Her Last Chance

by Terri Reed

  Leah reached out to take the older woman’s hand. “You know I’m not. But I appreciate your trying to protect me.”

  Colleen’s perturbed expression turned on Roman. “Now why’d you have to go and ruin everything? We were doing just fine.”

  Roman gave Colleen a measuring look. “Ma’am, Leah is wanted for murder back in Loomis. It was only a matter of time before someone came looking for her.”

  “She didn’t kill those men,” Colleen stated, then turned her troubled gaze to Leah. “Did you?”

  Leah had no answer to that question. She hated to think she could be capable of murder, but she didn’t know herself well enough to know what she was capable of.

  “How come you told me she was your granddaughter?” Roman asked Colleen.

  Colleen’s expression turned sheepish. “At first I thought she was. I don’t always think clearly. I eventually realized I’d made a mistake. She doesn’t have my grandbaby’s birthmark on her shoulder, but I so enjoyed having someone in the house with me I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. I figured she’d remember her past if she was meant to on her own.” Colleen shifted her attention to Leah. “When did you find out?”

  “This spring. I was in town, picking up supplies, and saw the newspaper. I read about the crimes and about my…my little girl, Sarah,” she said, her voice breaking. “How could I not have any memories of her?”

  “You may not be my real grandbaby, but I love you like one,” Colleen said, and slipped her arm around Leah’s waist.

  Tears spilled from Leah’s lashes. “Thank you. And I thank God I found you when I needed you the most.”

  Roman cleared his throat, drawing the women’s attention. “Do you really have a granddaughter named Abigail?”

  Colleen nodded. “Yes. She lived with me from the age of six until she ran away at seventeen. I haven’t heard from her since. That girl would argue with a fencepost. Not a lick of sense, bless her heart.”

  “I snooped around after I realized I wasn’t the real Abigail. From what I was able to find out she had a wild streak a mile wide. I’m sorry she left you,” Leah said.

  “No reason for you to apologize. She made her choice, bless her heart. I pray every night that God is watching out for her.”

  “I’ll add her to my prayers, as well,” Leah said. Judging by the way Colleen was leaning into her, Leah decided the woman needed to sit back in the recliner. “Let’s get you back to the chair before we both topple over.”

  Colleen allowed Leah to lead her into the other room. Once Colleen was settled in the chair with her water close at hand, Leah returned to the living room.

  “It’s fortunate that you found your way to Colleen’s,” Roman commented as she entered. “And I’m glad you decided to tell me the truth.”

  She dropped her gaze to his shirtfront as guilt stabbed at her. “I was afraid.”

  “I know,” he replied softly, almost tenderly.

  She lifted her eyes and met his onyx gaze. “I won’t lie to you again.”

  He seemed to consider her words, before giving her a sharp nod. “Good. We’ll need to trust each other if we hope to figure out what’s going on.” He gestured to the computer. “The newspaper articles about both murders coincide with the information that I was given from my contact. Earl’s death at first looked like a suicide, but the forensic evidence suggests it’s unlikely he could have made the shot from the angle of the trajectory.” He slanted her a glance. “Speculation is you killed him, made it look like a suicide to collect the insurance money and then ran when the police started to question the suicide.”

  They might as well have been talking about the humid air for all the feeling his words evoked. The sensation was so surreal. Was she capable of killing a man? Especially a man she’d been married to?

  Horror filled her, and fear, sharp and steady, poked her. What did she harbor inside her? Was she a person capable of killing?

  Leah wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to protect herself from the dark questions. “How come I would have killed him?”

  “By all accounts your marriage was rocky at best,” Roman replied, his attention concentrated on the screen in front of him.

  Rocky? What did that mean? Had her husband been abusive? What about her? Was she the monster in the marriage? A shiver skated over her flesh. If only she could remember. But…nothing. “And what does it say about Dylan Renault?”

  “The authorities are being cagey about their investigation. But apparently a shoe belonging to you was found in the swamplands near a boarded-up underground railroad tunnel where two other bodies were apparently dumped.”

  Leah swallowed hard, her stomach twisting. “I was missing a shoe when I woke up in the ditch.”

  His gaze slid to hers once again. “The shoe had blood on it.”

  “My blood?”

  He shrugged. “Or someone else’s.”

  Bile rose in Leah’s throat and tears of anguish blurred her eyes. “How could I have done these things?” she whispered. God, in heaven, help me.

  Roman shifted on the couch, then reached out to touch her shoulder, but he pulled back before he made contact. “None of this proves anything.”

  “I thought you said you don’t care whether I’m guilty or not.”

  He blinked. “I don’t. I mean…”

  He looked confused and suddenly not as intimidating as he had before. His straight, dark hair feathered across his high forehead while his black eyes searched her face. With his big, wide shoulders, he looked strong and capable of protecting her. For that, she was grateful.

  “Is there anyone else I might have killed?” she asked.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “How long have you known my brother?”

  “We were in the same class in high school. He saved my bacon a few times with Principal Ahrendt.”

  “My parents?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  She rubbed at her temple where a throbbing had started. “Have you talked to my brother? Does he know what happened?”

