Chapter 43
43
Dinah had had another one of those books in the floorboard of her car. It must have slipped out when she’d shoved the backpack and its collection of evil into the trash bag earlier. Dinah had seen it when she'd stopped at a stop sign. She'd turned back. To take it back.
And that was when she'd seen her father's truck pull down the road to the church. And she’d known he was going to do something.
To innocent people. All she’d been able to think about was that girl, no older than Judah. Innocent, young, happy. And not knowing who was coming for her now. Dinah hadn’t been able to just keep going, to ignore the suffering of that innocent girl. She just hadn’t.
Psalms said: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
Dinah had turned her car around—and called the sheriff. Told him she knew something bad was happening at the church. That the reverend and Ayla were in serious danger. And begged him to hurry.
The sheriff was on his way.
Dinah threw her car into park and killed the engine and jumped out. She heard screaming.
From the water. A woman. It had to be Ayla .
Her crutches were still by the flowerbeds.
Dinah just ran.
She wasn’t going to let her father hurt that innocent girl, too. To destroy her the way he had Judah. The way he had Dinah for far too long. She just wasn’t. His hatred ended today. No matter what.
To her horror, she saw Ayla in the river. Hezekiah was trying to follow after her.
She heard gunshots. From inside the church. Dinah didn’t know what to do.
She thought about running. Hiding. For one moment she thought about getting in her car and just driving away forever. But she was not going to let them hurt Ayla today.
Even if it was the last thing she did.
Dinah ran into the water, up to her knees. Until it was pulling at her skirts, threatening to knock her down. She didn’t know to swim—but neither did Hezekiah. And he was close enough to shore, maybe she could reach him. “Hezekiah, stop! She’s just an innocent girl! Leave her alone! You have to stop this! You have to!”
“Help me, Dinah! I’m going to drown! Help me! Please!” He was fighting and kicking so hard. Water got in her face, almost blinding her.
She tried to get to her brother, but the water, it was so deep. And her skirt was pulling her down. She was never going to wear one of those damned skirts ever again. She might even buy herself some leggings or shorts.
If she didn’t die today.
She wasn’t going to let that girl die today. Not like so many others probably had because of her family.
A sound of a big truck nearby had her jerking around. She’d called the sheriff. Maybe…
Then a man was coming, and shouting. Running toward them all in the river.
He wasn’t the sheriff. He was a tall man, older, like her father. Black, clean-shaven with short-cropped salt-and-pepper hair, and very handsome for an older man. And he was just there . So beautiful. She had never seen a more beautiful man in her life.
So not her father, who only ever hurt people. Who was filled with so much hate.
His hands were firm and strong when he lifted her out of the water.
"Here, honey. I’ve got you. Get your feet beneath you. Walk slow. It’s only two feet or so. Just go slow and don’t slide in the mud. You’ll be okay. I need to help them. Go.”
Dinah ran inside. They would need blankets for Ayla, something. And they had some, in the nursery.
That’s when she saw the man coming right at her. He looked at her. Hazel eyes met hers. “Ayla?”
“In the river.”
He just kept moving.