LOST AND FOUND - PART IX
ONE AGAINST THE WOLF
Chapter 76
Every window in the first floor of the cream-colored house blazed with light and people were still milling about, both in front and in back. Ben, Hoss, and the deputies were gathered on the front porch having a heated discussion about whether or not they had waited long enough for Adam to return. But everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward the street when they heard galloping hoof beats approaching. Adam's voice shouting for Ted reached them even before he came into sight.
"Get Ted," Ben said to Hoss and the big man hurried in the front door as everyone else rushed off the porch and into the street. Adam reined Onyx in and slid from the saddle in one motion as numerous hands reached to grab the horse's bridle and to try and take the bundle from his arms.
Adam tightened his hold on the child and impatiently pushed his way through the crowd as Ted and Hoss burst out the front door. Then he ran for his brother-in-law.
"It's Thomas.he's been shot in the head!" he called to the young doctor who held out his hands while gasps and groans swept through the crowd gathered in front of the house.
"Give me that child," he ordered firmly and Adam handed the small bundle over without a second's hesitation. Ted hurried inside with Hoss and Ben following closely.
Adam turned then and began to issue orders. "Nate! Find Matt. Mike, go down to the livery for a wagon and get out to Sayers farm. Joan's been shot in the chest and she's by the well on the far side of the barn. Dylan, go upstairs and get blankets from the linen closet. The temperature's dropping and you'll need them to keep her warm."
Dylan raced up the front steps and into the house as Mike took off down the street.
"What about Albrecht?" Nate asked.
"He's dead," his boss answered shortly and without another word hurried into the house.
"Good," Nate said emphatically, his usually smiling blue eyes hard and glinting like chips of ice. Then he turned to hurry out to the street and ran toward Matt's office.
Ben and Hoss were standing outside the closed examining room door when Adam approached and the two men wisely did not get in his way. The door opened just as he reached for the knob and Ted stepped back to let him in saying, "Calm down, he's fine. The bullet didn't penetrate or even fracture his skull, it's just a flesh wound."
Adam closed his eyes and put a hand up to cover his face as he breathed a sigh of relief. Both Ben and Hoss were quick to steady him when he swayed slightly.
"Thank God," Hoss said low and Adam nodded as he moved forward and next to the examining table. He bent down over his son and carefully kissed him on the forehead then straightened up to cup the child's face with his right hand. A small white bandage covered the wound that was dangerously close to the child's temple and Adam frowned at how white his face was.
Ben and Hoss stood at the foot of the table and Ted moved around to the other side, a bottle of smelling salts in hand.
"I'm goin' to try and wake him up now," he said to Adam who nodded. "The first thing I want him to see is your face, so get ready to pick him up as soon as his eyes start to open."
Adam nodded again and met Ted's intense gaze as the other man continued.
"The poor kid's goin' to have one hell of a headache and will no doubt do some serious screamin', so be ready for that." He pulled the cork from the small bottle and a pungent odor wafted up as he waved it briefly under the baby's nose.
"Come on Thomas...wake up," he said while rubbing the boy's belly with his free hand. "Wake up Thomas, don't you want to play blocks with me?" he waved the bottle again and this time the child turned his head away from the offensive smell.
"Good boy!" Ted laughed. "Get ready, he's comin' out of it now."
Adam carefully took Thomas into his arms and the child whimpered as he moved restlessly. His eyelids fluttered and finally opened, his dark green eyes staring unfocused up at his father for a moment. "Pa!" the child cried out and his little hands clutched at Adam's shirt as he burst into tears, his loud sobs wrenching the heart of everyone who could hear them.
Bending his head down, Adam kissed him on the top of the head then spoke softly to him, reassuring the child that he was home and safe. Ben and Hoss quietly moved to stand on either side of him and Ben took one small foot in his hand while Hoss gently stroked the top of his head.
