“He started choking me, just long enough to take my breath away. I think he wanted to show me he had control over me. If dinner was late or wasn’t what he wanted, his hands would go straight to my throat, and he’d squeeze. Sometimes, I’d dig my nails into his arms to try to make him stop, but sometimes I didn’t do anything… maybe because I wanted it to just stop, you know?”
We all nodded our heads in agreement.
“When I stopped fighting back, he upped the ante. He started kicking and punching me. In the stomach, in the back of the head, pretty much anywhere hidden by clothes. It hurt, but I took it. Until… he kicked me in the stomach and killed our unborn baby.” She dabbed her eyes with the tissue. “That was the day I stopped loving him.” She blew her nose. “I wanted so badly to be a mom, and he stole it from me. I hated him for it. I could barely stand to look at him.”
“Oh, Lily, I’m so sorry.” I pushed the tears off my face with my sleeve.
“When I stopped having sex with him, he started raping me. I didn’t know it was rape until recently when I talked with the domestic violence advocate. I figured I was his wife, it couldn’t be rape. But I was wrong. The bastard raped me. I got pregnant again but had a miscarriage, that one was probably due to stress. I wasn’t sad about it, I was grateful I wouldn’t have to try to protect my baby from such a monster. But I still didn’t leave him.” She closed her eyes, and her head fell as she shook it. “Nope, that wasn’t enough. He maxed out all of my credit cards and drained the bank accounts, so I had no access to money. I couldn’t have left if I wanted to. I depended on him for everything. Thinking about it makes me sick now.
“I got a call from some woman, telling me she was messing around with my husband. I just laughed. I told her she could have him. When he found out about my reaction, he beat me so bad, I ended up here, at the hospital. I have broken ribs, a broken nose, and broken blood vessels. He left me for dead. I think he really thought he had killed me this time. When I heard his truck pull out of the driveway, I called 911. It was the first time I ever called for help. I had always been too afraid to call before, but this time, I knew I would have died if I didn’t.” She blew her nose again. “And that’s how I ended up here… more or less.”
“Wow, I can relate to so much of your story.” Sonya’s eyes bugged open as she reached toward the ceiling in a stretch.
“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s an awful way to live. You’re so young. But I guess I was, too, when it all started.”
“Do you think boyfriends can rape you?” Sonya stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with any of us.
“Yes. Just because you are in a relationship with someone, doesn’t mean they are entitled to sex whenever or wherever they want it.” I knew where her question was headed, and I didn’t like the feeling it was leaving me with.
“Hmmm. Interesting.” Sonya began rocking back and forth in her chair.
“Are you alright, Sonya?” Norma put her hand on Sonya’s knee, making Sonya shoot up out of her chair.
“Yes. Of course, I am. I just got to get back to work.”
“Sonya, why don’t you sit back down and talk to us before you bolt out of here.” I stood up to help guide her back to her seat.
“No. I.... ah… don’t really feel like it right now. I just got to get to work.”
She brushed past me and out the door. I took her hand in an attempt to slow her down, but she brushed me off. “Don’t touch me.”
As she jogged down the hall, I took a couple steps toward her. “I’m sorry, Sonya.” My head hung down in defeat.
“I hope I didn’t say something to upset her.” Lily looked around the circle.
“Oh, no, dear, Sonya just has a lot on her mind.”
My eyes met Norma’s. “She does?”
“Of course, she does, dear, why else would she be here?”
“I hope you’re right. I’m worried about her.”
“She’ll be fine, dear. Don’t you worry.”
But I was worried. It wasn’t like Sonya to act like that. I understood she didn’t want to talk about it, but for her to run off like that made me worry… a lot. And Norma? How did she seem to know all this inside information? It felt like Norma should be the one leading this group, not me. There were many days I didn’t think these meetings would help anyone if it weren't for her. Norma was like a gift handed to me from God. Just her presence was enough to calm my nerves. There was no way I could have made it through the first meeting without her.
And her kindness was almost angel-like. Being with Norma reminded me of the kind of relationship I wished I had with my mom. She was who I wanted to see when things didn’t go right, and who I wanted to share the exciting things with.
But why was she here? After all this time, she still hadn’t shared anything about her past. Not one thing. I didn’t even know if she had children. She never talked about her family or friends. It seemed as though she just existed in this little reality of ours. Whatever the reason she was here, I was grateful. She was one of the best friends I’d ever had.
“Dear, are you alright?” Norma’s sweet voice shook me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah.” I shot her a smile. “Sorry, I was just… thinking.”
“Of course, dear. Lily shared some hard stuff.”
“Yes, that’s true. Lily, how are you holding up?” I turned my attention to Lily.
“I’m fine.” She twisted at the tissue in her hand. “I just feel bad, like I said something to upset Sonya.”
“Oh, honey, don’t ever feel bad for sharing your story.” Norma turned to face Lily. “Sonya just has some things she hasn’t faced yet. I bet hearing your story helped her.”
I felt myself nodding my head. “Norma’s right. It helps us all to hear what other people have gone through, and it helps to know we’re not alone.”
