Forgotten Past by Mary Alford

Chapter Five

An explosion rocketed through the house, rattling windows and shaking the furniture. Faith shot up in bed just as the alarm’s siren split the quiet and her heartbeat thudded in her chest.

Was she dreaming? Had the blast been real or part of a dream? As the alarm continued to blare, Faith realized this was no dream. Someone was trying to break into the house.

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She’d just wanted to rest for a second, but exhaustion had taken over and she’d fallen asleep the second her head hit the pillow with Ollie close by her side.

She glanced around the dark room. The Pug was nowhere in sight and something was terribly wrong. She couldn’t breathe.

Faith drew in a handful of deep breaths and started to cough. The air tasted bitter. Acrid. Tears streamed from her eyes. It was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of her as smoke poured into the room.

The house was on fire.

She hurled her body out of bed and kept low to the floor. Faith grabbed the first thing her fingers came in contact with, a scarf lying on the chair near the bed. She wrapped it around her nose and mouth and crawled toward the door.

“Ollie,” Faith called out and choked on the smoke. The closer she got to the door the heavier it became.

Dear God, please don’t let us be trapped.

Once she reached the door, she realized she’d left it cracked open. That’s how the dog must have gotten out.

“Ollie, where are you?” She wouldn’t leave without her beloved pet. He’d been with her through some of the worst moments in her life.

She listened and heard a faint whimpering coming from the landing of the stairs. Ollie...

Before she could call the dog again, she heard it. Glass breaking downstairs. It sounded like it came from the back of the house. She couldn’t move, her body frozen with fear. “Please help me. Please don’t let me die like this.” She whispered the prayer into the smoke-filled room. As if in answer, Ollie squeezed through the narrow opening in the door and jumped into her arms, licking her face. Faith closed the door as quietly as she could and then crawled underneath the bed.

“Shh,” she uttered against Ollie’s ear, and the dog seemed to understand the urgency. He buried his head against her chest.

She could feel the Pug shaking in her arms. Ollie was scared to death. It dawned on her that the alarm had stopped blaring. Had he somehow disabled it? She had been so terrified by the fire and so desperate to find Ollie that she hadn’t noticed the silence until now. The only noise was the fire and footsteps moving around downstairs.

With her heart beating a frantic pace against her chest, Faith closed her eyes. Let not your heart be troubled... She recited her favorite verse over and over in her head. God was in control. No matter what happened, she’d trust Him to see her through this nightmare.

A sense of calm slipped over her. She opened her eyes and listened. A door slammed somewhere downstairs. She could no longer hear the footsteps. The only sound in the house was the fire raging.

She knew if she wanted to live, she had to get herself and Ollie out as quickly as possible, before the dense smoke pouring into the room took the choice away from them.

◆◆◆

Without any moonlight and with the rain continuing to fall, the area of beach leading to Faith’s place seemed even more isolated than usual. JT had made a judgment call and had chosen to walk back to her house instead of taking the Suburban. He hoped it had been the right move because right now he wasn’t so sure. Before he reached the stretch of beach behind Faith’s house, he heard it. An explosion. It sounded as if someone had detonated a small bomb.

JT reached for his phone then remembered he’d given it to Faith.

He sprinted toward the now-burning house, his heartbeat mirroring his footsteps. The entire kitchen area appeared to be missing. Flames licked out through a gaping hole.

The fire had rendered the back of the house inaccessible. He skirted the side and cleared the top step of the porch in a single move.

“Faith.” He called out her name as he tried the front door and found it unlocked. The second he opened it, smoke blasted him. JT choked and covered his mouth with his arm. He could hardly see anything as he entered the house.

“Faith!” The fire had completely engulfed the kitchen by now, and time was running out. He frantically searched the rooms downstairs, all the while shouting out her name. He’d started up the stairs when he heard it. A whimpering sound. He stopped and listened. Ollie. It was coming from Faith’s bedroom.

JT took the steps two at a time. “Faith!”

“I’m in here,” she called out. JT raced for the door just as she opened it.

“Come on. We have to get out of here now.” He hurried back down the stairs with Faith following close behind him. So far, the fire seemed confined to the kitchen and laundry area.

They reached the front door and he cracked it and stopped. “Stay here until I make sure he’s not out there waiting for us.”

He stepped outside and drew his weapon. He said a quick prayer and left the porch. JT glanced around the area. It was pitch-black and the rain made it next to impossible to see anything. If the killer were still on the property, they’d be sitting ducks, but he had to get Faith out of the house before the whole place went up in flames.

