Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) (39 page)

It
took all of Jason’s willpower to stop and keep himself from tearing into the
doctor. As he stood there frozen in place, Dr. Throckmorton smiled. “See
Jason,” he spoke, “I tried to tell you, didn’t I? Control yourself and you can
control the situation.” He held the detonator up, placing it between their gaze
for a moment. “Who is in control, Jason?”

“God,”
Jason replied flatly. “God is in control.”

“God?”
the doctor asked mockingly. “If he is in control, prove it.”

Lighting
lit up the room, followed by a clap of thunder so loud that the floor shook.
The doctor leapt into the air, his wide eyes filled with fear. Jason never
moved a muscle. “I don’t need to prove that God is in control,” he spoke
calmly. “He can do that himself.” The doctor gave a nervous chuckle as he
scanned the room. “So why’d you do this to me?” Jason asked.

“For
several reasons,” the doctor replied, fastening his gaze back on Jason. “The
first is simply because you’re an idiot for thinking I’d let you get away with threatening
to reveal the fact that I took part in your first stupid plan,” he spat. “The
second, and less important reason, is because you came to me pathetic and weak,
begging me to tell you how to fix your wife. I saw that you were such a fool
you would have spent your entire life searching for control… but I gave you a
reason to find it.”

“Yeah,”
Jason replied in disgust, “and almost killed me in the process.”

“Yeah,
there is that,” the doctor said with a smile, like Jason’s life was of no great
concern to him. “You did find control though, didn’t you?”

“No,”
Jason replied flatly. “The only thing I found worth finding was Jesus.”

“What
is with your new obsession to give credit to some fictional god?” the doctor
demanded, waving the detonator in the air. “Give yourself some credit.”

“I
thought you were my friend,” Jason said solemnly. “You’re right; I am an idiot.
Why would I give myself any credit?” The doctor just responded with a shrug.
Several drops of rain began to fall, making a pitter-pat sound on the roof. “So
what now?” Jason asked after a few moments.

“Well,”
the doctor replied, “call me old fashion, but I think every story should end
with a bang. Yours, Jason, should be no different,” he added as he held up the
detonator and pressed the button.

Then,
with an evil smile, he turned and walked from the room. Jason looked into the
terror filled eyes of his wife… then down at the screen. It was lit up now. The
number ten appeared on it. Jason rushed towards her.

Nine
seconds. He reached her. The bottom of each chair leg was screwed into the
floor. Jason grabbed the seat of the chair and yanked one way then the other,
forwards and then back. Then he twisted as he ripped upwards. The crunch of
wood sounded, and he stumbled backwards, clutching Misty and the top part of
the chair, which she was still bound to, in his arms.

He
glanced at the bomb. Five seconds. He raced towards a window, turned his back
to it, shielding Misty as he ran. Crashing through the glass, he landed atop
the porch roof, sliding on his back with Misty on top of him. He rolled over,
gathered her up in his arms as he rose then charged towards the edge of the
roof. With Misty in his arms, he leapt off, spinning in the air so he would
land first and break their fall.

The
back of Jason’s right shoulder slammed into the ground, knocking the wind from
him as Misty crashed down on top of him. Wood splintered and she shook her
ropes off, removed the gag, grabbed his shirt and helped him to his feet,
supporting him as they raced towards the safety of a small rock wall that
surrounded Eden House. Reaching it, they collapsed on its far side, Jason
shielding Misty’s body with his own.

Silence…
then the sound of shattering glass mixed with a fiery explosion. Several shards
of the glass landed on top of them; other than that, they were fine. Jason
raised his head up and peaked over the stone wall. Flames flickered from within
the house, a remnant of the bomb’s scorching blast. Glassless window frames
stared back at him like the eyes a fiery demon.

He felt
fingers come up through the hair on the back of his head as hands laced
together behind his neck. His head was pulled down, and he felt the warm
moisture of lips pressed against his own. Misty released him after a short time
and whispered, “I love you, Jason,” with tremendous depth and passion.

