Chapter Thirty-Six

Her heart still hammering, Kate went back to the group. “That was Paul. My husband bailed Charlie out of jail this morning. They were on their way back. Charlie’s been in an accident.”

Jake shook his head. “I was afraid something like this might happen.”

“What do you mean?” Kate wished the world would stand still for a moment so she could catch up.

“I asked Paul to make the trip to Chattanooga and gave him the money for bail and to retain an attorney. I didn’t think our embezzler would know he was out.”

“So you don’t think it was as accident?”

“I’d be surprised.” He blew out a long breath.

That meant someone had been keeping close tabs on Charlie. “Did any of you besides Jake and Paul know that Charlie was being released from jail?”

None of them claimed to.

William Bennett said, “I hope you don’t think we had anything to do with it. It’s pretty hard to be in two places at once.”

Kate agreed. “But you could have a partner.”

“No one here knew, Kate,” Jake said. “Just Paul and me.”

“Someone else had to know,” Kate said. “And there’s always the possibility it was an accident.”

While they waited for a report from Paul, the officers of Valley Trust and the board members talked openly with Kate about the case.

Bennett said, “The feds have examined all of our bank records, and there is nothing to indicate that we have the stolen funds.”

“That goes for all of your employees?” Kate asked.

“Everyone. We have no idea where the money ended up.” The CFO rubbed his chin. “Ned Castile had been working closely with the FBI when he disappeared.”

Kate looked around the group. “So you really don’t know where Ned is?”

“We have no idea, Kate,” Ava said. “I told you that.”

“Yes, but I sensed you knew he was okay. Your grief didn’t ring true.”

She nodded. “You’re very astute. The truth is, I knew he was going undercover and was very close to finding the real embezzler. But we haven’t heard from him in five days.”

“You think he got too close?”

Ava closed her eyes. “I can’t let myself think that.”

Jake leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “There’s no other answer. He’d have found a way to get in touch if he could.”

Kate’s phone vibrated, and she picked it up. “It’s Paul again.”

“Charlie is okay,” Paul told her. “So is the attorney. The car is totaled, but they were both wearing seat belts.”

“Thank God. What happened?”

“Some guy in a rusty old pickup ran him off the road. They didn’t get a good look at him, but they guessed he’d been drinking moonshine. They saw a couple of old jugs in the back.”

“So it was an accident?”

“Yeah, if you call drunk driving accidental.”

“I’m glad they’re okay. I’ll tell the others.”

“Others?”

“Jake and the board members...I’ll explain later.”

Kate told the group about the accident, and everyone seemed relieved.

Shortly after the news about Charlie, they dispersed. Kate lingered to visit with Liz and Ava. They wanted to know more about the Faith Freezer Program and the plans to integrate the homeless into the community. Liz also wanted to volunteer and offered temporary shelter in their guesthouse.

One of the doors down the hallway opened. Jake maneuvered a wheelchair toward them. The woman in the wheelchair was slumped over. She raised her arm in an awkward position and attempted a wave.

“Oh, good, you’re awake.” Liz bent down to kiss the woman’s cheek. “There’s someone here we’d like you to meet.”

Jake smiled. “Mother, I’ll let you do the honors. I need to run.” Jake bent down to brush his lips against the woman’s hair and squeezed her hand. This had to be Helen.

Liz kissed her son on the cheek, then turned to Kate. “Kate, I’d like you to meet my daughter-in-law. Helen, this is Kate Hanlon, the lady I was telling you about. She’s developing the homeless program. Remember?”

Helen peered at Kate and appeared to smile, though Kate couldn’t quite tell. Her mouth angled like that of a stroke victim. She spoke, but Kate couldn’t understand.

“She says she’s honored,” Liz translated.

Kate smiled and bent to shake Helen’s disfigured hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’ve heard some very good things about you.”

Kate wasn’t certain if Helen could understand anything they said, but Liz continued talking for her and acting as if she could. Finally, with assurances that the women would get together soon, Liz showed Kate to the door.

Kate hesitated. “I heard about the attack on Helen. I’m so sorry...”

Liz nodded. “For a while, after the attack, we thought we were going to lose her. In a way we did. She came out of the coma like this.” Liz glanced back at Helen and smiled. Turning back to Kate, she added, “We try to stay positive around here.”

