In the Shadow of His Wings (11 page)

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Hilda muttered in a gravelly, sleepy voice.

Laura jumped at the sound of Hilda’s voice. She had been concentrating so hard on what she was doing that she hadn’t even noticed when the snoring stopped! Laura fell back and bumped her head on the edge of the fridge. The jolt to her already sore head caused Laura to drop the bottle of apple juice and it broke, spilling out on the floor.

“Oh for goodness sake, now look what you did. Well don’t just sit there feeling sorry for yourself, go get some paper towels and clean up that mess. My goodness, juice is leaking all over the rug. Lucky for you only one of the bottles broke.” Laura rushed to her room to get some paper towels to clean up the mess.

Thankfully it was the apple juice bottle that broke and therefore the easiest to clean up.

Bending over to wipe up the mess caused the blood to go to Laura’s head and brought on a throbbing pain. She touched her sore and swollen face and moaned at the pain she felt there as well.

“Jesus” Laura whispered quietly,
help me through this Lord!

“You’re looking kind of pale there girl, sit down and drink some of that orange juice.” Hilda ordered.

“Yes ma’am.” Laura sat down on the couch and opened the bottle of juice, thankful Hilda didn’t make her put it back. She drank the juice down quickly and although it helped, she was still hungry.

“Gerhard should be home soon, why don’t you sit here and watch TV with me while we wait for him?”

Hilda asked it like a question but it was clear by her voice that she didn’t expect an answer so Laura just nodded and stayed on the couch where she proceeded to drink the tomato juice, thankful that Hilda didn’t take that away from her either. Hilda’s words slowly sank in to Laura’s throbbing head, “
Gerhard should be home soon
.” Laura’s heart started to pound. Hilda will no doubt tell Gerhard about her escape attempt. She remembered his threat to harm her daughter if she didn’t cooperate and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of fear. Laura broke out in a cold sweat and she started to tremble. Silently she prayed,
Lord I need Your help, protect my Lacey! Father forgive
me for my foolishness and watch over my daughter. I ask that You would place a hedge
of protection around my entire family and not let Gerhard anywhere near them. Lord I
confess that I am afraid of what this man could do, please help me.
At that moment a bible verse came into Laura’s mind that she knew came from God and she was filled with a sense of peace.
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is
kept safe.”i
Laura thanked God for the verse and she knew that He was with her and her family.

As Laura sat there she began to wonder where exactly she was. She gathered from reading Christine’s journals that the school she went to was in Niagara Falls and that the family hotel was in the Falls. She assumed the house was in the same area as well, but where in Niagara Falls? Was it near the downtown area, or was it possible the house was somewhere just outside the city? If Laura were to ever find a way of escape, it could be helpful to know exactly where she was. She tried to think of a way to find out where the house was located. She couldn’t ask Hilda where they lived. She was supposed to have grown up there, after all. Her mind raced to think of a way. An address would be helpful. Her eyes scanned the room for something that might have been mailed to the house when her eyes fell on the TV guide. Of course! Someone like Hilda would definitely have a subscription to the TV guide, probably several other magazines as well.

Laura leaned forward slightly and was pleased to see a bulging magazine rack beside Hilda’s chair. It no doubt contained several soap opera magazines and an assortment of crossword puzzle books.

“Excuse me, Hild…um... I mean, mom, can you pass me the TV guide please?” The word ‘mom’ seemed to catch in Laura’s throat and she had a hard time using it to address Hilda.

“Sure thing, you can look at it all you like, but on this TV we watch what
I
want” Hilda tossed Laura the TV guide.

Laura quickly caught the magazine and looked at the cover for the address label but was disappointed to find there wasn’t one. Frustrated she sat there and flipped through the pages trying to look interested in what was playing that evening. She waited a few minutes then got up to bring the magazine back over to Hilda.

“Do you mind if I look through some of your magazines?” Laura asked.

