Rescuing Vanessa (A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance) (13 page)

The officer let her sit in the front seat.
When they left the house, everyone was still soundly sleeping. She had no wish to hold the vase, but she also didn’t want it to get broken by leaving it in the back seat. She had wrapped it in her sweatshirt and put it in one of the smaller now empty boxes for an extra measure of protection. It would be so great to be rid of it at last. Peering into the box as they rode, she decided she had been wrong when she called it ugly earlier. It was hideous.

Her time at the police station wasn’t nearly as traumatic as last time. But, the time spent was lengthy. She had to answer lots of questions, write names and addresses, give descriptions, and anything else that came to mind.

It was close to 5:30
am by the time the officer took her home. By this time, her early morning spurt of energy was exhausted and she was ready to go back to bed. She was thankful church had an afternoon service at 1pm instead of a morning service like most other churches.

Weary, she crawled
back into bed and finally slept. That horrible vase still haunted her dreams. Over and over and over, she tried to re-glaze it different colors, but it kept going back to its ugly original. Finally, she threw it down and cheered as it smashed into a million pieces. 

It was
after 10 o’clock before Vanessa finally rolled out of bed. She had slept long and hard. When she came downstairs, she found she had forgotten to take her note off the refrigerator and that everyone was a wee bit upset.

Daniel had come upstairs early, shortly after 6, just half an hour after Vanessa arrived unnoticed and had fallen asleep upstairs with her door closed. He found the note, which simply said, “Police came and got me.
Being forced to go to the station. Need to give statement. Hopefully I’ll be back.” It had been written in a hurried scrawl, and Vanessa realized in her sleep deprived fog last night she had forgotten to sign it. Daniel had reacted to the note, had reached for his keys and leather jack, and knocked a stainless steel travel mug onto the ceramic tile floor in the kitchen, sending a clattering noise throughout the house and awakening Mrs. Bennett.

Her early morning inquiry of “Is everything alright down there?” was met with an abrupt “The police took Vanessa. I’m headed out right now to see what I can do,” and was answered with commotion and alarm erupting upstairs, various exchanges and outbursts, and two protective elderly pit bulls charging as best they could down the stairs, covered in disheveled bathrobes determined to protect their granddaughter at any cost, no matter what time of day or what they looked like. As they sped to the station, they formed a plan of action. They stormed the front desk, with Daniel demanding to the quite surprised clerk that the three of them be taken immediately to her, and with Mr. Bennett waving his lawyer’s business card demanding she not say another word until he arrived and clamoring her innocence all at the same time. The clerk tried to calm them down, when Officer Martin noticed the commotion and came to assist. Daniel recognized him right away and invoked everything from the Declaration of Independence to the Bill of Rights, insisting to see an arrest warrant. Officer Martin calmly stated there wasn’t one, which set the three of them off again into various implorations, outbursts, and demands for her freedom. The officer finally explained that even though he couldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation, she had been picked up voluntarily in the middle of the night at
her
bidding with information as a key witness. She had been extremely helpful and had already been taken home.

When the last of Officer Martin’s words sunk in, the three of them went dead silent. They stood there, mouths slightly
open, unsure of what to say next; Daniel in his leather jacket with his flannel pajama pants plainly visible, and Vanessa’s grandparents with tousled grey hair, ankle length matching purple and yellow pastel-terry-cloth bathrobes, with Grandpa still clutching his lawyer’s business card in his right hand, which went from waving vehemently in the air to coming to a slow halt. “Let’s go home,” Mrs. Bennett said, and the three of them turned and walked out the door. The lawyer met them as they were coming down the walkway to the parking lot, and had obviously dressed hurriedly, in dress pants and a dress shirt, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. He stopped to greet them, and his eyebrows rose at the sight of them. The three of them barely looked up and kept walking, with the only words spoken as they passed from Mr. Bennett, “False alarm, John. Sorry if I woke you. See you at church.”

