Page 60 of Seeking Evil

Henry sat back. “What about them?”

“They’ve been arrested,” she looked around before whispering, “for stealing.”

“Oh, good grief. That’s awful.”

Nancy nodded, but there was a certain amount of glee in her eyes. Why did people get excited about others’ misfortunes? He pictured Nancy talking to one of her customers about him.

“Irv killed that woman way back then. And now he’s killed again. He’s going to fry for this.” She noticed another table was ready to pay their bill. “Oh, I’d better go.” Henry watched her shmooze the group in an attempt to get a bigger tip.

Disgust rose in his throat. He left the appropriate amount of money on the table and then slipped out the side door.

He drove Maggie’s small SUV. The old truck he’d used before was too hot to be out on the roads.

Hot. What was he? Some type of criminal mastermind?

He maneuvered through the early morning traffic toward his home. He hadn’t been able to go back to the mine and check. If they’d escaped, it was only a matter of time before he was arrested.

Henry remembered the victim T had taken. He’d doubled-locked the basement to prevent T from harming her. But he had a decision to make. If he let her go, he would seal his and T’s fate and destroy his wife’s reputation. If he didn’t, he’d have more blood on his hands.

Henry pulled over on the side of the road and got out. Weeping, he prayed sincerely for the first time in his life.

“Help me, Lord. I don’t want to be a monster anymore. Help me gain Your forgiveness,” he prayed and waited for answers that Maggie always claimed would come if you prayed for them.

Wait for the Lord to answer, Henry. He will in His own time. . .

His only answer was gathering clouds knitting together to take the sun away.

Or maybe that was his answer after all.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Sierra slowly opened her eyes. A filmy light filtered through the dust particles. The flashlight!

Her head pounded. She reached up to touch it and realized she was covered in dust.

A moan from close by had her turning. The pain increased with motion. She grabbed her head and blinked several times before her vision cleared somewhat.

Dawn. The woman she’d escaped with was lying next to her.

She tried to remember what had happened. They’d gotten through the exit only to find themselves inside a labyrinth of tunnels. They’d gotten turned around when the unthinkable happened. There’d been another collapse. She and Dawn were both caught in it.

That had been hours earlier. Sierra sat up slowly and felt her limbs. Nothing appeared broken, but she had several deep cuts and scrapes. She remembered she’d tried to push Dawn out of harm’s way before the rockslide reached her. Had it worked?

She remembered Henry trying to gas them.

She rose on unsteady legs. Her stomach heaved. The effects of what they’d gone through? Or had the gas Henry used to try to kill them penetrated into this closed-off section?

“Dawn, wake up. We have to get out of here.” She shook Dawn hard.

Dawn swatted at her hand. “No. Just a few more minutes.”

Sierra kept shaking. “Now. The gas.”

Dawn’s eyes snapped open. Terror lived in their depths as she looked at Sierra. “What happened?”

Sierra reminded her of the collapse. “I’m not sure if the gas can reach us here or not, but we can’t take that risk. Are you hurt?”

Dawn’s eyes widened. She was covered in dust like Sierra, and her wrist that had been injured before was probably a whole lot worse for the wear, but she didn’t seem to have any fresh injuries.

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