Chapter 6 - The Vigil at the Quarry
The snow was falling heavily by the time Detective Miller’s unmarked cruiser pulled up to the perimeter tape near the old limestone quarry.
The area was flooded with mobile light towers, their bright white halogen beams illuminating the falling snowflakes and the dark, jagged mouth of an abandoned stone well house.
Charles sat in the front passenger seat of the cruiser, wrapped in a heavy wool blanket that Julia had brought from his house. Julia sat in the back seat, resting her chin on his head, her arms wrapped around his broad shoulders.
"You don't have to be out here, Charles," Julia whispered softly. "We can wait at the station."
"No," Charles said, his voice quiet, clear, and utterly firm. "I let her be alone in the dark for fifteen years, Julia. I’m not leaving until she comes home."
At 11:42 PM, a senior forensic investigator wearing a white hazmat suit walked out of the well house. He carried a small black velvet box in his hands.
He walked over to Detective Miller, spoke a few quiet sentences, and pointed toward the cruiser.
Miller walked over, opened the passenger door, and crouched down in the snow beside Charles.
"Mr. Parker," Miller said gently. "We recovered her remains. She was buried deep near the bottom of the old well structure. She didn't suffer long... the fall was immediate."
Miller opened the velvet box.
Inside rested a gold wedding band, polished clean of dirt, engraved along the interior band with the words:
"To Charles. My heart, my kitchen, my home."
Charles reached out a trembling hand and picked up the ring. He pressed it against his lips, closing his eyes as heavy, racking sobs tore through his chest.
Julia pulled him close, holding him tightly as the snow fell over the dark woods around them.
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The fifteen-year mystery was over. The nightmare of the unknown had finally cracked open into the cold, clean reality of grief.
Clara was found.
