Righteous04 - The Blessed and the Damned by Michael Wallace

Author:Michael Wallace [Wallace, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adult, Thriller, Spirituality
ISBN: 9781612182216
Google: pEEFuwAACAAJ
Amazon: B007I9QGQS
Goodreads: 15095855
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2012-10-02T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Eliza didn’t make the call, not right away, even though she had the cell phone in hand the moment she stepped out of the hospital. She left from a side entrance, so she wouldn’t have to face worried comments from the others about why she shouldn’t be outside, alone, while their attackers were still on the loose.

She passed through the cars in the lot, crossed the street, and found herself in the deserted parking lot of an LDS chapel. Beyond the chapel, a dark road cut south along the eastern edge of town. Panguitch wasn’t much larger than Blister Creek, and the houses were a mix of late nineteenth-century brick and 1970s split-levels, spaced about a half block apart.

She walked down the road, her concern deepening with every step. Jacob had scared her. She’d never seen that holy rage burning in his eyes before. It was the look she’d seen a dozen times on her father’s face, and was a close cousin to Caleb Kimball’s zeal as he’d tried to rape her. The look of a man who is swept up in emotion and stripped of logic.

And Jacob had lied. About something important. It shook her, but her initial surprise and subsequent anger—and feelings of betrayal, to be honest—faded as she walked, replaced with worry.

Oh, Jacob. What did you do?

Something stupid. He’d been speaking to Father, and Abraham Christianson had taken advantage of Jacob’s inner turmoil to press…what, exactly? She wasn’t sure, but she had a good idea.

She made the call. The phone rang twice. “Hello?” came the deep, familiar growl.

“Steve, it’s me, Eliza. We need to talk.”

She prepared for his good-natured teasing, but he must have heard something in her voice. “Are you okay?”

“Where are you? You’re not in Utah by any chance?”

“No, I’m in Reno. A detour from the investigation.”

“Reno? What are you—no, never mind. How fast can you get here? Agent Fayer, too. I need your help to get to Taylor Junior.”

Krantz sighed. “Eliza, I’d love to spend a couple of weeks hunting this guy down. Not to mention see you again. But I’m up to my balls—sorry, up to my eyeballs—in a current investigation.” When she didn’t answer right away, he said, “Eliza?”

“Something has happened. Everything is about to blow up.”

She told him about the truck that had tried to run them off the road and about the car that had barreled down the road straight at them. About the accident. He interrupted to ask in a sharp tone if she was okay.

“I’m fine, but Fernie—”

“And you’re sure this was Taylor Junior?”

“I saw him. He was trying to kill my sister, I’m pretty sure. Maybe her kids, too. My father and brother showed up and scared him off.”

She headed off his questions to finish the story, telling him about Fernie’s injury and the strange way Jacob had behaved when she’d confronted him. She left out the part about the failed blessing—Krantz wouldn’t understand why that was important in explaining her brother’s behavior.

“And what, you think Jacob is hiding something?”

“My father said something.

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