Nowhere to Run (9 page)

“Then
do
something. Find my little girl.” Marie was nearly shouting.

“We will. We will.” He left her long enough to stick his head into the office and tell Bob what was going on, then grabbed a cell phone out of his truck.

“We've got a problem down here at the garage, Brother Logan,” Seth said as soon as someone answered his call. “A missing five-year-old child named Patty. Becky knows all about her. I took her and her mother to the preschool yesterday.”

He could hear the pastor conversing in the background.

“That's right. Patty,” Seth affirmed. “She apparently wandered off a couple of minutes ago, so she can't have gone far. Can you get a few others together and cover the ground between the motel and the garage? Good. Thanks. We'll be right here.”

“No. I can't stay here,” Marie argued. “I have to go look for her, too.”

“We will. We'll work back the way you came and see if we can turn up any clues, maybe see some footprints in the wet ground. I can't believe you didn't call me in the first place to save time.”

“I never thought of it.”

“Do you have a cell phone?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn't want…”

“I know. You didn't want to be traced because of it. The kind I have is simple. It doesn't allow tracing, because you buy the minutes up front instead of having an account, and if you don't give out the number or leave the phone turned on all the time, it can't be located.” He handed his to her. “Here. Take this for now. I'll buy you another one the next time I'm in Ash Flat.”

“I can't do that.”

“Yes, you can. You have to,” Seth said firmly. “It's already programmed with the garage number, so you can call me for help with the push of a button.”

“Well…”

“Smart woman. Now, come on, stick that phone in your pocket and let's go.”

Watching Marie's reactions, he was satisfied that he'd given her enough other things to think about to keep her from falling apart, at least for now. When they found the child, she'd have plenty of time to weep.

If
they found her, he added, gritting his teeth. The prospect of failing in this instance was unacceptable. Because they were beginning their search so quickly, their chances of success were greater, yes, but there was also the possibility that Patty had been taken by the same man who had tried to steal her from the truck the night before.

Seth knew Marie was well aware of that. He just hoped and prayed that wasn't what had actually happened.

The way he saw it, there was a fair chance of it going either way.

M
arie spotted Becky Malloy first. The pastor's wife was toting Timmy on her hip and walking slowly through the used-car lot next to the garage, stopping every few yards to call Patty's name.

That meant only one thing. No one from the church had found Patty, either.

“I will not cry,” Marie insisted quietly to herself. “I will not lose control when my daughter needs me to keep my wits about me.”

She waved to Becky as she quickly joined her. “Any luck?”

Becky smiled benevolently. “Not yet. And luck isn't something I like to count on. We've been praying for you and Patty since the moment we heard.”

Marie wanted to accept the reassurance the other woman was offering, but searching her deepest heart, she found unreasoning fear. Trepidation. Feelings of guilt and failure.

“I never should have let her out of my sight,” Marie lamented. “Never. I know better.”

“We can't keep our children with us 24-7,” Becky said wisely. “That would make emotional cripples of them. Besides, they belong to the Lord. We're just watching them for Him.”

“And I haven't been doing a good job of it, have I?” Marie was fighting tears and barely able to speak.

Becky laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and nodded. “I know how you feel. I wasn't always a pastor's wife. My life wasn't easy while I was growing up, or later, for that matter. But I think the longer we're Christians and keep following Jesus, the more instances we have to look back on where we can see God's handiwork and learn to trust Him.”

“I don't know,” Marie said. Her voice cracked. “I don't know anything anymore.”

“We'll find Patty,” Becky said firmly. “I know we will.” She smiled. “Here. Why don't you carry Timmy for me for a little while so he doesn't get his new tennies muddy? He's getting heavier every day. It's hard to believe he's almost two.”

Marie started to refuse, then relented. She knew the other woman was simply trying to distract her, but at the moment that didn't sound like a bad idea. As she drew the child into her arms, she was struck by his warmth, the trusting way his little arms went around her neck and he snuggled closer. She could almost imagine herself safe in God's comforting arms, instead of the child's. That comparison took her by surprise.

“Oh, Father,” she whispered. “Help us.”

Timmy's grip tightened and he laid his head on her shoulder as if the Lord was using him to directly answer Marie's plea. She could barely see through her tears.

