Fancy Gap (19 page)

“Have fun, and I’ll leave the porch light on for you.”

Quinn laughed as he slipped into the Ram and headed down the back road to the Parkway. The ride down Highway 52 to Winston-Salem took a short fifty-five minutes. He parked near the Forsyth County offices where the CrimeStoppers meeting was being held. As he entered the building, he heard a familiar voice coming down the corridor. “Hey, mountain man, are you lost?”

“My, my, look who’s here: the high sheriff of Forsyth County. Didn’t I read that a recall election was recently held to vote you out of office, something about you being too ugly?” Quinn shot back.

“Hah, aren’t you the funny, smiling wise guy. Am I missing something here? Finally get hooked up with a mountain woman who keeps your Pez dispenser full of Viagra?”

“Listen, old man, this sixty-two-year-young buck simply relies on his natural vitality to keep his woman smiling. Unlike your out-of-shape, fat, ole butt, which must surely rely on that blue pill to keep lead in your used-up pencil.”

“What’s this shit about your woman, brother? Holding back on me, are you?”

“Tell you what—let’s get through this meeting; then we can discuss the finer things in life over dinner. And there just might be someone new,” Quinn suggested.

“I can hardly wait,” the sheriff said as he closed the door to the meeting room behind them.

* * *

Louisa knew the prayer meeting would be emotional. She had caught the tear that rolled down her cheek while she was watching the Prestons at the press conference. She knew that Quinn had seen it too. Perhaps that was a good thing. Even though they had been together only a short time, she knew the man was a true romantic. That was one aspect she really liked about him. He had no problem showing his emotional side. A lot of men had problems in that area. Not Quinn. He showed his sensitivity at just the right moments. She liked that.

She also understood that he was all man and comfortable with his type-A competitive self. She was now enjoying the dividends of staying as fit as she possibly could.

Her endorphin rush was a daily delight as she ran or biked as hard as she could. She didn’t think twice about training for a century ride or running a marathon.

All of that was good because Quinn was ready to kick her butt whenever he could, and she was always ready to return the favor. She realized that they were fairly evenly matched in physical capabilities.

The difference seemed to be who could mentally push harder and farther than the other. They both relished the prospect of pushing themselves to places they never knew.

She smiled as she knew that Quinn was the type of lover who went to great lengths to take his partner to new corridors of unexplored ecstasy. The man was tender and possessed the ability to slowly lift her atop waves of sexual excitement that she didn’t even know existed.

He certainly was no wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am lover like her ex-husband. She had heard women talk of lovers who could pace themselves while taking their partners through peaks and valleys of prolonged ecstasy. She smiled again when she thought that Quinn could teach a graduate course in all of that.

She was jolted back into reality as she turned into the rock church parking lot. Most of the spaces were already filled in the church parking lot. She looked at her watch and realized she was fifteen minutes early. She walked toward the front of the church as cars and trucks quickly filled the rest of the open spots. Once inside, she saw Tim and Susan, surrounded by many families. Susan spotted her and waved her over to the group. Both Susan and Tim hugged her. She felt the emotion that permeated every inch of the church.

“Louisa, we’re so happy you’re here with us tonight. We haven’t had a moment of peace today. I’m just drained. We’re so happy to be at church, and there are so many people here to pray with us,” Susan said.

“Susan, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Unfortunately, Quinn has to be in Winston-Salem tonight, or else I’m sure he would be here as well.”

“He seems like a wonderful person. How long have you two been together?”

Louisa blushed and paused as she mentally assembled her response. She was about to reply when Father Tony put his hand on her shoulder.

“Louisa, great to have you here with us tonight!”

“Thank you, Father. It looks like a lot of people will be here with us.”

“Not only will our parishioners be here tonight, but people of all faiths who want to share in prayer for the safe return of Katie to her parents. Some members of the press will be here as well. I have asked them to stay in the parking lot until the service is over,” Father Tony informed her.

He then turned and, in a slightly raised voice, asked all to take their seats. As expected, there weren’t enough spaces in the pews or on the extra folding chairs that had been set up. The entire perimeter of the church was filled with people.

