Part 15 (1/2)
Linda moved to the window and looked out over Central Park. Their apartment was on the twenty-first floor, and contained an unbelievable view. Lee bought the place the year before they were married, and it suited both of them. She exhaled and her breath left a circle of condensation on the window.
What was it? Why couldn't she get Alex out of her mind? She watched a single cab make its way down Park Avenue and turn at the first light. Maybe it was his apology from yesterday, a strange and joyful piece still trying to fit in the puzzle of her heart. Hearing him yesterday was like getting a trip back to September 10, when Alex was a happy, carefree teenager whose greatest worry was whether he'd pa.s.sed his chemistry test. Maybe that was it. The way he'd sounded yesterday had given her hope that she might actually get him back, that he could finally let go of the hurt and pain, the desire to make everything right for his father's sake. Maybe he was about to do what he hadn't done since the Twin Towers came down.
Learn to love again.
She lifted her eyes to the full moon hanging just over the park. If he was close to tearing those walls down, then no wonder G.o.d had her walking the quiet apartment tonight. She needed to pray. With that she fell into a familiar routine, asking G.o.d for her son's emotional healing and for his physical protection. Keep him safe, G.o.d ... his job is so dangerous that any day ... any day could be his last. So guard him, protect him because he seems closer than ever to finding his way back. Keep knocking on his heart so that soon - maybe even tonight - he might turn and trust You again. Please, Lord ...
A verse filled her heart and soul as soon as she finished that part of her prayer. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it. It was a promise, one Linda had thought about often in the years since 9/11. But here, in the sacred moment of deep conversation with G.o.d, the words almost seemed like an answer. She and Ben had done what G.o.d asked of them to the best of their ability. They had trained him up in the way he should go. Now she would pray all night that the rest of the promise would come true, that Alex might return to those ways.
Now, before it was too late.
The call came in just before three in the morning, and Jamie opened her eyes in time to see Clay swing his legs out of bed and snap open his phone. She sat partway up, giving her eyes time to focus. The wind whipped against the house outside, and Jamie felt a chill run down her arms.
Clay listened intently to the caller for a few seconds and then flicked on the light next to his side of the bed. ”I know the place. Are the hills burning yet?” He waited a beat. ”Okay. I'll be there as fast as I can.”
Jamie didn't need Clay to tell her what had happened. He was on call for this very reason - in case there was another fire. The department hadn't received word of more threats from the REA, but this was the sort of night the ecoterrorists liked. A plan was already in place. If another arson fire was set in the hills, SWAT members would go to the scene immediately - to keep order, aid in the evacuation, and help pursue the suspects.
Clay was already at the closet, pulling his uniform off the hanger and slipping into the olive green s.h.i.+rt.
”Where is it?” Jamie couldn't shake the cold feeling surrounding her. The wind was warm, and even at this hour she doubted the temperature had dipped below eighty degrees. Even so she felt a chill in the room, and she pulled the down comforter up around her shoulders. ”Oak Canyon Estates.” He slipped on his uniform pants and gave her a knowing look. ”The place Alex warned us about.”
”It's close. A couple of SWAT guys live a few miles from there, right?”
”Right. We might have a chance to catch them. There's no sign of fire yet. The call came from a woman who works at the estates. She was in the office late when she heard gunshots and saw a car speed up and head for the north end of the development. She called us again when she smelled kerosene.”
Jamie's head began to spin. ”A woman?” She was more awake now than before, as suddenly the details lined up and she gasped. ”Clay, that's where she works!”
He was getting into his bulletproof vest now, fastening it and checking the pockets, making sure he had his guns. ”Who?”
”The girl. Holly Brooks. The one Alex was in love with before 9/11.”
Clay stopped and stared at her. ”Alex's old girlfriend works at the Oak Canyon Estates?”
”Yes. She has an office all to herself up there.” Jamie smoothed her dark hair and tried to process the information. ”The call had to come from her.”
”Dispatch thinks she's still up there. They advised a rescue could be necessary.”
Jamie brought her hand to her mouth. ”Go, Clay. Get her out of there.” She went to him, circling her arms around his neck. ”Be safe.” She kissed him and let her lips linger on his a few seconds longer than usual. ”I'm afraid.”
”Don't be.” They kissed once more. ”Pray. G.o.d will lead us, Jamie. I already asked Him.”
She didn't state the obvious, that Jake also had asked G.o.d to lead him, but that time the place where G.o.d had led was Heaven. On any given call, that could be true for Clay too. She released him and folded her arms around her chest, still trying to get warm. ”I'm praying already. Call me if you get a chance.”
He smiled once more at her, then left, running from the room, down the stairs, and along the hallway to the garage. A minute later she heard his car leave the garage and peel down the street.
G.o.d ... something big is about to happen, something big and very bad. Please protect Clay and the guys, and protect Holly Brooks.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you ... Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid ...
Jamie stopped s.h.i.+vering. G.o.d had heard her; He was with her. Slowly she made her way back to bed and crawled beneath the blankets. The peace of G.o.d was stronger than any pill or therapist, more effective than anything she might've found in a bottle or an exercise program. Her body began to relax and warmth came over her. There was reason for concern, no question. But with G.o.d's great peace inside her, she had survived before, and she would survive again - whatever the night brought.
She was about to settle back down when an idea hit her. She should call Alex and tell him about the fire, about Holly working at the estates, and that she was possibly trapped on the hillside. Certainly, Alex would want to know. She reached for her cell phone on the table next to her side of the bed and found his number. Then, without waiting another moment, she dialed it.
