Sierra ignored the green beans, mumbling something about them being seasoned with bacon fat, and instead fixed herself a salad and put some bottled lemon juice and olive oil on top. Then she plopped at my small kitchen table. “So, what’s new?”
I thought about being polite or hemming and hawing. Instead, I jumped right in. “Do you think Riley would ever cheat on me?”
Sierra looked at me, dumbfounded for a minute. “Riley? No way. Never. Why would you ask that?”
I told her what I’d discovered today, ending with the trip to Juliette’s condo.
“Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation,” Sierra offered, taking a bite of her salad and chewing slowly.
I grabbed my food and sat across from her. “I’ve been trying to think of one all day. There’s absolutely nothing I can come up with that would make this make sense. This woman seems to have some connection with his past.”
“If you can figure out what the link is, maybe you’ll find some answers.” She took another bite of her salad. “Why were you looking around in Riley’s office anyway?”
“That’s my other crisis of the day. Riley’s parents are talking about trying to get him transferred up north, closer to where they live. They said they have power of attorney and can make those decisions.”
She nearly dropped her fork. “You’re kidding? It seems like it would be dangerous to move him right now.”
“I wish I were kidding, and I agree. It seems too risky. His parents claim the move would be better for him all around.”
“You mean, better for them.”
I let out a disgruntled laugh. “Tell me about it. In other words, I’m not enough for him. They made it sound like I didn’t have the time or the resources to really be there for him.”
“That’s terrible. You look out for the people you love. If Riley’s parents knew you, they’d know that.”
“Thanks, Sierra.” I pushed my pasta away. I wasn’t even that hungry anymore. “Unfortunately, they don’t know me. At this point, I’m not sure if I want to truly know them.”
“I’d think the same thing if I were in your shoes. They sound horrible.”
“I had all of these happy dreams about fitting in with them, about his family becoming the family I never had.”
“Chad and I will be your family.”
I looked up and smiled. “Thanks, Sierra.” The smile quickly faded. “When Riley wakes up from this coma—and he will wake up—the relationship between his parents and me is going to be strained. What a way to start a marriage.”
If there was a marriage.
Sierra stabbed some lettuce and studied it for a moment. “What happens if you don’t find his Power of Attorney?”
“Then I can take legal action.” I still needed to look up that Bible verse. Part of me didn’t want to. Part of me just wanted to take matters into my own hands without consulting the Good Book.
“You mean, like, suing them?” The way her eyebrows arched together I could tell she was surprised.
I cocked my head to the side, trying to look nonplussed. “Something like that. What’s the big deal? Your company has sued plenty of people.”
Sierra worked for an animal rights organization that liked to ruffle feathers in the community, using whatever means necessary. Most of them were legal. Nearly all were provocative.
She raised her hands. “I’m not judging. You just took me off guard. I mean, in-laws are scary. But in-laws that you’ve sued?” She shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about that. But you have to do what you have to do.”
I sighed. “I hope it doesn’t come down to that, though.”
“What a mess.”
I began stabbing at pieces of chicken on my plate. “What do you know about GCI?”
“Global Coffee Initiative?”
I nodded. Sierra knew about all things green and “save the planet” campaigns. That world was her realm.
“They’re a great company. All of their coffee is eco-friendly, chemical free, and falls under Fair Trade. They even use biodegradable packaging. Even better, for every bag they sell, they donate money to make the lives of people in third world countries better.”
They were a case study for do-gooders who paved the way for other companies to move beyond selfish gain and reach out globally. I couldn’t argue that.
“You heard of Garrett Mercer?”
“Sure I have. He’s quite the prodigy. Very innovative and dynamic.”
“And flirty?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. Why are you asking?”
I explained the lawsuit, ending with my visit to Juliette’s apartment.
Another terrible thought slammed into my mind. “Sierra, Juliette’s neighbor said he hadn’t seen her in a while.”
“Okay . . .”
“What if Juliette was the one who pulled the trigger and shot Riley? What if that neighbor hasn’t seen her because she skipped town?”
Sierra’s face paled. “It’s a possibility.”
I picked up my cellphone. “It’s worth mentioning to Detective Adams.”
CHAPTER 9
That evening, after Sierra left and after I’d placed my call to Detective Adams—who’d promised to follow my lead—I sat at my computer and did an Internet search on Juliette Barnes.
Earlier when I was at Riley’s office, I’d searched for “Juliette” with “Global Coffee Initiative.” Searching for “Juliette Barnes” opened up all kinds of new possibilities and leads.
I scrutinized the picture in front of me. Juliette Barnes had bright brown eyes—not bright with color, but bright with life. Her hair was a light brown with blonde highlights. She had a smattering of freckles, a slim build, and an infectious smile.
She hardly looked like a killer. Of course, in my day I’d been surprised more than once.
The first mention of Juliette that I could find online was of this lawsuit. Before that, there were no articles about her. I couldn’t find her name on any social media sites. Nothing.
