Breaking Matthew (8 page)

Coming back up for air, I wiped my face on my sleeve and tried to still the tremor in my voice. “You’re p-probably right. But…can I have some time? To think about it?”

“Oh, sure,” he said, his expression clearing of concern like the sun emerging from behind the clouds. Heaving himself up, he put the chair back in the corner of the cell. “I’ll speak with Mr. Garrett and make sure we can proceed, if that’s what you decide. And I’ll get all the paperwork ready.”

I suddenly felt too tired to stand. “Thank you,” I managed.

He stepped over to the cell door and called out for Sheriff Peterson, who appeared within seconds. Then Mr. Oliver bid me a last farewell, and I fell back onto my cot to release the tears I’d been trying to hold off.

“Oh, God!” I sobbed. “Is this what Your will is for me? What do I do? Please give me Your peace, Your strength, Your grace. I’m empty and so afraid!” I pulled my hands into my chest, trying to hold back the fear threatening to take over my mind.

Nothing came. No words of comfort. No whisper of love or encouragement. I ached for His voice, but there was nothing.

Chapter Seven

Matthew

When I came out of the courthouse, it was drizzling just a bit. The bank was only a few blocks away, so I decided to pull my coat a little tighter and walk. It gave me a chance to ponder my options—leave Ruby to sit in jail all alone, or pay off her bond and endure her anger? It wasn’t really much of a debate. I’d known what I was going to do from the outset, but her resistance had given me pause. I was already in need of forgiveness for turning my back on her. Should I risk even more of her ire?

I said a quick prayer and decided I’d just have to ask for more forgiveness. I’d borne her wrath many times in the past, and this was for her own good. She’d see that as soon as she got back home with her family. And she’d see that I wasn’t going to leave her to fight this battle on her own. Then she’d forgive me. Maybe.

I entered the bank and waved at Judy Hathorne behind the counter. She’d gone to school with my older brother, Frank, and her husband had died a few years back. Father had put in a good word for her and helped her get a job at the bank so she could feed her two kids.

“Is Mr. Campbell in?” I asked her.

She smiled and pointed toward the back corner. “He’s at his desk.”

I thanked her and headed that way. Parker Bank & Trust was about the only reliable bank in town the past several years. There’d been one that closed all together in ’33, and a small building and loan that did its best to stay afloat, but like many businesses, it struggled to keep its doors open. Father had never put his money anywhere but Parker’s, and he hadn’t allowed any of his kids to either.

As I approached Mr. Campbell’s desk, he smiled and waved me over. “Why, Matthew! I haven’t seen you in here in some time. How are things going?” He stood and extended his hand. Mr. Campbell was an old friend of my father’s and about his same age. His face was lined with years of worry, which I presumed to be over the stock market.

“Just fine and dandy, thank you,” I said.

He motioned toward the chair on the other side of his desk. “Take a seat. What can I do for you?”

I perched on the edge of the chair and pulled the passbook for my savings account out of my coat pocket. “I just came in to close out my savings account.”

The lines on his forehead deepened. “I don’t understand.” Then he smiled. “Oh, you mean you want to update your passbook with yesterday’s withdrawal? That isn’t necessary, son, but I’ll zero it out for you.”

“Yesterday’s withdrawal? What are you talking about?”

He tilted his head like a dog trying to make sense of a command. “This account was closed yesterday.”

“What? How is that possible? I have the passbook right here. I should have just over four thousand dollars in there.”

My head spun with questions. That was every penny I’d saved up since I was fourteen years old. I’d worked in Father’s stores, gotten odd jobs around town. Surely it wasn’t just gone.

Mr. Campbell looked down at the passbook and back up at me with a perplexed expression. “Why, your father came in here yesterday and closed out the account. Said you had a new job lined up in Nashville, and you’d be moving your account to a bank up there.”

I let this sink in for a moment. Why hadn’t he mentioned anything about this to me? “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Well, I spoke to him myself. He didn’t have the passbook, but he had the account information and well…He and Mr. Parker go way back. And Mr. Parker approved the transaction since he was the primary account holder.”

