by Sara L Foust
The freedom she felt in that revelation washed over her like the cool wind. It lifted her out of the truck and up the driveway. As she stood, with her hands planted on her hips, and surveyed Jimmy Vern’s property, Zach’s phone rang.
“Kirk, what have you found out?”
Annalise held her breath. This was it. The moment when the path would lead to a funeral or a celebration. Which would it be?
“Okay. Thanks.” Zach hung the phone up and turned to her. “Kirk got Jimmy Vern to tell him where he took Cody.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Jimmy Vern said the boy wasn’t dead when he left him.”
Her mind and heart and soul leapt for joy, almost as if she could physically feel them rising upward within her. “Where?”
“Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her back to his truck, then kicking it into 4-wheel drive, slung around the parked vehicles, raced past the cabin, and headed for the far end of the valley.
Lord, please, repeated a mantra in her mind as the wind whipped her face through the open window.
Chapter Thirty-Four
ZACH PULLED TO A GRASSY bald and slammed the truck in park. They leapt out together and ran to the area where the weeds had been pressed down by tires recently, still carrying the imprint of Jimmy Vern’s tread.
The cliff in front of them ended in a too-full creek forty feet below. Annalise gasped. “Did he really throw him from here?” How could someone do that? She’d asked that question so many times over the years. She’d never understand how human beings could be so cruel to one another.
Zach nodded.
They studied the shoreline below, and her heart stopped rejoicing. Was there any way he could have survived that?
“Not likely, Annalise.”
There Zach was, reading her mind again. “We need to get down there.”
“Follow me.”
Zach wound his way through the forest next to the field and finally found a little-used path down the bluff. A game trail, maybe. It sloped to meet a wider, slower section of the creek.
Annalise stopped to check the banks from their still-higher perch. The air whooshed from her lungs. “Zach, look!” She pointed at a dark-clad lump hidden under the edge of a rhododendron. Was that really him?
Her heart pounded in rhythm to her running steps. She knelt next to him and paused. Lord, help me. With a trembling hand, she reached to feel his back. Too cool. Too still.
Zach squatted next to her.
“I can’t reach his neck.”
“We shouldn’t move him if—”
“I can’t just narrowly miss again.” She pressed him with a pleading gaze and lowered her voice. “I have to know for sure.”
He pressed his lips together but nodded.
“Help me?”
Zach pushed through the thick branches and held them back while she lifted Cody’s limp body.
She laid him gently in a patch of sunshine. She pressed two fingers to his neck and held her breath. Lord, please. Please. Please.
A dull thump bounced against her fingers. Several seconds later, another.
“He’s alive!”
“I don’t believe it.”
Annalise couldn’t take her eyes off Cody’s thin, pale face, but from somewhere behind her, she heard Zach dial and request a helicopter.
“They’ll be here in ten minutes, but they have to land up top.”
If Cody could survive Jimmy Vern for five days and being thrown into a creek, surely carrying him wouldn’t push him over the edge.
“Zach?”
He nodded and scooped Cody into his arms.
She covered him with her sweater. “I’ll lead the way.” Her feet floated her up the narrow path. By the time they got there, the helicopter’s blades cut the air overhead. Annalise helped guide them to the ground.
Once the doors slid open, the medics took charge and loaded Cody in a matter of seconds. She didn’t have time to breathe until they were zipping away over the treetops. Lord, thank you! She turned and buried her head in Zach’s chest.
He wrapped his arms around her.
The sobs she’d needed to release for days broke free. All the things Dave had said and done, all the fears for Cody and his family, all the sense of inadequacy and worry and disappointment came out in her salty tears. So much tension ebbed out of her body, a few minutes later she wanted to curl into the grass and sleep for a month.
Zach pulled back and smiled.
She turned her face and swiped at her cheeks. “I’m a mess. Been a long time since I ugly-cried.”
He chuckled. “Even when you ‘ugly cry,’ Annalise, you’re beautiful. Come on, let’s get to the hospital.”
She nodded. “Oh! I have to call Celine. Now.”
“I am so proud of you for not giving up. You knew in your heart of hearts he was going to make it.”
“He still may not.” It was a miracle to have found him at all. Maybe it would be a two-part miracle. Lord?
