So Dark the Night

by Margaret Daley

  Coughing, the acrid scent choking her, she covered her mouth and nose with not only the shirt but her hand, too, and followed right behind Colin. Low running, he zigzagged through the maze of flames and smoke. The stench bled through the cotton, prodding her forward faster. The heat blasted her from all sides.

  Colin stopped. Before them, the blaze consumed the front door.

  Blocked. Trapped.

  Quickly he altered his path and headed toward a large window. Near it, he took a chair and threw it at the glass. It shattered, leaving a hole that looked as if it were a gaping mouth with fangs. The rush of oxygen into the room fed the fire, which suddenly expanded with a new energy. He pulled her toward the opening, knocked some more of the glass out with his elbow, then shoved her through.

  A jagged edge cut into her leg, but she blocked the pain and leaped to freedom. Colin barreled out the window a few seconds behind her. Dragging in deep gulps of fresh air in between coughs, Emma staggered a safe distance from the blaze.

  With Colin next to her, she silently watched as her family cabin burned, flames shooting up into the sky. She took the shirt she’d used to cover her face and pressed it into the bleeding gash on her leg. Numb with fatigue and shock, she was beyond pain as she continued to see a part of her childhood destroyed.

  Colin hurried to his SUV and retrieved his cell phone from the front. He called the fire department then J.T.’s office. Listening to him explain what had happened to one of the deputies, Emma knew the cabin would be gone before anyone came.

  Colin made his way back to her and wound his arm around her. “Okay?”

  “It’s gone now…any evidence.” Defeat made her drop her head and turn toward Colin.

  He embraced her. “Help’s on the way.”

  The wail of the sirens penetrated her hopelessness. Drawing on his comfort, she heard the steady beat of his heart and tried to bolster her demoralized spirit.

  A thought flashed into her mind. She raised her head and scanned the area. “What if the person who set the fire is still here watching us?”

  Colin looked around while the fire truck and deputy sheriff’s car came down the road. He drew her closer, his body almost surrounding hers. “The cavalry’s here.”

  Emma stared at the cabin, now almost completely gone. “For once, too late.”

  The deputy sheriff walked away from Emma and Colin after getting their statements. With her arms crossed over her chest, Emma watched the firefighters extinguish the blaze, smoke billowing into the sky, darkening the sun. Turning from the smoldering ruins, she noticed several deputies searching the woods around the cabin. She was sure whoever had set the fire was long gone.

  A large oak caught her attention. She remembered climbing it one summer and getting stuck up in one of the top branches. Derek had rescued her. The memory brought tears to her eyes, and she closed them for a few seconds.

  Not far from the oak stood a thicket of honeysuckle. The time she and Derek had played hide-and-seek and she’d sought refuge in there came unbidden into her thoughts. Scene after scene played across her mind—Derek reading a book to her, teaching her to catch a baseball, hiding their secret stash when she was seven in the well—

  Emma straightened and turned around until she saw the old well behind the cabin. That’s it!

  She raced for the well, hoping she was right, hoping whatever Roy and Manny had been after was hidden in there, that it was still there, safe and intact, not lost to them forever.

  “Emma,” Colin called out to her.

  She kept running, needing to find what had been the reason her brother had been killed.

  “Emma.” His voice sounded nearer.

  She stopped at the well and glanced toward Colin a few feet from her. “If Derek hid anything at the cabin, it’s in here. One summer it was our secret hiding place.”

  Colin leaned over. “Down in the water at the bottom?”

  “No.” She walked around until she found a chip in a red brick. She counted down two and inched a brick out. Sticking her hand into the hole, she pulled out a packet, wrapped in plastic for protection. She felt as if she had found a national treasure, priceless and irreplaceable.

  With quivering fingers, she tore the plastic away and opened the packet. She read what her brother had written, tears flooding her cheeks as she finally realized who was behind Derek’s murder and why.

