by Marta Perry
The back window overlooked the area between the house and the stable, but she’d have to open it to look straight down. Fortunately, the rain came from the other direction. Joanna pushed it open and leaned out.
Someone was there, just approaching the back door. In another second the face lifted. Incredibly, it was Meredith.
“Just wait,” she called, interrupted by a clap of thunder. “I’ll be right down.”
“Who is it?” Aunt Jessie caught her arm. “Don’t go down.”
“I have to. It’s Meredith—all by herself out there in the wet.” She tossed the words over her shoulder as she opened the door and hurried down.
After a muffled exclamation, Aunt Jessie came hurrying behind her, talking as she went. “That poor child. She must be soaked and she’ll probably get pneumonia. Whatever were they doing, letting her out in this?”
Joanna grabbed the dead bolt, twisting it and then turning the knob. Meredith all but fell into the stairway, wet and shivering, saying something she couldn’t understand.
“Hush, hush now.” Aunt Jessie grasped her with strong arms, pulling her close. “You’re all right. You’re here with us. Just come upstairs, and we’ll get you dry and warm.”
It was the voice she’d always used with any of the little ones when she or her brothers had fallen or otherwise injured themselves. Somehow, it still worked. Meredith responded to her embrace and docilely started up the stairs, stumbling a bit, water dripping to the floor.
Joanna quickly took a look around, but no one else was visible. She locked the door again, hurrying up the steps in the wake of the others.
Jessie took Meredith straight to the kitchen with the instinct that said here was the most comforting place. Helping her sit, she stroked the tangle of copper-colored hair. “Just catch your breath. It’s all right.”
She looked over Meredith’s head at Joanna. “Towels and a blanket. Hurry.”
Biting back the questions that ricocheted through her mind, Joanna rushed to do as she was told. Aunt Jessie knew best. Even a glance had told her that Meredith was dazed, hardly able to speak for shivering.
When she rushed back into the kitchen, Aunt Jessie had already put the kettle on the stove. They helped Meredith out of the soaking jacket, wrapping a blanket around her while toweling her hair.
She looked up at Joanna, her face dead white, her eyes huge. “I...I came to you.”
“I know.” She kept her voice soft as if she was speaking to a hurt child. “I’m glad. But why did they let you out of the hospital?”
The ghost of a smile crossed Meredith’s strained face. “They didn’t.”
A spoon rattled against a mug as Jessie looked up from stirring a liberal amount of sugar into the tea she was making. “However did you do that?”
“And why?” Joanna added, her mind whirling with all the things that should be done. Call Jamison, call the hospital...
“Someone was trying to get into my room.” A shiver ran through her, making her whole body shake.
“Here.” Aunt Jessie held the mug against her lips. “Sip a little of this hot tea. It will help warm you up.”
Calm, above all, she had to remain calm, Joanna told herself as her mind began racing, clamoring for answers. Joanna patted Meredith’s back, wordlessly reassuring her. “What made you think that? Did you call someone?”
“I...I rang, but no one came. So I peeked out the door, but there was no one except the man sitting beside the door. He was asleep. I shook him, but he didn’t wake, and I was afraid to speak.” It all came out in a rush of words that seemed to exhaust her.
“You’re safe now,” she said. But was she? She and Aunt Jessie exchanged glances.
“I’ll call,” Jessie murmured, and slipped away to the stairs that led to the shop.
“You got dressed,” Joanna said, hoping to help Meredith along in telling what happened.
Meredith nodded, seeming to struggle to keep her eyes open. “I thought... I heard something happen down at the other end of the hall. Around the corner. Things falling, footsteps going that way. I thought someone was trying to get to me.”
A flash of lightning was accompanied by a clap of thunder that seemed to shake the house. Meredith gave a little cry, and Joanna put her arms around her. “It’s all right. It will move off now.”
Meredith clutched her. “I knew you’d help me.” Her frightened eyes held something close to panic. “But what if he saw me? What if I brought him here?”
