Benjamin flew down the freeway, his eyes on the speedometer. If he got pulled over, he would lose time. He had to get to the park. His memory failed him. He’d only been to the park once, many years ago, and all he remembered was that it was divided by Outer Drive. The river rambled through the area with too many possible hiding places.
His frantic mind struggled to hang on to positive thoughts. The police were on it. He knew they would contact the Dearborn police. Would they get there before Angelo? He had a half hour on them. Benjamin tried to calculate how long it would take to drive from Joanne’s office building to the park.
Then another thought struck him. What if they’d guessed wrong? Perhaps Angelo hadn’t gone to the park. Benjamin’s eyes misted with emotion. Why hadn’t he told Joanne last night how much he loved her? He’d loved her forever it seemed, from the time he got to know her. His love had grown as naturally as the sun rose. He’d fought it. He’d prayed about it. He’d lost the battle.
But now he saw the purpose behind his love. He’d been here to support Joanne and to guide the police to her. If it was God’s will, she and Mandy would be saved. If the Lord didn’t mean for their love to come to fruition, Benjamin would have to live with that—but the thought pained him.
Evelyn came to mind, and he stopped himself from calling her. Why cause her panic when she could do nothing? Better to let her learn the outcome, which Benjamin could only pray would be cause for thanksgiving.
He veered up the ramp and onto Michigan Avenue, then made his way to Hines Drive. He wasn’t far now.
Dearest Lord, keep them safe. That’s all I ask.
Icy perspiration beaded on Joanne’s skin. She drew in the scent of Mandy, so close yet so unattainable. She longed to whisper the truth to the child, but she couldn’t speak without Angelo hearing her, and she knew Mandy would be confused and frightened by her admission that she was the girl’s mother.
They’d reached the park, and the roads vanished as Angelo turned down a snowy rutted trail. Joanne longed to look behind her to see if she could spot anyone following, but Angelo would see her in his mirror, and she didn’t want to push him over the edge. God would be with them. He had to be.
Angelo left the path and the SUV tilted and bumped through a snow-filled field. The tires sank and spun, but Angelo persisted, and finally the vehicle shot forward. He skidded to a stop behind a stand of leafless shrubs, the density of which partially hid the vehicle from anyone who might venture down the path.
Joanne could see the frozen river nearby, and she recognized a setting similar to that on the television news bulletin she’d seen the day she had lunch with Melissa. She recalled the police breaking through the mounds of snow and the emergency vehicles parked in the vicinity as they carried Donna’s draped body to an EMS van.
Would she be the next news bulletin? She and Mandy? Never. She’d give her life, but she’d do anything to keep her daughter alive.
Angelo climbed out and jerked open her door. He grabbed her arm and yanked her from the SUV. He slammed the door, leaving Mandy inside.
Joanne’s only hope was to get Mandy outside, to distract him, then tell her to run. “Why are you leaving her inside?”
“She’s my daughter,” she said, twisting her face in the most vicious look she could. “You abducted her years ago and then killed my husband.”
“Pretty good, wasn’t I?”
“You’re evil. You killed your wife.” She knew if she riled him, he’d kill her. She had to shut her mouth until she could free Mandy.
“Poor dumb Donna. She should have let well enough alone. A few smacks now and again didn’t hurt her, but she pushed her luck.”
Joanne opened her mouth, then closed it and prayed for wisdom.
He dragged her closer to the river, then pulled duct tape from his pocket. “I lost my daughter because of your husband, and I thought I’d get even by taking his. Now you get to watch when you lose yours again.” A vicious laugh erupted from his throat.
Joanne struggled against his hold, but his grip was ironclad and she didn’t have the strength. He leaned over and shoved his face into hers as he bound her hands around the tree. Joanne flinched at his stinking breath while she fought to keep her hands loose in the tape.
But he wound the tape around twice, three times, and she worried she’d never get free. She hoped he wouldn’t cover her mouth. She needed to warn Mandy.
A distant sound distracted him, and he reached beneath his jacket and jerked out a handgun.
The sight sent chills through her. She’d been sure he didn’t have a weapon. He’d strangled Donna and run Greg off the road into the lake. She’d expected the same treatment. Joanne craned her neck to look through the barricade of limbs to see if rescue had come, but the sound they’d heard faded, as did her hopes.
Her heart thundered against her chest, and she feared she would faint before she could help Mandy get away. She watched Angelo tug open the door and pull her daughter from the back seat. Joanne’s panic rose when she saw the terror in Mandy’s face.
While Angelo’s back was turned, Joanne worked her hands to try to release the tape, but it only seemed to get tighter the more she struggled.
Angelo pushed Mandy forward, and she slipped into a rut and fell. He yanked her up by her coat neck and pushed her ahead of him, his pistol wagging toward the ground as he stalked forward.
Mandy’s fear-filled eyes searched Joanne’s, and Joanne sent her daughter a fervent look, shifting her gaze toward the road and hoping Mandy would understand to run when she could. Joanne sought a diversion, anything to distract Angelo long enough for Mandy to get away.
As he shoved Mandy nearer, Joanne continued to try to wrestle her hands free of their binding to the slender tree trunk. She sent up a prayer and then, in desperation, cried out, “I hear them.” She didn’t know why she’d said that, but she hoped he’d look around. “I knew they’d come.”
“I don’t hear nuthin’,” he said, his hand still clutching Mandy’s arm, but Joanne noticed a flicker of confusion on his face.
“You’re not listening. I heard them over there.” She used her head to indicate the brush to his left. “I had a cell phone. You didn’t see me call.”
