Here We Come (Aggie's Inheritance)

by Chautona Havig

  He chuckled. “You should have seen Luke’s face over that one. One minute you were asleep on that pillow and the next you just sat up and flopped down with your head on my leg. Every time I tried to move, you got restless, so we let you sleep.”

  “Awkward.”

  “You’re telling me. I just endured two and a half hours of glare from Luke.”

  It killed her to ask, but she had to know. “Any updates? Any word at all?”

  “None. Sorry.”

  “Is it on the news?”

  “Yes. The Amber Alert, of course.”

  She nodded and flipped open her phone. “Did Dad call?”

  “Yes. He said not to mention it to your mother yet. He kept the news off.”

  Torn between hearing her father’s voice and knowing he couldn’t hide the conversation well, Aggie’s eyes shifted between cell phone and laptop. “Can you get me a cup of coffee? It’s gonna be a long night.” She stuffed her phone in her pocket and flipped open her computer.

  “Aggie, you need to try to get some more sleep. There’s nothing you can do for her if you’re worn out.”

  “I need to talk to my father. If you won’t get me coffee, I’ll get it myself.”

  “I’ll get it, I’ll get it.”

  It seemed to take forever for the laptop to boot, the internet to connect, and her messenger program to sign in. The box popped up with an offline message the moment she connected.

  Milliken says: Ding me as soon as you can. Anxious for news.

  Milliken says: Aggie?

  Aggie says: Dad. I’m here. What have you heard?

  Milliken says: Just that Ellie was taken by a man in a blue truck who is average height with brown hair.

  Aggie says: The people who saw him thought it was Luke.

  Milliken says: Impossible.

  Aggie says: Luke’s truck is clean of fingerprints. Ellie’s hat was in there, but she wasn’t wearing it today. She left it at his sister’s house a week ago. He was just bringing it back.

  Milliken says: I thought Geraldine until I heard the description.

  Aggie says: So did Luke. He just assumed. I think I didn’t want to think about it. I was sure she was with him for some kind of surprise until he said he didn’t have her.

  Milliken says: I can bring Mom if you need us. I’d rather not overtax her.

  Aggie says: I need both of you, but I’m going to need you even more if the worst happens. I can’t handle looking for Ellie, taking care of the kids, and worrying about Mom.

  Aggie says: How long before you tell her?

  Milliken says: Tomorrow night. I can keep her off the news and field calls that long, but then she’ll start to get suspicious. I don’t want to risk someone telling her before I can.

  Aggie says: That sounds wise.

  Milliken says: I know what you’re thinking, Aggie, and you’re

  wrong.

  Aggie says: What am I thinking?

  Milliken says: Allie wouldn’t have lost a kid. If Allie were here, this couldn’t have happened. Allie was the perfect mom. I am a failure. I should have these kids taken away from me.

  Milliken says: Oh, and EPIC FAIL!

  Aggie says: LOL. I needed that last one.

  Milliken says: And it’s all a lie. It could happen to anyone.

  Aggie says: Not if I don’t let a nine-year-old ride off to the library.

  Milliken says: You sent her to the library alone?

  Aggie says: No! Vannie and Laird went with her. She went back outside for her library card.

  Milliken says: Then you were a responsible parent who had a normal childhood thing turn into a tragedy. Just like moms who have eight year olds playing in the back yard—fenced—and go check on them five minutes later and the kid is gone. It happens.

  Aggie says: Why does it always happen to me?

  Milliken says: You have more opportunities for it, Aggs. It’s just life.

  Aggie says: Daddy?

  Milliken says: Yeah?

  Aggie says: I have news vans camped out on our street. I can’t see Mrs. Dyke’s house for the traffic out there.

  Milliken says: It’s ok. Let them do their job. You do yours. You pray, you take care of those other kids, you sing, you pray some more, and God’ll take care of the rest.

  Aggie says: He didn’t take care of Ellie.

  Milliken says: I’m calling Luke. You go hug that man. Listen to

  him. Let him carry this.

