On Ice (45 page)

Rene gauged the distance between them, afraid she would fall if she tried to move. “I’m talking about any normal man. Any man with normal emotions who is capable of giving and receiving love.” She leaned heavily on the shovel, trying not to show the effects of the tingling waves washing down her legs. “You’re crippled, Mark.

Emotionally stunted.”

Mark looked as though he had been slapped. Slowly the color drained from his face. “Don’t ever speak to me this way again.” His voice came out as a cold hiss.

“
It’s over, Mark. Leave now. It’s over.” Rene gripped the shovel, readying herself for the next onslaught.

He wavered, half turning to the door, then back to Rene as though puzzled by her new demeanor.

“
No!” He lunged at her, backhanding her across the cheek.

Rene braced herself on her numbed extremities, trying not to fall, trying to protect her fallen cub. Her cheek tingled as well as her feet. She glared at him coldly. “What a big, brave man.” Her voice dripped contempt.

“
Shut up!” he screamed, his breath hot against her face. He grabbed her throat, his sinewy fingers wrapping around her neck like a vise.

Sara screamed, a shrill piercing sound that reverberated from the rafters. “I hate you, daddy!” she shrieked. “I hate you! I wish you were dead!”

Mark loosened his grip, turning just as Rene brought the blade of the shovel sharply down on his foot. He fell to the floor howling in pain.

Rene raised the shovel. He rolled to the side as she swung it at his head. The metal gouged a groove in the hardwood floor.

“
Shoot him, Miz Reeny,” Ben panted as he struggled to sit upright.

“
Yes, Mommy. Shoot him!” Sara chimed in.

“
What?” Mark asked. “What did she say?” Mark’s face registered shock as Sara’s words sank in. “You’ve turned my own children against me,” he accused.

“
You’ve done that yourself.” Her heart leaped, hearing the growl of a vehicle pulling into the clearing. She kept her gaze locked with Mark’s, though she longed to see if a rescuer had arrived.

“
And are you going to shoot me, Rene?” Mark asked from his place on the floor. “Could you do that?”

“
Yes,” she answered, desperate to divert him from the sounds coming from the clearing. She heard a car door slam. Just one. Brett!

“
And where does Mommy keep her gun?” he asked Sara, inching closer to the bed.

“
No, Sara doesn’t know,” Rene shouted at him.

“
I don’t believe Mommy has a gun, Sara,” Mark said as he rose and began to limp toward the child. “You just made that up, didn’t you?”

Sara, round-eyed with fear, shook her head.

“
Leave her alone!” Rene took a tentative step. The tingling sensation was abating, but she couldn’t feel her feet yet. She used the shovel as a support, taking tiny steps to cut Mark off before he reached Sara. “Get away from her!” she growled.

“
Where is Mommy’s gun, Sara? I don’t believe you know.” Mark spoke in a sing-song voice, crooning the words.

“
Yes, I do!” Sara said defiantly. “Mommy told us to never, ever touch it.”

“
Well, tell me and I’ll believe you.” Mark loomed over her. “Tell me if you really know.”

“
No, Sara,” Rene said. “Don’t tell him.”

“
It’s up there,” Sara shouted as she pointed to the carved rosewood box Mrs. Pindar had given Rene.

Mark’s gaze followed the direction she was pointing and landed on the box sitting in a niche created by an irregularity of the logs.

“
Well, well, well. What have we here?” Mark clumsily stepped up on the bed and reached over Sara’s head to take the polished box down.

“
Sara, come here,” Rene cried out. The feeling had returned to her feet and she took a few steps toward them, holding her arm out to Sara.

“
Not so fast, young lady.” Mark grabbed her just as she prepared to dive off the bed. “You stay here with me while I check this box. I hope you’re telling me the truth.”

Sara nodded her head vigorously as Mark removed the lid.

“
Mark, let her go,” Rene demanded.

“
And you, shut up.” Mark returned his attention to the contents of the box. He laughed with contempt. “You call this a gun? This is a toy.” He held the derringer aloft.