He faltered, his brutal look aimed at her. His gun waved in the air as he marched away from Mandy and stuck his face into Joanne’s, his breath assaulting her nostrils, his voice harsh. “You can watch your daughter die now.” He grabbed the collar of Joanne’s coat.
“Leave her alone,” Mandy screamed. “You always hurt people.”
“Oh yeah,” he said, turning back toward her, his pistol aimed at Mandy.
Tears rolled down Joanne’s face from the sting of his hand and from despair. “Shoot me,” Joanne screamed. “Kill me and get it over with.”
He pivoted toward her and aimed the pistol.
“Run!” Joanne screamed to Mandy. “Run!”
He swung back toward Mandy and a shot rang out.
And then Joanne knew only blackness.
Benjamin heard a shot reverberate across the bare landscape. His vehicle skidded to the side of the rutted road and he leaped from it. Noise sounded from the right, and his pulse raced as he darted through the ice-covered snow, slipping as he ran.
“Joanne,” he screamed. He knew Angelo could be aiming the pistol toward his voice but he didn’t care any longer. What was life without the woman he loved? If Angelo killed her—He stopped his thought. He didn’t dare give way to hopelessness.
“Joanne!”
Through the branches he could see movement. A dark jacket flashed between the bare limbs of a tree. He crouched, running as low to the ground as he could. His suit pants dampened at the ankles and icy slush seeped into his shoes as his feet broke through the crusted snow.
“Joanne!”
As he broke through the brush, he skidded to a halt.
Joanne lay on the ground, her lifeless body twisted. Medics hovered over her while another body lay sprawled on the ground.
Then he saw the child. Tears streamed down the child’s cheeks as an officer held her in his arms.
Benjamin darted past them and pushed his way through the officers, then kneeled at Joanne’s side. Tears burned his eyes as he bent closer. His prayers soared, asking God why. Why? Then he saw her eyelids flutter, and his heart skipped a beat.
He scrutinized her body, searching for a wound or signs of blood. “Was she shot?” he asked the officer.
“I think she fainted,” he replied as a medic bent closer.
“Stand back,” the other said, pushing Benjamin away. He moved as the emergency technician kneeled to check Joanne’s pulse, but before he finished, her eyes opened.
She focused on Benjamin with dazed eyes. “Mandy?”
“She’s okay. They’ve put her in a squad car.”
“I heard a shot.” She lifted her head and gazed at the lifeless body of Carl Angelo being lifted onto a litter. “What happened?”
“We shot him before he hurt the child,” the officer said. “He’s dead.” He turned and waved toward the EMS ambulance. “Another gurney here.”
“I can walk. I’m fine.” She struggled to shift herself upward, pulling away excess duct tape from her hands.
“Don’t fight them, Joanne,” Benjamin said, his mind so rattled he could barely think. “I’ll follow you to the hospital.”
He stepped away as they lifted her onto the gurney. His mind reeled at the thought of what could have been, and he knew the Lord had granted his request.
He’d kept Joanne and Mandy safe.
Joanne stood outside the hospital door watching Mandy through the opening. The child had fallen asleep, and Joanne felt grateful. She’d said a prayer of thanksgiving. God had heard her prayer, and the horror had finally ended.
She’d been delayed arriving. She’d asked Benjamin to call Nita while she gave her statement to the police and dealt with her physical examination, and finally they’d released her.
“How long will she be here?” she asked the physician as he jotted notes onto the clipboard.
“She’s been through a horrifying ordeal. After she has a full examination, we’ll still want to keep her a couple of days. We’ll have a social worker talk with her and a therapist.”
“Can I talk with her? Can I tell her who I am?” Joanne asked.
Benjamin pressed her arm as if to urge her to be quiet, but she couldn’t.
The physician shook his head. “We need the DNA first, just to make sure.”
“I am sure. I know my daughter.”
“But the courts will need proof. You can visit her later, but don’t confuse her. She needs to rest, and we need to help her deal with this.”
Joanne wanted to be the one to help her. She’d waited three years to have her daughter back in her arms and now she had to wait again. Her nerves jarred with frustration.
Benjamin leaned close to her ear. “Be patient, Joanne. She’ll be with you soon. Give it time. Not for them, but for Mandy. She needs to be ready to hear what you have to say.”
She knew he was right. “Can I at least take her home when she’s released?”
The doctor looked frustrated with her question. “I just told you we need DNA. She’ll go into a foster home.”
“A foster home? No. She’s been in a foster home for three years.”
“Joanne, please,” Benjamin said.
She heard the urgency in his voice and quieted. “For how long?”
“We should learn the results from the DNA test in three or four days. It won’t be long.”
“You’ve waited three years,” Benjamin said. “Another couple of days won’t matter. You can get her room ready, and go Christmas shopping.”
“I don’t care about that. I want my daughter.” She realized what she was saying and closed her mouth. “I’m sorry. Benjamin is right. I can get things ready for her and make it a real homecoming.”
“I know you’re anxious,” the ER doctor said, his tone softening. “I’m sorry, but we have to follow procedures, and I know you want to make sure she’s healthy.”
Joanne nodded. “Can I visit with her? We talked in Angelo’s car. She knew I was worried about her. She might want to see me.”
He glanced at Mandy through the doorway. “Let’s say tomorrow. You can see her before we send her to foster care.” His expression softened. “I promise, if the DNA proves right, you’ll have her before Christmas.”
Before Christmas. The words washed over Joanne. She took a final look at Mandy before she let Benjamin move her away from the door.