“I’d like to help each of the families out. Add onto their homes. Build some playground equipment for them all to use. Food, too, if they might need it.” Duncan came into the room more and sat on the sofa across from her and Abe. “You know what happened in here, don’t you? I can’t repeat it. It’s like a stone stuck in my throat every time I think about the things she did to these children.”
“Yes, Jamie told me while it was going on. I’m so sorry.” Jude told him she wasn’t hurt by Hanna, but the kids were. “But you had to hear it from her mouth. I’ve contacted a couple of doctors I know to come and talk to the kids. They might not all need help, but the few that do, I want them to have someone close by. I was going to ask you if you were sure about taking these two, but I think I have my answer.”
“You do. I’ve fallen in love with them both. The way that Tracy protects him. Mercy said she was all up in her face at the home until she found out they were bringing the two of them here.” Duncan nodded. “We really should make our marriage a reality, don’t you think? I mean, everyone already refers to me as Judith Dante.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea.” He pulled a small box from his pants pocket. “This was in with the jewelry that Mom left me. I think she had it made rather than it coming from the spoils of war. It meant a great deal to her, and in turn, it means that much to me too. Will you wear it? I mean, will you marry me, Judith Castle? My queen of all that we rule?”
The ruby was about the size of a quarter. Dark with age, it was flawlessly cut and shone in bright colors all around the room. Even the Christmas tree paled in comparison to its beauty and shine.
“I will. Gladly.” They kissed, both of them being careful not to wake Abe. But just as they were going to kiss a second time, the children came racing into the room. They had great news, Mary told them. Each child had a new mommy and daddy.
“How wonderful for all of you.” Jude looked at the other birds and thanked them for their help while Duncan talked about how they’d be having so much fun living with each of their new families.
Mercy leaned back on the couch when Abe woke to play with the other children. When asked for permission to play with their new toys, each parent got down on the floor and helped them take things out of the packaging. This was what she needed, a perfect end to this day.
She and Duncan played several games with the kids and ate too much sugary food. Then she fell asleep in his arms as soon as the other children were taken to their new homes. Neither of them cared that they were sleeping on the couch, their children asleep on the floor in new sleeping bags.
Chapter 6
Piper was just packing away the last of her things when someone rang her doorbell. She’d not wanted to be interrupted, but duty called. As soon as she flung the door open, she knew something had happened.
“What is it?” Aryne Peterson asked if he could come in. Inviting him in was easy—getting information from him was another matter altogether. “If you don’t start talking, I might well have to hurt you. What is it?”
“The Martins. The ones that had their home burnt down just before Christmas.” He looked around. “I hadn’t realized you’d found a place to live. Shall I congratulate you now?”
“I’m moving back to where I came from. All of us are.” Aryne looked so crestfallen that she nearly laughed. “We’ll be coming back from time to time. And I’ll make sure you have my new number once I’m settled. We decided that we love it back there. It’s our roots, I guess you could call it. My sist
er Jude, she’s marrying the king of the place there. She’ll be his queen in all things.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for all of you. Not so much about you leaving the area, but that you’re going to be all together. But about the Martins. They’re claiming I’ve doctored my report on what I found out there. That I poured gasoline all around so their insurance wouldn’t pay off. I’m glad more every day that you bought me the body cam I’ve been using. The recording of it all, including our conversation out there, is being reviewed by the sitting judge.” Piper asked him why he’d come to her. “You’re going to be called as a witness. It’s not a bad thing. The judge, I believe you know him—Arthur Montgomery. He likes you and said that if he was to trust anyone with the truth, it would be you. He asked me to come by here and let you know he was going to have you summoned.”
“When is it?” Aryne smiled. “Today? He is making this thing start today? What would have happened had I not been home? Would he have just waited me out?”
“Yes. As I said, he likes you and knows you’re going to be honest with the court. He is going to tell the Martins you were on scene with me.” Piper asked him what capacity she was testifying in. “He’s making you a part of the fire team, as the one to head up things like this, discordances with insurance companies and families. I think you’d be a pro at it. Not to sound mean, but you don’t take shit from anyone, and that would put you in favor of anyone I know. A straight shooter is what he said.”
