“I bet our house goes on that list after tonight.” Drew seemed happy at the prospect.
“Did that kid named Arnold ask you if he could go through the gate, Drew?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah, and I told him no. Why?”
“He came and asked me,” Gabe said.
Drew was puzzled. “Why would he do that?”
“I wondered why, too. Is he slow or something?”
“He’s not the brightest kid in class but still that’s strange.”
Sam Williams called Gabe the next day as Gabe was getting ready for church. “Thought you’d like to know someone was snooping around your fence last night. I don’t sleep well and I often get out of bed and look out the window. I sleep upstairs and I can see a good part of your fence. Couldn’t see who it was. Person had on dark clothes but I saw their flashlight going up and down the fence.”
“Thanks, Sam. I’ll come over this afternoon and you can show me where it was.” On the way to church they discussed the snooper.
“Do you think it was Arnold?” Drew couldn’t believe it.
“Maybe, maybe not. Do you see him at church?”
“No, but I’ll see him at school tomorrow.”
“Can you find out without asking him outright?” Calvin said.
“I’m not sure.”
“I’ll give you some ideas this evening,” Calvin said.
Gabe was considering who else it might be. Somehow Arnold didn’t seem to fit the bill of a midnight snooper.
He hadn’t felt like attending church this morning but pride told him not to let Makima keep him away. Drew and Calvin were going and his absence would be noticed by their group of friends. Also, he wanted to speak personally to some of the volunteers who’d worked at the fund-raiser.
After the service, he spoke to the Grays. He was leaving when Valerie and Bobby came up to him. “We have something to show you,” they said. Valerie extended her hand with a stunning diamond ring on her engagement finger. He hugged Valerie and shook Bobby’s hand. He was genuinely glad for them.
As the others gathered around the smiling couple, Gabe couldn’t help seeing the irony of the situation. The last time they’d all been there, it was Alana and Calvin who hadn’t been speaking to each other. Now it was Makima and he who were ignoring each other so fiercely that it created an air of tension. He excused himself and talked to the volunteers until Calvin came to find him.
The last thing Makima wanted to do was to go to church. Common sense and experience told her that the longer she put it off the harder it would be. She armored herself by wearing an ankle-length cream knit with a short-fitted jacket, and turquoise accessories.
Sitting in her usual place with her parents and Alana made her feel supported and secure until the pastor said, “Let us pray.”
How could she pray? What was she doing sitting here in the house of God all dressed up as if she was honoring Him and bowing her head? There had been times before when her faith had been tested. Everyone went through trials and she’d not been immune to them. Yet somehow she had come through them, her faith made stronger.
This time was significantly different. She had dared to be angry at God. She was such a hypocrite! The urge to get up and walk out of the church was so strong that she clutched her bag and tensed her muscles to stand up.
Her mother’s warm hand took hold of hers and held it. The affectionate gesture brought Makima to her senses and she sat through the rest of the service with that hand as a sanctuary. She kept biting her lip to keep the tears away and was deeply grateful when the service ended.
Miss Selina was the first person she spoke to as she left the pew. “Now don’t you feel bad or guilty about what those bad people did with the clinic money, Makima,” Miss Selina said as she clutched her hand. “You meant nothing but good with that money and God’s going to make it all right. You wait and see.”
Makima couldn’t keep the tears back. She kissed Miss Selina and thanked her.
All the way down the aisle people offered their sympathy for what had happened. Over and over she heard the phrase that the clinic money had been raised to do God’s work and one way or the other it would get done.
Outside in the churchyard she heard the same sympathetic comments. All she could think of was how wrong she’d been in her estimation of peoples’ reactions. O ye of little faith, she chided herself.
When she saw Gabe, she wanted to shrivel up from embarrassment and shame.
You brought it on yourself, she thought. You can attract men but you can’t hold them. What is the matter with you?
She had delusions, Gabe had said. Delusions of pride. She hadn’t wanted him to see her vulnerability, that she, Makima Gray, could have made such a terrible error in judgment about Dakers and Sons.
She who was so respected in the community and had almost single-handedly established the clinic project. The Makima who Gabe had honored on Saturday night by seating her in the place of his hostess and later had told the crowd about the signed contract. Makima Gray who apparently must be perfect.
Other people could have faults but not her, especially in the sight of the man she’d told had made her understand what desire felt like for the first time. She hadn’t actually used that word. Yet her actions with him had told him beyond doubt that’s what she meant.
Now what was she to do? She didn’t want to inflict herself on him. He’d made it clear that he was through with their relationship. He’d been at the center Thursday and Friday but she hadn’t seen nor heard him.
She approached the family and stood beside her father, spoke to Calvin and to Gabe. Then Valerie and Bobby joined them and after she’d kissed Valerie and admired the ring, Gabe was gone.
Taking her heart and her future with him.
Chapter 32
“When Zeke had this fence up he told me he didn’t want it too close to the trees,” Sam told Gabe and Calvin as the three of them walked along outside the fence.
“Why was that?” Calvin wanted to know.
“Didn’t want snoopers to be able to catch on to a big branch and get into the trees that way.”
