Doubting Thomas (Tarnished Saints Series) (11 page)

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrogate you,” she said in little more than a whisper. “Will you please sit again so we can get to know each other?”

He hesitated, but then he slowly lowered himself to the hay and sat beside her.

“So. Tell me about your family,” she said. “Are your parents still alive?”

“My father was a minister,” he relayed, “or a preacher as we called him. He died five years ago from a heart attack, and my mother is basically an empty shell. She’s in the nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease. She doesn’t even know who I am anymore.”

“Oh, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.” There was a span of awkward silence and then she continued. “Do you have any siblings?”

“There are twelve of us. All brothers.”

“Twelve? My goodness that’s a huge family.”

“It is. My parents lived by the Bible and my father decided he wanted twelve sons before he left this world, to carry on his work. God must have heard his prayers, because that’s exactly what he got. He named us all after the apostles.”

“Really?” she asked with a smile. “So you even have a brother named Judas?”

“I do. He’s basically the black sheep of the family.”

“Somehow, I figured.”

“He betrayed my brother Levi - Matthew Levi, by turning him in for tax evasion. Funny how ironic it is, huh?”

“So is Levi in prison?”

Thomas looked down, feeling the absence of his closest brother. “He is. But he’s scheduled for release soon.”

“Wow. Excuse me for saying this, but it doesn’t sound like you nor your brothers carried on in your father’s footsteps at all.”

“No. Actually, we were rebellious, being the brunt of mockery and criticism our whole lives. Only my brother Peter turned to ministry, but he’s had his problems as well. I’ve also got brothers named Thaddaeus, Nathanael, Philip, John, Andrew, Simon, and the twins, James.”

“What’s the other twin’s name?”

“James. They were both named James, one for each apostle. James Zebedee and James Alphaeus. We call the first born, Zeb to avoid confusion.”

“I’d imagine so,” she laughed. “Do your brothers live anywhere around Thunder Lake?”

“No,” he told her, crossing his arms and leaning back. “I wish they did. Instead, each of them couldn’t wait to get far away from here. After Pa died and Ma was put in the home, they all split up and went their separate ways. We don’t keep in touch. I’m not even sure where any of them are, except for Levi.”

“Haven’t you tried to find and contact them?”

“They know where I am. If they want to see me they can come back to Thunder Lake.”

“So you’re the only one who stayed. Why is that?”

“I’m the eldest,” he explained. “I believe the eldest son is responsible for the welfare of his parents. That’s why I stayed. To take care of Ma.”

“So you’re paying the cost of the nursing home by yourself? That doesn’t seem fair.”

Thomas ran a hand through his hair. Little did she know his troubles. Between Brianne’s hospital bills and his mom’s nursing home costs, it was driving him straight to the poor house.

“How about you?” he asked, no longer wanting to talk about his troubles. “Tell me about your family.”

“I was raised in foster homes most my life,” she said. “I lived with an older couple in Seattle most my life. They died in a car accident when I was in college. I wish I knew about my real family, but I’ve never really had one. I think you are so lucky to have such wonderful boys. And so many of them too. If Brad hadn’t died, I would have liked to have had more children.”

“You’re young,” he said. “Why don’t you remarry?”

“I don’t know,” she said, playing with a piece of straw in her fingers. “I eloped with Brad when I was in college, after only knowing him for a week. My foster parents always said I was impulsive. I was lucky though, and had a wonderful marriage. I guess I never remarried for fear I wouldn’t be so lucky next time.”

“Yeah,” he said, “I learned my lesson the hard way.”

“What do you mean?” she asked. “Are you talking about Fawn?”

Thomas got to his feet, not sure why he had just spilled his guts to a stranger. Something about this woman had him doing things he hadn’t done in years. Like have an adult conversation with someone who almost sounded as if she cared. Angel sent from God or not, he shouldn’t have trusted her with so much personal information.

“I think it’s time for you to leave, Angie.”

His little pet name for her startled her.

“My name’s Angel.”

“I can’t call you that,” he objected. “If I did, I’d be acknowledging that God has sent me the angel I’ve been praying for, to help me with my troubles.” He continued over to the car he was working on and pulled up the hood, securing it with the hood prop.

“Well, how do you know it’s not true?” she asked, following him.

“Believe me, I know.” He didn’t want to bare any more of his soul to her, and he was tired of chit-chat. He had more important things to do. “Like I said - it’s time for you to go.”

Angel was shocked by Thomas’s sudden mood swing. He was back to being his grumpy self. The Thomas Taylor who cared, had emotions and acted like a human, was once again trapped behind his wall of despair and mistrust.

“I’ll leave,” she said, “but not before properly thanking you for finding my daughter.” She walked to his side.

