Carolina Key

by Elizabeth Truiett

Ch. 24

  Hope and Daniel

  “Daniel? Daniel?” I whispered, shivering. I couldn’t hear a thing. A strong hand grabbed my shoulder and I muffled a scream when I saw Daniel’s green eyes close to mine.

  “Mrs. Stephens? Can you get up? I think Tong is dead.” Daniel said calmly.

  “What do you mean he’s dead? Of course he’s dead. People are shooting at us!” I hissed, fear rising in my heart like a living thing. My hands were shaking and I was breathing fast. Daniel took my hand.

  “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” he said.

  “You’ve got that right. Where is my daughter?” I demanded.

  “I’ll take you to her. I can explain everything but not if I’m arrested. We’ve got to get the gold. You said its back in Texas?” he asked.

  We had made it out of the garden and were hurrying through the parking lot to Tong’s truck.

  It had begun to rain heavily. Daniel unlocked the door and let me in. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Finally this whole nightmare would soon be over and I could hold my daughter in my arms. That would be…

  “Watch out!” I screamed. The wet brakes squealed. A body lay in a soaking heap on the black pavement. Daniel looked at me in amazement. Slowly he got out of the truck and crept over to the body. It wasn’t moving. He reached down and touched it. It must be the security guard. He picked up a radio and spoke into it. Daniel lifted a gun and a wallet. He came back to the car and gave me a somber look.

  “He’s dead. I called for EMS.”

  “Is it an elderly man?” I asked thinking of dear Mr. Bill.

  “No, he is unconscious in the Human Body Exhibit. This guy is an ex cop according to his license. Must be extra security.” Daniel said, starting the truck. He pulled out onto the road.

  “Where is Grace?” I asked again.

  “She’s safe. I left her and Charlie with my Mom in Waco.” he said.

  “Oh.” I let out my breath in a whoosh and prayed a silent, “Thank you, Lord.”

  I could see police lights and hear sirens behind us. I thought of Rosa with regret. What a dear friend she had become in only a few short weeks. I was so relieved to be going home. I couldn’t wait to have this all behind us and see Grace and Phillip.

  “Daniel? What happened? Why did you do all of this? What could have possessed you?” I asked, becoming angry.

  “It’s a long story and I will tell you everything from the beginning but the most important thing to me is that you know that I did not kill Shirley. Tong did.”

  “Who is Tong?” I asked, exasperated.

  “This part goes back several years. You know I grew up hard. We all did, all of us kids at the camp.”

  “I know.” I said, softly.

  “My Mom was an addict. Drugs and alcohol. She did pretty good while I was a baby but the older I got the worse it was for her. When CPS stepped in and took me away from her, we were eating out of garbage cans behind restaurants to survive. I did ok in the first foster home I was in and I went to camp for the first time that year. That is when I found the gold. Richard had kind of taken me in and was showing me how to use tools, learn the carpentry trade. Kind of like Jesus, you know?” he laughed softly, shaking his head.

  “Anyway, Richard had told me to clean out this old storage building. It was hot and I was tired so I flopped down on the grass beside the building in

  the shade. I lay down and I could see something sticking out from under the building. I pulled on it and it was one of those old wooden ammo boxes. I wanted to see it so I hauled it out from under the building. When Richard came looking for me I had it all spread out around me just looking at it. I had never seen anything like it. It didn’t even look real. Richard told me to put it back, that someone from another country had donated the gold and it wasn’t possible to exchange it for cash. He said he was going to leave it to the next generation of campers, that one day it would be possible to exchange but not right now. “

  Daniel was silent for a few moments. I watched his face in the dark, the raindrops splashing on the windshield, making shadows across his features. He was a handsome young man I thought sadly. With a deep breath he continued,

  “The next year I went to a new school, got in with a gang and got busted on a charge of burglary. While I was in juvie, Tong came to see me. I was scared to death. I was so afraid my new family would desert me. I knew at that point my mom couldn’t take care of herself, let alone me. Tong didn’t know I had found the gold. He just wanted me to look for it. I didn’t tell him I knew where it was. I didn’t tell him that for years. He said he could get my Mom clean, said there was a special clinic he could take her to, to dry her out, get her off the hard drugs, like heroin. We made a deal. He told me I was the man of my family and it was my responsibility to take care of her. He said I could pay off my debt with the gold. We shook on it and every few months he would contact me and remind me. My mom was taken in the night and dried out for two long months. Even today she won’t talk about it. She is grateful, says we owe Tong her life. She told me I had to find the gold to make things right. I tried to tell her about Jesus but she doesn’t understand. I don’t think she will ever be

  saved.” He shook his head sadly.