Why hadn’t the two officers watching the house come to Faith’s rescue? He didn’t like it. He couldn’t see any movement coming from the car.

JT raced up the steps and grabbed Faith’s hand. “I can’t see anything and the two officers watching the house aren’t moving. We need to make it to the trees behind the house. He won’t be able to see us from there.”

He pulled her along behind him until they reached a clump of trees separating her property line from the beach.

Faith jerked the scarf from her face. She leaned over and put her hand on her knees, coughing and trying to draw enough air into her lungs.

“I need you to wait here. I’m going to check on the officers. They should have reacted to the explosion by now. Something’s wrong.”

She clutched his arm in a death grip. “I’m coming with you. I don’t want to stay here alone.” The determination in her eyes made it impossible to refuse. She was the target and he needed to protect her, yet he understood her fear and he didn’t like leaving her alone.

“Okay, but stay close.”

He held out his hand and she took it and followed him. He could feel her soft breath against his neck.

JT stopped when they reached the tree line. Flames had completely engulfed the downstairs of the house by now. The rain at least helped to keep the fire from spreading at a faster rate, but the strength of the wind worked against them. It licked flames in all directions. He needed to call the fire in. He reached for his cell phone and realized it was still in the house and he’d left Faith’s at his place.

Had something happened to the two officers? Was that why they hadn’t responded to the fire? An uneasy feeling slipped into the pit of his stomach. This didn’t bode well. The patrol car was some twenty feet in front of them and already he could see the glass was missing from the driver’s-side door. If the killer were close, the minute they cleared the trees they’d be an easy target, but he couldn’t leave without checking on the two men in the car.

He and Faith left the protection of the trees and moved cautiously toward the back of the vehicle.

Still no one moved inside the car.

JT stopped. “Get down and wait here. I need to check it out first.” She didn’t answer but did as he asked.

He edged toward the driver’s side. That window was shattered and so was the one on the passenger side. Someone had shot them out. Shards of glass still clung to the door. The killer had probably used the same weapon as the one he’d fired on JT. Rain dripped through the opening in the window onto Samuels’s face. He lay slumped in the seat at an awkward angle, half leaning against the door.

Blood oozed from a multitude of gunshot wounds. Even before JT tried to find a pulse, he knew there was no way anyone could survive such a brutal attack. Kennedy was dead as well. The killer had ripped the radio transponder from the machine. JT searched for their cell phones. They were missing. The killer had murdered two police officers in cold blood before setting the fire. And he could still be out there now, waiting for the right moment to...

“Run,” JT yelled as he reached Faith’s side and grabbed her hand, dragging her with him. When they reached the trees once more, he stopped long enough for them to catch their breath.

She jerked her hand free. “We have to go back. We have to help them,” she shouted over the noise of the flames and the ocean. He could see that she was crying.

“They’re dead, Faith. We can’t help them. Whoever killed those two officers is probably watching us. We can’t stop...we have to keep going.”

While the trees afforded a small amount of protection from the elements, every time he breathed out he could see his breath. With nightfall, the temperature had dropped considerably. If they stayed out here much longer, they’d be at risk of hyperthermia.

“Hang on a second.” When they reached the beach, JT tugged her close as he listened for any indication they might have been followed, but he couldn’t hear anything above the noise of the rain and the ocean. “Stay near the tree line and whatever you do don’t let go of my hand,” he whispered against her ear.

Covering the quarter-mile distance to his house seemed to take forever. He constantly checked back over his shoulder to make sure no one followed them. By the time they reached his back door, they were both soaked to the bone and shivering from the cold.

JT unlocked the door and they hurried inside. “I’ll be right back,” he told her after securing the dead bolt. He went to the closet and pulled out a couple of blankets. Faith still clutched Ollie tight, as if she were holding onto a lifeline. “Here. Put this around your shoulders. It’ll help warm you up.” He cranked up the heat and then grabbed his house phone to call the fire department. “This is JT Wyatt. There’s a fire at 21 Ocean Way. I need you to send help right away.”

◆◆◆

Telling Will about the death of his two officers was one of the hardest things JT had ever had to do. Samuels and Kennedy were good men. Their families had lived on Hope Island for generations. The community, as well as the force, would feel their loss.

JT disconnected the call and turned to Faith. She was soaking wet and shaking uncontrollably. She was suffering from shock and probably the first stages of hyperthermia.

“We need to get you warmed up,” he told her gently. “There’s a shower upstairs you can use. I’ll show you where it is.”

She nodded and set Ollie on the floor.

