I know it will not bring your friend back, but I'm truly sorry and wish it had never happened.
Inspector Charles
Chapter 31
"Another nice guy who got caught in a web," Detective Donna says, "and became tangled deeper and deeper until the web killed him. It's very sad. Who knows what effect the death of his niece had two years ago? Have a good flight home. I'll make sure your names are off the list at the airport."
With those words, the Detective leaves. We begin to gather our things. Nice guy? I definitely don't think so. Nice guys don't cover up an accidental death, no matter what excuse they come up with. Or was it accidental? We'll never know the mental state of Inspector Charles when he encountered Sue while holding the knife. We still have three hours before our departure, but we don't want to spend any more time on Paul's Island.
We decide to take our suitcases with us since they aren't too large. We have to return Gary's boat, and we want to look around the Main Island one last time and say our goodbyes.
Gary is there when we return the boat, and we thank him for the use of it. We pay our bill, but he only charges us half the amount.
He says, "I'm sorry your stay wasn't pleasant. Please come back sometime. I'd love to see all of you again."
We smile and thank him for the reduction on our bill. On our way out, we notice Henry working on his barge. We wave to him. He waves back and motions for us to come over. He looks sober and has a big grin on his face, not the usual snicker.
He says, "Being in that cell really shook me. I honestly didn't know if I'd murdered your friend or not, I was so muddled in my head with the drink. I'm never taking another one. This is the first day of my new life. Three months ago I met a neat lady. We hit it off pretty good, except for my drinking. She said she'd be praying for me, and if I quit drinking for a year she'd marry me. I told her that I'd stop drinking, and that one year after I stopped we'd get married.
"Of course I didn't stop, and I almost thought she was going to leave me after I was arrested, but thanks to all of you my life will no longer be boring now I have the love of a good woman. Remember I told you when you arrived that soon my life wasn't going to be boring? Thanks a lot for helping to save my life in more ways than one."
We shake hands. Kat gives him a hug and whispers in his ear, "I'll also be praying for you."
As we leave, Paul hollers back, "Don't forget to invite us to the wedding!"
We all give Paul a funny look. Returning here for any reason isn't something we could possibly look forward to.
As we pass by Rachel's Restaurant, Rachel sees us and comes out to say goodbye. She invites us in for coffee, but we decline as we're running short of time.
She says, "Please come back to visit us again. It's really a great place for a restful vacation, and here on the Main Island we have beautiful hotels and great beaches. I know it'll be difficult, but perhaps in a few years the hurtful memories won't be so bad. Your friend Sue wouldn't want that. Besides, she's probably looking down at all of you right now and smiling."
Kat and I look at each other and Kat says out loud, "One thing we do know, Rachel. She's with the Lord."
We say our goodbyes and thank Rachel for her hospitality. She says, "I know the whole town wants to thank you for what you did for Henry. Everyone really likes him."
Heading for the airport, we wave to Rachel as she stands in the restaurant doorway.
The terminal isn't busy, since ours is the last flight off the island today. Kat and I seem to be holding hands an awful lot lately. I realize we're doing it again while we process our tickets. We don't have any trouble with the tickets; the computer must be giving us the okay to leave. Kat keeps her emotions under control as she tells check-in that Sue won't be with us.
It's time to board. I feel we're getting rather melancholy. Eight of us arrived, but only seven of us are leaving. Paul will be sitting by himself, because we selected our seats when we made the reservations at the beginning of our trip. Now we know why he and Sue sat together coming over. They had much planning to do: engagement party, wedding, and so on. Kat and I take our seats. She sits at the window while I have the aisle seat. It's a small plane, two rows of two seats across.
We buckle our seat belts. With my hand on the arm rest, I lie back with my eyes closed. Feeling Kat's hand cover the top of mine, I turn my hand over and our fingers intertwine. We are silent for a minute or two. I turn and look at her about the same time that she looks at me, saying, "After we get home, Kit, there's a lot we have to talk about."
It's a look of deep emotion that I've never seen from her before. I say, "Yes, we do."
As the plane banks over Paul's Island, with the "castle" in sharp silhouette against the setting sun, it's really very beautiful. Kat says, "We lost a good friend down there. We need to pray a lot for Paul. He not only lost a friend, he's lost his future wife and child."
