A Sister's Forgiveness (32 page)

Jeannie kept her eyes on her feet. “I don’t know, Emma. Geoff will still testify, you understand.”

Emma hesitated. “Well, maybe not then. I know how hard it’s been for the two of you—I mean, even before you lost Tessa, there were…”

To her shock, Jeannie turned on her, her face aflame with rage. “You know nothing. For once in your life, Emma, stop assuming that you have the answers, because you don’t. You didn’t with Sadie, and you don’t for me and Geoff.” Tears welled in Jeannie’s eyes. “You know something, Emma—here’s how I’m going to fix this: I am going to stand by my husband before I lose him as well.”

Emma was dumbfounded at the change in Jeannie. She barely recognized her anymore. “Jeannie, it’s just that Geoff seems to want some kind of revenge…”

“Justice, Emma. He wants justice.”

“Okay, but his kind of justice is not our way, not your way.”

“Don’t be so sure about that. Let God take your child—your only child—and we’ll see how much forgiveness you can summon up.”

“You blame Sadie like Geoff does,” Emma whispered.

“Like you once said to me, Emma, there’s enough blame to share all around. If you and Lars had put a stop to Sadie seeing Dan, much less getting into a car with him…”

Emma thought she might explode from the sudden thrust of pure anger that pierced her like a sword, releasing the venom of her temper. “Maybe if you’d thought for five seconds before going behind our backs—knowing that Lars and I were not ready for Sadie to drive…”

As soon as the words spewed forth, Emma covered her mouth with both hands to stop them. The sisters were facing each other on a public street, their anger crystal clear to anyone who happened to be passing. Fortunately, no one was.

“Oh Jeannie, I didn’t mean…”

“Yes you did. “Jeannie let her breath drain out slowly. “I can’t do this, Emma. Maybe one day, but for now the only thing that I have left is my marriage. I don’t expect you to understand that, but that’s really not my problem.”

Emma reached out for her, but Jeannie brushed her hands away and then held up both palms defensively. “Go away,” she growled. “If you care at all for me, then go away and leave us in peace.”

And not knowing what else to do, Emma let her walk away.

Chapter 33

Geoff

T
he second time Geoff was called to the stand, he was ready. He did not look either left or right as he walked to the front of the courtroom.

That morning Jeannie had announced her intention to be there with him. She was seated alone in the last row on the side behind the girl who had recklessly taken the life of their only child. On the other hand, he could not suppress his surprise that she was sitting alone—not with Emma and Lars, although there was certainly room in their row. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Jeannie was sitting up very straight with her head bowed and her hands folded in her lap as he passed by. Was she praying? For him? For them?

The night before, Geoff had slept in his office at school. After the whole VORP fiasco, things at home had gotten so bad that he had to get away—even if it was just for one night. So, knowing that Jeannie was probably out, he’d left her a voice mail saying he had a meeting that would keep him out late. She had not returned his call but when he’d gone into their voice mail later that night, the message was no longer there, so he knew she’d heard it.

And done nothing.

Well, what had he expected? That she would seek him out, come to the school looking for him? By what means? He had their only car, after all. He’d pulled a childish stunt intended solely to make her come around to his way of thinking. He wanted her to stop thinking so much about Sadie. He wanted her to forget about Rachel and her stupid VORP thing. He wanted his wife back on his side, fighting with him to find their way through this horror show. It wasn’t her presence in the courtroom that was confusing; it was her choice to sit alone.

He took the oath the bailiff administered and then sat down in a hard wooden chair as Mr. Johnson, the state’s attorney, approached.

Geoff stared straight at the lawyer as he gave his full name, residence, occupation, and relation to the defendant.

“I… she is my wife’s niece.”

“And yours as well by marriage?” Johnson asked.

“Yes,” Geoff admitted, aware that Sadie had looked up at him.

“And what is your relationship to the victim, Tessa Messner?” Johnson had softened his tone.

“She’s—was—my daughter.”

“Sir, tell the court what you were doing on the morning of August 28th.”

“Getting ready to go to work,” Geoff replied.

Johnson gave him a look that encouraged him to go on.

“I was starting a new position at the school as vice principal, and I was running late.” He didn’t know what the man wanted him to say. Why didn’t he just ask him yes and no questions?

“Go on.”

Geoff closed his eyes, forcing himself to remember the day he wanted only to forget. “It was raining. I went outside. My wife had handed me an umbrella.” He opened his eyes and glanced at Jeannie, who was watching him intently now.

“I don’t… Why did I have the umbrella? I was going to drive to school.” He realized that he was asking Jeannie.

Johnson glanced at Jeannie and then positioned himself to block Geoff’s view of her. “Mr. Messner, you went outside, and then what happened?”

“I was trying to open the stupid umbrella, and Tessa was laughing at me.”

