Reasonable Doubt

by Tracey V. Bateman

  “The police scolded her, but I’m not sure it did any good.”

  “Probably not. So where does this leave things with the police? Does it throw suspicion off me?”

  “Well, they have been concerned that you might have been kidnapped or killed. Since you obviously didn’t let them know you left town.”

  “I’m sure they’ve been frantic with worry,” Justin drawled.

  “Their other theory is that you broke in yourself to cast suspicion elsewhere.”

  A groan rose and left Justin’s throat. Keri glanced up, frowning. “Justin?”

  He shook his head.

  “Bob, do you think it was Amelia’s killer? Or do you think the break-in was random? Was anything missing?”

  “Since nothing of value was taken, it looks like whoever broke in was looking for something in particular. Do you have any idea what that might be?”

  “I don’t have a clue.”

  “What about…” Bob hedged.

  “What about what?” Justin prompted.

  “Do you think Amelia was involved in anything shady? Something that could have gotten her killed?”

  “I don’t really think there’s any question of whether she was killed because of shady dealings. Why else?” Irritation made another untimely appearance, and Justin wanted to pound his fist on the table to take out the stress of his own helplessness.

  “But specifically.” Bob’s voice held the same hint of frustration Justin felt. “If we could just narrow down the choices, it would give us something to go on. A lead. The first step in the right direction.”

  “I hear what you’re saying, Bob. I just don’t know what you’re getting at. How would I know what she was involved in?” He scrubbed his jaw, and glanced upward at the ceiling as if the answers would be found in the wood planks. “Drugs, maybe?”

  “The police surely would have found any kind of drugs.”

  “That’s true.”

  “I was thinking…wondering really.”

  Bob’s obvious hesitation to state what he was thinking sent warning bells through Justin. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what his friend suspected.

  “What were you thinking?” he asked to break the nerve-wracking silence over the lines.

  “What about blackmail?”

  A short laugh burst from Justin’s lips. “Blackmail? Oh, come on. Amelia? Who could she have possibly been blackmailing?”

  “That’s what I hoped you could answer.”

  Bob’s terse reply sobered Justin. “I’m sorry, Bob. I just can’t picture Amelia in that role.”

  “Maybe that’s always been your problem where she was concerned. You never thought she was capable of the things she did…until you caught her red-handed. Maybe this time she pushed the wrong guy too far. Not everyone is as forgiving as you are. Anyway, be thinking about it. Maybe now that you’ve been presented with the possibility, you’ll remember something that might help you.”

  “I’ll try, Bob.” A sense of urgency engulfed him. “If Amelia was blackmailing someone, why would he kill her before he got what he wanted from her? Why kill her then have to wait months to go after what he was after?”

  “I’m afraid I’m not clairvoyant. We’ll have to wait and see. My best guess is that she made the killer so mad he snapped and put a bullet in her head before he realized he hadn’t gotten what he came to get.”

  “You sound pretty certain.”

  “I’ve been around this scene for a long time, Justin. I know when there’s more to a story than meets the eye. The two things I’m sure about in this whole mess are that Amelia got what she had coming, and that you didn’t do it. All I want to do is prove it so we can both get on with our lives.”

  As he fell silent, Justin could feel his friend’s anger hovering just below the surface. If they hadn’t known each other for so long, Justin might have missed it altogether. But he could tell this was bothering Bob deeply.

  “Bob, listen. I know you want to see me cleared. And I appreciate how deeply it’s affecting you. But how about taking a little time off? Take your wife out for dinner and a movie.”

  “I doubt she’d want to go.”

  “I know things have been strained between you two. But I also know how much you love each other. Keep God at the center of your relationship and everything will work out between you.”

  A cynical laugh shot through the line. “You’re the strongest Christian I know and things didn’t work for you and Amelia.”

  “True.” The knife twisted with that remark, but Justin knew his friend was speaking out of his own frustration. “But Amelia didn’t know or want to know the Lord.” He glanced up. Keri had given up all pretense of thumbing through another magazine.

  Red splotches dotted her cheeks as his gaze locked on to hers. Emotion flickered in her green eyes, and Justin’s heart soared. No matter how hotly she tried to deny it from now on, the jig was up. He knew she believed him. He reached forward and took her hand, lifted it, and pressed a kiss.

  “Still there, Justin?”

  “Yeah,” he said, his voice hoarse as he moved his thumb over the back of Keri’s hand. Nervously, she wet her lips, and he nearly dropped the phone. “Listen, Bob. I’m praying. But I have to go. Page me again if you get any more information.”

  “One more thing, Justin.”

  “What?” he asked impatiently. His eyes moved over Keri’s face, resting on her lips. He wanted to end the conversation quickly and gather her into his arms. Though he wasn’t sure exactly what could happen, he knew they’d turned a corner.

  Obviously sensing the same thing, Keri drew a shaky breath. She pulled her hand away and stood. “You can say goodbye in private,” she whispered. “I’m going to bed.”

  He wanted to call after her to wait, but Bob’s voice brought him back to the present conversation. “Justin, I know you think you can trust your friends. But I’d be careful with Rick.”

  “Oh, come on.”

  “I know he’s a minister and you two have been friends a long time, but just please be careful what you tell him.”

  “There’s nothing to tell him at this point, anyway.”

  “What about your location. Does he know that?”

  “No. Well, I told him I’m at a cabin with the boys.”

  “Good. Good. We’ll keep it between you and me, then. I think you can go ahead and tell me now.”

  “We’re at a cabin at Lake Bennett.”

  “Do you know how long you’ll be gone?”

  “Probably until Monday. Unless the police get their arrest warrant sooner. Then I’ll come back and turn myself in.”

  After a couple minutes went by, Bob said goodbye. Justin stared at the door, regret filling him that Keri had taken off like a scared rabbit. But there was always tomorrow. He only prayed God would grant him another moment like the one he’d shared with Keri a little while ago. The image of having her in his arms almost overwhelmed him.

  He stood and grabbed the cup she’d left on the table. As he reached the sink and turned on the water to rinse it out, a sudden thought slammed into him. How could he even think of declaring his feelings to a woman when he was very likely going to jail in a few days? Only a jerk would take advantage of this situation.

  He set the mug in the drainer and dried his hands. Leaving the kitchen, he glanced into the living room and smiled at the sight of Ruth and Mac snuggled together on the couch watching an old movie together.

  God willing, that will be Keri and me some day. He smiled at the thought, even as his eyes filled at the futility of such a dream.

  Chapter Eight

  A wide yawn stretched Keri’s mouth as she pushed open the kitchen door. She set her Bible and devotional book on the table and padded over to the counter to make coffee. Sleep had eluded her all night except for a snatch here and there. Between sharing a bed with the undisputed champion of sleep kickboxing, and thinking about the phone conversation she’d overheard just before bed, she felt haggard and i
n desperate need of a pick-me-up.

  She opened the cabinet over the coffeepot, wormed her hand through a maze of decaf coffee, tea—instant and brewable—sugar, flour and a variety of miscellaneous items that had most likely been there for years, and produced a small can of real coffee. The caffeinated variety.

  Before Dad got up, she’d have it gone and a fresh pot of decaf brewed for him. Since a scare with his blood pressure five years earlier, Keri had been the caffeine and salt police. She’d even eased up on real coffee herself, except for an occasional latte, but this morning called for some heavy ammo.

  Like a tiger stalking its prey she stood over the pot, watching the French roast drip into the decanter with aching slowness. Her heavy lids lowered then opened again more than once while she waited. Finally, she grabbed a twelve-ounce mug from the cabinet and filled it, added the contents of two pink packets of artificial sweetener, and shook a mound of powdered creamer into the mix. She stirred and watched with satisfaction as the coffee lightened to almost white. Perfect.

  She sipped while she walked to the table and took her seat. Her Bible and devotional book stared back at her from where she’d set them, and she reached forward. Would today’s devotions bring life-changing revelation, or would the words be just that—empty words—black ink on white paper? Her heart as heavy as her eyes, she opened the devotional first.

  Are you living your God-given destiny, or have you planned your own course?

  Now fully awake, Keri almost gasped. She picked up the book and inspected it for any signs of dog-earing or any other tampering Justin might have done to prove his point from last night—that she wasn’t doing what they’d felt called to do as children, and he had answered that so-called higher calling. On the verge of slamming the book shut, Keri stopped short as her eyes caught another phrase.

  Emotional experiences during our growing-up years often dim our true purpose in life.

  Like Mom’s death leading me into law enforcement instead of my going into missions as Justin and I spent hours dreaming of when we were kids?

  After taking only a second to ponder, she shoved the thought aside as ridiculous. Children often wanted to be firemen, teachers, famous singers, movie stars, all the occupations they admired most, but as adults they rarely became what they dreamed of. Right? Besides, even if she’d still wanted to be a missionary as she grew up, it wouldn’t have been possible. With Mom gone and Denni and Raven away at college, Keri had had no choice but to stay in Briarwood and look after Dad. It wouldn’t have been right for her to have pulled up stakes and gone halfway across the world when she had responsibilities at home.

  Being a cop, following in Dad’s footsteps, had been the best decision she could have made. She jutted her chin. No matter what Justin thought about it. No matter if her reasons hadn’t been entirely motivated by her heart’s hidden dreams. She had done what she’d needed to do and that was that. Besides, always in the back of her mind had been the thought that if she went away, Justin would come back to Briarwood and find her gone.

  Squirming under her humiliating self-admission, she set the book aside and picked up her Bible instead. Turning to a familiar scripture, she allowed her heart to calm as she took comfort in the Proverb:

  Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

  Suddenly the warm feeling she usually gained from the verse left, only to be replaced by the swift slice of a double-edged sword. What had once salved and quieted her soul now slashed at her conscience. Had she trusted the Lord with her life? Had she even bothered to seek His will? The path she’d been walking for the past ten years stretched behind her, rolling like a film. She recognized frustration, insecurity and discontent in her life movie.

  Tears pricked her eyes. Had the last ten years of her life been nothing but futility? Did I waste my life, Lord? And if so…can You give back my time and show me the divine plan You mapped out before I was conceived?