“I told you, I didn’t find her, she found me.” He looked up at her, still crouched beneath the hood of the car and she found herself wanting to reach out and touch him. To let him know through all his troubles there was still hope even if it was hidden. She felt her heart go out to him, knowing he put up walls only to keep from being hurt. How could she help him see what he was doing before he destroyed not only himself but his relationship with his sons as well?

Too many times she’d seen this situation in her business. Usually, it didn’t end well. Instinct gripped her, and without thinking about her actions, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Startled, he stood up, hitting his head on the inside of the hood, causing it to fall from its prop once again. He released a string of curses.

“Have faith,” she told him with a smile.

“I don’t know what you mean, nor do I care. Not get out of here, will you?”

“I will for now, Thomas,” she told him with a nod. “But I’ll be back tomorrow and the day after that, and every day of my vacation on Thunder Lake. I’m going to help you work through your problems and find yourself again because I know now that our meeting was no coincidence. Destiny has a way of playing things out, and I think there’s a reason we were brought together.”

Chapter 11

The next day was Sunday, and Angel had dressed and attended church with Gabby, and Mr. and Mrs. Ainsley. They’d invited Nat to go with them, but the man said he had other things to attend to. He’d been very quiet in the past few days, and she would have forgotten he was there hadn’t he kept showing up every time she turned a corner.

Once again when she’d talked with Tillie on the phone, telling her about Thomas’s threats, the bruises on Zeke, and the way the man wouldn’t allow his children to play or eat cookies, she’d thought she’d heard the infamous click of someone on the extension. Each time, both Clarence and Agnes were near the phones. She wanted to ask them if they were listening in, but decided not to cause trouble.

Well, at least Tillie was arriving today and she’d no longer have to worry about phone conversations. She stood with Gabby and the Ainsleys at the depot and was the first to greet her good friend when she stepped from the train.

“Tillie, it’s so good to see you again.” Angel encompassed the dark-haired woman in a hug and then did the same to her nine-year-old daughter, Stacy.

“Hi, Angel,” Tillie said happily, and then continued on to greet her aunt and uncle. The little girls chattered amongst themselves and Stacy showed Gabby her new beaded bracelet.

“Let me get your suitcases,” said Clarence, collecting them and hauling them to his SUV.

“I’m so glad you decided to come,” said Agnes to her niece. “What did you want for Sunday supper? I have chicken, steaks, hamburgers - but that’s not a very good meal for a Sunday, or I can defrost some pork chops or maybe make up a nice homemade lasagna.”

Agnes followed behind her husband, rattling on, not even noticing when Angel pulled Tillie aside. Tillie directed the girls to follow the Ainsleys before she spoke to Angel.

“So what did you find out about Thomas Taylor?” asked Tillie. “Do you think he’s a fit father or not?”

“Tillie, at first I thought he was not only neglecting but possibly abusing his six sons. But now I’m not so sure. He’s told me he’s been praying for an angel. No man who prays could be all that bad. I think he’s reaching out for help, and I plan on giving it to him.”

“What?” asked Tillie, eyes wide. “What is it exactly you plan on giving?”

“Not that,” she said, hitting her friend’s arm playfully. “I think he needs to restore his confidence. He seems like he’s putting up walls, and I don’t think he’s feeling like he’s doing a good job fathering his kids now that his wives are gone.  I don’t believe we have a case of abuse here, unless you consider Thomas abusing himself with all his guilt.”

“Guilt?” Tillie asked. “Are you saying he really did kill his wife?”

Angel thought for a moment, pushing a stray windblown strand of hair from her eyes. “I asked him, but he didn’t outright say he didn’t do it. But I don’t think so, Tillie. I’ve seen something in his eyes I can’t explain, but it’s not malice. He doesn’t have the eyes of a murderer.”

“Angel, how can you say that? How do you know? I don’t think you should be going over to his house anymore. Let the police handle this. Anyone but you.”

“No,” said Angel. “I’ve decided to take him on as a personal interest case. I don’t know why, but I feel like I should somehow help him. I’m not going to change my mind, so don’t even try to talk me out of it.”

They were pulling onto the Ainsley’s road when Angel saw the cars through the trees. One of them was a squad car, and they were parked in the woods by the Taylor’s home.

“Stop the car,” said Angel to Clarence. He did, and she jumped out quickly. “I’m going to go see what’s going on.”

“No,” shouted Agnes. “He may have killed someone else, it’s not safe.”

“Tillie, can you watch Gabby?” she asked.

“Sure,” said Tillie. “But maybe you should listen to my aunt.”

