Dreams~Shadows of the Night (10 page)

“What are you doing?”
he demanded, look
ing
up
, and staring hard at her
. The irritation in his voice was
obvious.

“I thought I heard a moaning sound.”

Determined to satisfy her
curiosity
, she peered through the glass. The heavy rains always reminded her of frenzied weeping. Straining to see through the thick veil of water, she s
aw
a shape at the bottom of the steps. “
Something's there!
Please go look.”

He abruptly pushed his chair back,
scraping
the legs on the wooden floor.

“Hannah, dear, I know you’d like to give aid to every poor animal that comes to our doorstep, but you must know we can’t save them all.”

“But what if it isn’t an animal?”

“That’s a strange thing to say. What else could it be?” He waved her reply away. “Never mind, I’ll go because I know you’ll continue to be distracted if I don’t.”

“Thank you, Raymond. It should only take you a few minutes,” she added with a sheepish look
. She thoughtfully handed
him a rain slicker while he grabbed a flashlight off a shelf.

He snorted out an annoyed grunt and opened the door to the scent of rain. She watched from the doorway as he stomped down the steps to scan the dark form with his torch. He leaned down for a closer look, and the light almost slipped from his hand. He drew an audible breath. “In the name of God! Hannah, come quickly!”

Her heart jerked at the sound of his startled shout and she
hurriedly
pulled on a raincoat before
rush
ing
outside. Her hands
flew to her mouth when her eyes followed the flashlight’s beam.
“Dear heaven! I
t’s . . . it’s a man. I
s he alive?”

“Barely.”
Raymond
knelt in the mud and
ran his hands over Jos
h’s body. “There do
n’t
seem to be any broken
bones, but he’s burning with
fever
.
Let’s
get him inside.”

Working together, they carr
ied
Josh into the front room where they lay him on the bare floor. Raymond flung off his slicker and kneeling down, began to unlace Josh’s boots.

“We’ll have to clean him up to see if he has any injuries. Get some water and towels while I start getting these filthy clothes off of him.”

Hannah hurried away, shedding her raincoat. They set about easing Josh’s ragged garments from his body. Neither spoke, as their bathing revealed the multitude of insect bites along with his cuts and bruises. But Hannah couldn’t stop
the hiss from
her sharp
intake
of breath at the sight of his ravaged chest.

They cleaned his body as thoroughly as they were able to before carrying Josh to a small bedroom where they la
y
him gently on the single cot there. Hannah covered his nakedness with a sheet and tucked it around him.

“He’s going to need careful tending.”

Raymond nodded.

“Yes, I know. Try to get some sleep. I’ll take the first watch.”

Days blurred one into the other, as they nursed Josh. Hannah looked at Raymond while she prepared the daily broth they would trickle into Josh’s mouth.

“How is he?”

“Still delirious.”

“Oh, that poor man. I’m so worried about him,
Raymond. I fear death is whispering at the door. How much more of this can his body take?”

“Man
can
en
dure many things and survive. Being young is in his favor.”

“I wonder who
he is and what he’s doing here.
”

“Without identification we’ll have to wait until he can tell us himself. But
listening to his ranting, I’d say he’s an American by his accent.”

“I agree and I think he lost a woman close to him. When I was with him this morning he kept pleading for someone named Marie not to die and then he started sobbing.”

Raymond closed his eyes for a moment. “May God rest her soul,” he prayed.

She gnawed on her lip.

“How do you suppose he got those terrible slashes on his chest? They look to be fairly recent, since
they're
not fully healed. It upsets me every time I see them and my heart cries to think of the pain he must have had to endure.”

“It’s obvious the marks didn’t come from something that happened in nature and considering his other wounds it looks to me as though he’s been deliberately mistreated.He may well be fleeing from whoever abused him.”

Her hand shook
as she
pour
ed
the broth.

“Who would
do such a terrible thing?”

“Wicked peopl
e, my dear
–
very wicked people.”

>>>>dreams<<<<

Plagued by the illness that raged through him, Josh thrashed about on the narrow bed. He often shouted out in anger and just as quickly cringed in fear. His fever finally broke on the morning of the sixth day, but by then he looked more dead than alive.

He lifted his leaden eyelids and strained to focus on the barren room. It had the distinctive odor of sickness mingling with the smell of dampness and mold. He stared at the plain wooden floor and rough unpainted walls before
sleep took him once again.

The next time he awoke Josh
noticed a wom
an kneeling at his bedside
.
She appeared to be praying. His brow pleated in a frown.
He had no sense of familia
rity for her or
the simple room
.

“Are you praying for me?” he asked in a raspy whisper.

Hannah’s head jerked up and she struggled to her feet swooping toward him. She touched her palm to his forehead and sighed.

“Praise the Lord, your fever is gone.”

