“No, no, let me finish it. I want you to catch these two. The thing is, when the young guy—she called him Victor—when he came back down over me, I knew he was going to shoot me right between the eyes, I knew it, and I was helpless. Helpless.”
No one said a word. Dr. Lazarus stared at the young woman whose life he’d managed to save. Sure, he’d been inside her chest, taking out the bullet and repairing her lung, he’d watched her heart stop twice, but now he was inside her head, living her memories with her of being shot with that bullet, of what it was like to almost die, and know it. He didn’t think he’d ever forget this moment as long as he lived. He took a step back from the big FBI guy in front of him. He rubbed his hand over his chest. It hurt to listen to her, hurt—
“It was so weird; he winked at me, twice, and he fired, only the bullet hit the pavement maybe six inches from my head. I heard her yell. ‘Notch that boy’s belt!’—something like that. I heard Randall— he’s the dispatcher —yelling on my cell, and I knew in that moment that maybe I had a chance.” She raised her eyes to Dr. Lazarus. “You saved my life?”
He nodded, wordless.
“Thank you, Doctor. Agent Sherlock, will you please get these two killer kids?”
“Yes, we’ll get them.”
“The girl, Lissy, she shot Davie?”
Sherlock nodded.
“She would have shot me between the eyes too.”
Again, Sherlock nodded.
“I wonder why he didn’t?”
Because Victor knew Lissy couldn’t see what he was doing. Sherlock closed her hand around Gail’s, squeezed just a bit. “That is an excellent question. Maybe there’s something in him that can still be redeemed.”
Sherlock leaned close. “I know it was horrible. You will always remember this as being horrible, but you know what? The shock of it, the pain, the hopelessness of what you felt, it will fade when you begin to laugh again, when you smile at yourself in the mirror, when you hug your kids. I was shot not long ago, and you know what? It is beginning to fade. Never forget, Gail, you survived. I’ll be checking on you. You get well, no setbacks, okay?”
Gail Lynd managed a smile as she closed her eyes.
26
TITUSVIILE, VIRGINIA
Monday morning
Ethan walked into his kitchen to see Autumn throwing kibble to Lula, Mackie, and Big Louie. She was laughing. When she saw him, she gave him a huge smile. “Ethan, when Big Louie slides, you can hear his fingernails scraping the floor.”
He leaned down and hugged the little girl. She was wearing a pink T-shirt with tulips on it. “You sleep okay, kiddo?”
She hugged him back before she nodded. “Mama didn’t. She had a nightmare and started moaning. I had to wake her up.”
“No wonder. So much has happened. I’m glad you didn’t have a nightmare too. Would you like a bowl of Rice Krispies and some toast?”
She nodded and threw another piece of kibble to Lula, who went flying out of the kitchen after it.
“It was the last one,” she said, and rubbed her hands on her white shorts. “I hope you catch Blessed today, Ethan.”
From the mouths of children. “I do too. Everyone’s trying, Autumn. Sit down now.” He poured cereal in a bowl and handed her the milk. As she poured it, she said, “I’m going to try to call Dillon again tonight.”
She took a big bite and chewed while he pushed the bread down in the toaster, then stared at her. “Dillon? Who’s he?”
She grew very still. She looked scared.
He came over to her, knelt down beside her chair. “What’s wrong sweetheart?”
“I’m not supposed to say anything.”
“Anything about what? About Dillon?”
“Even my mama doesn’t know about me calling Dillon. I didn’t want to tell her. I knew it would upset her, and she’s so scared right now, so worried about me. But I know she was going to tell Uncle Tollie.”
The toast popped up. He frowned as he buttered and added straw-berry jam to each slice, one for him and one for Autumn. “Here you go. My mom made this jam; it’s pretty good.”
She gave him a guilty look and ducked her head. She didn’t eat only sat there. Big Louie trotted over and laid his head on her leg. She began petting him.
Ethan waited.
He said, “Did you use your mom’s cell phone to call Dillon?”
Autumn cocked her head to one side. “No, I don’t know his number.”
What was going on here? “Then how did you call Dillon?” She kept her head down, petting Big Louie faster.
“Autumn, sweetheart, you’ve got to know you can tell me anything. you’ve got something to say that will help me help you, you should tell me.”
She looked up at him then, and sighed. “Uncle Tollie would help us, but he’s not here. You’re here, Ethan.”
Ethan nodded and waited.
She looked him straight in the eye and said, “I called Dillon last Thursday night, real late. I think he was asleep. I haven’t been able to speak to him since then. He hasn’t been there.”
“How did you do that?”
She closed her eyes a moment, then whispered, “Mama will be mad at me.”
He waited, impatient now, wondering what she was doing.
“I called him because I saw him on TV, standing in front of a bank, He stopped a bunch of bank robbers. He was a hero. I knew he could help us, so I waited until it was real late and then I thought hard about him, made him clear in my mind, and he was there and he could hear and see me too, just like Daddy when he was in prison. He wasn’t scared or anything. I told him Mama and I were in big trouble. I’m going to try to call him again tonight, when it’s real late again.”
What was he to say to that?
He said instead, “What did Dillon say to you when you told him you and your mama were in trouble?”
“Well, I had some problems because I hadn’t spoken to anyone like that since Daddy died. He knows my name but not my last name, and he doesn’t know where we are. I’ve got to call him and tell him so he can come and help you find Blessed.”
Joanna walked into the kitchen, carrying Lula in her arms. The small smile fell off her face when she looked at her daughter. She grew very still. Lula meowed, and Joanna set her on the floor. “What, Autumn? What did you say to Ethan?”
Autumn didn’t say a word. She took a big bite of her toast and kept her head down.
Ethan said, “She told me she spoke to someone called Dillon last Thursday night, like she used to speak to her daddy, and she’s going to try to call Dillon again tonight to come help us. Has she told you stories like this before, Joanna?”
Autumn whispered, “Dillon’s a hero. Remember, Mama? He shot those bank robbers in Washington. I called him, just like I called Daddy, and he talked to me.”
“Oh, Autumn, baby, you didn’t. I told you—” She broke off and gave a sideways look at Ethan. “Well, never mind, we can talk about this later, Sheriff. I’m hungry. How about I make some pancakes?”
