Chapter 14

Roy told Isabelle she could help cook breakfast, and he watched as she happily skipped on ahead of him toward the cabin. Her mood had brightened considerably after he explained to her how wrong the police officer at the wake had been to say those things about her parents.

He knew immediately that it would have been Chief Cartright who had said those horrible things to a little girl. No man of any character would have done it.

Cartright often ran his mouth around town. He was especially obnoxious when he had a few drinks in him, and yet he was still widely respected and trusted by most people in Ombrea. Chief Cartright had even been named Town Official of the Year a couple years prior. The brass plaque was displayed proudly on his office wall, or at least it was the last time Roy reported to duty, two years ago this November.

Roy had been quite friendly with Chief Cartright when he first joined the service. He would even go so far as to say they had been close. It was Chief Cartright who took as chance on him when he showed up one cold, rainy morning with no formal police training or education. He had only his army training and experience to back him up. That, along with determination and willpower. He had those in spades.

In a small town like Ombrea, anybody willing to report on time to duty and put his life on the line was taken on almost immediately.

Things progressed quickly from there. Roy did well in the position and proved himself to be an asset to the team. He was told he would be working with Joey Dale on his fifth day. It was a Friday, and the two of them, the service's two newest recruits, bonded quickly as they carried out their duties together.

They spent the first afternoon working traffic up on the main road, the task being to ensure construction on the new stop light didn't slow traffic to a dead stop. Roy found Joey fun to work with. He was quick with the jokes and chatty. None of the police officers Roy had worked with up to that point had been as friendly as Joey. He knew they had been trying to intimidate him and keep him on his toes while they trained him, but he learned more from Joey than any one of them, and he started to enjoy the job.

After Natalie died, everything changed. He no longer cared about the police force or those he worked with. He constantly showed up late or in such a bad mood. He was quickly reprimanded.

After a number of reprimands, he was eventually called into Chief Cartright's office and relieved of his duties. He turned in his badge and gun without a peep. He just didn't care. All he wanted was his beautiful wife back, and if he couldn’t have that, he didn't want anything.

Chief Cartright didn’t speak to him again until the trouble began with Joey.

Roy had gone home the afternoon of his termination with a plan. He had his father's old shotgun in the house. It wasn't the cleanest of ways to go, but it would do the trick.

Roy slammed the front door shut behind him and walked straight through the cabin to the gun locker in the study. He found the old key tucked away in his desk drawer. It had been a long time since he had taken the gun out of its storage unit.

He unlocked the cabinet easily. The lock snapped back and he flung open the door. He bent to collect a couple of shells from the metal tub at the bottom of the old unit and stood, reaching for the gun. He unlatched it from the wooden holding frame.

Roy pulled the desk chair across the room and propped his foot up on it so he could load the weapon more easily. When he clicked the barrel back into place, he felt his first feelings of doubt. Maybe this wasn't such a good decision to be making. Maybe he was being a little overly-dramatic in thinking he should end it all so suddenly.

He locked back up the gun and dropped the key once again into the cluttered desk drawer. He closed it firmly and left the study the way he found it.

Roy never considered doing away with himself again. In fact, he made sure to hide the key a few days later just to be sure he wouldn't repeat his actions. The downside was that he had done the hiding while drinking whiskey and still had to find where the new hiding place was.

Now, as he followed Isabelle into the cozy cabin, he was especially grateful that he hadn't chosen to end his life that day. His place was here, fighting for a good cause. That good cause was Joey Dale.

No one else would be stepping up to fight for Joey’s freedom. Not even his own sister would have been there for Joey if it weren’t for him. Roy was the one who convinced her that her brother had been set up. Joey would have been screwed.

But their fight still was just beginning. They still had to prove their case to the authorities and have Joey freed from jail. Right now, he had to figure out how to go about doing that. They would start with the fire. If they could find the person or persons who wanted Jenny Dale dead, it would lead to new information about Chloe’s death.

* * *

Roy didn't see Jenny when he came inside, but he could hear the shower running and figured she would be avoiding him at all costs. He was fine with that. He was still upset that she intended to return to New York, even after what happened between them last night. Some distance would do them both good. He didn't want to look like a fool for thinking last night meant more.

He told Isabelle which ingredients to fetch and she went to the fridge to find them. He figured a large breakfast would do them all some good. They needed rest and nourishment for hunting down leads.

Soon, the kitchen was alive with the smells of cooked bacon and sausages. He pulled over a stool from beneath the open sink and showed Isabelle how to fry the eggs until they were over easy and perfect. He was impressed by how quickly she caught on.

He let Isabelle set the table. Isabelle demanded a tablecloth like the one her mother had always used. He dug around a few cabinets while she monitored the cooking. He was relieved to find an old, blue one he hadn't seen in years. Natalie had laid this one out on the table when they first moved in. She said blue was her favorite color.

He gave the cloth to Isabelle and took over the duties at the stove.

Roy was sliding the food onto warm plates when he heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. Jenny arrived in the kitchen doorway a moment later, her hair in a towel.

He was expecting her to be in the same, red dress she had worn last night, until he remembered he had brought her duffel bag from the end of her bed. She was constantly surprising him. Instead of being dressed to the nines like she usually was, she looked pretty in jeans and a red sweater. She had on a little bit of makeup, but she really didn’t need any. She was a natural beauty. Around her neck she wore a simple, black beaded necklace.

“Hey.”

He noticed she avoided eye contact when she spoke to him. She crossed the room to the table and took a seat beside Isabelle.

Roy distributed the plates. Isabelle must have listened to what he said about Jenny, because she began telling her at length of her involvement in the preparation of breakfast.

As he tucked into his own food, Roy couldn't help but notice Jenny's happiness and relief as the little girl chatted away to her for the first time. She joined in wholeheartedly, and before long, any awkwardness there had been was distinguished.

Roy was relieved too. He was concerned when he heard through the grapevine that an estranged aunt was to take over Isabelle’s care. He had never met Joey's sister, but judging by how little Joey spoke of her, he didn't think she would be a good fit.

Now watching the two of them together, he could see that Isabelle was in good hands. He only hoped that Jenny would see it too.