He rose to his feet, but forced himself to take his time. It always took his head a couple of minutes to catch up. He still felt a little dizzy, his stomach queasy, but that always happened after a blackout.
Dr. Carson had told him on the phone last week that the scans had shown no organic explanation for the blackouts. He had recommended Noah see a psychiatrist. He had suggested there was a possibility that the blackouts might not be real, that they might be a device his mind was using to cope with all the changes in his life.
Noah didn't care how good a physician Edgar was, there was no arguing this wasn't real.
Noah put out both hands, feeling the still air around him, then in front of him, before taking a cautious step forward. Still nothing. He couldn't feel anything with his fingertips, couldn't hear anything. He took another step.
A sound somewhere beyond him made him freeze....
What was it? A steady, familiar sound, muffled by the walls or whatever was between them....
Noah tried hard to concentrate, still feeling off balance but not sure if it was because of the utter darkness that surrounded him or because he was just coming out of a blackout.
It came to him almost like a light bulb popping on over a cartoon figure. It is footsteps....
Noah's heart began to pound as he was overcome by an unidentifiable sense of terror. Terror of something unknown to him, yet so close he could almost taste its squalor.
No. Feelings can't always be trusted. You have to be logical. You have to think, he told himself. He made himself re-focus.
Where were the footsteps?
On hardwood. He was in the house. Had to be.
But they were footsteps too heavy to be Rachel's or Mallory's. Mattie wasn't in the house. He was locked up somewhere in a hospital ward. No one should be in the house in what had to be the middle of the night.
As the muffled footsteps moved closer, Noah's anxiety rose. It wasn't just fear and disorientation, it was... an overwhelming sense of the need to protect his family. Of threatening evil.
He slid a foot forward, turning his head slightly. As he did, he thought he caught a flash of light. Just a sliver. From under a door?
Had to be.
He must have blindly reached for the door at the same instant as the intruder. It came back so quickly that it struck the toe of Noah's shoe as he stumbled backward. Light blinded him, and he threw up his hands. The moment he recognized who it was, his fear went down a notch, but his anger rose. "What the hell are you doing in my house in the middle of the night?"
* * *
"There's something wrong," Rachel muttered, suddenly chilled. She turned and looked toward the house again, and then across the surrounding yard. It was so dark she couldn't see anything beyond the shape of the eaves and the trees around it. Something evil was here... someone. She could feel it. She could taste it like ashes in her mouth. She wrapped her arms around her waist to warm herself, trying to will herself to be reasonable. To think logically. "This shouldn't be taking this long."
"He's searching the house thoroughly." Sergeant Swift's demeanor was relaxed, but she, too, kept looking back at the house. "It takes a couple of minutes if you do it right, and I can guarantee you the chief is doing it right."
"I'm beginning to get scared," Rachel admitted. "I can't imagine where Noah and Mallory could be. The car's here. Even the lawn tractor is here."
"So you think they're together?"
"They've got to be." Rachel heard the tremor in her voice and fought the sting of tears. "Mallory's just a little girl. She won't be five until December. She has to be with Noah. Where else could she be?"
"We have backup coming, ma'am. As soon as another car arrives and the chief comes out and let's us know the house is all clear, we'll find them. They can't be far."
Rachel turned to her, the bright headlights of the car making her squint. "You think Mattie is here, too?" She glanced in the direction of the barn, feeling drawn to it.
"I think there's a good possibility." Sergeant Swift looked over her shoulder, then back at Rachel. "You see something near the barn, ma'am?"
Rachel shook her head, returning her gaze to the police officer. She hadn't seen anything, but she couldn't help thinking there was something there. "He wouldn't hurt them, you know. I don't know why or how that Bible had verses cut from it, but Mattie didn't do it. He can't read."
"Did you know he could drive?"
Rachel bit down on her lower lip, thinking back to the mystery of the tractor and car being moved. "That's different. He's watched us do it a thousand times. It's relatively simple."
The sergeant frowned. "Well, I hope so, ma'am. For his sake."