ZACH HAD HEARD OF WOMEN who glowed when they got pregnant and had babies. Annalise glowed when she found someone else’s child. And he only loved her all the more for it.
They drove in silence to LeConte Medical Center. By the time they located Cody, he’d been taken into the ICU Trauma bay and could have no visitors.
Annalise’s shoulders drooped.
“Come on, let’s go wait for Celine. She’ll need a friendly face.”
He led her to a seat in the quiet room and answered the call breaking the stillness. “Kirk, get anything out of him?”
“Full confession.”
No way. “Really?” It was the second time in the last hour he’d been astonished at the outcome of this case.
“About everything.”
“How’d you do it?”
“Threatened his dogs.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Dead serious. He told me everything. From how they ran supplies in from both sides of the mountain, Cataloochee and Pigeon Forge, by horseback. Made the moonshine and brought it down on foot with hikers. They used the backcountry trails and sites.”
That explained the broken glass at the campsite. “Why did he kill Buster?”
“He claims Buster threatened to take more than his fair cut. They got in a huge fight. Jimmy Vern shot him, and while he was dumping the body the kids happened to come along. Jimmy Vern saw them running and then found Cody’s dad’s credit card and tracked them down.”
“Wow.”
“I know. Ten thousand dollars is highly motivating though.”
“For anyone.”
“True. When he found out about Cody, he grabbed him, locked him in the cellar, and tried to get him to tell where the money was. When that didn’t work, he attacked Celine and torched Paul’s house.”
“Is there anything that man won’t do?”
Annalise was boring him through with her questioning gaze.
He held up a finger and whispered, “Hang on.”
“He figured we were closing in, and the boy got ill off some bad chicken he fed him, so he tried to tie up that loose end too.”
“Lucky for us, that particular one didn’t work.”
“How is Cody?”
“We don’t really know anything right now.”
“I’m processing Jimmy Vern now. Oh, and the hit on Wilson too.”
“How did he manage that one?”
“He met some interesting people when he was in jail the first time. As dumb as the man looks, he has a good head for business under there.”
“Clever, conniving man.”
“You’ve got that right. Okay, call me if you hear something about Cody.”
“I will. Thanks, Kirk.”
“This time I can say, my pleasure, and mean it. Oh, hey, tell Annalise I’m still waiting for her yes.”
Zach chuckled as he hung up. He told Annalise everything.
Her smile grew wider and wider.
“He says you need to
say yes.”
She bit her cheek.
“What’s stopping you?” Dave either would agree to work things out and support her, or he would show his true colors and leave. Annalise passing up the offer would only hurt her. Let her say yes, Lord. Show her it’s okay.
A slow smile broke over her face. “Nothing. I’m in.”
He hugged her. “I knew you’d say yes.”
She slapped his shoulder. “You did, huh? I didn’t even know until right now. But bringing Cody home for his mother feels amazing.”
He wrinkled his brow. “They won’t all end like this.”
“I know. I want to be there for the ones that do, though.”
They spun at a commotion in the outer lobby. Spotting them, Celine stepped through the doors, breathless. “Have you seen him yet?”
Annalise put her hand on her shoulder. “No.” Celine fell into her arms, and Annalise hugged her close.
“Was he...is he...”
Annalise led Celine to the nearest chair. “He was unconscious when I found him. Barely had a pulse, and breathing was almost nonexistent.”
Celine choked on a sob.
“But he was alive. That’s the important part.” Annalise smiled. “We never know how many miracles God has planned for him.”
“Thank you for saying that.” She wiped her tears with a tissue.
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better. They discharged me home with concussion precautions. I probably shouldn’t have driven here, but I couldn’t wait.”
Zach grinned. “I think under the circumstances, any officer who happened to pull you over would have given you a police escort straight here and held your hand—you know the one not in a cast—while you found your son.”
Celine chuckled. “Thanks, Officer Leebow. Brian is on his way back in too.”
Annalise smiled and patted her hand. “We have good news, Ms. Moss.”
Her gaze snapped up to meet theirs. “Besides finding my son, you mean?”
“The man who orchestrated all of this—kidnapped Cody, attacked you—all of it, is behind bars and will be staying there for a very, very long time.”
Celine melted against Annalise’s side with another round of tears.
A nurse burst through the doors, wearing a broad smile. “Family of Cody Moss?”
