Promise Made (The Callahan Series) (25 page)

Later, she took a break, gave Yogi and Heidi a treat. After drinking a glass of water, she returned calls and worked diligently for a couple more hours, doing her best not to think of Dugan and where their relationship would end up. When her phone rang, she looked at the clock and couldn’t believe how fast time had flown.

“I just got back,” Rita said. “Do you think you’d have time to stop by? I have something for you.”

“I’ll be right over.” She could use a break.

Fifteen minutes later, Kate parked behind a pickup at Rita’s singlewide. It didn’t seem as sad now as it once had. There was a different look about the place. There were no toys in the yard and it was raked clean. Was she at the wrong address?

No. It was the right one.

She knocked. Rita’s youngest opened the door. “Hi!” Kate said.

“Remember me? My name’s Chloe. Mom said to come in.” Her grin was contagious.

Kate walked in. There were boxes everywhere. A couple were taped shut, the rest open. Rita was definitely moving.

Chloe led Kate to the kitchen. Packing hadn’t gotten this far as there were no filled or unfilled boxes. “Where’s your Mom?”

“She’s taking care of Rach. She fell and scraped her knee.”

“Are you moving?”

Chloe nodded. “We’re going to live in San Antonio.”

“Do you think you’ll like living there?”

Kate got a wide grin. “Sure. We’ll live next door to my cousins. We’ll have a lot of fun.”

She looked around at the spotless kitchen. It looked just as it had the last time she'd visited...except...What was missing? “Chloe? Where are the knives your mom keeps on the counter?”

Chloe’s dark eyes grew wide. “Mom never keeps knives on the counter. She puts them in a cabinet high up where we can’t get to them. She said we might hurt ourselves.”

Kate shut her eyes, willed her heart to still. “Are you sure?” she asked in a whisper.

Chloe’s head bobbed.

Kate’s head whirled as the room faded from bright light to a dim gray. She grabbed the cabinet, blinked.
It couldn’t be!
She shook her head in disbelief.

Dugan was right.

Rita had played her.

Why hadn’t she questioned the girls more forcefully?

She’d talked to them of course. They’d confirmed Rita’s story. No, they didn’t see anything the morning their dad died because they were at school. But Kate hadn’t asked about the knives. Why? Because they’d been there when she was here to talk to the girls. Besides, she’d believed Rita’s account of the incident.

Had the prosecutor?

Most likely he’d been here, too, and at the time they were probably right where Rita had claimed they always were.

It was a lie.

Kate had been taken in by a sob story. If she had just asked more questions….

Kate put her head in her hands, swallowed back the nausea. When she opened her eyes, Chloe was looking at her strangely. Rita stood in the doorway doing the same.

“I’m glad you could drop by, Kate.” She handed her an envelope. “I don’t have the money from Toby’s insurance yet, but my sister took out a loan so I could pay you before I leave town.”

Kate struggled to find her voice. “Chloe told me you’re moving to San Antonio.”

Rita’s smile made Kate’s heart hurt. “I’m going to buy the house next door to my sis. It’s small, but big enough for us. With the insurance money I can pay cash. I won’t have to worry about rent.” She put a kettle of water on the stove. “Got me a job, too, as a waitress in a little diner not far from the house. Borrowed my brother-in-law’s pickup so we could get our stuff out of here before the rent’s due.”

Kate barely heard a word. Her head throbbed with one word. Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!

“The knives. Chloe told me.”

Rita put a hand to her heart and turned wide-eyed to Kate. “Go to your room, Chloe.”

When she disappeared, Rita stared at Kate, but didn’t say a word.

“You lied.”

“What else could I do? Toby threatened to finish what he started when he woke up. I believed him. He was ready to kill me, Kate. When he staggered into the kitchen that morning, he had a wild look in his eyes. I was a dead woman. I knew what he would do. I couldn’t let it happen.”

“You could have called Dugan. He would have protected you.”

“For how long?” Rita asked with derision.

Kate had a feeling Rita was right. She had to get out of here before she threw up. “I have to leave,” Kate said, and nearly staggered to the door.

“I’m sorry, Kate.”

Kate looked back when she got to the car. Both girls stood next to their mother, smiles on their faces. Rita looked stricken.

