Not by Sight (15 page)

“Then what?”

“I’ll take Ella and go to the sheriff. If her DNA matches Riley Jo’s, we’ll know.”

“Do you think Ella is just going to go with you without a fight?” Abby rolled her eyes. “If the man catches you, he’s liable to kill you. And even if you manage to pull it off, you could get arrested for kidnapping.”

“I’ll tell the sheriff the truth about what happened. I’m ready to accept the consequences, whatever they are. Frankly, at this point, it would be a relief.”

Abby studied his face. He was serious. “There’s no guarantee this will work,” she said.

“There’s no proof the guy is violent, Abby. Or even that his intentions are evil. I mean, he didn’t turn me in when I was twelve. And Ella looked fine. He’s got a wife and twin boys now. Maybe he just tried to scare you off because he loves the girl and is afraid of losing her.”

“Too bad! She’s not
his
!” Abby blinked away the stinging in her eyes. “When I think of the agony Mama’s been through …”

“I know. I know. I didn’t say he was right to do it. But maybe he really thought the man I shot didn’t have any family. And he took the girl and gave her a home. Maybe he found out we were asking about her and just wanted us to back off.”

“That’s a lot of maybes,” Abby said. “If that child is Riley Jo, she belongs with her real family.”

“Agreed. But we have to decide here and now how you want to handle this. If you want us to go to the sheriff instead, I’ll understand. But I really do think I can find Ella without creating suspicion, if I do it my way.”

“Then I’m going with you,” Abby said.

“Absolutely not.”

“You might need help.”

Jay folded his arms across his chest. “It’s a one-man job, Abby. You’ll just be in the way.”

“But if you actually do find Ella, I think she’ll be less likely to be scared of a teenage girl than a guy.”

“It’s not like I’ll have time to sweet-talk her,” Jay said. “Any way you cut it, I’ll have to force her to come with me. But I’ll do everything I can to assure her I’m not going to hurt her. There’s no way I’m going to make you an accomplice. I’m doing it alone, or you can go to the sheriff right now.”

Abby felt her neck muscles tighten. “What if she’s happy there? What if she’ll hate us for doing this to her?”

“That’s a possibility. But he had no right to take her like that. There’s no painless way to get this done. So how do you want me to do this, Abby? It’s your call …”

Abby drove Mama’s Odyssey past the Raleigh County Courthouse and turned onto Perkins Street, hoping she wasn’t too late to sneak into the back of Jay’s truck. She admired his courage. But the more she considered his plan, the less feasible it seemed that he could pull off snatching Ella by himself. He was going to need help. He might be mad at first when she made her presence known. But he would thank her when they had to move quickly and keep a scared seven-year-old calm and cooperative.

Abby slowed the Odyssey and parallel-parked in front of Lucy’s Nail Spa. She got out and jogged across the street, then cut through two yards to the next block, excited when she spotted Jay’s truck parked outside the Sycamore Apartments. Good. He hadn’t left yet. The big tarp was still covering the bed of his truck, where he’d tied down an old easy chair he hadn’t taken to Goodwill yet.

Abby looked both ways and didn’t see anyone. She crossed the street and ducked behind Jay’s truck. She unfastened the bungee cord closest to the bottom and crawled under the tarp and lay next to the chair. Now, if the other two bungee cords would just hold while they were on the highway …

She heard someone talking and realized it was Jay.

“Mr. Sustern, it’s Jay Rogers. Sorry to give you such short notice, but I’m still not up to par and won’t be coming in to work this evening … Yes, sir, I agree. I sure wouldn’t want anyone else to catch what I’ve got. I’m glad you understand. I hope to be in tomorrow at four. Yes, sir, I will. Thanks.”

The truck door opened, and a few seconds later the engine was running. Jay backed out and turned left.

Abby lay on the floor of the truck bed and held tightly to the chair, which was fastened securely to both sides, and tried not to roll with each turn. The last thing she needed was to make a thumping noise that might make Jay stop and take a look. The ride was hot and bumpy, and her arms were getting tired from gripping the chair.

She thought about what they were about to do. So many things could happen. So much could go wrong. She could even
be
wrong—again. Mama would probably ground her for the rest of her life for going along with Jay’s plan to steal Ella.

It would be worth it if they were right. Her mind flashed back to the last image she had of Riley Jo, holding the baby doll that was half as big as she was, an elfin grin on her face.

Lord, when I left for Staci’s that day, I promised Riley Jo I would see her tomorrow. I broke that promise. I can’t change what happened to her. And I can’t bring Daddy back. But with Your help, I can change the course of her future.

Abby was taking a leap of faith into the dark unknown. What happened next was out of her hands. Out of her sight. No matter what happened, she would never agree with Mama and Hawk that the God she had given her heart to would turn a deaf ear to her prayers.

Abby glanced at her watch as the truck slowed and came to a complete stop. Thirty-two minutes. She didn’t move—or breathe—and listened intently.

Jay got out, his footsteps moving away from the truck. She waited half a minute and then crawled out from under the tarp. She peeked over the side of the truck bed and saw Jay walk into the woods.

Abby hopped out of the truck and followed him, stepping gingerly and surreptitiously in his footsteps on the muddy ground, glad she had thought to wear her jeans and Nikes instead of shorts and sandals.

