The Crossing
Page 22
WEDNESDAY
Claudia
Vic hadn’t arrived by the time Claudia stepped inside the cavernous building at 12:55 p.m. She’d had to force herself to wait that long so as not to appear too eager.
She made her way to the sanctuary. Only the large, lighted cross on the wall behind the pulpit cast any glow on the darkened room.
Daddy said God had shown him that cross in a vision before the church was built. And it was a nonnegotiable element during construction.
A sense of reverence enveloped her, and she bent down, slipped off her heels, and left them on the end of the last pew. This place had been her playground growing up. Suddenly she wished to be eight years old again, sliding along the floor on her belly under the pews. Mama fussing at her for getting dirty. She smiled.
Slowly she moved in and out of the rows of pews, like she had as a child, running her fingertips along the smooth wood finish. She continued the maze as she very deliberately made her way to the front of the church. Silence engulfed her and even her breath seemed to echo off the stained glass.
She was glad her dad had remained firm and kept the traditional church look, even as the church itself moved forward with the times, adding media and contemporary music, the arts and video announcements.
Finding her way to the front pew, on the far right of the building, she sat, staring at the fifteen-foot cross, beaming light onto the ceiling, a mirror image. She looked up, wondering if Casio had found peace at last. The events of the past few days still felt unreal. She would never have guessed Casio would kill his girlfriend and then himself. Those sorts of things do not happen to people you love.
It had taken ten years to get to this place, and the answers still eluded them. Vic admitted there was no place to go with the investigation unless Jesse turned up. But everyone figured he was probably in Mexico by now.
But for Claudia, her closure was tight. At least knowing who had killed BJ was enough. She would move forward now, working toward her own cure. She only wished she could have come to this place so much sooner.
Her chest tightened with remorse as she replayed the last two years. The pain she’d caused Vic with her absence from their marriage. But more than that, her absence from a real relationship with God.
She was ready to go back to him. She only prayed that all the changes hadn’t ruined everything. What if he didn’t want her back?
The back doors opened. “Claude?”
“Up at the front.” Her voice shook.
“Want me to turn on a light?”
“I like it this way, if you don’t mind. Your eyes will adjust in a second. The cross is pretty.”
She heard his steps coming to the front and felt his hand on her shoulder. She reached across her body and covered his hand with hers, leaning her head into his arm.
“It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” Vic said softly, stroking her hair.
“Yeah. Surreal. Harper’s parents are alone now.” She lifted her head. “I wish Mr. Hightower hadn’t cremated Casio. I know he did a terrible thing. But I wish he’d been given a burial.”
“I know. Me too.”
“Thank you for meeting me here,” she said, sliding over so he could sit down next to her.
“It’s just us?”
“Mama and Daddy are at the hall still helping with the funeral guests. When I left, Daddy was praying with someone. Mama was organizing the food.”
Vic took her hand, lacing their fingers. Claudia made no objection, enjoying the warmth of his closeness.
A soft breath escaped between her lips.
Vic turned his body to face her. “Your mom said you didn’t sleep last night. You must be exhausted.”
Once she’d made up her mind to go back to Vic, Claudia had spent the last two nights at her parents’ home. She knew Vic deserved to hear the truth in her heart, but she felt like they both would do better to wait until after the funeral. “I am exhausted,” she said. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
Vic’s gentle hand massaged her shoulder. How could she have ever left this man? Why hadn’t she known how much she needed him? How God had shown her such mercy when He touched Vic’s heart with love for the likes of her?
“I’m glad you called me here.”
“I was so scared we were over.”
Gathering in a breath, Claudia knew she had the opening she needed. She took his hand, pressed it to her lips, and then held it against her. “I do want to move on. And I truly feel like I’m ready to do that. Yesterday I made an appointment with a Christian counselor at Cornerstone counseling in Dallas. I’ll be starting next week.”
He smiled, his eyes lighting up against the backdrop of the glowing cross. “Are you nervous?”
She shrugged, aware that only someone who knows you well would ask the right question. “Some. But I know it’s what I need to do.”
“Why did you want to see me here, Claude? To tell me that?”
It was now or never. Her eyes misted over with unshed tears. “I want to say that I’m sorry I left the marriage like I did. Mama said the cruelest thing a spouse can do is leave the one who loves you. You were trying to cover me by solving BJ’s murder, but all I could see was the pain I felt every time a memory surfaced.”
“I wasn’t sensitive enough to your feelings, Claudia.” He shook his head.
Claudia raised her palm to his cheek. “You did the right thing by letting me go.” Tears dripped down her face. “But … now all I want is to come home. If you’ll have me back.”
Turning his head, he pressed his lips into her palm. “I didn’t let you go, honey. I just knew I couldn’t make the choice for you. If I gave in to all the panic I was feeling about you leaving, I could have ended up like Casio. Crazy and jealous. I just couldn’t let that happen between us.”
He slipped his arms around her, drawing her close. He took a breath and said, “I need to tell you something too.”
She froze, praying he didn’t have bad news.
“I shouldn’t have opened the Remington case the way I did.”