I notice tears forming in Kat's eyes. Letting go of her hand, I put my arm around her. She snuggles closer, resting her head on my shoulder. I'm not sure what Kat is thinking, but I'm hoping and praying that our relationship is moving on to another level.
At the beginning of this adventure I thought there was no romance between Kat and me, that we were just great friends. And we are, but now, I must confess, a romance between us is beginning. And it feels so good. I guess it started long before this, but I was too slow to see it. Anyway, what better way to start a marriage than by first being the best of friends?
Epilogue
Four Years Later
Well, four years have gone by. Kat and I are heading to Harvard for a graduation ceremony – Paul and Erica's.
Erica decided not to teach at the school where she and Sue had planned on going. At that time she said she couldn't handle it. Since both she and Paul loved Sue, they thought they'd stay together for a little while. As the Lord would have it, they fell in love about a year ago. They plan on getting married in two weeks, go on their honeymoon, and then return to work in a law firm together, and hope to start their own before long.
For the last two years Paul has gone to church with Erica every Sunday. She's almost sure he's a believer. Erica has written to say he's told her, "When Kat and Kit get here, I'm going to make an announcement."
Erica's convinced it's to tell us that he's accepted Christ.
Paul's parents will be at the graduation. They've told him they're very proud of him for graduating from Harvard in the top five of his class, and that they love him very much. If he'd decided not to go to Harvard but to another university instead, they told him that would have been okay with them, and they would have supported him wherever he went, and not disinherit him from their will. It seems that was never a serious threat, but Paul isn't so sure. His parents both love Erica, and are happy that soon they will be getting married. And of course they'll be at the wedding.
After a year in Mozambique, Steve and Nat came back to the U.S. But after six months, they returned to where their hearts are – in their words, "helping people." Every quarter they send a letter to their friends, sharing about their work. They always write a note to Kat and me at the bottom of the letter, something to the effect, "Don't worry about us.....God is good."
Nat is married, and from his last letter it appears that Steve has also found his "Miss Wonderful."
We're hoping they'll be at the graduation ceremony. They say, "No promises."
Nadia has disappeared off our radar. No one has heard from her since we stepped off the plane four years ago after leaving Paul's Island.
We've heard that Henry has stayed sober for these last four years. He's married and insists his life is no longer boring.
Detective Donna is now Inspector Duhowkowski. She felt that after becoming the Inspector on the Main Island, she should use a more formal name. She says, "It's taken a long time, but our office people, most of the police force, and the island residents have finally mastered saying it. I often have to break it down for the tourists: Du-how-kow-
ski. I love it, and don't know why I ever let Inspector Charles convince me to use my first name. I guess for his convenience, as he never seemed to master the pronunciation."
By now you most likely have guessed that Kat and I are married … almost three years! We had the perfect wedding at Kat's parents' home with our family, friends and a few guests attending. Paul, Erica, Steve and Nat were there.
We honeymooned for a full month on a cruise ship, starting off in Greece, then to Turkey and many small countries like Mykonos, Croatia and Malta, then to Italy, France and Spain, and ended in Portugal. In total, eleven different countries.
We had a great time, and even got involved in helping solve a murder case aboard the ship. Perhaps someday I'll tell you about it.
We then spent twelve months doing aid work with a Christian charity on a Caribbean island that had been devastated by a hurricane. Yes, another island! The experience really helped us mature and see the great needs there are in the world.
Oh yes, Kat and I have recently opened our own detective agency. We call it:
The K and K Detective Agency.
Should we ever come across a case like the one on Paul's Island, I hope we'll be able to spot the difference between fake blood and real blood!
The Prayer
If you have never said a prayer to invite Christ into your life and would like to do it now, please repeat this prayer out loud to yourself.
"Dear Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and that You died to take the punishment for all of my sins. I believe You rose from the dead just as You said You would. I now want to invite You to come into my life, to wash me clean and give me eternal life with You. Amen."
If you said this prayer, have faith that Jesus came into your life immediately, as He refuses no one.
Please tell someone who you know is a Christian what you have done, find a church and a Bible study that teaches Jesus is the way to eternal life, so God can work in you. You will be happy you did.
We also would like to hear from you.
Email: [email protected]
Always remember that Jesus really does love you.
Chuck
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