  Aggie says: It’s not his burden.

  Milliken says: Don’t be a fool. Of course it is. He is as married to you as you can be without actually being married. Now go get that hug. Pretend part of it is from me.

  Milliken says: Love you.

  Aggie says: Love you. I’m sorry.

  Milliken says: You’ve no need to be. Go. Scat.

  Before Aggie could stand, Luke’s feet came crashing down the stairs and she found herself crushed in his arms. “Let’s pray, Mibs.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dead End

  Tuesday, January 20th

  Huddled reporters stood outside the split-rail fence that separated Aggie’s house from the street. Men holding large video cameras swept them across the property, down the street, and Aggie had even seen them around the side of the house from the highway. According to Tina, most of the newscasts were positive, but a few more sensationalist stations harped on the excessive number of children and if it was possible to give them all the level of care and supervision they needed.

  Inside, William seated himself across from Aggie and Luke, ready to share some of the information that they’d learned in hopes it would trigger some kind of memory or idea. “It’s been about thirty hours. The first twenty-four hours are so crucial—” Aggie’s face fell, but William shook his head. “No, really. We do have some information that is going to help.”

  “But no ransom demand. After twenty-four hours and no demand, what are the chances?”

  “Chances of what, Aggie.”

  “Don’t,” Luke rasped. “Don’t. Just let them do their jobs and leave it in God’s hands, Mibs.”

  “I can’t do that! I have to prepare myself. I want to know. At what point in a stranger abduction is too long to expect a ransom call?”

  “Now is too long for a ransom, most likely.”

  Her eyelids closed and lay still for several seconds until at last, she forced them open again. She sat up just a little straighter, grabbed Luke’s hand for support, tried to take a deep breath, and asked, “Is it twenty-four or forty-eight hours that means finding her alive is not likely anymore?”

  “Somewhere in there, but Aggie the majority of kidnapping victims are returned safely. We’ll find this guy. We’ll bring her home. It’s my job. I won’t let you or that little girl down.”

  “Oh, William. You can’t promise that. I love that you tried, but you can’t. Don’t—”

  “What other information do you have for us, William? What’d you learn today that you can share.”

  Luke’s diversion worked. Aggie’s face rearranged itself from despair to hope. “Did you learn anything?”

  “We did a little digging on Mrs. Stuart. First, did you know the restraining order expired the ninth?”

  Aggie’s eyes grew wide. “Really? I forgot all about it.”

  “I’d take care of that tomorrow if I were you. You do not want her to show up here. It could be even worse than you can imagine with the cameras out there.”

  “Ok, I’ll go into Rockland in the morning. What else?”

  William paced the room, recounting his visit with Douglas Stuart. Aggie watched as the veins on the man’s neck pulsated with his apparent fury. While he told of the man’s confusion, Aggie’s heart squeezed to hear he spent most of the interview asking where his wife and son were. A new lump filled her throat as she learned that his wife hadn’t been to see him since Thanksgiving.

  “How can she do that? It’s her husband! He saved her from poverty and this is how she re
pays him?”

  “I don’t know. We didn’t find her at home. No one answered the door and there were no signs of anyone there.”

  “Maybe she’ll be there tomorrow.”

  “Maybe. We’ve got a cruiser driving by every couple of hours. If she shows up, we’re going to question her.” The determination in his voice was fierce.

  Before anyone could speak, Vannie clattered down the stairs, tears running down her face. “I think you should come up. Tavish is really upset and he won’t talk to anyone.”

  Aggie left the men in the living room and dragged herself upstairs. As she passed the bathroom mirror, her eyes met Laird’s while he was brushing his teeth. The pain and confusion in them nearly broke her heart. The other face in the mirror—hers she supposed—looked like a stranger. Dark circles rimmed her eyes and disheveled hair gave her the appearance of one of the homeless people on the streets of Rockland. Her arm jerked toward Tavish’s and Ian’s room as Vannie dragged her along the hallway.

