Love and Injustice

by Mary Crawford

  “That’s awesome. Have you heard how the others are doing?”

  “Isadora is having the toughest time. She was really attached to Bex’s children. They adore her too. So, the counselor is working on a plan with the family to see if there can be some sort of contact between them.”

  “That would be nice. It had to be traumatic for all of them.”

  “Tallulah is headed to college on scholarship if her parents will allow it after all she’s been through.”

  “Any breakthrough on Joey Ward?”

  “Nothing so far. Pauline and Toby have been pouring over every lead. So far, nothing has panned out. They’re even working with Phoenix. But so far, they haven’t cracked the code.”

  “That has to be devastating for his parents.”

  “It is. I still get frustrated every time I think about it. What would’ve happened if they would’ve told us the truth from the beginning? We lost weeks and months of valuable search time chasing inaccurate leads because they didn’t tell us the truth.”

  Tori reaches out and grabs my hand. “I know, that must be incredibly demoralizing.”

  I pull the SUV out into traffic as I shrug philosophically. “Unfortunately, I can’t turn back time and re-create evidence. So, we’re doing the best we can.”

  “I know, but it still sucks. I know you wanted to solve this case a long time ago.”

  I pass a couple of slow trucks and then go back into the slow lane. “Speaking of things which suck, how are things going at the office?”

  “Well, it wasn’t quite as bad as I had envisioned. I guess we’re fortunate Derek wasn’t intricately involved in the day-to-day operation of our office even though he said he was. He actually did very little work for someone whose title was District Attorney. It’s frustrating, but in this case, it helped us a lot. His impact on former cases is minimal.”

  I grimace. “I’m not sure if I should cheer about the news or be thoroughly disgusted.”

  Tori bursts out laughing. “Oh trust me, I have the same conversation with myself every single day. Thank goodness for Crystal, she keeps me sane.”

  Tori’s stomach growls audibly. “I see you’re looking forward to our date at the crab shack is much as I am,” I joke.

  Just as we pull up to the crab shack, my cell phone rings. It’s Dylan’s ring tone. I look over at Tori with a thunderous expression, my disappointment clear. She motions for me to answer the phone.

  “This better be good,” I growl at my former partner. “It’s my anniversary! You know I have special plans tonight —”

  As I listen to what Dylan says on the other end of the phone, the blood drains out of my face and I start to feel a little dizzy.

  Tori notices and hands me my soda. “Are you okay?” she whispers.

  I shake my head as I listen to Dylan.

  “Are they sure? There’s a DNA match? In Minnesota? Crap!”

  Tori squeezes my hand and lays her head against my shoulder in a show of support.

  I scrub my hand down my face. “All right, I don’t know if I can do anything about it now, but I’ll talk to Tori and get back to you.”

  I blink back tears as I hang up my phone and stick it back in my pocket.

  Somberly, I turn to Tori. “Well, our string remains unbroken. This is our third attempt at a date at the crab shack, and this is the third time we’ve been interrupted by one of my cases.”

  Tori simply holds me tighter. “Who did they find?”

  “Joey Ward. They found his body a few months ago, but he was labeled as a John Doe. He was so emaciated by the cancer, they couldn’t determine his proper age and he had no ID. He was found in an old fishing shack on one of the lakes in Minnesota. Until we expanded the search, no one knew we were looking for him.”

  “You need to be the one to tell Meredith and Doyle. They trust you. Don’t make Dylan do this. He’s been through enough on this case.”

  I lean back against the headrest and close my eyes. “This is not how I planned this date. I was going to ask you to marry me. There’s a ring in my pocket.”

  “If you would’ve asked me, I would’ve said yes — because you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You proved to me that love triumphs over injustice even under the harshest conditions. So, maybe tonight wasn’t the perfect night for a proposal. Yet, in a way it was.”

  I look at Tori as if she’s lost her ever lovin’ mind.

