Downfall

by V. B. Tenery

  Five minutes later, Matt’s SUV slammed into the curb. He jumped out, leaving the door ajar. Smoke curled around Matt, burning his nose as he frantically searched for Sara. A too-familiar fear crawled up his spine and left him trembling. Please, she has to be alright.

  “Chief,” Turner’s voice came through his cell phone. “Chris is alive. He’s on his way to Twin Falls Memorial.”

  Matt hissed out a relieved breath. He caught a glimpse of Cole Allen through the smoke and mist, and strode towards him. The young detective pointed to an ambulance parked kitty-corner to the street. Matt’s heart almost stopped. Fearing what he might find, he ran to the emergency unit and stepped to the open back doors. “I’m looking for my . . .”

  He stopped when he saw Sara sitting inside while a tech applied a bandage to her elbows, an icepack held to her mouth.

  She spotted him and dropped the icepack, then leaped into his arms, burying her face in his chest. “Oh, Matt...Chris is . . .”

  He took a deep breath and let the adrenaline dissipate through his body, put his hands around her waist, and pulled her against him. “I know. He’s on his way to the hospital. Still holding on.” He held her even tighter. His throat clenched as he shuddered out a long breath. “Thank God you’re alright. What were you doing here?”

  Face smeared with soot and dirt, her lower lip swollen, she squeezed her eyes shut, her voice a warm wisp against his cheek. “I hadn’t visited Eden after the death of her parents. I stopped by to offer my condolences. I...I think she and the boys . . .”

  Matt shook his head. “The twins are safe. They were at school.”

  “Then, Eden . . .” Her gaze clouded.

  He nodded. “I think so. She was apparently inside.”

  His cell phone signaled a text message. He pulled it from his pocket, read the message, and returned it to his pocket.

  Sara pulled back and gazed up at him. “Why would someone shoot at me from her condo?”

  He cupped her face in his hands and felt his jaw muscles tighten. “Shots were fired at you?”

  She nodded, and he felt a tremor run through her body. “Just before the building exploded. That’s the shot that hit Chris.”

  “I’m sure it was James Bauer, but we won’t know for sure until all the pieces are put together. If you’re up to it, you need to give Davis or Turner a statement of what happened.” He paused. “We can postpone it if you like. I want to check on Chris. Feel like going with me?”

  She nodded. “I’ll talk to Miles later. I couldn’t bear waiting any place else for news on Chris. Does his wife know?”

  “Turner just texted me. Cole and Stein are picking her up. Both her boys are in school, and we don’t want her driving under that kind of stress.”

  Twin Falls Memorial Hospital

  Twin Falls, Texas

  The emergency waiting room was crowded with the entire detective staff, the Hunter family, and friends. The media arrived right behind Matt and Sara, but he stopped them in the parking lot.

  The mayor pushed through the reporters and photographers, never one to miss a photo op.

  Matt held up his hand. “You’ll have to wait here. The detective’s family needs privacy.” He tilted his head at Mayor Hall. “The mayor will give you an update when there’s any news.”

  Hall smiled and stepped in front of the cameras, and Matt went inside.

  In the ER waiting room, Doris Hunter, Chris’s wife, sat on a turquoise leather sofa, Miles Davis beside her, holding her hand. When Matt and Sara entered, Doris stood and gave him a tight hug, her eyes red, face muscles taut, holding it together as thousands of law enforcement wives had done forever. He returned the embrace and introduced Sara, then went to the desk and asked the receptionist to find Gaye Bishop, head nurse in ER. If there was any news, Gaye would know. She came from a family of police officers and made sure any LEOs were taken care of when they passed through her ER.

  It took the receptionist a few minutes to find Gaye, but soon she stood in front of him, her face strained with concern. He didn’t have to ask. She knew what he wanted. “Chris is still in surgery. Last I heard, he was stable. The surgeon will contact Chris’s wife as soon as he’s finished.”

  Matt thanked her and returned to the waiting room.

