It created a new perspective for Kyle knowing there was another side to this lost and wandering soul. Bethany had had a life before all this. She’d been a happy, vibrant child, not the foreboding picture of despair Kyle had become so accustomed to seeing. It was almost as if she were looking at a different person.
Unfortunately, that feeling of warmth wasn’t a lasting one; it dissipated quickly, as pictures of the Foley murder scene flashed across the screen. Kyle cringed as she watched file footage of officials removing body bags from the house and rolling them toward plain white vans. One of them—about a third the size of the others—was hard to miss. It was Bethany’s body.
“
Several days later, and authorities in Faith are still at a loss to explain why the son, eleven-year-old Ben Foley, gunned down his family, then took his own life,” the news anchor continued. “Sheriff’s deputies found the boy inside his bedroom closet—shot to death—an apparent suicide. The massacre is just one in a series of killings in and around the town, which, before this, was relatively crime-free. Officials in Faith remain baffled, unable to connect any of them, unable explain why they occurred.”
Bethany hadn’t died in an accident. She didn’t suffer from some sudden childhood illness, and she wasn’t part of the World War II scenario Kyle kept seeing in her visions.
As soon as the story ended, she made a dash for the kitchen. There was no time to check her computer; time was of the essence. She pulled open a drawer, grabbed a New Mexico road map. Struggling with its unwieldy size, and spreading it out on the table, she searched for Faith.
Spotting it down toward the bottom, she used her fingers to measure the distance between Faith and Albuquerque, then compared it to the legend, trying to figure out the drive time. The town appeared to be a good two-hundred miles south, about a three hour trip if she went the speed limit, less if she drove faster.
She grabbed the telephone and started punching keys, swatting at a lock of hair that had fallen down in front of her face, as if shooing away an annoying fly.
* * *
Josh was sleeping when the phone rang. He reached over and felt around for it on the nightstand. Running his fingers over the receiver, he fumbled before pulling it toward him and moaning, “hello.”
“
It’s me,” Kyle said.
“
Hi, you,” he replied with a groan and a yawn. “You sound funny.”
“
I’ve got it.”
“
Got what?” Josh asked, feeling less tired but more confused.
“
I’ve figured it out. I
know
who Bethany is.”
Josh swung his feet over the edge of his bed and leaned forward. “You do? Who?”
“
She lived and died in Faith.”
“
Sounds like the title of a book.”
“
It’s a place, right here in this state, just a few hundred miles south of here. She was murdered, Josh, along with the rest of her family. Her brother did it, shot them all to death in the middle of the night, then killed himself.” She was still breathless. “I
saw
her, Josh. Caught it on the news. They showed her picture.”
Josh reached for the switch on the lamp, clicked it on, squinting while allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. “So you know why she’s been contacting you?”
“
Yes … and no. It’s about what’s been going on in her town lately. There’ve been a bunch of murders. What it has to do with the images from World War II—that’s where I’m lost right now. Still can’t make a connection. It’s all from an era that happened long before she was even born.”
“
Weird ... what now?”
There was a short pause, and then she said, “I’m going to Faith.”
“
I don’t think I like the sound of that,” he said slowly.
“
I’ve got to, Josh,” she insisted. “Don’t you see? This little girl’s been trying to tell me something. Now I finally know where she lived. This is huge. Everything I need is waiting for me right there. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
“
Then I’m coming with you.”
“
No!” Kyle said, sharply. “Don’t. Please. I need to go by myself. It would be too obvious if both of us showed up there.”
“
I can’t let you go alone, Sis. You know nothing about this place or what you’re walking into,” he pointed out. “Don’t you get it? People are getting murdered
.
You wanna end up being one of them?
”
“
I’ll be okay, Josh. I’ve gotta go. I’ll be careful, I promise.”
“
Jeez, Kyle.”
More insistent now. “I’m going, Joshua.”
He said nothing for a few seconds, thinking it over, then groaned. “You’re a grown woman, and about as pig-headed as they come. I can’t stop you—we both know that—but I
can
make demands, and I’m going to.”
Now Kyle was groaning. “Demands?”
“
Yeah, demands. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna stand by and let you walk head-on into this kind of danger without doing
something
.”
“
And what are these demands?” asked Kyle.
“
You stay in touch with me. You
call
me …
without fail
. Understand?” He didn’t wait for her to reply. “You call me before you leave here. You call me when you’re halfway there, and you call me once you arrive. Got that? And after that, it’s every five hours—again, without fail—and I’m warning you, Kyle, if you don’t play by the rules, the rules change: this becomes
my
game.”
Kyle groaned again.
“
That’s right. Big brother’s comin’ to town with both barrels loaded, and I’ll be bringing my posse with me. Think I’d be conspicuous at your side? Just you wait. I’ll stick out like a clown at a funeral.”
Kyle didn’t like his conditions or the way he was strong-arming her. But she
had
called him, and on some level, knew she needed the safety net he was offering.
“
Okay,” she said, finally relenting, “if I must.”
“
You must. And keep your cell phone with you at all times. I want to be able to reach you. No turning it off. No letting the battery go dead. I mean it, Kyle.”
“
I swear. I will,” she said.
