Protection. Reunion. Forgiveness. Please, God. Mercy and compassion and my daughter in my arms again. Please, God. Protection. Reunion. Forgiveness…
DEBBIE SHIFTED FROM FOOT TO FOOT in the lobby of the station. The sergeant she had spoken with had been friendly enough, but the place still made her jumpy. She’d never been in one before, and the feeling was akin to driving on the freeway with an entire city’s police force behind you on the road.
Kim was somewhere in here, as was Joshua, though Joshua had been processed already and would be released on his own recognizance. The shelter’s attorney had been understanding of Debbie’s fears for Kim, but because Kim was not shelter staff, his contract did not extend to her, and Debbie couldn’t afford the price from her own pocket. She prayed the public defender was a good one.
Joshua rounded a corner, face bruised and puffy, but with a look of calm in his eyes. Without thinking, Debbie threw her arms around his neck. His arms circled her waist and held her tight. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He tried to smile but winced in pain. He gingerly touched the left side of his mouth and grimaced. “Mostly, anyway. How’s Mike?”
“Alive. And lucky.”
“What about Rick?”
“I haven’t heard. I’ve been too busy trying to figure out what happened to Kim. She turned herself in.”
He frowned and winced again. “Turned herself in? For what?”
She told him the story as she led him to the car. “We don’t have a lawyer for her. I sure wish we did. She’ll have to use the public defender.”
Joshua belted himself into the passenger seat and carefully rubbed a hand over his eyes. “That’s unbelievable. What about Anne, where is she?”
“About an hour after they took Kim, someone from DHS—” Her voice hitched as the thought of Anne missing her mother broke her heart. She cleared her throat. “Someone from DHS picked her up.”
Joshua rested a hand atop hers. “Oh man.”
She blinked back tears. “A bunch of the women at the shelter were trying to talk the agent into letting us keep her there, but it didn’t fly.” She didn’t mention that she’d been one of the most assertive voices in that argument, begging in the end that the agent reconsider and at least let Anne remain until her mother’s fate was determined. “And no one at the station will tell me what’s going on with Kim, either, so…” She shrugged and turned on the car. “What a day.”
“You’re telling me.”
She looked over to him. “Back to the shelter? Or do you need a stop at an urgent care clinic?”
“No, just—” He looked at the clock on her radio and groaned. “Maddie. Her daycare is already closed, which means my in-laws were called to pick her up. I’m going to get an earful when they see me like this.” He pounded a fist on his knee. “This is like handing them the rope and begging them to hang me.”
“Want someone to corroborate your story?”
He looked at her with relief in his eyes. “Seriously?”
She shrugged, giving him a small smile. “It’s the least I can do for the guy who saved some lives at my shelter.”
She dropped him at his car and followed him to his in-laws’ house, her stomach doing flip-flops the whole way. Given the stories she’d heard about them, she wasn’t eager to actually meet them. Though if it meant ensuring they didn’t chew him out in front of his daughter—and they’d have to be pretty gutsy to do that in front of a total stranger—it was worth it.
They turned onto a driveway that led to a gate. The guard in the guardhouse handed her a dated card to put in the window, then waved her through. She ogled the gorgeous homes and manicured lawns that lined the street. They had to be pretty big jerks to have this much money and not even help bail Joshua out of the medical debts from his wife’s treatment. Her nervous energy turned to righteous indignation.
She parked behind him and they met on the sidewalk. “Listen,” he said, “I apologize now for anything uncouth, rude, antagonistic, or mean that either of them says to you. They can’t be predicted or trusted to act appropriately if they spot the chance to take a pot shot at me.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Sticks and stones.” She followed him up to the house and steeled herself.
The wooden door swung open a minute after Joshua had rung the bell. A middle-aged woman Debbie took to be Joshua’s mother-in-law glared at him with a look that could bore holes in cement. “There you—oh my Lord, what happened to your face?”
“Kind of a long story,” Joshua said. “You picked up Maddie, right?”
