Chapter 16
Gideon shouldered his backpack and took another look around the hospital room, unsure what to make of the fire and how it fit into God’s plan, if at all.
Before leaving, he checked on his dad, who was sleeping. His recovery could go one of two ways. Either it would be a big enough event to bring lasting change into his life or it would send his dad spiraling into a drunken hell. At least he couldn’t touch alcohol while he was in here, and it would be another few days before they’d let him out.
Gideon turned to walk back into the hall.
“You leavin’?” Joey said.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“I was. But life has taught me to sleep with one eye open.”
“They’ve discharged me.”
“You heading back to Asher, or…”
The fact that Joey left the latter unspoken said volumes .
“Yeah. I’m not ready to leave yet. Not until you're settled someplace.”
“No need to worry about me. I’ve looked after myself my whole life. You want to leave, then go.” Joey averted his eyes.
“I know you don’t need me. But it will make me feel better to hang around a little longer.”
“Suit yourself.”
Gideon hid his smile until he left the room. That was the closest his dad had ever come to saying he didn’t want Gideon to leave.
He was still smiling when he walked into the waiting room.
“Gideon?” A big man in a suit blocked the path to the exit. He was the same man from the park who had been talking to the crowd after they discovered the missing poles.
“Can I help you?” Gideon said, bracing himself. His dad had successfully dispersed the mob, but that didn’t mean everyone had been satisfied with the outcome.
“We haven’t met yet. My name is Edward Fairfax.”
“Ah, yes. The mayor.”
“Yes.” He smiled in an unfriendly way, accentuated by the fact that he didn’t reach out a hand to shake. “I wasn’t informed you’d be leaving today.”
“I didn’t know it was any of your business.”
“Perhaps not, but nonetheless, would you mind if we had a word?”
“We?”
Fairfax looked sideways at Deputy Cole, who had been leaning against the far wall but headed over when the mayor gave him a nod.
Cole’s face was still swollen from their fight in the alley. “I’m glad to see you’re doing better,” he said. “From what I hear, you almost died. It must have been horrible.”
“Lucky, I guess,” Gideon said. “What happened to your face?”
“I was caught off guard, but don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”
Gideon looked between the two men. “Maybe we should take this outside.”
“If you’d prefer that,” Fairfax said.
“I would.” He looked at his watch as he walked out the door, flanked by the others. Nikki would still be another fifteen minutes away. He needed to wrap this up quickly.
Once they reached the parking lot, he scanned for possible escape routes. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d run from law enforcement, but it would be the first time as an adult.
“This way,” Cole said, leading him to an empty section of the parking lot where he’d parked his cruiser.
“What do you want?” Gideon said.
Fairfax looked startled by the question. “What any mayor would want, to make sure one of his citizens is okay.”
“I’m not one of your citizens.”
“No. But you saved one. You’re a brave man. I have been known to give awards out at ceremonies from time to time for those who deserve it. ”
“You came here with Deputy Cole to tell me you wanted to give me a ribbon?”
“No, actually. I wanted you to know that we’re looking into the cause of the fire.”
“I should think that goes without saying.”
“If it had been deemed an accident, that would be the end of it.”
“But it’s not?”
“No. It looks like it was deliberately lit.”
Cole shifted on his feet, drawing Gideon’s attention. The deputy had a smug grin on his face.
“Lit by who,” Gideon asked Fairfax.
“Like I said, we’re looking into it. But I thought you should know. Especially after what happened. I’d take it as a warning if I were you.”
“You mean the totem poles?”
“I don’t imagine you’re surprised.”
“That someone has purposely burned down my dad’s business and his residence, almost killing him? Yeah, it’s a little surprising.”
“After what you did? That was seen as sacrilege to some—to a lot of people in my town.”
“A lot of people? I know some in the town believe they had power.”
“I’ve spoken to many angry individuals. I’ve done what I can to calm them down, but I can’t control them.”
