Reasonable Doubt (10 page)

Dad shook his head. “Poor tyke.”

Raven let out a low whistle under her breath. “That was some drama.”

“Yeah,” Keri said noncommittally. Curiosity burned inside her. What had Josh been about to tell her when Justin showed up?

“Well?”

Keri turned to see her petite sister, her dark eyes sparkling with demand, her palms resting on slender hips. “Well, what?”

“Are you going to tell me what that was all about? What was the kid doing in the closet?”

“He had a nightmare.”

“In the closet?”

Keri scowled. “No. It’s a long story.”

“Look, Keri. I know you think I’m just a nosy big sister out to steal away Dad’s affection, but I really do want to help. If you fill me in on the details, maybe I can make some suggestions, phone calls, whatever. I’m not going to do anything to harm Justin or his boys. I give you my promise.” Her dark eyes pleaded, and Keri felt herself caving. But she felt the need to get a couple of things straight before she let Raven in on the situation completely.

“First of all, I don’t think you’re out to steal Dad’s affection. I think you break his heart every time you promise to come visit and then don’t. That’s the problem I have with your relationship with Dad. I’d welcome his happiness.”

“All right. I take back my comment. I’m sorry, okay?”

“Second of all, I can’t tell you anything until I get Justin’s approval. This is his life and his son’s nightmares we’re talking about. So we’ll see what he has to say about it later. After Josh settles down.”

Raven gave a reluctant nod. Then she grinned. “So has Justin kissed you yet?”

Justin paced the room watching Josh lying flushed and feverish beneath a heavy quilt. He could only guess how long his son had huddled in that freezing-cold closet, shivering and terrified while he himself slept peacefully, dreaming of a future with Keri Mahoney.

Self-accusing thoughts accosted him over and over until Justin wanted to shout for his mind to shut up and give him five minutes of peace. What kind of parent was he? the silent voices demanded to know.

A gentle tap at the door pulled him from his brooding. “Come in,” he called softly. His heart picked up at
the sight of Keri standing in the doorway, her hair pulled back from her face. She was dressed in snug jeans and a loose, emerald green ribbed turtleneck that perfectly offset her fair skin and red hair. He motioned her into the room. With a half smile, she tiptoed across the wood floor.

“How is he?” she asked, standing over Josh’s bed.

Her concern was so genuine, Justin took her hand. She didn’t protest, but turned her palm flat to his, lacing their fingers. Justin took comfort in the simple gesture and didn’t stop to examine its meaning. “He’s still running a fever, but at least he’s stopped shivering under the quilt.”

“Good. Dad says it’s most likely just a cold and probably has nothing to do with his adventure in the closet. He’ll be okay in a day or so.”

“I hope so.”

Keri squeezed his hand. “He’s a strong little boy.”

Still holding her hand, Justin sat on the bed beside Josh. Keri stepped closer and brushed her free hand over his head. Pressing his forehead into her waist, Justin closed his eyes. He felt her lips brush against the top of his head.

“Why don’t you let me sit with him for a while,” she suggested. “Dad’s watching a John Wayne movie with Billy. I’m sure they’d welcome your company.”

Opening his eyes, Justin pulled back and studied her for a moment. She returned his gaze with steady appraisal. “You believe me now, don’t you? Last night when I was talking to Bob I felt like…”

She slipped her hand from his. “Don’t ask me to give you an answer to that question just yet, Justin. I’m not ready to say what you want to hear.”

Disappointment twisted inside him. He stood. “I think I will go sit with Billy and your dad awhile.”

“One word of caution.”

Justin braced himself, not sure he was up for any more bad news. “Yeah?”

A grin tipped her lips. “Stay out of the kitchen. Raven and Ruth are clashing about what spices actually go into a pumpkin pie. It was starting to turn ugly in there when I snuck away.”

Forcing himself to return her smile, Justin nodded. He appreciated her attempt at lightness after the events of the morning, but he couldn’t quite convince his own heart to lift. A man could take just so much before things overwhelmed him. Justin was just about at that point. He swallowed back the sudden lump in his throat and cleared his throat. “Thanks again, Keri. Don’t leave him alone even for a minute, okay? I don’t want him to wake up from another nightmare and be afraid.”

