by Dianna Love
“I know.” Kasey dropped her head into her hands. then pushed herself to her feet. She forced herself to get up and go out to the front porch. She sat on the steps. The rain pounded on the metal roof. A toy car lay abandoned nearby. Kasey picked it up and pushed it back and forth. The wooden deck was scarred from the many hours Jake had raced his cars along these planks.
Two dark nondescript sedans filed into the driveway. She squeezed the tiny car into her palm. Her nails pinched into her skin as she pushed against the handrail to stand.
Riley burst through the screen door and stood behind Kasey, one arm wrapped around her friend’s shoulders.
“Please, Lord, give me the strength.” Kasey grabbed Riley’s hand. “This is too much.”
“It’s okay. They’ll help us. That’s why they’re here.”
The southeast region specialists from the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team, better known as CARD, blew in with as much gusto as Ernesto. They gathered their information with an eagerness that left Kasey dazed and exhausted. The questions from the team were so in-depth that she began to doubt her ability to answer the easiest of them about her own family. Now the big guns were involved. Their special workforce had been successful in a high percentage of cases similar to this.
Riley escorted the last of the federal agents out the door less than an hour after they’d arrived.
“Lord.” Riley leaned back against the closed door. “That’s way more difficult than they make it look on television.”
“You’re telling me.” Kasey tucked her feet underneath her on the couch.
The phone rang again, and it felt like each ring sucked a little more life out of her.
“I’ve got it. Don’t move.” Riley ran to the kitchen to answer the phone. She’d been fielding calls all morning. There were twice as many from concerned friends and media than updates from Von and the police.
Kasey sprawled out on the couch and pulled a pillow over her head. Thank goodness Riley was there to field the calls. Kasey couldn’t bear to give any more reality to this situation. If she kept it to herself, maybe it would all go away and Nick and Jake would be back.
Dutch pushed the pillow off her face, nudged his wet nose into the crook of her neck, then licked away her tears.
“Kasey!” Riley lunged into the room with the phone in her hand. “It’s Von. They’ve found the car seat.”
Kasey jumped to her feet and ran to Riley’s side. “Jake? Did they find him?” She wrapped her hands around Riley’s arm and tipped her head toward the phone, struggling to hear the conversation.
Riley took down the details then hung up the phone. “They recovered a car seat downstream. It’s Jake’s. That State Fair belt buckle of Nick’s is still hanging from the bracket.”
“He has to be nearby. Come on. We’ve got to be there when they find him.”
“Not so fast. They don’t know anything more yet. Von will keep us posted.” Riley led Kasey back to the couch and sat down next to her. “The best thing we can do right now is remain calm and let them do their jobs.”
Kasey buried her trembling fingers in her hair. Her heart ached for Nick and worried for Jake. “I’ll never make it through this.”
Chapter Four
Sheriff Scott Calvin took the information from the lead officer at the accident site and ran to his car. He’d worked in this county before he became Sheriff of nearby Adams Grove, so when he’d heard about the accident he’d wasted no time volunteering to help.
The tip was from Penny’s Candy and Soda Shoppe. The popular stop for folks traveling this stretch of highway was located just down the road from the scene of the accident.
Bells tinkled when he opened the door. He crossed the shiny black-and-white tiled floor and slid onto the stool at the end of the counter.
Penny smiled when she saw him. “Hey, stranger.” She grabbed a glass and filled it with root beer. “On the house.”
“You remembered.” He raised the glass and took an exaggerated sip.
“Of course. How’ve you been? You haven’t been down here in a while.”
“I’m here about the accident,” he said.
Penny leaned on the counter. “Heartbreaking,” she said shaking her head. “I still can’t believe it. They were in here, just before....” She pressed her lips together, and closed her eyes for a moment. “That poor woman.”
“I know. They told me you have the security tape.” He scrubbed the back of his neck. “If it proves that boy was with his dad, it’s like he’s vanished. There’s not a sign of him out there yet.”
Penny reached under the counter. “I remember the truck. Handsome guy. Cute little boy. I wouldn’t forget them. Here it is.” She handed Scott the tape. “If there’s anything else I can do, let me know. Posters, whatever.”
He took another sip of his soda, then picked up the tape and stood. “I will.” He tossed a couple of dollars on the counter. “Thanks, Penny.”
When Sheriff Calvin arrived back at the accident site, the swampy terrain had become slippery and dangerous. One of the rescue volunteers was on his way to the hospital with a possible broken leg. The river rose against the shoreline as the trees leaned over, slapping its surface with their branches. Blinding bands of rain from Hurricane Ernesto increased the risk and finally forced them to halt the search.
“I don’t have a choice,” the lead officer said to Sheriff Calvin.
Scott shook his head. “You don’t. You can’t risk any more lives.” He knew this was a hard decision to make, but the risk of more loss of life was too high to ignore.
He watched as the lead officer went out and made the announcement. Soaked men and women reluctantly filed out of the woods. There was nothing more they could do until Ernesto finished his punishment, but it was hard for anyone to leave knowing there was a child unaccounted for.
