Part 24 - Chapter 1 - Under Arrest

Andrew stood behind Amanda as she repeated the company's official statement to the person on the other end of the phone and hung up.

"I'm ready to just unplug the phone and call it a day. These reporters are driving me crazy."

"If it wasn't bad publicity for the company, I would tell them anything they wanted to know about Burgess. I would love to give them a story on him."

"Just remember that it would be bad for the company," Lawrence said as he walked towards them. "If you really have anything to say, save it for the police."

"Don't worry, I won't say anything to the media," Andrew assured him. "I'm just glad Burgess finally got caught for something. I knew all along he was no good, but I had no idea he'd done something this bad."

"I don't think any of us had any idea," Amanda added. "Just think, if he could kill Clifford, he could have done anything to any one of us. It gives me chills to think about it."

Andrew put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "I'm glad he's out of here."

"I am too," Lawrence said somberly. He was relieved that the truth had finally come out, mostly for Eileen's sake. "But Hector's absence leaves us short staffed today. We can't waste too much time talking about what's happened. There's work to be done."

"What I wouldn't give to see him right now, sitting behind bars," Andrew said to himself with a smirk as Amanda sat down at her desk and he and Lawrence went to their separate offices. "I bet he's not so smug now."

"I shouldn't be here," Hector thought to himself over and over as he paced back and forth in his dreary jail cell. He had been so close to leaving this all behind him when the police came to his door and took him away.

He should have been miles from here by now, getting off a plane, checking into a hotel, ready to start his new life. Instead he was taken to the jail, booked, fingerprinted and put into this cell for a sleepless night. No matter how many times he ran the facts of what had happened through his mind, he couldn't make himself believe this was really happening.

"I'll get out of this," he told himself. He already had the best lawyers working on his case and he knew they would find away to get around whatever the prosecution presented. What could they have on him anyway? Clifford had died years ago and they were only going after him now? What could they have found out?

"Burgess."

Hector looked up to see a guard unlocking the door to his cell.

"Your lawyer is here."

"Good. I'm ready for him," Hector said eagerly as the officer escorted Hector down the hall to the interrogation room.

When he spoke with his mother on the phone, she told him she was going to call Sam Ramsey, one of the best defense attorneys around and also an old family acquaintance. He was sure once they talked, he found out what he was up against, and what Sam was going to do to defend him, he'd feel at least a little better about things.

"Mr. Burgess?"

Hector looked up. Instead of seeing a familiar gray haired man standing in front of him, a much younger woman carrying a briefcase entered the room. "Yes?"

"Hello. I'm your attorney-"

"Where's Sam Ramsey?"

"That's me," she answered. "But I'll assume you're referring to my father. He's on a leave of absence and while he's away I'm taking over his cases. I'm his daughter Samantha." She sat down across from Hector and took a notepad out of her briefcase. "And in case you have any doubts, I assure you that I am just as capable as my father. I learned how to be the best from the best."

"I hope so," Hector scoffed. "With the charges I'm up against, I can't afford to settle for anything less."

"Don't worry. You won't have to. Now, let's talk about the charges against you, Mr. Burgess."

Part 24 - Chapter 2 - Under Arrest

"How is Craig doing?" Eileen asked as she and Lucy had lunch together. When she stopped by Lucy's house earlier she thought Craig had seemed a little short. She was starting to wonder if that was just his personality.

"Fine. I think he's disappointed that I won't be going out of town with him after all. I can't now that they've finally made an arrest. I want to be here if there's any news and I have to be here when they have the trial . . . Craig was so sweet to postpone his work to stay here and support me."

"Yeah," Eileen replied absentmindedly. Her thoughts had veered off when Lucy mentioned the word "trial." There would be a trial and she would have to testify. What would Lucy and Arthur say when they found out how long she'd known the truth and hadn't told them?

"Are you ok, Eileen?" Lucy asked. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about how the news might have affected you. You were engaged to the man. Thank God, you didn't go through with it."

"Yes, I'm grateful for that."

"Me too. Just think how awful that would have been, for my best friend to be married to my father's murderer . . . as if things weren't terrible enough. I just can't believe that someone we have all known for so long and someone my father knew and worked with was capable of . . ." Lucy paused, momentarily overcome with emotion. She swallowed back her grief and continued. "I just can't believe it. This whole time he's been getting away with it, like it never even happened. It just makes me so angry. God, I hope they put him away for a very long time."

