Part 45 (1/2)
”Do you think we're wrong to be worried?” Missy asked.
”No, you're not wrong,” Lorie said.
”What should we do?” Missy looked at her pleadingly.
”Call Jack,” Lorie said. ”I have no idea what's going on, who called Cathy and why, but I don't like it. If you two are right about-”
”I'm going to the church now,” Seth told her. ”Mom could be in trouble. You call Jack and tell him to meet me there, and I'll call Mom's cell phone and warn her. He looked at Missy. ”Can I borrow your car?”
”I'm going with you,” Missy said.
”No, Seth, wait,” Lorie called to them as they pushed her out of the way and headed for the door.
When she parked her car in the church lot, she didn't pay any attention to the other vehicles. People used the lot for various reasons, not all of them a.s.sociated with the church. It had been years since she'd been inside the Dunmore Baptist Church, and she didn't know her way around inside, so she entered through the unlocked front doors. Just inside the vestibule, she found a directory listing and discovered that the minister's office was in the bas.e.m.e.nt. The carpeted staircase leading down to it was well lit. Once she reached the lower level, she found a bright, cheerful hallway with pale cream walls and numerous rooms, most of them Sunday school rooms with gaily decorated doors.
When her cell phone rang, she opened her purse, reached in and removed the phone. Seeing that the caller was Seth, she answered immediately, but the phone suddenly went dead. She tried returning the call, but discovered that the reception here in the church bas.e.m.e.nt was terrible. That was probably the reason her phone wouldn't work properly. As soon as she talked to John Earl, she'd call Seth.
The door to the office marked REVEREND JOHN EARL HARPER stood wide open, enough so that Cathy was able to see inside to his secretary's desk. But she saw no sign of Erin McKinley or anyone else for that matter.
Odd.
Maybe John Earl had sent her on an errand, or perhaps she was in the nearby restroom.
”h.e.l.lo,” Cathy called as she walked into the outer office.
Silence.
”John Earl, it's Catherine Cantrell.”
A strange noise came from inside his private office. She walked over to the partially open door and peered inside. No one sat behind the desk.
”John Earl?”
Then she heard that funny noise again. It sounded like shuffling and...and what? Moaning?
Her heartbeat accelerated.
What's the matter with you? You're acting as if you have something to be afraid of, and you know good and well you don't. You're in a church, in the minister's private office. Where else could you be as safe as you are here?
Cathy entered the room and followed the peculiar sounds until she reached the side of the large oak desk. She saw what appeared to be a man's feet clad in leather loafers.
Was John Earl lying on the floor? Doing push-ups? Or had he pa.s.sed out?
She took several quick yet tentative steps and stopped dead still when she got a full view of the man on the floor. John Earl had been bound and gagged. Blood trickled down the side of his head, from his hairline to his chin. He stared up at her, his eyes wild with fear. He kept moaning and shaking his head.
”My G.o.d, who did this to you?” Cathy rushed over to him, knelt down beside him and yanked the gag from his mouth.
”Watch out!” John Earl yelled.
Too late. His dire warning was the last thing Cathy heard before someone conked her on the head and knocked her out cold.
Chapter Thirty-four
Missy zipped into the parking lot, came to a screeching halt and stopped her car in front of the church.
”Mom's here,” Seth said. ”There's her car.”
Missy jerked the keys out of the ignition. Then she and Seth jumped out of the car and ran up the porch steps. They went inside, leaving the front doors wide open. He followed Missy straight to the stairs that led down to the bas.e.m.e.nt. She stopped abruptly on the first step and glanced over her shoulder at Seth.
”Why'd you stop?” he asked softly.
”What if whoever called your mom has a weapon of some sort, a gun or a knife or...we don't have anything to defend ourselves with or to defend your mom.”
Seth absorbed the reality of what Missy had just said. ”We need to be quiet and not let anyone know we're here. Understand? Our best chance of getting the upper hand is if we can take them by surprise.”
Missy s.h.i.+vered. ”Oh, Seth, maybe we should wait for Deputy Perdue.”
”Look, why don't you wait for Jack,” Seth suggested, keeping his voice quiet. ”I'm going downstairs. I have to find out if my mom's all right.”
”I know. It's just that I'm scared.”
”Go back into the vestibule and wait for Jack.”
”But you might need my help.” She looked down the staircase. ”I'm going with you.”
”Are you sure?”
”I'm sure.”
”Then let's go. And be as quiet as you can. We don't want to give whoever's down there any advance warning, do we?”
Cathy's head hurt something awful. She tried to lift her hand to rub the back of her head but found that she couldn't move her arm. Her eyes flew open. Where was she? And what had happened to her? Think, Cathy, think! Think, Cathy, think!
When she tried to move again, she realized that her hands were tied behind her back, and when she tried to scream, all that came out was a m.u.f.fled groan. She had been gagged!