“I can see that.”

Liz handed her a check. “For your projects. I read about them in the paper.”

Kate took it gratefully and thanked God for these generous people. “Thank you.”

Kate left Jake’s estate with a better understanding of their family dynamics. She could understand why Joe’s anger sustained itself. Still, Jake’s way of dealing with his wife’s disabilities made much more sense.

Kate felt blessed. God had answered her prayers through people who had given the program much more than she could have imagined.

Before long, her thoughts returned to Valley Trust. Who stood to gain the most by taking the funds? She still had her suspicions about Gerald Woods and William Bennett, but Jake seemed satisfied that they were looking for someone else. Maybe because he was involved?

Why would Jake change his mind about Kate’s involvement in the investigation so suddenly? Why take her into his confidence? Was Jake conning everyone? Kate hated to think so. It didn’t make a lot of sense that a man could be so kind and still be a crook. On the other hand, maybe he wanted to look good so he wouldn’t be a suspect.

At Pine Ridge Road, Kate was about to turn toward Copper Mill but decided that since she was closer to Pine Ridge, she’d stop there to try to catch Sheila at home and get caught up on the details of her upcoming wedding.

Sheila, driving a red sporty-type car, pulled into her driveway in front of Kate. Just before the smile and wave, Kate thought she’d seen annoyance. Kate couldn’t blame her. Uninvited guests could be frustrating. Kate thought about Renee and smiled.

“Kate! What a surprise.” Sheila exited her car and hurried back to greet her. “I was going to call you about getting together but we’ve been so busy.”

The two women embraced. “I’m getting married on a cruise ship! Can you believe it?”

Kate laughed. “That’s great. What does your mom think about all this? Is she coming on the cruise?”

Sheila frowned. “No. I wish she could, but we got one of those last-minute cruise deals. Hal is just so romantic.” She hesitated. “That’s not quite true. Mom doesn’t know, and I don’t plan to tell her. Please, don’t you tell her either.”

Kate frowned. “Why?”

“She doesn’t want me to get married. You can’t believe how many boyfriends she’s chased away over the years.”

“Your mother?” Mary had always talked about wanting Sheila to get married.

Sheila sighed. “You don’t know her like I do. This is my chance for happiness. Please don’t spoil it.”

Kate was uncertain. That didn’t sound like Mary. “I hope you’ll tell her after you’re married?”

“Of course. We’ll be going to visit her and Dad after the cruise.”

Kate didn’t feel right about it but agreed. “Okay, then. I guess I can keep your secret for a while.”

“Did you want to talk to me about something?”

Kate smiled. “I wanted to see if the rumor was really true that you were quitting your job at Valley Trust.”

“It’s true. Hal doesn’t want me to work.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

“Of course. He travels a lot and wants me to travel with him.”

“What does Hal do?” As she said the name, Kate remembered Ava’s comment about Cal, not Hal, being Sheila’s fiancé. An easy enough mistake to make.

Sheila grinned. “He’s a computer analyst. He sets up computers for a lot of big companies all over the world.”

“Really?” Sheila’s answer set off warning signals in Kate’s head. “Did he set up the computers at Valley Trust?”

“He did. That’s where we met.” She bit her lip. “Oh, Kate, you don’t think Hal had anything to do with the embezzlement, do you? He’s bonded. Besides, he’s the one they called in to figure out what happened to the money. It was even too big a job for him.”

Kate placed a hand on Sheila’s arm. “Sheila, Ava Castile said his name was Cal. I was just curious.”

Sheila laughed and rolled her eyes. “The gossip grapevine, no doubt. It’s Hal.”

Sheila glanced toward the house. “I’d invite you in, but the house is a mess.”

“Of course.” Kate apologized. “I should have called first. That invitation to dinner is still open.”

“We’d love to come, but I’m not sure we can work it in before we leave.” Sheila gave her another hug, then reached into the backseat of her car to retrieve a large package. She held it up. “My wedding dress. I’d show it to you, but I don’t want to get it dirty. Maybe later. Thanks for coming by. And promise you won’t tell Mom...please?”

“Sure.” Kate got back into her car feeling like a traitor. How could she not tell her friend? The only way Kate could keep silent was not to talk to her at all. This was not a good thing.