One Chance: A Thrilling Christian Fiction Mystery Romance (16 page)

Findley tried to reach out to the report but the chains on the handcuffs were too short. "Nothing Deputy. Nothing. You got it all. Fine. I screwed up. My prints are in his truck. It was me. Okay? I ran that guy down. I tried to kill him but he rolled out of the way. I figured, Doug was already drunk, he wouldn't even notice the damage it had done to his truck. And I was right! He came out of that bar so blitzed he walked right by the front of his truck and didn't even see what had happened. Then, he drives to another bar! He did not deserve Camille! I deserved Camille. Me! She belonged to me!"

Penelope let the man rant. Let him say whatever he wanted to, knowing it was all being recorded. Let him hang himself. He had tried to kill a friend of Penelope's. And, tried to pin it on another friend, Penelope's best friend in the world.

But it hadn't worked.

Thank you, Lord, Penelope said. I never should have doubted that you had a plan in all this.

"Now, Mister Findley," Penelope said, collecting the folder back. "Let's talk about your whereabouts for Saturday. Tell me why you killed Camille."

Penelope was surprised to actually see tears in the man's eyes. Was he crying because he'd been caught? Because he was so angry? Or did he actually have real feelings for Camille?

"You can't touch me on that one, Deputy," Findley snapped. "I didn't kill her. And I'm done talking to you."

With that, Findley slumped into his chair and try as Penelope would, he didn't say another word.

CHAPTER 28

Sheriff Jackson was smiling when Penelope came out of the interview room. "Nicely done, Deputy. That gets Doug off for the attempted murder of Pete. Very good job."

"Half a job, Sheriff. I got him to confess to trying to kill Pete. But not for killing Camille."

Jim Saunders was still there, watching Findley through the room's two-way mirror. "Don't know, Penelope. Seems to me this guy might be telling the truth. Least wise, now he is. Why confess to trying to kill Pete, but stop short of confessing to Camille's murder?"

Penelope took a deep breath and scrubbed at her face, then ran her fingers through her honey blonde hair. "I don't know, Jim. Maybe because he knows an actual murder conviction will get him lethal injection. Maybe because he's okay with people thinking a lot of things about him, just not that he killed a woman. I don't know. But I know Doug didn't do it."

Sheriff Jackson put his hand on Penelope's shoulder. "I believe you now, too, Penelope. I apologize for being upset with you before. You did just what I asked of you. You ran this case down right to the end."

"Not to the end, sir. There's more to this puzzle yet. But, if I might say so, I think we can let Doug go now. I'll keep him under house arrest still, if you like."

The Sheriff looked at Penelope for a long moment. "He's still on the hook for Camille's murder, Penelope."

"There's not enough to charge him."

"Not enough to clear him, either," the Sheriff pointed out. "Unless you can pull some other miracle out of your hat."

"The only one who can do miracles is God, Sheriff. He's already pulled one here. I have a feeling He's got more in store for us."

"Okay. If you can promise he'll stay at your place, then I'll turn him over to your custody, so to speak. But he's got to keep his nose clean, Penelope. I'm taking a big risk with this."

Penelope nodded, happy she finally had some good news to give her friend.

"Deputy Saunders," the Sheriff turned to Jim and pointed a finger at the man in the interview room, "book this piece of garbage and get him transported over to the County Correctional Facility. After that, take off and be with that wife of yours. I know you two need the extra money, with the baby coming, but I'm sure she needs her husband around now, too."

Jim smiled. "I'm sure she does, too, Sheriff. Thank you. Man, the list of charges we got on this guy! Aggravated assault on an officer, burglary, attempted murder! Then all the smaller stuff like auto theft. Did I miss anything?"

"Assault on Dan Hughes, the witness who saw him driving that night. Poor guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Or," the Sheriff said, "maybe the right place at the right time. Why don't you go have another talk with him, Penelope? Maybe something else will jog loose in his memory."

"I will, Sheriff. But, I want to get Doug released first and back home. And, I could use some sleep myself. This has been the longest weekend of my life. I'll go to the clinic first thing in the morning and talk with Dan again."

