Free Fancy Gap by C. David Gelly

Now just give me some directions to that mountain lair of yours.”
    After he hung up, Quinn sat very still for a moment and let the realization sink in: She’s coming here. Louisa is coming here. So what you gonna do now, Mr. Hermit?
    Perhaps the answer was not so far away, as he discovered when he finally got up and headed toward the hot tub again, this time with a definite reaction that got his attention.
    Pointer was back! he chuckled as he sunk into the tub.

CHAPTER 16
    Susan was waiting for Tim at the Greensboro Airport when he flew back from Miami. The ride back to Hillsville was full of details of his mother’s funeral and the family’s offers of support for them. She filled him in on her meeting with Scott Cohen. The Amber Alert had been issued the day before. Already, the sheriff ’s office had received several calls and e-mails, but none of them provided any useful leads. She told him of her daily calls to Levi Blackburn at the sheriff ’s department. They had not developed any new information on the case.
    They soon arrived at the rented apartment in downtown Hillsville. Just as they stepped out of their car, a Carroll County sheriff’s car pulled up alongside them. It was Sheriff Pierce.
    “Mister and Mrs. Preston, I’m Sheriff Pierce. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to meet you both. I know that Levi Blackburn has been in daily contact with you, Mrs. Preston.”
    “Yes, he has, sheriff,” and it’s good that he has stayed in touch. Susan replied “Let’s go inside and talk.”
    They went into the apartment and sat at the kitchen table.
    “Would you like some coffee, sheriff?”
    “No, thank you, Susan—may I call you Susan?” he asked.
    “Yes, by all means.”
    “First of all, let me say how sorry I am that this happened to you and your children. I want you to know that every resource that my department has is devoted to finding your children.”
    Tim nodded. “Sheriff, we appreciate that from the bottom of our hearts. This is crazy! We still can’t believe this has happened.”
    “Folks, I want you to consider something. I want to hold a press conference tomorrow with you both by my side. The big television stations in Roanoke and Winston-Salem want to cover this story. But I don’t want it to happen if you’re not comfortable with that.”
    Susan spoke first. “Sheriff, that sounds like what we need to do. The more people who know about this, the better.”
    “I’m all for it,” Tim offered. “Maybe someone out there knows something and can tell us where Pete and Katie are.” They both started to cry after Tim’s last words. The room was silent for a bit.
    Sheriff Pierce looked at them closely. “I understand this is very difficult for you. If I may ask, do you belong to any particular church at home?”
    “Yes, we do. We’re Catholic.” Susan began to cry again.
    “Well, we don’t have many Catholic churches here in Carroll County. But there’s a very small parish not far from here on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Father Tony has been there for about five years now, I believe. I know he’s been a blessing to that congregation. He’s also very active in the community. He’s on the board of directors of the small house we have for abused women and children. He’s been a big influence in raising funds for it. He’s so good, even the Baptists like him.”
    Tim and Susan smiled weakly.
    “I believe he left a much larger church somewhere else to come here. Must have been a shock for him to end up in little Carroll County. If you like, I can call him today.”
    “That would be great, sheriff,” said Tim. “I think he could be a big help to us both.”
    “I truly believe he will be, folks. Oh, and I think he’s a Franciscan. He wears a long, brown robe.”
    “ We knew some great Franciscan priests in a parish we once belonged to. They’re wonderful people,” Susan said.
    “Great, I’ll call him later,” the sheriff said as he stood up.
    “Thank you, Sheriff