Page 711 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

His eyes met Sydney’s in a plea for understanding. “Exactly.”

She studied his face for a moment as the full picture began taking shape. “You were the one who made the bogus call that sent me on that wild goose chase to the outlying woodlands.”

He nodded.

She ran her fingers through her hair. “You made me feel like such a fool for going out there, and all the while you’re the one …” She shook her head. “You were the one who was always watching me. The eyes, as Hazel says. It was no accident when you showed up just in time to rescue me that day in the park, was it? You were also at the cockfight. I saw you.”

“Yeah, Syd. I was there all of those times, but if I hadn’t been, you might not be alive right now.”

She thought about the man who had threatened her with the switchblade. “You were my guard dog.”

“Yes.”

She felt so betrayed. So used. “I have to think about all this.”

“Honey, Sean’s right.” Stella stood and put her arm around Sydney’s shoulder. “He did what he had to do to take care of you.” Stella turned and looked pointedly at Sean. “You are giving the journal back to her? Right?”

“I want my articles back too,” Sydney said.

Before Sean could respond, the phone rang. Stella moved to answer it. A small furrow appeared between her brows and she handed the phone to Sean. “It’s for you.”

“I see … yes, I understand. No, everything here is okay.” He hung up the phone.

Sydney’s hands went to her hips. “Who was that? What happened?”

“That was Chief Miller. Kendall, Buck, and Lewis have been arrested, but when they went to pick up Walter, they found him and Maurene dead.”

Sydney and Stella looked at each other in horror as Sean continued. “Apparently, Maurene shot Walter and then turned the gun on herself.”

43

“… A TIME TO DANCE.” —ECCLESIASTES 3:4

Sydney spent the night at Stella’s, and Sean went back to his apartment. Sydney slept late the next morning and felt like a new person when she awoke. She and Stella piddled around the house and had breakfast together. Then Stella accompanied Sydney to the police station where she filled out a seemingly never-ending barrage of paperwork. Next the two drove into Glendale and had a late lunch at the Mexican restaurant. There was only one thing left for them to do before they could close this chapter of their lives. They needed to visit the cemetery.

They drove up the hill and were greeted by the giant magnolia trees holding their bare branches high in the sky. In an unspoken agreement, they walked the distance from the jeep to the graves in silence. The only sound they heard was the crunching of their feet through the brown leaves on the ground. When they reached the tombstones, they heard the hum of a vehicle and looked back at the road. Sydney and Stella watched Sean open his door and stride toward them.

Sydney was surprised, but Stella seemed to be expecting him. “Sorry I’m late,” he said.

Sydney looked to Stella. “He called this morning while you were still asleep. I told him that we were planning on going to the cemetery, and he asked if he could join us. I thought it would be okay. He’s as much a part of this as we are.”

Sydney considered this for a minute and then relaxed. “Okay.”

She turned and looked at the tombstones. Everything else around her seemed to disappear as she read the tender inscriptions. She felt again the incredible peace that she’d felt the day before. She remembered her last visit to the cemetery and the hatred she’d felt. She didn’t know how or even when it had happened, but the hate was gone. She didn’t hate Walter or Kendall for what they’d done. It was the closest that she could come to forgiveness, and somehow it was enough. The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, had accepted her feeble gift, and in a way that she didn’t understand, He’d made up the difference.

The song started as a sigh in her heart, barely discernible to her consciousness, and then it began to swell until it filled her being. “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” Though she spoke no words aloud, she knew that her song had reached heaven on the wings of her spirit. She looked at the still, silent graves of her parents and knew they weren’t there. They lived—just as she did, and she also knew that she would be with them again someday. It was that knowledge that gave her the strength to let them go. “God be with you till we meet again,” she whispered.

Sean put his arm around her, and Stella took her hand. “You never have to be alone again,” Stella said.

“I know,” Sydney said. “I know.”

They stood for a few minutes in silence until Sean looked up at the sky that was brushed pink and purple in the setting sun. “Would you look at that sunset?”

Sydney looked at Stella and smiled. “It looks like a cotton candy sky to me.”

Stella smiled back. “Yes, it certainly does.”

Sean looked at Sydney. “Would you mind walking back to the truck with me? I want to show you something.”