Confidentiality

by Jessica Aiken-Hall

  From searching Jimmy’s Facebook profile, I knew he loved Mountain Dew, and from watching tons of episodes of Snapped, I learned antifreeze would mix well in a sweet drink. I also knew it wouldn’t take much to do the job. A quick stop at Cumberland Farms, and I had my murder weapons in hand. A twenty-ounce bottle of soda and a jug of antifreeze. Before I left the hospital, I took a few syringes from the medical supply room, rubber gloves, and some paper towels.

  I scanned the parking lot before getting to work. At the back of the lot, by the dumpsters, it seemed to be quiet. I pulled my car ahead to the spot and began the needed steps to carry out the plan. I put the gloves on before I opened the antifreeze container and stuck the syringe in, drawing up as much as it would hold. I repeated this step until all four were full. Next, I twisted off the cap of the Mountain Dew and opened my door to pour some out onto the ground. I held the bottle up to see if there was enough room to insert the antifreeze.

  One by one, I emptied the syringes into the soda. I held it up to compare the level next to my unopened bottle. Just a little bit more to make it match. I opened the antifreeze one last time and drew out one more syringe full, holding the jug between my legs to keep it from spilling. With the Mountain Dew in my cup holder, I pushed the poison into the drink. I screwed the cover back onto the soda and then the antifreeze.

  I pulled out the paper towels and wiped the bottle of antifreeze off before placing it back in the paper bag. I looked in my mirrors and checked my surroundings before I got out of my car and tossed it into the dumpster. Back in my car, I was finally able to exhale the air I had been holding and looked myself in the eyes in the rearview mirror. Just a little bit longer. You can do this.

  With a quick roll of my shoulders, I turned out of the parking lot and drove to the meeting place. It had been a while since I’d been here. It was on the other side of town, the opposite direction from where I usually go. Since Gabriel had been with me, I never felt right leaving him any longer than work pulled me away. I rolled down my car window to listen to the water as I waited for Jimmy to arrive.

  I reclined my seat a little, so the sun could hit my face. I hoped the serenity of the location would be enough to calm my nerves. The chirping of the birds nearby brought me to a deeper state of relaxation, one I hadn’t felt in years, decades even.

  Everything was going right. Everything. All of the missing pieces fell into place. I had a man I loved… and, even better… trusted. I had my gram back in my life. My son didn’t hate me, maybe even loved me. I had friends, people I could share my time with, who would do anything for me, and I for them. There was a wedding to plan and a house to make a home. Everything I ever wanted was right before me.

  Tim’s words settled on my chest as the last of the good thoughts exited my mind. Why am I here? There was so much to lose. My loyalty to Sonya and Tim teetered in the slight, spring breeze. If I left, Sonya’s life could be at risk, if not literally, definitely figuratively. And if not her, the baby. I shook off the guilt and sat back up in my seat. I needed to finish this. I couldn’t let anything get in my way.

  I pulled a Woman’s World magazine out of the backseat and started flipping through the pages to keep my mind busy. I glanced at my watch; Jimmy was already twenty minutes late. I fidgeted in my seat as I scanned the parking lot. The area was secluded, but public enough for Jimmy to be found if the poison kicked in as quickly as I hoped.

  Time felt like it had stopped as I waited. When I rechecked my watch, another thirty minutes were gone. Closing in on an hour late, it was becoming more apparent Jimmy wasn’t going to show up. I tossed the magazine in the back seat, put my seat belt on, and gripped the steering wheel. I thought for sure he’d want to hear what I had to say. My options were to continue to wait, go to his place, or just abort the mission. Maybe Jimmy not showing up was a message from someone that I shouldn’t be doing this.

  As I contemplated the options, my phone rang. It was Sonya. She never called. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk with her right now, so I let it go to voicemail. When the phone stopped ringing, I regretted not answering it. I stared down at my phone, debating on returning her call. I really didn’t have the energy to interact with her right now and tossed the phone on the passenger seat. As soon as it landed, it started ringing again. This time curiosity won.