Which I thought was weird.
Was Juliette Barnes a fabrication? Had she made up the name for some devious purpose? Or was there a logical explanation in all of this?
I had none of those answers. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure where I’d find them either.
I leaned back in my computer chair and shook my head. “Oh, Riley, just what were you up to?”
If my life were a movie, there would be some incredible twist where it turned out that Juliette secretly designed award-winning wedding rings and Riley had hired her to design mine. Or they would secretly be long-lost cousins who’d reunited after years apart. But stuff like that only happened in the movies, and my life was no movie.
On another whim, I typed in the name of “Dr. Stephen Moreno” into my search engine. Pages of results came up.
Most of them weren’t good. My eyes widened as I read the stories of patients who’d suffered at the hands of his experimental treatments. I did not want that for Riley. Not at all. How could his parents? Were they so desperate to have their son back that they wanted to torture him while he was incapable of making decisions on his own? Because that’s what the doctor’s treatments sounded like.
Dr. Moreno alternately dropped the body temperature of those with brain injuries, and then shocked them. Somehow, he said this helped to preserve the brain. He had no proven results but, to me, it looked like desperate people had given him a chance. Two people had started websites, sharing their stories of how a loved one had died because of his treatments.
My heart felt even heavier. Why couldn’t I find that Power of Attorney document? If I was listed, then I’d be able to stop this madness.
I wasn’t ready to give Riley’s parents free reign to do whatever they thought best with his life. But did that mean I should take legal action? Was that the only way to save Riley?
Out of curiosity, I did one more Internet search, this one to find some Scriptures about Christians taking other Christians
to court. I then looked up 1 Corinthians 6:1-7.
“If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? . . . Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?”
What did that mean exactly? That I should go before the church and plead my case? What good would that do when I went to a different congregation than Riley’s parents? Perhaps I should ask Pastor Shaggy to intervene? Was that a better stance to take?
I had no idea. Truly. I could see where having a Christian sue another Christian would only lessen the church’s credibility in the world’s eyes. But . . . I shook my head and closed my Bible.
Exhaustion pulled at every part of me. Perhaps the best thing I could do for myself was to get some rest. Sleep somehow helped to work out the problems floating in my brain and helped them to fall into place.
I went into my bedroom. There on the nightstand was the devotional book Riley and I were supposed to be reading simultaneously. This was my copy, not the one where Juliette’s note had been found. I picked it up and flipped through the pages. Then I closed it.
No, not tonight. Tonight I wasn’t in the mood to be reminded of my doubts—both about my relationship with Riley and my relationship with God.
***
The next morning, I squeezed Riley’s hand and stared at his unmoving form in the hospital bed. I watched his chest rise and fall, thanks to the help of a machine. I inspected the tubes and the wires and the IV solutions.
And it hit me just how totally unfair life was.
Why had God given me Riley and now practically snatched him away? If I prayed hard enough that Riley would be healed, if my faith was strong enough, would Riley come out of this? Was God punishing me for the sins of my past?
I had no idea. Riley was always the one I’d turned to when I had questions like that. Now I was wondering if my faith was my own at all. Maybe my baptism had just been a whim.
I rubbed Riley’s fingers and leaned closer. “Who is Juliette Barnes?” I whispered.
I waited. Of course I had no hope that Riley would respond. I knew better than that. But I really wished he could. I wished he could give me some answers.
It felt like it had been weeks since I’d slept. Having Riley in a coma was bad enough . . . but questioning his commitment to me made it even worse. I had too many questions and hardly any answers.
I stayed for twenty minutes, until the nurse told me I had to leave.
Then I braced myself. I knew who’d be waiting in the next room.
Riley’s parents.
I’d woken up early this morning in an effort to beat them to the hospital. I wasn’t unrealistic. I knew eventually I’d see Ron and Evelyn and we’d have to talk again. I just wanted to avoid that for the time being.
I had no idea what to say or how to act. I had no idea what they would say or how they would act.
I kissed Riley’s forehead, promised him I’d come again soon, and then I took the dreaded walk toward the waiting room. I was aware of each step closer I got to the moment of impending doom. I was never one to shy away from confrontation. But right now I felt weak and tired . . . and I could really use Riley’s advice on how to handle this whole situation, which only made everything even harder.
I froze when I stepped out of the ICU. Sure enough, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were there. My gaze shifted. My dad and Teddi were here also.
My stomach dropped. I’d imagined all of them meeting at the wedding where my dad would be at his finest. In the very least, he’d be clean and wearing khakis and a button up shirt. Worst case scenario, he’d be wearing his best jeans and an unstained T-shirt.
Right now, he wore work pants that were splattered with plaster and paint. His hair was a mess. He hadn’t shaved. Teddi sat beside him, all pretty looking and sweet in her typical overblown way.
I could only imagine the conversations they’d had. I could only imagine what Riley’s parents were thinking about my family. This visit with them in the waiting room had probably confirmed that I’d never fit in with Riley’s family, that I wasn’t good enough for their precious son.
