I nodded. “That was the statement I signed.”
“Indeed. But given your subsequent marriage, I highly doubt any judge is going to believe you had no idea Ruby was alive. Mr. Norton definitely won’t. You may be charged with making a false report.”
“But he didn’t,” Ruby started.
Stanley held up a hand to stop her. “You can explain what actually happened later.” He picked up the coffee and took a swig before reaching for the third stack of folders. Actually, it was a single folder that appeared to have only a couple of sheets of paper in it. “For now, as you can see, there’s very little information here that shows anything about your lives between December of 1936 and now. This will have to be filled in by you two if you decide to allow me to represent you. All I have is a document from the War Department stating that Captain Matthew Doyle was killed in action in the Philippines in June of 1942. That is, obviously, not the case. So we have two people believed to be dead by most of the people who ever knew them, but who are actually alive and well.”
Stanley set the single folder down and then reached for the final folder, this one containing several documents. “Now we get to the information your father delivered to you a few weeks ago. I’ve looked through all the papers in here. A few have nothing to do with your legal situation. They’re simply Mr. Doyle’s will, some financial documents leaving you money at his death, along with some property near Smith Lake. However, there are also documents here that could be useful in moving forward with Ruby’s case, as well as yours if you’re charged with anything.”
My head was spinning at this point. What a convoluted mess we’d gotten ourselves into. I needed to think, so I stood and paced between the kitchen and the table. Ruby, who’d been sitting there with her head down most of the time, finally spoke up. “You mean Matthew might be charged too? With what?”
Stanley began ticking off possibilities on his fingers. “Obstruction of justice, conspiracy to aid an escape, harboring a fugitive, aiding and abetting, just to name a few. It depends on how far Mr. Norton is willing to go to show there is no corruption in his administration.”
Ruby stood and came to me, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Matthew, I’m so sorry.”
I held on to her and let her cry. “It isn’t your fault. It’s mine. It’s all mine.”
“But what if…what if we both go to prison? What will happen to Hope?”
I couldn’t give her an answer, at least not a good one. So I turned my attention back to Stanley as I held Ruby in my arms. “All right. So explain what my father has to do with all this.”
“Well, essentially, he started the process to get Ruby’s conviction vacated. He’s the one who turned over the evidence against Garrett and the Sheriff’s Department in 1943. Indirectly, of course. His stroke left him nearly incapacitated. His lawyer filed the court documents you saw, one of them being the motion to vacate Ruby’s conviction.”
“Why would he do that?” I wondered out loud. “He was the one who worked so hard to get Ruby convicted in the first place.”
“Maybe he had a change of heart,” Stanley said, closing the folder in his hands. “So, I’ve presented my findings to you. I know it’s a lot to take in. My recommendation at this point would be for Ruby to turn herself in, show the court she’s willingly doing so, and we’ll find out exactly where the solicitor stands on charges for the both of you. From there, we can put together a plan to fight whatever he comes up with. In all honesty, it won’t be easy. We’ll just have to take things one step at a time. That is, if you want me to represent you.”
I wasn’t ready to commit to anything. My head could barely wrap around everything he’d said. “I’ll contact you in a day or two and let you know.”
Stanley nodded and began stacking his folders. “All right. Just don’t take too long. The sooner you take action, the better it will look in the eyes of the court.”
He took another gulp of coffee, gathered his things, and shook hands with all of us. Then he promptly headed out the door and drove away. I was pretty sure that was exactly what we needed to do as well.
***
After Stanley left, we sat around the table in silence, each trying to process everything he’d said. The enormity of all that had happened in our lives because of one horrible day at the Calhoun farm was nearly incomprehensible. How would we even begin to unravel this mess?
“Momma?” Hope’s small voice came from the crack in the bedroom door. “Can I come out now?” She opened the door and squeezed her knees together while wiggling back and forth. “I have to go tee-tee.”
“I’ll be right there,” Ruby said. She gave my arm a pat and took Hope to the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
Asa and Mrs. Graves took a collective breath, as if we were all waiting for Ruby to leave the room. “What do you think?” Mrs. Graves asked me.
I couldn’t stand to look into their hopeful expressions. I dropped my head into my hands. “I don’t know yet. I just don’t know.”
“Maybe she could get a fair trial this time,” Asa said. “And Mr. Pierce could make sure those lesser charges are included as options. Maybe she could even take a plea deal.”
My skin felt like it was crawling with ants. I stood and paced the area again. “She’d still be going to jail for something she didn’t do. Even the escape wasn’t her idea. She begged me to stop and take her back.”
Asa and Mrs. Graves exchanged a look. I wondered how many conversations they’d had over the years about my foolish actions that day. I’d give almost anything to be able to go back and do things differently.
“What do you two think we should do?” I asked.
Mrs. Graves stood and came over to me, taking ahold of my shoulders. “No one can make this decision for you and Ruby. But I promise you, no matter what, you all have a home here if needs be. Whether it’s Ruby and Hope, or you and Hope, or…God forbid…just Hope. We’ll be here. Don’t worry about what will happen to her.”