The
earth trembled. Jason looked down at Misty. Her mouth was open, and she was
screaming… but he couldn’t hear her. Rocks slammed into the short wall as if
they were being fired from a cannon. Boards and pieces of stone began raining
down from the sky. Jason wrapped himself over Misty once more. “What’s
happening?” he yelled but couldn’t even hear his own voice.

Finally,
the deluge was over, and ringing silence filled the night once more. Jason
risked a peek through a crater that had been created in the wall, looking
towards the… house? He sat up straight. The house was gone. What remained in
its place was nothing more than a huge fiery crater. He felt something warm
trickling down his face.

“You’re
bleeding,” Misty gasped.

Jason
was fading. “Hey Misty,” he mumbled. “I love you, too.”

Raindrops
splattered against his face. Jason opened his eyelids. Through teary eyes,
Misty looked down at him. Gave a brave smile. Brushed her hand against his
cheek. “
Help’ll
be here soon,” she spoke gently.
“Your rancher friend heard the explosion and came. He’s gone for help.”

“Call
on my phone,” Jason whispered hoarsely.

“Sorry
babe,” she responded, gently brushing his hair. “It broke.”

Jason
faded back out. Misty had his head cradled to her chest when he came to again.
A strange sound could be heard. His eyes finally began to focus. A helicopter
sat a short distance away in a clearing. Lights caught the blades as they
seemed to spin in slow motion. Several people trotted towards him with a
stretcher.

He
looked up at Misty. “You’ll be fine, babe,” she assured him as a tear slowly
trickled down her cheek. Everything faded into darkness once more.

The
chopper ride was a blur of light and dark, combined with the sound of spinning
blades and distant voices. The next time Jason opened his eyes, he was being
pushed down a long hall on a stretcher. Faded out. Came to in a room with forms
in white all around. Back out. When he awoke again, a big shiny round thing
floated towards him. It was silver and green with what appeared to be some sort
of blue writing on it. Finally, Jason’s eyes focused. “Get well soon,” is what
the balloon read.

“That’s
quite a man you got there,” Jason heard a voice speak. It sounded like his
mother-in-law.

“Yes,”
Misty’s sweet, sleepy voice replied. “He sure is.” With those words of love and
praise ringing in his ears, Jason faded back out, once more.

Sometime
later, he awoke and directed his dazed eyes up at a nurse who stood messing
with the contraption by his bed that was hooked to him, giving off a rhythmic
beat in sync with his heart.

“Looks
like he’s coming to,” she spoke quietly, directing her attention to someone on
the opposite side of his bed. “Ms. Hathaway, you wanted me to wake you,” the
nurse said. Jason’s gaze followed her as she walked around his bed. “He’s
coming to,” she said before leaning over and giving the beautiful lady sleeping
in the chair beside him a gentle shake. “Honey, he’s awake,” she spoke again.

Misty’s
soft, sleepy eyes opened, and she gave the nurse’s arm, which still rested on
her shoulder, a gentle squeeze. “Thanks Ann.”

“Yes
ma’am, Ms. Misty,” the nurse spoke in a caring voice then scurried out the door.

As
soon as it clicked shut, Misty leaned over to the bed and gently took Jason’s hand.
“So how’s my hero?” she asked, brushing her soft lips across his knuckles.

“Oh,
he’s had better days,” Jason chuckled, but then he looked deep into the eyes of
the woman he loved. “Then again, he’s had a lot worse, too,” he added with a
sleepy, happy smile.

She
smiled in return and brushed her hand against his cheek. “You scared me, you
know.”

“How?”
Jason asked innocently like he’d never done anything to cause her worry.

“Climbing
that giant cliff,” Misty scolded as if she was upset with him for risking his
neck for her.

“Yeah,
I was a bit scared myself,” Jason said with a chuckle. After looking at her
smiling face for a few moments, he cast a quick glance around the room. “So how
long have I been out?” he asked.

