The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (41 page)

Her chest ached and she brought a hand
to her throat
,
hoping to make
breathing
easier
.
“I d
idn’t want to believe it,
but s
he made it sound
plau
si
ble
.”

“And she’ll of course admit to this conversation?”
Ben’s eyebrows were drawn together in a way that obscured his eyes in the dim light.

Her
shoulders heaved with yet
another sigh. No, Elena would never incrimina
te herself. Of that she was certain
.

Andy
stepped up
.
“
Okay, so help me understand. Y
ou br
oke
into my office looking for proof. What
did you hope
to find?”

She raked
her
bottom lip between her teeth
.
“Anything.”

The attorney side of Andy took over.
He paced again, his
gaze glued to her face.
“Did you
find anything?
”

“Not at first, but w
hile I was there s
omeone els
e came in and put a file in the
cabinet
.
It
was a list of pretty powerful people and thei
r contact information. I
f someone made the right accusations, the
file would’ve
implicate
d you. I wasn’t sure
who
planted it, but I
was trying to protect you, like I said earlier.”

A
ndy halted right in front of her,
his heels snapping together like a military drill sergeant.
“And where is this file now?”

Grace closed her eyes
and rubbed
the cramp
in her neck
. Why
w
ouldn’t
he believe her?
“I took
it home with me. I was
gonna
talk to you about it, but you’d already left for vacation.”

“It’s at your house?”
His voice ratcheted up several decibels, his tone thick wit
h barely-concealed frustration. He turned away.

“I
t was, but now
I
can’t find it.”

Andy whirled around on one foot to glare at her. “What?”

Her breath came in spurts and she squirmed to find a more comfortable position on the lumpy bed.
“So
metime between when I brought it home on Saturday and
the following Sunday afternoon it went missing.”

He
looked ready to blow a fuse.
“Wait a minute. You’re telling me
you broke into my office
for pr
oof that I was involved in illegal activity
and couldn’t find anything. The
n before you left, someone
came in and
planted
a file
of false information
which you took, but now can’t find.” He snorted in disbelief. “Sorry but I
don’t buy it.
”

The
words knifed into her
.
Lord, help him believe me.
“I know it so
unds unbelievable, Andy, but it
’s
the truth.
I’m not explaining it well, but
at least
give me the benefit of a doubt.
”

“Benefit?”
His eyes bulged, and he raised both hands.
“S
ounds like some cockamamie story you created
to
justify your actions
!
Just t
ell me the truth.
”

Tears
formed in her eyes
and sheer panic escalated the speed of her words
. “
I am.
Please
believe me.
The file was there when I left for church Sunday morning. All kinds of weird stuff
has
been happening at my house.
” More things she couldn’t prove.
“First the chair
and fence and mailbox, then
the phone calls and Millie.
”
Grace glanced around. All
their expressions held skepticism.
Why bother? N
o one
believe
d
her.
Why should they?
She closed her eyes to the excru
ciating pain in her heart
.

Andy resumed
pacing. Finally,
he
shook his head and
stared her down
, his jaw set in concrete
.
“Sorry, Gracie.
I’m an attorney. U
ntil I have proof, I
have no reason to believe any of this.
”

T
he room began to spin
and s
he
gripped the bed.

Now he
face
d
Ernie. “L
et her go. I’m not pressing charges.”
Andy
once
more directed his words her way
. “How’d you get in?”

“S
pare key.”
The words seemed to come from somewhere outside herself.

“I want
it back.”

She nodded
, as t
hick darkness
invaded every pore of her being.
Lord, this is more than I can bear.

My grace is sufficient.

She
latched onto
Andy’s arm
as he passed
. “
I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

He shot
a look
laden
with disappointment and
stalked
from
the cell without a
word
, Ernie
and Ben
on his heels
.

Pain singed inside
as the darkness spiraled deeper and deeper, bringing with it the taste of death. She groaned and lowered her head to her hands.

“Gracie, what can I do?”
Matt took one step and stopped.

She shook her head
, too ashamed to look at him
.
“Nothing.
There’s nothing anyone ca
n do
.”

He
stood there a
moment longer,
then
strode from the cell
, the
steel
door closing behi
nd him with a blast of finality.

Later that afternoon
,
Grace forced her eyelids op
en far enough to view her reflection
in the bathroom m
irror
at Papa’s house
.
Matt’s
departure
earlier that day had brought on so many tears she could barely see
to drive home. Now her eyes,
red and
swollen
shut from the crying,
made her look
as though
she’d been in a
boxing match
and lost.
In her quest to uncover the truth, s
he
had
lost.
Everything.

Surprisingly
, no
more tears fell
. She pulled a
threadbare washcloth from be
neath the sink and wet it with cold water to press against her eyes. Like it or not, she had to go in to work today. Not that she had a job. More than likely
Elena would send her
packing. But at least she could pick up the few belongings she had
on her desk.
After tha
t she’d
return the spare key
.

An hour later she stood outside
the DA
’s office
in downtown Morganville
and stared up at the massive brick building that
one time symbolized her perfect career
. How had things gotten to this
point? A sigh escaped
.
What she’
d done was wrong,
and her intentions
really
didn’t matter
.
Bes
t
to accept the way things had turned out
, learn from her mistakes,
and move on
if possible
.

Grac
e inhaled
to bolster her courage and
entered through the revolving glass door.
She’d spent
countless hours
trying to
understand
what had happened
. Elena had obviously set her up,
effectively clearing herself of doubt
,
and
in the process made herself look
like a hero
of justice
. St. Elena. If it weren’t so laughable, it woul
d almost have a nice ring to it.
The woman had used the oldest legal trick in the book—discrediting the witness
—and it had worked
.
But why?
What was she trying to hide?

The thought niggled at her brain a
s
sh
e
traips
ed
down
the
uncharacteristically quiet
corridor toward the
stairs. G
lances cast her way were
accompanied with
whisper
s
, and in
hushed silence, her echoing footsteps seemed to
herald approaching doom.

Once in the office, n
o one
spoke
as she cleared her desk and
deposited her belongings in the
tote bag
she’d brought
for the occasion.
B
ut as she
made her way
to the exit
, Elena stepped
from the doorway of her office, effectively blocking
her path.
“I
n spite of everything, I
wish you well
, Grace
. Sorry
things had to end this way. Be sure to give
prospective employers my name, and
I’ll give you a glowing recommendation.”
Though h
er tone held friendly goodwill—most likely for the benefit of those nearby—
her eyes revealed a contrary message.

T
he words
hit their mark and sparked intended fear
.
Elena knew exactly what to say to
twist the knife and
make
it
cut deeper. Would she ever be able to work as an attorney
again?

She somehow found the courage to straighten her
shoulders and raise her head.
The anger and bitterness she supposed would flow
from
her like vitriol were amazingly absent.
What she felt was pity, not anger. F
rom some
calm
place
in
side
, she
smile
d
. “Thanks, Elena. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.”

As she stepped out into the unusually warm
autumn
day
a few minutes later, an
inexplicable peace
blanketed her
.
She moved to the truck with a light step and headed to Miller’s Creek. As
she
drew near Andy’s office
,
her stomach churned at
the thought of facing him
again
. Would he ever forgive her?

Grace parked and
said a quick prayer for streng
th, then opened the office door
and
approached the receptionist window.
“Hi
,
Sandra.”

Once a comrade and colleague, Sandra stared back at her, h
er
expression c
ompletely devoid of warmth. “May
I help you?”

Sh
e
pulled
the key
from her purse
and handed it over
. “May I speak with Andy please?”