24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
J udas was a sentinel from the doorway, watching Eliza hold her father's hand for an hour. It was the middle of the night and she refused to leave his side. After all the disagreements, coddling, and admonishment of poor judgment and even more terrible behavior, she was always the faithful and dutiful daughter. Judas knew this woman was otherworldly, but her strength and loyalty seemed infinite. He could only think of one other person he met in the vastness of his life that she came close to in veritable fortitude; and he loved them both, albeit, in differing ways.
Around three, Eliza took Judas by the hand and out of the presence of her father, "Hey… I'm not going anywhere, but you should go home. Get some sleep."
"I'm not leaving you," he argued.
"Judas," her smile graceful, "I feel the emptiness when you're gone too. But I'm perfectly safe here in this hospital. Please, do this for me."
He relented because he would do anything those gorgeous eyes wished for him.
Judas opened the door to his home and the scent of cold food met him. Taking a step inside, something crunched under his shoes and he quickly flipped on a light. He looked down to find a simple white envelope wedged into his tile entry.
He tossed his keys on the bar and then ran his thumb under the fold to find a check written out to him for five thousand dollars. The signature read Paul Arthur with Thank You scrolled in the memo line.
"Thank you?" he said aloud in the empty room. Was this a bonus? Even though his payroll records had Paul’s signature, his salary was directly deposited into an account and he never received a paper check. It was odd for sure, but Judas was too tired to deal with it at the moment anyway. His focus was getting back to the hospital as soon as possible, fully rested and ready to work. He wouldn't allow Eliza to be alone for very long.
After tossing the food in the garbage and filling the dishwasher, Judas found himself in the confines of his shower. He couldn't help but think about how much he missed sharing it with Eliza. Closing his eyes, he imagined her lips making trails on his skin, her body awash with the hot deluge of water. His imagination ran wild and his body reacted to the images. He flipped the temperature handle over to cold before eventually exiting to an empty bedroom for an unsettled sleep.
Judas laid in the darkened room staring at the ceiling. Rolling over, he curled into the soft pillow, and breathed deep, forcing his eyes to close. The faint scent of soft honeysuckle and musk filled his nostrils and he buried his face further into the pillow that held her smell. Closing his eyes tighter, Judas did his best to relax his mind into sleep. Feeling his body loosen, he waited for the warmth of slumber to overtake him.
As if a strike of lightning shot through him, Judas sat bolt upright in the bed. Throwing the loose blanket from his body, he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and flipped through his calls. Something was off about Paul’s assault, he could feel it. Judas scanned his call log for clues but to what, he didn’t know yet.
Then there it was. His heart raced and nearly jumped in his throat remembering the conversation. Chet Branson’s name and phone number with a timestamp of five minutes after five the afternoon prior shone on Judas’ face in the dark like a beacon. The phone call itself was strange but remembering the conversation was more so, especially now, given the most recent events.
The pit in the bottom of his stomach was growing. Was Chet the one who tried to murder Paul? He certainly had enough time; there were almost two hours between his call and Eliza’s call to Judas. But why would Paul’s longtime partner and seemingly only friend try to kill him? Judas reasoned why people who just met him would want him dead, but a long time ally? He was missing something.
Judas thought of the mysterious check. There was no way Paul would cut him a check for that amount of money without a solid reason. Hurrying back to the kitchen, he looked the document over carefully for any signs of forgery. But to his dismay, it was printed on a computer with the signature as part of the check writing program; it hadn’t been actually signed by anyone. He threw the piece of paper back on the bar in anger.
The recognizable feeling of dread boiled in his stomach. If Chet was the shooter, there had to be a reason. What had Paul done that his friend decided an execution was the only option? He thought of Eliza. If his suspicions were true, she would be devastated, after all, the Branson’s had been her only family since her mother’s death. Judas didn’t want to be the one to upset her more, especially now, but what choice did he have?
Sleep was no longer on the table. If he was going to be the one to tell Eliza the man she considered as close as an uncle tried to murder her father, he would need more than his gut feeling. Judas redressed and now in the wee hours of the morning, he drove to the office to get his proof.