Thomas looked up to see his uncle's loving blue eyes shining at him, and then looked down to see his Grandfather's smiling face. Then everyone jumped slightly, startled when they heard a loud thud and Thea's voice calling out her son's name.
"Damn it, she CAN hear through anything!" Ted said under his breath and they all hurried from the room to see Thea hanging onto the railing of the upper hallway, trying to drag herself toward the stairs. As soon as she spotted Adam she tried to move too quickly and fell, calling out for her son again.
Thomas began to struggle in his father's arms, took a deep breath, and bellowed "MAAAAAAAAA!" at the top of his lungs as Adam and Ted ran for the stairs. When they reached her, Adam immediately went down on one knee to put the boy in her arms. She clutched his small body to her breast and rained kisses all over his little face as her husband picked her up and carried them to the bedroom.
He set her down carefully then shifted to sit on the bed and wrap his arms around them both. Ted turned away and stepped out into the hall when he heard footsteps coming up the back stairs. The twins in their nightclothes with Barbara holding Benjamin and Matthew appeared and he motioned for them to go in.
Annalise and Alexander ran to throw themselves onto the bed and Barbara carefully put the babies down close to their parents. Adam and Thea somehow managed to get their arms around all five children and they huddled there in a tight group, sobbing and breathing soft words of comfort and thankfulness.
Barbara turned quickly away, tears springing from her eyes and walked blindly into Ted who put his arm around her shoulders to guide her out into the hall, and then closed the door.
The children and Thea succumbed to exhaustion and eventually all fell asleep huddled together. Adam carefully untangled himself, rose to get everyone settled under the covers, and then quietly left the room. He saw Ted, Ben, and John waiting for him in the front hallway and they moved toward him as he wearily came down the stairs.
"Where's Hoss?" he asked vaguely, suddenly feeling bone achingly tired.
"He took Barbara home," Ben answered, his dark eyes deeply concerned at how gray and drawn his eldest son's face was. "What happened?"
Adam opened his mouth to answer, but Ted interrupted as he reached for his brother-in-law's right arm. "Before we get into any long explanations I want to get a good look at you," he said firmly and tugged him toward the examining room.
Ben and John followed to stand in the doorway as Ted patted the examining table. "Have a seat," he said quietly but Adam didn't move. He held up a badly swollen left hand and grimaced with pain that movement caused.
"You know, I didn't feel this before, but I think my wrist might be broken," he said, sounding puzzled as his knees started to buckle. Ben lunged forward and caught him around the waist before he went down and the three men managed to get him up onto the table before he passed out.
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When Adam came to sometime later he opened his eyes to see Ben sitting on a stool next to the table and smiling down at him. "Pa," he tried to say, but had to clear his throat before anything came out. He started to sit up, but his father put a hand on his shoulder to push him back down.
"Don't, you're still in shock and might pass out again," he said firmly and was glad to see his eldest son obey without an argument.
Adam felt the familiar weight of a cast on his left arm and frowned at the memories that feeling brought up. "Thea...how is she?" he managed to say and Ben stood.
"I think Ted should explain that to you," he said and went to the doorway to call for the young doctor.
The tall, blonde man hurried in and smiled at Adam.
"He wants to know how Thea's doing," Ben told him and Ted nodded.
"She's goin' to be fine, don't worry," he said and leaned down to take a close look at Adam's eyes.
"What did he do to her?"
"Are you sure you want to hear that right now?"
Adam shifted slightly toward the doctor and winced as a stab of pain traveled up his left arm. "Tell me," he insisted and the doctor sighed before telling him everything they knew and everything they had to surmise because Thea's memory of the attack was spotty. Then he carefully went on to describe her condition and to voice his belief that she would recover fully with plenty of rest.
When he had explained everything he leaned one hip against the table, crossed his arms, and shook his head. "I heard you say that Albrecht is dead and I have to admit I couldn't be happier. If they were to bring him back alive, but badly injured, my Hippocratic oath would force me to help him and I don't think I could live with that."