“What do you mean?” Claudia frowned. “I thought we just established it was a good thing. You solved the murder, freed me to move forward. Et cetera, et cetera.”
“And that’s the good part. The best part. But what wasn’t good was the other part of my underlying motive.”
“And what was that?” She’d thought it was for her.
“I wouldn’t have admitted it before, but I wanted to look good to take Slattery’s place. Everyone in the office was starting to insinuate I should run for the position and it went to my head a little.”
“So what are you saying?”
“That I don’t think I am ready to run for the job just yet.”
“Oh, come on, Vic. Don’t punish yourself.”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I’m not. Right now I want to be able to support you while you get counseling. And I think we need to work on building back our relationship.”
Peace washed over Claudia at his words. They sat together under the shadow of the lighted cross and started over.
Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
Claudia
Claudia tasted the spaghetti sauce one more time and glanced at the clock. Vic would be home any minute. She would have preferred a nice piece of salmon or shrimp scampi for tonight’s special meal. Spaghetti wasn’t exactly the most romantic dinner—unless one considered Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, but it was Vic’s favorite and she hadn’t made it in several months.
She opened the oven and smiled at the golden-brown rolls. Perfection, if she did say so herself. She lifted out the pan with a potholder and set them on the rack to cool.
Something was missing. Glancing about, she placed her hands on hips that had gotten a bit curvier during the past six months. Not much, but Vic seemed to like her with a bit more padding. And as long as her clothes fit, she refused to stress. He could have her any way he wanted her. She was just so gra
teful God had given Vic the grace to take her back and love her as passionately as ever.
Emmy was staying with Mother and Daddy tonight. The dining table was set beautifully with her best china settings and candles. Everything had to be just right.
Salad! That’s what was missing. Flustered, she glanced at the clock again as she hurried to the fridge. Vic said he’d be home no later than six tonight and it was ten till. Darn it. She’d wanted everything to be laid out and ready for him. Upstairs, in the bathroom, she had laid out his favorite comfortable clothes for him to slip right into after his shower.
She’d been working all day to make this night special for her husband. And it all came down to a salad. How frustrating. She’d never liked salad anyway. But Victor did. Especially with pasta, so there was no way she was leaving it out.
She chopped quickly, tossed the vegetables, and breathed a sigh of relief as she wiped down the counter just as the phone rang. Vic’s caller ID showed up. She smiled, her heart picking up speed at the thought of how happy he would be in just a little while.
“Vic! Where are you? You were supposed to be home two minutes ago.” She laughed. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Sweetheart.” His voice was sullen, and Claudia sobered instantly.
“What’s happened?”
“Turn on the TV. I’m pulling into the drive right now. I’ll be inside in a second.”
“Okay.” Claudia stayed on the line as she walked barefoot across the kitchen, through the hallway, and into the living room where the TV sat. She grabbed the remote and switched it on. SpongeBob SquarePants belted out at her since Emmy had been watching TV earlier that day. “What channel?”
“Six.”
As soon as she switched it over, the banner across the top of the screen flashed BREAKING NEWS. The familiar news reporter stood against the backdrop of a nondescript, fifty-year-old brick home. In a corner of the screen, a scene from what looked to be earlier today showed the same house, only during a rainstorm, and this time with an ambulance and two police cars flashing blue-and-red lights. Yellow tape was draped around the edge of the yard to keep curious onlookers at a proper distance.
Paramedics wheeled out a covered body. Claudia frowned, her gut clenched tight. “Who was it, Vic?” she asked into the phone.
The front door opened and closed. She glanced over her shoulder as he entered the living room and tossed his briefcase and keys on the coffee table. He came to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. She clutched his forearms.
The reporter answered her question. “Retired Detective Hightower was found dead earlier today from complications due to advanced lung cancer. We are awaiting a news conference with Police Chief Braverman and DA Slattery, which should happen any minute.”
Claudia gave a snort. “Slattery? What’s he doing conducting a news conference about a dead guy?”
“You’ll see.” He kissed the curve of her neck and Claudia’s knees went weak. “Hey, you look even prettier than usual.” He lifted his head and sniffed into the air. “And is that spaghetti?”
She flushed and grinned. “Thank you, and yes.”
“Oh, here’s the news conference.”
The police chief wore his blues and, even with a beer belly, looked official and distinguished. “Thank you all for coming. I am going to read a brief statement and then we’ll take a few questions.”
He cleared his throat and glanced down at the podium that had been set up in front of city hall.
“Today we have sobering news about one of Conch Springs’s most decorated and honored retired police detectives, Gabriel Hightower. He had been battling lung cancer for the past several months, and during his bedridden stage, he wrote a confession that implicates him in three murders.”
Claudia’s eyes widened, and she pressed her fingertips to her mouth.
“Mrs. Hightower, the former detective’s wife, was killed and discarded in the rock quarry southwest of town.”
The left corner of the screen showed the quarry, where it appeared workers were dragging the water.
Claudia’s phone rang, and she moved out of Vic’s arms, picked up the device from the coffee table and answered absently.