  “Mrs. Stephens, I’m sorry I took Grace. I swear I didn’t hurt her in any way. She is a wonderful girl and has a lot of faith. I can’t say how sorry I am about Shirley’s death. I never meant for anything like that to happen. I loved her.” he began to cry.

  In spite of myself I realized the truth in what he was saying. He didn’t mean for this to happen.

  I placed my hand over his.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” he sobbed. I felt a lump in my throat.

  “Pull over.” I said hoarsely. I watched the mirrors carefully as he pulled to the shoulder of the road. He covered his face with his hands.

  “How did it happen?” I asked.

  “It was awful. I didn’t know he had a knife. I called Tong at the beginning of summer to tell him I had the gold. He had to make arrangements to come and get it and have it converted to cash and then he wanted it in an offshore account. I don’t know a whole lot about that kind of stuff. It all took several weeks. When you and Shirley found the gold that night I panicked. I just assumed that if I took Grace you would bring the gold right away. I never dreamed you would hide it.” He gave me look then.

  I smiled and said, “That was Phillip’s idea. He said we had to have some assurance that you would not kill her and give her back. At that point, remember, we thought you had killed Shirley.”

  “Tong called after I got Grace tied up. He wanted the gold and he was furious when I told him what happened. That’s when I had to involve Candace. I needed her to watch Grace while I went to Shirley’s. I called her and said I wanted to talk to her about the gold without the police being involved. She said yes. Tong insisted on coming with me. I couldn’t believe how fast it happened. He said maybe now I would take this seriously. It was a lesson to me, a punishment for losing the gold. We left her there alone and bleeding.” he buried his head on his arms and cried. I cried too. I prayed silently for him.

  “Come on,” I said finally. “We have to get going. We still have hours to go. Do you want me to drive?” I asked. He shook his head no and pulled onto the freeway. Suddenly, I felt our roles had shifted. He was no longer in control. He needed me to take care of him. He was no longer the enemy. He was just what he had always been, a lost kid. Really what we all are without God.

  For the next several hours we did not talk unless we had to. I felt that Daniel was too ashamed and spent to talk anymore. I was equally exhausted and excited for it all to be over. The storm continued. I kept thinking we would outru
n it but we didn’t. The heavy rain was a cleansing one. I felt it was somehow cleansing us of this whole nightmare of being apart. It was healing us, bringing us back together. We had suffered. Each in our loneliness. Now we are stronger and more appreciative of what we have.

  The rain finally abated about dawn when we arrived in Port Aransas. “The jetty boat won’t make its first trip until 8:00 a.m. Let’s get some breakfast.” I suggested a little coffee shop on the docks. Daniel brought back some coffees and egg sandwiches. I was reminded of the sandwich that Phillip made me when I left home several weeks ago. We stood by the car stretching and drinking our coffee. We still didn’t talk.

  “What are we going to do with it?” he asked finally.

  “With the gold?” I asked. He nodded.

  “What do you think we should do with it?”

  “Do like Richard said and giveit to the kids.” Daniel said.

  “I’m sure we can all agree on that. It really should be up to Lance.” I said.

  “He will never forgive me.” Daniel shook his head sadly.

  “It will be hard.” I agreed.

  As we watched the lights came on in Buck’s and Willie the dog took up his post outside the door. I saved part of my sandwich and as I dropped it in front of him I thought about Sam, Grace’s dog. I hadn’t given her a thought in all these weeks. She would be glad to have her home. Daniel purchased our tickets and bought another shovel. We waited quietly with the early bird fishermen. It was almost over.