“Their response to a couple of wooden poles getting cut down is to not only burn down half a town block but also kill someone?”
“No one died. ”
“Only because I went in and saved him. By the way, why haven’t you arrested me yet for destroying property?”
Fairfax shrugged. “I’m considering my options. Would jail deter you? I’m not so sure. You have a file with us.”
“What are you, the FBI?”
“You weren’t quite a model citizen growing up, now, were you?”
“I’m not a kid anymore.”
“It establishes a pattern of behavior. When you left town, the trouble stopped. Now you’re back, and look what’s happened.”
“Is there a point to this conversation? Because my ride will be here soon.”
“Good. Have them drop you off somewhere outside of town.”
“You want me to leave?”
“I don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”
“I can’t tell whether or not that’s a threat.”
“It is if it needs to be.”
Gideon looked at Cole. “It wasn’t you who started that fire, was it?”
“Understand, Gideon,” Fairfax said, stepping closer and dropping his voice. “I will not tolerate anyone coming into my town and disrupting the fragile equilibrium that I have created. The fire was a small warning. Imagine who could get hurt if you pushed me a bit farther.”
Gideon swung before he could register enough to stop himself. Fairfax stumbled backward as Gideon was tackled to the ground. He grunted when Cole yanked his arms behind his back and cuffed him.
A shadow covered his face as Fairfax stood over him, wiping blood from his nose. “Thanks for that. Made my job a lot easier.”
Nikki pulled into the hospital parking lot, passing the sheriff’s car, but slammed on the brakes when she made eye contact with Gideon in the back.
She swiveled around in her seat, trying to get another look, but it was too late. Then Fairfax drove past.
She turned the car around and followed them out. Why would Fairfax wait until now to arrest him for the damage he did—that they all did—to the totems?
Things were supposed to get better, not worse.
She arrived at the sheriff’s office and parked on the street as Cole was pulling Gideon from the back seat.
“Gideon,” she said as she ran over. “What’s going on?”
“Here we go,” Cole said. “Trust Nikki Morris to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“You can’t lock him up. It was my idea.”
“Nikki,” Gideon said.
Cole laughed. “Save it for the lawyer.”
“He was going along with it because he didn’t have a choice,” she said.
“Nikki. Leave it.” Gideon said. “Go home. ”
“You should listen to your boyfriend,” Cole said. “Helped you last time at the markets, didn’t it?”
“Someone’s gotta stand up to your bullying,” she snarled. “Is Fairfax behind this? I want to talk to him.”
“Fairfax is the victim.”
“Fairfax is nothing but a cruel man who beats up on powerless women. He doesn’t care about this town.”
“That’s the best you can do?” Cole snapped. “You’re pathetic. Your dad probably killed himself to get away from you.” Gideon struggled against his restraints, but Cole slammed him up against the car. “Settle down. You’re a feisty one, but you’ll get hurt if you’re not careful.”
“Leave her out of this,” Gideon growled.
“She put herself in it. Maybe she doesn’t know how bad you are at keeping your anger in check. She doesn’t know about your unprovoked attack.”
“Against who? You? You shouldn’t have beaten up an old man.”
Cole’s eyes locked onto her. “Did your boyfriend tell you about that?”
“Does it matter?”
“He’s not getting locked up for me. He’s getting locked up because he punched the mayor.”
“What? When?”
“Outside the hospital. You have any issues, I suggest you take it up with his lawyer if he has one.” He dragged Gideon away from the car and pushed him toward the building.
“You’re scared.” She called out after him. “You know you won’t get away with this and you’re scared. The mayor got what he deserved, and there’s more where that came from.”
“Be careful what you say,” Cole said without looking at her. “You could be considered an accessory. You’ve already confessed. There’s no telling how people will respond if they find that out. That little Bible study you have could burn away to dust.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Nikki,” Gideon warned. “Go home and let me deal with this.”
“Yeah, Nikki.” Cole chuckled as he pushed Gideon inside.