“I’ll take care of him. Trust me.”

If only you could take your own advice and trust me,
he thought as he stepped into the hallway and carefully closed the door behind him.

W
ith aching tenderness Keri sat in a straight-back chair next to the bed and watched Josh’s angelic face as he slept. His wasn’t even close to the sleep of the peaceful, a fact she acknowledged from his shifting, moaning and spastic eye movement. Her heart swelled with compassion, but even more with the startling newness of what could only be maternal love.
He should be my son, Lord. Mine and Justin’s
. She drew in a deep, troubled breath. What’s going to happen to him?

From the recesses of her imagination, Keri found an image of herself cooking and cleaning, playing in the yard, reading bedtime books, overseeing homework and doing loads of laundry. Her stomach knotted with the power of the desire for that image to become reality. She refused to allow Justin’s beautiful image to spill over into the mini-film. She wasn’t ready for that heartbreak just yet. Could she bear it if Josh told her he’d witnessed Justin kill Amelia?

A chill began at the base of her spine and crawled upward until it reached her shoulders and became a
violent shudder. She stood and crossed silently to the window.

She pushed back the deep-blue curtain. Staring out at the gray world, she wondered what was in store for the unlikely group huddled together in the small cabin. Here they were, nestled in a secluded part of the world, an unlikely hodgepodge of human beings fitted together for different reasons. Topping the list were a grizzled ex-cop and his senior-citizen girlfriend, whose purpose was to bring the family together and gain some acceptance from Dad’s three girls before they formally set a date for the wedding.

Then there was Raven, an investigative reporter, whose motives weren’t entirely clear to Keri. Maybe she wanted to help. Maybe she wanted a scoop. One thing was clear, she wasn’t happy about Dad’s bride-to-be. Keri dreaded Raven deciding to voice her opinion. It would happen. Raven wasn’t one to hold back for something as trifling as politeness. Most important, in the group were two precious look-alikes with very different concerns in the world.

Keri leaned her head against the cold glass. Oh, Justin. Justin—possibly a murderer, possibly the same wonderful soul mate she’d grown up loving with her whole heart. Guilty or not, all he wanted was to keep his family together for as long as he could.

And she capped off the unlikely group, a policewoman with a promotion on the line. As chief, she had a much better chance of influencing procedural changes in dealing with drunks like Junior Conner. Irritation bit at her. Who said just because Briarwood was a throwback to Mayberry that they had to treat the town drunk the same way Andy treated Otis? Junior had nar
rowly missed plowing into a bunch of kids during his latest binge. It was time to be a little more heavy-handed with him before he killed someone.

As chief, she would definitely make the town safer from the Junior Conners of the world, even if she had to stand outside the Drink ’n’ Dance every Friday and Saturday night and watch as patrons left the bar. If she had to arrest every single person with an elevated blood alcohol content, she would——from the stay-at-home moms out for a night away from the kids, to the career drunks who were addicted to the hard stuff. Whatever it took to make sure that no more mothers in Briarwood were taken from this world when their daughters were on the brink of womanhood and needed them most.

On the bed, Josh moaned, mumbling, his words unintelligible, his fear palpable even in sleep. Keri went to him and was about to reach out when he sat bolt upright and screamed like a banshee.

“Josh, honey,” Keri said, sitting next to him and trying to still his flailing arms. “It’s all right. You’re safe.”

“I dreamed him again, Miss Keri.”

The little boy buried his silken head in Keri’s neck. She held his quivering body close, stroked his hair and began to pray. “Father, You’ve promised to give us peace while we sleep, even in the middle of a huge storm. You see that Josh is ill and dealing with a storm of fear and hurt right now. Please, give him peace and remind him that You are bigger than anything in the whole world. Let him know that I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep him safe. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.”

During the course of the prayer, Josh had slowly relaxed. Now he pulled away and settled back onto his
pillow. Keri smiled at the look of peace that had replaced the fear in his eyes.
Thank you so much, God
.

