“Yes. Yes, fine.” To prove her point, she grabbed the clothes and the pills and waddled to the bathroom on sharply hurting feet.
15
Luc waited for her to disappear into the bathroom before going onto the front porch, pulling out the sheriff’s card, and dialing. Straight to voice mail, which agitated the hell out of him. Instead of leaving a message—the hardest thing to do in English, as far as Luc was concerned—he called the other number on the card: dispatch.
“Blackwood Sheriff’s Department, how may I direct your call?”
“I need to speak to the sheriff.”
“Is this an emergency, sir?”
He hesitated, focused on where the cabin was and whether anyone could get to them through the pelting snow. Was it an emergency? He swallowed. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”
“If it’s an emergency, we—”
“I just need to talk to him. Please. Tell him it’s Luc Stanek calling.”
“Just a moment.”
He waited through half of an upbeat reggae song, almost annoyed at himself for wanting to move to the music. My God, there was something diabolical about making people calling the authorities listen to those happy, happy words.
Finally, an answer: “What can I do for you, Mr. Stanek?”
“Sheriff.” Luc breathed for a few seconds.What am I doing? What do I say?“They’ve hurt her.”
“Excuse me?”
“The…cult people. She’s here. At my house. Hurt and cold. I think she came close to hypothermia.”
“Hang on. Didtheyhurt her? You know this?”
“No. No, she didn’t tell me. She—” Luc cut himself off and swallowed hard, wondering,Why didn’t I get more information from her first? Why didn’t I ask her? Because she didn’t want me to call, that’s why.“I have no idea what they’ve done. What I do know is they came to my house looking for her in the middle of the night.”
“Did they threaten you, sir?”
“Yes. Although, not in so many words.”
“What does that mean?”
“The man—Isaiah Bowden, he’s their leader—mentioned it would be a shame if my vines burned down, so…not overt, but definitely a threat. They said she wasmentally ill.” His voice went a bit rough at the end, and he paused. “She’s not.”
On the other end was silence. He could picture the sheriff’s face as he took it in, his eyes considering the situation, even over the phone, with as much focus as he’d given Luc before.
Finally, he asked, “Is she in need of medical attention?”
“Yes. I don’t know the extent, but yes, she probably needs medical attention. She won’t accept it, though.”
A grunt. “Why not?”
“I don’t know.” Luc paused. “They don’t believe in medicine over there. But I don’t think that’s it.”
“Would she come with us if I found a way to get to her?”
Luc thought about the way she’d stiffened when he’d talk about calling the cops. “I don’t think so.”
The sheriff sighed, and Luc wanted to join him. Luc didn’t understand what was happening either, didn’t want to deal. And yet, when he was in the same room with Abby, beside her, talking with her… This distance was good. He wasn’t himself when she was around. He liked her too much.
The phone crackled in his hand, the connection worse than usual.
