Page 96 of Justice for Samara

The living room was painted in the slate gray Michael had chosen, with all the woodwork in gleaming white. A nice area rug lay in the middle of the hardwood floor, and a furniture grouping he’d never seen before sat there, matching sofa, loveseat, and chair, with a coffee table and end tables, each holding a lamp. A large TV hung on the wall, complete with a soundbar, the remotes for it and the streaming service on a nice display stand on the coffee table. A few tasteful prints hung here and there, and neutral-colored printed drapes hung at the windows. The bathroom had gotten the same treatment, its walls a pale sage green, and the towels and rugs completed the color scheme. But neither of them could’ve anticipated the bedroom.

A beautiful bedroom suite greeted them, complete with nightstands, lamps, dresser, chest, and a big four-poster bed. The dusty blue walls held a few nicely framed art pieces, and pale gray curtains cascaded from heavy nickel-plated rods. A pale gray comforter set covered the bed, and the blue and gray rugs on either side of the bed were perfect. Michael was feeling a bit light-headed when he heard a voice call out, “Anybody home?”

Before he could move, Carter appeared in the doorway. “So, I see you’re admiring our handiwork.”

“What… Who did this?”

“Me and the guys. Oh, and Cruz came all the way here to help. Can you believe that? Amos and Bud came too.”

Michael was stunned. All of those men had given up their free time and worked to finish his house? “When…”

“Your mother’s only job was to keep you away from here, and she did it well. We were afraid we wouldn’t get it finished before you decided you just had to come home, but I think we did okay. Oh, and before you ask, most of the furniture is rented. We just wanted you to have something to sit on and sleep on, seeing as how you hadn’t had a chance to do any of that kind of shopping. The artwork is rented too, but we paid for it all for three months, so there’s no rush. Wait ’til you see the kitchen! And the TV and soundbar aren’t rented. They’re yours. It’s a gift from all of us.”

“I really don’t know what to say except… Thank you, Carter. For everything. I just…” Words simply wouldn’t come. How could you tell someone how important they were in your world, and what a difference they’d made in your life? He heard a sound and turned to find Samara weeping. All he could do was take her in his arms and whisper, “Oh, honey.”

“Everybody has been so good to me. I can’t believe it. Thank you, Carter. Please tell the rest of the guys I said thanks too. I feel so lucky to be here.”

Regardless of how unprofessional some people would’ve seen it to be, Carter hugged Samara and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “We’re the lucky ones. You and Michael both make a difference in our lives and in our community. It just wouldn’t be the same without you. Oh! I’ve got something else to show you!” Carter took off with Samara and Michael on his heels, and in minutes, he’d shown them the new kitchen appliances and washer and dryer, all courtesy of Marjorie.

The three friends laughed and talked for over an hour until the front door opened and Sharla stepped in with four pizzas and a small cooler of drinks. They ate and chatted, and Michael couldn’t ever remember a time when he was that happy.

There was no question about it. He was living his best life.

* * *

She wandered into the house,kicked off her shoes, and plopped down on the sofa, completely exhausted. All she’d thought about was getting back to work, and she hadn’t given any thought to how hard it was going to be after having been down for so long.

It was almost time to turn on the oven for dinner when the doorbell rang, and she hurried off to see who it was. One glance through the peep hole and she almost didn’t answer it. Then she thought better of it and threw the door open. “Can I help you?”

“Could we please come in and talk?”

Samara could feel her cheeks burning as she glared at her father. “I don’t know that we have anything to talk about.”

“We do. Please? Could we?” her mother asked, but to her credit, she wasn’t whining. Samara respected her for that.

“Yeah, sure. Come on in.” Samara gestured toward the sofa as she rounded the end to sit on the chair. But she didn’t speak. Instead, she just waited for them to sit down and make the next move.

Her mother leaned forward, forearms resting on her thighs and hands clasped. “We’ll make it quick because we know you don’t want us here.”

“Mom, it isn’t that I don’t want you here. It’s that you were very cruel to me when I needed understanding and comfort, and you were very rude to Michael and his mother. I won’t stand for that. If that’s why you’re here, to tell me what I’m going to do or how much of a disappointment I am to both of you, you can leave right now. I’m really not interested.”

“No, no.” Her father sat back on the sofa and sighed. “We’ve come to apologize. We shouldn’t have treated you that way, and we’re both very sorry.”

Her mother nodded. “Yes. We are. We’ve had some long talks about it, and what we did wasn’t very kind. I hope you can forgive us.”

“This isn’t up to just me. You really hurt Michael, you know. He was worried about me and afraid, and you made that even worse. He didn’t deserve any of that, not after what he did. He saved my life.”

“You wouldn’t have been in that position if it hadn’t been for him,” Bruce threw out.

It was time. It would be hard, but she had to do it. “Do you know why AlexStadler came after me?”

“Because you were the detective who knew what he’d done and he wanted to eliminate you?” her mom offered.

“No. Because I was reinvestigating some rapes that had taken place across the county. Then the house burned, and I was there working when he came up. He saw me and realized who I was. That was why he did that to me, Mom. He knew me. He was a state trooper at Post1 when I was there, and he raped me too.” Both of her parents gasped, but she didn’t care. “Three years ago. I think the post commander knew. That was when he put me and the other two female troopers in the office as clerical staff, which was very offensive, by the way. He’d figured it out, and I don’t know if he was trying to protect Stadler or make sure none of us got hurt. That’s why I left KSP, to get away from Stadler and that post. I felt so fortunate to have found the job with TriggCounty, and even more so when Carter told me he wanted me to do detective duties. It was all I’d ever wanted, and I finally had my chance. And then Stadler showed up and everything was on the line. If it hadn’t been for Carter and Michael, and three other law enforcement agents, I probably wouldn’t be here now. I’d be dead.”

“Samara, why didn’t you tell us?” her father asked quietly. “We could’ve?”

“What? Told me it never would’ve happened if I wasn’t a trooper? Told me what a mess I’d made of my life? I didn’t need any of that shit then, just like I don’t need it now. So if that’s why you’re here, you can leave. My life is different now, so much better, and I have Michael and Carter to thank for that.”

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