The Heavenly Grille Café (Heavenly Grille Cafe Book 1)

by J. T. Livingston

  The three Godly messengers lifted their heads at the same time and looked upward. Almost on cue, dozens of brilliant rainbows filled the space above them. They were made up of the most beautiful and indescribable shades of blue, yellow, green, and red. Bright rays of illuminating white and gold filtered through the rainbows. There was so much happiness, love, and joy in Heaven that it was impossible to feel sadness or disappointment; yet, the three angels all shared a deep void and heavy burden within their hearts and souls.

  Bertie exhaled deeply and looked at the two black men before her. Skin color was totally irrelevant in Heaven, and she had never really paid any attention to the color of their skin, but she had to admit to herself that they were indeed two of the blackest men she had ever seen. She sighed again and said, “I think the young people would say that this whole situation really sucks!” A pout began forming on her pursed, quivering lips. She wiped a tear from her eye, almost daring it to reappear. “Hell, I didn’t think angels were supposed to cry. Hell, I didn’t think there was supposed to be any more pain or sadness once we died and made it here. What gives?”

  Martin placed a hand gently upon her shoulder and started to speak. “Bertie, it’s not our place to…”

  Bertie shoved his hand away and punched his shoulder in return. “Don’t say it, Martin! Don’t you dare say it! I don’t want to hear how this is not God’s doing, that it’s man’s free will; that’s just a bunch of sh…”

  “B-E-R-T-I-E!”

  Bertie jumped because she knew immediately that, this time, the deep, melodic voice had not come from either Max or Martin. It was not a threatening voice, but Bertie knew beyond a doubt that she was walking on thin ice in Heaven today. She threw caution to the wind, though, threw up her hands, and shouted as loudly as she could, “BUT, WHHYYYYY…” She didn’t really expect an answer so she wasn’t really surprised when she didn’t receive one. She flashed a sheepish grin toward Max and Martin. “Guess that was pretty stupid of me, huh?” She wiped away another tear.

  Max smiled and nodded. “A little…yes. You might want to try to temper and maintain better control of your emotions, especially here at Home.” He kissed the top of her head and pulled her into a side embrace.

  Martin joined in their circle. We can’t question why this happened. We just have to believe that it has happened for… whatever reason. We don’t have to accept and understand the reason, but we do have to help those involved to get through it. No matter what happens… no matter how it ends.”

  Bertie nodded. “I know… I know… and, I’m sorry for my outburst.” She looked upward and placed her hands together in prayer. “I truly am sorry, Lord. It’s just that…well, I just feel so helpless. I mean, why can’t we find out who these people are? What good are all our powers and Godly connections if we can’t even find them?”

  Max and Martin shared a look that Bertie, being more than a foot shorter than both men, missed.

  “Bertie… we do know who they are,” Max answered, at the same time, holding her at arms’ length and looking deeply into her eyes.

  Bertie searched his dark chocolate eyes and immediately knew the answer. “It’s that couple, isn’t it? The two that gave us the willies that day in the café? The ones who raised the hair on our arms? The ones Doug saw at the hospital? It’s them, isn’t it? She didn’t give Max a chance to answer back. “I knew it…I could feel something evil about them.”

  Max shook his head. “They are not evil, Bertie.”

  “The Hell they’re not!” Bertie shouted.

  “B-E-R-T-I-E!”

  Bertie raised both hands in surrender. “I really am sorry… again, Lord! Old habits die hard.”

  “In your case,” Martin harrumphed, “They continue into eternity…”

  Bertie ignored Martin’s criticism of her old habits. “Okay, Max, I’m listening. You say they’re not evil? Then, what? Are they poor lost sheep trying to find their way back to God, are they confused, misdirected? What? Please…share with me what excuse you have for these two people. I’d love to know.”

  Max smiled patiently. “Are you ready to listen, or do you want to get something else off your chest?”

