Silent Killer Page 0,158

her while Seth cautiously moved toward his mother. “Ruth Ann shared the horrors of her childhood with me in order to help me.”

“My poor, pitiful mother. She was only sixteen when she found out that she was pregnant with her father’s baby,” Charity said, her eyes glazed with madness. “I was that baby. I heard Mama and Grandma talking one day a couple of years ago. They thought they were alone in the house. They were discussing the night that Mama’s father died in a house fire.”

She looked from her two intended victims on the floor to Seth and Missy. “My grandmother poured gasoline on him while he slept that night, and she set him on fire. Finally, she did something to stop him. But it was too late then, too late for my mother and for me.”

Lifting the red can in one hand and the lighter in the other, Charity whirled around and shouted at Seth, “Don’t go near her. Once I have finished with John Earl Harper, I will bring down God’s wrath on Catherine Cantrell. I believed all women would be spared, but I now know that wicked women must be punished as well and your mother will be the first.”

“No—don’t even think about doing it,” Seth said.

“You don’t understand,” Charity told him. “I am following God’s instructions. He chooses the wicked ones to be punished and sends me to do His bidding.”

“Did you kill my father?” Missy asked.

“God’s angel of death killed Donnie Hovater.” She looked directly at Seth. “And Mark Cantrell and the others, too. Like my grandfather, who was also my father, all blasphemous men of God and wicked women must be punished. They cannot be allowed to continue their evil ways.”

Seth watched helplessly as Charity upended the red can, poured the remainder of the gasoline over Cathy and dropped the empty can on the floor.

Jack stood several feet behind Seth and Missy, keeping his presence unknown for the time being. He had already called for backup and instructed headquarters that emergency vehicles should silence their sirens when approaching the church. An ambulance had been dispatched, along with units from the Dunmore Fire Department.

As he moved in closer, he drew his Smith & Wesson. When he reached the doorway, he slipped to one side, his presence shielded by the wall. Seth glanced over his shoulder, and his gaze met Jack’s. Jack pressed his left index finger over his lips, issuing Seth a warning not to give him away. He knew how scared his son must be. Hell, he was scared out of his mind. He had to stop this pitiful young girl from harming anyone else. The thought of how close Cathy was to being set on fire frightened him more than anything ever had. He had faced down his stepfather’s wrath and taken his punishment. Often he had faced death on a daily basis as an Army Ranger. But if anything happened to Cathy, if she were badly hurt, if she died…

“Charity, please don’t do this,” Seth said, his voice quivering slightly.

That’s it, Son, keep talking to her. Keep her distracted.

Jack hated the thought of shooting a young girl, but he had to stop thinking of her as anything other than a threat to the woman he loved. He had been listening to the girl’s ravings and had come to the conclusion that Charity Harper was mentally unbalanced. Anyone capable of such brutal murders had to be either crazy or pure evil or a combination of both.

“Don’t try to stop me,” Charity told Seth. “I don’t want to hurt you. God doesn’t want any innocent souls harmed, but I must do His bidding.”

“God doesn’t want you to kill my mother,” Seth said. “She’s a good person, a good mother.”

“She’s a liar and a fornicator!”

Using both hands Charity flicked open the lighter. The flame burned high and bright, a red-orange golden glow. She quickly activated the flame lock mechanism.

Jack stared at the tiny oval flame shimmering at the tip of the lighter Charity held tightly as she waved it back and forth, first over John Earl and then over Cathy.

“Please, Charity, please…” Seth took a tentative step toward her.

“Don’t come any closer!” she screamed as she lowered the lighter toward her father.

Jack had hoped that it wouldn’t come to this, but he had no choice.

He lifted his weapon and zeroed in on Charity. When Missy saw him, she gasped silently, then eased up beside Seth, tugged on his arm and pulled him aside. When