Carolina Key

by Elizabeth Truiett

Ch. 15

  Tues. July 10, 2008

  Aunt Ruth

  Ruth stepped inside the doorway and looked around. She was tiny and pretty and I wondered

  if she had lived if this is what Carol, Hope’s mom, would have looked like. She had been gone for 20 years now. I had never met her but Ruth meant everything to Hope.

  Ruth looked steadily at Ken and asked me bluntly, “Can he be trusted?”

  Ken gave me an incredulous look, then proceeded to introduce himself as a family friend, a member of law enforcement and to reassure her that he was more than trustworthy. She looked up at him and nodded, giving her approval. “I knew your mother,” she said, as if that settled everything.

  “Put on some coffee.” she instructed Ken. I tried not to laugh as he moved around my kitchen, asking her if she took cream and sugar. When we were settled with our coffee at the table, Ruth asked us not to ask any questions until she was through.

  “When you called me to tell me that Grace was missing I knew that it had all come back,” she

  said.

  “What? What do you know?” I began to sputter.

  She held up a tiny hand. I tried to control myself but I was feeling so frustrated with a lack of

  information I wanted to scream. I took a deep breath and she placed her hands on mine.

  “Perhaps we should pray,” she said.

  We each bowed our heads silently for a few moments and when I lifted my head I saw the

  peace on her face. I wasn’t sure mine reflected the same peace but I did feel calmer. She took a deep breath and began, “Richard Watson was a missionary in Vietnam. Norman was stationed there as well. They met and became good friends. It was a small town called Da Nang. There was an orphanage that Richard worked with. All the orphanages there are run by nuns. Richard tried very hard to get medical supplies and food to them as well as bibles. One day a man came to Richard. He had the gold coins. He gave them to Richard with a check and said he had heard about the orphanage and he wanted to help. Richard didn’t like having that much gold around but he didn’t ask any questions. He assumed the gold came from a less than desirable source but he was determined to put that money to good use.

  Norman was being transferred back to the states and Richard gave the money and coins to him to convert into U.S. dollars. He shipped out within 2 days to Frankfurt, Germany. Two weeks later, two members of the Vietnamese mafia broke into the mission and demanded the coins back. They left Richard with two broken legs and forced him to give them Norman’s name and address. At the army post in Germany Norman set up an offshore account for Richard. He put the money in the missions name and flew home. He and Carol were on their way to see me for the first time in several years. They had moved around so much in the service. When Hope was young and Norman was away on assignment Carol and Hope would come and stay with me. During the

  war, however, when Norman wasn’t on tour in Vietnam, they were stationed in Germany.”

  “What happened to Richard?” asked Ken, getting impatient.

  “He spent two weeks in the hospital with a concussion recovering. Incidently, the man who donated the coins to Richard was found floating in a rice patty with a bullet in his back.”

  “The mafia doesn’t play very nice.” Ken said.

  “No, I’m afraid they don’t.”

  “So, after they got to Port Aransas?” I asked.

  She looked at me sadly and then I knew.

  “They never arrived in Port Aransas. I received a call around midnight. I had been waiting for them for hours by then. I made it to the hospital in time to see Carol. Norman was already dead. I think Carol held on long enough to see me to make sure that I would care for Hope. Hope was 18 and doing fine in college. She knew I would take care of her, but I guess as a mother she needed to hear the words. She told me the men had followed them for miles before

  running them off the road and over an embankment. The car rolled over several times. She told me the money was waiting for Richard in an offshore account,” Ruth said.

  “What about the gold coins that Hope found?” I asked.

  “During the war they were able to convert the check into cash for the account but they were not able to convert the coins. During the war they just didn’t have the resources. Carol told me that Norman had shipped the coins to me in a piece of furniture,” she said.

  Ken and I stared at each other. “A table?” we asked together.

  “Yes, a table with a glass top,” she replied. We looked at each other with disbelief. I ran my hands through my hair. This was too much to deal with.

  “What happened to the offshore account?” Ken asked.

  Ruth smiled and got up from the table. She stretched and took a deep breath. She stood looking out the window.