  Bertie closed her eyes and took another deep breath. “No. I really am sorry, fellas. I don’t know what’s come over me. I’ve never had this reaction before regarding any of our earthly assignments. It just all seems so… what’s the word they use today… surreal - even for angels.”

  She opened her eyes and stared at Max’s warm, comforting presence. “Okay, really…I’m ready to listen now. I know I need to settle down and come to grips with this situation, or I’m not going to be able to help Amanda and Kris get through whatever happens.”

  Every inhabitant of Heaven had their own individual mansion but there were no real “rooms” in any of the common areas - just lots and lots of wide open space. Max led Bertie to a small corner area to the right of the space they currently occupied. “I’m glad you recognize that fact. Come over here, Bertie, and watch this.”

  There was a large white, round table in the corner, with a glass top that resembled a television screen. The three angels encircled the table and Max waved his hand slowly across the top.

  “Oh, my God!” Bertie gasped when an image of Charlotte Grace appeared on the glass top. Bertie recognized her immediately, in spite of the baby’s darker hair. Bertie knew that it was Charlotte Grace being diapered and sang to by the woman Bertie had seen in the café – the woman who Bertie had been sure was dying.

  “You see,” Martin smiled. “The baby is fine. She is safe.”

  Bertie’s eyes were glued to the screen. She continued to watch as the woman picked Charlotte up and danced around the room with her. Bertie’s eyes filled with tears when she heard the baby laugh and coo with every twist and turn.

  Bertie looked at Max, her expression full of questions, but she was powerless to speak. No words escaped her trembling lips.

  Max nodded in understanding. “The couple is Jack and Susan Peterson. They have taken the baby to their new home in Tampa, Florida. I am assuming it is not just a mere coincidence that the foreclosed home they just purchased and moved into is the same home that our Amanda grew up in. Regardless, you were right about Susan. She is dying. She has never smoked a cigarette in her life but she was exposed to second hand smoke during her entire childhood and life at home. She is dying from non-small cell lung cancer.”

  “What? Are we supposed to feel sorry for her now?” Bertie fluttered her hands in front of her face. “Forget I said that.” She took a deep breath as she continued watching Charlotte Grace. Bertie reached out to grasp the little fingers that were reaching toward Susan Peterson. “So, I’m guessing the cancer is terminal?” she asked. “I never realized non-smokers were at risk for lung cancer.”

  “Actually,” Martin began in explanation, “Ninety percent of all lung cancers are caused by smoking; of the remaining ten percent of lung cancers not caused by active smoking, as many as twenty-five percent of the tumors are caused by second-hand smoke.”

  Bertie looked at him and almost grinned. “Well, aren’t we just a fountain of medical knowledge…”

  “Well,” Martin continued, “The sad truth is that we have far too many souls among us who could have lived much longer lives on earth had it not been for the effects of smoking. Nasty, nasty habit, I say; never did understand the attraction of filling our lungs with polluted smoke…nasty, nasty habit…”

  “Okay, okay, you’ve educated me about lung cancer,” Bertie motioned with a bit of impatience creeping into her voice. “Now, tell me more about Jack and Susan Peterson. Will they be caught? Will we get Charlotte Grace back? And what the Hell have they done to that child’s hair?”

  “B-E-R-T-I-E!”

  “Jeez!” Bertie whispered under her breath. “What am I supposed to do? Super glue my lips together?”

  “Now that’s an intriguing idea…” Martin mumbled.

  Max and Martin looked at each other a
nd suddenly began to laugh – something none of them had done much of during the past three days.

  Max shook his head. “You know we don’t have the answers to those questions, Bertie; just as you know that we cannot, and will not, share any of this information with the humans back on earth. I merely showed this to you because I was concerned about your own spirituality. You needed to be reassured that God truly does know what He is doing. You, also, needed to be reminded that it is NOT our place to question His decisions.”

  Bertie pouted for only a moment before nodding her head in agreement. “I know all that, I do…but…that doesn’t make it any easier to bear.”

