Blind Side

The firemen were hosing down the roof of the house, but even with the heavy rain there was no hope. Katie’s house was gutted, and everything in it gone.

Miles threw back his head and yelled, “Katie!”

One of the deputies came running up, panting as he said, “Are the kids okay, Mr. Kettering?”

“They’re with Linnie in jail, I mean that literally. Where’s Katie?”

“I think she’s still in the back.”

Miles said, “They shot at the sheriff’s truck. You’ll probably be able to dig out the bullets, identify them. Are you sure Katie’s okay?”

“I heard her yelling,” the deputy said. “When she yells like that, she’s okay, just real mad.”

Miles nodded and ran to the back of the burning house, rain blurring his vision. He swiped his hand over his eyes, and shouted, “Katie!”

“I’m here.”

He nearly ran right into her. She was leaning against a sugar maple, tying something around her hand.

“Dammit, you hurt yourself,” he said, then pulled her tight against him, unable to help himself, he was so afraid.

“Nothing bad, I promise,” she said, and pulled back to give him the ghost of a smile. “A flying spark burned my hand. It’s not bad. The guys who bombed my house are long gone. Wade and the other deputies haven’t found anything yet.”

“Both of us know where they went,” he said. “First, let’s get your hand bandaged a bit better. I saw the paramedics out front.”

Ten minutes later they were in Katie’s truck, Miles driving, headed for the McCamy house.

Katie turned back to look at the devastation of her house. “Gone,” she said. “Everything’s gone, including all my pictures of Keely and even her chess set.”

“We’re alive and that’s all that matters. And you’ve got your hat.”

She was wet and dirty, her hair straggling down beneath her beautiful cream-colored straw hat, her hand hurt, but she managed a smile. “Yes, and now I want to face down the monsters who have tried to wreck our lives.” She drew her ankle gun and handed it to him. Driving with one hand, he shoved it into the waistband of his jeans.

As he leaned forward to wipe his hand across the fog building up on the windshield, Miles said, “The rain is finally letting up a bit.”

Katie said, “It’s nearly four o’clock in the morning. Do you think the McCamys will pretend they were sleeping?”

He just shook his head, concentrating on not sliding off the road. “Unless we get lucky, and these guys have gone back to the McCamy house, I don’t know what we’re going to accomplish tonight.”

Katie said slowly, “I’ve got an idea on how to get us through the front door.”

Miles raised an eyebrow, but when she shook her head, he said, “Who have you called for backup?”

Again, she didn’t answer. Her hand was throbbing bad now, she was sick to her stomach about her house and so mad she wanted to spit nails. Did she want backup? Sure, you always had backup, always. She just couldn’t believe that she hadn’t been the one to think of it.

She blew out her breath and dialed 911. “Linnie, how are the kids?”

“They’re locked in a cell with Mort, the cleaning guy.” There was a pause, and Linnie said, “He’s teaching them how to play poker. They’re distracted and that’s for the best. And yes, they’re in dry clothes and they’re warm. Everything’s okay here, Katie. We got this place lit up like Christmas, and there are four of us here, ready to bust heads if those creeps show up.”

“Thank you so much for coming in, Linnie. Okay, here’s the deal. I want four deputies, Wade in the lead, out at Reverend McCamy’s house.” Linnie, of course, already knew they were on the way. Katie imagined that she’d spoken to every one of the deputies. “Listen, Linnie, this is very important: Tell Wade not to use sirens. I want a silent approach and I want them to stay outside and search for the guys who bombed my house. Tell them to be very careful.” She paused, smiled a bit. “Give the kids a kiss.” She flipped her cell off. “Turn here, Miles.”

Miles was hunched over the steering wheel, trying to see through the rain and the fogged windshield. “He wants Sam beyond reason or else he would have given it up. This has nothing to do with money, this has to do with a madman, and what a madman believes.”

That sounded simple, and exactly right, Katie thought. She said, “He must be well over the edge now, surely what happened tonight proves it. I wonder who he found to do this on such short notice. It’s got to be someone local, maybe someone from his congregation.”