Where Shadows Meet by Colleen Coble (29)

Trudy gestured with the gun again. “Would you like to say hello to your mother, Matt? She’s right down there if you’d like to stop in for a visit.”

“Stop it!” Hannah shouted. “Just stop being such a cruel witch.”

Trudy’s brows raised. “The mouse roars?”

This was where bitterness led. Hannah got it now. Forgiveness was much more beautiful when contrasted with this vengeful woman. How had she been so blind? She found it hard to look away from that twisted mouth, those eyes filled with hatred and judgment. Had she looked like that to Ellen earlier today? Is this what Reece saw when he looked in her face?

“Why, Trudy? Why all this hatred to people who never even hurt you? What did Moe ever do to warrant death?”

“That was his own fault. The flowers were meant for his mother.” Trudy glared at Reece.

“My aunt was a wonderful woman,” Hannah said. As long as she could keep Trudy talking, they might have a chance of being rescued.

“She was a busybody. She came to see me after your parents’ funeral, all the way in her little buggy as if I would be impressed. She told me she’d seen Reece coming out of Ellen’s house when Cyrus wasn’t there. She suspected Reece was a killer and came to tell me to be careful of him.” Trudy smiled. “She didn’t tell the police. She wanted to leave justice in God’s hands.”

“And of course she had no idea you were involved,” Hannah said slowly.

“When Reece told me what he’d done to lure you back here, I knew Nora would have to die. She wouldn’t keep that information to herself.” She glanced up at Reece as though seeking his approval. “I put you first in everything.”

“She never told me. You didn’t have to kill her.”

“She would have.” Trudy’s voice was matter-of-fact. “Shoot her, Reece. You need to do it to be rid of her in spirit.” Reece shook his head and dropped the hand with the gun to his side, but she seized his arm. Her voice rose, and even the wind didn’t drown it out. “If it hadn’t been for me, you would have been out on the streets, Reece. We’re in this together too far for you to back out now. It has to be done.”

“Let me keep Hannah.” His voice was weak and pleading.

“You’re so weak, boy. Would you fight me again? Want to knock me down like you did when you first got back? You’re pitiful.”

Hannah’s gaze went to Matt, and she saw from his expression that he had heard Reece too. His nostrils flared, and his lips thinned. She could see his coiled muscles waiting to spring into action. They weren’t going down without a fight.

“You’ve got my gun,” Matt said. “This time use it for a good purpose. Save Hannah and Caitlin.”

“Shut up, Matthew!” Trudy transferred her glare from Matt to Reece. “Reece, you’ll do what I say.”

Trudy finally seemed to badger Reece into submission. He brought the gun up and aimed it at Matt. “I’ll put your gun to good use, all right. You want to go first, big guy? See your mother?”

Hannah stepped in front of Matt. “Let’s leave now, Reece. Just go away, you and me. Matt can keep Caitlin. That’s all she knows anyway.” She didn’t think Reece would be able to shoot her. He never destroyed his possessions. Matt made a grab for her to shove her out of the way, but she evaded him and began to walk toward Reece. “You don’t have to listen to her, Reece. Look at me. Let’s leave here, start a new life. You’ll never have to see her again.”

“Reece, we have to end it here,” Trudy said, her voice steely and commanding. “She’ll never stay with you. You know that. She’s sacrificing herself for her daughter. I’d shoot her myself, but you need to do it or she will always haunt you.”

The tremble in Reece’s hand was nearly imperceptible, but Hannah caught the slight movement. She sidled closer to her husband. She had to find the courage to forgive him, truly and from the heart. He would only recognize truth.

She reached into the depths of her soul and found the courage. “I forgive you, Reece. I forgive you for every slap, every harsh word.” She was shocked to realize she meant it. She could look at him and see past his brutality to his pain. She’d never dreamed it would be possible to give him grace.

There was no way she’d be able to get the gun out of his hand, but he might leave with her. If he’d lay down the gun and let Matt and Caitlin go, she’d honor her promise. It would be a small price to pay for the life of her daughter and the man she loved.

