Roy hurried to the bedroom window but it looked out over the woods and there wasn't anything to see. He opened the bedroom door and headed out into the hall.
Jenny was standing in the cabin doorway looking frantically out over the beach and the lake beyond. She was shaking her head. It appeared she didn't have a good sight of Isabelle, either.
“Where is she?” he asked frantically as he went for the only weapon he had within reach, his Swiss army knife.
“Jen, where is she?!”
“I don't see her.”
Jenny turned to him frightened, her eyes filled with tears.
“I don't see her, Roy.”
“Move aside.”
He pushed past her and ran onto the deck as another piercing scream filled the air. He couldn't waste any more time. He raced down the steps two at a time and onto the beach. His knife was out, ready for anything.
The war fresh on his mind, his instincts told him that danger could be lurking around any corner. Isabelle was all that mattered right now, PTSD or not. He could face any danger, as long as she was okay.
He rushed to the lake, but he couldn't see her out in the water. The dog was nowhere in sight, so he figured it had still to be with the child.
Roy circled around and headed for the woods. Maybe she had gone in a little too far and had lost her way. He was moving closer toward the tree line when he caught sight of her.
She had been playing near the woods, judging by the collection of pine cones at her feet. Her back was turned to him, her blue eyes wide and fixed on the tall figure moving toward her. The approaching figure had a handgun in one hand, although he didn't have it aimed at her. Isabelle was terrified.
Roy hurtled toward them at full speed. It was Chief Cartright. It had to be.
He yelled out to Isabelle that he was coming. He wanted her to know that she wasn't alone, that he was coming to rescue her.
Roy felt the sudden pain of a bullet ripping his shoulder. The jolt of the impact halted him in his tracks.
He brought a hand to the wound to slow the bleeding, but he could already feel the blood oozing through the cracks of his fingers.
He groaned in pain as he willed his legs to keep going. He had to get to Isabelle before the man could do her harm.
There was still a lot of ground to close between them. Isabelle had been backing up and was almost to the water's edge. Chief Cartright was just beyond her at the edge of the woods and dressed entirely in black. Roy was now certain it had been Cartright who he was chasing through the woods the night he went to the house.
Roy couldn't let the police chief get to Isabelle before he did.
“Cartright, stop this now,” he ordered loudly, his voice echoing across the beach.
Roy pushed on. His body threatened to give out beneath him as the pain consumed him. His shirt was warm and soaked with blood. He was beginning to feel woozy.
“Cartright, stop this madness!”
Roy’s face was dripping with sweat. He struggled to keep his eyes fixed on the police chief, but his vision was growing foggy. Cartright raised his gun a second time.
He heard Isabelle scream again, and the splash of water as she fell back into the lake. Everything else seemed to happen in a flash. He heard the angry bark of a dog, and then the crack of a pistol being fired. There were footsteps pounding down from the beach toward them. Two sets, if he wasn't mistaken. Jenny was the only one at the cabin. Who could be with her?.
Roy dropped to his knees as his legs gave way. No longer possessing the strength to hold himself up, he rolled onto his back in pain. Jenny's face hovered over him in a blur as he lay there dazed and exhausted. Something pressed against his wound. He yelled out in agony and squirmed until they retreated.
The sound of another shot a short distance away made him jump. He felt sure Isabelle was gone. You let her down, he told himself. You were supposed to keep her safe from harm, and you failed.
“Roy? Roy?”
It had to be Jenny, he decided as he felt hands pressing down on his chest. Another face appeared above his head and then a third, furrier one.
“Roy? Are you awake?” Isabelle was looking down at him, her face struck with worry. Strands of blonde curls dangled over his face, tickling his nose. He was so relieved to see her there. He’d thought she was shot. He wished he had the strength to embrace her.
“Roy, wake up!”
“I’m awake,” he murmured.
Someone pressed down on his wound again, and he cried out for mercy from the pain.
“I have to keep pressure on it so you don’t bleed out,” Jenny said, her voice firm. “I’m not going to let you die on me, Roy Peters.”
“How is he?” a male voice called from somewhere in the distance.
A figure approached, and a male face came into view.
“Good to see you, Roy. I've already called an ambulance, and they’re on their way now. You're going to be just fine.”
“What…,” Roy fumbled for words. The pain in his shoulder was relentless. His body felt numb, and his head was pounding.
“Save your strength,” Jenny whispered. “Help is on the way.”
“Cart...right,” he moaned. “What-”
“Dead, I'm afraid,” the male told him. “He turned the gun on the little girl, and I had to act fast. I had to take him down before he took the shot.”
“It's a good thing Ben came by when he did. He pushed back his interview with Lawrence so he could see you first,” Jenny explained. “A stroke of luck if ever there was one. It's a sure sign you’re going to be just fine, Roy.”
“Just fine,” Roy murmured.
His head felt muddled. His mouth was dry. He closed his eyes just to take the pressure off his head.
“Just fine,” he repeated as he let himself sink away into the black.
Chapter 32
Jenny had asked Ben if she could be the one to tell her brother he was free to go. They had only just met and already she owed him so much. He had saved not only Roy and Isabelle, but Joey too.
