Fancy Gap (18 page)
“Rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub.
Rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub.”
He banished all thoughts of Ken and Barbie.
As the cancellations for motel rooms began to mount, motel owners soon discovered that their rooms were a hot commodity for a different reason: The horde of media personnel who were descending on Fancy Gap and Carroll County needed a place to sleep. The deep pockets of ABC, NBC, and FOX News could accommodate much higher room rates. Even the old motel in Fancy Gap was full of media curiosity seekers who wanted to be near the exact area where the children were abducted. Ms. Tillwell was no one’s fool: What was once a thirty five-dollar-a-night room suddenly became a one hundred and fifty-dollar-a-night room. She knew the sudden notoriety of the location could disappear as quickly as the fog.
This crush of media presence was not lost on the Prestons. Mary had promised Tim and Susan that she would take all calls from the press and help prioritize them according to which ones would most benefit their cause. The regional and local presses would have the most access to them for interviews, since they believed that Katie was close by. The only national interview they had planned was on
The Today Show,
though Fox News and the Oprah channel had called to set up something.
They had already had sit-down interviews with WXII, the NBC affiliate out of Winston-Salem, which maintained the greatest market penetration in the Hillsville, Galax, and Fancy Gap markets. They had also talked to the Fox channel out of Charlotte to cover the area south of I-77. Since the
Winston-Salem Journal
was the most widely read big-city newspaper in Carroll County, they had granted an extensive interview with two reporters. The story was plastered all over the front page for days.
Mary wanted them to talk with the
USA Today
reporter, as well as the team from
People
magazine. Tim thought that was a good idea but Susan opposed it—at least for now. She was convinced that good coverage in the local markets would increase the chances their message would be seen by whoever had Katie or by someone who might have seen something important.
As Tim and Susan rounded the corner in front of the Carroll County Government Center, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The large parking lot was overflowing with media vehicles of all sizes. Antennas and dishes sprouted from the rooftops of mega vans, and a maze of electrical cables covered the ground.
Tim drove around to the sheriff ’s entrance and parked in a spot the sheriff had reserved for them. The sheriff was standing outside his office when they arrived. He smiled as they approached and opened the door to his office for them. As they entered, two people stood to greet them.
Libby Thomas extended her hand to Susan. “Mrs. Preston, I’m Libby Thomas, chairperson on the county board of supervisors. First of all, on behalf of all the citizens of Carroll County, I want to extend our deepest condolences to you and your husband on your loss. Please understand that you have all the resources of our county at your disposal.”
The other man in the room introduced himself to Tim. “I’m Herman Licata, county administrator. Please accept my condolences. We’re doing all we possibly can to help find your daughter.”
After they all sat down, Tim scanned all of their faces slowly and said, “Susan and I, as well as her sister, Mary, know that all of you are working really hard at finding our little Katie. Nothing prepared us for all of this. We go through life with the bad-things-won’t-happen-to-me-and-my-family attitude. Then, all of a sudden, something horrific blasts a hole in the very fabric of your existence.
Susan and I want to thank you, sheriff, for all you’ve done already. We know that your deputies have been working day and night to find our little girl. The kindness of all the people in Carroll County has been endless. Thanks for bringing Father Tony into our lives. He has been a rock for us. You all should know that Susan and I pray every moment of every day for Katie’s safe return. We haven’t given up hope. We do need to know if anything at all has developed that might give us any hope of her being found—alive.”
Sheriff Pierce replied, “Tim, I so do wish we had something new to share. We have followed up on hundreds of leads. Each and every one has led to a dead end so far. The one person of interest from Surry County in North Carolina has fallen off the face of the earth. His mother hasn’t heard from him, and he hasn’t called her or used any of his credit cards. We think he’s somewhere in West Virginia. The folks at the state police have been working their leads as well. The DNA that was collected at the motel hasn’t matched up with anything on record anywhere.”