Trudy never gave her the chance to find out. “You’re so weak, Reece. I even have to save you from yourself.” She brought up her gun and aimed it at Hannah. “You’re just like your mother—a user.” Her finger tightened on the trigger. “She ruined everything that ever mattered to me.”

Hannah stared down the bore of the revolver. The muscles in her legs coiled to spring away, but she knew at this close range, she had little chance of escaping. Before she could make the leap to death or life, Reece turned toward his grandmother. Everything moved as though in slow motion. Hannah heard him shout Trudy’s name. She saw the puff of smoke and heard the gun bark in his hand. The revolver recoiled, and Trudy began to fall.

Matt hurtled past Hannah. “Run!” he shouted, tackling Reece. He bored the other man to the ground. “Get Caitlin from the shack!”

Ajax barked and danced around the struggling men. Hannah rushed away. Her gut told her to stay and help Matt, but Caitlin was depending on her. She darted down the path toward the shack, but before she got there, Caitlin stepped in front of her. The little girl saw her and ran toward her. She was crying.

Hannah grabbed her hand. She heard a shot ring out in the trees. Daring a glance back, she saw Reece stagger toward her, brandishing his revolver. His presence cut off their escape that way. The water was the only way out. Hannah raced toward the creek.

She was an expert at canoeing, but with Sugar Creek so turbulent, it would be dangerous. Matt couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t believe that. If she could get to town, she could send back help. If only she had her cell phone, but Reece threw it away. She deposited Caitlin into the bottom of a canoe. “Don’t move,” she said.

As soon as the end of the canoe hit the water, the current grabbed it. She nearly didn’t make it into the canoe herself before the water flung the vessel into the middle of the creek. Too late, she realized how hard the waves would be to navigate. Caitlin sat on the bottom of the canoe. “There’s a life vest under the seat—put it on,” she called to her daughter.

Caitlin grabbed the vest and slipped her arms into it. Hannah glanced behind to find Reece in the other boat, coming after them. In the back of the canoe, Hannah dipped the oar into the water and used it to try to steer the vessel around the worst of the rapids. If she could guide them around this bend toward land and hide the boat, Reece would go on downstream looking for them.

A covered bridge loomed ahead. The water tore at the underpinnings, and the bridge began to bob. Her gaze searched frantically for a way through. If they hit the bridge, they’d be capsized. A small gap in the side near the south bank caught her eye, and she aimed for it. The rapids intensified as she neared the bridge. The churning water smelled of mud and dying vegetation. The swiftly flowing water raised the canoe as if taking aim for the gap. With one final heave, the canoe hurtled for the spot.

And flew into the bridge, which had now come loose from its grip on the land. The canoe skidded across the planks and came to a stop. The bridge swirled in the water, and waves licked over the side. “We’ve got to try to crawl to shore!” Hannah shouted. Caitlin nodded and began to crawl on her hands and knees across the canoe toward the bridge floor.

Hannah followed her and prayed.

PAIN PURIFIED THE soul. If that was true, Matt figured he was nearly an angel. The gunshot wound felt like hot metal in his gut. His grandmother lay half in the cistern, but he spared no thought for her. He staggered in the direction Hannah and Caitlin had gone. Reece had Matt’s gun and would catch them. He had to help.

Ajax limped beside him. Matt could see blood on the dog’s paw. Maybe he’d been shot as well. Matt stuffed his fist against the blood seeping from his stomach. Death might be calling his name, but he wasn’t going out without a fight. He wouldn’t leave Hannah and Caitlin defenseless.

When he reached the water, he realized both canoes were gone. Hannah wouldn’t have taken Caitlin out onto the water unless she’d had no choice. He clawed out his cell phone. Thank God, he had a signal. He punched in 9-1-1 and called in the incident as he stumbled downstream in search of Hannah and his daughter. The dispatcher promised to get an EMT chopper out ASAP. He asked to have a vet standing by for Ajax.

His vision faltered. Barely aware of his surroundings, he kept going. Was that a canoe up ahead? Before he could decide what he’d seen, he stumbled to his knees. As he fell facedown onto the mud, the roaring in his ears intensified and darkness sucked him into a vortex that went down to a bottomless pit.

