Page 51 of A Song in the Dark

chapter Twenty

The thump of a body on the ground shook her out of her stupor.

No. Get up. Please be all right.

But Dr. G didn’t move.

Randall dragged him off the narrow makeshift road and into the trees.

The front passenger door opened, and her brother slid into the seat. The gun in his hand was now trained directly at her.

“What did you do? Did you kill him? He is still alive, isn’t he?” If he’d taken the life of the only father who had ever truly loved her, they weren’t moving an inch.

His eyes gleamed in the dim light. “Maybe for now. But he won’t be for long in this cold. Now drive.” He jammed the gun into her temple. “If you don’t, I will shoot you. And each of the children hiding in the backseat.”

Melanie took one last glance at Dr. G’s motionless body.

She fumbled with the keys three times before getting the key in the ignition and starting it.

She’d come back after she dealt with her brother.

And she would deal with her brother. Anger burned so hot in her now that she was ready to spit fire at him. “Where are we going?”

“Back to Berlin, dear sister. And on the way, you are going to tell me the key to the pianist’s code.”

“What’s wrong?” Chaisley cringed at Rick’s sharp intake of breath. “What do you see, Rick? Tell me.” The intensity of the moment made her heart race. The situation was bad. She could feel it.

“Keep your voice low. We’re going to get closer.”

“Where are Melanie and the children? Dr. Grafton? You were watching them through the binoculars. Tell me, please.”

The car rolled forward.

She reached out and touched Rick’s arm. “I have to know what’s going on. They’re my family.”

He took a slow breath. “A Nazi just forced her back into the car. He had Dr. Grafton at gunpoint, hit him over the head with the gun, and left him in the snow.” Rick’s voice was calm and low.

“We’ve got to do something. We can not let Melanie and those children be taken by him. We can’t. God help us.”

“Is Dr. Grafton all right?”

“I don’t know, Chais. He’s on the ground.

Wait. He just moved. And the car is stuck.

Melanie hit a tree when that madman stepped out into the road.

Looks like the Nazi is forcing her to turn around.

But the space is too narrow. Between the tree and the ruts in the road, their tires are spinning in the snow.

That’s good. It’ll buy us time to close the distance.

” They rolled ever closer toward the enemy that had Mel.

“Can you go any faster?”

“We’re about to go downhill, so we will pick up some speed. Right now, I’m praying he doesn’t see us. Our headlights are off, but we’re about to lose the cover of the trees.”

Chaisley swallowed and, for the first time in many years, wished she could see. Her lack of sight hadn’t made her feel helpless since she was a child. She clamped her eyes shut and clenched her jaw. God, take this fear away. Show us what to do.

Rick grabbed her hand. “Here we go. Get down. Just in case.”

She leaned toward him as their vehicle went down an incline.

“We’re in the open now, so he might see us.”

“What is your plan?”

“I can see Melanie, her hands are waving around. That man better not hurt her.” The words sounded like they’d been forced through clenched teeth.

“Maybe she’s stalling, because she hasn’t made much progress getting the car out.

She’s been shimmying it back and forth but she’s still at an angle in the narrow road.

At least her captor would have to look over his shoulder now to see us. ”

Chaisley felt their vehicle come to a slow stop.

Rick grabbed her shoulders and lifted her to sit up again. “We don’t have much time. I don’t think the Nazi knows we are here, which is a miracle.” He pulled her over to the driver’s seat and she felt him slide out.

“What are you doing? You do realize I don’t know how to drive, don’t you?”

“Yep. But you’re going to today. It’s only about 100 meters. If that.” His voice was a hushed whisper.

She heard the crank of the window and then the door softly clicked shut beside her. She could hear the other vehicle. The spinning of its tires. Over and over.

Rick’s warmth came through the open window. “Our only hope here is for me to disable the car. It can only go a foot or so forward or back until she gets it straightened out. This is our chance, so I need you to listen close. You can do this.”

She nodded. “Of course I can.” She straightened her shoulders. She could do anything with God’s help. Right? For Melanie and the children. To keep them from being taken.

“All you have to do is shift and work the pedals.”

She could handle piano pedals—it couldn’t be that much different, right? “Okay.”

“Place your foot on the left pedal—that’s the clutch. It has to be pressed all the way in to shift. Middle pedal is the brake. Righthand pedal is smaller—it’s the one that makes the car go.”

