Reasonable Doubt (12 page)

K
eri opened her eyes, instantly alert. She glanced over at the glowing numbers on the clock next to her bed and groaned. Four o’clock. Another night of little to no sleep.

Immersed in slumber, Ruth snorted and turned onto her side, pulling the quilts with her. Shivering, Keri eased out of bed, slipped on her fuzzy leopard-spotted slippers, her half-moon-accented terry-cloth robe, and moved into the hallway toward the kitchen for a drink of water.

After two nights of sleeping with Ruth, she was beginning to feel sorry for Dad, and the thought occurred to her that someone might have tipped him off about his fiancée’s sleeping habits. Maybe that was the real reason he kept putting off setting the date for the wedding. The woman couldn’t be still or quiet while she slept any more than she could while she was awake. A smile lit Keri’s face as she pushed open the kitchen door. She loved Ruth, anyway. So maybe she’d keep quiet about it. No sense in giving Dad an excuse to give in to cold feet.

The light above the sink glowed softly into the otherwise dark cabin. Keri frowned. She had been the last person to turn in the night before and she knew she’d switched off that light. Her heart picked up a few beats as anxiety swept her. Could someone be in the cabin? She scowled at the absurdity of the thought. What thief in his right mind would turn on the kitchen light? Relaxing a bit, she nevertheless walked to the back door and rattled the doorknob. It was locked, with no sign that anyone had come in through that avenue.

Keri shook her head at her paranoia. Most likely, she’d forgotten to turn off the light. Either that or someone had gotten up for a drink of water and had simply left it on so they could see their way through the house. In any case, there was no intruder.

She turned on the faucet and filled a glass with the ice-cold water sliding through the pipes. A sigh lifted and lowered her chest and she turned, leaning against the sink. Her gaze swept the kitchen and she could imagine that in just a few hours, the turkey would be tempting everyone in the cabin with its delicious aroma. They would all sit around the large table—after Dad added several mismatched chairs so there would be enough to go around. It had been ages since they’d had a Thanksgiving meal at the cabin. It only seemed right that Justin and the boys were here. After all, the Thanksgiving tradition had always consisted of the Mahoneys and Kramers.

Would the tradition live on? Or with the very real possibility of Justin going to prison and the boys into foster care, was this the last time they’d be together for the holiday? The thought churned Keri’s gut, but she pushed aside the dark musing, determined to enjoy
today if for no other reason than to give Justin and the boys one last holiday together before his arrest.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. Four-ten. Three more hours of sleep—tops. She’d better go back and hope she was so exhausted even Ruth couldn’t keep her awake.

Just as she turned to rinse out her glass, her gaze swept over a slip of white paper left in the center of the counter, next to the coffeepot. Frowning, Keri lifted the note, then gasped as she read.

Keri’s eyes burned as she read and reread the note with tear-blurred vision. He regretted not coming back for her. That meant he still cared. Just as she did.

“Justin,” she whispered. What was he doing going off looking for clues all alone?

He was doing exactly what she would do if her life and the lives of her children were at stake. The differ
ence was that she was trained for it. He wasn’t. And what kind of woman let the man she loved face a dangerous, unknown enemy alone? Definitely not her.

Moments later, fully dressed, she made her way through the living room, listening to her dad’s even breathing from his makeshift bed on the couch.

Raven slept, mouth open, in front of the fireplace. Keri grinned. Too bad she didn’t have a camera handy. That picture would be worth a million bucks—or could serve as a nice consolation token for every poor sap Raven threw over for no good reason.

Raven stirred, then opened her eyes. “Kere Bear?”

“Shh. Go back to sleep.”

The last thing Keri needed was for her sister to wake up and start asking questions. She inwardly cringed as Raven rose up on her elbow and stared at her, the glow from the small flame in the fireplace dancing across her perfect skin. “What time is it? And why are you all dressed? Where are you going?”