“Of course we did. When they called and said you hadn’t shown up we went over right away. What mischief were you causing to get yourself beat up like that?” Her eyes cut over to Debbie, whom she looked up and down before narrowing her piercing blue eyes. “And who is this?”
Debbie thrust out her hand. “I’m Debbie Truman. I run the Safe in His Arms women’s shelter, where Joshua works.”
The woman didn’t soften in the least. She gave Debbie’s hand a cursory shake. “Alisha Michalson. So? Why did you tag along?”
“Alisha, can’t we come in?” Joshua asked. “I’d like to see Maddie. I don’t want her wondering where I am.”
She looked back to Joshua, then sighed with a look of exasperation and opened the door wider. It was the only invitation she extended for them to enter. “She’s in the back with George. And you still didn’t answer my question. Who is this woman?”
“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” He looked to Debbie. “I’ll be right back, I want to go find Maddie.”
“Of course, go ahead.” She gave Alisha a brief smile. “I offered to come to vouch for Joshua’s whereabouts in case there were any…questions.” She tried not to punctuate the sentence with a pointed look but wasn’t entirely successful.
Alisha cocked a brow. “And what were his whereabouts, dare I ask?”
“We had a revenge-seeking domestic abuser trying to gain entrance to our shelter. Joshua defended an injured security guard and wrestled a knife away from the attacker.”
Alisha sniffed and refused to comment. Debbie refrained from tacking “Take that!” onto the end of her explanation and instead said, “That’s the second time he’s been a hero to the shelter. We were on the verge of closing when I hired him, and he got us back into the black.” She smiled at Alisha, then looked past her to the room beyond where Joshua and Maddie had entered, hand in hand, followed by an older, distinguished-looking gentleman. “If he’s half as good at parenting as he is at everything else he does, then Maddie is one lucky little girl.” I dare you to disagree with me.
Joshua rested a hand on his daughter’s head. “Maddie, remember Debbie?” Maddie shrank back a bit behind Joshua, but a smile tugged at her mouth. Alisha frowned at the child. “Madeline, greet Ms. Truman properly. You’re a big girl, don’t hide behind your father like a baby.”
Debbie didn’t bother trying to hide her rolling eyes. “Oh please. She’s not being a baby, she’s just shy. I used to do the same thing, Maddie, and when I got older I wasn’t shy anymore. Given some of the people in this world, I’d much rather a child be shy and cling to her father than to run out and greet every random person they run into.” She avoided Alisha’s indignant face and reached a hand out to the older man. “I’m Debbie Truman, by the way. You must be Joshua’s father-in-law.”
“George Michalson, nice to meet you, Debbie.” He shook her hand and tilted his head toward Joshua. “I heard about the afternoon you all had at the shelter. I’m glad to hear everyone is alright, for the most part. It certainly could have ended a lot worse. I shudder to think of this one—” he looked down to Maddie, whose eyes were still fixed on Debbie—“being orphaned.”
“She wouldn’t be, George. She would have us.” Alisha’s tone was scolding.
“Not the same, Alisha, and you know it.”
Joshua took Maddie’s hand. “We should be getting along. Thank you for picking her up. I do a
ppreciate it.” He put a hand on Debbie’s back, steering her toward the door, and she grinned to herself. “We’ll see you later. Say good-bye, Maddie.”
“Bye Gramma! Bye Grampa!”
Debbie turned and offered them the most gracious smile she could muster. “A pleasure to meet you.”
Alisha said nothing, but George nodded. “And you. Best of luck with your organization. Put us on your mailing list the next time you do a fund-raising push.”
“Oh, Mr. Michalson—thank you very much. I’ll be sure to do that.”
“George, I don’t think—”
George gave her a look that silenced her. “We can discuss it later, Alisha.” He opened the door for them and nodded another farewell before closing it behind them.
“Wow,” Debbie said when they reached the sidewalk.
“You can say that again,” Joshua said. “You really scored with my father-in-law.”
“Who’d have thought?”
