Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (5 page)

Mary froze at the hateful words.
Yes, she cared for Martin and Taylor, but she would never destroy a marriage.
“Julia Ann, please
…
”
S
he held out her hands almost in supplication.

“Don’t deny your feeling
s, Mary Campbell,
” Julia Ann lashed out
. “
You love him and always have, but I’m still married to him.
He may call me his ex, but he’s never divorced me.
And
Taylor’s mine too.
N
o one can take a child away from her mother,
”
she taunted
in an angry
,
yet triumphal way.
Swishing her long skirt, s
he t
wirled
and marched to the front door of her home.

Mary sighed as she
walked toward
her SUV.
“Why Martin stays married to that woman after not living with her for twenty years, I’ll never know,” s
he mumbled as she
climbed in the car and
started the
engine
.

Julia Ann
stared at the SUV and
watched
Mary leave.
You’ll never get him.
I won’t ask him for a divorce and he’s too much of a gentleman to ask me.
He’s mine
,
alwa
ys has been and always
will
be.
As she started to put her key in the lock, she stopp
ed and glanced at her garage.
W
hy should I let Mary comfort my husband and only child?
That’s
w
hat a
w
ife does, not some hired help.
Julia Ann reversed her steps and headed for her car.

“
W
e’ve
notified the people you suggested
,” Tim said
, in a much strong
er
and more confident tone than he’d used
earlier
.
“The police
told us
that they
will
contact the
Harmony
Fire District, the state Department of Natural Resources, Angel One from the Coast Guard, and the
Harmony
W
ater Search and Rescue.
W
e
mentioned that you
w
ere organizing boats from here to go out.”

“
Goo
d job, Tim and ladies
.”
Grabbing the
orange
Clemson baseball cap that he’d
w
orn almost forever
from the pocket of his jeans, Martin
tapped the young man on his shoulder
and smiled at the bridesmaids
. “
W
e still have about t
w
o or three
hours of daylight,
let’s
get these teams on the river and make the most of
w
hat’s left of the day
.” He
headed for the door
w
ith Taylor right behind him
dressed in cut-off jeans, a
w
rinkled and faded pink shirt and boat shoes,
w
hich had seen better days
.

Jeff,
w
ho had changed into
ragged
jeans and
a
faded, black
tee-shirt
w
ith a logo so
w
orn no one could read it
, said
, “Taylor
w
hy don’t you stay here and coordinate the activities?
W
e’ll keep in touch
w
ith you via our cells.”

“I’ve a better idea.
Dad, you coordinate the search.
You delegate better
, people
will
take your orders,
and
besides
I need to be active.
”
She
met his
eyes.
“
I’m going
w
ith you
, Jeff
.
W
e’ll take my Carolina Skiff.
It’s right by the dock.”
She
grabbed a pair of sun-glasses from the desk dra
w
er in the hall
w
ay,
slammed
a
bright, pink
ball cap over her hair, and pulled a hastily shaped pony-tail through the small hole at the back
.
             

“Tiny
…
”

“
I’m not Tiny anymore. And
I kno
w
these
w
aters as
w
ell as any of you
.” She gazed from her father to Jeff and back again.
“
I
’ve got to stay
busy.
I’ll go crazy sitting by the phone
w
aiting for ne
w
s.”
She gestured
w
ith her hands
;
her face sho
w
ed her frustration
.

“
Manning the search
teams
w
orks
for
me.” Martin
glanced around for a moment. “
Okay
.
I’ll se
t up a command post on the patio
table.” Reverting to his old army days, h
e grabbed the papers and the maps and the portable phone.
“
And don’t
w
orry, Taylor,
w
e’ll find him.
He’s probably out of gas or else his engine
’s
giving him trouble.
”
For a moment, his face clouded.
“
The problem
w
e have, of course, is the Broad
has so many tributari
es and they all must be explored
.
” He eyed his daughter and cleared his throat.
“
A good thing
w
e have a lot of p
eople resources for this
search,
”
he added in a firm, yet upbeat tone
, as
searchers head
ed
to
w
ards the porch
.

To the group, he announced,
“I’ll have my cell on and the portable
will
be available, too.
W
e’ll try to keep one line open.
Tim, let’s have your
number and
that of
anyone else who’s
man
ning
the command post.
I suggest each of you,
”
he gestured to a gro
w
ing cro
w
d, “put several of
the
command team’s numbers in your cells.
That
w
ay if one is busy, you can try another.”
He stopped. “Any questions?
”

Many shook their heads or mumbled no.

A fe
w
of the brides
maids had return and stood as if
w
aiting for an assignment.
Martin started to speak, but Taylor interrupted.
“Dad,
I have my friend’s numbers.
Jeff and I will
t
ake the southern section
of the
W
hale Branch River and the tributaries
that lead off from that
.
W
e’ll check the area where
Rod and I often fish
ed
.”
             

“Be careful, you tw
o.”
Her father
duly marked the section
w
ith their names, before turning to the next
person
in line.

Jeff and Taylor started to
w
ard the dock at almost a run.
They briefly jockeyed for pilot, before Taylor
said, “I’ll drive. Y
ou handle the lines.”
Jeff had scarcely jumped on board
the shallo
w
-
w
ater boat
before Taylor gunned the engine.

The Carolina skiff rocked dangerously.
“Damn, Taylor,
” he said, as he grabbed
a
hold of the console of the seventeen-foot skiff.
“
W
e’re too close to the dock for this speed.”
The little boat
stopped s
w
aying,
sat back on her
stern and almost fle
w
through the
w
ater.

“If you don’
t like the
w
ay I drive, get off,” she screamed over the roar of the
1
50 horse-po
w
er motor, as she pushed the throttle up several notches.

“Here?
” he shouted back.
“In the middle of the Broa
d River,
w
ith the
w
ater flo
w
ing at
least
four knots
, get off
?
”
He stared at her, checked the small space that separated them, and considered taking control of the skiff, but hesitated upon seeing her rigid face and settled for, “
Ar
e you crazy
w
oman?
” With on
e
hand he
grabb
ed
his hat
,
w
hich almost fle
w
into the
w
ater
, and
maintained his
gripped
on
the small console in the center of the boat
with the other
.

“No, just pissed.
Ho
w
could Rod
do such a damn, stupid thing?
” Taylor
increased her speed
, again and her ja
w
appeared to harden
.
The small and
easily moveable boat ans
w
ered the throttle and barely touch
ed
the
surface
as
w
ater
streamed
past the sides
.

Jeff tightened his hold on the console as the
w
ind continued to
snatch at his cap.
“Rod gets involved and often doesn’t remember the time
…
”

“You’ve been making excuses for him forever!”
They locked eyes,
before
she
return
ed
her attention to the river
and
to
driving her boat
.

“Could you slo
w
do
w
n a little?
” he asked. Changing
the subject
and un
will
ing to continue to escalate the argument
, he shouted over the roar of the engine
.
“
I’m trying to check the marsh grass for his boat, but driving at the speed of light m
akes everything a little blurry.
”
He
carefully
monitored his tone and
his
w
ords.

“I’m
trying to reach our search area,
”
came her quick retort.

Je
ff placed one hand over hers,
squeezed gently
and spoke directly into her ear
.
“
W
hether
w
e arrive in fifteen minutes or a half hour, the situation
w
on’t change.”