  “Hi, Son…”

  A blood-curdling scream ricocheted off my eardrum. “He’s… he’s… he’s…”

  “Sonya… are you…”

  “He’s dead. Oh my god.” Her screams evaporated into sobs.

  “Sonya, where are you.”

  “I… I’m at Jimmy’s. Oh my god. Oh my god.”

  “Jimmy’s dead?”

  “Yes.” The word extended by a howl. “He’s been shot.”

  “Sonya, I need you to try to calm down.” I waited for her to comply. “Have you called 911?”

  “No... I… I can’t. I can’t.” Rapid panting filled the empty spaces. “Can you?”

  “Ah… shit.” I shook my head as I bit my bottom lip. “What’s the address?” I awaited her answer, even though I knew. “Sonya, I’m going to call, and I’m on my way.”

  “Please hurry.” The desperation in her voice made me question my earlier intentions.

  After hanging up the phone, I dialed 911 and requested an officer and ambulance be sent to Jimmy’s apartment. I hadn’t even asked Sonya enough questions to be helpful to the dispatcher, but her plea for help took logic out of the equation. All I knew was I needed to get to Sonya before the police arrived.

  When I put my car in gear, I noticed the bottle of Mountain Dew still sitting in my cup holder. I needed to get rid of this before I went anywhere, but it wasn’t something I could dump on the ground. It would be lethal to any curious animal. The blue porta-potty was the answer. I put my car into park, unbuckled my seatbelt and jumped out and ran to the outhouse. Holding the door open with my foot, I poured Jimmy’s drink into the mixture of sewage, toilet paper, and empty beer cans. I tossed the bottle in after I dumped it, rubbed some hand sanitizer on my hands, and raced back to my car.

  I sent a quick text to Tim with the address asking him to meet me there. I wasn’t sure if he would be the one dispatched there, and I didn’t want to chance arriving at a crime scene without him at least being aware of where I was going. The dirty work completed once more for me. I wasn’t sure I was happy about it, but again, grateful I wouldn’t have to carry the guilt for this one.

  As my car neared the destination, an ambulance sped past me. I pulled over to get out of the way. As I pulled back onto the road, the image of Sonya’s pink pistol flashed before me. What if she did it? I tried to imagine why she was there, and no good reason came to me. The last I heard, she didn’t want anything to do with him, so why would she be the one to find him?

  The serial killer crossed my mind, too, but I didn’t think Jimmy had a record. Sonya had mentioned she’d gone to the domestic violence center before. I wondered if Jimmy had that on his record. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what she’d said. So far, though, the target had been sex offenders. And, Seth? Was this all related? This was quiet, boring, little Lawrenceville. What was happening?

  Tim greeted me in the driveway when I got out of my car. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Sonya called me, asked me to meet her here.” I stopped to catch my breath. “Where is she?”

  “She’s over there.” He nodded his head to the right.

  Sonya was sitting in the ambulance being checked out by the paramedics. “Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, just shaken up. They were worried about the baby… or she was. You didn’t mention she was pregnant.”

  “Yeah, that’s the newest news. What happened in there?”

  “We have the area closed off, just waiting on the medical examiner. The poor guy is getting his hours in this week.” Tim kicked at a stone and shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on around here anymore.”

  “Do you hav
e any idea? Is this related to the others?” I glanced back over at Sonya.

  “It’s really too early to tell.” He ran his hand through his hair. “But, holy shit. I don’t know how many more unsolved murders I can take.”

  “I love you. I know you’ll figure this out.” I smiled as I took his hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  A tall, older man walked out of the building and waved Tim over to him. “Oh, I’ve gotta go.” He leaned down to kiss me. He looked exhausted. I knew this had been taking a toll on him, how couldn’t it?

  I walked over to the ambulance to wait for them to let Sonya out. When she saw me, she sat up and swung her legs off the side of the gurney. “I’m so glad you’re here. I called Norma and Maggie, too.”

  “Is everything okay with the baby?”

