Blind Faith - Sharon Sala Page 0,41
ICU in a hospital in Odessa, Texas. I’ve already been in touch with his parents. The only thing I can do for Tony now is make sure none of Randall’s or Justin’s friends try to attribute any blame to him. Tony is an innocent victim in all of this, and it’s a miracle he’s still alive.”
Principal Ramey was silent for a few moments, considering the ramifications of what he should and should not say.
“Okay, Trish. I can announce to the whole school that Tony was found alive, because everyone knew he was missing. I can also state that the other two have been arrested on federal charges for lying to the park rangers, and then abandoning him because they thought he was dead. I won’t speak to any other details, and I’m not going to say anything about Tony being ignorant of your past relationship with Randall Wells. In my eyes, that’s immaterial to their crime, and should be between you and Tony. What happened to him was because of jealousy. Period.”
“Yes, sir,” Trish said.
Ramey gave her a handful of tissues.
“Now wipe your eyes and get a note from Angie because you’re late to first hour. You can celebrate the good news with your friends today, and we’ll all pray for Tony’s healing.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ramey.”
“Of course,” he said. “Go ahead to class. I’ll make the announcement in a few minutes.”
She left his office in haste, stopping long enough to get a note from Angie before hurrying to first hour.
About ten minutes later, they heard the PA system come on and then Principal Ramey’s voice.
“Good morning, students. I have news to share with all of you. We have all been in prayer for our fellow student Tony Dawson, and I have the pleasure of telling you that Tony Dawson was found alive. He has undergone surgery for a number of serious injuries, and is in critical condition in ICU in a hospital in Texas. But I have it on good authority that, at this time, he is holding his own. Normally, I would not be sharing this information with you, but the guilty parties have already confessed and it has become a federal case. Also, Tony Dawson deserves the justice and truth of what he suffered. The truth is, Randall Wells and Justin Young have been arrested by the FBI. They are responsible for his injuries, lying to the rangers and leaving him for dead. I ask that you keep Tony and his family in your prayers through this time of healing.”
The shock within Trish’s class was instantaneous, as it was throughout the building, and then they all looked at her.
“Did you know?” one girl asked.
Trish nodded. “They notified me last night,” she said, and then let the talk go on around her. God had answered her prayers for Tony. She wasn’t about to ask anything more for herself.
Nine
Darrell Boyington was having a positive workday. The quarterly profits were up almost 12 percent. Holiday shopping always made people celebratory, and lunching at the high-energy level of a sports bar only added to their experience.
And since they were still in November with profits already climbing, he predicted a stellar season. It should have been enough to keep him satisfied, at least for the day, but he couldn’t let go of the thought that Jade Wyrick was a threat to all of this.
Not once had he ever regretted his other life. It was the adrenaline rush he needed to cope with the mundane part of being a business owner. There were no broken or lost shipments with his other job. No drop in profits due to a downtick in spending. For him, there was the thrill of the chase, and the slight surge of enjoyment at watching a life go out in a stranger’s eyes. It was the closest he would ever be to God, since his soul was already damned to hell for killing. But he needed to find out more about the Wyrick woman before he decided how to remove her. He sat down at his computer and Googled her name, using the state of Texas as his first parameter, and got nearly a hundred hits. He needed to break it down further and localized it within the city of Dallas. He still got more than a dozen hits, but with different middle names. And since he didn’t know what that was, he broke it down even more by age and got three within a ten-year span, but none of