Not by Sight A Novel

CHAPTER 17

Abby sat, staring at Beaver Lake, tears trickling down her cheeks, her temples pounding. She felt as if her bottom were cemented to the ground.

The thought that her father may have been accidentally killed by her now best friend, and his body “tended to” by a stranger, was shocking enough. But knowing that Riley Jo may have been taken by the same man who had made no effort to find out who she belonged to made her sick to her stomach. Why would he keep her and not contact the authorities?

“Abby, say something,” Jay said.

“Like what?”

“Say you hate me. Say you’re going to the sheriff. Say you want me to burn in hell! Anything is better than sitting here, watching you cry. I know I’ve caused you another heartbreak, and it’s cost me our friendship. But you deserve to know the truth. I wasn’t hiding it from you. I honestly didn’t connect the dots until the guy called and you put your cell phone on speaker.”

Abby felt as if her heart would burst wide open. She let more tears escape and finally looked over at Jay. “I don’t hate you. You were just a kid. The guy told you the man you shot had no kin.”

“I should’ve told my mom and stepdad what happened.”

“Of course you should’ve. But you were just a kid. You were terrified of going to jail. And of disappointing your father and losing what little relationship you had with him. That’s really heavy for a twelve-year-old to handle.”

Jay wiped his tears with the bottom of his T-shirt. “At that moment, I’d have given anything to bring the man back to life. But what was done was done. I just wanted to forget it happened—but I never have. I’m so sorry, Abby.”

“That’s two of us.” Abby hugged her knees tightly and rocked back and forth. “If we go to Sheriff Granger, what will he be able to do about any of it now? And if the man who has Ella gets the slightest hint that we’ve told the authorities, he might bolt, and I’ll never know if she’s my sister. Or he might come after me, and we’ll both be missing.”

“Not if I go after him first.”

“How?”

“The reason I’m muddy is I spent the morning searching the woods near the place where I shot your dad. I figured if the man is a local like the sales clerk at Murchison’s told you, then he’s probably living on Sure Foot Mountain.”

“He could be living anywhere,” Abby said. “What makes you think that?”

“Because there are folks in those woods who are totally self-sufficient. They don’t even send their kids to school. They live by their own laws and keep to themselves. That would be a perfect setting if he took Riley Jo. There would be no one to question whether she was his daughter.”

Abby looked up and studied Jay’s expression. “What makes you think you can find him?”

“Because I know my way around those woods. I know where the log cabins are. I’ll search the area and see if I spot Ella—or the guy.”

“Then what?”

“I’ll take Ella and go to the sheriff. If her DNA matches Riley Jo’s, we’ll know.”

“Do you think Ella is just going to go with you without a fight?” Abby rolled her eyes. “If the man catches you, he’s liable to kill you. And even if you manage to pull it off, you could get arrested for kidnapping.”

“I’ll tell the sheriff the truth about what happened. I’m ready to accept the consequences, whatever they are. Frankly, at this point, it would be a relief.”

Abby studied his face. He was serious. “There’s no guarantee this will work,” she said.

“There’s no proof the guy is violent, Abby. Or even that his intentions are evil. I mean, he didn’t turn me in when I was twelve. And Ella looked fine. He’s got a wife and twin boys now. Maybe he just tried to scare you off because he loves the girl and is afraid of losing her.”

“Too bad! She’s not his!” Abby blinked away the stinging in her eyes. “When I think of the agony Mama’s been through …”

“I know. I know. I didn’t say he was right to do it. But maybe he really thought the man I shot didn’t have any family. And he took the girl and gave her a home. Maybe he found out we were asking about her and just wanted us to back off.”

“That’s a lot of maybes,” Abby said. “If that child is Riley Jo, she belongs with her real family.”

“Agreed. But we have to decide here and now how you want to handle this. If you want us to go to the sheriff instead, I’ll understand. But I really do think I can find Ella without creating suspicion, if I do it my way.”

“Then I’m going with you,” Abby said.

“Absolutely not.”

“You might need help.”

Jay folded his arms across his chest. “It’s a one-man job, Abby. You’ll just be in the way.”

“But if you actually do find Ella, I think she’ll be less likely to be scared of a teenage girl than a guy.”

“It’s not like I’ll have time to sweet-talk her,” Jay said. “Any way you cut it, I’ll have to force her to come with me. But I’ll do everything I can to assure her I’m not going to hurt her. There’s no way I’m going to make you an accomplice. I’m doing it alone, or you can go to the sheriff right now.”

Abby felt her neck muscles tighten. “What if she’s happy there? What if she’ll hate us for doing this to her?”