Justin’s eyes misted at the scene playing out before him. He’d charged down the hallway when Josh had screamed, but had stopped short when, on opening the door a crack, he saw Keri comforting his son effectively. His heart melted at the sight. The boys needed maternal love. He could give them food, clothing, shelter—all the things a father should provide. The one thing he was not capable of giving was maternal affection—the soft touch that God had reserved for women’s hands. What would it be like for the boys to have a real mother? Someone who would place their needs over hers? Amelia had loved the boys in her own way, but she had just been too selfish to give that mothering touch. He’d tried to be both mother and father, but he knew he’d been woefully inadequate.

Josh had completely relaxed in Keri’s gentle arms—faster than he calmed when Justin held him after a nightmare.

“Miss Keri?”

“Yes?”

“Remember what I asked you before?”

“Yes, I remember. Do you want to finish telling me what you know that’s so bad you’re afraid to tell anyone?”

Justin’s heart picked up. Instinctively, he pressed closer. Could Josh possibly have seen something that would prove his innocence? Shame filled Justin at the hope rising inside him. Shame at eavesdropping and hope that his nine-year-old son had seen his mother’s killer.

What was wrong with him? And why was he just sitting here waiting for a warrant to be issued? He had to do something to prove his innocence. For his sons. For Keri.

“Do you want to tell me now, Josh? It’s just the two of us in here. No one else will hear.”

Josh’s muffled reply evaded Justin’s hearing. He pressed closer, desperate to uncover the reason behind Josh’s behavior—the constant nightmares and emotional roller coaster. He released a frustrated breath at his inability to hear anything.

A tug on his sleeve startled Justin, and he jerked his head over and looked downward to meet Billy’s scowl. “Daddy, you’re missing the movie!”

Justin cringed. Guilt shot through him; he’d just been caught eavesdropping and there was no escape. He released a heavy sigh and waited for the inevitable.

“Hang on just a sec, Josh.” Keri’s voice held an edge of irritation. In a second the door flew open and Justin met her accusing glare.

Today was a good day. Not all days were. Often she sat silently, staring across the room as though she hadn’t heard a word he’d spoken. Frustration drove him from the house on those days. He felt responsible for their not having a child by now. He’d tried. Gone through all the testing available, had taken fertility drugs to increase their chances of conceiving. To no avail. His darling blamed him. Even when she didn’t say it, he could see the accusation in her gorgeous violet eyes. Now those eyes looked fondly upon him, though she didn’t speak.

His heart soared. Life was worth living as long as she loved him. That’s why he’d had no choice but to
get rid of Amelia. He couldn’t let her tell his wife about the baby. She must never know that he’d been able to give Amelia something he couldn’t give the woman he loved.

At first he’d laughed in Amelia’s face, disbelieving. But she’d proven she was pregnant—shown him the doctor’s records. And the one fact he knew was that Justin didn’t have anything to do with it. She’d seduced him. Tempted him until he couldn’t help himself. Laughed at him for feeling guilty. Had allowed herself to get pregnant and threatened to destroy everything that meant anything to him. Unless she got what she wanted.

Money for silence. That’s all she’d wanted. A half grin lifted his lips at the irony. The woman was definitely silenced. She’d left him no choice. It was her own fault. If only she’d never approached him in the first place, she’d still be alive.

Now he needed to find that tape and there would be no way for anyone to prove Justin didn’t kill Amelia.

His eyes devoured his wife’s beautiful face again and leaning forward, he pressed his lips against an unresponsive mouth. He pulled back with a weary sigh. It had been so long.

But she’d love him again. One look at those boys and things would be as they had been.

“You’re going to be a wonderful mother, darling.”

F
rustration burned a hole in Keri throughout the morning hours as she worked side by side with Raven preparing a feast for the next day’s Thanksgiving dinner. Ruth had excused herself, begging the need for a nap. Keri figured, more than fatigue, the woman just couldn’t stand Raven’s obvious disapproval and Keri’s sullen silence one more minute. Who could blame her?

Pulling a freshly baked pumpkin pie from the oven, Keri could take no pleasure in the wonderful aroma steaming from the dessert.