Angel didn’t listen. She ran through the woods toward Thomas’s house, nearly twisting her ankle in her high heels. She broke through the brush, and stopped suddenly when she spied Thomas standing on the porch. The sheriff held him by the elbow and hauled him toward a squad car. His hands were cuffed behind his back. The kids were huddled together at the foot of the porch, and she could see the terror in their eyes.

“What’s going on?” asked Angel, coming to a halt. Little Eli rushed toward her and grabbed her around the legs. The boys all started talking at once, but she didn’t hear any of them. All she could hear was Thomas as he stared at her with sullen eyes, his face stone-like.

“Is this how you planned on helping me, Angie? By having my kids taken away from me and my ass hauled to jail?”

“What?” she gasped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” he said in a gravelly voice. “Now I know why you were so anxious to look in my refrigerator and snoop in my bedroom.”

She still had no idea what he meant until she saw Bob and Barb, two investigators she recognized from CPS come out of the house. They had clipboards in their hands when they came to greet her.

“Hi Angel,” said Barb. “Thanks for tipping us off about this place.”

“Yeah,” said Bob. “These kids will have a good foster home to go to because of you. If it wasn’t for that call, who knows what this guy would have done to them. I’m just glad we got here in time.”

“What call?” she asked in a shaky voice. Then looking back to Thomas, she tried to convince him. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me right off the bat you worked for CPS?” asked Thomas. “You disgust me the way you warm up to my kids and then turn against me. I should have kicked your sorry ass off my land the first day I set eyes on you.”

“Come on, Mr. Taylor,” said the sheriff, pushing him into the car. “We have to take you in for questioning.”

“Pa!” shouted Daniel, trying to run after him. The deputy held him back.

“There’s some kind of mistake,” Angel hurriedly told the cop. “This man doesn’t deserve this treatment. You can’t convict him without proper evidence. Stop it at once.”

“Angel,” said Bob, holding her arm. “We looked in the house. Just like you said, the kids sleep on the floor, the fridge is empty, and by the looks of his kids they are overworked and haven’t been fed a decent meal in a long time.”

“Yeah,” agreed Barb. “And the man drinks. We found half-empty bottles of whiskey hidden inside the house and also in the pole barn. And he wasn’t even here with the kids when we arrived. He actually showed up just after the cops got here.”

“You’ve got it all wrong,” she told them. “He’s a good father, really he is.”

“How can you say that?” asked Barb. “The guy on the phone told us that you, yourself, said how horrible the conditions were. And the fact he may have murdered his wife is just too risky. We have to get the kids away from him right away.”

“What man on the phone?” she demanded to know. “I never told anyone to call you.”

“I think his name was Matt,” said Bob.

“No, I thought it was Nat,” added Barb. “He said he was a reporter.”

“Oh, no!” Angel watched the sheriff close Thomas inside the car. She knew now who had been listening in to her phone calls to Tillie. Nat the nosey reporter had caused all this trouble. She regretted now ever making those calls to her friend.

“We’re going to have to find a place for these kids to stay the night,” said Barb.

“I can take them in to the station and try to find some foster families for them,” suggested the deputy.

“No!” screamed Angel. “Don’t you dare.”

“But they’ve already told us they don’t have any relatives around to take them, besides they’re under age,” said Bob. “We really can’t leave them here without adult supervision.”

Angel looked back at the cabin and the six sad faces of Thomas’s sons. How had this happened? Why had she ever come to Thunder Lake in the first place? She meant to help Thomas, not file a case against him that would take away his children. She had to do something to help. She had to find a way to make things right.

“I’ll stay with them,” Angel offered.

Bob and Barb just shook their heads.

“You can’t get involved,” Bob said. “CPS won’t allow it.”

“Then hell with them,” she snapped. “I quit. And now that I no longer work for them, I can do whatever I want, including this.”

“Angel, are you sure about this?” Bob stuck the clipboard under his arm.

“Positive. And don’t try to change my mind.”

“All right,” said Barb, “but you know it’s only temporary. Too bad they didn’t have a mother. Then we wouldn’t have to take such extreme measures. If so, we could have returned Mr. Taylor after his questioning and just do occasional checks on the family. But since his wives are dead, we have no choice.”

Angel ran a hand through Eli’s hair and looked at the rest of the children. Half of them silently cried out for help, the other half held anger in their eyes thinking she’d betrayed them. She had to make things right. She couldn’t allow these children to be taken away from their father.

Sweet Water was a small town and she could already see there would be no justice for a man whom they all still considered a murderer. They were probably just waiting for any excuse to put him away, and because of her they’d found one. It was all her fault, and there was only one thing she could think of doing that would keep the kids from being split up and placed in foster homes.

“He’ll have a wife,” she said, staring at the kids. “Summon the minister because I’m going to marry Thomas Taylor.”