“You’re with us. We’ll keep you safe.” But could they? If someone had been watching Meredith, waiting to catch her alone, he might well have seen her sneaking out of the hospital.
Aunt Jessie emerged from the hallway. A glance at her face, and Joanna knew she hadn’t gotten through. “The phone is out.”
“The storm?” Joanna hoped.
Her aunt shrugged slightly. In the momentary silence that followed, Joanna thought she heard something brushing against the plate-glass windows in the shop, and her heart jolted.
If someone tried to get in, if he was willing to risk breaking a window—who would hear in the storm? He must think he was running out of time to be so bold. What could they do?
There were three of them. Surely, they could deal with one man. But just the thought of a struggle turned her stomach. Meredith was weak still, and Aunt Jessie was getting older, though she wouldn’t admit it. Could they hold off a desperate man?
“I will go out the front,” Aunt Jessie said suddenly. “He won’t bother me—he can see I’m not Meredith.” She dragged on her black coat as she talked. “I’ll get help.”
“No, you can’t.” Joanna felt paralyzed, trying to think of a way to save everyone. “It’s too dangerous.”
“He doesn’t want me.” Aunt Jessie emphasized the words by picking up the huge black umbrella that would keep a whole family dry. “But he’ll be distracted. You can take Meredith out the back. Best put something dry on her. As soon as either of us reaches someone, she’ll be safe.”
Before Joanna could marshal an argument, her aunt had headed back for the shop. A tinkle of glass downstairs decided for her. She yanked her short coat from the peg and hustled Meredith into it, grabbing a thick sweater for herself.
“Komm.”
Putting her arm around Meredith, she urged her toward the back stairs. Meredith came along like a sleepwalker, apparently too shattered to object. This would work, she told herself. It had to.
The instant she heard the front door of the shop open downstairs, she hurried Meredith down toward the back. She just had to get them both out. She could scream then and run toward Noah’s door. It was only a few steps. Once they were out, they’d be safe.
As soon as they’d cleared the door, Joanna knew she was wrong. He hadn’t been distracted by Aunt Jessie, and already heavy footsteps sounded along the side of the building, audible even over the pounding rain.
Joanna hesitated for a moment, torn between possibilities, knowing she had to do something right now. Reaching up, she pressed the switch Noah had shown her, turning the lights off and plunging this side of the area into darkness. The footsteps stumbled, slowed.
Her arm around Meredith, Joanna pulled her quietly toward the stable, praying he didn’t hear them. All they needed was a few minutes in hiding. The stable would shield them, and by then someone would have come. Jessie would get help, or Noah would see that the lights were off and come.
The man was still coming, but more slowly, probably feeling his way along the wall. Single-minded. He’d given up all pretense now, no longer trying to hide. He would silence them, and they’d never even know why.
Shaking off the dread, she propelled Meredith into the stable. The horses, already stirred up by the thunder and lightning, stamped restlessly in their stalls, hooves thudding on the wide wooden planks. Princess whickered softly in recognition.
Joanna patted her, praying for silence and darkness to hide them.
She hurried Meredith past the buggy, feeling her way. Even as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she couldn’t make out anything in the depths of the stable. Good—the darkness would hide them. Another step, and her foot bumped a bale of straw.
“Almost there,” she whispered, and felt Meredith nod. Good, she was hanging on.
Swishing ahead of herself with her left hand, still holding Meredith with her right, she found the bales, stacked four high in the rear of the stable. She felt her way to the end of the row and crept into the space behind them, pulling Meredith with her. The wall was behind them, the straw barrier in front. They were as safe as Joanna could make them.
Meredith shivered, her whole body shaking. Joanna pulled her close, wrapping her arms around Meredith. She whispered softly, hushing her even as the trembling began again.
“Shh. Be still. Help will come.” Noah would come. At his name, warmth touched her. Noah loved her. He would sense she was in danger. He’d come.