There was silence in the room until Libby Thomas spoke, “Tim, before we go in to talk to the press, I want you to know that we’re going to announce that a fifty-thousand-dollar reward will be offered for the safe return of Katie. We hope and pray that this might motivate someone to share information.”
Susan and Tim looked at each other before Susan spoke, “I really don’t know what to say. This is such a surprise. Are you going to announce this at the press conference?”
“ We are, Susan,” the sheriff answered. “With as many reporters as there are here today, the message will get out quickly. One of my deputies counted over one hundred and fifty people sitting in the hall. Have you been bothered by the press?”
Mary spoke up. “I’ve been handling the press. We decided to limit the number of national interviews because we truly feel that Katie is close by. The local TV stations in Virginia and North Carolina have been very courteous, as have the newspapers from both states. I agree that a large reward should get somebody’s attention.”
The sheriff stood up. “Time to go to the press conference. This should be interesting.”
Susan was stunned when she entered the conference hall. The room was jam-packed with reporters and TV people. She suddenly felt the true impact of her family’s ordeal. It had quickly morphed into one of the biggest stories in the whole country. She realized that as devastating as Pete’s death was, the fact that Katie was still missing fueled the inferno of interest. She prayed that they would soon have a happy ending.
They sat in their assigned seats on the elevated stage. Jim Craig joined them. The flashes from the cameras were almost blinding. The TV lights lit the room white. Sheriff Pierce welcomed everyone to the press conference and gave an overview of what had happened and where the investigation stood at that point. He mentioned the police’s person of interest who might be somewhere in West Virginia, as well as the fifty thousand dollar reward.
After the sheriff had finished, Tim stood and thanked them all for coming. He praised the sheriff’s department and the state police for all of their hard work. He then paused and slowly said, “We are first and foremost parents. We pray for Katie’s safe return every waking moment. We cry when we think that our son has been taken from us…forever. I lost my mother a week ago, and now I will never squeeze and hug my son again.” He reached over, hugged Susan, and wiped the tears running down her cheek. You could hear a pin drop in the crowded room.
He looked again at the room and continued, “Susan and the rest of our family and friends pray for a miracle to happen to bring our sweet child back to us. I again want to thank all those who helped putting the reward together. To us it’s more than money—it’s our daughter’s life at stake here. I would switch places with Katie if I could so that she might live the rest of her life.
I only pray that someone out there might have any kind of information that might be helpful to getting our little Katie back to us—alive. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.”
There was silence in the room before the first question was asked. Reporters asked a variety of questions and, much to the sheriff ’s surprise maintained a level of civility. The session lasted all of fifteen minutes.
No one noticed him in the back of the room. He knew they wouldn’t because for the moment he was one of them. As the room emptied, Tim and Susan sat for two separate interviews that Mary had arranged. The sheriff watched as each was taped. When they were finished, he walked out to the car with them.
“Sheriff, thank you for your help today. That means a lot to us. We’re having a prayer meeting with Father Tony tonight at six o’clock. Might you be able to join us?” said Susan.
“My wife and I have an appointment at four this afternoon. I’ll try to be there if we finish early.”
Susan took his hand and squeezed it hard. “Thank you, sheriff, and may God bless you.”
He watched them from afar as he sat in his van.
He felt his power swell as he drove away.
Quinn and Louisa were cooling down after a late-morning, six-mile run on a mountain trail that Quinn had cut on a nearby ledge that dipped down into the valley and back up near the Parkway. The day was blessed with a cool, westerly breeze that swept atop the mountain ridge.
“Mister McSpain, a woman could get used to this living. A beautiful home on God’s acre. This most incredible view at your doorstep, with Mother Nature to provide natural air conditioning while the rest of the world below swelters in the summer heat. Ye s sirree, Bob, this place has it going on. Now if it only had a chief cook and bottle washer that would be nirvana!”
Quinn took her hand and led her into the bedroom, where he stood her in front of the full-length mirror. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who cooks the best of them all? Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the most athletic of them all?”
