Page 2 of Reclaiming his Honor
Instead, he went back through the security thresholds he’d passed on his way in, retrieved his weapon and returned to his car, heat bursting from the interior of the vehicle as he sat down and rested his forehead on the steering wheel.
He’d just watched the life drain from a man as evil as the devil himself, yet that evil seemed to have permeated the glass partition and eked into Mac’s very soul. He said a silent prayer, willing what he’d seen to drain out of him and into the ground, that he may leave it here and carry on without the weight of it upon him. His shoulders dropped. He took a deep breath as he raised his head and put the car in drive, turning on the radio out of sheer habit.
“…said there would be no closure for the victims.”
“What a tragedy for those families!”
“It’s unbelievable, really. Once again, twenty-five minutes ago, Arnold Godak was put to death by lethal injection for the murders of seventeen young Black women in Mobile, Alabama more than ten years ago, but in an awful twist no one saw coming, he left a letter for the press that read, and I quote, ‘You will find the eighteenth victim in the water of Mobile Bay.’ Police are searching the bay area as we speak.’”
Mac pulled over and put the car in park.
“Hang on, Marsha, we’re getting something in from our downtown correspondent. Hang on.” Several seconds of dead air followed. “Police have found the body of a young Black woman floating in the water of Mobile Bay. It appears she has been strangled and dumped in the water sometime in the past twenty-four hours.”
Mac’s eyes glazed over as he stared unseeing through the windshield. Godak had been in prison for years, but he had someone on the outside willing to kill for him. Perhaps someone who had killed for him in the past. He cursed colorfully, thinking of Roger and all the other people who’d lost loved ones to Godak and who’d thought they were finally putting the monster to rest.
There would be no closure today.
CHAPTER2
Ellie Hearst sat at a long table, surrounded by family and friends, truly happy. Her eyes went to Shonda, the oldest of her three children.Such a beauty.Tomorrow Shonda would be marrying Marshall, who sat beside her at the rehearsal dinner. He was a doctor and a fine young man. Ellie couldn’t be prouder.
Turner picked up her hand and squeezed it. Turner, who’d been part of her life for so many years she sometimes took him for granted, Turner who lately had seemed interested in her as more than just a friend.
And how did she feel about him?
An image of her ex-husband appeared unbidden in her mind, his deep brown skin, chiseled features, and strong body seeming to haunt her to this day.
You have to stop thinking of Mac.
He’d been gone almost as long as he’d been in her life. At her son’s urging, she’d finally persevered and officially gotten a divorce, though her international lawyer had been unable to locate her now ex-husband in France, and they’d had to publish her intention to divorce him in all the local papers instead. It was as if he’d simply vanished, and their life together had been a dream.
She shook her head to clear it. This day was about Shonda and Marshall and their love for each other. They were starting a new life as husband and wife. It was a time for celebration, not self-pity and recriminations.
Ellie enjoyed the evening, sampling too much wine and taking pictures of her beloved children. Callie would be a bridesmaid, Lewis a groomsman. It would be a day to behold. She paid the bill and let Turner lead her outside into the humid Mississippi night, surprised to find Shonda waiting for her. “Mama? Can I talk to you?”
“Of course.” Ellie left Turner and stepped several feet away with her daughter. “Is something wrong?”
“Were you and Daddy happy together before he came back from the Navy?”
Ellie jerked her head back. “What brought this on?”
“I remember you being happy. Did I imagine it? Or is that memory real? Were you and Daddy happy together at first?”
“Of course we were. I wouldn’t have married him otherwise.”
“Marshall got really drunk at his bachelor party.”
Ellie laughed. “I’m sure he did. What’s this all about, Shonda?”
“How do I know Marshall isn’t going to be like Daddy? How do I know we’re going to make it, that we’ll always love each other as much as we do today?”
Ellie took Shonda’s hands in her own. “You don’t, sweetheart. You can’t possibly. But just because your father and I didn’t work out doesn’t mean the same thing will happen to you.”
“Marshall drinks way more than I do. More than most of his friends. I don’t want to marry a man who isn’t going to be there for me.” Her voice held a panicky edge that concerned Ellie.
“Honey, Marshall is not your father. He is not the same man.”
Shonda shook off her hands. “I know that.”
