Fancy Gap (21 page)

During our meeting this morning, the state police folks from Wytheville asked about you and Louisa. They know you’re both here, and they certainly know who Louisa is and what her background is. As you can imagine, having you here puts us—I should say, puts me—in a pickle. I have no doubt about the competent law enforcement and investigative resources in the area. Under normal circumstances, we hold our own. But as you have figured out, these aren’t ordinary circumstances in any way, shape, or form.

Now let’s say, just for conversation’s sake, that some reporter recognizes Louisa out and about in the county. I daresay that would make great copy and sell some darned newspapers.”

Louisa cringed at the thought and knew the sheriff was right.

“I’m sure that one of these wonderful members of the media will eventually suggest that this investigation is being run by Sheriff Andy Taylor and a house full of Barney Fifes. We all know that is as far from the truth as it can be. But in people’s minds that suggestion might soon become reality.

Let me point something else out to you. You’re familiar with Fairfax County, Virginia, the one clear across the commonwealth. I met the chief, David Rohmer, from Fairfax at a professional meeting some time ago and asked him how many officers he has. He has fourteen hundred sworn officers and three hundred civilians. I have all of thirty-six deputies who work for me. I looked up the size of Fairfax County. Its three hundred and ninety-five square miles. Guess what—ours is bigger, four hundred and seventy-eight square miles. Now I know what you’re thinking: There are a heck of a lot more people live in Fairfax County than in Carroll County. And that would be absolutely correct. But you know what, Louisa and Quinn? This horrific abduction and murder didn’t happen there. It happened here.

What I’m getting at is that we really need your help with all of this. I understand that this is the last thing you need in your lives right now. But the Prestons didn’t need any of this in their lives either. And their only son has been brutally taken from them…forever.”

They were all silent for a long time after the sheriff stopped talking. Quinn and Louisa looked into each other’s eyes.

“Sheriff, I’m almost at a loss for words,” Quinn finally said. “I really do have every inclination to want to help, as I’m sure Louisa does. But I can only think of some of the potential complications. We’re civilians now with no police powers. And I can only imagine the potential ego problems if we show up and get involved.”

“Quinn, if you agree to help out on this, I can get you both sworn in as special deputies in a heartbeat. And, rest assured, I can deal with any ego problems that might have a negative impact on your work. I must warn you about one thing, and that is that the pay sucks.”

They all laughed at this comment. Quinn saw Louisa offer a very slight nod in the affirmative.

“Sheriff, let us sleep on it, and I’ll call you in the morning with our answer,” Quinn suggested.

“Quinn, that’s fair enough, plus I forgot to mention that if you agree I’ll detail Leroy to work with you as much as you might need him. Leroy is a veteran member of my department who is well respected throughout the county and knows how to get things done and knows his way around.”

They all stood up after the sheriff finished speaking.

“Sheriff, exactly what would the pay be? I think with my experience I should make more than Quinn!” Louisa chimed in.

They all laughed at her comment, and the sheriff and Leroy said their good-byes. As they drove off, Leroy said, “Two things, sheriff. The first is that was a mighty fine and convincing argument you presented to those two. I’m surprised they didn’t sign up right away.

The second is that if I was Quinn McSpain, I would have sent us home packing right away. Pardon me for saying, sheriff—and you know I’m a happily married man—but Louisa Hawke is strong. I know she must be sixty years old, but I’m sure most forty-year-old women would love to look that good. I guess that’s what folks look like when they take really good care of themselves.”

The sheriff smiled when Leroy finished. “Leroy, I suspect that Quinn McSpain has his hands full. And by the looks of her, he must be getting the job done right. I only hope they can find some time for us and the Prestons.”

Quinn and Louisa sat on the deck, enjoying a new bottle of wine.

“So what do we do?” Louisa asked. “My natural inclination is to help them and get involved. My sense is that there isn’t much time before the killer acts and kills Katie.”