Louisa turned and looked into his eyes. “I have suddenly found the person and place I could only dream of in that other life. Is all of this real? Do I wake up some morning and find myself back in Arlington in that sea of uncaring and brutal humanity?”
He put his hands on her cheeks and spoke softly. “Louisa, this is not all perfect. The power goes out from time to time; it rains; it snows; and when the cloud deck settles in, the fog blankets us into never-never land. I snore, I belch, and I love to fart, and those are my finer points. I will always try to run and bike faster than you do. I ask no quarter; I give no quarter.
Now having gone over my finer points, I must suggest that I am under the gravitational pull that first attracted me when you sat next to me on that barstool at DC Coast. I am a true romantic at heart. My wonderful life with Ellen was precious every moment we were together. I never expect that to be repeated, and it never will be. With you, I have new feelings that are unique to you and me. The intense chemistry I feel is, well, getting better. And I like that.”
Louisa put her head on his chest for a moment before she looked up into his eyes and said, “Is there even the slightest chance I might get an extension on my reservation here?”
He thought for a moment. “I hate to make important decisions on an empty stomach. Let’s have lunch and take another look at your request later.”
“Huh, typical man—always thinking about his next meal before anything else!” They both laughed as she led him into the kitchen.
Quinn turned the TV on to watch the noontime news while Louisa headed to the refrigerator. He saw Tim and Susan at the press conference.
“Come here, Louisa. The Prestons are talking to the press.”
They sat next to each other on the ottoman and forgot all about eating as they were glued to the screen. After the segment was over, Quinn looked at Louisa as she brushed away a tear that was working its way down the side of her nose.
So much for her tough FBI image,
he thought. What he felt and experienced with her was light years away from the cold and insensitive tags that had been hung on her.
“Wow, the Carroll County power brokers must be mightily concerned about this mess to put up fifty grand. I guess the possibility of the fatted-calf flea market fading away from the county has put the fear of Jesus in those who could afford to pony up the big bucks,” mused Louisa.
Quinn thought for a moment. “Louisa, I have a bad gut feeling about this mess. Frankly, I don’t think a million dollars will ever bring this little girl back to her parents…alive. The sick motherfucker who killed the boy will kill again.”
“Well, I for one hope you’re all wrong on your hunches. I have seen some of the meanest butchers back away from their next kill for the love of money. Could be their need for drugs, booze, or gambling that takes them to a reward, and I’m betting that fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money in these southwest Virginia hollows.”
“I hope you’re right. But as sad as this all is, it’s not our problem. We’re retired and in the business of enjoying life, day in and day out. You’d better be careful at the prayer meeting tonight. Susan and Tim are desperate. They now know that you were one of the top dogs in the FBI. They also know that I was a corporate sleuth. They’ll surely try to convince us that the investigation needs our help. You’re going to be on a slippery slope with them both this evening,” Quinn warned.
“Well, lucky you, did you plan your CrimeStoppers board of directors meeting in Winston-Salem tonight just so you wouldn’t have to go to the meeting at church? And aren’t you having dinner with your buddy, Sheriff Sykes, as well?”
“No, this meeting was planned months in advance. Plus it’s been forever since I’ve seen Bailey. You did know he’s retired from the Bureau as well,” Quinn replied.
“While I didn’t know him personally, his reputation as a very good agent who also charmed the ladies was well known throughout the Bureau.”
Quinn started to laugh. “Now, that’s funny. Purely speculation on someone’s part, though. A flirt and a politician on the grandest scale, but as far as I know he’s always been firmly planted in his own backyard.”
“Well, I’m not so sure about that. But it’s good that you’ll get to visit. I can only imagine what he’ll say about me.” Louisa tendered.
“And exactly what makes you think I’ll bring your name up?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.
Louisa stuck her tongue out at him as he grabbed his keys and turned to give her a good-bye kiss. She feigned indifference as she looked away from him before she turned and kissed him.