  Max smiled back at her. “It might also give you more discomfort to know that we do not know WHY the Petersons took the baby.” He pulled his broad shoulders back and lifted his chin. “At least not yet.”

  Bertie grinned at Max. It was so easy for her to envision the gladiator that he was in his human life when he threw back his massive shoulders the way only he could do. “So…do we know how long Susan Peterson has to live?” Bertie asked. “That might give us some hope about when Charlotte Grace might be returned to Kris.”

  Martin shook his head. “No, Bertie… that is not for us to know… it is between her and God.”

  “Are they Christians?” Bertie asked, naturally assuming there was no way that could be possible.

  “As a matter of fact, yes… they are.” Max answered back. “They are good people who made a very bad decision. We can make assumptions all day long about why they did what they did, but in the end, all we can do is wait and to be there to help Kris and Amanda through this.”

  “So what you’re really saying is that there’s no way to tell if this is going to have a happy ending?” Bertie looked back and forth between her two mentors. “Oh, for God’s sake, please tell me there’s going to be a happy ending…”

  “That, too, is not our place to know. We can only pray that there will be,” Martin replied.

  “Then what the Hell are we waiting for?” Bertie practically shouted. “Get on your knees, fellas, on your knees!”

  “B-E-R-T-I-E…”

  This time, Bertie was almost sure she detected a chuckle in HIS voice.

  “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects.”

  -Job 5:17 (NKVJ)

  CHAPTER 23

  One Week After the Kidnapping

  A series of events transpired during the week following the baby’s kidnapping: the police had interviewed dozens of people; hundreds of tips had been reported through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children hotline; Danny Raye had been found sitting in an Atlanta, Georgia jail cell and eliminated as a person of interest; Kris had done three television interviews, begging the kidnappers to return Charlotte Grace; and, Andrew Brown had passed peacefully, in his sleep, into the loving and welcoming arms of His Father.

  Kris’ employer, Al Jernigan, had told her not to worry about her job and that she should focus on her daughter. He even continued to pay her basic salary but it really wasn’t needed because the truckers’ jar at the Heavenly Grille had tripled its normal weekly currency. Every trucker who frequented the café had spread the news about Kris and Charlotte among themselves; and, every trucker was keeping an eye out for a little red-haired baby, wherever their travels took them.

  It was six o’clock in the morning of Friday, December twenty-third. The two roommates were watching Kris’ latest television interview on the local early morning news when their cell phones rang simultaneously. They both jumped, grabbed their phones, and moved to opposite ends of the room, hoping…dreading…that one of the calls would bring news about Charlotte Grace.

  Dean was on the other end of Kris’ call.

  “Dean! Any news? Please tell me you’ve found something… heard something… anything.”

  It broke Dean’s heart to hear the total desperation in Kris’ voice. “Kris, I’m getting off work in a few minutes and will be over then; but, I wanted to let you know that the Tallahassee police did find something last night.”

  “What?” Kris asked with a dreaded tone, pressing the phone closer against her ear. Surely if it was something bad, Dean would have waited and told her in person. “Just, please... don’t tell me they’ve found a baby’s body…” she couldn’t help thinking.

  “Well, it seems that some kids were horsing around in a rest stop just off I-75, near Tallahassee, and knocked over one of the trash bins. Evidently the county waste collectors didn’t do a good job of collecting all the trash last week. The bin was full, but something caught the parents’ attention. They had seen your interviews on television so they became suspicious when they saw the soiled diaper, baby clothes, and…a man’s running shoe.”

  “Oh…my…God…” Kris’ hand flew to her mouth and she slid down to the floor, drawing her knees in to her chest.

  Amanda had been talking to Doug, but hung up her cell phone and rushed over to where Kris crouched. She kneeled down beside her best friend and asked, “What? What’s happened?”

  Kris’ wide eyes stared back in shock but she held up her hand to quiet Amanda. She blew out a deep breath and put the cell phone back to her ear. “What else did they find, Dean?” She was almost certain she didn’t really want to know the answer to that question.