“
Mark, be careful. It’s loaded.” She took a few steps toward him, but he stopped her with a glare.

“
Right! You’re really loaded for bear, I see.” Mark twirled the tiny pistol around his index finger.

“
Sara, get out of the way!”

“
What’s the matter? Are you afraid this toy might accidentally go off and Sara might accidentally get shot?” He placed the short barrel to Sara’s temple. “Accidents do happen, you know?” Delighted, Mark laughed at his witticism, wiping tears away as his shoulders shook with mirth.

Footsteps were heard outside. Mark held Sara by the hood of her parka. Someone heavily stamped snow from their boots and knocked on the door.

Behind her, Rene heard Seth stir and groan from his place on the floor.

Mark tucked Sara under his arm and stepped off the bed. “You should invite your guest inside, dear. It’s cold outside.” He grinned at Rene’s stricken expression.

“
Brett, go away! Mark’s here!” Rene yelled, hoping to be heard beyond the thick door.

“
He’s not getting away that easy,” Mark growled as he dragged the squirming Sara to the door. Her silky parka made it difficult to keep his hold on her.

She held her breath as Mark threw open the door.

The smile on Father Paul’s face froze as he faced the angry stranger holding Sara and a gun.

“
Brett, I presume?” Mark asked.

Father Paul glanced from Mark to Rene and back again.

“
Allow me to introduce myself, Brett.” Mark spat out. “I’m Rene’s husband.” He fired the small gun.

Father Paul grabbed his chest with gloved hands. He looked puzzled as he fell backwards into the snow.

“
Oh, my God!” Rene shrieked. “Father Paul. You shot Father Paul.” Rene stood as though rooted to the spot.

“
Father Paul? You’re screwing a priest?” Mark struggled to retain his grip on Sara as she squirmed tearfully.

“
Of course not! He’s our priest.” Rene’s lips quivered as she gave in to the feelings she had held at bay for so long. “How could you do this, Mark? You’re a sick animal.” Tears spilled down her cheeks as she accused him.

“
It’s your fault, Rene. You’ve driven me to do these things. Be still!” He gave Sara a stern shake and she quit struggling. “It’s your fault and you must be punished.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
You have to suffer for the things you’ve done.” His voice was silken.

“
I am suffering, Mark,” she said between sobs.

“
Yes, but not enough. Not nearly enough.” He gazed at her in cold contempt. “I have to do to you what you have done to me. You know? An eye for an eye.”

“
What does that mean? All I did was leave you.”

“
No, you took away my family. Now I’m going to deprive you of yours.” He held the derringer to Sara’s head.

“
No!” Rene cried out. “Please, Mark, don’t hurt her. She’s your own flesh and blood.”

“
Yes, isn’t it a pity, because she’s your flesh and blood as well. Lots and lots of blood.” This set him off on another spasm of laughter.

The sound of motors grinding their way onto the road leading to the clearing echoed in the stillness.

“
Who is that?” Mark asked. “Were you expecting more company?”

“
It’s the sheriff. Ben e-mailed him while you were unconscious.”

“
No matter,” he said. “I’ll be gone by the time they arrive and I’m taking Sara where she’ll never be found.”

Rene watched helplessly as Mark backed out the door holding the derringer on Sara. He carried her down the steps, turning toward the sound of the still rushing river.

Rene surveyed the fallen inside the cabin. Grabbing quilts off the bed, she arranged them around Seth and Ben and threw another over her shoulder. She unlocked her filing cabinet and removed the Glock from its case. Priming the chamber, she sent a large caliber bullet into lethal position. Slipping the second clip into her pocket, she ran outside, closing the door behind her.

Father Paul lay sprawled in the snow. He appeared to be lifeless, but she bundled the quilt around him. If the bullet didn’t kill him, the cold would.

