by accident, and that was a lie. That monster let him believe it all his life, and he would’ve killed us all to keep the truth from coming out. He stole Riley Jo to get a wife, and—”
“Abby, wait.” Virgil held up his hand. “Obviously this is complicated, and you kids have been through the wringer. After you get checked out at the ER, I’d really appreciate it if you’d come to the sheriff’s department so we can get your statements.”
“I’m ready to tell everything,” Jay said. “I want that creep locked up.”
Abby pulled her sister closer. “Me, too.”
Virgil bent down next to the girl he had been trying to find for five years, surprised at the sudden surge of emotion that tightened his throat. “I’m Sheriff Granger, honey. There’s no need to be scared.”
Ella looked at him with the eyes of an abused puppy. “Are you gonna make me go live with strangers?”
“Well,” Virgil said softly, “we have to take some tests that prove you really are Abby’s sister. So for a little while, you’ll need to stay with some very nice people. But I’m sure you’ll be able to see Abby anytime you want.”
“And my real ma?”
“Her, too. I can tell you this: she loves you very, very much. We’ve all been looking for you a long time.”
“Can I see Otha and my brothers when I’m with the nice people?”
“I don’t see why not. But let’s take one thing at a time.”
Ella’s gaze was wide-eyed and disarming. “Mister Sheriff, is Pa goin’ to jail?”
“I’m afraid so.” If I had my way, we’d throw away the key.
“Good. I ain’t never goin’ back to him,” Ella said.
“You don’t ever have to worry about that. I promise.” Virgil stood and looked at Abby. “Would you like to call your mother?”
“Yes!” Abby’s face lit up. “Does she know?”
Virgil smiled. “She knows.”
Kate hung up the phone after talking to Abby and stared out the kitchen window, unable to say anything.
She turned to Elliot, fell into his embrace, and wept. She couldn’t yet grasp the cruel truth that Micah had been murdered the day he disappeared—and by a madman who abducted their daughter. Or that Jay had been saddled with false guilt much of his young life. That Hawk was a hero. And Abby was alive. And Riley Jo was finally coming home. None of it seemed real.
Finally Kate’s tears turned to a trickle, and she pushed back from Elliot and looked up at him. “Did you catch everything Abby said?”
“Most of it. She was talking pretty fast.” Elliot wiped her tears with his handkerchief. “Good news and bad news.”
“I need to embrace the good news,” Kate said. “I’ve feared for a long time that something awful happened to Micah and Riley Jo. I never expected to see either of them again. And I was beginning to wonder about Abby. So for now, I’m going to let my heart rejoice in the good news. And deal with bad news later.”
“Why don’t I drive you to the emergency room?”
Kate nodded. “I’d appreciate that. I’m not sure I could figure out how to get the key in the ignition at the moment. I’m so disappointed that someone from the Division of Children and Family Services has already taken Riley Jo. I would’ve loved a glimpse of her.”
“They’ll let you see her soon. Poor thing’s been through so much.”
Kate exhaled through her mouth, her nose stuffed up from crying. “I can’t believe how cold and angry I was that Abby wouldn’t let it go. Thank God she didn’t.”
Elliot smiled. “Amen.”
Kate felt her cheeks get hot. “‘Thank God’ was just an expression.”
Elliot didn’t say anything.
“Do you really think this is going to make me trust God again? My husband was murdered, my baby’s lived with a monster for five years, and my girls have just been through a reign of terror that my son ended by shooting the man’s rifle out of his hand. Do you think that, just because Hawk found them in the nick of time, I should forget all the anguish it caused and simply thank God because it’s ‘all better now’? Well, I’m not. I’m thanking Hawk. And Virgil. And the teams who tracked them down.”
“We may not agree on the Source of the miracle,” Elliot said, “but you have to admit it’s a bit miraculous how it came together.”
Kate pursed her lips. “Well, it certainly defies coincidence that Abby and Jay ended up friends, neither of them knowing that Jay held the key