When Shadows Fall by Barbara Freethy Page B

without telling them where it was going."
    "And when we did try to tell our husbands, it didn't work," Lucy said. "I told my husband once that I needed to borrow a hundred dollars to help a friend, and he told me to send my friend to the police."
    "We realized we had to do something to raise money," Ginnie added.
    "I got the idea of putting on plays," Eleanor said. "Molly and I had just volunteered to run a school production, so we knew what was involved. And Constance's brother found us the theater. It all fell into place fairly easily."
    "It just seems that way now," Lucy said. "I remember it being a lot of work."
    "I suppose that's true," Eleanor said. "But it was for a good cause. We helped two women that first year. The next year it was four and by our fifth year I think we'd helped more than a dozen."
    "Not everyone needed a lot," Constance said. "Some just needed help to find a job or bus money to get to their folks' house."
    "And others needed more drastic measures," Ginnie said dramatically.
    "Like what?" Olivia asked.
    "We had to fake one woman's death," Eleanor said. "That was probably the toughest acting we ever did. But if she hadn't died, her husband would have hunted her down until he took his last breath."
    "I was wondering what the men thought when the women just disappeared," Olivia said.
    "I'm sure a few of the men looked for them, but we'd gotten some people to help us with creating false identities," Eleanor said. "Ginnie had a friend who did really good work on driver's licenses and passports."
    "So these women started brand new lives." Olivia blew out a breath. "I must admit I am awed and amazed."
    "So am I," Colton said. "But I don't understand why this was all done in secret. Why not get the police involved?"
    "Most of the times the police weren't interested in helping, or the women couldn't produce any evidence. And if they complained, and their husbands heard about it, they suffered more pain. The women we helped were truly trapped," Eleanor said. "We were the last resort for them. And I can't lie. Sometimes it was dangerous to do what we did."
    "What do you mean?" Colton asked. "What happened?"
    "I drove a woman to a bus station one night," Eleanor said. "It was almost midnight. Her husband was supposed to be at work. But he showed up. It was just me and his wife on an empty platform. He put a knife to my neck. He told her to get in his car, or he would cut me. She started crying hysterically, and I was terrified. I can still feel that cool metal against my neck." Eleanor put a hand to her throat. "Thankfully, the bus came down the road at just the right moment. I guess the headlights distracted him. He loosened his grip on me, and I kicked him where it hurts the most. I grabbed her arm, and we ran like hell. That time we did go to the police station."
    "Oh, my God," Olivia murmured.
    "I can't believe you did that, Grandma," Colton said. "Did the guy go to jail?"
    "He did," she said. "There were witnesses on the bus who were willing to testify to what they'd seen. That time we got lucky."
    "You call that lucky?" Colton asked in disbelief.
    Eleanor gave him a smile. "Yes, because she survived and not everyone did. However, after that incident, some of the women in our group got nervous. They were afraid that they would end up in the same situation, and it wouldn't turn out as well. Our volunteer support began to dwindle."
    "And our husbands wanted us to be done," Ginnie put in. "At least the husbands that knew about it."
    "Did Grandpa know?" Colton cut in.
    Eleanor drew a deep breath. "Eventually. Not at the very beginning. I knew he wouldn't like it."
    "Did you tell him what happened at the bus station?" Colton asked.
    "Later, I did," she admitted. "He was not happy. He didn't want me to risk my life. And he was also worried about our children being in danger. I didn't think that was really possible, but one day when Jack was about eighteen he got jumped by a bunch of older boys. He was beat up and