by JoAnn Durgin
“You don’t know nothin’ about it,” Howard spat, pulling Sheila up by her hair. When she cried out in pain, he laughed. “As soon as she tells me where Angelina is, I’ll let her go. I don’t really want her.” He glanced down at Sheila with disdain. The dark-haired, petite woman shrank away from his touch and looked up at him with big, fearful eyes. “All I want is my girl.”
“Let’s talk about this like rational adults.” Sam outstretched one hand to Howard. The big man laughed and spat again at him. “This doesn’t have to be violent, Howard.” Sam lowered his hand to his side.
“Hey! How’d you know my name?” Howard’s voice was suspicious as he looked down at Sheila again. She hid her face in her hands. Lexa made a move to go to her, but Howard raised the gun again, his tone more menacing. “Stay away, girlie, unless you want an arm full of lead.” His gaze traveled back over to Sam. “I don’t think your boyfriend would want you then.”
“Howard, I hope you know that God loves you,” Sam began before being cut off.
“Don’t even start in on me with that Jesus junk, man,” he snarled, his voice fierce. “That’s what got Sheila all messed up in the first place. She was fine until she got mixed up with those church people. Jesus ain’t never done nothin’ for me!”
“He died for you. Wasn’t that enough?” At least it got Howard’s attention for he turned his angry gaze away from Sheila and looked fully at Sam. Sheila lifted her head from her hands and looked up, still half-sitting on the ground in a stooped position.
“He ain’t never died for me, man.” Howard shook his head in disbelief. “You’re as nuts as the rest of ’em. Now shut up and get away from me or I’ll have to use this thing.”
“You’re not a violent man, and you know it,” Sam began, taking a hesitant step toward him.
Lexa’s heart was in her throat. Lord, please help us!
“Stay away!” Howard took a step back, yanking Sheila along with him, causing her to wince in pain. “I told you, I’m not afraid to use this gun!”
“All right. Take it easy.” Sam held up his hands again and halted in his tracks. “Sheila, do you think you could arrange a court-supervised visit between Howard and your daughter? That way you’d know she’d be safe and protected.”
Lexa stared at Sam, incredulous. Oh, that was rational. Howard didn’t seem the type of man to sit and have a calm, quiet conversation in order to set up court-appointed visits with his daughter. No way.
Sheila looked up at Sam with the most fearful eyes Lexa had ever seen. “All he–he’d d–do is h–h–hit h–h–her li–li–like h–he b–b–beats m–m–me,” she whimpered, cringing again.
“Sheila, I ain’t never gonna hurt Angelina, and you know it,” Howard protested, tightening his grip on her arm.
Sheila winced again and shifted her position.
“She’s my little girl,” he continued, his voice breaking.
Lexa knew in that moment Angelina was the key to this gruff man’s heart. Everyone has a soft spot, and a little girl by the name of Angelina was his.
“Maybe Sheila and I can take you to Angelina,” Lexa suggested, finding that inner strength again. It had to come from the newfound confidence derived from her faith. It was empowering.
Howard focused on her as if seeing Lexa for the first time. “You that broad in the building at the camp?”
“The same.” Lexa tried to keep her voice as calm and unwavering as possible. Being called a broad was irritating, but she could live with it, considering the circumstances. “We have a car. We can take you to her, can’t we, Sheila?” Lexa glanced over at her, and she nodded as Sheila turned large, frightened eyes in her direction.
“Sh–sh–she’s ri–ri–right, How–Howard. We–we–we’ll ta–ta–take . . . you t–t–to . . . An–Angel–Angelina.”
“Now, that’s more like it. I like her. But you watch your step,” Howard warned Sam. He nodded at Lexa. “Tell you what, this little lady’s going to take me to her.” Lexa clenched her fists so tight at her sides she feared something might snap.
“You and Sheila are stayin’ put,” Howard growled. Lexa’s heart lurched, and she looked over at Sam. Terror filled her heart like never before.
Sam nodded, but his eyes, too, were wide. “Take me,” he offered, stepping toward Howard. “There’s no need to involve her. She’s only here because I dragged her here. I’ll take you to Angelina.”
