Page 40 of Operation: Discovery

They weren’t right for each other. That was obvious now. No matter what, she would always worry that her encouragement was too much or that he was doing nice things to placate her. She might never again see his affection as anything but cause and effect. That wasn’t how love was supposed to be.

Maybe she hadn’t ever really loved him. Not even before. She stumbled to the counter window where she had to leave her tray. Even in the few days she’d been there, she’d already learned that Victoria would ask questions if you brought a whole tray of food back. With all the stress, she’d done it twice.

Right on cue, Victoria strode toward her. “Dee, was there something wrong with supper tonight? Gracious, girl, you’re all teary.” Victoria rushed across the kitchen to a small box of tissues on top of a shelf. “I keep these here for helpers when I have them cut onions. Bunch of wimps.”

“I heard that,” Teddy called from the other side of the kitchen.

Victoria laughed at him. “I’ll take care of that, honey. You go take care of yourself.”

Dee nodded as she rushed from the dining room before her dam could burst. Taking care of herself was exactly what she planned to do.

* * *

Brendon couldn’t takehis eyes off Dee. The faster she dashed away, the more uneasy he became. Was history repeating itself in reverse? Was he going to have to pay for what he’d done by watching her leave this time?

Innately, he knew God didn’t work that way. He was not a God of retaliation, especially for those who felt remorse and were repentant. Maybe he’d had the wrong idea for years, but after they’d started talking in the grass, he’d seen the value in relieving both of them of their burden of the past.

Connor came over and pulled out the chair directly across from him where Dee had been sitting. “What’s on your mind? Second chances?” He grinned.

Brendon wasn’t in the mood for Connor’s usual banter. Not when he could still feel Dee’s lips on his if he concentrated on the memory. “Until you agree to your own mission, I’m not doing anything to further this.” Okay, so that wasn’t strictly the truth, but he wasn’t going to let Connor gloat.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping to hear some good news since I have to deliver some bad.”

He didn’t want to hear anything negative right now. “Man, I was there when they found Jacob. I am not ready for more today.” He carefully arranged his tray so he could balance it on his lap to bring it back up to the window.

“Nixon just called. They removed the rest of the floor and found four more boxes. The ME needs to look at them, but he speculates they’ve been there longer.” Connor glanced around the room, then lowered his voice. “Jacob was exsanguinated.”

Brendon closed his eyes and prayed that the boy had simply fallen asleep and hadn’t felt fear or pain. That was the only positive he could pray for in the situation. “I haven’t seen any missing person fliers when I’ve been in Piper’s Ridge. Are they comparing these others to any missing persons?”

Connor shook his head. “Nixon doesn’t think they’re local. He’s calling all the hospitals within a fifty-mile radius to see if anyone came in recently needing a transfusion. It’s a long shot. I think the need for blood is serious, which means they could have to check out a lot of people. It’s probably going to be a dead end.”

“Especially since he seems to have at least one nurse working for him.” Brendon leaned on the table, suddenly exhausted. “I assume we’re talking about a man. For some reason, I can’t fathom a woman doing this, even though it’s obvious the nurse is a woman, and she has no trouble carrying out orders.”

“Unless this isn’t a case of human trafficking. It’s possible this is something different, a rogue nurse who has a favored patient that needs a transplant and frequent transfusions. Maybe has kidney or liver disease?”

“Hard to guess. I only shared what Nixon said because he asked that you and Dee hold off on going anywhere to look at anything for a few days. Every time you both leave, he ends up with days of scene processing and evidence gathering.” Connor snorted. “So, stay home.”

“I don’t plan on going anywhere, except to put my tray back, and then head to my room for the night.” Especially since he had a lot of thinking to do.

“I’m canceling the evening meeting tonight. I’ve got a stack of paperwork to handle and unless I see people trying to come up our driveway again, I’m going to thank God for the security we have here and that our people are safe.” He stood and headed back to the table where all the other Wayside men sat along with a few wives and girlfriends. They’d had to push two tables together recently with all the new additions.

Connor had been working with the county to get permission to turn the land next door into housing for the men so that they could have somewhere to live that wasn’t where they worked every day. The only one who wouldn’t be able to do that would be him. He didn’t want to have to drive to get to Wayside. Not that his own house was easy to get to, but it was better than a commute.

He pushed down the long ramp on the side of the house, then followed the paved sidewalk Connor had put in when Brendon had come. There had been a small mother-in-law room off the back of the main house, and it had been wheelchair accessible. Connor had said it was God’s provision before anyone had known Brendon would work there. He’d been thankful because all the other housing at Wayside had steps.

There was a very old swing set back there that Adam and Cole’s son Pete had been using before school had started. Now, Dee sat on the wooden seat, holding loosely to the chains, and staring off into the sunset. She looked so vulnerable there.

He couldn’t go into his house without her hearing him, but he didn’t want to bother her when she was obviously somewhere she thought she wouldn’t be disturbed. Most guests assumed he lived in the big house, and he never corrected them. His house was private, his own space, and he wanted to keep it that way. He gave everything he had all day, so in the evening he wanted his area to be a place he could relax.

She shifted on her seat, making the swing creak loudly. “I can feel you staring at me,” she said, turning and giving him a half smile. “Were you looking for me?”

Not intentionally, but his mind begged him to look closer at his own feelings and motives. Maybe he had wanted to see her again, though she’d just left. “This is my home. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He waved to let her know she didn’t need to let him into her private moment.

“I don’t mind. I was just letting myself feel small. So many people try so hard to be important. They want to be remembered. They want to do important things. That’s all great, but I think the more we strive, the more we forget to look for small moments.”

He rolled off the sidewalk and onto the grass. His chair could handle it, but the terrain required more strength from him. “What are small moments?” He’d never heard of such a thing.

She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t think it’s a common thing, but I think of it as a moment where I realize how small I am in the universe that God created. In all that’s going on, I’m a blip. If we think the human body is like the universe, I’m not even one cell. I’m … maybe I’m a mitochondrion.” She laughed, shaking her head.

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