Dawn's Prelude (27 page)

Even though Evie had been quite young, she’d sensed her mother’s unhappiness. Then that awful day had come when her mother had fallen to her death. Evie wanted to tell everyone what had really happened, but she had been too afraid. Afraid that her father would throw her from the same rooftop. Afraid no one would believe her anyway. Maybe her memories were wrong.

“My life has been lived in fear,” she said, shaking her head. She had even married in fear. Had she done anything to disturb the arrangement her father had made, Evie knew she would have suffered greatly for it. Her father had ways of making people suffer. Hadn’t she learned that lesson from her mother and from Lydia?

Her anger resurfaced. “Why should I let them do this to me? Why should I care what anyone else says or does?”

She thought again of Trayton, and her guilt faded a bit. She had only kissed him. Nothing else had happened. He had been sweet to her. He had made her feel beautiful—alive. What was wrong with that? What damage could possibly come from a few kisses?

Chapter 22

I
f she believes Dalton is lost to her forever,” Kjell told Zerelda, “she may never come back to us.” He had given the matter much thought and knew he needed to do whatever was necessary to find the baby.

“I don’t want to leave her, but I don’t know what else to do. If I scour the island and still come up empty, I’ll have to go to Kansas City and confront Marston Gray.”

“That family is pure wickedness,” Zerelda said. “If they are responsible . . . well . . . I hope you can see them jailed for this.”

Kjell hoped so, too, though he had his doubts. Liddie had always said the Grays were powerful people who were used to getting their own way. He took up his coat and cast one more glance at his unconscious wife. She looked so tiny and frail.

“I won’t be too long. I’ll scout out the grounds around the house and see if I can spot any tracks. I know the army has men looking, as well.”

“I hope they can handle the job.” Zerelda sounded unsure.

“They’ve never managed to find the killers of those two Tlingit boys.”

“I know, but this is a crime against whites. I hate to say it, but perhaps it will merit more attention—especially given that a child has been taken.”

Kjell made his way downstairs and was surprised to find a gathering of army officers at the door. Dr. Ensign was also there.

“We were just coming to see you.”

Kjell recognized the captain in charge. “Captain Briar, have you found anything? Have you found my son?”

“We haven’t found the boy,” Briar began, “but we do have news.

We were able to find some tracks that lead down to the water’s edge. We believe the attackers departed by boat.” He motioned to one of the men.

“This blanket was found. Do you recognize it?”

Kjell took hold of the piece and immediately recognized it.

Despite the mud, it was clearly the blanket Zerelda had given Dalton for Christmas. “Yes. It’s his. Lydia’s aunt made it for Dalton and gave it to us at Christmas.”

“And what about this?” The captain took another object from the man and held it up. “We found this knife not far from the blanket.”

“That belongs to Anatolli Sidorov,” Kjell replied. “I’ve seen him with it a hundred times if I’ve seen it once. He carved the handle, and you’ll find his initials etched in at the top of the blade.”

The captain nodded and handed the knife back to the soldier.

“We assumed as much. The initials are there, just as you say. It would seem we have good proof that at least Anatolli Sidorov was involved in the attack.”

Kjell balled his hands. “And if he’s involved, his brother, Ioann, is involved. They always work together.”

“I had my men tear apart the Double-Decker, but there was no sign of them. One man told us they had departed some weeks back. He thought they had taken up living with someone on the far west side of the island. We’ve sent men to investigate.”

“I’ll go, too,” Kjell declared.

“We’d rather you not,” Captain Briar responded. “It’s better if you leave this to us. Believe me, Kjell, we’re leaving no stone unturned.”

“There’s more you should know,” Kjell said. He thought carefully for a moment. He needed to explain Marston Gray’s part in this. At least what he presumed the man’s part to be. “Is there somewhere we can sit and talk privately?”

Twenty minutes later, Captain Briar rubbed his chin and considered the details of Kjell’s explanation.

“If what you say is true—if this Gray fellow took your son— then we need to get word to the authorities in Kansas City. We can wire the information from Seattle or San Francisco. It might even beat Gray back if we act quickly. I’m going to speak to General Tidball. Since this is now his post, he needs to be notified and kept apprised.”

“Whatever it takes. Whatever it costs.” Kjell met the man’s gaze. “This man will stop at nothing. He’s a danger to everyone, but especially to my son. I wouldn’t put it past him to have the child put to death rather than see him returned to Lydia.”

“I believe you, Kjell. Let me talk to the general. We’ll decide how best to get word to Kansas City. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to search the island.”

Kjell nodded with a heavy sigh. Here was yet another situation where all he could do was wait. It made him feel helpless. He couldn’t help Lydia recover, and he couldn’t search for his son. If he didn’t have some task to keep his mind on, he would go mad.

Zerelda held Lydia’s hand and stroked it gently. “Liddie, I do wish you would wake up. We miss you, dear heart. I know you’ve suffered greatly, but we need you. Dalton needs you.”

She hesitated to say more. Looking at her niece, Zerelda could see no sign that she’d heard or understood. She wanted to have hope that Lydia would survive but felt her faith beginning to falter.

Oh, Father,
she prayed silently,
I don’t want to give up. I know
you have the power to bring life back from the brink of death itself.

I ask you to do that with Liddie. Bring her back to us, Father.
Tears streamed down her face.
Please.