Lexa tossed Sam a grateful glance but realized Howard wasn’t buying it.
“Nah. It’s gotta be one of the women. That way,” he said with an evil-looking, leering grin at Lexa, “there’s more at stake here. You’ll make sure I get my girl, won’t you?” He leaned close to Sam, almost nose-to-nose. “If you don’t,” he growled, “you can be sure you won’t see your girl again.”
“How–How-Howard, d–do–don’t ma–ma–make th–th–threats.” Sheila sounded more irritated now than scared. She cried out when Howard released her, and fell hard to the ground. Nausea rose within Lexa and she started toward Sheila, determined to help her. In a surprisingly fast move for such a large man, Howard grabbed Lexa by the arm and dragged her with him a few hundred yards. “Wait!” she called, trying to jerk her arm free. Lexa bit her lip not to cry out in pain as he wrenched her arm. Hard.
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud,” Howard shook his head in disgust. “Get a move on, woman! Don’t make me lose patience with you.” He shot her a look that told her he meant business.
“I need to talk with Sheila. Privately. For just a moment,” Lexa stipulated, her voice sounding bolder than she felt. “I have to make sure I know exactly where Angelina is.” She was trying to buy time, but considering the fact she really didn’t know where Sheila had hidden their daughter, it was a valid excuse.
“Two minutes. I’ll be standin’ here with the gun on ya the whole time, so don’t get any ideas, girlie.”
In spite of her trepidation, Lexa stiffened at the term. It was almost worse than being called a broad. Focus, Lexa.
“You get over there with ’em so I can keep my eye on all of ya.” Howard waved the gun around for emphasis.
Sam stepped toward the two women. “Lexa, don’t do this,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Please.”
“What choice do I have?” she shot back. “Sam, I promise you, I’ll be fine. I’ll be back.” Shelby hadn’t come back, but the circumstances were different this time. The Lord would keep her safe.
Sam’s blue eyes pierced hers. “Wear your seat belt.”
“No talking between you two!” Howard warned. “Just you and her.” He nodded his head at Sheila. “Find out where my girl is, and then we’re out of here.”
Standing close to Sheila, Lexa turned and met the other woman’s dark eyes. “Sheila, you’ve got to tell me where Angelina is. We don’t have a choice if we’re all going to make it through this. We can help, but we need your cooperation.”
Sheila nodded and mumbled an address in a rundown section on the outskirts of the city. Lexa recognized the street name which was a miracle in itself. It wasn’t far from where they turned off the dirt road onto the main highway when headed toward San Antonio.
“What happened to Howard’s car?”
“Br–bro–broke d–down on th–th–the w–wa–way out he–here. H–he . . . a–aban–abandon–abandoned it, a–an–and . . . w–we wa–wa–walked . . . th–the re–rest of th–the . . . w–way.”
Lexa frowned. They’d played right into Howard’s hands by arriving at the mission when they did. But they had to help Sheila, so Lexa didn’t regret any of it. Imprinting the address on her brain, she turned back around and swallowed her fear. “Okay. I know where she is.”
Looking smug, Howard nodded in satisfaction. He kept the gun trained on them as he ordered them around the back wall of the mission. Telling them to kneel, Howard reached into a burlap bag he retrieved from the ground and pulled out a section of thick, white rope. He made quick work of tying their wrists and ankles, usin
g a pocket knife to roughly sever the ends. Next he pulled out dirty cloths and forced them into their mouths but not before first reaching a hand down into Sam’s pockets to make sure he, too, wasn’t carrying a pocket knife. Finding one, Howard snarled and pocketed it.
Lexa’s heart pounded with uncontrollable force as she watched Howard through terrified eyes. Please, God. Help us. Don’t let him do anything to Sam or Sheila. Not like this. The scene was reminiscent of those movies where prisoners are blindfolded and shot while standing in front of a wall not unlike the mission behind them. Lexa shuddered.
“Come on! We’ve got some business to do.” Howard threw a menacing look at Lexa.
