“Oh, you’ll see,” Max smiled as he turned away and began his usual out-of-tune whistling.
Amanda watched while Bertie and Doug put away the supplies and groceries. “That’s not fair! Y’all need to tell me what’s going on…” Her cell phone began ringing, interrupting her conversation with the angels. She saw Kris’ name pop up on the phone. “Don’t y’all dare move!” she ordered them. “I want to know what the surprise is…” She walked out the back door and sat down at the picnic table. “Hey, Kris… what’s up?” She knew that Kris was at work, working a double shift, and hoped that everything was okay.
Amanda sat at the picnic table, in silent shock, while she listened to Kris repeat Dean’s news about Charlotte Grace. Her free hand flew to her mouth. “Oh… my… God…” she said when she was able to take in a full breath. “Oh, Kris… thank, God! We’ve all been praying so, so hard for this…”
Amanda talked with Kris for a few more minutes and learned that a police helicopter was flying Kris and Dean to Tampa to pick up Charlotte Grace. When she finally ended the call, she closed her eyes and offered her own silent prayer of thanks to God. She opened her eyes and saw her three guardian angels grinning at her from the doorway.
“Get in here, Princess!” Max laughed. “Looks like you may be working a little overtime tonight.”
Bertie walked out to where Amanda still sat at the picnic table. She gave her a playful punch on the shoulder, grinned, and wiped a tear from her eye. “That’s right… come on now… we’ve got a real celebration to get ready for!”
CHAPTER 37
The Death of Susan Peterson
Jack sat alone at Susan’s bedside and held her hand. He cringed inside at each rattled breath she took, wondering if that one would be her last. His last conversation with the doctor had not offered any hope or encouragement that Susan would improve. Her condition was deteriorating rapidly and her doctor thought it was doubtful, though not impossible, that she would even awaken again. They were keeping her as comfortable as possible.
Jack knew this was the end of the road for the woman he had shared his life with for the past sixteen years. They had been sixteen wonderful years and tomorrow would be their seventeenth wedding anniversary. He watched as Susan seemed to fight for each and every breath she took, and he wondered if she would even live long enough to see their seventeenth anniversary.
As hard as it was for Jack to let her go, he closed his eyes in prayer. “Please… God… I beg of you… please be gentle with her… don’t let her suffer unnecessarily.” He had known too many friends who had to watch their loved ones linger, against their will, while they waited for the Angel of Death to release them from their pain and suffering. Tears trickled from the corner of his eyes as he continued to pray. When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Susan’s fluttering eyelids. “Susan?” he whispered as he lowered his face closer to her own. He kissed her cheek.
Susan’s eyes opened. It took her a moment to focus on the man shimmering before her face. She tried to speak; instead, she gagged. The inserted breathing tube prevented that from happening.
Jack’s heart was breaking as he watched the woman he loved try to convey her message. She looked so weak… so very tired.
Susan blinked repeatedly as her own tears began to trickle down her face. It took all the energy she had, but she managed to pull her hand from Jacks’ grasp. She joined her thumb and index finger together and made a writing motion in the air. Her eyes searched his, hoping desperately that he understood her request.
He did.
Jack moved around the room quickly, searching for a pad and pencil. He found both, next to a small Bible, inside the table drawer next to the bed. He placed the pencil in Susan’s trembling hand, and held the pad steady atop the bed sheet.
Susan used the entire page to scribble the two words – SEE BABY.
Jack smiled down at her and said, “Kelly is fine, love. Mrs. Brooks is watching her for us until we get you back home.” He recognized the look of panic that immediately filled her eyes and tried his best to calm her. “It’s going to be okay, really… it is. Mrs. Brooks is taking good care of her. Nothing is going to happen. You’ll see. You just have to focus on getting stronger so that I can take you home.”
Susan’s panicked expression was steadfast as she moved her head slowly from side to side.
Jack took the pencil from her hand and lowered his head upon his wife’s belly. He felt utterly helpless as he listened to her forced breathing. He felt her frail body trembling. However, with his own face pressed into her sheets, he failed to see the real cause of her trembling; he failed to see the sudden look of fear and defeat that filled her tear-soaked eyes. Jack’s head rose slightly with each labored breath Susan attempted. He knew he needed to get his emotions under control before raising his head. When he finally looked up at her again he noticed that she was not looking at him, but rather beyond him. “Susan?”
She wasn’t blinking and Jack’s first thought was that she was dead. A cold shiver coursed involuntarily through his body just before he turned his own gaze in the direction to which Susan’s eyes appeared to be glued. “Oh, dear, God… not now…not here, please… God, please…” he whispered so low he barely heard himself.
Susan had not died. Her gaze was frozen on the two police officers who towered in the doorway. However, it wasn’t the police that captured Susan’s attention; it was the woman who stood directly behind them that did that; that woman was holding Kelly in her arms. The fourth member completing the unexpected entourage of rescuers was Ida Brooks.
They all entered the room slowly, one by one.
The room began swaying before Jack. His attention was torn between the precious baby being held by the strange woman, and the woman dying on the bed bedside him.
