Stitched Together

by Carol Dean Jones

  They walked through the kitchen, past the eating area, around the fireplace, and into the living room. “This is adorable!” Sophie exclaimed enthusiastically as she looked around. “Where’s my room?”

  Sarah laughed and led her through the archway and into the hall running past the bedrooms. “Well, this is the guest room, and you’re welcome to stay here, but then we’re only a few minutes from your house …”

  “Only kidding,” Sophie said. “But I could stay here for a few days if I ever wanted to, right?”

  “Of course you could.” Sophie looked somewhat serious, and Sarah realized she might be thinking about having the knee replacement surgery and wanting reassurance that Sarah would help her. “Any time,” she added, giving her friend a modified hug just barely within the limits of what Sophie would allow.

  When they went into the master bedroom, Sophie squealed and her mood became exhilarant. “This is wonderful!” She hurried across the room, opened the French doors, and looked out across the back of the house. “Is this where they’ll be putting the small patio?”

  “We had that removed from the plans. Charles has arranged with a separate contractor to have a large patio built that will run from this doorway over past the kitchen door. That way we can have a table out here and a portable grill.” Sarah responded.

  “How about Barney?”

  “We’ll be adding a fence once we go to settlement.”

  “It’s practically finished, isn’t it?” Sophie asked.

  “It looks like it. I’ll try to catch Larry one day this week and get an update from him. I’ve been reluctant to talk to the builders under the circumstances, especially since they think my husband killed their best foreman.”

  “Unless they killed him themselves,” Sophie responded.

  Chapter 36

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Martha, hi. I’ve been thinking about you this morning. Are you working today?”

  “No. I took the day off, it being Saturday and all,” she added with a chuckle. “I’m actually working much less these days, and the company is getting along just fine without my obsessiveness, much to my surprise.”

  Sarah laughed, knowing it was hard for her daughter to admit that work had taken over her life. “Have you talked with Tim lately?” she asked. Sarah’s daughter had become quite enamored with Sophie’s son when he visited the previous year, and the feeling was definitely mutual.

  “As a matter of fact, that’s why I called. Tim wants me to come visit him. We’ve been trying to figure out when to do it, but I don’t want to be away during Charles’ trial. Do you have any idea …”

  “It’s up in the air, Martha. Graham told us to expect it to be in a few weeks. I don’t want you to hang around here, honey. Go on to Alaska, and I’ll stay in touch with you by phone.”

  “I don’t know, Mom. I’d be worried the whole time. I think we’ll just wait. I also wanted to ask you what’s going on with Sophie.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” Martha responded, “Sophie called and asked if I wanted to go with her and Higgy to see Tim. I didn’t know she was that involved with this Higgy. Higgins? What’s his name again?”

  “It’s Cornelius Higginbottom, but Sophie calls him Higgy. And how involved are they? I don’t know how involved she is, but I do know that he asked her to marry him.”

  “What? Marriage already? Didn’t they just meet?”

  “Well, it’s been a few months now—maybe four. It’s still very early, but he seems to be quite serious. I’m hoping she’ll get to know him better, and I guess she’s thinking this trip will help. She wants Timothy’s opinion.”

  “Hmm. Do you think she really wanted me to go with them? I could, but …”

  “No, hon. I think you should save your trip until a time you and Tim can be alone and concentrate on getting to know each other. And I think you need to spend time in Alaska. You just might end up living up there …”

  “No way!” Martha interrupted. “We’ve talked about that. He doesn’t want to stay in Alaska after he retires, and I sure don’t want to live so far away. I want to be here in easy reach of my family.”

  Sarah smiled, remembering all the years that she and her daughter had been estranged. Things pass, she thought, hoping that someday all this would pass as well.

  “I just remembered something Timothy told me when he was visiting,” Sarah said. “He wants to settle down here in Middletown in order to be here near his mother.”

  “Yes. That’s what he told me as well. He and I agree on that. So you think it’s okay for me to tell Sophie I’m not going with them?”

  “I think it’s more than okay.”

  That settled, Martha asked about Charles, and Sarah caught her up on all the latest happenings. “It looks like we’ll be going to court without an alternative explanation of how Max died. We were hoping to come up with the real killer, but it doesn’t look promising.”

  Since the jail was closed to visitors that night, Sarah and Martha decided to meet for dinner. Martha suggested the lodge on the outskirts of town, but since that was where Charles had proposed to her, Sarah didn’t think she could face going there. “How about the French restaurant in town where we ate last time?”

  “Perfect!” Martha responded. “I’ll pick you up at 6:00.”

  Chapter 37

  A few days later, Sarah woke up and looked at the clock, surprised to see it was after 9:00. She rarely slept that late but knew she needed the sleep since she had been tossing and turning the last few weeks.

  The phone rang while she was making coffee.

  “Sarah, there’s been a development.” Sarah’s heart sank. What else could go wrong? She carried the phone into the living room and sat down in Charles’ chair. Just sitting there sometimes brought her a degree of comfort.

  “This doesn’t sound good, Graham,” she responded.

  “It’s very good. Extremely good for our side.”

  “Tell me.”