“Daddy, I’m hungry. All they gave me was graham crackers for a snack, and Gramma was making fish for dinner.” Maddie made a face that spoke volumes on her opinion of the dish.
Joshua looked to Debbie with a sheepish grin. “I think we may have to postpone our dinner tonight.”
Debbie chuckled. “Well, Maddie is hungry, and you’re in no shape to cook. How about Chuck E. Cheese—my treat.”
Maddie squealed as Joshua laughed. “Only met her once and you already know the way to her heart. All right, we’ll see you there.”
They parted ways for their own cars. Debbie slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, then noticed the light flashing on her cell phone. Her parents’ phone number topped the missed calls list. She dialed them on the way out the gate. “Hey Mom. Sorry I missed you.”
“Did you hear my message?”
“No, I just called you back instead. What’s up?”
“We got a call from Detective Ramsey.”
Debbie’s stomach lurched at the mention of that name. Her family had met with him a few times during the investigation into Gi na’s death. They hadn’t talked to him since the case went cold years ago, but she’d never forget that name. “What? Why?”
“It’s incredible, Debbie. After all this time, someone confessed to Gina’s murder. Some woman just walked up to a policeman and confessed. Her name is Kim Slone.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Kim was just finishing breakfast when a guard stopped by her cell. “You have visitors,” he said. “Debbie Truman and her family are here to see you.”
The joy she felt at Debbie’s name turned to confusion. “Her family? Why?”
The guard shrugged. “You want to see them or not?”
“Yes, absolutely.” She polished off her oatmeal in three hasty bites, then tried to smooth her hair that was still tangled from sleep. Her heart began to pound. Maybe Debbie could tell her about Anne.
The guard led her to a room filled with Plexiglas booths. She sat in a chair and watched as Debbie entered, trailed by an older couple she assumed were Debbie’s parents and a younger man who she took to be her brother. Kim picked up the phone receiver that allowed them to communicate, and Debbie sat down and did the same. “Hi Debbie! I can’t believe you came to see me.”
Debbie’s expression was difficult to read. Kim noticed how she avoided eye contact. Her embarrassment grew. She was in jail, after all. “Hey Kim. These are my parents, Roland and Ruth, and my brother Pete.”
Debbie’s voice was strained, like she was trying to talk while holding her breath. Kim waved to the people standing behind her and they waved back. She tried not to stare, but she couldn’t help trying to gauge their intentions from their faces. There was little she could pick up, however—though Ruth and Roland appeared to be in better spirits than Debbie or Pete. “Thanks for coming. I’m dying to know why you’re here. But first, have you seen Anne? Do you know what happened to her?”
Debbie briefly met her eyes. “DHS came and got her. We tried to talk the caseworker into letting us keep her at the shelter until they knew what was going to happen with you, but they didn’t go for it. I don’t know where she is, though. I’m sorry.”
Kim nibbled her lip and nodded. “I didn’t think you would, but I had to ask.”
“Of course.”
“So…” Kim shrugged. “Sorry, this is a little awkward, I’m sorry.”
Debbie took a deep breath, her shoulder hunching. “I know, and I’m sorry for springing strangers on you…but there is a reason we all came down here.” She glanced back at her mother, then finally back up and held Kim’s gaze. “We’re here because we heard about your confession. See, the girl you…” She stopped, swallowed. “The girl you killed was my sister, Gina.”
Kim’s hand gripped the receiver with white-knuckle strength. She wanted to bolt from the room, but at the same time was unable to move. She sucked in a breath and let it out in a gasp. “Debbie—I can’t even…I don’t know what to say.” Suddenly she couldn’t stop the words. “I’m sorry. I know it means nothing, but I’m so, so sorry. It was an accident, please believe me. I didn’t mean to and I didn’t want to just leave her there but I had to—”
Debbie’s mother tapped her daughter on the shoulder as Kim babbled, then sat down as Debbie stood. “Kim. Stop. It’s alright.” Her voice was soothing and held no anger or tension the way Debbie’s had. Kim choked back a sob and swiped at the hot tears that stung at her eyes. “We were all stunned at the news—Debbie especially when she realized she not only knew you but that you were not at all the kind of person we had assumed you would be. But we didn’t come down here today because we wanted to shame you, or yell at you, or anything like that. We just want to know what happened. We’ve spent eight years wondering what went on that night, and we just want to have the puzzle finally put together for us.”
