Desperate Rescue Page 6

  He hated his argumentative words as soon as they left his mouth. Arguing wasn’t going to help them. Or help Phoebe.

  Phoebe. Could she really be dead? Would Noah kill her because he knew his brother would soon find them?

  The sirens grew louder, their baleful whine cutting through the woods. Finally, one stopped. They had either reached the car or the compound.

  Eli kept one ear listening for the other sirens to stop, too. And the other listening to Kaylee’s silence. She still hadn’t answered him. Only the thin line that was now her mouth showed him that she was as determined as he was.

  Finally, she said, “I didn’t know they were beyond help when I first went there. But I know that now. I’m sorry if that’s not what you want to hear.”

  He stepped closer, shaking his head, trying to sound reasonable, logical, while fighting the images Kaylee had suggested. “You could be right, but don’t leave. You’re miles from the nearest phone and I don’t think you’re the kind of person who would stroll up to a stranger’s house and ask for help. Once the authorities realize that you haven’t gone back through customs, they’ll find you and rehash everything again. Do you want that? You know they’ll wonder if it was you here today.”

  The forest around them was slowly coming to life again with birds determined to spend the coming winter there. The breeze had dissipated the stench of the explosions and one by one the sirens died. For a moment, Eli felt tempted to forget all that had happened.

  With a pained frown, Kaylee shut her eyes.

  Hating that his words, as true as they were, could hurt so much, Eli turned her back toward the compound. It would be easy to follow their tracks through the woods, with bent branches and disturbed forest fall showing their wild flight. And it would be easy to just stand there a moment and hold her close. Until the police found them.

  He said nothing as he led the way back, but his mind whirred. Noah had warned that he’d kill Trisha and Kaylee if she left. Were these explosions part of that threat?

  “Stop.”

  Eli looked up from where he’d been picking his way through the woods. A border-patrol officer stood about ten feet away, leveling his pistol at them. Sighing behind him, Kaylee stepped out to Eli’s right.

  “Don’t come any closer,” the officer warned. “This area is booby-trapped.”

  “We know,” she said, her voice tired.

  The man frowned. “May I ask what you two are doing here? You realize you’ve crossed the border illegally.”

  Eli nodded. “We’re the ones who tripped those explosives. I told Kaylee to run so we wouldn’t get blown to pieces.”

  After holstering his weapon, the officer keyed the mike on his radio and spoke into it, quietly. A garbled voice answered him. Finally, he said to them, “What were you doing here?”

  Kaylee spoke. “I’m Kaylee Campbell. My sister was part of the cult that lived here until she died three weeks ago. Trisha Campbell? You must have heard of her. She was found in a motel in Houlton, dead.” She threw a nervous glance at Eli. “We came back to find his sister.”

  The officer looked at him. “And who are you?”

  “Eli Nash.” He gave the man a grim look. “There’s a lot to tell you, so we’d better find the police. I don’t really want to repeat it any more often than necessary.”

  Two hours later, Eli looked tiredly across the table at three men.

  “Mr. Nash, why do you think your brother booby-trapped his own compound?” The state police officer asked the question, while both he and the border-patrol officer stared coolly at him. Another man, an explosives expert, Eli suspected, stood at the door. Kaylee sat perched on the seat beside Eli, and he felt a protective urge growing. To protect her from these men? Or the horrors they could reveal and rehash?

  They were all packed in a small room in the Houlton Police Station. While the authorities might act cool, Eli knew they were nervous. They had a death that may need another investigation. And a series of explosions to deal with. Lots of dangerous, unanswered questions, and probably the media hovering outside the building, pressing for their own answers.

  He leaned forward. “Let me ask a question, first. How long ago do you believe those bombs were set?”

  “How long do you think they’d been there?” the state police officer countered.

  “I noticed some broken branches and crushed grass around them, all fresh. I’d say a day or two.”