  “The money was put to good use. It went to help children,” she said. She turned around and looked at us steadily. She put her hands on the table and leaned down.

  “The money provided for the purchase of Indian Oaks Christian Camp,” she said and smiled.

  Ken’s mouth dropped open and I’m sure my face registered my own surprise.

  “So… how did you know Richard and Vanessa, Shirley’s Mom and Dad?” I asked.

  “Vanessa grew up here in Mountain Creek. Her family was from here. When Richard came back from Vietnam they settled down here and purchased the camp. I met them when I brought them the table. Ken, that’s also when I met your mother. She was working in the kitchen with Vanessa doing the job that Hope has been doing until Grace went missing. Richard, Vanessa, and I discussed it and we knew we must keep Hope and Shirley safe. The mafia didn’t have any other contacts without Richard and Norman. Richard’s mission was very careful to keep any

  information about his condition at the hospital under wraps. The nuns put out a story that he died from his injuries,” Ruth said.

  “They lied?” I asked. Ken and Ruth both gave me a disgusted look.

  “So, Richard and Vanessa ended up with the gold coins. Shirley inherited the table, which she put in the apartment Daniel was staying in. He found them. Somehow he discovered they were real and put them in a lockbox which someone opened and Hope found.” Ken said.

  “Then Shirley buried them, Hope and I dug them up and Hope has now reburied them on Carolina Key,” I said, shaking my head. “Man!”

  “Did Shirley ever know any of this?” asked Ken.

  “I would think not,” Ruth replied. “She and Lance had just married and their children were

  small, Rebecca was still in high school. They were only told that Richard was injured during a robbery at the mission.” Ruth said.

  We all jumped as the phone rang. Thinking it was Hope, I was wondering how I was going to tell her everything as I answered the phone. It was Officer Hodge, calling to say that everything was set and ready for the meeting. I will have a duffle bag ready with coins weighing approximately 32 lbs. There will be officers waiting in the parking lot to check for cars coming and going.

  The next few hours were tense as we waited, sometimes dreading the moment and sometimes

  anxiously anticipating it. It would come soon enough. Ruth did not wait around for anything.

  She immediately took over the kitchen and soon had bread baking. She telephoned Hope and spent an hour praying with her, reassuring her, and explaining the facts surrounding her parents death.

  We ate a late dinner and I lay down in my room for a couple of hours. Ken went home to see

  his family and Ruth sat up in the living room, crocheting and praying. She said it helped her to

  stay calm. I spoke to Hope and though she was having a hard time believing what had happened

  to her folks and was still worried about Grace, she was doing ok.

  Ken and Hodge ca
me to get me at midnight and brought the duffle bag and a bullet proof vest

  for me to wear. Ruth joined us in prayer before we left and I knew whatever happened that she would be here for Grace and Hope.

  “Bring them home, Phillip,” Ruth said as the door closed behind me.

  Ch. 16

  2:00 a.m. Wed.

  July 11, 2008

  Phillip

 

  I stood under the canopy of the willow tree in the pitch dark. There was no moon, only a heavy dew and light mist coming up from the water. I had a flashlight, a powerful one, Ken had given me that many of the officers carried more for protection than lighting. In the back of my mind I saw the sharp knife held against my daughter’s throat. My heart sank and I felt sick whenever I remembered her tears. I could feel anger building inside me and I wanted to shout to Daniel that he was a weak coward, preying on women and children. In the silence, I wondered

  if keeping me waiting was just a sick joke or if he was looking for the police presence he had to know was here. I checked my cell. 2:15 a.m. At 2:30, I heard the rumble of a 4 wheeler. I could hear it coming closer and closer but I couldn’t see it. I began to stumble backwards and for a moment I almost panicked. It was going to run right over me. Suddenly, a bright light shone in my face.

  “Drop it! Drop it right there!” Daniel screamed. I was so startled I dropped the duffle bag to the ground and stepped back. Daniel gunned the ATV forward and picked up the duffle. I could just make out a female figure on the back of the 4 wheeler. My heart leapt!

