Seventeen

Sarah smiled as she placed the latest tray of fresh donuts into the display case. She couldn’t remember ever being so tired. She didn’t know how she was going to make it through school and still keep her eyes open, but today had been the best day of her life.

On Wednesday, Matt had been on nightshift, so he couldn’t go with her to the Bible study meeting. Therefore, she’d gone without him. During the meeting, someone had asked a question about Jesus that had turned the whole topic of the study around. Listening to the discussion, something inside her clicked. She’d already known Jesus was real and that He had lived just as the Bible said He did. But suddenly, she felt the love He offered to her as an individual person, instead of as just one part of a faceless crowd of people.

She had so many questions she didn’t know where to start, so she’d waited until the next day. Since Matt would have been sleeping after a hard day, she’d phoned Pastor Colin and gone down to the church office. There, she’d asked all her questions, and Pastor Colin prayed with her to receive Jesus into her heart. Now, she truly was a child of Jesus.

Pastor Colin first phoned his wife. Then he invited Sarah to his house for supper, which she accepted because she was too excited to sleep. She’d managed to have a short nap before she ran out the door for work, but now, halfway through the night, the lack of sleep was catching up with her. She was tired, but at least it was a happy tired.

Sarah’s smile widened as she realized she was humming a song she’d learned in church from the previous Sunday. Next Sunday, Matt would finally be able to attend church after having to work four Sundays in a row. He would be pleased that she now knew so many songs. That was, if he thought it was a good idea to sit together, because he considered church a public setting.

It didn’t matter. If she had to sit alone or with Gwen and Lionel again, Sarah didn’t care. She was going to church to worship God, not to sit with Matt.

Behind her, the main door opened. Sarah tucked the last of the donuts neatly into the row, and turned to serve the customer who just walked in.

All traces of her smile dissolved. She forced herself to smile politely, even though it hurt, as she stared up into the face of Blair Kincaid. No duffel strap crossed his shoulder. Sarah quickly glanced down to his hand and back to his face.

He was carrying a briefcase. The briefcase.

He smiled and looked pointedly at her nametag, then back to her face. “Hi, Sarah. May I see Donnie? I know he’s here.”

Sarah turned her head briefly toward Donnie’s door, which was closed. “I’ll see if he’s available,” she choked out.

She walked as slowly as she could to Donnie’s office, in order to stretch out the time. The second her back was fully to Kincaid as she neared the door, she reached up with one hand, flicked the locket open, pushed the button, and snapped the locket shut. She felt little satisfaction at how efficiently she worked the locket and button with one hand. All she felt was fear.

If the police did manage to send someone within five minutes, the amount of time she knew Kincaid would be there, she prayed he wouldn’t discover he was being followed. Besides Donnie, Sarah was the only person who knew Kincaid was there.

Once she had the locket snapped shut, she knocked on Donnie’s door. “Donnie? Someone’s here to see you.”

“Send him in.” She found it interesting that Donnie knew the visitor was a “him” and singular.

To make the process take longer, Sarah closed the door, and returned slowly to the counter. Back behind the cash register, she faced Kincaid, who was no longer smiling. “Would you like a cup of our special vanilla latté before you go see Donnie? It’s half price today.”

His smiled returned, and he reached for his back pocket. “Sure, that sounds good.”

Sarah took his money first, then pretended the cups were stuck together before she placed one into the machine and pressed the button. She remained with her back turned to Kincaid until the very last drop dripped out. Without taking her hand off the cup as she slid it across the counter to him, she looked up and again forced herself to smile. “Do you have a Donut Dollars card? After you buy ten lattés, you get the next one free. That’s a really good deal, especially when they’re half price.”

He smiled again, but he still looked as ugly and evil as ever. “Sure, I’ll have a Donut Dollars card.”

In slow motion, Sarah removed a card from the bundle, purposely dropped the stamp on the floor, then pretended the snap-on lid wasn’t snapping off very easily. She made a great show of putting the stamp in exactly the right position, and held up the card for him to see. “Here you go. Enjoy the latté.” If it weren’t cold by now.

He smiled at her one more time, then turned, and walked into Donnie’s office.

❧

Matt groaned as he rolled over in the bed and reached for the phone. When he put it to his ear and mumbled a sleepy “hello,” dial tone buzzed in his ear, and the ringing continued.

In a flash, Matt sat up on the bed. The clock radio glowed 3:47 a.m. The ringing was coming from the receiver to the transmitter in Sarah’s locket.

He held the phone to catch some of the light coming in from between the curtains and dialed the private number the members used to call into the station.

“This is Constable Matt Walker. I need dispatch.”

The line clicked and was picked up in two rings. “Please state your emergency,” the voice answered.

The receiver stopped ringing.

“Joan, it’s Constable Matt Walker. Something’s happening at Donnie’s Donuts. Hang on for a sec.”

With his heart banging in his chest, Matt counted to five. Nothing. He waited another five seconds. No second ring.