Her fingers shook so, Kate didn’t know if she could start the car. When she did, she hurried to Dugan’s office. “Be there,” she begged.

She’d let her emotions blind her to the truth. Rita had zoomed right in on it.

Kate let out a sigh of relief when she spotted Dugan’s cruiser in its usual spot.

She rushed inside, ran straight to his office. The door was closed, but she propelled her way in, and shut the door behind her.

Dugan was on his feet and at her side in an instant. “What’s wrong?”

She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight. But there was no way she could hold back the tears.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Kate? Is it Grace?”

She shook her head against his chest. “Ed?”

Again she shook her head.

“Then what?”

But Kate couldn’t get her breath, couldn’t say the words.

For years she’d kept a tight control over her emotions. Now her control was shot to hell. She was falling apart piece by piece and didn’t know if she could put herself back together.

“Is it the animals?”

“No,” she wailed.

He held her away from him, looked deep into her eyes. “Tell me, Kate. Now.”

“You were right, Dugan. Rita
did
plan to kill her husband. And…and…I helped her get away with it.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Sit down,” Dugan said, as he gently guided her into a chair. Sticking his head out the door, he asked Sybil to bring a bottle of water.

Reluctantly, she slammed one into his hand.

He shut the door and handed the water to Kate. “Here. Drink this.”

Sobbing as if her heart would break, she shook her head.

“It’ll make you feel better, honey.”

He handed her a tissue, then put the box on the desk next to her. She plucked one out and wiped her face. He put the bottle in her hand, made her take a drink.

“Better?”

She nodded.

“How did you happen onto this piece of information?”

“Out of the mouths of babes,” she answered, her voice hitching with sobs. She twisted one tissue after another into shreds, as she explained how Chloe innocently told her about the knives. “Rita admitted it. She told me Tobias promised to finish what he started when he woke up. She said he had death in his eyes that morning. She was convinced he would kill her and, at some point, hurt the girls. She couldn’t take it anymore, so she took the knife and stabbed him.

“How could I have been so wrong? I was so sure Rita told me the truth, when all the time she planned it. I didn’t realize I was so gullible.”

She looked up at Dugan, her blue eyes full of tears and torment, her face a mottled red. He’d never loved her so much. His heart gave a painful thump. What could he do to make her feel better? She’d bought into Rita’s story, but so had the jury—so had everyone in town.

He dampened his handkerchief with water from the bottle and wiped her face gently. “We’re walking out of here. You don’t want word to spread how you cried your eyes out in the sheriff’s office, do you?” He wiped her face one more time, tucked her hair behind her ears, and helped her to her feet. “Okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“When we walk out the door I want to see a smile.”

She tried to oblige, but the smile was wobbly.

“Take a deep breath.”

He put on his Stetson and opened the door. He ventured a glance at those in the office. Sure enough, every eye was turned their way. He shielded her as best he could, as he hurried her out the door and into his cruiser.

“Check my car. My purse and keys are in it.”

He did as she asked, then handed the items to her before he started the motor.

“Rita paid me,” she said, fingering the envelope. “I don’t know if I should keep the money or send it back.”

“Keep it. You earned every penny.”

“Where are we going?”

“Hang tight.”

Five minutes later, he turned into Oaktree Park. Huge oak trees were scattered throughout two acres designated as a park long before his time. The town had come by its name from the oaks stretched tall and wide throughout the area. Here and there was a picnic table. In one spot, there were slides and seesaws. He passed them, waved to those who were enjoying the cloud-free day.

At the far end of the park, he stopped the car. “Let’s take a walk.”

Kate, despite her red eyes, looked wonderful. In jeans, T-shirt, and Nikes, she was more like the girl he fell in love with than the formidable attorney.

He took her arm, hooked it in his, and started a slow walk down a dapple-shaded path. She trembled so he put a protective arm around her waist.

“I helped Rita get away with murder.”

Though Dugan had hoped for a guilty verdict, he’d known from the start it wouldn’t happen. “Tobias beat Rita over and over again. At one point, he probably
would
have killed her. Maybe even, as Rita said, that very morning.”

“Before I left, Rita told me about their plans to live in San Antonio, how she wanted to buy a house next to her sister. It sounded perfect for her and the girls. When I left, the girls were all smiles as they stood in the doorway and waved goodbye. They’ll be all right in their new life.”