  THIRTEEN

  “Emma, what is it?” Colin’s concerned voice pierced through the pain of betrayal.

  “Brandon McDonel had Derek killed. Read for yourself.” Her hands shaking, she thrust the packet at Colin while her tears slipped down her face.

  Colin read the paper, then looked up at her. “We can’t be sure. This is your brother’s account of a hit-and-run accident that happened their senior year in college. Brandon was driving and they both had been drinking. The man was killed and the case never solved. That doesn’t mean he had Derek murdered.”

  “You see where Derek was reassessing his life, having second thoughts about remaining quiet, concerned with the lengths Brandon would go to. Maybe he was thinking of coming forward.”

  “But he would be in trouble, too, even though he wasn’t the driver. He witnessed a crime and helped cover it up.” Colin massaged the back of his neck, doubt on his face. “I just don’t know if that would be reason enough to send hired killers after your brother.”

  “Brandon’s a respected banker in New York, moving up rapidly at his bank. He was recently made vice president, with talk of him moving into the presidency when the present one retired in two years. He had every reason to make sure Derek didn’t reveal what happened in college. He had a lot more to lose than Derek. He was the driver.” Emma snapped her fingers. “That must be the hit-and-run that Derek had a clipping of in his apartment.”

  “But why now, after all these years? I don’t even know if anything could be done with the statute of limitations. We’d need to ask J.T.”

  Emma stared off into the woods, remembering her flight through them with Roy and Manny chasing her. “I don’t know. I do know that when Brandon and I started dating, Derek wasn’t happy. That confused me because I always thought of them as good friends, even though they didn’t see each other much after college. They roomed together for four years and were very close. That’s how I knew Brandon—through my brother.”

  She shook her head. “Right after Derek came to New York, Brandon backed off and we stopped dating. All of a sudden Brandon had decided he wasn’t ready for marriage. I didn’t do anything because I wasn’t ready, either.” Emma tilted her head to the side. “Do you think Derek and Brandon had a confrontation over me?” The very thought that she might be part of the reason her brother had been murdered disturbed her more than the recent attempt on her life.

  She pivoted away from Colin, another thought inundating her. She remembered discussing Brandon’s proposal with Derek right before he suddenly came to New York. She had been torn between wanting to accept Brandon and not because she was tired of always being alone. She and Brandon had gotten along well, enjoyed a lot of the same things. Although Brandon had come from a poor family, he had become very successful. She had been using her brother as a sounding board. Was that phone call to Derek what had started everything?

  Later, when she had said something to her brother about Brandon backing off, Derek had consoled her, saying Brandon wasn’t good enough for her. He had pointed out his poor background from the South Side of Chicago. He had—She dropped her head into her hands, finally recalling what had been nagging her all along.

  “Emma?” Colin came around to stand in front of her, compelling her to look him in the eye. “We’ll give this to J.T. and let him sort it out. We don’t know anything for sure. It could still be someone else.”

  “It’s Brandon. I remember why I always felt I had known Roy from somewhere. I met him once years ago in Chicago while with Brandon and Derek. Roy is from Brandon’s old neighborhood and they had been childhood friends. I
don’t usually forget a face, but sometimes it takes me a while to recall where I’ve seen someone and who he is.”

  Colin stiffened, his hands knotting into fists. “That’s different. We need to let J.T. know right away. They can pick him up and hopefully get to the bottom of this. And with the connection between Roy and Brandon, maybe Roy will decide it’s in his best interest to turn state’s evidence.”

  Hugging her arms to her, Emma shuddered. She recalled the day before when Brandon had embraced her, pressing her close to him as though they were still dating.

  “Let’s get out of here. J.T. will be back from Chicago by now.”

  “Roy won’t talk,” J.T. said when he entered his office with Emma and Colin. “But Manny is.”

  Emma stopped dead in her tracks. “He is? That’s great! What’s he saying?”

