Silent Protector. Barbara Phinney

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СКАЧАТЬ opened her mouth to protest but shut it immediately. She peered down at the boy, whose watery, kicked-puppy look blinked back up at them. “Charlie, did you take his phone? Was that the cell phone you used to talk to me?”

      “Yes. It’s under my mattress,” Charlie answered quietly. “But the battery’s dead.”

      Ian lifted his eyebrows. “How long did you talk on it?”

      The boy peeked up at him. “Couple of minutes,” he answered in words barely above a whisper. “I just played all your games after I called Auntie Liz.”

      “When was that?” Ian asked.

      He shrugged. “I dunno. When I first got here. I was scared.”

      Tears stung Liz’s eyes as she fought back the urge to grab Charlie, to hold him until the fear in his voice was gone forever. She threw the man a cool look. “Don’t you think you’ve scared the boy enough? You’ve stolen him from me, after all that’s happened to him, and then you try to shoot me. Think about how that’s affected him!” Liz shook her head quickly. “I’m surprised that he talked to you with that gun you keep waving around.”

      The man turned his attention back to her. “He hasn’t talked at all, I’m afraid. Charlie hasn’t said a word since he arrived, Ms. Tate.”

      He took off his hat and wrung it out. “Look, we’re both soaking wet and standing in the hot sun. Why don’t we walk down to the rec center? We can finish our conversation in there. The police and ambulance won’t be here for another fifteen minutes at least.”

      “Just a minute, Mr. MacNeal—”

      “Pastor Ian MacNeal.”

      Pastor? She gaped at him. No pastor she knew of would point a gun at a woman he’d just fished out of the water. In fact, no pastor she knew even owned a gun.

      Seeing her hesitate, he added, “We’re both wet, and if you don’t mind, I don’t want to be out here talking. I had told Charlie to stay put by the trees while I helped—”

      He cut off his words. Liz watched him frown at the edge of the trees and then followed his gaze down to the end of the causeway, where beside a beaten sign saying Moss Point, stood a woman. She held one hand to her mouth.

      The man in front of Liz cleared his throat. “Let’s go to the rec center. I promise you, you’ll come to no harm. If nothing else, let’s go there just to get out of this sun.”

      True, Liz thought. The sun was brilliant today. She’d lost her sunglasses the first moment she’d been bumped by that other car. Liz stared at the murky water. Had it sunk that quickly? Was the water that deep? She quickly glanced around for the other car.

      Nowhere. Maybe they should get off this death trap of a causeway, before whomever it was that ran her off the road came back. Which way had he gone? Onto the island, or had he turned around and sped back to the mainland? She couldn’t remember. Nor was she completely sure she should tell this gun-toting pastor a thing.

      With that, she grabbed Charlie’s hand, putting him on the side farthest away from the man. “Lead the way.”

      The atypical pastor who’d rescued her led her off the causeway. Beside her, gripping her hand tightly, Charlie piped up, “Auntie Liz, isn’t it hot here? Even hotter than the sun!”

      “Yes, dear. Let’s get inside, okay? Show me where this rec center is.”

      Charlie clung to her hand as they approached the young woman who stood in front of the sign at the end of the causeway. The woman clasped her hands in front of her. Tightly, Liz noticed.

      “Are you all right?” the woman asked, not to anyone in particular, Liz thought.

      “We’re fine,” Ian answered tersely.

      Liz glanced up at him, surprised to see the man frowning hard at the other woman. Then she looked back at the woman. She was about Liz’s age, maybe, and dressed in a cheap, plain shift dress much more suitable for the weather than Liz’s dripping pants and blouse. Liz had been wearing this outfit since the day after Charlie called, the day she’d driven to the airport to catch the series of delayed flights that finally brought her down here to the southwest end of Florida.

      Ian struck off ahead of Liz. For a flash, she wanted to grip Charlie’s hand even tighter and charge back over the causeway again. But as Ian had said, that small town of Northglade was too far away from the forested island, and the sun was too strong. Not a good idea. Instead, Liz pulled Charlie closer and followed Ian. He was soaked, like her, and his gun stuck out of the back of his waistband.

      Beside her, Charlie twisted around to peer at the woman following them along the shaded road. Liz stole her own glance, finding the woman looking curiously back at the signpost, or maybe even the water that had swallowed up Liz’s rental. She didn’t know and didn’t care.

      Around the next bend, Liz slowed her plodding walk. The closest building bore a faded sign that read Moss Point Rec Center. A small poster on the front door indicated that this past week had been Vacation Bible School. A battered bicycle had been dropped at the corner of the building. Liz stepped into the sunshine again and instantly blinked. Despite a breeze that had picked up, the humid air weighed on her like a wet cloak in a sauna.

      All of what had happened lurched over her, and she stumbled over a small rock.

      Quickly, Ian was there beside her, taking her free arm. “Let’s get inside. There’s a clinic in the back where you can lie down. I’d say shock is setting in.”

      It was, Liz agreed silently. Because everything was wobbling in front of her.

      Ian quickly steered her inside where the cool air blasted them. The heat was oppressive today, the worst so far, the forecast had warned. The heat index pushed it up farther. The hot wind from the gulf lingered barely above a breeze. Ian had grown up in the northern part of Virginia where the summers got humid enough to kill. But this weather was nearly unbearable.

      “Is there a doctor here?” Liz asked.

      Ian shook his head as he let the front door slam behind the four of them. Cool air drenched them. “Just a nurse, who happens to be away this week attending some training seminar. You’re looking at the interim nurse, and I’d say you’re about to faint.”

      Now inside, he knew the cool air could easily get Liz Tate shivering. Quickly, with Charlie’s help, he noted, Ian got Liz to the back where the clinic was. He turned when he reached the locked door and noticed Monica hurrying into his office. In the excitement, had he left his door unlocked?

      A moment later, Monica raced down with the clinic’s key and let them inside. Ian guided Liz to the plastic-covered exam bed at the far back, and she gratefully lay down and shut her eyes. Charlie stayed at her side.

      It took Ian a moment to find where the nurse kept the towels. But when he did, he set one under Liz’s wet hair and another larger one along her frame.

      After lying there a moment, Liz sat up and quickly toweled herself off. For all the pale wobbliness of before, she had recovered quickly.

      Then he opened the small refrigerator beside the desk and pulled out some bottles. “Orange juice. I think we could all use some. Charlie needs more fluids СКАЧАТЬ