Accused (18 page)

29

Carly turned and ran toward her mother’s room. The two women almost collided.

“What happened?” Kay asked, her face crinkled in worry.

“Quick, Mom. We have to get out! The house is on fire!” Carly grabbed her mother’s hand and started to pull her toward the back door.

The fire spread rapidly across the carpet with a whoosh.

Another crash at the back door made Carly jump. She moved in front of her mother, bringing her gun up on target, prepared to fire.

A large, dark figure stepped through the splintered door. Carly couldn’t say for certain how close she came to firing. But in an infinitesimal part of a second, as she was squeezing the trigger, she recognized the big man as Jack Deaton.

Behind her, Kay shouted, “It’s Jack! He must have seen the fire.”

Carly lowered her gun as she realized that the deaf man was unable to yell a warning, so he’d just come crashing in.

Any relief she felt with Jack’s presence was tempered by the flames licking her heels and the smoke burning her lungs. She and Jack helped her mom as all three hurried out the back door, escaping to the safety of Jack’s house, where Carly called 911.

A fire truck, coming from only two blocks away, pulled up a short time later. The singed trio watched from Jack’s yard as the firefighters beat down the flames.

Amazingly, the house wasn’t a total loss. Aggressive work by the firefighters kept the damage contained in the front portion. The living room, Carly’s room, and part of the kitchen were destroyed, but the back half of the house survived with only smoke and water damage. Carly, with a sore throat and bloodshot eyes, watched as arson investigators trudged through the mess. The fire was out; the sun had risen—now was the time to search for clues to the origin of the blaze.

After sifting through some debris, the lead fire investigator stepped to where Carly stood on Jack’s porch. “Sure you haven’t made any enemies lately, received any threats?” He held up blackened pieces of glass. “These shards tell me that the firebombs were professionally made. They weren’t just thrown together by kids.”

Carly leaned against Jack’s porch railing. She shrugged and looked from the investigator to the smoldering mess of her mother’s living room. “No, I don’t even have any court cases going.” She bit her lip, not yet ready to verbalize her own suspicions. It wasn’t a crook who’d done this; it was more likely a cop.

“Well, be careful. Unless your mom upset someone at bingo, someone is trying to do you a lot of harm.” He shook his head and returned to his investigation.

“Somebody definitely wanted to make sure they sent a clear message,” Nick observed as he surveyed the scorched house after he, Dora, and Nathan arrived early in the afternoon.

Carly had just changed into the clothes Andrea brought by on her way to work. Dora gave Kay a jogging suit to wear. Though her clothes had survived the fire, they were dirty with soot and reeked of smoke.

“I think you and your mother need to get out of town for a while, disappear.” Nathan folded his arms across his chest and looked at Carly, his expression reminding her of the way her dad looked at her when she was eight and had fallen off a skateboard and broken her arm. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

Nick saved her from having to answer. “Nathan, can I have a word with you?” He pulled Nathan aside. The two men talked quietly while Carly sat on the porch, contemplating her mother’s torched house. She felt as charred and burnt as the mess she saw. For ten years she’d lived with the fact that being in uniform made her a target. She never, ever wanted work to spill over and endanger her mother. Nathan was right; she and her mother should disappear.

She leaned against the stair railing and closed her eyes. Fatigue and frustration coursed through her veins.
All I wanted to do in the beginning was be part of a murder investigation. And try to do a good job so I could go back to patrol. It seems like an eternity ago when I stepped out to find the truth. Now someone wants to kill me because of my search. And they came way too close to my mom.

I hate to quit,
Carly thought as she gritted her teeth. But one look at her mother wearing Dora’s too-large jogging suit, and she knew there was no other alternative.

“Carly? We’re talking to you.” Nick broke into her thoughts.

“Sorry. I’m a little preoccupied.”

“Nathan just mentioned that he has a place for you and your mom to go. It’s up in the mountains. A few guys from church would be happy to go along as bodyguards.”

“It might be best for us to go away for a bit, Carly.” Kay stood on the porch across from her daughter.

Carly knew they were expecting her to argue, to fight the suggestion that she run away. But she didn’t have any fight left. “Okay, whatever you guys decide.”

Nick looked at her with surprise but said nothing. Nathan went into Jack’s house and began making phone calls. When Kay went inside to pray with Dora, Nick sat down next to Carly on the step.

“I won’t give up, Carly. You know how I feel about being a cop. The people who killed Teresa and framed Londy and Jeff are arrogant enough to think they’ll get away with it.” He smiled and added, in his best Dudley Do-Right voice, “Not while Sergeant Anderson is on the job!”

They both laughed. He took her hand and held it until it was time for her to pick up Maddie and head for the mountains.