“Jack Peterson?” one of the officers asked.
Jack didn’t acknowledge the officer at first; instead, he looked back at Susan.
Susan’s rapid breathing became even more labored, but she, too, only had eyes for the woman who was holding the baby… her baby.
Mrs. Brooks remained in the background, trembling, and whimpered, “Oh, my goodness…” She momentarily doubted her decision to contact the authorities.
Jack finally stood up and faced the officers. “Yes, I am Jack Peterson.”
“And is this Susan Peterson?” the same officer asked, nodding in Susan’s direction.
Jack took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and nodded. “Yes… this is my wife.”
The two officers looked at each other and the one who had spoken began reading Jack and Susan their Miranda Rights. “Jack and Susan Peterson… you are both under arrest for the kidnapping of the infant, Charlotte Grace Devone. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult with an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them?”
“Please…” Jack began as he looked back at Susan.
Susan gagged and lifted her right arm toward her husband.
“Do you understand these rights as I have read them?” the officer repeated.
Jack took Susan’s upheld arm and kissed her hand. Tears were pouring down both their cheeks.
“Sir…” the other officer began.
“Yes,” Jack nodded, affirming a weak response. “Yes… we do…”
Ida offered a small gasp as someone shuffled behind her.
Dr. Matheson moved into the room and demanded, “What’s going on in here?”
The officer who had read Jack and Susan their rights pulled out a pair of handcuffs and motioned for Jack to turn around. He hadn’t known what to expect from the kidnappers, but he was mildly surprised when Jack Peterson dutifully turned around so that the cuffs could be secured around his wrists.
“What is the woman’s condition?” the other officer directed his question to
Dr. Matheson.
Dr. Matheson looked at Jack.
Jack nodded and closed his eyes.
Susan’s expression had not changed; it remained one of pure panic.
Dr. Matheson looked at Susan for a few moments before answering. “The patient is dying.”
Susan looked away from Jack and back to the woman holding her baby. Using what little energy she had left, she slowly lifted both hands toward Charlotte Grace.
The woman looked at the officer, lifting her eyebrows in query.
The officer looked at Susan, and back at the doctor. “How long does she have?”
Dr. Matheson looked at Susan and Jack again before answering. “Not long, I’m afraid.” He detested talking about his patient as though she weren’t even in the room. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but the defeated look on Jack Peterson’s face spoke volumes to him. “She could go at any time now.”
The woman holding the baby decided not to wait for the officer’s confirmation or approval. She moved closer to the bed. “It can’t do any harm,” she said as she looked over at the officer. She placed the smiling and cooing baby into the dying woman’s outstretched arms.
Jack looked back at the officer who had cuffed him. “May I?” he asked, nodding toward his wife.
The officer hesitated briefly before offering a silent affirmation to Jack’s request.
Jack moved closer to the bed and bent his face closer to his wife and baby. He shuddered at the fresh baby smell that eerily intermingled with the smell of death. He kissed each of his girls on their cheeks, and the baby reached over to grab his nose.
The officer’s move was silent and subtle.
Jack lowered his head and sighed in relief when he felt the cuffs being unlocked behind his back. He looked back at the officer and mouthed, “Thank you…” He rubbed his wrists before leaning over the bed. He cried openly as he took them both into a final embrace. He choked on tears that had become mixed with those of his wife’s.
Susan gagged and moved her head slightly so that she could look into the eyes of the man who had sacrificed everything for her… for them. The baby cooed and wriggled in the nook of her left arm. Susan tried to smile, but the inserted breathing tube made it difficult to do. Instead, she stared intently into Jack’s eyes, trying to convey all the love and happiness she had been blessed with for the past sixteen years. She could only hope and pray that he knew how much she appreciated what he had done for her. She blinked slowly three times… her private message of love to her husband… I LOVE YOU. Tears flowed freely down her mottled cheeks.
Charlotte Grace cooed and reached out for Jack’s offered finger.
Jack touched the baby’s coppery curls, quickly realizing how the truth had come about. He kissed his wife on the forehead. He kissed Charlotte Grace on her cheek and, ever so slowly, removed his finger from her tiny, yet firm, grip. He looked back at Susan and stroked her thinning hair. “I love you, too… happy anniversary, my love…”
Susan blinked three more times, very slowly, took a final look at the baby she had always wanted, and slowly closed her eyes for the last time. She was finally at peace.
Jack held his wife’s face between his palms and kissed her cheeks until the heart monitor indicated a straight-line reading. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he kissed Susan’s forehead one final time.
Charlotte Grace wiggled and reached toward him.
Jack allowed her to grasp his finger. More tears flowed down his face when the baby smiled and cooed at him. He ran his fingers through her coppery curls and kissed the top of her head. “God bless you, always, little one…”
The Department of Children’s Services representative stepped to the bedside. “I’ll take her now, Mr. Peterson.”
Jack slowly pulled his finger from the baby’s tiny grasp and nodded.
The woman removed the baby from Susan’s lifeless arms.
