Chapter
Twenty-Seven

“Get out of the car.”

I’d hoped we wouldn’t be the only people at the mine, but it was deserted. Anson ordered Mike to drive around to the side and park in a grove of trees. It made the SUV harder to see, but the way the road curved to the mine, unless someone turned down the mine road, there was no way to see our car from the main road anyway.

Anson ordered Mike and me to stay in the car while he and Cicely got out of the backseat. I took that opportunity to pull Cicely’s phone out of my pocket. I turned it on the way Paul had shown me. I was grateful to see that it worked the same way his did. Then I quickly punched in Paul’s number. Mike, who saw what I was doing, kept one eye on me while watching Anson. I pressed Send and then slid the phone back into my pocket. Thankfully, Anson hadn’t heard the quiet beeps when I dialed the number.

Mike and I got out of the car when Anson told us to. Then Anson held out his hand for Mike’s keys. It was clear he planned to drive the SUV back around near the mine entrance after he dealt with us. That way it would look as if Mike parked near the entrance before we all went inside.

Anson waved his gun toward the entrance. “Get in there,” he ordered.

The boards had been torn away, though I was certain Reuben had nailed the entrance shut after we were here the last time. I wondered if Anson had done it earlier while trying to make sure the mine would accomplish what he wanted. Obviously, this was the “business” he had to take care of the day he’d arrived in Sanctuary. Once we were all inside, he took a flashlight from his coat and shone it in front of us so we could see to walk. He stayed behind Mike and me, still holding on to Cicely.

The mine was musty and dank. Something skittered in the dark. Anything could be living in the shadows. Raccoons, possums, snakes. There were probably all kinds of animals that called the empty mine home.

Cicely suddenly cried out, and I swung around to see what had happened.

“She just tripped on a rock. Keep going,” Anson said gruffly.

We walked deeper into the mine, past the posts that should be supporting the ceiling. They were ancient and split. The rock overhead had already fallen in several places. It was obvious it wouldn’t take much to bring it down. For the first time, I began to seriously wonder if we would make it out alive. Then I remembered the magnet. I Am With You. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. My mind drifted back to the conversation Paul and I had about listening to God’s voice. Help me to listen to you, I prayed. Tell me what to do. Peace immediately flowed through me.

We finally reached the shaft. Someone had constructed a wooden fence around it, but just like everything else in the mine, it was falling apart.

“No one’s going to believe we all fell down the shaft,” Mike said. “It’s ridiculous.”

“I agree. But they will believe the girl fell down the shaft and you were trying to rescue her when the ceiling collapsed.” He walked over to an old beam that was already crumbling. “After I disable you two, my friend and I will attach a cable to this beam, then fasten it to his bumper and pull. The ceiling should cave in nicely. We pull out our cable, and it will look like a tragic accident.”

“So if we resist, what will you do, Anson?” he asked. “Shoot us? Won’t that ruin your plan?”

“I’m not worried. Neither one of you will rush me, knowing the girl will surely die. You’re hoping somehow you’ll be saved at the last minute. People like you never give up.”

He was right. Even though I knew Mike had been involved with my parents’ death, I had no doubt he was trying to keep us safe. Just like he’d decided to save Hannah and me when we were children, I knew he’d fight until the very last second to protect Cicely and me now. And so would I.

Suddenly a soft, high-pitched sound echoed in the tunnel. Horrified, I stuck my hand in my coat pocket and tried to silence Cicely’s phone.

“Give that to me,” Anson yelled. “What is it?”

Fingers shaking, I lifted the phone out of my pocket. “I . . . I forgot it was there. It’s Cicely’s. I took it away from her—”

“Shut up!” he screamed, causing Cicely to jump.

Afraid that he might accidentally shoot her, I quickly brought him the phone. He forced Cicely to sit down on an old wooden box a few feet away and snatched the phone from my hand.

“It’s on,” he said in a low voice. “Who did you call?”

“I didn’t call anyone.”

He pointed the gun at Cicely and glared at me. “I said, who did you call?”

The fear on Cicely’s face made me spit out, “I called Paul. He’s been listening to you all this time. I’m sure he’s on his way here right now.”

The rage on Anson’s face crumbled, and he laughed. “You called Paul?” He shook his head. “Sorry. I’ve already taken care of Paul. Your deputy friend responded to an accident this morning out on a country road. But unfortunately his car went off the side of the road, down an embankment, and burst into flames. He’s dead.”

