s mouth. Sam’s punch slammed Rick’s face into the wall, leaving a large smear of blood trickling toward the floor.
“Not a fish, not a parrot,” Rick mumbled as he fell to his knees.
Gil leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath as Sam tore the cord from Sue’s neck. “Sue,” he said, “are you all right?”
Sue nodded and pointed wildly at Rick who had taken the clock from the wall and was swinging it at Sam’s head. Ducking, Sam threw a punch that sent Rick reeling.
“So you wanna play?” Rick said, wiping blood from his mouth. “Don’t you want to quote a few scriptures and pray a while like a good little minister?”
Sam advanced and said in a menacing voice, “Do you know who David was? He was a man after God’s own heart, but he was also a warrior.”
Sam flew at Rick and punched him violently in the face with a fast uppercut and cross combination. Rick stepped back and threw a hard punch into Sam’s midsection. To Gil’s eyes, Sam was so angry that he didn’t even notice.
“The unique thing about David,” Sam snarled, “was that he wrote praise songs to the Lord while at the same time showing no mercy to his enemies. When he met an enemy, he ground him to dust and scattered the dust in the wind.”
Sam lunged at Rick, driving his shoulder into Rick’s stomach and flinging him into the wall. Drywall collapsed beneath Rick’s weight. The hall mirror fell to the floor and shattered. Gil ducked as glass showered around her. Down the hall, Sam leapt into the air with a roundhouse kick that connected with such force Rick doubled over and spat blood.
Taking Rick by the hair and putting him in a chokehold, Sam growled, “The thing about following in David’s footsteps is you have to know who your enemy is. But from where I’m sitting, that looks pretty clear. Your mistake about preachers is that you never read the Old Testament.”
Gil watched as Rick threw an elbow into Sam’s stomach and thrust his head against the side of Sam’s face. With blood streaming from a gash on his cheek, Sam threw Rick violently against the wall. Hunks of plaster fell as the drywall caved away.
As Sam stepped purposefully toward him, Rick drew a knife out of his pocket. With light flickering along the blade, Rick snarled and lunged—hate contorting his face until he barely looked human. As Sam pivoted to one side, Gil winced. Sam’s pivot was a wise move, but it put Rick between him and Sue.
Gil stumbled forward, trying to protect her. At the same time, Sam shouted, “Sue, go lock yourself in the bathroom and don’t come out until I call!”
Sue scrambled to her feet, nearly running into Gil. Instead of hiding in the bathroom, Sue stumbled to the hall closet and grabbed the baseball bat. Down the hall, Rick slashed again, trying to drive his jagged blade through Sam’s stomach. Dodging, Sam kicked the knife out of Rick’s hand, sending it flying into the living room along with Rick’s glove. As Sam delivered a flying roundhouse kick to his jaw, Rick flew back toward Sue. Sue took aim and swung. The bat hit Rick and knocked him into the window by the front door. The glass shattered. Choking on blood, Rick threw a chair as hard as he could at Sue. As she fell, Sam rushed to her side, shielding her with his body from further attack.
Seeing Rick making a break for the door, Gil stuck out her foot and tripped him. As he fell down the steps and landed in a heap on the sidewalk, she grabbed his legs. Rick kicked violently. His blow connected with Gil’s nose and sent her sprawling. As Rick ran down the sidewalk, Gil sat weakly on the top step and gingerly touched her nose. The pain made her wince. Rolling her eyes, she groaned. She didn’t know what a broken nose felt like, but she had an awful premonition that it felt exactly like hers did now. Looking inside the house, she saw Sam gently cradling Sue.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked, smoothing the hair away from Sue’s face.
Sue smiled weakly and tried to brush the blood from Sam’s cheek with her thumb. “Sure I am—he barely touched me.”
Sam laughed and laid his cheek against Sue’s hair.
“Score one for our side!” Gil shouted wildly, pumping her fist in the air.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
As Zara and Nathan drove down Paradise Avenue, Zara saw a bleeding man running down the sidewalk. “Na’tan,” she exclaimed, “is dat de bad mon?”
“It sure is!” Slamming on the brakes, Nathan pulled out his gun. “Honey, take the wheel and drive back to Westfield. Call my department and tell them I need backup. Don’t come back until I phone you. Get out of here now!”
As Nathan jumped from the car and ran after Rick, Zara put the car in reverse and peeled rubber.
She knew when Nathan spoke in that voice not to question but to simply obey. Turning a corner, she frantically dialed Chief Rogers’s direct line.
