Not by Sight (36 page)

“Negative. The girl is crying her heart out, but I don’t see any visible wounds.”

“Agent Martinez,” Virgil said, “be ready to get her out of harm’s way.”

“Yes, sir.”

Everyone stood speechless as the scared little girl, dressed in a long pink nightgown, ran as fast as her little legs would carry her across the open area in front of the house toward the woods.

When Ella got close to the tree line, Julie stepped out from behind a tree and called to her. “Ella, over here, sweetie.”

Julie opened her arms, and Ella ran into her embrace, clutching her tightly and sobbing. Julie pulled her behind some bushes and rocked her from side to side.

“Kevin, any sign of Tutt?” Virgil said.

“Negative.”

“Copy that. SWAT team, move in,” Virgil said. “We need Tutt
and
his mother alive. Go!”

“SWAT team on the move. Stand by …”

Virgil glanced at the crying girl, and relief rushed through him. Now if the SWAT team could get Tutt into custody without bloodshed … He waited patiently, knowing the team planned to enter through a rear window in the basement.

“SWAT has gained access,” Kevin said. “Repeat, SWAT has gained access.”

“Copy.” Virgil lowered his walkie-talkie and smiled at Julie. “Good job. Call Deputy Freed and tell her to alert Kate that we have Ella Tutt in custody. And that I’ll be bringing her to the designated location shortly.”

Julie’s face beamed. “I will, sir. Right away.”

Virgil paced. He really wanted this thing to end peacefully.

“Sheriff, this is SWAT. We’ve completed our search. The mother is unharmed and in custody. But we can’t locate the suspect.”

“He’s there,” Virgil said. “We’ve got a visual on the entire house. He hasn’t emerged. Doesn’t the mother know where he is?”

“Negative. She was locked in her room.”

Silence.

“Search the house again,” Virgil said.

“Conducting second search. Over.”

Virgil studied Julie as she talked on the phone, her arm still around Ella. He hadn’t been sure when he picked a female deputy to try negotiating with Walter whether the man would be receptive to a woman. Julie had proven herself once again. Ella looked dazed, but she had stopped crying.

“Sir, this is SWAT. We’ve swept every room, including the attic and basement. The suspect is not in the house.”

“He has to be,” Virgil said, trying not to show his irritation. “The command post has maintained a visual of the entire exterior of the home. He never left.”

“I’m not sure what else to tell you, Sheriff,” the SWAT captain said. “He’s not here.”

“You’ve searched closets? Trunks? Cupboards?”

“Yes, sir.”

“He didn’t just vanish!” Virgil paused and took a deep breath. This was ridiculous. “All teams, maintain the perimeter. I repeat, maintain the perimeter.” Virgil hit the speed dial on his cell phone.

“This is Mann.”

“Kevin, what happened?” Virgil said. “Did you lose the guy?”

“Absolutely not, Sheriff. I’ve been watching the house from every angle. I assure you, if he’d come out, I would’ve seen him.”

“Well, he didn’t just disappear!”

“He must still be in the house somewhere.”

“SWAT can’t find him. They’ve searched twice.”

“I heard. I have no explanation. I never took my eyes off the monitors. There’s no way he slipped by me.”

“All right. Maintain visual.” Virgil disconnected the call and hit the speed-dial number for Billy Gene Duncan.

“Hey, Sheriff. This is Duncan.”

“I want you and Hobbs to get inside Tutt’s home and go over it with a fine-tooth comb. Check every conceivable place where there could be a hidden room or compartment. Proceed as if the suspect is still inside and armed and dangerous. SWAT will have your backs.”

“Copy that,” Billy Gene said. “We’re on our way.”

“Keep me posted.”

Virgil turned to Julie. “I need you to try to talk Walter out of the house. If he keeps this up, he’s going to get himself killed. There’s no need for that.”

“What about Ella?”

“I’m going to take her to meet someone.” Virgil smiled at Ella. “A very nice lady named Miss Kate she can stay with until the social worker arrives.”

“Has the social worker been called?” Julie said.

Virgil shot Julie a knowing look. “Not yet.”

Julie rose to her feet and picked up the bullhorn. “Walter, this is Julie Martinez. Thank you for letting Ella go. You did the right thing. No one got hurt. Your mother is safe. Now, I need you to do another right thing. I need you to come out of the house with your hands in the air and come down to the station with us, where we can talk about Isaiah. I know you have questions. We want to answer them.”

