"It's an idol. Your father had it crafted so we never forgot about the actual statue." She paused. “I never really knew exactly what it was though.”
Drake moved toward Joey. "Do you know where it is? Is there an actual idol?"
"Do you know about it?"
Joey tried to get Marcella’s attention back on track before they ran out of time. "That idol is very important to his family."
"Take me home, and I'll show you exactly where it is."
Joey frowned. Her mother had never requested to go home before, even in her moments of clarity. "Go home?"
“Yes, home. I haven’t been there in some time, and I think it’s about time that I spend some time in my own house.”
Joey didn’t know how to answer her. “I’m not sure you’re allowed to just leave with us.”
“Allowed?” Marcella asked. “Am I in prison? I want to go home.”
Joey shook her head to clear her mind. “I don’t understand what’s happened.”
Drake stretched his arm out to get her attention. "Joey, I think when I touched her, it did something. I felt it. The same warm sensation and pale green light as when I healed you."
It took a moment for his words to sink in. She slowly turned to him. "So this moment of clarity...."
"May not be a moment.”
“You think it could last longer?” Joey didn’t dare hope that she had understood him correctly.
“If I’m right, it may be forever."
Chapter Thirty: Unknown but Happy
Drake Hale
It took some convincing, but Ms. Jeffers finally agreed to grant Marcella time at home. He didn't think that Joey was any more positive about her mother's miraculous recovery either, but he could see the hope in her eyes. He pinched himself that he wasn't wrong.
Marcella was still herself when they pulled in the driveway. "I haven't seen this house in a long time."
"I haven't really changed much," Joey responded while still staring at her mother as if she'd forget everything every second.
"You're always so busy with that rodeo." She got out of the car herself. "I just wish my Coy was here to welcome me home."
Once inside, Marcella went straight to her late husband's office. "I'm surprised you didn't find that statue thing."
"We searched everywhere in here, Mama. Where is it?"
Drake watched in amazement as Marcella went straight to the portrait that he and Joey had just admired and pushed on the bottom of the frame. It popped away from the wall, and she swung it around to reveal a safe behind it.
"Right here in plain sight. The combination is your birthday, of course."
Joey typed in the numbers. "I can't believe it was right here."
"And he left a clue," Drake added. "We were just too stupid to see it." He pointed. "And I even commented on your pendant in the picture."
"X marks the spot," Joey muttered as she reached into the safe. She pulled out a small bundle wrapped in protective cloth. She handed it to Drake. "You should unwrap this."
He did and held up a small statue about the size of his hand. White ivory with various crystals, it was a stunning idol.
Joey let out a low whistle. "And Percy was willing to kill for that."
