Not by Sight A Novel

CHAPTER 6

Abby clocked out at Flutter’s. Maybe everyone else in the family thought she was wrong about the girl. But she had to find out. And she had a plan.

She slipped out the side door and skipped down the back steps. When she reached the bottom, she almost ran headlong into Hawk.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Hawk said.

“None of your business.” He would only laugh if he knew. And there was no way she’d set herself up for that again.

Abby brushed past him and ran across the street to the house. She changed into shorts and a tank top, grabbed the bag she had prepared the night before, slung her purse strap over her shoulder, car keys in hand, and hurried outside to Mama’s car. She drove it down the winding road into Foggy Ridge.

Traffic on Main Street had slowed to a crawl, and she looked for any available parking space along the street and didn’t find one. She pulled into the parking lot behind Murchison’s Feed Store, glad to find a spot, even if it was in the back row.

She sat in the car for a moment, thinking through what she planned to do and say. This was her chance to step out in faith—walk her talk—even though she had no idea where it would lead. She decided to trust God.

Abby got out of the car, the bag under her arm, and walked across the parking lot and into the side entrance at Murchison’s. She walked nonchalantly past the customer service desk and down the hallway and stopped at the door marked Office, her heart racing. The worst that could happen was they would say no. What did she have to lose? She knocked, then turned the handle and went inside.

A woman with bleach-blonde hair and wearing a badge with the name Maggie looked up from her computer. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, my name’s Abby Cummings. I found an expensive doll that I think belongs to a little girl I saw yesterday.” Abby held up the cell phone picture. “I’m going around to businesses in the area, trying to locate her so I can return it.” Misleading, but not really a lie.

“Beautiful child,” Maggie said. “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen her before.”

“I was wondering if you would mind my asking your staff if anyone recognizes her.”

“Our employees are not allowed to give out any customer information due to privacy issues.”

“I understand. I just thought someone might know who she is and could have one of her parents call me. This looks like a very expensive doll.” Abby removed Riley Jo’s favorite baby doll—a gift from Grandma Becca and Grandpa Buck—from the bag.

“How lifelike.” Maggie smiled warmly. “My girls loved their dolls growing up. I guess it couldn’t hurt if you left your name and phone number with the staff. I hope you get this back to the little girl.”

“Me, too. Thanks for letting me do this.”

Abby went down the hallway and out to the sales floor. She waited until each clerk was free and then showed them the girl’s picture one-by-one. No one remembered seeing her until she got to the last clerk, Henry Lawgins, who said he had waited on the parents.

“Yep, I seen her in here with her folks,” Henry said. “Don’t know who they are, though. I remember they paid cash. I doubt they’re tourists, since they bought chicken feed.”

“Can you describe her parents?” Abby managed to ask, relieved that her pounding heart didn’t make her voice shake.

“Dad was tall and muscular. Had a beard. Looked like he works out. I’m guessin’ he was mid to late forties. Mom was a lot younger, maybe thirty. Average height. Wore glasses and a dress down to her ankles. Had really long hair—plain brown—tied back in a rubber band. Oh, they also had twin boys—little, maybe two or three years old.”

This was great information! “Anything else you can remember about them?”

Henry smiled. “The little girl’s name was Ella.”

Abby’s heart sank clear down to her toes. “You heard them call her that? Are you sure?”

“Yep. I perked right up ’cause that’s my granny’s name.”

“Have you seen them in here before?”

“Not that I remember. I hope this helps you find little Ella and she gets her doll back.”

“Me, too,” Abby said, not ready to put a period to the conversation. “Did she seem like a happy kid to you?”

Henry shot her a puzzled look and shrugged. “I didn’t pay her much mind. Had my eye on the twins. I was afraid they was gonna knock over a display.”

“Do you, by any chance, remember the twins’ names?”

“Seems like one of ’em was Ronny, but I ain’t sure about that.” Henry glanced over his shoulder. “Look, miss, I probably told you more than I’m supposed to. I really need to get back to work.”

“Of course.” Abby reached in her purse and took out one of several cards she had made up. “Here’s my name and cell number. If you see these people again, would you ask them to call me?”

“Sure thing.”

Abby walked out the side door, her head reeling. The description the clerk gave of the dad fit the man she had seen come outside Murchison’s, swat Ella’s behind, and take her back inside. But a mom? Twin brothers? It was starting to feel less and less likely that Ella was Riley Jo.

