Epilogue
Three weeks later…
Nina walked into the front door of her apartment, tossing her purse on the table and kicking off her shoes. Padding in bare feet, she entered the kitchen to find something to eat. It had been a long day, but she was satisfied with the progress that had been made on her mother’s cold case.
After the detectives in Dallas had reopened the case file, they’d reprocessed the evidence that had lain dormant for the past twenty-eight years. DNA testing was more sophisticated now, and new testing proved the remnants of her mother’s clothing contained skin cells that matched Robert Cartland.
Robert hadn’t confessed to the murder yet, but he admitted to learning about Anna’s pregnancy through his brother, who in turn had learned the news from Ellen Carter.
Robert had claimed Corrine came to him, asking him to learn about Anna.
At that point, he claimed she’d taken matters into her own hands, but the cops didn’t believe him.
Digging into Robert Cartland’s background, they discovered his girlfriend had overdosed on drugs.
The officers on the scene of that death had suspected Robbie had provided the drugs, but surprising testimony from Corrine Kimbal implicated someone else.
Even more interesting, Corrine’s father, who was the founding partner of the defense firm, Kimbal and Wilson, had represented Robbie.
Based on that, the detectives now believed that Corrine had helped Robbie out of his jam, and in return demanded he get rid of Anna Lange.
It also made sense that Robbie hadn’t wanted to kill an innocent baby, leaving her to survive.
Maybe Corrine hadn’t cared, until she learned her husband had included illegitimate children in his trust. Nina figured it was only a matter of time before Robbie Cartland confessed.
Another interesting discovery was that the handwriting on the note her father had received did not match her mother’s.
Ellen Carter had handed over her yearbook where Anna had penned a note.
A handwriting expert believed Corrine had written the note with her left hand, after hours of practicing as it looked decent.
A search on Corrine’s computer revealed the DNA site Nina had used to find her uncle Mark. Corrine’s disposable phone had made several calls to Zane Cartland. The theory was that Corrine hired Zane to kill Mark before he could say anything to Nina.
Zane Cartland had already confessed to being there when Fletcher killed her Uncle Mark.
Zane claimed Kirk Fletcher was the gunman who shot up the Sunset Motel as well.
Easy enough to blame all the killing on the guy who was dead, but the information was still helpful.
The DA’s office had offered Zane a deal to testify against Corrine, mostly to boost their case against Diego Sanchez.
After Corrine’s arrest, Sanchez had accepted a plea deal for life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years.
Nina personally hoped Sanchez’s parole would never get approved, but at least his sentence was long enough to keep the people of Texas safe in the interim.
The last piece of the puzzle was to understand why her uncle Mark had felt responsible for Nina’s mother’s death.
The only thing she could come up with was that he’d always thought her mother was killed because of his drug connections.
Not because of Corrine. Unfortunately, she’d never know for sure what was going through her uncle’s mind.
A knock at her door had her closing the fridge. She hurried over to answer, surprised to see Jackson standing there. He smiled warmly when he saw her, then pulled her in for a kiss. “Hey, Nina.”
“Did we have a date I forgot about?” She tipped her head to the side. “I thought you were on a case?”
“Finished early and came straight here.”
She stepped back to let him in. “I wish I could offer you dinner, but my fridge is a little bare.”
“I’ll spring for dinner.” He caught her hand and tugged her into the living room. “But first I have something to ask.”
“What’s that?” She was about to sit, but Jackson caught her off guard by going down on one knee.
“Nina, will you please marry me?” Jackson opened a small velvet ring box and held it out to her. “I love you very much. The last few weeks have been amazing, but they’re also not enough. I want more. I want you as my wife and to have a family with you.”
Her eyes misted with tears. Happy tears. “Yes, Jackson.” She laughed when he jumped up to hug her. “Yes, I’d be honored to marry you.”
“Don’t make me wait too long,” he whispered in her ear.
Then stood back to slip the beautiful diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.
He searched her gaze. “I wish I could have met your adopted parents. I know you’re still getting to know your biological father, but I asked Doug for permission to marry you. He gave us his blessing.”
“That was nice of you to ask him.” She had come to forgive her father for not being strong enough to fight for her mother.
She believed Doug would never have wanted Anna to die, let alone known that she had been brutally killed, leaving Nina an orphan.
Nina had a wonderful life, so it was easy to move forward from here.
Her father had filed for divorce from Corrine, which in her opinion was too little, too late.
Yet he had a son to worry about, too. Maybe she was being too hard on him.
If he hadn’t known her mother was pregnant, then he’d done the right thing in sticking by Corrine.
Maybe she’d ask Doug to give her away at the wedding. But that was a decision for later. For now, the man before her was more important. She gazed into Jackson’s dark eyes. “I love you, Jackson. More than I thought possible.”
“I love you, too.” He kissed her again.
As Nina nestled in Jackson’s embrace, she knew her adopted parents were gazing down at them with approval. She was certain they’d have loved Jackson as much as she did.
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