Chapter 21
Reese and Kelley sat by Belle’s hospital bed, Kelley holding the girl’s hand. Belle’s head was bandaged and her face looked pale, her dark eyelashes stark against the whiteness of her skin.
A doctor had attended to Kelley’s and Reese’s injuries, but they’d both refused hospital beds. After they were treated, Kelley insisted on staying by Belle’s hospital bed, waiting for the girl to wake up.
Reese hadn’t let Kelley out of his sight. The sheriff’s deputies had taken his and Kelley’s statements in Belle’s hospital room.
Kelley stroked her thumb over Belle’s hand. She looked at Reese. “Belle’s been out of it for so long.”
Reese put his arm around Kelley’s shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “She’s going to be okay. The doctor said she’s fine.”
With a nod, Kelley turned back to Belle. Her heart stumbled as the girl stirred. Reese moved his arm from around Kelley as Belle’s eyelids fluttered open. The girl frowned as she looked around the room before her confused gaze rested on Kelley. The moment Belle met Kelley’s eyes the confused look vanished.
“Are you okay?” Belle asked.
Surprised that it was the first thing Belle said, Kelley smiled. “I’m fine, honey. You’re going to be okay, too.”
Belle put her hand to her bandaged forehead. “My head aches.”
“It probably will for some time.” Kelley squeezed the girl’s hand. “You hit your head pretty hard.”
“Okay.” Belle seemed to realize for the first time that Reese was there and she looked at him.
“Hi, Belle,” he said.
“You rescued us,” she said.
He smiled. “With your help.”
Belle’s gaze flitted back to meet Kelley’s. “I’m tired.”
Kelley brushed the back of her hand over Belle’s forehead. “You get some sleep.”
“Stay with me,” Belle said.
“I’ll be right here.” Kelley squeezed Belle’s hand again. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay.” Belle’s eyelids fluttered closed and she drifted off to sleep.
“She doesn’t have a mother anymore, and that sorry excuse for a man could never be called a father.” Kelley looked at Reese. “I’m glad he’s dead after all he put her through.”
Reese put his arm around Kelley’s shoulders again. “His death was no more than he deserved.”
Kelley nodded slowly. “I want to adopt Belle.”
Reese didn’t look surprised. “I think that’s a great idea.”
She smiled at him before leaning toward him and resting her head on his chest as he held her to him.
* * * * *
Two weeks after they brought Belle back to Prescott, Kelley knelt on the grass beside Belle, next to Laura’s grave. The white headstone shone in the bright sunshine as Belle placed a bouquet of flowers at the base.
She looked at Kelley. “I miss my mom.”
“I know you do.” Kelley stroked Belle’s hair from her face. “I understand how you feel, more than you know.”
Belle’s forehead wrinkled. “Did your mom die, too?”
Kelley picked at a blade of grass as she thought about what she should say. The truth seemed to be the best course. “My father killed my mother when I was a teenager.” The memory of her mother was sharp and clear.
“Like my dad killed my mom.” Belle’s face fell. “But he wasn’t like a real dad. And then he—and then—” A tear rolled down her cheek.
Kelley put her arm around Belle’s shoulders. “He’ll never hurt you again.”
“I know.” Another tear. “What happened to your dad?”
Kelley looked away before returning her gaze to Belle’s. “He’s in prison. He’s dying from lung cancer.”
Belle studied Kelley’s face. “Are you glad?”
For a moment Kelley thought about it. “I wanted him to rot in prison. Now that he’s dying from cancer… To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel.”
“I’m glad my dad is dead.” Belle said the words with a fierce intensity. “He deserved it.”
Kelley said nothing, just studied Belle.
“Do you have any other family?” Belle asked. “Other than your dad?”
“Yes.” Kelley thought about her grandmother’s visit. “My grandmother… My dad’s mother.”
“I don’t have any family.” Belle looked lost. “I don’t like my foster mother and father.” She bit her lower lip. “I want to live with you.”
“I was going to talk to you about that.” Kelley smiled. “I want to adopt you. Would that be okay with you?”
A smile lit up Belle’s face. “Yes!” She glanced at her mother’s headstone before meeting Kelley’s gaze. “I think Mom would like that.”
Kelley smiled, too. “I’ve been working on it, but I wanted to make sure you’d like that.”
“Yes,” Belle said again as she nodded. “When can I move in with you?”
“Once we get through all of the red tape,” Kelley said, “I’ll be able to take you home with me.”
Belle beamed.
“So be sure and be good for your foster parents,” Kelley continued. “I’ll keep visiting you until the paperwork goes through and you can come home with me.”
