Page 54 of Every Deadly Suspicion

Nathan immediately thought of Jude Carver. He didn’t like the guy, but that didn’t make him a killer.

“No. Just that it is a busy place. Someone could blend in here for just about any purpose.”

CHAPTER 28

THE HOSPICE NURSE LIKED THE SPACEin Hanna’s home. “All we need to do is have a hospital bed moved in. We can have that done later today. Other than that, this room, your house, looks perfect for a man on hospice,” Grace said.

“I realized that this morning,” Hanna agreed. “The room was designed for older, less mobile people. I’m hardly ever home. That’s why I haven’t had a dog until now. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Nervousness had Hanna wanting to talk. Gizmo seemed to sense her anxiety and pawed at her leg to be picked up. She did so, barely giving it a thought. So many questions were going through her mind. Ones she didn’t know how to ask and ones she was afraid to ask.

“You probably have a lot of questions,” Tom said, reading her mind.

“I don’t know where to start.”

Tom and Giles exchanged a glance.

“I’d better start with full disclosure.” Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter. “This is from your fa— Joe. He asked that you read it before we finalize anything.” He held it out, and Hanna hesitated, awash in emotion. Something Joe had written. For her.

“What is it?”

Tom shrugged. “It’s for you to read.”

Haltingly, she reached out, and Tom put the letter in her hand.

In an instant, Hanna was a small child again, hiding in the library, looking through a book she wasn’t supposed to have for a photo of a father she’d never met.

She set the dog on the couch, then held the number ten envelope in both hands. Her name was printed in neat block letters across the front.Chief Hanna Keyes.

Hanna swallowed, turned the envelope over, slid her finger through the top, and pulled out the letter. The same neat block printing covered about a quarter of the page.

Hanna,

You don’t know me. I only saw you once, and you were just a button, so I expect it’s hard for you to call me Dad. You probably haven’t given me much thought over the years, and I don’t blame you. Saying I’m sorry doesn’t fix anything, but I’m sorry for missing out on your life. Some days you’re all I think about. But this ain’t about me. The state is making a request of you, a hard thing. I want you to know that if you say no, I don’t hold nothing against you. Don’t say yes because you think you have to honor a man who was never there for you. I’m a happy man knowing you’ve done so good for yourself in this life. I’m proud of you. No matter what, I’ll die a blessed man.

Love, Joe Keyes, “Dad”

Throat thick, Hanna looked up from the letter to see Tom and Giles discreetly looking the other way. She slid the letter back in the envelope, wiped her eyes, and cleared her throat.

“I’ve already decided the answer is yes, Tom.” She kept the letter in one hand and let her other hand drop to her side. “When would Joe be brought here?”

Giles answered. “We will process him out quickly. Hopefully, it will only take a couple of days. He is still somewhat ambulatory. Once we get him here, a person from the hospice team will be with him twenty-four seven. They will handle his oxygen and pain management. Right now, the only change is putting the hospital bed in your guest room. Joe can’t sleep lying flat. His lung capacity is very poor, and the head of the bed needs to be raised.”

“Is he in a lot of pain?”

“Occasionally,” Tom said. “His lung cancer has metastasized to his spine and bones.”

Hanna nodded. For the next few minutes, Giles and Tom explained to her the process of a compassionate release. He also highlighted the fact that Joe had a spotless record in prison. He followed the rules and did not cause problems. The prison doctor gave him one month at best. It was a no-brainer to offer the compassionate release to him.

Hanna listened and interjected at times. Still, her mind stuck on the wordsI’m proud of you.She could not understand why those words affected her so, but they burned like a fire in her mind—and heart.

CHAPTER 29

JOE EXPECTED THE VISITOR.Other than Chaplain Tom, an occasional reporter over the years, the Feds a few times asking about DEA Agent Gilly, and one brief visit from Paula, there had been no visitors in thirty-five years. But he knew his release would bring people out of the woodwork. People who’d been safe in the darkness for all these years. Those same people now smelled blood in the water where he was concerned, and someone would come. He wasn’t disappointed.

“Keyes, you have a visitor. Are you up to it?”

Joe nodded and slowly got to his feet. It took him some time to walk to the visiting area, and his breath got short, but he made it there. His breathing labored, waiting for him to speak first, he sat and stared at the man on the other side of the glass.

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