by Diane Burke
“The flash drive proved that Tom Miller killed the drug dealer. Henderson must have stumbled upon the picture the snitch was trying to blackmail Tom with when he was installing our new software, saved it to a drive and took it home until he could decide exactly what he was looking at and what he should do about it.”
“I still don’t understand why he didn’t come to me right away,” Liz said.
“Hey, the guy had a picture of one of our cops killing a man that had been splashed across the newspaper as an unsolved homicide. He probably was scared. Bet the poor guy didn’t know who to trust.”
“Thank God Henderson did take it home.” Adam looked directly at Liz. “That drive confirmed Sal’s innocence. He might have been sitting behind bars tonight instead of here with friends enjoying conversation and tea.”
“I’m so sorry, Sal.” Liz saw a flash of pain in his eyes but knew that’s all it was—just a flash. Sal had a keen intellect. He’d been able to take a look at the circumstantial evidence compiled against him and understood why Liz was going to arrest him.
“Hey, I get it. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have had to do the same thing.”
Charlie casually put her arm along the top of Sal’s chair. “I haven’t figured out why you ran out of the station. You didn’t know Liz was going to arrest you.”
“No. But I knew something was up. She wasn’t acting like Liz.”
Liz interrupted. “At least you noticed how difficult it was for me. I could barely entertain the idea that you might be our killer. But I still had to do my job.”
Sal gave a mock salute with his glass. “Understand, boss. Really, I get it.”
“So?” Charlie asked again. “Why’d you run?”
“It was a coincidence—”
“God-incidence. There’s no such thing as a coincidence.” Charlie playfully poked his shoulder.
“Okay, God-incidence.”
Liz almost choked on her iced tea. Sal acknowledging the possibility that God might have had a hand in things? She’d prayed so hard over the years for Sal to come to the Lord. Listening to him now shocked her to her core. Her eyes filled with tears. God used people, places and things for His good. This time He’d paired Sal with a woman who would change his life…both this life and the next.
“I told you that I had a hunch I was following up on.” He looked over at Liz and she nodded. “Well, I’d just about finished my interview with Grimes. It went nowhere and I was pretty sure his crime was adultery, not murder. I was cutting him loose when I got a text message from one of my snitches. He was cutting his losses and skipping town. He agreed to meet me if I came before his bus left.”
“He’s the one who told you about Miller?” Adam’s voice made his words a question rather than a statement.
“Yeah. He had told me a week before that word on the street was that a cop killed the dealer but he didn’t have any hard-core evidence. I greased his palm with a little green and told him to find something solid. When I met him at the station, he gave me Miller’s name—and the name of the other guy in the alley that night who’d decided to try to blackmail Tom.”
“So, if this guy witnessed the murder and tried to blackmail Tom, then why did he come forward as Tom’s snitch and testify against you?” Adam crossed his ankle over his knee. “That was taking a pretty big chance for a junkie. I’m surprised he did it.”
“I’m not. The guy didn’t really have a choice. Tom promised him immunity and gave him enough money to disappear. What other choice did he have? He knew Tom would kill him if he didn’t do what he was told.”
“I can’t believe Tom did all of this.” Liz leaned forward and rested her arms on her thighs. “Drug addict? Murderer?” She shook her head. “I can’t wrap my mind around it all. My father and Tom had been the macho guys that ran this town with an iron hand. They had no tolerance or empathy for any kind of addiction.”
“I think it was a combination of things, boss. I know he never said anything to you but he was bent out of shape when you got elected sheriff. He always assumed when your father left office that he’d be next in line.”
“I understand. I tolerated his insubordination and attitude because of it.” Liz shook her head. “I’ve always known he resented my position for that reason and also because I was a woman. Men in his position, from his generation, aren’t used to women in the workforce, let alone having them be their boss.” She leaned back in her chair. “But drugs? When did that start?”
“After Ellie died.” Sal finished off his tea. “My snitch gave me the dates when he first started making buys. I guess nine months ago when he lost his wife, who we both know waited on him hand and foot, that house must have seemed pretty lonely.”
“But drugs?” Liz still struggled with the idea.
“I’m sure he didn’t expect to get addicted. None of my patients ever do.” Adam sighed. “He probably was out drinking one night. He was lonely…bored maybe…probably a bit curious and decided to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. I don’t condone it but I see it all the time and understand how it could happen.”
Liz reached up and pulled the band off her ponytail. “I can even follow Tom’s crazy logic. The drug dealer murder sounds like it was self-defense. He shouldn’t have tried to cover it up, but he knew his addiction would be exposed. He might have gotten away with it if the blackmail hadn’t started. He just kept digging a bigger and bigger hole.”
She ran her fingers through her hair, let it fall freely down her back, and tried to ignore the feel of Adam’s eyes watching her every move.