With one last glance at Sam, who nodded and gave her a reassuring wink, Lexa allowed Howard to pull her along behind him.
Lord, please watch over us all tonight.
CHAPTER 41
“Don’t try anything funny,” Howard warned, releasing his grip on her arm.
Lexa handed over the car keys on demand. “Don’t worry. I won’t.” She climbed into the car beside him. He must not have bathed in a few days. Turning her head, Lexa exhaled slowly and tried not to breathe in. If only there was more of a breeze in the humid, still night air.
They rode in silence with Lexa speaking only when she needed to tell him when to turn the car. She prayed she’d remember the way. Howard wouldn’t take kindly to being lost in the Texas countryside in the middle of the night.
“You one of those Jesus people, too?”
Lexa startled. She nodded but waited to see what he’d say next.
“Sometimes I’d listen to Sheila singing to Angelina at night.” It sounded more like he was reminiscing out loud rather than consciously speaking to her. “She’d sing Jesus Loves Me and Angelina would start singin’ in that sweet little voice of hers.”
Lexa jumped as he slammed his big hand down hard on the steering wheel and muttered a stream of expletives. She slipped further down into the seat and leaned a bit closer to the door of the car. Her fingers gripped the door handle so tight they hurt.
“Get your hand off the door!” Howard roared, reaching over and shoving her arm. “Aren’t you going to try and convert me?” he taunted, his voice full of contempt. “Try to tell me how Jesus loves me and wants me to be part of His kingdom or whatever that rot is you people are always talkin’ about. Answer me, woman!” he bellowed when she didn’t respond.
“Jesus does love you, Howard. Is that what you want to hear?” She shot a sidelong glance at him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re just dying to hear the truth about how He died for you and your sins. That’s definitely something you should hear about,” she muttered under her breath.
Watch it, Lexa. She needed to take it easy with this guy or he might lose his cool. She wanted to live past tonight if she had a prayer of a future with Sam. To Lexa’s immense relief, Howard burst into booming laughter, amused by her wry sense of humor.
“Tell me why a guy like Jesus Christ should care about a guy like me.” He made the Savior’s name sound like a curse. But he’d asked the question.
Lexa sat up straighter in the car. Here she was being handed a golden opportunity to share the gospel, and she was about to let it pass her by. She shook her head at her own lack of perception and squared her shoulders, her mind searching for the right words. Sharing the gospel message was something Sam and the other volunteers at the camp talked about a lot. But it was all new and foreign for her.
Even though she couldn’t remember any complete scripture verses to save her life, she had to tell this man what she could. How ironic. It might be the only time Howard Morris ever heard the gospel message. The Lord had given her an awesome responsibility, and she couldn’t let Him down. It wasn’t the time to flee in the other direction. He had chosen her for the task.
You and me, Lord. Here goes.
“I’m a new believer myself.” Lexa stole a glance. Howard appeared to listen. “It’s all strange, but comforting in a weird way.” Lexa couldn’t believe she was engaged in conversation with a man who kidnapped his wife, then kidnapped her, and now intended to kidnap his daughter. “I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life that I’m sorry for, Howard.” She hoped to reach him more on a more personal level by using his first name.
“Yeah, right,” he muttered, turning onto a street where she directed. “Like you’ve done really bad things.”
Now he was mocking her. She blew out a deep breath. “We’ve all done bad things. What you consider bad and what I consider bad—and what’s considered bad in the eyes of the law—might all be different things. But you know what I mean.”
She paused, and he nodded in agreement.
“You know, the things you do that you know in your heart are wrong.” She hesitated a minute to let the effect of her words sink in. “I know you have a heart in there somewhere because it shows whenever you talk about Angelina.”
“My little girl’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I can’t lose her.” Howard slanted a glance her way. In that moment, he looked more curious than menacing. It went a long way toward soothing her trepidation. “What’s your name?”
Lexa felt like lying but decided to give it to him anyway. “Alexis Clarke.” She didn’t bother telling him that most people called her Lexa. It was more a private name she didn’t want Howard Morris to use. He grunted an unintelligible response, and she didn’t ask him to repeat it.
