The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [68]
Just then, the head and shoulders of one of the rescuers appeared over the edge of the cliff. He was leaning back, the rope holding him in place on the side of the cliff as he talked to one of the firemen. They spoke for a moment, while everyone stared in their direction. The fireman finally nodded, then walked over to Joe and the others as the rescuer dropped down the side of the cliff again.
“Gather round,” the fireman called, motioning to them to do so.
Rebecca, Steve and the sheriff joined the anxious semicircle around the fireman, and Joe knew from the deep lines across the man’s forehead that he had nothing encouraging to tell them.
Joe glanced at Janine. Her eyes were on the fireman, her lower lip clenched between her teeth. She looked as though she was holding her breath.
“I’m afraid the news isn’t good,” the fireman informed them. “It looks like the car burned up pretty bad on impact. Right now, though, the rescue team can only see two bodies inside.”
“Two?” Steve repeated. “There were three of them.”
“Right, I know,” the fireman said. “And they’re trying to find the third. She might have been thrown out of the—”
“Whose bodies have you found?” Joe interrupted him. He couldn’t tolerate the slow delivery of information.
“We don’t know,” the fireman said. “Looks like one adult and one child, but the guys can’t really get inside the car yet. They’re working on it, but they need to get some tools down there with them.”
Joe glanced toward the top of the cliff to see that a few of the emergency workers were lowering equipment to the men below.
“The two in the car appear to have been burned pretty bad.” the fireman said.
Burned beyond recognition. The familiar phrase ran through Joe’s mind. Never had he imagined it applying to his beautiful daughter.
Rebecca lowered herself to the ground, where she sat, cross-legged and weeping. Steve sat next to her, his arm around her shoulders, speaking to her softly.
The sheriff cleared his throat, readying himself to take over from the fireman. “I think it would be best if you folks went back to Virginia,” he said, “and let us—”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Janine said. “Not until I know exactly where my daughter is. Please let me go down there and look around.”
The sheriff shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,” he said. “The car’s in a precarious position.”
“What are they doing down there now?” Joe asked.
“They’ll get the bodies out,” the fireman said. “Then we’ll lift up the car and see if…if the third victim is underneath. If you folks want to stay here, I have to ask that you get over to the other side of the road and away from the cliff. I’ll let you know when there’s any news.”
Reluctantly, they walked to the opposite side of the road and sat down on the gravel, their backs against the brush-covered embankment that edged the road.
Steve stood up almost as soon as he’d sat down. “I’m going to make a run for some drinks. What does everyone want?”
“Vodka,” Rebecca said. She sounded serious, but instantly started to laugh, and in less than a second, the laughter turned to tears. She buried her head in her arms.
“Anything for me,” Paula said.
“Same here,” said Joe.
“Nothing for me,” Lucas said, holding up his own nearly-full water bottle. He nudged Janine, who was seated next to him, but she shook her head. “Water for Jan,” he said.
“No one calls her Jan,” Joe muttered under his breath to Paula.
“Apparently Lucas does,” Paula said, and he looked at her sharply.
“Whose side are you on?” he asked.
“Nobody’s side, hon,” she said. “Just…now isn’t the time for jealousy. Both you and Janine need support, and it doesn’t really matter where it comes from. Okay?”
He felt like a chastised child. Leaning his