Eileen just nodded slowly. She knew Hector deserved to spend the rest of his life in prison for what he'd done, but after knowing him for so long, she couldn't help feeling just a little bit sorry for him still.

"You seem to be handling it well. Are you still in shock?"

"No, not really . . . I'm just relieved that he's finally been caught," Eileen answered. When she first heard the news that Hector had been arrested it was like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Now she was starting to realize that it wasn't over yet. She had to tell Lucy the truth, before she heard it from someone else. "Lucy-"

"Oh!" Lucy said, her eyes focused narrowly on the door. "You won't believe who just walked in."

Eileen turned around to see Victoria Burgess standing in the entryway. That was one person she definitely did not want to see, especially right now.

"You know . . . that woman has some nerve after the way she treated me," Lucy fumed. "I should give her a piece of my mind."

"Lucy," Eileen called wearily, but her friend was already making her away across the restaurant.

"Hey, thanks for checking in. What's going on?" Craig asked. He paced around the room and nodded thoughtfully as the person on the phone talked. "Cool. Is anyone else there? . . . Ok, that's good. Let me know if anything changes."

Craig hung up the phone and stooped down to pick up Stuart who was crawling around on the floor near his feet.

"Come here, kiddo. It looks like it's just you and Daddy today while Mommy's out with her friend."

As much as he hated taking time away from work, he was glad to have more time to spend with his son.

The kid was growing up too fast and as much as he was away, Craig was afraid Stuart was going to grow up barely knowing him. That was one of the main reasons he wanted Lucy and Stuart to come away with him so badly. He'd almost talked her into going until this arrest business came up.

When the doorbell rang, Craig bounced Stuart in his arms as he went into the foyer. He was startled to see who was standing on the front porch as he opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were in town," James replied. "I know I'm probably the last person you want to see while you're here, but I need to talk to you about something. Can I come in?"

Craig nodded and stepped aside to let James enter.

"Is this your little boy? He's cute."

"Yep." Craig turned to see the maid walking towards them to answer the door. He passed Stuart to her and asked her to take him to the nursery before speaking to James. "What do you want? Make it quick if you can. I'd like to spend some time with my son."

"No problem. I don't want to waste a lot of time here either. I've been talking with some people about an idea for a business venture I had . . ."

"Don't tell me you want to go into business together."

"No, no," James assured him. "I did think about it, but yeah, I think we both know by now that's not a good idea. I'm here because I came across your name when I was looking at property. I don't want to step on your toes or start another misunderstanding between us, so I was wondering if you were still interested in buying it or have you give up on the idea of starting a club."

"No, I haven't given up. I've just had trouble getting the funds."

"Really?" James said eyeing their lavish surroundings. "Well, I want you to know. I'm seriously thinking about starting my own club. I've looked into it and I'm waiting on approval for a loan, but I didn't want to take the building you were looking at out from under you."

"But you do want to take it."

"It's a good property, but there are others that I'm looking at. I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to try to sue me again because you thought I was stealing your idea."

Craig scoffed as he moved towards the door to show James out. "Do whatever you want, man. I'm over it."

"Great. Thanks," James replied. He hesitated a moment at the door. Times like these, when he remembered what kind of guy Craig usually was, he missed their friendship, but there was too many bad feelings between them now for things to be the way they were. "Hey . . . Have a good time with your kid."

Part 24 - Chapter 3 - Under Arrest

"This cake is delicious. Are you sure you don't want any, Alma?"

"No, thank you. I'm sure."

"Are you on a New Year's diet?" the other woman asked. "I told myself I was going to cut back on the sweets this year, but you see how long that's lasted."

The woman sitting next to Alma laughed. "It's the same for me. I can never seem to keep a resolution for more than two weeks."

"I just don't feel like eating anything right now. Maybe later," Alma answered. As the other teachers continued talking, Alma stopped listening. Her mind was on other things.

"Are you ok, Alma?"

"I'm just thinking. It's been a long day."

"Just think, it's half over . . . Oh, Bernice, help yourself to some cake. It's over on the counter."

Bernice stood near the doorway, hesitant about sitting at the same table as Alma. "Oh . . . thanks. I'll get a piece in a minute . . . I forgot something," she said and quickly went out of the room.

"That was odd," one of the teachers said quietly once Bernice had disappeared into the hallway.

"She's been acting that way a lot lately."

