The second Brie hung up the phone, Ellie grabbed it and dialed Arnie’s house. There was no answer, but that meant nothing. Arnie could have demanded they not answer the phone, as he had when they all lived together. But what if it was something far worse? After letting it ring too many times, she hung up and fell into Brie’s arms, sobbing. “God, what has he done…what has he done?”
“He’s trying a little damage control, but it backfired on him. When we get a hearing, the judge will hear about that, too. Before we get that far, he was lying, wasn’t he, Ellie?”
“Of course he was lying! I worked in a strip club, you know that. A clean club—the boss was always on the lookout for funny business. Most of the women who danced there were single mothers, doing it for the money. I swear to God!” She ran a hand through her hair. “I have to get to my phone, in case they call me!” And with that, she ran out the back door and down the street.
Ellie didn’t even notice Jo and Nick sitting on their front porch as she ran past until Jo called her name. Ellie stopped for just a second, made a sound of despair and then hurried on to her apartment. She tried calling from her own phone, but she knew Arnie didn’t have caller ID. At least he hadn’t when Ellie lived with him; he didn’t want the phone answered, period.
There was no answer. Again.
Ellie paced, but it wasn’t very long before there was a tapping on the door and Jo popped it open without being invited in. “Sweetheart,” Jo said. “What’s the matter?”
Ellie quickly ran down what had just happened in the bar. Then she added, “Jo, that bar I told you I worked in? It was a strip club and yes, I danced. But I swear to God, I never took drugs or worked as a prostitute! I promise you! And if I don’t talk to my kids real soon, I’m going to Arnie’s and if I have to tear the doors and windows off the place, I’m going to be sure my kids are—” She stopped as the phone rang and she snatched it up. “Hello?”
“Mama?”
“Oh, baby, where are you?” Ellie asked Danielle.
“I’m here,” she said. “I’m at Arnie’s house.”
“Are you all right?”
“I think so,” she said. “He said we could have supper when he comes back.”
“Danny, are you alone? You and Trevor?”
“Uh-huh. The phone’s been ringing and ringing, but he said don’t answer the phone and if it was him, playing a trick, maybe we wouldn’t get supper.”
“All right, sweetheart, I want you to listen to me. You’re not supposed to be left alone, so a police officer is coming to check on you. Ask who’s at the door and if he says it’s the police, you can let him in. Just so he can be sure everything is okay.”
“We can’t, Mama,” she said.
“Of course you can, honey. It’s okay.”
“No, Mama, the door is locked!”
“It’s okay for you to unlock it for the police, honey. In fact, I’ll stay on the phone with you until they get there.”
Over her shoulder, Ellie noticed that Jo had taken up the pacing. Nick came into the apartment, a look of concern on his face. There were pounding footfalls on the stairs and Noah appeared in the doorway.
“But, Mama, we can’t reach the lock!” Danielle said.
Ellie sighed. “Pull a chair over, Danny. It’s okay. But wait until the police—”
“Mama! It’s locked on the outside!”
Ellie was speechless. She had to shake herself. “Danielle, Mommy’s coming right now. It will take me a while, but I’m coming right now. I love you.”
“Mommy,” she said. “I’m being afraid.”
“And I’m coming right now. Jo Ellen is here and she’s going to talk to you while I’m on my way. You just stay on the phone with Jo and everything is going to be okay.”
“Bye,” she said. “Bye, Mommy.”
Ellie took a breath and, with her hand over the mouthpiece so Danielle wouldn’t hear her, she looked at Jo, Nick and Noah. Her voice was softer than usual; deadly soft. “He locked them in,” she said. “The door is locked on the outside. They can’t get out. They’re trapped.” Then she handed off the phone to Jo, grabbed her purse, lunged out of the upstairs apartment and fled down the stairs. Noah was on her heels, moving fast to keep up with her.
When she hit the bottom, Noah caught her. “Whoa,” he said. “Want me to drive?”
