Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 70628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
We arrive at the small church and walk inside.
Taylor was cremated, and an urn of her ashes sits at the altar, along with a picture of her and Nancy.
Nancy, of course, isn’t here. She’s in prison.
“That must be the family up in that front row,” Katelyn says to me.
“I’ve seen pictures of her father,” I say. “If he turned around, I could tell if it’s him.”
“It’s him,” Buck says. “Luke and I made sure he’d be here.”
“Good. I’ll talk to him when we go through the receiving line.”
“Are you sure, baby? This is his daughter’s funeral. We should be respectful.”
“I get that, but obviously there was not a lot of love lost there. He disowned her. He probably shouldn’t even be here.”
“Of course he should be here,” Buck says. “He’s her father. He’s probably paying for everything. This is a pretty nice sendoff.”
“You think he’s paying for the funeral of the daughter he disowned?”
“Who else would pay for it? Not Nancy. She’s in jail. Plus, she was a wife in name only.”
“Do you think any of these people are wondering why Taylor’s wife isn’t here?”
“I don’t know—” Buck stops when the minister walks to the pulpit.
“Thank you all for coming today,” he says. “We’re here to mourn the loss of Taylor Helaine Wallace. Harry, Rita, Jocelyn, Gary, we’re all so sorry for your loss. If you will all please rise, we’ll begin with our opening hymn.”
The organist begins playing, and I turn to the requisite page in the hymnal sitting in front of me.
But I don’t sing.
I simply mouth the words.
I’m not here to mourn.
I’m here to find answers.
An hour long. The service was an hour long. Harrison Wallace and his wife didn’t speak, but Taylor’s brother and sister did. So did several others. It was never-ending.
Buck joins me in the receiving line. Luke and Katelyn chose to skip it.
First in line is Taylor’s sister, Jocelyn.
“I’m so very sorry for your loss,” I say to her, holding out my hand.
“Thank you very much. How did you know Taylor?”
“We played professional volleyball together. My name is Aspen Davis.”
Jocelyn’s eyes widen. “You’re Aspen Davis?”
“I am.”
“But we all thought you were—”
“I assure you I’m alive and well. This is my boyfriend, Buck Moreno.”
Jocelyn shakes Buck’s hand, and then she introduces us to her brother standing next to her. “Gary, this is Aspen Davis, and her boyfriend.”
Gary, who looks exactly like Taylor in male form, drops his jaw. “Aspen Davis?”
“Yes, reports of my demise were false.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
I shake my head. “It’s okay. I’m very sorry for your loss, Gary.”
“Thank you. And thank you both for coming.”
Taylor’s mother is next. I shake her hand. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Wallace.”
She simply nods, her eyes glazed over with tears.
And next… Harrison Wallace. He’s a nice-looking older man, hardly gray at all.
I hold out my hand. “Mr. Wallace, I’m Aspen Davis. I played volleyball with your daughter. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Harrison Wallace lifts his eyebrows. “Did you say Aspen Davis?”
“Yes, and I know this is your daughter’s funeral, but I really would like to speak to you if possible.”
He cocks his head and stops the handshake. “As you said, this is my daughter’s funeral.”
“I understand, and I do respect that.”
He doesn’t let my hand go, though. He holds onto it, and then he seems to look deep into my eyes. “I will speak with you. When I’m done here in the receiving line and before I head to the wake.”
“You will? That means so much to me. Thank you so much.”
“Wait for me outside the church in the back. I will be there.”
Buck and I leave the receiving line, and we confer quickly with Luke and Katelyn. While Buck and I wait outside behind the church, Luke and Katelyn station themselves in the front, just in case Harrison Wallace was lying and has no intention of speaking to us.
But after fifteen minutes, Harrison comes out the back of the church and nods to us, pointing and gesturing us to follow him.
We end up in a secluded gazebo, where we’re able to speak freely.
“We weren’t sure you were going to show,” Buck says.
“To be honest,” Harrison says, “I wasn’t sure I was going to either. But if you have questions, Ms. Davis, I feel it’s my duty to answer them to the best of my ability.”
“Call me Aspen,” I say, “and thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I’m not certain that I will have any of the answers you’re looking for, but I will try.”
I clear my throat. “I know who’s responsible for my…elimination.”
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he says. “What happened to you?”
“I’m sure you probably already know. I was abducted and taken to Derek Wolfe’s island in the South Pacific. I was hunted. Violated. For a period of over five years.”