For the second time in one day, Josh had been about to tell her something important. At least Keri
felt
it was important and would be relevant to the case. Twice Justin had intervened. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe a little too much to be coincidence.

He’d made a point of staying with Josh after she’d caught him red-handed eavesdropping on her conversation with the boy. Now they were snuggled together on the couch, Josh wrapped up in a blanket and nestled on his father’s lap. A sight that might have melted every de
fense in Keri’s mind and heart if not for the niggling suspicion that Justin was purposely keeping her away from Josh.

Suppressing a growl, she dropped the pie onto a cooling rack on the counter.

“Hey, take it easy,” Raven said, snatching the oven mitts from Keri’s hands. “I’ll get the other pie out of the oven. Go knead for a while. Maybe pounding on the dough will make you feel better.”

With a huff, Keri crossed to the king-size bowl on the table, removed the cover and punched down the risen dough. She grabbed a handful of flour from the canister and slapped it onto the pastry sheet Raven had laid out next to the bowl. Then she tossed the dough into a patch of flour. The white powder flew up and clouded the air around her, then settled wherever it pleased—namely on Keri’s jeans and her favorite green shirt. “Great!” Keri groused and attacked the dough.

“For crying out loud, Keri. What’s going on with you?” Raven settled into a chair with a mug of hot chocolate and stared up at Keri.

Keri scowled. “Don’t you have work to do?” Irritation dripped from her lips, but Raven either didn’t notice or, for once, chose not to take up the challenge.

“Nope. I don’t have one thing to do at the moment but sip and listen. I just put the apple pie into the oven. Ruth is lying down for her nap, thank goodness, and I’m free as a bird until the pie’s done. So stop snapping at me and tell me what happened in the last four hours that’s gotten you so riled up. My guess is that it has something to do with Tall, Dark and Handsome. But that’s just a hunch.” With a smug grin, she leaned the
chair back on two legs and took a swig of the hot chocolate. Keri was tempted to give her the same trip to the floor she’d given Justin the night before, but as much as she’d relish the sight of her perfect sister sprawled on the floor, wondering what had hit her, Keri wasn’t quite that far gone.

Raven’s eyes narrowed and she gave Keri a studied gaze, as though looking for a crack in her armor. Keri stiffened under the appraisal, defenses alerted. Raven knew how to draw information out of people. That was her job and she hadn’t gotten where she was without being a student of human nature. But Keri wasn’t sure she needed to be interrogated by a reporter. She needed a sympathetic ear. A friend. A sister. Too bad Denni wouldn’t arrive at the cabin until tomorrow.

“Leave it alone, Raven.” She punched the dough one more time and folded it over. “This is ready. What are we making out of it? Loaves or rolls?”

“Ruth said Dad wants crescent rolls.” Raven sniffed. “Do you know how to make those?”

“Nope. Do you?”

A scowl crossed Raven’s smooth, dark features. Her chair made a thud as she dropped it to all four legs. “I suppose we’ll have to go wake her up, then.”

“What’s your problem with Ruth, anyway?” Keri asked, relieved the focus of the conversation was focused elsewhere, at least temporarily. “She makes Dad really happy. Something you’d know if you ever showed up.”

“Don’t start.” Raven’s voice held an edge of warning to it. “I have my reasons for not coming home, and believe me, you don’t want to hear about them.”

She was wrong about that, but Keri didn’t push. The two had never been that close—not the way they each were to Denni. “All right. I’m sorry. No sniping. Deal?”

Raven smiled and stood. “Thanks. It’s a deal. And I won’t press you about Justin’s case until you’re ready to talk about it.” She gave Keri a one-armed hug, pressing their cheeks together. “But I promise you, all I want is to help. And I honestly believe I could at least gather facts together. I have Eugene at KCPD. We might be able to get some information that even Justin’s lawyer can’t pull off.”

Pulling away, Keri peered at Raven. “How reliable is this Eugene?”

Raven shrugged. “We dated for a few months.” She dropped her arm and cleared her throat.

A groan escaped Keri. She left the dough on the table and moved to the sink to wash her hands. “How reliable is a man whose heart you crushed up and stomped on?”