She wanted to scream. Her arms shook as she got into her car and punched the steering wheel.
“God, what do I do?”
Trust in me. With all your heart.
“I’m trying. But everything’s gotten out of control.” After the fire, she’d started locking the church when no one was there. But every time she turned up, people were outside waiting. She pressed the heel of her hands into her eyes until they hurt. “It’s too much. It’s like we’re at war, and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to fight.” But the only other option was to abandon those who had returned. Every time she thought it would be easier to run away from it all, God reminded her of all those people. She couldn’t leave them. She had to stand with them.
Gideon paced the small cell, sometimes letting his fingers brush across the cold iron bars, sometimes not. If they kept him locked up, that would solve his problem of trying to figure out how to save the town. He couldn’t. Plain and simple. No excuses, just the facts. Or maybe he’d made a mess of everything. He’d warned Eric that he wasn’t the right choice for the job. A prophet didn’t always get it right. Sometimes they misunderstood God’s words, right? Eric should have appointed someone else. Someone like Nikki, who jumped into every situation with enthusiasm, ready to fight the good fight. She’d give everything to make things right, no matter the cost. Gideon wasn’t as confident in his own resolve.
God, you can give up on me. Choose her instead. She can do this better.
But deep down, he resisted. He’d been loath to admit it, but with his leg getting healed and the words of triumph Eric had spoken over him, he had believed it for a moment. No—it was more than that. He knew he could do it. But just because Eric’s words resonated didn’t make them true.
He sat on the wooden bench and leaned his head back against the wall. If the sheriff wanted to, he could drag this on for a long time. They had enough evidence to charge him, but they probably didn’t even need it. Gideon doubted anyone asked questions when things weren’t done by the book. Fairfax was willing to kill a man to make his point. It wouldn’t take much to keep Gideon locked up forever .
Cole entered the room, strutting toward the cell with a blanket draped over his arm.
“Looks like you’ll be spending the night,” he said, shoving the blanket through the bars.
“What about a pillow?” Gideon’s voice was flat. He didn’t like hinting to Cole that he’d lost his fight, but he’d been caught at a weak moment.
Cole snorted. “This isn’t some five-star hotel.”
“The motel I’m staying at only has three stars, and they’ve got an extra pillow in the closet.”
“You’re in jail, Gideon, or have you forgotten? You’re lucky you get a blanket. But the sheriff insisted.”
“I’ll remember to thank him when I see him.”
“It won’t help you. You’re in a lot of trouble.”
“Maybe, but I don’t regret it. You can’t burn down people’s property and almost commit murder and get away with it.”
Cole grinned and wrapped his fingers around the bars, pressing his face against them. “We already have. You’re fighting a losing battle. The rest of the town knows that already. That’s the trouble with you coming back. You haven’t learned the rules yet.”
“I don’t like to play by the rules.”
“Is that why you want to help Nikki so badly? Or did she bat her eyes real pretty at you and melt your tiny little heart?”
“She’s a better person than you ever will be.”
“You think so?” He sniffed. “She’s not worth it. I can tell you from experience.”
Gideon rushed him, his arms gliding through the bars, to collect Cole’s shirt in his fist, but he didn’t quite make it.
Cole stood back, a smirk on his face. “Did I hit a nerve? She’s not the sweet-as-pie, clean-cut preacher’s daughter you think she is. She’s using you. The faster you realize that, the better off you’ll be. Sit in here and stew on that for a while. If it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t be in this mess. She will chew you up and?—”
“You need to stop talking about her.”
“Oh yeah? What will you do if I don’t? You going to flail your arms around in protest? You made a big mistake coming to town. If you’re lucky enough to get out of here anytime soon, I suggest you do what Mayor Fairfax said. Take the opportunity and run as fast and as far as you can. Asher is not a town worth saving. You did the right thing running out in the first place. But next time, don’t come back.”
He tipped his hat and was gone.