  “Grace! Grace!” I yelled. Dousing the light and plunging me back into total darkness, Daniel

  gunned the engine.

  “No, wait!” I screamed, running blindly in circles trying desperately to catch up.

  “Wait!” I sobbed.

  I ran as fast as I could, fists clenched, vowing in my heart to kill Daniel when I caught him. It was an evil thought but all I could think of was looking my wife in the eye and telling her I hadn’t gotten Grace back. I heard a thump and a muffled cry. Closer to the street I could make out a figure on the ground. Daniel had thrown Grace off the 4 wheeler. I ran to her. I knelt and took her into my arms. Her mouth was taped shut and a gray hoodie covered her face. She was crying, her voice hoarse and she was making sounds trying to talk through the tape. Her hands were bound together and duct tape even covered her eyes.

  “It’s okay, baby. Daddy’s here, Grace. I’ve got you now. It’s all over.” I said trying to comfort her. The relief I felt was overwhelming. She continued to squirm and cry even louder. I couldn’t understand it. Was she hurt? Did she break something when she fell? I barely had time to think before Ken came rushing up to us.

  “Is she hurt?” he asked. I winced as I looked into the turning light of the patrol car. He pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the tape on Grace’s wrists. She was thrashing about on the ground, moaning loudly.

  “Grace, hold still. I’m trying to cut you lose,” Ken said.

  “Honey, this might hurt. I’m going to pull the tape off your eyes. I’ll try to be careful,” he said.

  He pulled the tape off her eyes and I ripped the tape from her mouth as she reached up to uncover her hoodie. I gasped as her short, white blond hair was revealed.

  “Mr. Stephens, I’m so sorry. I tried to stop him.” It was Candace. I stared at her for a long time, then turned away as the tears came. I leaned against the patrol car and sobbed. I felt so lost and empty. What could I possibly say to Hope now after I had

  convinced her to do the unthinkable and run off and hide the gold? Could she ever forgive me?

  I covered my eyes with my hands like a child. Ken put his arms around me.

  “Is she dead? Ken, is she dead?” I clutched at his shirt front.

  “No, no man. She’s not dead. Candace said he’s taken Grace with him and her daughter Charlie. He’s got two hostages now,” Ken said. He turned away to answer a call held out to him by one of the many officers swarming around us.

  Later in the hospital after Ken interrogates her, Candace asks to speak to Phillip and Hodge brings him to the hospital.

  “Mr. Stephens, I know I have no right to ask you this but I’m begging you to forgive me. I swear I didn’t know what I was getting into. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life and right now my daughter is paying for them. I thank God that Grace is with Charlie.” She paused to take a breath, tears rolling down her cheeks. She was in obvious pain from three broken ribs. She looked much too young to be a mother and I felt compassion for her stirring in my soul.

  “I promise you Grace hasn’t been hurt. I didn’t mean to find the gold. I didn’t know what to do with it. Daniel has never had anything and I think all those years of being on the outside did something to him. He wants to be good but he doesn’t know how. I met Shirley when I was 13. I had my grandmother with me until I was 15. After she died I kind of lost my way. That’s when I got into trouble and got mixed up with Daniel. I got pregnant and I knew I had to make my life something better for her like Granny did for me. Shirley showed me how.

  “Do you have any idea where he could be keeping Grace?” I asked.

  “His mom has a house in Waco. It’s being paid for by some Chinese guy.” Candace replied.

  “That’s all I know. I only helped him because he threatened to take Charlie away from me and tell everyone that she is his. It turns out he took her anyway, but he promised to get her back to me. Right now I have to believe that she’s going to be ok and God is watching over her. I have to keep on having faith,” Candace said, putting her hand on mine.

  “Yes, we both must keep our faith.” I smiled at her. “Do you mind if I pray for us?” I asked.

  Tears came to her eyes as she nodded her head and reached for my hand. As I prayed for Grace and Charlie, it came to me that I knew someone who would greatly benefit this young lady.

  On my way out of the hospital, I spoke with Candace’s doctor who agreed to release her at noon, into Aunt Ruth’s capable hands.