The three of them rose to their feet as one unit. “Yes.”
“He’s awake.”
Dear Readers,
I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED book number one in my new Smoky Mountain Suspense series. It was, at times, a challenging one to write, but in the end what truly matters is that I effectively communicate the great love God has for you. He is always able to work good from the things we sometimes see as the worst possible outcome. His answers may not always be miracles, or even line up with what we ask, but ultimately He wants what’s best for you.
Check out book number two, The Vanishing of Olivia Beck, which is available for preorder on Amazon now. Coming April 2020!
SHE IS LOOKING FORWARD to a new beginning in a new town...
Until an old case heats up again and a familiar face brings the past back to life. Recently recruited Special Agents Annalise Baker and Zachary Leebow are called upon to investigate major crimes in the Great Smoky Mountains. Now, with a missing woman that seems a bit too familiar and a former arrestee out for vengeance, these best friends are not only tasked with solving a puzzling disappearance...
...but running for their own lives.
Pssst.. Just a quick reminder, if you haven’t already, please join my newsletter. I’d love to have you! Sign up now and get my free eBook novella, Of Walls, delivered right to your inbox. Plus get the inside scoop on all of my new releases and giveaways and receive monthly newsletters where we can connect, get to know each other, and pray for one another. Here is the link (or click on the image below): http://eepurl.com/cfqP5H
Acknowledgments
THANK YOU, ATHENA BROWN, for naming the villain in this book. It was so fun asking readers to help me come up with a name, and I got so many great suggestions! Jimmy Vern Buchanan just seemed to fit, though.
I could not have gotten this far—or even continued writing at all—without the help and support of my family. I’m always so afraid I will forget someone, but I will try. Special thanks to:
Chelsea, my kids’ favorite non-grandparent babysitter, my confidant, my friend. I am so thankful for you.
Aunt Sue, you have bought multiple copies of each of my books and never hesitated to help me out when my world turned upside down this last year. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Becky (number one), you encourage me and keep me going when I worry I will never succeed. You read everything I write and never hesitate to give me honest advice. You’ve been my professional artist consultor and therapist and best friend all at the same time. I only wish Texas was in Tennessee.
Becky (number two), you have listened to my tears so many times this past year and you have talked all things books with me when others’ eyes glaze over. I am so blessed to call you friend.
Mom and Dad, you have rearranged your schedules more times than I can count to watch my crazy crew, have supported and listened and provided for and loved me from day one. God couldn’t have picked better parents for me.
Caleb and Leia, you’ve never hesitated to send me praise and encouragement when I’ve needed it, and I am so thankful. Plus, bro, you put up with my crazy clan of cats for the night just so I wouldn’t be alone...thanks, again.
Aunt Vicki, you, too, have bought all my books and shared them with your family. You always have a smile and a hug for me. Thank you.
Valerie, you’ve listened, given advice, and prayed with me. You’ve made me laugh and encouraged me.
Aunt Jeanne, you’ve been so encouraging and made me feel so special for being an author. Thank you for that and for helping support the kids and me when we needed it this year.
Brett and Kate—reasons. Thank you, truly.
Abby, Emma, Mayci, Korrie, and Cole, thank you for being the ones who call me Mommy. I know you had no choice or say in the matter, but it is an honor nonetheless. I am beyond blessed to be your mother. Thank you for letting me write, for watching over each other and sticking together, and, most of all, letting me love you.
All of my family is amazing. I could never express how very thankful I am to be placed exactly as I am in this world. I can’t repay you for all you’ve done. I love each and every one of you!
Most of all, I thank God. He has been my closest friend, my biggest encourager, and my guide, in life and in writing. Without Him none of this would be possible.
I am one blessed girl!
About the Author
SARA IS A MULTI-PUBLISHED, award-winning author and homeschooling mother of five who writes surrounded by the beauty of East Tennessee. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is the author of the Love, Hope, and Faith Series, which includes Callum's Compass (2017), Camp Hope (2018), and Rarity Mountain (March 2019). She also has a story, “Leap of Faith,” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone and a novella, Of Walls (November 2018). Sara finds inspiration in her faith, her family, and the beauty of nature. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading, camping, and spending time outdoors with her family. To learn more about her and her work or to become a part of her email friend’s group, please visit www.saralfoust.com.
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