  Doug Anderson entered behind him, bypassing the mayor who was shaking hands with Doris, and proceeded to join Matt in a nearby alcove.

  “Any news?” Doug asked.

  “Not yet. He’s still in surgery.”

  “Do they think he’s going to make it?”

  Matt gave a solemn shake of his head. “We haven’t spoken to a doctor. We’re just waiting and praying.”

  *****

  Doug Anderson stepped away, stopped, and then turned back. “I have to go back to the office. Call me when you hear anything. And, Matt,” he paused, “forget about Luther Donnell. He withdrew his application.”

  Matt raised an eyebrow.

  Doug could feel the pink flush creeping from his collar and over his face. “He took a job in the governor’s office.”

  “Doing what?” Matt asked.

  “I didn’t ask. He didn’t say. And if you send me your resignation, I’ll tear it up.”

  Doug left through the emergency room entrance and plodded to his car. He opened the door and slid behind the wheel, but didn’t start the engine. A short rap on the passenger side window startled him.

  He glanced over to see Mayor Terrence Hall—the man responsible for Doug almost losing the best police chief in the state. And there was no guarantee Matt wouldn’t leave anyway.

  Hall gave a wave, walked to his car, and drove away.

  Doug had known Matt Foley for ten years. He was an outstanding law enforcement officer, and even finer human being. He’d had a stellar military career. Eight years in the U.S. Army 75th Brigade, a Ranger special mission unit sharpshooter. He’d done two tours of duty, one in Iraq, the last in Afghanistan.

  And because of Terry Hall, Doug had decided to serve his own selfish interest, rather than listen to Matt’s sound counsel of why Luther Donnell was a bad fit for Internal Affairs. He’d tried to force Matt’s hand. It only took one meeting with Donnell to know Matt’s analysis had been spot-on. The man was a clown.

  Hall had forced Doug to make a choice between doing the right thing and the happiness of his youngest daughter.

  Allie’s dream had always been to attend the same college her parents and her siblings had gone to. She wasn’t a scholar, but Doug had thought her grades were good enough for her to be accepted. Somehow, Hall had learned Allie had applied to the college.

  And, like Satan in the Garden of Eden, Hall came to him one afternoon and offered to guarantee Allie’s admittance to the college, provided Doug would ensure Donnell was hired in the IAD spot. He alluded to having inside connections at the university that could assure her admittance or denial. Doug capitulated.

  He gazed through the windshield at the sky filled with millions of stars, and knew he deserved no credit for Hall’s inept brother-in-law withdrawing his resume. Doug had been granted a reprieve he didn’t deserve, and it had cost him the respect of a man he admired. Turning the key in the ignition, Doug made himself a promise.

  He would do everything in his power to see that Hall was not re-elected next term.

  *****

  While Matt was gone, Sara called her aunt and asked if she would have Don pick up the children at school. Her aunt assured her it wouldn’t be a problem. With the children taken care of, Sara slipped into the restroom to wash her face and try to straighten her hair. Her purse had been in the Jeep, and was probably now melted to the chassis.

  She gazed at her reflection in the mirror and groaned. Her hair was mussed and littered with cement dust, her face streaked with dark smudges, and her bottom lip looked as though she was pouting.

  There were no face cloths, so she pulled one of the brown paper towels from the dispenser. The texture felt like sandpaper and left her face red and raw, bu
t it did the job.

  When she returned to her seat, Matt was back, an expression on his face somewhere between concern and amazement. “Is there news about Chris?”

  He gave his head a shake as if to clear it. “No, not yet.”

  “Then what?”

  He nodded toward the entrance. “Doug just told me my Luther Donnell problem had gone away.”

  “Did he say why?” she asked.

  His lips tilted upward. “Nope, just that Donnell had taken another job.” The corner of his mouth gave an almost indiscernible twitch. “But I have a good idea who might have brokered the deal.”

  Chris Hunter was in surgery for four hours, and, as the time passed, the number of people in the waiting room diminished. Outside, the media was the first to leave. They had deadlines to meet. And Doug and Mayor Hall had both left earlier. Finally, only Matt, Sara, the three detectives, and the immediate family remained.