The room fell silent as Father Tony, attired in his Franciscan garb, moved to the center of the church and raised his arms in praise.

“Please join your hands and lower your heads as we pray to the Lord on high for the little girl who will be in our prayers tonight. Let us pray for her parents, Susan and Tim, who have suffered through the death of their son, Pete. Let us pray for his young soul that is now in your loving hands, our Lord.

As mere mortals, we can only humbly ask for your grace to safely guide us through the realities of a sometimes brutal life here on earth. We hope and pray that the evil around us never touches us or our loved ones. We live with natural calamities that take us to you at the most inopportune times. We refuse to see the bad and violent side of others as we choose to believe that our friends and neighbors are bathed in your good and glory. Yet the Devil preys upon the weakest of souls that share our earth and breathe the very air you gave us.

Lord, we look for strength to take us through times of sorrow such as we share tonight. We look for your love to strengthen the bond between us mortal humans, with only the compass of our souls to lead us to salvation. Lord, we are all your children, and we ask tonight that you look kindly upon Katie, who is your child in a moment of great need. For all of this, we pray, Lord.”

The room was silent except for the sounds of sniffles and muffled weeping from both women and men alike. Father Tony continued for another fifteen minutes of intense, thought-provoking prayer. Louisa was taken with his words and felt this man was blessed with the ability to easily and solemnly preach to his flock from the bottom of his heart.

Susan reached over and squeezed her hand. Louisa felt a rush of emotion as she connected to the Prestons in their grief. She could not recall such a moment in her life.

Father Tony finished by reminding everyone to remain ever-vigilant to any information that the sheriff ’s department might be able to use. He thanked all for attending. Tim and Susan stood in the back of the church, hugging and shaking hands with everyone. All had a kind word to pass on. Father Tony stood nearby, talking to visitors as they left.

Louisa slid to the side door and was not surprised by what she saw. The parking lot and grassy areas had filled up with news teams, who were interviewing people as they left the service. She backtracked to the rear of the church, where Susan and Tim still stood.

“Louisa, I know you and Quinn are retired, but if there’s some way you can help the sheriff and the state police, we just know that your experience might help in some way. You probably have had to investigate things far worse than this. We feel that God brought you and Quinn into our lives in the middle of this tragedy for a reason.”

Louisa looked at Susan and hesitated for a long moment. “Susan, I’m fighting every impulse to jump into this case. Trust me, Quinn and I have discussed the professional capabilities of the sheriff ’s staff and the state police criminal investigators. They’re very good, as well as their CSI staff.

What they need now is a big break. Police work is one part hard work and determination and two parts getting lucky breaks. Those lucky breaks haven’t come their way quite yet, but I believe the reward may bring some information forward that may help.

Quinn and I have to be careful because what we don’t ever want is the investigators thinking we’re carrying on a parallel investigation of our own. That wouldn’t be good at all.”

“ We still believe the Lord has delivered two professionals of your caliber to help us out in some way,” said Tim. “We don’t think this is a coincidence. You might not have a way to gracefully enter the process now, but I believe the Lord will work you and Quinn in somehow.”

Father Tony walked over. “Susan, the Roanoke CBS affiliate would like to interview you, as well as a Sid Roland from the
Washington Post.”

Louisa took a step back when she heard Sid Roland’s name. She knew Sid well and had granted him several interviews over the years. The last thing she needed was for Sid to see her here. She waited in the back of the church until Susan, Tim, and Father Tony were at the far side of the parking lot. She walked quickly to her car and slid into the driver’s seat. She backed out of the space and drove down the gravel road to the Parkway.

Now that was close,
she thought as she headed back to Quinn’s house. She could see the morning headline in the
Washington Post
if Sid Roland had seen her:
Louisa Hawke on the scene in Fancy Gap abduction case
. She wondered how many more journalists might show up who knew her or knew of her.

Not good
, she thought.

