by Pamela Wells
Seeing all this on the news again brought out a fresh river of tears for Lacey as well as for Josh. Being the brave older brother was not easy!
“This will probably be the last time.” Jim told them. “This is pretty big news for Niagara Falls but for mom’s disappearance to be the number one story four times in a row is probably it. By the time the eleven o’clock news rolls around they will be on to something else.”
“Maybe by then mom will be home!” cried Lacey.
“I pray you are right sweetheart” Jim hugged her tight and cried more tears himself. Lord, we need you desperately right now. Where are you? Please wrap Your arms around Laura and hold her close to Your heart. Keep her safe Lord and PLEASE
bring her back to us!
The doorbell rang and Josh jumped up to answer it. Lee and Janice Barnhart walked in carrying takeout chicken with all the trimmings. They put the food down quickly and without saying a word proceeded to hug the worried family. After Janice hugged Josh and Jim she sat on the couch and held Lacey letting her cry. She knew Lacey and Laura were very close and that this young girl’s heart must be breaking in many pieces right now. Lee encouraged Jim and Josh to have some food and the three men sat at the kitchen table discussing what the police were doing.
“I think that sicko has my mom. What do you think he’s doing to her?” Lacey asked between sobs.
“Honey don’t think about that. We have no way of knowing what your mom is going through. Thinking about the worst isn’t going to help anyone. You know there is power in prayer and your mom has a lot of people praying for her right now. They are praying for God to be with her and for Him to protect her. You have to trust that He is doing just that. I know it’s hard for you to pray for your mom right now because you are hurting so much yourself. You just pray the best you can and know that the rest of us are on our knees for her too.” Janice hugged Lacey tighter and wiped some tears from her own eyes as well.
The doorbell rang again with another couple arriving from church and soon more followed. Jim appreciated the support of all his friends, but he was beginning to wear down. Looking around his living room the scene reminded him of a funeral. The people mingling around, no one quite knowing what to say, everyone speaking in hushed tones and no one dared smile or laugh. Even the food they brought in reminded him of a funeral. Jim was thankful no one brought flowers for that would certainly push him over the edge.
Josh was busy answering the door as more people arrived from both the church and the neighborhood. All of them were concerned and well meaning friends but no one knew quite what to say. Josh quietly walked around listening to bits and pieces of their whispered conversations.
“I wonder where she is, this is all so awful”
“Poor Jim, I can’t imagine what he must be going through.”
“You don’t think he had anything to do with her disappearance, do you?”
“They seemed like the perfect couple, so happy, but you never know what goes on behind closed doors”
“If he did do something to her, he sure is putting on a good act.”
“I can’t believe he had anything to do with it. It was obvious how much he loved her.”
“Maybe they weren’t really as happy as everyone thought they were.” Josh couldn’t stand it any longer. He went over to Lacey, took her hand and said,
“Let’s get out of here for a while.”
He pulled her outside. The two sat on the front porch and Josh told her some of the comments he had heard inside.
“Lacey, I haven’t lived at home for awhile, but I’ve always thought mom and dad got along pretty good. They were doing ok, weren’t they?”
“Yes, of course they were!” Lacey was outraged that Josh would even consider any of those comments he had heard.
“Josh, dad had nothing to do with mom’s disappearance. They loved each other!
You know that! They were even starting to plan their next vacation together. I think they were planning on renting a trailer and taking six weeks to drive across Canada.” Lacey jumped up and stood in front of Josh, “They still hold hands for goodness sake!”
“Ok, ok calm down,” Josh said, “I knew those thoughts were wrong but they just started to get in my head. Thanks for setting me straight.” The more the house filled up with caring and well meaning friends, the more Jim wished they would all leave. He knew everyone wanted to help and if the shoe were on the other foot, Jim and Laura would do the exact same thing. At the same time he just felt like yelling at them all to get out. Every now and then one of them would look at him with a sad and pitying glance. It was too much; Jim walked into the kitchen and got a bottle of water out of the fridge. Lee followed him and seemed to pick up on what Jim was thinking.
“Jim, how about if I gather everyone together for a time of prayer. Then we all get out of here and leave you alone with your kids?”
“Thanks Lee, I would appreciate that very much” Jim whispered.
Lee had everyone gather in a circle holding hands as they all prayed together, then after hugs went around the room again, they all left. Josh and Lacey came back in the house and once again they were alone with their father. The kids had further discussed the comments Josh had heard and decided they would not tell their father. He had enough on his mind and didn’t need to know that some of his friends actually doubted his innocence.
“First thing in the morning we’ve got some work to do. The news broadcasts are going to slow down. We have got to keep your mother’s disappearance fresh in people’s minds, AND the face of her abductor! As soon as the police get that sketch done, we’ll get posters made with that and your mother’s picture. We’ll put them up all over town.