  She just smiles softly. “We’re two people who love each other and our jobs. Sometimes, our priorities will collide with each other. But we’re stronger people because of who we are and what we do.”

  I shift in the car and pull out the ring. “Just so you know, I had something much more romantic planned. But you took the words right out of my mouth. Victoria Clarkson, will you marry me?”

  “In a heartbeat, Cody DeWayne Erickson. Our timing might be weird, but it works for us. I love you.”

  THE END (for now…)

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Dear Reader,

  Thanks for giving my book a read. If you liked reading about people who struggle with unique problems, you’ll love what’s coming.

  Will Kordes has fought his whole life to be respected. He never fit in anywhere, even as a kid. It seems his brain just wired differently. Labeled a troublemaker early, he has fought the stigma for as long as he can remember.

  He’s not dumb, obstinate or delinquent — he just sees the world from a different angle. He things would be different when he sold one of his inventions for an obscene amount of money.

  Will sets out to change the world, unfortunately when he needs someone who’s really matters, it seems nothing has changed.

  If you love sweet romance stories that flourish against the odds, you’ll love The Power of Will

  Coming in early 2019

  ~Mary

  Because love matters, differences don’t.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Cody has always been one of my favorite characters since I introduced him way back in Pieces. He is unique guy — tough and hardened by his job, yet tender and funny. I knew he would need a strong woman who wouldn’t be afraid to push back a little against his macho tendencies.

  A lot of romances (mine included) often feature one character giving up their career to help another character succeed. Sometimes that can happen in real life. Yet more often than not, couples are left to try to negotiate a balance between their careers and their family lives. I thought it would be a great theme to show the stresses of modern family life juxtaposed against fighting for successful careers. I love this story because Tori and Cody are great cheerleaders for each other.

  I have lots of great cheerleaders in my life too. Honestly, I couldn’t do what I do without the support of my husband and my children. I keep absolutely crazy hours as an author. My husband and my son, Justin, do a great job of keeping the real world running while I’m lost in the world of fiction. Left to my own devices, I would probably starve.

  I’d like to give a shout out to my personal assistant, LJ Redding, who keeps things running smoothly behind-the-scenes.

  Kathy Faltinson, thanks for taking the reins and being the editor on this one. We all know sometimes it’s hard to make sense of my words.

  Thanks as always to my research assistant and beta reader, Kathern Watts.

  Kudos to my proofreaders, Justin Crawford, Lisa Lee and Christina Bergmann.

  Huge cyber hugs to all my fans who have stayed loyal to these characters and are always curious about what they are up to next. It is because of you I continue to have a job. Thank you for supporting books that celebrate diversity.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I have been lucky enough to live my own version of a romance novel. I married the guy who kissed me at summer camp. He told me on the night we met that he was going to marry me and be the father of my children.

  Eventually, I stopped giggling when he said it, and we’ve celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. We have two child
ren. The oldest is a Doctor of Osteopathy. He is across the United States completing his residency, but when he’s done, he is going to come back to Oregon and practice Family Medicine. Our youngest son is now tackling middle school and hopes to design video games when he grows up.

  I write full time now. I have published two dozen books and have several more underway. I volunteer my time to a variety of causes. I have worked as a Civil Rights Attorney and diversity advocate. I spent several years working for various social service agencies before becoming an attorney.

  In my spare time, I love to cook, decorate cakes and of course, I obsessively, compulsively read.

  I would be honored if you would take a few moments out of your busy day to check out my website,

  MaryCrawfordAuthor.com. While you’re there, you can sign up for my newsletter and get a free book. I will be announcing my upcoming books and giving sneak peeks as well as sponsoring giveaways and giving you information about other interesting events.

  If you have questions or comments, please E-mail me at Mary@MaryCrawfordAuthor.com or find me on the following social networks:

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormarycrawford

  Website: MaryCrawfordAuthor.com

  Twitter: www.twitter.com/MaryCrawfordAut