“But everything that followed…the Henderson murders…shooting out the tires of my car…trying to kidnap Jeremy…framing you…the car bomb.” She held her head in her hands. “This was all such a nightmare.”
Sal stood up. “Yeah, but it’s over now. The bad guy’s gone. The good guys reign.” He laced his fingers with Charlie’s. “I think I’m going to call it a night. Charlie’s leaving for home tomorrow and we have some talking to do before she goes.”
“Talking about what, Sal?” Liz couldn’t keep the teasing note out of her voice.
“She’s going to train a police dog for me.”
“That so?” Liz’s smile widened. “All the way in Montana? A dog for you here in Country Corners?”
Sal looked at her and when he did she read it all in his eyes—his blossoming love for Charlie, his dread about telling Liz he was leaving. But he would be leaving, no doubt.
Liz smiled at him. She’d miss Sal. But she knew this was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He was going to Montana. He would find a new life, a new love and a personal relationship with the Lord. She could never want anything other than that for her best friend.
“I want your gold necklace when you leave,” Liz said.
He shot her a puzzled expression. That she’d figured out what he’d intended shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, she was the sheriff. But she knew her request for his necklace threw him.
“That’s a macho playboy necklace, Sal. You don’t need it anymore. When you leave, I’m going to give it to Paul.”
All four of them laughed—and the sound on the night air was healing and good.
“You got it, boss. Sounds like a great idea.” He waved and went inside with a blushing Charlie.
Liz put her head against the back of her Adirondack chair and sighed.
Adam reached over and grasped her hand. “You handled that well. I know how hard it will be to see Sal leave.”
Liz sent a gentle smile his way. “Not really. My best friend is getting together with my newest best friend. That sounds like a win-win situation to me.”
“Lizzie Bradford, you are full of surprises tonight.”
She tilted her head so she could look him in the eye.
“What surprises?”
“You let your hair down even though you are still in uniform.”
“True. Have you noticed that Jeremy hasn’t b
een screaming bloody murder anymore when he sees me in my uniform? Do you think he’s starting to adjust to the sight of them?”
“Yes. I think he’s seen enough uniforms in the past three weeks that he is starting to equate them with people who help him and who love him.”
She drew a breath. He knew her so well. She couldn’t hide her feelings from him anymore—and she didn’t want to.
“You’re right. I do love him.” She shifted in her seat. Only the arms of their chairs separated them. “Now that Jeremy is safe, there’s no reason he can’t remain here in Country Corners. The morning after Tom was killed, I applied to be Jeremy’s foster mother…while I wait to see if I am approved to adopt him.”
Adam smiled. The knowing look in his eyes told her he wasn’t surprised at this announcement.
“You’ll make a wonderful mother, Lizzie.”
“Thank you. Coming from you that means a lot.”
“You’ve done remarkably well learning how to nurture an autistic child. I have no doubt you’ll continue to learn and grow as you raise Jeremy to be an awesome adult someday.”
He got out of his chair and moved toward her. He knelt on one knee so he could look directly in her eyes.
“I’d like to be there for you, Lizzie.… If you’ll let me.”
Her heart skipped a beat and butterflies danced in her stomach.
“I’ll be happy for your professional input. You’ve made remarkable progress with Jeremy. He adores you.”
“How about his new mama? How does she feel about me?”
Her heart didn’t skip a beat this time— It stopped beating all together.
“Adam…what we had fifteen years ago…life’s different now… I’m different.”
He clasped her fingers and gently stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
“You’re right. You’ve changed. You’ve become stronger, independent and confident. You aren’t striving to please people at the cost of your own happiness or looking for love from people incapable of giving it. You have discovered your worth, your place in God’s heart and you beam with it. You are kind and loving and gifted. But one thing hasn’t changed, Lizzie.” He leaned in closer, his lips mere inches from hers. “Your smile still lights up a room like the sun on a spring day.”
Her throat constricted and her eyes misted with joy. He couldn’t have said anything nicer to her—until he spoke again.
“I’ve missed your smile. I don’t want to spend another day of my life without seeing that sunshine, without feeling its warmth on my face. Please forgive me for leaving, Lizzie. I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but I’m on my knee asking you for one.
“I love you, Lizzie Bradford. I’ve loved you since I tossed mud at you in kindergarten. I’m praying that you love me, too.”
Liz couldn’t hide behind her protective armor anymore. Jeremy had found the first crack. Then Charlie and Sal and Adam and even Rerun had chipped away until the cold, hard emptiness inside her chest was gone and more love than she could express filled her being.
Yes, love requires trust and faith. It requires compromise and forgiveness. It requires risk.
And, yes, a person could get hurt.
But not loving…
God never intended people to be so afraid of being hurt that they closed off emotionally to the possibility of love at all. God declared it was not good for man to be alone…or woman. How ironic that the man God sent to teach her that lesson carried the name Adam.