She wrenched free and literally dove for the car, throwing herself behind the wheel, digging frantically in her purse for keys. The passenger door opened and Noah jumped inside as she started the ignition. “I grew up on these mountain roads. Buckle up and hang on!”
Deputy Stan Pierce pulled up to the address he’d been given and, as he walked to the front door, he scowled. He couldn’t make it out from the curb, but as he got closer he could see that right inside the screen door, bolting the door closed from the outside, was a padlock. A padlock. Like an ordinary lock a firefighter could just release wasn’t enough? Like a dead bolt with a key they could turn on the inside wouldn’t do the trick? He opened the screen, pulled on the lock and felt a groan escape. He knocked on the door.
A very small voice asked, “Who’s there, please?”
“I’m a police officer. Are your parents at home?”
“No. Just me and Trevor. Arnie went on an errand.”
“All right, I’m going to get this door open. It’s going to make a noise, but don’t be worried. It’ll just take a minute.”
Pierce went back to his car, opened the trunk and pulled out a crowbar. He radioed his dispatcher that he’d need a social worker from Child Welfare Services, but in the meantime he was going to open the house and look around inside. Rather than trying to cut the lock, he pried the whole contraption off the door and frame. Screws fell to the ground; the padlock bounced on the walk and into the bushes.
He pushed the door open gently. The house was dark inside because the blinds and curtains were drawn. In the light from the open doorway he could see two young children sitting on the sofa in a sparsely furnished living room. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Deputy Pierce from the sheriff’s department.” He got closer and crouched to get to their level, sitting on the heel of his boot. “How long have you been by yourselves?”
The little girl shrugged. “Since right after school. Arnie’s the principal of our school.”
“Ah,” Stan said. “You call your dad Arnie?”
“He’s not our dad,” the girl said, slipping an arm around her brother, pulling him close to her. “He was our stepdad for a little while.”
“I see. Do you know where I can find him now?”
She shook her head.
“What’s your name, honey?” Pierce asked.
“Danielle,” she said, tightening her arm protectively around her brother. “This is Trevor.”
“Nice to meet you. Do you mind if I look around a little bit?”
Again, she just shook her head.
So Stan did a quick inventory. Most situations like this were real easy to figure out. If the house was filthy, the kids thin and hungry and the food in short supply, it was a no-brainer. This was a little weird. The house was immaculate, even the kids’ beds were made up. It was dark; all the blinds were closed, very little food in the fridge…Absolutely no clutter. With two little kids? No clutter? He checked the back door—another padlock. The locks…This was just plain scary.
He went into the kitchen to call his sergeant and explain the situation. “The kids seem to be okay, but I have a real bad feeling. The scene is too controlled, the blinds all closed, the doors locked from the outside and it’s creepy clean—no toys or anything lying around. The kids are weird, just sitting on the couch like they were told to stay put. They’re clean, but scared. My kids? If we were out of the house for a couple of hours, they’d have the place torn apart. You know? I want to bring ’em in, get CWS involved. Something about this is too off. Well, the locks—right there we’re looking at some serious endangerment. Neglect and endanger—” He stopped and listened. “Okay, I’m bringing them in.”
He went back to the front room. He crouched again. “Kids, I want you to go find a couple of things to take on a possible overnight. A toothbrush. Pajamas. Clean clothes to put on in the morning. Anything special like a teddy bear or blanket or pillow you can’t be away from. Maybe a book or toy that’s special. Can you do that? Do you need my help? I have kids—I could help.”
Silent, Danielle shook her head. She got up from the couch very stoically, and pulled her brother along behind her. They went to their bedroom and Stan just stood up and sighed. They’d done this before. Packed their own bags.
While the kids were in their rooms, a car pulled up out front. Stan went to the doorway and was standing there when a big man got out of his dark SUV and came to the door. “What’s going on? Where are my kids?”