“What?” My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor.

Anson looked closely at Cicely’s phone. “No one’s on the line, Sarah. It’s almost out of power. That’s why it beeped.” With one smooth flick of his wrist, he tossed the phone down the shaft. It took a while before we heard it crash and shatter. Then he took his phone out of his pocket and spoke into it. He put it up to his ear and waited. Someone obviously picked up, because he said, “You took care of that . . . problem, didn’t you?” He nodded at the response. “Good. How long until you get here?” Another pause. “Okay, but make it fast.” He disconnected and slid his phone back into his pocket. “I just confirmed that your boyfriend is no longer my concern.”

At that moment, I wanted to kill Anson Bentley. I knew it wasn’t right, but anger exploded inside me, making me tremble uncontrollably. I felt as if a part of me had just died, but then I looked over at Cicely. She needed me, and I didn’t want to let her down. What could I do? Again, the same strange peace settled over me.

“Well, folks, my ride is on the way, so we need to get on with this.”

“Wait a minute,” Mike said. “At least you could let us say good-bye.”

Anson sighed. “I guess it’s only right, but make it fast. And remember, I’m the only one with a gun.”

I got up slowly. “You might as well just shoot us, Anson, because I’m not going to allow you to throw my niece down that shaft. Surely the bullets in your gun will lead the authorities back to you. Then everything will come out.”

“If it were my gun, that might work,” he said. “Unfortunately for you, it’s not. In fact, it’s registered to your sister. She got it in an attempt to protect herself. The night she was killed, a friend removed it. If I have to use it, it will look like you were the one who took the gun from your sister’s house, Sarah.” He sighed. “Overcome by grief, you shot your niece. Mike tried to intervene, and you killed him too. Then, full of remorse, you shot yourself.” He glared at me. “Everything was supposed to end that night, you know. After killing Hannah, I found out you’d gone into the house and removed her papers. I couldn’t take the chance you’d track her murder back to me, so my friend grabbed her computer, and we torched the house so that anything else that might lead back to me would be destroyed. If you’d just left things alone, we wouldn’t be here now. Now I have to clean up everything. This is all your fault.” He nodded at me. “After your untimely death, I’ll send someone to your house to wipe your hard drive and remove any other evidence. All the evidence you’ve collected will disappear. Just like you.”

I stared at Mike. What could we do? How would we get out of this? And then I saw it. A wink. So quick I almost missed it. What did he have up his sleeve?

“Let Cicely come over here and hug her aunt,” Mike said. “Let us say good-bye. You promised.”

Anson pulled Cicely to her feet and pushed her toward us. She ran to me, and I put my arms around her. I felt something between us and looked down. Cicely was holding a gun in her hand. Trying not to react, I took it from her and put it between the folds of my coat.

Mike walked up to us. “I’m sorry,” he said. The tears in his eyes showed that whatever else he had planned, his apology was from the heart.

He hugged me, and I slipped him the gun. When he backed away, we all looked over at Anson. The next few seconds seemed as if they were in slow motion.

“Get down!” Mike yelled suddenly.

I grabbed Cicely and pulled her to the ground, covering her with my body. Two shots rang out. To my horror, Mike fell next to us, an ugly red stain spreading across his shirt. I waited for the next shot to come from Anson, but there was only silence. When I turned around I saw him lying on the ground, but he wasn’t dead. He was struggling to sit up, his gun lying next to him. Without thinking I jumped to my feet and ran toward the weapon. But before I could reach it, Anson grabbed it and sat up. I stopped in my tracks and steeled myself for the bullet I knew was coming. Sure enough the sound of a gunshot echoed through the abandoned mine. But I didn’t feel anything. I watched as a look of surprise spread over Anson’s face and he fell backward. Not sure what had happened, I spun around and saw Paul standing a few yards away, his gun drawn. Behind him stood Jonathon, William, and Jeremiah.

Tears of relief flowed through me, and Cicely ran over and put her arms around me. I held her tight. “Mike’s been shot,” I said to Paul. He was lying so still, I was afraid he was dead. Paul ran over to check on him.

“He’s alive, but we’ve got to get him to the hospital.” He radioed the station and requested an ambulance. Then he put his hand on the wound and pushed down. “I need to apply pressure until the ambulance gets here. We don’t want him to bleed out.”

“Will he be okay?” I asked through my sobs as Cicely and I clung to each other.

Paul smiled. “Yes, I think we’re all going to be just fine.”