“That’s true. These ladies have really helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. Don’t be afraid to share with us. We know how it feels to have some asshole take everything away from us.” Maggie showed the most animation I had ever seen her display.
“Thanks, that helps. After I shared, I felt like I kind of traumatized all of you.” Lily dropped her head.
“Nah… these walls have heard a lot.” Maggie smiled. “You should come by for tea and we can catch you up.”
“Oh, that would be lovely. We can get to know each other. Val, you’re welcome to stop by, too.” Norma’s face lit up with a smile.
“That’s very sweet of you, Norma.” And there she was again, making everyone feel welcome and connected. “This is such a great group.”
“We are a pretty great group.” Maggie shifted herself in her seat, still with a smile on her face. I was so glad Seth was out of the picture. I still wanted to know who got to him before I did, but some heroes go unrecognized.
Chapter Thirteen
As I walked into the hospital, I felt my phone vibrate. When I pulled it out of my jacket pocket, I saw it was Tim. We had only left each other minutes before. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, when I got to the office, I had an email from the adoption agency waiting for me. I couldn’t wait to tell you.” Enthusiasm emitted from his voice.
My heart skipped a beat as I tried to find the words. “For real?”
“Yeah, and they asked me to call them. I just didn’t want to do it without you. Did you ever call them?”
“I called them first thing Monday morning but had to leave a message. I thought they’d call me, but I did give them permission to talk with you.”
“I’ll be right over.” He hung up before I had a chance to offer to go to him.
As the minutes ticked by, all the worst-case scenarios played out before me. Why did they reach out to Tim and not me? Maybe they found him and he didn’t want to be bothered. Perhaps he told them he never wanted to talk to me. Or maybe they found him and he was dead. The knock on my door helped push the thoughts out of my head.
When I o
pened it, Tim had his hand up to knock again. “Whoa, you surprised me. Those better be happy tears.”
I pushed the tears off my face with my sleeves. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“Don’t go to those bad places, Val. I have a feeling this is good news.”
I cleared out the chair in front of my desk and handed him the phone. “I hope so, I don’t think I can take anything else.”
Tim dialed the number as I pulled my chair over to sit next to him. “This is Detective Tim Phillips, I had a message to call Tammy Weston.” As he waited to have his call transferred, he pushed my hair out of my face and smiled at me. “Hi, Tammy, I received your email about the Williamson case, and I actually have Ms. Williamson here with me. Can I put you on speakerphone?” He hit the button before hanging up the receiver.
“Hi Ms. Williamson, can you guys hear me okay?”
I nodded my head.
“Yes, we can hear you just fine,” Tim answered.
“I did get your message, Ms. Williamson, and since you gave me permission to look into your case and work with Detective Philips, I went ahead and found your file. I was able to locate it.”
“You found it?” I leaned forward as I talked into the speaker.
“Yes, I did, and I was able to locate your son’s adoptive family.”
“That’s great.” Tim gave me a thumbs up.
“His family said they would like to talk with him first, but they don’t think it should be a problem. They said he has actually been looking for you, too.”
Tim smiled and mouthed, “I told you so.”
“He has? I didn’t expect that.”
“Yes, his adoptive family told me they kept the note and necklace you gave him when you… when they received him.”
I reached up and rubbed my necklace. “So, he’s not mad at me?”
“It doesn’t sound like it. If it’s okay with you, I’ll send the contact information to Detective Phillips’s email. You can reach out to the family directly.”
“Thank you. That would be great.” Tim looked over at me and smiled.
“You guys got lucky, these files were in the to be shredded box. It was the last box I looked in, but something told me not to give up.”
“Thank you for your help and for making Val’s dream come true.”
“Hey, it’s the least we can do. From the file, it sounds like Ms. Williamson was railroaded. I hope this is everything you have hoped for.”
Tim reached over, picked up, and released the receiver to turn off the call. “I told you we’d find him.”
With my necklace still between my fingers, I imagined meeting my son and learning about everything I missed out on. “I can’t believe I’m going to meet him.”
“Believe it, Val. How cool is it he wanted to find you, too? I’m so glad they found your file.” He reached over and kissed me. “I’ll let you know as soon as she emails me. It’s within reach, Val. You’ll have your son back before you know it.”
“I love you so much, Tim. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.” I scrunched up my nose to hold off the tears.
“I’m glad you gave me a chance. You’ve made my life so much better being in it. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
“You’re too good to be true. I hope I can make you as happy as you’ve made me.”
After Tim returned to work, I thought about the lies I’d been keeping from him, and about the side of me he didn’t know. Guilt poured over me as I imagined him finding out the pieces of myself I hid from him. There was no way he would love Stephanie Mills, or approve of the things she did. I’d either have to stop or learn to be more careful.
Chapter Fourteen
The front page of the Village News caught my attention as I walked into the grocery store. “Second Murder in less than two weeks in Lawrenceville.” Intrigued and alarmed, I picked up the paper and put it in my basket. When I finished shopping and had the bags loaded in my car, I pulled out the paper to finish reading the story.
