Forever Blessed (Women of Prayer) (29 page)

Laney looked around the room. Others were crying so she didn’t feel quite so self-conscience. Her heart prayed her face showed thankfulness.

She was thankful she wouldn’t have to worry about finances. That was a relief and allowed her more time to find her son. She didn’t need to spend the extra time and effort worrying about money. Now she could spend every minute she had worrying about Matt.

Paul continued to insist that he had nothing to do with Matt’s disappearance. Laney doubted him, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t prove what her gut told her.

She stood and pulled up her jeans. She wasn’t eating and her already thin frame was nothing more than a wire hanger for her clothes. Sheila led her to the back of the church where a tray of sandwiches sat. She set a plate before her, not giving her a choice in whether she would eat it or not. Laney nibbled the sandwich, placating Sheila with her attempt.

Sheila kept a watchful eye over her charge. “Laney, you have to eat.”

“I’m eating.” She stuffed the last of the egg salad sandwich in her mouth and took a swig of the raspberry ice tea Sheila had brought from the tea shop.

“Good. You’re going to need your energy. Matt needs you to take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just so hard to stomach anything. Here I am with an abundance of food and I don’t even know if Matt has the basics. I feel guilty every time I take a bite.”

“You can’t think that way. If you really believe his dad has him, then you know he’s eating, right?”

“I guess so. But, I just don’t know. He is so adamant about not having him. The police have searched the house, his work. They have kept tabs on him. I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t have him.”

Sheila doubted she meant that. “Well, why don’t we go in the sanctuary and concentrate on God for a while?” She stood up and led the way.

             
             
             
Chapter Thirty-Six

Laney spent her days driving around the countryside looking for black Suburbans or sitting by the telephone, waiting for the phone call that would change everything. She could only hope when the call came it would be good news. She was thankful she’d had the money to fix her van. Between the radiator, the heater and the air conditioning, she handed over a couple of thousand dollars to the auto mechanic who handled the repairs.

Two weeks had passed. She was going crazy. “God, I don’t think I can take much more of this.” At least she’d been able to pay her bills, thanks to the people who attended church with her. She was also able to finance all the copies and pay for gas for those who were still helping her canvass the rural areas. She knew money was tight. It was a blessing to have the help and she could at least pay for their expenses.

Sheila and Austin had their hands full with the teashop and the construction on the shelter. Ella was doing everything she could to help Laney. She brought her meals so she wouldn’t have to cook and spent more time with Joy and Melanie than Laney did. Jessi was a constant source of encouragement, praying for her and calling her in the middle of the day just to remind her she was there for her.

The ladies in the church took turns with Ella bringing food and desserts. They tried to comfort her. She was polite, but nothing worked. No matter how hard they tried, nothing would bring her comfort except the feel of her son in her arms.

*  *  *  *

Laney started when the phone rang. She was fully clothed. She took to sleeping in her clothes each night in case she had to suddenly leave to get her son. Some people called it irrational. Some had already given up and told her to accept the inevitable. Obviously it wasn’t Paul that took him and every day that passed was a bad sign, indicating something worse than death had happened to her son. She refused to believe them. She refused to give up hope.

It was the FBI agent that had been working the case. They had a lead. An anonymous tip had been called in. It could be Matt. Or it could be nothing. If it was Matt, it would be good if she was there. Did she want to come?

“You bet I want to come.” She started putting her shoes on. “When and where?”

“Meet me at the gas station at five points in fifteen minutes.”

She hung up and quickly called Ella. “Ella, they might have found him. Can you come over? I have to go.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Laney started the van and was waiting outside the door when Ella arrived. She squeezed her outstretched hand then hurried to her van. She drove as fast as she could to the gas station and pulled in right behind the agent that had called her. He didn’t say where the tip originated, but every tip was worth checking out.

“The caller said he knows where Matt is. Then he gave us this address.” He handed her the piece of paper. She knew the area and had in fact driven by the house several times. It was run down but there were never any signs of life, nor had there ever been a black suburban when she’d driven by. If there had been, that would have alerted her to the possibility.

The caller told them no one was there but Matt. Regardless, the agents pulled their weapons and approached cautiously. Laney could hear them yell "clear" as they moved from room to room.

When she heard, “I’ve got him,” she took off at a full run. No one could stop her. She ran from room to room, searching for her little boy. Finally she found him at the top of the stairs in a small bedroom. Matt was lying on a mattress, shivering from the cold. Laney heard an ambulance being called for. Her baby was alive. She rode with him to the hospital, afraid to leave his side. He was malnourished and dehydrated. The doctors were pumping him with fluids and checking all his vital signs. After a thorough examination, she was told he would recuperate, at least physically. No one was sure yet what he had endured, so his mental and emotional states would need evaluating.

She sat by his side and watched him sleep. He had been so weak, the only time he opened his eyes he had looked at her, whispered, “Mom,” and fallen back asleep with a smile on his face. The fluids disappearing in his arm would help restore his vitality.

