descending. She would not feel sorry for herself or Josh. That was wasted energy—energy she couldn’t afford to waste.
Gabriel entered the clothing store and strode toward the elderly woman, sitting in an uncomfortable-looking chair with a young man standing over her with a scowl on his face.
When Ben Cross saw him approach, he waved his hand toward the white-haired woman and said, “I want her arrested. She tried to take a watch.”
The elderly lady bristled. “Nonsense. I was admiring the watch, stuck it in my pocket to buy after I had looked around and forgot all about it.”
“Ma’am—” Gabriel began.
“Bess Anderson. You can call me Bess, Officer. All my friends at the home do.”
“Shady Oaks on First Street?”
“Why, yes. You know the place where I live?” She straightened her shoulders, clutching her purse handle with both hands.
The elderly woman reminded Gabriel of a typical grandmother of yesteryear. She was dressed in a floral print dress with sensible walking shoes and a felt hat on her head. All she was missing were white cotton gloves. “Ma’am, how—”
“Bess, please. Ma’am makes me sound so old, which I refuse to be.”
“Bess, how did you get here?” Gabriel ignored the glares Ben was sending him.
“Why, I just walked out of the building and headed for town. I like to shop and haven’t been in a while.”
“Then let me take you home.” Gabriel turned away from Bess and whispered to Ben, “I think this was all a misunderstanding. I’m inclined to accept her word that she just forgot about the watch being in her pocket. Is that okay with you?”
Ben pursed his lips, his eyes pinpoints.
“She’s at least eighty. I can’t see locking her up, Ben.”
The young man sighed. “Okay. This time. This better not happen again.”
Gabriel escorted Bess Anderson to his squad car. While the elderly woman gave him a rundown of her afternoon outing, he drove her the few blocks to the Shady Oaks Nursing Home. As he walked her toward the main building, the director came out the front door, worry carved into her expression.
“We’ve been looking all over the place for you, Bess. Is everything all right?”
“My goodness, yes. I just had a lovely stroll into town, and this nice gentleman offered to bring me home.” Bess continued past the director.
Gabriel shook his head as he watched the old woman disappear into the building. “Bess Anderson is certainly an interesting character, Susan.”
“And a handful. She’s only been with us for a few weeks, and this is the second time she has walked away from the home. I don’t know how she gets out. Thank you for bringing her back. Do you want to come in for some tea? It’s almost four. We were about to have it in the main lounge.”
“I’ll take a rain check. I have a date with a young man at the school. In fact, if I don’t get moving, I’ll be late.”
Quickly Gabriel headed toward the elementary school. He pulled into a parking space just as the bell dismissed the children for the day. He climbed from the squad car and leaned against it, his arms folded across his chest, and waited for Peter Michaels to appear. Gabriel waved to several students coming out of the school, but he kept his gaze focused on the door. He wouldn’t put it past the boy to try to sneak away. Peter hadn’t been very happy this morning when Gabriel had deposited him in the principal’s office before having a brief word with the man.
When the last student filed out of the school, Gabriel straightened and decided to head inside to see if Peter had given him the slip. He took two steps and stopped. Coming out of the building at a slow pace was the child in question. The sullen look on his face underscored the reluctance the boy felt.
Gabriel relaxed against the car and waited. He had a lot of patience, and he had a feeling he would need every bit of it to get through to Peter.
“Glad you could make it,” Gabriel said, and opened his car door.
“This is dumb. I can walk home. It’s only two blocks.”
“I told your mother I would give you a ride.”
The boy’s frown deepened as he rounded the back of the sedan and climbed inside.
Gabriel started the engine and slanted a look toward Peter. He stared straight ahead, defiance stamped in his features. No small talk on this trip, Gabriel thought, and backed out of the parking space.
A few minutes later Gabriel pulled into Rose Bennett’s driveway, and Peter jumped from the car before Gabriel could even switch off the engine. The boy raced for the house and disappeared inside so fast that Gabriel had to admire the child’s quickness. He would be great on the baseball team. An idea formed and grew as Gabriel ambled to the house to pay his respects to Rose and maybe get to see Rebecca Michaels again.
All day he had been unable to shake the image of her wide eyes as she had stared at him. Deep in their blue depths he had glimpsed a vulnerability that touched him to the core. He hated to see someone hurting, and Rebecca was definitely in pain.
Even though Peter had left the front door open, Gabriel knocked on the screen, not wanting to ring the bell since her baby might be sleeping. He heard the sound of Rose’s cane tapping against the floor as she shuffled toward him.
“My goodness, Gabriel, why are you standing out there? Come in. Are you through for the day?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I just made a fresh pot of coffee, and I know how much you like my brew.” Rose reached into the mailbox at the side of the door and retrieved several envelopes.
“No one makes it quite like you.”
He stepped inside and glanced about him at the warmth of the house. Rose was determined to bring the outdoors inside. In every room there were vases of cut flowers from her garden and pots filled with green plants. The house’s clean, fresh scent reminded him of a beautiful spring day.
“Now, that will definitely get you a second cup. I was in the kitchen trying to decide what to fix for dinner. Since Rebecca’s moved in with her boys, we eat early. Why don’t you stay and eat with us tonight?”
“I don’t—”
Rose paused at the entrance to the kitchen, clasping both hands on the cane, her sharp, shrewd gaze directed at him. “I won’t take no for an answer, son. I know for a fact you usually go home at night and eat by yourself in that big empty house of yours. Tonight you can eat with me and my family.”
“Put that way, I can’t refuse. I’ll stay on one condition. You let me help with dinner.” He enjoyed being a policeman in this Oklahoma town. The people had taken him into their hearts and made him feel a part of Oakview when he had moved here ten years before. They had comforted and shared in his pain, too. He would never forget their support.
“I’ll let you share cleanup duty