“
He
was the primary account holder? That was supposed to be changed years ago when I went off to school!”

“Well…I don’t know anything about that. According to Mr. Parker, your father was the primary. I suppose you’ll need to speak with Mr. Doyle about all this and get it straightened out. I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”

I groaned, knowing it was most certainly not a misunderstanding. It was a deliberate move to place me under his thumb. Did he think he could just hold my money as ransom over my head to force me to do what he wanted? My blood raced hot through my skin.

“I apologize for any confusion,” Mr. Campbell said. “If I can be of any further service, I’d be happy to help.”

“I want to speak with Mr. Parker,” I said.

“Unfortunately, he isn’t here right now.”

Pushing myself up from the chair, I slammed my hand onto the desk, and Mr. Campbell jolted. “This is completely ridiculous! You’re telling me that my father can just waltz right in here and steal money from my account with the bank’s blessing?”

Mr. Campbell glanced nervously around the room. When he spoke he lowered his voice to nearly a whisper. “No one said anything about stealing.”

I paced in front of his desk, rubbing the back of my neck to ease the pressure building. Mr. Campbell was right about one thing. I was going to have to talk to Father and find out exactly what was going on.

I stormed right past Era and into Father’s office, heading straight to his desk. Flinging all caution and childhood fears to the wind, I shoved my finger at him, demanding an explanation. “What kind of game are you playing at?”

He kept on writing, his expression remaining unchanged. It occurred to me that he had been expecting this very confrontation, and I was probably playing right into his hands.

“You may think you’re a grown man,” he said eventually in a steady, calm voice. “But you will not come bursting into my office and disrespect me.”

I was in no mood for submitting to his control. “Where’s the money?”

He dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing as they met my own. “What money are you referring to, son?”

“
My
money! The money you stole from my savings account yesterday.”

“Stole? I believe that account was in my name, and that I personally deposited every penny into it.”

“I worked for that money, and you knew I was saving it up to buy a house for Vanessa and me.”

He leaned forward and smiled. The smile did not reach his eyes. “Well, then you go on up to Nashville, and get yourself a job. You and Vanessa can pick out whatever house you like. I’ll see to it the money gets paid to the cost of the house. In fact, I’ll even throw in some extra to help you kids settle in.”

Control. It always came down to control. “No, thank you,” I said, gritting my teeth. “I’d like the money returned to me, that’s all. I’ll determine how it’s spent.”

He sighed and folded his hands over his chest. “And I suppose you intend to spend it on that wretched girl who’s in jail for murder.”

“I intend to spend my own money any way I see fit.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. You see, I can’t just stand by and allow you to throw away your future on someone so worthless. She deceived us all once before, and she used your good name to smuggle food away from hardworking men who needed it. She’s a liar, and now she’s a criminal. I won’t have our family name dragged through the mud.”

Realization mixed with exasperation made my volume rise. “That’s what really matters here, isn’t it? Not the fact that she’s innocent! Not that someone decent and kind needs our help. Not that she practically
saved my life
. But that
your
precious family name might be tarnished!”

“It’s your family name too!” My father’s voice finally reached the tone he used when demanding obedience. “I’ve worked hard all my life to secure a future for each one of my children, and I’ll not apologize for it. Nor will I stand by while one of them tosses it aside as if it had no meaning. You are a Doyle, and you will act like a Doyle!”

I stared into his eyes, so hardened they were blind to the truth. “I don’t want any part of being a Doyle if it means being like you.”

“Really? Oh well, then, you’re more than welcome to change your name! March right over to that courthouse and do it if you like. But that will not change who you are on the inside, and no matter what you do, you will always be my son. You want to come in here and fight me?” He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re more like me than you realize.”

“I’m nothing like you. I want nothing to do with controlling the people I love. I would never force someone to do what I want rather than allowing them to make their own choices.”

