by Jackie Weger
Those rumors alleged that Dodie had gone stark raving mad. Someone swore they saw her pour a substance into the orange juice that Otis drank at Dee’s Café. The story went that she was a woman scorned and intended the drink for Matt. If she couldn’t have Matt, then she was going to make sure I didn’t either, which, in turn, called into question her involvement not only in Otis’s death but Moria’s as well.
The Reeves were devastated. I heard that Claire admitted to Sheriff Brawner that Dodie’s behavior had been erratic since Moria died, and she was worried about her. However, she refused to contemplate any other options than Dodie had run away to start a new life.
The news for the family got worse. Mr. Reeves had a fatal heart attack a week after Dodie disappeared. Ginny Rose became quite senile. However, it may have been a blessing for her to escape all the pain of the losses. After Mr. Reeves’s funeral, Claire moved to Nashville with her mother to be closer to Lauren. Jed made no appearance in Oak Flatt for either the search of his sister or for Mr. Reeves’s memorial. I believed he wanted to distance himself as far away from any suspicion of his actions the day Otis was poisoned.
Shortly after Dodie disappeared, films began to be released of concentration camps in Germany. The papers followed with horrific details of the Death Camps, as they became known. My heart ached at the sight. Afterward, the POWs were transferred from Oak Flatt. There was too much animosity toward them to keep them safe any longer.
I was shocked that a country could follow such a madman as Hitler so blindly. But, there again, I had seen how truth could be twisted and turned through a blurred lens. I had seen the face of evil and realized wickedness could live anywhere.
Yet, the depth of evil that lies in a man’s soul astounded me. I wondered how calloused one would have to be to believe another person beneath them because of the status of their birth instead of the life they have lived.
But I have determined that some questions will never have answers.
The war in Europe raged on until late spring. Then, word came that Hitler was dead, and we celebrated. Germany surrendered shortly afterward. It took a few months longer for the war in the South Pacific to cease. With the end of battles came a renewed sense of hope in our country.
Life continued in Oak Flatt. Goldie and I searched for Alfie’s remains, knowing now that Dodie dumped his body at another location, but the wilderness was too vast and the wildlife too abundant. Helen never went home, even though she knew Alfie’s fate. She still camps on the edge of Goldie’s field, but now she works at the Pride. Matt gave her a job.
Sheriff Brawner lost his reelection bid against one of the returning war heroes, Jeffrey Owen. Matt’s best friend became sheriff of Blount County. Jeffrey and his wife have been our closest friends.
Decisions made are in the past. I think of them no more, but it does not mean there are no consequences to my actions. The Lord said vengeance is his. On that, I do not doubt. I worry that hell’s fire will greet me after my time is done, but I hold to the thought that my actions were not done out of hate.
Now I have only pity for the woman who was so diabolically cruel. Dodie had shown no remorse for the death of Alfie. Instead of empathy for the boy, she cared only for herself. She killed Moria to silence her. Then, when she felt threatened, she lashed out recklessly with poison and killed Otis. I was frightened of what her next action might have been.
After reading Moria’s journals, I had been filled with fear, not for myself, but for the child I carried. At that moment, I felt what my mother must have felt—that I would do anything to protect my child. I made the only decision I felt I could.
A full moon shimmered over the lake the night I shared the news about the baby with Matt. I chose to tell him at the cabin, our happy place, where it was just the two of us. Although I believed that Mrs. Pritchard has come to accept my presence at the house, there were times that we still needed to escape. Matt was thrilled at the thought of becoming a father.
Matt and I have never talked of that fateful night. We have chosen not to live in the past, but I have thought of my mother often. It saddened me that guilt had consumed her life. I hope she knows how thankful I am that she saved me and gave me a chance to live this life.
As for me, any guilt I had for my part in Dodie’s disappearance vanished the moment my son was born.
The bells ring no longer.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read The Waking Bell. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends and posting a short review on www.BookBub.com, www.Goodreads.com, and/or wherever you buy books, as word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.
For more books by Jerri, visit her author page at www.WrittenMusings.com/JerriHines.
For more books by Jackie, visit her author page at www.WrittenMusings.com/JackieWeger.
Jackie Weger
USA Today bestselling author Jackie Weger has been writing romance novels off and on for thirty years. When she’s writing, she’s anchored in a tiny room with a desk, a chair, and an annoying cat. When not writing, blogging, chatting with fans, or just being flat-out lazy, she’s hanging out on a fishing pier, soaking up sunshine and reading a good book. For many a year she traveled our good earth by foot, boat, bus, train, plane, or pickup, and sometimes a mule—but today she only gets as far as Walmart.
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Jerri Hines
A Southern gal with a fascination for history, bestselling author Jerri Hines writes historical suspense fiction and historical romance. Jerri believes in love and the power it holds, the reason she adds romance to her stories. She has lived the last thirty years near Boston with her Yankee husband.
To keep up with Jerri’s New Releases and Specials, subscribe to her Newsletter or follow her on www.BookBub.com/authors/Jerri-Hines.