Jenny shuttered to think what would have happened if she’d had to come up against Chief Cartright by herself. Thank goodness, Ben arrived when he did.
The police station was quiet when she arrived. The officers who had been working under Chief Cartright had been ordered to give detailed interviews about their involvement. From what Ben had told her back at the cabin, there was going to be a complete change of leadership in the department.
Regarding Lawrence, Ben had agreed not to press any charges. Lawrence was over the moon when Ben stopped in at the liquor store to tell him personally that he would remain a free man.
Ben now had a very expensive bottle of Scottish whiskey stored in the trunk of his car. As much as he protested that a gift wasn't necessary and that he was just doing his job, Lawrence refused to let him leave the shop without it.
Jenny parked her car in the lot. The station seemed less intimidating as the automatic doors swished open ahead of her. The desk clerk was deep in discussion with Ben on the far side of the lobby, so she hung back until their talk appeared to be finished.
When it was time to go through to see Joey, Ben motioned for her to follow him up the hall.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, a smile unfurling on his lips. “We could leave him in there another day or two. Make him sweat.”
“Very funny.”
Jenny waited nervously as Ben unlocked the holding cell door and led the way inside.
Joey stood up from his bunk at the sight of his visitors. He’d been expecting his transfer that day and was already on alert. He looked concerned when he saw Ben walking alongside her. It was clear to Jenny that her brother recognized his superior.
“Police Commissioner Gatrall.”
Joey extended his hand through the bars.
“I didn't expect to see you here. No one told me you were coming, he said as Ben shook his hand warmly”
“I didn't expect to be in Om
brea today, Officer Dale, but your sister was rather insistent I come take a look at your case.”
Jenny couldn't help but smile at his reaction when Joey glanced her way in surprise.
“Well, thank you, sir. It means a lot to me that you would even consider coming by.”
“You’re getting evicted, Dale.” Ben raised an eyebrow, “unless you’d prefer to stay.”
“No, sir,” Joey shook his head quickly, “not a bit.”
He waited with anticipation as Ben found the key on the chain and unlocked the sliding, metal door of his cell. Joey almost tripped in his rush to be free. He shook Ben's hand quickly again before he brought Jenny in for a long, strong hug.
“I can’t believe you did it.” he cried into her hair. “You got me out, Jen!”
“We don't like to keep innocent men in jail any longer than we have to,” Ben told him firmly. “The public frowns upon it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few more interviews to conduct. Officer Dale,” he said, offering his hand to the younger officer one last time, “on behalf of the Ombrea Police Department, I apologize for the way you've been treated. You are now free to go.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Joey was ecstatic.
“Thank you so much for all you've done for me.”
“Thank your sister and Roy Peters. They were the ones who didn’t give up on you. You’ve got a good family there, son.”
“Yes, I do, sir,” Joey said proudly. “I really do.”
* * *
Roy didn’t think he had any friends in town. That was until he got shot.
His hospital nightstand was littered with gifts and well wishes sent to him from various folks around town. Most of them he barely knew, let alone had a friendship with. Still, everyone wanted to wish him a speedy recovery.
Even Isabelle had jumped on the bandwagon. He kept his vase of colorful wildflowers from the Dale property right beside his bed so he could see them all the time.
The last time he had seen Jenny was after he had come out of surgery.
After passing out on the sand, there was little he actually remembered about the incident. He must have lost a lot of blood.
Jenny and Isabelle had been allowed to come in while he regained consciousness from the anesthesia. Their faces were as blurry as they were when he was still lying out there at the cabin, but it was comforting to know they had stayed with him.
Jenny told him that when Chief Cartright had gone to deliver the shot that would most likely have killed him, the dog had rushed up and knocked the chief back. Chief Cartright had fumbled, but remained standing, choosing to point his weapon at the child instead. That was when Ben had stepped in and delivered the shot that left Chief Cartright dead in the sand.
Roy was glad it was all finally over. He hadn't expected it to end this way. He had thought that the police commissioner would arrest Chief Cartright and he would stand trial for his crimes. Joey would be free, and Isabelle would finally be reunited with her father. Jenny would stay with him at his cabin, and they would all live happily ever after. It seemed a pretty good ending in his eyes.
Chapter 33
As much as she wanted to, Jenny couldn't visit Roy for another hour due to hospital regulations.
Tired of his sister impatiently pacing the cabin, Joey had pulled her outside to the beach. Together, they had moved the chairs from the deck down onto the sand so they could enjoy the warm weather while it was still available. Before long summer would come to a close and fall would quickly set in its place.
Jenny couldn't imagine how beautiful the cabin must look in fall colors. She couldn't wait to see it, but that was what she needed to talk to Roy about.
She watched as Joey flopped easily into his chair. He looked a thousand times better than he had done when he had been in that dingy jail cell. He was cleaner and now, thankfully, well fed for a change. He had taken an old pair of clippers from Roy's bathroom to his hair and trimmed it so it was shorter than normal. The look suited him more than his longer hair ever had.