Alma rose from her chair. She'd noticed Bernice's behavior too and she'd ignored it for too long. "I'm going to find out what's wrong."

"Vanessa! It's good to see you," Winston, Vanessa's agent, greeted her cheerfully as she entered his office. "I've been trying to get a hold of you. Why haven't you returned my calls?"

"I'm sorry, Winston. I haven't been home to take any calls. When I stopped by briefly to pick up a few things, I didn't even think about checking my messages." She let out a tired sigh, wondering how many other things she hadn't thought about that needed to be taken care of.

"You ought to let your agent know when you're away, at least. Where have you been?" he asked.

"At my sister's house. Someone broke into my apartment."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Was anything stolen?"

"No, luckily, but the police still don't have any leads and I'm not so sure they're really trying to find out who did it."

"That's tough, but I'm glad you stopped by, because I have some good news for you. I've got a part lined up that I think you should audition for. You would be perfect for the role."

"Really? I hope so because I could really use some good news right now. What kind of part is it?"

"It's a supporting role in a movie. The director sent over some lines for you to read at the audition," he said as he went to his desk and started sorting through a stack of papers. Once he found the documents he was looking for, he handed them to Vanessa. "Read it over and let me know if you're interested so I can arrange an audition for you. I hope you take the chance. I really think this could be your big break."

"Bernice, wait," Alma called out as she caught up with Bernice in the hallway. "Can we talk for a minute?"

Bernice stopped, turned to face Alma, and reluctantly waited for her to speak.

"How long are you going to keep trying to avoid me? Why don't you just tell me what your problem is with me and get it over with, so everything can go back to normal?"

"As far as I'm concerned everything is back to normal or will be soon. My babies and I have the house to ourselves again and soon you won't be working here anymore."

"What do you mean? Why would you think that?"

"It happens all the time. A new teacher starts working here, then she gets married and starts having children and then she's gone. I thought you were different than that, Alma."

Alma had no idea how to respond to that statement. She stood in the hallway staring after Bernice as she walked away.

Part 24 - Chapter 4 - Under Arrest

"I'm sorry I'm late, ladies. This has just been a trying day for me."

"We didn't expect to see you at all today, Victoria," Evelyn replied cooly from the other side of the table as Victoria took a seat next to Millie.

"I couldn't spend another minute at the house, worrying about what's going to happen, talking with lawyers . . . I needed to get away for awhile and put my mind on something else." Victoria let out a deep sigh. "So what have I missed?"

"We were just discussing who is going to take over the springtime tea this year," Angela replied quietly.

"I thought we agreed that I would be hosting this year."

"That was before," Millie said. "With what's happened, we don't think the Burgess name is one we want associated with our event, you understand."

"There is nothing wrong with the Burgess name!" Victoria insisted. "Nothing has changed. You don't think my son is guilty, do you? My Hector isn't capable of anything criminal, let alone something so despicable. He was obviously framed and we have hired the best lawyers to prove it. Before long we will have put this nonsense behind us and everything will be as it was."

"Whether or not that is the case, we have to think about the way things stand right now," Evelyn said calmly. "And right now, we think it would be best for everyone involved if you were to step down from your post."

Victoria looked at the other women seated around her, women that were supposedly her friends. Evelyn seemed pleased to have an excuse to have her out of the group. They had struggled with each other for leadership from the beginning. Millie was new and eager to go along with anything to secure her place in the group and Angela hadn't made eye contact with her since she'd sat down at the table. She had always been too meek to speak up about anything that might be remotely unpopular or controversial. Outnumbered, Victoria stood to leave.

Victoria took two steps before she found herself face to face with Lucy and Eileen. She only glanced briefly with disdain at the girl who broke her son's heart before turning to Lucy. "Hello, Lucy."

"Mrs. Burgess. I'm surprised you would dare to show your face in public now that the news is out, but I'm glad you did. Now I have a chance to tell you to your face what a hypocrite you are," Lucy hissed, pausing only to take a breath. "I can't believe how you treated me because of my father's crimes, when your son's were so much worse. If it wasn't for him, my father would still be alive."

"Hector is not guilty. I know my son and I know he could never harm another human being, especially not your father. My lawyers will prove it."

Lucy shook her head as Victoria walked away. "We'll see about that."

"Do you understand the charges that are against you?" Samantha asked, once she finished explaining to Hector what he was up against.

"I think it's pretty straight forward," he replied. "What kind of evidence do they have?"

