CHAPTER 20

Sitting at the kitchen table, and looking out the window at the beautiful sunny day, it was easy to believe that everything that had happened since sunrise was nothing but a bad dream. Monica knew otherwise. A brisk wind blew across the lake stirring up choppy waves that glinted and sparkled in the sun. She had been hoping to teach Faith how to swim. It was a silly little dream, but giving it up still hurt, no matter how happy she knew Faith was going to be for all eternity once she was in the presence of God.

Looking up as Andrew entered the room, she forced a weak smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I’m sorry I keep pulling away," she said, referring to the fact that she hadn’t spent more than ten minutes in the same place with either him or Tess.

"It’s all right. I understand that you need a little time to yourself. Just remember who you can come to when you don’t want to be alone."

A real, though teary, smile crossed her face and she nodded wordlessly.

"I just got off the phone with Sheriff Benson. He’s on his way up here right now. Unfortunately Greg was released about an hour ago."

Monica just lowered her eyes. Nothing about this assignment was going to surprise her anymore. "Andrew… I don’t think I can go up there again," she said slowly.

He sat down next to her and placed one hand over hers. "You don’t have to. I’ll take him. You just stay here with Faith and Tess."

The gratitude showed in her face and she squeezed his hand. "I think I’m going to need that time to think of what I need to say to Faith. I thought it would be hard to get her to open up about what had happened to her, but this is so much harder." Her voice was soft and strained sounding.

"You’ll find the right words, Angel. You always do."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, and then they heard the sound of a car in the distance. Andrew glanced at Monica as he stood up, but she kept her eyes focused on the lake.

"That must be him. I’ll be back as soon as I can."

She sighed and looked up at him at last. "I’m sorry you have to see it too… I just…" she trailed off helplessly.

"Don’t even think about it. I’m sorry that you had to see it in the first place." He reached out and gently touched her cheek. "Why don’t you go check on Faith? She’s probably waking up right about now."

"Yes, you’re probably right."

They walked out of the kitchen together and Tess watched as Monica quickly made her way to the stairs as Andrew went to the front door. He had it opened before the sheriff could even knock.

"Good afternoon, Sheriff," Andrew motioned him into the house. "I’m Andrew and I think you know Tess."

"Yes, thank you. Good afternoon." He tipped his hat to the older angel and then his serious eyes scanned the room.

"Monica is upstairs," Tess answered his unasked question. "She’s the one who discovered it." Even Tess was reluctant to call it a grave. The word was so cold and bleak sounding, nothing like the cheerful girl she had come to know over the past weeks.

Jake’s expression turned even more grim. "I’m sorry about that. I guess we’d all hoped for a different outcome. Frankly I thought…" he shook his head. He had obviously been completely mistaken about Faith living with them.

"I suppose you know who did it," Andrew said, his tone not allowing for any answer other than ‘yes’.

Despite that fact, Jake shook his head, although the muscle in his jaw tensed. "You know I can’t make any assumptions," he said gruffly.

"A man is innocent until proven guilty," Tess repeated the oft-said phrase, "but I think you know in your heart what the truth of this case is."

He jerked his head in a nod. "I won’t stop until I prove it," he said with finality.

The two angels said nothing, but shared a glance. That was as much as they could hope for. They knew the whole truth, but knowing it and proving it were two different things.

Andrew took a breath and walked towards the back door. "Follow me," he said over his shoulder.

Jake gave another nod of his head to Tess and then followed the angel of death out of the room. Tess watched the two of them leave and then looked towards the stairs. Her heart went out to the Irish angel, and she sat down on the sofa heavily, wishing there were something more she could do.

Monica stood outside the bedroom door, trying to mentally prepare herself. She didn’t want Faith to see the distress she was still feeling in her heart and she could only hope to mask it enough to get through what she knew would be the first of several conversations with Faith. There was no way she could bring herself to tell the child yet that her father had killed her and she was caught on the bridge between two worlds. No, that would have to come later as she was still digesting that one herself.

Finding Faith’s body had drudged up unwanted memories for her of the other deaths she had seen all too recently that should not have been. She had been fighting back images of finding Josh and her glimpses of Craig lying motionless in the stall in the barn. Now she was faced with one more injustice that she had seen and she was having a more difficult time than she wanted to admit.

She drew in a deep breath and opened the bedroom door, immediately facing Faith’s large green eyes, "Did you have a nice nap, sweetie?" She smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Yes. Are you better now?" She peered up at the angel inquisitively.

"I’m much better," Monica supposed that wasn’t a lie; at least she wasn’t crying as she had been the last time Faith had seen her, "I was just upset over hearing about what your father did to you," She watched as a small shudder went through the girl and she reached out to pull her closer, "But it got me to thinking, Faith. You do know that you have another Father who loves you very much."

"But I don’t want another father," She whispered with a little shake of her head, "I just want to stay here with you, Tess and Andrew. You’re my family now."