“Then he had the idea of putting the loops of barbed wire on the top of the fence. That’s pretty discouraging, you know,” he chuckled.
The strip of ground outside the fence was narrow and covered with weeds. It sloped down gradually to the road that ran beside Sam’s house.
“Can’t see any footprints here,” Gabe complained.
“That’s true. Here’s the first place I saw the light. He started here and walked for about ten minutes, so let’s see if there’s any clue in the weeds.”
They walked on the very edge of the strip and examined the grass intently but saw nothing. “He probably wore tennis shoes,” Gabe said in disappointment.
“The fencing is exactly the same all the way around so what was he looking for?” Calvin asked.
“What do you think, Sam?” Gabe wanted to hear his opinion to see if it was the same as his.
“I’d say he’s figuring on cutting through the fence,” Sam said.
“Just what I’m guessing. Is it easy to get wire cutters that strong around here?” Gabe asked.
“Sure. Farmers use them all the time.”
“Any idea when he might be back?” Gabe looked up and down the fence, trying to get into the mind of the snooper. What was he after? It must be that despite their best efforts, a rumor of the praise house had slipped out and some vandal was anxious to get in the trees and find it.
“I’d say pretty soon before the moon gets bright. I’ll keep watch and call you the minute I see anything.”
“Really appreciate that, Sam,” Gabe said.
“Glad to do it. Put some excitement in my life.”
As it turned out they didn’t have to worry about that night. The clouds moved in at dinnertime. The rain started soon after and the hard steady rain the farmers had been praying for lasted through the night.
“When you get home, Drew,
we need to go to the praise house,” Gabe said at breakfast.
“Why?” Drew asked, finishing his orange juice and reaching for a second toasted English muffin.
“To clean up the clearing. The last time I was there I noticed some weeds that need taking out by the roots. Last night’s rain probably washed in some debris.”
“I’ll go, too,” Calvin said.
It was bound to be muddy after the rain, they agreed, so they all wore old clothes and shoes. They armed themselves with rakes, a shovel and a couple of other tools from the shed. The leafy weeds Gabe had noticed seemed to have shot up at least a foot. He attacked them with the hoe, chopping deep to get at the root, which came away easily from the rain-softened earth.
Drew was using a rake around the perimeter of the clearing while Calvin used a long-handled mattock to rid the praise house of the leaves that the rain and wind had piled against its foundation.
“Gabe,” he called, “come look at this.”
His pick had hit something that shouldn’t have been there. “I was digging here at the corner where a lot of water had seeped in. The ground was soggy and after I got the leaves and muck out, I hit something hard instead of the soft ground.”
Calvin passed the mattock to Gabe, who handled it carefully. “It doesn’t feel like a rock or a piece of concrete.”
Drew had come to see what they were doing. “Can I try?” Gabe handed the pick to him. Drew moved it around. “Feels like a box but I can’t get a hold on it with this.”
Suddenly he threw the tool aside, flung himself on the ground and stretched his arms until he felt the box. “I bet it’s the treasure!” he cried. “I just know it is.”
Gabe and Calvin held their breaths as Drew wriggled until his fingers had a purchase on the box. He scooted backward, getting his clothes muddy as he emerged far enough to bring both long arms out from under the building.
The box was flat on the bottom with a rounded lid, about fourteen inches long and six inches wide, Gabe thought. Probably four feet deep.
“Open it, Gabe,” Drew begged, handing it to his brother.
Gabe accepted it reverently. He knew beyond a doubt that this was the treasure his great-grandfather had designed for him. How would it affect his and Drew’s lives? He was almost afraid to open it.
Calvin had been watching him intently. He laid a hand on his shoulder briefly. “Courage, my friend,” he said.
Gabe put his hand on the lid and pulled. Nothing happened. He looked at it clearly and saw the keyhole, which had been covered with mud.
“We all have to wait, Drew,” he said. “It’s locked, so we’ll take it home, clean it off and see if the key I found will fit it.”
Then he remembered about the second key Moultrie had mentioned. Was it to this box? He searched it again but couldn’t find another keyhole. He’d ask Moultrie about it as soon as he got home.
“Maybe there’s something else under here,” Drew said and went around the building, searching. Meanwhile, Gabe and Calvin decided the reason that corner had been vulnerable was because Great-Grandfather had checked the box over the years that he had been guardian of it. Evidence of repair and reinforcements could be seen in that corner.
“We need to fix it up as best we can now until we can do better,” Gabe said.
When that was done they hurried home, hoping Gabe could get to the safe-deposit box for the key before the bank closed. He was too late.
At least he could talk to Mr. Moultrie.
“You found the box? That’s hard to believe, Gabe. It’s hardly been twenty-four hours since you called to ask what was left to do. Tell me how you found it.”
Gabe related the sequence of events. He couldn’t see how intellect or intuition had guided him. He was just thankful he’d found it.
“I truly congratulate you. The only thing that’s left is for the second key to reveal itself.”
Gabe frowned. “To reveal itself? Don’t understand.”
“You will when it happens so don’t worry. However, Gabe, I must warn you that when the two keys open the box you must take great care.”