"Right now they're probably going to emphasize two things. One is testimony from employees at the hospital and from people that knew both you and Mr. Stuart. Luckily, no one who has spoken up actually witnessed the crime or can even place you at the hospital at the time it occurred. What is going to hurt your case are the fingerprints found in Mr. Stuart's hospital room, both on his drinking glass and on the pill bottle. That evidence places you on the scene and makes it difficult for us to convince anyone that you didn't give Mr. Stuart the drugged water."

"So what can we do? Anything? There's got to be something. I'm not paying you the big money to give me nothing."

"Don't worry, Mr. Burgess. We have plenty of options. The way things look now, I think our best defense is to go with intent. They have the evidence that you were there and you gave the glass to Mr. Stuart, but can they prove that by doing so you were trying to harm Mr. Stuart? That's the question we're going to focus on."

Hector nodded slowly. "Yeah, ok. That's good."

"We also have to be prepared to counter anything that the prosecution comes up with to make the jury think you might have wanted Mr. Stuart dead." Samantha flipped her notebook to a blank page. "This is where I'm going to need information from you. I need to know everything involving you and Mr. Stuart, anything they could dig up from your past, anyone who might have anything negative to say about you and names of anyone would could speak up on your behalf as character witnesses, and basically just anything the prosecution could use against you. Whatever you say is confidential, so don't leave anything out. Your fate could depend on it. Are you ready for this?"

Hector grinned. "Where do you want me to start?"

Vanessa walked slowly up the steps to her apartment. The last time she was here she had the police escort with her. Now she was here alone for the first time since the break in and she was feeling just a little bit nervous.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to go onward. She told herself there was nothing to be worried about. She was perfectly safe and if anything did seem wrong, there were plenty of neighbors to call for help.

Vanessa took out her keys as she walked towards the apartment. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a vase of roses sitting in front of the door. Confused, she bent down to read the card.

Ms. Summers. I have admired you since I first saw you on the stage. I was afraid of being too forward before, but I had to take a chance and let you know how much I think of you. I hope we can meet soon.

She flipped the card over. There was no name, no clue as to who it was from.

Part 24 - Chapter 5 - Under Arrest

Blaine tapped on the keys of the computer, catching up on some extra work from his new job at home. As he typed, he spent more time looking at Reese, who was sitting on the couch doing a crossword puzzle, than the screen in front of him.

They were starting to adjust to sharing a house. Reese didn't seem as hypersensitive of him anymore. At first she seemed so aware of him, of what he was doing at every moment, and whether he needed anything. Since they talked about it, she'd gone the complete opposite way and seemed to make a conscious effort to ignore him most of the time.

"How's work?" he asked, breaking the silence. "Have you had any interesting cases lately?"

"Not really, just the usual corporate stuff, business contracts, the usual."

"I guess the exciting cases, like tracking down missing heirs, don't come along everyday."

"No. I think that was just a one time thing." She lowered her newspaper and stared forward. "I kind of miss it. Things haven't been as . . . exciting lately."

"No, they haven't, have they?" Blaine said thoughtfully. He stood up from the desk and walked towards Reese. "I think we need to do something about that. Just because we don't have any cases to investigate, everything else in our lives doesn't have to be dull too."

"I didn't mean-"

"I know, but I've been thinking we need to do something to spice things up. I don't want us to be just roommates or turn into an old married couple before we're even old or married. I think tonight we should forget that we live together, get dressed up, and go out for a romantic date night. What do you say?"

"Hey, Cass. What's up?" Zara asked as she invited her sister into her house on campus. "What did you want to talk to me about that you couldn't say over the phone?"

"I'm really worried about Mom. She's been acting really strange lately."

"Strange for her, you mean?"

"I'm serious. She's cancelled all her appointments and just sits in her room. She complains of headaches a lot. I don't think she's well."

"Has she seen a doctor?"

"She won't go. She says there's nothing physically wrong with her. She blames it on this 'evil' that she's sensing."

"And you don't think that's true?"

"I'm not sure." Cassandra frowned. "You know better than anyone that I wouldn't doubt someone who is so sure about a feeling they have. But I'm worried about her. Maybe there is something evil present . . . I haven't sensed it . . . but even if there is, what if there's something really physically wrong with her too? I don't want to lose her again."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Would you talk to her? You're so much better at reasoning with people."