She smiled into his eyes.
Adam withdrew a small platinum ring with a tiny diamond in the middle.
“I bought this for you fifteen years ago. It was the best an eighteen-year-old boy could afford. But I never gave it to you. I ran away.”
“You’ve kept it all these years?”
“I could never get rid of it. In my mind and my heart this ring always belonged to you.”
He slid the ring on her right hand. The tiny diamond sparkled in the candlelight.
“I’m giving this to you now as a promise ring. I promise to prove to you I am worth the risk. You can open your heart to me, Lizzie. I will never let you down again.”
He kissed the back of her hand.
“And I promise to give you the time you need to come to that conclusion yourself—a week, a month, a year? Whatever you need. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be right here, Lizzie, loving you.”
He kissed her chin, her cheek and then lowered his head to claim her lips with his own. The taste of his lips, the feel of his breath, the warm, passionate kisses that followed melted away once and for all any wall, any coldness, any barrier she had ever built around her heart. She was basking in love and joy.
Adam looked deeply into her eyes.
“I promise—when you’re ready—if you can find it in your heart to love me back, that I will build a life with you and Jeremy. We will fill our home with children—lots of children—our own and those others have discarded who need us. We will place God as the foundation of our life together. We will fill our home with love and laughter and happiness.”
Even in the candlelight, he couldn’t hide the glistening in his eyes.
“And I promise that the ring I slip on your left hand will be considerably larger than this puny little promise ring.”
Liz laughed out loud and playfully swatted at him.
His gaze deepened in intensity and his voice trembled with emotion.
“I promise, Lizzie…my heart…my life…my love…forever and always…when you are ready to receive them.”
Liz tenderly cupped his face with her hand and smiled. She leaned forward and kissed him…tenderly…then passionately. When the kiss ended she raised her eyes.
“I’m ready now, Adam. Forever and always.… I promise.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Threat of Darkness by Valerie Hansen!
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ONE
The keening wails echoing down the usually quiet halls of the Serenity Medical Center made the hair on the back of Samantha Rochard’s neck prickle. Every natural instinct told her to flee. Instead, her experience as a registered nurse sent her racing toward the sound of misery.
A doctor, white coat flying behind him, shoved her aside and burst through the curtain into an E.R. exam cubicle. She heard him start to speak. Then, his words were abruptly cut off.
A sixth sense brought Samantha to a skidding halt before the weighted curtain had stopped swinging behind him. Was that scuffling? Fighting? A thud?
She peeked through a slit between the panels. Dr. Weiss, the physician who had elbowed her out of his way, lay on the floor, moaning. A thin, scraggly figure she judged to be male stood with his back to her. The only thing about him that caught her attention and held it was the small, silver-colored revolver he was waving.
Samantha wheeled and flattened herself against a nearby wall. Hands trembling, she pulled out her cell phone, called 911 and cupped her hands around the instrument to muffle her speech.
“We need help at the medical center. Hurry.”
“What’s the nature of your emergency, ma’am?”
“I don’t know.” Samantha wanted to shout instead of whispering. “I heard a scream and…”
When the dispatcher interrupted to ask, “Is that you again, Ms. Rochard?” she figured her report wasn’t going to be taken seriously. So what else was new?
“Look,” Samantha said, “we’ve got a guy in our E.R. with a gun. Isn’t that enough?”
“Okay. Stay where you are and let us handle it.” There was a rumble of conversation and beeping noises in the background before the dispatcher returned. “We have units on the way. Stay on the line with me.”
Samantha was about to reply when someone grabbed a fistful of her shoulder-length, dark hair and jerked her off her feet. The cell phone hit the floor with a splintering crack. She was being dragged backward into the exam area where Dr. Weiss lay!
Her scalp felt as though it was on fire. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t reason. All she could do was keep screaming “No! No!” and try to regain her balance enough to fight back.
The attacker flung her aside like a sack of dirty laundry. She landed hard. The instant she looked up she knew who had manhandled her. It was one of the teenage Boland boys. What’s his first name? Why can’t I remember? Marty, Jimmy, Bobby? It was Bobby. Bobby Joe. At least that sounded right.
Shying away while her thoughts whirled, Samantha stared at the young man in the tattered jeans and T-shirt. His eyes were wide and darting, their pupils dilated. He was under the influence for sure, which made him even more unpredictable. His demeanor reminded her of an animal caught in the jaws of a steel trap and willing to chew its own leg off to escape.
She licked her lips and found her voice. “Hey, it’s me. Samantha Rochard. You’re—you’re Bobby Joe, right? I used to go to school with your big sisters. Remember?”
His eyes flickered. His body was shaking so uncontrollably his hand kept jerking. The hand with the gun in it. “I—I know,” he stammered. “I came to see you ’cause you’re a nurse.”