“I believe that might be your Catholic inclination. I’m not so inflicted with that tendency. Yet I certainly agree with your sense of urgency for the little girl. The killer is unpredictable. Whatever drives his psycho tendencies for control and the inclination to kill can be spontaneous. I guess we probably should consider a mere detour in our determination to wring every bit out of every day of this new—this new whatever we have.”

“Well said, Mister McSpain. I agree wholeheartedly. I believe we need to get involved as soon as we can. Once this is over, I promise to take you up on your offer to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Yep, you and I take six months to hike from Georgia to Maine. Hey, it’s only a little bit over two thousand miles.”

“Well, now, there’s something to look forward to. Why don’t you stand up and get right behind me and lock that image of my behind into memory, ’cause that’s all you’re going to see on that hike. But I promise to help you train for the trail while we work on the case. And, by the way, it’s two thousand one hundred and eighty miles long.”

“My, my, aren’t you just the most generous and precise of souls? I suggest we get through providing our assistance to the sheriff, and then I will provide my assistance to little ole you on the Appalachian Trail.”

“Works for me. Now let me tell you about the dinner I plan to cook for us. I promise to call the sheriff first thing in the morning. Really, I promise!”

Quinn smiled as he left the deck and headed into the kitchen. Louisa didn’t budge from her chair, as the evening sunset show was about to get under way.

* * *

Quinn was first to wake in the morning. Louisa was in a deep sleep beside him as he gently slipped out of bed and headed into the kitchen. He had always been an early-morning fanatic. He needed some coffee and liked it bold and deeply flavorful. He ground his own Starbucks beans and then used a French press to get the brew exactly the way he loved it.

Once he filled his mug, he went out to the backyard and climbed up to a bench he had built right near his fire pit. From this spot he could see more than a hundred miles into the North Carolina horizon. The air was still, and butterflies already were landing on the butterfly bushes that Ellen had planted years earlier.

He slowly sipped his coffee and thought of all the wonderful things he and Ellen had accomplished at the Chateau. She was the love of his life. He never thought he would meet a woman like Louisa. He already had a new place in his heart for her. It was a small new place. Ellen owned the most space there, and that was as it should be. He had known Ellen from their childhood days in Maine till the day the good Lord took her home. Louisa had dropped out of the cosmic sky so unexpectedly to meld with him in a way he never imagined possible.

He took another sip of the java in his cup and looked off into the distance.
Maybe I should pinch myself,
he thought. Two years of comfort in his aloneness suddenly wrapped itself into a tsunami of swirling change called Louisa. Life’s stirrups had fallen free as he dangled from an emotional roller coaster. But he liked where he was, uncertainty and all, because he had a companion who was also agile enough to deal with the humps and dumps of this altogether new path in life.

He was jolted out of these thoughts when he heard the back screen door squeak open. Louisa peeked out. “Need more coffee, big fella?” she yelled in his direction.

“By all means, my mountain barista, bring on another cup!” he replied. He threw out the dregs in the bottom of his cup as he waited for her to reappear. He didn’t have to wait long as she carefully opened the screen door while balancing two cups in her hands. His attention was quickly diverted to what she was wearing—or wasn’t. She had wrapped a tie-dyed do-rag around her head. Her feet were comfortably planted in a pair of fleece-lined boots. The rest of her was
au naturel.

His eyes quickly focused on the two mugs of coffee she was carrying. It was early enough and just cool enough for steam to be coming out of both mugs. She climbed the hillside in three short bounds and was by his side on the bench in a moment. He looked at this totally uninhibited woman, sipping coffee while completely in his space and loving it. They didn’t speak as they enjoyed their coffee and the gorgeous sunrise unfolding in the east.

“So what happens if anyone at all drives around the bend right now and sees you looking ever so beautiful in your nakedness?” he asked, nibbling her earlobe.

She didn’t say a word. Instead, she set both coffee cups on the grass. She then sat squarely on his lap, facing him. She rested her do-rag-covered forehead on his and slowly started grinding her hips into his.

That quickly achieved the desired results as his manhood awakened as the floodgates opened and blood fortified with caffeine and lust joined forces to provide Louisa with an immediate indication that he was very interested in accepting her invitation for morning anaerobic exercise.

