Water's Edge (43 page)

“That’s not my call. I was sent here to meet with you.”

Tom wanted to protect Rose but realized he had no control over what happened.

“Will you be in touch with our local DA? That should have an impact on the state charges against Rose and me.”

“He’ll be briefed within the next couple of days by an attorney from the Department of Justice.”

Olney stood up, signaling an end to the meeting. “And I’m sorry about your father,” the agent said. “Usually these types of scams don’t involve murder. If that happened here, I hope justice is done.”

Tom opened the door for the investigator. Bernice was in the lobby talking to a man holding a microphone in front of her face. A woman stood behind the man with a TV camera on her shoulder.

“There he is,” the man said, suddenly ignoring Bernice. The camera turned toward Tom. “Mr. Crane, what do you think about the FBI action taken against Pelham Financial this morning?”

“He knows more about it than I do,” Tom said, motioning toward Olney.

The reporter ignored the agent.

“Is it true there was a fight at Arthur Pelham’s home last night when you threatened to expose his embezzlement?”

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Tom said.

“Does this mean the criminal charges against you and Ms. Addington are going to be dismissed?” the reporter persisted.

“That will be decided by Mr. Williams, the district attorney, or Judge Nathan Caldwell, the superior court judge.”

Tom stepped back into the office and closed the door before the reporter launched another question. He sat down and called ICU at the hospital. Once he reached the proper person, the woman immediately transferred him to the nurse’s station.

“Your uncle is stable and resting,” the nurse on duty informed him. “Dr. Thomas has already been by to see him this morning and will be back this afternoon.”

“When should I be there if I want to talk to the doctor?”

“Around 4:00 p.m.”

“Is my uncle conscious?”

“Yes, he was watching the news on TV earlier.”

“About Pelham Financial?”

“Yes, they ran a live feed from the headquarters for half an hour. Did you know this was going to happen?”

Tom didn’t respond. “Thanks for the update on my uncle.”

It was going to be impossible to hide from scrutiny, but Tom wanted to stay as far from the spotlight as possible. He walked quietly over to the door and listened. Not hearing anything, he opened it. Bernice was sitting at her desk. The reception room was empty.

“I’m not answering the phone,” Bernice said as she brushed back a stray strand of hair. “Everything is going to the answering machine. And I didn’t really want to talk to that reporter, but he was nice enough, very polite when he asked to come in. He mostly wanted to know about you.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing much, just that I’d known you and your daddy for years and what a wonderful man he was and how smart you are.”

“I haven’t felt very smart.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Bernice sighed. “But I’d like to go home. I’m completely drained.”

“Sure,” Tom said.

Shortly after Bernice left, Tom’s cell phone rang, and he took it from his pocket. It was Rose Addington.

“Where are you?” he asked before Rose could say anything.

“At home with my mum. And you?”

“Leaving my father’s office. When did you get out of jail?”

“Just before noon. I’ve been home for a couple of hours.”

“When can I see you?”

“Come now if you’d like. That’s why I phoned. Have you been watching the news reports?”

“No.”

“It’s a bit hard to take it all in.”

“I’m on my way.”

As he drove through town, Tom saw a TV truck set up near the courthouse. A camera crew was shooting a street scene near the Chickamauga Diner, probably as background about Bethel.

Turning onto Rose’s street, Tom saw two unfamiliar cars parked in front of the Addington residence. When Tom drove past and slowed down, a man in one of the cars took his picture. Three other people got out of the other car when he pulled up to the Addington house.

“Will you answer a few questions?” a blond-haired woman called out.

Tom held up his hand and shook his head. He rang the front doorbell. A moment later he saw Rose peeking through the leaded-glass sidelight.

“Come in,” she said, opening the door just far enough to let him inside.

“Did you talk to any reporters?” Tom asked, motioning toward the street.

“No. I don’t know enough to answer any questions.”

Tom looked down at Rose, his face serious. “Will you ever be able to forgive me for dragging you into this?” he asked.

“I don’t think I have a choice.”

“I mean in your heart.” Tom put his hand to his chest.

