Chapter 8:The Cabin

Someone had supplied Kate with a pair of powerful binoculars. If she held them very steady, she could watch the action at the farm across the valley. She couldn't make out any faces, but she knew someone left in an ambulance and a bunch more left in body bags. She wondered what had happened.

She watched the volunteer firemen battle the burning house, but knew the house was too far gone to save. She worried when the police came out of the barn on the run. She then saw a bomb truck arrive and some men heavily dressed in some kind of protective gear entered the barn. After 15 or 20 minutes one of the bomb guys came out and signaled an "All Clear." The EMT's and some other officers entered the barn. They were pushing gurneys with what Kate realized were body bags on them. Kate counted 12 of them.

Her years in prison hardened her to violence, but she still had feeling for all the people who were touched by the aftermath of what she suspected happened there.

Her nurse took the field glasses from her and escorted her back to her room to rest. The nurse exclaiming, "You've had enough excitement for the day. Now is the time to rest."