Page 38 of Cold Threat

“Maybe,” I said slowly. “But I can’t put myself on the detective’sradar. That could be the end of ... everything. I need to carry out the last judgment.”

She was silent for a moment. “You may be right. I’m sure it will all work out.” She smiled at me, dissolving the final, flickering flames of wrath in my gut. “Thank you. I know you do all of this for me. I love you for it.”

“And I love you too.” I blinked away the tears that suddenly filled my eyes. I couldn’t let her down. I’d promised her that even though no one else had been there for her, I always would be. There was no way I could stop until I delivered all the revenge I’d sworn to execute.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

River was inside the chest again—water seeping in. She could feel herself sinking farther and farther down toward the bottom of the river. Suddenly someone began to hit the side of the old trunk.

“Let me in, River! Please, save me!”

It was Jacki’s voice. River struggled against the plastic zip ties that bound her wrists and ankles together. She had to help her friend. But how? There wasn’t room in the trunk for anyone else. Yet somehow she believed that if Jacki could join her, she would be able to breathe and maybe they would both survive.

As she fought against the ties, she realized that she could see through one side of the old chest. It was made of some kind of hard plastic. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? She wiggled around until her face was next to the plastic window.

“Jacki!” she called out. Maybe if she could see her, she could tell her how to get inside. Suddenly, she realized that the solution didn’t make any sense. Jacki had to swim up. Up to the surface. Then she could pull the trunk out of the water. This way both of their lives would be saved.

It was then that a face appeared in front of her. There wassomeone looking at her. It was Jacki, but her face was white and the skin on her face was peeling away. She stared at River through eyes that were long dead.

River screamed and called out to God. “Please, God. I’m sorry. Save me. And save Jacki. Please, just make this all go away! I promise I’ll serve You for the rest of my life. I’ll never turn my back on You again!”

Jacki’s dead mouth opened, and she began to laugh. “You lied to God, River. You can’t go back. He’ll never forgive you.” Her face twisted into a tortured wail. “You killed me, and now you’ll spend eternity in hell!!”

River started to scream again, but suddenly she found herself sitting up in bed. She quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. Another nightmare. She’d been having them ever since that night in the river. Was it true? Was she really lost? She’d convinced herself that God had forgiven her. Was she mistaken?

She listened closely but the house was quiet. Had she yelled out loud? Had anyone heard her? After a few moments of silence, she collapsed back onto the bed. Her screams must have stayed in her dream. She brushed away the tear that rolled down the side of her face.

Would the nightmares ever stop?

TONY WAS STARTLED AWAKEby the sound of someone crying out. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and slid his feet into his slippers. He wondered if his parents had heard it, but their bedroom was quite a distance down the hall. They were probably too far away. His first instinct was to run to River’s room to make sure she was okay. He knew about her nightmares. Hannah, her mother’s previous caregiver, had told him about them. She’d been concerned about River. He kept waiting for herto bring them up, but she still hadn’t. He was certain they were about the night they’d confronted the Strangler.

Of course, he also knew that right now they were facing a real threat, so he couldn’t ignore what he’d heard. He looked at the clock. Nine in the morning. Good. They should be up by now anyway. He dressed quickly and ran a comb through his hair, giving River a few minutes to compose herself. He didn’t want to embarrass her. Then he headed down the hallway and knocked on River’s door. He was relieved to hear her voice.

“Yes?” she called out.

“Sorry. Hope I’m not waking you. It’s after nine. Since we planned to start early on the profile, I wanted to see if you were ready to get up.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks. Go on downstairs. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Okay.”

He stood there a moment longer, listening for the normal sounds of someone preparing for the day. It was probably insane to think that someone could be in River’s room, forcing her to tell him she was okay, but worry for her safety made him feel unsettled. He knew he needed to trust God with her, yet sometimes that was easier to say than it was to do.

He carried some guilt for what happened the night they’d gone to the banks of the Salt River after Jacki called them. Why hadn’t he questioned it? Had God tried to warn him? Had he missed it? He’d been tired that night and had wanted to get back to the hotel and rest. He sighed. It was a waste of time thinking about it now. Neither he nor River could have guessed that the Strangler was there, waiting for them. Still, he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t rush into another situation like that again without listening for that still, small voice inside him. So, what was he feeling now? Was everything okay? He took a deep breath and tried to make himself relax.

“God, I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know I can trust You. It’s just that I don’t always trust myself. Or in my ability to hear from You. Can you please give me some kind of sign that it’s okay for me to go downstairs?”

He’d no sooner finished praying when he heard River singing “Good, Good Father” to herself. Tony smiled. She loved that song. Said it made her feel peaceful. Hummed it sometimes in the office back in Mehlville whenever she felt stressed. She was okay.

He turned and headed downstairs.

WHEN RIVER WALKEDinto the kitchen, she found everyone else already eating breakfast.

“Sorry for being late,” she said.

“Don’t be silly,” Beth said. “After having to get up in the middle of the night, we both thought you might sleep even later than this.”

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