And if he didn’t? Second thoughts flooded over her in the enforced stillness. Should she have screamed as soon as they reached the door? But if she had, the pursuer could have been on them before anyone could come to help.
The softest whimper came from Meredith. She stroked her young cousin’s back, filled with love. Meredith was too young to be fighting for her life. She’d hardly begun to live, and they’d hardly begun to know each other. It was as if she held one of her young brothers in her arms.
How long? How long before help came? It felt as if they’d been huddled behind the straw for hours, but it could only have been a minute or two.
She listened, trying to hear any foreign sound beyond the rattle of rain on the metal roof and the restless movement of the horses. Nothing. Was he gone? Or was he lurking, waiting for them to give away their hiding place by moving?
He couldn’t have known where they’d gone. He might even now be looking down the alley, thinking they’d run that way.
Should she risk moving? Risk calling for help? Slowly, very slowly, she rose enough to peer over the top of the bales. There was the square opening of the stable, a paler darkness against the black of the stable interior.
The pressure built in her, compelling her to move, to speak, to do anything but huddle in silence. Then, even as it became irresistible, there was a whisper of movement and in the next instant a man-shaped shadow filled the doorway.
For a terrible second Joanna froze. Holding her breath, she slid silently down and out of sight. She put her finger to Meredith’s lips and felt her nod in response. Thank the gut Lord Meredith was still with her. She wouldn’t be surprised if the girl had passed out from sheer exhaustion after what she’d been through. But she was here, ready to...to what? Fight?
That was what it came down to. Already her mind, with the stable contents as familiar as her bedroom’s, reviewed anything that could be used in defense.
The manure shovel. It was propped against the post at this end of the stalls. But could she get to it in time? And if she did, could she strike another human being?
Turn the other cheek. Care for the widow and the orphan. Didn’t caring include protecting from evil? If the man got to Meredith, he’d kill her. There were no doubts in her mind about it. But could she hit, possibly kill, him even to save Meredith’s life?
A sound penetrated the dark silence—distant but coming closer. A siren, and nearer at hand, confused shouts. Help was coming. He’d run away, wouldn’t he? They’d stay silent in the dark—
Light pierced the stable, a small circle of brightness from a penlight. Instead of running, he was risking everything, probably in panic, with little chance of getting away. Even now he was moving toward them. In another moment he’d be there, shining the light behind the bales.
There was no more time. Desperate to protect Meredith, she dove from cover, heading toward the shovel that was the only possible defense. The noise brought the light swiveling around to her, and she prayed Meredith had the sense to slip out against the far wall. If she could keep him distracted, even for a couple of minutes, Meredith would be safe.
Hands grabbed her as she cleared the last of the bales. She swung around, struggling against the iron grip. Another foot and she could catch hold of the shovel...
But he had her. The light shot crazily to the loft, to the stables and then crashed to the floor, but he had both hands on her throat, tightening, cutting off her breath.
She heard him grunt and realized someone had barreled into him. His grip loosened, and then he was struggling with Meredith. With one hand he threw Joanna away from them. She collided with the post, seeing stars. He’d choke Meredith—he would—she’d never get there in time—
Her hand brushed metal, and she knew what it was. The shovel. Grasping the wooden handle, she pulled it free of its hook and swung it toward the dark figure bending over Meredith.
It connected with a resounding clang. He collapsed slowly, falling like a tower of blocks to the floor.
“Meredith—are you okay?” She groped for her. “Say something.”
Suddenly, a lantern threw the inside of the stable into bright relief, showing Meredith, trying to struggle clear of the man, who still grasped at her throat. Joanna raised the shovel again, but in that instant Meredith kicked her way free and a voice called her name.
“Joanna.” Noah’s voice. Noah’s hands, taking the shovel away and holding her tight.
More lights, noise, voices. The stable was full of people. Aunt Jessie wrapped Meredith in a comforting hug. Chief Jamison and another officer shoved the man flat on his face and pulled his hands behind his back. Handcuffs glinted in the light.