  The police officer nodded. “It looks like they were set within the last few days. Now, answer my question. Why would your brother blow up his own compound?”

  “He knew I was looking for Phoebe. He must have known I was getting close, probably because Kaylee’s story made it to CNN.”

  “But he could have just abandoned it without mining it,” the explosives expert said. “Why scuttle it?” This man was a soldier trained in explosives disposal, meaning the police felt this was enough of a threat to call in the military.

  Eli glanced at Kaylee. She looked as if she needed to search for the right words. “We can’t explain Noah’s reasoning,” she began. “All I can tell you is that he’s crazy, plain and simple.” She glared at the man.

  “We just want the facts,” the man answered quietly, “and any information you can provide, Miss. That includes what kind of person we’re dealing with.”

  She bristled and, in Eli’s opinion, rightly so. “You’ve already met Noah, but at that time, he’d played a rational, pious man for you. And duped all of you. While I looked like a woman on the verge of a meltdown.” Immediately, she stopped. Eli held his breath as she threw a cautious look at him.

  He focused on the police officer. “Noah threatened Kaylee’s life and he knew that her exposure on CNN would bring me here. He likes to toy with people, as a cat plays with a mouse before killing it. I’m his brother. I know what he’s like.”

  “How long has it been since you last saw him?”

  “Seven years.”

  “And you don’t think he’s changed in that time?”

  “No.” He folded his arms.

  The police officer rubbed his jaw, obviously mentally sorting out the details. “Then why would your sister choose to stay with him?”

  Eli’s head was starting to pound. “He’s persuasive.”

  “And he killed my sister!” Kaylee interjected.

  “There was no proof of foul play, Miss Campbell. I’m sorry.”

  “Because Noah Nash is a cunning, intelligent man.” She glared at the officer. “And he probably hoped Eli would be blown up with the explosions. When he says he’ll do something, he thinks it through very carefully. He warned me he’d kill Trisha and he did!”

  “Were you in love with him?”

  “No!” Exasperated, she threw up her hands. “How can I convince you people that I hated him? He kept me locked up for two years! Those followers of his all lied about me because he told them to. And you believe them instead of me!”

  “So why are you now trying to free one of those followers if they’re so dangerous to you? If they held you captive, wouldn’t you not want to go back and risk being kidnapped again?”

  Kaylee fell silent. Eli watched her swallow, knowing the police officer had backed her into a corner. A tear slipped down her cheek.

  Before he could speak in her defense, she said, “Besides the fact that they’re victims themselves, I decided to help Eli because I didn’t want him to go through what I did when I lost Trisha. But believe me. It wasn’t an easy decision.”

  The officer’s expression softened slightly. “But if you knew Noah was so dangerous, why risk confronting him again?”

  Kaylee cast her gaze downward. Cold dread washed over Eli. Yes, Noah hadn’t just threatened to kill Trisha, should Kaylee escape. He’d threatened her, too. She’d risked so much returning there. Her life and, as she’d admitted to him, her beliefs and, yes, her personal freedom.

  All because Eli had convinced her. And maybe she was, like him, relying also on God for
help.

  Eli wanted to drag Kaylee out of there, right that minute. Take her someplace safe. He snapped his head toward the officer. “Do you know where Noah is now? He’s taken them back to northern Florida, hasn’t he?”

  The officer grilled him with a hard stare that matched Eli’s tone. “Why do you say that?”

  “Educated guess.” He leaned forward. “All I want is to talk to my sister. Cut me some slack here, please.”

  The men looked at each other.

  Encouraged by the hesitation, Eli plowed on. “Don’t protect Noah. Not after he set those explosives.”

  The older officer spoke. “They stopped for gas near the house. One of the children mentioned to the attendant where they were headed, who said they could go a bit farther and see some great theme parks, but the kid had never heard of any of them. That’s how come the attendant remembered them.”