Suddenly, there was a shout from up the road. Everyone froze except Marie. She passed Timmy back to his mother as fast as she could and started to run toward the sound of the yelling.

Someone was emerging from one of the private backyards there. It was Seth. And he had Patty!

 

Seth was beaming. He released Patty's hand as Marie barreled up to them and fell to her knees, oblivious to the damp grass, to hug her little girl. She was weeping and laughing at the same time.

Finally, she regained enough control to hold the child at arm's length and ask, “Where were you? Where did you go?”

“I'm—I'm sorry, Mama,” Patty said through her own tears. “I didn't mean to scare you. I was gonna get us some donuts, but I couldn't get the office door open by myself and there was this really pretty kitty next door and…”

“You followed the cat?”

“Uh-huh.” She sniffled. “I'm sorry you were worried.”

As Seth watched, Marie smoothed back the child's hair and cupped her cheeks in her hands so she couldn't look away. “I don't want you to ever go off on your own like that again, do you understand?”

Patty nodded.

Giving the child one more all-encompassing hug, Marie finally let go and got to her feet. “Thank you. Again,” she said, swiping tears from her cheeks, sniffling and gazing up at Seth.

“You're most welcome.”

He assumed, judging by the serious way Marie was looking at him, that she wanted to say more, but their brief opportunity for a private conversation had passed. They were now surrounded by many of the other searchers and were being bombarded by congratulations and expressions of delight and praise.

“What now?” he asked aside. “Are you going back to the motel, or would you like another ride to church?”

“The motel,” Marie said without pause. “I need to pull myself together and have a long talk with my daughter before we do anything else.”

“Okay. If it's any consolation, no one has seen any sign of that white truck that we thought might be a problem. Chances are, whoever was in it has left town.”

“I certainly hope so,” Marie said.

Seth agreed. “Yeah. Me, too.”

“What about my car? Will it be ready soon?”

“The parts may come in today's shipment,” he said. “If they do, I can probably work overtime to get them installed, providing I don't run into any glitches.” He paused, concentrating on her and starting to scowl. “The question is, are you sure you want to leave Serenity?”

“Of course I am.”

“It might be better to stay here a while longer.” He could tell his logical suggestion did not sit well with her, so he explained his reasoning. “Think about it, Marie. Here, you have people who care about you and want to help you. Whatever your past may have been, you're among friends here. We'll stand by you.”

“No.” She grabbed Patty's hand and began to edge away from him. “Leave us alone. We'll be fine. Just fix my car and don't interfere.”

“You're in trouble, Marie. Let me help you.”

“No. You don't know a thing about me.”

As Seth watched her turn on her heel and hurry away, he wished she was right, that he didn't know why she was on the run. Not knowing the truth would make it much easier for him to bid her goodbye and not worry about what might become of her.

As it was, however, he knew enough to be certain she was in for much more trouble. If the authorities overtook her before her unnamed nemesis did, they'd surely arrest her and assume legal custody of Patty. If the body that had been found recently turned out to be Roy's, that was an even worse scenario. The question then became, who had killed him and why?

Seth's hands fisted. That wasn't the only problem, was it? The most important element was the unknown. If, as Marie thought, she was actually being pursued, there could be danger around every corner, behind every rock and tree.

He couldn't just let her drive away and face that alone. Until he'd figured out who was who and what was really going on, he was not going to permit her to leave town. He'd already buried one special woman. He was not going to do it again.

Holding his breath for an instant, Seth realized the perilous direction his thoughts had taken and accepted them, although with reservations.

Yes, he agreed, he was beginning to truly care for Marie. And for Patty. But he was also not in a position to act on his feelings or reveal them, no matter how tender or genuine they might be. He was also a fugitive and therefore could never offer Marie a safe haven or the kind of normal life she deserved.

Seth snorted in self-derision. They were a fine pair, weren't they? Two innocent people who had had to go into hiding because the bad guys had gotten the upper hand. What irony.

