Carolina Key Page 7

Ch. 8

  Hope

 

  Within a half hour we were back in our kitchen with the gold coins laying sparkling on our dining table. “What do we do now?” Philip asked.

  “We wait,” I said.

  “No, I mean what do we do when Daniel calls and wants to make the exchange?” he asked and I could see he was deep in thought.

  “We cooperate. Tell him we’ll do whatever he wants us to,” I said. “What do you want to do, call in the police? Call Hodge and Ken?” I asked.

  “Daniel has already killed once. He knows that you, Grace, and I know that he stole the gold. He’s got to know that we have already told the police about that. What is to keep him from killing Grace or us?” Philip asked.

  “Honey, what are you saying?” I asked, panicked.

  “I’m just thinking. If we give him the gold, what kind of leverage do we have to get Grace back? He’s got the gold, then off he goes. He could do anything then,” he said. I stared at him with my mouth open.

  “If we hid the gold from him then we could spend the time looking for Grace and then he’s under our thumb, he has to come on our terms, deliver what we want. We make it so he has to keep Grace safe in order to get the gold back.”

  “You are talking about our child!” I shouted. “I want her back tonight. I don’t care what he does with the money!” I cried.

  “I know, I know just hear me out. I’m trying to be smart. We have to be careful and take the

  best chance of getting her back safely. I think this is it. You take the coins and hide. I will track him down and bring Grace home,” Philip said.

  I stared at him, unbelieving. “You’re crazy. You are bargaining with our child’s life,” I said.

  “Meanwhile, she’s still gone. Every minute she spends with him endangers her life, but you’ve

  got to ask yourself, what he will do when he gets the money? What if he never even tells us where she is and he leaves her somewhere to die?” he asked, his voice breaking.

  “Stop it!” I shouted. We both began to cry and reached for each other. We sank down on the floor. The sound of our sorrow permeated our silent house.

  “We need a plan,” I finally said, sniffing.

  “I think you should take the money and hide it. Then run somewhere and hide yourself. Meanwhile, I will get Grace back and we will let the police take care of the rest,” Philip said.

  “Where am I supposed to go? How are you going to be able to get Grace back?” I asked.

  “When he no longer has access to the coins he will contact us. Somehow I’ll make it work. I will find her and bring her home. I promise you.”

  He sounded so determined I believed he really could. “I’ll tell everyone that Grace called and she hitchhiked to Memphis to see my folks. I’ll tell them we all had a fight and we didn’t want anyone to know. I will say that you have flown up there to spend some time with them, talk it out and bring Grace home before school starts. That will satisfy the Amber Alert, the police and the camp. Now, where can you go to hide the money?” he asked.

  We considered several possibilities. It was almost midnight when the perfect solution came to mind. I had been praying for wisdom and the Lord provided it.

  “Philip, do you remember me telling you about my prom night?” I asked. He gave me a wary look, then understanding dawned on his face.

  “It’s perfect,” he said.

  I had spent my prom night on Carolina Key. It was a fun, high school dare. Carolina Key is a tiny, uninhabited island off the coast of Port Aransas. Every hour during the day, a jetty boat brings tourists back and forth to the island with their children, ice chests full of fried chicken, and dogs. There is nothing on the island, not even a bathroom. It is only two miles long. Some people come to see the unpolluted beach and to look for shells and starfish early in the morning. Some people come to swim and have a great ocean experience with their kids. It is beautiful and unspoiled.

  We had gone on a dare to spend the night. There were four of us, two couples. My boyfriend Brad, my best friend Elizabeth and her boyfriend Alex. We all attended the Church of Christ in Port Aransas together. Another friend named Shawna had issued the dare one day at lunch. We took her up on it and were successful. We had each ridden out on separate jetty boats and then buried ourselves in the sand. When night fell we waited for the security guard to make a run through on his four wheeler. As soon as he left we knew we were safe.

  Alex had buried some food the day before. Nothing fancy, just crackers and things. It was a

  beautiful night under the stars.

  “It’s perfect,” Philip said again. “Ok, we need to prepare. You must lay down for a while. I know you won’t sleep, but you’ve got to be awake enough to drive down to Port Aransas. You need to pack a bag. Let’s say you’ll leave the house at 5 am. I will call Ken at 6 am and tell him that my parents called and you are flying to Memphis. I’ll call Aunt Ruth and the rest of the family and tell them the same thing.”

  Philip took my arm and helped me upstairs. My head was spinning, but it felt good to have a plan. Philip set the alarm for 5 am. We lay down on our bed, held each other close, and prayed together. I closed my eyes and I guess I must have dozed because I heard the alarm go off.

  Philip shut it off and rolled over saying,

  “I’ll go make some coffee. It’s going to be a long day.”

  I sensed a sadness and fatigue about him that wasn’t there yesterday. I sat up in bed, covered my face with my hands and whispered,

  “Where are you Grace?” I prayed for her then, and for Lance. I also prayed for Daniel but it didn’t come easy and I had to force myself to do it. I dressed quickly, grabbed my bags and hurried downstairs. Philip was waiting with a hot cup of coffee and a wrapped sandwich. I was amazed at the kindness and thoughtfulness he showed me even at a time like this. He truly lived out the scripture in Ephesians 5:25.

  “I found an old brochure from one of our trips to Carolina Key. You should be able to make the 2 pm jetty boat. Stop and buy some Gatorade so you don’t get dehydrated. Don’t attract any attention to yourself. You need to be buried and in position by 4 pm. The last boat is at 5 and the security guard should make his round by 4 wheeler by 6 at the latest. After that you can come out. Stay alert for any boats that may be able to spot you. Stay in the brush as much as possible. Try to get some sleep,” Philip said.

  He handed me a child’s purple sand bucket.

  “What is this for?” I laughed. I looked inside it at the gold coins.

  “It won’t look suspicious on the island,” he responded. “I stole it from the kid next door. Bury the bucket and the coins. The first boat of the morning is at 8 am. Remember to stay hidden until the beach is well populated. Take the 8:30 or 9:00 jetty boat back to the car.” He took my hand and helped me out the door and into the car. He hugged me long and hard and kissed me.

  “Tomorrow, drive to Corpus Christi and stock up on supplies, get cash. Drive to Hot Springs, Arkansas. I’ll make you a reservation at the KOA. We’ve stayed there before and it is nice and safe. Wait for me. Grace and I will come to you.”

  We stared at each other for a long time.

  “I promise you, Hope. I’m going to find her and bring her home.”

  I nodded and asked, “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to tell him he’s going to have to follow my instructions on returning Grace,” he said.

  My eyes filled with tears as I started the engine.

  “Godspeed,” he whispered as I pulled out of the driveway.

 

  Ch. 9

  Sun. July 8, 2008

  Philip