Grits And Glory. Ron Benrey

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СКАЧАТЬ worry about. I’m single—free as the proverbial bird. I don’t even have my mother to take care of. She’s across the state visiting my brother in Asheville.” Ann took a swift breath. “Someone has to be on duty in Glory’s emergency shelter—I’m glad for the opportunity to be useful.”

      Phil turned to Rafe. “What are we going to do about this?”

      “I’d have to put her in handcuffs to make her leave town.” He clapped Phil on the shoulder. “Like she said, someone needs to be on duty inside the church.”

      “Pah! You deal with her. I have sensible people to worry about.” Phil strode toward the door to Ann’s office, and then spun around. “Miss Trask, make sure you give Rafe a phone number for your next of kin. Just in case.”

      Ann camouflaged the jolt of anxiety she felt with a hollow laugh while she listened to Phil’s boot-shod feet clomp down the church’s hallway. He had said the perfect thing to push her panic button.

      Please don’t make my mother deal with another visit from the police.

      “Phil has a point,” Rafe said. “This may not be the wisest decision you’ve made.”

      “Perhaps not.” Ann swallowed hard to clear the alarm from her voice. “But I have an important job to do.”

      And this time people are going to see me do it properly.

      “Well, if your mind is made up—”

      “Good!” Ann said quickly. “Now that that’s settled, when will things get bad in Glory?”

      Rafe’s expression became grim. “Gilda’s eye wall—and her strongest winds—will reach Glory at five o’clock this afternoon.”

      “So the worst of the hurricane should be over before nightfall, right?”

      “I’m afraid not. Gilda’s a massive storm. Her remnants could be with us until the wee hours of tomorrow morning.”

      “Do you think the electricity will fail?”

      Rafe nodded. “Everyone at the emergency command center expects the power to fail a few minutes after Gilda hits. The citizens of Glory should be prepared to spend Monday night in the dark.” He smiled. “Correction! Most of us should. The church, however, has an emergency generator that will switch on automatically. You’ll be a beacon of light for the rest of Glory.”

      “That’s part of every church’s job description.”

      Rafe uttered a soft grunt of agreement, then asked, “Are any volunteers still working in the church?”

      “No,” Ann said. “They’re all gone. They hung the storm shutters early this morning and finished installing the plywood panels over our stained-glass windows about a half hour ago.” She made a vague gesture toward her own shuttered window. “It’s as dark as a tomb inside the sanctuary.”

      “Tombs survive big hurricanes. Anyway, I’m glad the volunteers are finished.”

      “Me, too,” Ann said, although she’d been sorry to see the eight men go. They hadn’t even taken time to say goodbye. Seconds after the hammering stopped, Ann heard eight engines rev. She understood completely. The volunteers had to protect their own homes from the approaching storm and then evacuate their families further inland, at least to Rocky Mount, perhaps to Winston-Salem.

      “I see you’re wearing the miniature tactical police radio I gave you,” Rafe said.

      Ann tugged at the two lanyards around her neck. She felt the small lozenge-shaped gizmo bounce against her chest. “I keep the radio you gave me next to my high-intensity flashlight.”

      “Our emergency command center is part of police headquarters, less than three blocks from the church. Contact me if you need any help.”

      Ann bit her tongue. She wanted to say, You can count on it. Instead, she said, “I won’t need any help. The church is fully battened down.”

      The building became astonishingly silent after Rafe said his goodbyes and left. Ann could hear the quartz clock on her desk counting off the seconds. The ticking sound seemed louder than it ever had before, and somehow threatening.

      “The church is one of the most solidly built structures in Glory,” she reminded herself again. “Gilda can huff, puff, and tear loose a few roof shingles, but the walls won’t fall down. And the church’s generator will keep the lights on all night.

      You don’t have anything to worry about. So stop worrying. This isn’t going to be like last time. I’m much better prepared.

      “We’ve got trouble,” Sean Miller said to the person he thought was seated right behind him. “I can’t find a safe place to park the broadcast van.” When he received no response, he looked around and saw that Carlo Vaughn had moved to the back of the van and was rummaging through the closet.

      Sean ignored the rush of exasperation that made him want to throw something. “Carlo, please pay attention. I said that we don’t have a home for the van.”

      “I heard you, but I have a more pressing problem to solve. I don’t know which of my waterproof rain suits to wear this afternoon. The yellow looks good on me, but I hate the oversized Storm Channel logo embroidered on the front and the back.”

      “Then put on your red suit.”

      “It pinches at the waist, and the hood is less flattering.”

      “What about the navy-blue slicker?”

      “Blue is too dark during a heavy storm. My torso disappears—I end up looking like someone removed my head from my body.”

      “Don’t give me any ideas,” Sean muttered under his breath. Then he said, “Our only pressing problem right now is finding a parking place for the broadcast van. You’re scheduled to go live in less than an hour. I can’t set up the camera and the lights, start our generator, or get the satellite antenna working until we’re safely parked.”

      Carlo returned to Sean’s cramped workstation. “I thought you planned to park behind the high school.”

      Sean poked his index finger at the map of Glory he’d taped to the desktop. “That was okay before Gilda took direct aim at the town. The high school is located in a low spot that’s likely to flood.”

      “You think so?”

      “I know so.”

      Carlo frowned. “What about that other parking spot we scouted this morning?”

      “The local cops called me five minutes ago. The parking structure at Glory Regional Hospital is no longer available because the town is going to use it as a staging area for emergency vehicles.”

      “It’s your job to bed down the van. I’m confident that you’ll find a solution,” Carlo said, heading back to the closet.

      “I see one remaining possibility on the map—the parking lot next to Glory Community Church. It’s sizable and not likely to flood.”

      “Problem СКАЧАТЬ