Claws For Concern

THIRTY-SIX

“Yes, Sean, you’re right,” I said, trying not to sound long-suffering, though I wasn’t sure I was completely successful. “If I hadn’t gone to the hospital the deputies would have handled things very well on their own.” I was thankful Sean had at least waited until we finished our Sunday dinner before he brought up the subject. I don’t think I would have been able to eat otherwise.

“I know you think I’m nagging, Dad,” Sean said. He sounded aggrieved.

“Well, you are,” Laura said. “You talk to him sometimes like he’s an adolescent.”

“Thanks for the support, sister dear.” Sean leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

“She’s right, sweetheart,” Alex, Sean’s wife, said. “I can hear you sounding just like that about fifteen years from now with our child.” She smiled at him.

Sean’s gaze softened as he looked across the table at his wife. He might fuss at me, but he wouldn’t fuss at Alex.

“Go on, Charlie,” Stewart said. “Before Sean launches into another lecture on proper behavior for grandfathers.” He grinned.

“Ha-ha,” Sean said.

“I did feel a little foolish hiding in the bathroom,” I said, “but I couldn’t take the chance. If the deputy hadn’t shown up, and I hadn’t been there, Bill would have died.”

“What was in the syringe? Were you able to find out?” Haskell asked.

“A powerful tranquilizer, with a dose strong enough to bring down a couple of bull elephants,” I said. “Lethal to Bill, obviously.”

“She was desperate,” Helen Louise said. “Despite the fact that she murdered her own father and tried to kill another man, I do feel sorry for her. She was not quite sane.”

“Sane enough to kill people to get what she wanted,” Haskell said. “And she nearly got away with it. I wonder how long it would have been before she turned on someone else, like her husband or her children.”

That didn’t bear thinking about. I felt desperately sorry for Campbell and the children. I imagined he would be watching his children closely from now on for signs of their mother’s extreme behavior.

“The one I feel really sorry for is Bill Delaney,” Laura said. “He thought he was going to be able to save the woman he loved and his sons from a monster.” She shook her head, and I could see tears running down her face. Frank obviously noticed, too. He left his chair and went around the table to comfort her.

“I agree, honey,” I said. “To me, that is the real tragedy in all this.”

“Why did Delaney protect Elizabeth all these years?” Sean asked. “I don’t understand that at all. Why didn’t he turn her in?”

“I asked him that,” I said. “He told me he couldn’t. He didn’t want her to go to prison. It wouldn’t have been self-defense with her shooting him in the back. If Hiram had intended to kill her, she would have been dead by the time Bill arrived. She was Betty’s daughter, and he felt he had to protect her. It was all he had left that he could do for Betty.”

“Did he tell you what he did with the shotgun?” Stewart asked.

“He drove out to Tullahoma Lake and threw it in. Even if the sheriff’s department had looked for it there, I doubt they would have found it. It’s a big lake,” I said.

“Did Dr. Finch know all of this?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure how much she really knew,” I replied. “I believe she knew Elizabeth was planning to help her mother and brothers escape from her father. I also believe Elizabeth told her that Bill Delaney killed Hiram in revenge for Hiram murdering her mother and the boys. Elizabeth swore her to secrecy because she said she didn’t want Bill to go to jail.”

“She was still trying to protect her all these years later, I suppose,” Helen Louise said. “Now that is a best friend for you.”

“She loved Elizabeth like a sister, and that’s why she was feeding Elizabeth information on Bill’s condition, although that is unethical,” I said. “I don’t think she ever realized that Elizabeth had such a dark side to her personality.”

“She was pretty good at keeping it hidden,” Haskell said.

“For the most part, yes,” I said. “I didn’t trust her, although the act of contrition she put on at Bill’s bedside almost convinced me I was wrong. That was before she tried to kill him, of course.”

“Was she afraid he would finally tell the truth to someone?” Frank asked. “After he’d been silent for so many years?”

I shrugged. “That’s my guess. She didn’t trust him. He promised never to come back, apparently, and then he did. That spooked her.”

“I’m thankful she’s off the streets,” Laura said. “I’d hate to think of her loose out there.”

“And hopefully she’ll stay off the streets,” Haskell said. “Depends on the kind of bond the judge sets. Right now she’s in our jail waiting to go before the judge to be indicted.”

“She’s here, in Athena?” Laura sounded alarmed.

“Yes, for the attempted murder of Bill Delaney,” Haskell said. “It will take a while before the other charges are brought. Delaney will probably face charges, too, though they might go easy on him because of his health and the fact that he’s now cooperating with the investigation.”

“The main thing is she’s where she can’t harm anyone else,” Alex said. “What I don’t understand is why Elizabeth hated her father so much? Especially since he supposedly spoiled her. Was she abused, do you think?”

“I suspect she might have been. If she was, it will probably come out at the trial,” I said.

“How is Bill Delaney doing?” Helen Louise asked. “Have you made a decision yet on inviting him to live here?”

“He’s doing better than I expected, after everything that happened,” I said. “He could live three days, three weeks, or three years, but he won’t be living them here. I invited him to stay here. He thanked me, but I could see that being around me would remind him too much of recent events.”

“So what is he going to do?” Laura asked.

“He’s going back to Tullahoma,” I said. “Turns out he has more than enough to live on. He is pretty frugal with his money. He has a little apartment there, and a couple of his old Marine Corps buddies are still around. He told me he has realized he isn’t so ready to die after all. The fact that Elizabeth tried to kill him again convinced him he shouldn’t try to protect her anymore.”

“I’m glad to hear he’s got a home,” Helen Louise said. “He might not be able to find much happiness in the time he has left, but perhaps he can find peace of a sort.”

I smiled at the woman I had grown to love so much. In her articulate, sensitive way, she had voiced my own thoughts beautifully.

“I think it’s time we changed the subject to a happier one,” I said. “I’d like to hold my grandson for a little while, if that’s okay.”

Laura glanced over to the bassinet by the wall. Diesel lay beside it, ever vigilant should baby Charlie start to cry.

“I think he’s probably ready for a meal anyway, so why don’t you give him a bottle, Dad?”

“I’ll get one from the fridge and put it in the warmer,” Frank said.

I nodded my thanks, and he headed to the kitchen. I went over to the bassinet and picked up my grandson. He was already stirring a little, and Laura was right. He would soon be demanding to be fed. I returned to my chair and held him in my arms. Diesel came with me and sat beside my chair. He had to be sure I was taking proper care of the baby.

Looking at baby Charlie, at that perfect little face and head, I was able to push away the dark thoughts brought about by recent events. I held the future in my arms, and I would do everything in my power to see that it was a future full of love, light, and laughter.