His voice was so full of warning, Gabe frowned again. “Why?”
“You and the box will be in danger. I can’t explain more than that but please believe that I am serious. I hope to hear from you very soon.”
When Gabe relayed this information to Calvin and Drew, they were as bewildered as he.
“The box must hold diamonds and other jewels just like I predicted,” Drew said.
“You might be right after all,” Gabe said thoughtfully. “Yet that doesn’t fit in with the kind of man I think Great-Grandfather was. I think it has to do with Africa.”
“The diamond mines are in Africa, aren’t they, Uncle Calvin?”
“They are but I agree with Gabe. What would the scrolls have to do with diamonds? If he had diamonds to give you and Gabe, I think he would have put them in a vault.”
“Diamonds or whatever, I think we need to put another box under the praise house that looks as much like this one as possible. Use it as a decoy and ask Sam to be especially watchful.”
“I’ll help you when you get off work tomorrow,” Calvin said.
Makima was miserable. She’d made the biggest mistake of her life and she didn’t know what to do about it. Even if she got up the courage to go to Gabe and look him in the eye and apologize, what good would that do? She couldn’t believe that he’d accept the apology and go on with their relationship. The accusations she’d hurled at him in her anger had been too severe and completely unjust. It had been wicked of her to mistreat him so.
Expecting his forgiveness was out of the question.
At the time when she’d thought there might be an affinity between Alana and Gabe, she’d given serious consideration to moving away from Grayson. How she wished now that she’d done so. Anything would be better than this situation.
She’d never thought that the time would come when she’d lose interest in the work of the center. There was still much to do under its aegis to enrich the lives of the men, women, children and infants of the Grayson community. She had a folder half-full of ideas for the future when they had the money. Any program in the country that came to her attention went into the folder.
Yet now she could barely get through the routine jobs and the other ones Dr. Cook gave her. She and Eugenia used to fantasize about how they could modify some of the plans in the folder to fit into their budget and space.
She hadn’t touched the folder nor talked with Eugenia in weeks. Today at work she’d looked to see if Gabe’s car was in the parking lot. That was the only way to know he was at work.
The hours dragged by and with each one she became much more depressed. She wondered how she was going to get the energy to come to work the next day.
As soon as she arrived home she changed into her gown and robe, made some tea and drank it sitting up in bed looking at the evening news.
She was startled when the doorbell rang. Thinking it must be a salesman, she ignored it. Her phone rang and it was her mother. “I’m outside, Makima. Let me in.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I wasn’t expecting anyone and I was in bed watching the news,” she said as she opened the door.
Her mother looked at her intently and shook her head. “Go back to bed, honey. You look pale and tired. I brought food over and we’ll eat together as soon as I warm it up.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Makima protested.
“Yes, I did. Now get back to bed.”
The plate of roast chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy and a dish of greens tickled Makima’s appetite. “This looks wonderful.”
“You’d had enough soup. You need food that will put flesh on your bones,” her mother said. “I hate to ask when the last time was you ate a full meal.”
Makima didn’t answer, letting the food in her mouth be an excuse. After she’d swallowed it, her mother said, “Was your last meal at my table?”
Makima ga
ve a shamefaced nod.
“I don’t want to have to take you back home with me,” her mother said firmly when she’d finished her meal. “You cannot go on this way, Makima. You’re a grown woman and you have to stop acting like a child. I watched you yesterday at church, you and Gabe. You wouldn’t talk to him the week you were home. Yesterday you two hardly spoke, where before you couldn’t stop looking at each other. He seems to be a fine man, Makima, better for you than Reggie Powell ever was. Is there something he’s done that your dad and I should know about?”
Makima looked horrified. “No, Mom, no. It’s nothing like that.”
“Do you care for him?” Her face was uncharacteristically sober as she waited for her daughter’s answer.
Makima looked at her steadily. “I do care for him, very much.”
Her mother’s face cleared. “Then act like a woman, not a child. Go to him and whatever it is, make it right.”
Later, as she turned out the lights, Makima went over and over her mother’s words. They sounded so simple, but this didn’t fall into the category of kissing and making up when you’d pushed your six-year-old playmate and made her fall.
Still she had to make it right some way. The only way to begin was to pray to God and seek His forgiveness for her arrogance and pridefulness.
When she drifted off to sleep, she was still praying for forgiveness, humility, and for God to show her the way to make it right with Gabe.
Chapter 33
The sun peeked in and out of the clouds as Makima drove to work. The weather forecast flirted with the possibility of rain showers in the early evening. Makima didn’t care, she’d be home by then.
She’d enjoyed her first sound sleep in a long time and she was going to work without the dread that had accompanied her yesterday. She was grateful that her prayers had been answered. She felt that forgiveness had been granted her and a mountain had been lifted from her spirit.
When she parked at the center she saw Gabe’s car. Maybe today she’d see him and could tell him good-morning. Her heart beat faster at the mere idea. Something had told her to bring with her the box Mr. Zeke had carved for her eighth birthday. If for some miraculous reason Gabe came to her office he would see it. It might make a bridge for them since they both loved Mr. Zeke.
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