by Debbie Civil
Chapter 38
Carmen
Something’s not right. The mansion is much too quiet. Well, except for Tia cursing and telling us that we have to hurry up. She leads us into the empty living room and none of us bother sitting. What does she need to show us? Is it a broken window? No all of the windows are intact. Then again, she did scream for Chelsea. Is Peter hurt?
“Sit down,” Tia shrieks and we all obey. I’m between Chelsea and Jill on the couch. Jake sits in the recliner and Tia presses a button which unveils the flat screen. She turns on the television with thee remote and turns it to a news channel. Oh no, we are going to watch more news. This must be about Brent Harris. Despite it all, I’m relaxed. Hearing another one of his stupid stories won’t be so bad. He’s a troubled young man, and I’m pretty much used to it. I make eye contact with Jake and he clearly doesn’t know what to make of this. In answer to my silent query, he shakes his head. We have to sit through two news stories, one about raising gas prices and another about a bear that wandered too close to civilization when we see it. Chelsea catches her breath. I don’t know where to look. I guess Ian Philips has been arrested for purchasing prostitutes. They must have caught up with him in California. His mug shot is still surprising to see.
“Breaking news, Ian Philips has been arrested for the murder of Amy Gallagher.” Everyone is silent. So this is why they’ve arrested my uncle. This can’t be happening, he’s innocent. “Police say that the fourty-five year old bludgeoned his mistress to death two years ago. Kim Marten has the story.” The clip changes to an apartment building in downtown Boston.
“Police say that Ian Philips was living with his friend when he was arrested. This is a far cry from the privilege that the man is used to.” A woman with blonde hair wearing an apron is being interviewed by the reporter.
“Is this a shock to you?”
“Yes. Ian came in here every day to eat lunch. He never struck me as a murderer.” The camera zooms in on the diner that my uncle used to eat at.
“Twenty-seven year old April Smith isn’t alone. Many people are shocked that Philips has been charged. For folks who don’t remember, information about him having twenty-seven prostitutes was leaked to the media. And this video was put on YouTube.” They show a video of Amy and my uncle sucking face.
“This was taken days before he killed her. Amy Gallagher’s twenty-two year old daughter Emma had this to say. Emma is a blonde who doesn’t resemble her mother much. Her eyes are hard and she’s angry.
“I hope the man burns for what he did to my mother. She was a good lady. Mom didn’t deserve that. She… He took her away from us and needs to pay.” Before the reporter can sign off, Chelsea begins screaming. I’m not sure how to help her. She’s already been through so much. Peter’s at Clintons picking up an extra shift. I’m unsure of why he’s bothering to work so hard. But I’m thinking that he wants to provide for his woman, in case the money runs out.
“Chelsea,” I call as I gently stroke her head. My touch seems to calm her. Jill is in shock. Jake has left the room which pisses me off. Tia glances around and seems to decide that my boyfriend had the right idea and bolts.
“He didn’t do it,” my cousin softly tells me. “He didn’t kill her.”
“I know that,” I respond.
“What can I do to help him? My daddy doesn’t belong in jail.” Jill and I both looked surprised. Chelsea isn’t really fond of her parents. Hearing her call her father Daddy, is weird.
“You can help him,” Jill reasons. “If you think he’s innocent, get him a good lawyer. I know a few. I use to volunteer with them,” Jill says softly . Thank God for Jill and her many connections. She’ll know how to clean up this mess. The first thing we need to do is talk to a lawyer. Maybe the legal professional will know what to do.
“Chelsea, we can…”
“Mom won’t let him rot in prison. She loves him,” Chelsea says, interrupting me. “She loves him so much that she was willing to stay with him even after he tried to pull the plug on me. Tiller told me that she can’t live without him. So that’s going to be our first stop, Carmen. We are going to go to her room and talk to her. Come on,” Chelsea orders, tugging on my arm. “Jill, call your lawyer friends. Tell them that money is no object. I’ll pay for all sorts of specialists. This can’t happen,” Chelsea tells Jill. Chelsea’s standing and she’s about to rip my arm out of its socket so I stand with her. When she gets in this kind of mood, the best thing to do is to go along with her. I learned that two years ago while she was dating Adam. The whole thing was crazy! One minute, I’m reading Twilight while Chelsea takes a shower. The plan was to introduce her to my father. He had been more than eager to meet her. In fact, he had been trying to convince Uncle Ian to allow him to see Tiller and Chelsea when they were children but the stubborn man refused. He didn’t want his children feeling bad because I had money and they didn’t. Every year, dad sent each of my cousin’s two hundred dollars for Christmas. I don’t know if Tiller and Chelsea ever got the cards. My guess is that Uncle Ian and Aunt Kate spent all of it. I know that’s horrible to say, but Chelsea hadn’t even recognized me when I entered her room for the first time. And the Christmas cards always featured a family photo of my parents and I dressed in horrible Christmas related costumes.