"Thank God you don't have to make that choice," Ben said and turned when Hoss's voice chimed in from the doorway.
"Amen to that!" the big man said and came up to the table to put one huge hand on Adam's left shoulder.
"What happened out there?" he asked and Adam blinked rapidly as he tried to get his scrambled thoughts in order.
"Albrecht had Thomas in a basket suspended over the well with a rope," he began slowly and cleared his throat again as his brain began to function. He quickly told them the rest and when he finished they were all wearing the same horrified expression.
"How could anyone do somethin' like that?" Hoss asked, his open face plainly showing how deeply disturbed he felt.
"I don't know Hoss," his father answered and they all looked at Ted for his opinion.
"I believe some people do things that we see as horrible because they're mentally ill, or because they have somethin' organically wrong with their brains. But someone like that monster in human form makes me believe that true evil really does exist."
The four men fell silent for a few moments, each one contemplating that question until the doctor straightened up.
"Hoss, why don't you help Adam back upstairs," he said, couching what they all knew was really an order as a request. "I need to be ready when they come back with Joan."
Hoss slipped an arm around his brother's shoulders as Adam carefully sat up then slid off the table.
"Please do your best for her Ted...we all owe her a deep debt of gratitude."
"I will and don't you fret - you just go rest and leave that worryin' to me," Ted answered his voice ringing with authority and the corners of Adam's mouth lifted slightly as he met the other man's steady gaze.
"Thank you," he said quietly and allowed Hoss to guide him out of the room and help him up the stairs. When they reached the bedroom he motioned toward the wingback chair sitting next to the bed.
"I'll just sit down Hoss, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for some time yet," he whispered and Hoss just nodded in agreement. He sat down wearily, sighing deeply and his brother gave his good shoulder a firm squeeze.
"Hoss," he said low, "everything in this world that matters the most to me is in that bed sound asleep. And I almost lost two of them today because of what I chose to do with my life."
"That's not true," Hoss said quietly, but with conviction. "That man's evil heart is why you almost lost them."
Shaking his head Adam sighed again. "There's always going to be another one to take his place, so how can I go on putting them in danger like this?" He looked up in surprise when his brother let out an angry breath.
"Look here, I know I'm not nearly as smart as you or even anybody else, but I can tell you somethin' for sure. You can't stop bein' what you are."
"But..." he started to argue and was surprised again when Hoss cut him off.
"No 'buts' now. You know that's the truth and there's no sense in arguin' with it."
Adam stared into his brother's angry blue eyes for a moment and then smiled ruefully. "I'll admit you may not have had much book learning, but I don't ever want to hear you say you're not smart again." His smile widened when Hoss blinked, and then blushed slightly as he ducked his head.
"Promise me you won't say anything like that about yourself again," he insisted and his brother mumbled a faint, "I promise," as he turned and fled the room, overcome by his brother's unstinting praise.
Chuckling quietly to himself, Adam leaned back and relaxed, his heart filling with gratitude for his family, his chosen family, and the Lord's sweet mercy as he watched his wife and children safely sleep.
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The sky was clear and studded with stars when the distant sound of a wagon approaching could be heard. Simon opened his eyes, his weak breath coming out as thin white wisps in the cold air. Groaning he tried to move but couldn't, his coldly heavy limbs refused to obey, and he stared fixedly up at a brightly blurred round shape that he realized was the moon. Then he faintly heard movement to his left.
A dark shape looming over him blotted out the lunar light, and he tried to open his mouth to ask for help until a fingertip traced the horribly puckered scar on his cheek.
"I warned you about what would happen," that hoarse, hissing voice he remembered in his nightmares said. He desperately tried to scream as a hand grasped the handle of the knife in his shoulder and deliberately pulled it out slowly. That horrible voice chuckled as the knife sliced into his abdomen then and his heart stuttered wildly from the excruciating pain.
The last thing Simon Albrecht heard before he died his painful and messy death was that hoarse voice laughing. "I'll see you in hell..."