Mrs. Brooks shook her head and cried, “Oh, my goodness…”
CHAPTER 38
Kris Makes Peace
It was Sunday, October 14, 2012.
Kris sat at the long table in the prison’s visitation room. It hadn’t been too many years ago when she had envisioned herself being in a place like this… but not as a visitor. She had initially thought she would never be able to do what she was about to do. However, her spiritual faith had grown at such a rapid pace over the past few months that she knew, without a doubt, that she needed – and wanted - to confront Jack Peterson.
The day of today’s confrontation was also extremely important to Kris. She knew, in her heart, that it needed to be done today because as she sat there waiting for the man who had kidnapped her daughter to walk through the door, something more important was occurring in a small café in Monticello, Florida. A small, collective group of friends were gathering later at the Heavenly Grille Café, which was normally closed on Sundays, to celebrate the baptism of Kris and Charlotte Grace Hall. Kris knew that her own baptism would be meaningless to her unless this long-delayed confrontation occurred.
She clasped her hands securely in her lap and watched as surrounding family members were reunited with their loved ones. She couldn’t help but wonder about the prisoners’ stories and what had transpired in their lives to have them end up in a place like this. She knew she was so lucky that her own life had turned around because she had no doubt that she could have been one of those unfortunate souls locked away for years on end.
It had taken Kris a long time to get to this visitation, but once she had committed to, and scheduled her and her baby’s baptisms, she knew it had to be done. She had contacted her attorney and requested the visit with Jack Peterson today.
She had never spoken directly to him, not even at his sentencing hearing. She had thought that she would because she wanted the judge, and the world, to know how much agony and torment Jack’s actions had brought upon her and her child. However, when the time came for her to make a statement, she had quietly declined to do so. Instead, she had watched and listened as Jack Peterson turned toward her and directed his sincere apology for what he and his wife had done. His apology had fallen upon empty ears.
The unlocking of the steel door brought Kris’ attention back to the present. She saw Jack Peterson shuffle in, chained at the feet and his hands secured behind him. She watched as the correction officer unlocked the handcuffs and motioned him forward, and wondered if it was too late to change her mind. No… she needed to do this… for herself and for her child, who was too young to speak for herself.
Kris stood up as Jack approached the table. She looked him squarely in the eye, unsure of what exactly she expected to see. It wasn’t the look of peace and serenity she saw reflected in his thin, drawn face.
Jack smiled at her. “I’ve been praying for this day for such a long time, Miss DeVone.”
Kris scrambled to sort through her own feelings and responded, “It’s Mrs. Hall, now…”
“May I?” Jack motioned to the bench seat across from her.
Kris nodded. The lump in her throat prevented her from saying anything further.
Jack positioned himself across from her and placed his folded hands upon the table. “Congratulations, Mrs. Hall. Marriage is a wonderful gift from God. I hope yours will be as blessed as my own was.”
Kris had created a list of questions she had intended to ask Jack Peterson, but they all vanished from her mind as she stared at the lonely man sitting across from her. “You must have loved your wife very much, Mr. Peterson… to have done what you did.”
Jack nodded and looked down at the table. “My wife was everything to me. I don’t expect you, or anyone else, to understand why we did what we did. The decision we made came about as one focus point in our lives. You see, I knew that Susan was dying and I also knew I had to do everything in my power to give her the one thing she had always wanted.”
“A baby…” Kris mumbled.
“Yes,” Jack replied, never taking his eyes off the woman who sat tre
mbling across from him.
Kris’s own gaze was as direct as Jack’s. “But… why my baby, Mr. Peterson? Why did you have to take Charlotte Grace from me?”
Jack sighed and offered a weak smile. “Susan and I saw you for the first time at the Heavenly Grille Café, late last summer. You were very pregnant at the time. We were sitting close to you and your friend, the young lady who worked there. We overheard you talking about your upbringing… about your alcohol and drug problems.”
“You were eavesdropping?”
“Not intentionally, no… but… well, we had just come from another doctor appointment and received confirmation that Susan’s condition was deteriorating. Susan was in denial but we both knew that she didn’t have much time. Anyway, once we got home that night, we rehashed what we overheard you saying to your friend. I think that’s when the idea first came to fruition for us.”
Kris nodded, more to herself than to acknowledge Jack Peterson’s comment. “Amanda and I had a lot of conversations in that booth, but I never realized that anyone was listening to us.” She looked back at Jack, distracted momentarily by distant memories. “You know, I never realized it until now, but I think I actually remember the two of you. You were at the restaurant more than once, weren’t you?’
“Yes, we were. We tried not to be too conspicuous because we didn’t want anyone to remember us. More often than not, we simply watched you. We watched your house, we parked outside the coffee house where you worked and watched you through the windows, and we even parked near the café several times. We were parked outside the day those three café workers closed the café and rushed to the hospital; we followed them because we knew your delivery time could happen at any time. We tried to convince ourselves that you didn’t deserve that baby… that we would make better parents and be able to give her a better life than the one she would have with you.”
The Heavenly Grille Café Page 23