Beverly Barton - Silent Killer

John Earl went over and kissed his wife on the cheek. “Erin has been handling things at the office, but I should head on down there soon. I think I’ll skip lunch. I had a big breakfast this morning.”

“You go ahead, dear,” she told him. “And take Erin some of those oatmeal raisin cookies I made last night. I know she likes them.”

“I’ll bag up a few on my way out the door.”

John Earl was using a busy schedule as an excuse to leave, but he knew that Ruth Ann was better equipped than he was to help their daughters and her mother adjust to the new situation. After all, they were all women, and women understood one another in ways men never could.

Punishing Donnie Hovater for his many sins had given her great satisfaction. Of all those whom God had chosen for her to destroy, none was as worthy of the Lord’s fiery wrath than the man who had repeatedly raped his own daughter. She knew now that, without any doubt, he had been evil personified.

She knew evil. She was a product of evil, and yet, through God’s gracious and forgiving love, she was blameless. God’s Son had atoned for her sins when He died on the Cross, and even those such as she, born from sin, born in sin, were washed clean and would be allowed into the eternal sanctuary of heaven. She would sit at the right hand of God. She would be blessed among the saved, for she had done the Lord’s bidding while here on earth.

“What, Lord? Yes, I hear You. I know my work is not done. There are others who must be punished. I believe I know the name of the man You have chosen for Your angel of death to visit next.”

She closed her Bible and placed her hand atop it where it rested in her lap. Breathing in the fresh, sweet outdoor air surrounding her, she recalled the genuine pleasure she had known as she had watched Donnie Hovater writhe in agony and scream for mercy. He had burned quickly, his cries for help going unheeded. Had he, in those final moments of his life, repented of his sins, or had he gone to the hereafter an unrepentant soul?

Did it truly matter? She believed that there was no atonement for men such as he. His evil had been too great, the damage he had inflicted unforgivable.

“Yes, Lord,” she whispered, a feeling of power encompassing her as she allowed her Savior to send the Holy Ghost into her heart and mind and body, to fill her with the strength of His righteousness.

Quietly, reverently, she recited the words from the first book of Revelations, the words God had placed on her lips. “ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.’”

She closed her eyes, smiled, and continued talking to God, plotting the demise of another blasphemous false prophet.

During the weeks since Donnie Hovater’s murder, life had returned to normal for almost everyone in Dunmore, even for Cathy to some extent. But the normalcy was shadowed by doubts and fears and the ever-present certainty that it was only a matter of time before the Fire and Brimstone Killer struck again. Personally, Cathy felt a little guilty for being so happy. Jack spent every weeknight with her, and Seth spent weekends. And last Saturday, the three of them had shared the entire day together. Jack had borrowed Mike’s boat, and they’d gone to the river. She had been amazed at how well her two guys had gotten along. But why shouldn’t they, when they were so much alike?

But there was a problem with the way her son seemed to be bonding with Jack-how long before Jack figured out that Seth was his son? Lorie kept telling her that she needed to tell them both the truth sooner rather than later.

“I need more time,” she’d told her best friend. “I need to be sure about Jack, about our relationship.”

“Don’t put it off until it’s too late,” Lorie had said. “You don’t want either of them finding out some other way.”

This morning-this glorious Fourth of July Saturday-Cathy had decided that she would tell Jack the truth tomorrow evening, after Seth had returned to his grandparents’ home. But for now, she didn’t want anything to interfere with their day-long celebrations. Jack would be here soon to pick them up and drive them to Spring Creek Park for the holiday festivities that included barbeque and chicken-stew dinners for sale, cold beer and soft drinks, family picnics, country bands playing late into the night, baseball games, fireworks displays and blankets spread out under the stars.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?” Cathy placed a package of napkins on top of the overstuffed picnic basket and barely managed to close the lid.

“I’ve been thinking about when school starts in August,” Seth said. “I’d like to come and live with you full-time then. Do you think Granddad and Nana will be okay without me?”

Cathy drew in a deep breath and released it slowly as she allowed the joy of the moment to encompass her. “Yes, I believe they’ll be okay. After all, it’s not as if you’ll be cutting them out of your life. You can see them whenever you’d like, and they’ll always be your grandparents.”

Will they? an inner voice asked. How will J.B. and Mona react after I tell Jack and Seth the truth? Will they still be able to think of themselves as Seth’s grandparents?

“What’s the matter, Mom?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve got this really peculiar look on your face.”

She brushed aside her concerns. Time enough to deal with the aftereffects later. Today was going to be a good day, one more building block in the foundation of the life she hoped to construct with Jack and Seth…if she was lucky-very, very lucky.

“It’s nothing really,” she lied. “I was just wondering how you’d feel about Jack staying here occasionally.”

“Oh.”

“I know it might be awkward for you and Jack, at least at first, but-”

“Are you going to marry him?”

“Uh, I don’t know,” she replied, not the least bit surprised by her son’s question. After all, he’d been raised to believe in the sanctity of marriage and that living together out of holy wedlock was a sin. “Jack and I haven’t discussed marriage.”

“Why not? You love him, don’t you?”

“I care deeply for Jack.” You love him. Admit the truth to yourself even if you can’t admit it to your son. Yes, she loved Jackson Perdue, with all her heart. And if he asked her to marry him tonight, she would say yes, a thousand times yes.

“Hey, I’m not saying get married right away or anything, but anybody can see that the guy’s nuts about you. And I think he’s okay. You know, as far as stepdads go, Jack wouldn’t be all that bad.”

“Oh, he wouldn’t, would he?”

“We get along okay,” Seth said. “We actually like a lot of the same things, sports and stuff like that. And he really listens to me when I talk to him. He doesn’t treat me like I’m some dumb kid.”

Cathy smiled. “That’s because you’re not a dumb kid. You’re a smart kid.”

They heard a car pull into the driveway. Seth went to the back door and looked outside.

“It’s Jack.” Seth lifted the heavy picnic basket loaded down with food and supplies and carried it with him as he met Jack at the back door.

“Ready to go?” Jack asked when Seth opened the door for him.

“Sure are,” Seth replied. “I’ll take this on out to our car.” He hoisted the basket up to show Jack, then headed outside.

Jack came over to Cathy, leaned down and kissed her. She returned the kiss, and when he raised his head, they both grinned. He scanned her from head to toe.

“Honey, you look good enough to eat.”

She laughed. “Save your appetite for food today.”

“I’ll try to be on my best behavior, but, woman, you look way too good in those blue jeans.”