“Damien, you’re not involved in this, are you?”
“No, I’m not. And neither was Frank; I can assure you.” He took a score pad nearby and a pencil. He doodled around the edges.
“Then what are you talking about, ‘judgment call’?” Kay asked.
“I received a note at the office, a sort of encrypted crossword deal that I believe was sent to me by the person doing it. The mistake I made was that I didn’t tell anybody. When the Web site stopped after Frank died, I decided to send an encoded message in the crossword puzzle in the paper. I just wanted to get whoever was doing it to start again so Frank’s name would be cleared. Unfortunately, Captain Grayson is a crossword fanatic. He saw the clues a mile away and knew I’d put them there.”
“So? Show him the crossword that was sent to you,” Kay said. “Then he’ll know.”
Damien stared at the Monopoly board. “It’s gone.”
“Gone?” Kay asked.
“I had it in my briefcase. It’s not there anymore. That’s all I know. It makes no sense to me.” Damien finally looked up. “The good news is that I haven’t been charged with anything. They don’t really have any proof, but I’m their best lead right now.”
“That Web site has brought nothing but trouble!” Hunter suddenly yelled.
Damien said, “Calm down, Hunter. Please. We can’t afford to get hysterical about this. Besides, as much as I hated it at first, I actually think it has done some good. I hear it in the break room. People are starting to talk about the power of words. People are listening more than they’re talking.” He broke the tip of the pencil and grabbed another one out of the game box. “Our dark and dirty secret has been exposed, and maybe we’re better for it. I don’t know. Life and death are in the power of the tongue, if you give the tongue all the power, I guess.”
“Well, we’ll prove your innocence,” Kay said, her hands spread wide like a cat’s paws on the table. “We won’t stop until we do.”
“It’ll work itself out in time. I’m not really worried. I know I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t even know how to do it. Someone out there is the right person, and eventually he’ll be exposed.” Damien scribbled something on the pad of paper in front of him.
Kay leaned in. “What are you writing?”
Damien shrugged. “Just something I wrote yesterday. I planned on writing another op-ed. Seems ridiculous now, you know? I can’t say another thing about it.”
Kay turned the pad to read it. Listen to all that is said from everyone you know. Listen hard and you will have understanding beyond the words. “That’s beautiful,” she said, touching his arm.
Hunter stood, slapped his dad’s shoulder, then hugged him from behind. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. You’re going to be fine.”
Damien squeezed his hand. “Thanks, buddy. I know. It’s all good. I have my family and that’s what matters to me.” He looked at him. “You got homework?”
“Yeah.”
“Better get it done. The show must go on.”
“What exactly can get me out of homework?” Hunter groaned as he trotted upstairs.
“Baby,” Kay said, “let me get you something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry. Ate a big lunch,” Damien said, that smile emerging that was always supposed to try to put her at ease. “I think I’ll go shower, relax, maybe read.”
Kay watched him leave the room. The table was silent; then Jenna said, “I miss Frank.”
“Me too.”
“Frank was really brave. I mean, I always just saw him as Uncle Frank, but he didn’t back down from a fight. He thought Angela was in danger and he didn’t even pause. He just went right over there.”
Kay nodded. “Yeah, Frank was brave. And honest. A good guy all around.”
“He had good character.”
Kay nodded again, eyeing Jenna. She wasn’t one to normally wax so philosophical. But then again, she’d been through a lot, and that kind of pain can change a person.
Jenna looked at Kay. “I think I’m brave too.”
Kay smiled, tears brimming her eyes. She touched Jenna’s cheek. For once she didn’t pull away. “Of course you’re brave.”
“Yeah, I am. I never thought of myself that way, but I am.” She pushed her money to the center of the table. “I guess the game’s over.” She stood.
Kay stood also, embracing her.
“Dad prayed for me last night,” Jenna said as she turned toward the stairs.
“Oh?”
“That’s a good dad who will pray for his kid, right?”
“Yes.”
“I think prayer works.” She grinned, and light danced in her eyes. “See you in the morning.”
Kay gathered the Monopoly pieces and put the game back in the box. She hadn’t even talked about her day or what had happened at the jail. She knew Damien would not have approved of her going, and she would’ve heard about it for at least a few days.
Obviously he had enough on his mind.
But Kay knew she’d done the right thing. They had demonstrated strength in numbers, and as they had walked out of that jail, Jill started laughing. It was the first time she had ever heard the woman laugh. Kay knew Jill felt free, felt strong. Before they’d gotten into the car, Jill took her arm. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“You’re not alone anymore,” Kay said, hugging her. “We’re friends. I’m here to help you.”
Kay loaded the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and turned out the lights downstairs. As she climbed to the second floor, she had an overwhelming sense that everything was going to be okay.
30
Damien bristled against the cold north wind that snapped and snaked around the complex of condos. Even though his hands were shoved far into his pockets, he still couldn’t find a warm spot for them.
