by Christina Li
“Thank you,” Vanessa said refocusing her thoughts. She knew the officer was doing the best he could to help her. “I appreciate your honesty. I just wish I had some idea who would do this and why.”
“Is it possible it has to do with that vase? Someone obviously thinks the same as us, you had access to it, enough to warrant calling you in on our investigation. If they wanted to get you out of the way for some reason, this would be a good way to do it.”
“I wish I had never gone out to California.” She finally voiced aloud what she had been feeling for a while. “I remembered that vase, though, and it’s really ugly.”
“But apparently worth a great deal,” he said dryly. “Anyway, I’ll write up a report about your car. Can you think of anything suspicious that you’ve seen recently? I’ll add that to your statement.”
“I’ve only just come back. I wouldn’t know if any of the cars in the lots around here don’t belong.”
“Now that I think of it, I’ve seen a different car in the lot a couple of times,” said Daniel. “I just assumed one of the neighbors had got a new car.”
“Can you describe it?” asked the officer.
“It was a dark blue, two-door sports car. Maybe a Kia?”
The officer wrote some more notes. “I’ll ask for extra patrols in the area too. One of them can check out that car if they see it. If you see anyone or anything around who shouldn’t be here in the neighborhood, or if you remember anything else, be sure and call it in. Meanwhile, wait for the tech to get here. I’ve already texted and they should be here any minute. After he’s done, don’t drive your car until you get those lines fixed.”
Vanessa smiled. It seemed fairly obvious that she was no longer a ‘suspicious person’. “Thanks. If I see anything worth reporting, I’ll be sure to call it in.” The bright side to all this was the fact that the Lord was obviously protecting her. Daniel had found the problem before she had an accident. That was incredibly comforting. “So, there’s been no word from California on the missing vase? They would let you know wouldn’t they?”
The officer shook his head. “They would let us know, but who knows when.”
“Thanks, anyway. I really appreciate your coming out here.” Vanessa reached out to shake his hand.
“Take care,” he said shaking her hand.
The officer shook Daniel’s hand as well. He had them both sign the statement on his iPad, then got into his squad car and left.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing for it. Do you know if Casey Automotive is still in business? They were where I went before I moved away,” said Vanessa.
“Yes. Your grandparents recommended them when I first moved here. They’re very good,” said Daniel.
A couple of police technicians arrived and took pictures and spread white powder for fingerprints.
Daniel checked at his watch. “Do you need us here?” he asked one of them.
“Did you already give your statement?”
“Yes.”
“Then, no, you’re free to go.”
To Vanessa Daniel said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Vanessa laughed. “Me too.” Then, “Oh no. How am I going to get to Grandpa’s for work?”
“When do you have to be there?”
“2.”
“No worries. I’ll take you and I’m sure your grandparents can give you a ride home.”
“Thanks.” She touched his elbow. “You’re a good mate.”
He laughed and leaned toward her. “I’m glad. I think you’re a good mate too.”
***
Denny’s waitress hadn’t been as interested as he’d hoped and so he came back to see if Vanessa had left. Unfortunately, when he got there, the police technicians were still at work on her car. Denny banged his fists on the steering wheel, frustrated. At least he hadn’t tried to park in the cul-de-sac lot. Instead, he sat in another small lot down the street a little. Craning his neck, he watched as a tow truck drove her car away. How could she have known there was something wrong? She should be either screaming in terror about to rear end someone or be dead by now.
He didn’t want the police techs to notice him. Putting the car in reverse, he backed out and left. He would need to get a different rental car. Something big and ugly. He hoped that wouldn’t take too long. It was frustrating to be so close.
Then, he got another idea. Taking his cell out, he punched in some numbers. “Leonard, I need another favor.”
“What do you want?” Denny heard the wariness in Leonard’s voice.
“I want a gun. Something small. Maybe a 9mm. I don’t care what type. Something modern. Tell me where to go. You know my location. Can you hook me up?”
“Yeah, but don’t you think that’s going a little too far?”
Denny knew how to play on the other man’s need for money and his pride. “You’ll be paid well, but maybe you’re losing your touch.”
“I’ll get it for you, hot shot, just give me two minutes, check your texts.”
“That’s my man. I knew I could depend on you.” Denny hit the end button and smirked. Soon he’d be on his way back home with the vase.
Chapter 14
On the way, Vanessa called her grandparents and let them know what was going on with her car. She didn’t want to alarm them, but Daniel insisted she let them know so they could also be more aware of anything unusual in the neighborhood. Her grandfather made her take the afternoon off. She put in so much overtime yesterday that he wouldn’t be able to afford her if she kept up. Chuckling, she hung up her cell.
“Where do you want to go eat? I’ve the rest of the day off so time is not an issue.” he said.
“Well…”
“Come on, my treat.” Daniel did his best to get her to smile.
“I haven’t had any Chicago style pizza since I came back.”
“Deep dish, stuffed?”
“Yes. But, if you don’t like it, I’ll eat anything, really.”
“No, actually I like it quite a lot. Giordanno’s?”