Chapter 19

“I’m sorry,” Vanessa said as she filled her cereal bowl with Fruity O’s.
“I was so tired by the time I got back, I forgot.”

“What happened?” asked
Grandma handing her the milk still in her bathrobe.

The three of them had obviously been waiting for her for some time to come down. They had barely taken their shoes off. And Daniel was still wearing his leather coat over his pajamas, his keys on the table. Grandpa hadn’t bothered to change either, and had parked himself in his favorite chair, reading the paper to pass the time.

“Forgiven,” said her grandfather. “Now, what happened this morning?”

Vanessa
took a mug out of the cabinet, and filled it with that aroma filled coffee. Coming back to the table, she said, “Remember that vase I was questioned about? It was rare and very expensive and I found out it was stolen shortly before I moved back here. The police got an anonymous tip that I might have it. I wonder if it was Collie?
”
She added milk to her coffee and sipped, distracted.

Then, hearing her grandfather grunt, she continued. “
Anyway, I was taken in and questioned the first time, but they had no evidence so they couldn’t hold me. Well, last night, as I was unpacking, I found that awful vase! So, I called the police and gave it to them immediately. It was 3:37am. I’m surprised none of you woke up, guess you were all tired after that intense but fulfilling night after Bible study. Did you sleep well?”

With another grunt from her Grandfather, and Daniel shifting in his chair with a slight grunt as well, she decided maybe the subject of sleep wasn’t a good one this morning. She chose instead to go back to the subject of the vase.

“I don’t want any more to do with that ghastly thing. I hope it’s all behind me now and the Delanys can deal with it. At least they’ll get their vase back.”

“Goodness,” said her grandmother. “You’ve had some adventures since you’ve come back, haven’t you?”

“Yes. I’m really glad Daniel was there the first time. I was pretty frazzled and I’m sure the police would have put me in jail and thrown away the key.”

“You weren’t that bad.” Daniel seemed to perk up a bit at the compliment.
“It’s perfectly understandable to be somewhat stressed at being wrongly accused of theft.”

Vanessa
straightened up in her chair and raised her hands slightly as she resolved, “I’m a simple artist. I’ll leave adventure to Violet’s characters in her books.”

“So the vase is in the hands of the police now?” asked
Grandpa.

“Yes. They’ll hand it over to the LA polic
e department and let them take the investigation from there.”

“Who would have put the vase in your box?” asked her grandmother.

“I suspect it was Collie, a co-worker of mine. We were never very good friends. I was surprised she wanted to help me pack and sent me out to buy lunch while she did. The thing that still has me wondering though, is why? What would she gain by giving me the vase? Was she hoping to get it later? Do you think she is here in Chicago and messed with my brakes?”

“It’s possible, I suppose. I’
m glad of the increased police patrols. It makes me feel much safer,” said her grandmother.

“What did this Collie person have against you? Any
thoughts?” asked Daniel. He had already finished breakfast and sat at the table drinking coffee. He finally took his coat off and hung it in the closet.

“Well,”
she drew out the word as she dipped her spoon into her cereal bowl, slowly swirling it around and clinking against the sides. “It’s possible she had some crazy jealousy idea. I mean, she and her boyfriend, Denny Delany, he was the owners’ son, had a bit of a falling out. He tried to flirt with me, but I made it clear I wasn’t interested. To be honest, I didn’t think anything of it. Collie and Denny spent more time fighting than they did anything else. I thought it was just another one of their fights. Maybe she thought he was interested in me and wanted to get revenge. I don’t know. I gave her and Denny’s description to the police. It’s all in their hands now. I hope it’s over.”

“Sweetheart, I have a bad feeling in my spirit,” said her grandmother. “I don’t want you left alone at all. We’ll need to be sure the garage is closed and locked at all times. We should all check our cars before driving them too.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” asked her grandfather. “It would be fairly obvious if someone broke into our garage. However, I do think it a good idea to park only in the garage. Daniel, you can park your car in there too. Vanessa, we’ll figure out what to do when your car comes back from the shop. You should probably ride with either us or Daniel for the time being. I want to be sure you’re safe.”