“They’re packing up a bag, Mr….?”
“Arnold Gunterson. Packing a bag for what?”
“I’m taking them to the police department, sir. We have a big problem with the locks on the outside of the doors, trapping the children inside, unsupervised.” Stan shook his head. “You can meet us at the sheriff’s department and talk to the social worker from Child Welfare Services. I’m not going to cite you right now, but—”
“This is my house, my kids—what business is this of yours?” he asked hotly.
“It’s neglect and endangerment, Mr. Gunterson. You can’t leave minor children alone in a building, locked in and trapped.”
“They weren’t trapped,” he growled. “I had to make sure they didn’t open the door for anyone dangerous!”
Deputy Pierce lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Would that include firefighters and paramedics? Mr. Gunterson?”
“Okay, fine—not a good idea. That won’t happen again.”
“We’re going to the sheriff’s department substation. I’ll have to write up a report,” Pierce said. “You can meet us there. Give you time to make up your story.” Pierce stepped aside so he could escort the kids to his patrol car.
It was impossible to ignore—both kids backed up when they spotted Gunterson.
“Okay, look, Deputy,” Arnie said. “I apologize. I can see where you’re coming from here, that wasn’t such a good idea. I give you my word, I’ll be much more careful. We’ve been through a lot, the kids and me, and I just wanted to be sure they were safe from their crazy mother. That’s all. I—”
“You can explain all this at the station, Mr. Gunterson,” Stan said. “I’ll take the kids in the squad car and you can meet us there.” Stan put a big hand on Danielle’s shoulder and urged the kids around their stepdad.
“This is a mistake,” Arnie said. “Let them be, you’re scaring them. You want a report? I’ll bring them!”
“I don’t think so, sir,” Pierce said, urging the kids toward his vehicle.
A silver PT Cruiser rushed up to the house, screeched to a stop and a woman jumped out of the driver’s side. Both kids immediately shot across the lawn to her, yelling, “Mama!” She fell to her knees and caught them, holding them. A man got out of the same car and came around the front to approach Stan, his hand out.
“Reverend Noah Kincaid, Officer. Are the kids all right?”
“They seem to be okay, but as I was explaining to the gentleman here, I’m taking them to the station. I’d like them to sit down with someone, talk about what went on here, and while they’re doing that I’ll write up a report. You call it in? Kids left unsupervised?”
“I believe it was a friend of their mother’s,” he said. “Do they have to go with you?” Noah asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Stan said, knowing he had some kind of big-time domestic situation on his hands. The husband and wife calling the cops on each other, the reverend showing up for ballast. If it weren’t for the weird house and the locks and the nervousness of the kids, he might assume the wife was playing out some vengeance on the husband. “That Mrs. Gunterson, there?” Stan asked.
“No, sir,” Noah answered. “She’s Ellie Baldwin. The kids are Danielle and Trevor Baldwin. Miss Baldwin hasn’t been married to Mr. Gunterson for about a year. They were only married a couple of months. It’s a long story.”
Stan snorted. It always was. “Well, there will be plenty of time. Let’s gather up these kids. You can all come to the station while we figure out what’s next.” Then, under his breath, he said, “My sergeant’s gonna be thrilled….”
“I’ll follow you, Officer,” Arnie said. “I’m sure we can straighten this out without too much confusion.” And with that, the big man strode stoically and confidently to his SUV.
Thank God for Noah, Ellie thought. She was angry enough to kill, but on the way to the sheriff’s substation, he talked her off the ledge. He emphasized that she had to stay calm and try her hardest not to act out. “Arnold will be cool. He’ll do what he can to appear to be the sane, stable one, to smooth things over—he’s obviously good at it. Don’t let yourself get sucked in.”
And of course, that was exactly what happened. While Ellie and Arnie were separated from the kids, Arnie finagled a moment alone with the sergeant in charge. After hearing what Arnie had to say to the locals at Jack’s, Ellie could only imagine. And he’d been in there a long time. “I guess that whole ex parte thing doesn’t apply to sheriff’s deputies,” Ellie muttered.