  “The blood on the towel in your trash can was not even Max’s blood!”

  “What? How can that be? Whose is it, and why was it in our trash can?”

  “The blood has been identified as belonging to a day laborer who comes into the community during the week to do lawn services. He probably just dropped it in your trash because it was handy. He’s been arrested several times for minor crimes, so they had his DNA on file.”

  “How could a mix-up like that happen?” Sarah asked, still reluctant to see how this was going to help her husband.

  “Remember we told you that there was a shake-up in the lab and two techs were fired? Well, one of those technicians had done the analysis of the towel. I demanded that it be retested by an unbiased third party. They sent it up to Hamilton. The blood they had previously identified as Maxwell Coleman’s blood actually belonged to a Colin Maxwell. A stupid mistake by an incompetent technician!”

  “How could they make such a terrible mistake? What was going on in the lab that would allow a mistake like that?” Sarah could feel the anger rising from deep within as she realized that Charles might have been suffering through much of this nightmare simply because of a stupid mistake. His bond had been revoked because of the bloody towel. “How did this happen?” she repeated, her voice raised.

  “Drugs mostly. Incompetence. Inexperience. But they’ve cleaned it up.”

  “What does this mean for Charles? Will he be released?”

  “No, Sarah. They still have the original evidence, which they felt was enough to arrest him. I’d tried for another bond hearing, but I was turned down. They want to keep him until the trial.”

  “You said this is good news. Do you really believe that?”

  “Yes, Sarah. He stands a much better chance now. All of their evidence is circumstantial, and I can fight them in the courtroom on that. It was that dang bloody towel … anyway, this is a relief.”

  “When will he go to trial?” Sarah asked, not feeling much relief herse
lf.

  “This shoots a hole in the state’s case, and I don’t know what they’ll do now. We’ve been dancing around a trial date. I’ve requested several postponements hoping we’d find the real killer. It won’t surprise me if they ask for one now so they can attempt to dig up more evidence. I was hoping to get him back home at least until the trial. Unfortunately, that’s out.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Nothing, dear. John and I and Charles will be meeting to revise our strategy. If you want to be involved in those meetings, I’ll arrange it with the warden.”

  “I’ll have to think about that, Graham. Thank you …” she added hesitantly, trying to keep her voice steady but realizing it sounded shaky. “Thank you for all you’re doing for Charles,” she added.

  “It’s my job,” he responded.

  “It’s more than your job,” she said. “I know you care about him.”

  “It’s more than my job,” he said, his voice catching almost imperceptibly.

  Chapter 38

  “Now that’s not entirely horrible,” John said, reading the card Sarah brought in from the mailbox earlier that day.

  In just a few weeks, he’ll go to trial,

  Until that time, it’s hard to smile,

  I see your light on very late,

  You aren’t feeling entirely great,

  But I wanted you to hear straight from me,

  That this’ll work out—just wait and see.

  “Not entirely,” she responded with a weak smile. “But mostly …”

  “It rhymes rather well,” John said, looking for the positive.

  “True.”

  “And it’s encouraging.”

  “Also true.”

  “And it made you smile …”

  “Even that’s true, John. I guess you’re right. This is not entirely horrible!”

  “And your friend loves him. Or as you put it, ‘she’s smitten.’ ”

  “She’s smitten, for sure. I just hope she manages to get to know him better before she does anything permanent.”

  “Nothing is really permanent anymore,” John responded, looking disheartened.

  Turning her attention to him, she asked, “What’s going on, John?”

  “It’s my brother, David. I called him and tried to convince him to come for the trial. He’s just so angry. Not just with Dad but with life in general. He’s angry with me now for staying so long, but I told him I’m sticking with Dad throughout this. David and I’ve never had much of a relationship, but I think this pretty well finishes it off. He told me not to call again.”

  “I’m sorry, John,” Sarah responded sympathetically. “Do you think you should go home?”

  “Absolutely not! I’m here for you and Dad, and it feels right. My wife understands completely.”

  “Donna’s been really good about you being here so long. I’m eager to meet her.”

  “You will. You and Dad are visiting us for the holidays!”

  Positive thinking, Sarah pondered. Picture it the way you want it to be.

  * * * * *

  It was finally visiting day again. Sarah dressed carefully and put on makeup in an attempt to hide the fact that she hadn’t been sleeping. Graham had called and said the trial date had been set for 9:00 on Monday morning, just a little over two weeks away. They were all tense in anticipation. Sarah couldn’t imagine what this was like for Charles.

  When they brought him into their visiting room, he was smiling, but it wasn’t the smile he had before this ordeal. That smile came from his soul, and this one seemed to be forced, almost not belonging to him.

  “Charles,” she said, reaching out her hands across the table even before he sat down. He took both her hands and leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. “I love you,” she said just as gently.

  “I love you, too,” he responded, but it wasn’t the voice she was accustomed to. “I’m sorry to be putting you through all this, my love,” he added softly. “So sorry.” He dropped his head and stared down at the table. “I’ll bet you wish you never …”

  “Charles, please! Don’t even say it! We’ve got to stay positive and hopeful. You are going to beat this thing. You didn’t do anything wrong, and they’ll realize that once we get to court. Have you decided whether to testify?”

