Page 603 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“About a month before he died.”

“What did it say?”

Sydney took a deep breath. “He told Judith that he’d reconsidered her offer for me to come and live with her. He’d been trying to call her, but she’d taken a trip to Europe, so hewrote her instead. He told her that he would explain the details in person but the gist of it was that he felt I was in danger and would be safe with her.”

“What kind of danger?”

Sydney shrugged. “The letter didn’t specify. I think Dad deliberately kept it vague because he was waiting to explain it all to Judith in person. He never got the chance.”

“You mentioned some newspaper articles. Were they about Avery’s death?”

“One was about the boat accident that killed Dad and the other was about a Judge Crawford who was killed by a car bomb. Both incidents took place on the same day.”

Stella’s eyebrows knitted. Sydney could tell from the expression on her grandmother’s face that she had her suspicions.

“Did Dad know Judge Crawford?”

Stella shook her head. “If he did, he never mentioned him to me. All Avery said was that he was concerned about some things.”

“What things?”

“I don’t know. He never told me.”

“Did you read the journal?”

Stella’s face was blank. “What journal?”

“It was in the box you gave me. I assumed that you knew about it.”

“No. Shortly after Avery’s death, I went to his house and boxed up those items. I wasn’t even sure what to save. I’ve meant to look through them, but it was too painful.”

Sydney nodded in understanding.

“Avery kept a journal?”

“He wrote in it right up until his death. I read some of it last night.”

“Did you see anything that would help us know more about the cause of his death?”

“It was all so vague. Just bits and pieces.” She massaged her throbbing temples. “Everything is just a big blur, and I don’t know how to make sense of any of it.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning? Tell me everything from the accident on.”

Sydney closed her eyes. “I remember waking up in the hospital. I knew right away that something was wrong when I started asking about Dad. No one would tell me anything. Judith finally told me. The bones in my face were shattered, and I was severely burned. I went through surgery and then rehabilitation. The doctors pieced me back together.”

Stella’s face paled. “I knew you were injured, but I had no idea how bad off you were. You were taken to the hospital in Glendale where you remained unconscious. I stayed with you during the night and left the next day to go home and get cleaned up. When I came back that afternoon, you were gone. Judith had you transported to a hospital in Dallas.”

“When did you lose contact with Judith?”

“I called her, and she told me that Avery had contacted her before his death, asking her to take care of you. She also let me know, in no uncertain terms, that you would remain with her. I received one other call from Judith about six months later, letting me know you were okay.”

Stella’s eyes seemed to plead for understanding. “You were better off with Judith. I knew that she would take care of you. But most of all, I knew you would be safe.”

Sydney’s head started to spin. She tried to make sense of it all.

“Don’t judge Judith too harshly. She did what she thought was best for you. She loved you and was trying to protect you.”

Sydney nodded. For all of Judith’s faults, that was one thing she knew. “I always thought Dad’s death was an accident. I never realized it wasn’t until after Judith’s death when I found Dad’s note and the newspaper articles.”

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