Somebody has to recognize him and come forward. Your mother is a smart woman; I’ve got to believe she is trying as hard as she can to find a way out of the situation she’s in right now. You know she is! She’s probably praying for us just as hard as we are praying for her! Don’t forget that!” Jim stressed, and then he went on to say, “We’ve all spent so much time crying and thinking about the worst possible things that could be happening to her. Let’s focus on finding her and doing what we can to get her back home. What would SHE want us to be doing right now? I refuse to give up, I know that neither of you want to do that either, so are you both willing to get to work with me?”
“You know we are dad! We would start right now if we could, but it’s too late, everything is closed. When do you think the police will get the sketch done?” Josh asked.
“They said it should be done by noon tomorrow. We’ll put a rush on the posters and get them out there as quickly as possible! I feel like so much time has been wasted already. I want this guy’s picture posted everywhere.” Jim paced as he talked.
“What if he’s not the one, what if he had nothing to do with it?” whispered Lacey, her face pale.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” answered Jim, “but I have a feeling he has everything to do with it.”
Jim looked at his watch.
“It’s late and I know it will be hard to sleep but we are going to need our strength tomorrow to get all this done. As soon as the posters are ready, we have to get out there and get them up in every business possible. So I want you two to get to bed. Even if you can’t sleep, at least rest.”
The two kids were exhausted so he didn’t really have to push very hard. Josh didn’t leave for his apartment, preferring to use the bed in the guest room. They all agreed it was best if they stayed together for now. Jim didn’t think he would be able to sleep. He knew he would need his strength as well so he also lay down, choking back a sob as he looked at Laura’s side of the bed. It took only minutes before he was sound asleep.
Jim dreamt that he could hear Laura’s voice. It was dark, he couldn’t see her but he could hear her, she was calling him over and over. He called back to her but she didn’t seem to hear him. He shouted her name and told her he was there, that he was coming, but she couldn’
t hear him. Her cries just grew more desperate. Jim started running in that desperate way one runs in dreams, like he was running through thick water. Then he found himself standing over a deep well. He could see Laura down at the bottom of it. She was crying and calling out to him. He tried desperately to reach down to her, but he couldn’t reach her. She cried harder, not understanding why he wasn’t getting her out. She kept reaching her hands up and asking where he was and he yelled to her that he was right there. She couldn’t see him. She just sat down at the bottom of the well and cried some more.
Jim looked around for some rope to use to get his wife out. Desperately he searched hoping to find something he could use when he saw the stranger from church.
He was holding a long piece of rope and laughing at Jim. He just stood there and laughed. This made Jim so angry that he wanted to go over to the man and punch him in the face to stop the laughter.
He didn’t want to walk away from the well where his wife was trapped. He looked down in the well and Laura was gone, all he could see was water! The well full of water! Where was Laura? He looked back at the stranger and he was gone too, all he could hear was his echoing laughter.
Jim awoke and sat straight up in bed, he was completely covered in sweat and there were tears on his face. He hadn’t thought there were any more tears left in him. Oh God, where is she?! I know he has her, please don’t let him hurt her! Protect her Lord, protect my Laura!
Chapter 9
The next morning Jim arose early, not feeling rested, but determined to accomplish a great deal that day to bring his wife back home. He was surprised to recognize the smell of coffee and bacon, Lacey and Josh were both the type to sleep late, but then, these were not normal circumstances. As Jim walked into the kitchen, he was struck by how much Lacey looked like Laura. She had the same trim figure and the same dark hair. This particular morning Lacey had pulled her hair back in a pony tail, with no make-up on, wearing a t-shirt and jeans she bore a striking resemblance to her mother the day Jim first met Laura.
“You didn’t have to make breakfast sweetie.” Jim kissed Lacey on the cheek.
“I needed something to do. I thought it would help give us some energy for all the work we have to do today.” Lacey buttered toast, set it on the table and went back to the stove to tend to the eggs. Her eyes lacked their usual twinkle; her face looked drawn and tired. She was able to get some sleep but like her father, her sleep wasn’t restful, she was plagued with bad dreams as well.
“Smells good, can I help?” Josh asked as he walked into the kitchen. Josh had his mother’s eyes but in every other way he resembled his father. He had the same tall build and like his father’s hair, his was so dark it was almost black. Back in high school his gym teacher encouraged him to play basketball, but he never had much of an interest in sports. He tried golfing with his dad a few times, the game held little interest for him either. He was more into computers and spent most of his time learning new programs and how many of his own he could create. His parents often thought that one day he would make a fortune in the computer business. It was certainly an area he was gifted in.
“You can set the table if you like.” said Lacey, “We need to eat and then get started. What’s firs, dad?”
“I’ll go down to the police station and get the sketch of that guy from church.
Then we need to get posters printed up as soon as possible. I thought that we could cover more ground if we split up. We can keep in touch with our cell phones. Let’s sit down and figure out exactly what information we want to say on the poster while we eat.” He grabbed a pad of paper, pencil and sat at his usual spot.
Jim prayed a blessing on the food. Asked for wisdom and guidance from the Lord as he knew they would need the Father’s help with their day. The three then went to work planning the poster.