  “I’ve talked to him and, no, he doesn’t know why you showed up on his doorstep with your little girl and left her there. He’s worried about you. I told him I’d do what I could but that I had to bring you in.”

  There was someone out there worrying about her. That gave her a measure of comfort.

  Roman shut the lid to the computer, the light on the side blinking, indicating sleep mode. “We should probably think about eating soon and then resting. Tomorrow, I’ll go into town and see if I can look at the police reports. That might give me some clue as to why someone wants you dead.”

  Too emotionally wrung out to do much more than nod, Leah followed Roman into the kitchen. She leaned against the counter while he disappeared into the cellar. He returned with a bag of pasta and a can of sauce. Leah grabbed a pot and set some water to boiling, going through the motions automatically while her tormented mind tried to make sense of her life.

  Nothing Roman had told her rang any bells.

  She couldn’t remember anything. Part of her wanted to run away and live her life without knowing, but the thought of Sarah kept her feet in place. For her daughter’s sake, Leah would press through to the truth with Roman’s help.

  If she didn’t commit these crimes, he’d make sure she was exonerated.

  And if she had committed these crimes…?

  Just thinking about the possibility made her want to hurl. Forcing her thoughts on the mundane chore of cooking, she stirred the noodles so they wouldn’t stick to the pan.

  When the pasta had cooked and the sauce heated, Leah went in and roused Colleen. Using her walker, Colleen shuffled behind Leah to the small mahogany dining table. As they ate, conversation was limited and stilted. Leah was glad when they all were sated and the dishes cleaned and put away in the orderly cupboard.

  “There are two rooms down this hall,” Roman said as he led the way and stopped before one door on the left
. “This here is the master room.” He pointed across the hall. “That room is a bit smaller.”

  “Grandmother, you take this one,” Leah said, indicating the master room. She didn’t really care where she slept, since she doubted sleep would come.

  After digging out sheet sets from inside a brass-handled footlocker that sat at the end of the full-size bed, Roman said, “I’ll be on the couch in the parlor if y’all need anything.”

  Leah smiled her thanks as he left them alone. She quickly dressed the bed and then helped Colleen out of her shoes before settling her back against the pillow that Leah fluffed against the worn oak headboard. She couldn’t help but notice that it would have been beautiful with a sanding and a varnish. The intricately designed magnolia in the center caught Leah’s attention. It was a nice touch that made the rather plain headboard unique.

  “Would you open the window, dear?” Colleen asked.

  Leah went to the small window and slid open the pane. Through the screen, humid air filtered in, bringing a fresh, earthy scent to chase away the musty odor that permeated the house. Outside, the cicadas filled the dusk with their music, a soothing lullaby. Two massive magnolia trees filled the backyard, their white blossoms almost fluorescent in the waning light of the rising moon.

  “That’s better,” Colleen said with a sigh. “I don’t have my pills.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine for the night. Roman said something about going into town tomorrow and I’ll have him stop at the drugstore.”

  “Do you think we should trust him?” Colleen asked.

  What choice did they have? “I think so. He seems genuinely concerned for our safety.”

  “True. I reckon we’re in good hands,” Colleen said. “The good Lord does provide.”

  “Let’s pray so.” Leah walked over the side of the bed and took Colleen’s frail hand in hers. “I’ll just be in the next room if you need me.”

  Colleen nodded, her eyes already drooping. Leah bent to kiss the older woman’s cheek before quietly leaving the room. Once in the room that she would be sleeping in, she sat on the edge of the full-size bed and rubbed at her temples. She was wound tighter than an eight-day clock, but she’d need her strength over the next few days more than ever. Because one way or another, the truth of who, and what, she was would come out.

  She could only pray she wasn’t as evil as the world believed.

  For the second time she was placing her trust, her life, in the hands of a stranger.

  Please, dear Father in Heaven, don’t let me be making a fatal mistake.

  A scream split the air.

  Roman jerked upright and jumped off the couch. Where had it come from? The still, hot air of the house mocked him. He hadn’t imagined the scream.

  A low, keening wail echoed down the hall. His heart froze. Razor-sharp panic tore through him.

  Leah!

  Roman ran toward the room where Leah had gone to bed. Opening the door, he prepared himself to find some assailant attacking her, but instead found only Leah visible in the soft light of the moon filtering through the lace curtains. She lay on the bed, the lightweight blanket twisted around her as she tossed and moaned.

  Compassion streaked through him as he approached the bed. He knew what it was like to be gripped in a nightmare, to be tormented in a way that made escape impossible. He’d had his share of nightmares. Needing to break her free of the night terror’s grasp, he gently shook her. “Leah. Leah, wake up.”

  “No, no. Please, no,” she moaned, and flailed with clenched hands.

  Dodging her fists, Roman tried again, but this time gave her a firmer shake and used a sterner tone. “Leah. Wake up. You’re having a bad dream.”

  She started awake, her big brown eyes wide as she scrambled to a sitting position. “What? What happened? How come you’re in here?”

