Not by Sight (39 page)

Virgil scanned the fax. “Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be the first time a group of undocumented workers have been conned out of their money and then disposed of. As if it wasn’t hard enough just being poor. Make sure the medical examiner’s office has all the pertinent information.”

“I will.” Kevin stared at his hands. “Sir, we also made another discovery. This one could be definitive.”

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, Kate stood at the front door and waited as Virgil pulled his squad car into the Cummings’ driveway and turned off the motor. He got out of the car and walked up to the front door of their log house and removed his Stetson.

Kate opened the door and let him pass. “When you called and said you were on your way up here, my mind was all over the map. Please tell me there’s not a problem with getting Riley back. Our court date is next Tuesday.”

“No, no. Nothing like that. I’ve got some news I didn’t want to give you over the phone.”

“Let’s sit out in the kitchen.” Kate led the way and flipped the light. “Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I’m good. I can only stay a few minutes.”

Kate got a bottle of water out of the fridge and sat across from Virgil. “What was so important you couldn’t tell me on the phone?”

“I waited to say anything until I was sure.” Virgil spoke softly. “Kate, we found Micah’s remains buried in a wooden box under the root cellar at the Tutts’—several feet under the room where the kids were held hostage and where Isaiah told Abby he had thrown Micah’s body. The dental records match.”

Kate stared at Virgil and let the gravity of his words sink in. “You’re
sure
?”

“Absolutely. There’s no doubt. We recovered his entire skeleton. And his gold wedding band—his initials and yours were carved on the inside of the band, along with your wedding date, just the way you told us.”

Kate put her fist to her mouth and pushed down the emotion that she desperately wanted to hold in and release privately.

“We immediately confronted Isaiah with this new information,” Virgil said, “and he admitted that he buried Micah there but still contends that Jay shot him. However, the medical examiner found a distinct scrape on Micah’s breastbone, consistent with a deep stab wound. If it’s the last thing I ever do, I’m going to get Isaiah to confess to Micah’s murder. I’m going to nail him, Kate.”

“I know you will.” Kate met his gaze. “At least now we can
finally
close this chapter, though it doesn’t seem real yet.”

“After all you’ve been through, it’ll take time for this to sink in. But it’s definitely Micah’s remains we found. It’s over, Kate. It really is.”

Over.
How many times had she longed for it, only to have her hopes dashed? “So … can I bury my husband’s remains?”

“We’ll release them to you just as soon as the ME is finished with his analysis and the DA’s office has what it needs to make the case.”

Kate wiped the tears off her cheeks. “I can’t believe it’s really over. Soon Riley will be home—and so will Micah, though it’s not at all the way I would’ve chosen.”

“I know. I wish I’d been able to find them both alive and spared Riley those years with the Tutts.”

“I just hope you’re able to find out who those people are in the mass grave,” Kate said. “I’m sure their families are suffering like mine did.”

“Actually, I think we may have that solved too.”

Kate listened as Virgil told her about twelve missing people from Mexico and the suspicion that they had fallen into the hands of con artists who took their money, smuggled them across the border, and then did away with them.

“We found a silver necklace among the remains,” Virgil said. “This afternoon, we sent a picture of it to the parents of a young girl listed among the missing, and they verified it was a confirmation present from her grandparents. A lot more testing has to be done to identify the dead from the remains, but we’re hopeful these are the folks the priest has been looking for.”

“I hope so. No family should have to go through what we did.” Kate put her hand on Virgil’s. “I can never thank you enough for all you did for this family over these five years. You invested far more of yourself than you had to. It helped to know you cared.”

“I sure did. Still do.” Virgil put on his hat and stood. “I’ll say one thing: your kids must’ve had someone watching out for them. It’s a miracle that Hawk, Abby, and Riley are even alive.”

“I know.” Kate blinked the stinging from her eyes. She really did know.

Two weeks later, in Blessed Redeemer Cemetery, high atop Sure Foot Mountain and in the midst of a protective fortress of giant hardwood trees, Kate stood silent as the spirit of her beloved Micah was ceremonially given back to the God whose motives she had ceased to question. Even as she stared at the silver casket with a mound of summer flowers draped over it, there was no doubt in Kate’s mind that it contained only earthly remains, that Micah was in the presence of his Lord and Savior.

Pastor Austin Windsor and the good people of Praise Chapel displayed a respectful melding of solemnity and jubilation over Micah’s earthly fate and his heavenly one. Hundreds stood with her in the sticky summer morning for the graveside service she had long been denied.

Kate fought hard to erase the awful image of Micah’s last moments by holding tightly to Riley’s hand. What must her little girl be thinking? She had no memory of her father. No firsthand understanding of the pain caused by the five years she and her daddy were missing. Riley would never know what it was to be loved by her biological father—the kind and decent man who adored her as a toddler and who fought to the death trying to protect her from Isaiah Tutt.

Kate would make sure Riley knew all about her father. That she carried with her the truth of his character and devotion.

It seemed almost surreal, saying good-bye
again
to the love of her life. But this time would be the last. Kate finally had the closure she so desperately needed—a dichotomy of relief and angst. It was finally over.

