CHAPTER 12
Sarah lay in bed the next morning and listened to the sound of the birds’ songs coming through the open window. Not far from the house she heard a mourning dove cooing out its mournful melody. She smiled. It was so different to awaken and know God was watching over her and it gave her an indescribable peace. Maybe she didn’t know what the future held but for the first time in her life, she knew she was no longer alone. That knowledge alone gave her peace. And knowing that if she died today she knew where she would be spending eternity, gave her courage to face whatever was ahead.
She stretched her arms over her head and said a silent prayer of thanks before throwing her legs over the edge of the bed to begin another day.
Here we go, God. What do you have in store for me today?
After a quick breakfast, Sam and Jess headed out the door to go to town for supplies. Sarah had tried to convince Sam to let her go with them even though she knew the answer before she asked.
“You’re staying here. There is no way I’m letting you out in public where the wrong person might see you.”
Sarah nodded at the answer she was sure she would get from him, but nonetheless she was disappointed. She was starting to get cabin fever being stuck inside all the time.
Before Jess and Sam left the house, Sarah noticed Sam pull Bill aside to speak to him, quietly enough she couldn’t hear what was said.
“What was that all about?” Sarah asked Bill after the other two left.
Bill plopped down on the sofa and punched away at the keyboard of the laptop, glancing up briefly at her question.
“No big deal. He just said to keep an eye on you while they were gone.”
Sarah frowned. That was nothing new. She couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without one of them hovering. And Sam seemed more stressed today than usual. He had hardly said two words to any of them this morning. His gray eyes looked especially dark during breakfast when turned on her. She hoped she hadn’t done something to upset him, but if she had, she sure couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Sam looks more worried this morning than normal, Bill. What’s going on?”
Bill shook his head. “Nothing I know of. Sometimes the boss just gets more intense about a case than others. Must be his radar is up.”
Sarah chewed on a fingernail and sat down in a chair and tried to relax. She didn’t know what radar Bill was talking about, but she just hoped Sam wasn’t upset about kissing her the previous day; she certainly wasn’t upset by it. Just the remembrance of that kiss made her face grow warm and brought a smile to her face.
Then she frowned and tapped her fingernails on the wooden arm of the chair. It couldn’t be the kiss. There was something more going on. It was like he was just waiting for something to happen. And because she could feel the tension radiating from him, she was worried.
She inhaled and pursed her lips to exhale and blow her bangs off her sticky forehead. Considering it was only the end of May, it was unseasonably hot and humid. She had really hoped the thunderstorm that had rolled through the area during the night would have cleaned the air and cooled it down a little. But the opposite seemed to have happened. If anything, it had made the air muggier.
While Bill typed on the laptop, Sarah sat and tried to read some verses from the Bible for a while. She glanced over at the small fan they had moving the hot air around the room. Too bad they didn’t have an air conditioner. At least at home she would have had her shady back deck to sit on and read. She frowned again. The house she used to call home was gone and she had to stop thinking of it as her home. Home was gone.
Sarah finally put the Bible down on the nearby table. It was just too hot to concentrate. She wished she had the book she had been reading before she left home. It had been a book from the Herbert Community Library. She surmised she would be responsible for replacing it. At least it could be replaced. Her personal mementoes and photos were all gone and there was no way to replace those. And Sparky. She especially felt terrible about losing her loyal friend, Sparky. Sometimes it was difficult to remember everything was all gone. If it had been a normal fire, she might have been able to salvage a few of her belongings. But an explosion? She was pretty sure there was nothing left to salvage.
Restless, she finally got up from her chair and headed to the kitchen where she poured a large glass of icy cold lemonade to drink, hoping that would cool her off. After drinking it, she poked her head into the living room. She was going to ask Bill if he wanted a glass of the refreshing liquid when she realized he was stretched out on the sofa with his eyes closed. She decided to leave him alone. With the high humidity and the heat, all of them had been struggling to get a good night’s sleep, and she knew the previous night he had borne the brunt of the guard duty.
Poor guy.
She tiptoed back into the kitchen and spent a few moments wiping down the kitchen counters and putting what few dishes there were into the dishwasher. Sarah spent some time thinking about what to prepare for dinner that night. It was hot, so maybe a taco salad would hit the spot. She really would have liked to make rhubarb crisp for dessert, but it was going to have to wait until a cooler day because she sure didn’t want to heat up the kitchen more by running the oven. It had been so exciting to find a planting of rhubarb this side of the barn. It would be an unexpected treat to create something baked with it, but it would have to wait for a cooler day.
