by Carol Cox
Kate hitched her chair a bit closer to the bed, feeling pleased when Casey didn’t flinch. “Melanie was right—I do enjoy unraveling puzzles and solving mysteries—and you have presented me with quite a mystery already, young lady.”
She chuckled at the look of bewilderment on Casey’s face. “Try to imagine how I felt when I learned that an accident victim had given my name, but when I got here, I had no idea who she was. I’ve spent a good bit of time since then trying to learn about you, or at least find out your name.”
Her explanation seemed to relieve some of Casey’s apprehension. Encouraged, Kate continued. “I know that you were in pretty bad shape when you were brought to the emergency room last Friday night. You had lots of bruises and scratches on your face and arms, and it looked like you’d been in some kind of accident.”
Kate didn’t miss the way Casey averted her eyes at the word accident. “But that was a puzzle in itself,” she went on, “since no car was found nearby.”
Casey’s eyes flickered up to meet Kate’s gaze, and her breathing quickened.
“I also know that you’re a sophomore at Haywood College. And that isn’t just from hearing it through Melanie McLaughlin,” Kate added with a smile. “She confirmed it for me, but I’d already tracked down that information.”
“Tracked it down...how?” Casey’s voice was tight, and the tense look was back on her face.
Sadness gripped Kate as the suspicion that had already been teasing at the back of her mind began to take shape. “After I came here to see you, I went to help clean up the Ash Grove Campground with volunteers from Faith Briar Church, where my husband is the pastor.”
She heard Casey’s sharp intake of breath and felt increasingly sure that she was on the right track. Kate thought her heart would break. No wonder Casey wasn’t sure how to talk about it.
“At the time,” she continued, “I had no idea that those two events were connected, but that appears to be the case.” She told Casey about finding the bloodstained paper with her name on it.
“It seemed like way too much of a coincidence, having a stranger mention my name and then finding it written on a note in a seemingly random location. And just for the record,” she added with a smile, “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Kate leaned forward and rested her hand on the edge of the mattress. “I’ve been making assumptions all along, but I need to know for sure. Did you write that note?”
Casey took a slow, shuddering breath, then said, “Yes, I wrote your name down on a piece of paper so I wouldn’t forget it. It’s pretty weird to think that you’d wind up finding it like that.”
“That was the first clue that led me toward learning your name,” Kate said. She smiled. “Just one more way that I see God working in all of this.”
Moisture pooled in Casey’s eyes. Kate longed to reach out and smooth the fair hair back from her forehead, but she held back. She wished she could stop at that point and change the conversation to a happier topic, but if Casey had been harmed, it was vital to find out what had happened at the campground.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and forged ahead. “I went back to the campground yesterday morning, hoping to find another clue. And I did,” she said, eyeing Casey steadily. “A cuff link engraved with the Haywood College crest.”
A look of shock spread over Casey’s face, then she squeezed her eyes shut. Her chin started to wobble, and tears spilled over her bottom lids, trickling down her cheeks. She pulled the sheet up close under her chin and scooted down farther in the bed.
Kate couldn’t keep from reaching out and laying one hand on the sheet that covered Casey’s arm. She could feel the girl trembling through the thin fabric.
“So you know?” The question came out in a thin whisper.
Kate’s heart sank. Even with the mounting evidence, she had so hoped that she was wrong. “I know part of the story. But I still need you to verify some details, if you’re up to it.”
She held her breath, praying that Casey would spill forth the details without a moment’s delay. The last thing Kate wanted to do was overwhelm the girl, but she was absolutely itching to hear the truth that would clear up the mystery once and for all.
A soft whimper escaped Casey’s lips. She curled up in a ball, with her knees to her chest, and caught her breath in a ragged sob. “So you tracked me down through the cuff link?”
“Indirectly. There was a monogram under the crest. Once I learned that the crest was the logo for Haywood College, it didn’t take long to check the faculty listing on the school’s Web site and connect the initials in the monogram with Dr. White. Then I realized you might be a student there, so I looked in the yearbook and learned your name at last. Leading me to that yearbook is just one more way that God has shown his concern for you in working all this out.”
Casey shook her head so violently that Kate drew back. “You care about me, I can see that. But God...he forgot about me a long time ago.”
“You’re wrong about that,” Kate said gently. “I’m not sure why you feel that way, but believe me, he never forgets anyone. He loved you even before you were born, and he’s never stopped loving you for a moment.”
Casey was sobbing in earnest by the time Kate finished. Kate took Casey’s right hand, and the girl’s fingers curled around Kate’s like a child clinging to her mother.
“I need to know something, Casey. I’m sure this is going to be hard for you, but I don’t know any way to make it easy, so I’ll just ask it straight out. Was Dr. White at the campground with you? Did he have anything to do with your injuries?”
Casey’s whole body stiffened. Her lips parted as if she were about to speak, then she drew in a shaky breath and looked away. A moment later, her eyelids closed. Kate waited for her to rouse again, then she saw that the girl had drifted back off to sleep.