Two rings ... three ... four. The answering machine picked up. ”This is Alex ... leave a message.”
Jamie wasn't sure what to say, whether she should tell him about the fire, or about Holly, or neither. She hung up without saying anything and as she did, she prayed again, asking G.o.d to help the SWAT guys catch the arsonists and the firefighters stop the fire before houses or lives were in danger. But she also prayed that G.o.d would be with Alex Brady, who - if he knew about the fire - would've been the first on the scene.
For better or worse.
Alex had only been awake for a few minutes, but already he and Bo were in his Dodge, headed as fast as they could for the Oak Canyon Estates. Normally he didn't sleep with the police scanner in his room, because he would never get any sleep. But tonight, with the winds stronger than they'd been yesterday, he'd had two choices. Stay parked where he could watch the traffic up to the estates, or sleep with the radio in his room.
He missed the first few words of the call, but by the time the dispatcher got to the part about Oak Canyon Estates, Alex was up and getting dressed. He made the call to headquarters that he was putting in an overtime s.h.i.+ft and responding to the possible fire at the estates. As part of the task force, that much would've been expected of him. He considered leaving Bo at home. His dog had worked a lot lately, and rest was important for any service animal.
But Bo stayed at his side while he got dressed and as he headed for his truck, and when he reached for the door that led to the garage, Bo gave a single bark. His look was unmistakable. Don't go without me. Alex gave his head a quick pat. ”All right, boy. Come on.”
They were backing out of the garage when he checked his iPhone and realized he'd missed a call from Jamie Michaels. She must've been calling about the fire. Either way he'd have to call her back later. He needed all his focus on the job ahead - whatever that job was.
Dispatch had said something about a possible rescue, that the woman who had reported the situation at the estates was still in her office - an employee of the developer. Alex pressed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. This was one time when he didn't want his squad car. The Dodge would take him wherever he needed to go - including off-road. With all the warning he and the department had been given about this moment, Alex couldn't live with himself if someone died.
He was already on the freeway, minutes from the scene. The wind gusted against his truck, forcing him to steady the wheel. No traffic stood in the way, so he picked up speed again, blazing toward the exit.
His thoughts swirled in his head, blurring together and rus.h.i.+ng at him from all sides. The verse from Clay - There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads only to death ... and the other thing - how G.o.d didn't intend for people to eliminate the evil in the world, but to surrender their lives to Him in order to combat the evil within themselves. In the dark of night, with the wind howling outside, the thoughts surrounded him and mixed with his father's words, the ones captured in Jake's journal, that there would be trouble in this world, but Jesus had overcome the world.
All of it pressed in against his heart and made him glad he'd called his mom, because it was a step. If the first place where evil needed to be conquered was within, then he would check himself from time to time. As for his broken relations.h.i.+p with the Lord, that would have to wait. Right now there were more urgent matters at hand. He squinted at the freeway ahead and moved into the right lane. The exit was a mile up.
Bo must've sensed the seriousness of the call, because he let out a sharp bark. Alex looked at him in the rearview mirror, the loyal eyes, the sense of high alert in the way he held himself. However lonely and driven Alex had become, at least he had Bo. The dog was his most loyal friend. He eased the Dodge onto the exit. Whatever happened tonight, Bo would be part of the solution. The way he always was.
TWENTY-FIVE.
Clay reached the steep dirt road leading up to Oak Canyon Estates just as the first glow of orange appeared from the top of the hill. Firefighters were on the way, but the role of the SWAT team was to check on reports of gunfire and catch whoever set the fires. He and a dozen other officers had been instructed to meet at the entrance to the estates and set up a roadblock. That way, if the arsonists hadn't made their way down the drive, they'd be caught for sure. Clay and Joe could make decisions from there.
Clay was first at the scene and needed to check out the guard station, then establish a roadblock. Why hadn't the person manning the guard booth stopped the car, and what about the possible gunshots the caller had heard? Clay sped the fifty yards up the hill to the small station. As he came closer, his heartbeat quickened. His headlights illuminated a figure lying on the ground, and the gate arm that should've been down was shattered in pieces.
As he pulled up, he saw that the p.r.o.ne figure was in uniform - the security guard. Clay slammed his car to a stop, drew his gun, and climbed out. There was no way of telling how dangerous the situation was, so he stayed low behind his car door. He heard the sound of sirens and the squeal of tires back at the bottom of the road.
The car coming up next was Joe's. He pulled up behind Clay's car and hurried out the same way - gun drawn, low to the ground. ”That a body?” he barked.
”Yes. Cover me.” With Joe at his back, Clay rushed to the guard's side. He was bleeding from his arm and his side, and Clay felt for a pulse. It was there - faint and fast, same as his breathing. ”He's alive,” Clay shouted over his shoulder. ”Call for an ambulance.” He turned back to the guy. ”Help's on the way. Don't give up on me now. Come on.”
Joe made the call immediately. Wind whipped down the canyon and made it hard for Clay to keep his balance as he hovered over the man. He wanted to get up the hill and check it out, see if the arsonists were still there or if they'd already gone. And there was the woman - was she still trapped up in her office, too afraid to leave? The sirens grew louder still, and a series of squad cars sped onto the gravel road and up to the spot near the booth. As the others climbed out, Joe took charge so Clay could stay with the victim.
”Set up a partial roadblock. The suspects could be coming down any time.” Joe had grabbed his bullhorn. ”But leave room for the fire trucks ...”
The first fire trucks appeared and roared up the hill. They stopped just long enough for a couple of paramedics to jump off the rigs and hurry over to Clay. ”We've got it. The ambulance will be here in a few minutes.”