30

Nestled in a grove of pine trees, looking out over a lake, and covered with half a foot of snow, the cabin was a picture postcard. Many more cabins dotted the landscape, and here and there lopsided snowmen stood. But there were no people out and the area felt gloriously secluded. Carly stretched while Maddie sniffed the ground and contemplated the white stuff.

“This is really beautiful,” Carly said to her mom.

“It is.” Kay put an arm around Carly’s shoulder and squeezed. “Maybe this can be a makeshift vacation. I think we both need one.”

“You’re right, Mom.” Carly smiled and returned the hug as Nick’s friends, Mark and Josh, pulled up.

At first she’d wanted to protest the babysitters, but concern for Kay rendered her mute. Besides, the two men Nick sent intrigued Carly. When she and Nick were married, he socialized only with other cops. He always said the job they did forced them to distance themselves from civilians. The sports he played were with cop teams and the bars he went to were cop bars. Mark and Josh were participants in Nick’s new life, and Carly wanted some insight into the
Christian
Nick.

“I think Maddie and I are going to take a little walk and check things out,” Carly said after the car was unloaded.

“It’s getting dark. Don’t be long,” Kay admonished.

Carly nodded to her mother as she and Maddie started down to the small lake. There was a trail that led away from the main road toward snow-covered trees. Carly’s hiking boots crunched through patches and piles of snow. Maddie bounded and pranced, enjoying the snow and the cold air.

Carly’s face stung with the chill, but it felt good. The mountains and the snow reminded her of the last time she’d been skiing. Nick had surprised her with a trip to Colorado for their seventh wedding anniversary.

“Oh, Maddie girl, I just have to stop thinking about him! This is crazy.”

The dog merely looked up at her mistress, tail wagging.

The trail reached a ridge and a sea of snow-covered pine trees came into view. She enjoyed the vista for a few minutes, mindful that daylight was waning. The sky was a somber dark-blue color. As her gaze wandered, she asked herself,
Is Nick’s God really there?
In spite of Nick’s assurances and the out-of-the-fray hideaway, hope that things would work out right was as foreign to Carly as the Russian language. Sharks were on her heels for real now, and they’d chased her out of town. She wasn’t sure she could beat them.

I hate to admit it, but I envy what I see in Mom and Dora. They’re balanced no matter what the situation. Now I see the same thing in Nick.
Carly kicked a snow-covered branch, sending clumps of the white stuff flying.
I feel like screaming.
Another kick cleared snow off a second branch.
If you’re real, God, why don’t you just show me? Why do I have to guess?
Carly battled against the urge to give in to tears.
I hate to think it, but I do wish there was a God like Nick and Mom talk about, someone who does have all the answers. It’s too hard to believe that someone like that exists.

The sun had almost set, and as the light lowered, so did the temperature. Carly hugged her arms to her chest and headed back to the cabin. When the hiding place came into view, smoke spiraling from the chimney brought on a smile. A good fireplace fire was just what the doctor ordered. Carly found the aroma almost intoxicating. Inside the cabin, another relaxing smell greeted her—comfort food cooking. Mom had whipped up a hamburger casserole, one of Carly’s favorites.

“Need any help, Mom?”

“No, I have everything under control. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour. Relax for a bit.”

Maddie didn’t need any prompting. She found Mark and a place to sit and mooch attention. He vigorously scratched the dog’s back.

Carly took her duffel into the room she and her mother were sharing. The small gym bag didn’t contain a whole lot. Since she kept getting displaced from her residences, her possessions shrank with each move. As she began to go through her bag, she felt an unfamiliar bulge. When she unfolded a sweatshirt, a small book fell out with a note. Nick’s handwriting was on the note.

Nick

Carly picked up the small book, a New Testament. She didn’t have the energy to be angry and decided it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. Nick was right about one thing: she did have a lot of time on her hands.

Mom called to say dinner was ready. Carly wrapped the book in her sweatshirt again.
Tomorrow.

After dinner, though Carly wanted to talk to her babysitters about Nick, she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

“That was a great meal, Mom,” she said with a yawn.

Mark and Josh nodded in agreement. Carly stood to help with the dishes.

“It wasn’t anything special,” Kay said while she cleared the table. “You guys were just hungry.”

The guys assured her it
was
special and then left to work on the fire while Carly and Kay finished the dishes.

“As much as I’d like to stay up and chat, I’m exhausted. I’ll see you in the morning.” Carly kissed her mom good night and went to bed.

For the first time in several restless nights, she slept soundly and without dreams. When she roused, her mom was already up and out, and the room was awash in bright morning sun. The clock read 10:00 a.m. Carly was amazed she’d slept so long.

A shower brought her to full consciousness, and she found breakfast waiting in the kitchen. Pancakes and bacon were on the stove being kept warm, so Carly dug right in. Mom was in an overstuffed recliner working on some needlepoint, and the guys were in the living room playing Trivial Pursuit. In spite of the bright winter sun, there was still a chill in the air.