Kim sniffed and took three deep breaths to regain control of herself. “Of course, of course.” She stared at the table between them, gathering her thoughts. “I had been out at a classmate’s house because we had a group project we had to work on. I was on my way back to my foster parents’ house…”
She stopped as the memories she had stuffed down deep over the years began to surface in a rush. She remembered the house of the classmate—What was her name? Sandi—and how envious she had been of the family pictures that were scattered in frames on tables and the walls. She remembered the two other students, a jock who had always intimidated Kim with his good looks and sarcasm, and a Goth-dressing girl whose lip ring made Kim feel slightly ill. Sandi and the jock kept flirting and getting involved in their own conversations, and Goth girl kept sketching fairies on her notebook and occasionally swearing at Sandi and the jock for wasting everyone’s time. Kim had felt invisible until they had begun to work in earnest, when it turned out she was the only one with any understanding at all of their assignment.
They had worked for an hour, at which point Sandi’s parents had come to check on them and bid them good night. A few minutes later Sandi had assured them her parents were in bed for good, and then offered everyone a beer.
The jock and Goth girl accepted without so much as a snicker of rule-breaking glee. When she looked to Kim for her answer, she said “Yes, please,” which made the others laugh, though she didn’t know why. The others chugged down their first swallows as though parched, despite the two liters of soda they had already consumed over the course of the evening. She took a sip and nearly gagged at the taste. She forced another sip, then a third, only because she didn’t want Sandi to ask at the end of the night why she hadn’t had any of it. By the time they had finished their work, the jock’s and Goth girl’s cans were empty, but Kim’s was still half full.
Her stomach roiled with the foul drink, and she wasn’t sure if her vision was truly skewed or if she was imagining it. It was the first time she’d ever had alcohol, and she had no concept of how long it took to feel the effects or how much was needed to really make a difference. When it was time to go home she
was terrified to drive, and chose a route that would take her along less-traveled streets so there was less chance of getting into an accident.
She was driving down Sunset when a cyclist a few feet ahead looked back at her twice, and then veered sharply to the left, bringing herself directly in front of Kim’s car. Kim slammed on the brakes with a scream, but there was no avoiding the rider.
Ruth’s eyes sparkled with tears, but her voice remained calm and controlled. “Was she trying to avoid an animal? Maybe dodge something in the gutter?”
Kim shook her head. “I didn’t see anything. I don’t know. But she wasn’t just swerving out of the way of something. It was like she wanted to get in front of me.”
The receiver Ruth held picked up Debbie’s voice as she murmured, “Suicide.” The other Trumans looked to her, shock clear on their faces. “It makes sense,” Kim could hear her say. “She was running away, she’d been betrayed by her boyfriend, and no one was giving her the support she needed. And she was…she was Gina: a drama queen, everything overdone and melodramatic. She was probably running on emotion and just wanted her misery to end. It wasn’t premeditated, just done in the heat of the moment.”
Kim’s breaths came fast as her heart began to pound. All these years she had blamed herself for going five miles over the speed limit, blamed her reflexes, blamed the beer for slowing her down. But if Gina had meant to do it…Well, it didn’t change the fact that her actions caused someone to die, but it lessened her pain ever so slightly to know someone else was also at fault.
Ruth looked back to Kim. “What happened after that?”
“I got out to see if…you know…I took her pulse and it was really slow. She didn’t move; she was barely breathing. I didn’t know what to do, and then she just let out this sigh and…”
Kim had felt again for a pulse, squinted up close to her face searching for her breath in the cold autumn night air. Then she’d scrambled back when it hit her the girl was dead.
The Weight of Shadows Page 30