She looked around her apartment. There really wasn’t much left to do. She was just making herself busy work, so she’d not be in the middle of something when she was to meet with her sisters. It was their party night, the only night of the week they were able to get together as a family.
“I can do this, but I won’t miss my dinner date with the family. You know as well as I do that we get together every Wednesday night. It’s our time.” Aryne told her he knew that and had told Montgomery that too. “When do I have to be there?”
For an answer, Aryne went to the door and opened it. Shaking her head, she hated to admit that she wanted to do this. And doing it before she tore the reasons apart as to the reason she wanted to do it would be good for her. She tended to overthink things.
The courtroom was filled, a surprise to her since it was only a couple of days after Christmas. When she asked where she should be seated, Judge Montgomery called for her to come to the seat next to him. As soon as she was seated, he handed her some files. The one on top was from the Martins. The others, she remembered, she’d been to the sites of the fires with Aryne. She looked up when someone said her name.
“What makes you an expert on the fire at the Martin home, Ms. Warrior? I’m to understand that you’re some sort of artist. The last time I was in college, that wasn’t considered a degree.” There was a little bit of laughter around the otherwise quiet room when the attorney for the Martins spoke. Piper smiled. If he’d known her, even a little, he would have backed off then. “What do you have to add to this that the fire marshall called you in today to help with?”
He made quotation marks with his fingers when he said help, like he was implying something else besides her helping in any way. Whatever had he meant by it? Well, it pissed her off enough for her to get as nasty as he’d been.
“I have degrees in law enforcement and emergency medical services. I also have a doctorate in fire sciences and forensic fire investigations. I’m a retired firefighter with the 151 here in town too.” The men and women present today shouted “hoo-hoo,” as they did at this particular firehouse every time they met up with one of their own. The attorney for the Martins, Tyler Peck, said she seemed to be overqualified for the job. “How would you know what I’m qualified or even overqualified to do? You’re an attorney, and I can do your job as well if you want to know the truth. So far? I’m not terribly impressed by you at all.”
“Be that as it may, what do you have to say about the fires that the Martins have had?” She told him everything she’d figured out about the fire. Since he didn’t put any kind of stipulations on which fire, she was able, after the judge said Peck should be more careful how he worded things, to bring up the other fire the Martins had too. “The first fire has nothing to do with this fire, Your Honor. Why is she bringing that up?”
“Because, as you were told, you didn’t say which fire. The first fire wasn’t a total loss for the Martins. That one also had a very distinct smell of gasoline. If I were to speculate on how the fire was contained to the front of the home, I’d say it was the fire department who saved most of the home. The insurance company they had, the one they had doubled their insurance policy on within two days before the fire, said they could build onto the remaining house.” She pulled out the picture that was in the file of the crime scene of the second fire. “The second fire, as you can see here, took down the entire house. I’d like to say it was a total loss, but I can’t. The barn and several places that you can put items in to store were filled with their belongings. The only things left in the house that we could find were two cans of dog food, a couch older than the house, as well as some broken toys. Before you ask me how I knew they were broken, they were in melted pieces when they were retrieved from the fire.”
Peck just stared at her. She smiled at him again when she told him that was her professional opinion as an artist too. Piper flipped to the second picture and brought it up so everyone could see. Before she could talk about it, Peck interrupted her again.
“Ms. Warrior, I’m sure you have a great deal of what you might consider evidence to the contrary, but the Martins have lost their home. Everything they hold dear to their hearts. Everything you’re saying right now is only your opinion. What if I told you I have a person here in the courtroom today that discounts every part of your testimony?” Piper told him to bring them in. She’d compare her notes with his. “Are you telling me and this courtroom that you’re a better expert than the person I have? That’s sort of prejudiced, isn’t it?”
She stared at him for a moment. “What the hell are you talking about? I in no way implied, nor said, that I was better than anyone. I said—quite nicely, I think—that I’d compare notes with his. I never once, not ever in my career, said I was better than anyone.” He stared at her, his face getting redder by the moment. Not from embarrassment, but because his anger at her was filtering through his flippant attitude. “Are you going to call out your witness, or are you going to stand here like a fish with your mouth hanging open?”