“Knock yourself out, but leave the crossword puzzles for me.” Hilda muttered as she stared intently at the TV, totally engrossed in the current game show. It baffled Laura how one could get so caught up in game shows but she was relieved that Hilda wasn’t interested in what she was doing.

Laura eagerly looked through the magazines certain that Hilda must subscribe to a number of them but she was unable to find a single address label. She went through the entire batch of magazines three times hoping she had been mistaken or that the label might have been on the back instead of the front but still couldn’t find anything. Laura felt so disappointed that she couldn’t even feign interest in one of the magazines and simply went back to the couch, sat down and stared at the TV.

“Jesus”
Help me through this!
She prayed again. It was such a simple little thing.

All she wanted to find was one simple address label. That label wouldn’t have meant her freedom but it would have meant something. It would have given her a glimmer of hope, given her a small thread to hang on to.

“What’s the matter, are none of my magazines up to your standards now? You used to like magazines about the stars.” Hilda held up one of her soap opera magazines.

“You used to love it when Gerhard brought home movie magazines for you. I suppose now you will want him to buy you something else, probably some fancy high society magazine. Well you just be sure to write down the name of the magazine you want on the pad of paper in your room princess and I’m sure he’ll run right out and buy it for you.

Right after he finishes kissing your hand.”

Hilda started laughing as she finished this last sentence but her laughter soon turned to coughing. The coughing got worse and soon it seemed like Hilda was having trouble catching her breath and Laura got to her feet concerned.

“Are you all right Hild…mom?” Laura rushed over to Hilda and gently patted her on the back. Hilda leaned forward gasping and coughing, her face turned bright red.

Laura wasn’t sure what to do.

“Jesus”
I need your help here!

She rushed to the mini fridge and got out a bottle of water, opened it and held it out for Hilda to drink. Hilda grabbed hold of the water but much of it spilled out as she shook with the coughing. Hilda managed to get a few sips down and gradually she settled down. Laura went into her bathroom and moistened a face cloth with cold water.

She brought the cloth back to Hilda and gently wiped the woman’s red face with it.

“Are you ok now?” Laura asked, rather concerned. Hilda did not look ok. As redness started to fade Laura thought she seemed rather gray and pasty looking.

“I’m fine, that just happens sometimes. It’s nothing to worry about. Thank you for the cloth though. That was nice of you.” Hilda actually smiled at Laura. It was a small smile, but a smile none the less, and the first one she had shown Laura since the two had met.

“Christine your eye is rather swollen. You should put some ice on that. There is a small freezer compartment in the top corner of the mini fridge. I’m sure there’s some ice in there. Wrap some up in a cloth and put it on your face.” Laura was surprised at this small act of tenderness in Hilda but welcomed it just the same. She gladly went and did as she was told. Gerhard arrived home a few minutes later and came down the stairs with supper for the three of them. He had a full meal of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, carrots, and fresh baked rolls. He came down, cheerfully loaded with trays full of food. Laura hadn’t forgotten the verse God gave her earlier, she clung to it now, but her heart still started pounding when Gerhard came down the stairs. How would he react to news of her escape attempt? She couldn’t help but feel afraid.
Jesus hold me close!

“Goodness sakes Christine, what on earth happened to you!?” Gerhard was shocked at the appearance of Laura’s bruised and swollen face. Laura hesitated not sure how she should answer him. She stood there trembling; no words would come to her.

She was relieved when Hilda spoke up and answered for her.

“Oh relax Gerhard, she’s fine. She just tripped and fell over that chain of hers.

The thing is so light that she forgot it was there and simply tripped and banged into the door frame. Quite clumsy of her really, but she’s ok now. Aren’t you Christine? Now be a dear girl and set three TV trays up for us so we can all eat this wonderful meal that Gerhard brought downstairs for us.”

Laura didn’t ask questions, she just got up and set up the three TV trays glad that Hilda had chosen to forgive her for her escape attempt and allow her to eat supper that night. She wasn’t sure
why
Hilda forgave her. It was almost too easy, but she decided not to dwell on it right now.

