Page 16 of Every Deadly Suspicion

Hanna, I have something important I need to discuss with you. Well, more of a legal question. I don’t want to throw out unsubstantiated accusations, but something has come to my attention, and I want to bring it to yours. When would be a good time for me to come by?

Hanna looked at her calendar and was about to respond when there was a knock at her door. “Yes?”

The door opened and in stepped Tom Nelson, followed by another man Hanna didn’t know. Nelson had been a bad boy whose life was turned around when he became a Christian. He now ran a nonprofit prison ministry she supported.

“Hello, Chief. Sorry to drop in unannounced. I know the last couple of weeks have been busy for you.”

“That’s okay, Tom. I try to have an open-door policy. What’s up?”

Nelson jabbed his thumb toward the second man. “This is Gordon Giles.”

Hanna stood and shook their hands. “What can I do for you?” The two men sat in front of her desk, and she took her chair.

“You know I spend most of my time in prison,” Nelson said.

Hanna nodded, suddenly feeling uneasy but not knowing why. She had no problem with Tom Nelson.

“Gordon here works for the state Department of Corrections.”

Giles smiled. “I’ve come to talk to you about your father, Joe Keyes.”

Hanna blinked. “What about him? Did he die?”

“No, not yet. But he is near death. He has lung cancer and he’s in hospice.” Giles reached across her desk and handed Hanna a manila envelope.

“Paperwork in here details a program the department instituted a few years ago. It’s a compassionate-release program that allows terminally ill inmates to be released into a home environment to die with dignity—”

“You want to release Joe Keyes?” Hanna held the envelope in two hands that went numb.

“For the remainder of his life, which could be less than a month.”

Nelson spoke up. “He’s a sick old man, Hanna. He’s been a model prisoner. Corrections is trying to do the compassionate, human, even Christian thing here.”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” Hanna forced the words out, feeling as if she were paralyzed.

“It’s happening more and more,” Giles said. “With prison overcrowding a statewide issue, some dying inmates deserve a compassionate release. We’re asking if you’d be able to take your dad home for his last days.”

“I’ve never met the man, and I certainly don’t consider him my father.” A burning sensation ran up her neck to her face as anger percolated.

“Of course, I understand,” Giles said in a way that told Hanna he did not understand. How could he understand the black cloud hanging over her whole life that had been Joe Keyes?

“Hanna, I grew up here, too,” Nelson said. “I know the legacy Joe left and that this is not an easy request. But I submitted Joe’s name. Maybe I was out of line to do so, but I think it would be a good thing for him. Think about it before you say no.” His calm and conciliatory tone did nothing to ease the shock or growing anger the request generated. What was there to think about?

Giles and Nelson stood to leave.

Hanna had no words. Before she could find the right sentence, another knock sounded at the door. Nathan’s knock. She remembered they were going to have lunch before he went to court.

He poked his head in. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you were busy.”

“We were just leaving,” Giles said to Nathan. Turning back to Hanna, he said, “I know this is a shock, and I know it’s a lot to think about. I could have simply sent you a form letter, but I felt the request was important enough to deliver in person. Review the paperwork. It will explain more. Then call me at your earliest convenience. There really isn’t a lot of time.”

Giles and Nelson left.

“What on earth? You look as if someone died.” Nathan shut the door behind the two men. “Was that about the lawsuit...?” He held her gaze for a moment.

She shook her head. Hanna and the PD had been notified a few days ago that Jude Carver, a police officer she’d terminated for cause a few months ago, had filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination.That had upset Hanna yesterday, but Nelson and Giles’s visit made the aggravation of the lawsuit pale by comparison.

Finding her voice, Hanna told him what Giles had suggested.

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