Why couldn’t Raven have chosen a career in medicine? She always asked the right questions. Nothing got past her and for the first time ever, Keri wished her sister was a lousy reporter instead of such an ace.

“Justin took off for Kansas City to try to look for some clues in his house. Something the killer might have left behind.”

“After all this time?” Raven sat up the rest of the way and hugged her knees to her chest. “The detectives would have swept that place long ago and taken anything relevant.”

“Yes. But Justin’s lawyer said the place was broken into a couple of nights ago.”

Even in just the glow from the firelight, Keri could see the interest spark in Raven’s eye. “The killer came back to the scene,” Raven said, excitement building in her words. “You know what that means?”

“Obviously he left something to incriminate himself.”

“And to prove Justin’s innocence.” She jumped to her feet. “I’m getting dressed. Wait for me. I want to come, too.”

“No way. I’m not taking you away from Dad on the first Thanksgiving you’ve been here in five years.”

Raven hesitated as though weighing her words. Releasing a heavy sigh, she nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

“Neither one of you ought to be going out in this weather.”

They both turned to the sound of Mac’s voice.

“Sorry for waking you, Dad.” Keri walked to the rack and grabbed her coat. “Justin took off for Kansas City and I’m going after him.”

Sitting up in the dark, Mac switched on the lamp next to the couch. “Leave him be to do what he has to do, Keri.”

“I’m not going after him to force him back,” she said, exasperation thick in her voice. “I might be able to help. I imagine he’s going to search his house. I plan to go straight to the mission and nose around. If I find anything I’ll call his cell phone.”

He nodded. “All right, then. Be looking for my truck. That’s what he’s driving.”

“Dad! You knew he was going and didn’t say anything?”

Looking rather pleased with himself, Mac grinned.
“That’s right. Justin tiptoed in here around midnight. He planned to drive his own car in all this mess. I told him he wouldn’t get to the highway in that car of his and tossed him the keys to my truck. That four-wheel drive will go anywhere.”

Keri glanced at her glowing watch. “So he’s been on the road almost five hours. As slowly as he’ll be driving, he’s probably either not there yet, or just getting there.”

Raven nodded. “It took me four and a half hours yesterday and that was with most of the main roads in fair shape. With the snow ending around seven last night, the road crews should have been out clearing and laying down salt. The little highway will be the most dangerous, Kere Bear. So take it easy.”

An uncharacteristic surge of affection shot through Keri for her sister. She grabbed Raven and pulled her close for a snug embrace.

Raven returned the hug, then pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “Justin’s worth this,” she whispered. “And so are those precious boys. You’re doing the right thing.”

Keri pulled away and looked from her dad to her sister. “Pray.”

Though dawn was beginning to glimmer through the ice-laden branches lining Justin’s street, there was just enough of the grayness left to cloak him while he unlocked the back door and entered his home. First he checked all the curtains and blinds to be sure no one could see inside and catch him moving around. Then he stood in the center of the living room for a moment, savoring the sights and smells of his home. Amazing
how despite the circumstances, he felt a sense of comfort just in coming home.

What would it have been like if he’d have come home after work and Keri had been the one to greet him every day? He climbed the stairs, swept away in a dream of redheaded babies and growing old with his childhood sweetheart.

Reality bit him hard when he reached the landing and found the door to Amelia’s room wide open. The intruder had definitely been the killer, or at least in some way involved in Amelia’s death.

Justin had made a point of closing the door and leaving it that way after the last time the police had been in here. He’d finally been given permission to replace the frame that had shattered when he kicked the door open that day. The police had taken plenty of photos.

After Amelia’s death, he’d had every intention of selling the house and moving to another neighborhood in the boys’ school district. Someplace they wouldn’t have to remember their mother’s drunken staggering. Where they could walk past the living room and not imagine their mother’s dead body. But once he’d become chief suspect, Bob had warned him against the idea. Could look bad for the grieving widower to sell the house so soon after his wife’s death.