  In one corner of his bed, Tavish lay curled on his side in a tight ball. His body shook with sobs, but his eyes and face were dry. When she touched him, he whimpered, drawing back as if afraid of a beating. “Tavish?”

  There was no reply. Snow fell outside the window, a cruel beauty to contrast with the tormented hell they all felt they endured. She watched flake after flake fall, creating that wonderful blanket of silence that hushes the world after snowfall. For one brief moment, it seemed as if the Lord had added a little soundproofing in order for them to hear Ellie’s cries for help.

  Aggie wept. Little arms wrapped around her and her nephew—her son—who had seemed such a little man just the previous week, now crawled into her lap like a small child. “It’s all my fault. I should have gone. She’s not coming back. I just know she’s not coming back and it’s all my fault.”

  “Shh, it’s not your fault,” Aggie sobbed. “No one could have prevented this. I think if it wasn’t yesterday, it would have been today or tomorrow. Maybe it should have been last week, but she had a cold and was inside. For some reason, this had to happen.”

  “But she’s gone!”

  A voice, Laird’s, from the doorway called to her. “Aunt Aggie?”

  “Hmm?”

  Tavish sat up abruptly and shook his head, but Laird continued. “He was listening on the stairs.”

  “Laird!”

  “She needed to know. Sometimes you have to choose between doing what will hurt someone now or what will hurt them for a long time.”

  Fresh sobs wracked Tavish’s body, but this time, hot tears fell as well. “Daddy used to say that.”

  “Well, now I see why. It’s true.”

  Aggie chose to ignore the brewing argument and focus on the overheard conversation. “What did you hear, Tavish?”

  “You said that after twenty-four hours…”

  Every song she’d ever sung to comfort herself seemed just out of grasp. Every verse that had ever admonished and rebuked her crashed down on her head. She was drowning in her own condemnation and didn’t know how to swim to the top to be free.

  “Did you stay? Did you hear what William said?”

  “No.”

  “He said that the majority of children who go missing are returned alive—safe. We have to trust that Ellie will return. We have to.”

  “What if she doesn’t?”

  Her eyes closed once more as if to block out the idea. She swallowed, took a deep breath, and swallowed again. “Tavish, I can’t think about that right now. Right now, I need to focus on what I can do to keep the rest of you safe and to help bring her home. If the Lord shows us that she’s not coming back, well, we’ll deal with that then.”

  “She’s my sister!”

  Aggie’s spine grew rigid. She sat up, squared her shoulders, and gripped the boy’s face by his chin. “Look at me, young man. Yes, she is your sister; you may even be closer to her than the rest of us, but you are not alone in your pain. Vannie was a mini mommy to both of you. She’s Laird’s first baby sister. She’s the others’ older sister and they love her dearly. She’s my niece—my wonderful big sister’s daughter—” Her voice cracked, fresh tears falling down her face. “She’s my daughter now—just as if I’d given birth and raised her. She’s Luke’s beloved little Ellie. Don’t you dare act as if your pain is somehow superior to ours. You get under those covers. Turn out that light. And you pray. Pray for that little girl. Pray that God would give the police wisdom. Pray that whoever has her will repent and bring her back to us.”

  “I—”

  Her next words cut him off almost before he started. “And then you pray that if the Lord already has her home in his arms, if your parents are already rejoicing to see one of their children again, you pray we can find a way to accept it without losing our faith. Do you understand me, young man?”

  “Yes, Aunt Aggie.”

  “Go to sleep.”

  She stormed from the room, anxious not to lose anymore of her control. As she passed the other children staring shocked in the hallway, she waved them to their rooms. “Get in your beds. You all pray too. Go to sleep.”

  Tina stood at the head of the stairs. “Aggie, I really think that was a bit harsh—”

  “Please go tuck them in, Tina. I’ve got something to do.”

  She descended the stairs, pausing on each step to gather a little more courage and trying to smooth her hair. It was futile, and she knew it. At the closet, she shoved her feet into her boots, grabbed her coat, and pulled a stocking cap over her head. Luke and William called out for her, but she opened the door and stepped outside.