 

  Ch. 25

  Phillip

 

  Philip and Ken stopped to fuel up and grab some dinner. Their own journey was uneventful. Ken kept in close contact with Hodge and the department. They reached the ocean side town about dawn and rolled down the windows to stay awake. Ruth’s white clapboard house was in the older section of Port Aransas. The yard was immaculate with a flowering border of amaryllis and a small yard of closely cropped grass. Wind chimes hung from the top of the

  porch railing. There were no cars parked in the driveway. Ken pulled the extra key from the birdbath where Ruth told them it would be. He unlocked and opened the door. Phillip pushed past him shouting,

  “Grace, Grace! Where are you? I’m here.” He stopped short when he saw a tiny figure come down the hall.

  “I know you. You’re Grace’s Daddy from the camp. You brought the piñata for the party we had before summer.” Charlie stood in the living room wearing a pair of Scooby Doo pajamas, her long hair tousled.

  “Where’s Grace?” Phillip whispered, picking her up in his arms.

  A harsh voice caught him by surprise.

  “She’s fine. She’s just down the hall.” A skinny woman with bad teeth held out her hand to shake. “I’m Stacy Johnson. Daniel’s mother. You have

  raised a wonderful girl. She has shown me many new things. I’ll go get her.” She turned to go down the hall when Charlie said, “No, she’s on the jet ski. She said she had to go somewhere and rent a jet ski.” Charlie nodded confidently and put her thumb in her mouth. The three adults looked blankly at each other and then at Charlie.

  “What?”

  “Would you repeat that?”

  “What did she say?”

  Charlie nodded. “She goed to the beach place and rented a jet ski. You know you can drive in the water with it? I wanted to go swimming but she said I had to stay here and wait for Mommy. Is my Mommy with you?” She asked looking over Phillip’s shoulder.

  Ken told her gently, “She’ll be here soon. Can you tell us anything else about where Grace went? Did anyone go with her?” Charlie shook her head no.

  “She borrowed Grandma Stacy’s car.” Ken and Phillip looked at each other.

  “ She’s got to be going to Carolina Key. How would she know to go there?” Phillip said.

  “She made a lot of phone calls last night, maybe someone told her to come in the jet ski. I want to go swimming! When can I go swimming, Grandma Stacy?” Charlie wailed.

  “When did she make these phone calls?” Stacy asked.

  “When you were at the store. Can I watch cartoons now?”

  Phillip put Charlie down and she ran to turn the tv on.

  “What is the make and model of the car?” Ken asked.

  “A 2000 Ford Uplander van. It’s grey.” Stacy responded.

  A knock sounded at the door and Ken muttered to Phillip, “Backup.”

  Ken opened the door and let in two burly Port Aransas police officers. They motioned for Phillip to distract Charlie. He took Charlie by the hand out to the swing. As the door closed behind them, one of the officers produced a pair of handcuffs and said,

  “Stacy Johnson, I have a warrant for your arrest for the kidnapping of Grace Marie Stephens, and Charlotte Ann Bradshaw.”

  Stacy obediently came to the officers and said to Ken, “Officer, please tell Grace thank you. I learned more from her in our few days together than I could have ever hoped. She saved my life, literally.” Ken looked at her serene smile and shining eyes, and shook his head with disbelief.

  “I’ll tell her.”

  Within an hour a social worker had come to stay with Charlie until Ruth and Candace arrived.

  Ken and Phillip returned to the Port Aransas police department with the officers. The van was discovered in a public lot by the docks. The Coast Guard issued an APB for Grace and a jet ski. The ten minute ride to Carolina Key seemed like an eternity to Phillip, who sat in the bow praying and scanning the horizon for his daughter.

 

  Ch. 26

  Hope

  Carolina Key

  The sun was shining on the rippling ocean waves, so bright it made my eyes hurt. I stepped off the water taxi and walked down the dock. The huge granite boulders were pink and sparkling. The air was sultry, I inhaled deeply. There seemed to be a large crowd already here. I looked down the beach to the steeper area of sand dunes. Curious, Daniel and I walked over to the crowd. Several men in uniforms turned when we approached. Phillip was in the midst of them digging with a shovel. When he saw me I let out a yell and he dropped the shovel to swoop

  me up in his arms.