Those tasks accomplished, she walked quietly back into the living room and glanced out the window. Maybe it would be a little cooler on the porch. She glanced over at Bill’s prone form, not wanting to wake him to go with her. After all, she was only going out on the porch.
Sarah quietly tiptoed out the front door and stood with her hands resting on the wooden porch rail. It felt like there might be a tiny breeze blowing, but she wasn’t going to get the benefit of it on the porch with the house blocking most of it. She glanced back at the door and then decided she would go for a little walk - not far – only as far as the barn, which was only about a hundred and fifty feet from the house. Surely that wouldn’t hurt anything, she reasoned. It was so hot in the house. She couldn’t take it in there anymore. She hesitated only a second before she bounded down the steps, enjoying an unusual sense of freedom.
Sarah looked around her as she walked, pulling her ponytailed hair off her neck.
Oh, there was that little breeze she’d been looking for!
Sam and Jess were fifteen miles into the thirty mile trip into town when Sam’s cell phone rang.
“Morgan here,” he automatically answered.
“Agent Morgan, this is Sheriff Wilson of the Parkston County Police Department. You asked me to let you know if anything or anyone suspicious showed up in town.”
Sam gripped the phone tightly as a feeling of dread swept over him.
“Sheriff, what’s up?”
“We had a report of a vehicle stolen this morning from a liquor store parking lot – an old pickup truck, which isn’t all that important. But what I thought you might find interesting – the witness who saw him take it says the man looked like he was Mexican. He fits the description of the fellow you’re looking for to a T.”
Sam groaned. He’d felt out of sorts all morning. It was his “internal radar”, as the other two agents on the team called it. He knew in his gut that something was happening; he just didn’t know what and it had been driving him crazy ever since he’d woke up.
Well, now he knew. Manaquez was in the area.
“Thanks for the heads-up, Sheriff. I really appreciate it.”
“You need any backup out there, Agent Morgan? We’d be glad to assist.”
Sam answered quickly. He didn’t want to get the local sheriff department involved in the case – not unless they were really needed. He had always felt that the less numbers of law enforcement involved in a case, the better. And he didn’t want Manaquez to know they were aware he was here yet. A squad car o
r two showing up on their road might lead Manaquez right to them.
“No. I think we’re fine right now, Sheriff. I’ll let you know if the situation changes.”
He quickly hung up the call and turned toward Jess who was driving.
“Jess, make a U-turn up here and head back – and step on the gas!”
Sarah leaned her arms against the top fence rail and gazed out at the surrounding countryside. The land was so flat in this part of Ohio, you could see for miles. She supposed later in the fall when the corn and wheat were high and ready to harvest the view wouldn’t be so great, but today with the blue sky and sunshine, you could see everything. The land spread out in front of her in a patchwork of cultivated and planted fields. Neat rows of green sprouts of corn plantings could be seen poking their heads through the rich ground. She inhaled the fresh air. It smelled so good to be outside for a while.
A goldfinch flew by and she watched a nearby robin as it poked at the ground searching for a worm. New leaves were coming out on the trees in full force now, offering at least a little shade in the gathering heat. If today was any sign of things to come, it was going to be a very hot summer.
Sarah turned her head and caught a whiff of sweetness. It looked like the fragrant aroma came from an old honeysuckle bush growing at the front corner of the barn and it smelled delicious. She closed her eyes and lifted her face, allowing tranquility and peace to sweep over her.
Just what she had needed.
She looked back toward the house again, feeling a little guilty for leaving the house without Bill knowing about it. But when he woke up all he had to do was look out the window and he would be able to see her. They couldn’t blame a person for wanting to get some fresh air, could they? She was so tired of being stuck in the house all the time, and it was especially miserable for her since she was used to being outside in the springtime, digging in her flower beds when the ground first warmed. Sarah took a great deal of pleasure in planting petunias, impatience and pansies in with the annual daisies, daylilies and roses at her house. She wondered if any of the flowers had survived the heat of the fire. Maybe someday soon she would be able to go back to Herbert and find out. If her landlord decided to rebuild the house, perhaps she’d be able to live there again.
Sarah lifted her head as she heard a sound. Was someone or something in the barn? She looked back toward the house, then once more toward the barn and heard the sound again. This time it sounded like it came from the back side of the barn. Glancing toward the house again and still not seeing any movement from Bill she decided to check it out. More than likely it was just an animal digging around, or maybe a raccoon trying to get into the barn. Sam had mentioned something the day before yesterday about seeing a raccoon. Maybe she could scare it off before it got in the barn and did any damage. Sam had told her they could tear up a building and make a mess if they got inside.
