Sable Alley

by Bridget Bundy

  “No, I’m not. I’m mad at him. Jamie is in jail because of his own doing. No one told him to kill that girl. There was absolutely no excuse for it, and I refuse to let what he’s done totally break up this family.”

  “Are you sure you want me to stay?”

  “Victoria, you are my daughter. I would be broken if you leave this house for good. I would have lost everyone I love. How can I survive that? I wouldn’t be able. So, please, Victoria, don’t leave.”

  I nod, agreeing to stay. Thrilled at my decision, she lifts her arms for a hug. I stand and go to her. Mum trembles and hugs me harder than she ever has before. I love her dearly, but it hurts my heart to be this close. Disappointment resonates. Anger is seeded, but this is where Chief Aijuli teachings are realized. I’ve gone through the trials, and this is where I am. In a moment of forgiveness.

  Chapter Forty-Four.

  Sam and I enjoy the view of the River Rydal from a pier near Exeter Arena. We can hear the cheers of the crowd, and the announcer giving an exhilarating report of the event. Exeter is winning, but the excitement hasn’t reached where we are. I haven’t been in the mood for celebrating.

  Robinson’s death weighs heavy. The whole situation has left me in shock. I still see him against the beam, and that laugh, that silly, confident laugh. I know why he had that reaction. He couldn’t believe he was going to die, and he probably thought he could beat it. In his last moments, he was still himself, cocky and confident. He never saw his demise like that.

  “Did you know about Robinson and Webb?” I ask Sam.

  “I honestly had no clue.”

  “Do you think Green will tell his wife?”

  “I doubt it. She’s suffering enough.”

  “Sam, I didn’t get a chance to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Helping me with the case and not saying, ‘I told you so.’”

  “We’re partners. No thanks necessary. But why would I say something like that?”

  “Green took over my case, tried to pin the murder on the priest. She was going to get away with it. No one would have stopped her, not even the Inspector Constable. Sovereign Prosecution Service would have charged him for murder, and she would have fired me. You got it right when you said the brass would protect her.”

  “I disagree. At least, in this case.”

  Sam surprises me. He disagrees on a point he was animate about not too long ago? How wishy-washy.

  “The Inspector Constable,” he says, “probably doesn’t know about Green’s attempt to charge the priest with murder. Probably never will. She’ll scrub the arrest record, and that’ll be that. No need for protection because he wouldn’t know about it.”

  “Sam, will this job get any better?”

  “I’ve yet to find out. Remember, I’m new at this too.”

  “It’s cold out here, and I have to go. My dad wants to see me.”

  “After what he told you and what he’s done, you still want to talk to him?”

  “I do,” I reply. “I have to understand why he killed Ruby.”

  “You already get why he killed her. He said so during his confession. What you’re really trying to understand is why he took you in after what happened to your tribe. Whether he admits it or not, he had his hand in it. He was there. You’re angry about it, and you want answers.”

  “Yeah, I do, but I don’t know if I’m emotionally or mentally prepared.”

  “I guess when you talk to him, you’ll find out. Want me to go with you?”

  “No,” I answer. “I have to do this on my own. I’ll see you later. Enjoy the game.”

  “Call me, Victoria, if you need an ear. I’ve got two.”

  Chapter Forty-Five.

  Dad is brought into a visiting room where I sit at a table. The walls are dark gray with a single caged light hanging from the center of the ceiling. A metal door is the only way in or out.

  The guards unhook him and makes him sit in the chair across from me. They loom over him with batons and steely glares of distrust. He’s so out of place in this prison. Hair is greying. Wrinkles much more pronounced. Desperation twinkles in his eyes instead of the spark I’ve always known him to have. The bright yellow coveralls are too big for him, a clear beacon that he’s a killer. I’ve known him for many years. Wrapping my mind around this reality is difficult.

  “I’m glad you came to see me,” he says. “How have you been doing?”

  “I’m alright. You?”

  “I’m in a cell by myself. They only allow me to be outside for an hour once a week, and I’m by myself then too. The food is awful. I couldn’t keep anything down for the first twenty-four hours. You’re a police officer. Can you speak to someone here? Maybe, get me another thirty minutes…”

  “You’re in prison for murder,” I remind him.

  “Yeah, you’re right. So, um, how’s your mum? How is she holding up?”

  “She’s okay.”

  “When is she stopping in to see me?”

  “Next month on visiting day.”

  “Great. Good. I can’t wait to see her.” He’s at a loss for words. I’m not going to give him an easy springboard to start. Finally, he thinks of something. “You’re angry. You have every right to be, but what I did was for us; for you, me, and your mum. I needed that job, Victoria.”

  “Mum and I never asked you to kill anyone, and that job wasn’t worth her life.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Hunt Projects wasn’t the only place hiring. You should have applied somewhere else. You should have left her alone.”

  “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I wasn’t thinking straight. I was consumed. I knew better.”

  “Why did you hit that homeless woman at the train station? What was going through your head? I don’t understand.”

  “Victoria, I was…I was angry.”