“Is that so?”

The corner of his mouth tipped as he stared into my soul. I couldn’t stand one more second of being in the same room with him, so I left as quickly as I’d come in. Once I was down on the street again, I stomped through the rain back toward the courthouse where my car was parked, continuing my argument with him in my mind.

I was nothing like him.
Nothing!
But his words cut into me, digging into my motives for wanting that money in the first place. Maybe I was trying to force Ruby into accepting my help, but that was different. He was pushing me to do what he wanted; be who he wanted me to be. It had nothing to do with loving me. It was
not
the same!

By the time I got back to Ruby’s cell, I thought I might just come right out of my skin. How could I explain that I’d failed her once again? That she’d have to stay in this awful place for who knew how long?

She was standing on the other side of the cell, her face turned toward the light coming through the small window, her hands lifted by her side. Her eyes were closed, and her lips moved with what I assumed to be a silent prayer. I was intruding on something private, a conversation I knew was none of my business, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away. She practically glowed from the inside out.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and she tilted her head back. “Your will be done, Father,” she said. Then she opened her eyes and saw me watching her. She smiled.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

She smoothed her hair. “I uh…just finished talking with Mr. Oliver a little while ago.”

“Well?” I said.

She stared at the floor, saying nothing for a little while. Eventually she walked over to me, resting her hands on the bars in front of me. I thought about placing my hands over hers, but that seemed too close, too intimate.

“I’ll be fine once this is all settled.”

“What did Mr. Oliver say?” I didn’t think I could keep it together much longer.

“He seems to think I can plead guilty to manslaughter and get a lighter sentence.”

“What?” I stepped back from the bars. “Plead guilty? That’s crazy! You can’t plead guilty to something you didn’t do!”

She touched her palm to her forehead. “You don’t understand—”

“Make me understand, Ruby. Explain to me how you ending up in jail for something you didn’t do makes any sense at all.”

“I am not innocent in this!” She pointed into her chest. “What I did caused that man to die! I’m the reason he’s dead!”

“That man was a sorry excuse for a human being, and he got what he deserved! Don’t throw your life away because of him.”

She shook her head and stepped back. “No, I’m not going to put my family and everyone else through a trial. I’ll take responsibility for this. That’s the only way.”

“The only way for what? For you to end up in jail? You can’t be serious. I’ll get you out of here, I swear. Then we can fight this together.” I had no idea how I was going do that. I’d have to get my money back from Father, but I’d figure something out.

“You will do no such thing! You get yourself up to Nashville, go to your interviews, and start your new job.”

“Don’t start that again. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Mr. Oliver says if I plead guilty to manslaughter, the judge will take it easy on me. Maybe I won’t even have to go to jail. I could get some kind of probation.”

“I don’t think you should trust that man. I think I know him from somewhere. I can’t remember exactly where, but my gut says something’s not right here.”

“You think he’s lying to me?”

“I ain’t saying that. I don’t know exactly. But I don’t think you should plead guilty. That ain’t the truth. Ruby, I know we ain’t been close for a long time, but I never knew you to be a liar.”

Her face flinched slightly, and I could see my words hit a nerve. “I’m not trying to lie. It’s just…I thought if I could make this easier, then everyone could get on with their lives.”

“Make it easier for who? Look, I don’t know what happened at the Calhoun place, but I know for certain there ain’t gonna be nothing easy about any of this. I don’t think the Calhouns are gonna just let you get off easy. They already got people in the town believing you committed murder. The paper’s printing all kinds of lies. You got to see reality here before you get yourself in a mess of trouble.” I could see her struggling with my words. “For once, Ruby, just listen to me. Do not plead guilty. Let’s get you out of here and start working on a defense.”

She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead onto her hands. “Matthew, please don’t make this any harder than it is already. I cannot accept your money.”

“I’m trying to help you!” How could she be so stubborn at a time like this? It was becoming increasingly clear that Ruby hadn’t changed one little bit. I pounded my fist on one of the bars.