Edge of Mercy
A Kate Reid Novel
Robin Mahle
HARP House Publishing, LLC.
Published by HARP House Publishing
March 2020 (1st edition)
Copyright ©2020 by Robin Mahle
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Cover design: Covermint Design
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
About the Author
Also by Robin Mahle
1
High winds howled and rattled the shutters of the coastal, two-story home nestled in the cul-de-sac. Large tree limbs surrendered to the gusts and snapped like twigs used for kindling. Oakview, Texas was poised on the edge of the Gulf and had been through this before, except that Hurricane Edward was stronger than anyone anticipated.
From inside the home, the child whose dark hair clung to tears on her cheeks, trembled. With watery brown eyes, she gazed up at her father. “Daddy, why can’t we leave?”
The father returned her stare, noting the beads of sweat on her brow and the terror in her eyes. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s too late to go now. I waited too long.” He looked through the living room window at the rising waters filling the streets. Cars floated and crashed against each other like a strange version of bumper cars.
“Everyone’s already gone.” The girl’s mother spoke as she pulled her daughter close. “We’ll have to wait for rescue.” She looked at her husband. “It’s time to go upstairs.”
With his hand extended, the man grasped his daughter and wife as they hurried up the staircase to higher ground. There were no signs of the storm letting up. The last news report stated 45 inches had already fallen. It was almost as bad as Hurricane Harvey had been when some areas saw 50 inches fall. The worst part was that the eye hadn’t reached land yet.
The young family entered the daughter’s room which overlooked the street.
“I need to see how bad it is from up here.” He rushed to the window. “Dear Lord in Heaven.”
The live oak tree with its broad canopy that shaded the house for the past twenty years fought back against the relentless winds. It wasn’t until the pop of splintering wood sounded that it became clear the tree was no match.
“No. No.” The father’s hands pressed against the window in disbelief as he watched the old tree whip and slash inside the storm.
“Get away from the window, Ron. Get away!” the mother shouted.
The ground split open. The roots broke free.
“Holy hell. It’s coming down!” He pulled away and thrust himself in front of his family. With his back to the window, he wrapped his arms around them.
The girl screamed. The mother cried.
A booming crash erupted when the tree slammed into the house. Glass flew and branches pushed inside with such force that the entire home shuddered on the verge of collapse.
When the great live oak landed, there were no more screams.
Evacuation orders had been dispatched in the early morning hours on this October day. The mayor waited too long. Everyone with any authority waited too long and now countless Oakview residents were in danger. For some, it was already too late.
Oakview High School, home of the Panthers, was now a makeshift command center and shelter for the residents. Inside the gymnasium, cots were set up, and folding tables were placed around the perimeter. Most of the tables had food and water waiting. Residents, those few who had enough time to leave, waited for the Sheriff to speak.
The stocky, middle-aged sheriff wore a brown uniform and hat, and approached the podium. Next to him stood a man in stark contrast. Slim, with pressed khaki pants, a red polo shirt, and a black FEMA windbreaker.
“Afternoon,” the sheriff began. “This here’s the assistant director for FEMA, Mr. Jake Landry, and we’ve just briefed him on the current situation. Now as y’all are aware, we still have lots of folks out there in the middle of this God-forsaken storm. Folks who are in some pretty dire straits right about now. So, with the help of our FEMA agents who have just arrived, along with my team and the rest of the first responders, it’s time we ready our teams to get out there and find our people. Get them to safety.” He looked at the assistant director. “Mr. Landry, I’ll leave it to you to set up the teams headed by your Emergency Management Specialists. Let’s get out there and find the good people of this community while there’s still light.”
“Thank you, Sheriff.” Landry stepped up to the podium. “We’ll have ten teams at first and once the storm subsides enough, we’ll round up additional help. But the longer we wait, the worse the situation is going to get for those trapped in their homes. So, I’ll shut up now and we’ll gather up our resources and get moving.”
FEMA’s specialists were dotted around the room and recruited first responders and volunteers with similar experience.
“We need teams of five,” the man in the windbreaker began. “Any firefighters, officers, medical workers. These are the people we’ll need.”
A few men gathered near. Two were from the sheriff’s department and one was a volunteer firefighter.
The specialist nodded. “Good. Thank you. Anyone else?” He looked around as others had gathered their teams. “I’ll consider anyone with any relevant experience. Time’s a wasting, people. We don’t have much daylight out there and it’s only going to get harder when the sun
