“Michael, something’s wrong. Our housekeeper sounds upset, so I’ll call you later.”
“Talk to you then.”
Charlotte dropped her phone and purse onto the bed and ran down to the kitchen. Agnes was hysterical. “Miss Charlotte, look. It’s Matthew’s school!” She pointed at the television.
Charlotte’s mouth dropped open and she wanted to die. There was a breaking news report plastered across the screen: Gunman holding students hostage at Mitchell Prep Academy. Then the announcer said, “The gunman is believed to be Harold Rush, the well-liked history teacher who was recently arrested because of child molestation allegations.”
“Oh my God, Matthew!” Charlotte exclaimed. “Oh my God. He just tried calling me.”
She rushed back up the stairs and checked to see if he’d left her a voice message. But he hadn’t. So she tried calling him back. His phone rang and rang and rang until his outgoing message began, so Charlotte picked up her handbag and flew back down to the kitchen.
“Agnes, I’m going to the school, and please call me if you hear from Matthew or anyone.”
“I will. And what about Mr. Curtis?”
“I’ll call him while I’m driving.”
“Try to stay calm, Miss Charlotte, and please be careful.”
“I will,” she said and was out the door and inside her car in seconds. When she left the driveway, she dialed Curtis’s cell phone immediately, but he didn’t answer. So she called Lana’s number directly.
“Pastor Black’s office. Lana speaking.”
“Lana, it’s Charlotte. Hey, do you know where Curtis is by chance?”
“He had a counseling session and then a phone conference, so now he’s out taking a late lunch. He should be back in an hour or so, though, because he has another meeting.”
“We have to get in touch with him. There’s trouble at Matthew’s school, and some students are being held hostage.”
“Oh dear Lord,” Lana said. “And where are you?”
“I’m on my way there, so if you hear from Curtis before I do, please tell him to meet me.”
“I will, and you know I’m going to start praying as soon as we hang up.”
“Thanks, Lana.”
Charlotte pressed the End button and dialed Curtis’s cell phone again, but when he still didn’t answer, she yelled out loud, “Curtis, where are you?”
She was so frustrated and wondered where he was. She waited a few seconds and then pressed Redial. As the phone rang, she stepped on the accelerator and said, “Come on, Curtis, you have to answer this time. I really need you.”
* * *
When Curtis glanced at his phone and saw that Charlotte was calling him, he clicked Ignore and slipped his phone back inside the inner pocket of his blazer.
“So who was that?” Sharon asked.
But Curtis didn’t respond. He had tried his best not to call this woman again or come see her, but once Bruce and Stephanie had left his office and he’d found himself thinking way too much about Raven, he’d decided to contact Sharon. His hope had been that if all he did was talk to her, it would take his mind off physically being with Raven. But one word had led to another and the next thing he’d known, Sharon had talked him into coming to visit her. They’d spoken by phone for maybe a half hour, and she’d promised him that if he wanted, they could take things very slow, chat like old buddies even, and simply enjoy each other’s company. This, of course, had sounded fine to Curtis, and so far, talking was in fact all they’d been doing. He was also glad she was sitting on the love seat adjacent to the sofa he was relaxing on.
“So I guess you don’t want to tell me who’s blowing up your phone, as my girlfriend’s son would say,” Sharon said.
“It’s not important,” Curtis said, noticing how captivating her light brown eyes were and then admiring how thick her hair was. It was almost the same color Charlotte had been dyeing her hair for the past couple of years, except Charlotte had beautiful highlights mixed through hers and Sharon’s was all one shade.
“You sure I can’t get you anything?” she said.
“Positive. I stopped and grabbed something to eat on my way over here.” Curtis looked around the place. It was small and quaint, but immaculate. “So, did you decorate this yourself?”
“Every bit of it.”
“You have excellent taste.”
“Thank you.”
There was silence, but when Curtis’s phone vibrated again, he scooted to the edge of the sofa. “Well, I really need to get back to the church.”
“But you’ve only been here for maybe thirty minutes at the most.”