"That's fine," the Sheriff told her. "Longest weekend any of us have had in a long time, I'd wager."

Penelope helped Jim with some of the specifics of the charges against Michael Findley, then went back to the holding cell. Doug was awake now and sitting up. He stared at the ceiling until he heard Penelope coming. "Penny?" he said, standing up and coming to the bars of the cell. "Penny, what's going on? I've been back here for I don't know how long. Where's Trevor? Is he okay? When can I see him? When can I get out?"

Penelope smiled and produced her key ring, with the key to the cell door on it. "I've got some good news for you, buddy. You ready to go home?"

CHAPTER 29

Dinner that Monday night at the Chance home was a joyous affair, a celebration over containers of takeout Chinese food. It was held later than usual, but no one minded. Doug sat with Trevor on his lap, letting his son taste egg rolls and chicken balls for the first time. Trevor made various faces with each one, only really interested in the fortune cookies. It felt good for Penelope to be out of her uniform for a change and enjoying the company of her friends.

And the company of her fiance. Her and Jacob hugged one another for a very long time, taking strength from their closeness. "Sorry I haven't been around much this weekend," she told him, still holding him close.

He shrugged as Penelope nuzzled into his shoulder. "I've chosen to marry a cop. I understand the risks."

"You sure they can spare you at the clinic?"

"Nurse Taylor has the night shift. I told her to call me if anything comes up. It's just Dan Hughes there now, and since you caught the man who assaulted him, I'm sure he's going to sleep a lot better."

"You'll be sleeping better too," she said to him, stroking his dark brown hair. "That guy, Findley, he's just bad. I don't know what happened to him to make him this way, but I can't find a single good thing about him. I'm glad we got him off the streets."

"Just sad it had to happen this way?"

She laughed softly. "You know me too well."

"I'd better, if you're going to become Mrs. Penelope Gordon," Jacob said with a wink and a smile.

She kissed him, longer and with more purpose than she ever had before. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" she said when she broke away finally.

He was almost breathless, but managed to say, "I'm not sure. I think you have, but not like you did just now."

"Auntie Penny," Trevor said to her, crumbling a triangular piece of fortune cookie over his plate. "Where's mama?"

Silence filled the room as the whole world came crashing down. Penelope looked at Doug. There were tears in her friend's eyes.

"Penelope, Jacob, can you give Trevor and me a moment?" Doug asked them.

"Do you want us to stay, maybe?" Jacob offered. Penelope could tell how his heart went out to Trevor.

"No, thank you though." Doug turned Trevor around and held him tightly. "I need to do this."

Penelope and Jacob walked outside, holding each other's hands. "I wish I could do this for him," Penelope admitted. "He's been there for me so often, and through so much."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "And you're here for him now."

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"But not like his family was there for you when you were younger?"

She swallowed and wouldn't look him in his eyes. "You know that's the one thing in my life I haven't talked to you about."

"Yes you have," he said. "You've told me all about it."

But she shook her head. "I've told you the facts of what happened. Most of them. But I haven't really talked to you about it."

He touched her face lightly with his fingertips. "I just figured that when you were ready, you'd lay that down. I guess all of this has brought it back up for you, hasn't it?"

A nod was all she could manage. Visions of that night, so long ago, when her family's home burned down and left her orphaned, swam through her head. They were always there, just below the surface, never really going away. It was the one burden she had carried with her all these years, never being able to let it go. She had lived, while her parents had died.

It had been a lot for a girl of eight to handle. It still was a lot for her.

If Doug's parents hadn't taken her in and made her like their own daughter, she might never have grown up to be where she was now.

He hugged her again, and just held her. She didn't know when the tears started, or why, but they did, and he held her while she silently wept.

When she was finally able to draw a steady breath again she whispered, "Thank you."

"I love you back," he answered her.

Penelope knew she still had a lot of work ahead of her in this, in clearing Doug completely from everything he had been falsely accused of. But standing here, under a clear night sky, in the arms of the man she loved, she knew that God had truly blessed her.

