by Willow Rose
Sending my mother a grateful thought, I handed Allison my flashlight, then took off my shirt and pants, along with my badge, gun, and phone.
“I think he drove them into the water.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, puzzled. “You’re not going in, are you? Shouldn’t we wait for a diving team?”
I shook my head and stood in front of her in nothing but my underwear. “I don’t think we have that kind of time. A car can sink in as little as thirty seconds. Next thing, the doors and panels are jammed, and the pressure on them increases every second, making them impossible to open. All electrical systems stop working, and you can’t open a window. Not to mention how their minds by now are clouded with fear, as they are trapped in the darkness, barely knowing what is up and what is down. By then, there’s no way out for them.”
“But that water, Agent Thomas…it’s filled with alligators and wildlife?”
I smiled, then nodded.
“I’m a Florida girl. I’ve wrestled a gator before.”
It was true. Or at least part of it. I had once caught an alligator when going hunting with my stepdad as a child. But he had done most of the work, and right now, I didn’t have a rod or a gun to shoot it if I had to.
But it sounded good when I said it, and I didn’t want her to think I had no clue what I was getting myself involved in. The fact was, I had to go in; I had to do what I could to get them out, or I would never be able to live with myself.
So, I jumped in.
Not knowing the exact spot where the car had gone in, or even having any light to guide me, I simply dove into the warm murky water and swam down into the darkness.
Chapter 83
By some miracle, Mary had found a small bubble of air underneath the ceiling that she stayed with for as long as she could. The car was completely submerged by now, but the water hadn’t filled the entire cabin yet. Cole was with her, his face close to hers while they breathed those last vital breaths, holding their heads above the water that was still growing closer. It had reached Cole’s mouth now, and only his nose was above it, and soon that would be under as well. They had managed to get up on their feet, even though their hands and feet were tied together. But Cole was shorter than her, and soon he wouldn’t be able to breathe. She wiggled her wrists, trying to get them free, so she could take the boy in her arms and lift him, but she had no luck in freeing herself as of yet.
“Mommy,” Cole said, crying while struggling to keep his head above the water. “I’m scared, Mommy. I’m so scared.”
“I am too, baby. I am too.”
Mary struggled not to panic as the water came up above Cole’s head, and he sank in. She screamed.
“COLE!”
Then she took in a deep breath and bent down into the water. She curled down into a ball, so Cole could step on her back and get his head above the water again. He gasped for air and cried while she held her breath until she couldn’t anymore and had to stretch up to catch her breath. Cole sank into the water again as she did this, and she took in a few fast breaths, then bent down again, so Cole could get back up. They continued like this for a few minutes, till the bubble of air became so narrow that she could no longer breathe without getting water in her nose.
Realizing this was the end of it, she let herself sink, her boy next to her. She closed her eyes and prepared herself, embraced the fact that this was it, and maybe she had, after all, deserved what she got.
Chapter 84
My face hit the murky warm water, and I started to swim toward the bottom, having no clue where I was going. The lake was deep, and the car would have sunk far pretty quickly. Chances were slim for me to be able to find it, yet I somehow believed I could. I moved in the water, swimming toward the bottom, trying desperately to see in front of me. There was some scattered light coming down from the moon above, lighting the water slightly, and that turned out to be my rescue. The small rays of light shone on my way, and after a few strokes more, I suddenly spotted something in the water.
Something big.
It wasn’t right beneath me, but somewhere further to my right, and I was running out of air, so I had to go back up and take a deep breath before going back down again in the right spot.
I swam, pushing myself faster than ever, praising myself for being on my school’s diving team back in high school. I was known to be able to swim two lengths of the community pool without taking a breath, and that was the school record.
I swam like I used to do back then, going further into the darkness when I touched something and realized it was the roof of the car. I felt the top, praying.
Please, let there be a sunroof; please, let there be sunroof.
My hands landed on something, and I smiled inside myself.
Bingo.
With the car rescue hammer in my hand, I slammed it into the glass of the sunroof. It shattered, and I kicked it, so the glass was removed and floated in the water.
I felt the pressure of needing to breathe soon, but as I peeked inside the cabin, I spotted something. I reached a hand inside, trying to grab for it, but couldn’t reach.
Then, I went in. I swam inside the car’s cabin. The first thing I saw was Roy. He was slumped in his seat, over the steering wheel, floating back and forward in the water. I came close enough to see that he had shot himself, the coward. Fearing he might have shot Cole and Mary as well, I still swam for the back seat, and as I came closer, I spotted Cole. I almost bumped into him. He was floating in the water, his eyes closed. I grabbed him by his shirt, then pulled him with me up through the sunroof, and swam him to the surface. I emerged out of the water, then yelled for help between gasps for air.