* * *
Crystal watched as a group of sophomores filed into the basement of Student Union to take their exam. The link-up to the lab had gone well, but she wanted to stick around in case the connection failed. As the students settled into chairs, Zeke began passing out exams. Crystal knew he was out of his element—he hated teaching—but he was handling things well. She doubted the students were picking up on his nervousness.
She smiled. She admired Zeke more than anyone she’d ever known. He had a tragic past, but that didn’t stop him from trusting God and believing in other people.
As Zeke interrupted her thoughts by launching into instructions about the exam, Crystal frowned. He was using the same tone he’d used when lecturing her about curiosity. It was true she was only a junior cadet, but she knew she could help if those in charge would let her. Crystal balled her hands into fists. Regardless of her lowly status at the moment, someday she was going to be Alpha-Blue, and when that day came, nothing was going to stop her from making a difference.
* * *
Nathan ran swiftly, closing the gap between himself and Rick. “Rick Olsen,” he shouted, “you’re under arrest! Stop or I’ll shoot!”
Rick swerved off the sidewalk and sprinted into a neighbor’s yard. Nathan winced and ran faster. The yard belonged to a family with two preschool girls. He hated the thought of a child being taken hostage. As Rick jumped over a tricycle, Nathan weighed his options. There weren’t many. Without knowing where the girls were, he couldn’t discharge his weapon.
Nathan followed close behind as Rick broke through a stand of bushes and sprinted into the forest. Dodging between trees, Rick raced to the rim of a canyon and pulled a rifle from behind a log. Nathan stumbled to a stop as Rick turned and shot a volley of bullets.
* * *
Inside Sue’s house, Sam jumped at the sound of gunshots. “Sue, stay here,” he said. “I have to see what’s going on. Nathan may be in trouble.”
She grabbed his arm. “I’m coming with you.”
“Are you able?”
Tossing him the baseball bat, she nodded firmly.
A smile tugged Sam’s mouth as Sue shouldered the broom, but when she took a step toward the door and wobbled, his smile faded. “I don’t think this is wise.”
“Look,” she replied, slipping on her shoes, “we’re wasting time. Stop arguing.”
Seeing the resolute tilt of her chin, Sam knew he’d met his match. As they ran out the door, more shots rang through the autumn air.
* * *
With bullets whizzing past his ear, Nathan dodged behind a tree and returned fire. Rick responded by sending another torrent of bullets his way. As Nathan took cover, Rick turned and raced down the canyon. Nathan saw a pickup parked at the bottom. Pebbles flew in all directions as Rick jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off in a swirl of dust.
Bolting to the edge of the canyon, Nathan took aim at Rick’s tires. He shot and missed. He shot again as the pickup careened around a bend. Falling to his knees, Nathan wiped blood from his brow—his heart thumping wildly in his chest. After a few moments, he rose to his feet and hiked back to the subdivision. In the distance, he could hear police sirens drawing near. He knew that Zara had relayed his message and that help was on its way. When he reached the tree line, he met Sam and Sue running toward him.
“I feared the worst when we heard shots,” Sam gasped. “I knew it was time for you to show up, and I was afraid for you.”
“You had a right to be,” Nathan replied, showing his brother the jagged cut on his brow. “Rick had a rifle hidden in the woods.”
“Were you shot?” Sam asked in a horrified voice.
“Nah, a bullet clipped a tree. Some bark splintered off and hit me, but Zara’s gonna have a fit. She’ll start pestering me to quit the force and open a bakery.”
Sam laughed. “I’ll back her up. The world needs more bakers.”
“You wouldn’t say that if you tasted my last batch of bread.” Inspecting Sam’s injuries, Nathan said, “You look kinda battered yourself, but Rick looked worse.”
“Between us, Sue and I managed to fend him off.”
As the sirens grew louder, Nathan put a gentle hand on Sue’s throat to examine her bruises. Seeing the extent of the damage, he shot Sam a quick look. There was a pulsing anger burning in Sam’s eyes. It was a type of anger that Nathan had never seen in his brother before. In the face of such fury, he knew Rick had better run the other way if he met Sam again.
“I can hear my backup arriving,” Nathan said. “We need to go. Zara has my phone, and I need to tell them which way Rick went. I don’t want him getting away.”
As Sue swayed, Nathan took her broom and Sam put a gentle arm around her waist. Together, they ran back to Sue’s house as police cars from the Westfield Precinct sped into the driveway.
Jumping out of the lead car, Chief Rogers called, “What’s the status?”
As Nathan explained the situation, he looked at Sue in concern. Her face was pasty white, and she was trembling like a leaf. As an APB was called into dispatch, Nathan turned to Sam. “Do you want to give your statements at Sue’s house or Grandpop’s?”
