Page 152 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Or she could tell the truth.

“But it wasn’t Dean, was it? It was you.”

Deborah swallowed and looked away.

“Brent didn’t tell me any names. But he overheard what Dean told me—and said he’d lied. And he told me that the bomb builder’s alibi was work. But Dean wasn’t at work the night of the bombing. He was in his dorm. You were the one at work.”

Deborah said nothing, just stared across the space.

“Dean was trying to get me out of town because he wanted to protect you.” Again, Deborah said nothing. “Friday night, he told me he was going to tell Cote everything. Earlier, he made that clear once again.”

“He said he’s ready to face the future.” Deborah’s words were flat. “I wondered what that meant.”

She waited for Deborah to say something else, maybe to beg her to keep quiet, but she didn’t speak.

“Why did you do it?” Aspen asked.

Deborah inhaled a breath and blew it out. “Your mother was such a force, Aspen. She changed my life. I’d gone from living this dull, drab existence to being pulled into something that mattered, something much bigger than myself. I just…I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be a part.” A small smile graced her lips, and she shook her head and met Aspen’s eyes. “Truth is, I worshipped your mother. I’d have done anything for her.”

“Were you studying chemistry?”

“No. They asked Dean to build it, and he flat out refused. But he and I talked about it privately. He told me how it could bedone. I think he wanted me to know he hadn’t refused because he was incapable. He was always trying to impress me.”

“So you took that information and…?” Aspen was confused. “Did he really give you a step-by-step?”

“He told me enough to know what kind of bomb would be best. There are all different kinds. He’d given me a hint about what materials he would have used. He had books in his dorm. And there were books in the library where I worked. I had access to them but didn’t have to check them out, so there was no record of my having read them. I made copies of what I needed.”

“You drove across state lines to get the materials?”

“It wasn’t hard. I went to Vermont once. I went to Massachusetts twice. I paid cash.”

“Did Dean know?”

“He had no idea. But when it was done…” She sighed and stared beyond Aspen for a long moment. “He never asked me directly if I’d done it. We pretended it didn’t happen. We got married and lived our lives.”

“And then I came back, and you were so kind to me.”

“None of what happened was your fault. I’ve been riddled with guilt for thirty years. Seeing you again… It brought it all back, no question. I figured if I treated you well, you’d never suspect me.”

“I didn’t, not until Friday.”

They were quiet a long moment. Aspen hated what she had to do. She took the older woman’s hand. “I can’t keep this secret for you.”

Deborah didn’t look her way. “Okay.”

“I’ve seen the damage secrets can do to a family, to a community. Bart Bradley deserves justice.” He was a horrible man, but maybe part of that was the result of what had happened, of how he’d lost his daughter-in-law, his son, and his grandchildren. “Rhonda Patterson deserves justice.”

Whether the news would give them peace wasn’t the point. Aspen had a responsibility to expose all of it.

And though she felt guilty, she knew those feelings were displaced. She hadn’t built that bomb. She hadn’t conspired to destroy a building. She hadn’t killed an innocent woman.

“More than that,” Aspen said, “I’m not willing to keep this secret from Garrett. I won’t let what happened thirty years ago come between us.”

Of course, telling Cote the truth might do just that. Would Garrett forgive her for what would happen next? Would he be angry at her for exposing his beloved aunt?

Aspen prayed her honesty wouldn’t change his feelings for her. She couldn’t be sure, though. Despite all the worries swirling in her middle, she would do the right thing, the rational thing. That was who she was.

She would do her best and trust God with the rest.

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