Gravity had won.
Paramedics crowded around him . . . but there was no hurry. Tyson was dead. The nightmare was over.
Chapter 55
Kent went with Andy and Strand to Tyson’s house, where they found his mother dead in her bed and his father lifeless in his wheelchair, just as Tyson had bragged.
The three of them interviewed neighbors who knew the family well. From what Kent heard from them about the constant abuse Tyson had experienced from his mother and the trauma of his father’s helplessness, along with his constant drug use, it was clear that he must have had a mental breakdown that led to his mother’s murder first. Then, out of a twisted sense of compassion, he’d killed his father. The two murders had unleashed the streak of revenge for every wrong done to him, beginning with the three who’d angered him in rehab. When they found a list of people in his room — with Emily, Bo, and Carter at the top — they knew that his murderous spree would have gone on and on if he had not been stopped.
From his cell phone and notes in his room, they were able to get the numbers of most of his drug suppliers. They turned those over to the Department of Narcotics.
Now, back at his office, Kent pulled the ring out of his pocket and turned it in the light.
Andy came up behind him. “So when are you gonna do it, man?”
Kent grinned. “Soon. But I want to talk to the kids first.”
“Hey, it’s her life, not theirs.”
“It’s theirs, too,” Kent said. “It matters what they think. If they want me to wait, well . . .”
Andy chuckled. “Well, what?”
Kent thought that over. What would he do? Call the whole thing off? “Well, I’ll just have to cry and beg.”
Andy clearly enjoyed picturing that.
Monday afternoon, Kent went to Lance’s school. He parked across the street just as the day’s last bell rang. He strolled up the carpool line of cars, looking for Barbara’s car, which Emily was still driving. He found it idling halfway up the line. Going to the passenger side, he knocked on her window. She looked up from the textbook she was reading and popped her lock. “Hey!” she said as he opened the door. “Didn’t expect to see you.”
“Mind if I get in?” he asked.
“Sure,” she said, handing him the crutches in her passenger seat. “You can put these in the back.”
He moved the crutches, then slid into the seat. “I wanted to tell you that the charges against you are dropped. You’re free and clear.”
She leaned back on the seat, breathing relief. “Thank goodness.”
“How did it go with your test?”
“Dr. Ingles let me make it up today. I’m hoping for a good grade.”
“You’ll be fine.” He hesitated, suddenly nervous. “Listen, I want to talk to you and Lance about something else.”
“Okay. About what?”
“About your mom.”
A slow smile made its way across her face. “Oh. Got it.”
He grinned and looked out the window, saw Lance coming out in a flood of students. A girl was shoving him, laughing and flirting. Some other guys were following Lance as if he was the conquering hero. He’d been all over the news this morning, interviewed about risking his life to save April. Her own interview confirmed his heroism, and one of the channels had replayed Missouri footage of his heroism a year ago, as well.
Emily smiled as she watched her brother through the windshield. “Things are looking up for Lance.”
“Guess he’s not the class pariah anymore. That’s good.”
Lance spent a few minutes talking to the friends clustered around him. He was in a great mood when he got in, and they headed off to the Dairy Queen around the corner from the school. Other kids were there when they arrived, and they high-fived Lance and patted his back as he ordered.
Kent watched him with pride, like a proud father. When he got his food, Lance slid into their booth. Keeping his voice low, he said, “So at lunch today, April asked if I’d take her to homecoming.”
“Way to go,” Emily said. “Did you say yes?”
Lance shrugged and studied his fries. “Not yet. I told her that I didn’t want to hang out with her if she was even thinking about doing dope again. She says she’s learned her lesson, that she never wants to mess with anybody who does drugs. Took almost dying to realize that dopers have their own special flavor of insanity.”
“Wasn’t that enough for you?” Kent asked.
Lance shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll probably go with her. But this other girl asked me. Pink Paget.”
“Pink?” Emily asked. “Her name is Pink, and she’s not a rock star?”
“Yeah, but listen.”
“Her mother named her that?” Emily said, incredulous. “It’s on her birth certificate?”
“How do I know what’s on her birth certificate? But she asked me if I’d show her my scar, so I unbuttoned my shirt and — ”
Kent winced. “Lance, you didn’t.”
“Why not? I showed her the scar over my lung, and before I knew it there was a crowd. Everybody wanted to see.”
“No way.”
“Way. It was great. All this time those jocks were calling me a liar, and now they believe everything. Then Pink asked for my phone number and she asked me to homecoming. And she’s in the youth group on-fire-for-Jesus crowd, so I don’t see her smoking dope the next time somebody offers her a joint.”
“Hey, church kids can go off the rails, too,” Emily said.
“I know, but still . . .”
“It’s always good to have options,” Kent said. “I knew you’d be the big man on campus before you knew what hit you.”
Emily shoved a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. “Almost worth a near-death experience, huh?”
“Not really.” Lance sobered, leaning back. “April’s traumatized. Her mom is putting her into counseling. I think that’s a good thing. She needs help with her issues, not drugs. And her parents need to get their act together.”