The team was thinking two steps ahead. Thank goodness, because there wouldn’t be much evidence left at the crash site except battered trees, and their story had already been told.
Scott helped pull together volunteers to work through the night in the safety of the precinct logging each piece of potential evidence from the bags of debris collected at the accident site. Even the smallest item could be critical in locating Jake Rolly. It was a slow and tedious process.
Ernesto pounded southeastern Virginia through the night, dumping over five inches of rain and toppling trees. Tens of thousands of residents lost power.
Damaging winds were a problem, but because Ernesto parked himself over the region, flooding had become the top concern. Rivers were expected to crest at new heights, and flash flood warnings crawled across the television screens of those who still had electricity.
By the end of day on Monday, the lead detective gave a public statement.
“We are continuing to examine the evidence and are determined to find Jake Rolly,” he said on camera from the police department in Southampton County. “We’ve partnered with neighboring counties, but we need your help. Anyone who has information should contact their local authorities.”
Assumptions and evidence nipped away at the corners. They would get to the root of what happened eventually. Tomorrow, as soon as the waters subsided, they’d canvas the neighboring shops and residents along Route 58. A small team would search the area one last time, but any evidence was lost to Ernesto.
Back in Pungo, Von worked his way out from Nick and Kasey’s house, trying to reconstruct Nick’s activities on the morning of the accident.
The clerk at the corner store nodded and bowed his head. “Yeah, I heard about the accident. Nick came in on Saturday. He’s in here every Saturday.”
Von knew that. Nick was a creature of habit. Always had been. “Was Jake with him?”
The clerk rubbed his moustache. “I can’t be sure if the little guy was with him or not. It was so busy. I’ve got the security tapes though. Give me a minute and I’ll get them for you.”
The clerk disappeared behind a security door an
d came out with a tape.
“It’s a start,” Von said. “I appreciate it.”
“Hey, anything I can do. Let me know.”
Von hurried out of the store. He needed to leave now if he was going to make it on time. He’d offered to take care of all the arrangements for Kasey. Nick had pre-paid and planned his funeral years ago, so it was just a matter of following that plan. Von had an appointment in thirty minutes with the funeral home. It was the least he could do for her. Burying a spouse was a torture he wished on no one.
He remembered only too well how unpredictable grief was. How it swept in and took you right off your feet with no warning. Everyone gave him unsolicited advice on how to navigate it; they’d do the same to Kasey. She’d have to find her own way—in her own time. A lesson he’d learned the hard way.
The funeral director was helpful, and a lot smoother than when he’d had to go through it for Deidre. Of course, he’d been in a fog then.
With all the details finalized, Von headed home. Losing Nick brought on a familiar grief that burned in his chest like a raw, gaping wound. It was like reliving losing Deidre all over again. But if Jake was out there, the most important thing he could do for Nick was find his boy. That was all he could think about the whole ride home.
He walked into the house feeling tired and impatient. His specialized skills weren’t getting him anywhere with this case. Maybe it was true that you shouldn’t work on cases you were too close to. The video tape tucked in his pocket was the only glimmer of hope he had. He tossed his hat on his desk, and inserted the video surveillance into the player. The date stamp was blank. The clerk had warned him that the power had gone off that week and he hadn’t reset the recorder yet. Von wasn’t sure why he even bothered looking at the tape, except that any hope was better than none, and there were no other leads to follow.
Von rubbed his hand across his chin as he pressed the buttons on the remote, fast-forwarding, then rewinding, then pausing to analyze the less than perfect images as people came and went. The process was slow.
After numerous stops and starts, a familiar image caught his eye. He pressed the Pause button and moved closer to the screen.
Frame by frame, he watched his best friend push open the glass door. Nick was dressed in a camo t-shirt and a ball cap, with a junior version of himself clinging to his hand.
Jake.
Von settled on the edge of his desk, rewound the tape, watched it again, and let it play out. He watched Nick and Jake walk to the counter and then leave the store together. He rewound the tape and played the scene again, and then again.
“This is too much.”
It was bad enough Nick was gone, but no man could bear to think of a young boy like Jake in danger or hurt...or worse.
He bowed his head. The loss was like a steel weight, empty and cold in his gut.
“Damn it, Nick,” Von said to the screen. “This isn’t enough to go on.” He pounded his fist on the desk. “Help me find him, man. Point me to a clue. Where is he?”
Von pitched the remote against the wall, then headed to his truck.
Chapter Five
Over the past few days, Kasey’s life had moved on without her having a say. She couldn’t manage to make even the simplest decisions. Nick was gone. Jake had disappeared. She replayed the news and the chain of events that followed in her mind a thousand times, wishing for an answer. None of it made sense. Her faith in God wavered in the wake of the unimaginable string of events.
The morning of Nick’s funeral, Kasey rode to the church in the limo, then sat in the chapel with Riley and Von and a hundred other people who had loved Nick. The names of people she knew escaped her, which was just as well, because she couldn’t seem to get any words out. It was nearly too much to breathe, much less talk. She wasn’t sure if she could speak even if she tried.