She nodded in approval and Daniel typed the name into the GPS in his car and found the closest one.
“Thank you so much.” Vanessa leaned back in her booth to give her full stomach more room. “You really don’t have to pay for both of us.” She was feeling a little guilty.
“I want the world to know that there are still gentlemen left. Don’t make it more difficult.”
Not only was he determined to pay for their meal, he had opened both the car door and the restaurant door for her and he’d insisted that she take the cushioned side of the booth and he the hard, wooden chair opposite. “But aren’t mates supposed to share the expense?”
“Not in this case. It’s a man thing.”
Vanessa knew it was no use arguing with him. Sighing, she let it go. But she did like the feeling of being taken care of.
“Vanessa, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Uh oh. “What?”
As they sat there facing one another, she felt all melty and butterfly-ish inside. “Vanessa, would you consider being more than mates?”
Her eyes widened and she didn’t answer at first. Then, she shook her head. “Uh, did you just, uh, are you, uh, are you serious? No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
This time Daniel took a bit to respond.
“Why?” His voice was gentle, but she could hear his disappointment.
She sat up and played with her napkin. “You could do so much better than me.” Forcing herself to face him, she added, “You deserve that.”
Daniel’s mouth fell open and his eyes widened. “Why do you value yourself so little?”
She should probably come clean a bit, but she couldn’t bear the thought of losing his friendship. “Daniel, I made some bad mistakes in California. I walked away from God. Please can’t we just be friends?”
“Vanessa. We’ve all made mistakes.”
“Daniel, I’m very sure your mistakes aren’t as
injurious as mine. You’re so perfect.” Leaning back, she didn’t mean to be offensive, but she found it difficult to believe he had done anything worse than have a bad thought, once, a long time ago.
“Vanessa, I’ve made mistakes too, bad ones, not so long ago.”
Her eyebrows rose slightly at the sincerity of his tone. Her demeanor relaxed and grew less defensive.
“I have only told this to two other people, but I think I should share it with you.”
Curious, she leaned forward. Then, she felt guilty. She decided to backpedal. “Daniel, please don’t share something you’re uncomfortable with. I respect your privacy. Some things are best left as is.”
“No. It’s right for you to know.”
Raising her eyes to meet his, she settled into her booth, folding her hands together lightly in her lap. She decided to hear him out.
“My wife was very beautiful. Her name was Claudine and she was the most popular girl in our small town. Every boy wanted to date her. I thought she was perfect. She thought I was beneath her notice. Then…”
“What? You, beneath anyone’s notice?” Vanessa was fascinated by the play of emotions on his face as he told his story. She could almost see the young dashing teen he had been, but she couldn’t imagine anyone looking down at Daniel. Just who did this girl think she was?
Daniel smiled a little sadly and continued his story. “I came back from university with a degree in archaeology. She took notice for the first time. She had wild ideas, like my current colleagues, of my being some kind of cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones. It was ridiculous, but I was so enamored, I had no desire to enlighten her to my actual duties. She even went to church with me. She was baptized and seemed to want the same things I did, marriage, family, forever.”
“So, what happened?” So far, it sounded like a fairy tale. The prince had won his princess. Who cared if Daniel didn’t get shot at like James Bond or Indie? He was a great person. Hollywood fiction was way overrated.
“We got married and I took her on a museum trip to Jerusalem. That was mistake number one.”
“Which, the marriage or the museum?”
Daniel grimaced. “Both, I suppose.”
“What happened?”
“She was not at all prepared for that kind of work. It was in Israel, a dream opportunity for me, a nightmare for her. There was no adventure. We weren’t outside in the heat, but she was bored, cooped up in a library all day studying ‘stupid old books.’ She didn’t understand the languages the books were written in and complained most of the time. She didn’t have anyone to talk to. She wouldn’t go sightseeing without me and wasn’t all that interested when I took her. After three days, we decided it would be best if she entertained herself at the hotel or in the city. So, while I worked, she shopped.”
“Well, I guess that’s sort of win/win?” Vanessa wrinkled her nose. She liked shopping, but weren’t they supposed to be in love? For richer or poorer? Til death do us part? This girl sounded selfish.
Daniel chuckled. “I thought so, but she got bored again after a week and wanted to go home. We had rented a flat recently and I thought that perhaps that would be best. I had a job at a good university there and she seemed eager to get back to ‘civilization’ as she called it. I was sad to see her go, but I wanted her to be happy.”
“So, she went home, then what?”
“I finished out my time at the museum and came home. I thought things were fine and they were, for a while. I taught at college. Claudine made a few friends with the other professors’ wives and seemed to be settling in. She enjoyed going to the various dinners and what not. We couldn’t afford many fancy things, but she seemed reasonably content. Unfortunately, after about a year, she got bored.”
“Again?!”
“She decided she didn’t have enough money for some of the things she wanted. So, she took a job.”
“That sounds good. I think. Why was that bad?”
