Only Time Will Tell

Conclusion

"Harry, this has to be a joke," Cassy held the document from the District Attorney tightly in her hand as she walked into Harry's office, not waiting for permission.

Harry looked up from the file he was studying and gave her a confused frown. "What?"

"You haven't seen this?" Cassy waved the paper in front of his face, her eyes blazing with fury.

Harry tried to track the rapidly moving paper, but was unable to see what his detective held. He finally reached out and grabbed her wrist, bringing the paper to a halt. He grabbed it from her, making sure to give her his best "over the rim" look of disapproval. Cassy collapsed in the chair across from his desk, a look of defeat on her face.

Harry read the court document silently, immediately understanding the impetus behind his detective's anger. He said nothing for a moment, trying to work through the words he would have to use to calm her rage.

Cassy wasn't that patient. "She's going to get away with it. That woman is going to get away with killing her husband."

Harry looked down at the list of charges in his hands and then back to the woman. "Yes. It appears she is. But she's confessed to what she did to Tom. . .and to you."

"Yeah. . .sure, she confessed, after she made sure to tell everyone of the mental duress she was under. You know as well as I do that she's gonna plead temporary insanity."

Harry nodded, "She might. But your testimony, as well as Tom's, will contradict it."

"But she won't go down for the murder."

"No. The other charges will be the only ones brought," Harry replied flatly.

"Not enough, Harry."

"That's exactly the problem, Sergeant." Harry's voice was stern. "There's not enough evidence to support a murder conviction. It's Tom's word against hers about what she may or may not have confessed to that afternoon."

"So Alexander's just gonna let her walk," Cassy's words were sharp.

"No, she won't walk, St. John. She'll be evaluated on the mental issues and then she'll be sentenced.

Cassy closed her eyes and shook her head. Without saying another word she exited Harry's office as quickly as she had entered. Harry watched the woman grab her purse and leave the squad room. He thought of trying to stop her, but knew that she needed to release the pent-up anger.

Within twenty-four hours of regaining consciousness, Tom had given his statement to the District Attorney's office. Within 36 hours, charges had been filed.

Unfortunately, it was quite apparent that the accusations directed at Janet Cardinal by Tom Ryan regarding the murder of her husband were based more on hunch than on fact. Janet Cardinal emphatically denied any wrongdoing in her husband's death. She continued to claim self-defense. Tom insisted that she had admitted to murdering the man. But there was no hard evidence to support either position.

Circumstantial evidence weighed heavily in the woman's favor. The knife wound on her arm hinted that she had been in a fight with her husband. Tom insisted that it must have been self-inflicted, but nothing supported that supposition. Tom claimed that Janet had overpowered her husband by striking him over the head with the cat statue Tom had given her years ago. Tom even stated he had found a piece of the sculpture lying on the carpet in the living room. But no piece of the statue was found. White particles were embedded in the blood stain on the living room carpet, but without evidence, there was no basis for believing the cat statue had ever existed, let alone that it had been used in an attack.

Harry knew his detective's hunch was right. There was no doubt in his mind that the woman was lying. But what he knew and what he could prove were two different things. And he knew he couldn’t prove murder.

*********************************

Cassy knocked lightly on the doorframe. Tom looked up from the magazine he was reading, a quick smile crossing his face. "Hi Cass!"

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She forced a smile and entered the room.

"Better. Much better, in fact," Tom said, his voice sounding stronger than it had the previous day.

Cassy gave him a quick hug and then stood near the window, allowing the bright sunlight of the hot Florida afternoon to warm her back. This room was so much more cheerful than the one her partner had left behind in ICU.

Cassy looked at all the flowers on the windowsill and across the table near his bed. "It's starting to look like a floral shop in here."

Tom dropped his head, appearing to be slightly embarrassed. "Yeah. I guess I know more people than I thought I did. I don't even know who half of these are from."

Cassy tilted her head, smiling at the look on his face. "Where are your parents?"

"They went to my place to check up on things. Then they were going to go back to their hotel and get some sleep."

"Good, they were looking pretty tired," Cassy sat in the chair next to the bed.

"Speaking of looking tired, you're not looking so hot yourself, hot shot," Tom said, narrowing his eyes at his partner.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Cassy replied.

Tom chuckled slightly, "No. . .I'm trying to avoid that." He stopped and stared at Cassy again. She looked up at him with her clear blue eyes. And then Tom spotted it. The eyes were worried, clear blue eyes.

"What?" Her irritation was apparent.

"What's wrong, Cass?" Tom could see something was bothering the woman. Her problems were always in her eyes.

"Nothing." Cassy lied.

"Cass. . ." Tom scolded, "Don't lie to me."

Cassy sat back in the chair, feeling her ability to fight Tom's questions ebb away.

"I just saw the charges that are going to be brought against Janet," she admitted finally.

Tom tilted his head, "And?"

"And, she's being charged with your kidnapping and two counts of attempted murder." Cassy stopped.

"And murder," Tom added.

Cassy reluctantly shook her head, "No."

"What?" Tom was dumbfounded.

"Alexander has determined there is not sufficient evidence to prove murder. The charges stand on what Janet has already confessed to, your kidnapping and the attempts she made on our lives."

Tom was silent. He didn't know how to respond. "She killed her husband, Cass. She told me so."

"I know," was her only reply. She knew it wasn't enough.

Tom leaned back into the pillows of the bed, suddenly feeling very tired. Cassy stood and moved near the bed, reaching out for his hand. "Tom?"