ONE AGAINST THE WOLF
Chapter 76
Every window in the first floor of the cream-colored house blazed with light and people were still milling about, both in front and in back. Ben, Hoss, and the deputies were gathered on the front porch having a heated discussion about whether or not they had waited long enough for Adam to return. But everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward the street when they heard galloping hoof beats approaching. Adam's voice shouting for Ted reached them even before he came into sight.
"Get Ted," Ben said to Hoss and the big man hurried in the front door as everyone else rushed off the porch and into the street. Adam reined Onyx in and slid from the saddle in one motion as numerous hands reached to grab the horse's bridle and to try and take the bundle from his arms.
Adam tightened his hold on the child and impatiently pushed his way through the crowd as Ted and Hoss burst out the front door. Then he ran for his brother-in-law.
"It's Thomas.he's been shot in the head!" he called to the young doctor who held out his hands while gasps and groans swept through the crowd gathered in front of the house.
"Give me that child," he ordered firmly and Adam handed the small bundle over without a second's hesitation. Ted hurried inside with Hoss and Ben following closely.
Adam turned then and began to issue orders. "Nate! Find Matt. Mike, go down to the livery for a wagon and get out to Sayers farm. Joan's been shot in the chest and she's by the well on the far side of the barn. Dylan, go upstairs and get blankets from the linen closet. The temperature's dropping and you'll need them to keep her warm."
Dylan raced up the front steps and into the house as Mike took off down the street.
"What about Albrecht?" Nate asked.
"He's dead," his boss answered shortly and without another word hurried into the house.
"Good," Nate said emphatically, his usually smiling blue eyes hard and glinting like chips of ice. Then he turned to hurry out to the street and ran toward Matt's office.
Ben and Hoss were standing outside the closed examining room door when Adam approached and the two men wisely did not get in his way. The door opened just as he reached for the knob and Ted stepped back to let him in saying, "Calm down, he's fine. The bullet didn't penetrate or even fracture his skull, it's just a flesh wound."
Adam closed his eyes and put a hand up to cover his face as he breathed a sigh of relief. Both Ben and Hoss were quick to steady him when he swayed slightly.
"Thank God," Hoss said low and Adam nodded as he moved forward and next to the examining table. He bent down over his son and carefully kissed him on the forehead then straightened up to cup the child's face with his right hand. A small white bandage covered the wound that was dangerously close to the child's temple and Adam frowned at how white his face was.
Ben and Hoss stood at the foot of the table and Ted moved around to the other side, a bottle of smelling salts in hand.
"I'm goin' to try and wake him up now," he said to Adam who nodded. "The first thing I want him to see is your face, so get ready to pick him up as soon as his eyes start to open."
Adam nodded again and met Ted's intense gaze as the other man continued.
"The poor kid's goin' to have one hell of a headache and will no doubt do some serious screamin', so be ready for that." He pulled the cork from the small bottle and a pungent odor wafted up as he waved it briefly under the baby's nose.
"Come on Thomas...wake up," he said while rubbing the boy's belly with his free hand. "Wake up Thomas, don't you want to play blocks with me?" he waved the bottle again and this time the child turned his head away from the offensive smell.
"Good boy!" Ted laughed. "Get ready, he's comin' out of it now."
Adam carefully took Thomas into his arms and the child whimpered as he moved restlessly. His eyelids fluttered and finally opened, his dark green eyes staring unfocused up at his father for a moment. "Pa!" the child cried out and his little hands clutched at Adam's shirt as he burst into tears, his loud sobs wrenching the heart of everyone who could hear them.
Bending his head down, Adam kissed him on the top of the head then spoke softly to him, reassuring the child that he was home and safe. Ben and Hoss quietly moved to stand on either side of him and Ben took one small foot in his hand while Hoss gently stroked the top of his head.
Thomas looked up to see his uncle's loving blue eyes shining at him, and then looked down to see his Grandfather's smiling face. Then everyone jumped slightly, startled when they heard a loud thud and Thea's voice calling out her son's name.
