Evidence of Mercy

  “Then let’s go.”

  They helped him over to the bars, and Jake grabbed one on each side of him. The weight of his legs made them float to the bottom, and for the first time since the accident, he was in a standing position, upright, his height towering above Allie and even above Buzz.

  “Can you feel your feet touching the bottom?” Allie asked.

  He barely felt the smooth bottom of the pool and looked down at his limp legs. “Sort of.”

  “Now, see if you can let your weight rest on your legs. Use your gluteus,” Buzz said. “That’s the trick. You have to hold your torso up with your glutes.”

  He felt his face reddening as he put every ounce of concentration he had into tightening his gluteals, and he looked down at his body. His legs weren’t taking the weight, and his stomach was trying to arch outward. He tightened more and felt his body aligning more normally, but it was still only his arms that held him up. His legs were useless.

  But Allie and Buzz didn’t see the futility of it, and he saw that they were pleased by the smiles on their faces as they checked the alignment of his legs and feet to his torso.

  “This is good, Jake,” Buzz said, standing in front of him. “Real good. You have the muscular strength to stand, even if your legs aren’t cooperating.”

  “What good are the muscles if I can’t use them to do what I want?”

  “You will be able to get them to do what you want, Jake. It’s happening a little at a time, but we’re seeing a lot of progress. So are you, and you know it.”

  He let his arms relax a little, and his body collapsed into the water. Allie caught him.

  Defeated, he let her pull him into a float, but he feared the weight of his disappointment would drown him completely. And he almost didn’t care if it did.

  Something was wrong. It wasn’t like Brianna not to want to go outside. But since the day Jake had moved in and Brianna had run in screaming that her daddy was trying to get her, she had absolutely refused to set foot through the back door, with or without her mother. Paige was getting frustrated; they’d been too cooped up in the house, and she wanted Brianna to get some fresh air.

  “Honey, why can’t we go out there? I’ll be right there with you. There’s a fence and everything. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

  Brianna’s bottom lip puckered out, and she looked worriedly through the door. “No, Mommy. I don’t want to.”

  “But why? Just tell Mommy why.”

  “Daddy’s out there.”

  “He’s not, honey. He doesn’t even know where we are. How could he be out there?”

  Brianna shrugged, but she didn’t accept Paige’s logic. Paige realized that regardless of what had originally triggered it, Brianna’s fear was real, not imaginary, and she couldn’t dismiss it. Stooping in front of her daughter, she got to eye level with her. “Brianna, tell Mommy why you think Daddy is out there.”

  “Because he is,” she said, and big tears filled her eyes. “He’s waiting for me.”

  “How could he be?”

  The question confused the child, and she didn’t answer, just wiped her eyes and smeared the tears across her temples.

  “That day you thought you saw Daddy, it was Jake. He scared you, and you thought he was your daddy. But it wasn’t him.”

  “Yes, it was,” Brianna said. “I was chasing the butterfly, and he told me to come with him.”

  “The butterfly?”

  “No, Daddy!” Brianna was getting upset now, and Paige pulled her into a hug.

  “It’s okay, honey. We don’t have to go out. You don’t have to cry.”

  Brianna hiccuped a sob and nodded her head, as though that would be fine with her.

  But Paige couldn’t understand what the problem was, and later that afternoon as Brianna napped, Paige stepped out into the backyard and looked around at the perimeter of the fence. There was nothing but woods that backed up to the fence and no trails. No one would be there by accident. If there had been someone there, he would have been there deliberately.

  Had Brianna really seen someone?

  She wanted to dismiss the possibility, as she had so quickly done when it had first come up, but she realized now that Brianna had never really demonstrated a fear of Jake except for that first meeting. And she wasn’t entirely sure that Brianna had even seen Jake at that point.

  Had Brianna been trying to tell her something all along, something that she had refused to believe?

  She looked through the trees again, shivering with the sense that she was being watched, that someone was out there. Someone dangerous.

  Had Keith found them? Had he approached Brianna in the back yard?

  Starting to tremble, she backed into the house. Quickly, she bolted the door then ran to the front and checked the lock. In the master bedroom, she locked the door that opened to the patio.

  By the time she was back in the kitchen, she heard a car door. Lynda was back with Jake.

  Breathing a huge sigh of relief, she rushed outside.

  Jake was getting into his wheelchair with a hang-dog look on his face, and Lynda was decidedly sober, too. But Paige hardly noticed.

  “Thank goodness you’re both home.”

  “What is it?” Lynda asked.

  “Keith,” she said breathlessly. “You know how Brianna keeps insisting that her father is in the backyard?”

  Lynda waited for Jake to move away from the car door then closed it. “Yeah.”

  “Maybe he was.”

  Lynda stopped cold. “You think Keith was back there? When? How?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But I’m scared. What if Brianna wasn’t imagining it? What if he really was back there? I mean, she’s obviously terrified of something, and it isn’t Jake because she warmed right up to him that night. But she still won’t go outside.”

  Lynda stood still, thinking for a moment. “Maybe we ought to give Larry a call.”