“True. But just the same, I need to get going,” he said and his phone vibrated again. When he pulled it out, he saw that it was Charlotte and that she also must have left him a voice message the last time she’d called, because his message alert symbol was displayed. He wondered why she was all of a sudden calling him, because right now, he really didn’t want to be bothered. Especially since she hadn’t tried calling him once when she’d been vacationing like a queen miles and miles away. Actually, the only reason he kept checking his phone was because he’d missed a call from Matthew during his drive over to Sharon’s. It had happened when Curtis had called Sharon to double-check the directions she’d given him. Curtis had typed her address into his navigational system but since she lived in the country, one of the roads she’d mentioned hadn’t shown up. After he’d hung up with her, though, he’d tried calling Matthew back, but he hadn’t answered.
“Wow, looks to me like somebody needs to speak to you pretty badly,” Sharon said.
Curtis stood up. “It’s nothing, but I really do need to go.”
Sharon got up as well. “I really wish you would stay.”
“I wish I could, but I can’t. I do appreciate you inviting me over, and I enjoyed our conversation.”
Still, Sharon moved closer to him. “Look, Curtis. Why are you trying to fight these feelings you know you have for me?”
Curtis gazed into those pretty brown eyes of hers, felt his legs weakening, and wished she would step away from him. But Sharon moved even closer, caressed his chest with both hands, and pushed his blazer back and partway down his shoulders. Thankfully, though, his phone vibrated again, and Curtis was glad for the interruption. He quickly pulled his jacket back over his shoulders and looked at his BlackBerry. This time it was a text from Matthew, saying, 911 cant call u.
Now Curtis panicked. He wondered what was wrong with Matt and if maybe this was the reason Charlotte kept trying to contact him. So he dialed into his message system. His heart skipped a beat when he heard how frantic Charlotte’s voice was: Mr. Rush was holding a group of students hostage in a classroom. There was also a message from Lana saying basically the same thing and that he needed to call Charlotte as soon as possible. Curtis wasn’t even sure how he’d missed Lana’s call, although maybe she’d tried calling him right when Charlotte had.
“I have to go,” he told Sharon and rushed out of her house and into his SUV. He drove out of her driveway, sped down the road like a madman, and called Charlotte.
“Oh my God, Curtis, I think Matthew is one of the kids still inside,” she cried.
“Are you at the school?”
“Yes. And where are you?”
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. But in the meantime, you try to stay calm, baby, okay?” he said but deep down, he had never been more frightened or worried about anything. He was terrified, to say the least, and he wondered if this was all his fault. He couldn’t help wondering if God was already punishing him for consorting with another woman—for almost giving in to her sexual demands—for wanting her to do all the things she’d been promising she could and would do to him if he let her.
Curtis would never forgive himself if something happened to Matthew, and he prayed his son was going to be okay. Then he thanked God for allowing Matthew to send him that text when he had. If he hadn’t, Curtis knew things w
ould have gone too far with Sharon, and there would have been no turning back for him. The day would have ended on a very shameful note, and Curtis was grateful he’d been stopped. He was glad God had stopped him cold.
Chapter 28
When Curtis arrived near the school, squad cars, detective cars, personnel from all the local media outlets, and many others were scattered throughout the street. As he drove closer, he even saw a large number of students standing around as well, some who were in tears and already embracing various adults, probably their parents, and some holding on to each other. Sadly, though, Curtis did not see Matthew, and his stomach knotted.
After driving as close as possible to the scene, Curtis finally found a parking spot on a residential street, grabbed his full-length, black cashmere coat from the passenger seat, and went looking for Charlotte. He pushed through groups of people, many of them speaking to him along the way, but turned around only when he heard Charlotte calling his name. She was only a few feet away. To his surprise, she hurried toward him and fell into his arms, crying.
“Hey,” Curtis said, smoothing his hands across her back. “Matt is going to be fine. God is going to fix this, and we can’t think anything different.”