She could barely take a breath at the sight of the rose-colored wooden casket. Masses of colorful wreaths and sprays filled the front of the large chapel. It made the heavy casket appear to hover above a meadow of flowers. An enlarged copy of the black-and-white portrait of Nick, with Jake on his hip, was propped on an easel—the same picture she kept on her mantel. Her favorite.
The preacher stood at the front, speaking—saying something. It didn’t matter what. She wasn’t ready to listen to him.
God, you took Nick and left me behind. But why, if not to take care of our son? How could our sweet Jake disappear without a trace? How could you let this happen? Help me. Please, help me.
Sorrow hung heavy in the packed chapel.
How long had the preacher been talking? His words were meant to comfort, but they didn’t. Each word felt like a knife cutting into her heart. If she could move her legs, she’d run right up the aisle and out the door. Away. As far away from the pain as she could get. But her legs weren’t moving. She felt paralyzed, glued to the pew, wondering why she bothered to breathe. The alternative seemed more appealing right now, except she knew Jake needed her.
She’d find him.
She had to.
One by one, people came to the front of the chapel, stepping up to share their stories about Nick. It gnawed at her gut to share the moment, afraid her own precious memories would be lost in their voices. She looked in their direction, but through them, avoiding their memories—concentrating on anything but their words.
She nodded in an attempt to look appreciative. That was the best she could do.
The organist played The Wind Beneath My Wings. The first three notes took Kasey’s breath away. There was no wind, no air. Her own wings had been clipped.
She’d been blessed to share a true love with Nick, a love that had come without effort. But now she felt cursed to have known that love. Alfred Lord Tennyson was a fool. It was not better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. If she hadn’t loved Nick with every part of her being, she wouldn’t be so devastated now.
“You okay?” Riley rubbed Kasey’s arm.
“Numb,” Kasey whispered.
There were so many people. Nick had been well-known, well-liked, for his many contributions to the community. She knew that, but the number of people here today overwhelmed her. She didn’t want to share this private moment between her and Nick and God.
Kasey clutched a handkerchief between trembling fingers. No lace, no embroidery, just one of Nick’s that she’d pulled out from a load of laundry he’d left in the dryer. A point they’d often debated. Nick would leave clothes in the dryer so long that the wrinkles baked in. She’d have to iron or rewash them, and she wasn’t a fan of ironing. The hanky she held had been a wrinkled mess even before she’d balled it in her hand.
The funeral ended, and Riley wrapped her arm around Kasey. “It’s time to move outside.”
Kasey’s hands shook. She grabbed Riley’s arm and they left the church.
The sky was bright and the air warm. They rode in the black funeral sedan to the inescapable moment ahead.
Mourners crowded the cemetery, dressed in dark and muted colors. They seemed to move more slowly and more quietly than normal. Or maybe it was just Kasey’s brain working slower, resistant to the changes in her life.
Riley and Von sat on either side of her, near Nick’s casket.
The prayers were short and heartbreaking.
Each pallbearer tucked his boutonniere into the full spray of flowers that covered the coffin, then the crowds peeled away from the burial plot.
But Kasey couldn’t leave—not yet. She stood and walked to the side of the coffin, slid her hands under the blanket of flowers, and laid her cheek on the smooth wood of the casket. Von and Riley came to her side as the others headed for their cars.
They would receive guests at the farmhouse. Kasey wasn’t keen on the idea, but Nick would’ve wanted it that way.
“Kasey, honey.” Riley tried to bring her attention to the present. “Do you recognize that man?” She pointed to their right.
Kasey lifted her gaze from the casket and t
urned to look.
A very tall man, dressed in black, walked toward them. He had one of his hands shoved deep in the pocket of his trousers, pulling his jacket aside and exposing his slim hip and long stride. Dark glasses rested on his perfect nose.
Even through the tears, Kasey recognized the silhouette. But it didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be. Her mind must be mixing images from the recent weeks.
She blinked and refocused.
It was him. Kasey grabbed Riley’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay.” She walked to meet him halfway.
He took both her hands in his—his were warm.
“You’re in all of our prayers.” Cody Tuggle’s deep voice came out slow and calming.
“How did you know?”
“It’s been all over the news.”
“Why did you come?”
He looked at the ground, pushing the toe of his boot in the grass. “I just knew I needed to. It had to be devastating news to come home to.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “If there’s anything I can do to help find Jake...or anything, let me know.”
Her shoulders folded forward as she tried to drag in air, sobbing into her hands. Cody caught her by the elbow as her knees gave way. Riley ran toward them.
“I got her.” Cody swept Kasey into his arms.
Riley pointed to where Von stood just thirty feet away next to a black limo. Cody nodded and carried Kasey to the car. Von opened the door, and Cody released her onto the soft leather of the back seat.
“Thank you.” Kasey squinted against the glare of the sun as she peered out of the limo at Cody. “I’m so —”
“Shhhsh. Now who’s talking too much?”
She gave him a half smile.
Von shut the door.
Cody extended his hand to Von. “Cody Tuggle. Kasey just finished a shoot with us the morning of the accident.”
“Nice of you to come.”
“Anything I can do?” Cody asked.