She pulled her focus from the ER door and turned her full attention to the call. “What was in the box?”
“Five journals. In them, he details his search for Lisa. Even explains why he was at the op when he was killed.”
“Did he say he knew my task force would be there?”
“No. Just that he was looking for a man named Sheldon Sharkey. Said this Sharkey fellow was working with the person who took Lisa.”
“What about killing Andrew Martin? Did Dad mention that?”
“Yeah. Once Martin was arrested for sexual assault, your dad started to believe Martin was involved in taking Lisa. Your father tried to prove it, but he couldn’t. His rage is obvious in his writing, and he said even if Martin wasn’t guilty of taking Lisa, he was guilty of victimizing that young girl. Your dad couldn’t abide Martin getting away with it.”
So he’d murdered a man. A relative at that.
She shuddered, her mind racing with crazy thoughts.
Had she known her father at all?
No. Clearly not. The man she knew wouldn’t commit murder. But then she couldn’t comprehend a parent’s turmoil after having a child abducted. To live year after year wondering. Waiting. Knowing if they were alive that they were in a horrible situation. Probably pleading with God. There would be anger. So much anger. Pain. Despair.
How had he gone on, day after day? Especially after her mother died. He talked to no one about it. He must’ve felt so very alone. If only he’d told Toni. She could’ve helped.
“Toni, you there?” Vance asked.
“Yeah, sorry.” She shook her head to clear the pain, the thoughts. “Thanks for mailing the journals.”
“No problem. And Toni. No matter what you’re feeling right now, know that your dad loved you very much. Talked about you all the time and about how proud he was of you.”
“Thanks, Vance.” She ended the call and pocketed her phone.
She had no time to think about that. The exam room door opened, and Lisa stepped out. Henry was hanging onto her, and Rachel was nearly glued to Lisa’s other side. Fear lingered in their eyes. They’d never experienced life in the real world. Shock and anxiety would be with them for some time.
Please help them. Please.
“Ready to go?” Toni made sure she sounded cheerful.
Lisa gave a sharp nod.
“Clay is waiting outside.” Toni got up from the bench. “He’ll drive us to the hotel.” She led the way through the busy ER to the exit. At the door, she spotted Clay in their vehicle idling at the curb. He’d dropped Drake off at his parents’ beach house and returned for them.
Lisa faced Toni. “We should let Grandma and Grandpa know I was found. Would you be okay with stopping by their place for a few minutes?”
“Tonight?” Toni asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to get some rest?”
“I think it’s important to face the situation head on.” Lisa lifted her chin, looking so like their father when he was resolute that it put an ache in Toni’s heart. She opened the door before she started crying and made things worse for her sister and kids.
Clay jumped out and came around the back. “I stopped at a store and got a car seat for Henry. I also saw the new guidelines for kids Rachel’s age suggesting they now ride in booster seats so got a booster seat for her. They’re both top-rated, so they’re good ones.”
“You did?” Lisa gaped at him. “That was very kind. Thank you.”
“Glad to do it,” Clay said. “If you need help buckling them up, let me know. I read the manual while you were inside.”
Lisa smiled at Clay, and Toni’s heart burst with pride over Clay’s consideration. He really was an amazing guy.
“We’re going to stop at our grandparents’ house,” Toni said to Clay.
He cocked an eyebrow but didn’t speak. Once everyone was settled, he got the SUV headed in the right direction.
Grandma and Grandpa. How foreign it felt to Toni to hear those words as related to her. She had no idea how she felt about them. Or how Lisa was feeling. If they’d told the police about Wilshire, would Lisa have been found years ago? Toni didn’t think Wilshire would’ve been honest about his relationship with Ursula, but the police could’ve questioned others about Wilshire and potentially learned about Ursula. It was a long shot, but possible.
So, were her grandparents off the hook? No, but they deserved to know that Lisa was alive and not just from some phone call or a visit by a deputy.
She looked over the seat at Lisa, who was twisting her hands together. “You sure you want to stop there?”
Lisa gave a firm nod.
Clay drove in silence, and Toni listened to the conversation going on in the back seat.
“We never had seats like these,” Rachel said.
“That’s because your dad didn’t know about them,” Lisa answered calmly.
Toni looked back to see Lisa’s mouth in a grim line.
“Do we really get to do what we want to do now?” Rachel asked. “No one is going to tell us to stop? Or take us away from you?”
Lisa stared at her daughter. “You’ll still have to listen to me.”
“Yeah,” Rachel said. “But I mean other people.”
Lisa clutched her hands together. “That’s kind of a tricky question. There are some people you need to listen to and obey. Like the police.”
“But Ursula said they’re bad.”
“Don’t believe anything Ursula has told you. She’s wrong, and she was trying to control you. No one can control you like she did.” Lisa brushed Rachel’s hair back from her forehead. “You’ll get it as time goes on, and I’ll be right there to help you.”
“I can help too.” Toni smiled at Rachel, but the child’s expression was filled with distrust.
Toni’s heart shredded even more. How could this happen to Lisa and these poor children? To all the people who were trafficked? Such a horrific crime. Just terrible. Now that it was so personal to Toni, she couldn’t handle this pain every day. Couldn’t keep working in this area.