"Damn it, she CAN hear through anything!" Ted said under his breath and they all hurried from the room to see Thea hanging onto the railing of the upper hallway, trying to drag herself toward the stairs. As soon as she spotted Adam she tried to move too quickly and fell, calling out for her son again.
Thomas began to struggle in his father's arms, took a deep breath, and bellowed "MAAAAAAAAA!" at the top of his lungs as Adam and Ted ran for the stairs. When they reached her, Adam immediately went down on one knee to put the boy in her arms. She clutched his small body to her breast and rained kisses all over his little face as her husband picked her up and carried them to the bedroom.
He set her down carefully then shifted to sit on the bed and wrap his arms around them both. Ted turned away and stepped out into the hall when he heard footsteps coming up the back stairs. The twins in their nightclothes with Barbara holding Benjamin and Matthew appeared and he motioned for them to go in.
Annalise and Alexander ran to throw themselves onto the bed and Barbara carefully put the babies down close to their parents. Adam and Thea somehow managed to get their arms around all five children and they huddled there in a tight group, sobbing and breathing soft words of comfort and thankfulness.
Barbara turned quickly away, tears springing from her eyes and walked blindly into Ted who put his arm around her shoulders to guide her out into the hall, and then closed the door.
The children and Thea succumbed to exhaustion and eventually all fell asleep huddled together. Adam carefully untangled himself, rose to get everyone settled under the covers, and then quietly left the room. He saw Ted, Ben, and John waiting for him in the front hallway and they moved toward him as he wearily came down the stairs.
"Where's Hoss?" he asked vaguely, suddenly feeling bone achingly tired.
"He took Barbara home," Ben answered, his dark eyes deeply concerned at how gray and drawn his eldest son's face was. "What happened?"
Adam opened his mouth to answer, but Ted interrupted as he reached for his brother-in-law's right arm. "Before we get into any long explanations I want to get a good look at you," he said firmly and tugged him toward the examining room.
Ben and John followed to stand in the doorway as Ted patted the examining table. "Have a seat," he said quietly but Adam didn't move. He held up a badly swollen left hand and grimaced with pain that movement caused.
"You know, I didn't feel this before, but I think my wrist might be broken," he said, sounding puzzled as his knees started to buckle. Ben lunged forward and caught him around the waist before he went down and the three men managed to get him up onto the table before he passed out.
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When Adam came to sometime later he opened his eyes to see Ben sitting on a stool next to the table and smiling down at him. "Pa," he tried to say, but had to clear his throat before anything came out. He started to sit up, but his father put a hand on his shoulder to push him back down.
"Don't, you're still in shock and might pass out again," he said firmly and was glad to see his eldest son obey without an argument.
Adam felt the familiar weight of a cast on his left arm and frowned at the memories that feeling brought up. "Thea...how is she?" he managed to say and Ben stood.
"I think Ted should explain that to you," he said and went to the doorway to call for the young doctor.
The tall, blonde man hurried in and smiled at Adam.
"He wants to know how Thea's doing," Ben told him and Ted nodded.
"She's goin' to be fine, don't worry," he said and leaned down to take a close look at Adam's eyes.
"What did he do to her?"
"Are you sure you want to hear that right now?"
Adam shifted slightly toward the doctor and winced as a stab of pain traveled up his left arm. "Tell me," he insisted and the doctor sighed before telling him everything they knew and everything they had to surmise because Thea's memory of the attack was spotty. Then he carefully went on to describe her condition and to voice his belief that she would recover fully with plenty of rest.
When he had explained everything he leaned one hip against the table, crossed his arms, and shook his head. "I heard you say that Albrecht is dead and I have to admit I couldn't be happier. If they were to bring him back alive, but badly injured, my Hippocratic oath would force me to help him and I don't think I could live with that."
"Thank God you don't have to make that choice," Ben said and turned when Hoss's voice chimed in from the doorway.
