Page 35 of Justice Delayed

She turned to see him surveying the destruction, her cat still in her arms. “Why are you here?” Not quite what she meant to say.

“Colleague heard about the break-in on the police scanner, so I thought I’d stop by to see how you were holding up.” He did another visual sweep of the living-dining room combination. “They did a pretty thorough job of it, didn’t they?”

She only nodded, her throat clogging once again with emotion.

Brogan scratched Goliath under his chin, eliciting a purr from the feline. “Your cat’s okay?”

“As far as I can tell. I think he probably hid under the bed while they rampaged through the apartment.”

He stepped around an overturned kitchen chair and glanced into the small kitchen. She followed his gaze, once more taking in the scene. Cupboard doors had been ripped from their hinges, their contents tossed about as if the kitchen had been in a shipwreck.

“What did the police say?”

“Not much.” She shifted Goliath to wipe at her wet cheeks with the back of one hand. “They sent out a forensics team to gather evidence, but the place had no discernible prints but mine. Once they learned my prints are in the system, well, things got awkward.”

He walked down the hallway to the bedroom and bathroom. After several minutes, he rejoined her, but Melender couldn’t read the expression on his face. Disappointment? Anger?

“They photograph the bedroom wall?” Brogan locked eyes with her.

“Yes.” As if she would ever need a picture to remember the vile, spray-painted words.Baby Killerhad been kind compared to the filth decorating the wall above her headboard.

“Do you have a place to stay until your landlord fixes the door?”

Goliath squirmed in her arms. Time to return him to his cat carrier, which had been down in her storage locker and therefore spared destruction. After securing the feline, she massaged her throbbing temple. Having been up all night cleaning, she desperately needed a few hours of sleep to power her through the coming evening shift. Her renter’s insurance would provide funds to replace her furniture and possessions, but that would take weeks to resolve. She highly doubted her landlord would give back her security deposit in light of the apartment’s destruction. Even if she fought it, it wouldn’t help her immediate need of lodging.

Brogan touched her arm. “Are you okay?”

A giggle escaped her. Totally inappropriate for the dire situation, but pent-up emotions sometimes spilled out in weird ways. “No, I’m not.” She shoved a fist to her mouth to stop the laughter or sobs—she wasn’t sure which emotion would win—from escaping. “I can’t go through this again.”

“Go through what?”

“The harassment.” She sucked in a deep breath, willing the motion to calm her shattered nerves. “When you’re a convicted baby killer, you’re at the very bottom of the prison hierarchy. Everyone bullies you constantly, and there’s always the very real danger that an inmate will kill you.”

Melender closed her eyes and tried to think of something uplifting in spite of the prison memories raging in her mind. Only God had helped her survive in the abyss of incarceration.

She opened her eyes and didn’t bother to hide the tears streaking down her cheeks. “Many people think I deserved to be locked up forever as justice for what I did to Jesse. There will be plenty who think this is also what I deserve.” She swept her hand around the room.

“I’m so sorry someone destroyed your home.” Brogan gently wiped away her tears.

Melender didn’t move as the pads of his fingers brushed over the soft skin. No one had touched her face in years. Her eyelids drifted shut, and she simply allowed herself this moment to feel the kindness of another human being. Touches most people took for granted had been denied to her.

He brought up his other hand to cup her face, his fingers skimming the nape of her neck before settling at her hairline while his thumbs lightly caressed her damp cheeks. Fresh tears spilled from her closed eyes, but she couldn’t stop them. Brogan continued brushing the wetness away as she remained stock still and cried.

Grandmother Sudie’s voice echoed in her head.Child, just when you think the Almighty has forgotten about our needs, He sends someone or something to remind us of His provision and His promise to never leave us nor forsake us. You remember that when you feel abandoned by Him.

ChapterFifteen

“Uncle Nolan, how are you?” Brogan repositioned the phone as he waited in his car. From the back seat, Goliath meowed in his carrier.

“Good. Colleen was just saying it’s been too long since our favorite nephew came over for dinner.”

“I won’t tell my brother you said that.”

Nolan laughed. “Don’t worry, I tell him the same thing.”

Brogan chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?” Brogan tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he considered and rejected several ways to approach his request.

“How about you come over Saturday for dinner?”

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