Silence in the Dark (14 page)

He tilted his head. “Why don’t you let it rest tonight? After breakfast we’ll talk about it.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Problem was, she doubted Danny or Angel would like what she planned to do. She reached for Maria, but Angel picked her up first.

“I’ll take her. You show me where you’ll be sleeping.”

Robyn stood and spoke to Solana. “Come on, and I’ll show you to your room. I think I can find a pair of Bailey’s pajamas for you to sleep in.” She turned to Bailey. “And then I’ll go up into the attic and see if I can find a pair of Abby’s pjs from when she was Maria’s age.”

A little later Bailey helped Maria up into her high bed. She tucked the quilt under the child’s chin. Abby’s pajamas were a little big, but they would do until they could go shopping. Another item to add to tomorrow’s list.

Maria snuggled under the quilt. “Miss Bailey, would you tell me a story, like you do at school?”

Bailey sat on the side of the bed and smoothed the child’s dark hair away from her face. She searched her memory for a story. “How about Snow White?”

The child’s eyes brightened. “Oh, good! I like the prince in it and the dwarfs, especially Bashful.”

The door opened, and Robyn slipped into the room. “Solana is all settled, and Mom sent me up to get your clothes. She’s going to put them in the wash so you both will have something to wear in the morning.”

She glanced down at the clothes she’d put on this morning. “Maria’s are in the bathroom, but mine can wait. I’ll wear something I left in the closet, but you’re not leaving right away, are you?”

“I’ll be here a little longer, but right now I’m going to take the clothes downstairs.”

“Wait until I tell Maria a story, and I’ll go down with you.”

“Sure. I haven’t heard one of your bedtime stories since Abby was her age.”

Bailey turned her attention to Maria. “Once upon a time . . .” She softened her voice and quietly began the story, hoping to quickly lull Maria to sleep. When she came to the part about the wicked queen giving Snow White the poisoned apple, Maria interrupted her.

“That’s not nice. It will make her sick, like Mommy.”

In all the times Bailey had told the children in her classroom the story of Snow White, Maria had never once mentioned her mother. “Why do you think that?”

“Because everyone brought Mommy food, and she got sick and went to heaven. Tio and Uncle Joel brought her candy too.”

“Oh, honey, that wasn’t the same thing. They just wanted to make her feel better.”

Maria’s eyes held her gaze until finally she sighed. “Okay. Do you think Mommy and Daddy are in heaven together?”

Bailey faltered. Maria was full of surprises tonight. “I’m sure they are.” She hesitated. “Do you remember your daddy?”

Maria grew quieter. Her fingers rubbed the edge of the quilt. Finally she shook her head. “But sometimes when I’m asleep, I hear him say, “
Te amo, niña
.”

I love you, baby girl.
Bailey took in a shaky breath. “I’m sure he loved you very much.”

“That’s what Cook says.” Maria smiled. “Finish telling me about Snow White.”

When she saw Joel again, Bailey would ask him about Maria’s dad.
If
she saw him again. She tucked the sheet under the girl’s chin. “Okay where were we?”

“The wicked queen was giving her the apples.”

A text beeped on Robyn’s phone. “That’s Mom wanting the clothes. I’ll see you in a little bit,” Robyn said and left for the bathroom.

As Bailey returned to the story, Maria settled deeper in the bed and touched her neck. Her eyes popped open. “My necklace. It’s gone!”

Bailey lifted the blanket and sheet and shook them. No necklace. “Maybe it’s in your jumper.” She hurried to catch her sister. “Maria’s lost her necklace.”

Robyn paused at the top of the stairs. “Maybe it got caught in her top.” She shook first the pullover, then the jumper Maria had worn over the shirt. The necklace tumbled onto the floor.

“Thank goodness!” Bailey stooped to pick it up. “Looks like the clasp is broken. She’ll be so disappointed.”

