Nila's Hope (13 page)

Constable Kruger cleared his throat. “We have to follow the evidence. All you've got is a box with a doll and some photos and no evidence of who sent it.” His gaze hardened. “Maybe you did this yourself.”

Lydia gasped while Dave shot to his feet and glared at the officer. “That's enough. We know this young lady, and she would never do such a thing. You owe her an apology.”

Constable Kruger stood at attention. “You expect me to believe this story without proof? We have to consider all possibilities. I read the trial transcripts. This young woman had some pretty nasty tales to tell.” His stare pinned Nila. “It is possible, is it not, that your desire for revenge on Mr. Parnell led you to invent this rather wild story?”

Nila shook her head in shock. Her face felt tight enough to split. “No! Of course not.”

Constable Roth stepped between his partner and Nila. “I'll talk to Mr. Parnell and get this package examined in the lab. We'll get back to you.”

After the door closed behind the two officers, Nila broke down again. She drew her knees to her chest and sobbed against them.

Lydia scooted closer and pulled Nila to her.

Dave sat on the other side and took her hand in his. “You did the right thing,” he said. “Even though it was rough, too rough for my liking, it was necessary.”

“But they didn't believe me.” Nila lifted tear-filled eyes to his. “What good did that do? Now Nick will know I told. And he's awfully good at hurting people.”

Lydia leaned her head against Nila's. “Why do you suppose he made his release a secret? Saskatoon's not that big a city. Someone could have seen him.”

Nila stilled. “I didn't think about that. I don't know. I guess he needed to control me somehow like he used to. What do you think?”

“Seems to me,” Dave said, “that he must get some kind of sick enjoyment from manipulating you and torturing you with threats. But now that we're aware of those threats, we can be alert and pray accordingly.”

Nila sat up. “You're right. I've been playing right into his hands by trying to keep his freedom a secret. He
has
been manipulating me.” She shuddered. “He's had a lot of practice.”

“Now it's in the hands of the police, but even better, it's in God's hands.” Dave squeezed Nila's hand and released it. “Are you OK with that?”

Nila sighed. “I'm not sure the police are going to help, but I'm glad God's taking care of us.”

Lydia smiled through tears. “Thank You, Jesus.”

She stood and held out a hand to Nila. “Shall we go see if that cookie dough can be rescued? And then, with your permission, I would like to make one more phone call.”

 

 

 

 

14

 

Will stuck his hammer back in the tool belt and rubbed his lower back. Framing the walls hadn't taken too long, but he'd expected Nila would help. Working with her made the job more enjoyable. But maybe he'd counted on her too much. She didn't sound too eager to spend time with him this morning.

That idea didn't sit well, and as he looked around the barren space, its emptiness echoed in his heart. His shoulders ached, but he gritted his teeth and picked up his drill.

A couple hours later, his arms felt rubbery and his ears rang. He checked his watch. Almost supper time.

He hadn't heard anything from Guy and his crew for a while. He wondered if they were done.

As though beckoned by Will's thoughts, Guy clomped down the stairs. “Hey, Will, we've done all we can for today. Took more materials than expected. There's just a bit more to do at your mom's. We'll do it first thing Monday morning.”

An image of suspicious holes in the snow flashed into Will's mind. “But that's where someone was snooping around.”

Guy sighed. “Yeah, well, I wish we'd started there. Hindsight and all that. But you'll check the place, right?”

“Of course. I'll see you Monday then. Thanks again.” He'd just restarted his drill when he felt his cellphone buzz against his hip. “Hello? Hi, Lydia. No, I haven't started making anything. Sounds great. When do you want me there?”

A few minutes later, he put away his tools and dashed upstairs for a quick shower.

Lydia said Nila needed to talk to him. Needed. What about?

That weird prickle sent another shiver down his spine.

 

****

 

“Welcome. Come in, William,” Pastor Dave greeted him. “I believe supper is ready. You're just in time.”

Will sniffed and grinned. “Man, that smells good. I was planning to heat up a can of soup, and instead I got invited to a feast.”

