Nila's Hope (18 page)

Lydia cleared her throat before speaking, but her voice was still husky. “What if the bone is cracked?”

Nila closed her eyes again. “If it's no better in a couple days, I'll go for an X-ray. But I'm sure it's just bruised.” A tear slipped past her closed lids. “I'm sorry. I messed up again.”

Will's arm spasmed as red-hot anger surged. “What? You didn't do anything. That jerk is the one who messed up, not you. I'd like to…”

At Lydia's warning look he clamped down on his lip. He drew a deep, calming breath. “We'll let the police deal with Nick. I hope they get here soon.”

“About half an hour, I'm told,” Dave said as he re-entered the room. “So while we wait, let's pray.”

 

****

 

Forty minutes later, Nila felt a glimmer of hope when Constable Roth entered the house without his partner.

“Welcome,” Dave said. “Thank you for coming.” He motioned to the empty loveseat. “Please have a seat.

The policeman removed his coat and hat and sat on the edge of the loveseat. “I hear you've had some more trouble,” he said to Nila.

Nila recounted her encounter with Nick at the hardware store while Constable Roth wrote in his small notebook.

“You say nobody saw this?”

Nila squirmed beside Will, dislodging his arm from her waist. “No one admitted it.”

He turned to Will. “And you didn't see anyone bothering Ms. Black either? Where were you at the time?”

Will tensed as he leaned forward. “I was in the plumbing section, so, no, I didn't see the creep. But he was there. He hurt her arm.”

One eyebrow raised, Constable Roth wrote some more. When he looked up, he pinned Nila with his gaze. “Have you had a doctor look at your injury?”

“Not yet,” Dave injected, “but she will.”

“Show it to me.”

Nila blushed and scooted away from Will's side. She set down the ice pack and pushed her sweater sleeve as high as it would go. Dark red imprints showed just above her elbow.

The police officer towered over her as he examined her arm. His touch was gentle, but his frown felt like an accusation. “And you say Nick Parnell did this?”

Nila could read the doubt in his eyes. “Yes, it was Nick.” Her eyes filled as he dropped her arm and returned to the other side of the room. “Don't you believe me?”

He leaned back in the loveseat and sighed. “I want to, Ms. Black, but your evidence is skimpy. Other than some bruises of unknown cause…” He ignored Will's derisive snort and continued, “We don't have any evidence that Mr. Parnell was even in the store at the time.”

Lydia spoke up. “What about store cameras? Wouldn't they prove he was there?”

Constable Roth turned to her. “I can check on that, but I doubt they'll show anything conclusive. I'll talk to Mr. Parnell. Again.”

He faced Nila again, and the disappointment in his expression chilled her. “We got the results back from the lab on that package you said was from Parnell. There were no fingerprints, nothing to indicate who may have made it. I had a talk with Mr. Parnell, but he denied any knowledge of the package. He also denied being anywhere near the wedding reception where you said he appeared.”

Nila gasped, shaking her head. “He was there. I saw him.”

“He had an alibi, Ms. Black. I checked it out, and it held.”

Nila felt the blood drain from her face. “You don't believe me.”

Constable Roth cleared his throat and shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I could.” His lips compressed, and a line appeared between his eyebrows. “I understand you've been under a lot of stress. Is there any chance…?”

“No!” Nila leapt to her feet, ignoring the sharp pain in her arm. “I am
not
imagining this.” She looked desperately at Lydia, Dave, and then Will. “You believe me, don't you?”

“Of course.”

“Yes, dear girl.”

“Absolutely.”

Will leaned forward, catching the constable's attention. “What about Daniel's slashed tires? Nick has done that sort of thing before. And someone looked into Daniel and Mom's windows. I'm sure that was him, too.”

Constable Roth wrote quickly and then looked at Will. “Did you report the incident with the tires? What about the peeping?”

“I called you guys when Daniel's tires got slashed, but not the other time. I got a security system installed right away, and everything's been fine since then.”

