“Hey, they’re not going to let me be in here while you’re giving your statement, but I wanted to bring you these,” Reed said as he crept into the interview room. He had a can of ginger ale and a small pack of crackers. “I thought these might help settle your stomach a bit.”
“Thank you,” I smiled at the thoughtful gesture. There was no way I was going to be able to stomach the crackers, but there was no way I would have told him that. The ginger ale was exactly what I needed, however.
The detective did an excellent job in making me feel at ease. I came into the interview anxious that I was going to be hammered with questions like you see when they’re questioning suspects on The First 48. I think he could tell that I was nervous as well.
“Hannah, I just want you to know that you don’t have to be nervous,” Detective Carson told me from the very beginning. “You haven’t done anything wrong so I just want you to take a deep breath and tell me everything that you remember from the night your mother passed away.”
For some reason, those words were helpful to me and allowed me to speak calmly without my thoughts being clouded by nervousness. I told the detective everything I remembered from my dream. I told him about the relationship my father and I had growing up and how close we were. I told him about how my dad would come and see me in my room some nights after my mother went to bed. I went over how my mother caught him in my room that night and how the argument started. I finished by telling him about seeing my mother lying on the floor in the front room when my dad took me from the house for the day and not mentioning another word about her until we got home and he acted shocked to find her there.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today, Hannah,” the detective told me after I had put my memories down on paper. “I know how hard this must have been for you, but I want you to know that you’ve done the right thing.”
“What’s going to happen to my dad?”
“Well, I’m going to bring him in and question him about what happened.”
“He’s going to deny it. Once you tell him that all of this information came from me, he’ll deny it and tell you I’m a liar. I’m not lying. I swear I’m not.”
“I believe you, Hannah. I really do. We are actually going to try a different strategy here. We’re going to tell him that we received an anonymous tip that led to us exhuming the body of his wife. We’re going to tell him that during the autopsy, we found evidence that led to us reopening the case with him as the only suspect. I’m going to let him believe we have evidence without actually saying we do. Hopefully, he’ll crack and confess. It’s a longshot but it’s what we have to work with for now. We’ll be in touch if we need anything else from you.
8
Hannah
The interview went much better than I could have ever dreamed. In a way, it was very therapeutic for me. The detective could have looked at my story and dismissed it immediately, especially since so much time had passed. Instead, I felt as though he validated my memories, and in a strange way, almost felt like he was helping me escape the pain that I’d been holding in for so long.
I didn’t expect anything to happen after the interview. I figured my father, in his typical fashion, would meet with the detective, answer all of his questions nonchalantly, and deny any wrongdoing in the case. My dad never had to be held accountable for anything in his life, so why would the murder of my mother be any different?
My mind had me convinced that nothing was going to happen, so it came as a huge surprise when the detective called me a few days later.
“Hannah, do you have any time to come in and talk about the case today?”
“Um, I’m not really sure. I mean, I do, but I don’t really have anything else I can tell you. I told you everything I remember so if you have more questions, I don’t think I’ll be able to help.”
“No, there’s actually been a development in the case and I need you to come in so we can go over it,”
Reed had come into the room to see what was going on. I whispered what the detective had just told me. Reed told me to tell him we’d be right there.
“All right, I’ll come right now.”
* * *
Unlike when I was giving my statement, Reed was allowed to come into the room with me. This time, however, we weren’t stuck in an interrogation room and instead, we were able to sit in the detective’s office.
“Thanks for coming in again, Hannah. I know this has been hard on you and I just wanted to let you know that we’re going to be closing this case.”
“I figured. Thank you so much for listening to me and my story. I didn’t think anything could be done, but at least I know I did what I could.”
“No, I don’t think you understand. We are closing this case and getting you the justice you should have received a long time ago.”
“Wait a minute. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that your father is in the very interrogation room you were in yesterday writing out his statement. He confessed, Hannah. He thought we had real evidence against him. His admission is going to allow us to charge him with first-degree murder.”
I was glad I was sitting down because the room had suddenly started to spin. Did this mean what I thought it meant?
“He confessed?”
“Yes, he cracked under the pressure. He admitted to pushing her down the stairs. He said he only intended to hurt her. He wanted to scare her more than anything, but I feel like he was just trying to save himself.”
“I can’t believe this. After all this time, he admitted to killing her? Is there any way I can see him?”
“Normally, that’s not allowed, but I think we can make an exception in this case. I’m not supposed to do this, so I’m going to have to turn off the cameras before I let you in there. He’s handcuffed to the table and will remain handcuffed as long as you are in there.”
* * *
The look on my father’s face as I walked into the interrogation room spoke volumes more than any words he could have spoken. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me as though to ask how it was possible that I was there. He knew I shouldn’t have been there. He knew that I was supposed to be long gone. His face said it all.