“Mr. Stevens at Logan Point Jewelers can mend it,” Robyn said. “I can take it in for you tomorrow and drop it off when I take Abby to school.”

“That would be great. I might not have time. I’m going to talk
to Danny and Angel again about contacting Maria’s grandparents in the morning. I’d like to go see them.”

“Do you plan to take her with you?”

She hadn’t thought about what she’d do with Maria. Certainly not take her, not until she knew exactly what was going on with the grandparents. “Maybe I can get Danny to stay here.”

Robyn eyed her with amusement. “Yeah, right. Why don’t you let her stay with Mom? I’ll come over and help. How about Angel and Solana—are they going with you?”

“I don’t know.” She hadn’t even thought about them and what they would do, but now that she had, she knew Angel wouldn’t leave Maria. What if he was the one trying to kidnap her? No, because if that were the case, he wouldn’t have helped them get out of Mexico.

Her mind went round and round with possible answers, none of them satisfying. The one thing she knew—Angel would not let anything happen to Maria while she was gone. And given the way he seemed to feel about the child, she didn’t believe he would do anything like whisking her away. Maria had been traumatized enough in the past twenty-four hours.

“If you can come over, it would be great. I probably won’t be gone over a couple of hours.” She hesitated. “We haven’t talked about what happened, but I’m so glad you’re home safe.”

Robyn hugged her. “Me too.”

“How did you do it? I mean, mentally. I’ve read the papers, so I know the physical things that happened, but what kept you going?”

“God, plain and simple. But you know all about that. You’re the missionary.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” What would Robyn say if she told her she didn’t know all about it? That she’d lost her grasp of who God was. If she’d ever had it. “You have so much peace. Let’s find time to talk soon.”

Robyn tilted her head. “Anything going on I should know about? Danny, maybe?”

Her mixed feelings about Danny surfaced. Robyn had always liked him, so Bailey didn’t know if she was the right person to talk to. “Nothing that can’t wait.”

Later after Robyn left and Maria had fallen asleep, Bailey stood by the window, searching the skies. When she was a child, the stars had shone like diamonds from her window, but now only one or two managed to peek through the bright security lights. The urge to recapture that time before days like today propelled her to the closet for a coat and the fur-lined boots she’d left behind. She checked Maria, and, satisfied that she was sleeping soundly, Bailey eased her door open and tiptoed down the hallway to the stairs.

She skipped the squeaky second step and soon sat on a stump beyond the lights, on the other side of the barn. Facing north, she scanned the velvet sky for the Little Dipper, then followed the handle to the North Star. Polaris, her dad always called it. The one star that did not rise or set and that could be seen even with a full moon like tonight. After she found it, tension eased from her body. Even though everything else in her world had crashed and burned, Polaris remained.

The mask slipped from her heart, and at this moment, Polaris seemed more real than God. How many times had the sight before her filled her heart with the nearness of him? Under these very stars, she’d preached God’s love to Danny. Her cheeks burned in spite of the cold air. What a fraud she was. At the first sign of trouble, her faith had deserted her like a rat fleeing a raging fire.

Today hadn’t been the first trouble. No, today was just meringue on the pie. Doubt had started the first day in Copper Canyon when the self-proclaimed priest Father Horatio took one look at the
new missionary and decided she was trouble. Later, he pointed out the starburst pattern in Bailey’s eyes and had declared her a witch. Then when she encouraged the village women to question his authority, his campaign to get rid of her began in earnest and culminated on the day of her most successful tea party . . .

It had been a beautiful day, so she’d moved the tea party from inside the church to under the trees. The air had been filled with laughing women excited about the purses sent by the church she’d partnered with back in Mississippi.

“I don’t know which is the bigger hit—the purses or the New Testament,” she said to Elena.

“I think the little white Bible is,” her friend replied. “But do you see Father Horatio? He’s standing across the road.”

Bailey looked up and gasped as he stepped out of the shadows of the abandoned building across from them. The look of anger and hatred he shot at her sent chills down her back. Abruptly, he turned and disappeared around the corner of the building.