He leaned against his car, hoping to block some of the wind, and waited. The individual condos boasted a variety of Christmas decorations, from out-of-sync blinking Christmas lights to oddly decorated palm trees on the balconies. Even with all the lights and decorations, it didn’t feel like Christmas this year. Eight days away. Usually he’d be attending parties and buying gifts. But he couldn’t get his mind or heart wrapped around the festivities this year.
He definitely wouldn’t be hanging out in the cold, waiting for someone he had to confront in this way because the guy wouldn’t talk to him otherwise.
He heard the opening of a door and stood upright, tugging at the bottom of his coat as he watched unit 105.
Soon enough, Gavin Jenkins rounded the sidewalk, adjusting his belt and holster and everything else that hung off him. He was so distracted by it that he didn’t bother to look up.
“Gavin.”
His head snapped up. He couldn’t have hidden his shock any less had Damien been America’s Most Wanted.
“I just need to talk to you,” Damien said, holding out his hands for no apparent reason except it seemed like the appropriate thing to do in front of someone with quick access to a gun.
Judging by Gavin’s expression, if he weren’t wearing a certain badge of courage, he might’ve bolted. Damien could only guess that what kept him standing there was the uniform.
And it wasn’t for fear for his life, either. Gavin knew good and well why Damien stood there waiting for him.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Underwood?” Gavin asked, his stance and demeanor instantly changing. “You’re waiting outside my residence?”
“I didn’t want to have this discussion at the police station.”
“I imagine not. You’re not a popular guy right now.”
Damien looked away for a moment, trying to compose himself. He was no fan of Gavin Jenkins either. “I’m here to talk about Frank, but you already knew that.”
“I can’t give you any information about the case.”
“I’m not asking for that, and I don’t think you know anything anyway, being a rookie and all. They don’t tell you much, do they
?”
“I don’t think we have anything to say to each other,” Gavin said, starting to walk away.
“You’re wrong,” Damien said. “I have a lot to say to you. Namely about how you could talk to your captain and make it sound like Frank had anything to do with that Web site.”
“Look, I realize you’re upset. We’re all upset about what happened to Frank. I didn’t spin it one way or another, though. I told the captain what I had observed. The fact is, whether you like it or not, Frank was on edge. Disappearing all the time. Obsessed with this Web site. Not over his divorce. Moody. I saw it firsthand. Whatever conclusions they drew from that wasn’t up to me.”
“Yeah, he was a little rough around the edges, but you know he was a man of character.”
“I know.”
“Then why not defend him? Why let his good name be dragged through the mud?”
Gavin just stared, still trying to maintain that stupid stoic expression on his face. “It doesn’t look like it’s his name anymore,” he finally said, looking Damien in the eye.
Damien didn’t flinch. “Well, better mine than his. At least I can defend myself.” He looked down, wondering what the point was to all of this. Yeah, it felt good to confront the kid, but so what? What had that accomplished? “I just . . . he’s my friend. He was one of the finest human beings I know. He went over to his ex-wife’s apartment to try to save her life. He sensed she was in danger. That’s the kind of man he was. He would’ve done the same thing for me. For anyone in my family. And even you. Do you know what his dying words were?”
Gavin shook his head.
“‘She’s worth fighting for.’ Even as he lay there dying, he said that she was worth fighting for and always would be.”
Gavin’s expression changed. He looked curious.
“What?” Damien asked.
“He said that to me too. All the time.”
“What?”
“‘She’s worth fighting for.’ But he wasn’t talking about his ex-wife. He was talking about Marlo.”
Marlo?
Gavin stepped to the side and around Damien. “I have to get to work.”
Damien watched him climb into an oversize, manhood-feeding pickup and drive away. Just when he was about to give up on this town, Frank reminded him, even from the grave, what there was to fight for.
He turned and headed into the cold wind.
* * *
Kay stirred her coffee, watching the cream swirl through the blackness. She took her mug and walked to the living room window that faced the street. A miserable cold spell had set in. The cloudy gray sky looked heavy and low. She’d not even changed out of her pajamas yet. Her mind, wrought with distraction, was having a hard time keeping pace with the usual schedule and doing such mundane things as combing her hair.
A certain comfort enveloped her, though, as she sipped the coffee and stared into the streets of her neighborhood. She couldn’t quite identify from where it came, because so much was in disarray. But it was something in Jenna, something she saw last night and this morning too. A sense of fortitude and resolve. She held her head a little higher, stood straighter, looked adamant and determined. For weeks now, her shoulders had remained in a constant slump. But not this morning. This morning she had a gleam in her eye like nothing could stop her.
And Kay had gotten a lot off her chest. Talked to someone who could relate. Came to understand some things about herself and her past and how it had affected her all these years. How she’d mothered from a deep fear she hadn’t realized was still with her.
She had a lot to share with her family, namely Jenna. A lot of forgiveness to ask for. A lot of confessing to do.
Kay wasn’t sure how much time had passed as she leaned against the window, contemplating what life had delivered to her family. She was just about to get a refill on her coffee when a familiar blue sedan pulled into her driveway.
Jill.
At once, she panicked. She was in her pajamas, without a stitch of makeup on, and hair matted on one side of her head.
Jill opened her car door, struggling to get out with something big in her hands.