“That’s a possibility. But he had no right to take her like that. There’s no painless way to get this done. So how do you want me to do this, Abby? It’s your call …”



Abby drove Mama’s Odyssey past the Raleigh County Courthouse and turned onto Perkins Street, hoping she wasn’t too late to sneak into the back of Jay’s truck. She admired his courage. But the more she considered his plan, the less feasible it seemed that he could pull off snatching Ella by himself. He was going to need help. He might be mad at first when she made her presence known. But he would thank her when they had to move quickly and keep a scared seven-year-old calm and cooperative.

Abby slowed the Odyssey and parallel-parked in front of Lucy’s Nail Spa. She got out and jogged across the street, then cut through two yards to the next block, excited when she spotted Jay’s truck parked outside the Sycamore Apartments. Good. He hadn’t left yet. The big tarp was still covering the bed of his truck, where he’d tied down an old easy chair he hadn’t taken to Goodwill yet.

Abby looked both ways and didn’t see anyone. She crossed the street and ducked behind Jay’s truck. She unfastened the bungee cord closest to the bottom and crawled under the tarp and lay next to the chair. Now, if the other two bungee cords would just hold while they were on the highway …

She heard someone talking and realized it was Jay.

“Mr. Sustern, it’s Jay Rogers. Sorry to give you such short notice, but I’m still not up to par and won’t be coming in to work this evening … Yes, sir, I agree. I sure wouldn’t want anyone else to catch what I’ve got. I’m glad you understand. I hope to be in tomorrow at four. Yes, sir, I will. Thanks.”

The truck door opened, and a few seconds later the engine was running. Jay backed out and turned left.

Abby lay on the floor of the truck bed and held tightly to the chair, which was fastened securely to both sides, and tried not to roll with each turn. The last thing she needed was to make a thumping noise that might make Jay stop and take a look. The ride was hot and bumpy, and her arms were getting tired from gripping the chair.

She thought about what they were about to do. So many things could happen. So much could go wrong. She could even be wrong—again. Mama would probably ground her for the rest of her life for going along with Jay’s plan to steal Ella.

It would be worth it if they were right. Her mind flashed back to the last image she had of Riley Jo, holding the baby doll that was half as big as she was, an elfin grin on her face.

Lord, when I left for Staci’s that day, I promised Riley Jo I would see her tomorrow. I broke that promise. I can’t change what happened to her. And I can’t bring Daddy back. But with Your help, I can change the course of her future.

Abby was taking a leap of faith into the dark unknown. What happened next was out of her hands. Out of her sight. No matter what happened, she would never agree with Mama and Hawk that the God she had given her heart to would turn a deaf ear to her prayers.



Abby glanced at her watch as the truck slowed and came to a complete stop. Thirty-two minutes. She didn’t move—or breathe—and listened intently.

Jay got out, his footsteps moving away from the truck. She waited half a minute and then crawled out from under the tarp. She peeked over the side of the truck bed and saw Jay walk into the woods.

Abby hopped out of the truck and followed him, stepping gingerly and surreptitiously in his footsteps on the muddy ground, glad she had thought to wear her jeans and Nikes instead of shorts and sandals.

The path was narrow, and she had to push overhanging brush out of the way to keep going. More than once a branch snapped back and whipped her bare arms or her face, and she couldn’t see in front of her to be sure she was going the right way.

Terror seized her. What if she got lost out here by herself? No one would ever find her. Or even think to look for her here. She would make a tasty meal for a feral hog. Or a black bear. Or a mountain lion.

Abby shuddered and picked up her pace. Even if Jay found Ella, what would he do to keep her on a path like this one all the way back to his truck? A girl raised in these woods would likely have an advantage and know how to run into the trees and disappear.

Did he plan to intimidate her? Threaten her? Get rough with her? Abby couldn’t see kindhearted Jay strong-arming a child for any reason. And yet, at the very least he would have to scare her into going with him.

Abby hated this! Getting Ella to the sheriff would probably be traumatic for all of them. And if the DNA test proved that she was Riley Jo, what then? It would break Abby’s heart—and her mother’s—if her sister begged to go home to the couple who had raised her, rejecting the family that had mourned her. Ella would probably end up with neither family and in a foster home until the court could sort it out.

Abby was hit with the gravity of what she was about to do. Their lives would never be the same. And what of Jay? Would there be an investigation into what happened the day he accidentally shot her father? And what if they were wrong about Ella’s true identity? Jay would end up in jail for kidnapping, and Abby would probably be charged for conspiring with him. Mama would be devastated all over again—

Abby felt a hairy arm put her in a chokehold, a strong hand clamped tightly over her mouth. She struggled to free herself, to scream, to breathe …

“Girlie, you ain’t as smart as I thought you were.”

The man from the phone calls! His voice was unmistakable! Abby struggled in vain to break his hold on her, but he tightened his grip and held something sharp against her ribs.

“You just wouldn’t leave it alone.” Abby felt his breath in her ear. “Too bad. You shoulda done what I told you while you had the chance. I can’t have you lookin’ into things that are best left alone.”