“It’s a little substation, but you can bet the sergeant has dealt with this before, Ellie,” Noah said. “Let him do his job.”
“I’m worried about the kids,” she said softly. “They’ve been in that back office awhile now.”
“But it was the right thing to do,” Noah said. “Giving permission for them to talk to the social worker alone—that was smart. Arnie couldn’t prevent that happening without bringing some suspicion on himself. Danielle will tell her how it is at that house. And that whole business with the lock—that’s sick. The guy is seriously twisted.”
A giant tear ran down her cheek. “Oh, Noah, this is all my fault. What was I thinking, getting mixed up with him? Look what I’ve done to my kids!”
“Hang on, kiddo. This is a bad time for a meltdown.”
She looked at him with such remorse, such despair, her eyes all liquid, her voice so soft, so unlike Ellie. “It wasn’t too much of a sacrifice for me, you know? I get by any way I can. If Arnie could give them a good home, I could manage. I thought I was making a good decision for my family. I thought—”
“Stop, baby,” he said, pulling her against him, holding her. “It’s going to be all right.”
“Noah, what’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t have—”
“Ellie, stop. You were doing the best you could.”
She was shaking her head. “I should have put more energy into keeping us independent. On our own. At least we could trust each other.”
He lifted her chin and looked into her frightened, wet eyes. “Nothing like this is ever going to happen to you again, Ellie. I’ll make sure of it. I don’t know how yet, but I’ll find a way.”
“But, Noah, that’s not what—”
“Ellie!”
She was cut off by her name being called. She turned to see Jo Fitch rushing toward her, Nick close on her heels.
“What are you doing here?” Ellie asked, giving the wet on her cheeks a nervous swipe.
“I knew you’d end up here. Honey, are they all right?”
She nodded. “But I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Arnie’s with the sergeant and I’m out here and the kids are—”
The sergeant’s office door opened and Arnie came out. He walked toward the front door, paused to glare at Ellie, then exited the building. “Oh, God,” Ellie said. “Was that a good sign? Or bad?”
“He left without the kids,” Noah said, an arm around her shoulders. “So far, I’d call that good.”
“Noah,” she said softly. “This is killing me.”
The woman from Child Welfare Services came from the room where she’d been interviewing the kids. She held a couple of thin files in her arms and approached Ellie. “Mrs. Baldwin, I—”
“Miss,” Ellie said. “Miss Baldwin. Ellie would be even better. Are they doing all right? The kids?”
“They seem to be holding up just fine—but after I make a couple of phone calls, I’ll need your help to talk to them. They’re not going back to Mr. Gunterson’s house tonight, but because of the court order, I have to locate some emergency foster care for them. Hopefully we can keep them together, depending on what’s available. But I can’t make any promises about that.”
“Please,” she said pitifully. “Can’t I take them with me? At least until we can see the judge again? My lawyer filed something, asking for another court date. Soon.”
“I’m a licensed foster parent,” Jo Fitch said abruptly. “I was a foster-care provider and kept up my license. It’s been a few years, but I know these children. And what’s more important, they know me.”
“And your relationship to the family?”
“Ellie has been renting the furnished room over our garage since she’s been working for Pastor Kincaid. It’s on the same property as the house, but it’s not attached. And we have two extra bedrooms. On some of Ellie’s Saturdays with the kids, they spent the day with Nick and I, baking, painting, reading. I think they’d feel safe there—and their mother’s nearby. Listen,” Jo said to the social worker, “all custody orders aside, this is a fine young woman, a wonderful mother. Believe me, I’ve been around the block with parents whose kids were in the system and I know what I’m talking about.”
“We had a total of nineteen,” Nick said, stepping forward, slipping an arm around Jo’s shoulders.