Clay pulled into the driveway and parked near the house. A light shone through the living room window, and Toni glanced at Lisa. She looked frozen. Unable to move.
“Maybe I should go to the door,” Toni said. “And have them come out here to talk to you.”
Lisa gave a wooden nod.
“Be right back.” As Toni opened her door, Clay squeezed her hand. She smiled at him, but her heart was so broken for Lisa and the kids that she had to force it.
She rushed up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell.
Her grandfather opened the door, his face haggard and tired. “Never expected to see you again.”
“I’m sorry for leaving things the way I did.” Toni searched for the right words. “I’m trying to figure this all out.”
“I understand.”
“Walt? Who is it?” Her grandmother stepped up behind her grandfather.
“Oh, Toni. Oh.” A smile lit her face.
“I have someone in the car I want you to see.”
“If this is about Nolan Wilshire,” her grandfather said.
“I’ll explain about him later, but first, come with me.” She didn’t wait to see if they followed but marched to the SUV and opened the back door.
Lisa slid out.
“Grandma and Grandpa,” she said. “It’s me. Lisa.”
29
On Sunday afternoon, Toni sat in a hotel suite in a place just down the road from Joy’s damaged hotel, listening to the waves curling up on the beach, and trying to forgive her grandparents. She’d attended a beach sunrise service under a cool but misty sky that morning with her grandparents, Lisa, and her children. Lisa had already forgiven them for holding information back on Nolan Wilshire, so why couldn’t Toni? Maybe it was because Lisa had known her grandparents in her childhood and loved them.
She studied Lisa, who was calmly reviewing their father’s journals. She’d been calm ever since she was reunited with Rachel.
Not happy. Not sad. Just an even calm that felt a bit eerie. Maybe it was a coping mechanism Lisa had developed over the years. Toni wanted to ask, but she wouldn’t put Lisa on the spot.
Thankfully, most of the girls they’d discovered at the barn had been reunited with their families, and a special FBI task force was working to identify the girls whose photos were found in Rader’s garage. They were also working on the videos, and Toni couldn’t be happier that she was still on leave and didn’t have to view them again. She wasn’t sure what she would do once her leave ended other than to talk to her supervisor about moving to a different unit.
Lisa looked up. “Dad really didn’t stop looking for me, did he?”
“No.”
Her eyes creased, the first sign of real pain. “Why didn’t they tell you about me?”
“I wondered the same thing, but I’ve come to believe they wanted to spare me the pain.”
“That makes sense. If Rachel or Henry were in your place, I might’ve done the same thing.” A soft smile played on her lips. “Thank you again. You and your friends saved Rachel in the nick of time. If she’d had to…” She shook her head. “I’m not going to think about that. No point in it. God brought you to us in time.”
“Can I ask a question?” Toni asked.
A wary look Toni had seen on their mother’s face so often landed on Lisa’s. “I guess.”
“How did you keep your faith through all of this?”
Lisa let out a slow breath. “It was the only thing they couldn’t take from me or exploit. And, better yet, my continued belief in God made them mad.” Lisa’s gaze darkened. “When I was in horrible situations, I called up my favorite verse and repeated it over and over again.”
“What’s the verse?”
‘“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” That calm that Lisa had been exhibiting returned. “I clung to the promise of hope and a future. And here I am with two beautiful children, my future wide open. No man to control us anymore. Richey interacted very little with our children so they’re used to not having him in their lives, and they’ll be fine without him.”
“I can’t believe how strong you are. I hope as we get to know each other that my faith strengthens.” Toni told her about her struggles. “But my challenges are nothing compared to what you experienced, and I have so much to be thankful for.”
Lisa touched Toni’s hand for the briefest of moments. “I see strength in you. Reminds me of Dad. He always wanted me to be strong. To be able to withstand the world he’d said was deteriorating by the day. He never told me that, of course. I was just a kid, but I heard him talking to Mom.”
“He raised me the same way.”
“I miss them.”
“Me too,” Toni said, tears coming to her eyes.
Lisa’s eyes glistened too, and Toni wanted to hug her sister, but Lisa clearly didn’t like to be touched. Toni would have to wait for Lisa to initiate physical contact.
A knock sounded on the door, and Lisa pulled back, her calm evaporating in a puff of air. “Who is it? Who could be here?”
“You’ll have to get used to the fact that not everyone means to harm you,” Toni said as she got up.
Lisa gnawed on her lip. “Who do you think it is?”
“Let me find out.” Toni crossed the room, enjoying the sound of Henry and Rachel playing in the bedroom. Toni peered through the peephole. “It’s Clay.”
What was he doing here? She’d last seen him two days ago when he dropped them off after visiting her grandparents, and he hadn’t tried to contact her at all. She appreciated the break. He’d given her the space she’d needed to realize without a doubt that she wanted him in her life. She’d been planning to go to Portland this week to tell him.
Now he was here. Had he come to tell her how he felt? To talk about a future?
She smoothed a hand over her hair and took a breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She opened the door and drank in the sight of him. He wore his usual attire of tactical pants, a knit shirt, and boots. He looked tired, but when he smiled, the fatigue disappeared, and his face glowed with happiness.
