Colt Crawford - Chapter 9 (Tuesday)

Samantha Woods carefully and deliberately inhaled then slowly let it out, making sure not to disrupt the stitches from her surgery. She looked away from Colt, her eyes fixated on the window. “I know I can have joy, but it is hard.” She paused and thought carefully before continuing. “That’s the thing about Christianity. On one hand I have assurance of my salvation, but on the other, God is constantly refining me by teaching me lessons, sometimes in ways I don’t understand.”

Colt sat quietly, wanting her to continue her explanation. After a few awkward moments he asked, “So, is there any joy in you now?”

“There’s joy that I wasn’t hurt worse. Or killed.”

“But you don’t seem to be throwing a party about being attacked.”

“I think joy is different than excitement,” Samantha said.

“That makes sense.”

“To be honest, though, I don’t have the kind of joy I know I am supposed to have. I always thought I could handle tough times with grace and dignity, but now that the tough times are here, its not as easy as I had envisioned. It’s a process. With time, I will come to appreciate this trial in my life.”

“So you see appreciation as a form of joy?”

“In a way, yes.”

Transforming from investigator to therapist, Colt asked, “Is there something holding you back?”

Samantha wasn’t ready to answer that question yet, although she knew Colt was leading her down a path she would eventually have to follow. Without a word, she casually shrugged her shoulders.

Colt could tell that he had struck a nerve with her. Samantha wasn’t angry with him for asking the questions, but they had caused her to contemplate her situation. The attack and the hospital room were only the most recent events in her life. There had been many other things that had led to her walking out the door of a prestigious law firm on a warm New Year’s Day evening.

Rising from his chair beside the bed, Colt thanked Samantha for sharing with him. He, too, had a lot to consider.

Downstairs in the hospital lobby, Colt’s phone rang quietly in his pocket. It was Krissy. “Hey, I got two things for you,” she said with some excitement.

“Tell me about them.”

“First, I have Creighton’s financial records. You will want to see them.”

“And second,” Colt prodded.

“I called a friend of mine with the campus police at the university. Thought he might know something about college kids who get caught up in gambling. He gave me the names of a couple of kids who are known for their betting habits. I’m going to check them out. Wanna come?”

“I can be there in about ten minutes,” Colt answered. His mind was instantly back on the case. He still had questions about how a person could find joy in the midst of tragedy, but he was able to temporarily push those aside, knowing they would resurface in due time. The few answers he had gotten from Samantha had cleared his mind enough to allow him to move forward once again.