Strangers in Their Midst

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “I am so sorry. I came home and thought I’d left the light on and the door open. I just now saw your car parked across the road. What are you doing down there?”

  The light came on, and Kate got her first look at Ned Castile. The man looked gaunt and sallow. He had some facial scratches and smelled as if he hadn’t bathed in a long time. “Are you all right?” she whispered to Ned. “Can you walk?”

  “I think so.”

  Sheila came down a few steps. “Is someone down there with you?”

  “Ned Castile.” Kate left her cell phone on, praying Jake was still listening, and set it in her purse.

  “What? How is that possible?” Sheila seemed genuinely surprised.

  “Never mind that. Help me get him out of here.”

  Sheila hurried down the rest of the stairs, and between the two of them, they managed to get Ned upstairs.

  What was going on? Sheila had obviously lied about having a dog, yet she seemed shocked that Ned Castile was in her basement. This was not adding up.

  When they reached the living room, Ned collapsed on the floor. Kate knelt beside him and checked his pulse. “Hang in there, Ned. The police are on the way.”

  Kate could hear the sirens. They must have heard enough of her call after all. Or Jake had.

  “Oh, Kate, you were right.” Sheila started sobbing. “Hal used me. He’s gone.”

  Kate stared at the woman who had grown up with her own children, the daughter of her good friend. Puzzle pieces fell into place as the past melded with the present. Disappointment flooded her heart.

  “Enough, Sheila. It’s over.”

  Sheila sniffed. “What do you mean? He broke my heart; I loved him.”

  Kate couldn’t keep the rebuke from her voice. “I mean you can stop the act. The only heart broken here will be your mother’s when she finds out what you’ve done.”

  Sheila scrambled to her feet and headed for the kitchen.

  Kate raced after her and grabbed her arm just before Sheila’s hand closed over the handle of a butcher knife.

  Kate wrestled her to the floor, but Sheila, being at least twenty pounds heavier, rolled over on top of her. Kate held on to Sheila’s wrists, praying her strength would hold out until help came.

  Seconds later, Jake burst through the door, followed by Paul, the police, and the medics. None too gently, Jake pulled Sheila off Kate. Paul cradled his wife in his arms, and it was all Kate could do to keep from crying.

  “She did it.” Kate explained. “I don’t have concrete evidence, but I think you’ll be able to piece everything together.”

  “How did you know?” Jake handed Sheila over to the police officer and looked at Kate.

  “The dog and the underwear.”

  Both Paul and Jake looked at her as if she’d grown an extra head.

  “I’ll explain later.”

  A physically subdued Sheila wailed about her innocence as a police officer read Sheila her rights and handcuffed her. As much as Kate hated to admit it, Sheila had lied about everything. She doubted Hal even existed, except in Sheila’s twisted imagination.

  Paul helped Kate to the car with the idea of taking her home. By then, though, she’d gotten a second wind and wanted to see Ned. They followed Jake and the ambulance to the hospital to find out about Ned. At Sheila’s house, he hadn’t been able to tell them anything about his captor. His only recollection was that he’d been in Jake’s office trying to look up past history on the Valley Trust employees when he’d been hit from behind. He’d awakened in the small room that had a mattress, a toilet, and a sink, but little else.

  By the time they got to the hospital, Ava had already arrived. Kate and Paul sat in the ER waiting room while Jake and Ava went back to talk with the staff. Jake came out a few minutes later to tell them Ned would be admitted. He hadn’t eaten in days.

  “But he’ll be okay.” Jake sat down next to Kate. “Thanks to you, Kate.” He pursed his lips. “Ava said to thank you as well. She’ll be in touch later.” He cleared his throat. “Are you up to explaining how you found him?”

  She told them about her concern over Hal and her visit to Sheila’s house. “I heard this noise, and she told me it was her dog. Driving home, however, I remembered something about Sheila: she’s allergic to animals. I went back to see her, and she was gone. I went through the house and saw some men’s clothes scattered around the bedroom. I’m not sure when it hit me that she had staged it all. I realized that the underwear in the bedroom was new. And by the time Ned collapsed on me in the basement, I was pretty sure Hal didn’t exist.”

