Chapter Thirteen

With solid evidence that Paul and Marcus had been in the area, the search took on a new sense of hope and urgency. Fear that one of the men had been injured by a bear was in the forefront of everyone’s minds. Kate couldn’t seem to shake the image of an injured and bleeding Marcus, and she jumped every time she saw a tree stump, imagining it was a black bear.

Rebecca must have noticed her anxiety because she was walking closer to her mother now. Kate was glad for Rebecca’s comforting presence and she worried about her daughter’s state of mind too.

“You okay, Kate?” It was Sam on her left. His kind face always reminded her of a sea captain, with its weathered lines and permanent squint.

“I’m doing my best, Sam.”

“Paul knows how to find his way around the woods,” he assured her. “And he knows what to do if he’s confronted by a bear.”

“But Marcus doesn’t,” Rebecca said from Kate’s other side.

Silence followed except for the calls from the searchers, the barking of the dogs up ahead, and the occasional helicopter above them. The searchers had formed a large circle around the spot where they’d found the granola wrappers and were walking mere feet apart, searching the ground in case one or both of the men were nearby, lying in the underbrush.

The dogs had picked up their scent, and the searchers resumed their southerly route, occasionally seeing footprints along the trail.

“It’s a good sign,” Rebecca said to her mother, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself.

Kate lifted her gaze. “What’s a good sign?”

“They’re well enough to keep walking.”

“Maybe...” Kate didn’t want to give her daughter or herself false hope, but sometimes it was the only kind of hope there was.

“But we found their trail,” Rebecca reminded her. “And it looks like they were still able to walk after their encounter with the bear.”

The women walked in silence for a few minutes, then Rebecca spoke up again.

“Where do you think they went?” she asked. “And why are we still climbing? Daddy knows that safety is found downstream, since streams flow to rivers and rivers to dwellings, and help. But we’re going uphill. I don’t get it.”

“Well, if the bear scared Marcus, he may have felt that safety was higher up, or he may simply have run whichever way seemed like an easier escape from a bear,” Kate proposed.

“I wish we knew for sure what he was thinking,” Eli said.

A signal came from Ranger Morton to halt. Everyone stopped in their tracks and waited. It was late afternoon already, and Kate felt weariness seep through her bones. Her back and knees throbbed, and her feet needed a good soaking. But she wasn’t about to give up the search. She glanced up at the forest’s canopy of orange and red. Dappled light filtered down, along with the occasional leaf.

What was taking so long? She glanced ahead where the lead trackers had gathered in a circle with Sheriff Roberts. She could see Ranger Morton gesturing with his hands as they debated something, so she decided to go find out what was going on.

“What’s the holdup?” she asked as she approached one of the search-and-rescue members.

A burly man with a thick head of hair and an eyebrow that crossed both eyes turned to her. “Well, we’re not supposed to share that kind of information with unofficial members of the search team,” he said, his shoulders confident but his eyes soft.

“Please, I know it might be strange that we’re following your trail so closely, but we’ve contributed to this search already...”

The man crossed his arms over his chest, and Kate sensed she’d offended him even though her statement was true. She softened her tone as she pleaded with the man. “Please, this is my husband we’re looking for.”

The man looked around cautiously, then said in a low voice, “We’re now seeing only one set of prints.” He pointed to the shoe marks in the undergrowth.

“What does that mean?” Kate asked. “We know that both men wear the same shoe size.” Kate remembered that from their boot-shopping trip. She couldn’t believe the excursion had taken place just a few days earlier. It felt like years.

The man shook his head. “They may wear the same size shoe, but they left different prints. It appears that your husband lost Marcus’ trail. We don’t know whose prints we’re looking at here.”

Kate returned to Rebecca with the disappointing news. Whose tracks were they, and why had the other tracks vanished into thin air? Had one of the men climbed a tree? Discouragement pulled on her shoulders, and she wanted to cry. But she knew that would help no one, especially not Paul and Marcus.

“We’ll pick up the other trail again,” Rebecca said. “It’s just a hiccup.”

Kate could hear in Rebecca’s voice that she was trying hard to stay positive.

But the truth was that dusk was quickly approaching. The sun had begun its downward slide, and temperatures were predicted to be in the thirties overnight. If a bear hadn’t gotten the men, the cold just might.

Ranger Morton motioned for everyone to circle up, and the Copper Mill searchers showed no timidity in including themselves in the group.

“It’s going to be dark in another half hour,” he said. “Some of the team is going to camp on the trail so they can pick up the search from here first thing tomorrow. The rest of us are going to hike to a bald not far from Chimney Tops Trail. There’s a service road there, and I’ve radioed for the vans to come get us.”

Panic overtook Kate with the realization that they were going to leave Paul and Marcus in the woods for another night.

“Sam, we just can’t leave!” she said. She could hear the fear in her voice, and when she looked at her friend, she saw the same worry in his eyes.

“Search and rescue has done this many times, Kate,” he reassured her. “They have to consider our safety as well as Paul and Marcus’.”

“But it’s going to be cold. We have to find them!”

She gazed into the woods behind her, hoping for one tiny glimpse of a clue, but she saw nothing except the shadows cast by the setting sun.

Though every fiber within her told Kate to continue searching, she knew it was wiser to rest for the night. She followed the second group as they hiked the short distance to the bald, where two vans were waiting. She gazed into the darkening woods one last time, then sighed and climbed into the van for the drive back to get her car before heading to Gatlinburg.