“Your daughter was also outside?”

“Yes.” He was irritated by the attorney’s interruption. “Of course she was. She was waiting for her ride. It was raining. We were both going to be late.” Then he remembered. “I was bringing the umbrella out for Tessa.”

“Why didn’t you drive her to school?”

“She wanted to ride with our niece and Dan Kline.”

Johnson picked up the photograph of Dan’s car. “This has been identified as Dan Kline’s car. Was this the car your daughter was to ride to school in that morning?”

“Yes.”

Johnson replaced the photograph on his table. “So, you were opening the umbrella to shelter Tessa from the rain while she waited. Then what?”

“Tessa was teasing me. I can never seem to get those automatic umbrellas to work. She came to help me, and that was when I saw Dan’s car coming straight for us.”

“And who was behind the wheel of that car, sir?”

“Her.” He pointed at Sadie.

“Let the record show that the witness has identified the defendant, Sadie Keller.” Next, Johnson held up a kind of floor plan that showed their house and the garage and the driveway and street. “Show us where you were standing,” Johnson asked.

Geoff pointed, and Johnson drew a blue circle to indicate the spot. “And Tessa?”

Geoff pointed again. “But I pushed her back—I told her to get out of the way when I saw the car coming toward us.” He tried to control the shudder that memory sent coursing through his body but failed.

“Now, Mr. Messner, I know this is difficult, and we’re almost finished here, but please tell the court what you saw then.”

Geoff closed his eyes again, squeezing them shut against the sight of his wife, his niece, his sister, and his brother-in-law, who in many ways had lost a child of their own that day. He thought about Matt and how when he’d gone to the kid’s school to invite him to come back to football practice, Matt had looked away and muttered something about having something else he had to do.

“Mr. Messner?”

“Tessa stumbled away, and the car suddenly changed directions and went into a spin. The back end of it caught Tessa and flung her up and then down again, and then she was just lying there… not a mark on her.”

“And once again, Mr. Messner, who was operating the vehicle that struck your child?”

“Objection,” Sadie’s lawyer said in a fairly normal tone. “Asked and answered.”

“No further questions,” Johnson murmured and sat down.

Sadie’s lawyer took his time rising and approaching the stand. He smiled in a polite, friendly way that immediately put Geoff on alert. He sat up a little straighter.

“Sadie Keller is your niece, is that right?”

“By marriage, yes.”

“Your wife and Sadie’s mother are sisters, is that right?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you known your niece?”

“All her life.”

“So sixteen years. Your family and hers are close then?”

“We were until…”

“Would you say that Sadie is a girl who gets into trouble?”

“No.”

“Is she a good student?”

“Yes.”

“Were you ever concerned about her influence on Tessa?”

“No.”

“Your daughter and Sadie were not only cousins, they were best friends—is that right?”

“Yes.”

“In fact, you and your wife had agreed to Sadie’s plan to have Tessa arrive for her first day at this new school with Dan Kline and Sadie because they were very popular with the other students, is that right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Dan Kline is the quarterback on the football team that you coach, is that right?”

Geoff’s head was beginning to ache. The questions were delivered in a completely conversational way, but they were coming so fast. “That’s right.”

“Would it be fair to say that you’ve gotten to know Dan Kline fairly well in the four years he’s played on your football and basketball teams?”

“Yes.”

“Is Dan a good student?”

Geoff relaxed slightly. “Top of his class,” he replied.

“Do you consider him to be a responsible young man?”

“Yes.”

“And yet on the rainy morning of August 28th, he willingly allowed Sadie to drive his car from her house to yours, is that right?”

“Objection,” Johnson snapped. “The witness has no way of knowing…”

“Withdrawn,” Sadie’s lawyer said, and Geoff thought that maybe it was finally over. But the rumpled young attorney only paused to glance at a note on his legal pad. “Mr. Messner, I’m going to ask you to think carefully now. When you saw the car come toward you and then swerve away, you’ve testified that your niece was behind the wheel.”

“That’s right.”

“And did you see Dan Kline at that same moment?”

“Yes. He was in the passenger seat.”

“Go on.”

Geoff was confused. The barrage of questions answerable with a simple yes or no had changed.

“I don’t understand.”

“You’ve testified that Sadie was driving and that at the last second the car swerved, missing you and hitting your daughter. In that split second, what do you remember about Dan Kline’s reaction to the situation?”

It was as if a veil had been lifted and Geoff saw clearly for the first time what had really happened that morning. “He grabbed the steering wheel and turned it hard to the right,” Geoff said, his voice almost drowned out by the audible gasp that rippled through the courtroom.

Geoff sat frozen in the witness chair, his mind replaying the detail that had escaped him every time he had allowed himself to think about that morning. Dan had grabbed the wheel.

If he hadn’t, would Tessa be alive today?

Chapter 34