This moment was so unexpected and pure that they lost all connection to the world about them. She had stripped away his running shorts and held his manhood tightly in both hands as she guided him into his new velvet glove that was moist with the soft and slippery lubrication of lust. His whole body was erect with passion as he slowly rose from a sitting position. His legs propelled him straight up as Louisa wrapped her legs around his torso and held on tight. He heard only Louisa’s deep, pulsating breathing as they rocked back and forth. He glanced up when he felt her right arm ease off his back as she waved up into the heavens above.

They both missed the sound of a vehicle coming up the gravel road. Quinn’s first notion of company occurred when he saw the UPS truck rounding the bottom curve below them. The moment coincided with the mutual explosions within them.

Quinn held back a yelp as the UPS driver slowly accelerated up the road and called, “Hello, folks! Looks like you’re enjoying your morning” as he drove by.

Quinn almost dropped Louisa. She quickly released her grip around his waist and set her feet on the hillside. They both turned sideways and sat on the bench, overcome with waves of laughter. They finally composed themselves enough to catch their breath.

“Do you think that young UPS man realized that the AARP cards were for the next house down the lane?” Louisa asked.

“Were you waving at the hawks riding the thermals a bit ago, or was I imagining that?” he asked.

“Do you remember when I told you that my last boss at the Bureau was a shithead? Well, before bringing out the coffee, I used an anonymous e-mail account I have to send him exact coordinates of this bench. I just know that curious son of a bitch dialed into to the Bureau’s spy satellite camera to have a look. I think a lot of people in the District probably heard the ambulance coming down Pennsylvania Avenue to pick him up after his heart attack. Hope the prick enjoyed the show!”

They picked up their coffee cups and laughed some more as they headed down to the house. She took his hand and led him to the hot tub.

“ We soak, and then you cook up a little something for breakfast,” Louisa said.

After breakfast, Quinn called Sheriff Pierce.“Good morning, Quinn, how are you two getting along this fine morning?”

“Well, sheriff, so far, so good, I guess,” replied Quinn, biting his lip hard to keep from laughing out loud.

“So what’s it going to be, my friend? Can we count on you both to lend us a hand with this mess?”

“Sheriff, this isn’t exactly what Louisa had in mind at this point in our lives. She has served her fellow man well through her distinguished career with the FBI. I served a great many shareholders in protecting assets against those who would steal from all. But at the end of the day yesterday, we decided that just this once we’ll take a look at all of this and see what we can offer.”

“Well, by God, thank you, Quinn. I just know some good will come from all of this now. I’ll swear you in as special deputies.”

“OK, sheriff, that brings me to an important point. Louisa will be a special deputy. I’ll just be her civilian associate. By doing so, I won’t be restricted by the rule of law that all of you have to follow and abide by. I’ll enjoy a certain degree of freedom if it’s needed anytime. So I guess we’d like to see Leroy this morning to get going with some things we need to see.”

“I’ll have Leroy at your place in a couple of hours. Thanks again!”

“You’re welcome, sheriff, and I do hope we can help.”

Quinn hung up and looked at Louisa as she took both of his hands in hers and held them tightly.

“This is the right thing to do, my dearest Quinn. Fate brought us together in this most magnificent way that has taken us both by surprise. Just a short time ago, I didn’t know Fancy Gap, Virginia, existed. But suddenly our eyes met at that bar, and here we are, still looking at each other. Call it good karma or juju or whatever it may be. Our totally separate paths converged into one, where we sit on this cliff on your most beautiful acre.

I pinch myself and wonder if this bubble will burst. I don’t recognize this new person I have quickly become. The old me had no love or passion and shut out any and all who tried to change that with me. I really didn’t know if I could find all the living I’ve missed for the past thirty years. Since I was so comfortable in my old ways, I wasn’t very optimistic that I could change.

But all of that has changed in a hurry. Please understand that I left the old Louisa somewhere between Mount Airy and the state line in Cana. Like a snake, I shed my former self and personality and giggled like a young girl when I did. I have no regrets, Quinn, and I just hope you’ll help me along the way.”