After the Fire (20 page)

“What’s the fork done to you?” Jason sounded amused.

“I didn’t like the way it looked at me.” She smiled, but failed to keep the worry and irritation out of her voice.

“What’s up, Freddie?”

Forgetting Debs and Vic sat at the table with them, Freddie let everything spill. “How can you sit there, acting and eating like nothing’s happened, Jace? When you know someone wants us dead, but not just any old someone. Someone we’ve known and trusted and worked with for years.”

“We have to eat or we get sick.” Jason took another bite. “We already had this conversation.”

“I know it comes with being a PI, so don’t get me wrong here. But doesn’t being expendable bother you?”

“Of course it does.”

“Jace, they won’t stop until we’re dead. They already tried to take us out once.” Freddie tossed her fork to the plate and pushed back in her chair. “I’m sorry, I love my job, but it’s not worth dying over. Nothing is. But you? You just sit there and act like being on a hit list and dying on the job is the most natural thing in the world.”

Jason glanced at his sister, then back at Freddie, taking her hand in his. “That’s because I’m not afraid of death. The actual dying bit bothers me a little. I don’t want to burn or drown, but death itself? No.”

“Why ever not?” Freddie looked askance at him.

“Because I know that death isn’t the end.” Jason turned to Vic. “Do you have a Bible I could borrow?”

Freddie rolled her eyes. “He’s a pastor. Of course he’s got a Bible. That’s a bit like asking the Queen if she has a red robe and a crown.”

“But I don’t want to borrow those.” He laughed as he squeezed her hand. “Let me rephrase it. Please could I borrow a Bible to save me running upstairs for mine?”

“Sure. I have one in my study. I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you.” Jason turned back to Freddie. “Are you scared of dying?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Why was he asking such stupid questions? He was the abnormal one for not being afraid. Death was the end, no matter what else she wanted to think. Or was it?

Vic came back with a Bible and handed it to Jason.

“Thanks, bro.” He turned it over in his hands. “It looks new.”

“It is.”

He turned back to Freddie. “Why are you scared? You believe in God, don’t you?”

They’d had this conversation before. She pointed to her head. “Here.” Her hand moved to her heart. “But here? You left me for God. He took Dan away for being in the car at the wrong time. He stopped me from having kids. Why should I believe in Someone who has it in for me? I mean, there’s a hit squad after me now. And anyway, why would He want me back after I walked out on Him?”

“God doesn’t have it in for you, and He didn’t send the hit squad after you, either. Bad things happen because we live in a sin-filled world. It says in Hebrews thirteen, verse five,
He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me
. He loves you and wants you with Him. He sent His Son to die for you to show you that. All you have to do is trust Him.”

“But—”

“No buts. Once God is in control, nothing can tear you away from Him. Not even death, just like Vic said on Sunday. It’s also in Psalm 27.” He turned to it. “Verse one.
The
Lord
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The
Lord
is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid
? And again in verse five.
For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me
.”

He ran his fingers over her hand. “See, there is nothing new about being hunted down, or being on a hit list. But taking your life is all they can do. If your soul is hidden with God, you’ll never really die. Nothing can take away God’s love for you.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“It is.”

Freddie turned away, shaking her head. “God won’t want me. I’ve spent too long hating Him.”

“Hey.” Jason put a gentle hand on her face and turned it towards him. He held her gaze. “You hated me for a long time, and I still love you and want you around. I always will love you, just like God does. All you have to do is return to Him.”

Is it really that simple? Are you out there, God, just waiting on me to come home? What do I do? Show me, help me…

As if Jason knew her inmost thoughts, he squeezed her hand. “All you need to do is acknowledge you’re a sinner and put your trust in Jesus. I can give you some passages to read if you’d like.”

“I don’t have a Bible anymore.”

“You can keep that one,” Vic said.

“Are you sure? It’s brand new.”

“I’m sure.”

“Thank you.”

Jason wrote down a list of passages and handed them to her. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” She stood up. “I’m going to call it a night. I’m tired. I also want to read this before I crash.”

“All right, I’m not staying up long tonight. Too much doing nothing has worn me out.” He winked at her. “But then I’m old, right?”

“Ancient. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” He grabbed her hand. “Freddie—”

She knew he wanted to pray with her, but she wasn’t ready. She gently pulled her hand away. “Jace, you can pray if you want, but this is really something I need to do on my own.”

“Sure—and yes I will pray for you. We all will.”

“Thanks. Goodnight.” Freddie left the room and headed upstairs, hearing Vic leading them in prayer and mentioning her name. The fact others were praying for her didn’t bother her like it once had. She sat on the bed, the Bible and list of passages in her hand, mind whirling. Surely it can’t be that simple? Is it?

Opening the Bible, she found the verses and read. The wall of ice she’d erected around her heart, slowly melted as the words penetrated her mind. Her eyes filled as she read Romans 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Then as she read the final verse Jason had listed, John 3:16, the dam inside broke. It was as if a light suddenly went on and the missing piece finally fell back into place.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Falling face down on the bed, words and tears tumbled as she found and leaned on her Savior, finding real peace for the first time in years. She was no longer alone.

21

Moored at the far end of the marina, Catalina was much bigger than Jason expected. He thanked Vic for the lift, and then followed Freddie along the jetty. He smiled at her. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. It was a good idea of yours to leave your car behind today.”

Jason nodded. “I figured it’d look like we’re spending the day at the house again, rather than out snooping around Jueve Island.”

“It isn’t going to put Debs and the baby in any danger is it? I wouldn’t want that.”

“They’ll be fine. I wouldn’t be doing this if it posed a threat of any kind.” He smiled at her with more confidence than he felt. “Besides Vic’s there and at the first sign of any trouble he’ll call the cops.”

He unlocked the cabin and glanced around the bridge.