  “So there never was a boyfriend?” Jake asked.

  “I doubt it.” Kate said. “What I don’t understand is how she could have gotten to Ned in the first place. Did she have help?”

  Jake ran a hand through his hair. “Good question. Ned had gone into hiding once he thought he was hot on the trail of the real embezzler. The only thing I can think of is that she somehow figured out what he knew and where he was staying.”

  “And where was that?” Kate asked.

  Jake smiled. “He was staying at Valley Trust.”

  “No way.” Kate couldn’t believe it.

  “We have a penthouse on the fourth floor.” Jake shrugged. “Safest place I could think of for Ned to hide. Being there, he could come down and work in my office without anyone knowing.”

  “That’s amazing.” Paul settled an arm around Kate’s shoulders.

  “I thought Valley Trust only had three floors.” Kate found Jake’s explanation incredulous.

  “Yes, well”—he chuckled—“I built a smaller fourth story as a penthouse—a hideout of sorts—that’s not visible from the outside. It’s only accessible through my office. And yes, I have a secret panel.”

  Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. This was sounding like a spy story. Secret panels? An extra floor? “But wouldn’t everyone at Valley Trust know about it?”

  “Only a few people knew. I pay well for my privacy.” He raised his eyebrows. “So, no, not even the CEO knew.”

  “And now we know.” Paul teased.

  “Yes.” Jake laughed. “I’m afraid the cat is out of the bag.”

  Kate sighed. “Okay, back to Sheila. She must have figured it out.”

  Jake shook his head. “I doubt it. I’m thinking she was there late for some reason and found him in my office.”

  That made sense. “But why knock him over the head?” Kate asked. “She would have had to drag him out of there, and you have a security guard.”

  “True, but Sheila had access to the back entrance. She could have taken him out that way.”

  Kate remembered Rosie telling her about Gerald Woods going out the back way. “Okay, I guess I can buy that. She’s a big girl. She could probably have handled Ned. She must have hit him awfully hard to knock him out like that.”

  Paul squeezed her shoulder.

  “I hope she’ll confess,” Jake said, “and tell us what really happened.”

  THE FOLLOWING DAY, the feds found more than enough evidence to charge Sheila with kidnapping and embezzlement along with attempted murder. In the basement, hers were the only prints besides Kate’s on the outside of the door. In the garbage, they found a bag filled with old clothes, a beard, and a straw hat that she’d worn when she tried to run Charlie Mayer off the road.

  When faced with the evidence, she confessed. She had been working late at Valley Trust when she discovered Ned in Jake’s office. Sheila was afraid he’d find out about her past and that the places she’d worked for had lost money in much the same way as Valley Trust. Her mother had been right; Sheila was a financial genius. She’d pulled off the same crime at three different banks, and at each, she quit shortly after the money had been stolen, presumably by someone else. In each scenario, she was leaving to be married.

  And Sheila knew, after all, that Ned was getting closer to finding the culprit. She’d also been the one to turn Charlie in and kept tabs on him by phoning the jail, pr
etending to be a reporter.

  Her plan may have worked three times before, but this time she’d had to deal with Kate, a mother with intuition and a nose for mystery.

  AFTER SUPPER, Paul asked Kate to take a drive with him.

  “You’ve been secretive all day.” Kate looked over at him as they backed out of the driveway. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t play innocent with me. You’ve been walking around like a Cheshire cat today.”

  “Oh, we’ve just had some projects come together.”

  “And they are...”

  He grinned and reached for her hand. “That nonprofit we pastors set up to integrate the homeless into the community and provide jobs with local businesses is paying off.”

  “How?”

  “I’ll show you.” Paul drove into Pine Ridge and stopped at an outdated, nearly empty strip mall near the edge of town. Several of the businesses were getting a face-lift. “Our friend Jake is remodeling the entire mall. Says he can’t stand to see places run down and empty. He’s planning to put a Christian bookstore in the far corner. There’ll be a grocery store in the largest complex, and a restaurant or two.”