“Oh, God,” Ellie prayed. “Please. I could tuck them in. I could have meals with them. And with Jo, I know they’d be safe.”
The social worker looked down while she considered this. She looked up and said, “You understand, the foster parent is in charge? Even if they’re right next door, even if you have access to them, the foster parent has the last word.”
“That’s not a problem,” Ellie assured her. “I won’t interfere. As long as they’re safe, I won’t interfere.”
“Well, let’s go back to the office and check your credentials,” she said to Jo. “Just so we don’t muck up the procedure and make it worse on these kids, I’ll get a judge on the phone. It shouldn’t take long. Then if everything is in order, you can take them home. Since you haven’t provided foster care in a while, expect a few unscheduled visits.”
“By all means,” Jo said, following behind the social worker.
A half hour later they were under way, herding the kids into the sheriff’s substation parking lot. And there, leaning against his big black SUV, was Arnie. He was glowering at them. It brought Ellie up short with a gasp.
Noah grabbed her upper arm and whispered in her ear, “Say nothing. Absolute silence. Let’s get these kids away from here with Jo and Nick.”
“Right,” she said. She quickly settled Trevor into his seat belt while Jo made sure Danielle was fastened in. And as they pulled away, Ellie leaned against Noah and gave a huge sigh of relief.
Ellie’s relief was short-lived. Noah took the keys from her hand and drove, despite her protest that she was just fine. And they’d no sooner cleared the parking lot of the sheriff’s substation when the headlights of that big, black SUV beamed through the PT Cruiser’s windows, nearly blinding Noah as they hit the rearview mirror. The roar of the engine was loud; Arnie was driving within inches of the back fender.
“What the hell is he doing?” Ellie said, turning to look into the glare.
“Harassing. Don’t turn around. Don’t look at him.”
“Noah, turn around. Go back to the sheriff’s department.”
“Uh-uh,” he said, pulling up to a Stop sign. “Not yet. I want him with us, not with Jo and Nick and the kids.” He sat at the Stop sign for far longer than necessary while Arnie revved his engine. Then he pulled away slowly. “I thought maybe he’d get out, charge the car, pick a fight. I’m a little surprised. Happy, but surprised.”
“I’m not. Noah, he’s going to get us going up the mountain. He’ll rear-end us right off the road, down the side.”
“No, that’s not going to happen.” He adjusted the mirror to get rid of the glare. Then he took a couple of turns, stopped a couple more times and lingered, staying in town. “Eyes front, Ellie. We’re not going to engage him. Um—does Arnie have guns?”
“He said he did, but that they were locked up safe. I never saw them. He didn’t take time to go in the house before following the deputy to the station. Unless he has one in the car…” She slid down in the seat as Noah drove through a motel parking lot, back out onto the main street, the SUV close on his tail.
“Are you sure he never hit you or the kids? While you were with him?”
She shook her head. “Sometimes he looked like he was going to either explode or coldcock me, but he didn’t. He brooded. Pouted. Grumbled and accused and demanded, but he was never physical.”
“He’s a powder keg,” Noah said.
“He’s so close! How does he manage to keep from hitting us with his car?” she asked. “Pray, Noah. Really.”
Noah laughed softly and thought—two boats and a helicopter, and made yet another right turn, that big SUV inches from his bumper. There were only a few Stop signs in town and he slowed down as he approached the only light while it was green. He purposely caught the end of the yellow and forced Arnie to run a red light. “Where’s a cop when you need one?” he muttered.
“What are you doing? Giving me a tour?”
“Giving Jo, Nick and the kids a good head start,” he said. He glanced at the console clock. “You know what? This is a good little car, Ellie. She’s got some zip.”
“She doesn’t have the zip of eight cylinders and all that weight. And she’s got a lot of miles on her.”
