Chapter 40 #2
“My name is Jane,” she said. “I tended to the woman who died . . . at the cemetery? Before I worked on you. Someone told me she was your sister?” She looked closer at Adrian. “Wasn’t it you?” she asked.
He nodded. “You asked me if I knew who she was.” He looked back at Erin. “Kaely told me that Shannon was actually Courtney.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Jane said. She met Erin’s eyes. “You probably know that your sister was trying to kill you with a garrote. Before she could accomplish her goal, she was shot.”
Although she could have told Jane that it was Adrian who ended Courtney’s life, she stayed silent. There wasn’t any reason to bring it up.
Jane cleared her throat and took another step closer to the bed.
“She didn’t die right away. Even though we tried to save her, the bullet hit her carotid artery.
We couldn’t stop the bleeding. But before she passed away, she grabbed my arm and .
. . Well, she asked me to pray for her. She said she wanted to go to heaven.
I have no idea what you believe, but I feel like I’m supposed to tell you this.
She accepted Jesus right before she died.
The last thing she said was your name. I believe she wanted you to know. ”
Erin couldn’t stop the tears of elation that ran down the sides of her face. She smiled at Jane and nodded again. Even though it hurt, she croaked out, “Thank you.”
Jane smiled. “I’ll be praying for your quick recovery. For a while, we thought we’d lost you too. I’m glad you’re okay.” Then she turned around and walked out of the room.
Erin wasn’t certain, but she had to believe that what she’d seen had been real and the person with her parents was Courtney.
Maybe it had been the last moment of her life, but she’d accepted the forgiveness that Christ had died to give her.
Someday she and Courtney would be together again.
But this time, they would have the kind of relationship they were robbed of.
They would be real sisters. Was this God?
Someone who fixed what was wrong, even if people didn’t deserve it?
Kaely’s words whispered in her mind. Jesus was perfect, yet He became sin.
He didn’t just pay the price for all of humanity, He actually became sin itself.
The agony of that moment is beyond our comprehension, yet He did it for all of us.
He did it for you, Erin. Kaely was right, she couldn’t comprehend that kind of love.
But she’d just seen an example of it. The last time she’d felt love like that was from her parents. This is why God called Himself Father.
“I’m so happy for you,” Adrian said. “You’ve been given a great gift.”
“I know,” she whispered. Erin wanted to tell Adrian about her dream, but her throat hurt too much. There would be time later.
“There you are,” a voice said.
Erin smiled at Kaely and Noah as they stepped into the room. Kaely hurried over to the other side of her bed and put her hands on the rail.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You look awful.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. “Quit appealing to my ego.”
“You know what I mean,” Kaely said. “Did Shannon . . . I mean, Courtney, hit you?”
Erin nodded.
“Anything broken?” Noah asked.
She shook her head. Erin wiggled around in the bed, trying to get into a more comfortable position.
“The doctor said she can go home sometime later today,” Adrian said. “First they just want to make sure she doesn’t have any internal injuries.”
“I assume you’re Adrian,” Noah said. He stuck out his hand. “I’m very happy to meet you. And very thankful you got to that cemetery just in the nick of time. Detective Munoz tells me that if you hadn’t arrived when you did, our girl probably wouldn’t be here.”
Adrian shook his hand. “Glad to meet you. Believe me, no one is more happy than I am for the timing.”
“We’re so grateful you found her,” Kaely said.
“God is so good.” She leaned over the railing, a little closer to Erin.
“I . . . I’m so sorry. I should have realized something was wrong with Shannon, but nothing she did made me suspicious.
Not even her book. I think she was trying to leave clues.
The book, the toys, all the victims being blonde .
. . For someone who used to be a behavioral analyst, I really messed up.
I let you down and put you in grave danger. ”
“No,” Erin whispered. She was glad Kaely was close to her because her voice was almost gone. “Courtney hid from us both. She was my sister, and I didn’t see it. How could you?”
“Maybe, but I’m still disappointed I didn’t realize what was going on.” Kaely took her other hand. “I’m just glad you’re okay. And I’m sorry about your sister.”
A man walked into the room. “Good to see you, Detective Munoz,” Adrian said. “I hope you have good news for us?”
“We found Patricia Long,” he said. “Your sister told one of the EMTs where she was. At first, they didn’t understand what she was trying to say.
But when they repeated it, I realized the message was for me.
Your sister told us what section of the cemetery to search.
It wasn’t hard. There was only one place where dirt had been turned over.
The tube sticking out of the ground was confirmation. ”
“Is she . . . alive?” Kaely asked.
The detective smiled. “Yes. She’s down the hall in another room. The doctor said she’ll be okay. But it was close. If it wasn’t for you . . . and your sister . . . she wouldn’t have made it.”
“If it wasn’t for my sister, she wouldn’t have been in that situation,” Erin whispered. She placed her hand on her throat as if it would help her. It didn’t.
Kaely squeezed her hand. “But in the end, she also saved her. You influenced her to do the right thing, Erin. I’m so proud of you.”
Erin shook her head. Pat was alive because God gave her the chance to tell Courtney about Him. In that cemetery, three people had been saved, even though sadly, the groundskeeper had died. Erin and Pat were alive. And Courtney was in heaven with their parents.
Erin wanted to tell Kaely what she’d experienced before Adrian arrived to save her life, but it would have to wait.
Not just because of her voice. She wanted to keep it in her heart for a while.
She was still trying to understand it. One thing for certain, she was no longer afraid of the future because she’d learned that God truly held her life in the palm of His hand.