Ruby came out of the bathroom carrying Hope in her arms. She stopped by the table and met my gaze. “Uncle Asa, do you mind taking Hope down to visit the animals for a while?”
He jumped up from his seat and reached for Hope. “Don’t mind a’tall. Come on, honey.”
Hope scrambled into Asa’s arms. “Can I pet the chickens?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Asa said, pushing the front door open.
Ruby watched them through the window for a moment before turning to me. “Can we take a walk?”
“Sure.” I went to the front door and held it open for her. We strolled in silence for a while over to the path that led down to the stream. All around us, the crickets and birds chirped away, as if urging us on.
“So, do you want to go first or should I?” I asked.
She took my hand and leaned her head against my arm. “I just don’t know what to think. I was so certain about what I needed to do until today. It’s not just my own life that’s affected by our decision. I mean, I knew that already, but I thought…I thought the worst thing that could happen would be for me to go to prison, and you and Hope would go on without me. I never imagined she might have to live without us both.”
I stopped walking and pulled her against me. “She doesn’t have to live without either one of us. You heard what Mr. Pierce said. Your conviction’s already been overturned. You’re not a convicted criminal. If we disappear, we can still raise Hope together.”
“And what would her life be like?” She stepped back and looked up at me with tears threatening the corners of her eyes. “Being here these past few days, seeing how happy she is, and how close you are to being happy too, has shown me what’s possible for us. This is home. I feel it. Don’t you?”
I realized we were almost right back where we were nine years ago, the night before she testified. Here we were, standing on the same path, having nearly the same discussion. Run away, or stay and fight? And once again, my instincts told me to run. But look what had come of that. I didn
’t want to make the same mistakes again.
“Yes, there is something special about this place,” I said. “But home, for me, is with you and Hope. Both of you. No matter where that is.”
Her mouth tipped into a half-hearted grin. “Even at the Sawyers’ house?”
“Even at the Sawyers’ house.”
She turned and paced a bit, something I’d rarely seen her do. Hands on her hips, she looked back toward the farm with a furrowed brow. Was she wavering? Was it possible she’d agree to leave and forget about turning herself in?
“Look,” I said, “I don’t want to go on the run again any more than you do. But how is peace possible with what’s hanging over our heads?”
She stopped pacing and smoothed her hands through her hair. “We just have to keep our eyes on the Lord. We’re not doing that right now. We’re looking at the problem, not the Savior. God is faithful. If we keep our eyes on Him, listen to His still, small voice, and follow where He leads, then the destination will be joy and peace, no matter what the circumstances look like.”
“You’re doing it again.”
She tilted her head. “Doing what?”
I stepped over to her and slid my hands around her waist. “Speaking that foreign language of yours. You have to speak Human to me, love.”
She put her hand on my face, looking into my eyes with so much love it actually hurt. “I can’t be the Holy Spirit for you. God has placed you here in this moment, as my husband and friend, to lead our family. Take your eyes off me. Take your eyes off Hope. And put them on Jesus. Focus on Him, on getting your path straight to Him. And Hope and I will follow you.”
A wave of emotions swelled up inside me, and I thought my knees might buckle. “I don’t know how. I’ve tried. And I’ve failed so many times already. I can’t bear to let you down again.”
“That’s what I’m talking about, right there. You’re still looking at me. Close your eyes.”
I closed my eyes, dropping my head down until my forehead rested on hers.
“Clear your mind,” she continued. “Shut out every thought, even my voice. Even my presence. Feel God inside of you. Dig down deep into your heart. The pain that’s there. The fear, the doubt, the regret. All of it. Can you feel it?”
I nodded, because my throat felt like it was sealed shut. I thought of every failure haunting me, the images coming to mind from the depths of my soul. I saw Ruby healing Hannah, and the doubt that had flooded me that day. I saw Ruby looking into my eyes and telling me she loved me, and I’d turned her away. I saw her kneeling in front of me in her jail cell…Don’t lose your faith for me.
Ruby…sinking away from me in Cold Spring.
Ruby…sick and wasting away on Bataan.
Henry…
Oh, God. Henry…
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Matthew
March, 1943
Luzon Province, Philippines
Japanese patrols were everywhere and the people of the small barrio we’d settled in for a short rest clearly didn’t want us there. Many had argued in heated Tagalog with their chief. Several had left. Diego translated the conflict for me, and I promised the chief we would be gone after a few hours of sleep.
But I couldn’t rest.
I leaned against the bamboo wall, unable to even close my eyes. Henry and Diego lay on the floor in the hut with me, but from the shifting of their bodies, I suspected they weren’t asleep either. Ever since we’d left that girl tied to the tree two days before, I’d been filled with an urgent desire to get as far away as possible. But with the increasing threat of Japanese patrols, we’d been traveling only at night. I’d never been able to sleep well during the day. Too hot, too bright. Too much to think about.