The constable leaned back and rubbed his chin. “So, the tires belonged to Daniel…what is his last name?”

“Martens,” Will said.

“Daniel Martens.” He wrote in his notebook. “And the house in question belongs to him, too? And the wedding photos in the box were taken at, whose wedding was that?”

Nila's mind whirled. She knew where he was going with this, but it couldn't be. She knew Nick was responsible. For all of it.

Will's shoulders sagged.

Dave and Lydia both frowned.

“It was the wedding reception for my mom and Daniel,” Will said.

Constable Roth nodded. “That's what I thought. Just how well do you know Mr. Martens?”

The room erupted with sputters and protests.

“He's a good man.” Dave scowled.

Constable Roth stood with his shoulders straight and his chin lifted. He faced Nila squarely, looking at her with only a hint of compassion. “I will talk to Mr. Parnell about these accusations.” He glanced at the others. “But I think we'd better look into Mr. Martens's past. Good day.”

As the door closed behind the police officer Will stood, his fists clenched. “I don't believe it. He's going to try to make this about Daniel?”

Nila pulled her knees to her chest and held them with her uninjured arm. She shook her head slowly. “He didn't believe me. Nick is going to get away with everything. He's too smart for me. And for them.”

Lydia sat beside her and wrapped one arm around her gently. “We'll just have to keep praying, won't we?”

Nila flinched as Lydia's hug tightened.

She noticed. “Meanwhile, we're taking you to the clinic to get that arm checked.”

“I'll take her,” Will said. He touched Nila's shoulder. “Is that OK?”

She shrugged. “I guess. It doesn't matter.”

Nothing mattered if God didn't care.

 

 

 

 

20

 

Three hours later Will parked in front of the Harris's house again. He looked at Nila, who sat with her head back with her eyes closed. “That took an awfully long time. Wait there, and I'll help you out of the truck.” He hopped out of his truck and opened the passenger door. “Careful. You don't want to slip on this ice.”

He held her good arm while she slid out of the vehicle. He slammed the door shut and wrapped his arm around her waist. “You OK?”

“Just a little groggy,” Nila said as she leaned into his embrace. “Maybe I shouldn't have taken that painkiller right away.”

She took a step, and her foot slipped sideways. Will tightened his grip and half-carried her up the steps to the house. “Let's get you inside where it's warm and ice-free.”

Before they reached the door, it swung open.

“Come in. Come in.” Dave's booming voice greeted them. “How did it go?”

“All right,” Will said. “It's not broken, but it is badly bruised. She's supposed to rest it until the swelling settles down. She's a little groggy from the painkiller they prescribed.”

Nila looked up at him, eyes not quite focused. “B—but what about tomorrow? The kids?”

Will helped her remove her coat and boots before answering. “I'll be there, remember? And if you don't feel up to it, I could probably wrangle those two by myself.”

 

****

 

Nila started to shake her head and grabbed his arm when her head spun. “Whoa. I think I need to lie down.” She smiled wanly.

Dave and Lydia came out of the kitchen.

“Supper smells good, but I'm not hungry. I think I'll just go to bed if that's OK.”

Lydia stepped forward and took Nila's good arm. “You poor dear, of course it's all right. Here, let me help you down the stairs.” She tilted her head at Will. “You're welcome to stay, if you'd like.”

“Thanks, but I'll head home,” Will said, as he turned toward the door. “I'll call tomorrow and see how you're doing, Nila.”

“OK,” she mumbled. “Thanks for everything.” Minutes later she lay on her bed and soon fell into a fitful dream of moving shadows, harsh whispers, and an overwhelming feeling of doom. As she moaned and thrashed, she rolled partway onto her sore arm and woke with a yelp.

She checked the bedside clock. Too soon for another pill. She crawled out of bed, went to the bathroom, and rinsed a hand towel in cold water. Holding it to her arm, she lay down and waited for the pain to ease. She was starting to drift off again when the phone rang upstairs.

Dave's rumble came through the floorboards, and she told herself it was probably church business. Then his voice rose almost to a roar.