She rested her hands on her hips and studied Rachel. "Your little girl, Mr. Gibson gets along with her?"
Rachel dared another quick look in the direction of the barn. If Mattie had run away, if he'd tried to come home, wasn't that where he would go? Not to the house, but to his room in the cellar? To the place where he felt safe? "Of course they get along. Noah loves Mallory."
"Not his daughter, is she?"
Rachel set her jaw, wondering where this questioning was going, afraid she knew. "Why do you ask, Sergeant?"
She shrugged. "Just wondering."
"Noah loves Mallory. He would never hurt her, if that's what you're thinking," she insisted, her tone changing from defensive to angry. "Never."
"Prison changes a man." The policewoman glanced casually at Rachel. "I'm just saying... a man comes home to find his wife, ex-wife or not, has a child by another man. Could make him angry. Could make him—"
"Sergeant!" Rachel almost shouted it. "I won't stand here and listen to this, do you understand me? You don't know Noah. You don't know what kind of person he is. How good a person he is. All you know is what people have told you."
"I know the facts. I know..."
Sergeant Swift's last words were lost to Rachel's ears as she caught a flash of light in the barn cellar window. "Mallory!" she cried, taking off at a run. "Mallory! Noah!"
"Mrs. Gibson, stop. Halt!" Sergeant Swift ordered.
But all Rachel heard was her own pounding footsteps as she ran barefoot through the wet grass toward the barn.
* * *
Ah, hells bells, Delilah thought as Mrs. Gibson took off.
Delilah didn't know what to do. Short of tackling her, there was no way she was going to stop this woman. She knew the look in her eyes too well.
So, now what? Go after her? What if McConnell was in there? There was no way to say, at this point, whether or not he was dangerous. Or should she stay with the car as Snowden had ordered? Either way, he was going to be pissed.
Delilah jerked the car door open and leaned over and grabbed her flashlight. As she stood, she heard a door slap shut and spun around. Two people with a single flashlight were approaching. At once, she recognized Snowden's tall, broad-shouldered form.
"Mrs. Gibson just took off," she called, jogging toward them. The rain had ceased but the ground was saturated, and her shoes slipped in the wet grass.
"Took off where?"
"Where's my wife? What's going on here?" the man with Snowden demanded.
It was Noah Gibson; Delilah recognized his voice.
"She saw something, Chief." Delilah eyed Gibson. Snowden didn't have him handcuffed, but he had him on a pretty short lead. "She just took off toward the barn. I guess she's looking for the little girl."
"Mallory? Mallory's missing? And you didn't tell me?" Noah exploded.
Snowden halted on the end of the sidewalk where Delilah met them. "Noah, I need you to have a seat in the patrol car."
The ex-priest looked up at Snowden. "You didn't tell me Mallory was missing. Why the hell didn't you tell me?" he demanded. "What's going on here? What else aren't you telling me?"
"I'm sure she's here somewhere, Mr. Gibson," Delilah said, trying to defuse his anger. She looked to Snowden. "We need to find Mrs. Gibson. I'm thinking McConnell could be in the barn."
>
"Where's the backup we called for?" Snowden strode toward the car parked in the driveway between the house and the barn. "If you'll just have a seat in the back, Noah, we'll check out the barn, send Rachel back—"
Delilah caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned back to see Noah cut behind Snowden and sprint into the darkness.
"Halt, Noah," Snowden shouted. "You can't go in there. I'm ordering you to halt."
"So shoot me," Noah hollered as he disappeared behind the garage.
"Goddamn it!" Snowden barked, startling Delilah. "Where's our backup? We need more men out here."
Delilah ran for the car. "I'll call it in again, Chief."
* * *
Noah crept through the back door of the barn, praying no one heard the squeak of the ancient iron door hinges. He had to find Mallory and Rachel. He didn't know what was going on, but the sense of imminent danger pressing on his chest pushed him forward in the pitch darkness.