"Yeah, ok. I'll stop by later and see her," Zara said, rising from her seat. "But right now I have to go. I'm supposed to meet Thomas." Zara stopped, noticing Cassandra's look as she turned away. "You don't like him do you?"

"It's not that I don't like him, I just don't get a good feeling from him. Be careful, ok?"

Eileen rapped on the office door before peeking her head inside. "Can I come in?"

"Eileen," Lawrence said with a smile as he stood from his desk. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Yeah, it's been awhile." She looked around at the office. "I used to be in here all the time when my dad worked here and before . . . everything with Hector happened. It's a lot different now, isn't it?"

"A lot has changed, but all for the better."

"Yeah . . ."

"So what brings you here now?"

Eileen grinned. "I wish I could say it's just to see you, but I also stopped by to ask you a favor."

"What is it?"

"I have to tell my Dad and Lucy that I knew about Hector a long time ago, before they find out from someone else."

"I think that's a good idea. If this goes to trial, you're going to have to testify and the truth will come out sooner or later."

"I know. After talking to Lucy today I realize that. I was wondering if you would be there when I tell them. I'm not sure how they'll react and I could really use someone there who already knows to support me."

"Of course. If you need me, I'll be there," he promised. "When are you going to tell them?"

"As soon as possible. Tonight, I think."

"I'll probably be working late tonight, but I'll come over straight after. Is 8:00 alright?"

"That's great," Eileen said, giving him a hug. "Thank you so much, Lawrence."

Part 24 - Chapter 6 - Under Arrest

"I should have said this earlier, but you look amazing tonight," Blaine said as he waited with Reese for a table after checking their coats.

"It's not too much?" she asked self-consciously.

"No, you look perfect."

"This place is so fancy," she said, looking around. "Are you sure you can afford it?"

"I can afford to splurge once in awhile. This is our romantic night. I want everything to be great."

"What are you doing?" Reese asked, blushing furiously as Blaine put his arms around her and started leading her in a slow dance to the ambient music playing quietly in the background.. "People are watching."

"Just being romantic and spontaneous by dancing with my beautiful girlfriend," he replied.

Reese was still blushing when the host showed them to their table.

After they placed their orders with the waitress, Blaine turned to Reese. "I'm really glad we're here tonight and I'm really glad we're together. Despite all the other stuff that's happened since we started going out, I think it's been really great. I'm so glad you decided to take a chance on me."

"I am too," Reese said shyly. "It wasn't easy for me."

"I know, but it was worth the chance, don't you think?"

"Yes, I do . . . It's kind of nice to have someone around that I can count on . . . I've never really had that before in my life."

"You can have me to count on as long as you want me. It means a lot to me that you feel that way," Blaine said, clearing his throat. "I've been thinking a lot about us and the future. More and more when I think about my future I hope that you'll be a part of it."

"Oh, really?" she said, feeling at a loss for words.

"Yeah, sometimes. I guess I've just been thinking ahead a lot lately, especially since I've graduated. It just feels like it's time to start getting my life in order. I've got a job now, so I can start saving money. I always wanted to get married and have kids, buy my own home. It seems like these dreams just keep getting closer to being real."

When he mentioned marriage and kids, Reese could feel herself tensing up. She tried to be cool and not freak out. "Yeah, I guess they would."

"What are we doing here?" Zara asked as she and Thomas got out of the car. When they met on campus, he hadn't given her any details about where they were going or what they were going to do. He only spoke vaguely about "the plan."

Now that they were standing at the site where the construction was going to start on the Arrendale-Wilton building project, she was getting seriously worried about what he had in mind. "Don't you think it's time you let me in on the details of this plan?"

"Listen, Zara. There are a lot of people I could have asked to help me, but I asked you. Do you know why?" He continued, without waiting for her to answer. "Because I think you are the only one in this whole organization that really thinks of it as more than just an extra curricular activity. You have brains, you have dedication, and I really admire you. I don't want to see you give up so easily."

While part of her was flattered that he was saying exactly what she had wanted to hear from him, the situation made those same words all wrong. She wasn't going to be deterred that easily. "What are you going to do?"

"What I have to do. What we've been forced to do. Keep a look out."

Zara lingered behind him, watching Thomas' every move as he took a toolbox out of his car and quickly walked over to the bulldozer parked on the side of the road.

"Oh no," Zara muttered as she realized what he was doing and just what she had gotten herself into.

Eileen sighed as she looked from the clock on the wall to the front window. They had been waiting a half an hour without any sign or word from Lawrence. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's keeping him. He said he'd be here."