“You’re not a bad person, Howard. Why don’t you stop all this hurting?” Her voice was quiet and calm. Maybe this is what it meant to have the Holy Spirit take over. He didn’t answer, and she dared not look over at him. He slowed the car, but he kept going, much to Lexa’s relief. She didn’t know what she’d do if he stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. The insidious stirrings of fear began to rumble again in the pit of her stomach.
I will not be afraid. Lord be with me. I will not be afraid. She couldn’t allow herself to give into paralyzing fear. It would serve no purpose other than perhaps getting herself killed. Deep down, Lexa didn’t think Howard was capable of serious physical violence. She’d glimpsed the softness deep inside the man, but she didn’t want to test his limits.
Talk about the Lord. Talk about something. Anything. Keep his mind occupied. You’re almost there now.
“Jesus died for our sins, yours and mine.” She forced a boldness into her voice so he’d hear over the noisy engine. It had started that annoying rumble. Lexa prayed the old Volvo would get them where they needed to go and then back to the mission. What in the world would they do if the bomb decided to give out when she was with Howard? She didn’t even want to think about that one.
“Jesus was crucified and died a horrible death to take our place, Howard. He’s our Savior because He died for the sins of man. All you have to do is confess your sins to Him and ask Him into your heart, and you’ll have eternal life,” she said, cramming it all in when it seemed he might try to stop her.
He started to interrupt her, but then stopped. Lexa could tell he was still listening.
“You’ll live forever with Him . . .”
“I know what it means!” he shouted, slamming his big hand down on the steering wheel again. “You’re crazy, lady. Just like Sheila, that boyfriend of yours, and all the rest of ’em,” Howard muttered, shaking his head. “And I kinda had higher hopes for you.”
“Maybe we’re crazy,” she rebutted in a firm voice, “but at least we know for sure we’re going to heaven when we die. Can you say that much?”
“Shut up!” he demanded, turning to look at her with that menacing look in his dark eyes again. Lexa did as he commanded but turned her head, knowing she’d shared as much as she could with him and maybe given him something to think about and chew on.
Plant the seeds, Lexa. She couldn’t expect to reap an immediate harvest with this man. But he’d heard what he needed to do to have eternal life. And he’d called her lady this time. The best thing was, it hadn’t been hard at all to sh
are about Jesus with this man.
“Turn here, and the house should be somewhere on this street.” Lexa motioned with her arm, thankful they’d found it with no trouble. Howard turned off the noisy engine and they coasted down the narrow street. Steering over to the curb with concentrated effort, he ordered her to remain seated.
“What’s the number of the house?” he barked in a gruff voice as he climbed out. He came around and yanked open her door, and motioned with his head for her to get out of the car.
“One-forty-two.” Her eyes strained to see any house numbers in the darkness.
Pulling her along with a rough hand on her arm, Howard gestured to a house a few doors down. “Must be over here.”
“I can walk by myself,” Lexa protested. “I’m not going to run away. You can believe me.” He looked at her long and hard before releasing her arm. She could still feel his rough fingers digging into her flesh.
“Make sure you don’t.” They made their way in silence toward the front door of the house, stopping on the front step. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know.” Lexa glanced up at the night sky. “Judging by the position of the moon, I’d say it’s about four o’clock.”
Howard snorted. “Ain’t you the smart one? Well, then, it’s time to wake some people up!” He rapped on the front door a few times, each knock louder and more insistent. A dog inside the house yapped, and soon they heard yelling and a door slammed.
From the back of the house, Lexa heard someone call out in Spanish. “Keep your pants on. I’m comin’,” a disgruntled female voice called, this time in English. They heard the sound of a lock and then a deadbolt being unlatched before the door opened a crack.
“Yeah?”
Howard shoved Lexa in front of the door so the occupant of the house would only see her, not him.
“Yeah?” the woman repeated, staring at Lexa with wide eyes. “Hey, don’t I know you?”
Lexa shook her head. “I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, ma’am, but I’m in need of some assistance.” She followed her gut instincts about what to say to this woman. “I need to use your phone if it’s all right. Please.”