Josh licked his dry lips. They felt like sandpaper.

“Water, please,” he croaked.

Hannah raised his head and because he was too weak to help himself, she guided a glass to his mouth. He tried to drink in greedy gulps, but she doled out the precious liquid.

“I know how thirsty you must be, but it’s best for your body to take in liquids slowly.” She set the water aside and helped him
lie
back down on the pillow.

He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he felt incredibly weak.

“Who are you?”

She gave her name and told him about Raymond and how they’d found him lying outside in the rain.

His eyes slow
ly
scan
ned
the room. “How long have I been here?”

“This is your six
th day in our house.
You’ve been quite ill; delicious with fever.

When did you arrive in the area?”
she asked
as she
pulled the sheet up to his chest.

His frown deepened in concentration. “I’m not sure. Where exactly am I?”

The Amazon?

Josh thought surely the woman had to be mistaken or perhaps he’d misunderstood her. If he could just block out the sound of buzzing bees inside his head he might be able to think. She asked him his name again and where he was from, but it was taking too much effort to find the answers. Their brief encounter had exhausted his meager strength.

“My name?” He shifted restlessly
and
turned his head away from her
persistent probing, wanting
only
to
go back to sleep. “I don’t know.”

He
felt too drained to be concerned at his lack of knowledge. Tomorrow was another day. 
No doubt the questions could be answered
by then, but right now he just wanted her to go away and take her pesky questions with her. His eyes clouded over and closed despite her obvious disappointment.

Hannah rushed outside to tell Raymond as soon as she realized Josh wasn’t going to answer her. She
related
their brief conversation, expressing concern that Josh didn’t know who he was.

“My guess is that his memory loss is probably from the fever. I’m sure it’s only temporary,” he assured her and patted her hand. “Give him time; he’s only just come to.”

“I know, but I was so anxious for him to tell me. Surely he must have people looking for him. Oh Raymond, what will we do if he doesn’t remember who he is?”

“Only God can determine that. In the meantime we must pray that our young patient’s mind clears, so he will be able to help us return him to wherever he belongs.”

Chapter Nine

Too restless to sit, Douglas stood at the bank of windows staring at the assortment of towering buildings that loomed over the city. Rows of dark tinted glass stared back reminding him of huge sightless eyes. He stood with his hands folded
behind his
back. His
appearance
was that
of a man
enjoying the view, while in fact
every muscle in his body was drawn tight with
nervous tension
. Marie’s personal belongings left behind
in camp
the day she’d been abducted had been delivered to his office that morning.

His eyes strayed unwillingly to the two zippered bags – silent reminders of the last things she’d touched. He hadn’t opened the bags. He’d leave that painful task to Marie’s mother. He didn’t envy her the dubious privilege. They’d never met, but had talked over the phone. Knowing he shouldn’t delay any longer, he jabbed a button on the desk console and gave orders to his secretary to make travel arrangements to
Oahu
.

>>>>dreams<<<<

When
Jenny Rabb opened the door to her condo
,
her resemb
lance to Marie left
Douglas
speechless.

“Thank you for coming.” She stepped back. “Please, come in.”

Dazed, he followed h
er into a miniscule living room,
gave himself a mental shake
,
and found his voice
. “I realize it’s rude to stare, but you . . .” He made himself stop.

“Look like Marie?” she finished. “So I’ve been told. I appreciate the compliment.
May I get you
iced tea
or coffee, Mr. Marsh? I also have a bottle of Merlot if you’d prefer.
”

“
Douglas
, please. Tea will be fine, thank you. I’ve had enough shots of alcohol lately to float a battleship, and the only things I’ve gotten out of them are some nasty hangovers.”

“I know what you mean. Make yourself comfortable
, please.
I’ll just be a moment.”

He settled his bulk onto a pale green loveseat. An old black steamer trunk with brass locks sat between the divan and two rattan chairs with brightly colored pads on their seats.
T
he
atmosphere
reflected a coziness
he found inviting. He was admiring an arrangement of framed flowers
on a wall when Jenny returned carrying a
tray.

He took the glass she handed to him. “Thank you. Did Marie do those flowers?”

“Yes, pretty aren’t they?”

“Very. Unique and
lovely
–
like Marie.”

“She was, wasn’t she?”
Jenny
looked at her hands for a moment before focusing on Douglas again. “Marie did love you in her own way,” she said in a soft voice.

His brows rose.

“I didn’t know if you were aware of our relationship, such as it was given her reluctance to marry me. I suppose it makes me sound selfish, but I wanted her to myself.” It was his turn to look away. “I shouldn’t have pressured her like I did.”

“She was afraid of commitment. You were special to her, but she saw too much of a bad marriage with her father and me to give you what you needed. People thought of her as a flirt, but it was her way of protecting herself. Inside she was a scared little girl.”