Finally, Emily asked Kent the obvious. “So what did you want to talk to us about?”
Kent’s laughter faded and nerves took over. He cleared his throat, folded his hands in front of his face. “You guys know how crazy I am about your mother.”
Emily smiled. “Feeling seems to be mutual.”
“Good.” He leaned forward, crossed his hands in front of him. “Because I want to ask her to marry me.”
The kids were silent for a moment, and he couldn’t read their faces. Had he made a mistake? Were they unhappy about it? Finally, Lance broke into a grin. “Well, it’s about time.”
Relief almost made him go limp. “Really? You’ve been expecting this? Do you think she’ll say yes?”
“We didn’t move here for nothing,” Emily said. “But are you sure it’s not just because you need a place to live?”
For a moment he thought she was serious, then she burst out laughing. “The house can be fixed,” he said. “I have a construction crew there already.” He stared into Emily’s amused face. “Are you okay with this, Emily?”
Her smile faded, but it still sparkled in her eyes. She set her spoon down and leaned on the table, her gaze locking with his. “I miss my dad a lot. I wish things could be like they used to be, but they can’t. You already feel like part of the family. Let’s just make it official.”
His throat tightened. “Thank you, Emily. And Lance?”
Lance couldn’t hide his grin. “Hey, man, I’m in. Our family needs constant police protection.”
Laughing, Kent reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d been carrying for way too long. “What do you think?”
Emily sucked in a breath. “Gorgeous!”
Lance laughed and fist-bumped him. “Did good, dude. So how are you gonna ask her? It’s gotta be something good.”
“Then help me figure out something. What should I do?”
“Hot air balloons!” Emily said. “You take her up in a hot air ball
oon and ask her up in the sky.”
“Yeah, and don’t let her out until she says yes.”
Kent laughed. “Where would I find a hot air balloon? Besides, your mom doesn’t need any more stress. I want it to be something nice and calm.”
“That’s true,” Emily said. “Matter of fact, she’s probably not going to want to plan a wedding. The last thing she needs is another situation where she’s in charge of details.”
“Hey, I know,” Lance said. “You could take her to a ball game and put it on the scoreboard.”
“That’s been done a zillion times,” Emily said. “How about this? You take her on a nostalgia tour.”
“A what?”
“A tour through your past together. Like where you first met, where your first date was . . .”
“Um, I met her at a murder scene, in the garage of the Atlanta airport. I don’t think she’d enjoy that stroll down memory lane.”
“True,” Emily said. “Bad idea.”
They were all quiet for a moment as they racked their brains. “Have you thought of dinner at a fancy restaurant?” Lance asked. “Just the two of you. You do the whole getting-down-on-one-knee thing? It’s boring and all, but Mom likes boring sometimes.”
“That’s cliché,” Emily said. “You want to do something different. You need a great story.”
“You’re confusing me,” Kent said.
“Just ask her, man,” Lance said. “Mom will like things low-key, like Emily said. She’s been living in high drama for the last few days. And they just got the job building the church sanctuary, so she’s overloaded. Stress-free is what she’ll like.”
“So you think she’ll say yes?”
“Oh, she’ll say yes,” Emily assured him.
He was silent for a moment as he regarded both of them. “Then I think I know what would work. But I’ll need help from both of you.”
Chapter 56
The line to get the new car tags was mercifully short that Friday. Barbara hoped she could be out of there and back at work in the time she would have taken for lunch. She waited as someone who didn’t speak English tried to communicate with a clerk. Barbara fixed her gaze on the window of another clerk, who was almost finished with the man she was waiting on.
The insurance company had decided to total Emily’s car. Instead of just replacing it, Barbara used the insurance money for down payments on two used cars — one for Emily and one for Lance. A church friend who worked at a dealership had quickly found her two old cars in good condition, and if they could keep them running, it would make all of their lives easier.
She’d been conflicted about the whole thing — whether to ground Lance for life for sneaking out and rushing into danger, or to reward him for putting April’s life before his own. Her pride in his heroism trumped her maternal anger. So Lance was getting the car for which they’d been saving.
She got to the window, paid for the tags, and waited as the clerk typed the information about both cars into her computer. Finally, Barbara took the tags, stuffed them into her bag, and stepped out of the office.
She caught her breath when she saw Kent, dressed in a tuxedo, a soft smile on his face.
“Kent, what are you doing?”
“I was hoping I’d catch you here,” he said.
She could see the mischief in his twinkling eye. He took her hand.
“Kent? What is it? Why are you so dressed up?”
He walked her a few steps up the hall. “I thought while you were here, you might want to stop by this office.” He turned her to the door that said MARRIAGE LICENSES.
Her heart jolted, and she brought her hand to her mouth.
He pulled her inside the county clerk’s office, and before she could speak, knelt on one knee, holding a sparkling diamond ring in a little black velvet box. His eyes misted. “Barbara, I don’t want to wait another day to start my life with you.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she bent to frame his face with her hands. “I don’t either,” she whispered.
“Will you marry me?”
She kissed him as he came to his feet. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
“Now?” he said.