She found all three with her feet. “That’s not so hard.”

“Good. Now press in the clutch, and keep your left foot pressed in until I tell you to shift. When I tell you to go—” he moved her right hand and placed it on a handle—“crank this down a notch, press down on the right pedal, and ease up on the clutch. They have to work together, so feel the engine. You’ll probably be able to do it better than anyone else.

But in case you stall, press the clutch back in—” he placed her right hand on the dash—“You have to push this button to start the vehicle again. It’s the ignition. Then shift and go. Got it?”

His confidence in her made her nervousness fade a little. “A blind woman driving, it makes complete sense. What are you going to do?” She gripped the steering wheel.

“Pray this works and very carefully shoot out a tire or two. It’s a good thing I’m an excellent shot. But I can’t drive and take careful aim at the same time. You’re the distraction. And if I miss, you’ll hopefully catch them and ram them. That’s plan B.”

“Let’s hope plan A works then.” She sat a little straighter.

“Once I’ve shot out a tire or two to disable their vehicle, I’ll shout—that’s your signal to hit the brakes and duck down onto the seat.” A metallic click followed his words.

God, please make his aim true. “Okay.” Her pulse throbbed in her temples. “Be careful.”

“You ready?”

She pressed in the left pedal. “Yes.” But it was amazing how the pictures of Father’s car from her childhood sprang to mind. She could see it. Feel it.

The other engine across the way roared, then sputtered.

“Perfect. They’ve stalled and she’s managed to get the back tire in a pretty good drift. As soon as Mel starts the car up again, I want you to go, all right? Just keep the steering wheel straight, don’t deviate.”

“All right.”

She held the gear shift in her right hand, the steering wheel in her left. Her left foot was pressed on the clutch as the engine purred, and her right foot stayed on the brake.

The other engine roared to life again.

A shot rang out.

“Go!”

Chaisley blew out her breath, shifted, and pressed into the right pedal while she lifted the left, feeling the engine engage. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands as the car moved forward.

Another shot rang out. Then another.

But she didn’t hear a shout. Had it not worked?

All she could do was continue ahead and pray that was correct. The wind whipped through the open window and strands of her hair wrapped around her face. But she refused to let go of the steering wheel.

She pressed the gas pedal all the way down and heard the engine whine at a higher pitch. Was she supposed to do something else? Shift? But how?

No. She was supposed to brake. No. That was only if Rick shouted. Had he?

“Chais!”

That was her cue. She stiffened her body, bracing for whatever was coming, and pressed the brake.

But the car slid into something in front of her, and she smacked her head on the steering wheel as the limousine came to a stop. The engine hissed and sputtered.

Whatever she hit caused her to lift her feet off the pedals, and she released the steering wheel. Her mind swam for several seconds, and a pounding grew in her forehead.

She put a hand to it and forced her mind to clear.

Where was Mel? The children? And Dr. G?

Were they all right?

Scuffling sounded in the snow in front of her.

“Chaisley?” Mel’s voice.

Her door opened, and warm arms lifted her up as the brisk air greeted her face.

“Are you all right?”

Rick. He pulled her into his arms.

“I conked my head pretty hard, but other than that, I’m fine. Is Mel okay? Did we stop them?”

“Thank God. I was worried when I saw that you weren’t stopping.” His arms tightened. But then the deep rumble of his laughter filled her ears. “Didn’t I tell you how great you would be at driving?”

She released a humph . “Where’s Mel? I heard her.”

“I’m here.” Her nervous laughter joined Rick’s, and another set of arms surrounded Chaisley. “I can’t believe that you just drove the car!”

“Where’s Dr. G? What happened?” Her frustration with not knowing what had transpired grew with every second.

“Don’t worry. I’m right here too.”

The man who’d been her guardian all these years joined the hug.

Chaisley wriggled her way out of their grasp and stomped a foot. “Who’s going to tell me what happened?”

“I take it back. I think you are better at everything than me. Even driving a car.” The relief in Rick’s voice soothed her frazzled nerves.

But it was Mel who rescued her from going crazy. “My brother was the one who kidnapped Dr. G and stopped me in the road. He wanted to take me back to Berlin so I could tell him how to decipher your code.”

“Oh no.”