Kate realized that the stress of reliving such a traumatic event had taken its toll. She waited until Casey’s breathing grew even and her fingers relaxed their grip. Moving gently so as not to disturb the sleeping girl, she slipped her hand free and tucked the sheet up around Casey’s shoulders. Resisting the impulse to drop a light kiss on the pale forehead, she tiptoed from the room.
She had confirmed that Casey had written the note and had been at the campground. But she still didn’t know what had brought Casey to Copper Mill or whether Dr. White had caused her injuries. It looked like she would have to wait a little longer before the rest of her questions could be answered.
Chapter Seventeen
Sunlight filtered in through the sliding-glass door in the living room. The cloudy mineral stains on the glass always made Kate think of a flock of sheep. She settled back in her favorite rocking chair with a steaming mug of coffee and set her Bible on her lap.
The early morning hours had always been special to Kate. Spending a quiet time alone with the Lord was the best way she knew to start off her day. She took a tentative sip of the fragrant brew in her mug and let out a deep sigh of contentment. Just the thing to open her eyes and perk up her senses.
Kate opened her Bible to the book of Psalms. She smoothed the pages with her free hand and let her mind wander over the events of the past few days.
Puzzles seemed to be cropping up everywhere she turned. First there was the matter of Casey Barnes. What had happened to her, and how was Dr. White involved? What was behind the girl’s rejection of the notion that God loved her? And then there was Millie and her odd behavior.
Kate took another slow sip of coffee. Questions abounded, yet the answers were few. But she knew where to find them. Kate cradled the mug in her hands and closed her eyes.
“Lord, I feel like I’m looking at a mass of tangled threads that need to be straightened out. I can see where some of them lead, but others twist around so that they just disappear farther into the whole mess.”
One by one, Kate lifted up her concerns to the Lord. “Thank you, Father, that Casey is conscious again. I have a feeling that working through the details o
f whatever happened may be even more painful and drawn out for her than recovering from her physical injuries and waiting for them to heal.
“Speaking of healing, we don’t know what’s wrong with Millie, but we’re very concerned. Please give her grace and strength, along with your healing touch. And help Paul and me know the best way to minister to Millie and show her your love.”
Kate picked up her mug again and looked down at her Bible. With a gentle touch, she turned the thin leaves until she found the spot where she had left off in Psalms. Maybe that day’s reading would give her a sense of direction on what she should do next.
By the time she heard Paul stirring in their bedroom, she still didn’t have any specific answers. Sighing, Kate closed her Bible and started for the kitchen to make their breakfast.
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
She stopped in the middle of the living-room floor. That wasn’t from the Psalms. She had memorized the verse from the eighth chapter of John years before and recognized it immediately.
“Are you trying to tell me something, Lord?” Again, no definitive answer came, only the impression that she should keep on searching for the truth.
“Okay, Lord, I’ll look for the truth and see where you lead me next. One step at a time, right?”
SHE TALKED ABOUT HER CONCERNS with Paul while they ate breakfast.
“I feel like I’m in the middle of a muddle,” Kate quipped. “I’m not sure what to do next as far as Casey is concerned. What about you? Were you able to learn any more about what’s bothering Millie?”
Paul shook his head. “I really didn’t get a chance to talk to her, but things were pretty much business as usual yesterday. I still don’t have any idea what’s going on, but I’ll keep my eyes open for another opportunity to talk to her today. By the way, I’m having lunch at the Country Diner with a couple of the other pastors, so I won’t be home until dinnertime.”
After he left for work, Kate spent some time bringing the house up to her usual neat standards. With those chores out of the way, she decided to turn to her tried-and-true method for sorting out life’s puzzles: baking.
Kate assembled the ingredients for snickerdoodles, humming happily while she worked. After making the sugary treats so many times over nearly three decades of marriage, she rarely needed to look at the recipe anymore. She set the oven, then mixed and shaped the cookies while she mulled over the things that weighed on her mind.
She arranged the small balls of dough on a baking sheet and slid it into the oven, then set about cleaning up her mess. The work went quickly, and Kate was just putting the last of her baking supplies away when the timer buzzed.
Kate donned a pair of oven mitts and pulled the sheet from the oven, then used a spatula to loosen the cookies and set them on a cooling rack.
While she waited for them to cool, she stepped into her studio and cast a wistful eye around the room. She still needed to finish the designs for her window panel, but that project would have to wait. Right now, it was far more important to deal with Casey’s issues and find out, if they could, what was ailing Millie.
Kate straightened the sketching materials on her drafting table, then headed back to the kitchen, her mouth watering at the prospect of tasting one of the cookies, fresh from the oven.
Kate poured herself a glass of cold milk from the jug in the refrigerator, then set one snickerdoodle on a small plate. She would save the rest of the batch to enjoy with Paul that evening, but she couldn’t resist sampling one right then. A matter of quality control, she assured herself.
Carrying the plate and glass to the dining table, Kate sat in one of the chairs, picked up the cookie, and sank her teeth into it.
A moment later, her mouth puckered, and she forced herself to choke the bite down, trying not to gag. Quality control is right. That’s awful!
Kate grabbed the glass of milk and swigged down a large gulp, followed by several more leisurely sips. She picked up the snickerdoodle and stared at it. What on earth?
