Silent Killer Page 0,84
Bruce had known that bringing this girl into their home had been the right decision. Indeed, it seemed to be a blessing.
“I will stay here,” Mirabelle told him. “You mustn’t worry, Mr. Bruce. I won’t leave her. I will sleep beside her. It’s all right that she doesn’t know who I am. She’s happy because she thinks I’m her mother.”
He patted Mirabelle on the shoulder. “Yes, she did go to sleep happy, didn’t she. I’ll be in the guest room across the hall. If she wakes in the night or if you should need me…”
“I’ll come and get you, Mr. Bruce.”
He gazed into the girl’s warm brown eyes and saw beyond the slow mind and into the loving heart. Abruptly, he turned and walked out of the bedroom just as the tears he could no longer control trickled down his cheeks.
The room is dark and quiet. Lying on my back staring up at the ceiling, I see only a glimmer of moonlight creeping through the closed blinds. I feel as if I’m floating on a peaceful black sea. Safe in God’s hands. Nothing bad can happen to me. No one can hurt me. I am surrounded by a cloak of holy protection.
What is that tune humming inside my head? Oh, yes, it’s a beautiful hymn that I learned as a child. My earliest memories are of being at church, inside the blessed sanctuary for the righteous, each service a haven for God’s true children.
That’s what I am—one of God’s true children. I am not like so many who profess to be brothers and sisters of Christ and yet prove themselves unworthy of the name Christian.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” The words of Psalm Twenty-seven echo inside my heart. “When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.”
With my eyes closed against the ugliness of the world, I am so blessed to be able to recall the Holy Scripture. King David’s psalms are some of my favorite passages from the Old Testament. “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.”
The world is filled with evil and cruelty, with those who profess to love the Lord and do His work. But some are false prophets. Those are the ones God commands me to punish.
I’m listening, Lord. I know who You have chosen next to receive Thy swift and harsh punishment. Give me the time and day of his death, and I will do Thy bidding. I am Your humble servant, Your avenging angel of death.
Knowing she had a busy day tomorrow, even with Treasures closed, Cathy took a shower and prepared for bed earlier than usual. She and Lorie were in charge of the Lansdell Estate sale, which was scheduled for two weeks from yesterday. They would have to begin clearing the junk from the old house and preparing the furniture and the saleable contents to be displayed and priced. As she towel-dried her hair, she debated whether to use the blow-dryer or simply let it dry naturally overnight. After hanging the towel across the shower curtain rack and running a comb through her wavy, damp strands, she put on her floor-length cotton gown and padded barefoot into the bedroom.
The sound of the doorbell at—she glanced at the bedside clock—nine-thirty on Sunday night surprised her. She certainly wasn’t expecting anyone. By the time she’d found her house slippers and lightweight cotton robe, her visitor had rung the doorbell again.
She rushed down the hall, through the living room and to the front door. When she peered through the viewfinder, she sucked in a deep breath. What was Jack doing on her doorstep at this time of night?
Without hesitation, she unlocked and opened the door. He stood there with a peculiar expression on his face.
He looked her over from head to toe. “Were you already in bed? I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No,” she replied. “It’s been a long, tiring day, which started pretty early this morning, and I have a busy day tomorrow, so I thought I’d try for an early bedtime tonight.”
“I guess I should have called first.”
“It’s all right.” When he kept staring at her so oddly,