"Amen to that!" the big man said and came up to the table to put one huge hand on Adam's left shoulder.
"What happened out there?" he asked and Adam blinked rapidly as he tried to get his scrambled thoughts in order.
"Albrecht had Thomas in a basket suspended over the well with a rope," he began slowly and cleared his throat again as his brain began to function. He quickly told them the rest and when he finished they were all wearing the same horrified expression.
"How could anyone do somethin' like that?" Hoss asked, his open face plainly showing how deeply disturbed he felt.
"I don't know Hoss," his father answered and they all looked at Ted for his opinion.
"I believe some people do things that we see as horrible because they're mentally ill, or because they have somethin' organically wrong with their brains. But someone like that monster in human form makes me believe that true evil really does exist."
The four men fell silent for a few moments, each one contemplating that question until the doctor straightened up.
"Hoss, why don't you help Adam back upstairs," he said, couching what they all knew was really an order as a request. "I need to be ready when they come back with Joan."
Hoss slipped an arm around his brother's shoulders as Adam carefully sat up then slid off the table.
"Please do your best for her Ted...we all owe her a deep debt of gratitude."
"I will and don't you fret - you just go rest and leave that worryin' to me," Ted answered his voice ringing with authority and the corners of Adam's mouth lifted slightly as he met the other man's steady gaze.
"Thank you," he said quietly and allowed Hoss to guide him out of the room and help him up the stairs. When they reached the bedroom he motioned toward the wingback chair sitting next to the bed.
"I'll just sit down Hoss, I don't think I'll be able to sleep for some time yet," he whispered and Hoss just nodded in agreement. He sat down wearily, sighing deeply and his brother gave his good shoulder a firm squeeze.
"Hoss," he said low, "everything in this world that matters the most to me is in that bed sound asleep. And I almost lost two of them today because of what I chose to do with my life."
"That's not true," Hoss said quietly, but with conviction. "That man's evil heart is why you almost lost them."
Shaking his head Adam sighed again. "There's always going to be another one to take his place, so how can I go on putting them in danger like this?" He looked up in surprise when his brother let out an angry breath.
"Look here, I know I'm not nearly as smart as you or even anybody else, but I can tell you somethin' for sure. You can't stop bein' what you are."
"But..." he started to argue and was surprised again when Hoss cut him off.
"No 'buts' now. You know that's the truth and there's no sense in arguin' with it."
Adam stared into his brother's angry blue eyes for a moment and then smiled ruefully. "I'll admit you may not have had much book learning, but I don't ever want to hear you say you're not smart again." His smile widened when Hoss blinked, and then blushed slightly as he ducked his head.
"Promise me you won't say anything like that about yourself again," he insisted and his brother mumbled a faint, "I promise," as he turned and fled the room, overcome by his brother's unstinting praise.
Chuckling quietly to himself, Adam leaned back and relaxed, his heart filling with gratitude for his family, his chosen family, and the Lord's sweet mercy as he watched his wife and children safely sleep.
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The sky was clear and studded with stars when the distant sound of a wagon approaching could be heard. Simon opened his eyes, his weak breath coming out as thin white wisps in the cold air. Groaning he tried to move but couldn't, his coldly heavy limbs refused to obey, and he stared fixedly up at a brightly blurred round shape that he realized was the moon. Then he faintly heard movement to his left.
A dark shape looming over him blotted out the lunar light, and he tried to open his mouth to ask for help until a fingertip traced the horribly puckered scar on his cheek.
"I warned you about what would happen," that hoarse, hissing voice he remembered in his nightmares said. He desperately tried to scream as a hand grasped the handle of the knife in his shoulder and deliberately pulled it out slowly. That horrible voice chuckled as the knife sliced into his abdomen then and his heart stuttered wildly from the excruciating pain.
The last thing Simon Albrecht heard before he died his painful and messy death was that hoarse voice laughing. "I'll see you in hell..."