"What is this all about, Eileen?" Arthur asked wearily.

"Can't you tell us without him?" Lucy chimed in. "It's getting late. Craig's expecting me home and I wanted to be back in time to put Stuart to bed." She stood up. "Maybe we could do this another time."

"No, it can't wait," Eileen said. She looked at the door one last time, hoping Lawrence would suddenly appear. When he didn't, she couldn't hesitate any longer. "There's something I haven't told you guys. This isn't easy, but you should hear it from me."

Part 24 - Chapter 7 - Under Arrest

"Lawrence, I'm so glad I caught you," a breathless Zara said as she hurried towards the front entrance of the Townsend offices. She arrived just as Lawrence was leaving for the night.

"What's going on, Zara?" he asked. He hoped this wouldn't take long, he was already late.

"You need to come with me to the groundbreaking site."

Suddenly, getting to Eileen's didn't seem so urgent. "Why? What's happened?"

"Thomas and I were just there. He did something to sabotage the equipment. I don't know what he did exactly, but if someone tries to use the machinery that's parked at the site, there's a good chance someone could get hurt."

Lawrence unlocked the office door. "I'll call the construction company . . . and the police."

"I guess we shouldn't hope you and Lawrence had good news for us?" Veronica said, trying to lighten the tension that was growing in the living room.

"No. I wish it were about me and Lawrence, but this about me and Hector." Eileen paused to take a breath and choose her words. "There's no easy way to say this, so . . . I knew Hector was the one who poisoned Clifford before he was arrested. I had suspicions about him . . . well, from the beginning really, but then I started putting things together and when I finally confronted him, he confessed."

When Eileen ventured to look up at the others in the room, they were all staring at her in disbelief. Arthur and Veronica looked at each other questioningly, while Lucy stared forward, looking a little pale.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Art asked.

"I did tell the police . . . eventually, but they acted like they didn't believe me."

"You could have told us," Veronica said sympathetically. "How long have you been dealing with this all on your own?"

"I confronted him right before we broke up. That's the main reason why I broke off the engagement."

"I don't believe this," Lucy said, jumping up from her seat and turning away from Eileen. "You knew all along who killed my father and you never said one word to me? All this time you knew how devastated I was about not knowing who killed my father and how worried I was that the murderer was still out there and you were just pretending that you didn't know anything about it? You lied to me to protect him?"

"No, that's not what I was trying to do. I-"

Lucy held up her hands for Eileen to stop. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear your excuses, Eileen. Don't talk to me. It's too late."

"Lucy, wait. Just listen, please," Eileen called out, as Lucy stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind her.

Eileen sighed and turned to face her parents. "Do both of you hate me too?"

"Of course not," Veronica said supportively as she stood by Eileen's side. "I just wish you would have come to us. It must have been so difficult for you trying to handle this alone."

"I guess I was just afraid." She turned to Arthur. "Dad?"

Arthur seemed to be thinking the situation over, struggling with how he felt about this revelation. The news of Hector's arrest had been a very painful blow to him. Given the secrets he been finding out about those he knew and worked with and trusted, Eileen's admission didn't seem that bad. "I'm not mad at you, dear. We'll get through this."

Zara stood with Lawrence at the building site, the same place she stood with Thomas only an hour before. They waited as others arrived on the scene, first the police, then men from the construction company, and finally Dr. Wilton.

She felt completely out of place, standing on the sidelines while the police and mechanics inspected the machinery and Lawrence filled Edward in on what was happening. The only reason she was still hanging around was just in case the police had any other questions for her. All she wanted to do was go home and forget this night ever happened.

"We have some good news for you," one of the police officers began as she approached Lawrence and Edward. "The mechanics say the damage isn't serious. They expect to have everything repaired by the morning, but it's good that you caught this before someone tried to run this machinery, otherwise someone could have gotten hurt."

"We have Zara to thank for that," Lawrence said. "If she hadn't spoken up the damage might have gone by unnoticed until it was too late."

"Yes, thank you, Zara," Edward added. "Thanks to you the groundbreaking can go forward as planned."

"I was just doing what I thought was right," she said, uncomfortable with the praise.

"We're glad you did."

Zara looked up at the sound of the police radio. "We have the suspect in custody and we're taking him in for questioning."

She knew she'd made the right choice, the only choice she could live with, but she didn't feel good about it.