Read Online Desperate Rescue by Barbara Phinney - Free Book Online Page A

looked at him. “And who are you?”
    “Eli Nash.” He gave the man a grim look. “There’s a lot to tell you, so we’d better find the police. I don’t really want to repeat it any more often than necessary.”

     
    Two hours later, Eli looked tiredly across the table at three men.
    “Mr. Nash, why do you think your brother booby-trapped his own compound?” The state police officer asked the question, while both he and the border-patrol officer stared coolly at him. Another man, an explosives expert, Eli suspected, stood at the door. Kaylee sat perched on the seat beside Eli, and he felt a protective urge growing. To protect her from these men? Or the horrors they could reveal and rehash?
    They were all packed in a small room in the Houlton Police Station. While the authorities might act cool, Eli knew they were nervous. They had a death that may need another investigation. And a series of explosions to deal with. Lots of dangerous, unanswered questions, and probably the media hovering outside the building, pressing for their own answers.
    He leaned forward. “Let me ask a question, first. How long ago do you believe those bombs were set?”
    “How long do you think they’d been there?” the state police officer countered.
    “I noticed some broken branches and crushed grass around them, all fresh. I’d say a day or two.”
    The police officer nodded. “It looks like they were set within the last few days. Now, answer my question. Why would your brother blow up his own compound?”
    “He knew I was looking for Phoebe. He must have known I was getting close, probably because Kaylee’s story made it to CNN.”
    “But he could have just abandoned it without mining it,” the explosives expert said. “Why scuttle it?” This man was a soldier trained in explosives disposal, meaning the police felt this was enough of a threat to call in the military.
    Eli glanced at Kaylee. She looked as if she needed to search for the right words. “We can’t explain Noah’s reasoning,” she began. “All I can tell you is that he’s crazy, plain and simple.” She glared at the man.
    “We just want the facts,” the man answered quietly, “and any information you can provide, Miss. That includes what kind of person we’re dealing with.”
    She bristled and, in Eli’s opinion, rightly so. “You’ve already met Noah, but at that time, he’d played a rational, pious man for you. And duped all of you. While I looked like a woman on the verge of a meltdown.” Immediately, she stopped. Eli held his breath as she threw a cautious look at him.
    He focused on the police officer. “Noah threatened Kaylee’s life and he knew that her exposure on CNN would bring me here. He likes to toy with people, as a cat plays with a mouse before killing it. I’m his brother. I know what he’s like.”
    “How long has it been since you last saw him?”
    “Seven years.”
    “And you don’t think he’s changed in that time?”
    “No.” He folded his arms.
    The police officer rubbed his jaw, obviously mentally sorting out the details. “Then why would your sister choose to stay with him?”
    Eli’s head was starting to pound. “He’s persuasive.”
    “And he killed my sister!” Kaylee interjected.
    “There was no proof of foul play, Miss Campbell. I’m sorry.”
    “Because Noah Nash is a cunning, intelligent man.” She glared at the officer. “And he probably hoped Eli would be blown up with the explosions. When he says he’ll do something, he thinks it through very carefully. He warned me he’d kill Trisha and he did!”
    “Were you in love with him?”
    “No!” Exasperated, she threw up her hands. “How can I convince you people that I hated him? He kept me locked up for two years! Those followers of his all lied about me because he told them to. And you believe them instead of me!”
    “So why are you now trying to free one of those followers if they’re so dangerous to you? If they held you captive,