Nila cringed. She'd never heard Pastor Dave sound that angry.

Was that because of her? She sat up and strained to hear, but the double layer of drywall and insulation did its job.

No words came through, just the muffled but agitated voices of Dave and Lydia.

She pulled her knees to her chest and sat huddled in her dark bedroom, scolding herself for trying to eavesdrop. She heard two sets of footsteps, one heavy and one light, move out of the room above. Either they were heading out to help someone, or they were going to their room to pray.

She listened for a few more minutes but heard nothing. No one went to the door. All was still.

They'd gone to pray. That was good.

God would listen to them.

She lowered her head to her knees. But not to her. Tears filled her eyes as she whispered into her knees, “Where are you, God? Please don't leave me. I want to forgive, but I can't.”

 

****

 

Halfway home, Will changed his mind and turned toward Jason and Faith's. He parked in front of the house and punched their speed-dial number on his phone.

“Hey, sis, mind if I come over? Thanks.” He got out of his truck, walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell.

Faith answered with a look of surprise that quickly changed to a crooked grin. She punched his arm. “You turkey.”

Will tweaked her nose. “I would have phoned sooner, but I was driving. Can I come in?”

She stepped back and waved him inside with a gallant gesture. “Enter, oh grand munchkin. I don't suppose you've had supper, have you?”

Will sniffed. “Have you guys eaten yet? Something smells good.”

Faith led the way to the kitchen. “The kids have eaten, and Jason's giving them their bath. He got home late, so we thought we'd have a quiet supper together.” She pursed her lips in a half-grin. “At least that was the plan.”

Will back stepped and held up both hands. “I'm sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt. I wanted to talk to you guys, but it can wait.”

Faith grabbed his arm. “Come back here. I hadn't planned a romantic dinner, just a quieter one. You're welcome to join us.” She went to the oven and checked its contents. “What do you need to talk about?” She looked over her shoulder at him, her brow puckered. “You're not backing out of babysitting, are you?”

He shook his head. “Naw, I just wanted to unload about what happened today.”

Her eyebrows rose. “What?”

A shriek of laughter drifted down the stairs, and Will headed for its source. “That can wait. I want to see your kidlets before they go to bed.”

“You mean get them riled up.” Faith grimaced. “If you do, you get to settle them down again.”

He jogged up the stairs.

Faith called after him, “They'll probably want their Hunky Unky to tuck them in, anyway.”

An hour later the three adults settled in the living room, Jason and Faith on their couch and Will in the recliner.

Faith leaned forward. “OK, little brother, give. What do you need to tell us?”

Will rolled his shoulders, stretched his neck, and sighed. “Your kids are getting heavy. That was a real workout they gave me.”

Faith raised one eyebrow. “I don't think that's what brought you here.”

He leaned back and closed his eyes. “No. I just wanted to unload. It was kind of a rough day.”

Jason leaned forward. “What happened? Is everything OK?”

Will opened his eyes and looked toward the ceiling as if for answers. “I don't know. Nila's arm is bruised pretty bad, but it's not broken.”

Faith gasped. “What?”

Will pushed the recliner upright. “We went to the hardware store for stuff for the basement. While I was getting what I needed for the bathroom, Nila had a visit from Nick by the paint chips.”

“Right there in the store?” Jason frowned. “Isn't he supposed to stay away from her?”

“Yeah, a hundred meters. Problem is, no one admitted seeing him, and when we talked to the cop, he didn't seem to believe her.” His shoulders slumped. “If only I'd stayed with her…”

Faith spoke as if to one of her children. “You couldn't have known, Will. This isn't your fault.”

“Then why do I feel so guilty?”

“Maybe because you care so much,” Jason said as he put his arm around Faith. “We want to be able to protect the ones we treasure.” He frowned again. “But what does that mean for tomorrow? Is Nila still willing and able to babysit? I don't want to sound self-centered, but if we need to find someone else…”

“She still wants to babysit, and I said I'd do any lifting. So yeah, it should work.”