Rose closed her eyes for a moment. “Yes, that’s already happened. Come in and sit down.”

“Where’s your mother?”

“Resting upstairs. As soon as I can, I’m going to get her away from Bethel. My sister is on her way and should be here tomorrow. Come into the kitchen. I have a teapot on.”

A copper kettle was rattling on the stove. Tom sat at the kitchen table while Rose poured two cups of tea.

“How are you doing?” Tom asked when she placed the tea in front of him.

“Still in shock. Do you have any idea what’s going to happen next?”

“How much do you know?”

“Nothing except what I’ve heard on the news.”

As Tom talked, he inwardly debated whether to let Rose know that her father was still under suspicion. He paused when he reached the part about Williams and Keller coming to Elias’s house.

“What?” Rose asked. “Are you going to edit what you tell me?”

“No,” Tom said, making up his mind. “I’m never going to do that again.”

Rose took the news about her father without breaking down.

“I don’t buy that part of Crusan’s story about your papa luring my father to the pond and believe the federal investigation will clear him of any financial wrongdoing,” Tom said. “In the end—”

“The truth may or may not come out,” Rose cut in. “I’m convinced Papa was trying to do the right thing. I just wish”—a tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away—“none of this had happened.”

Rose sipped her tea. When she lowered her cup, Tom saw another tear roll down her cheek. This one she left alone. Rose looked at him and smiled. “But in the midst of all this tragedy, God touched your heart, didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Tom answered.

“Evil’s opportunity will end. But what God has done in your life will last forever.”

They finished the tea, then did something Tom had never done with a woman. They held hands and prayed. Rose went first, and as she spoke, Tom felt the slime of the past weeks fall away from his spirit. Rose’s confident words emboldened him, and he prayed for her and her family without holding anything back.

When they finished, their hardships no longer reigned supreme.

epilogue

T
he brown colors of a north Georgia winter have a unique beauty when bare trees stand like sentinels along the ridges and the views from the hilltops are unrestricted by green leaves. The crisp clear days are a time for vision to expand. Sound carries farther. The cool air makes every sense keener.

When Tom got up to make Sunday morning coffee, a thick frost covered the broken soybean stalks in the fields near Elias’s house. By afternoon, the sun had banished the frost, but the water in the creek that flowed by Rocky River Church hadn’t forgotten the chill of night.

Tom stood near the creek with Rev. Lane Conner beside him. A small crowd of people watched from the bank. Elias, a pair of stents helping the blood flow more easily through his heart, leaned on a cane. Next to him stood Bernice and her husband, Carl. Bernice already had a tissue in her hand. When Tom told Bernice he’d decided to stay in Bethel and reopen his father’s office, her eyes lit up, and she declared the news made her feel ten years younger.

Behind Bernice, Tom saw Judge Nathan Caldwell, Lamar Sponcler, Charlie Williams, and a few other members of the local legal community. Sponcler was making good on his promise to help if Tom chose to remain in Bethel. The older lawyer had referred two good cases to Tom and brought him in as associate counsel on four others. And as news of Tom’s decision to stay in Etowah County spread, the phone volume at the Crane law office began picking up.

Two weeks earlier Charlie Williams confirmed that all charges against Rose and Tom had been dropped. The DA had recently asked the local grand jury to indict Arthur Pelham and Owen Harrelson on state criminal charges. The men, along with four other Pelham executives, had already been arrested by federal authorities. George Nettles was in custody in Britain.

Next to Williams were Reverend England and Sister Tamara from the Ebenezer Church. Their enthusiastic faces lit up the crowd. Tom and Reverend England were going to have lunch the following week. He wanted to talk to Tom about another Christian mediation opportunity.

Standing off by themselves were Rick and Tiffany Pelham. Tiffany looked sad but wiser. The wrath of the local community against Arthur was great, and even though Rick hadn’t done anything wrong, his last name was an irritant to some. As Tom watched, Hal Millsap moved over and put his hand on Rick’s shoulder. Hal had finally admitted to Tom that Rick put up $90,000 of the $100,000 bond fee and would have paid it all except Hal insisted others wanted to play a part as well. Because of his cooperation with the authorities, Rick would be able to keep enough of his property to grow a few trees; Tiffany could keep a couple of horses. And they would have a chance to resurrect their marriage.