“Hello, Will.” Lydia walked out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Come sit down. Nila and I are nearly finished dishing up.”

He shrugged out of his coat and boots and followed his hosts into the cozy dining room.

Nila greeted him with a shy smile and ducked her head. That quick smile gave him a glimpse of the sparkle he'd missed for the last several days. But the glow resided in red, puffy eyes.

“Hey, Nila, how's it going?” He kept his voice low.

She bit her lower lip as she carefully placed a bowl of steaming rice on a hot pad. She fussed with it a moment as though centering it was of utmost importance. Finally she met his gaze. “Good. Things are good now.” The faintest of smiles broke through.

Will opened his mouth, but Dave said, “OK, let's have a seat, and I'll ask the blessing.”

They sat, and Dave held out his hands to Lydia and Nila on either side of him.

Nila blushed as she held her hand out to Will.

He folded his hand over her small one, and a tingle shot up his arm. His eyes opened, and she looked back at him, eyes wide.

“Father God,” Dave prayed, “You are good, and what You do is good. We thank You for this food and for the hands that prepared it. We also thank You for Your power to forgive, heal, and protect. We rejoice that we are Yours. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.”

Nila passed the serving dishes without speaking, but her expression was more peaceful than Will had seen in quite a while. He kept glancing at her, trying to catch her eye, but she seemed deep in thought.

Lydia served cheesecake squares for dessert. “Nila and I made these this afternoon. Try to eat just one,” she said with a wink.

Will bit into one, closed his eyes, and groaned in appreciation. “These are great. Thanks—for the whole meal.”

“You're very welcome,” Dave said. “If we're done, I'll help my wife clean up, and you young people can go have your talk.”

Nila blanched and looked at Lydia.

Lydia nodded solemnly, reached across the table, and squeezed Nila's hand. Then she rose and began clearing the table.

Nila headed to the living room without a word, and Will followed. She sat in the rocker and pulled her knees to her chest. He sat on the couch facing her. She closed her eyes as though in prayer. He waited.

“I've been keeping secrets from you,” she finally said. “And you deserve to know the truth. It's about Nick.”

Will's heart sank to his navel. She was still hung up on that creep. No wonder she didn't want to spend time with him. But why…?

“He's out of prison. He showed up at the wedding reception. That's why I…” She looked away, blinking rapidly.

Will's jaw dropped. “What do you mean, he's out? He just got sentenced a couple months ago.”

“The cop who phoned me said that's the way it works. He got credit for the time he was in jail before the trial, and then he only had to serve two-thirds of the sentence.” Tears shimmered in her eyes.

Will took several slow, deep breaths. “Go on.”

Nila seemed to have trouble swallowing. “Nick poked his head into the reception hall and did this.” She put her finger to her lips and shook her head from side to side. “I knew exactly what he meant. I didn't dare tell anyone.”

“Why not?” Red-hot anger blurred his vision, but he couldn't look away from Nila.

She broke eye contact, ducking her head. “He always did that after he beat me.”

Will clenched his jaw. Losing his temper wouldn't help anyone. Especially Nila. He leaned forward and concentrated on her body language as well as her words.

Her eyes seemed focused on the past, and her voice dulled to a monotone. “The first time he hit me, I still worked at the restaurant where we'd met. The next day my boss, a really nice lady, asked how I'd gotten the black eye and split lip. She kept after me, said I owed her the truth, so I told her. I begged her to keep it a secret, but she phoned the police. They came and questioned me, but I lied. I had to. I knew Nick would do even worse. That night my boss's tires were slashed, and I lost my job.”

Lights blinked on in Will's mind. “Slashed tires? So you think it was Nick who wrecked Daniel's tires?”

Nila nodded, and her mouth trembled. “I wanted to tell you, to warn you, but I was afraid of what he'd do next.”

He rubbed his jaw. “Have you talked to the police about this?”

Another solemn nod. “Yes, they came here today, and I told them about all of Nick's threats. But they didn't believe me. At least one didn't. He said I probably made it all up to get back at Nick.”

