Page 70 of Last Chance Christmas

I know it feels like there’s no hope right now, that evil and darkness are winning. But that’s not the last word.

The LED candle display in the window caught his eye.

“Tony, did you see anything?” Penny’s question shook him out of the haze.

“No, play it again.”

God, help us to see what is hidden in the dark. Shine Your light. Help us to find her.

This time, Anthony stayed focused on the background and surroundings. “The building looks old. Check out the wooden walls behind her.” Peeling white paint and gaps between warped planks showed the building’s age.

“Where do we have old wooden buildings like that?” Junior was back and watching the video with them.

“Who knows? He could have her in an old barn out in the country, or downtown in one of the historical buildings,” Savannah said.

Historical.

An emblem on a podium off to the side caught Anthony’s attention. He stilled. “I know where she is!” He ran to his chair and grabbed his coat. “It’s Sagebrush City.”

“Sagebrush City?” Olivia walked in, already wearing her winter gear, carrying a bunch of coffee orders.

“It’s a historical mining town, up in the foothills. A ghost town. It’s open to tourists in the summer, but no one would be out there now.” Anthony checked his weapon.

“I’ve never even heard of it, and I grew up here.” Junior threw his coat on over his sling as they all ran for the parking lot. “Are you positive? We could be way off track if we’re wrong here.”

“My mother used to sell produce there. Spent a lot of time there as a kid, so yeah, I’m sure. That emblem is the city seal.” They rushed outside, the freezing precipitation hitting them in the face. “We’ll need chains. The road is going to bad with the ice and snow.”

But at least he knew the way.

Hang on, Della!

Eighteen

Provoking a serial killer by breaking his nose might not have been the most brilliant move. Here, under the blinding spotlight in an otherwise dim room, Vaynes off doing who knew what, Della could see that.

It had been her last-ditch effort for justice and retaliation. As much as she had been ready to tell the truth, she hated doing it on Jason’s terms. She had hoped to leverage what he wanted to convince him to turn himself in.

Dumb idea.

The spark of defiance that had inspired the move must’ve evaporated into the night. Now she was stuck with the reality of the situation pressing in on her like a relentless chokehold.

She was going to die.

“God, where are You? Remind me of the truth.”

The whispered prayer escaped her lips but did little to fill all the dark space around her.

Vaynes probably knew that leaving her anticipating his retaliation was a much more effective torture than anything he could do physically.

It was working.

Her body trembled. At this point it could be the shock or the cold or the fear. Who knew? But the longer he left her here, the more bleak the situation grew. The agony from her mangled fingers, throbbing down her arm, was unbearable. She couldn’t stop the tears if she wanted to. Her body hurt so much she’d almost welcome Vaynes knocking her out at this point, except for the fear of waking up to something even worse.

I could really use a rescue, Lord.

Remember my names.

Names?