Through His Heart (Mind's Eye Book 3)

by Deborah Camp

  “Oh, yes.” She simpered. “John and I are very much in love, but having the girls is a big adjustment for him. He’s devoted to his flock and he expects the same undivided devotion from me, but I’m a mother.” Her sigh was one of a heavily burdened woman. “My priorities are different and that’s been difficult for John to understand. But he’s getting there.”

  “Is he?” Trudy challenged, not believing it for a moment. “I can’t help but notice that Hannah was sent to boarding school.”

  AmyLynn’s gaze took on a diamond hardness. “You’ve made it clear how you feel about my husband, but he’s a good man. A great man! He has agreed that it’s best for both of the girls to be here with us. They’ll stay with Mrs. Fuller when I travel with John.”

  Trudy drank some more coffee. She studied AmyLynn over the rim of her cup. Obviously, her feelings were still stinging after what Trudy had said about John. But if AmyLynn expected her to apologize, she’d be left on tenterhooks. It wasn’t happening. “How is Rachel?” she asked, moving the conversation to someone more important.

  “She’s fine. Happy to be home.” AmyLynn interlaced her fingers in her lap. “Praise God. She has lost some weight and she has some bruises where . . .” She stopped to swallow a sob and dab at her tears with a pink, linen napkin. “Rachel is such a pleasant child. She is like a beam of sunshine. She’s all giggles and smiles now. Like nothing bad happened to her.”

  Feeling compelled to speak for Rachel, Trudy laid her hand on AmyLynn’s arm, getting her whole attention. “But something bad did happen to her. She’ll need to talk to someone about it.”

  AmyLynn straightened her spine. “John and I will pray on this and do what’s best for her.”

  Trudy pulled away from her, disappointed and dismayed by her response, but she curbed her tongue, telling herself it wasn’t her place to lecture AmyLynn about her marriage or how she raised her children. “Are Moses and his mother still in jail or did they bail out?”

  “They’re in jail. They need to be evaluated.” AmyLynn dabbed at the corners of her heavily lashed eyes with the napkin again. “We’re all praying for them and asking God to clear their minds of evil.”

  “They thought they were doing the Lord’s bidding.”

  “People who aren’t right in the head sometimes think they’re listening to the Lord when, in fact, they’re listening to Satan.” AmyLynn glanced nervously at Trudy, then reached for a white envelope tucked under the coffee tray. “This is for you, Trudy. The rest of your payment. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I know you’ll have a lovely Christmas.”

  “Oh, yes. I hope you do, too.”

  “I plan to, thanks.” Trudy stood and hitched her purse strap over her shoulder. “I can see myself out. Good-bye.” She held out her hand and AmyLynn clasped it in both of hers.

  “I’ll never forget what you did for me,” AmyLynn said as she pulled Trudy in for another hug. “God is good and so are you.” Releasing her, AmyLynn opened the office door. John Comfort stood in the hallway. He smiled at Trudy.

  “Are you leaving us?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Although she very much wanted to slap his face, Trudy held herself in check. “Rachel has been found, so my work is done.” She turned toward AmyLynn. “Your husband offered to pay me an unseemly sum to get me to leave town.” She noted the woman’s look of surprise. “He wasn’t really trying to get rid of me, though. He was trying to get rid of his son – again.” She lifted her chin to stare directly into John Comfort’s cold eyes. “May God have mercy on your soul.” Then she turned on her heel and put both of the Comforts behind her.

  Walking briskly along the hall and skipping down the stairs, she felt like a bird set free from a cage. Oh, it would be good to see the last of this building and these judgmental people! She was so focused on leaving that she didn’t notice Hannah and Rachel standing just inside the front door until she was almost on top of them. She stumbled to a halt, a smile breaking across her face at the sight of them.

  “Hello!” She bent down to look closer at Rachel. She was wearing a bright emerald sweater and brown corduroy pants that covered her bruised arms and legs. Broken skin was healing on her forehead. Trudy’s heart ached for the child. “How are you doing, pumpkin?”

  Rachel wrinkled her button nose. “Good.”