THE FLOODWATERS ROARED their fury in her ears. The little girl scampered across the rough-hewn boards. She made the final leap across the water to shore before Hannah was fully out of the boat. Hannah crawled across the bridge floor after her daughter. She heard a crash and looked back to see Reece’s canoe fly into the air and land upside down. What had happened to him? She crawled back to the end of the floating bridge closest to Reece and searched the water.

The muddy water churned with flotsam: tree limbs, pieces of metal roofing, old tin cans, and car parts. Then Reece’s head broke the surface, and he gasped for air. “Hannah, help me!” His arms flailed.

He’d saved her from Trudy. She had to help him. Hannah searched for a branch to hold out to him. There, a loose one poked up from the mass of limbs and trees lodged against the bridge. She tugged it free and reached out to Reece. The desperation in his face made her lean too far, and she nearly toppled into the water with him.

She tried again, flinging the end of the branch into his face. He grasped it in one hand, and she began to pull him toward the bridge. The nearer he got to her, the more the waves crashed over his head. At this rate, she would drown him. She pulled harder. A surge of water covered him again, then he popped up several feet closer. He’d lost hold of the branch, but he managed to grab a limb that protruded from the blockage.

His gaze on her, he began to crawl up onto the logjam at the base of the bridge. Hannah turned and sidled away from him, toward her daughter and safety. He could fend for himself now. Her conscience was clear. She reached the other end of the bridge. The gap between the bridge and the shore had widened. Could she make it? She coiled her muscles and sprang for the shore. Her outflung hand grasped a tree root, and she hauled herself up with it until she lay face forward in the mud.

If she had the strength, she’d kiss the ground. Her vision darkened, and she fought to stay conscious. They weren’t out of the woods yet, literally. She had to get Caitlin to safety and send back help for Matt. She became aware that Caitlin was shaking her and rolled onto her back to stare up into the beautiful face of her baby girl.

“Miss Hannah, the bad man is coming,” Caitlin whispered. “You have to get up.”

Hannah managed to sit. Pain gripped her back, her legs. Blood ran from her knees from crawling along the rough logs. She bit back a groan. A sound behind her caught her attention, and she turned to see Reece standing on the collapsed bridge. The structure bucked like a wild thing and began to break apart. He wore a victorious grin that widened when he saw her watching him.

“I’m coming, Hannah. Wait for me.”

“Run, Reece!” Hannah screamed. “It’s falling apart.” She knew she should grab Caitlin and run as fast as they could, but she couldn’t move, caught by the drama playing out in front of her.

The surging water intensified as a new round of flotsam hit the bridge. The structure shuddered. Reece’s victorious grin morphed into wild-eyed terror as the boards under his feet rolled. He tried to drop down and grab a board, but the thing bucked again. He flipped into the air and came down hard. Hannah heard something crack when he hit the beams. The next instant the bridge splintered, and pieces of wood flew in all directions. Reece’s hand flew up in a silent plea, then the debris rained down on him and he disappeared under the onslaught.

Hannah sank to her knees and put her face in her hands. There was no way he could have survived that. She was free, she and Caitlin. Free to live their lives out from under his cruelty. But she ached for the man he might have been. And if not for Reece, she would lie in the cistern with Matt’s mother.

She staggered to her feet again. “We’ve got to find your daddy,” she told Caitlin.

They looked up to hear the whop-whop of a chopper overhead. How did the EMTs know where to find them? Her blood surged at the knowledge that Matt had to have called it in. She raced back along the bank with Caitlin. Around the curve and through the mud with the creek roaring its triumph. She could see the shack in the distance, then she heard Ajax barking. He sounded frantic, but weak, too, and her initial joy began to drain.

Then she saw Matt. Crumpled in the water. Ajax barked again, then took hold of the collar of Matt’s shirt and tried to tug him from the water that sought to claim him. The dog was losing the battle. He looked battered and weak from the effort. Hannah put on a burst of speed and reached Matt’s side. She grabbed him under the arms and, with Ajax’s help, managed to get him out of the water’s grasp.

She rolled him onto his back and saw the awful wound in his belly. All the while she waved her arms to flag down the chopper, she knew she was going to lose him.