“But what if he’s not all right? What if…oh God, no. Not my baby,” she said, weeping loudly.
Curtis’s eyes watered, and as he looked around and saw tears rolling down the faces of other parents, those who obviously hadn’t seen their children come out of the school yet either, his faith was shaken. He wouldn’t let on to Charlotte or to anyone else how he really felt, but he struggled with utter fear for the first time in a while.
He struggled for a few minutes. However, it wasn’t long before he remembered his strong belief in God and how God could do all things, no matter how impossible they might seem. Needless to say, his faith was quickly renewed, and he had no doubt that Matthew would soon come walking out safe and sound, and this would all be over.
When Charlotte had settled down a little, she said, “He tried calling me, Curtis, but I didn’t answer the phone in time.”
Curtis frowned. “He tried calling me, too, but when I dialed him back I couldn’t reach him.”
“Why do you think he didn’t leave a message?”
“I don’t know. He did finally send a text, though, saying he couldn’t call but that was it.”
Curtis looked up when he saw a band of teenagers, heading toward them, one of whom was Elijah, Matthew’s best friend.
“Elijah,” Curtis said. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. Matt just flipped out, I guess. He had a chance to flee just like the rest of us, but when he saw who Mr. Rush wanted to keep in there, he wouldn’t leave.”
“Mr. Rush said he only wanted those two girls to stay,” one of the girls in Elijah’s crowd said. “Those girls who made those accusations against him.”
“I just don’t get it,” Elijah continued. “Because the next thing we knew, Matt was telling Mr. Rush he wasn’t going anywhere and that if he was going to shoot those girls, he would have to shoot him, too. So, Mr. Rush told him fine and that he could die right along with those—excuse my language, Mom Black and Pastor Black—but he said Matthew could die right along with those sluts because it made no difference to him.”
“Why did Matt do that?” Charlotte blurted out. “Why didn’t he run out with the rest of you?”
“We don’t know,” another student said. The rest hunched their shoulders.
Charlotte burst into tears again and laid her head on Curtis’s chest.
“So it’s not a whole class of students in there?” Curtis asked. “Just Mr. Rush, Matthew, and the two young ladies?”
“Yep,” Elijah said.
“Did Mr. Rush say why he was doing this?” Curtis asked.
“He told Jennifer and Tasha that they never should have snitched on him, so now he had no choice but to kill them. Said they should have kept their mouths shut like he told them.”
Curtis shook his head and prayed like never before. He prayed that God would soften Mr. Rush’s heart and bring this sick man to his senses so he would release Matthew and the two girls he was holding without harming them. He just couldn’t lose Matthew, and while he didn’t know Jennifer and Tasha well, he didn’t want to see anything happen to them either.
Another couple of hours passed. Charlotte was on the phone with her mom, who was en route to Mitchell with Charlotte’s dad, and Curtis could tell the police were at a standstill. They’d tried calling Mr. Rush on the phone inside the classroom, but he wouldn’t answer it. They’d also tried calling Matthew’s, Jennifer’s, and Tasha’s cell phones, but none of them had answered either. Presently, the officers wanted nothing more than to storm inside the building, rescue the three children, and take Mr. Rush down. But they knew it wasn’t that simple, and that Mr. Rush might pull his own trigger before they finished their operation. They worried that Matthew, Jennifer, and Tasha would end up casualties, and Curtis agonized over the same thing. He was still trying to keep his faith strong, the same as he had right after arriving on the scene, but now too much time was passing.
When Charlotte hung up with her mom, she clasped her gloved hands together and huddled close to Curtis again. “It’s cold out here.”
“You wanna get in the car for a while?”
“No. I wanna be right here when Matthew comes out of there.”
Curtis felt the same way and wondered how much longer Mr. Rush was going to keep at this.
Over the next thirty minutes, Curtis and Charlotte spent time with Jennifer’s and Tasha’s parents, who were beyond distraught. Then Alicia arrived, hysterical about her brother, and they tried settling her down. But suddenly, Curtis’s phone rang, and when he saw that it was Matthew, he discreetly ushered Charlotte and Alicia away from the swarm of innocent bystanders and over near a tree.