  When the doctor came through the double doors, they all stood. He walked over to Doris, but spoke in a voice that all could here. “Your husband is well. He’s resting in recovery. The damage was extensive, but he won’t lose the use of his arm. However, he will need therapy for a long time. He’s still under sedation and will be for a while. You can visit him after he’s moved to ICU.”

  Relief flooded over Sara. She couldn’t have lived with the reality that the funny, sweet man had died saving her life.

  She leaned close to Matt, drawing strength from his nearness. “If you’re ready, I think I would like to go home now.”

  The Foley Residence

  Twin Falls, Texas

  Matt took Sara’s hand as they stepped into the kitchen.

  “Sorry about your Jeep, Matt,” she said, her voice just above a whisper.

  “Nothing for you to be sorry about. It wasn’t your fault. Besides, it’s covered by insurance.”

  He understood she was making conversation to hold back the day’s trauma. He wanted to hold her, to erase all that she had experienced today. “Come; let’s get you in the shower to get rid of the dust and smoke. You’ll feel better.”

  Like an exhausted child, she let him lead her upstairs, and stood in the bathroom while he turned on the shower and set the temperature.

  As she showered, he made a fire in the hearth and turned back the covers, then returned to the kitchen and made her a cup of chamomile tea with honey. He went back into the bedroom and found her already in bed, with Rowdy’s head on her shoulder. The Yorkie watched her with big, sad eyes, as though he understood her exhaustion and pain.

  She winced when the cup touched her tender lip, but Matt coaxed her to drink the tea, and then gave her a melatonin tablet to help her sleep.

  He sat by her bedside, watching her troubled slumber, and asked himself if there was anything he could have done to spare her the horror of what happened today. He could have warned her to stay away from Eden Russell, but that would have been premature. Finally, he accepted he could never cover all contingencies. He climbed into bed and thanked God for His mercy in keeping her safe.

  CHAPTER 23

  The Foley Residence

  Twin Falls, Texas

  A week later, things were getting back to normal, and Sara invited Agnes Welford back to meet Matt and the children. The attorney, whose name Aggie provided, gave the nurse a raving reference. As an extra precaution, Sara had saved the coffee cup the nurse drank from on the first interview, and had Matt run her prints through police files. They came back clean. With her children, she couldn’t afford to take chances.

  Matt had gone a step farther and checked her references at hospitals she worked for in the past. They only had nice things to say about her.

  He had no problem with a live-in housekeeper, as long as Sara was comfortable with the arrangement. He’d pointed out, however, that, if Aggie didn’t work out, it would be more difficult to let her go.

  That was an issue Sara had considered, but finally decided other people dealt with that all the time and she could handle it if the problem arose.

  When the doorbell rang, Sara invited her in and led the petite woman into the game room. She wanted to keep the meeting as informal as possible. Sara introduced Matt and the children. Poppy and Danny rose from playing with Rowdy to meet her.

  When Matt shook her hand, Aggie looked up at him and grinned. “I’ll bet all the women at the station are in love with you.”

  Matt blushed and looked a little uncomfortable. “If so, I assure you they’re keeping it to themselves.”

  Sara laughed. “Only about two thirds swoon when he passes; the older ones try to mother him.”

  Aggie walked over to the little girl. “Now, let me guess, you must be Danny, and the handsome lad standing next to you would be Poppy. Right?”

  Poppy giggled. “Noooo, I’m Poppy and he’s Danny.”

  “Well, I’m glad you straightened me out,” Aggie said. “Do you have any questions for me?”

  Never the bashful type, Poppy asked, “Can you cook? I can. Miss B’trice teached me how.”

  “Taught me,” Sara corrected.

  “I’m probably going to need your help.” Aggie knelt down to the little girl’s eye level. “You see, I’ve been cooking for sick people and, to be honest, it didn’t taste very good.”

  “I can show you how.” Poppy nodded her head enthusiastically. “Want to see the kitchen?”