  “No decision to make. Of course I will. I have nothing to hide, and I want my side out there.”

  “They’ll ask about the towel.”

  “And Graham will object. It wasn’t Max’s blood, and I know nothing about a bloody towel.”

  “They’ll ask about the fingerprints.”

  “I know, and I’ll tell them exactly what happened. I was helping my friend, Larry. They’re going to call Larry, too, and he’ll tell them as well.”

  “Donald’s prints are on the wrench, too,” Sarah offered. “Will he be on the stand?”

  “Donald’s a good guy. He used the wrench every day. Graham wants to insinuate that he had something to do with the murder. I’ve objected to that. He’s just a kid.”

  “Charles, don’t fight Graham. Let him do whatever he feels he should to get you back home.”

  “I know,” he said, again dropping his head.

  Attempting to raise her husband’s spirits, Sarah told him about her visit with Sophie to see the house. She saw him lighten up when she told him about all the progress.

  “Have they painted inside?”

  “I think that’s probably next. They have blue tape on the windows.”

  “And the appliances?”

  “They’re all in and just what we ordered. We’re going to love our new home,” she added with a confident smile.

  He gave her a patient smile and simply said, “My wife. Always positive. Always with that half-full glass.” Mine’s not half-empty, he thought, but didn’t say it. There’s hardly a drop left in it.

  Chapter 39

  The next two weeks passed very slowly. Graham and John met with Charles most days working on trial strategy. Sarah decided not to attend those meetings but to keep her visits with Charles just for the two of them (and whatever guard was assigned to watch over them).

  It was Friday evening. “Only two days to go,” Sarah told herself aloud. Barney’s ears shot up. He looked at her eagerly but decided she wasn’t offering any of his favorite things: a walk, a treat, a meal. He laid back down and sighed. Boots jumped up on Sarah’s lap and purred as Sarah gently stroked her silky back.

  Sarah jumped when the phone rang, scaring Boots, who jumped off and made her unthreatening kitty growl.

  “Sarah, are you sitting down?”

  “Graham, what is it?”

  “Sit down and I’ll tell you.”

  Sighing, she carried the phone into the living room and sat down in Charles’ favorite chair. “Okay, I’m sitting. Talk to me, Graham.”

  “Well, I have good news. Actually, it’s the very best news we could ever have.”

  “Graham, quit stalling. Tell me your news. Have you found out something encouraging?”

  “Better than that,” he said, still drawing out the drama. Sarah was beginning to get irritated.

  “Out with it, Graham, or I’m hanging up.”

  “I’m on my way to your house …”

  “Yes?” she responded.

  “… and I’m bringing Charles with me.”

  “What? You’re bringing Charles? You have Charles with you?” she gasped. “Why? What’s happened?”

  “The district attorney dropped the charges, and the judge released him!”

  Trying to pull herself together, Sarah wiped tears from her face with trembling hands and asked, “Why did they drop the charges? How …?”

  “They dropped the charges as soon as they confirmed they had the real killer in custody.”

  “The real killer? Who? How did they …?”

  “You’ll get all the details in about fifteen minutes. We’re on our way now. I’d put Charles on the phone, but he says he wants to be holding y
ou when he says hello as a free man.”

  “Can you at least tell me how you caught the killer?” Sarah pleaded, still confused by what was going on.

  “We didn’t. He walked into the police station and confessed. We’ll tell you all about it when we get there. Just relax …”

  “Relax? You’ve got to be kidding!” Sarah responded, not sure whether to laugh or cry. “Oh, Graham,” she added. “Just bring my husband home!”

  Dazed, Sarah hung up the phone, sobbing with happiness this time.

  Ten minutes later she saw the car coming up the street, and she ran to meet it. Charles jumped out of the car before it had stopped, and they fell into each other’s arms. They laughed and they cried and they held each other. “It’s over, sweetheart. It’s over.”

  As they were walking toward the door in each other’s arms, John screeched up to the curb in his rental car and hurried toward his dad and Sarah. “I heard, and I can hardly believe it,” he gasped. They each reached out to pull him into their embrace.

  “Come on in, and I’ll tell you the whole story,” Graham said. “In fact, I can show you part of the story. I have the killer’s confession on tape.”

  “How is that possible?” John asked. “What are you doing with it?”

  “I’m his attorney.”

  “What?” Sarah shouted, looking astounded. “You’re going to defend the killer?” Turning to Charles, she demanded, “What’s this all about, Charles?” But Graham responded before Charles had a chance to speak.

  “I’m defending him because your husband asked me to, and he’s paying the bill, so what could I say?” He sent Charles a knowing smile.

  Sarah flopped down on the couch and held her head. “You’re paying to defend Max’s killer? Please just tell me what’s going on here.”

  Charles quickly sat down beside her and pulled her close to him. “It’s okay, sweetie. We’ll explain the whole thing.”

  “Let’s just watch the tape,” Graham said, sliding the disk into the player and clicking on the monitor.

  As the monitor came alive, Sarah gasped. “That’s Larry!” Recognizing the interview room in the background, she added, “What’s Larry doing in the police station?”