Secrets in the Lowcountry--The River (9 page)

The
w
ome
n
w
aited anxiously for him to speak.

“The DNR
…
”

A fe
w
blank faces stared back at him.

“The Department of Natural Resources is leading the invest
igation.
The team,
Coast Guard,
Harmony
Search and Rescue, and Fire
Department, report to the DNR.
They’ve called off t
he search because of the dark.
They
will
resume at sunrise tomorro
w
. Let’s divide the
cell phone
list and
update our o
w
n searchers
.”

Tim immediately grabbed the list, began counting then tearing the sheet into smaller sections and handing them to the helpers.

“Ar
e you going to call Taylor?” a
short, blonde asked.

Searching for a name
, he dre
w
a blank.
“I’ll call
Doc’s
cell, but since he’s at
the hospital, he may have his mobile turned off
. I’ll
text him
.”

He glanced around at the
w
omen and
w
ondered,
possibly for the first time, “
W
here are the groomsmen?”

“
Most
w
ent in the boats,” Sara ans
w
ered. “
Except
Tim.

“I get sea-sick,” Tim said, his face reddening as if embarrassed
by his problem
.

“You’ve done a great job dividing the list, so everyone take a section and let’s call,” Jeff said.

Sara added, “
W
e should
keep the main phone free, encase something turns up.
I think
w
e should
tell the
searchers about Mrs. Harris’
accident, too.”

Jeff nodded. A short time later,
each
person held
a sheet of paper
w
ith n
ames to call, then chose a section
w
ithin
the li
ving room
, and started
calling
. Jeff took his cell out to the patio.
He phon
ed, but just as he expected, the d
octor’s voice mail picked-up, after leaving a
message, Jeff
texted one, too. Sitting
back in the chair,
trying to
plan
the
next move,
he heard the
front
screen door open.
A moment later, a
w
oman’s voice called, “Anybody home?”

Miss Mary
. H
e
w
ould recognize that Southern accent any
w
here.
Jeff had
glimpsed
her earlier, but hadn’t been close enough to talk to her. Standing, he
w
alked to the house.
Although
it had been several years since he’
d last seen her, she remained un
changed,
h
e
r slender shape matc
hed her short, blonde hair. E
nergy flo
w
ed from her.
He
observed
Mary glancing
briefly
into th
e living room
then turned to
w
ard him.

“I
declare, Jeffrey Benjamin.” She hastened to him and gave him a hug. “
Knew
I
’
d see you today.” She stepped back and stared up at him. “
You look just like your mother. She
w
ould be so
…
W
hat’s
w
rong
?” Mary took his hands,
“B
ad ne
w
s about Rod?”

“
Nothing ne
w
about Rod. Mrs. Harris had an accident.
She’
s in the hospital.
Doc and Taylor headed to to
w
n
.”
He led her to the patio, seated her at the table, and took a matching chair.

“Impossible,” she said.
“I drove Julia Ann home and sa
w
her to her house.”

“Evidently, Mrs. Harris didn’t stay home. She hit a huge live oak on one of the back roads.”

Placing her right hand over her mouth, she stared.
“Dear heaven,
poor Taylor and Martin.” She shook her head. “Another problem for them.
W
hat terrible timing.”

“There’s more.”

“More?” she said
w
ith disbelief.

“She hit a cyclist.
W
e do
n’t kno
w
ho
w
serious either
person
is.
As for the search, DNR ha
s called it off until sunrise.
I called Doc
and left a message on his voice mail
and texted him.
Taylor’s
bridesmaids, plus Tim
are calling all the volunteer searchers and updating them.”

“Are they
’re
telling
them
about Julia Ann as
w
ell?”

“
W
e decided to.”

Even the evening
light couldn’
t conceal the
w
orry line
s sho
w
ing on her face. Jeff shared
a portion of her pain, but
Miss Mary had taken care of the
Harris
family since Julia Ann had moved out t
w
enty years ago.
She had been a mother to Taylor and to every other kid
w
ho stopped by the Harris’ home.

Mary
leaned back
in her chair
as Jeff filled her in on
w
hat he and Taylor had discovered
.
W
hen he’d finished
neither spoke
for a fe
w
minutes
. Giving herself a
visible
shake, she said, “Time to be practica
l. Things need to be done.” She
rose from her chair.
“
W
hat about dinner? Did anyone eat? I sa
w
the girls
and Tim
, but
w
here are the other boys
?”

Jeff smiled at the ‘boys’
and ‘girls’ and at her concern.
“You never change, al
w
ays
w
anting to feed
people and
w
orry about them.”
He thought she might have blushed, but
in the limited light, h
e
could
n’t
r
ead her expression
nor
see the color of her face.
“T
hey’ve probably returned from searching for Rod
or
will
be back soon
.
R
egarding food, I don’t have a clue.”

“I’ll
find out.”
She headed to
w
ard the door
.

“Miss Mary,” Jeff said.

Turning, she said,
“Mary, please.”

“After so many years, th
at’s hard to do, but I’ll try. Mary, you’re a psychic.”
He stopped and
w
aited.

“
Sometimes the universe allo
w
s me to see.
W
h
y
do you ask
?”
S
he
focus
ed
closely on him.

“Is Rod dead or alive?” he asked
, quietly
.

“Just because the Search and Rescue people didn’t find him this after
noon, doesn’t mean he’s dead.
He might have drifted
w
ith the tide quite a distance from his original location.”

“I appreciate that, but Taylor seemed so sure the cooler
w
as Rod’s.” He stopped, picturing the s
w
arm of ‘gators.
He’d heard Doc’s opinion and kne
w
the theory about alligators, but he couldn’t help
w
ondering if it
w
as true.

“You didn’
t find a boat.
”

“Humor me?”

“
To be honest,
I’ve
asked myself that all evening.
Usually,
w
hen a s
oul passes, I can tell.
I sense that Rod is
here
,
s
till on this plane
, still alive in the flesh
, yet not here.
” She gestured to the area. “Don’t ask me to explain that because I can’t.

“
If my sight is correct, this is good ne
w
s for Taylor,
w
hich she definitely needs.”

“
Will
you tell
Taylor
w
hat you “see”?
”

“U
nless she appr
oaches me and asks
,
I
w
on’t.
”

“
W
hy not?”

Mary stood quietly for a fe
w
moments. “
W
e never discuss psychic matters. She’s afraid, I believe, of
w
hat I might say
.
Any other questions?”

“
W
hat you’ve “seen” is good ne
w
s. T
hank you
for telling me
.”

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Please tell your father I
w
as asking for him.”

He nodded.

“If you’ll excuse me, Jeff, I
’m going to feed these dear people.
”

She
pushed open the
back
screen door, leaving him alone
w
ith his thoughts.

His cell
rang
.
“Jeff Ben
jamin.
”

“Jeff,
Taylor.
Mother’s in a coma. T
he doctors
aren’t sure if she’ll make it.”
Her voice cracked.

He s
w
allo
w
ed,
w
ishing he could be
w
ith her, even if only to hold her hand.
“Ho
w
’s your dad holding up?”

“Surprising
ly
w
ell
, better than I am
. Mother’s in intensive care, but her doctors have
allo
w
ed him to
visit
w
ith her.” She paused.

Jeff
w
aited for her to continue.

“
If I hadn’t insisted that she go home, this
w
on’t have happened.
”

“You can’t kno
w
that.”

“
She probably grabbed a drink
or t
w
o
w
hich affected her reactions
.
W
ho kno
w
s ho
w
many she had?” Her voice d
w
indled off.