Recap: Rikki has to have surgery on her leg. Maggie shows Evie a photo of a wanted terrorist whose real name is Shekeret. The girls have a chilling thought remembering Sarit had dropped an ID with that name on it and claimed she’d found it. What if Sarit was Shekeret? Evie realizes with a sinking feeling that she gave Sarit the flight information for Rikki’s mother.
It was late afternoon; but outside, the storm had darkened the sky, and the house was pitch black.
I opened the door and Junie scrambled in. She was panting heavily. The wind fought me as Maggie helped me close the door.
“Junie!” I held out my arms, and she scrambled into my embrace. There was blood on her back from a deep cut.
“Poor doggie.”
Maggie grabbed a paper towel and pressed it to her back.
“Poor doggie. What happened to you?” I hugged Junie closely. “Junie, how did you get here?” I was talking to her like she could answer me.
“Look,” Maggie pointed. “She has a big cut over her eye, and her leg is bent funny.”
I kissed her head. “Poor doggie. How in the world did she make it here in this crazy storm?”
“Someone must have hurt her again,” Maggie said. “Somehow she must have escaped.”
“Who would hurt a sweet dog like Junie like this? He had to be a monster. I wish we could take her to the vet.”
The wind outside howled like a pack of angry wolves, and rain hammered against the house like mountainous ocean waves.
There was no way we could go anywhere in this storm.
I found her doggy bowl and filled it with water. I searched in the kitchen cabinets for a flashlight.
“There’s one in the basement,” Maggie said. “I remember seeing it when Emmie was playing down there. I’ll go get it.”
Maggie walked slowly downstairs in the dark and returned a few minutes later. “Look, I found one!” Maggie flicked the flashlight on, and a beam of light shone in the dark room.
When I touched Junie’s leg, she winced in pain and pulled away.
“It might be broken. I wonder what happened to her,” I said. “If only dogs could talk.”
“It’s amazing that she got here at all!” Maggie said.
I wanted the storm to stop so I could warn the FBI and save Rikki’s mom. On the other hand, if the storm continued, her plane wouldn’t land – which was important since, I thought with a shiver of regret, I’d given the flight information to Sarit.
As I poured some dog food into the dog bowl, there was a loud knock on the back door.
“How could anyone be knocking? It must be a tree branch.”
Maggie peered out the window of the door.
“Evie!” Maggie’s mouth opened in horror.
“It’s – it’s Sarit!”
“Should we let her in? What if…”
The knocking grew louder and more intense.
I heard her screaming. “Please let me in. Please, it’s a matter of life and death. Please let me in.”
“What should we do?” I asked Maggie.
“What if she’s a terrorist,” Maggie said.
“Please,” she shrieked over the wind.
“I’m here as a friend. Please let me in. I can explain! I’m in grave danger. Please!”
“Can we trust you?” I yelled through the door.
“PLEASE! I was the one who set Junie free. She was captured in our apartment.”
Was it true? Could I trust this girl? Did she know a terrorist, or was she… I swallowed. Was she a terrorist?
What in the world should I do? If only my mother or Aunt Ruthie were here.
I thought about Rikki and Rabbi Berson. What would they say to do?
“My father’s going to come chasing after me. There isn’t much time. Please let me in. Have mercy.”
“Mercy.” I thought of something that Rabbi Berson had said just last Shabbos. Jewish people have three characteristics: they are baishanim – unassuming, merciful, and they perform good deeds. If I opened the door, I could be letting in a dangerous terrorist, or I could be saving this girl from her father.
“I’m going to let her in,” I said. My hand shook as I slowly opened the back door…
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of 11 popular Jewish books, including her newly released historical fiction novel The Blizzard (Menucha 2026) and recently published novel Captured (Menucha 2025). She is also the current news editor of Binyan Magazine.