“Let’s offer a reward for information!” Lacey offered quickly.
“Ok, but we have to word it right. It has to say, reward offered for information that leads to the safe recovery of Laura Reid. Or something like that.” Josh responded.
“No, that’s not right. What if someone has a tip for us, but it’s not enough to lead directly to her recovery. So if there’s no reward, they don’t bother to come forward. If we give them something for it, at least they will give us the information, we need all the help we can get!” Lacey argued.
“Honey I think Josh is right. If we offer a reward just for any information then we could have every wino, drug addict, and liar in Niagara Falls AND the surrounding area showing up with made up information just to get some money. We would end up giving away our entire life savings and have nothing to show for it. Plus we would end up on a lot of wild goose chases, going all over the place on false tips. Then perhaps missing the one real tip that might come in. We need to use wisdom in how we handle this.”
“I didn’t think of that, you’re right.” Lacey wasn’t hurt or angry, just frustrated because she wished they didn’t have to do something like this at all. They were Christians after all, with a strong faith in the Lord. Lacey learned early in her life what that meant. It was one thing to just attend a church and go through the motions of being a Christian.
Her mother had explained to her at a young age that being a Christian meant so much more than going to church. It meant living your life for Christ and having Him dwell in you. Lacey knew her mother lived that way and so did her father. She tried to live that way herself although she knew she often messed up. Josh messed up even more than she did; he wasn’t going to church at all any more! Surely God wouldn’t be punishing her and Josh by allowing this to happen to their mother, would He? That didn’t sound like the God she had learned about in Sunday school. So if God wasn’t punishing her and Josh, then why would He allow something so awful to happen to her mother? Why, with so many people praying, did they still not know where she was?
Why did they have to make these stupid posters anyway? Couldn’t God just TELL them where their mother was!! She knew He COULD do it. She had read many stories in the bible where God spoke to people and told them things, so why not now? Lacey, in her frustration slammed her dish into the sink where it shattered.
Josh, misunderstanding the reason, rushed to apologize to Lacey.
“Sis, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be-little your idea. I just knew it wouldn’t work and we have to be careful how we do this.”
“Oh I know Josh. I’m not upset about that, really. I just don’t understand why God is letting this happen. Why doesn’t He answer our prayers right now and bring mom home.” She threw her arms around Josh and sobbed.
Jim got up from the table and put his arms around both his children.
“God doesn’t cause horrible things to happen, but only God, can make good things come out of those horrible situations. So even something as awful as this, at a time when we can’t possibly understand why or how, we still have to trust that God is working here. He is going to use this to do something good.” Jim spoke the words to reassure his children, he had to admit that he felt like he was trying just as hard to convince himself as he was them. Laura was one of the kindest people he knew and she loved the Lord with all her heart. How could You let this happen to her Lord? Of all people, why my Laura?
For a moment he even thought of another woman at church and wondered why she wasn’t abducted instead of Laura and then he caught himself. Oh God, I’m so sorry! I would never want to wish this on anyone else! Please forgive me for thinking of such a thing for even a second. Please help us do the right thing to find Laura and keep her safe Lord, just keep her safe.
For a moment Jim’s thoughts went to the stranger he strongly suspected of taking his wife and the things that man might be doing to her. He felt his blood pressure start to rise and his stomach start to churn. He wished he could take a giant eraser and clear the images from his mind but they kept surfacing over and over again. The thought of his hands on Laura, of him touching her, thoughts of her fighting him off…..No! He mustn�
�t think this way! Jim had to force himself to suppress those thoughts. It was important that he didn’t let ideas like that swallow him up. He knew if he let himself get lost with that kind of thinking and feelings, he would be useless to Lacey and Josh, especially to Laura.
Laura’s parents would be arriving sometime this afternoon. They would be flying into the Toronto airport and normally Jim or Josh would go pick them up but thankfully Lee had offered to do that for them. There was no way Jim wanted to take the time to drive the hour and a half to Toronto. It was too much time that could be spent doing other things. It was also too much time alone with his thoughts. That would be the worst, then it would also mean an hour and a half with Bill and Sylvia on the way back to Niagara Falls, listening to their questions, worries and tears. Jim knew he couldn’t deal with that today. He loved his in-laws and they got along great, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to calm their fears when he had so many of his own. He also knew that Bill and Sylvia would struggle with the exact same problem in reverse.
Jim’s own mother had passed away as the result of a car accident when he was in his teens. His father, Carl had raised him and his two brothers, on his own. Carl still lived in Niagara Falls but the man was in his eighties now and sadly, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and resided at a local nursing home. Jim hadn’t been to see his father since Laura’s disappearance but he had called the home to check on him. The nurse reported that his father was blissfully unaware of the news. These days Jim’s father didn’t even know who Laura was half the time so even if he saw her face on TV it probably wouldn’t sink in but the nurse was making an effort to keep Carl occupied.