The path was narrow, and she had to push overhanging brush out of the way to keep going. More than once a branch snapped back and whipped her bare arms or her face, and she couldn’t see in front of her to be sure she was going the right way.

Terror seized her. What if she got lost out here by herself? No one would ever find her. Or even think to look for her here. She would make a tasty meal for a feral hog. Or a black bear. Or a mountain lion.

Abby shuddered and picked up her pace. Even if Jay found Ella, what would he do to keep her on a path like this one all the way back to his truck? A girl raised in these woods would likely have an advantage and know how to run into the trees and disappear.

Did he plan to intimidate her? Threaten her? Get rough with her? Abby couldn’t see kindhearted Jay strong-arming a child for any reason. And yet, at the very least he would have to scare her into going with him.

Abby hated this! Getting Ella to the sheriff would probably be traumatic for all of them. And if the DNA test proved that she was Riley Jo, what then? It would break Abby’s heart—and her mother’s—if her sister begged to go home to the couple who had raised her, rejecting the family that had mourned her. Ella would probably end up with neither family and in a foster home until the court could sort it out.

Abby was hit with the gravity of what she was about to do. Their lives would never be the same. And what of Jay? Would there be an investigation into what happened the day he accidentally shot her father? And what if they were wrong about Ella’s true identity? Jay would end up in jail for kidnapping, and Abby would probably be charged for conspiring with him. Mama would be devastated all over again—

Abby felt a hairy arm put her in a chokehold, a strong hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She struggled to free herself, to scream, to breathe …

“Girlie, you ain’t as smart as I thought you were.”

The man from the phone calls! His voice was unmistakable! Abby struggled in vain to break his hold on her, but he tightened his grip and held something sharp against her ribs.

“You just wouldn’t leave it alone.” Abby felt his breath in her ear. “Too bad. You shoulda done what I told you while you had the chance. I can’t have you lookin’ into things that are best left alone.”

Chapter 18

Abby was pushed and prodded along the muddy path by the man whose voice she knew but whose face she still had not seen. Was he the man she had glimpsed that day at Murchison’s? He had very convincingly threatened to butcher her and feed her to his pigs unless she did exactly as he told her.

“I seen that Oldham kid come up here,” the man said, “but I lost sight of him. What’s he want?”

“I’m not sure,” Abby said. “I hid in the bed of his truck when he drove up here. I was following him when you grabbed me.”

“How about you venture a guess?” He gave her a persuasive shove.

“I think he might be looking for you. He had some questions.” Did this guy know Jay had come for Ella?

“Little ol’ J.D. finally wants to talk, does he? Took him long enough.”

Abby wondered why he sounded amused, but she was afraid to ask. “Where are you taking me?”

“This is your own doin’. You and that Oldham kid shouldn’t have gone snoopin’ into things that ain’t your concern. I warned you what would happen if you kept it up.”

“I haven’t talked to anyone else about the girl—neither has Jay.”

“Don’t matter. You ain’t gonna stop till you git what you come for. And I ain’t lettin’ that happen.”

“Then you know Ella’s my sister.”

“Hogwash! She’s my kin. Born to my late wife, Ella Jane. I was right there when the kid took her first breath and started wailin’. I don’t know what you think you know, missy, but you’re way off.”

“Show me her birth certificate,” Abby said. “And I promise I’ll never bother you again.”

“Oh, you ain’t never gonna bother
me
again.” The man laughed. “She’s my kin, but I ain’t obliged to show you nothin’. Keep walkin’.”

“Why don’t you just call the sheriff and report me? Get a restraining order or something?” She knew why.

“The law don’t count for nothin’ out here. I make the rules. I already tried restrainin’ you. Now I’m shuttin’ you up my way.”

Abby’s gaze flitted around the woods. She wanted to flee, but to where? The woods were ominous and dense and unfamiliar. He had the advantage. If she tried to escape and failed, she might end up as pig feed.

“You have to know it’s not right to just take someone’s child,” Abby said softly, hoping not to provoke him. “If you give her back to us willingly, Mama would be so grateful that I’m sure the sheriff would go easy on you.”

There was that irritating laugh again.

Abby wanted to slap him. “You think this is funny? Do you have any idea how torn up my family’s been since my daddy and sister disappeared?”

“Don’t know what Jimmy Dale Oldham’s been fillin’ your head with,” said the gruff voice behind her, “but I didn’t take nobody’s kid. And
he’s
the one who shot and killed a man.”

“Well, that man was my daddy! And the little girl is my sister!” Abby started to cry. “You had no right to take her!”

“I told you, I seen Ella come into the world. And I don’t know nothin’ about your kin disappearin’.”

“Then why are you treating me like this? What are you afraid of?”

“I ain’t afraid.”

“You should be,” Abby said. “You can’t prove Ella is yours—because she isn’t. Jay told me about the accidental shooting that happened up here five years ago. The timing fits. You’re not her real—”

Abby felt a powerful blow on the back of her head that collapsed her knees and sent her falling … falling … falling … into a swirling gray vacuum. She was vaguely aware of her shoulder hitting something hard and the strong smell of wet earth … and then nothing.