  “We wanted to say goodbye,” Hannah said, glancing behind Trudy.

  Trudy looked over her should and spotted Mrs. Fuller, one of the girls’ guardians. She turned back to Hannah. “That’s nice of you.”

  “Could we talk outside?” Hannah asked. “It’s okay. Mrs. Fuller gave us permission as long as we stay where she can see us.”

  “Sure. Tell you what. Levi’s across the street in the park. I know he’d like to say goodbye to you both, too.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Hannah smiled. “Wait a sec.” She went to Mrs. Fuller, spoke to her, and then came back to Trudy. She reached for Rachel’s hand. “She’s cool with that.”

  “Good. Let’s go.” Trudy took Rachel’s other hand and they walked outside together.

  “Everything is bugged in there and cameras are in every corner,” Hannah said. “That’s why I wanted to get out here. I hate not having any privacy.”

  Surprised, Trudy felt sorry for the teenager. It would probably be even worse now after Rachel’s kidnapping. She spotted Levi sitting on a picnic table, his booted feet on the bench. He was deeply in conversation on his phone, but he glanced up and waved when he saw them.

  “He’s working,” she said.

  “I read that he has a construction business,” Hannah said.

  “Yes, that’s right. He refurbishes older buildings. He enjoys restoring and resurrecting things.”

  “That’s cool.”

  “And he talks to dead people,” Rachel chimed in. “That’s really cool!”

  Trudy looked from Rachel to Hannah and they both laughed at Rachel’s accuracy.

  Levi finished his call just as they walked up to him. He slipped the phone into his jacket pocket and looked a bit unnerved. Trudy realized that he was uncomfortable and that he barely glanced at Rachel. It’s children, she thought. Young children. He’s overly cautious around them. A holdover from years of being suspected of hurting a child – even participating in the murder of a child.

  Anger welled inside of her – anger at all the self-righteous hypocrites who had tormented and tortured an innocent boy. Most of all, she despised Levi’s father and didn’t have any love for his mother either.

  “Hannah and Rachel wanted to say goodbye,” she told him, resting a hand on top of Rachel’s head. Her hair was soft like strands of the finest silk.

  “Oh. Okay.” One corner of his mouth kicked up in a shy smile. He glanced at his watch. “We need to shove off.”

  “Rachel looks better than the last time we saw her, doesn’t she?” Trudy asked, trying to get him to loosen up.

  “She does.” He finally made eye contact with the girl. “How are feeling? Still scared? Did you sleep okay last night?”

  Trudy looked from the girl to him. Levi, the psychologist, had emerged. Also, Levi the victim of being held captive in a hole in the ground.

  “I slept with Hannah,” Rachel said, still holding her sister’s hand. “I’m not scared when I’m with her.”

  “That’s good.” Levi nodded at the teen. “That’s a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.”

  Hannah shrugged. “I’m good with it.”

  “Hannah’s going to enroll in school here again,” Trudy said.

  “Oh? No more boarding school?”

  “I’ll stick close to Rachel,” Hannah said. “She needs me.”

  “You girls should always have each other’s backs,” Levi said. He dipped his head and cleared his throat, nervously. “We should hit the road.”

  “Yes, we should,” Trudy agreed, then crouched to give Rachel a hug. “You’re a brave girl and I’m glad you’re home again.” She kissed her cheek before standing and
placing her arm around Hannah’s shoulders. She could tell that Hannah didn’t really want a hug from her, so she patted her shoulder before releasing her. “I’m glad we met, Hannah. You helped me figure out who had Rachel.”

  “Yeah.” Hannah smiled. “When you were grilling me about Sam’s brother and where their mother lived, I pieced it together.”

  Rachel held up her arms to Levi. “Hug?”

  Levi froze for a few seconds, staring at her, but then he snapped out of it and lowered to his haunches to let Rachel fling her arms around his neck and give him a big kiss on his cheek. He chuckled.

  “Why, thank you,” he murmured, straightening slowly, his gaze moving to Hannah. He paused before giving a quick shrug and embracing Hannah. Her arms went around his waist and she pressed her check against his chest and closed her eyes.