“You slept like a log, Carly,” Mom called from the other room.

“I slept great,” Carly answered with her mouth full, blissfully happy with her mother’s cooking. “Maybe it’s the mountain air.”

Mark left the game and came into the kitchen for coffee. “Morning.”

“Morning.” Carly studied him while he doctored his coffee. She swallowed a mouthful of food. “Mark, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What kind of work do you do that you can just take off to the mountains on a moment’s notice?”

“I’m a roofer by trade. I own my own business. Things are slow in the winter.” He smiled. “Besides, Nick’s a good friend. I’d do my best to help him no matter what.”

“How did you meet Nick?”

“At church. We belong to the men’s prayer group and discovered we have a lot of similar interests.”

Nick in a prayer group?
“What exactly does a men’s prayer group do?”

“We pray for the needs of the church or any prayers that come to people’s attention. We also do outreach in the community, volunteer our services to people who need them but who can’t afford to pay someone.”

“Your services?” While Carly munched on her pancakes, Nick’s new life was becoming more and more intriguing.

“Yeah. For example, at church a couple of widows needed new roofs but couldn’t afford to pay someone. I gathered a group of volunteers who donated time and money, and we put the roofs on.”

“
Nick
did this?” The man who wouldn’t work a minute of overtime without filing for pay?

“Yeah.” Mark smiled. “He’s actually pretty good manual labor.”

“He’s changed a great deal from the Nick I remember, and we haven’t been divorced that long.”

“God will do that.”

“What, change people?”

“Most definitely. Me, for example. My life before God got hold of me was radically different. I shot crystal meth every day and nearly ran my business into the ground. My wife left me and got a court order to keep me from seeing my daughter. I was at the very bottom, even thought about killing myself, when God touched me.”

“What happened?” Carly finished her breakfast but sat with her coffee, interested in Mark’s story.

“When the judge ordered me to stay away from Lindsey, my daughter, he said I was a poor example and a danger to her well-being. I was crushed. I love that little girl beyond belief. She was two at the time. Anyway, I went home, and my wife had cleaned the house out, taken every trace of her and Lindsey away.” He paused as if the memory still pained him.

After clearing his throat, Mark continued. “I didn’t have any drugs to numb the pain, so I grabbed a revolver to blow out my brains. It was loaded, and as I tried to work up the courage to pull the trigger, the doorbell rang. When I answered the door, there stood a group of teenagers passing out Christian tracts. I took one just to get rid of the kids, but the promise of hope caught my eye.”

“Hope?” Carly asked.

“Yep, the hope of a second chance and a new life in Christ. The kids invited me to their church. I had nothing to lose, and more than anything I wanted to hang on to the hope that I would get to see Lindsey again. I went to church, asked Jesus into my life, and I haven’t been the same since.”

“Are you back with your wife?”

“No, but our relationship is better. I get Lindsey every weekend, and most of all, I do have hope. I did a lot of bad to my ex, but I can hope that someday she will see I’ve truly changed and find it in her heart to forgive me.”

“What if she doesn’t? Will you still believe in God?”

“Yeah, I will. I can’t imagine ever going back to the way I was, and I can’t imagine ever being without God.” He sipped his coffee and shook his head.

Later that morning, as Carly changed her clothes for a hike, she picked up the small New Testament and studied the cover, wondering about the impact people claimed it had. She put the book into her fanny pack, hoping it would be a good substitute for a novel.

Carly bundled up and left the warm house with Maddie at her side. In the clear mountain sky, the sun was fighting with the clouds for space. The woodsy aroma of smoke from chimneys permeated the area. She could hear the sound of laughter and what she guessed was a sled racing through the snow, but she didn’t see anyone. Carly breathed in deep, truly enjoying the crisp, cold feeling. She and Maddie walked for about half an hour before they found a sunny rock to sit on and take in the scenery. The sun hit the rocks just right. While Carly sat on the rock, Maddie sniffed here and there, running around in circles but staying close.

The New Testament opened to a folded page, the Gospel of John. Nick must have marked the spot for her. She wondered if it would even keep her interest and tried to imagine God but kept seeing Charlton Heston. If God really created everything, he must be huge.
Here goes nothing,
she thought and began to read.

Carly wasn’t sure how long it took her, but she read the entire book of John. It kept her interest and confused her at the same time. The first part, about God being the Word, made no sense even when she went back and read it a second time. And when she read about how much God loved the world, she wanted more explanation. That was the part she pondered the most. She thumbed through the rest of the book, stopping only when she heard someone calling her name.

“Carly!”

“Over here, Mark.”

Mark burst into the clearing, out of breath. “Something’s happened to Nick.”