  Halfway down the driveway, the men finally caught her, but Aggie ignored them. Luke grabbed her arm and begged her to come inside, but her voice was reinforced with steel as she said, “Don’t, Luke. Come and support me or go back, but don’t ask me not to do this.”

  “You can’t say anything related to the investigation, Aggie. It’ll compromise—”

  “I don’t intend to, William. If you hear me start to say something, squeeze my arm or something.”

  Reporters scrambled from their news vans, peppering her with questions before she could get close enough to be heard. She walked up to the edge of the fence and waited until they’d all assembled. The din was incredible for such a small group in a world hushed with the thickening snow beneath their feet. Not one question did she answer. Not one reporter was acknowledged. At last the group quieted to an occasional murmur between reporter and his or her camera man.

  “I have a statement.”

  Questions erupted again. “Has there been a ransom demand?”

  “Is it true that your fiancée is a suspect?”

  “Do you think she’s still alive?”

  That question earned the woman who asked a growl of protest from the men on each side of her. Desperate to say her piece and get back into the warm house, she held up her hand and shouted, “I’m making a statement and leaving. You can either have that or nothing. The next person who interrupts me ends this.”

  She waited until she knew they were listening, every camera and microphone trained on her. “Yesterday at approximately two-thirty, my niece was abducted in front of the Brant’s Corners library. Eyewitnesses saw a man who looks like my fiancée and who was driving a similar truck pull over, speak to her, and retrieve her bicycle while she willingly got into his truck. The police have satisfied themselves that this man was not the man next to me. This means, we’re looking for someone else. Who or why, we don’t know. What I do know is that I want my niece back. I want Ellie home. I beg whoever has my child to bring her back to us. If you have a tip that leads to the arrest of the man or people who took her, I ask you to call the Rockland County Sheriff’s department or the FBI and tell them. I am offering a fifty thousand dollar reward to the first person who provides a tip that is substantiated and leads to the arrest of the criminals who are terrorizing my child. Thank you.”

  She turned and walked back to the house, ignor
ing the calls, pleas, and questions. William’s shocked grunt and Luke’s squeeze of support were both expected. Her actions, however, weren’t, and she knew it. Inside the house, she shed her boots and coat. The hat she clipped onto a “clothesline” hung over the washer and dryer in the laundry room. While the men stood in the doorway exchanging confused glances, she pulled towel after towel out of the dryer, folding them carefully, each wrinkle smoothed before the next fold. Never had her towels been handled as gently.

  “Leaning… leaning…” she choked, but forced herself to continue. “…secure from all alarms. Leaning… leaning, leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” Another towel snapped as she shook it before folding. “What have I to dread, what have I to fear…” Her hand reached into the dryer and pulled out a pair of colorful argyle leggings—Ellie’s favorites.

  William watched as Luke pulled Aggie into his arms and held her while she wept and then he shuffled down the hall and into the kitchen. He poured another cup of coffee, stared at it, and dumped it. The sobs grew louder, stronger, deeper. Each one twisted his heart until he thought it would explode with the pain. Where was the girl? Why her?

  “You ok?”

  Tina. She was amazing. She’d arrived in record time and installed herself back in her former room. She was a fireball with the press, fielding the never-ending phone calls, and researching ideas almost nonstop. “I’m ok. How about you?”

  She jerked her head in an emphatic negative. “I was better before Aggie lost it again.”

  “Did you sleep last night?”

  Again the shake, no. “Not much.”

  “Come on.” He laced her fingers through his—how small her hand was—and led her to the living room. “Got a favorite section?”

  “That one, why?”

  He gave her a quick once over and nodded at her shoes. “Take ‘em off. Your jacket too. I’ll be right back.” While she untied her shoes, William pulled the comforter and pillow from her bed and carried it back to the living room.

  “Why here?”

  “You’ll never fall asleep alone in that dark room. I’ll start a fire, and you’ll lay down and try to relax. Got an iPod or something?”