Abby walked back to Mama’s car, feeling as if a meteor had fallen on her heart, leaving a deep hole and dashing her hope to pieces. She sat for a few minutes, staring at Ella’s picture. Why couldn’t she just let it go? No matter how hard she tried, the connection she felt with this child was real. And magnetic. How could she just drop it before she knew why?

Abby gripped the steering wheel and laid her head on her hands. She took a slow, deep breath and let it out. She got out of the car and headed up Main Street, determined to talk to more people who worked with the public. Maybe someone else would recognize Ella from the picture and help her to piece together a more detailed description of this family.



Abby walked into the living room and tossed her purse on the couch, the delicious aroma of Mama’s homemade pasta sauce filling her senses. Hopefully her mother’s cooking would dominate the conversation over dinner. She was not going to share her discovery with anyone in the family. She was on to something and was not letting them talk her out of it.

She went out to the kitchen, where Grandpa Buck sat, clipping coupons.

“There you are,” Grandpa said. “I haven’t seen you all afternoon.”

“I was in town.”

“Again?” Grandpa looked over the top of his glasses. “Wouldn’t have somethin’ to do with that girl you saw, would it?”

“I’m going to have a Coke. Want one?” Abby said.

“No, thanks.”

Abby took a Coke out of the fridge and sat across from her grandfather at the table. “Find any great deals?”

“Buy one, get one on four-pound bags of sugar.” Grandpa smiled. “No limit.”

“Jesse’s going to flip.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Abby.”

“No. I guess I didn’t.”

“Is there a reason for that?”

Abby shrugged.

Grandpa’s white eyebrows came together. “Since when won’t you talk to me?”

“I don’t want to be laughed at again.”

“That’s unfair, don’t you think? I’m not the one who laughed. And I was all over Hawk for doin’ it.” Grandpa reached across the table and touched her hand. “I would never laugh when you’re bein’ serious about somethin’.”

“I know. Sorry, Grandpa.” Abby took a gulp of Coke. “I went back to Murchison’s and talked to the people who work there.” She told him the details of her conversation with Henry Lawgins.

“I’m sorry, honey. I’m sure that’s disappointin’.”

“At least I know her name now.” Abby put her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her palms. “Why do I feel such a connection with Ella? Even after I found out this information, it didn’t satisfy me. I went into lots of businesses and showed her picture. No one I talked to remembered her. But I left my name and cell number.”

“How much proof do you need, Abby? Seems pretty obvious the child’s got family.”

“I can’t explain it, but something doesn’t feel right.”

Grandpa stroked his mustache the way he did when he was trying to formulate a tactful reply.

“I don’t believe this,” Abby said. “You think I want it to be Riley Jo so badly that I’m imagining a connection.”

“Don’t presume to know what I’m thinkin’, Abby. I know whatever you’re feelin’ is real to you, and far be it from me to say it’s all in your head. I’m just lookin’ at the odds, and you know as well as I do, there’s a mighty slim chance that girl is Riley Jo.”

“But a slim chance is still a chance.”

Grandpa put the scissors down. “I can tell you’re not ready to let this go. So what are you gonna do now?”

“I want to find Ella and talk to her, that’s all.” Abby sat up straight and took a long drink of Coke. “She might not be Riley Jo, but it feels so amazing, imagining that she could be. It’s the first time in ages I’ve felt this way. I just want to enjoy it for a while.”

“You could be settin’ yourself up for a real hard fall, honey.”

“Maybe.” Abby leaned forward on her elbows. “But I love feeling that I could be on the verge of finding out something important. Can you even imagine how awesome it would be if …” She exhaled when she saw the skepticism on her grandfather’s face.

“If what?” Grandpa said.

“Doesn’t matter. It can’t hurt to hope, that’s all.”

“Have you told your mother what you found out about this girl?”

“No!” Abby heard the Coke can crinkle, and she loosened her grip. “I showed Mama the picture and told her what I thought. She shut me out and said not to mention it again. Don’t worry. I won’t. I’m not talking to Hawk about it either. Heaven forbid someone in this family should enjoy a flicker of hope without it depressing everyone else.”

“They’re weighin’ the odds, Abby. All things are possible with God, but not necessarily probable. He doesn’t always give us what we ask for.”

“I’m going to find Ella and see for myself.”

Grandpa nodded. “I figured as much. By the way, Jesse came to me this mornin’ and told me about his conversation with you last night. As long as we’re talkin’ about all things possible, maybe your mother and Hawk will come around one of these days, and we can all go to church together.”

“It’s possible,” Abby said. “Definitely not probable.”