Freddie followed his gaze. “It’s nice. I’ll go take this below and check out the kitchen.”

“All right.” Jason took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the controls. Debs had made him promise to look after the boat and bring her back in one piece. It didn’t look too complicated to control, unlike some of the ones he’d piloted in the past. Then he pulled out the logbook and wrote the change of crew in it before poring over the charts. He thought he was seeing things as Freddie came up from the cabin and shot him a beaming smile. She had a towel and suntan lotion in her hand.

Jason did a double take as he took in her lithe body clad in a navy blue one-piece swimsuit with a bright orange sarong tied around her hips. “Freddie?”

“Yes? Were you expecting someone else?”

“A swimsuit?”

“I figured I’d be the bimbo on the deck while her boyfriend cruises the coastline.”

“Bimbo?” Aware he was sounding like a broken record, there was nothing else he could do for the moment.

“You never know who might be watching.”

“True.” He took a deep breath.
Keep your mind on the job, Jason
. “You don’t get seasick, do you?”

“Only in a force ten gale.” She moved over to him. “So where’s the port?”

Jason’s finger stabbed at the chart. “Here, but there’s a cove around the far side. We could anchor there. It looks like a jetty of some kind. If not we swim ashore.” He paused. “You can swim?”

“No, but I drown pretty well.”

“You’re wearing a swimsuit, and you don’t swim?

“Yes, I am and no, I don’t.”

“In that case we’ll forget swimming ashore. I still don’t know how to do CPR. We’ll find the jetty and tie her up there.”

“That sounds good to me.”

“So why have you never learned to swim?” Jason glanced up at her.

“The same reason that you never learnt CPR,” she teased. “I just never got around to it.”

“Didn’t I buy you one of those years ago?”

“No, that was “a round tuit”. It still hangs on the kitchen wall. And it’s a completely different kettle of fish from around to it.”

“If you insist.” He turned his attention back to the charts.

“What if they’re people smuggling as well?” Freddie paused in the doorway.

Amazing how her mind jumps so fast from one topic to another
. “People smuggling? What—where did that come from?”

“Think about it for a minute. There’s a new team of miners that no one knows or has contact with because they work the new seams. You take the original miners off by boat or plane, sending the illegal immigrants back through the mine with the gems and drugs.”

“It’s a possibility, but I don’t think so. Edwin may be into a lot of things, but I don’t think even he’d stoop to people smuggling.” He moved to the controls and started the engines. “Can you cast off for me, please? Just don’t fall in.”

“Not planning on it. This is one swimsuit that’s not going to get wet. And that includes you throwing water at me.” She moved out onto the deck and over to the ropes to release them.

Jason weighed anchor and pulled away from the dock.
Lord, keep us safe as we embark on today’s part of this mission. Most of all, keep us close to You. And Lord, please, bring Freddie into a relationship with You. She seems much closer now than she was a week ago. I can see You starting to work in her. Please, finish the work, that You may be glorified
.

“Jace, can you—” Freddie’s voice behind him made him jump.

“Are you making a habit of that?”

“Sorry, I wanted to ask something, but I guess you already did it.”

“What’s that?”

“I was going to ask if you’d pray before we left.”

“Yes, I have, but I’ll do it again.” He took her hand. Maybe God was already answering him.

Freddie gripped his hand until he’d finished. Then she went out on deck and shook out the towel. She took her time laying it on the sun bed and sitting on it, taking even longer to apply the sun lotion. Then she undid the sarong and laid down in the sunlight, making it look as if she were reading a book.

She really is good at this undercover stuff. Edwin was totally wrong about her. That file he gave me can be shredded as soon as I get back. He probably just wanted her out of the way before she worked out what was going on
.

His mind went back to what Freddie said the day before about the accident.
Is she very scarred?
He shuddered at the thought of a pole going through her and pinning her to the tree. Hadn’t she been through enough without this as well? One thing he was certain about, her being unable to have children didn’t change the way he felt about her. If it meant having her back in his life, then he could be content with being an uncle. He loved her and once this case was over and the world had been put to rights, he was going to make sure Freddie knew just how much. He didn’t intend to lose her, not now, not ever.

Jason checked the charts and changed course. Hugging the coast line, he headed south until the island appeared off the port bow. He marked the time in the logbook before changing course once more. He sailed straight for the island, aiming for the main harbor. He didn’t suppose he’d get as far as the harbor without being spotted, but it was worth a go. As they drew close enough to see it, Freddie caught his attention.

What is she doing?

She sat up, her binoculars swinging across the island then focusing out to sea. She pushed a hand through her hair, waving three fingers at him, tilting her head left as if easing her neck. Jason frowned, then grabbed his binoculars and followed Freddie’s gaze, and then scanned to the left. Three armed men stood on the cliff top. He turned his attention back to Freddie as she waved and pointed, pretending she’d seen something.

She really is good.

Jason changed course, taking them away from the island and out to sea, heading in the direction Freddie had pointed. Once they were out of sight, Freddie came onto the bridge. “Good call.”

“Thank you. I saw something flashing and wondered if it might be the sunlight reflecting off a pair of binoculars. I’m glad you picked up on my hand signals. I didn’t want to give the game away by getting up and coming to the bridge.”

“You did the right thing.”

“I should go and put some clothes on. So, now the harbor’s out, where’s that cove you suggested we could dock?”

Jason pointed to the chart. “Here. If we take the blanket and picnic ashore, we can set that up on the beach. It’ll look like we went exploring when we leave it unattended, which, of course, we will have.”

“That sounds like a good plan. I won’t be long.”

Freddie disappeared below and he turned back to the steering. Sunlight danced on top of the waves. A seagull landed on the deck, stared at him through the window, and then flew away. Jason shrugged off the ridiculous notion that it was spying on him.