“Hey! Who said
I’m
the one who ended things?”

Keri sent her a dubious scowl. “You expect me to believe he broke things off with you?” Men just didn’t do that to Raven. Her black hair and dark eyes gave her an exotic appeal that guys couldn’t seem to get enough of. The aloof, standoffish air she exuded seemed to serve just the opposite of the intended effect. And her trim figure only upped the ante. No. He definitely hadn’t broken up with Raven.

Raven sent her a sheepish grin. “Oh, all right, I broke it off, but we’ve remained friends. I promise. No grudges.”

“Sure. No grudges on your part. He probably has a
candlelit shrine built to you in his basement. Thanks anyway, Rave. I think we’ll have to pass on your excellent source.”

“No need to be sarcastic. I’m just trying to be a good sister and friend and use my resources to clear an innocent man.”

Unbidden, a short laugh flew from Keri’s lips. Then she cringed, knowing there was no way Raven could let that pass.

“You think he’s guilty?” Raven’s voice rose a pitch in incredulity, and she put her hand on Keri’s, turning her none too gently to face her. “You can stand there and honestly tell me you think that man in there sitting with Dad and holding his sick son in his lap is a murderer? Are you crazy? Where are your cop instincts?”

Keri’s temper flared. “How many times do I have to tell you people that it isn’t my job to decide whether or not he’s guilty? I don’t want him to be a killer. But it’s not my decision.”

“You know what I think? I think you’re fighting your feelings for him so hard that you can’t see straight. I think you’re falling in love all over again—with Justin and with those boys he brought with him.”

Tears sprang into Keri’s eyes. “Maybe. But it doesn’t change anything, Rave.”

Raven dismissed her with an airy wave. “Give me a break.”

“Hey, in your line of work, you have the luxury of breaking a few rules and it only makes you better, more respected. If I break the rules, I’ll lose my job and very likely spend time in jail for obstruction of justice.”

“He isn’t even charged yet, Kere Bear,” Raven said,
reverting to Keri’s childhood nickname. “Search your heart, Justin isn’t guilty.”

“I just wish I could be certain,” Keri whispered.

“Work with me. Let’s prove it. Let’s sit down with Justin tonight. Find out the facts of the case and let me make a couple of phone calls.”

The idea had merit. If Raven could help…

“So you agree? We’ll sit down with Justin after his boys are in bed tonight?”

Keri nodded. “If Justin agrees.”

“Fine. We’ll get to the bottom of this and clear Justin in no time.” Raven walked toward the kitchen door. “I guess I’ll go wake up Ruth so she can make the crescent rolls.” Her voice dripped with disdain.

“You should try to get to know her, Rave. I think you’d like her if you gave her a chance.”

“I’ll think about it.” Raven’s flip, over-the-shoulder answer pulled a sigh from Keri. She hoped her sister would get over it soon so Dad would set a wedding date.

The roar of Dad’s truck motor interrupted her thoughts. Glancing out the window, she frowned as the blue pickup drove down the trail behind the house and into the woods. Surely Dad wouldn’t leave the cozy fire to bring up more wood from the pile in the woods. Curiosity drove her into the living room. She stopped short at the sight of Dad, sitting between Josh and Billy—the three of them enraptured by yet another John Wayne Western.

“Hey, Dad. What’s Justin doing in the truck?”

“He noticed the woodpile’s getting low and offered to drive down and fill up the back of the pickup. Said he had some praying to do and could use the time alone.
With all the unexpected weather, we’re going to need the extra wood, anyway.”

Praying time? Justin knew every inch of those woods. He knew that four miles along the creek there was a road that would take him away. Nearly dizzy with panic, Keri tried to collect her thoughts.

“Come and watch the movie with the boys and me, Keri-girl.”

“Wha—?” she asked distractedly. “Oh. I can’t.”

She shot through the living room and grabbed her jacket. She fished through the pockets and found her keys.

“Where’re you going?” Dad asked, disapproval thickening his tone.

“I’m going to…” She glanced at the boys, then turned a hard gaze on Dad. “I’m going to help Justin with the wood. The snow’s starting to come down heavy.”

