Hidden Summit

accustomed, he wouldn’t get there real fast. He had a lot of territory to cover.
    “Nora, did you open the door for him?” Noah asked her.
    She nodded and held both Berry and the baby close. Tears welled up in her eyes as she fought the feeling of being completely responsible for so much damage. “He said he’d break it down. I told Berry to hide behind the couch, put the baby on the couch and prayed he wouldn’t hurt anyone but me. Pastor, he could’ve gotten in anyway. I didn’t know what else to do. He wanted money. I gave him what I had, but it was only sixteen dollars. And it made him so mad!”
    “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. It’s his fault. I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon with better locks. We’ll get the doors and windows reinforced. And it’s time for a phone, Nora. I know you’ve been avoiding it because of the expense, but you can’t put it off now. You need to be able to call for help from the inside of your locked house.”
    She nodded and buried her face in Berry’s curls.
    “How’d you get into this, Reverend Kincaid?” Leslie asked.
    “Bad sermon,” he said with a shrug. “I was hoping for inspiration. It was keeping me awake and I didn’t want to bother Ellie. If I get up in the night, she gets up, too, so I decided to try the church office. Sometimes the church, in the middle of the night, is a wonderful place.” He ran a finger over his cut lip. “Ellie’s going to yell. She doesn’t even know I slipped out of the house.”
    Jack put a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you were so scrappy, Noah. Next time we have trouble, I’ll give you a call.”
    Noah looked at his bruised knuckles. “I might’ve had a slightly wayward youth on the Seattle docks before I tried the seminary. He is going to jail, isn’t he?”
    “He’s going to jail,” Mike said. “With any luck, he’s got meth in his pockets or his vehicle so we can double up the charges.”
    This was when Leslie had a chance to look around Nora’s house. It was sparsely furnished, just a sofa and chair with quilts covering them, a small table with two chairs, a rug that didn’t cover enough of the floor, some toys for Berry, the stroller by the door, and it was spotless. Shining clean.
    The men stood in the living room, Mrs. Hutchkins and Mrs. Clemens occupied chairs at the table while Leslie sat on the couch with Nora. Berry wasn’t even crying; she was clinging to her mother with wide eyes. Leslie reached for the baby. “Let me, Nora. Want me to fix her a bottle?”
    “I’ll do that in a minute,” she said. “Leslie, I’m so sorry you were dragged into this.”
    “Don’t start,” she said. “I’m a woman alone, too, as are Mrs. Clemens and Mrs. Hutchkins. If we don’t back each other up, we’re sunk. As it is, I think that maniac was held off by me, a preacher and two little old ladies.”
    “Who are you calling little?” Mrs. Clemens said.
    It was another half hour before the sheriff’s deputy arrived. Henry Depardeau stepped out of his car and approached the men in the front yard. “Well, Sheridan, this has the look of your work. I think the county would save time and paperwork if we’d just deputize you.”
    “We can’t do that, Henry,” Jack said. “We look forward to your visits. You getting a little backup out here?”
    “Am I going to need it?”
    “Possibly,” Jack said with a shrug. “Took three men to hog-tie him. And that was after two women weakened him with blows to the head.”
    “Crap,” Henry said. “I hate long reports.”
    It was midmorning when the phone beside the bed woke Leslie. She answered tiredly.
    “What’s up, sleepyhead?” Conner said. “I thought you’d be working in the yard!”
    “Hmm,” she hummed. “I’m sleeping in. Where are you?”
    “Changing planes in New York. Then I change planes in Denver. Then I drive straight to Sacramento from Redding so I can get there by morning.”
    “Oh, Conner, sleep on the plane if you can! You’ll be so tired!”
    “Are you sick?” he asked. “You don’t sound right.”
    “Not sick, just tired. I was up late last night. We had excitement in the neighborhood and I didn’t fall asleep until five this morning.”
    “Block party?” he asked.
    “Not the usual kind,” she told him. “Nora had an intruder. Her ex…ex-boyfriend, I guess. He brought her up here six months ago and just dumped her here, leaving her with the babies. He came back looking for money and got real