The police knew the truth about the marriage, but a prosecutor might put an ugly spin on the situation and make the jury question the selling of the house.

The first thing he planned to do upon clearing his name was put the house on the market.

Gathering a long, slow breath, he stepped through the door to Amelia’s room. As much as he hated walk
ing inside, he knew his answers most likely lay within those four walls. He glanced around at the Santa Fe decor. The one thing Amelia hadn’t lacked was an eye for design, and she enjoyed the Southwestern, native-American look. Navajo Indian pottery was all over the place, from the three-foot-high vase in the corner filled with dried plants, weeds as far as Justin was concerned, to the matching lamp on the nightstand.

Justin took another look at the vase. Probably too obvious a place to hide anything and he wouldn’t be the only person who’d thought to look. He shrugged and headed for the corner, anyway. It couldn’t hurt to check it out just in case.

“Oh, no you don’t!”

Startled, Justin spun around just as his head exploded with pain.

Once Keri left the secluded highway leading to the cabin, the roads looked much better and she was able to accelerate, almost matching the speed limit. She reached the city by nine and took the first promising exit with a gas station that didn’t look too run-down from the interstate. The phone book was missing from the pay phone, so she went inside, wishing for all she was worth that she hadn’t insisted on no cell phones on what was supposed to have been their vacation.

She grabbed a bottle of water and a donut, then went to the counter.

“Do you have a phone book handy?” She asked giving the middle-aged, ponytailed man behind the counter her nicest grin. He grunted and reached under the counter. Defenses on full alert, Keri watched his tat
tooed hand pull out a four-inch-thick book. He dropped it on the counter. “Two-fifty.”

“To use the phone book?”

He gave her a lopsided grin, making him appear less gruff. “The water and donut.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Keri pulled three dollar bills from her pocket and handed them to him. “Long night.”

“You in town for Thanksgiving?”

“Something like that,” Keri mumbled as she perused the residential pages. Panic began to flood through her. Justin’s name wasn’t there. “Is this a current book?”

“Yep.”

Her shoulders slumped as she closed the book. Then an idea glimmered and she opened to the Yellow Pages.

“I’m pretty familiar with the city. Maybe I can help.”

“Thanks, I found it.” She memorized the number, smiled back at the man and headed back outside.

She gripped the receiver with two fingers and grimaced at the thought of how many germs were most likely lurking on the thing. She got through on the first ring. A man’s voice answered. “Victory Mission, Happy Thanksgiving. Rick speaking.”

“Yes, hello. This is Keri Mahoney.”

She rolled her eyes. This is Keri Mahoney? Like that was going to make an impression on him.

“I’m sorry, who?”

“Uh—actually, I’m a friend of Justin Kramer’s. I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to the mission.”

“I’m sorry, but Justin isn’t here today.” His voice sounded wary.

“Yes, I know. I’m—look I’d rather not go into this
over the phone. Will you please give me directions?” She told him which exit she’d taken. “I need to get over there.”

“Any cabbie in the city knows where the mission is located,” he said.

“A cab?” Keri wasn’t sure she liked this Rick guy, even if he was Justin’s best friend. “Look, I am driving my own vehicle. I need directions, not advice about cabs.”

“I know you say you’re a friend of Justin’s, and I’m sure you are, but I’ve got several hundred guests lining up to eat turkeys that aren’t even finished cooking yet. I’m short on volunteers and my help is desperately needed. You have the address. There is no point in my giving you directions because there’s no place to park anywhere near the place. And if you did park you wouldn’t have a car when you went out to find it. I hope you’ll take that cab and come down, we could use the help today.”

Keri stared at the silent receiver, then hung it up. Now what? With a huff, she stomped back into the store. The biker-type clerk gave her another grin and pulled the phone book out. “Need this again?”

“Can I leave my Jeep here for a few hours while I go to the Victory Mission? I was just informed there’s no place to park.”