The Echo of Violence Read Online Free PDF

decide.
    In her heart, Kate had a feeling the news wouldn’t be good.
     
    The little blond girl hadn’t spoken. She only clung tight to his neck as he looked for a safe place for her. Off the stone courtyard, Kinkaid saw a dim streetlamp below where he crouched. He used the light to guide him through terraced patches of ground, the foundation used for a series of shanties made of stucco. The glow from the street lit a side door to a shack. The house wasn’t much, but he noticed that a torn window curtain moved.
    Someone was inside.
    He wasn’t sure he should risk investigating the match-box-sized shanty, yet he had to try. Whoever was inside might be scared, and he couldn’t blame them. If they kept the girl from harm, at least long enough for him to help the others, it might be worth the gamble. Avoiding the light, he crept through the shadows near the back of the house. He approached the window where he’d seen the curtain move and spoke in French.
    “Please…I know you’re in there. A little girl needs your help,” he pleaded. “Please open the door.”
    He wouldn’t leave the kid if the people in the shanty didn’t look trustworthy. The only way to find out was to get them to open the door. He reasoned with them in French and in English until the door at the side of the house opened with the creak of rusty hinges. Kinkaid gripped his weapon, ready to use it.
    What he heard next caused him to stop.
    “Mr. Kinkaid,” a woman’s voice whispered. “It’s me. Susan Winters. I have my husband and my kids in here.”
    At first Kinkaid couldn’t place the voice, yet the woman’s name brought back a memory. He had met her with Sister Kate at the school. Susan Winters was one of Kate’s missionary administrators.
    “Thanks for speaking up. That took guts,” he said.
    Kinkaid carried the girl inside and shut the door behind him. In the dark room, with only the pale light of the moon shining through the curtains, he saw the silhouettes of Susan and her family.
    “I have to get back out there. Can you take her?” he asked. “I don’t know who or where her parents are. And she hasn’t said a word, not even her name.”
    “Sure. We can take her.” Susan reached for the littlegirl, but the kid wouldn’t let go of him. He lowered her to the floor and knelt beside her.
    “I need to find Sister Kate, honey. I have to help her and the others. Can you be brave for a little longer?”
    He could tell that the kid wanted to cry. She touched his hand, and said, “My name is…Caitlyn.”
    Kinkaid smiled. He reached for her tiny fingers and kissed them. Her hand felt so small in his. “You’ve been a very brave girl, Caitlyn. Susan will take care of you now.”
    The girl nodded and took a step back, clinging to Susan’s leg. A part of him—the man he used to be—was sad to let her go. Kinkaid took a deep breath and stood. He touched Susan’s shoulder and looked at her husband, who stood beside her.
    “Stay put,” he told them. “Even until daylight if you have to. And keep watch. Trade off on guard duty.”
    After they both nodded, he headed out the door in search of Sister Kate. And in the stillness of the night, he heard voices dead ahead. Kinkaid gritted his teeth to fight the pain as he navigated through the dark. It had to be them.
     
    In a move Kate didn’t expect, one of the armed men shoved her and the older woman aside to haul out the man who barged into the van to be with his wife. Both the man and his wife were removed and stood next to Kate. The man’s mix of fear and indignation had vanished.
    “Please…what are you doing?” the man asked.“Don’t…please don’t do this. I’ve got money. You don’t need to do this.”
    “George, I’m scared. What’s happening?” His wife reached for his arm, but one of the masked men yanked both elbows behind her, holding her in place.
    Kate watched as one of the armed men came forward, the one who had given the order to remove George from the