  “Yeah, they just want me to get some rest.” Sonya jumped out of the ambulance and latched onto me. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” The tears on her face were shadowed with dirt.

  “I bet it was scary. I can’t imagine.” That was a lie I tried to feed myself. It was all I could imagine. The death of my enemy was the only thing I could think about some days.

  “You have no idea.” She put her head to my ear. “I can’t believe I was joking about this earlier.” Her eyes were wide as she took a step back.

  “Shhh.” I looked over her shoulder to see where the medics were. “So, you said Maggie and Norma were coming?”

  “No, I called them, but I couldn’t reach Norma, and Maggie’s busy with the girls. I’m so glad you came, though. I thought I’d have to deal with this alone.”

  “Where’s your…” I widened my eyes as I raised my eyebrows. “You know.”

  “My what?” My attempt to be subtle was not working.

  “That… ah… pink thing you showed us a picture of.”

  Still puzzled, Sonya cocked her head. “Huh?”

  “The thing you bought for your class… the one you wanted me to join with you.”

  “Oh… that’s at home.” She squinted her eyes at me and took a step back. “Why, … you think… I did this?”

  “No… I just wanted to be sure it wasn’t on you.”

  “Why would it be?”

  “I don’t know… you had mentioned…”

  “Jesus, Val. I thought you were my friend.”

  “Sonya… wait.”

  She stormed off toward the building, where she was stopped by police. She pulled at her hair with both hands and started screaming at the officer. “Let me in there! That’s my boyfriend. Let me in.” This was a side of her I’d never experienced before, but to be honest, I wasn’t shocked. I started to walk in her direction when she fell to the ground. I ran the rest of the way to her.

  “Sonya.” I kneeled to get close to her and covered her with my body. “Shhh, it’ll be okay.” I rocked her in my arms as she cried, playing with her hair in an attempt to comfort her. I was confused. Did she do this? Could she have done this? Was this how a killer acted? How did I act? It was all too much to take in.

  Tim walked over to us and tapped me on the shoulder. “Val, I need to ah…” He cleared his throat. “Talk to you.”

  I stood up, leaving Sonya on the ground, curled up in the fetal position. Tim took my hand and led me back to my car. “What’s going on?”

  “Ah… we’re going to need to take Sonya to the station.”

  “Why?” I crossed my arms against my chest. “You can’t think she had anything to do with this. Look at her.” I turned my head in her direction. “She’s in shock.”

  “I know, but it’s part of the procedure. At the very least, we have to clear her.”

  “Can I go with her?”

  Tim’s eyes went to Sonya, still a lump on the ground. “You can wait for her at the station if they release her, but you won’t be able to be in the room with her.”

  When I got in my car, my body started to shake and tears spilled out of my eyes. How could things change so suddenly? If only I had met with Jimmy a day earlier, she wouldn’t have to be going through this. I could have prevented this. I thought about her in jail and knew she would never last there. She has a mouth on her, but that would only get her so far. And the baby. I couldn’t let them pin this on her.

  I picked up my phone and dialed Norma’s number. She was who I needed right now.

  “Hello, dear.”

  Relief flooded me when I heard her voice. “Oh, Norma.”

  “Val, what’s the matter?”

  “It’s Sonya… they’re putting handcuffs on her right now.”

  “Oh, my. Where are you girls?”

  “We’re at Jimmy’s… she found him dead… shot. We can’t let them take her. We have to do something.”

  “Where are they taking her?” I heard Norma’s keys jingle. “I’ll meet you girls there.”

  “They’re taking her to the police station. You don’t think she did this, right?”

  “Oh, of course not. Don’t you worry, I’m on my way.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Waking up in Tim’s apartment was still taking some getting used to. I missed having the ability to hide away from everything in the privacy of my own space. The idea I wouldn’t be able to return to my apartment before moving in with Tim forever was starting to weigh on me. I didn’t get a chance to enjoy one last cup of hot tea, curled up on my couch with Gabriel in my lap, or one last solitary dinner at the coffee table with the TV on as background noise. Maybe what I was giving up wasn’t worth missing.

