Ellen Jones sat at one end of a couch in the parlor at Morganstern’s, her finger tracing the white flower pattern on the blue fabric. Guy came and sat next to her, a cup of soup in his hand.
“Sure you don’t want some?” he said. “Mrs. Morganstern’s specialty—broccoli cheese.”
Ellen shook her head. “Thanks anyway”
“You can’t give in to this, honey. We’ll be back in our own house before you know it.”
Ellen closed her eyes, the warmth of the fire making her drowsy.
“What are you thinking?” he said.
“I don’t know what I’m thinking. I’ve never felt this numb before.”
Agent Terri Farber came and sat in the chair next to Ellen. “It’s okay to feel whatever you’re feeling. You had a terrifying day.”
Ellen sighed. “What would’ve happened if Guy or I had been at home instead of at the groundbreaking?”
Terri patted her arm. “Well, you weren’t.”
Ellen stared at the crackling fire, unable to shake the image of twisted, smoldering metal in her driveway. “Merlino thought the Lexus was mine, you know. He probably started following me when I was in Raleigh.”
“Ellen, we’ll get him,” Terri said.
“Before he gets me?” Ellen’s eyes brimmed with tears. “This is all my fault. I got greedy for a story and cared more about …” Her voice failed.
Guy took her hand and brushed the curls away from her face. “The car can be replaced. And the house won’t take long to repair since the damage is mostly on the exterior.”
“And what about us?” Ellen said. “How do we repair the damage to us?”
There was a long pause.
Terri rose to her feet. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll have some more of Mrs. Morganstern’s soup.”
Ellen watched the flames dance in the fireplace.
“Honey, I’ve loved you for twenty-nine years,” Guy said. “It’s going to take more than one bad decision to do permanent damage.”
“I still can’t believe I deceived you,” Ellen said.
“Me either. You’re usually honest to a fault. Maybe I put too much pressure on you.”
She sighed. “No, the tip was just too tempting.”
“Well, like you said, the story did get personal after Merlino tried to blackmail Charlie.”
Ellen shook her head. “It was more that I wanted to be the one to break this story.”
“Is that so bad?”
“It is if I had to compromise my values to do it.” Ellen got up and stood facing the fire. “Three people died because of me.”
“No, three people died because Merlino pulled the trigger. Honey, let’s put it behind us.”
“I’m no better than KJNX,” she said.
“Oh, give me a break, Ellen. Your integrity is so far above theirs it’s not worth discussing.”
She dabbed the corner of her eyes. “Thanks for wanting to defend my honor, Counselor, but what I did was no better. The end doesn’t justify the means.”
Guy got up and slid his arms around her. Ellen rested her back against his chest.
“So, how long are you going to punish yourself?” he said.
“That’s not what I’m doing. It just grieves me that I’m capable of stooping that low to get what I want. And now we’re both reaping the consequences.”
“What ever happened to this Jesus you claim to be sold out to?” Guy said. “I thought if you confessed your sins, He was supposed to wipe the slate clean?”
Suddenly the heat from the fire felt uncomfortable and Ellen wiggled out of Guy’s arms.
“Well?” he said. “Do you believe Him or not?”
Ellen was astounded he knew enough to call her on it. She turned around, her eyes searching his. “Of course, I believe Him. My emotions just haven’t caught up yet.”
“Okay, then,” Guy said, stroking her cheek. “That’s what we need to work on.”
Charlie Kirby sat on the side of the bed and put on his slippers, his mind racing with the day’s events.
Marlie came out of the bathroom, sat at her vanity table, and began to brush her hair.
“You all right?” Charlie asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far. Did you get a hold of Guy and Ellen?”
“They’re staying at Morganstern’s until the mess is cleaned up. The Lexus was totaled and the explosion damaged the front of the house, but it looks like they can get back in soon.”
“It’s a wonder no one was killed. Why can’t they catch this man?”
Charlie got up and put his hands on her shoulders. “They will. Why don’t you come sit? You haven’t stopped since we got home.”
Marlie got up and walked over to her rocking chair. “Is it cold in here, or is it just me?”
Charlie turned on the gas logs in the fireplace, then sat in his chair, his feet on the ottoman. He stared at the flames and tried to relax, but the events of the day—good and bad—seemed to compete for his attention. “What a day,” he finally said.
“Thank God there were no serious injuries,” she said. “When the cars exploded in the parking area, all I could think about was Kevin. I still can’t get over how protective Josiah was.”
“Too bad his truck was destroyed. I’m sure a vehicle that old wasn’t insured. Maybe we can do something to help him.”
Charlie slipped back into silence, his mind racing from one image to another until he heard Marlie’s voice.
“It’s a shame you didn’t get to finish your speech.”
Charlie looked over at her, glad she finally brought it up. “You’re not angry that I put my neck on the chopping block?”
“That part wasn’t in your speech, was it?”
“No, I felt the Lord prompting me. And I just stepped out in faith.”
“I thought so.” Marlie closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the rocker. “Charlie, do you even realize what He did?”
“What do you mean?”
“He set you on a lamp stand and let you shine. It was amazing.”
Charlie smiled without meaning to. “It was, wasn’t it? When I wrote the speech, I couldn’t think of anything that would help heal the division over the plant or soften the negative effects of the scandal. This did both.”
“You couldn’t have done it,” she said. “This was a gift.”
Charlie got up and stood in front of the fire, trying to absorb the magnitude of such mercy. He blinked the stinging from his eyes, then turned around and looked at Marlie. “I know He’s a God of second chances, but this is more than I would’ve ever asked for.”
Marlie looked up at him, a tear escaping down one cheek. “That’s how I knew it was Him.”
Jordan Ellis lay in bed, his hands behind his head, his heart beating hard enough to make his shirt move. He kept asking himself what went wrong.
It was easy enough to put plastic explosives on three cars in different locations in the parking area. But why hadn’t the police officers assigned to that area noticed Merlino messing around out there?
Jordan sat up on the side of the bed and rubbed his hands through his hair. Why fault the cops? Merlino was a professional hit man. He stayed alive by staying invisible.
His cell phone rang and he reached over and picked it up. “This is Jordan.”
“Sir, I think we just found our perp!”
Jordan’s heart raced. “Where?”
“A dump called the Starlight Motel—just this side of Ellison. A George Aldridge checked in just, after three-thirty this afternoon. Description fits. And he’s driving a rental car. We’re standing across the parking lot. The lights are out. We’re going in.”
“Don’t you dare lose him! Call me back the minute you’ve got him!”
Giorgio Merlino lay half asleep, vaguely aware of deep voices and someone pounding on the door. Suddenly, the door flew open and the lights came on.
“FBI. Freeze!”
He grabbed his gun and pulled the trigger, then felt a sharp pain pierce his right hand, causing him to drop the gun on the floor.
Giorgio saw four men lunge toward him. He fought with everything he had, but someone rolled him over on his stomach, yanked his arms behind his back, and cuffed him.
He winced. “Easy on the hand!”
“Should’ve frozen when I told you to. Don’t worry, you won’t need your trigger hand where you’re going.”
One of the feds pulled him to his feet. “Just for the record,” the agent said, his face in front of Giorgio’s, “Spike Risotto and his wife died in a plane crash six years ago. Oops.”
Giorgio felt as though he would explode. He felt robbed—and duped. He fought wildly to free his hands, then someone shoved him facedown on the bed and held him so he couldn’t move.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the activity in the room. One agent read him his rights. Another called for an ambulance. Someone activated a cell phone.
“Sir? Merlino’s in cuffs. It’s over.”