Indignation pushed Will to his feet. “You've got to be kidding! How could they think that?” His mind replayed what she'd said, and he sank back onto the couch. “What do you mean by
all
of his threats? What else has he done?”

She told him about the “gift” and text messages. “I smashed my phone after the last one, so I couldn't show the police those texts. That's why they didn't believe me, I guess.” She pulled her knees to her chest and lowered her head onto them.

Will restrained himself from going to her and wrapping his arms around her. He had to give her space. And reassurance. “I believe you, Nila,” he said, his voice a soft growl.

She lifted her eyes to his, and a glimmer of hope blinked out from behind her tears. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I really hoped you would. And I'm sorry I didn't come help you today.” She lowered her feet to the floor. “How did it go with your man cave?”

But Will was still picturing Nick's horrible threats. “I'd like to…what?” He rubbed the frown off his face and struggled to focus. “Um, pretty good. I'd like to show you, and maybe you could give me those ideas you're so quick with.” Another image flashed. “Wait a minute. I had a crew hooking up both houses and the shop for an alarm system today, and Guy showed me where someone had tried to look into Mom's kitchen and bedroom. I guess Daniel's not the target, after all. But maybe I am.”

Nila moaned. “It's my fault.”

Will frowned. “No way. None of this is your fault. Don't let him lay this on you. This puts a whole different spin on things. I'd been wondering if Daniel had some enemies he didn't know about. But now…”

“Are the alarm systems done?” Nila hugged her knees again.

Will grimaced and shook his head. “Everything got done except Mom's house. They're going to finish it Monday.”

“But what if…?”

“I think I'd better sleep there tonight. And have my hammer close by.”

Nila bit her lip so hard he expected to see blood. He exhaled, crossed the room, and knelt in front of the rocker. He clasped her cold hands in his and waited for her to meet his gaze. “It will be OK, Nila. Let's not forget that God is still God.”

She looked at their clasped hands and sighed. “You're right. I trust you. And I'm trying to trust God.”

 

 

 

 

15

 

Sunday morning, Nila paced the church foyer. Where was Will? He was usually there by now. She hoped he was all right. She hoped…her pacing slowed. She went into the empty sanctuary and knelt at the altar. “I'm worrying again instead of trusting You, Lord Jesus. Please forgive me. Help me to let go of my fear. You can take care of all of us. Help me remember that.” She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Pastor Dave's warm eyes.

“He hears you, dear child. May His peace fill your soul.”

“Thank you. I thought you and Lydia were praying in the office.”

He extended his large hand to help her to her feet. “We were. We just finished.” He looked toward the back of the church. “Will is here, and it looks like he's waiting for you.”

Will smiled at her from the sanctuary doorway. He looked rested and fine. Very fine.

God heard her.

Will's smile drew her to him, and moments later, she was close enough to see the curve of his long eyelashes. “Good morning,” she said. “I'm glad you're here. Was everything quiet through the night?”

“Good morning to you, too. Yeah, I kept waking up, listening, but nothing happened. Thank God.”

She tapped his cheek. “Exactly.”

Will tilted his head, and he took one of her warm hands in his. “Do you have to help in the nursery this morning? If not, I'd like to sit with you. If that's OK.”

Her smile grew wider, and she felt her cheeks warm again. “I'd like that. I'll check downstairs before worship starts to make sure they don't need me. But I'd like to stay upstairs this morning.” Her chin lifted. “No more hiding.”

Will squeezed her hand. “That's my girl.”

Their eyes met and held. Unspoken questions hung in the air.

Nila pulled away first. “I'll be right back.”

Five minutes later, Nila paused at the top of the stairs to catch her breath before entering the sanctuary. Will had said he'd save a place for her. She stood in the doorway and scanned the congregation.

She spotted him, but the pew was full. Her bubble of happiness deflated as she recognized Hayley Blankenship's highlighted, auburn head leaning close to Will's. Her heart sank, and she bit her lip.