He pressed the accelerator and drove toward the main road with every prayer he could think of falling from his lips.
Flashing lights and sirens were a relief to Owen’s terrified soul as he rounded a corner to find a convoy of police cars headed toward him. He pulled the truck to the edge of the gravel road while tears of relief leaked from his eyes. “They’re here, Jess. Help is here.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Jessica woke to a painful throbbing sensation in her shoulder. She moved to lift her arm, but the pain became unbearable.
“Easy,” Owen soothed, his face appearing above her. “Try not to move.”
She focused on Owen’s eyes, her thoughts scattered and fuzzy. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the hospital, Jess.”
“Hospital?” she repeated, noticing a beeping sound near her head.
Owen gaze softened, and he bent to brush his lips across her forehead. “You’re fine now. You’re going to be alright.”
Memory began to creep back in and the beeping noise next to her head picked up its pace. “He shot me. Jasper Dayton shot me.”
“Nurse?” Owen called out, his voice filled with concern. He leaned in close to Jessica’s face once more. “It’s okay, Jess. He’s gone. He can never hurt you again.”
Images of Jasper holding that gun on her swirled through Jessica’s head. She shuddered with the memory of falling into that mud-filled grave.
“Mrs. Nobles?” A nurse appeared in Jessica’s line of vision. “How are you feeling?”
Jessica blinked up at her. “Like I’ve been hit by a truck.”
“See this button here?” The nurse held up a small, white device attached to a tube. “It’s a PCA pump that contains your pain medicine. The pump is connected through a tube to a vein in your body. You press a button when you feel pain and the pump gives you a dose of medicine set by your doctor. Don’t worry about giving yourself too much because the pump will be set to prevent that. Do you understand?”
Jessica nodded, accepting the device placed in her hand. She pressed the button.
The nurse glanced behind her and then back at Jessica. “The police are here to see you. Do you feel up to talking to them? I can have them come back if you’re not up for it.”
“That’s fine,” she murmured, already feeling the effects of the pain medicine.
Owen interjected, “She just had surgery last night. Can’t this wait until she’s stronger?”
Jessica released her hold on that precious button and touched Owen on the hand. “It’s okay. I can do this.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
The nurse wandered over to the door and pulled it open to admit Chief of Police, Gary Randall and Detective Vickerson from the Banbridge County Sheriff’s Department.
Vickerson spoke first. “Mrs. Nobles? Are you up to answering a few questions? We’ll keep it brief.”
Jessica spent the next twenty minutes reliving her time with Jasper Dayton. She told the officers about Eustice and Jasper’s sex trafficking business and how Terry Dayton had lost his life because of it. She also informed them of the location of Terry’s grave, along with the bodies in the lake.
A brief pause ensued. Jessica met Gary Randall’s gaze. “Has Melanie Dayton been told about her husband?”
Randall ran a hand down his face and then flipped his notepad closed. “That’s enough for today. We’ll get out of here and let you rest now.”
Jessica looked from Randall to Vickerson before settling her heavy gaze on Owen. “What…is it?”
“Nothing for you to be concerned about. Get some sleep and we’ll talk more when you’re rested.”
Jess wanted nothing more than to sleep, but something in Owen’s eyes, prevented her from closing her own. “What are…you…”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Owen watched Jessica’s eyes slide closed before she’d fully completed her sentence.
He released her hand and turned to follow Vickerson and the police chief from the room.
They stopped in the hall to face him.
Vickerson appeared contrite. “I’m sorry about your wife, Mr. Nobles. If it’s any consolation, she’s been cleared of any suspicion surrounding Sandy Weaver’s death. We found the murder weapon on Jasper Dayton’s person along with his fingerprints.”
“I’m betting Eustice Martin’s blood is on that knife as well,” Chief Randall admitted.
Owen leaned a shoulder against the wall, relieved that Jess had been cleared. “What happens now?”
“Since Jasper and Eustice Martin are dead,” Randall began, “there will be no need for trial. We’ll get your wife’s official statement once she’s released, and then go from there. God only knows how many bodies we’ll find at that lake.”
Owen pushed away from the wall and extended his hand to Randall. “Once you have what you need from Jessica, I’ll be taking her back to Chicago.”
Randall accepted his outstretched palm. “I can’t say that I blame you. We’ll be excavating the Dayton’s property and dragging the lake in search of more bodies.”
“What will happen to Terry Dayton’s remains?” Owen hoped the child would have a decent memorial.
“The city will be paying for his burial. I’ll let you know the details of that as soon as I have them.”
“I appreciate it.”
Owen returned to his wife’s room and pulled up a chair next to her bedside. She looked so pale and fragile lying there hooked up to all those tubes.
“I’m sorry, Jess. I’m sorry for everything.”
She made a sound in the back of her throat, though her eyes remained closed.
Owen vowed in that moment to spend the rest of his life making up for his mistakes. He’d spent so many years attempting to be the strong one, when in truth, it was Jessica that held all the strength. She’d followed her heart no matter who or how many were against her…including her husband.
He reached over the railing of the bed and laid his palm over the back of her hand. “I hope you can forgive me, Jess, because if you can’t, I don’t know what I’ll do. I promise you that I’ll spend the rest of my life proving to you, how much I love you.”
She didn’t answer, but the fingers beneath his, lifted in the barest of caresses, telling him without words that she heard him.
Owen remained next to Jessica at Terry Dayton’s gravesite, long after the small crowd who’d attended, dispersed. He didn’t speak, figuring Jessica needed the quiet to say her goodbyes.
Terry had been buried next to his mother, Melanie. Though, Owen didn’t know what became of Jasper’s ashes; he did know that Jasper’s family had him cremated.
Steven Ruckle was laid to rest a few days after Jess had been released from the hospital. She had attended his funeral with Owen at her side.
Jessica had spent the last two weeks, healing physically, but mentally, she’d remained detached.
Not that Owen blamed her. If he’d been through what Jessica had, he would no doubt react the same if not worse.
It broke his heart to see the sadness lurking in Jessica’s eyes. Even with the determination she’d exhibited, she held tight to a certain amount of insecurity.
He watched her slowly twirl the stem of a rose between her fingers before stepping forward and gingerly placing it on Terry’s small coffin.
A lone tear slipped from her eye. “Fly with the angels, sweet Terry. If you happen to see my Jacob, tell him his mother loves him more than anything.”
Owen’s heart cracked. It took everything he had not to break down in tears next to her.
She suddenly looked up and locked gazes with him. “It’s time for me to let go now.”
The tears Owen tried so hard to fight, came spilling forth unbidden. He could only stare down at her, unable to find his voice.
She reached up and brushed away his tears with her thumbs. “Jacob would want us to continue—to honor him by living.”
Owen finally found his voice. “Yes, he would. Forgive me, Jess. Forgive me for not being there for you when you needed me the most.”
“You were always there for me, Owen. I’m the one who’s been absent for the past three and a half years.”
He threw his arms around her, pulling her close against his heart. “Ah, God, I love you.”