  I stretched before sitting on the edge of the bed, Tim was already up. When I went to find him, a yellow piece of paper caught my attention. Val, I got called into work. Please stay here until you hear from me. I love you. Tim

  I picked up the paper and turned it over. That’s all he wrote? I didn’t really want to spend my day alone in his apartment. We hadn’t made plans to go anywhere, but I still didn’t want to sit around and wait. When I placed the note on the table, I noticed yesterday’s paper, the face of the newly released sex offender staring back at me.

  It looks like they were too late. Either that or the Village News didn’t want to drop their front-page story. Now, the note he left made sense. I bet he was at my apartment building. I tried to push down the lump in my throat. If I didn’t have Tim in my life, I could have been living next to this predator. I smoothed out the paper to read his name. Bobby Green, 42, released from the Stark County Jail after serving three years for aggravated sexual assault. Three years? That’s a slap in the face to the victim. Now, I hoped Tim was at another crime scene.

  I turned on my iPad and typed in Bobby Green into the search bar. The story from his arrest was top on the list, next to the sex offender registry listing. It was too early to read the details from his case, so I clicked on the second link, where the address to my apartment building came up, next to the picture used in the Village News. His beady little eyes stared back at me from the screen and gave me chills that ran down my spine.

  I closed out of the screen and set the iPad down. I shut my eyes tight and rubbed the bridge of my nose to push out the migraine itching to take up residency in my head. The more I fought the pain, the more anger took over.

  I wasn’t sure if I was more upset with myself or the system that failed me. I wished I’d had what it took to turn Chad in. I ached for the world to know what a piece of shit he was, but I chose to run, not tell. I pictured Chad’s limp body with a gunshot wound to the head. The desire for his life to end was something I craved the moment he started touching me. And now, there was a possible serial killer on the loose, looking for predators to kill.

  A laugh was finally what pushed the tension out of my head as I pictured Chad’s face on the front page of his local newspaper, with a caption that would shock his slew of fans. Chad Ross, 63, never made it to jail for raping and impregnating his stepdaughter, once a client. He met the firing squad in the town square, instead. The perfect ending for the ‘perfect’ man.

  It was
hard to imagine someone so wonderful came from such a hideous event. Gabriel was more than I had hoped for. He was handsome, smart, and thoughtful. I will never let my mind cloud my love for Gabriel with the hate I hold for Chad. I never equated them as being connected in any way. They may share DNA, but it stops there. It was strictly science, nothing more than a violent sperm donor.

  When my phone rang, I knew it was Tim. I was waiting to hear his voice confirm my suspicions. “Hi Tim, I got your note.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up, you looked so peaceful, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t worry when you noticed me missing.”

  “Let me guess… you’re at another murder scene.”

  “Hmm… it’s getting that predictable, isn’t it? I don’t know how much more I can take.”

  “Yeah, it does seem to be the new normal.”

  “I’m going to be awhile, why don’t you go have lunch with your friends?”

  “Oh, I have permission to leave now?”

  “Val…”

  “Relax, I’m kidding. I know you want to keep me safe. I love you, Detective Phillips. Remember, keep your eyes open. I need you alive for a certain wedding coming up.”

  “That’s exactly the push I need right now.”

  Tim and I had agreed on a wedding date, July 15th. It was only a couple months away, so the pressure was on to start planning. Norma, Maggie, and Sonya were the ones I wanted to help me. A good mixture between them to make sure every detail was covered. I gave Norma a call, and she told me she would round up the others. Getting married was not even on my bucket list, and having friends help me plan; it was not something I could have hoped for. Even in this uncertain world, where things often felt unsafe, my life was thriving.

  When I arrived at Norma’s, Sonya was already there. Maggie met me at the door before I even had time to knock. “I’m so glad you called.” She slipped out the door and shut it behind her. “Sonya is driving us crazy. She won’t stop crying. I hope making plans for your wedding will shut her up for a little while.” Maggie shook her head before opening the door. “Hey guys, look who’s here.”