“Now.” Jamison sounded angered and satisfied all at once. “Let’s see who we have here.”
He grabbed the man’s shoulder and rolled him over roughly. Joanna gasped. The light picked out the usually pleasant features of Tom Watson, the Bristow family’s attorney.
Confused questions bounced through her mind, but then she and Meredith were being led away. Noah had her, and it was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY
JOANNA AWOKE TO the mingled aromas of coffee and baking. She didn’t attempt to move but lay watching the sunlight dapple the ceiling. Mammi’s walnut streusel coffee cake—that was what she smelled. Her mind slid to early mornings on the farm, with Mammi busy in the kitchen and Daad coming back from the barn, stamping his feet on the mat.
Her brain started to percolate, and she was back in the present, in her own bed over the shop. Scrambled memories from the previous night flashed in her mind, memories of hiding, of fear, of confused voices talking all at once, and of Noah holding her. She seemed to hear Meredith flatly refusing to go back to the hospital and being tucked up in Aunt Jessie’s bed, while she was propelled firmly to her own. Had all that really happened?
She sat up abruptly, shaking off the lassitude that had kept her lying there inert. Anxious about Meredith, she hurried barefoot to the door, opening it a crack. At the sound of male voices in the kitchen, she closed it again. It seemed a meeting was taking place in the kitchen.
Hurrying through her dressing, she spotted the blue dress for Cathy’s wedding hanging on the wall, the needle she’d been using tucked neatly through the hem. Even in the midst of crisis, Aunt Jessie didn’t forget anything. Or maybe it had been Mamm. She vaguely registered that it had been her mother who’d helped her undress and tucked her into bed.
Finally ready, she went out to the kitchen to find it nearly full, with Mammi, Daad, Aunt Jessie and Noah sitting around the table. They all looked up at her entrance, and Mamm hurried to hug her and lead her to a chair.
“Did we wake you? You should have slept longer, but...”
“The chief wanted us all here. He’s going to come in to bring us up-to-date and tell us what we need to do.” Noah took on expla
ining, maybe feeling his presence needed accounting for.
At the mention of Jamison, a hundred questions sprang to her lips, but Aunt Jessie met her eyes.
“No point in going all over it and then having to do it again when he comes,” she said. “Sit down and eat. Everybody could do with it.” She took another coffee cake from the oven and started beating eggs with considerable vigor.
Joanna accepted a mug of coffee, very aware of Noah sitting next to her. She slanted a look at him, but he was staring straight ahead. If he felt her gaze, he didn’t give any indication.
She dragged her thoughts away from him. “What about Meredith? Is she still sleeping? Is she all right?”
“She’s fine,” Aunt Jessie said. “Bright as a bird this morning. She’ll be out as soon as she’s dressed.”
“She must spring back faster than I do.” Joanna took a sip of the coffee, hoping it might stop her head from spinning. “Of course, she’s younger.”
As the scrambled eggs sizzled into the pan, the bedroom door opened. Meredith came out and then stopped, seeming taken aback at all the people in the kitchen. Joanna hurried to her, hugging her. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
“Definitely.” Meredith smiled, seeming to have thrown off last night’s terror easily. “I think you’d better introduce me.”
“Yah, for sure. Aunt Jessie you remember from last night. And Noah. And this is my mother and father.”
Daadi stood, nodding gravely as if not sure what to say. Mammi didn’t seem to have any doubts. She came straight to Meredith, holding her at arm’s length to study her face.
“You are our Joanna’s cousin, yah? So that makes you our niece.” She drew Meredith into her arms for a hug. Meredith froze for an instant, and then she wrapped her arms around Mamm. Joanna saw tears glisten in Meredith’s eyes, and her own heart warmed.
“Komm. Sit.” Daad pulled out a chair for Meredith. “You must be hungry.”
“Famished,” she said, sitting down and smiling up at him.