“Maybe we should talk to my dad,’ I suggest, remembering that Dad had begged me to keep a low profile. Chelsea doesn’t slow. She drags me into the elevator and hits the number four. Ever since the divorce began, Aunt Kate has been staying in the suite right next to my father's. I want to protest when she drags me down the hall, but what’s the use? With or without me, Kate is going to know that I do. In Chelsea’s state of mind, she’s going to start singing it from the roof tops. A loud thud makes me jump. I scan the plush carpeted hallways and don’t see anything. A struggle is coming from Aunt Kate’s room. I rip free of Chelsea’s death grip and burst into her suite and freeze in the doorway. Chelsea’s mother is standing over my father, a potted plant in her hand. She looks surprised to see me.
“Oh, Carmen, he scared me,” she cries. But I know what’s happened. My father probably came to her suite to confront her. I try not to panic but it clogs my throat. Is he dead? No, my father’s groaning and Aunt Kate is getting ready to hit him again with it when I jump into action. Like a wildcat, I charge at her, knocking the skinnier woman down.
“Carmen, get out of here,” Chelsea shouts, but I don’t hear her. She can’t kill my father. That isn’t going to happen.
“At least take the potted plant from her,” Jake curses as he wraps the deadly piece of decoration from her grip.
“Carmen, I’m sorry. Your father just burst in here. He scared me,” she cries. I punch her in the face so hard that I cry out in pain. The manipulative woman shrieks and I’m about to punch her again when I pause. I can’t lose control like this. Dad has been bashed over the head by a stupid flower pot. But I can’t keep my eyes off of the woman either. What am I supposed to do? I’m not a fighter, not like Chelsea. So that means, this woman needs to be restrained. I slowly stand, being sure to keep my feet planted on her stomach. She punches my lower legs but I don’t budge. Instead I grab the blanket that had been resting on the couch and sit right back down on her stomach. I grab her hands and begin to wrap the blanket around them. But there’s no use. She’s apparently a lot stronger than me because she begins to fight and gets loose again. She cracks me across the face with her open palm and I punch her in the nose with my left hand. After all, I’m ambidextrous. She looks surprised by the blow.
“Stop fighting,” I shout at her.
“Get off of me, Carmen,” she shouts back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your father. I have to protect Chelsea,” the woman frantically begs.
“You mean you have to protect yourself. Why are you letting Uncle Ian take the fall?” I shout in her face.
“He knows I did it. He’s taking the fall for me. He wants me to stay here and keep an eye on
Chelsea. Ian knows that he’s going to do some jail time for the prostitution debacle. I can’t go to jail too. Then our children will have no one,” the woman pleads.
“What about attacking my father?” I ask. Guilt flashes in her light brown eyes.
“I wasn’t thinking. He told me that he was going to report me to the police. I had to stop him. So…”
“So you tried to kill him? Kate, you are a monster. Don’t you see? Your solution for everything is killing. Can’t you see that this is wrong? It would have hurt Chelsea if my father would have died. It would have hurt me,” I argue with her.
“How do you know what I did?” Her eyes are full of fear.
“I told her,” Chelsea lies, which confuses me. “I told them all. I wasn’t sure what to do.” So she’s lying? Why? The woman doesn’t have any fight left in her. Aunt Kate begins to sob uncontrollably which relieves me because I don’t like sitting on her. I get to my feet and turn around. Dad is thankfully out of the room. Jake is standing in the doorway, his eyes on my aunt. Chelsea stands beside her, a controlled expression on her face.
“Mom, Dad can’t do this. He can’t take the blame for what you did,” Chelsea insists. “He can’t go to prison. I…” “I never made things right with him.”
“And you want me to go to prison, Chelsea?” Kate cries. “I won’t survive a day in there. I would be raped, beaten, or worse. Please, Chelsea, Please. I can’t go to prison. I can’t go to…”
“I’ll fly you out of the county. You will hide out. You…”
“Will you come with me after the trial is over?” Aunt Kate asks.
“I don’t know. But I will fly you somewhere and then I will find a good lawyer. Dad didn’t do it so it should be easy proving that he didn’t,” Chelsea reasons and I feel sickness in my belly.
“What about Amy? What about my father?” Chelsea ignores me and continues.
“All you have to do is pack and I’ll take care of the rest,” Chelsea says and then she leaves the room.