Virgil’s cell phone buzzed. He heard a lot of static on the line and then a male voice.

“Sheriff, it’s Billy Gene. We’ve got the suspect in custody. I repeat, we got him.”

“That was fast,” Virgil said. “Where in the world was he?”

“Winda’ seat had a hidden door. He’d crawled inside and was holed up there.”

“How’d you discover that?”

Billy Gene chuckled. “I just hollered ‘fire,’ and Mr. Tutt come a squirmin’ outta that winda’ seat like a wild hog from a mud pit.”

Virgil felt a grin tugging at his cheeks. Leave it to Billy Gene to think of a simple solution. “Good work. Bring him in. All teams, suspect’s in custody. Operation is complete. Repeat, suspect’s in custody. It’s over.” Virgil looked at Julie. “You did great work. Thanks.”

“I’m just glad it didn’t get violent,” she said.

“Me, too.” Virgil lifted his Stetson and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. “I’ll take Ella to meet Miss Kate. I want you to call Roberta and tell her to remind Kate of everything we talked about.”

“I will.”

Virgil held out his hand. “Come on, honey. You’re safe now.”

As Virgil walked the child to his squad car, his insides felt jittery—and not because of the standoff with Walter Tutt. He had waited for this moment for five long years. He couldn’t imagine what Kate was feeling about now.

Chapter 38

Kate walked with Roberta out of view of the command post and stopped at a campsite near the unpaved roadway that wound through the woods and back to Summit Road.

“The sheriff thought this spot would work out nicely for you to have a few minutes alone with the girl,” Roberta said. “He asked that you keep your promise not to reveal your suspicion that she’s your daughter. He’s bending the rules by sidestepping DCFS and letting you talk with her before the DNA results are back.”

“Don’t worry,” Kate said. “The last thing in the world I want to do is confuse her even more. She needs time to assimilate what’s happened. The only world she knows has been yanked apart.”

Roberta flashed a bright smile, her dark eyes wide. “Can’t imagine how you feel. Girl, if it were me, I know I’d have butterflies somethin’ fierce.”

“That’s putting it mildly. I’m not even sure how long my knees can hold me up.”

Roberta took Kate’s arm and walked her over to the picnic table. “Why don’t you sit? The sheriff should be here any moment. Have you thought about what you’re gonna say to her?”

“A million times. But I don’t remember any of it. My head is spinning. My heart is pounding. It’s awkward that my daughter is a stranger. I don’t know anything about her. I used to know everything about her.”

“Maybe that side you knew when she was two is still there—just more developed.”

“Truthfully, it scares me to think of what that child has seen and heard—and how it’s affected her.”

“Well, I know one thing”—Roberta held Kate’s hands and looked into her eyes—“there’s nothin’ this side of heaven that’s more powerful than a mother’s love. When that child realizes how wanted she is and how long and hard you’ve searched for her, I think she’ll come around quickly. Especially when the whole family welcomes her with open arms.”

“I hope you’re right. I’m so afraid she’ll want to go home to Otha. And that DCFS will drag this out. I can hardly wait until a judge lets her come home. But I’m also scared to death. Does that make sense?”

Roberta nodded. “Of course it does.”

Kate heard the sound of a vehicle approaching and looked up. A squad car had stopped on the dirt road about forty feet away.

“There they are,” Roberta said. “I’m gonna step away and give you space to talk privately.”

“Thank you.”

Virgil got out of the car and walked around to the passenger door. He held it open, and a beautiful little girl—with long dark hair, huge blue eyes, and a bruised cheek—slid out onto her feet.

Kate sucked in a breath and forgot to exhale. Was it really happening? Was she really seeing her baby again?

Virgil, wearing his wide-brimmed hat, looked like a giant next to the tiny seven-year-old. He took her hand and walked toward Kate, whose heart hammered so hard it seemed to shake her entire being.

Kate stood, leaning on the picnic table, her knees shaking, unable to take her eyes off the little girl, who looked surprisingly like Jesse. In an instant Kate knew deep in her soul it was Riley Jo. Her eyes stung, and she blinked several times to clear away the tears of elation.

Virgil stopped in front of Kate. “Ella, this is Miss Kate, the nice lady I told you about. She’ll take good care of you until your social worker gets here.”

The girl flashed a shy smile. “Hey.”

Kate returned the child’s smile and struggled not to get emotional. “I’m glad you’re all right,” she heard herself say. “You’re safe here with me.”