"You need to lay this down completely, Penelope," he said to her. "You need to give it over to God and let it be laid to rest. I love you, for everything you are. But you've got a lot of room inside of you being taken up by this tragedy. Don't let it weigh you down anymore."

She knew he was right. She also knew the reason she hadn't committed to a wedding date yet, was this baggage she carried. And she thought that now, with him here, she was more ready than she had ever been to get rid of it. But, just not yet.

"I will," she assured him. "But Doug needs me first. When everything's done with him, I'll try healing myself. I promise."

He laid a hand over her heart. "You can't heal yourself, silly. Only God can do that for you."

They kissed again. When they stepped apart, she knew he was getting ready to go home. "You could stay the night, if you wanted," she said to him.

He gave her a quizzical look, an eyebrow arched.

"On the couch, I mean. If you want to. You could." She was stumbling over her words and he started chuckling at her.

"You know what I meant," she said, tugging on his hand playfully.

"I did. I just like to see you squirm a little. I'm going to go home for tonight. I'm a big boy. I'll be fine, really. And you and I will have the rest of our lives to sleep under one roof soon enough."

She walked him to his car and kissed his cheek as he got in. "Tell Doug I said I'm happy for him," he said, and then he was driving away down the street.

Penelope couldn't wait for the day when they would be married. To have that kind of love and encouragement in her life meant a lot to her. It was the first time she had felt truly loved, unconditionally loved, since her parents' deaths. Doug and his family had done their best for her, and she had grown to love them like the surrogate family they had been. But it wasn't the same.

With Jacob, she'd found something that was missing in her life. And it might finally be enough for her to let go of the dead weight of a child's pain she had carried with her all these years.

Her memories were interrupted by the door to her house closing. Turning, she saw Doug stepping out, his eyes red in the dim porch lights. He sat down on one of the folding chairs Penelope had set up there and hung his head.

Penelope sat down next to him. "You put Trevor to bed?"

Doug nodded. "That poor kid. I told him that his mother went to Heaven, and tried to answer everything for him the best I could. He cried a little, but then you know what he said to me? He says, that's okay daddy, we'll be with her in Heaven one day."

Penelope had to smile at that. She couldn't help herself. The things that a child said often put grown-up worries into perspective. "I'm sorry, Doug. I really am. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Doug pushed his hands over his short hair. "Well, I could really use a beer right now."

Penelope shook her head.

"I know, I know. I want one, really badly Penny, but I'm not going to. Not so long as Trevor's here. I owe him that much."

They sat in silence for a while, staring out at the night.

"You have to get this guy for me, Penny," Doug said to her after a long time.

"I will, buddy. God willing, I will."

"You talk to Pete again? Tell him it wasn't me?"

"Pete's still at Grace Memorial Hospital. Last I heard, his condition wasn't good, Doug. I'll have Jacob check on him tomorrow. For tonight, let's just get some rest. The both of us have earned it, I think."

"Amen, sister."

Hearing him call her that again brought a tired smile to her lips.

Even so, even as tired as they were, they stayed on the porch a while longer, just taking comfort from each other's company.

CHAPTER 30

That Tuesday morning was the first time in a long time that Penelope had considered calling in sick, when she wasn't. Her body was still exhausted when the alarm went off at seven in the morning. Her eyes blinked repeatedly in an attempt to focus. She yawned over and over.

And if her best friend's good name wasn't still on the line, then she might just have allowed herself to tell that little white lie and stay home, pretending to be sick. But Doug wasn't out of the woods yet. And it was up to her to make sure the truth got found out.

It was pretty clear at this point that Doug didn't kill his ex-wife. Penelope had already cleared him of the attempted murder of Pete. But being able to show Doug probably didn't kill Camille wouldn't be enough to clear him in the minds of everyone in town. And Penelope felt she owed it to Doug to not only clear his name in the criminal courts, but in the hearts of his neighbors as well. So she struggled out of bed, showered, and dressed for work in her uniform. After a quick bite of toast with jam, she got up from the kitchen table and headed for the door.