ears, awaiting the pain that inevitably came when he questioned his guides.
The voices went silent, and the pain didnât come. Not this time. But he was worried. If Spirit insisted, he would have no choice but to obey. Oh, if only there could be another way. Maybe, if Lizzie suffered enough, Spirit would be satisfied that she had found redemption. Maybe, if he could bring her down low enough, she could still be saved.
Impossible.
âI have to try.â He licked his dry lips and wondered why he hadnât thought to bring along some food or water. But he knew why. The voices hadnât told him to get those things. Maybe it was fitting that he fast while he watched Lizzie. Maybe there was a reason for it.
Lifting the binoculars again, he resumed watching her. He could see her clearly through the sheer curtains, from her blond hair spread on the pillows to the outline of her body beneath the sheets of her small bed.
She slept with the light on.
He knew now where Beth went when she went running in the morning. To that house, where the boy was living, with an old woman and a handsome man. The man who had accompanied Lizzie back to her house.
A dark flame burned in his belly. He didnât like the man.
Itâs the old woman sheâs closest to, Mordecai. It was obvious from their interactions this morning.
Again he nodded. He was making progress, he thought. He was identifying the underpinnings that supported her in her fraudulent new life. She had students. She had friends. A home and a job. All of those would have to go. One by one, they would have to go.
âWhatever happens, from here on, Lizzie, itâs your own fault. And everything I do is for your own good.â
Youâve watched her enough for now, Mordecai. Tonight youâve got other work to do.
Â
Bryan sank down onto the sofa, took up the remote control and began flipping channels on the television. Josh came in from the kitchen, a coffee mug in one hand.
âIâm glad you came down,â Josh said. âI was going to come up.â
âTo lecture me about school again?â
âNo. Just to talk.â
Bryan shot him a skeptical look. Then he dropped the remote and leaned back. âWhy not? Thereâs nothing better to do.â
âBeth predicted youâd get bored out here in short order.â
Bryan nodded. âIâve listened to every music file Iâve ever downloaded, ten times each.â
âWhat would make it better?â Joshua asked.
His son looked surprised. âAn Internet connection would help. My laptopâs set up for cable, but Maude says thereâs no cable here.â
âDone. Iâll get on it tomorrow.â
âReally?â
Josh flinched inwardly. Had he been so self-absorbed that his son was surprised he would want to do something nice for him? âSure. Iâll find out what the local dial-up service is andget you signed up. Iâll have to clear it with Maude firstâitâs her phone.â
âI should have wireless.â
âWeâre not going to be here that long, Bry. Dial-up will do.â
Bryan nodded. âWhere is Maude, anyway? Gone to bed?â
âOut at the movies with her next-door neighbor.â
âFrankie the cop?â
âFrankie Parker.â Josh smiled. âI know, a police chief named Frankie doesnât inspire much confidence.â
Bryan looked at him more closely. âYouâreâ¦different today.â
âHow so?â
âI donât know. Less tense. More laid-back.â
Josh nodded. âItâs a laid-back kind of a town. Hell, I donât know, Bryan, maybe Iâve needed to take some time off for a while now. Or maybe itâsâ¦that Iâve been sitting behind a desk too long. You know, when Kevin and I first started our own private security business, we did all the work ourselves.â
âBodyguards-R-Us,â Bryan quipped.
âYeah. Now,
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes