“You’ve got a goose egg, that’s for sure,” she mumbled and turned him loose. She sighed deeply. “After the house was broken into, I decided I’d better stay for a few days to see if the snake returned. I didn’t recognize you from behind. It was dark and I thought you were the killer coming back.”
A surge of affection shot through Justin. He took her hands in his. “I appreciate that you want to help clear my name, but you could have gotten yourself hurt. What if I’d actually been the murderer?”
She snorted. “Then you’d be sitting in a jail cell right now, nursing a knot on the head.”
“That’s not the point.” Knowing there was no sense in continuing this line of conversation, Justin glanced around, looking for a clock. “What time is it?”
“Going on eleven.”
“Eleven!” Justin shot to his feet, but a wave of dizziness sent him back to the bed. “What did you hit me with?”
“Skillet.”
“Must have been the biggest one in the house. I’ve lost hours of searching.”
The dear woman’s face drooped a bit.
Justin squeezed her hand. “Mrs. Angus, I appreciate that you want to help, but you’ve done all you can. I want you to go home, okay? Didn’t your daughter come in from Nebraska for Thanksgiving?”
She shook her graying head. “I told her not to this year. See, I think the killer will expect everyone to be busy today. He most likely figures he can get over here unnoticed to find what he’s looking for. I decided to hide out and try to catch him. Like the Murder, She Wrote woman.”
“Well, I’m glad it was me and not the killer who surprised you.” Releasing a heavy sigh, Justin rose again, slowly this time. “I just wish I knew what he thinks is here that will incriminate him. Whatever it is will probably clear me. Unless he actually did find it when he broke in. In which case, I’m probably sunk.”
The housekeeper hesitated a moment, then stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Justin frowned after her. He reached back and felt the knot on his head, then grimaced. Too bad he hadn’t been the bad guy. Mrs. Angus packed quite a wallop.
His mind wandered back to the little cabin and he thought about his sons waiting for the turkey to finish cooking. For the past two years they’d helped at the mission, and in previous years, Mrs. Angus had brought leftover turkey to the house, but they’d never actually experienced the kind of family Thanksgiving dinner they were about to experience today. If only he could have been there to witness the fun and wonder.
He was positive Keri would be sure they got to split the wishbone. He smiled, remembering all the ones he and Keri had split over the years. The wishes they’d made. From their very first time, he and Keri had secretly agreed to wish for the same thing. That way no matter who won, the wish came true. It had been his idea. They wished they’d be friends forever. After they’d fallen in love, they began to wish separately. But Justin’s always remained the same—with a slight twist. That he and Keri would be together forever. Too bad he’d lost the last wishbone pull they had together the Thanksgiving before his parents had been killed.
What were the boys thinking right now? How were they coping with his absence? He’d kissed them each on the head and left a note to reassure them he’d be back soon. Still, he had a feeling they might feel abandoned. Especially on the holiday. They had the family though. Keri, Mac, Ruth and even Raven.
As he waited for Mrs. Angus to return and tried to get his bearings, he replayed the conversation he’d had with Mac before leaving this morning.
“If I don’t come back, will you consider keeping my sons? Raising them, I mean.”
Mac hadn’t hesitated. Hadn’t tried to give him any trite reassurances that everything would be okay. He’d simply leveled his wizened gaze upon him. “I’ll do it. And you can count on it.”
Justin had penned his wishes on a legal pad, knowing it probably wouldn’t stick in court if anyone contested Mac’s right to custody. But he also knew there was no one who would care. The simple act of signing his name and having Mac sign underneath in his shaky hand had given Justin a huge sense of peace. If nothing else went his way, at least the boys would be loved and safe and not in foster care.
“I think this may be what the killer was looking for.” Mrs. Angus’s return to the room brought Justin back to the present. She handed him a fat spiral notebook.
“What’s this?”
“Amelia used this to keep a diary of sorts. I found it under Josh’s toy box. Don’t ask me why it was in there. Makes no sense to me.”
“What were you doing looking through Josh’s toy box?”
“Cleaning. I had to do something with my time. When I lifted it up to vacuum underneath, this fell out of the bottom, like it had been stashed there for safekeeping.”
The room was starting to spin again, so Justin took the notebook and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
“Read July fifteenth,” Mrs. Angus said, taking the chair next to the window. “It’s the last entry.”
“Don’t you think solving the mystery by reading a diary is just a little too Hollywood?” he asked, thumbing through the pages until he found the entry.
July fifteenth. Two days before her death.
Josh heard us talking on the phone. I yelled at him when I caught him hiding behind the chair, listening. He ran away, but not before hearing me telling HIM I’m pregnant. What am I going to do? I have to convince Josh not to tell Justin. What a mess! Why can’t anything ever go right for me??? A baby seemed like a good idea, but now I’m not so sure I can pull it off. HE suggested I give the baby to his wife.
Justin sucked in his breath, shaking his head.
“Read the part about Amelia being pregnant?”
“Yeah.” He read the passage again, frowning. “Josh has been carrying this secret around with him for months. What could she have said to him that he wouldn’t have told me? Especially after she died?”
“The poor boy. That woman was no mother if you ask me!”
“I don’t think anyone could dispute that. But one thing I can’t understand about this is that if she was pregnant, wouldn’t the autopsy have shown something? Why didn’t the police mention it?”
“Maybe they just didn’t tell you. Figured you should already know since she was your wife.”
Justin gave a short laugh. “Believe me, if Raney and Appling knew anything about it, they’d have used her pregnancy to rub me raw. They know we didn’t share a bed.”
“Hmm. Do you think she was lying?” Mrs. Angus gave him a pointed glance. “You know, some women do that to try to force a man into marriage.”
Justin scowled. “She didn’t lie to me about being pregnant before we were married.”
Her cheeks reddened. “I didn’t say she did. Just that I wouldn’t put it past her to say she was.”
Releasing a heavy sigh, Justin nodded. “Well, one thing is pretty clear. This could raise some questions for the detectives. It shows that someone besides me had motive to kill her. I’d better let Bob know.” He reached for the phone next to Amelia’s bed, then pulled away.
Justin scrubbed his hand over his scratchy jaw. He hadn’t taken time to shave before leaving the cabin and the stubble was beginning to irritate. “I’m sure the police bugged Bob’s phone the second they found out I took off. I’m going to have to drive over there.”
Keri spooned gravy over a mound of mashed potatoes. She made a point of looking the young woman she was serving in the eye. Rick had instructed her that making eye contact raised a person’s dignity. She went a step further and smiled.
“Thank you.” The young woman’s voice sounded weary. The obviously pregnant mother carried an infant of no more than a year old on her hip, while two preschool-aged boys clamored around her legs, chasing each other and jostling their poor mother.
Keri felt like grabbing them up, carrying them over to a couple of chairs, and instructing them to be still—even if she had to use her cop status to
scare them into submission. But she knew that wasn’t her place. Instead, she filled two trays for the boys. “Here, let me carry these to a table for you.”
Relief softened the tense lines around the young woman’s mouth, and Keri saw the hint of a smile.
Keri set both trays in front of the boys, then turned to their mother. “I’m Keri.” She stretched out her hand. The woman wiped her palm on her age-faded jeans before accepting Keri’s.
“I’m Erin.” She smiled wider. Her teeth were black from cavities, and Keri’s heart melted in sympathy.
“It’s nice to meet you, Erin. Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Thank you.” Erin’s gaze dropped to the table and she lifted a forkful of potatoes to the baby’s mouth. Keri focused on the two little boys. They were already half-finished with their food. How long had it been since they’d eaten a decent meal? Tears spilled over as she walked back to resume her spot in the serving line. How could she have lived twenty-nine years and never been witness to this kind of human suffering?
“You can serve the people without it destroying you.” Keri glanced up to find Rick had moved to her side. “Come on, we’ll trade places with Kim and wash dishes for a while. You don’t want to let them see you cry. It puts some of them on the defensive. And the others will see you as weak and con you into giving up all your money.”
Keri nodded and followed Rick to the back of the kitchen area. She attacked the pile of dirty dishes, fighting desperately to control her emotions. “I’m sorry,” she said, snatching a couple of tissues from a box Rick offered.
“We can’t fulfill every need. All we can do for now is serve one meal a day and pray for their souls. We have room for about fifty residents a night in the men’s shelter.”
“But what about the women and children?”
“We do what we can. We’re only staffed for men. But there are other missions and shelters. And government programs help women and children first.”
“It just seems so unfair and awful that children should have to trudge out in the snow for a meal.”
“But if we weren’t here, they’d sit at home hungry. If they even have a home. So at least we do some good.” Rick nodded toward Erin. “Take that woman and her children, for instance. They come here every day. And even though we can’t offer them a place to stay, we can at least feed them one hot meal a day.”
“But where do they sleep at night, I wonder?”
“Maybe a low-rent apartment. Or shelters here and there.”
“She’s pregnant. Do you think she’s getting prenatal care?”
“I doubt it. But what can we do?”
“Open a home for women and children. Or at least a shelter.”
“We do the best we can do.”
“I’m sure it must be difficult to see this sort of poverty day in and day out.”
He heaved a heavy sigh and moved away. Keri’s gaze followed his retreating form. Rick seemed all right, but a little burned-out and perhaps ready for a sabbatical.
Justin would be the logical replacement. Keri couldn’t help but picture him in the middle of the crowd, ministering. What would it have been like if they’d entered this ministry together? She envisioned herself working with him side by side to feed the needy.
Somehow, the vision stayed with her over the next two hours as she spooned the Thanksgiving meal onto tray after tray. Finally, Rick announced there was nothing left and closed the doors amid cries of protest.
Keri glanced around at the faces of the people who had given so tirelessly of their time over the past few hours, wonderful people with whom she’d worked side by side. The pain in their eyes reflected the heaviness of her heart.
Rick leaned against the counter. “There’s never enough to go around. We could serve around the clock and they’d still be standing out there begging for more. We can only do so much. And we do.”
Keri frowned. There might not be anything they could do, but he didn’t have to be so matter of fact about it.
As though reading her thoughts, he narrowed his gaze and gave a short laugh. “Think whatever you want, but ask Justin what it’s like to work down here day after day with people who constantly ask for what we don’t have to give.”
“I know Justin,” Keri said, suddenly angry. “He doesn’t feel that way. He can’t wait to get back here and—”
“You’ve been in recent contact with Justin?” Rick’s eyes narrowed. He wrapped his massive hand around her upper arm. “Come on. Let’s go talk in my office.”
“Excuse me.” A man dressed in a sport jacket and navy slacks interrupted, his attention focused on Rick. The man’s face was lined with evidence of a hard life, but his eyes bespoke joy, contentment.
“What can I do for you?” Rick asked, clearly irritated, but he turned Keri loose.
“I’m looking for Justin. I thought he’d be here for the dinner today.”
“Justin had other things to do today.”
The man’s expression crashed. “Well, can you give him a message for me?”
“I don’t know when we’ll see him again. He left town.”
“I see. Well, if you see or hear from him, will you tell him Ike Rawlings was by? I thought Thanksgiving would be a good day to tell him how thankful I am for all his help. We came all the way from Chicago to tell him in person. He smiled at Keri. “I left my wife back at the hotel so she could rest. She just found out we’re going to have our fourth baby.”
Keri returned his smile. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. God restored my family to me and is giving me a brand-new start to be the kind of father I should have been to the other three. He used Justin to save me and dry me out. I just wanted to thank him and show him it stuck.”
“I’ll tell him,” Keri said softly. She reached out and touched the man’s arm. “I know he’ll be thrilled with your news. If you’ll write down your address and phone number, I’ll be sure to give it to him.”
“You know where he is?” Rick asked.
Covering quickly, Keri refrained from meeting Rick’s direct gaze. “I meant I would give him the information when I see him.”
“Just give him this.” Ike reached into his jacket pocket and produced a business card. He beamed. “I run my own business now, cleaning carpets and drapes.”
His enthusiasm was infectious and Keri couldn’t keep from grinning. “If I ever need my carpets or drapes cleaned I’ll give you a call. Do you travel?”
A twinkle lit his eyes. “For a friend of Justin’s? You bet.” He turned to Rick. “Do you mind if I stay and talk to some of the men sleeping in the residence hall tonight?”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
Keri glanced at Rick, surprised at his enthusiasm. This Ike was the real McCoy. A testimony to Justin’s calling. She took pleasure in the thought of his face when she produced the card and told him Ike was about to be a father again. This would be welcome news in Justin’s overwhelmingly disappointing life right now.
“It was nice to meet you, Ike,” Keri said as he said goodbye and left the cafeteria. He disappeared through a door off the dining area, leaving Keri open for the one question she didn’t want to answer.
“Where’s Justin?”
Bob’s brow rose in surprise when he answered Justin’s knock. “Come in!” he said, stepping out of the way. “When did you get back in town? I haven’t heard anything about a warrant.”
Justin entered the spacious one-level frame home. The smell of turkey and dressing filled the air with luscious scents, making him long for the boys, who were undoubtedly about to sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner with the Mahoneys. “I came back to find whatever the killer was looking for at my house. And I think I might have found it.”
A frown creased Bob’s brow. “What do you mean?”
He lifted the notebook for Bob’s perusal.
The lawyer gave it a once-over then glanced back at Justin, brow raised in question. “What’s this?”
“Amelia�
��s diary.”
“I didn’t know she kept one.”
“How would you? I didn’t even know. And she was my wife.”
“I just figured if she’d have had a diary, the police would have discovered it. What’s in there that might help?”
“She claimed to be pregnant. Was talking on the phone to the baby’s father when Josh overheard the whole thing.”
“Josh?” Bob’s face drained of color. “You’re saying he heard her tell the baby’s father she was pregnant?”
“Yes. I think this might have something to do with why he’s having nightmares about the killer and why his behavior has changed so drastically since Amelia’s death.”
Justin offered him the diary. “The fact that she was pregnant could cast light on another suspect. The guy she was seeing was married, so that alone might cause him to commit murder.”
“Interesting theory.” Bob took the notebook and tucked it under his arm. “Can I keep this? I’d like to read it thoroughly and see if I can come up with anything that might help clear you. Maybe she slipped in a name or something.”
“Keep it. I hope you’ll find something helpful. I thought you might want to take it to the police. At least they’d know there was someone else out there with motive.”
Bob nodded. “Good thinking. I’ll call Appling in the morning and let him know we have it.” He motioned toward the dining room. “We’re just about to sit down and eat. Would you like to join us?”
Justin studied his friend’s face. Tension lined his features and a muscle twitched in his jaw. “Is everything okay?”
Bob shrugged. “I forgot to pick up the pumpkin pie on my way home from work last night. She’s not forgiving me for it.”
“She will. Don’t give up. It’ll work out.”
“Maybe. So, do you want to stay? I could use a friendly face across the table.”
“Wish I could, but I want to get back to my boys.”
Justin’s phone chirped in his pocket just as he was walking toward the door. He stayed in the foyer and answered.
“Hello?”
Reasonable Doubt Page 14