Chapter 74

The color drained from Woody's face as he witnessed Palmer's action. He was racing to the spot as Palmer jumped to his feet and ran toward the parking lot. He gave the fleeing man one hateful glance as he escaped.

He fell to his knees next to Mac. Pulling out his cell phone he called 911 as he assessed the damage to the woman on the ground in front of him. He gave the 911 operator curt clear information on the situation and their location.

She was barely conscious as he spoke to her, "I know this has to hurt like hell Mac, but I can't pull it out without causing more damage!" Woody tore off his shirt and was packing it around the stake through her chest to try and keep her from bleeding to death before the paramedics got there. She nodded acknowledging that she understood before passing out.

Praying that help would arrive in time he picked up his phone again, almost dropping it from the slipperiness of Mac's blood covering it. Hitting his speed dial number for home, he counted the seconds that seemed to be dragging by until Jordan came on the line.

He spoke quickly and a bit harshly after her 'hello', "Jordan, it was Palmer at the cemetery. He stabbed Mac and got away. I am sure he is on his way there. I can't leave Mac till help arrives or she will die. So, get out my gun and be ready for him."

"Woody, you know how I feel about…" his wife started to protest.

Almost snarling in his combined fear for his family's safety and Mac's life as well as the frustration of letting Palmer get away from him because he had to remain to keep Mac alive, Woody growled, "Get the gun and don't let Palmer hurt you or Riley!"

He didn't know if she tried to protest again because he'd ended the call. Woody was glad to finally be able to hear the sirens in the distance that meant help was getting closer.

Even though she was still unconscious Woody pleaded, "Hang on Mac, help is on the way! Please hand on help is coming!"

He was more than glad to fall back out of the way as the paramedics arrived to take over. Once he had given them the information he could about Mac, Woody scrambled to his feet and started towards his car.

One of the paramedics shouted to him, "Aren't you going to the hospital with her?!"

"The guy who did this to her is after my wife and child now!"

Jordan stood there staring at the phone in her hand, upset that Woody had hung up on her, as her mind spun with the incomprehensible news he had just delivered.

Palmer at the cemetery…okay, sure he had been stalking them for months. But, why show up there? Choose a cemetery for a confrontation? A confrontation with only Woody and not her and the baby…well yes, Mac had been there too, but she wasn't his target. But wait! There was Clara Rose's weird message that 'clematis was not what it seemed'. Could that somehow have been a warning about Palmer? It just didn't make any sense!

Mac stabbed…but how?! Mac was a Marine and there had been two against one if a fight had happened with Palmer, and it had to have had if Mac were so badly hurt! Woody hadn't said he'd been hurt, but he also hadn't sounded like himself when he called. He was never that brusque with her! It just didn't make any sense.

Get his gun…Woody knew how she felt about guns! The fact that he kept his service revolver in the apartment had been a bone of contention between them. She insisted that it was too dangerous with Riley in the apartment. Woody countered that as a baby Riley wouldn't even know it was there and not even what it was for years. However, Woody did get a gun safe and the offending weapon was always put away in there as soon as he came home from work each night. But now he wanted her to get it out and possibly use it! Just that thought terrified her.

Jordan paced back and forth across the living room several times trying to clear her mind enough to form a plan. She heard Riley fuss from the nursery and raced to him as if Palmer could have gotten past her and into the baby's room. She lifted him out of his crib, as she tried to sooth him, but she was so agitated herself that rather than quieting him, her stress was making him fuss more.

Then it dawned on her that she had to protect Riley from Palmer! She was it! She had to protect her child!

To be continued…