  Trudy smiled to herself, remembering her own crushes when she was Hannah’s age. Oh, what she would have given to get a hug from Justin Timberlake or Ian Somerhalder!

  Levi released her and stepped back, staring at the ground and clearly unnerved by the show of affections. He glanced at Trudy and cleared his throat again. He started to move away from the girls, but stopped. Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, he withdrew a black business card with gold lettering. He handed it to Hannah.

  “This has my all my digits on it. I have to change my mobile phone number often because of nuisance calls, but my home and business numbers stay the same. My personal e-mail address is on there, too. If you ever need anything – you or Rachel – you contact me. Or if you just need to talk.” He shrugged as she accepted the card. “I’ll always answer or I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

  Trudy raised her brows, touched by his gesture. She knew he had other business cards with only his office address and number on them. Only a privileged few had the one he’d just given to Hannah.

  “Thanks. I’ll keep it under lock and key,” Hannah said, shoving it into the back pocket of her skinny jeans. “Could I . . . um . . . ask you something now?”

  Curiosity lit his eyes. “Sure.”

  “Are you religious?”

  Levi let go of a long breath and Trudy wondered how he’d answer the girl. She hoped he’d be judicious.

  “No. I’m not,” he finally said. “I’m a spiritualist.”

  Hannah frowned. “What’s the difference?”

  “As a wise man once said, ‘People are religious because they’re afraid of going to hell and people are spiritualists because they’ve already been there.’ Therefore, I’m a spiritualist.” He smiled and Hannah smiled back at him.

  “I get it. So, you think there’s something beyond this?” She flung out her hands.

  “Yes,” Levi said, instantly and definitively. “I know there is. I speak to people on the other side all the time.”

  Hannah stared at him for a few seconds as if taking the measure of him. “Are they happy over there?”

  “They’re blissful,” Levi assured her. “Totally at peace.”

  She narrowed her eyes briefly and then gave a shrug. “Cool.” She captured Rachel’s hand. “Come on.”

  Rachel waved and she and Hannah walked across the street and into the ministry building. Trudy reached for Levi’s hand and he squeezed her fingers lightly.

  “I’m glad you gave her your card.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know if she’ll ever use it, but at least she has it.” He looked up at the building and all pleasure drained from his face.

  Trudy followed his gaze and saw John and AmyLynn standing in front of AmyLynn’s office window staring down at them. AmyLynn waved and walked out of view, but John remained like some god on high, glaring down at his underlings. Slowly and purposefully, Levi raised his hand, his middle finger extended.

  “Levi!” Trudy admonished, shocked, but then she couldn’t help but grin.

  “Fuck you, Rev,” Levi whispered before lowering his hand and walking with Trudy to where he’d parked the car.

  Chapter 19

  Christmas morning Trudy awoke lazily, dreamily. She stared at the old-fashioned ceiling fan/light fixture and stretched, only then realizing that she was alone in her creaky bed. Raising her head, she glanced around the room. No Levi. Listening, she couldn’t hear the shower running, but she did hear the faint rattle of paper. Sounded like he was in the kitchen or dining room.

  Rolling onto her stomach, she smiled as the scent of him lifted from the sheets and pillow cases. Citrusy aftershave and that undefinable aroma of Levi Wolfe. Delicious!

  Her thoughts lingered over memories of yesterday with her family and Levi. Loads of fattening food – divinity, fudge, cookies, homemade bread and rolls, baked ham, baked beans, and potato salad. She knew that her mother would put on another big feed today with hen and dressing on the menu along with English peas, buttered corn, sweet potato casserole, and mincemeat and pecan pies.

  Gifts had been exchanged. Trudy grinned, recalling Levi’s surprise at learning that there were presents under the tree from him to her family members. She’d assumed he wouldn’t realize that they would all have gifts under the tree for him, so she’d done some secret shopping to save him from being embarrassed at not reciprocating. At one point during the festivities, he’d pulled her aside and whispered, “Thank you, baby. I owe you and I’ll pay up later tonight.” And, oh, had he ever!

