With that, she grabbed Charlie’s hand, putting him on the side farthest away from the man. “Lead the way.”
The atypical pastor who’d rescued her led her off the causeway. Beside her, gripping her hand tightly, Charlie piped up, “Auntie Liz, isn’t it hot here? Even hotter than the sun!”
“Yes, dear. Let’s get inside, okay? Show me where this rec center is.”
Charlie clung to her hand as they approached the young woman who stood in front of the sign at the end of the causeway. The woman clasped her hands in front of her. Tightly, Liz noticed.
“Are you all right?” the woman asked, not to anyone in particular, Liz thought.
“We’re fine,” Ian answered tersely.
Liz glanced up at him, surprised to see the man frowning hard at the other woman. Then she looked back at the woman. She was about Liz’s age, maybe, and dressed in a cheap, plain shift dress much more suitable for the weather than Liz’s dripping pants and blouse. Liz had been wearing this outfit since the day after Charlie called, the day she’d driven to the airport to catch the series of delayed flights that finally brought her down here to the southwest end of Florida.
Ian struck off ahead of Liz. For a flash, she wanted to grip Charlie’s hand even tighter and charge back over the causeway again. But as Ian had said, that small town of Northglade was too far away from the forested island, and the sun was too strong. Not a good idea. Instead, Liz pulled Charlie closer and followed Ian. He was soaked, like her, and his gun stuck out of the back of his waistband.
Beside her, Charlie twisted around to peer at the woman following them along the shaded road. Liz stole her own glance, finding the woman looking curiously back at the signpost, or maybe even the water that had swallowed up Liz’s rental. She didn’t know and didn’t care.
Around the next bend, Liz slowed her plodding walk. The closest building bore a faded sign that read Moss Point Rec Center. A small poster on the front door indicated that this past week had been Vacation Bible School. A battered bicycle had been dropped at the corner of the building. Liz stepped into the sunshine again and instantly blinked. Despite a breeze that had picked up, the humid air weighed on her like a wet cloak in a sauna.
All of what had happened lurched over her, and she stumbled over a small rock.
Quickly, Ian was there beside her, taking her free arm. “Let’s get inside. There’s a clinic in the back where you can lie down. I’d say shock is setting in.”
It was, Liz agreed silently. Because everything was wobbling in front of her.
Ian quickly steered her inside where the cool air blasted them. The heat was oppressive today, the worst so far, the forecast had warned. The heat index pushed it up farther. The hot wind from the gulf lingered barely above a breeze. Ian had grown up in the northern part of Virginia where the summers got humid enough to kill. But this weather was nearly unbearable.
“Is there a doctor here?” Liz asked.
Ian shook his head as he let the front door slam behind the four of them. Cool air drenched them. “Just a nurse, who happens to be away this week attending some training seminar. You’re looking at the interim nurse, and I’d say you’re about to faint.”
Now inside, he knew the cool air could easily get Liz Tate shivering. Quickly, with Charlie’s help, he noted, Ian got Liz to the back where the clinic was. He turned when he reached the locked door and noticed Monica hurrying into his office. In the excitement, had he left his door unlocked?
A moment later, Monica raced down with the clinic’s key and let them inside. Ian guided Liz to the plastic-covered exam bed at the far back, and she gratefully lay down and shut her eyes. Charlie stayed at her side.
It took Ian a moment to find where the nurse kept the towels. But when he did, he set one under Liz’s wet hair and another larger one along her frame.
After lying there a moment, Liz sat up and quickly toweled herself off. For all the pale wobbliness of before, she had recovered quickly.
Then he opened the small refrigerator beside the desk and pulled out some bottles. “Orange juice. I think we could all use some. Charlie needs more fluids than the other boys around here because he’s been sweating more, not that he’s asked for any.” He offered a bottle to her and was glad to see her take it with a quiet thank-you. “But then again, he hasn’t refused any liquids, either.”
She frowned at him. “Why would he ask you for anything? You kidnapped him.”
He looked down at Charlie, who’d accepted his own bottle of juice. Ignoring his aunt’s accusation, the boy drank deeply. Patience, Ian told himself. She obviously doesn’t have all the facts.
He opened his bottle and took a long swallow. Liz had finished a third of hers before setting the bottle down on the table beside her.
“I didn’t kidnap him. But before I tell you anything, I need to know one thing. How did you find Charlie? I didn’t tell him where he was.”
With her left arm, Liz pulled the boy close. Charlie returned the hug, setting his head down on her wet lap. “Why should I tell you anything? You say you didn’t kidnap Charlie, but here he is, and when he talked to me, he sure sounded like he didn’t want to be here.”
Ian pulled the chair out from the desk and sat down. “Tell me how you found out he was missing.”
Immediately, Liz glanced down at the boy, all the while pulling him closer.
Then she met Ian’s calm stare with a direct one of her own. “I’d rather not discuss that right now.”
Of course. Ian knew some of the details and guessed the boy wouldn’t want to hear them all again. They did include his father’s death.
He turned to his assistant. She still stood there, hands clasped in front of her. “Monica, please take Charlie down to the kitchen and make us all a snack. Liz and I need to talk.”
Charlie looked up at his aunt, his expression stricken.
“He needs to stay near me,” Liz stated.
“The kitchen is twenty feet away. We’ll leave the door open,” Ian answered. “Charlie, your aunt and I need to talk in private. It’s important, okay? You know why, don’t you?”
Charlie’s gaze dropped, and he nodded. Again, Ian was amazed at how the boy acted. So calmly, as if he’d been simply waiting for his aunt to arrive.
“I won’t leave, I promise. But—” Liz shot Ian a sharp glance “—if it’s important then we need to talk. I’ll be down to the kitchen in a minute, okay?”
Monica held out one hand and took Charlie away. Ian watched them leave. At the middle of the building, the rec center’s kitchen was still well stocked with fruit, raw vegetables, granola bars and juice, all left over from the Vacation Bible School they’d just completed. Having a snack would ease the boy’s uncertainty, he was sure.
Despite Ian’s promise, the door to the clinic clicked shut behind the pair. Ian turned back to face Liz.
“Tell me how you found Charlie.”
She leaned forward. “Tell me why you need to know and why it’s so important.”
Ian glared at Liz, only to receive an equal glare in return. “Because it is, and that’s all I can say.”
Liz straightened. “Then why should I tell you anything? You brought Charlie here against his will, you have someone out there acting like a sentry, ready to shove cars off the road, and then you pull a gun on me after you rescue me.