“But, Grandpa, the vase is gone. Surely there’s nothing to worry about now,” she protested.
“I hate to burden you guys so much.”

“We know that, but do the people who might be looking for it know that? And there is still the matter of tampering with the brakes. Whether or not these are connected, someone deliberately tried to put you in harm’s way and as far as we know may still be out there.”

“Why don’t we talk to Will and Jesse about all of this?” asked Daniel. “They’re private investigators. They might have some good advice on how best to keep Vanessa safe.”

Vanessa hated the idea o
f needing babysitters. She still struggled with the idea of being a burden, and this would add to it. The vase was gone. What could possibly happen now? But her grandparents’ words were always wise, and she had come to implicitly trust Daniel, no matter what their relationship was. She would try to stay with someone at all times.

Daniel was glad for the church service that day. He could pray at the altar and pour out his frustration. Of course, he could do that at home, but there was something special about being at church. Why wouldn’t Vanessa let go? Was he pushing too hard? Moving too fast? Getting ahead of the Lord? Was he being selfish? What should he do?

He couldn’t hear anything from t
he Lord until he quieted his brain down and humbly worshipped. When he took the focus off of himself and put it where it needed to be, upon the Lord of his life, issues and situations finally became clearer. Rather than attempting to use glasses covered with film, things became more distinct. He could focus more easily. That elusive peace was there. God was in control.

“I know she is the woman for me.” He didn’t say the words
out loud. He whispered them to the Lord. “I know this is from You, but I am rushing ahead aren’t I?”

He knew exactly what he needed to do.
It was quite simple. He needed to apologize. It was vital that Vanessa get her relationship and her understanding of the Lord’s love and forgiveness squared away first. Then, she needed to do her part in restoring her relationship with her parents. Daniel hated the fact that this could take months. Or longer. Even if she were to initiate the resolution process with her parents at Christmas, would two weeks be enough time? Nonetheless, he knew it was for the best. If he loved her the way he said he did, if these were truly more than warm, fuzzy emotions, he would want what was best for her, not merely what he wanted.

“Thank you, Lord. Please forgive me for
forcing my own way. I’ll trust Your timing in this. Frankly, it’s all rather nutty. Only a few weeks ago, I would never have even considered the possibility of loving anyone again, not like that. I didn’t think it was possible. Yet, here You are. And there she is.”

Vanessa prayed at the altar as well. She knelt near Guinevere and Violet. Neither woman could hear her prayers, but they both prayed fervently for her. She was so touched by their caring. It was as if Jesus Himself reached out and touched her through their hands. These women were real friends to her, not like the ones she had back in LA. She hadn’t opened her heart enough to make friends with the other ladies at church there either. Here, she felt like she was finally ready.

As she prayed, she felt an incredible sense of God’s presence wash over her. It was as if He wrapped His arms around her and held her like
a little child. She wept at that love. For the first time since coming home, she felt forgiveness. Oh, she knew it was available before. She could have had this in LA, but she held herself back, punishing herself. No more. It was time to take off those straps.

Though you couldn’t hear the sound of the backpack falling from her back in the natural, the spirit world heard the boom, and there was rejoicing in heaven. A child of the Most High was free.
She lifted her hands toward heaven and spoke in a heavenly language, tears of joy flowing freely as waves of mercy washed over her.

As she rose to stand, she
held the other two women in a sweet embrace. “Thanks for praying with me.”

“
Certainly,” said Guinevere.

After some small talk and laughter, Violet chimed,
“I don’t know about you, but I could go for a large mocha latte from Mom’s Coffee House. Let’s see if Ivy can join us and let the men have some ‘man time’. Are you with me?”

The other two laughed. “Sounds great,” said Vanessa.

“I’ll find Ivy,” said Guinevere.

“And I’ll let the menfolk know what we’re up to,” said Violet.