Kelley glanced at the rows of headstones in the cemetery, thinking about her mother’s grave in Phoenix. When she looked back at Belle, she said, “Are you ready to go?”
Belle’s gaze rested on her mother’s grave. She sobered a bit before she nodded. “Yes.”
Taking Belle by the hand, Kelley stood and brought the girl to her feet along with her. Sunshine warmed their shoulders as they walked away from the cemetery together.
* * * * *
As she neared the state penitentiary in Florence, Kelley pressed the number on her cell phone for Dolores Petrova.
A sharp voice answered her call. “Yes?”
“Hi, Grandmother,” Kelley said quietly.
A pause before the elder woman said, “Have you come to your senses?”
Kelley tried not to bristle. Next to her father, her grandmother was her only living relative. “I’m on my way to the prison to see him,” Kelley said, holding back the retort she wanted to make.
“Good.” Dolores’s voice softened. “He deserves another chance.”
Kelley let out her breath, surprised at her grandmother’s soft tone. It didn’t matter that Kelley didn’t agree. What mattered was that she needed closure.
“Would you like to go out to lunch sometime?” Kelley asked Dolores.
Another pause before her grandmother said, “I would like that.”
“Are you free next Sunday for lunch?” Kelley asked. “I can make it down to Phoenix.”
“Yes.” Dolores hesitated. “Yes, that would be nice.”
“I’ll call you Saturday,” Kelley said before she told her grandmother goodbye and disconnected the call.
When Kelley reached the prison she parked and went into the building where she signed in and presented her service weapon. She was accompanied to the visitor’s area where she was seated in front of a glass wall with dividers between her and the other visitors. An empty chair was on the other side of the wall.
She wouldn’t have recognized the wasted man who shuffled in, handcuffed and hobbled, if she hadn’t known it was her father. Isaac Petrova was thin and gaunt, looking far older than his fifty plus years. At that moment she wasn’t sure she should even be there. Why was she here?
Closure. She needed to see him one last time.
After he seated himself, they each picked up their receivers. For a long moment they looked at each other, his once vibrant blue eyes that had been so like hers now dulled.
“What are you doing here?” he finally said.
“I wanted to see the man who killed my mother one last time.” Kelley studied him. “I never had the chance to tell you what I felt when you destroyed our lives. And I want to know why you killed her.”
Isaac looked away before he turned his gaze on her again. “I hear you’re a detective now.”
Thrown off guard, she gripped the receiver tighter. “How do you know that?”
“Your grandmother.” His eyes suddenly seemed clearer. “She’s proud of you, you know.”
No, she hadn’t known that, hadn’t known it at all. Kelley cleared her throat. “I went into law enforcement because of you and what you did to Mom and me. Especially because of what you did to Mom. I help those who are hurt by people like you and try to save them before it’s too late.” Like her own mother…and Laura. She’d failed them both. She wondered if someday she could forgive herself.
Isaac looked down at his free hand. His knuckles were white on the hand that held his receiver. He met her gaze. “I’m sorry how I treated you and your mother.” His voice was thick. “I’m sorry I killed her.”
Kelley felt nothing as he spoke. She’d hated this man with a passion so deep that it had stayed with her every day of her life. “Why did you kill her?”
His free hand flexed. “I didn’t mean to.”
“Yes, you did.” Her voice was harsh to her own ears, the sound seeming to echo in the receiver. “When I left, you blamed her and you killed her.”
“I’m so sorry.” His throat worked. “Can you forgive me?”
She slowly shook her head. “Only God can forgive you for what you’ve done. It’s not up to me.”
“I’m dying,” he said. “I have lung cancer.”
“I know.” Kelley realized she now felt nothing for this pitiful man. “Grandmother told me.”
“I’m a born again Christian now.” He seemed to recover. “I accepted Jesus. He died on the cross to save people like me. To save us all.”
Kelley held his gaze. “If you can die believing that, then you have more than you deserve.”
“I do believe it.” He gave a slow nod. “If He can forgive me, why can’t you?”
“Goodbye, Isaac.” She hung up the receiver and gave him one last look before she rose from her seat and turned away.
She felt his gaze on her back as one of the jailors led her back to the front entrance to the prison. She continued to see his wasted face as she took back her service weapon and signed out.
The fact that she no longer felt a burning hatred for Isaac Petrova made her wonder. Had she forgiven him?
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was now she could move on. Now she could put what had happened to her mother over fifteen years ago behind her and walk away.
The future suddenly seemed brighter now that she could let her past rest, now that the weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Yes, now she could move on.