  Eli blinked, his breath locking itself in his lungs as he digested the police officer’s words. The boy who’d filled his tank knew where they’d gone?

  Wait. He knew his brother. Noah wasn’t heading south for the winter. Maybe the rest, but not him.

  Beside him, Kaylee let out a long breath. A premature breath, but now wasn’t the time to tell her so.

  “I still don’t understand why Noah would blow up his own home,” one of the officers said. “He could toy with you doing something less risky to himself.”

  Eli stood, slowly, his mind whirring. With what the police had just said, it wouldn’t be hard to find Phoebe.

  No longer a cold trail. He’d missed Phoebe this time, but—

  All eyes in the room fell on him. Cold dread began to trickle down his back. “He threatened to kill Kaylee. And he wants me to stop searching for our sister because I’m the closest thing to a threat to him. Booby-trapping his own home could kill two birds with one stone.”

  And, Eli thought grimly, Noah wouldn’t give up.

  SIX

  No one spoke. Eli waited, hearing only Kaylee beside him, as she let out another thankful sigh. Relief because she believed Noah was gone.

  Eli knew he wasn’t, but he had no proof. And what about Phoebe? It wouldn’t be hard to find her. The trail was no longer cold. A few phone calls and his investigator could easily learn where she was headed.

  Except, what about Kaylee?

  “Why do you say that?” the policeman asked. “Do you have any proof he wants you both dead?”

  “Nothing, except his threats.”

  With a hint of skepticism, the officer turned to Kaylee. “What do you think?”

  She moistened her lips. “It’s over. And I’d just like to go home.”

  Across the table from them, the officer gathered up his pen and paper. “I’ll need an address from each of you, should we need to ask more questions.”

  “Of course.”

  The addresses given, they were allowed to leave. Outside, the evening had turned crisp, with sharp chips of bright stars overhead and the feeling of frost slicing through him. When they reached his car, he offered another short prayer of thanks that it hadn’t been destroyed, then turned. “We need to talk.”

  Kaylee stopped. Several people walked past them. A few dry leaves, shed from the trees by a rogue wind, crunched underfoot.

  She turned. “What’s there to talk about?”

  He took her arm, discarding any gentle sympathy he might have. This was too serious an issue to sugar-coat. “We have to talk about what happened back there in the farmhouse. By the door. Among other things.”

  She fidgeted. “I thought you were Noah, but I was wrong. Noah would have abandoned me there, then detonated the explosives. You came up from the basement. I remember hearing you now.” She yanked her arm free and reached for the passenger door.

  “There’s more, Kaylee. And you know it.”

  Her hand stilled on the handle. He leaned forward. “You thought I was Noah.”

  “I was mistaken. I just said that.”

  “You accused me of trying to teach you some kind of sick lesson. Do you need to talk about this?”

  “No.”

  He needed her to trust him. Her life was on the line and he would not allow Noah to destroy it.

  “I’d rather we not discuss it,” she added. “I’m tired and I want to go home. I know it’s late, but would you please drive me home?”

  “I could find us a couple of rooms in a motel here—”

  She spun around. “I’ve had quite enough of the motels here! I’d rather go home.”

  Trisha. How could he have forgotten? He could have kicked himself for his stupidity. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’ll take you home. But first, what sick lesson were you talking about?”

  She rubbed her temples with her fingers. He waited, the wind chilling him. The leaves from a nearby maple flew around, several snagging the windshield wipers of his car.

  Finally, she whispered, “The sick lesson was on trust. A lot of Noah’s sermons talked about that. Trust in him, of course, as the voice of God. But…you know…God?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  Exasperated, she smacked the car window. “I thought you were trying to make me trust God!” She made a disgusted noise. “I don’t know! I thought you were trying to scare me because I didn’t trust God enough. Except I thought you were Noah. And Noah would say trust in him was trust in God.”

  She folded her arms, rubbing them lightly with her hands. “I thought you were horrible to do that.”