Snowden had said little in the house beyond the fact that the power was out and that Mattie was missing and suspected to be on the property. He said Mattie had stolen a car and that the police were looking for him. He'd suspiciously asked Noah why he was in the spare room in the dark with the door closed, but luckily Noah had been able to offer the lame explanation that he was looking for a flashlight.
When Snowden told him that Rachel was outside with Sergeant Swift, Noah began to get the uneasy feeling that even though he didn't know what was going on, something awful was about to happen. Nothing Snowden was telling him made sense, but he had feared that if he questioned Snowden too hard, he'd wind up in handcuffs, and then what good would he be to Mattie?
But Snowden had said nothing about Mallory. He hadn't told him that Mallory was missing.
Dear God, he prayed as he crept through the barn, hands thrust out to prevent running into anything. Please don't let anything happen to her. Please protect her.
All Noah could think of was that Mattie had come to the house, somehow gotten in, and taken Mallory with him. Why, he didn't know, except that Mallory had always been there to comfort him. Maybe he just wanted her. As scared as he was, he still couldn't believe Mattie would hurt Mallory.
But he wouldn't have believed Mattie could outsmart the police and steal a police car either.
Thankful he had cleaned out the main level of the barn recently, Noah made his way to the front in the dark, feeling his way. He needed to get downstairs to Mattie's room before Snowden and his sergeant busted in.
In the distance, he heard the soft but distinctive cry of a police siren.
Noah's toe hit something hard and he had to bite down to keep from crying out. Elsewhere in the darkness, the air seemed to stir, and he froze. There was someone else there. Question was, who? He knew it wasn't Snowden or the female officer. He had no doubt they'd enter the barn with flashlights and guns blazing.
Once again, he was overwhelmed by a feeling of something oppressive. Frightening. Vile.
He took another step forward, his heart hammering in his throat.
Again the air stirred and he halted. He thought he could hear breathing. There was definitely someone there. Suddenly, he caught a scent. It took a moment for his brain to identify it, and then he felt as if a weight fell from his shoulders. "Rachel?" he called softly.
"Noah?" Her muffled cry came from directly in front of him.
He threw out his arms, walking forward, and found her soft form. He pulled her against him. "It's Mallory," she whispered ,seeming on the verge of a breakdown. "I woke up and you were gone and Mallory was gone. I thought she was with you."
"I had a blackout and somehow I ended up in the nursery. I haven't seen her. I woke up dressed, in the babies' room. I had photo albums out. Of the boys, of you and me. Of Mom and Dad. I don't remember even taking them out."
"It's OK," she whispered, her voice seeming to get stronger. "We'll figure it out."
Still holding on to her arms, he took a step back. He still couldn't really see her face. "You think Mallory's with Mattie?"
"I saw a flash of light through the cellar window. I wanted to get to Mattie first. I couldn't bear it if the police hurt him. He might not understand." Her voice trembled again.
"I know. It's going to be all right, though." His arm around her, he turned in the direction of the door that led down to the cellar. "We'll turn him over to the police. We'll make Snowden swear he'll be taken care of."
Noah stopped where he thought the door had to be and reached out with his free hand. At first, he found nothing but still air, but as he probed the darkness, he was rewarded with the rough surface of the door. He found the knob and opened it.
A faint light shown from somewhere downstairs, beyond the tunnel vision of the staircase, and again Noah's heart tripped in his chest. It had to be Mattie. He must have had a flashlight. "Mattie?" he called. "Mattie, it's Noah. You down there?"
Rachel caught the waistband of Noah's shorts and followed him down the steps. "Mattie?" she called softly, obviously trying not to frighten him. "Is Mallory down there with you?"
"Mama! No—"
Mallory's voice was cut off suddenly, as if someone had clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Mallory!" Noah ran down the steps, still unable to see anything. Just as he reached the bottom of the staircase, the flashlight went out, and they were again in the dark.
Chapter 33
As the light was extinguished, Rachel stepped off the last step, reaching out to grab Noah's arm. She made a tiny sound but managed to choke it back.
"Shhh," Noah soothed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. He stood perfectly still, hoping his eyes would adjust to the darkness and he might be able to see something. It was pitch black, as if he were blindfolded.