  Sara placed her hand on Poppy’s blonde curls. “Let’s wait until Aggie starts to work, then you can show her around. How would you like some coffee, Aggie?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Aggie said.

  *****

  Sara left to make the coffee, and Matt took the chair next to Aggie. “Where did you grow up, Aggie?”

  She laughed. “I was a preacher’s kid, so I lived a lot of places before we settled in Tyler. Born and raised in East Texas. My dad was a full time preacher and rose farmer. The farm was beautiful and smelled wonderful when they were in bloom, but you couldn’t eat them. Like other businesses, a recession kills the need for most folks to buy flowers and, of course, preaching didn’t pay that well either. There were some hard times.”

  Matt nodded, his eyes full of understanding, and she wondered if he’d had a rough childhood.

  She’d always felt those hard times made her stronger, made her appreciate things more. Her theory on what was wrong with kids today was they had too many toys and too much time on their hands. For sure, you didn’t have the problem with gangs back when she was growing up.

  “I remember a deacon in the church where my dad preached. Before he gave my father his monthly check, he would critique dad’s sermons for the whole month. I always thought that was humiliating for my dad, but, you know, he took it and never complained. My dad was the sweetest, most humble man I ever knew.”

  Sara returned with a tray and cups. She filled them and handed the first one to Aggie. She was impressed that Sara remembered how she took it.

  “My, just listen to me run on,” she winked at Matt. “I’ll bet you’re great at interrogating crooks.”

  Sara took a seat by her husband and curled her feet up on the sofa. “So what do you think, Aggie? You ready to go to work?”

  “Give me a week to get things wound up at the judge’s place and I’m all yours.”

  The night air was cold as Aggie made her way to her Honda Civic and headed home. With her eye on the speed limit, Aggie felt good about the decision she’d made to work for the Foleys. They were down to earth, no airs about them.

  She was good at reading people, and hoped she wouldn’t be disappointed. People didn’t always show their true character to strangers. But she liked Sara and Matt and, from news reports, they’d been through a rough spot recently. In her nursing career, Aggie had witnessed strong people in tough times, and their inner strength, born of faith and courage, always saw them through. A truth she’d learned at her father’s knee and had been reinforced throughout her personal and professional life.

  Twin Falls Poli
ce Station

  Twin Falls, Texas

  Matt prepared for his final wrap-up meeting with the detectives on the Davenport and Russell murders. His cell phone rang before he made it to his office door.

  Caller ID flashed Blain Stanton’s name. “Are you and Sara okay? The media reports had us worried, but I knew you’d call if there was any real trouble.”

  Matt closed his office door behind him and ascended the stairway leading to the detective bureau. “Great. Things are back to normal, thank heavens.”

  “Glad to hear it. I think you need to find a safer occupation. I won’t even ask what Sara was doing there. I think she’s a magnet for trouble.”

  Matt laughed. “I wondered about that myself. But the job isn’t always this bad.”

  “Don’t kid me. I’m keeping score.”

  Matt could almost see the big grin on Blain’s face through the phone. “Hey, I understand you lost an opportunity to employ an outstanding officer. True or false?”

  “You wouldn’t know anything about Luther Donnell finding a job in the governor’s office, would you?”

  “Rumor has it that he has a job with a big title, no responsibility, and is primarily a gofer.” Blain roared with laughter, and disconnected.

  Matt shook his head and couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Having a guardian angel sometimes came in handy. But he still had issues to resolve with Doug Anderson.

  When he entered the bureau, the three detectives were already seated around the conference table. Chris’s smiling face was sorely missed.

  “Okay, guys, let’s get this case report on its way to all the need-to-know folks. Stop me if I say something you don’t understand or you think is wrong.

  “Jim Bauer was the actual shooter in both the Davenport and Russell murders. Ballistics confirmed the gun and rifle used were his, and bore his fingerprints. He set the fire in his mother’s barn and rigged the explosion in Eden’s condo, apparently a murder/suicide plot.