Only then did she realize that the woman behind the desk was videotaping them. She laughed and wiped her tears. “What do you mean now?”
“I mean now. We can get the license here. There’s no waiting period, no blood test, no nothing. We can get married today.”
She stared at him, then looked at the grinning stranger with the camcorder. Married today? But she didn’t have a dress. She’d thrown on a pair of pants and a blouse today, she hardly had any makeup on, and her hair was a mess.
Was this how she wanted to marry Kent?
Suddenly, joy erupted in her heart and spread across her face. “Okay, let’s do it.”
The office staff applauded. Barbara was giddy as they filled out their marriage license application, then waited until they were given the form in a white envelope.
“Good luck,” the woman said, handing Kent the camcorder.
Kent stopped before taking Barbara out and kissed her in the doorway. Were they going to do this right here, with a judge? Suddenly she had cold feet. She couldn’t marry him today! Not without Emily or Lance.
“Mom?”
Barbara spun around.
Beaming, Emily waited in the hallway just outside the door, balancing on her crutches and holding an ivory silk dress and a short veil in her arms. “I think you would have picked this out for yourself.”
Barbara gasped and took the dress. “It’s perfect! Oh, honey!”
“Then let’s go get you married,” Emily said.
“And I don’t have to do anything?”
“Nope,” Kent said. “It’s all done. The preacher’s waiting at the church, and our friends will be arriving soon. You have plenty of time to get ready.”
“What about Lance? He’s in school.”
“I got him out early,” Kent said. “You had me on his emergency list, remember? I figured a wedding was a good enough reason. The principal gave him an excused absence.”
Teary-eyed, she took the dress so Emily could crutch out. They stepped out of the building, and in front of a limousine stood Lance, outfitted in his own black tux. He looked so mature, so handsome in it. He, too, was grinning from ear to ear. “Well, did she say yes or what?”
Barbara threw up her hands. “Of course I did!”
Lance let out a whoop as the chauffeur opened the back door. “Then let’s go do this!” Barbara felt like royalty as she got into the car with the people she loved most in her life, and headed off for the church.
Chapter 57
Barbara changed into her wedding dress in the bride’s room at the church, marveling at the fact that Emily had found an ivory calf-length dress that was perfect for the occasion. Emily had also brought her shoes, makeup, curling iron, and hair spray. Barbara hurried to get ready, and Emily fussed around her, helping her to look bridal. When she finally felt ready and put the shoulder-length veil on, she went to the atrium and found Kent waiting.
The misty emotion in his eyes moved her as he kissed her and took her hand. Lance handed her the bouquet he was holding — white roses. “So here’s how it’s gonna be, Mom. Emily will go first, then me, and then when the Wedding March starts, Kent is gonna escort you in himself. We thought you’d like that.”
“That’s just fine.”
“Okay.” Lance cracked the door open, and nodded to someone. The organist wrapped up the song she was playing, and changed to Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
As the doors opened, Barbara caught a glimpse of the people who had come for them. Cousins from out of town, the ladies from her support group in Jeff City, church friends, and co-workers. Emily led the march, her crutches decorated with roses and ribbons. Lance followed.
She hoped the makeup she’d put on would stand up to her tears. “You did all this for me!” she whispered to Kent as she took his arm.
�
��It’s not too much too fast, is it?” he asked.
“It’s perfect in every way. No stress, no details, no plans. Just happily ever after.”
Smiling through tears, Barbara started down the aisle with Kent. Friends old and new beamed at them, celebrating their vows as the preacher led them over the threshold of marriage.
When the vows had been exchanged, Barbara and Kent knelt at the altar and prayed for blessings on their covenant.
When they rose to their feet again, they each kissed Emily, then Lance. Then the preacher said the words they’d been waiting for. “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
The crowd burst into applause as Kent kissed his bride.
Barbara, Kent, Emily, and Lance dined at the top of the Peachtree Westin that night to celebrate the nuptials. They talked jubilantly, enjoying the moment of peace and the new beginning they were embarking on.
Then, when they were finished, Emily and Lance hugged them good-bye, and Barbara and Kent spent a night in the honeymoon suite at the Four Seasons.
“This is a dream come true for me, Mrs. Harlan,” Kent said as he held his bride. “When I met you two years ago, I never dreamed I could even be in your league.”
She laughed. “My league? I feel like the plain Jane who got a date with the quarterback. Let’s face it,” she said. “We both did well. And to think we met at a murder scene, during one of the worst days of my life.”
“Just goes to show you. Even when it seems like the end, God can plant a beginning.”
“I like beginnings,” she whispered.
They celebrated their first night as true husband and wife, then lay in bed watching a laugh-a-thon on one of the cable stations, with one romantic comedy after another.
Barbara realized she could get used to this. Already, she felt their lives shifting, things changing. The years of darkness were behind them, and a bright new day had dawned. Beauty had indeed come from the garbage of their lives. Darkness had brought light. Despair gave way to joy.
God’s grace overrode it all. No matter what lay ahead, joy was a done deal.
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