“At Grandpop’s,” Sam said firmly. “Sue’s house isn’t secure. She’ll sleep at Grandpop’s tonight. I’ll help her pack a bag, and we’ll meet you next door.”
“What about Danny?” Sue asked in hoarse voice. “Is he safe?”
“We’ll make sure he is,” Nathan replied. He motioned for a policeman to join them. “This is Officer Donnly. He’ll assist with your packing.”
As Sam nodded and helped Sue into the house, Chief Rogers handed Nathan a cell phone. “I’ll assign protection to the Winston boy while you call your wife. When she phoned me, Zara threatened to cut off my supply of coconut cookies if you didn’t call her as soon as possible—and that’s one threat I can’t afford to ignore.”
Grinning, Nathan began dialing.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
With his arm around Sue, Sam carefully picked his way down the hallway—his feet crunching over shattered glass and hunks of plaster. As Sue tripped over the broken frame of her mirror, Sam steadied her and asked if she had any suitcases.
Shaking her head, Sue stared with glazed eyes at the smears of blood on the wall. “We used boxes for the m-move.”
Hearing her voice break, Sam knew reaction was setting in. Gently leading her to the bedroom, he had her lie down while he propped pillows beneath her feet.
“When’s the medic arriving?” he asked Officer Donnly in a worried undertone.
“Soon. There’s one in route. What can I do?”
“Guard her—don’t take your eyes off her.”
As Donnly stood by Sue’s bed, Sam ran to the garage and grabbed boxes. When he returned, he asked, “Do you want to tell me what to pack or do I use my best judgment?”
“I trust you, Sam,” Sue replied. “Surprise me. Just don’t f-forget our toothbrushes.”
Nodding, Sam went to the dresser and tripped over a dress on the floor. As he put it on a hanger, he saw a tear sliding down Sue’s cheek.
“I was going to wear that t-tonight,” she said, wincing with pain.
Sam bit his lip. Sue had been through so much, he was afraid she was going to fall apart if he didn’t do something quick. Holding up the dress, he whistled softly and long. “Susie-Q, if you’d worn this I wouldn’t have just been distracted at dominoes, I’d have been distracted clear-clean out of breathing! Talk about taking unfair advantage of a man. I’m just mortal, don’t you know.”
Sue blinked and gave a shaky laugh. “Throw it in the box, and watch me take your breath away.”
Carefully folding the pretty dress, Sam knelt beside her and gently wiped her tears. “Susie-Q,” he whispered, “you already have taken my breath away.”
* * *
; Gil watched as Sam pulled clothes from Sue’s dresser. He was doing a good job of packing, but when he went to Sue’s bathroom he was at a loss. Gil choked back a giggle as Sam picked up an eyelash curler and scratched his head. She saw his confusion increase when he spotted a bowl of leg-waxing cubes. After gingerly rolling a cube around his palm, he shrugged and placed the lone cube in the box. Gil’s giggle broke free as he carefully packed a luffa. He obviously didn’t know what a woman considered essential, and he wasn’t thinking clearly enough to figure it out. When he turned his back, Gil tucked Sue’s makeup in the box.
After Sam packed for Danny, he swaddled Sue in a blanket and carried her to his grandfather’s house. As Officer Donnly followed with the boxes, Gil went to Danny’s room and put the files inside her pillowcase. Clutching the bulky bag to her chest, she ran down the sidewalk toward Danny’s school.
* * *
Sam watched anxiously as a paramedic examined Sue. “You’re a lucky lady,” the medic said. “You don’t need to go to the hospital unless you’d prefer it.”
Sue looked at Sam. “I’d rather stay here, is that okay?”
Sam, who hadn’t let go of her hand since they’d entered the house, nodded.
As the medic wrapped Sue’s wrist with a bandage, there was a screech of tires outside. Zara’s agonized voice echoed, “Yuh deh policeman, where’s mi Na’tan?”
Sam watched as Nathan sprinted to the door, and Zara collapsed in a soggy heap in her husband’s arms. “Yuh wretch!” She sobbed, her worry making her Jamaican accent more pronounced. “Dohn yuh evva go jumping outta di car telling mi to drive wey fram you! I won’t dweet again! Not evva! Yuh hear?”
Nathan hugged his wife. “Don’t worry, honey, I hear.”
“You’d betta! Telling mi to drive wey an leave you running afta dat bad mon!”
“I’m sorry,” Nathan murmured. “The chief’s here. Do you wanna say hello?”
Sam watched with amusement as his sister-in-law went to Nathan’s boss and kissed his cheek. “Yuh beautiful mon!” she said. “I gi yuh many cookies for keeping mi Na’tan safe!”
Time Tsunami Page 18
