Chapter 21

Jenny watched from the kitchen window as Isabelle waved goodbye to Roy from the deck. Isabelle had taken a real shine to him, and Jenny was grateful for it. Roy was a good man, and he had come into their lives at just the right time.

When Roy's truck was out of sight, Jenny continued to watch Isabelle, who remained on the deck, Roy’s dog on guard at her side.

Isabelle patted the dog's head and led her down to the lake. The light was beginning to wane, but neither the child nor the dog had any intention of coming inside the cabin just yet.

It had only been recently that Roy allowed the dog into his home at all. He rationalized his decision, stressing that the nights were becoming colder and that he didn’t want her shivering outside all night.. Isabelle was over the moon.

Jenny felt a tugging at her heart strings. She loved that little girl. It was inevitable. Isabelle was adorable.

Jenny was finding it more and more difficult to rationalize taking her niece away from her life in Ombrea. She was happy here, with Norma and now Roy and her faithful, four legged friend to support her. And the freedom of the outdoors was something that Jenny could not provide in the city.

At least, she thought, if they could prove Joey’s innocence, Isabelle wouldn't have to move away. She could go back to living with her father, and her life, for the most part, would be as it once was. She would have to come to terms with the loss of her mother, but Jenny knew from experience that time would help to heal those wounds. And Jenny would be there for her. She had a lot of lost time to make up for.

Jenny cried. It had been an especially rough few days, and she was desperate for a resolution. She was homesick. She missed her life and her job and the freedom of a solitary life.

Still, she had warmed up to her hometown over the past couple of days, recognizing its drawbacks, but allowing herself to see the goodness in it as well. Roy, Isabelle, Norma and now after so many years she had her brother back.

Thinking about Roy sent her heart spinning. Ever since he had taken her hand at the lake, it felt like she was floating on a cloud. She wished it didn’t have to end.

* * *

Roy pulled up in front of the Dale house just as dark was setting in. He made a point of dropping in on Norma on the way by, so the elderly woman wouldn't call the police when she saw someone snooping around the house.

He packed a flashlight and a spare. If the army had taught him anything, it was to be prepared.

Roy scanned the property but saw no sign of another vehicle. He opened the gate slowly, the creak of the old wood echoing in the silence of the night, and then he closed it quietly behind him. If he were followed, the old gate would alert him to the intruder.

Roy cut across the garden and stepped up onto the old porch. He paused, aware that the shadows of the garden made easy hiding spots for anyone who might have come before him.

Satisfied that he was alone, he pulled at the yellow, crime-scene tape and located the padlock that secured the temporary front door. Adam had given him the key with the promise that he would have it returned to him by morning. He was risking his job, but Roy was a reliable man and Adam trusted that Roy would have it under his mat by the time he woke.

Roy closed the makeshift door tightly behind him. The house was deadly quiet, the strong smell of wet smoke difficult to bear. He lifted his shirt sleeve to cover his nose as he took a look around. With his flashlight beam he searched the floor, careful to watch where he was stepping. The ground was littered with soot and debris, and he did his best to avoid stepping on anything sharper falling through a hole in the damaged floorboards.

Roy carefully ascended the staircase, doing his best not to make too much noise. He used his flashlight beam to scan the upstairs landing as he climbed. If anyone were waiting at the top, he wanted to know ahead of time.

The smell of smoke was less intense in the upstairs hallway, allowing Roy to drop his sleeve from his face and keep his extra hand on the Swiss army knife he had tucked into his belt.

Roy knew his way to the master bedroom and headed there immediately, his heavy footsteps muffled by the hall carpet. He pushed the door open and used his flashlight to scan the room. If someone had been in the house before him, they hadn't moved anything, not that he could see, anyway.

Roy got to work quickly. He checked through the wardrobe and chest of drawers, pulling everything aside in search of anything that might lead them to the identity of the killer. All that turned up was a lottery ticket from last weeks draw. Joey's signature had been scribbled along the bottom. A lot of good winning the lottery would do him now.

He scanned the carpet, careful to step around the blood stain still staring garishly up at him. He had seen casualties in the army, but the sight of blood still made him recoil and his stomach churn. Nothing stood out that he hadn’t noticed before.

Roy dropped to his knees on the side of the bed that didn't have blood on it. He laid low on his stomach and shone the flashlight beam under the bed. He turned onto his side so he could shine the beam toward the end of the bed.

That was when he saw it. He recognized the Ombrea Police Service badge immediately. Not wanting to tamper with the evidence, he dug around in his pocket until he found a clean, white handkerchief. He reached out and wrapped the soft fabric around the badge, and pulled it carefully out from under the bed.

Roy held the badge in the palm of one hand and shone the light down on it. The number was clearly visible. It was not Joey's badge, he knew that for sure. He knew his partner's number as well as he knew his own.

He placed the new evidence gently on the nightstand while he did another sweep under the bed. There didn't seem to be anything else there.

If he was a betting man, he would say that what he had just found belonged to Chief Cartright. It could have come off when he was undressing for a roll in bed with Chloe or maybe during the struggle the day Chloe had been killed.

Chief Cartright hadn't come back to find his badge because he had already arrested Joey for the crime. People trusted the Chief. Roy and Joey with their colored pasts in Ombrea held very little credibility compared to Ombrea’s former Citizen of the Year.

This badge was as good as a smoking gun. Chief Cartright was going down.