She quietly made phone calls, letting everyone know their prayers had been answered. For some reason the kidnapper left him and called the FBI to let him know where Matt was. There could be no other explanation but prayer, and lots of it.

Ella let Melanie and Joy know as soon as they woke up. They quickly got dressed and Sheila picked them up to take them to see their brother. They were so excited.

Laney watched her girls walk as quickly as they could to her side. She hugged them tight then took them in one at a time to see their brother. She held onto Melanie who wanted to wake him up. “We can’t wake him up Mellie, he’s sleeping. He’s tired. He’ll wake up soon, okay?”

Melanie smiled and called out Matt’s name anyway. Laney tried to keep her quiet but saw Matt stirring. “Mellie, is that you?”

Joy heard voices and joined her mother, sister and brother. She was old enough to understand what had happened and started crying when she saw Matt lying on the bed. Ella had ridden along and she and Sheila interrupted the family reunion, both with tears in their eyes.

Sheila took Ella and the kids back to the house after a short visit. Matt would need his rest to get better. Besides, as soon as he was up to it, the FBI wanted to talk with him to try and figure out what exactly happened to him.

Later that afternoon Sheila sat with Laney waiting to hear in Matt’s own words what had happened.

The FBI agent sat next to Matt, trying not to intimidate him. “Hey, Matt. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, I guess. I’m hungry.”

“Yeah? I think the nurse is bringing you some soup. Does that sound good?”

“Chicken Noodle?”

“I think that is what your mom ordered.” He looked to her for confirmation and she shook her head yes.

He continued. “Do you think you could tell us what happened when you came out of school that day?”

Matt nodded. “I can try.”

“Well, that will be good enough then. We just want you to do your best.”

The nurse appeared with a tray and Laney moved to help her son eat. The broth was thin and the noodles were miniscule. His first meal had to be small to see how his stomach would react. No one was sure yet how much he’d had to eat over the course of the two weeks.

She spooned some broth in his mouth. “Mmm, this is good.”

She smiled. “As good as Ms. Ella’s?”

He grinned. It was good to see the old Matt shining through this shell of a child. “Naw, nothing is good as Ms. Ella’s.”

“She’ll be glad to hear you say that. I have it on good authority she is making a special welcome home supper, just for you.”

Matt grinned in anticipation. “Is it chicken and noodles?”

“No, something you like even more.”

His eyes grew wide. “Is she making honey glazed chicken and mom’s potatoes?”

“How did you know?”

“I just guessed. I’m good like that, you know.” He smiled then added. “Don’t worry, mom, I’ll share.” After a few bites of his soup he settled back against the pillow.

The agent quickly took Laney’s place on the chair next to Matt and began to ask him about his memories of the kidnapping. “Matt, can you tell me how you ended up with the man who had you?”

Matt told him all about his friend and thinking his dad was waiting for him. He also told the agent his dad was not in the SUV.

“So, at any time did you see your father?”

“No.”

“Did you talk to him on the phone?”

“No. I didn’t talk to anybody. But the man, he yelled on the phone a lot. I could hear him through the register on the floor.”

“Do you know who he was talking to?”

“No.”

“What kind of things did he say?”

“He said he was only s’posed to have me for a day or two, then someone else was s’posed to have me. He said he had other things to do and he couldn’t stay with me anymore. Then he left and I didn’t hear him come back anymore. He didn’t bring me any more McDonalds either and I got hungry.”

“He brought you McDonalds? Did he get you Chicken McNuggets? Or a cheeseburger?”

“A cheeseburger. And the French fries were always cold. I ate them anyway 'cause I was hungry.”

Matt started yawning so Laney stepped in. “He needs to rest for a while. You can talk with him more later.”

The agent nodded and left the room, leaving the boy and his mother.

Laney sat back down in the chair he had just vacated and held Matt’s hand. He fell asleep almost instantly in the safety of his mother’s presence.

Sheila whispered, “Maybe Paul really didn’t have anything to do with Matt’s kidnapping.”

Laney watched Matt, making sure his breathing was even before she replied. “I’m not buying it. If it wasn’t Paul, then who? And why would they all of a sudden tell us where he was? I’ll tell you why. Because it was Paul and things didn’t quite work out the way he expected, that’s why.”

“You may be right. I sincerely hope not. What kind of father would do something like that to his own son?”

“The kind that is only concerned about himself.” Her gaze said it all. “The kind that would beat his wife.”

The two women sat in silence.

Laney watched her son, the rise and fall of his chest, and wondered what he had endured. Her heart was still broken, not knowing the horrors of what he experienced did not help. She prayed he wasn’t violated sexually. He was so innocent, so full of life before he was taken. She would never complain about his practical jokes again.
Lord, please give me my son back. Please restore his innocence and help us be a family again.

A voice Laney had learned to recognize and cower in fear before sounded in the hallway just outside the hospital door. She turned to Sheila. At first her reaction paralyzed her. Then she looked at her boy and found a strength she did not know she had.