“Thank you Jesus” Laura whispered quietly. It wasn’t a major answer to prayer but it was an answer just the same. She would not be going to bed hungry tonight and that was something to be thankful for. She went to her room to wash her hands for supper. She was on her way back to the living room just in time to over hear Hilda saying to Gerhard,

“The girl cusses a lot.”

“What do you mean?” asked Gerhard, “I haven’t heard her cuss at all.”

“She keeps saying ‘Jesus’ over and over. I know we’ve never been much of a religious family but even I know it’s wrong to use the Lord’s name in vain. You go to hell for that. She’s going to have to stop doing that if she’s going to live under my roof, I’ll tell you that right now!” Hilda said, angrily.

“I’m not using the Lord’s name in vain.” Laura spoke up. “I’m calling on Him for help. When you hear me say His name I’m calling on Him in prayer, not cussing.” Laura smiled as she said this.

“Humph” muttered Hilda, for once the woman was at a total loss for words.

Gerhard also seemed to have no idea as how to respond to this. The three proceeded to take their seats and eat their supper with Laura being the only one to bow her head and thank the Lord for the food before hand.

Chapter 11

A few days had gone by with no apparent progress, Jim felt like he was going out of his mind with worry. Some of his friends, like Lee and Janice, were trying hard to comfort him. Others seemed to be avoiding him, he wondered if it was because they didn’t know what to say, or if it was because they doubted his innocence. Jim wasted little time thinking about that, all he could think about was Laura and what might be happening to her. Jim was trying hard to hide his anxiety from his children but his mother-in-law could see right through him. She quoted, “Do not be anxious about anything, present your requests to God.”

Jim knew that scripture well, however when his mother-in-law first quoted it to him he wanted to yell at her to get out of his face. He wanted to yell that he didn’t feel the peace of God transcending. He wanted to run out of the house and scream out Laura’s name. He wanted to yell as loud as he could until he could yell no more. Deep down he knew he really didn’t want to do any of that. He just wanted his Laura back So Jim had just crumpled into a mess of tears and confessed his anger and frustration to God, asked for His help in dealing with all the stress. A measure of peace did come over Jim at that moment and he knew without a doubt that Christ was with him. He was not walking through this alone. He thanked God for his in-laws; it was a blessing having them there to help him and the kids through this as well.

Jim sat in the living room nursing a cup a coffee, wondering what he could do today. The posters had been up for two days and they hadn’t had any worthwhile calls.

Just a few that had turned out to be nothing more than someone wanting the reward money. One woman called to turn in her brother and the man didn’t look anything like the picture on the poster. Another called to report that she thought it must be her landlord and he was oriental! There was a call from someone insisting the picture looked just like his wife! The police told him this was normal, that any case like this would have its share of crank calls.

Jim felt helpless sitting at home, he wanted to do something useful, something constructive, but what? He hadn’t been able to think about work since Laura disappeared. Thankfully, he had a good staff and they were handling everything for him, he didn’t have to worry about that. Lacey had taken the week off of school but with plans for university next year, she would have to return by Monday. Josh returned to his own apartment the same day Laura’s parents arrived. They needed the guest room, he wanted to get back to his own place and his own computer. He planned to make use of the internet and circulate the poster. Jim was grateful for his son’s skills, although the police were concerned that it might just bring in several thousand more crank calls.

Jim got up and looked out the window. It was late October, the leaves were just beginning to fall from the trees. Laura loved this time of year. He wondered if she was able to see the changing colors of the leaves, if she was able to look out a window or not.

Is she even alive Lord?
Jim’s eyes started to fill with tears at the very thought that his wife might not even be alive. He forced his mind to stop thinking in that direction. He mustn’t give up, not for the kid’s sake as well as his own.
Lord I thank You that You are
there for me, I know You are. Fill me with Your strength and Father, I thank You for all
those others who are praying for us. My own prayers are weak and short so I am
thankful that there are friends who are on their knees praying in earnest for Laura as
well as myself and the kids. Please bless them Lord and answer their prayers.