Carolina Key

by Elizabeth Truiett

  Ch. 13

  Tues. July 10, 2008

  Phillip

  The alarm went off and I stumbled into the shower, realizing that this was the 3rd day without my daughter at home. I prayed for her and for Lance as I laid out a clean suit for the funeral. John had called last night and asked me to lead the congregation in singing. I managed to eat a couple of pieces of toast and drink some coffee. I was rinsing my dishes when the phone rang. My heart skipped a beat, thinking of Grace and Hope. My hand shook on the receiver.

  “Hello?” I said.

  “Philip? It’s Auntie,” Aunt Ruth said.

  “Hello, Auntie. How are you today?” I asked.

  “Doing fine. How are my girls?” Ruth asked.

  “They are ok, they are visiting with my folks. I am just heading out to a funeral. The owner of the camp where Grace has been working was killed by an intruder. They are members of our church and her husband is pretty broken up about it,” I said.

  There was a very long silence. “Ruth? Are you there?” I asked, thinking we were cut off. I wondered if Daniel had somehow tampered with my phone.

  “Philip, are you talking about Richard Watson’s daughter?” Ruth asked in a strange voice.

  “Yes, did you know them?” I asked.

  “Yes… well, I knew of them,” she replied.

  “Well, the service starts soon, so I need to run but I will tell Hope you called when I talk to her,” I said.

  “You do that, dear. Take care,” Ruth said, and hung up.

  The funeral was being held in the dining hall of the camp. It was big enough to accommodate

  friends, family, and the members of our church in town, Mountain Creek Church of Christ. I got

  there early and placed a song booklet on each chair. Shirley’s family had requested all the old funeral favorites like, “Precious Memories, Farther Along, and When We All Get to Heaven.”

  . Soon the workers from the funeral home came and brought Shirley’s casket and many flowers

  from well wishers. I saw the children before the service and gave them all a tearful hug. I told

  them that Hope sent her love and was sorry she couldn’t be here for them.

  The service opened with a prayer and then I began the singing. Her son read the 121 Psalm and another relative gave her eulogy. Our minister, Roger Edwards, gave a short sermon about the joys awaiting us in heaven, and encouraging us to forgive the person who had purposely cut short the life of a woman so many loved. There were many tears from the audience. Lance had asked me to sit with the family and I kept a protective hand on his back as he wept. His children were a comfort to him and I was glad that they were all here.

  At the close of the service, there was a photo slideshow of Shirley, her family, and the camp.

  It was set to a beautiful hymn, and it was very emotional to see the faces of the many children

  Shirley had helped. Suddenly, the screen went black. For a moment, no one reacted. We all

  assumed it was a technical problem. Then, a live video feed of Grace filled the screen, and I stood up in surprise. She was sitting in a chair and had her hands tied behind her and her feet were tied to the chair.

  “ Daddy?” she said in a shaking voice.

  My mouth was so dry I almost couldn’t speak.

  “I’m here, Grace. I love you,” I said, wondering if this would be the last time I would see my

  beautiful girl alive.

  “I love you, too,” she said, sobbing.

  “Daddy, Daniel said if you don’t bring the gold coins to Mountain Creek under the big willow

  tree at 2a.m. tonight, he will kill me,” she said.

  I could tell she was trying to be brave. The video panned to Daniel who held a knife, I am assuming the one that killed Shirley, against Grace’s throat. Grace closed her eyes and I felt my stomach churn. For a moment, I thought I would pass out.

  “You’ve been warned,” Daniel said, and the screen went black. There was a loud murmuring from the audience as everyone began to talk at once. Ken took charge and instructed everyone to remain calm. He requested that Brother Edwards end the service with a prayer, both for Shirley’s family and Grace’s safety. As soon as Brother Edwards finished, Ken came to me and escorted me to my car.

  When we got home Ken and I sat for a couple of hours discussing the possibilities of capturing Daniel and how we would handle the drop tonight. I was just exhausted from the day and all the sleepless nights I had endured. Ken was very helpful fielding phone calls from Lance, John, Bette, and other members of the church family. I thought about lying down on the

  sofa for a while but I knew I should call Hope and fill her in.