You Can't Hide by Theresa Sneed (uplifting novels TXT) 📕

yelled and fell into him, but pulled back, when he gasped from pain. Tears fell fast. She ran to the door and yelled, “Sam!” Soon, the room was bustling with doctors and nurses.

“Well, I’ll be,” the nurse said. “It’s a miracle for sure.”

Elle stepped out of the room, while the doctor examined him. Elated beyond words, she beamed and laughed out loud.

Six

Victim

Todd McGuire flipped through the textbook, closed it, and then set it on the desk in front of him. His gaze fell to the overturned portrait of Karen—his ex-girlfriend. Unable to toss it in the garbage, it had laid there for weeks. He’d been sure they’d marry one day. She was everything he wanted in a girl, smart, pretty, talented, and good natured.

He was shocked when a package delivered to him revealed her true nature. The envelope within the package contained a single picture of Karen, in a compromising position. It disgusted and angered him. Why that, Karen? How could you?

He had trusted her completely—given her his heart and soul. And to top that off, she wouldn’t even talk to him about it, wouldn’t answer his calls or letters. She completely cut him off, harboring resentment toward him, as if it had been his fault.

A knock at the door pulled him back. He rose to answer it, and was surprised to find Freddie Sampson, one of the campus police standing there. “Good morning,” Officer Sampson said.

“Good morning, Freddie.” Todd gestured for him to enter the flat. “What’s up?” Freddie was a good friend. Married to one of Karen’s best friends, they hung out together a lot, at least before Karen left for the states.

“Listen, I’m not supposed to tell you this, as it’s under investigation, but I have to.” He paced the floor. “In fact, there’s no way I wouldn’t.” He sat down at the kitchen table and placed a soiled manila folder on it. “I’m on my way to headquarters to bring in this evidence. Once they have it, there will be no way you’ll ever see it, for the time being at least.” Slipping a pair of gloves over his hands, he tossed Todd a pair, and then tapped the grimy folder. “Anyhow, it’s quite disturbing.”

Todd drew his head back and pulled the gloves on. “Why in the world would you be showing me evidence? Evidence of what?” He reached over and opened the folder, and there in front of him was the very picture that had been sent to him weeks ago, only there were others with it. He jumped out of his seat. “Why to heck do you think I’d want to see these pictures?” He closed the folder and slapped his hand down on it.

“This is why she left, isn’t it?”

“Look, this is too painful for me. I really don’t want to talk about it. Wait.” He looked up at him. “Why is this evidence?”

“They were found in a dumpster on campus. A student reported a strange odor coming from it, like something was dead inside.” He made a face. “We’ve had problems with dead animals being disposed in the dumpsters. It turned out to be more than one dead animal—looks like we’ve got cruelty to animals going on somewhere on this campus,” he said, with a pronounced grimace. “The folder was pressed up against the inside of the dumpster. I removed it, looking for the animal carcasses on the bottom, and well, you need to look at it.”

“First off, why would these pictures be any sort of evidence?”

Freddie tapped his fingers on the table. “Because this kind of debauchery is happening on our campus, and it probably means more than you and Karen are its victims.”

“What?” Todd leaned over the photos. His eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed the side of the table and stared down at a photo of himself kissing someone he’d never seen in his life. “Whoa,” he said, sitting down slowly. He picked up the photograph. “How? Why?” He gave Freddie a blank stare. “I don’t even know who this woman is.”

“I believe you, but Karen probably didn’t.” He pointed to the picture of Karen with another man. “And she probably doesn’t know him either.” Taking another picture in his hands, Freddie laid it down beside the lurid one of Karen. It was an ordinary photo of her laying on the floor in front of the couch watching television. Side-by-side, it was clear that the image of Karen in the questionable photograph was the same picture of Karen laying on the floor, overlaid on top of it. If you looked close enough, you could see the couch in the background behind her, and that the lower part of the body in the picture wasn’t even hers.

Todd put his elbows on the table and leaned into his fists. “Why would someone . . .?” He shook his head. “Do you have any idea who did this?”

“No.”

He stood. “I need to show Karen.”

“I can’t let you take them, but, if you promise that you will not show anyone else but Karen, I can let you take pictures of them.”

Seven

Bittersweet

Elle sat by Sam’s bed. He moaned in his sleep and she reached over and patted his hand. Even though he’d come out of the coma, the doctors warned her that it’d take time for him to be back to normal. Still, how could she feel anything but tremendous joy and relief? She was sure the worst was over.

A shadow appeared in the doorway—Sheriff Higgins, one of Sam’s best friends. He must have heard about Sam coming out of the coma, so why was he frowning?

Excited to tell him the news, she jumped up. “Haven’t you heard?” She walked toward him. Still, John did not smile.

“John?”

He glanced at Sam asleep on the bed. His face was grim. “Follow me, Elle.” She obeyed, a strange numbness creeping up her sides. She went with John into an empty room down the hall, where they were joined by Gwen and Joe, who