When they reached the guest bedroom, he stopped. “Fresh towels are in the linen closet next to the shower. I think my sister left some clothes behind from when she and her family stayed here after their house flooded. They should fit you.” He went over to a dresser, pulled out a set of gray sweats and handed them to her. “It’s the best I can do. Go get warmed up and I’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.”

He started to leave when her next words stopped him in his tracks. “Those men. They’re dead because of me. I don’t know how to live with that.”

Tears rimmed her eyes and his heart broke for her. “No. No, Faith. This isn’t your fault.” He came over to where she stood, then pulled her into his arms. “None of this is your fault. You can’t take on the blame. That’s what he wants you to think. Don’t let him win.”

She pulled away and tried to be strong. “I know that in my head, but it’s so hard. I don’t understand why he’s doing any of this. What does he hope to gain?”

Another question he didn’t know how to answer. “I’m not sure. I just think there’s more to the story than we understand right now. I believe you know something he doesn’t want made public.”

She shook her head. “I don’t have a clue what I could possibly know. I was an accountant. I didn’t exactly have a lot of high-profile clients.”

JT brushed back her wet hair from her face. “We’ll figure it out together.” She desperately wanted to believe him. “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked softly.

“For believing me. For not thinking I’m crazy.”

“Never. You’re not crazy. What you’ve been through would have broken most people. You’re a strong woman, Faith McKenzie. You just have to believe that yourself. I’ll see you downstairs in a bit.”

He didn’t voice his thoughts aloud because he wanted her to keep fighting, but she was going to need every bit of strength she possessed to see this nightmare through to the end.

JT checked on Ollie then went into the great room and turned on the gas fireplace. Within a matter of minutes, the room was considerably warmer. Ollie followed him and began sniffing around.

As JT listened to the shower running upstairs, his thoughts reeled with possibilities. Why hadn’t the killer finished the job after he murdered the officers? He certainly would have had the perfect chance unless something happened. Had he seen JT approaching and run off or did the alarm scare him? One thing was for sure—they were dealing with one very intelligent yet very disturbed individual.

With the amount of rainfall, he knew it was unlikely that Will’s team would find any useful DNA at Faith’s home. The attack on the officers had happened so suddenly JT doubted if Samuels and Kennedy had even known what hit them. The killer seemed to be gaining confidence with each new move he made.

JT glanced at his watch. Half an hour had passed since he’d notified Will about the officers’ deaths. By now, Liz would know what had happened. He’d phone her before Faith came downstairs.

Liz picked up before the first ring ended. “JT. I was so worried when I heard the call over the police scanner.”

He tried to keep his voice steady. No need to alarm her any more. “I’m okay. We’re both okay. Things have been crazy.”

“I heard. I can’t believe it. Charlotte Samuels attended our Ladies’ Bible Study yesterday. Eric Kennedy hasn’t been married for more than six months. He and Gen are still newlyweds.”

JT understood exactly what those two men’s families were going through. He’d been there. It was nothing short of a living nightmare.

“I’m scared for you, brother. What’s happening in Faith’s life for someone to go to such extremes?”

Upstairs, the shower was shut off. “I don’t know.”

“Please tell me you aren’t thinking of taking her on as a client? JT, I don’t think that’s a good idea.

She’s obviously in a lot of danger.”

He’d expected Liz’s reaction. “We haven’t talked about it yet, but she needs my help, sis. Aren’t you the one who’s always telling me that by helping others we help ourselves?”

He could tell from her silence she hadn’t liked his answer. “Call me when you find out something.

I’ll be praying for you and for the officers’ families.”

It always humbled him to hear that his sister prayed for him. He wished he could find something to say to ease her mind, but he had no idea how this thing would end.

◆◆◆

The warm spray of water helped to take the chill from her skin, but nothing could wash away the bitter cold growing inside her. The death count was growing. Four people were now dead and she was still no closer to understanding why.

Faith dressed in the sweats JT lent her and went downstairs, where she found him waiting for her in the great room. She noticed he’d changed into something dry as well. Ollie roamed around the room getting into things.

When the dog spotted her, he sprang into her arms.

Faith sat down on the sofa close to the fireplace. “Any word yet?” She dreaded his answer.

He shook his head. “No, nothing yet, but then I suspect they’ll be at it for hours yet.”

She stared into the fire. “JT, I was so afraid. The room filled with smoke and I couldn’t breathe.