He could hear Mallory making soft little hiccupping sobs. He could feel the presence of evil.
No, not Mattie. Not Mattie, he kept saying over and over in his head. But there was no way to deny it. Not now.
"Mattie," he called out, using an authoritative tone. "You need to let Mallory go. She's afraid." He slid his foot forward, bringing Rachel with him. The wall that enclosed the staircase would have blocked his vision, even if the light came back on. He had to get closer.
The sound of police sirens was growing louder; they could hear it even through the walls of the barn. He knew he only had a couple of minutes more, tops, before the cops would bust in. If he couldn't get Mattie to release Mallory and come to him, there was no telling what they might do.
"Mattie, please. We know you wouldn't hurt Mallory, but you have to let her go," Rachel begged.
"Come closer and she'll die," came a gravelly voice out of the darkness.
Noah froze, pulling Rachel to him. Who is that? Is that Mattie talking? Mattie had never spoken a word in his thirty-eight years. It can't be.
But Mallory had said he talked to her....
"No, please. Don't hurt her," Noah said. "I'm standing still. I'm standing right here."
Rachel was holding on so tightly to Noah that her blunt fingernails bit into his arm. Every muscle in his body was tense, the hair on the back of his neck standing up on end.
Noah didn't know what to do. What to say. The voice was so... eerie. Almost inhuman. "Mattie? Is that you? I can't see you. Could you turn the flashlight on? So we can talk?" He slid the other foot forward, trying to see around the wall. The voice had come from the direction of Mattie's fort, built from his Bibles.
To Noah's surprise, the flashlight clicked on and dull light shone from around the corner.
"I just want to see you," Noah assured Mattie. "Don't be afraid. We just want to be sure Mallory's all right."
"Serves her right if she dies too," came the eerie voice.
Rachel gripped his arm, putting more of her weight against him, as if she was about to collapse.
He turned his head to brush his lips against her temple. "Trust me," he breathed. "I won't let anything happen to her. I would die for her."
"No, no, she isn't!" Rachel released Noah and stepped around the corner. "She isn't a child of sin, do you hear me? I was married to her father when she was conceived!"
Noah felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. He sucked in a breath of air, but he didn't feel as if he was getting any oxygen. Was it true? Was Mallory his daughter? Or had Rachel just lied to protect her child as any mother would have?
"Noah..." Rachel whispered as she reached behind her, took his hand, and pulled him forward around the corner of the staircase.
He came into lull view of the Bible fort, but he couldn't see anyone. Not at first, at least. The light was coming from behind it, limiting his vision. There he made out a form of someone hunched over, hiding, the flashlight held low so there was no direct light. Inside the fort, he could make out another dark form.
"She's Noah's child Mattie," Rachel said loudly. "Conceived days before he went to prison." She clutched her hands together. "Let her go, Mattie."
"Yes, let her go, Mattie," the voice ordered.
Noah stared in confusion at the fort Mattie had built from his Bibles. It wasn't Mattie speaking.
Out of the corner of his eye, Noah caught a flash of movement behind the wall of Bibles. A little blond pigtail.
"Noah!" Mallory shrieked leaping up and falling forward. The makeshift wall crashed to the floor, Bibles tumbling, sliding.
"Mallory!" Rachel lunged forward.
At the same moment, the form behind the far Bible wall rose up, bringing the flashlight with him, partially illuminating the room. Noah saw Mattie scramble after Mallory, reaching out with his big, meaty hands. Behind him, the form crashed through the rear wall.
Mallory tripped on the loose Bibles and fell. Mattie arched his back, reaching out for her, trying to cover her little body with his. The stranger dropped the flashlight, raising a long-bladed knife, poising it over Mattie's back. The man... No, it was a woman!
"Mattie, look out!" Noah threw himself headlong past Mattie. As he fell on top of the fallen Bibles, he grabbed the woman's thrashing legs. She screamed, a terrifying guttural sound sputtering from her mouth.
Unspoken Fear Page 39