“Eva Rae?” Allison yelled back. She had walked into the water, ankle-deep.
“I got the boy,” I yelled and pushed him toward her. She grabbed him, then pulled him to the shore.
“I’m going back down for the mother.”
I took in a couple of deep breaths, then swam back down, pushing my way through the darkness, hoping I’d be able to find the car again. A cloud had covered the moon and made it difficult for me to see. But I kept going anyway, and soon my hands knocked against the roof again. I felt my way across it and slid in through the sunroof, swimming down toward the back seat where I saw something in the water, then reached out to grab it. Luckily, it was her. I pulled Mary’s body up and through the roof, then swam her to the surface the way I had with Cole. I turned her onto her back, then swam her toward the shore.
When I was close enough, Allison and the two deputies came out to me and grabbed Mary from my grip, then helped me pull her onto the shore. She coughed and threw up water, while I lay on my back, struggling to catch my breath. My lungs were burning, and I felt like I would never be able to breathe properly again. Allison shone the flashlight on the bushes and the water to make sure a gator didn’t suddenly make a move. She pointed her gun frantically at any sound.
Meanwhile, Deputy Johnson bent over Cole and pumped on his chest, blowing air into his lungs. I watched, feeling scared I had been too late. The boy coughed and started crying. I sank to the ground, exhausted, and Mary grabbed her son in her arms and held him while both of them cried.
Blue blinking lights lit up the trees next to us, and soon the place was crawling with EMTs and local law enforcement, while I finally was able to rest.
Chapter 85
“That is what I believe happened.”
I looked up at Matt. I was lying with my head in his lap after telling him everything. I had been examined by a doctor, then sent home to get rest when they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. Mary and Cole were both still in the hospital in Orlando, but they were going to be fine, the doctor had said. As soon as I got that message, I decided to follow the doctor’s orders and go home. There was no need for me in Orlando anymore, now that Roy was dead. Besides, I hadn’t slept in days. I barely knew what day it was.
“I think his dad might have paid the doctor to diagnose him as brain-inj
ured. When Roy was pulled out of the water, he told the police his dad drove him into the river, that he tried to kill him. But no one believed him. Later, he changed his statement and said he drove in on his own. I think his dad got to him, then forced him to live in that long-term care facility to get rid of him. But I can’t know for sure. It’s all a guess since he and his dad have taken the truth with them to the grave. But Peter Marshall was the name of the guy he shared his room with there; Allison found out right before I left the hospital. He stole his birth certificate and driver’s license when he ran away, and that’s how he could start all over. The home never thought to look for them since the man doesn’t use his papers at all, so it wasn’t until we called that they went through his stuff and found it was missing.”
“It’s quite a story,” Matt said, his eyes still groggy from being woken up. It was the middle of the night still, actually almost morning, and we should both be asleep, but I still had way too much adrenalin in my body to be able to sleep. I had gone to Matt’s house instead of my own because I wanted to see him. My kids were asleep anyway, and I’d see them in the morning once they woke up. I was looking very much forward to that. I had missed them.
Matt had looked cute and sleepy when I rang the doorbell, and then he had taken me in his arms, and we had kissed. Now, we were sitting on his couch in the small townhouse he had rented for him and Elijah. I liked his place. It was so quiet compared to my house with all the kids running around, yelling at one another, and my mom always complaining about me.
“And what about that Brad guy?” he asked.
“He went through surgery and will need physical therapy for his shoulder, but he’ll be fine. He has to be. He wants to be as big an FBI agent as me; he’ll have to be able to endure getting shot. It comes with the job.”
That made Matt laugh. I laughed too, a tired and exhausted laugh, but still a happy one. I had saved Mary and Cole and even gotten Maggie back home too. I couldn’t believe I had finally really solved that ten-year-old case. It meant Odell would be released and would be out on the streets soon, and that didn’t make me feel good. But he was, after all, innocent of kidnapping and killing the Marshall twins, and he had a right to his freedom.
You win some. You lose some. That’s life, right?
“I just can’t believe anyone could be so despicable,” Matt said with a deep sigh.
I smiled. That was Matt for you. He refused to see the evil in this world and always believed the best in people. I loved that about him, and he served as a good contrast to me, who had seen too much to ever believe in anything good in people. I guess you could say my job had ruined me in that manner.
“What about the girl who showed up?” he asked. “What will happen to her?”
“A DNA test will determine if she is really who she says she is, but no one has reason to believe she isn’t Maggie. She told Mary about the foster home she grew up in, and how the father was abusive to the children placed there. I am going to report it to the local authorities in Tampa to make sure the girl who lives there now will be removed. It was very important to Maggie that we took care of it, so I will do that as soon as I have gotten some sleep.”