Could his reaction be from seeing her? Because the same feelings filled her heart.
“I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I should’ve called, but I didn’t know if you would see me, and I have something I want to talk to Lisa about.”
He’d come to see Lisa. Not her. That stung. Big time. “I’m not sure if she’s ready for a visitor, but I’ll check.”
“I’ll only be a minute, and it’s a good thing. I promise.”
“Wait here.” She left him at the door and found Lisa looking out the sliding glass doors to the ocean. “It’s Clay. He wants to talk to you if you’re up to it.”
“Clay? I don’t…” Her eyes clouded for a moment then cleared. “Yes. Sure. I owe him so much, and I haven’t thanked him properly.”
Toni went back to the door. “For only a minute, okay?”
He nodded, and Toni stepped back, feeling like her sister’s guard. A prisoner for so long, Lisa needed to learn what it meant to be free. Toni would soon have to let her sister fend for herself or she might never fly as she should.
Lisa had moved to the sofa, and she smiled up at Clay as he approached, her hands tightly clasped on her lap. “Please. Have a seat.”
He sat in a plump chair on the other side of a large coffee table. “I won’t take up much of your time, but I wanted to make you an offer.”
“Offer?”
“You know about the agency my brothers and I run, but you might not know we live in condos on the same property as our offices.”
“Toni told me about it.”
“I got to thinking that Toni’s apartment would be too small for all of you, and you and the kids will need a place to live. We thought you might want to be in the city where you’d be close to therapists and…” His voice wavered, and he shrugged. “So I wanted to offer my condo to you for as long as you would like. I figured you’d feel safe there with all of our security, and you’d be close to doctors.”
Lisa tilted her head. “But where would you live?”
“I’ll bunk with one of my brothers.”
“I couldn’t put you out like that.”
“No biggie. I mostly get along with them.” He grinned, the cute one that sent Toni’s heart into a tailspin.
Lisa firmed her shoulders. “I’ll tell you what I told Toni and my grandparents. I’m not ready to live in a city yet. I have to first get used to being able to make my own decisions and not be afraid all the time. To do that, I can’t depend on anyone else. But I also believe a smaller town will make this transition easier.”
She looked at Toni and smiled. “Toni has graciously given me her inheritance from Dad, so I have money and time to decide what to do. Right now, I think I’ll rent a beach house. Not here. The memories are too strong. But somewhere peaceful. And once I gain my confidence, I’ll start branching out and exposing myself and the kids to new things. Then the counseling.”
“Sounds like you have a solid plan,” Clay said. “If you decide you might want to move to the Portland area, my offer will still stand.” He stood.
Lisa did, too, and held out her hand. “Thank you, Clay. Without you, we might not be alive or together. I will forever be in your debt.”
He shook her hand, and Lisa didn’t cringe, giving Toni hope her sister could have a normal life someday.
“No thanks needed. I’m glad we could help.” He released Lisa’s hand and looked at Toni. “Thanks for letting me in.”
“Sure, I…”
An awkward moment passed between them, and he turned to leave. Toni stood there, not knowing what to do as this wonderful man walked out of her life. The door closed behind him.
“For such a smart woman, you’re acting kind of dumb,” Lisa said. “He’s an amazing man who’s clearly in love w
ith you. Go after him.”
“He is, isn’t he?” Toni didn’t think this through like her father would’ve wanted her to do. Instead, she let her emotions rule and rushed to the door. In the hallway, Clay was about to step on the elevator.
“Clay, wait,” she called out.
He let out a huge breath and strode back to her. When he stood in front of her, that smile, the intimate one he reserved just for her, spread across his face. “I didn’t think you would come after me.”
“Playing hard to get?” She grinned at him.
His smile widened. “I am quite the catch. Women are breaking doors down to get to me.”
“I’m not surprised.” She smiled. “You are a real charmer.”
He stepped closer. “Charming enough to convince you to come have dinner with me and my family? They’re all still in town, and the rest of the crazy crew are joining us. They’ll be glad to see you, and if you come over, my mom will realize you’ve forgiven me, and she might quit giving me the stink eye.”
He chuckled. “But seriously. I haven’t had a chance to say how sorry I am about making decisions without you. But I am. Very. I should’ve consulted you first. Not only as the woman I love, but as a partner in the investigation.”
She stepped back. “Love?” The single word came out a squeak.
“Oh, man.” He plunged a hand into his hair, leaving it all messed up. “Me and my big mouth. I didn’t want to say anything here. I wanted to tell you under a moonlit sky. Or maybe at sunset. If you’ll come over early for dinner, that is. We usually eat at six, so four would be great. Or even earlier. Three or two. I mean, you could even come with me right now.”
“Um, Clay.” She smiled at him. “You might want to take a breath.”
“Yeah, right. It’s just…this is important to me.”
“Me too.”
“Then I’ll see you at four?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Lisa and the kids are welcome to come too.”
There he was, being so considerate again. “I’ll ask, but don’t be surprised if they’re not up for it.”
He clutched her hand tightly for a moment and turned to walk away.
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