Ollie had disappeared. Once I found him, I knew I had to get us out before the smoke became too overpowering. I started down the stairs, when I heard glass breaking and someone moving around downstairs.” She released a quivering breath. “I thought he would kill me and then he just left. He must have heard you. If you hadn’t showed up when you did...” She couldn’t go on.

JT sat down beside her and reached for her hand. “So he went inside the house. I’m wondering if there might be some footprints we can use. Do you remember anything else?”

“Not really.” She stopped. No, she did remember something. “Wait. There was a loud noise like an explosion. I thought it was part of my dream until the room filled with smoke.”

JT remembered the explosion clearly. “I heard it, too. I’m guessing he used some kind of accelerant to set the fire. Possibly a firebomb.”

It sounded terrifying. Once more JT had saved her life.

“I thought I noticed an alarm system before. Didn’t that go off?” JT asked. “When I got there, it wasn’t on.”

“I remember hearing it, but not for long. Maybe a couple of minutes.”

“Either the explosion took the security system out pretty quickly or the killer disabled it.”

Her eyes widened as she remembered something. “Your phone. I left it on my nightstand.”

“It’s okay. I can get it when the fire chief clears the house again. In the meantime, if anyone needs me, they can call my home number.”

She couldn’t seem to stop shivering. “So what happens next?”

“I don’t know. With your permission, I’d like to have my partners from Hope Island Securities start working on the case. Like me, Eli and Declan are both former Army rangers and cops and they’ve been with me since the beginning. Janine Blackwell was with the FBI. Frankly, I could use their insight.” He raked a hand through his hair. “The one bit of good news is in an officer-related homicide, every possible law enforcement agency around will assist with the case. The bad news is we don’t know who we’re searching for. That’s why I want my people in on this. They’re very good at finding overlooked clues.”

Her head swam. “Of course. Whatever you think is best. I just can’t believe this has happened. Those men were innocent. They weren’t part of this. Why did he have to kill them?”

JT placed his arm around her and drew her close. “He’s unstable, Faith. To someone like that, killing means nothing. It doesn’t matter that they had nothing to do with anything. They were standing in the way of his getting to you.”

Faith leaned against him and closed her eyes. She could hear his steady heartbeat. Tonight she needed his strength more than ever.

“When I left Austin, I was so scared. I didn’t know where to go. There was no one to turn to for help. I was terrified he’d come after me and kill me, so I got in my car and drove as far away as I could. I ended up in Billings, Montana. For a time, well, it seemed to work. I changed my name, settled in, found a job and started to think maybe I’d overreacted....”

When her voice trailed off, he gently stroked her hair. “Go on.”

“A short time later, he called again. After the second hang-up, well, I became suspicious of every stranger I met on the street. Since I couldn’t remember his face, he could be anyone. Then I came home from work one day and found a candlelit dinner waiting for me, along with a note that said, You belong to me. I packed up everything and ran.” She’d felt so alone. Having no one to turn to for help had been almost as bad as not knowing her stalker’s identity.

“That must have been terrifying,” JT said quietly.

It was. “I came close to giving up so many times. It was one of the darkest points of my life, and then something remarkable happened. Right before I moved to Hope Island, I lived in Kansas for a time. One Sunday morning, I went for a drive in the country to clear my head and I spotted this little church outside of Benton, the town where I lived. I went in and sat in the back. JT, I can’t explain it, but I just had a feeling of peace come over me, as I’d never experienced before. Everyone there was so nice. They welcomed me and didn’t ask too many questions.”

She sighed. “I went back the next week and the week after. It was the happiest I’d been since, well, since I can’t remember. It changed my life. Because no matter how hopeless the situation seemed, I finally realized I didn’t have to face it alone.”

For a time, she’d actually begun to believe she might have a future there. She’d taken an online cooking class and discovered she loved it. At one point, she even thought about opening her own bakery. And then...

“Yet something did happen there. Otherwise you wouldn’t have ended up on Hope Island. I take it he found you again.”

That had been the worst experience since the attack. It scared her just thinking about it now. “Yes. He broke into my apartment one night and watched me while I slept. When I woke up and found him there, I froze. I didn’t know what to do. I was certain he’d kill me and then he just left. The second I was sure he was gone, I grabbed everything and ran again.”

She pulled away. “Every time he finds me the threats become more deadly. I’m afraid this time he’s going to kill me.” Her voice filled with panic.

JT tugged her back against his chest and she clung to him. “That’s not happening because this time will be different. You have me...and round-the-clock protection.”

She closed her eyes. She’d just rest here in the safety of his arms for a little while. She was so tired of fighting this battle.