  “Yeah, I saw that.” We’re in another silent moment, but this time I have to speak up first. “I don’t know you. I thought I did. But now, I feel like you’ve been pretending to be this stable family guy when in reality you’re not. You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You’re a predator.”

  “No, I’m not like that.”

  “Yes, you are. You haven’t apologized for anything you’ve done. You only make excuses. You slap a homeless woman for a baseball bat. You kill a college student because she got a job that you wanted. And her sister died, in a way, because of you. Do you feel bad about any of it?”

  He lowers his head.

  “I never knew you could be so cruel.”

  “I did it for…”

  “Don’t! DON’T! You did it for yourself! That’s it. That’s all. No more excuses.”

  “Okay, Victoria, calm down. You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

  I take a moment, inhaling through my nose, exhaling out of my mouth. The anger erupts easily. I can’t let it take over. I reply calmly, “We have to talk about what happened with my tribe.”

  “Yeah, about that. I was under orders to never speak of it.”

  “From who?”

  “The government and the company I worked for back then. It doesn’t look good on the Empire when innocent lives are taken under those circumstances.”

  “So why did you tell me if you had a gag order?”

  “Because I saw how worried Phoebe was when I got home, and I instantly remembered you went to see the citizen auditor. I thought he might have said something to you about what happened, and I wanted you to hear my side of the story.”

  “He questioned me because he thought the Nendis could have been members of a terrorist group. I told him that every Nendi was murdered and how you and Mum found me.”

  “Well, I made a mistake then. Not that it was totally bad. You needed to know the truth. I should have told you about my involvement when you were old enough to understand, but your mum and I didn’t want to bring up the past. You had come so far, and you were happy. We wanted to keep it that way.”


  “Were you there when the soldiers attacked my people?”

  Dad opens his mouth to answer, but then looks down at the table. “Yes, Victoria, I was there, but I wasn’t allowed to interfere. They said that if I tried to stop any soldier or got in the way, I would be shot too. It was a horrendous thing to see.”

  I can’t go on. I saw the murders and the fire. I heard the screams and the rapid fire of guns. The choking smoke. The upended earth. Ancient trees no longer touching the sky. All life gone. The mountains wept. Our ancestors wept. Going back to those memories kills my heart all over again.

  “Please, forgive me, Victoria. I never meant for the Nendis to be harmed. I never meant for you to lose your family. I did try to save them.”

  “The very day you showed up, my people were sentenced to death.” I want to say more, but we’re among questionable company. Loyalists to the Queen and the Empire are everywhere. One must always approach sensitive subjects with care.

  “But I still tried to save them.”

  “I believe you, but my forgiveness will come with time.”

  “Do you think I’m lying to you? I’m not. I promise you I’m not.”

  “That’s not it. You’ve put me in a tough spot. I look back, and I see an entire nation gunned down. I see my people and their lives amounting to nothing in the eyes of the very...” The guards and I make eye contact. They listen here. To everything. I won’t finish that statement. Too risky. “You understand what I’m trying to say.”

  “Yeah, I do. I get it. I know it’s hard.”

  “That’s right. It is. Honestly, I don’t know how to forgive, not when it comes to this. I really don’t.”

  “I understand, Victoria.”

  The guard to his right takes a step forward. It’s time for Dad to return to his cell. I nod. They make him stand and cuff him.

  “Will you come back to see me?” he asks.

  “Yes, I will.”

  “Give your mum my love.”

  I nod.

  “And, Victoria, I am sorry.”

  Those words don’t seem to hit home. They are empty and too late.

  The guards march him out, and I leave with urgency. I need fresh air. I have to see the blue sky.

  In the parking lot, I sit in the marked unit. I’m lost in the past. The smile of my mother. She was the strength of our family. My father’s bright eyes. He was a gentle soul. I miss them.

  I can’t be in the past. That’s not how one live. I make a call to Sam. He picks up right away.

  “Is the game over?”

  “About ten minutes ago. I’m on the way home.”

  “I can use a drink.”

  “Exile?”

  “I look forward to escaping the madness. I’ll see you there.”

  Epilogue.

  Finley Price was never located. The police are not looking for him.

  Jamie Kipling was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to a term of twenty years in prison.

  Detective Constable Joshua Robinson was laid to rest with honors. His wife was not told about Anna Webb’s accusations. A month later, his wife moved from Exeter on the Rydal to Yorkshire Faire City to start over.

  Detective Constable Kai Webb was found shot to death in his home by detectives performing a wellness check. He failed to answer all phone calls that morning after Anna Webb, his wife, was killed.

  Reece Pearson planned for Ruby Taylor and Erin Mitchell to have their funerals at the same time. In attendance was DC Victoria Kipling, CSO Sam Clarke, DS Maisie Green, Georgia Knight, Harrison Shaw, Molly Kahn, a few ERU students and faculty, Professor Zoe Dawson, and Professor Sonny Rose. Pastor Ashton Murray presided over the funeral service. The sisters were cremated, and their ashes were kept by Reece Pearson.