Virgil’s cell phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. “Excuse me. I’ve been waiting for this call.” He quickly stepped away, his back to them.

Ella reached down and picked a black-eyed Susan and handed it to Kate. “I like these. We got lots of ’em where I live. Yeller is my favorite color ’cept for pink. Granny Faye sewed me a real pretty dress that’s got yeller
and
pink. Otha don’t want me wearin’ it out to play. I’m savin’ it for somethin’ special.”

“I’ll bet it’s beautiful,” Kate said, aware that Virgil had walked up next to her.

He put his lips to her ear. “Stay calm and don’t react. I called in a favor and got the DNA test fast-tracked. That was the lab on the phone. This little doll is definitely your daughter. But you can’t be the one to tell her. Let’s do this right so we can get her home to you.”

Kate nodded, adrenaline rushing through her body.

Virgil bent down, eye level with Riley Jo. “I need to go check on your uncle Walter. Why don’t you visit with Miss Kate, and I’ll have Deputy Freed bring you something to drink? We have Coke, Sprite, water, Gatorade, and apple juice.”

“Apple juice,” Riley Jo said. “That’s my favorite.”

Of course it is!
Kate thought. “That’s a healthy choice. My girls love apple juice. I’ll have one too.”

“Apple juice it is. I’ll have Deputy Freed get it for you. I need to leave now.”

“Is Uncle Walter in trouble?” Riley Jo said.

Virgil wiped his perspiring face with a handkerchief. “Yes, he is—for taking you away from your foster home.”

“He said I was kin and y’all don’t have no right to take me.”

“I know,” Virgil said. “And he believes that’s the truth. But that’s not what Isaiah said, is it?”

Riley Jo shook her head and looked at Virgil with the saddest blue eyes Kate had ever seen. “The reason Uncle Walter let me go is ’cause I told him what Pa said to me and Abby and Jay. He said he killed my real pa and took me home with him so he could git a wife. He don’t care nothin’ about me. He ain’t my real pa. And Otha ain’t my real ma. Abby said I ain’t really Ella Tutt neither.” She sighed. “I don’t even got a home now.”

Yes, you do, Riley Jo!
Kate swallowed hard and resisted the almost overwhelming desire to put her arms around her daughter. Instead she gently brushed the hair out of the girl’s eyes and relished the first touch. “While we’re waiting for our apple juice, let’s sit at the picnic table, and we can talk about Abby.”

“Okay. Abby’s nice. She says she’s my sister, but I don’t remember nothin’ about her.”

Virgil stood and stretched his lower back. “You ladies have a nice time visiting.”

“Mister Sheriff, you promise I don’t hafta go back to Pa?” Riley Jo said.

“Absolutely. Isaiah’s going to jail, honey.”

“Good.” Riley Jo folded her arms across her chest. “Now I won’t hafta marry Bobby Lee Hoover. I really don’t like him that much.”

Kate tried not to show how appalled she was that a seven-year-old was already dreading her wedding day. Kate locked gazes with Virgil and mouthed the words
thank you
.

Virgil smiled and tipped his Stetson, then turned and walked back to his car. A few seconds later, he drove away, leaving a cloud of brown dust hovering over the road.

“I guess we should sit down,” Kate said, suddenly afraid she might not have anything at all to say to her daughter.

Riley Jo sat at the table next to Kate, then reached down and grabbed a tall blade of wild grass and spun it between her thumb and forefinger. “The sheriff ain’t mean like Pa said he was.”

“I’ve known the sheriff a long time,” Kate said. “He’s a very good man.”

“My pa ain’t. He was gonna kill us.” Riley Jo looked up at Kate. There were those sad eyes again. “I guess I ain’t never gonna see him no more.”

“Are you sorry about that?”

“Not really. But I’ll be sad if I can’t see the twins and Otha. And Granny Faye.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to see them, honey. Everyone wants you to be happy.”

“Then why can’t I just go home?”

“What did Abby tell you?”

“She said my real family’s been lookin’ for me since I was two years old. But I don’t know none o’ them.”

“When you do,” Kate said softly, “maybe you’ll like them, too. You don’t have to stop caring about Otha and the twins and your granny Faye. I’ll bet your heart is big enough to care about both families.”

“But Otha might feel sad if I like my real ma.”

Kate tilted Riley Jo’s chin. “I think Otha would be happy to see you happy. And she would not want you worrying about this. Everything’s going to work out. I promise.”