  She stretched again, luxuriating in her memories of his mouth worshipping her and his eyes growing misty with bliss as his body had meshed perfectly with hers. She’d never had such a lovely Christmas!

  Sniffing the air again, she caught the whiff of coffee and that made her scramble out of bed to grab her short, red kimono. She slipped into it and belted it as she padded barefoot to the bathroom for a quick pit stop. After running a comb through her hair and brushing her teeth, she went through the living room and dining room to the kitchen where she found Levi sitting at the table. The newspaper was spread before him, his laptop was up and running, and he held a mug of steaming coffee. His smile rivaled the beams of sunlight spilling through the window.

  “Good morning, gorgeous girl. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas to you, too, my pretty.” She poured herself a mug of coffee and added half-and-half to it. “You’re up early.”

  “I decided to make a pot of coffee for my girl. Hey, stick those cinnamon rolls your mother sent home into the microwave while you’re there. We can have them for breakfast.”

  “Sounds like a good plan,” she said, taking a drink of the coffee and then sighing in contentment. She put the rolls into the microwave and set the timer for one minute. “Are you enjoying your first Christmas?”

  “I am. I was kind of surprised that everyone opened presents on Christmas Eve, though. I thought we’d do that today.”

  “The kids will have presents from Santa Claus today.” She shrugged. “We don’t upstage the merry elf in my family.”

  “Oh, I see.” He held up his right wrist to show off the heavy silver links of the bracelet she’d given him. “Does this make me look sexy?”

  “Sexy – er,” she said with a happy smile, then noticed that the framed photograph of herself she’d also given him sat on the table next to his laptop. “Are you going to carry that picture around with you from room to room?”

  “Maybe.” He looked at it and that special smile he reserved for her touched his lips. “It’s my favorite gift – ever. I’m thinking of having it enlarged to poster size for my office.”

  “Don’t you dare!” She wagged a finger at him and he chuckled. She removed the plate of rolls from the microwave and set them on the table along with two saucers, two forks, and napkins. “I appreciate your gifts to me, too,” she said as she took her place at the table. He’d made good on his word, paying off her mortgage and student loans – a total of one hundred thousand and change. “You’re very generous. Too generous.”

  “Tru, look at me.” He waited for her gaze to lift to his. “Being mine is a gift beyond measure.
”

  Tears sprang to her eyes and her heart expanded with so much love it was almost painful. “Well, now you’re going to make me cry,” she confessed.

  “We can’t have that.” He gave her a stern look that made her giggle. “Better. Much better. Making you laugh is another gift I treasure.”

  “Stop it!” She swiped the moisture from her lashes and placed rolls on each plate. She handed one to him. “You’re working on Christmas morning?” She frowned at his laptop.

  “No. I was reading something interesting in the newspaper this morning and I wanted to do a little research on it.” He took a bite of one of the gooey cinnamon rolls. “Mmm. Your mother is a fantastic cook.”

  Trudy nodded. “That’s why she’s in the catering business.” She tasted the scrumptious smelling pastry and sighed with culinary contentment. “Lord, these are good! I’m sure that Mom and Dad are already busy in the kitchen this morning, too. They’ll put on quite a feed this afternoon for us.”

  “I’ll have to double up on my workouts while we’re here,” Levi noted with a wry grin.

  She glanced at the reading material scattered across the table. “So, what was so interesting in the paper?”

  “Seems that New Orleans has a serial killer.”

  “Oh, really?” She leaned closer to peer at a newspaper headline that Levi had circled with a pen. Something about bodies in a salvage yard.

  “Some men were removing rusting car parts from a salvage yard in Slidell. That’s near New Orleans, right?”

  She nodded. “Across Lake Pontchartrain.”

  “They uncovered some unmarked graves.” His gaze leveled on hers. “Nineteen of them.”

  Trudy released a long whistle. “Someone’s been busy. Have they been there a while?”

  “Forensics is still working on the remains, but the earliest grave seems to have been dug ten to twelve years ago.”

  “A decade. That’s a long time to be in a rusty salvage yard. Probably not many clues to be gathered from those remains.”