Elijah’s cut was throbbing, a steady thump of a pulse that seemed to be in time with his heartbeat. He didn’t want to speak first. The cop in him knew that the best way to get answers was to listen—really listen. Let the others do the talking while you observed and listened.
“Is she okay?” Sally finally asked, seeming genuinely concerned.
Elijah wasn’t sure how best to answer. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he didn’t want to go in to the specifics. As if reading his mind, Sally spoke again, interrupting his thoughts.
“That’s okay, you don’t have to say. I…it’s just that, she seemed so sad,” Sally chewed on the inside of her cheek, an action she had repeated many times in the last week. It had been a rollercoaster, the past couple of days. One minute happy, the next sad, but it would all be worth it, hopefully. A lump covered the inside of her cheek where she had been nibbling and she knew that if she found the time she would need to go to a pharmacist and get something for it. But she didn’t have the time. That was the problem.
Sally’s mind had often wandered back to the woman that she now knew to be named Delores. Over the past several days, when her world had been tipped upside down, she had seen this woman’s face. The image of her sad face haunted her in the darkest hours when all seemed lost.
Elijah cleared his throat. “She is. She’s very sad.”
Sally’s gaze lifted to meet Elijah’s. He seemed kind, she thought, kind and compassionate, not like most of the people she had met in her short life. He was a cop, yet there was something more to him, she sensed. This woman, Delores,shewas more to him.
Sally had been at the hospital, anxiously chewing the inside of her cheek while she waited for news on Taylor. Her red-rimmed eyes had been absently watching the small television that hung in the corner of the room. News of a woman had come on. An attempted suicide at the Grand Canyon. It wasn’t the first time that something like that had happened. It seemed every week or so there was some broken-hearted soul that wanted to end it all at one of the most beautiful places in the world.
But there was something about this that was different. It wasn’t until a description of the woman was given that Sally knew it had been the same woman that had come into the truck stop. Brown eyes, brown hair, slender. It was a typical description of the average woman, yet Sally knew, she just knew.
She had phoned the information line to tell them what she knew, which wasn’t much really. She didn’t think she’d be much help. She didn’t know the woman’s name, and that was all they were looking for at that point. They wanted a name to go with the face of the woman who had believed there was no reason left to live.
Sally had left her name and cell number, and less than three hours later she had received a call back. Her information was deemed important. Her information was relevant.
It felt good to be able to help, especially at a time when she felt so thoroughly helpless.
“I could tell,” Sally said, taking another sip of coffee.
“How did you meet her?”
“She came into the truck stop where I work. She didn’t say much,” Sally frowned thinking back on that day and all the things that had happened in such quick succession. “But I could tell that she needed someone, some kindness in her life.”
“What did she eat?”
“She didn’t eat anything, just drank a coffee. I gave her some pie to take away, but I doubt she ate it.” Sally chewed on her cheek again, the copper taste of blood on her tongue. She stopped chewing.
“cream, one sugar?” Elijah asked.
Sally looked up. “No, black, no sugar.”
Elijah nodded, swallowing passed the lump in his throat to get his next words out. “Did she say anything?”
Sally’s forehead scrunched up as she thought about that, knowing that any small piece of information was important. She wanted to be able to help this woman in some way.
“She didn’t really say much; she seemed sort of dazed. Deep in thought,” Sally watched Elijah’s jaw twitch, his hand rubbing along his bottom lip. “She kept saying she was bad, that she was a bad person. But, Sir, I don’t believe that to be true.”
Elijah’s jaw twitched again, his mouth moving a fraction as if he was going to smile but changed his mind. “She’s not a bad person, not at all.”
“I knew it.”
“She’s a very good person, one of the kindest people you could ever wish to meet.”
Sally nodded in agreement. “Before she left, she did say something now I think about it.”
“What?” Elijah asked, leaning forwards as if that would help him hear the words quicker.
“She said what we do for love is not done in vain, and something about every bad deed deserves a punishment.” She frowned as she thought about those words and the way the other woman’s eyes had filled with tears, sorrow flooding her pale face, her features crumpling in anguish. “Did she lose someone? Someone close to her?” She swallowed, her thoughts straying back to Taylor who was somewhere upstairs, hopefully recovering from his operation.
“Not really,” Elijah said, his gaze flitting down to his coffee mug as he decided on whether to say anymore. He looked back up, his decision made. “But she thinks she has.”
Sally frowned. “Why?”