“Almost
a day,” Misty replied. “They kept you under while they cleaned the rock
fragments out of your head wound.” She rose to her feet and gently caressed the
thick bandage on the side of his head with the back of her fingers before
leaning over and kissing him on the forehead. “They say it’s a miracle, but you
should be able to go home soon.”

“Well,”
Jason sighed, “I am now a firm believer in miracles.”

“Susan
told me,” Misty said with a tender smile. “So what’s it like?”

“What?”
Jason asked, confused. “What’s what like?”

“Being
a Christian,” she asked, her beautiful eyes shining with interest. “What’s it
like to be a Christian?”

“Nothing
compares,” Jason replied, his distant gaze fastened on the ceiling. “It’s like
all the pain, anger and selfishness – when I feel it bottling up inside, all I
have to do is talk to Jesus about it, and he lays all my troubles on his own
shoulders.” Several moments of silence passed between them then Jason turned to
her. He had to ask. “Would you like me to introduce you to him?”

“I’ve
been thinking about it,” Misty replied. “I just, um, I’m not sure yet.” After a
brief pause, she added, “Though I would like to come to Church sometime.”

“Hey,
that’d be great,” Jason spoke happily. “We’d all be happy for you to,” he
added, reaching up and taking her hand. They remained in silence for a while,
each basking in the others presence. Finally, Jason gave Misty’s hand a
squeeze. “So have they caught Dr. Throckmorton yet?” he asked, trying to sound
calm, but his casual tone had an edge to it.

“No,”
Misty replied solemnly. “And I don’t think they will.”

“You
think he’s that good?” Jason scoffed, cocking an eyebrow.

“No,”
Misty responded. “I think he’s dead.”

“Dead?”
Jason asked in surprise. “What makes you think he’s dead?”

“They
found a body,” Misty replied, “well, not really a body, just bones – burnt
charred bones. The FBI had a bunch of questions for me. What did I remember?
Who were the kidnappers? How was I treated?”

“How
were
you treated?” Jason interrupted.

“With
respect,” Misty answered. “That was the doctor’s instructions, and the young
Spanish guy made sure they were kept.”

“Was
Denton there?” Jason asked, his tone growing darker.

“Yes,
he was,” Misty replied somberly. “At one point he made a comment about once you
were dead I would be his.” She looked away as a tear built up in her eye,
threatening to trickle down her cheek. Then a look of satisfaction settled over
her face. “Isaac almost beat him to death, and I never saw him again.”

Jason
was silent for a moment, trying to control the anger he felt welling up from within.
“Well, you’re okay now,” he spoke.

Misty
smiled and brushed her free hand over his cheek. “We’re both okay now.”

“Yes,”
Jason agreed, pressing her hand against his lips. “Thank God for that.”

“So
you’ve started thanking God for things, too?” Misty asked with a sweet and
curious look on her face.

“Yep,”
Jason replied in a matter-of-fact way as he gently toyed with the ring on her
finger. “Ever since the moment I realized that the things we love most can be
taken away in a heartbeat.”  Jason sighed deeply before looking up into
Misty’s eyes. “Anyways,” he said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “You were
talking about the FBI and the doctor before I interrupted.”

“Oh
yes,” Misty said, sitting back down and scooting her chair up close to the side
of the bed. “The FBI said it would take a while to get DNA off of the bones… if
it was even possible. He may have been burned beyond any means of
identification.”

“So
they don’t think the second explosion was part of the doctor’s plan?” Jason
asked.

“No,”
Misty replied. “Apparently, after the house became vacant, some old-time miner
decided to store dynamite in the basement and probably died before coming back
for it… and they think that’s where the doctor ran for safety from the first
explosion.”

Jason
leaned back against his pillow. “What about dental records?” he asked. “Have
they tried using dental records to confirm his ID?”

“They
didn’t even find a skull,” Misty replied with her face crinkled up like the
thought was almost more than she could bear.

“Ouch,”
was all Jason could say. He sat in silence for a moment. “Well, in a way, it’s
too bad the doctor’s dead. He sure left a lot of unanswered questions.”