Matt went quiet, and I sensed something was going on with him, so I sat up.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked at me. “There’s something I want to ask you.”
My eyes grew wide, worrying he’d want to ask me to marry him. I wasn’t ready for marriage yet and had just barely gotten out of my old one. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to marry again. I gave him a skeptical and slightly terrified look.
“Yes?”
“I found something when I was at your house the last time, a couple of days ago.”
A frown grew between my eyes. What was this?
“What did you find?”
He exhaled. “I found a pregnancy test in the bathroom upstairs in the trash. I saw it by coincidence, and it was positive.”
I stared at him, my body completely frozen. I bit my lip excessively, then looked away.
“What does that mean, Eva Rae? Look at me, will you, please?”
I did, while my stomach turned into one big knot.
“I don’t know what it means. I guess someone is pregnant.”
“But is it you?” he asked. “I’m guessing it can’t be your mother, and I sure hope it isn’t Olivia.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be Sydney’s. I’ll ask her next time I see her.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” he asked, not letting me go that easily. “And why would Sydney take a pregnancy test at your house?”
I rose to my feet. “It’s getting late. I should probably get…”
“Eva Rae!”
“I need to change my clothes; my underwear is still kind of moist, and I stink…I need to…”
“Eva Rae?”
He called my name, but I didn’t listen. I grabbed my car keys, then rushed out the door and slammed it behind me. I hurried to my minivan and got in, then sat by the wheel while tears filled my eyes.
The test was mine; of course, it was. But I had ignored it. I had pushed it away and refused even to allow myself to think about it.
Why?
Because I was forty-two years old. I already had three children; I didn’t want any more. I thought that phase of my life was over.
I let a hand rub across my stomach as Matt came out of the front door. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds, looking at me. I stared back at him, wondering if I should just leave, drive away. I wasn’t ready to have this conversation. Not yet.
Our eyes locked, and he came out to the car, then pulled the door open.
“Eva Rae. We need to talk about this. You can’t just leave.”
I exhaled deeply, then turned off the engine.
“I know.”
“For what it’s worth, I think it’s wonderful. I’d love to have a baby with you. I didn’t know about Elijah until he was three years old. I missed all the toddler and baby years. This could be my chance to do it right.”
I bit my lip while tears spilled down my cheeks. Then, I smiled.
“And I’d love to have your child, Matt. I’m just afraid that…”
He placed a finger on my lips.
“Don’t talk anymore, Eva Rae. There are always excuses for not having a child. I can find a million right now for why we shouldn’t have it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do. This child is a product of our love for one another. What could be more beautiful?”
“But…we’re old. I’m old, and who knows what kind of trouble that can cause the child, and on top of it, with the life I live, I don’t know if…”
Matt was no longer listening. He leaned over and kissed my lips, probably to make me shut up. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, then took his hand and followed him back inside.
THE END
Dear Reader,
Thank you for purchasing It’s Not Over (Eva Rae Thomas #6). The idea for this book came to me with the recent focus on the Madeleine McCann case again. To those of you who might not know, it was the story of a three-year-old girl who went missing from a hotel room in Portugal in 2007 while her parents were having dinner in a restaurant nearby, and she slept in the hotel room. She was never found, and now there seem to be new theories about who took her, and German police believe they have found the killer. That case has been haunting to me for many years, and I remember especially watching the parents during press conference after press conference, interview after interview, as the McCanns were under intense scrutiny and allegations of involvement in their daughter’s death, especially by the tabloid media. People kept looking at the mother and said that she didn’t cry enough, that she didn’t show enough emotion.
I recently thought to myself, what if it happened again? What if they had another child, and ten years later, that one disappeared too? It would be pretty hard at this point not to look very closely at the parents. It would be tough for the
media and public opinion not to conclude that something had to be very off with those parents. Something like this doesn’t happen twice, and to the same people, does it?
Here’s a link to the latest in the case, but it might already be old news by now.
https://www.dw.com/en/madeleine-mccann-police-found-files-linking-suspect-with-crime-report/a-53856810
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Madeleine_McCann
Anyway, as soon as I started to think about this, the story unfolded before my eyes and was soon born. I hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget to leave a review if you can.
Take care,
Willow
About the Author
Willow Rose is a multi-million-copy best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 75 novels.
Several of her books have reached the top 10 of ALL books on Amazon in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than three million books all over the world.
She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy.
Willow’s books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won’t see coming. That’s why her fans call her The Queen of Scream.
Willow lives on Florida’s Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
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