  Dean recognized the fear in her cracking voice and was quick to reassure her. “Easy, Kris. There was no sign of Charlotte Grace. And we don’t know for sure if the clothing and shoe are related, but we’re pretty confident they might be. The reason I’m calling… Kris… they need you to see if you can identify the clothing. I’m sorry… I wish you didn’t have to do this.”

  Kris nodded and barely suppressed the sob threatening to escape her throat. “No, it’s okay… I can do that.”

  “Good,” Dean responded. “I’ll pick you up in about an hour and take you to the police department in Tallahassee; I don’t want you driving there by yourself… if that’s okay with you?”

  Kris choked on a sob. “That’s more than okay, Dean. Thank you…so much. I’ll be waiting, but…please hurry.” Kris ended the call and stared into Amanda’s questioning face. “They, uh…they think they may have found Charlotte’s clothing, and the man’s shoe… at a rest stop off the interstate near Tallahassee…”

  “Tallahassee?” Amanda whispered. “Well, that’s good news, isn’t it? I mean, the police have been speculating that the kidnappers, most likely, headed north, out of Florida.”

  Kris shrugged her tired shoulders. “Yeah, maybe, I don’t know. They’ve been focusing their search in Georgia and Alabama. Of course, by now, who knows? They could be anywhere.” Kris shook her head. “I don’t understand, though…why haven’t they been able to find the car?”

  Amanda sighed. “I don’t know… so… did I hear you right? Dean is coming over?”

  Kris pushed up to a standing position and wiped away her tears. “Yeah, he’s taking me to the Tallahassee Police Department, where they’re keeping the items for now. They need me to identify the clothing.” She attempted, but failed, to choke back another heart-wrenching sob.

  “Then, I’m going with you.” Amanda said, folding her friend’s hands into her own.

  Kris shook her head. “No, that’s okay, Amanda… really. One of us needs to stay here in case something else comes up. Besides… I know you need to get ready for work… and today is Andrew’s funeral. I really wanted to go to that.”

  Amanda nodded. “Yeah, the café will be closing at two o’clock so that everyone can attend.”

  Kris looked at Amanda. “I feel so bad about the things I said and thought about Andrew. I don’t know how long this trip will take, but if we finish up in time, I’ll ask Dean to bring me to the funeral.”

  “We’re all meeting back at the café after the funeral for a… celebration of Andrew’s life,” Amanda reminded her. “If you don’t finish in time for the funeral, then maybe you and Dean can stop by the café.”

  Kris only nodded as she made
her way to her bedroom to change clothes.

  Amanda watched the woman who had become like a sister to her turn around and walk into the bedroom. It broke her heart to see Kris’ slumped shoulders but she knew that her friend would never give up looking for her baby, no matter how long it took. It was Amanda’s job to make sure that Kris never gave up hope. Her parents had told her that in another dream the day after the kidnapping. They told her that it would be up to her to instill faith and hope in Kris – a tall order, especially since Kris was more down on God than ever since the kidnapping. Amanda had tried to get Kris to pray with her on several occasions, but Kris had not wanted any part of a God who would allow something like this to happen to an innocent baby.

  Amanda’s cell phone rang. It was Doug calling again. Amanda told him about the phone call that Kris had received from Dean. They spoke for a few minutes before Amanda hung up, showered, and dressed for work. She took a change of clothing for the funeral. On her way out the door, she glanced down at her Bible laying on the end table beside the love seat. She had highlighted one of her favorite passages the night before, Isaiah 41:10... “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Amanda closed her eyes in a quick, silent prayer, “Please be with Kris, today, and Lord… she needs your strength and your love more than she knows. Please… help me… show me how to help her…”

  Kris came out of her own room just as Amanda was about to close the front door.

  Amanda turned to her and said. “I love you, Kris. Call me as soon as you finish.”