He sagged with relief then spoke into the phone. “Blair Kincaid just walked in at Donnie’s Donuts. Send out a plain car right away.”

“Copy. Stay on the line.”

A click sounded, and the canned music started. Matt sat frozen in one spot, forcing himself to breathe evenly.

He prayed for Sarah every day. For an awakening of her faith. That she’d do well on her next test. Sometimes he even prayed she’d get to work on time without speeding. While he waited, he blocked out the music and did something he also did every day—he prayed for her safety, then that a member could arrive before Kincaid left, and Kincaid wouldn’t figure out he was being tailed.

The music went dead, and Joan’s voice came back on the line. “Unit dispatched ETA six minutes.”

“16Bravo4 copy.” He smiled when he heard Joan’s giggle. “I meant just copy. Thanks Joan.”

His smile dropped when he hung up the phone. If it took that long for a unit to arrive, it would be close, if not too late. For today, both he and Sarah had done their best; he could only hope and pray that it worked.

Matt knew he would never be able to fall back to sleep, so he got dressed, clipped the receiver onto his belt, set the mode to vibrate, and went into the living room to read. If she buzzed again, he would be at Donnie’s Donuts in eight minutes, lights and sirens or not. But for now, he had to stay put.

He wanted to do something to burn off his nervous energy. His first thought was to shoot some hoops, but the bouncing basketball would have made too much noise at four in the morning. Besides, he needed to stay close to the phone, in case Sarah called.

After half an hour of frustration, Matt calmed himself down enough to quit pacing. He settled into the couch and read all the sections in his Bible he had marked about anxiety and worry.

After an hour of reading, he thought he could finally go back to sleep.

But first, he set the alarm for noon. If Sarah hadn’t shown up by twelve-thirty with the tape of the day, he knew where he was going.

❧

Matt snatched up the phone within one ring.

Sarah’s excited voice came over the line. “Did you catch him?”

He sighed. “It’s not like someone went chasing after Kincaid with lights and sirens. If they got there in time, they simply followed him to see where he was going. Hopefully, he went somewhere worthwhile. I won’t know officially what happened until I go back to work on Monday.” Although since he was the officer in charge of keeping tabs of what went in and out of Donnie’s Donuts, a quick phone call to Jeff, even on his days off, would tell him what he needed to know. By now, whoever tailed Kincaid would have their report in the computer.

A pause hung on the line. When Sarah finally spoke, her voice came out low pitched and husky. The airiness made Matt’s heart pound. “I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the way you’re looking out for me. Knowing what’s going on has been scary. If it wasn’t for you and being able to contact you at the push of a button, I think I’d be in the insane asylum by now. I really am a chicken, but knowing you’re there gives me strength and courage I didn’t know I had. Thank you.”

Matt opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Sarah was much stronger than she knew. He’d seen it in her character all along, which was probably one of the reasons he’d fallen in love with her so quickly. She was strong in so many ways. She needed just a little push to bring her to her full potential. She was motivated and persistent, possessing levels of endurance he seldom saw, to keep up with her demanding schedule to work full-time and attend college classes half-time. Yet she still managed to see him nearly every day, and she’d only fallen asleep on the couch once. Those same qualities would have made her a good cop, if she were taller and stronger. Her main goal in life, being a teacher of small children, was another challenge. It required courage and stamina of a different kind, but she had it.

She held his heart in the palm of her hand, and he was powerless to resist.

He cleared his throat when he was finally able to speak. “Where are you?”

“I’m at home. I’m so tired I can’t think straight. I have to go to sleep.”

“When do you think you’ll be here so we can watch the tape?”

“Would seven work for you?”

“Seven is fine. See you then.”

In slow motion, Matt hung up the phone. He’d nearly lost it and told Sarah he loved her. He’d been fighting it for weeks, but this final bit of pressure and her words today sealed the process and pushed him over the edge. He was hopelessly in love with her, and there was nothing he could do.

Yet, as a cop, he was well aware of how fear and pressure, especially in a possibly life-threatening position created an artificial emotional dependency. Since he’d had no indication from Sarah that the connection he wanted went both ways in a normal setting, he could only conclude that when he kissed her, her response had been under duress and not to be construed as real or permanent. She saw him as the source of her strength, and he wasn’t. He was just an ordinary guy with an extraordinary job. He was a cop, and it was his job to show strength.

Matt buried his face in his hands. He should be going in to talk to Jeff and have himself pulled off the case, but he couldn’t. He was in too deep, and there was no way out. Regardless of the fact that she didn’t feel the same way as he did, she trusted him to take care of her, and he was responsible for her.

Worse, he trusted his fellow officers with his own life, but he didn’t trust them with Sarah’s.

Matt stood and strode into the kitchen. After another frightening episode, he knew what would calm her, and that was a good dinner.

It was a good thing tonight was his turn to cook because he planned to give her a meal she’d never forget.