They all stood when they saw me, and awkwardness shifted between us.
“Gabby,” Mr. Thomas said. “We were hoping you might be here.”
And I’d really been hoping that they wouldn’t be here.
I gave my dad and Teddi a quick hug before nodding toward Riley’s parents. “I see you’ve all met.”
Riley’s dad nodded. “Your father was telling us all about your family.”
Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach. “Entertaining, I’m sure.” If you defined entertaining as humiliating and nightmare inducing.
“We just wanted to check on you,” Teddi said, putting her hand on my arm. “You didn’t return our calls, so we got worried.”
“Sorry. I’ve been distracted, but I’m hanging in. Thanks for checking on me.”
“Is there anything we can do?” my dad asked.
I shook my head. “Just keep praying.”
They both stared at me a moment before nodding. “Do you have time to do lunch?”
I glanced at my watch. “I’ve got a meeting, unfortunately. Can I take a rain check?” I should have grabbed the meal invitation as an excuse not to talk to Riley’s parents. But, however hard the conversation was, I knew we had to have it.
Teddi nodded. “Of course.”
Teddi squeezed my dad’s hand, they said goodbye, and disappeared from the waiting room.
Then I had to face Riley’s parents.
“We feel terrible about the way things ended between us yesterday,” Mrs. Thomas started. “We wanted to talk to you again and explain ourselves a little better.”
I swallowed, my throat tight and achy. “I don’t know what there is to explain.”
“Please, would you sit down a moment?” Mrs. Thomas asked.
Against my desires, I nodded and sat across from them.
They exchanged that worried look before Mr. Thomas started. “Gabby, you need to know that doctors are still uncertain about Riley’s outcome. We talked to Riley’s neurosurgeon yesterday, and there’s a good chance that Riley isn’t going to come out of this and be like he was before. I don’t want to lose my son any more than you want to lose your fiancé. But there comes a time when you must ask the difficult questions. None of us want to do that, but we have to. We have to plan for the future.”
“In his heart a man plans his future, but the Lord determines his steps,” I whispered. I’d said that a lot, but that was still the main point I wanted to come back to. “Why don’t we just take this day by day? I feel like you’re jumping the gun.” I winced. “Bad choice of words.”
“Perhaps we should have waited a little longer to broach the subject of moving Riley,” Ron said. “But we wanted to give you time to prepare yourself emotionally.”
“I’m not ready to give up hope on Riley. I’m not ready to release him into the hands of a quack.”
“We’re not giving up hope,” Evelyn explained. “Dr. Moreno isn’t a quack. Some people—most people—think he’s brilliant. We’re trying to do what’s best for our son.”
I jabbed my finger into my chest. “I’m what’s best for Riley! You’re taking him away so some Dr. Kevorkian can experiment on him.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to understand God’s ways.” Mrs. Thomas blotted beneath her eyes with a tissue. “This is hard for all of us, Gabby.”
“Not giving Riley a voice in all of this isn’t fair either,” I interjected.
“Gabby, please understand our point of
view,” Mr. Thomas said. His eyes pleaded with me. He had Riley’s blue eyes. I wished he didn’t. “Dr. Moreno has some good results.”
“Do you understand my point of view?” I stood and shook my head. “I don’t care what the doctor says. There’s still hope. Without hope . . . there’s nothing. If we let this other doctor get his hands on Riley, we might as well sign his death certificate.”
“I don’t think that’s true. Besides, Riley would never want you to put all of your hope in him,” Mrs. Thomas said.
“Please don’t lecture me right now.” I stood and started toward the door before I said something else I might regret. “I need to go.”
“Gabby, please—” Mrs. Thomas stepped forward.
I kept walking. Enough was enough.
I stormed to my van. I needed to pay Garrett a visit again. Maybe he could give me some answers on Juliette.
***
Garrett was surprisingly receptive to seeing me. I’d expected him to be in a meeting or to have excuses as to why he was busy. Instead, the receptionist called him, and I was ushered right into his office.
I was again taken by how much the man’s presence could fill a room. He greeted me with a smile and a handshake. Then he leaned back in his chair, looking at ease and laid-back.
“Gabby . . .” He tapped his fingers together. “I never did catch your last name.”
I lowered myself into the seat across from him. “St. Claire.”
He lowered his chin in approval. “Pretty name.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t care less about if my name was pretty or not at the moment.
“What brings you by again? Did you think of something new to accuse me of?” Amusement tinged his voice and his eyes sparkled.
“I have more questions.”
“Shoot. I’ll answer as many as my lawyer has given me permission.”
“Can you tell me about Juliette Barnes?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Juliette? What do you want to know?”
“Was she a good employee?”
“When she wasn’t breaking the company’s code of conduct, she was great. Outgoing, friendly, warm. I hated to fire her. But I couldn’t have my employees blatantly going against my orders. It makes me look weak as a boss.”
To Love, Honor, and Perish Page 7