Chapter Thirty-Nine
“They’re headedto your piece of land,” Pastor Mark shouted as he got off the phone with Todd. “He says Linx got in touch with her mother who hinted that Jessie is there, that she solved her biggestregret.”
“On it.” Grady did a U-turn in the middle of a hairpin turn. He swerved and wrestled with the steering wheel and the truck tilted onto the soft shoulder overlooking the side of a sheercliff.
Pastor Mark lunged to the left, smashing into his body and throwing Sam across his lap, and the truck righted itself. As soon as the wheels touched solid road, Grady gunned the engine and made for his plot ofland.
“Can we patch Todd in? Keep him on the line?” Gradyasked.
“Sure, let me try. I shouldn’t have hung up,” Mark said, fiddling with his phone. “Will we have a signal upthere?”
“Thank God, yes,” Grady said. “They just finished the tower a monthago.”
He’d been pissed off at the time, knowing that a new tower meant more people moving into the hills, but progress was inevitable, and now he was thanking God for thesignal.
“I have to take a shortcut. Be ready for a rough ride,” Grady said, as he put his truck in four-wheel-drive and crashed through a set of wooden gates guarding the backside of hisproperty.
It would take too long for him to wind around the mountain to the front, and hopefully, he could follow the creek up and climb the steep grade to the pad where the trailer wasparked.
“Got patched in,” Mark said. “I muted our mic, so she can’t hear us. Todd’s going to be silent,too.”
“Who’s that freaky woman?” Grady’s eardrums prickled at the scratchy tone. “She sounds familiar, sortof.”
“You know Linx’smother?”
Grady shook her head. “No, but the accent, that spooky, clipped way of speaking… Never mind. I’m hearing things. Why’s she telling Linx about a BlackWidow?”
Every so often, he heard Linx make random comments designed to keep the other woman talking. His heart swelled at how brave she was, and how much abuse she was taking to keep the witch on theline.
A car door slammed and the last words from Linx were, “Mom, get out of the fire,” followed by excitedbarking.
“Fire?” Pastor Mark barked. “There’s a fire upthere!”
“Here, take my phone and call the fire department.” Grady opened the glovebox.
The roar of a crackling wildfire could be heard over the speaker, followed by cacklinglaughter.
“Fooled you,” Minx said gleefully. “I’m not in the fire, girl. I’m not even your mother. Fooled yougood.”
“Who is that?” Mark shouted. “I’m turning on the speaker and talking toher.”
“No, don’t,” Grady said. “We need her to incriminate herself. Let hergloat.”
The laughter continued, but since Linx wasn’t answering back, there was a really good chance Minx would hangup.
Mark lowered his head and prayed. “Heavenly Father, protect our Jessie and Linx. Put your hand on them and keep them safe, and don’t let this deranged woman get away. Keep Jessie and Linx under your tender and merciful wings, and be a tower of strength against our enemies. Let the authorities catch this woman and bring her to justice. And please, don’t let anyone get hurt tonight. In Jesus’ name,amen.”
Grady splashed through the creek and caught sight of an animal. He swerved, narrowly avoiding it, but the animal jumped and threw itself against hisdoor.
He braked hard and Sam started barking. Grady stared at the muzzle pressed against thewindow.
“Cedar,” he shouted, opening thedoor.
The large dog had a panicked look in her eyes, and instead of jumping into the cab, she tore away down thecreek.
“Oh, God, oh, God,” Grady prayed. “Let Linx and Jessie be okay. Let Linx beokay.”
He shifted to low gear to get the truck out of the muck and lumbered up the banks of the shallow creek. Up ahead, the hot orange glow of a raging fire blocked his way. He got as close as he could to the fire before cutting theengine.