Jenny's mind couldn't help but slip back to the events of yesterday morning. It had been a horrible event that thankfully had come to a close rather quickly. Chief Cartright would no longer be causing any more damage in this town. Yet, there were some aspects of it that she found she couldn't quite wrap her head around.
“I keep thinking, why didn't he just wait until the commissioner wanted to speak to him? He could have tried to sway him to his case,” Jenny asked. “He could have called us liars, or at least prepared some kind of defense. Instead, he just made himself look even guiltier by coming after us.”
“He wasn't in his right mind. You've got to remember that,” Joey reminded her softly. “He was a smart criminal, but he was still a man somewhere deep underneath. He knew you were onto him when Roy discovered that badge at the house. He must have been monitoring the holding cell feed and determined you knew it was him for sure. That was why he acted. You were going to ruin him, and he wanted to ruin you first.”
“But it doesn't make much sense,” Jenny protested.
“Jen, he was a twisted individual. Can't you just be relieved that he got what was coming to him all along?” Joey closed his eyes as he leaned back into the deck chair. “He's finally been stopped.”
Jenny nodded her head. She watched as the summer breeze played across her younger brother's short hair. He didn't look like she remembered, but he hadn’t in the jail cell either. The boy she remembered had been scrawny and awkward. His shoulders had always been focused in as if he expected a fight around every corner.
The young man sat before her now was relaxed and calm. His face had aged, she noticed. There were lines around his eyes and a small scar on his cheek that she couldn't remember him ever receiving when they had been kids.
She felt a small churning of guilt at the very idea that she didn't really know him anymore. Over the course of the past seven years, she hadn't wanted anything to do with him. He had respected that and stayed away. The next few years, they had led completely individual lives with neither of them making the other aware of even one aspect of it.
It had been Chloe who sat in the middle of the siblings. She had complained about Joey on the odd occasion, and always ready to knock her brother for his actions, Jenny had been more than happy to listen to her vent. When it came to anything serious or important with regard to Joey, she realized that Chloe hadn't said a word.
She hadn't told her, for example, about the time Joey had received a service medal for quick thinking at a car accident up on the highway. Jenny had seen the plaque mounted on the wall of the hallway in the Dale house.
Chloe hadn't told her about the time Joey had helped sew Isabelle's lion costume together for her kindergarten play. Jenny had just found a photo of Joey asleep at the sewing machine tucked away in the spare room, Isabelle trying on the lion's awkwardly shaped head while he slept.
Joey's life had been a complete mystery to her. She knew what she had been expecting, more doom and gloom, but in reality, it had been a lot different. Joey had grown into a fine, young man and one she was proud to call her brother.
“Do you miss her?”
She didn't know how she had found the courage to ask, but she realized the question had been at the back of her mind for some time. Joey and Chloe had never had the perfect marriage. In fact, they had really only married to give Isabelle two stable parents. Yet throughout all the struggles, they had never truly let each other go. Chloe had cheated, with Chief Cartright of all people, but she hadn't entirely left Joey, either.
Joey opened one eye as he looked across at her.
“Did you really just ask me that?”
“I know. It was wrong of me.”
“Damn intrusive, too, I might add.”
“Horribly intrusive.”
He smiled gently. “It's alright, Jen. I do miss her. How could I not? She was the love of my life.” He sat forward and rested his elbows on his legs to look at her better. “Do
you?”
“Miss Chloe?” She watched as he nodded. “Of course, she was my best friend.”
“I guess that is something we finally have in common then.”
He was beaming as he sat back in his deck chair again. It seemed as if Joey Dale was taking his freedom rather well.
“There’s another thing we have in common,” Jenny reminded him. She stretched out her feet until she could poke him with her big toe. He nudged her away good-naturedly.
“What's that, parents?”
“We both happen to love that little girl over there.”
She looked over. Isabelle was perched on the water's edge, her blue eyes intently peering down in the water as she looked for any flat and shiny pebbles she could use for skipping. The dog, never too far away from her side if he could help it, was sat close beside her. He just watched her, waiting for the moment he could chase the pebble out into the water and try to snap it up.
“That is true.” He followed her gaze to the pair. “That dog isn't returnable, is it?”
“Where are you going to return him to? The woods? He was a stray.”
“So what you’re saying is my daughter is basically a tamer of wild animals, like the kid out of the Jungle Book?”
“Yes,” Jenny nudged him with her toe again, “except she's the West Virginia version.”
* * *
Roy couldn't sleep.
He kept a close eye on the hospital clock on the wall, watching as the minutes ticked away. Hospital rules at the small, Ombrea hospital dictated only two hours a day be allotted for visitors. Roy was absolutely fine with that as long as those two hours hurried up and actually got here
He knew Jenny would come for visiting hours. In fact, he couldn't wait for her to get here and see him. She always seemed to find a way to make him feel better, and with the way his shoulder was throbbing, he needed a little of her charm.
“Hey, stranger,” she muttered softly as she finally appeared through the hospital room door. Her easy smile made him feel much better already. “How are you feeling today?”
He winced as he tried to sit up a little higher. “I feel like I maybe got shot yesterday.”
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