“Why dad? Why did you do this? Why did you come in my room all those years ago? You made me believe we were so close with all the silly little games we would play. I had no idea you were grooming me to make your move.”
He sat there quietly. He was facing me, but it felt as though he was looking through me instead of at me.
“What was going to happen if mom hadn’t come into my room that night? There was something different about you that evening. I remember it so clearly. Was that the night you were going to move things along a little further?”
Still nothing. No tears, no attempts at an explanation. Nothing at all.
“What about what you did to mom? You used me as part of your cover story. Do you have any idea how much that fucked me up? Do you have any clue what kind of damage that has done to me? Is she your only victim? Do you have more blood on your hands that I don’t even know about? How about the things you were going to do to me? You were a pedophile. I can’t believe I couldn’t see it. Or are you still a pedophile. Are there others since me, dad? Have you touched any other little kids like you tried to do with me?”
Tears were stinging my eyes and I was trying very hard to keep it together to make sure I said everything I wanted to say because I might not get another chance.
“You’re the reason I’ve allowed so much abuse into my life. I’ve never told you but the men I’ve been with have been abusive. I’ve been with men who have hit me, and I’ve stayed with them. I’ve been with men who have sexually assaulted me, and I’ve stayed with them. I’ve been with men who have treated me like I was nothing and stayed with them. Do you know why? Because that’s what you taught me that love was. Because of you, I thought that was just something I had to put up with in order to not be alone all the fucking time!”
/>
My dad began looking around the room, anxious for a way out, but there wasn’t one.
“It took a long time, but I’ve finally had my eyes opened. And do you know what it took? You giving me up to be sold into sex slavery. Do you hear me, dad? The auction was to sell me into sex slavery! You don’t look surprised. That’s because you already knew this, didn’t you? You were surprised that I walked in here today, huh dad? You thought you’d never ever see me again. How in the fuck can you live with yourself?”
He sat there stone-faced, which was only pissing me off. Reed could tell that I was ready to start swinging or something, so he grabbed me by the arms and led me towards the door of the room. As he walked by, Reed bent down and whispered into my father’s ear.
“You better not even try to get out of this one. I’m hoping you’re put to death for what you did to your daughter. You better hope you at least go to prison for the rest of your life because if you ever see the streets again, I’m going to kill you myself.”
9
Reed
Looking at Hannah during the car ride back to the house, I knew that we were at a crossroad. One direction had the fairytale ending. The happily ever after that everyone seeks but rarely finds. The other direction was exactly the opposite. Turning that way led to loneliness and regret, but at least those were both feelings I was used to. Being happy with someone was so foreign to me, I had doubts about whether or not I’d be able to make anything work.
“Are you okay?” Hannah asked as we cruised down the highway. “You’re being very quiet.”
“I’m fine,” I lied, not wanting her to know about the thoughts in my head after what had to be a very rough meeting with her dad. “I figured you might need to process everything that happened so I was keeping quiet so you could do that.”
“I appreciate that, Reed, but it’s really not necessary. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel alive. I feel like this huge weight has been lifted from my chest and I can breathe again.”
“That’s a good thing,” I replied, not sure what else to say from there.
Hearing her talk about how great she felt and how she felt alive was heartbreaking to me. Not because I didn’t want her to feel that way, because I did. I wanted nothing but happy times for Hannah, but our bond was created in the darkness and she was heading for the light.
It was at that moment that I realized I was going to have to let her go. She wasn’t the submissive for me and she sure as fuck deserved someone who would treat her a whole hell of a lot better than I would be able to.
* * *
“Reed, do you think we could talk for a minute?” Hannah asked about an hour after we returned from the police station.
“Of course,” I replied. I joined her in the study and took a seat in the chair across from her. “What’s up?” I asked, but I knew what this was going to be about. I could tell by her body language in the car that she had been thinking about the same things I had been.
“I don’t really know how to say this. A lot of things happened today and I’m trying to process it all, but I’m having trouble doing that because there’s one thing occupying my mind.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
“With all of this happening, I was wondering where this is going to leave everything with us.”
“Yeah, I’ve put a lot of thought behind that as well.”
“You have?”
“Well, yeah. Don’t forget, this all started because I noticed you out and about.”
“That’s true. So if you’ve been thinking about it a lot, have you come to any type of conclusion?”
“I have, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily the conclusion that either of us wants it to be.”
“What do you mean? We control our own destiny. Why couldn’t we have exactly what we want?” she asked, looking as though she was about to get upset.
“It’s not that easy, Hannah.”
“What do you mean? It really is that easy. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Listen, let’s talk about this for a minute. You know that I’m a Dom. This is something that we established very early on.”