  Jake pulled the house key out of his pocket and quietly opened his apartment door.

  “Jake?” Paige asked before he could go in.

  He looked back at her over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

  “Would you mind . . . coming into the house for a while? Just for security. Until we hear from Larry? I’d feel better if there were a man around.”

  He looked stunned by the request. “Who are you worried about? Me or you?”

  She didn’t understand the question and glanced at Lynda for help. “I’m just scared, Jake. I was hoping—”

  “So you think I need a couple of women to protect me?”

  She looked stricken. “No. I wanted you to protect us.”

  “Nice try,” he said, rolling over the threshold and pivoting at the door. “But I think I’ll stay here.”

  He closed the door hard, and Paige jumped. “What’s wrong with him?”

  Lynda sighed. “He had these grand delusions of walking today, I think. It didn’t happen. He’s really depressed.”

  “But I really meant it, Lynda. I’d feel better with a man in the house. Why did he twist what I was saying?”

  “Because he truly doesn’t feel that he can offer us any protection. In his own mind, he’s useless, so he thinks he’s useless to everyone else, too.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake.” As if she had no more time to dwell on Jake’s problems, Paige headed inside. “I need to go in and check on Brianna.”

  Lynda gave Jake’s door one last glance then followed her in. “I’ll call Larry,” she said.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  * * *

  Keith knew better than to come back, especially in the daytime, but the obsession that kept him from sleeping, eating, or thinking drove him to take chances.

  In the three days since he’d tried to grab her, Bri-anna’s face had haunted him day and night: the fear in her eyes when she’d spotted him; the way she’d backed away; the shrill scream that had startled him and sent him running through the woods. . . .

  She’d been brain
washed, and he had to put a stop to it. He couldn’t allow her mother to poison her mind against her own father. It would take some time to get those thoughts out of her mind and win back her trust. But once he had her in his possession, he would have all the time in the world. He would tell her that Paige was dead, that she’d been in a car wreck or something. She’d get over it quickly; kids are like that. Resilient.

  He moved quietly through the trees, again approaching the fence around Lynda’s house. He had to be bolder if he was going to succeed. He hadn’t gotten many breaks lately. Even his lawyer was turning against him.

  He took his usual place, sitting on the ground against a tree, hidden behind two bushes, between which he had a clear view of the back door. He still seethed from the call he’d gotten from McRae that day, asking him whether he’d found where Paige was staying and whether he’d approached the child without permission.

  “I don’t need permission,” Keith had said. “She’s my kid. I’m her father, and no judge is ever going to tell me I can’t see her.”

  “Does that mean you did show up at their place and threaten the kid?” McRae asked.

  “How would I know where they’re staying?”

  McRae had thought about that for a moment. “You’re a smart man, Keith. Did you or didn’t you find them?”

  He’d been amused at McRae’s assessment of him; he always enjoyed it when people found out this night-shift employee had some brains. For a moment, he’d entertained the thought of telling him how he’d found Lynda’s house, but then he realized that it wouldn’t pay to brag. McRae was liable to resign from the case, and then where would he be?

  So he’d lied and told McRae that he didn’t have a clue where they were, but that if some guy had approached his daughter, he wanted the police to find out who it was. He’d even suggested filing another motion for temporary custody since she still seemed to be in danger, but McRae had rejected it. Court was only two weeks away, he said. He wasn’t going back before the judge on Keith’s behalf until the trial.

  But Keith could see the writing on the wall. McRae was pulling back, losing faith in him. If Keith couldn’t depend on him anymore, then he couldn’t depend on the justice system to get Bri-anna. He could only count on himself.

  And in just two weeks he would have to go into court and face Lynda Barrett. Unless something happened to her in the meantime.

  So he was back here, waiting for a glimpse of Brianna, praying for another chance to grab her. This time he wouldn’t botch it.

  And if he couldn’t reach Brianna, then he’d bide his time until he caught Lynda leaving and rush to his car to follow her.

  He heard the side door open; he got to his feet, still crouched low, and moved until he could see who was coming out. It was Lynda, all dressed up, as though she was going to church, but she was alone.

  Perfect. He took off through the trees. If he could make it to his car and follow her, he could plant his little surprise under her gas tank while her car was in the church parking lot. Talk about hellfire and brimstone.

  Laughing breathlessly, he fired up his car and drove up the block and around the corner. He pulled over and waited.

  Today was the day. Lynda would be taken out, Paige would be homeless and without representation, and his court case would be in the bag. Piece of cake. Even McRae would have to give him credit for working things out.

  He saw the car come to the end of the street, stop, and then turn right. He waited until it was far enough away so she couldn’t see him. Then he began to follow.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  * * *

  I thought you were going to invite Jake,” Paige said as Lynda turned the corner.

  “I did. Last night and again this morning. He wasn’t interested.”

  “He should go anyway,” Paige said. “After all you’re doing for him . . .”

  Lynda looked at her thoughtfully. “Is that why you’re coming with me? Because you feel you owe me something?”