“Matt?” he said, when he was sure no one other than Charlotte and Alicia could hear him.
But there was no response.
“Matt?” he repeated. “Matt? Matt?”
Still nothing. As Curtis held the phone for a few more seconds, though, he heard Matthew say, “Mr. Rush, you’re a good person and you don’t have to do this. All the kids here love you. Don’t you know that?”
Curtis thought he heard Mr. Rush crying. He also heard him mumbling something back to Matthew, but Curtis couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Charlotte and Alicia wanted to know what was going on, but Curtis raised his forefinger, politely asking them to keep silent, so he could listen in a little more. He also pressed the Mute button just in case Matthew had his volume up pretty high. That way Mr. Rush wouldn’t be able to hear any of the background noise from Curtis’s phone.
“They’re going to lock me up and throw away the key,” he heard Mr. Rush say.
“No, they won’t. You’re not well, Mr. Rush. You’re a little confused, and you just need a little help is all.”
“No one understands me. They don’t understand what I went through as a child. They don’t know about all the horrible things those men did to me. All those men my mother dated.”
“That’s why you have to stop pointing that gun at us, so I can help you,” Matthew said. “You have to let Jen and Tasha go, and then you and I can walk out of here together. Nobody is going to hurt you, Mr. Rush. Not as long as I’m with you.”
Curtis heard one of the girls whimpering and pleading with the teacher. “Please, Mr. Rush. I’m so sorry I told on you, but when my parents found out I was pregnant, they made me tell who the father was. I didn’t want to, but they forced me.”
“Pregnant?” Mr. Rush said. “No one told me you were pregnant!”
“My parents didn’t want anyone to know,” the girl said. “They’re so ashamed and so upset, and I don’t know what I’m gonna do. My life is ruined, Mr. Rush. But if you kill me, you’ll also be killing your own child.”
“Oh God,” Mr. Rush bellowed out, then bawled like a baby.
“I’m so sorry, Jen. I’m so, so sorry. And I’m sorry for what I did to you, too, Tasha. I couldn’t help myself. I’m sick. I’m really sick, and I don’t deserve to live anymore.”
“You do deserve to live,” Matthew told him. “Everyone deserves to live.”
“No. People like me can’t be helped, so what I want is for you kids to leave. Go on now. Get out of here.”
Curtis saw three detectives and Mitchell’s chief of police heading their way.
“Pastor Black,” the chief said. “We’ve been notified by Verizon that your son’s phone is currently in use and that it’s connected to one of the other phones on your account. So are you on with him?”
Curtis kept the phone up to his ear but told him, “Yes.” He knew they would want to know about the call, but as he’d listened to Matthew trying to reason with Mr. Rush, he’d decided it was better to just hope and pray Matthew was successful. He hadn’t wanted the police to know what Matthew was doing because he couldn’t take the chance on them ending the call and then attempting to call Matthew back. Not when it was clear that Matthew had secretly dialed his number and then probably kept it inside the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He’d done this so Curtis would know he was okay and that he was trying his best to talk Mr. Rush down from whatever trip he was on.
“Is your son okay?” the chief asked.
“So far so good. The girls are fine as well, and it sounds like Mr. Rush is going to let them leave.”
“Cecil,” the chief said to the older of the detectives. “Let your men know that the three hostages may be coming out soon and to make sure everyone is in place.”
“No,” Curtis said, putting the phone down to his side. “They have to stay clear of the doorway and the sidewalk because my son is planning to walk out with Mr. Rush. He’s talked him into letting the girls go first, and then he and Mr. Rush will exit together.”
“Can you at least put the phone on speaker?” the chief asked.
Curtis hadn’t thought of that before now, but it was actually a good idea. He still had the call muted, but he was sure his BlackBerry would allow the call to be on speaker at the same time. So he pressed the button for it, and it worked fine.
Love, Honor, and Betray Page 14
