What Happened That Night

EPILOGUE

Ruth Anne

Edmonds, Washington – 2019

Six monthsafter Eddie forgave me, I drove home from my new job, feeling incredibly happy. People often talked about a huge weight being lifted off their shoulders. The saying was such a cliché, but that’s exactly how I felt. For years, I’d been weighted down by the past. Finding out that I’d sent the wrong man to prison gutted me.

After Eddie forgave me, however, everything changed. Not a day passed when I didn’t feel grateful for his generosity. Gone was the anger, bitterness, fear, and sadness I carried around for so long. In its place lived peace.

Although, in all honesty, my peace was marred by having to come to terms with Sheriff Enquist’s actions. His blatant disregard for the law led to the incarceration of at least one innocent man. The investigation against him was ongoing, but Troy speculated that the sheriff would probably receive jail time for his wrongdoings.

Perhaps had I not put the sheriff on such a pedestal, I would’ve been able to speak out. Throughout the trial, there had been inconsistencies such as Eddie’s tattoo, height, and eye color. Despite a niggling feeling in the back of my mind, I’d ignored it, confident in my belief that Eddie was guilty. My rush for a resolution resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

And yet it was a scene I saw over and over in the news. A horrible crime was committed. The outraged public demanded an immediate conviction from an already overworked and under-resourced system. In the haste for justice, shortcuts were taken and mistakes were made.

My hope was that as more wrongful convictions came to light, people could learn to be more patient and follow the rules of our justice system in order to secure an accurate outcome, regardless of the time it took.

As I turned onto my street, I once again spotted Salvador’s car parked in front of my house. On my front stoop sat the man himself, holding the most adorable German shepherd puppy.

After parking, I rushed toward him. “You got a puppy. What’s her name?”

“Athena. She’s really smart. Do you want to hold her?”

“Of course.”

I took Athena in my arms, loving how soft she felt. “Aren’t you beautiful.”

Athena wiggled and tried to lick my face. I laughed and asked Salvador what made him decide to get a dog.

He shrugged. “Abuela thought it might be a good idea.”

“Did she?”

I set Athena on the ground and joined Salvador on the stoop. The two of us played with the puppy until she grew tired.

Then we went inside and shared my simple dinner of minestrone soup and homemade bread. As we ate, Athena slept on a blanket beside my fireplace.

“Did Lia tell you that Oliver is moving up here so he can be closer to the babies?” I asked.

“She did. She said he sold his bike shop and is planning on opening a shop up here.”

“It will be nice for him to be close. Despite my first impression of him, he seems like a good guy. And he adores the babies.”

Salvador smiled. “I agree.”

Lia’s twins had been born New Year’s morning. She and Oliver had named them Grace and Emma.

While I saw Lia and the girls several times a week, we’d officially decided that Thursday would be our Terrific Twin Time.

“Do you think there’s any chance of Oliver and Lia getting together?” Salvador asked. “They seem compatible, and I think she likes him.”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

Salvador chuckled. “If Abuela has her way, they’ll be married this time next year.”

I laughed. “Speaking of getting married—”

“Brandy told me. Her dad and Dottie are tying the knot this summer. She’s really happy about it.”