  J.T. indicated the two straight-back chairs in front of his desk and took his own behind it. “He confirmed that Brandon McDonel hired them to kill Derek and to get all the information on the hit-and-run accident. Brandon knew that your brother had written out an accounting of the accident because Derek was threatening to reveal what happened all those years ago. Brandon was tired of your brother’s blackmailing.”

  Emma wilted in the chair. “Blackmailing? Derek?”

  “Apparently he’d told Brandon if he didn’t stop seeing you he would. He didn’t care any longer how his involvement keeping the accident quiet all those years ago looked to the world. Then a month ago, your brother called Brandon up and needed some financial information concerning his partner. He had an account at Brandon’s bank. Brandon gave Derek the information he wanted, but he didn’t think that would be the end of it, so he had Roy and Manny keep tabs on your brother.”

  Derek hadn’t been innocent in this whole affair, but he hadn’t deserved to die. Emma’s fingernails dug into her palms. “What about Brandon? Is he here yet?”

  “He should be here any minute. Madison and one of my deputies are transporting him from Chicago.”

  “You’ll let us know what he says.” Colin stood, deep circles beneath his eyes.

  Colin hadn’t gotten any more sleep than she had from the looks of him. Every time she had closed her eyes, she had relived the cabin fire and the discovery of her brother’s account of the hit-and-run. A thought came to mind. Why had Brandon gone to such extremes? “J.T., you might want to investigate this hit-and-run. I realize the accident would have hurt Brandon at the bank, but since the statute of limitations had run out, why did he have my brother killed over the threat of exposure? Was there something else going on?”

  “Good point. We’ll look into it. It’ll help in building our case against Brandon McDonel.”

  “We have the newspaper clipping about the accident that we retrieved from Derek’s apartment. We’ll get the whole folder to you. Maybe it can help you now that we know there’s a connection.”

  “I appreciate it, Emma. I know none of this is easy for you, but at least you’re safe now.”

  Safe. Yes, and now she had to rebuild her life. Emma rose. “I’ll be here another day or so then I’ll be returning to New York. When you need me, I’ll be back.” She reached across J.T.’s desk and shook his hand. “Thank you.”

  Emma followed Colin to the door. Out in the hallway she paused, leaning back against the wall. Lack of sleep was catching up with her. There was so much she needed to do, and yet she couldn’t seem to put two coherent thoughts together. She wanted to sleep the day away but was afraid she couldn’t.

  “Emma, you can stay as long as you need.”

  She offered Colin a smile. “I know. Grace already told me this morning. But I have to straighten out my life. So much has changed and yet somehow it hasn’t. I still have a business in New York and jobs that are lined up, people depending on me. I have to see to Derek’s estate. I—” She came to a halt, the list in her mind seemingly endless and suddenly monumental.

  Colin took in her tired expression, a dull glint in her eyes, a pale cast to her features. More than anything he wanted to hug her and never let her go. But he wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t add to the dilemmas she faced. He wanted to make a life with her. But she needed to discover just who she was and where the Lord fit into her new life. He loved her and he had to let her go. He’d come to that decision late last night while trying to sleep.

  He held out his hand. “Let’s go—to Grace’s.” He’d almost said home. For some reason, with her it felt so right.

  She fit hers within his and began walking toward the entrance to the sheriff’s office, her pace slow. Outside the sun shone bright, the sky a cloudless blue. A light breeze blew from the west, gently stirring the warm air imbued with the scents of spring.

  A squad car pulling into the parking lot in front marred the beautiful day. Madison exited and opened the back door to allow Brandon to climb out, his hands cuffed. Colin started to step in Emma’s line of vision, but her gasp alerted him to the fact she’d seen Brandon.

  For a few seconds she stared at her brother’s murderer, frozen as though a sudden snowstorm had descended. Then suddenly she surged forward, intercepting Brandon at the door into the sheriff’s office. He looked right at her, his eyes narrowed, his mouth pinched into a scowl.