Pastor Windsor’s voice seemed to glide on the breeze. “Heavenly Father, no one understands a father’s love more than You, who gave your Son as a sacrifice to save us from eternal death. You alone know the reason that Micah was called home to glory. In our timing, it seems far too soon. But in Yours, there are no mistakes. We pray for the poor soul who took Micah’s life and trust You to deal with Him justly.

“We pray that these children, who will grow up without the father who gave them life, will not grow up without his influence. Nor will they grow up without the love and care of their heavenly Father, in whose presence Micah now resides for all eternity.

“Father God, we waited five agonizing years, not knowing what happened to Micah. What a joy now to know he is with You because he trusted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. But despite that joyful knowledge, we are left to deal with the sobering reality of his murder and the aching void of his absence.

“I ask you to be with Kate. And Hawk. With Abby, Jesse, and Riley. And with Buck as they walk into the future, now able to put this chapter of uncertainty behind them. Make real to them the words of Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the L
ORD
, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’

“Grant them healing and new joy as You fill the void in their hearts with more of Your Holy Spirit. Make Your presence real to them. And let them rejoice with the angels that their beloved Micah is in that blissful place where sorrow and tears will be no more. And where all of us believers will one day see him again. For it’s in the Name of your Son and Our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we pray. Amen.”

Pastor Windsor asked everyone to stand as he motioned for the family to come forward. One by one, each member approached the casket in silence and lingered for a moment in the privacy of his or her thoughts, each placing a single rose on Micah’s casket before stepping back.

When Kate’s turn came, she decided there was something she needed to do first, something she’d been unable to do until now. She turned around and put her arms around Jay, who stood in the second row next to Elliot. How difficult it must be for Jay to have come, and how alone he must feel with his regrets. Even though Abby had assured him that Kate didn’t hold him responsible for the grief her family had endured, she hoped this gesture would remove all doubt.

“Thank you for coming,” she whispered. “It means more to me than I can possibly express.”

Jay nodded but seemed too choked up to say anything.

Kate comforted him for a moment and then turned her attention to the silver casket draped with a spray of orange orchids, white roses, red gladioli, lilies—and a white ribbon with the word
husband
imprinted in gold. This was the final farewell. The moment no one thought she would ever have. She stepped up to Micah’s casket, her defenses starting to give way to the powerful surge of emotion that begged to be released. How was she supposed to say good-bye to the other half of herself? What words befitted such a moment, what lamentation was adequate to give voice to the agony she felt in the depths of her soul?

Kate began to perspire, her temples throbbing, her heart pounding. She twisted the rose in her hands and bowed her head, teardrops falling on her wrist.

I will always love you, Micah. I will keep your memory alive in the hearts of our children. It’s time to move away from the grief and begin to live again. That’s what you would want—for them and for me. But I’m not going to say good-bye. I can’t. You will always be a part of me. Now and forever.

Kate paused to consider what forever really entailed. It was an issue worth revisiting. But not here. Not today. Kate laid the white rose atop Micah’s casket and struggled for a moment to turn loose of it. But when she did, she felt her strength return and Riley’s tiny hand slip into hers.

Kate looked upward into the blue summer sky as a white dove was released and the choir director led those gathered through each stanza of “I Can Only Imagine.”

She didn’t know the words but listened intently as her father and Abby joined in, singing with all their hearts. Jesse linked arms with her, and Hawk laid his hand on her shoulder, and for the first time in five years, something stirred deep in her spirit … and she longed to reclaim her faith and the joy that pain and bitterness had stolen from her.

Chapter 42

Five months later —Thanksgiving Day

Abby looked out the huge dining-room window in the Cummings’ log house, the billows of morning fog on Beaver Lake not quite dissipated in the chilly November air. High above the sea of white, a flock of Canada geese moved in a perfect V formation, the white in their wings dazzling in the sun as they flew southward.

Warmed by the crackling fire, the beauty of Mama’s Thanksgiving table, and the presence of those she loved, Abby lingered for quite some time over her empty plate. What a blessing it was having Riley with them again.

“I keep thinking I want thirds,” Abby said. “But I can’t eat another bite. I’m sure I’ll want leftovers later.”

“Mrs. Cummings, that was the best fried turkey dinner I ever sunk my teeth into,” Jay said. “Just don’t tell my mom I said so. She really hates to cook. Richie took her out to Mrs. Simm’s Back Porch.”

“Mama’s fried turkey is the juiciest in the world!” Jesse exclaimed. “But I also love her cornbread dressing. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Frozen fruit salad. Those awesome green beans with the crunchy onions. And I ate
four
homemade rolls.”

Hawk stood. “So who’s ready for pie?”

“Are you kidding me?” Kate said. “You couldn’t possibly
enjoy
dessert this soon after eating all that food.”

Hawk laughed. “Y’all are wimps. I’m ready for a piece of Dutch apple, lemon meringue, blackbottom,
and
pumpkin pie!”

“Well, you’re going to have to wait for the rest of us,” Kate said. “And we’re waiting for Elliot. He’s having Thanksgiving dinner with his sister’s family but promised to have dessert with us and to watch
Home Alone
.”