His jaw clenched as he turned and headed back toward the garage. It wasn't fair. None of this was. Yet for the life of him, he couldn't see a clear way out for either of them. All he could hope for, at this point, was to find out who was chasing Marie and…

And then what?
he asked himself. He couldn't just have them killed the way his enemies had eliminated Alice, nor did he have Corp. Inc.'s clout with which to scare them off. If he was totally honest, he'd admit he was as powerless to help Marie as he'd been to help himself.

So why get involved? Why even try?

Because he had to. He didn't know why that perception was so strong, so positive, but he knew he must follow through.

He wasn't about to credit his decision to God's leading and make himself out to be some kind of divine avenger. He did, however, feel as strongly about attaining his current goal as he ever had about his job, his marriage or anything else.

 

“Well, what do you think, Mac?” agent Eccles asked his computer-savvy cohort. “Is it him?”

McCormick swiveled the chair away from the keyboard. “Beats me. He used to work with you, right?”

“Used to.”

“Then you'd know him better than I would.”

“Not exactly. I was sure he'd stick around and face the music. He dropped out of sight, instead. You never can tell about a guy like Seth.”

“Well, my part is done. I put you in touch with him and made him think you were Jonathan Biggs. That's it. I'm through.”

“I thought you were a team player,” Eccles said with a sneer.

“When I know what team I'm on,” McCormick replied.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Mac turned and started to walk away. “Nothing. Forget it. I've got to get back to my station. The work is really piling up.”

“You do that.” Eccles's dark eyebrows arched as he watched the computer tech walk away. If he hadn't figured that he'd need Mac again, he might have been tempted to eliminate him. It was just as well he didn't have that option, he reasoned. After all, he'd gotten away with a couple of murders, including that of Seth's wife, with no difficulty. There was no sense pushing his luck.

 

Marie was so exhausted when her extra adrenaline wore off that she felt as if it had to be nine at night instead of nine in the morning. She had never, ever, been that frightened. Not even when Roy was beating her.

She and Patty had stopped at the motel office to tell Clarence that all was well and to pick up a light breakfast to eat in their room.

Patty dug in as if she were starved. Marie took one bite and pushed the donut aside.

“Can I have yours, too?” Patty asked.

“No. You need good food, not junk.”

“It's good. I like donuts.”

“That's not what I mean,” Marie explained. “Too much sugar isn't good for you. Or for your teeth. You need something else, like maybe scrambled eggs.”

“Okay.” The child looked puzzled. “Where can we get some?”

“There's that café on the square that Mr. Whitfield mentioned. Maybe they deliver.”

“Why can't we go?” Patty began to pout.

“Because we just can't, that's all.”

“But…”

“No buts, Patty. We're not going out again and that's final.”

She reached for the telephone on the nightstand, then remembered the little, folding phone Seth had given her. Flipping it open, she quickly found his work number on it and called the garage.

He answered on the first ring and immediately interrupted her greeting. “Marie? What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” she assured him. “I was just wondering if you knew if the café you told me about would deliver breakfast to our room.”

“I'm sure it can be arranged. I'll take care of it. What do you want?”

She told him, thanked him and hung up. “There,” she said to Patty. “Our breakfast will be here in no time. We have to eat right to keep up our strength.”

Which is more than true,
she added to herself. She was already feeling run-down and lacked energy—except in dire situations. It would be more than foolish to allow herself to lose the edge that had kept them one step ahead of Roy's cronies thus far.

Sipping coffee from a foam cup she'd brought from the lobby, Marie settled herself in the only chair in the room and waited for their order to arrive.

When a knock finally came, she grabbed her wallet, then stood on tiptoe at the door to peek through the peephole. It wasn't a delivery boy. It was Seth.

Surprised and confused, she jerked open the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I brought breakfast, like you asked.”

“I didn't mean for you to do it. I thought the restaurant…”

“Nope. Not unless you're a shut-in, and even then you'd need to send a relative or friend or someone from your church to pick it up for you.”

“Oh.”

“So, are you going to make me stand here all day, or can I come in?”

Marie stepped back to give him room, leaving the door ajar as he passed. “I'm sorry. Bring it in. And thanks for doing this for us.” She started to open her wallet. “What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. This was my pleasure, ma'am.” Seth was grinning as he placed the food containers on the nightstand. “Just showing my Southern hospitality, as always.”