* * *

Quinn and Sheriff Sykes slid into a booth at the 1st Street Draught House pub at the bottom of Hospital Hill near Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. Quinn had grown quite fond of the Red Oak craft beer served there and the couple who ran the place. As Quinn took a sip from his pint, his friend looked at him.

“OK, my dear friend, out with the news. You suddenly have the look of a man who is getting some on a regular basis and likes it. You can’t fool this ole coot. Brother, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that shit-eating grin on your ugly puss. Fess up—who is she?”

“My dearest Sheriff Sykes, of what do you speak?” Quinn teased. “What makes you think I have broken my vow of chastity? OK, Bailey, there is someone in the picture. And it’s someone you might know or at least know of.”

“Well, my dear friend, that gives us a large pool of
femmes’ fatales
to choose from. You’re going to have to narrow the list in order for me guess who the lucky lady is. Pray, tell, age, height, figure, et cetera.”

“Let’s see,” Quinn began, “She’s an even sixty but looks like she’s forty. She’s a natural redhead with the creamiest white skin I’ve ever seen. She’s about five-eleven barefoot and has the longest legs. She has blue eyes and is very smart, athletic, and
très
sexy.”

“Well now, Brother Quinn, you painted a picture of only one woman I’ve ever seen who fits that description. But it couldn’t be the one I know because that woman is as cold as the North Pole in the middle of winter, and she has zero interest in men. No, it can’t be the ice princess—or can it?”

Quinn didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed his phone and opened the pictures folder. He brought up a picture of Louisa he had taken on his deck. She was wearing a tight halter top and little blue shorts. He turned the phone for his friend to see.

“Well, I’ll be dipped in shit! How in the world did Louisa Hawke end up in your life, or lap, or deck, for that matter?”

Quinn filled him in on all that had happened since he had first met Louisa in Washington.

“Of all the women on this planet you might have hooked up with, this is, well, mind boggling. From what you’ve told me, it appears as though the ice princess has melted into the towering inferno of lust! I still can’t believe it’s the same woman. Listen, I knew several Bureau lover-boys who took a run at that woman and got shot down so badly, they never recovered. The FBI was the only love in her life. I remember a stud ATF agent who was sure he had what it took to make Louisa smile. The story goes that after she got through with him, he was in therapy for six months, and it was another year before he got a proper erection,” exclaimed Bailey.

“Oh, it’s her, Bailey, and I love every minute of our time together. The chemistry is freakin’ awesome! I don’t know how the stars were aligned the night we met, but it does look like we were destined to hook up.”

“Well, Brother Quinn, that woman has an advantage that no other sixty-year-old woman has for you,” teased Bailey.

“And exactly what would that be?”

“I daresay the woman comes equipped with a love compartment with no miles on the odometer and probably as tight as an undersized, red velvet glove!”

They both fell into a fit of laughter that had others in the pub staring at them. After dinner, Quinn hugged his friend good-bye and drove north on Highway 52 back home to Fancy Gap. The red velvet glove suggestion made him laugh all the way home.

He sensed a quiet peace as he entered the house. He opened the screen door and walked in. Louisa was sitting in his leather chair with a pad and pencil in her hands. The late-summer sunset beyond the massive picture windows framed her.

“Hey, you, how was church?” he asked as he grabbed a fresh bottle of Angel Chardonnay from the fridge.

Louisa smiled up at him. “Do you know what I’m doing?” she asked.

“Haven’t a clue, Miss Hawke. Do I have to guess, or are you going to tell me?”

“Quinn, you’re a lucky man. I’ve been writing down all the reasons I should stay here with you and all the reasons I should leave in the morning and drive back to Arlington.”

“Oh, my, now that, I’m certain, is a thought-provoking exercise. Should I start helping you pack?”

“Well, Quinn, it’s been interesting. I’ve jotted down twenty-five reasons I should stay a day or two more in your presence. The other side of the ledger is empty—at least for now.”

“Now, that’s the kind of accounting I can live with,” he said as he poured her a glass of wine.

She sat up and kissed him when he handed her the glass.

“So back to my question: How was church?”