“Yes, and I think we also established that I make a very good submissive.”
“You do, but is that really the type of life you want to live? One where you submit to someone?”
“Reed, I’ve been submissive my whole life. I’m used to it.”
“It’s not enough to be used to it, Hannah. Being a true submissive is about wanting to be submissive. It has to be a need. It has to be something you crave. I know you say you’re used to it, but you’re so strong and independent, even if you don’t realize it. I wouldn’t want to ruin you.”
“Do you really think it would be ruining me? After today, I realized that I was much stronger than I ever realized. Have I been in relationships where I submitted to my partner? Yes, but I wasn’t doing it by choice. I was submitting because that’s how I thought things were supposed to be. Things with you are so much different. I submit to you because I want to submit to you. I submit to you because you make me feel safe and secure. I submit to you because there’s no place I’d rather be than kneeling before you.”
I hadn’t realized she felt so strongly about not just me as a person, but me as a Dom. I wanted to end the conversation right there and tell her she could be my submissive for as long as she wanted to be, but that wouldn’t be fair to her. There was still more that she needed to hear.
“There’s something else though, Hannah. I’m more than just a Dom. I’m also a sadist. Nothing gets me off more than inflicting pain on my partner. It gives me pleasure. That’s the side of me you saw the other day. I never intended to show you that side of me, but I couldn’t keep it hidden no matter how hard I tried. It brought out the worst in me and I could tell you didn’t like it.”
“Well, no, but that might be because it was something I wasn’t used to. Over time, I’m sure I could grow to enjoy it. Just knowing that it gives you pleasure is enough for me to give it a real shot.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Hannah. I wish it did, but it doesn’t. As a sadist, I need a masochist. The greatest joy a sadist could ever have would be finding a masochist that enjoys the pain. I need someone who not only enjoys it, but craves and loves the taste of the pain that I can inflict. It’s not something you can learn to like. You have to either love it or you don’t You’ve been a great submissive. In fact, if I wasn’t a sadist, you’d be the perfect submissive for me. Unfortunately, you’re not a masochist and as much as I hate to say it, that means you aren’t meant for. It means I’m not meant for you. As much as I want this, it means we aren’t meant for each other.”
Hannah wouldn’t look at me. Instead, her gaze was locked unto the floor. It was only a matter of time before she was crying and as I couldn’t witness that. I was already broken and knowing I hurt her so deeply would destroy me inside. Without saying another word, I walked out of the room.
10
Reed
My phone was ringing at 6:00 am on Saturday morning. I’m not typically a late riser, but there had been too many emotions coursing through my body all week that I was mentally and physically exhausted. I answered with a greeting that was part hello and part grunt.
“Reed, I wanted to call and make you guys aware of a new development in the Sullivan case. Dr. Sullivan has been in meetings with the District Attorney all night and it looks like they’re about to strike a deal.”
“A deal? What kind of deal? Is that mother fucker going to be able to walk?”
“Oh no, nothing like that. The DA announced that he had plans to seek the death penalty on Dr. Sullivan. Almost as soon as that statement was made, the DA received a call from Dr. Sullivan’s lawyer to find out if they could strike a deal.”
“I don’t understand. What kind of deal could possibly be made?”
“He’s rolling over on everyone, Reed.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to
fax you over a copy of the report from the DA as soon as it crosses my desk.
Later that afternoon, the fax came screeching across my line. I hadn’t told Hannah about the conversation because I wanted to know exactly what was going on first. My hands shook as I read the report.
On Friday evening, a call was received from Joel Henderson, the attorney for Dr. Robert Sullivan. Mr. Henderson stated that he had watched a press conference in which representatives for the district attorney’s office announced that they would be seeking the death penalty against Dr. Sullivan. Mr Henderson asked if he and Dr. Sullivan could meet with me as soon as possible to discuss a potential deal. I informed him that our office had no intention of making a deal with his client and he replied with: “You should reconsider that. You’re going to want to hear this.”
I went to the station where I met with Detective Carson. Detective Carson gave me the run down of what he knew and let me know that Dr. Sullivan had refused to speak to him, stating that he was only willing to give the information to me.
When I walked into the interview room, his attorney stood up and started speaking before I had a chance to take my seat.
“In exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table and the ability to plead guilty in return for life in prison, my client is willing to give you all the information he has about The Heartwell Organization.”
When questioned about who and what The Heartwell Organization consisted of, he informed me that it’s a sex trafficking outfit which fronts as a legitimate corporation.
He admitted to taking part in the organization for the first few years, luring two to three women into sex trafficking each year, His conscious got the better of him and he stepped away, but the organization didn’t want to let him go.
Broken: Book 3 of The Owned Series Page 4