  She would have taken more time to delve into the prayer, but a loud banging on the back door nearly sent her through the roof. With a frown, she cautiously approached, pulled back the curtain, and yanked the door open in surprise. “Raven!”

  Red-cheeked from the cold, her sister stomped the snow from her boots before she stepped over the threshold and grabbed Keri for a tight, quick hug.

  “How come you didn’t knock on the front door?” Keri asked.

  “I saw Dad sleeping on the couch and didn’t want to wake him. I figured you’d be in here drinking coffee. Early bird.”

  Keri grinned. “Yep. Want some?”

  “Is it real?”

  Keri nodded and walked to the cabinet to get a cup. “What are you doing here so early? We didn’t expect you until tomorrow. How bad are the roads?”

  Slipping out of her coat, hat and gloves, Raven answered the questions in reverse order. “The main roads aren’t too bad—the driving lane is mostly clear on the four-lane. But this highway is a sheet of ice. I had to crawl to keep from ending up in a ditch. Lucky for me, I was the only one on the road. Anyway, I had a few extra days and decided to spend them here. Besides, I wanted to get here ahead of the next system blowing in today.” She gathered a deep breath. “And Dad told me about Justin and the boys.”

  Instinctively, Keri studied Raven’s face to find traces of deception. “You’re not here for a scoop, are you? Because I’m not going to let you use Justin to get a headline.”

  She poured the coffee, grabbed the sugar and powdered creamer with the other hand, and set all of it in front of her eldest sister.

  “Like you could stop me if that’s what I wanted to do,” Raven baited.

  The old rivalry popped up, and Keri’s defenses went on red alert, then slackened to yellow when Raven smiled—semi-convincingly. “Dad told me Justin was set up. I’d like to help.”

  Narrowing her gaze, Keri kept her armor on. “What do you think you can do?”

  Raven stirred the contents of her cup and took a sip. “I’m an investigative reporter. What do you think I can do? I’m going to get the facts of the case from Justin and see what I can dig up when I get back to Kansas City. By the way, Justin and the boys have been making the news, anyway. Giving his side of the story might help gain public sympathy.”

  Panic rose up and exploded from Keri’s lips. “It would also give away his location! He came here to find a little peace and quiet before…” She couldn’t bring herself to say “before he’s arrested.”

  “Decide, Raven. Do you want to help or not? You can’t be here as a reporter. Only a family member and friend.”

  “Calm down, little sister. I didn’t really mean it. Let’s work together to clear Justin’s name. Maybe he’ll give me an exclusive when it’s all over.”

  Suddenly wishing she’d opted for decaf, Keri forced herself to relax.

  “So what’s he like after all these years?” Raven’s smile hinted at teasing.

  Refusing to bite at the insinuation, Keri shrugged. “He’s a father trying to keep his life together for the sake of his sons.”

  Raven grinned even more broadly. “Denni said you were pretending you don’t care. But we all know you do. You have that glow of a woman in love.”

  Slapping her hands on the table, Keri glared. “What I have is a stress blush because you breezed in and drove me crazy in ten minutes.”

  Tossing back her head, Raven let up a howl. “I knew it! You’re a goner. Now we definitely have to prove Justin’s innocent. How would we explain it to our friends if our cop sister was in love with an inmate at the DOC? That’s just a little too talk-showy to be real.”

  Before Keri could formulate and deliver a crushing retort, the kitchen door swung open and Mac stumbled in. “What’s all the racket in here?” Then his eyes lit upon Raven and his entire face brightened. “My baby’s home! Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  Raven shot to her feet and flew into her dad’s arms. A twinge o
f jealousy snaked through Keri as it always did when Dad showed Raven special affection. Keri had Mom’s hair and features, but Raven took after her in all the ways that mattered. Her love of life, her tendency to throw caution to the wind and deal with the consequences later, her love of art and music; all those things were Raven, and Dad couldn’t get enough of his eldest child, though he only saw her when Raven deigned to grace them with her presence once or twice a year.

  “What are you doing, driving those roads, my girl?” he scolded, holding her at arm’s length and devouring her with his gaze. “You could have been killed.”

  “No way,” Raven said. “I’m too mean to die. You know that. Only the good die young.” The words hung in the air, heavy and mournful, shrouding the joy of reunion and worst of all, dimming the light in Dad’s eyes. Keri could have strangled her sister. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean that…”

  Drawing Raven close, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Think nothing of it, darlin’. We can’t weigh every word against a tragedy that occurred many years ago. You’ve said nothing wrong.”

  Keri blinked back her tears and cleared her throat. “Let me make a fresh pot of coffee, Dad.”

  “Sure, sure. You do that, honey.” Just before she turned around to walk to the counter, Keri saw a frown on his face as he leaned in closer to Raven. “She makes me drink that fake stuff while she drinks the good coffee every time my back is turned.”

  “That’s terrible,” Raven said, sympathy thickening her voice. “Have mine. I only took a sip.”

  Spinning around, Keri snatched the mug up before Dad could reach for it. “Are you crazy?” she demanded, glaring at Raven. “Dad’s on mega doses of blood-pressure meds. Do you want to kill him?”