“Oh, it wasn’t bad that she worked. It was bad that her job was in a nice department store for men.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Soon, her hours got longer and longer. Then, she started having to take buying trips for the store. I believed all of it.”
Vanessa stared blankly at him and hoped her suspicions were wrong.
“The truth I found out later was she lasted only a few days working at that job. She met a man, a rich, married man, and had an affair. This went on for over a year and I was completely blind to it.”
“I am so sorry for you,” was all Vanessa could verbalize, wiping away her tears. She was both captivated by this revelation and aghast by how anyone could hurt him so deeply. Oh Daniel, I am so sorry for you! I wish to the depths of my heart I could take all that away! You deserve so much more!
“That’s not the worst of it. When I found out, I was so angry. She had brought him into our flat. I came home early and found them…together. We all fought. First with him, he acted like he wanted to calm me down, then he swung at me. I came unglued. Like a wild man, I lunged at him. She begged me to stop, and after a black eye and a broken and bloody nose, perhaps a broken rib or two, multiple cuts, scratches and bruises, he grabbed his coat and stormed off. My knuckles were raw and my hands were covered in blood. She snatched the car keys and ran out. It was a rainy day. She drove too fast.”
Vanessa’s tears flowed freely now. He seemed oblivious to his own.
“The police told me later she had hydroplaned and hit a tree. She didn’t suffer, it was very quick.”
“But you suffered.”
“It was my mistake.”
“Wait. What mistake? You didn’t do anything wrong. She did.”
“No, Vanessa, I did many things wrong. I never should have married her. Her spiritual life was shaky at best. She was very selfish. I ignored that. I didn’t want to see. If I hadn’t married her…, maybe she would be alive today.”
“You blame yourself for her death?”
“Yes, I do.”
“But she knew better. She went to church with you. She heard the truth and had her own relationship with the Lord.”
“Yes, but the Lord spoke to me. He never wanted me to marry her and I chose to ignore Him. I know I’m forgiven, but I can’t bring her back. If I had reached out a little more rather than allowing us to live two separate lives, if I had let her go peacefully when I caught them, maybe things might be different today. If my anger had not been the catalyst for her rushing off…” Daniel’s voice trailed off, becoming silent as he relived the moment.
He took a deep breath and continued. “At that time, I was playing at church. I was doing what I wanted, living my own life and chasing my own dreams. In a way, I was as selfish as she. My faith certainly wasn’t real.”
“It doesn’t sound like you were selfish. She’s the one who broke faith. You didn’t.”
“Didn’t I? I wasn’t honest with her. She was as blind to the real me as I was to her. But I knew that and I didn’t take the time to straighten it out. I wanted her, not like a real person, but like some object, like some prize to be attained, something to be possessed.”
Vanessa was silent. Daniel was a person with very different experiences than she had perceived. He was real, with real imperfections, and having relived the depths of his despair, she saw him for the first time as vulnerable. But his blazing honesty and willingness to reckon with and repent of the things that kept him from the Lord made her admiration of him swell up even bigger than before.
She still couldn’t quite forgive Claudine for hurting Daniel like that. Yet, he apparently had. “Your faith is real now. It’s obvious. What happened?”
“After Claudine died, I died a little too. I didn’t tell anyone at college about what had truly happened. I took a six month sabbatical after the funeral, but all I did was prowl around my parents’ house and the village. No one knew what to say to me. They were very understanding, but I think they were glad to see me leave.”
“What a
bout your pastor?”
“He is a good man, but I didn’t tell him anything either. He ministered as best he could, but he didn’t have the full picture.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I tried to go back to college and teach, but I was miserable. I was so disillusioned, cynical. I bought into the lie that I had become a failure. And then I became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Everything I touched fell apart. I felt rejected by men, and rightly so. I definitely felt rejected by God, and even if He could forgive me, what could He ever do with a failure like me?”
“Then, the pastor from the church I had been attending while I was an undergraduate heard of the situation reached out to me. He was relentless in his care. He and his wife fed me and were simply there. They didn’t push when I needed to be silent and they listened when I was finally ready to speak. They prayed for me and with me. Eventually, I was able to allow the Lord to give me comfort and to truly become my Comforter.”
“That’s wonderful,” Vanessa said thoughtfully. “But I still think she was absolutely crazy to do that to you.”Who would want to leave such a sweet, wonderful man, my dear Daniel.
“What she did was wrong, but I forgave her, though she will never know. And I could forgive myself.”
Vanessa went deep into thought. To forgive oneself. This was going to take some time.
“Vanessa,” Daniel reached across the table and took her hand in both of his in a ministerial gesture. “It doesn’t matter what horrible thing you did. If God doesn’t hold it against you, how can anyone else? I certainly don’t.”
“You don’t know what I did.”
“You don’t have to tell me right now, but you need to unburden yourself to someone.”
Again, she shook her head and softly pulled her hand away. “I’m sorry, Daniel, I can’t.”
His lips pulled out in an almost smile. “I can’t force you and I will never try. I will, nonetheless, be praying for you.”
Vanessa shifted in her seat. Was their friendship completely destroyed?