Since I couldn’t sleep, I tried to pray. Lord, I pray I did the right thing. Give us Your protection. Confuse the enemy. If she did report us, I pray You’ll lead them in the wrong direction. Give me wisdom, and the strength to do what’s right.
The rat-a-tat of machine gun fire startled me from my prayer. I jumped up with Henry and Diego, seizing my pistol from beside me. Diego cracked the door open to look outside. From behind him, I could see Filipinos rushing across the barrio—men, women, children—running for their lives.
“Diego, tell our men to stay in their huts and hide the best they can.”
He sprinted to the two nearest huts where the rest of the men were sleeping. I closed the door and turned to Henry beside me. “Do a quick recon and see if there’s an escape route. Hurry.”
Henry darted out of the door, heading the opposite direction to Diego. I closed the door and paced, thinking of my prayer. This wasn’t the answer I’d had in mind. Diego returned, followed by Harris.
“Japanese patrol,” Diego said. “About twenty men. Coming this way. Filipinos are trying to leave.”
“We should go too,” Harris said.
“I just sent Henry to scout the route.” I cracked the door again, peering into the jungle. I couldn’t see anything yet. But I also knew that by the time I could see anything, it would be too late. Where was Henry?
“There’s no time,” Harris said. “We have to go now.”
I paced again. Diego watched me, unmoving. I had to decide whether to make a run for it, or stay and hide. It may not even matter. Either way, we might have to fight our way out.
“Major!” Harris shouted. “We need to move out.”
“Not until I know which way they’re coming from!” I said. “I won’t march us right into their hands!”
I went to the door again and cracked it open, praying I’d see Henry coming back. Instead, I watched in horror as the Japs jogged into formation in a circle around the barrio. Kojima marched into the clearing in the center, a small squad behind him. With a sick sensation in my stomach, I watched as the girl I’d left tied up in the jungle came from the back of the squad and spoke to Kojima. She pointed to various huts, including ours.
Harris, peering through a crack in the bamboo wall, cursed and turned away in disgust. “What did I tell you? You should’ve killed her when you had the chance.”
I closed the door again. It was too late to escape undetected. Maybe we could hide, like we’d done before. But the people in this barrio didn’t seem nearly as willing to protect us. I had no time.
“All right, listen. We lay low as long as possible. If the Filipinos turn us over, we open fire and scatter. Whatever you do, do not surrender. We fire every last bullet we have and keep fighting until we die if necessary. But hopefully, God willing, it won’t come to that.”
I went to the crack in the bamboo Harris had spied through a moment before. Kojima was barking orders about turning in the Americans. This time he was promising reward rather than threatening death. We were done for.
The people left in the barrio huddled in their huts while Kojima kept on talking. “Japan is your friend. Japan will honor you for loyalty. Show us Americans, and all Filipino can leave. No punishment. All Filipino walk away.”
A nervous family inched their way out of their hut. Three of the men from Kojima’s squad ran over to them and ushered them out of the hut. Then they went inside as the family scurried away.
“See?” Kojima yelled. “Filipino can go free. If stay, you will die with Americans.”
I backed away from the wall, my heart pounding. We were going to die here. This was it. And it was all my fault. I couldn’t kill a spy simply because she was a girl. And my weakness was going to kill us all.
I met Diego’s gaze. “Get over here behind the door. When they come in, you ambush them from the left. I’ll take them from the right. Harris, you hit them with everything you got from the far wall.”
Harris pulled the few pieces of bamboo furniture in the hut toward the back wall, piling them into a barrier. Bamboo wouldn’t provide much protection, but every second he had to fire would count.
I set up on the opposite side of the door from Diego. “Are you ready?”
“Sí, Major.”
Harris checked his sub-machine gun and ducked behind the barrier. “Ready.”
I peered through the crack. The Filipinos were filing out of the barrio. When the last of them had fled, a thick, dreadful silence followed. The only good thing to come of this, was that maybe…maybe…Henry had escaped.
Kojima turned in a circle. “Major Doyle! You surrounded all side! Dis time, you cannot escape. Come out. Your men will be spared.”
“That’s a lie,” Harris muttered. “You go out there, and we’re all dead.”
“I stay in here, and we’re all dead,” I said.
“Yes, but we take as many of them with us as we can.”
Kojima had no patience to wait for me to decide. “I see you are coward, Major Doyle! You will die coward!”
Three of Kojima’s men ran forward with torches, lighting the palm roofs of the huts nearest them on fire. He was going to burn us out. Oh Lord, where are you? What do I do? Give us your protection!
The men walked from hut to hut, lighting them on fire. We were only five huts away. Jesus, save us!
Then I heard a shout. “I’m here! Stop!”
I looked out of the crack again. Kojima turned as an American soldier walked out of a row of huts, his hands in the air. My heart nearly stopped. It was Henry.
“I’m Major Doyle,” he called. “I’m turning myself over. Let the others in the village go.”
Kojima pointed his swagger stick at Henry. “Bring him here!”
Abiding Hope: A Novel: Healing Ruby Book 4 Page 29