  Emma opened her mouth to say something, stopped for a few seconds, then muttered, “Not worth it,” before stepping to the side to let the trio enter the building.

  She came back to him, passed in front and headed for his SUV without a backward glance at Brandon. The man paused in the doorway into the sheriff’s office, his gaze glued to Emma. Puzzlement marked his features.

  When Colin slipped behind the steering wheel, he tossed a look toward Emma. “What changed your mind?”

  “I had all the intention of telling Brandon McDonel exactly what I thought of him. For a moment I was so angry. But suddenly I remembered some lines from a psalm I read last night when I was trying to sleep and couldn’t. ‘The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger and of great mercy.’ The words comforted me last night and they have again today. I’m not at the place where I can forgive Brandon for what he did, but hopefully I can one day, because I don’t like what anger does to me.”

  Hearing her talk about God heartened Colin. Her growing faith was one good thing that had come out of all that had happened—that and his love for Emma. He hadn’t thought himself capable of loving again, but he did.

  “You’re really leaving us,” Amber said, plopping down on the bed while Emma finished folding her last garment and placed it in her bag.

  “I need to get back to New York. I’ve stayed—” Emma swallowed her words, not able to say she’d stayed long enough, because she didn’t feel that way.

  “Why? What’s there in New York?”

  Good question, Emma thought, and closed her suitcase. She sat down next to the teenager. “My job, for one.”

  “Don’t you mostly fly to shoots?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “But I thought you and Dad were getting along so well.”

  “We were. Are. I consider him a good friend. After all, he saved my life on a number of occasions.”

  “I wish you would stay.”

  How could she explain to Amber her confusion and insecurity? She wasn’t the same woman who had left New York a few weeks before. How could she start a new life until she knew who she really was? Where did her faith enter into her lifestyle? Even her relationship with her father was changing. Nothing was the same, especially her ability to distance herself from others, which she had been so good at before coming to Crystal Springs. She’d fallen in love with Colin, but under such extraordinary circumstances, were her feelings true love? She never wanted to hurt him or his family. If she didn’t figure that out, then she could.

  Colin coughed. Emma looked toward the doorway. He lounged against the jamb, his arms and legs crossed in a casual stance. But the expression on his face held a troubled countenance. He masked it quickly but not quickly enough. Emma had
seen his concern.

  Amber hugged her, then murmured something about getting Tiffany and hurried from the room. Emma rose slowly from the bed, her eyes connected to Colin’s. The warmth that invaded his features permeated her, making her wonder how in the world she could walk away from him.

  “All packed?” he asked, pushing himself away from the doorjamb and covering the space between them, everything casual about him now from the way he walked to his tone of voice and his expression.

  She nodded, suddenly not able to form any words. His looks, his nearness stole her breath. Finally she was able to ask, “Have you heard any more from J.T.?”

  “Brandon isn’t talking, but Roy has decided to, so the case is looking good. Madison discovered another reason, beyond hurting Brandon’s reputation, why Brandon may have hired Roy and Manny to kill Derek. With further investigation it’s looking like Brandon didn’t accidentally hit that man. He may have done it on purpose, which would make it murder. There’s no statute of limitations on murder.”

  “On purpose? Why?” she asked. She wanted to get even closer to Colin but held herself back. It wouldn’t change the fact that she needed to leave. In fact, it would only complicate the situation. Besides, Colin had never asked her to stay with him.

  “I don’t think your brother realized that Brandon had known the person he hit with his car that night. He had just had a fight with that person the day before over something to do with the old neighborhood. The police in Chicago are reopening the hit-and-run case now that they know of the connection.”

  “You think you know someone and you really don’t. First, my brother and now Brandon.” She blew a breath of air out through pursed lips. “My record isn’t looking too good.”

  Colin stepped toward her and touched her arm. “How your brother was with you was true. He wasn’t faking his love and caring.”

  “But who can say that with Brandon? He is like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”