An Absence of Principal (30 page)

Ninety seconds later it was as if the sun had bowed out of the sky for good even though it was early afternoon. The descending layer of dust and dirt from the mammoth sandstorm was impressive. Thirty seconds later with the wind at what would later be clocked at seventy miles an hour, eighteen law enforcement agents from Taylor County and the surrounding area circled the house undetected. The men inside, being from Fort Worth, wondered what was going on just enough to take a quick peek from behind the curtains toward the north. When they saw the storm they thought nothing of it, but realized they were having to yell at each other just to hear. Moments earlier it had been perfectly still and quiet.

Two county deputies broke out the windows of the back bedrooms at the ranch house, muffling the shatter with thick towels dug out of the trunk of their squad cars and wrapped around the boot end of their shotguns. Moments later, the front door of
El Bolero
swung open with force, putting a scare into Pierce and Juan Roberto. The sound and the wind also scared Carly, and she began crying for Alex, running from her kidnapper in the kitchen into her arms.

“Juan, go secure the doors in the back of the house,” Pierce yelled to him.

Pierce walked to the front door and pushed it shut, unable to secure the lock. He wedged it shut and hoped it would stay closed in the storm.

When he turned around and walked back toward Alex and the young girl, the door flew open again. Halfmann was on him in a split second, before he had time to even realize this time the door was not blown open by the wind. Just like the first time.

Halfmann grabbed Wallace by the arm. It snapped, and Wallace let out a shriek in pain as Halfmann threw him to the wooden floor. Taylor County’s finest drove him off and would book him as soon as they completed the 45-minute trip downtown. Juan and the other two henchmen who had worked with Wallace for the last several years were taken without incident or bloodshed.

Alex held Carly tightly, both of them weeping with fear. Alex was relieved that maybe her long nightmare was finally over.

“I just have to know one thing,” Trask asked Ben Doggett as the attorney wrapped up loose ends on his case. “The gun. Why did you have a gun and why did you leave it at your mother’s house?”

“You ever been depressed before?” Doggett asked.

Trask shook his head, no.

“Most people who take their lives are suffering from depression. Detected or undetected. Depression was just the beginning of my problems, Mr. Trask. But it was the spark for all of my problems. Even my little gambling habit.”

Doggett wiped his mouth with his forearm as he continued to come to grips with what he had done to his life in the last several months.

“I didn’t want to do something stupid to myself and not live to regret it,” Doggett told him. “I was miserable with who I was when I went to Fredericksburg, but I knew I didn’t want to kill myself. So I tucked the gun in my old chest of drawers at my mom’s.”

“There’ll be gun charges that you’ll have to answer to, you know that, Mr. Doggett?” Trask said. “You’ll never teach again.”

The former principal and educator of the year headed for the door. As he walked out, Tony Nail was walking in. The two passed with an awkward glance. Doggett paused as if he was going to say something but turned and continued to walk away.

“Mr. Doggett,” Nail finally said before the principal rounded the building. “It’s all right. I forgive you.”

Doggett mustered a half smile and a weak thank you before he turned and left. There was only one other place he had to go.

EPILOGUE
 

B
en walked to the front door and knocked softly.

When she opened the door, there was a half-smile on her face that told him things may be improved, but not like they were before. They never would be like they were before, Ben supposed.

He brought no flowers. Only a pounding heart and sweaty palms this time. At this point, Ben knew flowers, or anything else material, would mean little. Not after all he had done.

“I want to thank you,” Ben began. “More than anything, just thank you for not giving up on me. That’s not something I expected after all I did. I ruined a lot of lives.”

Angela had been by Ben’s side through his lowest moment. She was still far from happy again, but she knew people make mistakes.

There were moments of silence unbroken only by Angela’s soft sniffles.

“We are technically still married, you know that, Ben?” Angela finally said.

He said nothing.

“I never went through with it. I couldn’t go through with most of it since you weren’t there, but on paper we’re still us, whatever ‘us’ is nowadays.”

Ben thought he heard some movement in another room of the house, but his eyes stayed trained on Angela, not knowing where she was going with this.

“People deserve second chances, Ben, I still believe that. I don’t know what happened to you but I’m not sure you had any control over it. And I know in any marriage when there are difficulties, it’s never just a one-sided story. Both of us had a role in this.”

“No, Angela, you didn’t do anything,” Ben insisted.

“Yes. Something I did or didn’t do along the way made you stray. Don’t get me wrong, you did something you shouldn’t have done. But I can’t leave you, Ben. I swore to you, and I made a promise to God. I can’t break that promise. Especially the one I made to God.”

“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Ben said.

“Yes, we do.”

“Will the kids forgive me?” Ben asked Angela.

She teared up again.

“Why don’t you ask them?”

Tawny and Britton walked into the room. They both gave their father the hug he hadn’t had in months. When Tawny broke the embrace she had with her father, she left the room abruptly. Ben figured it was too much too soon.

“I’m sorry, Britton,” Ben said to his son. “I’ll make it up to you. To all of you.”

“I forgive you, Dad. I’m glad you’re back. I mean, really back.”

Doggett looked over and saw Tawny walk into the living room of the home the family had shared since they moved to Midland a lifetime ago.

“Here’s your granddaughter, Daddy. She’s been wanting to meet you.”

Tawny reached out and set the newborn child in her father’s extended arms.

“Thank you; for letting me back in, back home, and for giving me another chance. You won’t regret it. I promise. I’ll be the husband and father — and the grandfather — I should have been before.”

Angela walked over to him and wiped her husband’s face.

“We’re a family,” Angela finally said. “We stick together in good times and bad. Welcome home.”