Chapter 45
CHAPTER 45
B RADEN EMERGED FROM the shaft dirty but uninjured.
“Hey, bud,” Hanna said as she helped him out. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
He wrapped her in a hug, and she felt his body shaking.
“Where’s Papa Everett?”
“He had to go to the hospital, but he’s okay.” She looked to Asa. They needed to call Children’s Services for Braden, but she balked, preferring to find someone he knew. He had a lot of great-uncles.
“Asa, have medics check Braden out and then see if Mayor Milton has an emergency contact, someplace we can send Braden.”
Asa nodded. “Will do.” He took Braden’s hand. “Come on, sport, let’s get you taken care of.”
They left and Hanna paced until Nathan appeared at the top of the shaft. The waiting medics gently pulled him up and placed him on the gurney.
“Nathan.” Hanna stepped forward and set a hand on his shoulder. A hug would not be appropriate, but the relief Hanna felt knowing he was okay made her want to hug him. He was pale and dirty. His eyes clouded with pain.
“Hey, I’m okay. I knew you’d find me.”
“We need to get him out of here,” Stokes said.
Hanna stepped aside and let the medics push Nathan toward the ambulance. She returned to the mine shaft and watched Jared pull himself up out of the hole.
“Hanna, there are more bodies down there.” He unhooked his harness and started working with his ropes. “I looked around a bit, at least three human skeletons.”
“Three?”
“Yeah. The first thing I thought was that one could be Gilly. I didn’t poke around the bodies, but just in what I saw, I don’t think they all died at the same time.”
He bent down to wrap his things up and put them away in his backpack.
“Thank you, Jared, for going down there and getting them.”
He looked up, surprise on his face. “Hey, you know me, any excuse to climb.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “And I’m a firefighter-EMT now, so technically, it’s my job.” He smiled his crooked smile and Hanna felt her heart skip. The emotional roller coaster of the day took a toll on her self-control.
Jared was always the only one for her, wasn’t he?
It felt so right at this tension-filled moment that he was here, with her, and they were a team.
She stepped forward and threw her arms around Jared, holding him close and relaxing in his arms when he returned the hug.
Besides sheriff’s investigators, federal authorities also descended on the Buckley compound. With Everett in the hospital and Grover dead, two lawyers from San Francisco arrived to handle everything that was happening concerning the Buckleys. A thorough search of the mine cavern revealed three skeletal remains. Brett Gilly was one. A badge and an ID still survived on his decayed frame. The other two had no ID. One belonged to a woman, based on the deteriorating clothing and bone structure; the other appeared male.
It was late Saturday morning before Hanna was able to leave the crime scene. By then she’d heard that Everett was recovering after surgery on his shoulder, and his prognosis was good. Nathan also had surgery on his lower leg. It was a bad break made worse by the fact he’d sat on the floor of the mine shaft for hours without treatment.
Mayor Milton had taken Braden into her home and then notified his mother. Perhaps the only good news of the whole day was that Kelly planned to fly home from Hollywood to come take custody of him.
At least Hanna hoped that was good news. Poor Braden had been through so much. And he was very worried about his great-grandfather, a man he obviously idolized.
She pulled into her driveway tired and drained. There hadn’t even been time to think about what to do about Joe. He deserved to have his name cleared. But did he have the time to see that process through? More importantly, could she find the hard evidence that she needed to find?
Hanna pulled herself out of the car, longing for a shower and bed. The caregiver met her at the door.
“Chief, you look exhausted.”
“I am, Arthur. It’s been a long night.”
“I’m sorry to make it worse. Joe passed about ten minutes ago.”
Hanna stared. “He...” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“His body just gave out.” He held out the writing pad. “Joe finished writing this, and he wanted to make sure you kept his box of letters. They are all addressed to you. I called for the funeral home. Not sure when they will arrive.”
He was still talking when Hanna walked past him to the guest room. The oxygen machine was silent. Joe looked as if he were sleeping. It was as quiet as death. She sat next to the bed and looked at the piece of paper in her hand. No neat block writing; it was difficult to read. Made more difficult by the tears that clouded her eyes.
I had to take the deal. No choice. Big Al said they had holes to drop you and your mom in that were so deep, no one would ever find you. Don’t cry for me, Hanna. I’m not sure the man I was then would have been able to take care of you, raise you right. I think I took care of you better than I ever could by going to prison, finding Jesus, and praying for you every minute of every day. I took the path God had for me. It seems wrong and sad and hard, but God chose to be with me through it, not take me out of it. Please continue to be happy and live good. Your father loves you, and he is so very proud of you.
Hanna wept.