Hal, like everyone else who worked for Pelham Financial, lost his job, but he’d received an offer from a small company in Chattanooga. It was less money than he made at Pelham, but the owner liked to give away turkeys to needy families at Thanksgiving and shared Hal’s fondness for chewing tobacco.

Tom’s eyes returned to the front of the group. He looked at Rose. Each day brought them closer together. There was a small smile on her face, and the joy within her exploded with light that reflected the glory of God himself.

Lane Conner held up his hand to get everyone’s attention.

“Tom would like to say a few words before we go into the water.”

Speaking before people wasn’t one of Tom’s phobias, but more than any other time in his life, he wanted to say the right thing. He’d rehearsed a brief speech and received Elias’s blessing, but the beginning line of his prepared message suddenly left his mind.

And he thought about his mother and father.

Tears stung the corners of Tom’s eyes. He pressed his lips together to keep them from trembling. He wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and cleared his throat. His voice shook slightly as he spoke.

“I just thought about how happy my parents would be to see this day,” he said. “Elias tells me they may get to watch from heaven. If that’s true, I want to welcome and thank them for all the good things they poured into my life.”

Bernice had tissues pressed against both eyes.

“And I want to thank all of you,” Tom said, his voice getting stronger. “I’m learning that God placed me in this world, not so other people can serve me, but so I can serve them. Only when we focus our attention on others can we become who we’re intended to be ourselves. Many of you did that for me, and I want to follow in your footsteps.”

Tom opened the Bible. “The other day I was taking my dog Rover for a walk in the fields near the house. I’d brought a Bible along and sat down on a tree stump to read for a few minutes. Turning to Jeremiah 6:16, I read this: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’”

Tom closed the book and looked up. “That’s what’s happened to me. I came to Bethel to shut down my father’s law practice as fast as possible so I could return to Atlanta. Instead, I found myself at a crossroads, with a chance to encounter Jesus Christ. At that crossroads, I took the ancient path. I’ve stumbled some, but I’ve found rest for my soul.”

Tom paused to make eye contact with as many people as he could. Every fiber in his being especially wanted to reach out to Rick and Tiffany. Rick’s face was serious; Tiffany was teary-eyed.

“If you’re at a crossroads, will you consider the ancient path?” he asked. “It’s an opportunity not to be wasted or ignored. Only on that path will you find forgiveness and freedom.”

Tom turned to Lane Conner and nodded. The minister led him into the cold water. They turned around when it was waist deep. Conner lifted his hand in the air. “Joshua Thomas Crane, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

The minister laid him back in the water. Tom came up sputtering. Sister Tamara shouted. Conner gave Tom a soggy hug and patted him on the back. The two men waded out of the water. Rose, her face still beaming, handed Tom a towel. He kissed her on the cheek, then leaned over and hugged Elias.

“Don’t hug me, Tom!” Hal called out. “I’m afraid of cold water!”

______

At the end of a brief reception in the church fellowship hall, Hal offered to give Elias a ride home from the church.

“I want to ask him a few questions,” Hal said. “And he doesn’t scare me as much as you do.”

Tom chuckled. “That’s because you don’t know him yet.”

After everyone left, Tom and Rose stood in front of the church beside his car. They faced each other. Tom took both her hands in his. “This was a good day, wasn’t it?” Tom asked.

“Yes.”

“And we’ve had a wonderful time together while confined to Etowah County by order of Judge Caldwell.”

“Yes, we have,” she said softly.

“And we’d like to continue to spend a lot of time together in the future.”

“Absolutely.”

“Would you say we’re at a crossroads in our relationship?”

“Yes.”

Without a doubt, Rose Addington was the most beautiful woman, inside and out, he’d ever met. Tom leaned over and their lips met. When they parted, Tom looked down at Rose and smiled. “Are you going to say yes to any question I ask?”