A Penny for Your Thoughts (29 page)

“I’m as well as can be expected. I’m where I’m supposed to be, I guess.”

“Why, Cliff, why?” She leaned forward.

Cliff gave a mirthless laugh. “Why? Because I killed someone, that’s why.”

“Why did you kill him, Cliff? David was probably going to prison for the rest of his life anyway.”

“I wanted to make sure of it, Penny. I should have killed him when I shot him on the beach, but my aim was off. I wanted to, but he used you to block his body as he held you at knifepoint. I aimed--and I missed--that time.” He grimaced. “I didn’t trust the court system to see it through. They probably would have sent him to a psychiatric hospital, and he would have been out in no time. He killed Jerry, Penny. Matt told you, didn’t he? That he flaunted killing Jerry?”

Penny gritted her teeth and nodded.

“Yes, I heard about that. If only I’d known he was there when Jerry was on the phone to me. If only I’d known...”

“You couldn’t have done anything, Penny.” Cliff narrowed his eyes. “But
I
did. He wasn’t going to be leaving that hospital on two feet.” His gaze, belligerent and hard, faltered for a moment. “I should have done something sooner. He almost killed you. I don’t forgive myself for that, Penny. You have to know that.”

Penny shook her head. Tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t bear the thought of Cliff in prison, no matter what he’d done.

“I’m okay, Cliff. No harm done. I was rescued in time, thanks to you.”

“I should have figured it out sooner. I should have known David was stalking you, that he would take you to Jerry’s old place on the beach. Jerry left it to me in his will, but I never went there. I left it to property managers to take care of.”

Penny shook her head. “I didn’t realize Jerry even had a house down here on the Gulf Coast until Matt told me later. I don’t know how I could have forgotten he said he lived here once.”

“It was a long time ago. He bought it cheaply, but he didn’t stay long. He was homesick for Michigan and moved back. He hasn’t been back in years. The property management company took care of it for him. I guess he told David about it. My poor, foolish brother.” Cliff brought his shackled hands to his forehead for a moment and closed his eyes. With a furrowed brow, he sighed and rested them on the table once again. His silvering hair looked surprisingly unkempt.

“And the safety deposit box?”

“I’d forgotten about that, too. One key was to the beach house, but David didn’t bother with a key when he broke the lock. Jerry had saved up a wad of cash and thrown it in a safety deposit box a long time ago. After Matt gave me the keys, I cleaned it out and donated the money to a local shelter for abused women and kids. That’s what David was trying to get when he killed Jerry. Some lousy money!”

His eyes glistened, and he blinked rapidly.

A matching tear ran down Penny’s face. “You don’t deserve to be here, Cliff.” She reached for his hands, but the guard took a step toward her, and she pulled her hand back. Cliff glanced at the guard who ignored him. He turned back with a raised brow.

“I do deserve to be here, Penny. Besides, I’m not going to be here forever. Ten years, and I’ll be up for parole, maybe earlier if I behave.”

“Are you behaving, Cliff?”

“I am,” he grinned, a shadow of his former self. “So, how is Matt?”

“He’s okay, Cliff. He’s mad at you, though.”

Cliff sighed and dropped his eyes. “I know. I know he’s disappointed in me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? One minute I was listening to David spew bizarre comments in the hospital about Jerry, you, money, and the next thing I knew I had a pillow over his head to shut him up.” He snorted. “That was actually a little trick my parents used on Jerry and me. I guess I waited too long to lift the pillow.”

A shiver ran up Penny’s spine at the visual image of the children’s terror.

“I’m so sorry, Cliff.”

“I know you are, Penny. And I appreciate it. You’ve given Jerry and me much more sympathy than my own parents ever did.”

“What about your job?”

Cliff shrugged again. “I was just about to retire anyway. I saved up quite a bit of money, and I’m obviously going to be saving more while I’m in here. I’ve got Jerry’s old house on the beach. I’ll be okay.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll be out of here before you know it, Penny. Don’t worry about me.” Cliff rose and jerked his head toward the guard who moved forward. “It was good to see you, Penny. Tell Matt hello for me. And don’t come back here.”

“Goodbye, Cliff.” She stood and raised her hand in farewell at his abrupt departure, but he never looked back. Another guard came to get her and escort her out of the visiting room. She met Matt in the hall and shook her head as tears ran down her face.

He shook his head with a sigh, and guided her out of the building and into the parking lot.

Penny leaned against the car and dashed at her wet face.

“How was he?” Matt asked in his gruff voice. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at his feet.

“Good. Unrepentant. He’s okay, Matt. He asked me not to come back though.”

Matt raised his eyes and regarded her steadily. “I don’t doubt it. This isn’t a place for you, and it’s not your fault he’s here.”

Penny crossed her arms and shook her head. “I know it’s not. I feel so sorry for Cliff though. He’s just a victim of a violent family. That he managed to cope as long as he did...” She stared off into the distance.

“Yeah, so I’ve gathered from some of the things you’ve mentioned.”

Penny inhaled the fresh air and sighed.

“I love you, Penny.” Matt pulled his hands out of his pockets and took her hands in his. “I’ve always loved you.”

Penny’s eyes flew to his face. “Thank you, Matt. Thank you for telling me.”

“Let’s go home, honey.”

“And take a shower?”

Matt laughed. “Sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.”

###

I began my first fiction writing attempt
when I was 14. I shut myself up in my bedroom one summer and obsessively worked on a time travel/pirate
novel set in the beloved Caribbean of my youth.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hammer it out on a
manual typewriter (oh yeah, I’m that old) before it was
time to go back to school. The draft of that novel has long
since disappeared, but the story still simmers within
, and I will finish it one day soon.

I was born in Aruba to American parents and
lived in Venezuela until my family returned to the United
States when I was 12. I couldn’t fight the global
travel bug, and I joined the U.S. Air Force at 18 to “see the world.” After 21 wonderful and fulfilling years traveling the world and the birth of one beautiful daughter,
I pursued my dream of finally getting a college
education. With a license in mental health therapy, I worked with veterans and continue to work on behalf of veterans. I continue to travel, my first love, and almost all of my books involve travel.

I write time travel romances, light paranormal/fantasy romances (lovelorn ghosty stuff), contemporary romances, and romantic suspense. Visit my website at
http://www.bessmcbride.com