She boldly looked her former son-in-law in the eye as she gave her testimony. At one point, he appeared to be looking intimidatingly at her. I happened to be sitting behind him today. I had broken rank to sit on the defense’s side of the room because I wanted to send a message to him.
“Get that fucking smirk off your face before I wipe it off,” I whispered as I leaned forward over the bar from the gallery to the defense table.
Paul sat up even straighter and dared to grin at her. I stood from my seat and leaned forward more. The defense attorney was up asking questions.
“You think I’m fucking playing with you?” I grumbled.
He jumped up and spun around as if ready to fight me, and I jumped over the bar at him, but not before some of my fellow officers grabbed me and pulled me back. I guessed some of them had been watching me all along and anticipated something jumping off. The noise in the courtroom escalated as everyone rushed to stop the action.
“You think I don’t know what you did? I’m not stupid, Fullwood. Your secret ain’t as safe as you think it is!” he shouted at me as the guards grabbed him back too.
“Order! Order! Order in the court!” the judge shouted, banging his gavel. “Mrs. Allen, please get your client under control. Detective Fullwood! You will not make a mockery out of my courtroom. I don’t know why you’re sitting on that side of the courtroom other than to antagonize the defendant. The only reason I’m allowing you to stay in here is because Mrs. Ward was your partner. As much as anyone deserves to be here, you do. But one more outburst from you, and not only will I hold you in contempt, you will be permanently barred from these proceedings. Do I make myself clear?” Judge Knight shouted.
My chest rose and fell as I struggled to regain my composure. I wanted to pound Paul’s fucking face into the ground.
“Do I make myself clear?” the judge repeated in a shout.
“Yes, Your Honor. I’m sorry, Your Honor.”
I headed back to the other side of the courtroom where some of my brothers closed rank around me. Whether to protect me or to keep me from losing my shit again, I wasn’t sure. WhenI looked up at the witness stand, I felt bad. Mrs. Jones looked shaken for the first time, and I could tell that she was struggling to regain her composure as well.
I sat quietly throughout the rest of the session, struggling not to look at Paul’s evil ass. I headed out of the courtroom and took the elevator to the main lobby. I was jogging down the courtroom steps, so that I could head home, when I heard someone call out, “Detective Fullwood.”
I turned around and spotted Mrs. Jones, standing at the top of the stairs with her son and her other daughter. I slowly walked back up as she said something to her two children. They both nodded and stepped back to give her space and us privacy.
“Mrs. Jones, I apologize for my outburst back there. You didn’t deserve that. I just didn’t like the way that he was looking at you. It felt like he was trying to intimidate you.”
“Oh, he was, sugar, but I’m not scared of Paul. He can do nothing to me that the Lord won’t allow.”
“How can you be so kind to him? He doesn’t deserve it.”
“‘But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.’ That’s Luke six and thirty-five. I live according to the Word of God. As long as I have that, I can’t go wrong and nothing can break me.
“I miss my daughter and loved her so greatly. Lena called me every day and every night. She was my youngest child and my world. I know that she’s no longer suffering at that monster’s hands anymore. Though I wish that she had made that decision quietly. But you know Lena, when she thinks she’s getting the last laugh, she’s going to make sure that her enemy knows it.
“I know that she stayed with him and tried to make it work because she saw her daddy and me do it. Her daddy was a good man, although he had his faults. He never put his hands on me,and he loved me until he breathed his last. But it wasn’t always easy. I think that she was trying to prove that she could have the same thing with her husband, but she fell out of love with him a long time ago. Son, I don’t blame you.”
I was so confused, and I knew she could see it on my face. “I don’t understand.”
“You blame yourself for her death. I see it on your face. You think that because she was leaving him for you, that you’re to blame. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thank you for loving my daughter and bringing happiness to her life in her last year. Lena loved you with her entire being. She told me that all the time. She would have made an excellent mother, and she was certain you were going to be a great father to your baby.”
“You knew?”
She nodded. “She told me everything. She trusted me with her secret, and I have carried it with me and will continue to carry it. I only told you because you need to be free of the guilt that you’re carrying. It’s time for you to let her go and move on with your life, Deuce. She would want you to be happy. Besides, you’re not getting any younger.”
She patted my arm and winked at me. I couldn’t help it. I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her. When she held me back, it felt like Lena was holding me. I could smell the same rose scent that Lena wore on her mother. I was not sure if Lena wore it because it was her mom’s favorite or the other way around.
Hugging her and the way that she patted my back felt like Lena was the one who was right there doing it. I could hear her whisper in my ear, “Goodbye, Deuce.”
I whispered back, “Goodbye, Lena.”
Her mother released me and smiled at me. She patted my cheek and replied, “My daughter is well, and she will get justice. Free yourself, Detective Fullwood.”
My soul felt refreshed and restored as I jogged down those courthouse steps. I felt a weight drop off me that I hadn’t realized that I was carrying. I was finally free.
I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and picked up fresh ingredients for us to make our own pizza from scratch.
By the time that I arrived, I found Sevyn in the garage working out with her new physical therapist, Allyson. Tonight would be the night that I told her the truth.
