The Ruth Valley Missing (26 page)

Now I really felt sick. This wasn’t
about jealousy. This was something far worse.

“Everything I did, every lie I told
was to protect you, Jack. How could you…how could you be part of something so
disgusting?”

“It isn’t that bad.”

“How can you say that? All those
people, their families—”

A voice came from behind Mike and
me. “They are better off without them.”

The bitter tone was unmistakably
Sister Marjorie’s.

“That doesn’t make it okay,” I
replied, as she stepped in front of me.

Jack held his ground. “Sometimes you
have to bend the rules for the greater good.”

“‘Bend the rules’?” I shook my head.
“What are you talking about?”

“What do you think I’m talking
about? The insurance scam. That money took care of the good people in this
town. A few didn’t go quietly, so we had to take action, but only on the worst
ones.”

I spoke quietly. “You really don’t
know.”

Sister Marjorie took a step closer
to Jack. “Don’t listen to her.”

“What don’t I know?” Jack raised the
rifle and pointed it at Mike.

“Your very angry boyfriend has a
question, James,” Mike mumbled.

“Shut up.” Jack and I snapped
simultaneously.

“The Sisters have been killing
people, not just running them out of town or even torturing them. We’re sitting
steps away from freezers full of people.”

Jack blinked, his eyes glassy. “No.
It’s not true.”

“It is. I’m sorry, but it really
is.”

“Jack,” Sister Marjorie was standing
next to him now, laying a hand on his shoulder, “she doesn’t know what she’s
talking about.”

I stood up, taking a step towards him
cautiously. He didn’t flinch. His gaze was fixed on Sister Marjorie. Stopping a
few feet in front of them, I looked at Sister Marjorie. “How could you do that
to all those men?”

“They weren’t men, they were
animals!” Sister Marjorie snapped, letting go of Jack and stepping between him
and me. “I’ve suffered at the hands of beasts. I’ve seen women and families
destroyed by creatures who were never forced to pay for their crimes. We made
this a safe place.”

“But you can’t honestly believe that
every man deserved what you did to them?”

“They would have needed to be
punished sooner or later. There are the rare few who can change, but only if
you catch them young. Like Jack.”

I thought back to Jack standing up for
Sister Marjorie when I first met her. Explaining how she ran a school for
troubled children. That’s why he supported her. That’s how he could be even a
little involved. He was one of her troubled kids, her success stories.

I stepped past Marjorie and looked
Jack in the eye. “This isn’t right. I know you know that.”

Jack shook his head and took a step
towards Father Mike, pointing the rifle inches from his face. Father Mike
stayed perfectly still, no expression on his face. Jack’s face reddened as he
pressed the end of the rifle against Mike’s forehead. “This is your fault. We
could have been happy if you minded your business and left like the others.
None of the others stayed. What kind of man stays where he isn’t welcome?””

“Jack, this isn’t his fault. I’m the
one who stuck my nose in. It was all me. He tried to stop me.”

Jack adjusted his trigger finger,
his cheek twitching. “No.”

“It was. I dragged him into this. If
you’re upset, then you should be pointing that gun at me.” Standing next to
Jack, I reached a hand out, the tips of my finger barely touching his arm.
“Jack, please.”

He shifted his weight, his eyes
watering. “We were helping people.”

I squeezed his arm, trying to make
my words convincing. “I know, Jack. You were protecting the town because you
care about them.”

He nodded, the grip on the rifle
loosening a bit more. “Sister Marjorie looked out for me when no one else
would. She always did what was best for everyone. She made me a good man.”

“I’m sure she did. She protected
you. Just like you tried to protect me.”

“Jack...” Sister Marjorie’s voice
was a warning, but Jack wasn’t listening.

“I did,” his voice wavered. Raising
a hand to rub his eyes, he added, “I just wanted to keep you safe. I wanted us
to be together.”

Jack held the rifle by his side now.
He turned towards me, holding my face in his hand, his eyes wet. “We can fix
this. We can still make this work.”

I fought the urge to pull away,
ignoring the sour taste in my mouth as I spoke. “Maybe we can.”

I caught Mike in the corner of my eye,
his position slightly altered. One hand set in front of him, the tips of his
shoes making contact with the floor. He was readying himself.

“Don’t listen to her.” Sister
Marjorie grabbed my arm, jerking me away from Jack. “She’s lying to you now, as
she’s lied the whole time she’s been here. We’ll get rid of these two and I’ll
find another girl for you, one who knows how to listen and obey.” She sneered
before adding, “One who isn’t so plain.”

I snatched my arm away from the nun,
and swung the other arm around, landing my fist against her chest. She stumbled
back, catching her breath.

Mike seized the opportunity and
leaped from his crouched position on the floor, grabbing the rifle and pushing
it against Jack’s neck. The two men struggled as Sister Marjorie charged
towards me, knocking me backwards, my head smacking a pew. Standing over me,
she pulled a knife from her habit. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

I threw my arm to my side and smiled
as it came in contact with a tall, brass music stand. Rolling to my side, I
grabbed the bottom of the stand with both hands and swung towards Sister
Marjorie, sweeping her legs out from under her.

She stumbled backwards, her head
making a loud crack as it hit the stone floor, the knife clattering as it
skipped away from her. She lay motionless.

I looked over at the two men
struggling on the floor, the rifle between them. I pulled myself up, doubling
over at the sound of the rifle going off. My head swam with the sound, the
smell of metal and rotten egg in my nose. I lifted my head to see what
happened, afraid.

Jack laid on the floor, Father Mike
making quick movements over him before standing up and cradling his own hand.
He pulled a phone out of his pocket and spoke for a minute. My ears were still
ringing, the room spinning, making it impossible for me to make out his
conversation.