“
And one more thing.”
“
What
now
?” she snapped.
His voice softened. “Take care of yourself.”
“
I will, Josh, I promise.”
“
Love ya, Sis.”
“
Love ya back,” she said.
Josh hung up the phone and smiled, but not for long.
He sat, thinking for a few seconds.
“
Forgive me, Sis,” he said as he picked up the receiver again and dialed, “but you mean way too much to me, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let you walk through
this
fire alone.”
Chapter
Sixty-Five
State Route 25
Albuquerque, New Mexico
By the time Kyle had gathered her things and headed out the door, it was close to midnight. If everything went as planned, she would be in Faith before morning.
Bethany had died at the hands of her eleven-year-old brother in a bloody massacre that ended not only her life, but her parents’ as well. Her sense of trust was no doubt destroyed the instant she saw him aiming the gun at her. If she couldn’t trust him, who
could
she? No wonder she always seemed to be running away. Kyle tried to imagine what that must have been like for the little girl to wake up and see her brother aiming the gun at her. Did she see his face? Look into his eyes? Could she feel the rage coming from him in those final moments before he pulled the trigger and ended her life?
Kyle chased the thought away with another, although it wasn’t much better.
According to the news, Faith had been a peaceful town before all this. Now Kyle wondered if she was putting herself at risk of becoming one of those statistics. Josh had probably been right in his hesitation to let her go there—maybe her adrenalin rush had clouded her better judgment, causing her to jump in too fast.
No turning back now
, she thought as she watched her headlights tearing holes in the darkness.
After several miles and deep in thought, Kyle realized she’d lost track of time. A sign emerged from the shadows: FAITH, NEW MEXICO: 85 MILES.
Like a double shot of espresso to the brain, she perked up, feeling wide awake again. She’d be there soon. Her nerves re-activated as anxiety charged through her body.
About a half-hour later, signs of civilization began slowly emerging. On the distant horizon, tiny lights dotted the countryside, first spread wide apart, then, in tighter clusters, as Faith drew nearer. Kyle felt a push of adrenaline as she exited the highway off-ramp that would lead her straight toward her destination.
She was not prepared, however, for what she saw next. If she thought her excitement was elevated before, Kyle was in for an even bigger surprise now—it was about to reach new heights.
Nesting on a grassy knoll, was a church with a large sign out front: it listed service times, invited people to Friday Night Bingo, and announced the upcoming chili cook-off. But that wasn’t what caught Kyle’s attention. Beneath those words, there were more—ones that sent a chill sailing up her spine:
Empty hearts make empty souls.
Words with a haunting message.
Words that had become familiar to Kyle.
Now she knew why.
Chapter
Sixty-Six
State Route 25
10 Miles outside Faith, New Mexico
Empty hearts, empty souls.
Kyle had been trying to figure out the meaning of those words ever since Bethany had first said them.
The Restoration Church stood on the edge of Faith’s outer limits. Since there was only one way in and one way out, anyone wishing to enter the town needed to pass by. Bethany had planted the seed early on, knowing Kyle would recognize it when the time was right.
She descended a steep mountain grade, then traveled onto the main artery leading directly into town. Though it was still dark, Faith’s charm shone through. Quaint little shops lined both sides of the street, flanked by neatly groomed tree lawns. The whole scene looked almost too perfect.
How
, she wondered,
could something so ugly have happened in a place this beautiful?
Kyle yawned. Not sleeping all night was finally taking its toll, and she felt exhausted, desperately in need of rest. Off in the distance, a motel seemed to call her name, its flashing, neon
vacancy
sign winking at her with the promise of a warm bath and clean sheets.
Chapter
Sixty-Seven
Felice’s Diner
Faith, New Mexico
One o’clock in the afternoon.
A late lunch for Cameron. It seemed as if he’d barely had time to breathe, let alone eat. The shocking news about Shawn Banks had sent his mind reeling, his body feeling like it was running on empty. He’d decided to drop by Felice’s for a quick bite.
On his way out, Cameron watched a woman and a boy crossing in front of him; the child sneezed.
“
Mijo!”
she fussed. “Cover your mouth when you sneeze. You want to get everybody else sick?”
Everybody else sick.
Just a cold
, he tried to tell himself, but then another thought quickly entered his mind.
Another murderer? Another boy waiting in the wings? Waiting to kill?
He pushed it away.
Calm down, Cam.
But how could he? How could he be calm knowing this
thing—
whatever it was—had been taking hold of his town, sweeping through it like a deadly tornado, one that seemed to be gathering intensity with each passing minute?
Someone else coughed. Cameron swung his head in the other direction—an older man. He waited with caution for the cough to continue. It did not.
Cameron suddenly changed his course, heading straight toward Blake’s Pharmacy.
“
Afternoon, sheriff,” said the pharmacist, looking up from behind the counter with a smile, as Cameron entered.
He barely nodded back; he was on a mission. Bypassing several aisles, he headed for the cold and flu section. When he got there, he stopped and stared.
The flu medicines were gone. All of them.
“
Blake?” Cameron said, his eyes still fixed on the one spot.
“
Something wrong, sheriff?” Blake replied, now standing beside Cameron, interest piqued.