Joseph Swift, 45, was found dead in his apartment with a single gunshot wound. The rest of the article went on about how he lived alone and had just been released from jail. There was no mention of what crime had sent him to prison. The similarities made me wonder if maybe the same person had killed both men, or if it was a coincidence.
Curious as to what Mr. Swift’s offense was, I typed his name into the search bar on my phone. An article published the previous week was the first to come up. When I clicked on the link, I saw he had served five years for molesting a child and was on the sex offender registry. Back in the search results was the link to his registry photo. Clicking on the link brought me to a page of information about him, including his address.
I could see why someone would want to kill him, especially if his victim’s family knew he was released. Having access to his address seemed like the perfect ending to his freedom. It was only fair people were notified of his whereabouts. I couldn’t see the correlation between him and Seth. A sex offender and a drug dealer. I thought about what could connect them, and what made these two men become front-page news. It couldn’t have been the wrong place, the wrong time since they were both at home. I knew Tim would be eager to talk about the details, as long as I didn’t make it too obvious.
I placed the newspaper on the table as I put the rest of the groceries away and waited for Tim to arrive for dinner. It was one of the few times we’d be eating a home-cooked meal and not take out, but we had a lot to celebrate. After putting the finishing touches on the lasagna, I placed it in the oven and started the salad. “Gabriel, can you believe I’m cooking?” He sat perched on the kitchen chair as he watched me slice the cucumber. “This might be a first for us, buddy. I used to love to cook in home economics. If it wasn’t for Mrs. C and Gram, I would never have learned how to cook, bake, or sew or any of the important things.” The memories brought a smile to my face as I dropped the cherry tomatoes onto the lettuce bed. “I guess I’ve got to start practicing more if I’m going to have a family.”
The squeak of the door opening made me drop the knife. “Shit.” I backed away as it fell between my feet.
“Whoa, easy, Val.” Tim’s laugh put the smile back on my face. “It smells great in here.” He handed me a bouquet of pink roses and a bottle of red wine. “I wasn’t sure if you even like this stuff but thought we could give it a shot… you know, since it’s a special occasion.”
I wiped my hands on my apron and took the flowers. “Thank you, they’re beautiful.” I gave him a kiss before putting them into a vase. “I’m not a wine drinker, but I’ll give it a shot. I never knew what all the fuss was about. I’d rather have a few cold ones.”
“That’s my girl.” Tim laughed. “You don’t have to drink it.” His eyes went to the paper as he set the bottle on the table. “Did you read this yet?”
“Oh, that? Yeah, I just skimmed it. Crazy, right?”
“Just a little. Can you believe we can go from a sleepy little town to the next Dateline episode?”
“What do you mean? Do you think they’re related?”
“Ah, it’s too soon to say. The cause of death is similar, both single, white guys, but that’s about all. It’s probably just a vigilante.”
“What are your feelings about vigilantes?” I held my breath as I waited for his answer.
“That’s a hard question.” His hand went to his chin as he thought. “On one hand, I can understand why they do what they do, especially if they have been wronged by some dirtbag. But how does what they do make them any different than the people they are killing?”
His words stung as they hit my ears. “You honestly think that makes them the same?” My tone was harsher than I intended.
“No, not the same. It’s just complicated. These guys had people who loved them, and their deaths leave people hurting. Yeah, what they did wasn’t right…”
“Wasn’t right?” I slammed down the pepper grinder I was holding and turned to
face him. “This new guy, what’s his name? Swift? He was a child molester. Do you know what that does to a kid? Because I sure as hell do.”
“Whoa, hold on, Val, I didn’t say…”
“No, you didn’t need to. You said enough.”
“Please, Val. Hear me out. I said it was complicated.” He took a step closer to me and stopped. “I can understand wanting to harm someone who hurt someone you love. I get it. The minute you told me about Chad, I wanted to make him pay. All I’m saying is I don’t think you can solve anything with violence.”
“Well, I guess that’s where we’re different. If someone hurt someone I love, I don’t think I’d stop until I knew they had paid their debt.”
“But, this guy, he just got out of jail. He did pay…”
“You can’t be serious. He did five years. Do you know how long his victim has to pay the debt they didn’t even ask for?” The heat of the conversation pushed tears to the surface. “For the rest of their god damn life.”
“Ah, Val. I don’t want to fight. I can see your point.” He finished walking to me and pulled me into a hug. “I guess I don’t know what I’d do if I were put in a situation like that. It was unfair of me to…”
“No, you’re entitled to your opinion. I just hate the people who think it’s okay to destroy someone for their benefit. I’m sorry I got so upset. I don’t want to ruin our celebration over this stupid shit.”
“You’re not the only one who feels this way, that’s why we’re leaning toward the vigilante angle. The neighborhood didn’t even want him to move in, but the DOC didn’t listen to what they had to say. They found him the cheapest place and dumped him there.”
“They do that? Why would the DOC put him in a neighborhood of people who didn’t want him?”
“The thing is, no one wants a sex offender living next to them. So no matter where he went, people would complain.”
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