Chapter 8: The Man In The Shadow

As Rick packed, Evy filled him in with everything that had happened to her while in the grasp of Joshua. Evy had told her whole story to Rick and Rick was glad to hear that Joshua was totally kind to her and didn't try anything. Rick finished packing and they went over to check on Jonathan and Jenny.

"You bout ready to go?" Rick asked seeing that some bags had been packed.

"Almost. I have to pack my personal items then I'm ready to go and Jonathan still has to pack his clothes."

"You mean after all that time it took me, he hasn't packed a single thing?" Rick was kind of agitated because he wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed.

"No, he packed his toothbrush, toothpaste, and his comb. It's his clothes that he hasn't packed." Jenny smiled at Rick and went to pack Jonathan's clothes. She could tell that Rick wanted to go home. She couldn't blame him, Egypt was a little to hot for her. She had gotten at least 2 sunburns since she got there.

"Well, Evy and I will be waiting in the lounge for you. I want to get a bite to eat before we leave." Rick and Evy walked down to the lounge and ordered some breakfast.

They went to sit down and Evy found a red rose at the booth.

"Must have been left there by the people who sat there last." Evy said picking it up and putting it on the table. Just as she sat down a waitress came to her and gave her a note.

Dear Evelyn and Rick,

I thank you for your kind words and I hope you two love each other for the rest of your lives. I also thank you, Rick, for trying to save me. You have proven me wrong. I believe that you would have saved my life if the fire hadn't started and moved so quickly. Evy, keep an eye on Rick for me and make sure you stay close to his side. I know a lot of people looking for him to try and kill him. He's a marked man so make sure you have a lot of security. I will miss talking to you, Evelyn. Tell Jenny that I miss her too. I will always be watching you to make sure you're safe.

Love,

The Man in the Shadow

"Where is the man that gave you this?" Evy asked the waitress.

"Over there." The waitress pointed to the right corner of the lounge were a man in dark clothing was standing. From where she sat, it looked like he had a piece of cloth covering his right side. She only saw it because it was white but the rest of him was immersed in darkness.

"Rick, he didn't die." Evy showed Rick the message and he wasn't to thrilled with it but the letter sounded as if Joshua would leave them alone. Rick raised his hand and waved to him as did Evy. Joshua raised his hand but did not wave it. He just raised it then lowered his hand and disappeared. "At least he means well." Evy laid her head on Rick's shoulder and he kissed her forehead.

A little later they were joined by Jenny and Jonathan and they ate their breakfast. When they were done they didn't leave right away but talked about everything and where their lives were headed.

"Jonathan and I still have to worry about this baby. It's been a couple months and we need to decide what to do with the baby situation that we have. Where is it going to sleep? Are we going to have a baby shower?" Jenny was hushed by Jonathan.

"We'll talk about it when we get home if we don't fall asleep first. Please don't get kidnapped this time. I don't want to travel back here to get you. It's to hot for a daily visit."

"Oh Jonathan. It wasn't our fault we got kidnapped and it's not that hot here. We've lived here before so you should be use to the heat. We need to get Jenny home before she has that baby. Her doctor's back in London. So as soon as we are done here we should leave so Jenny will be able to have the comfort of her doctor being a phone call away instead of trusting a doctor around here." Evy stopped that conversation then and there and the 4 of them went back to eating breakfast and drinking coffee or in Evy's case tea.

When they were ready, Rick called two taxis and helped get the bags in the trunk. A few hours later and they were at the airport. When they arrived home they went straight to bed and slept through most of the day. When they finally woke up they were greeted by the police.

"I see that you have found your wife and sister. We wanted to assure you that the man that had kidnapped them is now under custody of the police department."

"Take me to him." Rick told the officer and he hoped into the police car and went to the police department. "I want you to let this man go. He didn't do anything wrong. He wasn't the one who kidnapped my wife and sister." As Rick looked into the cell he felt less guilty for there sitting in the cell was Joshua himself.

"He wasn't the one? We were sure he was because we matched his handwriting with the handwriting on the note." The officer was sure that he was the one.

"No he was set up. This man was forced to write those letters by the people that actually kidnapped my wife and sister. His family was taken from him too by the same people." Rick smiled at Joshua and the officer opened the cell. "In fact this man helped me get my family back." He hugged Joshua and they walked out. "I'll give you a ride if you want me to."

"No I can walk to my apartment. I took Evelyn's advice and my wife and kids have come back to me." Joshua started to walk down the sidewalk and turned around. He waved good bye to Rick for the last time. Rick waved back and got into the car.

"They had Joshua but I convinced the police that he was innocent and they let him go." He told Evy, Jenny, and Jonathan.

"Why would you do that!" Jonathan said. He hadn't read the letter but Rick threw it at him. Jonathan read it and said, "I know understand why you let him go. Because you believed his bull shit. You should believe everything that you read Evy. Now the man's out there and he could be looking to kidnap you again."

"The man's back with his family. He won't try to get Evy again. He's a nice guy if you get to know him." Rick and Evy knew that he wouldn't come to get her. He was going to protect Rick and her for the rest of their lives.

The End