  Paige looked embarrassed, as though she’d just stuck her foot in her mouth. “No, of course not. I told you, I need to get Brianna back in church. You’ve made it easier. It’s not always so easy to walk into a new church by yourself.”

  Lynda wasn’t sure she believed her. “I didn’t mean to strong-arm you into going with me or to make you feel guilty if you didn’t. It’s just that what they teach there is the most important thing in the world.” She glanced into the rearview mirror as she merged into the next lane. “I just wish Jake would have come. He needs to hear that message more than anything.”

  Paige didn’t respond, and Lynda wondered whether she agreed.

  They pulled into the parking lot of the church, waiting behind a few cars looking for parking places as cars from the earlier service left. Three security guards in the parking lot helped to direct traffic. She glanced in her rearview mirror again to see if she was holding anyone up.

  A pale blue car slowed at the entrance to the parking lot, hesitated, and then drove on. The car looked familiar, but many of the cars here looked familiar.

  They parked and went into the church, and again, Paige opted to stay in Brianna’s class with her. She was starting to learn where everything was and what was expected of her, and the teacher seemed glad to see her.

  As she went to her class, Lynda hoped that Paige would also seize the chance to be ministered to. She wasn’t sure that the foundation of Paige’s faith was any stronger than Jake’s was.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

  * * *

  Outside, Keith circled the church, trying to decide what to do. He had seen Paige and Brianna in the car with Lynda, so he could forget about the bomb, at least for today. He wanted Lynda dead, and if Paige had to go, too, the more the merrier. But he didn’t want his little girl to die.

  Besides, even after the traffic died down, the security guards remained in the parking lot like sentinels guarding the cars.

  Continuing past the church, he pulled into an empty space in the parking lot of a closed jewelry store. For a moment, he just sat and thought, trying to sort out the possibilities.

  Brianna was in that church somewhere now. Probably since she was a visitor and the teachers didn’t know the family, no one would protest if her own father showed up to get her.

  On the other hand, if she went into hysterics and started screaming like she had the other day, they would call the police. And this time there would be witnesses.

  Still, there was no harm in going in to check things out. Then he could make a plan. He reached into the glove compartment for the fake mustache and thick glasses he’d used the day he bought the dynamite. Then, walking at a brisk pace as though he knew where he was going, he went in the back door of the church, hoping to avoid the Christian “welcome wagon” that always seemed to be on the lookout for visitors.

  He ducked into a men’s room at the end of the hall and wet his hair so he could comb it back. It wasn’t him anymore, he thought, looking into the mirror. It was someone else—someone who couldn’t be identified.

  He went back into the hallway. There seemed to be classrooms further down the hall. He saw the babies through a glass window in the nursery nearby. The kids seemed to get older as he walked on until finally, he came to the three-year-olds’ room.

  He passed the door quickly without looking in for fear of startling Brianna if she saw him. But then he turned back and peered in from the side.

  He saw his little girl working a puzzle at a table near the door. His heart began to race.

  Just a few steps away, he thought. All he would have to do is wait till the teacher had her back to him, take a few steps inside the door, and grab Brianna before she had the chance to scream. He could have her in his car before anyone noticed she was gone.

  He stepped closer, trying to see inside to where the teacher was. He saw two of them, and they both had their backs to him. It was perfect.

  “I’m finished!” Brianna said, popping the last piece into the puzzle.
“Mommy, come look.”

  He jumped back, startled, as the teachers turned around. One of them was Paige.

  What was she doing here? Didn’t they have classes for adults? Did they let just anybody teach these children?

  His heart sank, and he quickly found the closest door and jogged back to his car.

  When he got in, he hit his steering wheel and let out a loud curse.

  Today wasn’t going to be the day after all, he thought, cranking his engine and screeching away. But tomorrow had to be. Time was running out.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  * * *

  If there was a bright side to a boring Sunday, it was that Paige had cooked a meal fit for a prince. Jake sat quietly at the table, reminded of his days as a child when one of his friends—Jimmy Anderson—used to go to church every Sunday then come home and eat a big, sit-down meal with his parents. Jake had envied him. Doris always used Sunday mornings to catch up on her sleep, and then they feasted on sandwiches or canned ravioli on paper plates. At the time, Jake had believed that it was the meal he envied, but now he realized that it had been more than that—it was the good mood everyone seemed to bring home from church, the structure of having a reason to get all dressed up, and the camaraderie of sitting down together at the table. He’d shared that meal with the Andersons a time or two when he’d shown up to play at exactly the right moment, but when Doris had found out, she’d forbidden him to go anymore.

  “They look down their noses at us,” she had said. “And when you eat with them, it’s like saying that your own mother won’t feed you. You can eat at home if you’re hungry.”

  Well, his mother couldn’t stop him now.

  But the conversation today was awkward, and he could see that Lynda was struggling to pull him out of his melancholy. He admired her for the attempt; he just wasn’t sure that anyone could do it. Even though he’d spent the night wallowing in depression, he’d still hoped that when he woke this morning, he’d have more feeling in his feet and legs than he’d had yesterday. But he’d been disappointed again.