  “Wow. I’m impressed.”

  “I am too, Kate. The guy is something else. He’s provided several jobs already.”

  Kate sobered. “What’s going to happen on Memorial Day when all of the homeless have to be out of Ash Grove?”

  “Ah.” He smiled. “We’ve put some pressure on the mayor of our little town. We gave him an ultimatum. Either find a place for the people to stay until they can find permanent homes or have them set up camp on his front lawn.”

  Kate clapped her hands together and laughed. “You didn’t.”

  “Yes, but I think he knew we were joking. Lucy Mae had a hand in his decision as well. He’s agreed to let us use the abandoned buildings out by the copper mine.”

  “That’s amazing.” Kate could hardly believe their good fortune. But when God led the way, miracles happened.

  “It is, but it also shows what a community, even one as small as Copper Mill, can do when they operate out of love rather than fear.”

  Tears escaped Kate’s eyes at the magnitude of what they had accomplished, with God’s help, in just a couple of weeks.

  Paul wiped away her tears with his forefinger and kissed her nose. “There’s more.”

  “I don’t know if my heart can take any more.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue she pulled from her handbag.

  Paul smiled. “I think you can handle it. We have a team out at the buildings already working. Eli is heading up the project. They’re making repairs and painting and doing what’s needed to get the place operational. We’ll put the word out and collect donations of beds, clothing, linens, and all that sort of thing. We’re shooting for Memorial Day.”

  “I’m dreaming, right? This can’t be happening.”

  “One more thing.”

  Instead of going straight home, Paul drove up the hill overlooking Copper Mill. “Remember this, Katie?” He parked in a turnout and turned off the headlights.

  She nodded. “Our first view of Copper Mill.”

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” He reached over and settled his arm around her, kissing her forehead.

  Lights from Copper Mill glittered below them while the sky was ablaze with stars.

  “Are you glad we moved here?” Paul asked.

  “I am. I love this town and the people. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

  “You wanted to know why I’ve been smiling all day.”

  Kate nodded and then leaned back. “We’re not moving, are we?”

  He chuckled. “No, but I do know someone who will be.”

  She poked him in the ribs. “Who?”

  “Marie.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Jake needs someone to run the Christian bookstore he plans to put in the mall.”

  Kate shrieked. “That’s wonderful. Now she’ll be able to make payments on her home.”

  “Whoa.” Paul ducked. “Watch the ears.”

  “I’m sorry. But this is so exciting.”

  “It is. The job will allow her to keep Sophie with her while she works, and she loves the idea of living close to Lars. Of course, Lars doesn’t mind either.”

  Kate hugged and kissed him soundly on the lips.

  On hearing a knock at the window, they pulled apart.

  “Hey!” A flashlight blinded Kate, but she’d know the voice anywhere.

  Paul rolled down the window.

  “P-pastor Paul. Mrs. Hanlon. What are you...?”

  Paul chuckled. “Your timing could use some adjusting, my friend.”

  “Uh...sorry. I thought...” Skip backed away. “You two get back to what you were doin’. Never mind me.”

  Paul grinned as he replied, “Don’t mind if we do.”

  About the Author

  PATRICIA H. RUSHFORD has written numerous articles and authored more than forty-eight books, including What Kids Need Most in a Mom, Have You Hugged Your Teenager Today? and It Shouldn’t Hurt to Be a Kid. She also has written a number of mystery series: Helen Bradley Mysteries, Angel Delaney Mysteries, McAllister Files and Jennie McGrady Mysteries. Her latest releases include The Max & Me Mysteries for children. One of her mysteries, Silent Witness, was nominated for an Edgar by Mystery Writers of America and won the Silver Angel for excellence in media. Patricia has a nursing degree and holds a master’s degree in counseling. In addition, she conducts writers workshops for adults and children, has appeared on numerous radio and TV talk shows, and directs the Oregon Christian Writers Conference. Visit her at www.patriciarushford.com.

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