“It is?” With a little squeal, Billy hopped off the couch and ran to the door. He flung it open and stood in awe, staring at the beauty of the fluff falling from the sky. “Hey, look, Josh,” he said with a giggle. “The angels have dandruff.”

“Grow up,” came the weak but obviously disgusted reply. “Are we going to watch this movie or not? It was just getting to the good part.”

Billy’s face crumpled. Compassion made a trail through Keri’s heart. She chucked his chin and smiled down at him. “The angels have dandruff, huh? Maybe we should toss them up some shampoo to take care of that before it’s too deep to walk through. You think?”

“Not until it’s deep enough to make a snowman, okay?” Billy’s attempt to reach past his disappointment
in his brother’s response and find pleasure in the anticipation of building the snowman further melted Keri’s heart.

“Only if you let me help you build it. Deal?” She stuck out her hand.

He took it and grinned. “Deal.”

“Okay, back to the movie with you. I need to go and help your dad.”

Mac’s loud unhappy snort filled the room. “Seems to me when a man says he needs to spend a few minutes alone with his Lord, a person ought to give him the courtesy of letting him do it.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Keri said, opening the door. “Not this time.”

Keri fired up the Jeep, tapping her foot impatiently on the floorboard at the slowness with which it warmed up. Finally she gunned the accelerator and followed Justin’s barely discernable tracks. Her pulse quickened as she noticed the blue truck a few hundred yards into the woods. Next to one of the stashes Dad had made this summer. He’d made several stacks of wood in various places on the property so the logs would have a chance to dry out before they needed to burn it. “Nothing starts a flue fire quicker than green wood,” Dad insisted. So he’d cut down a dozen trees in an effort to ensure that the only fires at the cabin were the ones he built himself.

Knowing she couldn’t park too close or Justin wouldn’t be able to turn the truck around, Keri killed the motor fifty yards from where he sat on the wood pile. He didn’t turn around as she approached on foot. The truck was running, and Keri could only guess that he hadn’t heard the Jeep over the pickup’s motor.

As she drew closer, she heard him singing, hands lifted in surrender to his Maker. Recognizing the words, her throat clogged.
“When peace like a river attendeth my way/When sorrow like sea billows roll/Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say/It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Dad was right. Justin needed time alone with his God. Slowly she backed up, then turned to leave.

“Don’t go, Keri,” Justin called after her. “Please.”

She turned back to face him. “I’m sorry to intrude. Dad said you wanted to pray. I thought—” She dropped her gaze in shame and avoided eye contact as she walked back toward the woodpile. “I—I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to keep myself from thinking the worst of you.”

Justin rose and met her halfway. “Look at me.”

She obeyed his gentle command, tears pushing into her eyes. “You must really hate how suspicious and cynical I’ve become,” she whispered.

Reaching forward, he brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “I could never hate anything about you.”

As though of their own volition, her eyes closed at the gentleness of his caress. Warmth engulfed her despite the cold and snow, and she would gladly have stayed out here with him forever.

“Open your eyes.”

She met his gaze, warm and in no way condemning.

“You weren’t wrong.”

“Wrong about what?” Her voice trembled as she voiced the question, unsure she wanted to know the answer.

“I was tempted to keep going and go back to Kansas City.”

“What stopped you?”

“You. I couldn’t bear the thought of what you might think of me, no matter my reason for going back.”

Indignation sprouted in her chest. She plopped her hands onto her hips. “You were just going to leave Billy and Josh?” She couldn’t believe it. Not even in her cruelest accusation would she have said Justin would do that, even when faced with the reality that he’d considered it.

He shook his head. “I wasn’t leaving for good. Last night Bob told me that someone broke into my house. I want to go home and search the place. Bob thinks it might have been the killer looking for something.”

“Was anything taken out of the house that he knows of?”

“Nothing of value for sure. The police think I came home to make it look as though someone broke in. As if that would throw suspicion away from me.”

“So what were you planning to do?”

Justin shrugged. “Search for whatever the killer was looking for, I guess. Whatever it was is still there somewhere. If there’s anything out of the ordinary, I’m the one who’ll find it.”