Page 48 of Justice Denied

“Mr. Whitman?” A tall man, his jet-black hair worn short at the sides and longer on top, flashed a badge. “I’m Detective Oldfield. I know you’ve spoken to uniform about what happened, but I’d appreciate it if you would walk me through it as well.”

“Sure.” Seth complied.

Detective Oldfield lightly slapped his notebook against his leg. “This embezzlement happened fifteen years ago?”

“That’s right.”

“Dolores Green was involved how?”

Seth walked the detective through Dolores’s small part in the scheme. “She says she never altered any invoices but didn’t have the funds to fight SafeSense.”

Detective Oldfield made some additional notes. “She walked you two outside when you left?”

“No, we said goodbye at the door.” He rubbed the back of his neck as the terrifying memories of the bullets flying so close to them returned.

“Then someone started shooting.”

“That’s about the size of it.” Seth wasn’t sure what else to add, given he’d gone over this several times already with the first responding officers.

Detective Oldfield handed him a business card. “I’ll be in touch if I have any other questions.”

Seth texted Brogan with a few additional details he’d gleaned from the detective, then went to Dolores’s house to see if Jetta was ready to leave. They hadn’t had a chance to discuss the kiss, and he hoped she wasn’t regretting it. He most certainly was not.

“I think she might have fallen asleep on the couch,” Dolores said when he knocked on the door. She pointed to where Jetta sat on the sofa with her head resting against the back and her eyes closed.

“Thanks, I’ll wake her, since we can leave now.”

“I hope you can find out the truth after all these years.” Dolores’s earnest expression reminded him Jay’s wasn’t the only life upended by the embezzler.

“We’ll do our best.” He prayed God would use their best to uncover the truth as he entered the living room and sat down beside the woman he was falling in love with. For a moment, he allowed himself the privilege of watching her sleep, her features soft. His eyes dropped to her belly, love for the child—Jetta’s baby—swelling inside him. If she’d let him, he would love her and her baby for the rest of his life. “Jetta?”

She stirred but didn’t open her eyes. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, reveling in the smooth texture so unlike his own skin.

“Ummm.” Her eyelids fluttered, then sprang open, alarm widening the pupils.

“It’s okay. You fell asleep in Dolores’s living room.” He rubbed her arm as if soothing a startled animal.

“Why is this happening?” Her soft question, punctuated by a sob, tore through his heart.

“I don’t know. But you know who does?” He waited a beat before answering his own question. “God. He’s not surprised about any of this. It’s all part of his plan and for our good.”

“How could it be for our good? Someone is trying very hard to prevent us from finding the truth.” Anguish tinged her words.

“I don’t claim to fully understand these things, but if we can’t trust God has this—the entire world and everything in it—under his ultimate control, then we’re in a pickle.”

His word choice brought a faint smile to her lips. “A pickle, huh?”

“Definitely a pickle.” He nodded when what he wanted to do was cover her mouth with his to taste her sweetness again. But this wasn’t the time. Besides, before he kissed her a second time, he needed to make sure she didn’t regret the first kiss.

“Thanks.”

For a moment, their gazes held. Heat flickered in hers, igniting the flame in his own heart. Then she glanced away and brushed her hands together. “I need to go see my mom.”

The abrupt change in topic jarred him, but Seth tamped down his disappointment. “And my boss will want my photos of the shooting pronto.”

After thanking Dolores for her hospitality and promising to be in touch with any updates, he walked Jetta to her car. He opened her car door and waited until she slid behind the wheel. Then he gathered his courage and asked, “Shall I cook something for dinner tonight?”

For a moment, she seemed to hesitate, then she smiled. “That would be lovely. Text me the time, and I’ll be there.”

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