Rene followed in the direction Mark headed. She tried to plow through the snow quickly, but it was like running in quicksand. The weight of her heavy boots kept pulling her down into the slush. She carefully placed each foot in the tracks Mark had made. She had to reach Sara in time.

~*~

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“
Look! There’s the cabin! It’s just as Rene described it.” Maddy’s nerves were already on edge but her stomach lurched when she realized someone had preceded them. “There’s a truck in front. Do you think it’s Mark?”

The truck they followed parked along side the other vehicle. Terrence pulled up beside it. As they emerged, the woman climbed down from her truck and stood smiling at them.

“
It’s going to be a big party. That’s Father Paul’s truck.” She nodded towards it, tucking her gloved hands in her pockets. Her breath made hazy clouds encircling her head.

“
It is true. The priest, he beat us here,” the Frenchman said.

Relief flooded over Maddy. If a priest was here everything must be all right. Another motor growled its way into the clearing.

A rusty red tow truck rumbled and roared as it pulled up beside them. The cheery little woman who was their guide grinned widely and stuck her hand up long enough for a wave.

“
It’s the Schraeders. They’re here for the lesson.”

Maddy’s eyes watered from the cold and the apples of her cheeks felt as if they might break off, but she couldn’t stop grinning. She felt weak as her anxiety drained away.

“
Let’s go inside,” the Frenchman suggested, leading the way. “Oh, mon Dieu!” He halted, staring at the crumpled body in the snow.

Maddy thought her heart had stopped.

“
Father Paul!” the woman screamed as she ran to him.

“
Rene!” Maddy called out, but there was no answer. A siren wailed in the distance.

Terrence bounded up the steps of the cabin. He opened the door with Maddy at his heels. Maddy plowed into his broad back as he stopped abruptly. “Mrs. Sanders, I don’t think you should be in here.” He turned and tried to herd her outside, but she spotted the two figures on the floor. She shook off Terrence’s restraining hands and ran to kneel beside Seth.

“
Seth! Seth, can you hear me?” The child opened his eyes, staring up at her, uncertainly. “It’s Aunt Maddy, darling. Can you hear me?”

He nodded and closed his eyes, breathing an audible sigh.

The siren grew closer and then whined down to silence.

“
This isn’t Mark?” Terrence asked from the kitchen area where he squatted beside a large, somewhat unkempt man with a knife handle protruding from his shoulder.

“
Good heavens, no,” Maddy said, glancing over the sprawled form.

“
He took Sara,” the man said in a breathy voice. “Miz Reeny followed ‘em.”

Maddy stared at him blankly for a second. “I think he’s saying that Mark took Sara and Rene went after them.”

“
Yes’m.” the fallen man rasped. “‘N’ he’s got a gun.”

“
Oh,” Maddy bit her lip. She heard a commotion outside as more vehicles pulled into the clearing. “Terrence, get some help in here.” The tall Scot headed through the door. He was roughly shoved aside by a heavy-set woman with huge, anguished brown eyes.

“
Ben!” she called, spying the man on the floor. “Oh, Ben. What have they done to you?” She rushed to his side, clasping his face to her ample bosom.

“
I don’t think you should move him,” Maddy observed quietly. “That’s a knife in his shoulder.”

The woman screamed like a banshee, a high thin wail that reverberated from the highest point in the rafters. She managed to maintain this keening with more clarity than a diva at the Met.

More heads appeared at the door, one belonging to a young woman with dark hair and very fair skin. “Honeybee,” she said, elbowing through the crowd. “What are you all yelling about? The padre took a bullet in the chest, but I think the snow actually kept him from losing too much blood. They’re loading him in the ambulance right now.”

The speaker dropped on one knee beside Maddy and drew the quilt from Seth. Relieved, Maddy saw there was no blood.

“
Hi, I’m Dr. Lorelei.” She gently prodded and probed Seth. “Looks like somebody worked Seth over good. Can you hear me, honey?” Seth opened his eyes and seemed to recognize the doctor. “Who did this, honey? Who hurt you?”