She thought by now he would realize no matter how many dead roosters or other things he left in the seat of her van, she wasn’t leaving. Not when she was finally reaching the women after eight long months.

She checked her watch. It was time to end their party. “Okay, ladies, all good things must come to a close . . . until next week. We start our Bible studies next Monday. If you need me to pick you up, just let me know. And those riding with me today, load up. Don’t want your husbands upset because their supper isn’t on the table.”

The last thing she needed was an angry husband. As the women dispersed, six of them slowly walked to the van. Except for Elena, these were her older women who had a hard time walking the mile to the church. She hurried to get the stool for them to climb into the back of the van. Once everyone was in, she hurried around to the driver’s side and hopped in.

A slight rustling, and Bailey cocked her head, listening. Nothing. Maybe she imagined the sound. She reached for the ignition.

Chi chi chi chi chi.

Her fingers froze on the key. Ice water raced through her veins. She hadn’t imagined that sound. Rattler. Under her seat.

Very slowly, she took her hand off the key in the ignition. Another
chi chi chi chi chi
. Further over this time.

“Ladies . . .” Her voice trembled. “Very quietly, get out of the van.”

“What’s wrong?” Elena asked from the backseat.

“I . . . I’ll explain in a minute.” If she mentioned the rattler, they would panic. “Just get out.”

Elena must have realized something was very wrong. She urged the women to ease from the vehicle. As soon as they were all out, Bailey opened the driver’s door and scrambled out . . .

There had been not one but three rattlers under the front seat. Even now, Bailey’s heart pounded in her chest. Horatio had endangered not only her but all the women, and her mission board had pulled her out of the village two days later.

She looked up at the sky again.
Why are you letting all these bad things happen?
She waited as her breath floated up in white streams.

A twig snapped, and Bailey jerked her head toward the noise. “Who’s there?”

Oh, how stupid could she get! She jumped up, ready to run.

“Bailey?”

“Danny?”

“What are you doing out here?” he said, moving where she could see him.

“Looking for the North Star.” The adrenaline dump turned her knees to water, and she sank back on the stump. “You just took ten years off my life.”

“What do you think you did to me? Why are you out here?” he repeated.

She pulled her jacket tighter. “I couldn’t sleep. Is that why you’re here?”

“No, I wanted to walk the perimeter, familiarize myself with the property again.”

She swallowed, her gratitude for Danny’s concern overwhelming her. After the way she’d treated him, she wouldn’t have blamed him for running in the opposite direction. “I don’t know how to thank—”

“There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“I want to anyway. And I want you to think about something.”

He raised his eyebrows, waiting.

“I want to call and talk to Joel’s parents in Corning. Maybe even go to see them. They’re anxious to see Maria—she’s their only grandchild. You could take me there tomorrow, and we could check out the situation . . .”

He pressed his lips together and at least seemed to be considering her request.

“So will you take me?”

He shrugged. “If I don’t, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Tension eased from Bailey’s shoulders. It had really worried her that she hadn’t called the McDermotts yet. “Thanks.”

Her heart thudded in her chest as he studied her.

“The North Star,” he said. “Did you find it?”

“Yes,” she said, pointing northward. “See the Little Dipper? Follow the handle and you’ll see it.”

He moved closer to her and looked in the direction she pointed. The musky scent of his cologne reminded her of other nights when he had been this close and had taken her in his arms and kissed her.

“Yeah, I see it. And it never moves?”

Savoring his nearness, she couldn’t bring herself to move away from him. “That’s right.”

He turned and gazed into her eyes. “Care if I sit with you?”

She scooted over, and he sat beside her on the stump barely
big enough for the two of them. With their shoulders and legs almost touching, she willed herself to move so he wouldn’t sense her treacherous heart thumping against her ribs. Instead she found herself leaning into him. “Why did you do it? Risk your life today to help me?”