Justice Delayed (Memphis Cold Case #1)(86)

The call came ten minutes later as Will stopped by his desk.

“It wasn’t found, but it could be in the pickup. Or with Johnson at the hospital. I’m tied up with another wreck, but I can check the pickup when I finish,” he said.

“I’m meeting a TBI agent there at one,” Will replied. “Why don’t you come then if you’re free?”



The memory of Will standing on the deck, his face mirroring the pain in her heart as Andi had spun out of the driveway, lingered. She’d idolized Will since she was a kid, and down deep she’d been stupid enough to think they might have a future together.

Andi straightened her shoulders. She should have known it was too good to be true. That his cousin would come first. A muscle spasmed in her back. What she needed was one of those pills.

“I’m going to top off the gas tank,” she said and pulled into the service station at the next corner. “Would you like something to drink?”

“No, but I’ll pump the gas while you’re inside,” Maggie said.

Inside the station, Andi paid for the gas and a drink. She searched her purse for the pill bottle. If Will saw it, he’d probably removed it. Her fingers closed around the bottle, and relief surged through her. She flipped the cap off and shook out the last two pills.

She hesitated, flashing back to the red light last night.

What’s your pain level? That’s what Treece would say.

Come on, my back hurts, and I feel lousy. She uncapped the water bottle, not believing she was standing in the middle of a convenience store arguing with someone who wasn’t even there. Already her skin was crawling, and flu-like symptoms had hit her body. With clarity she hadn’t had in a while, she knew it wasn’t pain demanding the pills—she was going into withdrawal. If she was going to find Jillian, she needed a Lortab.

Andi stared at the two pills in her hand. Was she going absolutely crazy?

“Can I help you, miss?”

The clerk startled her.

“What?”

“I asked if I could help you.”

“Thank you, I’m fine.” But she wasn’t. She stared at the pills again, and the desire to take one overwhelmed her.

But, what if she gave it an hour? She had the water. She could take them whenever. Grabbing the bottle, Andi hurried back to the car.

“Would you like for me to drive awhile?” Maggie asked.

“Would you?” Andi didn’t feel like concentrating on traffic, so she climbed in the passenger seat and put the name of the town from the address her mother had texted into her GPS. “Doskie is two hours from Memphis,” she said as the phone instructed them to take the next ramp on I-40.

“How old do you think the address is?”

“Mom says it’s the latest one she had.” Andi caught her breath. “Dad. I better call and see how he is.”

“What do you mean? Is he sick?”

“He went to the ER last night. He had a blockage and they put in a stent.” She explained what had happened as she dialed. When her mom answered, Andi asked, “How’s Dad?”

“Test shows he has a slight electrical problem. They want to keep him here until Monday when his cardiologist will be back.”

Her mom’s voice was tight, and Andi gripped the phone. “Is he going to be all right?”

“They say he will be, but he may need a pacemaker.”

She’d heard of those. Putting one in wasn’t usually dangerous. “Well, keep me informed. I’m on my way to see Jillian.”

“Be careful, honey, and tell her hello for me.”

“Sure, Mom,” she said and disconnected.

“I always liked your folks,” Maggie said.

“Me too,” she replied, and they both laughed.

“How is your dad?”

Andi sobered. “The doctor says he needs a pacemaker.” God has this. “Do you think God controls everything that happens to us?” she asked.

Maggie frowned. “I don’t think of him as controlling everything. More like he allows things in our lives.”

“Why does he allow bad things?”

Maggie sighed. “I don’t know. And sometimes what looks bad at first turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Like your dad.”

“What are you talking about? How could my dad’s heart attack be a blessing?”

“You said he had a blockage in his main artery and no symptoms. A lot of men die from that kind of heart condition. But they discovered his and fixed it because he had a heart attack.”

She hadn’t thought of it that way.

Maggie tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “You know, God isn’t waiting for us to mess up so he can ‘get us.’”

“Feels like it to me sometimes,” Andi said with a hollow laugh.

“He’d much rather we depend on him and not get in the mess in the first place.”

“You sound like Treece. She’s always on me about running ahead of God.”

“She sounds pretty wise.”

“I suppose.” She thought about the pills in her purse, how she had come to depend on them but couldn’t depend on God. Maybe it was time to change that. She pulled the sun visor down and checked the traffic behind them to see if anyone was following.