“Are you seeing this?” Georgie’s voice screeched in her ear.
“Yeah.” She sank to the couch.
“Is Vic there with you? You shouldn’t be alone.”
“He’s here. Are you alone?”
“No. Well, yes, but I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, please. You know I am.”
Her eyes were fixed on the screen and she only half heard Georgie. “Thanks for checking on me. I’m going to hang up so I can hear this, okay?”
“Of course. Call me tomorrow and let me know how you are.”
“I missed something,” she said to Vic.
“Gabe killed both his wife and Jesse and dumped them in the quarry.”
“Jesse Simpson? But why?” Claudia’s eyes went wide as the square in the corner switched from a view of the quarry to a school photo of BJ.
The chief had relinquished the microphone to DA Slattery. “The note from Detective Hightower stated that he hired Mr. Simpson to scare the former schoolteacher, Miss BJ Remington, due to personal reasons we will not reveal at this time. We’ll open up for some questions now.”
Claudia turned to Vic. “So Jesse really did kill BJ, but Gabe’s the one who set the whole thing up?”
Vic nodded. “We got word a few hours ago, but I couldn’t get away to tell you.”
“I’m glad you waited. I’d rather see it after everything is already figured out than sit here all day glued to the news. Did you get to read the note?”
“Yes.” His expression remained sober, and he sat next to her, scrubbing his palm across his five o’clock shadow.
“Well?” Claudia raised her eyebrow as if to say, You will not keep this information from me. She had gone through hell because of this man and she deserved to know the truth.
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close against him as he slouched, propping his legs on the coffee table. “He knew a month before the shooting that BJ was having a baby. His wife had suspected about the affair and one day she saw BJ coming out of her ob-gyn’s office and just assumed she was pregnant. She went ballistic.”
“But she couldn’t have known if BJ was definitely pregnant or not.”
“Exactly. The whole thing was a stupid fight based on no real evidence—even though she was right.”
“The wife usually is.”
Vic gave a small smile. “Anyway, they fought and he killed her in a rage. To cover his tracks, he told his cop buddies she found out about the affair and no one ever questioned his word. He was a decorated cop. A favorite on the force. No one had a reason to suspect him.”
Claudia shook her head. “Poor Casio. All those years he thought his mother didn’t love him anymore.” She leaned up and looked at Vic. “But why kill BJ if everyone believed him?”
“To throw off suspicion about his wife. The news of their affair would have eventually come out. And when that happened, people would have naturally begun to wonder why his wife never came back to see her son. Especially her friends.”
“So he hired Jesse, who probably did it for the money.” Claudia clenched her fist, feeling the bite of her newly manicured nails. She would definitely need a meeting with her counselor tomorrow.
“Right,” Vic said, uncurling her fist. He lifted her palm to his lips and kissed the nail marks. “After we questioned Jesse, he wanted to confess everything. But first he met with Gabe and got himself killed.”
Claudia glanced at the TV. The news conference was over and the scenes were looping back to the beginning of the story. “Do you mind if we turn it off?” she asked.
Vic shook his head and pointed the remote. The screen went blissfully dark. “So, thank you for my surprise. I’ve been craving your spaghetti.”
Claudia smiled. �
�Well, mister. That’s not your surprise.”
His eyebrows went up and he pulled her back to him. “Oh?”
She laughed. “And that’s not it either.”
“What then?”
“Later.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood. “Will you go shower and change while I finish up in the kitchen?”
He frowned just for a split second, his eyes flashing worry. “Will you be okay alone?”
“Don’t worry, this didn’t set me back,” she said. “But I do need a few minutes alone to pray and process. Okay?”
“Sure.”
She went to the kitchen, stirred the sauce and began to ladle it into a sauce bowl. “Jesus,” she whispered, finding comfort in that name. The last thing she wanted was to ever, ever go back to the pain that once surrounded her, like a bubble.
She closed her eyes and remembered that day in the sanctuary as they sat in silence beneath the cross, each ready to move on. Even though it hadn’t been easy, and she had endured months of painful counseling, it had all been worth it. And she was changed. A smile touched her lips as she moved around her kitchen, praying, surrendering, and getting her meal ready.
By the time Vic came back smelling of fresh soap and warm water, she was ready to shove aside the newscast and concentrate on why she had prepared all day. As they sat together, she poured him a glass of red wine, herself a glass of water from a pitcher.
Vic frowned. “Not drinking wine tonight?” He absently set his napkin in his lap.
She shook her head and gave as nonchalant a shrug as she could pull off without grinning. “The doctor says I can’t.”
His chin jerked up and concern darkened his beautiful eyes. “Are you sick?”
She looked up at him beneath hooded eyes. “Only in the morning.”
“Only in the …” His eyes widened. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
Claudia couldn’t hold back anymore. She nodded and pressed her palm to the spot just below her navel, where deep inside of her God already knew their yet-to-be-born child. Joy such as she had never felt before welled up and came out in the song of laughter. Sharing the smile in Vic’s eyes, the pride and joy as he stood and lifted her with him, she felt a contentment she never knew existed.