I pulled myself up again, grabbing
the pew to keep steady, staring at Sister Marjorie’s motionless body.

Father Mike picked the rifle up off
the floor and rushed over to my side, pushing his phone in his pocket before
throwing his arm around my waist. “Come on.”

We rushed out of the church and
across the street to the rectory, Father Mike checking over his shoulder the
whole way. Once inside, I collapsed on the sagging couch, surprised to be in so
much pain from the fall.

Mike disappeared into a closet, then
returned to the window by the front door, peeking through the curtain.

I stared at Mike, my eyes stinging.
“Is Jack dead?”

He looked at me, his forehead
wrinkling. He walked over and kneeled in front of the couch. “No. He’s not
going to be too happy when he comes to, and I made sure he won’t be able to
follow us, but he’s alive.”

I nodded, leaning my head back on
the couch, taking a deep breath.

“James, are you okay?”

I frowned. “I hit my head pretty
hard.”

He leaned forward, running his hand
along the back of my head. “You’ve got quite a bump. But you should be alright.
I promise I’ll get you taken care of soon, okay?”

He patted my leg and gave it a
squeeze, making me wince. He glanced down, then quickly looked up at my face.

“What’s wrong, Mike?”

“Nothing, James. Everything’s going
to be fine.”

“You haven’t said anything
inappropriately creepy in a while,” I said, managing a weak smile.

He responded with a tight-lipped
grin. “Not entirely true. My hand’s been on your thigh for quite some time
here. I’m practically groping you.”

I smiled, then frowned again as I
looked down at his hand, covered in blood.

“I thought you said you were okay.”

He eased onto the couch next to me,
keeping his hand on my leg. “I am.”

I leaned my head against him,
closing my eyes. “I want to sleep, but somehow that doesn’t seem like a good
idea right now. If I have a concussion, you need to keep me awake.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do you think the nuns are going to
come here? Is that why you were checking the window?”

“It’s possible. They could have
heard the gunshot. But don’t worry about that. I’m pretty sure we took out
their muscle.”

I frowned.

“Aw, sorry, James. I know you cared
about the Sheriff.”

I shrugged. “I’ll be alright. I
don’t have the greatest track record with guys, so I should have guessed the
relationship was doomed from the start. This is the first one that ended because
the guy wanted to shoot me in the face, mind you, but, you know, po-tay-to,
po-tah-to.”

I felt his chest rise and fall as he
let out a little chuckle. “So, you didn’t tell me that you were crazy?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Usually, when someone is face to
face with almost certain death, they don’t ask the guy with the gun to point it
at them.”

I shrugged, eyes still closed. “I
had to distract him so you could get the gun.”

“Oh, you planned all that.”

“Of course. I’m a brilliant
strategist. Have I never mentioned that?”

“No. Clearly I missed that
conversation. What if I hadn’t performed as you assumed? I could’ve taken the
opportunity to escape.”

I shook my head slowly. “Nope. You
wouldn’t.”

“What makes you so sure?”

I opened my eyes a little and
laughed. “My instincts have been off about everything else since I got here.
Law of averages, I had to be right about something. Plus, Doris likes you.”

“Come again?”

“Doris. She doesn’t like anyone. Not
even Jack. But she loooooves you.” I looked at my hand and pulled the ring Jack
gave me off my finger. “Here. You should give this to her.”

“I’ll get right on that,” he
laughed, taking the ring. “Wow. You staked that I would do the noble thing on
the rare smile of a cranky waitress.”

“Yeah. I’m a risk taker.”

He laughed again, then let out a
sigh. “I like you, Jameson Quinn.”

I closed my eyes again and smiled.
“Creepy priest.”

“I saved your life and still can’t
shake that nickname?”

“Nope. And I saved your life.”

“Shoot. I was hoping to cash in on
that.”

“Oh, really?” I mumbled.

“Yeah, you know. Rides to the
airport, do my laundry, stuff like that.”

I smiled. “I guess you’re out of
luck.”

Mike said something in response,
chuckling. His voice sounded far away, and my whole body felt like stone.

“Jameson?”

I groaned, fighting sleep. I heard
my name again, the sounds of sirens and helicopters in the background, as I
gave in and drifted off.

I opened my eyes, the hum and beeps
of a hospital greeting me. I looked out the window, spying manicured grounds
and tall buildings. I didn’t recognize any of it, but I knew I had to be far
from Ruth Valley.

My eyelids were heavy, but I fought
the urge to sleep, pressing the call button instead.

I closed my eyes, waiting. Unsure of
how much time passed, I opened my eyes when I heard a nurse say my name.

“Miss Quinn?”

I nodded.

“How are you feeling? How’s the
pain?”

I squinted, scrunching my nose. I
didn’t feel any pain.

“Fine. Could I get a glass of
water?”

She nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll be
right back.”

I heard voices outside the room as
she exited, then a familiar face appeared.

“Finelli?”

He came over and grabbed my hand,
squeezing it. “James, good to see you awake.”

“How did I get here? What happened?”

Finelli smiled. “I feel like I’ve
answered this question before.”

I paused, then attempted to roll my
eyes, which ended up with me closing them. “Yes, that’s not lost on me.”

“You were brought in after a scuffle
in that little town of yours.”

I stared at Finelli. “I’m feeling
pretty out of it, Doc. A bit more than scuffle-level.”

“Well, seems you suffered a mild
concussion, had an infected wound, and a negative reaction to some
antibiotics.” He paused before adding, “Oh, and you were shot in the leg.”