“Yeah, but she’s maneuverable. I like that in a car.” He turned a couple more times, drove through an alley and a parking lot, then pulled right into the parking lot of the sheriff’s substation again, right up to the front door, in a No Parking zone. “You go in and ask for advice. I’ll ask Arnie what we can do to help him.”
“Oh, Noah…”
“Quick now,” he said, putting the PT Cruiser in Park, and getting out.
But of course the second he approached the driver’s door, Arnie put his SUV in Reverse and left the parking lot. He left nice and easy.
Twenty minutes later, Noah and Ellie had a highway patrol escort up Highway 36 into the mountains and hadn’t gone far when they passed a black SUV parked by the side of the road, waiting. The SUV was facing the direction of Virgin River. When they passed en route to Virgin River, the SUV made a U-turn in the middle of the road and headed out.
Ellie laughed and clapped her hands. “Ha! That worked!”
Noah was quiet for a long moment. “Ellie, that guy is scaring me,” Noah finally said. “And I’m fearless.”
By the time Ellie and Noah got to the Fitch household, the kids were sitting at the kitchen table with Nick, having ice cream. They both jumped up and ran to Ellie, hugging her so hard she had to peel them off. “Hey now,” she said, laughing nervously. “Looks like you have an ice-cream party going on here.”
“They had a sandwich first,” Jo said. “I thought some ice cream, bath and bed, in that order. I think these two have had a little too much excitement for one night.”
“I agree,” Ellie said. “How about it, you two? Finish up here. Would you like me to take care of baths?” she asked Jo.
“Mama, I have my own bath,” Danielle said.
“Of course you do,” Jo agreed. “And guess what? There are two tubs in this house, one in the hall and one off my bedroom. While your mom makes sure Trevor gets clean behind the ears, you’ll have your own bath. We’ll put bubbles in the tub…”
“I want bubbles,” Trevor said to Ellie.
“Bubbles for you, too,” Jo said. “Then bed. You don’t have to go right to sleep, but you have to get comfortable, quiet, and slow down a little. All right?”
While both kids agreed, Ellie mouthed thank you to Jo. And Jo just smiled.
“Nick, do you have a phone in your den that I could use for a private call?” Noah asked.
“Sure, Pastor. You know the way?”
“I do, thanks. I won’t be a minute.”
Twenty minutes later, while Ellie was settling her kids in their beds, Noah was having coffee in the kitchen with Jo and Nick. “Okay, here’s our situation. Arnie followed Ellie and I for a while after we left the station. He was dangerously close to her car, until I circled back to the station and they helped me out with a CHP escort up the hill. I made a call to the California Highway Patrol and the sheriff’s department from your den, Nick. Arnie’s a loose cannon and I can’t guess what he’s thinking. Be sure the doors are locked here tonight. You probably haven’t bothered to do that in years….”
“Never had to worry about that before,” Nick said. “But we have precious cargo in the house. We’ll make sure they’re safe. I’ll even check the windows.”
“Jo, no way they go to Arnie’s private school in the morning. I don’t know how the CWS system works, but if you have to take Danielle to some school, it can’t be that one. I’m going to talk to Ellie about having Brie Valenzuela get a temporary restraining order. Check with whoever supervises you about how to handle school. And keep sharp—I’m worried about Arnie’s behavior.”
“You should mention this to Mike V,” Jo said. “Do you think Ellie should spend the night here tonight?”
“You can run that by her. Nick, is the phone line to that apartment accessible? Should someone have a desire to cut it and leave Ellie without a phone, is it possible?”
Nick shook his head. “It runs underground and through the inside of the garage walls. It’s safe, unless someone broke into the garage—and I’ll be sure those doors are locked also.”
“If she wants to stay in her room, I’ll make sure she gets in safely. She’ll have the phone if she has a problem. I’m not letting anything happen to her—she’s the best assistant I’ve ever had.” He smiled. “And I’ll take your advice and mention this situation to Mike Valenzuela. You’re right—he should be in the loop.”