Page 60 of Blind Trust
Hesitation, then finally a slow shake of the head. The little boy moved his hand, and Lyla saw what he was holding. “Is that your phone?”
The little boy hopped down from the branch, looking a bit guilty. “I didn’t steal it.”
Lyla offered a gentle smile. “Did you find it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She held out her hand. “May I see it?”
“The screen is cracked.” He handed it to her. “I didn’t do that.”
“I believe you.” Lyla tapped the screen and an image of Genevieve and two teenagers, a girl and a boy, popped up. Jerry’s kids. Her stomach twisted. She met the little boy’s big brown eyes. “Where did you find this?”
He bit his lip, looking around like he was ready to dart.
“I promise you’re not in trouble. I’m just looking for this lady right here.” Lyla pointed to Genevieve’s face. “She lives in that house over there. Have you seen her?”
He shook his head.
“Did you find the phone at her house?”
Again another head shake.
Taking a deep breath, Lyla smiled. “Can you point to where you found it?”
Lifting his arm, he extended his index finger in the direction of the renovated house. An ugly feeling settled in her gut. Turning to the little boy, she tried to give him a reassuring smile.
“Is it okay if I keep this so I can give it back to the lady who lost it?” He nodded, looking relieved he wasn’t going to get in trouble. “And I need you to go back to your house, okay? It’s dangerous back here with all this equipment.”
Another quick nod, and the boy ran out of the backyard and down the street. Lyla stared at the phone in her hand. This was certainly not a good sign.
Lyla walked to where the little boy said he’d found the phone. There was a first-floor deck that covered a sliding door to the basement, but the glass was protected with a plastic tarp that had traces of paint on it. Next to it was another door with a small window that wasn’t covered.
Her foot slipped in the mud left from the hole being dug for a pool and she groaned. Gross. She moved to a small pad of concrete and started to scrape her heel but stopped when her eyes caught on something sticking out of the pile of sodden leaves.
Lord, please don’t let it be... Lyla edged closer, hoping her eyes were playing tricks on her, but they weren’t. It was a shoe. A pink Nike about her size. With her pulse pounding in her ears, Lyla used her toe to tap the shoe, closing her eyes in expectation she would meet resistance from a foot connected to a leg, connected to a body...
The shoe moved easily, and Lyla released an audible breath ofrelief that left her feeling shaky. She opened her eyes, grateful there was no body, but it didn’t stop the weight of alarm warning her that the shoe, just like the phone, belonged to Genevieve.
“Nicolás!” Lyla called out as she started for the back door to look through the window. “I’m around back. Next door.”
The inside of the basement was too dark from the windows being covered to see anything. She reached for the doorknob and twisted it. Unlocked. Lyla swallowed, looking toward Genevieve’s house. “Nicolás?”
Was he coming?
Lyla pushed open the door just a few inches and instantly covered her face at the wretched smell. Her eyes watered, and she clamped her jaw down, hoping to keep her gag reflex from reacting.
Only one thing could smell that bad.A body. Lyla backed away, anxious to find Nicolás.See, not running into danger. He’d be prou—
The hit came fast and hard, knocking Lyla against the door and into the basement. There wasn’t time to brace herself from slamming against the concrete floor. She screamed on impact, a sharp pain shooting up the side of her face and head. Her vision blurred, and a painful ringing sensation filled her ears.
Lyla heard the door close and scrambled to get up, but whoever was behind her grabbed her feet and yanked her onto her back, straddling her legs.
“No!” she screamed, kicking with everything she had to get out of his grip and off the ground. Her self-defense training told her it was the most dangerous and vulnerable place to be, and she needed to get up if she had any chance of fighting back. Twisting back and forth, she kept moving to free her legs until finally she did it. With her left leg loose, she bent her knee and kicked out as hard as she could in the darkness, hoping to connect with her assailant. But she missed. “Nicolás! In the house—”
She choked on her breath when a punch landed in the side of her ribs. Gasping for breath, she tried to use her adrenalineto overcome the temporary incapacitation caused by the blow.Fight!
Nicolás? Lyla’s head felt woozy. Moving her arms along the ground, she searched with her hands for anything she could use to defend herself and nearly thanked God aloud when her fingers felt a piece of wood. Gripping it with all her might, she prayed for strength. She took a deep breath, curled upward, and swung.
