Where Love Abides. Irene Hannon

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      Dale frowned. “She called to report the incident, we made a positive I.D., and she doesn’t want to press charges?”

      “Nope.” Marv sat on the edge of his desk and folded his arms across his chest. “You ever meet her?”

      “Yeah. A couple of weeks ago. Her truck skidded off the road the night we had all that rain. I found her unconscious behind the wheel as I was driving by. Brought her in to see Sam. Why?”

      The deputy arched his eyebrows. “You never mentioned that.”

      “Nothing much to mention.” Dale reached again for the coffeepot, using that as an excuse to look away. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t told Marv about the incident. But something about it had left him unsettled, and he hadn’t been inclined to dwell on the encounter.

      “Hmph.” From Marv’s speculative tone, it was clear that Dale’s response didn’t satisfy him. But the deputy let it pass. “Anyway, did you pick up any odd vibes from her?”

      Dale shot him a probing look as he finished pouring his coffee. “What do you mean, odd?”

      “I can’t quite put my finger on it. She just seemed nervous around me, and she kept her distance. I never invaded her personal space, but whenever I got within a few feet of her, she backed up. I wondered if it was me, or if she’s like that with everybody.”

      Interesting, Dale reflected. “She was that way with me, too. But she seemed fine around Sam and Marge.”

      “Must be the uniform. You run any stats on her?”

      “No reason to. The plates came back clean, and she didn’t break any laws.”

      “Curious thing, though.”

      “At the moment, I’m more curious about why she didn’t want to press charges.”

      “Can’t give you an answer to that, either. I ran the license while I was there, and told her who the car belonged to. She asked me a few questions about Les, and after I explained who he was, she got this real cold look and said to forget it. I told her Les would make things right, but she didn’t want to pursue it.”

      “Stephen needs to be called to task for this. Reckless driving is a serious matter. And if he’d hit Ms. Turner, he could be facing involuntary manslaughter charges.”

      “The lady didn’t seem convinced that anything good would come of pursuing this.”

      “Okay. Let me think about this one.” Frustrated, Dale raked his fingers through his hair. “In the meantime, Alice is waiting for you.”

      The man rolled his eyes. “I think I’ll stop by Gus’s first and grab some lunch.”

      “Boy, you must be desperate!” Grinning, Dale took a sip of his coffee. “With your fitness regime I can’t believe you’re willing to ingest all that fat to delay the inevitable.” Gus’s fried food was legendary. Dale figured the diner owner operated on a simple philosophy: if it could be breaded, it could be fried.

      “I’ll do almost anything to avoid a date with that saw. See you around.”

      As the man disappeared through the front door, Dale strolled toward his office. After twelve years in a cramped, cookie-cutter cube in L.A., illuminated only by harsh fluorescent light, he never failed to appreciate his sunny Oak Hill office, with all its homey touches—including multiple pictures of Jenna displayed on the oak bookshelves that occupied most of one wall.

      He took a few seconds to enjoy them, as he always did after settling in behind his desk, starting with a photo of her the day she was born, her pink face scrunched into a howl. From there he moved on to each year’s birthday picture, a smile tugging at his lips as he perused them, enjoying her progress from infant to toddler to a little girl with long blond hair and merry blue eyes. What a blessing she’d been in his life.

      And her birth had provided an unexpected blessing in his often-difficult marriage as well, he recalled. As he and Linda had lavished their love on their daughter, they’d grown closer. Linda had come to appreciate—and believe in—the depth of Dale’s caring, and he had been touched by the fierce protectiveness she’d displayed toward Jenna.

      The tiny baby had breached the walls around her heart far more effectively than he ever had, Dale reflected, giving him a glimpse of the woman his wife could have been under different circumstances. In fact, the last few months of his wife’s life had been the happiest time in their marriage.

      A wave of sadness lapped at the edges of his consciousness, and Dale forced himself to move on to the next photo, from Jenna’s fifth birthday early in the summer. Her sunny smile helped dispel his melancholy, and he turned his attention to the package Marv had placed on his desk.

      It was a large, flat envelope with a return address he didn’t recognize. Slitting the end, he slid the contents onto his desk. A colorful children’s book emerged, along with a packing slip.

      Puzzled, Dale looked inside the envelope, but found nothing else. He picked up the book, an oversized volume with colorful, imaginative illustrations titled, The Reluctant Princess. The medallion on the cover indicated it had won a prestigious children’s book award. Jenna would love it. But who had sent it?

      Picking up the packing slip, he found his answer.

      Thanks for your assistance the night of the accident. I hope your daughter enjoys this. Christine Turner.

      Taken aback by her unexpected thoughtfulness, Dale examined the gift. She might not want anything to do with him—or Marv either, based on the man’s account of his experience today—but apparently she hadn’t been as ungrateful as she’d seemed the night he’d come to her assistance.

      And now he felt guilty. Although he hadn’t been happy about Christine’s refusal to file a complaint, he’d told himself it was her business and had planned to write it off. If it had been anyone else, however, he’d have paid a call and pushed the victim to take the next step. His well-honed sense of right and wrong had always prodded Dale to go the extra step, to put himself on the line if necessary to ensure that justice was done.

      Not that he always succeeded. Almost a dozen years as an L.A. street cop had taught him that life wasn’t always fair. And those lessons had been reinforced as he’d watched the woman he loved struggle with the lingering, destructive effects of betrayal and abuse.

      Without his faith, he would have become a cynic years ago. But prayer sustained him. And he need look no further than the Bible to find plenty of examples of unfairness. Jesus Himself had been treated unjustly.

      Yet Dale wasn’t passive about injustice. As far as he was concerned, wrongs that could be righted should be. That was one of the reasons he’d become a cop. To put authority on the side of those who might feel powerless. To help redress wrongs.

      And Christine Turner had been wronged.

      Whatever her reasons for refusing to press charges, Dale couldn’t let it rest without attempting to convince her to reconsider. Stephen Mueller wasn’t a bad kid, but he needed to be taught a lesson or these minor incidents could evolve into far more serious offenses. A formal complaint from Christine might be the wake-up call he needed. Besides, Dale owed it to the town to follow СКАЧАТЬ