  He touched her chin and tilted it to face him. To his surprise, his heart was pounding hard. “I would love for you to trust God completely. But that’s not easy, even for a lot of Christians.”

  Her eyes widened, catching the yellow glow from the streetlight. She blinked, once, twice, then swallowed.

  He yanked back his hand, choosing instead to run it through his hair than to touch her. The short ends scraped against his palm. Frustration tightened the muscles in his neck. “But I would never use a sick lesson to teach that. I would…”

  He heard himself trailing off. He’d brought her here, done everything short of kidnapping in order to get her to show him the hidden way into the compound. She could have just told him where the break was, but he’d expected that she’d want to be part of Phoebe’s liberation. And he practically dragged her here, hoping she could somehow help.

  And she’d tried, against her own fear and better judgment. It didn’t make him feel any better.

  “It may not have been a sick lesson, but what I did was just as bad,” he said, half to himself. Then he focused on her face, as she pulled her jacket closer to her neck. “And I would never pull a stunt like trying to be someone else.”

  She held her jacket collar close and refused to meet his eyes. “I know that it wasn’t you. Now, anyway. But before…I thought you were Noah and…I thought I saw you out in the yard, moving around.” She shook her head. “But it was probably an animal.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “You mistook an animal for me?”

  She smiled briefly, acknowledging with some embarrassment the attempt at humor. “No. I panicked. Never mind.”

  A cold breeze found a break between his collar and his neck, driving a chill down his spine. Could Noah be that close? No way. He’d have triggered the explosives while they were still in the house, not waited until they’d escaped over the fence.

  “It was probably just an animal. Raccoons can make quite a racket for their size.” He unlocked the passenger door. “Let’s go.”

  The drive home was long, excruciating and deathly silent. Out of all she’d said, even that she’d thought he was Noah, one thing lingered in Eli’s mind throughout the drive. That she thought that trusting in God was horrible. Or even teaching someone such. Sure, the method she’d mistakenly thought was being used was just plain wrong, but still, the dislike of even trusting in God had been harshly evident in her tone.

  Any advice, Lord? I sure could use it now. His casual prayer sounded imp
udent and he cut it off sharply.

  Lord in Heaven, guard my thoughts. Give me the words I need to minister to Kaylee.

  All he felt in the quiet of the car was a sense of patience trying to reach into him. Wait, the Lord seemed to say. Patience.

  Patience with Kaylee? Or for finding Phoebe?

  But for seven years, he’d been patient. More now? With Phoebe gone who knew where? He didn’t feel like being patient anymore.

  It was well after dark when Eli finally turned off the highway to head into Riverline. They passed the motel where he’d taken a room. But the edge to the evening told him that he wouldn’t sleep there tonight.

  He’d be watching Kaylee’s house instead.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t find Phoebe,” Kaylee told him softly as he pulled into her driveway. “What are you going to do now?”

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll stick around for a few days. I have some calls to make and it’ll be easier if I stay in one place.”

  “Suit yourself.” She climbed out, grabbing her small knapsack and eyeing him with caution as he thrust his own door open. “I just know that I’m planning on sleeping a whole lot better knowing that Noah is far away.”

  He walked her to her front door, contemplating whether or not he should remind her of what he’d said back there in the police station about Noah wanting her dead, as well. Should he ruin one decent night’s sleep for her?

  Instead, he asked, “How do you feel now that the whole compound is gone? The buildings, house, everything?”

  “Relieved. Plain and simple.” She studied his face. “Why? How do you feel? I’m sorry I said that stuff about Noah killing the rest of them.” She tried a smile. “But we, I mean, the police dog, didn’t find any bodies.”

  “Thank you.” The night breeze had picked up a chill from the river and he knew he should let her go inside.

  But being here with her…felt normal. And for a long time, nothing in his life had felt that way. Suddenly, a part of him didn’t want to remember that Noah may not have fled south.