Tentatively, she nibbled at it again, chewing slowly. Surely it couldn’t have been as bad as she thought. Maybe it had been some sort of fluke.
Eww! The second bite tasted every bit as bad as the first. Kate washed it down with another gulp of milk. She got up and carried the glass and small plate to the counter, then dug out her snickerdoodle recipe. Kate read the recipe carefully, going over the list of ingredients:
Shortening and sugar? Check.
Flour and eggs? Check.
Baking soda? Check. She had a clear mental image of putting the container back on the shelf after she added the soda to the mixture.
She moved down to the next item on the list of ingredients, then stopped, a sense of dread growing within her. She could remember spooning soda into the mixing bowl, but she also remembered using a tablespoon, not the teaspoon the recipe called for.
Oh no. Kate looked down at the cookie on her plate and poked it with her forefinger. There were three teaspoons in a tablespoon. Who would have thought that two extra teaspoonfuls could make such a difference? But they had.
She looked at the rest of the snickerdoodles lined up on the cooling rack in even rows. Her mouth twisted at the sight of them. There was no way she could let Paul taste any of those. He’d probably think she was trying to poison him!
Kate lifted the rack and tipped the entire batch into the wastebasket, then tossed in the remains of the cookie on her plate. So much for baking to help her piece her thoughts together today. She wiped the counter clean of crumbs and put away the rack.
A glance at the kitchen clock told her that it was only a few minutes before noon. Knowing that Paul wouldn’t be home for lunch, Kate decided to fix herself a quick sandwich. After that, she would call Skip.
KATE SMILED AS SHE DIALED the number for the deputy’s office from memory. Back in San Antonio, she never would have dreamed of knowing the phone number for the local police station almost as well as her own. But that was just one of many things in her life that had changed since she and Paul had moved to Copper Mill.
Skip answered, using what Kate thought of as his official voice. “Copper Mill Police, Deputy Spencer here.”
“Good morning, Skip. It’s Kate Hanlon. I’m calling to talk to you about Casey Barnes, the girl in the hospital. Do you have a minute?”
“Oh, sure, Missus Hanlon,” Skip said in a more relaxed tone. “What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing specific. I’m just wondering if you’ve come up with any new information.”
“As a matter of fact, I have.”
“And...?” Kate prompted when he paused.
“When I talked to the registrar at Haywood College, it was kind of odd. When I asked how to reach Casey Barnes’ parents, it turned out that the college doesn’t have any information on them at all. Casey listed some cousins in Washington State as the people to contact in case of an emergency.”
“That is odd,” Kate agreed, “but at least they’re family, and that’s what she needs right now. Have you talked to them yet?”
“Yep.” Skip sounded more pleased with himself by the moment. “I got hold of them late Monday evening.”
“That’s wonderful!” Then Kate blinked. “But what’s taking them so long? When are they going to be here?”
“Well...” Skip cleared his throat. “You’re not going to like this.”
Warning signals sounded in Kate’s head. “Not going to like what?”
“They aren’t. Going to be here, I mean.”
“You mean right away?”
“I mean at all. They’re not coming.”
Chapter Eighteen
The scenery that flashed past Kate’s window was becoming all too familiar these days. As often as she had made the drive to Pine Ridge recently, she reflected, her Honda ought to be able to make the trip on autopilot.
And that was just as well, considering that she had spent most of the drive fuming after her conversation with Skip. When
she neared the outskirts of Pine Ridge, Kate slowed and ordered her mind to focus on the traffic rather than her outrage.
She still couldn’t believe that Casey’s relatives weren’t coming to be with her in her time of need. According to Skip, they had expressed mild sympathy, but that’s as far as their moral support went.
“They didn’t even ask for the hospital phone number,” Skip had added in a grim tone that told Kate he felt every bit as disgusted with them as she did.
Kate pulled into the same parking space she’d used during her previous visit, feeling like it was becoming a home away from home for her black Accord. She locked the door and strode with determined steps across the lot to the main entrance.
How could they be so heartless and uncaring? It simply didn’t make any sense. Even if Casey wasn’t their own daughter, they were close enough for her to list them as emergency contacts. That ought to mean something.
Kate realized that there was no way of knowing how other families would respond to this sort of crisis, but if any of her children had suffered something similar, she would have flown across the country to be with them in half a heartbeat.
She reached the entry door and gripped the handle, then caught sight of her reflection. Whoa. I look like some kind of avenging angel. She stopped long enough to smooth her hair and take a few calming breaths before she went inside. It wouldn’t do Casey a bit of good if she showed up spewing fire.
With her emotions a little more under control, Kate turned down the corridor leading toward Casey’s room. As she walked, she tried to think of what she ought to say. Should she tell Casey about her relatives’ refusal to come?
How on earth did one go about saying something like that? By the way, Casey, the deputy talked to your family. They don’t care enough about you to make the effort to be here for you right now.
No, that would never do. The poor girl had already gone through enough emotional upheaval. Kate wasn’t about to add any more.
She felt her temper flaring again. But this is righteous indignation, right, Lord?