“If Tobias had killed Rita as he threatened, there would be no happy ending. With his record of abuse, the jury would have found him guilty. Their girls would be in the hands of the state. Isn’t that what you told the jury? It’s true, you know.”

They stopped to look at a line of oleanders in full bloom, their pink blossoms adding a touch of color to all the green. He doubted Kate saw a thing.

“Are you’re saying it was all right for Rita to do what she did?”

“Of course not. It’s never right to kill another human being. The law doesn’t allow for someone to plan and commit murder because their abuser has a history of abuse. Or for any other reason. Rita could have come to me. Should have. I would have put Toby’s butt in jail and kept it there.” He paused, looked at her. Her eyes were still watery. “Kate, it was wrong. The whole thing was wrong. But in this case, you can’t fault the ending.”

She gave him a look of gratitude. They resumed their walk. “Why did I buy into her story? Am I really so gullible?”

He stopped and turned her toward him. “This question from the woman who all her life took in stray and neglected animals? Why wouldn’t you believe her? Rita was an abused woman. It’s in your nature to help the downtrodden. Besides, you’re an attorney. This is what you do. It has nothing to do with whether you are or are not gullible.”

“I don’t know, Dugan. It seems my life has been a roller coaster of unreliability. First my dad abandoned my mom and me, many times over. Then my mom died and my dad abandoned me again. I left you at the altar. I got a guilty murderer off. What does all that tell you? I’m clearly screwed. How can I ever believe in myself again?”

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Kate.”

“Did Rita know I’d be stupid enough to believe her story? Is that why she wanted me to represent her?”

“You’re the opposite of stupid. We may never know the answer to your question. My guess is she wanted you because you knew her from high school and were a woman. Another woman would understand her plight better than a man.”

“I hope you’re right.” Kate sighed.

“Put this behind you, Kate. It’s over and done with. The jury said she was innocent. She can’t be tried again. Rita will suffer in her own way for what she did. You have to admit that she’ll make a good life for her girls which Tobias never would have.” He paused. “Besides, if she’d waited another few minutes who knows, maybe Tobias would have come after her just as she told us in court. Maybe, if she’d waited, it
would
have been justifiable self-defense. As it is, I don’t think she planned it. I think when she saw his intent she acted.”

“From what she told me that’s what happened.”

They turned back toward the cruiser. “Why did you come back, Kate?”

“What do you mean?”

“You came back to Oaktree for a reason. I know you stayed because Grace broke her arm, but this is the first time you’ve been here for a visit when it wasn’t a holiday or Grace’s birthday. The first time you've stayed more than forty-eight hours.”

“How did you know?”

“How could I not?” He chuckled.

Kate giggled. “You’re right. Oaktree has its own communication system.”

“So why, Kate?”

She took her arm from his and walked a few feet ahead. He caught up with her and turned her toward him. “I really want to know.”

“I tried to tell you that day in the diner, but—”

“I know. I wouldn’t let you. I wasn’t ready to hear it then. I’m willing to listen, now, though. Please?”

She hesitated only a moment longer, then sighed heavily. “I had to talk to Gram. My boss, Erik Walton, asked me to marry him. I ran again, Dugan. Not quite like when I left you, but I ran.”

Dugan’s heart stopped. Why was he surprised? Kate was an amazing woman. Any man would be proud to have her as his wife. Did she love this Walton guy? Dugan rubbed his chest, as if he could rub the hurt away. He had to ask. “Do you love him?”

Kate looked in his eyes. “You and I had sex, Dugan. What does that tell you? I like Erik. I still do. We worked well together. He’s a nice man. But I didn’t love him. Ever.”

The pain eased somewhat.

“I’ve wanted to get this off my chest ever since I came back. Years ago, when you asked me to marry you, I said yes because I loved you. The closer the wedding date came the more I realized I wanted more than a husband and kids. I wanted a career. All I could think about was my goal. I wanted to be independent. Something I got from my mother, I guess. I had thoughts that you might run out on me like my dad did my mom and me. So I ran. It was easier that way. Now I know you would never run. But at the time I thought it was the right choice. You would have been able to talk me out of it if I had stayed.”