Hearing the ward door open, Zerelda wiped her face and turned. It was the doctor. He nodded at Zerelda and went immediately to Lydia’s side.

“Have you seen any change?” he asked her.

“No. I’ve been talking to her, but there hasn’t been any response—no sign that she hears.”

Dr. Ensign frowned but continued to examine his patient. “I had hoped to see her regain consciousness by now.”

Zerelda knew the longer a patient remained unconscious, the less hope there was of their recovering. And while it had not been that long since the attack, it would have boded better had Lydia shows signs of awakening.

“She feels feverish.” He checked her breathing. “I’m worried about pneumonia setting in.”

“I can keep an eye on her,” Zerelda said. “I can keep turning her.”

The doctor nodded. “Just don’t overdo it. You’re recovering, too. I’ll send my orderly to check on her in an hour.”

As he left the room, Kjell returned. He stopped and talked briefly with the doctor, then joined Zerelda at Lydia’s bedside. “I need to talk to you.”

Giving Lydia’s hand a squeeze, Zerelda leaned over. “I’ll be right back, Liddie. You just rest.”

Kjell’s expression told her this would most likely be bad news. Zerelda squared her shoulders and drew a deep breath. “What is it?”

“They found Dalton’s blanket by the water. Apparently, the Sidorovs took him out in that storm—probably to meet up with Gray. He was probably on a larger boat waiting for them.”

“Do you think he already left the island?”

“That’s my guess. Gray didn’t have many friends here. Someone at the Double-Decker thought the Sidorovs had moved out to live with someone on the west side of the island. The army has men checking this out even as we speak, but I doubt they will find anything.”

“So you are confident that it was Marston and the Sidorovs?”

“I am. Especially now. Captain Briar showed me Anatolli’s knife. Apparently he had dropped it near the baby’s blanket by the water. There was no other knife like that one. The Sidorovs were known to have been paid to burn my mill, and the only one who would have benefited from that would have been Gray. He held me a grudge for my interference and marriage to Lydia.”

Zerelda felt a bit lightheaded and reached for Kjell’s arm. “I should sit.”

“I’m sorry, Zee. What was I thinking?” He led her to the bed and helped her to sit.

“So now all we can do is wait.” It was more statement than question. Zerelda knew that there was little else to be done. Besides that, she didn’t want to leave Lydia’s side.

“And that’s the part I’m no good at,” Kjell admitted. “I feel like I should be doing something more.” He glanced across the room to where Lydia slept. “I can’t help her, and I can’t help Dalton. I offered to go search, but the army doesn’t want me in the middle of it. They feel they have the investigation under control, but I would feel better if I had a hand in it, as well.”

“We can have a hand in it by praying,” she suggested. “I know it seems like such a small thing, but it’s not. Jesus promised we could bring our needs to Him. God already knows what they are anyway.”

“I’ve been praying, Zee. As best I can. It seems sometimes the words just won’t come.”

“But God understands that, too. He hears the unspoken prayers of our hearts through His Spirit. He knows our longings, even when we can’t form the words.”

With a sigh, Kjell sat in the chair beside her bed. “Don’t you ever struggle in keeping your faith?”

She smiled. “Of course I do. But I know that there is no one who could possibly love me more than God does. I trust Him, even when I don’t understand Him. Of course, I wish He would see things my way more often.”

This brought a hint of a smile to Kjell’s face. “Me, too. Especially where Lydia is concerned.”

“I’m glad you love her so much. She deserves that. She’s had such a hard life, and the one thing she always longed for was love. You’ve made her a very happy woman over the last couple of months.”

“I just want to go on loving her. I want to have a future with her and more children. I can’t even imagine her happy, though, unless Dalton is returned to her.”

“Then we have to pray that he will come home. God alone knows where he is and who is caring for him. God alone can bring him back to us.”

Kjell awoke the next morning to the sounds of rain against the window. He had taken the doctor up on his offer of a cot and had pulled it close to Lydia’s, just to be near her. Many times through the night he had awakened to check on her. He just needed to know that she was still breathing—still with them.

Swinging his legs over the side, Kjell sat and wondered what the hours ahead would hold. Would this be the day Lydia would wake up?

He reached for her hand. “Please wake up, Lydia. I can’t bear being without you. I need you more than I ever thought possible.” He slipped off the bed and knelt beside his wife. “I went to the house yesterday, and nothing was the same. It will never be the same without you. You have to get better.”

Tears blurred his vision as he kissed her hand. “I love you more than life, Liddie.”

Kneeling there, Kjell prayed as he had never prayed before. He pleaded with God for Lydia’s life, careful to say nothing about the missing baby. Silently, he added his petitions for the child, knowing full well that the mother and son were so tightly connected that each would suffer without the other.

He felt someone touch his shoulder and thought it was Zee, but when he opened his eyes and looked up, he found Dr. Ensign instead.

“How are you doing, Kjell?”

He got to his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel like I’m just marking time.”

“I feel the same. I wish there were something we could do to change the situation, but all we can do is wait.” He left Kjell’s side and went to Lydia. He put his hand upon her forehead and smiled.

“The fever is gone. She doesn’t feel hot to the touch—not like yesterday.” He listened to her heart and lungs and nodded. “The lungs sound clear, and the heart is strong. I think it’s possible she’s turned a corner, Kjell. She’s fighting again—fighting to live.”