"Hmm?" Her injured partner responded, his hazel eyes looking up at her.

"Can I. . .can I ask you something?" Cassy's voice became unusually quiet.

Tom frowned at the question. "Sure. . .anything."

"When we. . .when we were divorced, did you feel that I had betrayed you?"

Tom was stunned by the question. It was rare that Cassy ever mentioned the marriage. . .let alone the divorce. And when she did, it was usually to poke fun at him over the property settlement. For Cassy to mention the divorce now meant that something major had happened. Tom swallowed deeply, trying to sort out his words. "Betrayed?" he repeated. Cassy nodded. Tom shook his head, "No. Not betrayed. Hurt. . .confused. . .lost. Yes. But not betrayed."

Cassy moved closer, "Those feelings. . .the hurt. . .do you feel that way about me now?"

Tom looked at his ex-wife, not understanding where the questions were coming from, "Cassy, why are you asking these things?"

Cassy ignored the inquiry, "Thomas, please. Do you feel that way about me now?"

Tom shrugged his shoulders, instantly regretting the movement when his dislocated arm protested. He grimaced slightly in pain. Cassy squeezed his hand in concern. "Boy that smarts," he groaned. He looked at Cassy and saw that she was still waiting for an answer. Sighing, he replied with a simple, "No."

An odd look crossed Cassy's face, "You forgave me?"

"Huh?" Tom decided that his pain and exhaustion must be the reasons the conversation was so difficult to follow.

"After everything I did to you. . . all the pain I caused you. You forgave me." It was no longer a question, but a statement of fact.

Tom pulled Cassy onto the bed so that she was sitting, facing him. "Cassy, what's going on here. Why these questions?"

Cassy's eyes dropped to her hand intertwined with Tom's. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. . .about the marriage. . .and the divorce." Tom nodded, but said nothing. Cassy continued. "I blamed the divorce on you. I accused you of cheating."

Tom shook his head, "Cass, we've been through this. . ."

Cassy interrupted him, "I know now you didn't. But then, I was sure you had and I made damned sure you paid for betraying me. I wanted to hurt you. I wanted you to feel the pain that I was going through."

Tom started to speak again, but Cassy brought her hand to his lips, silencing him. "Don't. Let me finish. My anger was used against me, Tom. I allowed Janet to manipulate me into thinking that you had cheated on me. I know now that you didn't. I was so wrong for not listening to you. And yet, after everything I did. . .after everything I accused you of. . .you forgave me. You stood by me. You agreed to partner with me."

"Cass. . ." Tom tried to speak again, but Cassy interrupted him.

"The other day, Janet told me that she would seek your forgiveness for what she did to you. I told her that she was a fool to expect you to be so giving. Do you know what she said?"

Tom looked at her in confusion, still not understanding the source of Cassy's emotions. He shook his head. Cassy smiled slightly, "She said. 'He forgave you.' And you know what? She's right. I betrayed you. . .she betrayed you. You forgave me. . .you'll forgive her. That's the way you are. But what that also means is that I'm her. I used you. . .caused you pain. . .sought revenge against you because of a perceived betrayal. That's all Janet did. We are no different."

Cassy closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek. Tom was stunned. How could this woman. . .his partner. . .his best friend. . .be so wrong. He reached out his hand and cupped her cheek in his palm. "Cassy, look at me." Cassy didn't respond. With more power, Tom repeated, "Cassy. . .look at me."

Cassy opened the electric blue eyes, eyes that were bright with unshed tears. . .eyes that held her pain.

"No Cassy. I didn't forgive you." Tom said softly.

Cassy's eyes opened wide with shock. Tom had to bite his tongue to keep from chuckling at the look he received, despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Cassy, I didn't forgive you because there was nothing to forgive. We thought we were in love. Hell, we probably were in love at one time. We grew apart. It happens. We had disagreements. . .they happen. We fought over stuff. . .that happens. But neither of us were right. . .neither of us were wrong. We were just part of that half of the American population that couldn't make a marriage work. I only wish I knew things then that I know now."

Cassy's eyes had dropped back down to her hands. She was unable to believe the words she was hearing from her ex-husband. "Like what?"

"Like what not to do when your marriage is on the rocks. I made some stupid decisions about our relationship. . .like becoming friends with Janet."

Cassy allowed herself a brief laugh, "I won't argue with you on that one."

"Didn't figure you would," Tom smiled. "Cassy, you are as different from Janet Angelini. . .Cardinal. . .whatever, as day is from night. You care about people. You have the strength of your convictions. You are willing to sacrifice yourself for others. . .for me. And I love you for that. I always will."

Tom pulled his partner into a one-armed hug, scooting over on the bed to make room for her to sit beside him. Leaning into his uninjured side, Cassy let her head rest against his shoulder.

"You love me, huh," she whispered, fighting the tears of relief that were beginning to spill over her eyelids.

"Yep. Always will," he leaned down a placed a quick kiss on her temple, avoiding contact with the scratches.

"There was nothing to forgive?"

"Nope. Not a thing."

Cassy's voice dropped down to a very soft level, "Will you forgive Janet?"

Tom's breath hitched. "Why?"

"I have to know, Thomas. I have to know whether you can forgive her for what she did to you. . .for what she did to us."

Tom said nothing for a long while, then he took a deep breath and responded with a simple, "I might. . .in time."

Cassy closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I knew you would say that. You can't help it. It's part of your genetic structure. You have to be the white knight. That's why I love you too, Ryan."

The end