Kate stared out the window as they traversed the overgrown service road that was more a faint track than a road. Hunger mixed with fear in her stomach until she felt nauseated. The sun dipped below the horizon, and darkness took its place. Kate closed her eyes, longing to feel God’s presence and comfort. She wanted a sense that everything was going to be all right. But she had no such sense. At that moment, she knew nothing except that she wanted Paul at her side—and he was nowhere to be found.

KATE KNEW THAT REBECCA had experienced a roller coaster of emotions over the past two days, just as she had: joy, elation, relief, confusion, worry, anger. Kate looked over at her daughter in the seat next to her and touched her hand.

“You okay, honey?”

Rebecca lifted weary eyes. “I don’t know. I just feel numb. I was hoping that we’d find Daddy and Marcus today.”

Kate squeezed her hand. She felt numb too. The woods had been foreboding. It was as if the trees had swallowed Marcus and Paul. She wanted to believe that they were okay, that the next bend in the road would reveal them, yet that hadn’t happened.

“As much as I was angry with Marcus,” Rebecca went on, “I still care for him. I can’t help it. I think about the times we spent together the past two months...He made me smile. He encouraged me and believed in me. Yet he lied to me, and that’s been eating at me little by little.”

“I wish there was something I could do,” Kate said. “As a mother, I want to fix everything for you so you never feel pain. That’s what every mother wants to do.”

“That isn’t possible, Mom,” Rebecca said.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want to try.”

The van pulled into the Sugarlands Visitor Center parking lot, and everyone got out. Darkness had settled across the majestic landscape, covering everything with its blanket even though it was only seven o’clock in the evening.

Apparently news of Paul and Marcus’ disappearance had reached the local TV stations and newspapers. A van from WVLT out of Knoxville was parked out front, and a brunette television reporter was holding up a microphone while Ranger Morton talked about the day’s events.

Kate was in no mood to talk to any reporters and made her way inside the visitor center. The staff at Sugarlands had set up a meal of casseroles. The food was waiting for them on the conference-room table with paper plates, napkins and plastic utensils. Kate had never been so happy to see a simple green-bean casserole in her life. Everyone took a seat in anticipation of the meal.

Kate and Rebecca sat next to each other, and Eli took the seat next to Rebecca. His brown eyes turned to Rebecca. “Hungry?” he asked. His face flamed when Rebecca looked up at him and smiled.

“I’m starving.”

“You’re quiet,” he said.

More people took seats around the table.

Rebecca shrugged. “I suppose I am. I thought we’d find them today.”

Kate had seen how Eli had comforted her daughter, helped her climb the sometimes difficult terrain, offered her water and food, and encouraged her when her spirits seemed to flag. If Eli Weston was anything, he was sincere. The contrast with Marcus was stunning, and Kate wondered if Rebecca saw it.

“You’ve gone above and beyond,” Rebecca said to Eli.

The intimacy of Rebecca’s tone made Kate feel as if she was intruding. She tried to concentrate on her food, but she couldn’t help overhearing their words.

“Your dad has gone above and beyond for me,” Eli said.

“You’re close to him?” Rebecca asked.

Kate looked up as Eli handed Rebecca a casserole dish. She scooped a spoonful onto her plate, then passed it to her mother.

“As close as I’ve been to any man my whole life. Closer, in fact. I think of him as a...”—Eli faltered, and Kate looked up to see his cheeks flush.

“A what?” Rebecca prompted.

“I was going to say father, but that seems awkward talking to you.”

“I don’t think it’s awkward,” Rebecca said. “I know Dad cares about people. That’s one of the things I love about him.”

Kate smiled at her daughter’s words.

“Paul helped me when I was at a really low point in my life,” Eli said. “He forgave me too. That says a lot about a man, that ability to forgive. And it wasn’t just a pat on the back; he kept including me, making sure I understood his forgiveness.”

By now the diners had filled their plates and were talking around the table. Sam Gorman stood at the head of the table with Joe Tucker, who was talking to Sheriff Roberts.

“If everyone can be quiet for a moment of prayer,” Sam said, but no one seemed to be listening.

He looked pale and tired, and Kate wondered again if he was up to this physical activity. The chatter around the table continued. Finally Eli put both pinky fingers in his mouth and let out a long loud whistle.

The room was instantly silent as heads turned to him. Eli’s face turned beet red. “Sam here suggested we pray, and I agree. Paul and Marcus need our support tonight. I know I’ve been praying for them all day. Sam?” He turned the spotlight over to Sam.

“Thanks, Eli,” Sam said. He bowed his head as did those seated around the long table.

“Dear Lord,” he began, “this has been one of the hardest days of my life. Not knowing where Paul and Marcus are, well, Lord, it’s just unbearable. But you know where they are, and you can keep them safe. Watch over them. Find a way for them to stay warm. Give us wisdom in the search tomorrow. If you could just let them walk out of the woods, well, that’d be most appreciated.”

“Amens” echoed around the table, and someone said, “And thank you for the food too, Lord” to which Sam said, “Oh, yeah, and the food.”

When heads raised, Kate glanced at Rebecca and Eli. He was still praying, the lines of his eyes crinkled in concentration. Rebecca watched him for a long minute before he lifted his face and turned to her. She gazed into their depths before she lowered her eyes. Then Kate looked away, embarrassed by the intimacy of their gaze but warmed at the beauty of youth. It hadn’t been that long ago when she and Paul had looked at each other that way.