  “You screamed,” Roman replied, acutely aware that she’d donned one of his old T-shirts he kept in the antique dresser for a nightshirt. He swallowed back the attraction that zinged through his blood. She looked so cute and vulnerable and in need of comfort that he forced himself to take a half step back when all he wanted to do was gather her in his arms and hold her close.

  She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I did? I was trying to…Ugh, I don’t remember.”

  Putting aside his initial reaction and thinking there might be a clue in her dream, he edged closer and sat on the side of the bed to gather her hands in his. They were ice cold. He rubbed them. “Try to remember. Where were you in the dream?”

  Though the room was shadowed, he could see the frown pinching her eyebrows together. “Outside.” She closed her eyes. “There was a smell. Cloying. Sweet. A bird.” Her eyes flew open. “I remember a bird.”

  Anticipation gripped his lungs. “What kind?”

  “Huge, dark. Long beak.” She shook her head. “That’s all I can recall.”

  “It’s a start.” Her vulnerability was getting to him. He hadn’t thought it possible, but he started sweating more and it had nothing to do with the stifling heat. He released her hands and stood. “You should try to get some rest.”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For giving me a chance to remember. For not just taking me to the police. For protecting us today.”

  The way she looked at him with such trust and hope made his gut clench. “Don’t be thinking I’m some kind of hero. I’m not. I’m just a guy doing his job.”

  One side of her mouth curled up in a smile. “If you say so.”

  “I do. Good night,” he said curtly, and retreated as quickly as he could.

  He had no illusions. He hadn’t been able to save his mother all those years ago. He couldn’t save anyone. He could find the truth; he was good at that. But that’s as far as he’d go here.

  When the truth was revealed, he would wash his hands of Leah and her problems. He wasn’t going to get caught up in some emotional turmoil just because he liked her spunk, and okay, found her attractive.

  He’d be a fool to allow himself to form any sort of attachment. Because odds were she was guilty.

  And falling for a criminal was the last thing he could allow himself to do. Not when he had devoted his life to making sure that those who deserved justice were given their due.

  If only he could find the man responsible for his mother’s death and exact the justice due him, Roman would be a content man.

  The next morning, Roman woke to the aromatic scent of coffee. He rose from the couch and stretched to relieve the stiff kinks in his back. Plucking at the material of the T-shirt that stuck to his chest, he longed for a shower to rid himself of the sticky sweat that the humid air guaranteed he was constantly covered in.

  He made his way to the kitchen where he found Leah standing at the back door, staring out at the flat, vibrant green landscape. She held a mug of steaming coffee but seemed lost in her thoughts. She’d changed back into the clothes she’d worn yesterday. He was glad she’d come clean about her identity.

  Roman poured himself a full mug and took a bracing gulp. The hot liquid slid through him, jolting some life into his system. After a few minutes, he moved to stand beside Leah.

  His gaze grazed over the bushes, the moss-covered trees, the sliver of Lake Pontchartrain that wound its way north, also covered in shades of green. “I once spotted a gator out there when my grandfather and I were fishing for crayfish.”

  “That must have made your year,” she replied.

  “Yeah, it did.” Thinking back to that time filled him with bittersweet warmth. It wasn’t long after that day that his grandfather had died. “They aren’t usually easy to spot. They blend.”

  Seeming unperturbed by the thought of alligators in the swamps, she sipped her coffee as she glanced at him over the rim of her cup. “If we’re going to be staying here, we’ll need some more groceries, and Grandmother Colleen needs her meds from the house. Plus, we both will need some more clothes and toiletries.”

 
; What she said was true, but did he trust her enough to leave her here while he ran errands? His gaze skimmed the swamps outside, treacherous ground for sure. And the road leading to the house was long and uneven. Without a car, Leah and Colleen wouldn’t be able to get very far. Roman was pretty certain Leah wouldn’t leave Colleen behind.

  “I’ll pick up what I can when I go into Loomis,” he said, finishing his coffee off.

  “I want to come with you,” she stated, her expression determined.

  “No, unless you want to be taken into custody now,” he said.

  “I can disguise myself as I have the other times I went into town.”

  He shook his head. “It’s risky enough for me to go in and make sure I’m not followed. I can’t be worrying about you being recognized. You make a list of what you need and I’ll pick it up.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. But would you check on my…daughter, Sarah?”

  “I don’t think that’s wise,” he said. “I don’t want to be responsible for something happening to her in order to get to you.”

  Her face paled. “You think whoever tried to kill me would go after Sarah?”

  “I don’t know. It is a possibility. There’s already been one attempt to kidnap her.”

  Her eyes widened in shock. “Oh, my poor baby. Who? Why?”

  “I know a man was arrested, but the FBI have been diligent about keeping the details out of the public eye.” Laying a hand on her arm, he said, “But she’s being well taken care of by your brother. Clint wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”

  She blinked back tears. “Good. That’s good.”

  He reached into a drawer beside the sink and handed Leah a sticky notepad and pencil. “That list?”

  She quickly scribbled down her list, using two notes, then handed them to him. He slipped the squares of paper into his pocket.

  He pulled his keys from his pants pocket and opened the back door. “You both stay inside. There’s instant oatmeal in the cupboard. I’ll be back soon.”