  “Thank God!” he said. I grinned and kissed him. A scuffle erupted to my right. Daniel was running and several officers including Ken were grappling with him in the sand.

  “Wait! He didn’t kill Shirley!” I said.

  “Daniel Johnson Ferguson, I am arresting you on charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, and stolen property. You have the right to remain silent.” Ken placed handcuffs on Daniel’s hands and led him down the beach to the Coast Guard boat.

  I buried my face in Phillip’s shirt. “I missed you so much!”

  “Where is Grace?” we both asked at once.

  “Here I am!” I heard her sweet voice but I couldn’t really believe it was her. She lay down a jet

  ski in the surf and drug it onto shore as Phillip and I ran to meet her. We grabbed her and fell down into the sand hugging each other in one messy pile. I was crying and trying to see her face.

  “Are you ok?” I asked. Laughing and grinning she nodded.

  “How did you know to come here?” Phillip asked.

  “Stacy was afraid to take me home, that she would get caught so I suggested coming to Aunt Ruth’s. When we got here last night I called Mom but all I got was her voice mail. I called the house and only got the machine. Called Dad and it was out of range. When Aunt Ruth was gone too, I didn’t know what to think. I called the camp and Lance told me that Mom had hidden the gold and I thought I would try here for a start. Lucky guess! So Dad, where’s the gold?” she asked.

  A Coast Guard officer came over then and said they had a ship to shore call for me. I boarded the large craft
to take the call, wondering who it could be. It was Lance calling to make sure Grace had located us.

  “Thank the Lord!” he said. “I am so happy for you.”

  “How are you doing, Lance?” I asked, thinking of him trying to go on without Shirley and what might be ahead for him.

  “I am ok. I am throwing myself into the work of the camp. That’s where she was the happiest.

  Incidentally, while I have you on the phone, I want to ask you if you would consider a different position at the camp. I had to fill the kitchen position. Bette is now the kitchen boss. Do you remember how Shirley wanted to fix up those cabins for a bed and breakfast? Would you be willing to run that full time?” he asked.

  I looked over my shoulder at my beautiful daughter, laughing, and scooping up golden coins

  with both hands and I knew what my answer would be.

  “Sure, anything for the kids.”

 

  THE END

  Epilogue

  Phillip, Grace and I walked down the front porch steps of Aunt Ruth’s house one last time. We had to hurry or we would be late. Ruth and Candace had been gone for hours, seeing to last minute details. The short drive was a pleasant one. We pulled up to the old estate house and went inside. We took our seats beside Lance who looked rather charming in a navy blue suit. Soon after Ruth gave a welcome speech she introduced Lance and he came forward.

  “It is my pleasure to dedicate the Shirley Baker Home for Girls. It is my prayer that each mother and child who come here to live will learn to love God with all their hearts, souls, and minds. It is these qualities that will make a good parent.” The applause was deafening and as I looked around the room I thought the gold could not have been put to better use. Anything for the kids.

  Aunt Ruth’s Famous Cinnamon Roll Recipe

  1c leftover mashed potatoes

  2c hot water

  ½ c warm water (100 F)

  ¾ c butter

  ¾ c sugar

  1t salt

  Combine potatoes, 2 c hot water, butter, sugar, salt in large bowl. Mix well. In separate small bowl issolve yeast in ½ c warm water. Let rest 5 minutes. Add eggs, 2 c flour, and yeast mixture to large bowl. Stir well. Continue adding flour until soft dough forms. Knead by hand on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turn to coat. Cover with cup towel. Let rise inside your oven for 1 hour.

  *Ruth uses this time to crochet.*

  Punch down and divide in half. Roll one half into a rectangle and spread with ½ the butter. Sprinkle with half the sugar and cinnamon. Roll up tightly lengthwise and cut into 12 slices. Place in 13x9 pan. Repeat process with other half of dough. Cover. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled. Bake in 350 F oven for 30 minutes. Combine icing ingredients and pour over rolls.

  *This recipe was originally given to Hope’s mother Carol who passed it on to Ruth. Ruth added the orange zest and coffee to make it her own. She hopes you enjoy it!*