The little angel closed her eyes briefly, wishing she could tell Faith that was so and that was the way it would be forever. As it was, she had little idea of how to reply and she wondered if attempting this conversation so soon had been a mistake, "I call God ‘Father’, sweetheart, because He is the Father of us all," She heard herself saying.

Faith scrunched up her little face, "Why?"

"Because He created everyone. He created the whole world and all the people in it and he loves us more than we could ever, ever imagine."

She appeared to ponder this for a moment before she spoke up again, "If He loves me so much and is my Father, then why did He not answer my prayers when my daddy was hurting me? I kept asking Him and asking Him to make it stop, but He didn’t."

Monica blinked back tears, thankful that Faith was still snuggled close and couldn’t see them as she replied, "But when the man showed up, Faith…did it hurt then?"

"No," She whispered thoughtfully as if considering it for the first time.

The angel’s voice became choked as she forced out her next words, "Then He did answer your prayers, honey. He did…" She could feel the tears stinging at her eyes and she knew she needed a few moments alone, "You know, I’ll bet Tess has fixed you some lunch so why don’t you go and see her?"

"Are you coming too?" She asked, pulling away and looking up at the angel.

"Soon," Monica forced a smile, "You go on ahead."

Faith nodded and headed towards the door, but turned around once more to add, "I wish you weren’t so sad today, Monica."

"Me too, Faith," She admitted truthfully before the little girl left the room and headed down the steps.

*****

Tess had left Faith with a peanut butter sandwich and cartoons to go upstairs to check on her charge, having been informed that Monica was "sad" and the older angel decided to take the opportunity with Andrew with Jake to try to fill in a bit.

"Angel Girl?" She walked in the door and watched as the little angel lifted her head in surprise and wiped at the tears that had fallen, trying to cover the fact that they had been there at all.

"I talked to her, Tess, I did, but I couldn’t tell her the whole truth yet," She began in a rush and Tess felt another stab of guilt over the tone she had taken earlier with her sensitive charge.

"Funny, I don’t recall asking that question," She mused as she sat down next to the younger angel and reached for her hand, "The one I would prefer to ask is how you are doing, if that is all right with you."

Monica lowered her dark eyes and shook her head, "I don’t really feel like talking about it, Tess, at least not yet."

Tess gave a nod and squeezed Monica’s hand, "And that is perfectly fine as well, baby. It’s a lot to take in, even for me, but I’m sorry you had to see what you did." Her voice was gentle and in response, the younger angel leaned into her slightly.

She was quiet for a moment before speaking up softly, "I don’t know how Andrew does his job sometimes."

"You need to put his job into perspective, Monica," She replied, releasing the little angel’s hand to wrap her arm around her shoulders, "Yes, he sees pain in his assignments sometimes and it breaks his heart. But he also sees their joy when they go Home and their suffering is over, which is what will happen to Faith eventually."

Monica nodded her head but chose not to reply, so Tess continued, "Faith is worried about you, baby."

"I..I can’t go down there yet, Tess, please. Tell her…"

"I’ll tell her you were feeling a bit worn out and decided to take a nap," She finished for her, not missing the look of gratitude in the brown eyes as she stood up and watched as Monica moved up onto the bed and rested her head against the pillow. While she knew her charge would bounce back relatively soon, she always hated to see the look of defeat that was now present in her expression, "We’re here for you, baby, and while Faith needs to go Home soon, it does not have to be today."

"Thank you, Tess," Monica whispered, managing a small smile before she closed her eyes and escaped into sleep.

*****

As Andrew led the sheriff through the woods he felt his steps growing slower the closer he go to the cabin. It was an unconscious action on his part; he simply didn’t want to see what was waiting there. Dappled sunlight streamed down through the tall trees, and the sounds of birds above and small animals scurrying through the underbrush brought the forest to life. If not for the grim sight that awaited them it would have felt like a pleasant hike. He shook his head. Surrounded by such beauty and life it was hard to imagine the harsh and brutal death that had been dealt to Faith.

Andrew taking Jake to the grave. Andrew feeling that horrible surge of anger, but this time it is tempered with something else. He is grateful to feel God’s presence working through him and it steadies him. He is still angry, but the desire for vengeance has faded.

Jake is disgusted by what he sees. He has already contacted the county coroner and told them to meet him on the road. He doesn’t want to have to involve the visitors any more than necessary. Andrew asks about Greg Tate, and again Jake is disgusted that the man was released before he got word from the angels. One of his deputies was actually the one to release him from custody, and that same deputy is on the lookout for him now.

However, he admits that just finding the body isn’t enough to prosecute the man. The best they can do to start with is hold him for forty-eight hours and hope that an autopsy makes things clearer. Andrew wants to know how much clearer they need to be. Jake reluctantly tells him that if they can find proof of past abuse then it will go a long way towards making a case against him. Andrew knows the truth about the abuse, but he’s still sickened at the thought of how much faith suffered in her short lifetime.