Sarah slowly walked around toward the back side of the barn, pausing once again to listen for the sound. When she cleared the corner though, her heart almost stopped.
“Buenas dias, Senorita Masters.”
Her worst nightmare stood in front of her with a pistol pointed straight at her. He looked the same as he had five days earlier in the offices of Brown and Associates. This time, however, he was wearing a dark blue plaid short sleeved shirt and scruffy looking blue jeans. And he was wearing an evil toothy smile on his face.
Manaquez.
He waved her forward with his left hand while he kept the gun trained on her with his right hand.
“Come closer, Senorita.”
When she didn’t move, he came toward her, grabbed her roughly by the arm and pulled her away from the corner of the barn. Sarah attempted to get away from him which only made him grip her arm harder. When she struggled to get away from him, he squeezed and twisted her arm until she cried out in pain. Sarah’s heart sank. Here back behind the barn there would be no way Bill would be able to see her from the house and know she was in trouble.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
She inwardly scolded herself. She never should have left the house. What in the world had made her think she would be okay if something were to happen? What made her think she was safe wandering around? It had been so quiet here on the farm, she had been lulled into a sense of false security. She had been wrong. Very very wrong. And now she was going to pay for it.
“So, Senorita Masters. We finally meet again.”
Her heart was racing and she felt like she was going to pass out. Maybe that wouldn’t be all bad – other than she didn’t know what this evil man had planned for her.
“What do you want?” she finally managed to blurt out, glaring at him. She didn’t want to show him how terrified she was of him. And she really didn’t need to have him answer her question. She was pretty sure she knew what he wanted. He wanted her dead.
He smiled that toothy smile again that made her flesh crawl. “I’m here to finish the job. My boss, he don’t like loose ends.”
Sarah swallowed hard. Unfortunately, she knew what that meant. He was a cold blooded killer and was still here for one reason only – to kill her.
“Get down on your knees.”
“Wh…what?” She wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly.
He pushed at her and his voice was rough as he repeated it. “I said, get down on your knees!” he ordered.
She dropped to her knees in the dirt. There wasn’t anything left for her to do but pray silently.
God, please help. I don’t want to die yet. I just found You, and I’m not ready for my life to end yet. And what about Sam? I want to know Sam better too. I’m so sorry I left the house. I really messed up this time, Lord. Please help me get out of this!
The gun was pointed at her forehead as she looked up at the man. Sarah looked him in the face and saw the brief look of uncertainly cross his. It was only there for a split second before the look of evil returned, but it was there long enough for Sarah to see it. Something Sam had earlier in the week clicked in her head. Manaquez’s specialty was killing people with homemade bombs, not having to face them while he killed them. Maybe he was a coward and was really afraid to shoot her. Maybe she could use his fear to her advantage and stall long enough so help could arrive – or God could pull off some kind of miracle – to save her. Either way, if she had to die, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Her scrambled mind tried to figure out what to do next.
“You don’t have to be a killer, you know,” she said. “God will forgive you for murdering those other people if you ask Him. And you can change your life and become something good.”
The brief look of uncertainly she had seen earlier left his eyes and was replaced with a cold steely look of pure evil. At that point, she knew she was wasting her time. He had made the choice to travel down this road years ago and wasn’t about to change directions now.
“Close your eyes, Senorita,” he growled out at her.
“No!”
“I said,” he repeated slowly, “close your eyes!”
She glared up at him. There was no way she was going to make this easy for this monster. He had killed all her friends, and if he hadn’t messed up on the timing, he would have killed her in the explosion too. Then he had proceeded to blow up her house and kill her dog. He had single-handedly destroyed her life.
Sarah’s head spun while she tried to figure out what to do. Maybe if she could throw dirt in his eyes, she would have time to run away; or maybe she could knock him off his feet – other than he wasn’t near enough for her to reach his legs. But there had to be something she could do to stop him. She was determined she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. The quiet, meek, always-willing-to-let-everyone-have-their-way Sarah Masters was gone. If the last few days hadn’t taught her anything else, it had taught her that she was a person of importance – to God, if to no one else.
She forced her chin up and
stared him in the eye. “I’m not afraid to die, you know,” she told him. “But I haven’t done anything to hurt you so you have no reason to kill me. I know though, if you do, I will just go to heaven to be with Jesus so I’m not afraid of you or anything you can do to me. Not anymore.”
In that split second, she made a decision. If he wanted to kill her right here, right now, he was going to have to face her down when he pulled the trigger. She wasn’t going to do anything to help make it easier for him.
“But if you are going to kill me, you’re going to have to look me in the eyes to do it,” she yelled at him.