Kay started to rush upstairs but stopped. Why the vanity? Here was a woman who was at her most vulnerable state, with an adulterous husband in jail, charged with murder. What impression, exactly, was Kay worried about giving? There were no more impressions to be made. Only honesty and compassion.
She set her mug on the kitchen counter and went to the front door, opening it before Jill had even made it up the porch steps.
“Hi! My goodness, what is this?” Kay stepped outside and helped her with the box. “Come in. It’s freezing.”
“Are you sure? I was just going to leave it on the doorstep. I don’t want to bother you.”
“Don’t be silly. You’re no bother at all. You want some coffee?”
Jill came inside, her cheeks bright red from the cold. “That sounds perfect.” She slipped off her gloves and coat and followed Kay into the kitchen.
“Cream? Sugar?”
“Yes, and lots of it.” Jill smiled.
“So, how are you doing?” Kay asked, grabbing a mug from the cabinet.
Jill was quiet for a moment, her gaze moving along the lines of the kitchen. “Mike confessed.”
“What?”
“They came in this morning with some deal. I guess they have a lot of evidence proving Mike did it, so they came up with some deal that will keep them from seeking . . .” She pressed her lips together as if it was something she shouldn’t mention.
Kay put the coffee mug down and came around the kitchen island, wrapping her hands around Jill’s shoulders. “I don’t even know what to say.”
She nodded and shook her head all at once. Tears pushed onto the rims of her eyes. “He told them that he had gone to the apartment to confront this woman, Angela. Not to kill her. That he’d taken the gun to scare her. He thought she wasn’t answering the door, so he used his key to get in. He wasn’t in there long when he was startled by the police officer and shot him. Accidentally. But I don’t believe him.”
“What do you think happened?” Kay poured the cream and sugar in, sliding the mug to her.
“I think he went there to kill that woman. And I don’t think he accidentally killed anyone.” Jill took the coffee and sipped through the hotness. “But the prosecutors say that the fact that he killed a police officer will assure that he’s in jail for the rest of his life.”
Kay sipped her own coffee and watched Jill, still unsure what to say.
“I have to be okay. For Natalie’s sake.”
“How is she doing?”
“All right, I guess. We had a good talk last night about accepting what’s happening and dealing with it in a raw and real way, instead of pretending that it’s not there or that there’s anything we can do to change it. Sometimes you just have to accept the reality of your life, you know? A couple of weeks ago we were worried about things like tryouts and the new uniform colors. Now . . .” She turned suddenly and stepped into the entryway, fetching the box she’d carried in. “I wanted to give this to you.”
“What for?”
“For helping me through this. You didn’t have to get involved in this mess. But I’m so thankful you did.”
Kay pulled off the top of the box. Inside was a tall lavender candle encased within a hurricane lamp. Engraved at the bottom was the word friendship.
Jill said, “I hope I’m not being presumptuous. But I do consider you a friend.”
Kay pondered a moment how drastically her impressions of Jill had changed. And how much she’d judged this woman, even unintentionally at times. “This is beautiful, and yes, I believe with all we’ve gone through, we are now officially friends.”
Jill laughed and held up her mug. “Cheers.”
“To a coming year filled with fewer complications and more blessings.”
Jill nodded and they touched mugs. “Well, it doesn’t look like things are going to get le
ss complicated anytime soon with this town.”
“Oh?”
“Haven’t you heard? There was a new post this morning on that Web site. I haven’t read it. I’m trying to cut back.”
* * *
“You’re late,” Edgar said before Damien even reached his desk. “Busy morning?”
Damien cast a forlorn look at him and kept walking. He reached his desk and threw his coat over the back of his chair. Edgar was still on his heels.
“I wasn’t even sure if I should come in today.” Damien glared at his desk to keep from glaring at Edgar.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have.”
“So you’re convicting me before I’m tried; is that it? Besides the fact that you’ve known me since I was twenty years old and know that I’m not capable of doing something so damaging. Why aren’t you at least giving me the benefit of the doubt?”
“I did. I gave it an honest shot. I went home to Luanne, and we talked through it. I think I was more upset that you’d hidden the note from me than anything. But none of it made sense. I mean cerebrally, yes, I could see where your overzealous nature could lend itself to something like this. You’re a passionate man, especially when it comes to our fine town. You’re a person who loves words of all sorts. So connecting those dots was not difficult. But you have to take it a step further. You have to look at the man, his character, and I did that. I had to consider your ineptness at the computer. I even considered you were telling the truth about the missing note.”
“But?”
“But then you go and do something stupid. Something unbelievably stupid. It’s so stupid that I honestly can’t imagine what you were thinking. You must think we’re a bunch of morons around here.”
Damien grabbed the back of his neck, rubbing it fiercely as he tried to ward off a headache crawling up the back of his skull. “Okay, yeah, maybe it wasn’t that smart, but I couldn’t let it rest.”
“So you’re saying you did it?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t trying to hide or sneak around. But I had something to say. And I don’t believe in hiding out and keeping my mouth shut, at least in most instances. So I went and confronted the jerk.”
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