Lulu's Cafe: A Novel

by T. I. Lowe

  Crowley continued to stare at the nightmare that Leah had lived out, captured in the photos. “What’s that?” he asked quietly.

  “Of all this blood, not one drop belonged to Mr. Sadler.”

  Crowley looked up from the photo. “How’s that possible if she killed him?”

  “Who said she killed him?”

  “What?” Crowley’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

  “Mrs. Sadler didn’t kill her husband. There was a blunt force blow to his head that probably knocked him out. The shattered glass in this photo was a crystal vase. The autopsy showed that he died of a massive heart attack.” Mitch slid the autopsy report out of the file and handed it over to Crowley.

  “The man was the epitome of health. He was known to be disciplined with diet and exercise. Hard to believe a heart attack took him out at only forty-five years of age.”

  Crowley handed the autopsy report and pictures back over and shook his head. “I thought this was a murder investigation.”

  “No. This is a missing person’s investigation.” Mitch motioned for Crowley to follow him. “Come on. There’s something else you need to see.” He led him into the guest bedroom and over to the closet door.

  Crowley took in the two sets of locks on the door; one on the knob and another at the top of the door. It was all he could do to control his rage. The realization of him standing at the door of her prison punched him hard in the stomach. Seeing it in person overwhelmed him. He was about to head out of the room, but Mitch motioned him to take a look inside.

  “We found a coffee can that appeared to be used as a portable toilet. Food and bottles of juice and water were found strewn around. It looks as though Mrs. Sadler may have spent a good bit of time locked in here.” He fished a well-worn Bible out of a pillowcase and handed over to a shaken Crowley. Crowley tucked it under his arm as Mitch continued to explain his findings. “Baby wipes, a toothbrush and toothpaste were found tucked in a shoe box. A flashlight and wristwatch were under a sleeping bag. We also found—”

  “My God,” Crowley said, voice quaking. His vision blurred as his pulse throbbed in his ears.

  Mitch pointed at the unassembled light fixture. “Guess he didn’t allow her to have a light.”

  “I need to get out of here,” Crowley mumbled as he headed outside, still clutching the Bible. He thought he could tough it out like any other case, but with it being so personal he just couldn’t bear it.

  Mitch joined him by the car a few moments later after locking the loft up. “The children’s home that Mrs. Sadler helped to build is only a few miles down the road. Would you like to go?” he asked.

  “Please call her Leah. Her name is Leah Allen,” Crowley said. “What do you mean she helped to build?” he asked as they reloaded into the cramped car.

  “Leah sponsored numerous charity events to raise funds to build the home and was there to assist in any way from the very beginning. It seemed to be the only thing the husband allowed her to do.” Mitch started the car and headed towards the children’s home.

  Mitch pulled up to a cheery yellow, two-story home with a colorful sign in the front yard stating New Hope Children’s Home. Small lettering underneath it said Where Everyone Can Feel at Home.

  They walked in, and Mitch introduced Crowley to the director, an older lady named Sue. She gladly gave him a tour after he explained who he was and his affiliation to Gabriella while Mitch waited outside.

  She led him to a wall of framed pictures. He spotted a redheaded Leah in one right away. She stood in the midst of a bunch of kids, all who had grins lighting up their faces. The caption explained First Day Home with Founder Mrs. Gabriella Sadler. They moved farther down the hall until Crowley spotted another picture of Leah, a couple of years older and a bit heavier than in the first photo. She stood behind a group of kids on a large playground. She was smiling along with the children, but her eyes seemed lifeless. The caption read Playground Completion Celebration.

  After Crowley inspected all of the pictures, Sue led him into a large game room where a birthday party was underway. She pointed out a group of women standing by the cake table.

  “Those women volunteered a good bit with Gabby, if you would like to ask them any questions. I have a few board members waiting in my office, but take your time.” Sue reached over and placed her hand on Crowley’s arm. “Please tell Gabby we miss her terribly and are so relieved she’s okay.”

  He smiled and offered his hand. “It was nice meeting you, and I will definitely tell her. Hopefully she and I can make a trip back out this way soon.”

  “That would be wonderful. Please do so.” She shook his hand before hurrying off.

  Crowley turned back to the cheerful room with kids running around and playing party games. He studied the table of women. They looked like bored trophy wives needing something to do to fill their time.

  An announcement for the kids to head outside to the bouncy inflatables sent the little ones barreling towards the door. Crowley smiled at how quickly the room had been cleared.

  He glanced back at the group of women, trying to decide whether to head out or speak with them. A leggy brunette caught him looking and turned to her friends and mouthed something. Before he could decide what to do, three of the women sashayed over to him.

  “Are you the Crowley Mason?” the leggy brunette asked.

  He ran his hand through his tousled hair and almost made the women swoon. “I don’t know about the part, but yes my name is Crowley. How might you have known that, ma’am?”

  The brunette placed her perfectly manicured hand over her heart. “Ma’am? Oh my, ladies. We have ourselves a real-life southern gentleman.” She looked over at her friends and then turned her attention back to Crowley. “You were featured in Cosmo magazine as being one of the top millionaire bachelors in the United States,” the brunette cooed. “My name is Junie, and these are my friends Tiny and Sara. We volunteer here.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Crowley shook each of the ladies’ hand. “I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about”—it pained him to call her this—“Gabriella Sadler.”

  Sara adjusted the headband in her dark-blonde hair and waved her hand to dismiss the topic of Gabriella. “That woman was a hot mess. I have no idea what Brent ever saw in her. That man gave her the world, and she couldn’t even keep herself up for him.” She tried to wrinkle her forehead in disgust but the Botox wouldn’t allow it.

  Her hatefulness towards Leah shocked Crowley, but he didn’t let it show.

  “Why? Did they finally find her?” Tiny asked.

  “Yes, she’s fine,” Crowley said as he studied his watch. He decided the women weren’t anything but a bunch of hens clucking away and he was wasting his time with them.

  “Please tell me that loser isn’t coming back here,” Junie said.

  “Why would you call her a loser?” He glanced around the room as if distracted.

  “She had the best man in these parts, and she didn’t even take good care of him. If Brent belonged to me, I would have made sure that fine heart of his was in tip-top shape.” She rolled her hips slightly. Her friends snickered.

  Crowley looked at the group before him. These women were jealous. He placed his hands in his pants pockets and took a deep breath. He’d had enough of the clucking. He eyed Junie and stated matter-of-factly, “Ma’am, that man was an alcoholic who tortured his wife by locking her up in a closet in their loft. He almost beat his wife to death before God took mercy on her and took that demon out with a heart attack.” Crowley let that sink in. “If you ladies didn’t spend your time resenting her and casting your judgment, you might have realized she was being abused. She sure could have used someone on her side.”

  He turned to walk off and stopped. He glanced back at Junie. “You don’t have to worry about me being on any silly bachelor list, ma’am. I’m in love with Gabriella and will be for the rest of my life.” He walked away from the speechless women and headed to the car, where
Mitch was waiting for him.

  Mitch noticed the haggard look on Crowley’s face. “You feel like grabbing the best cup of coffee and donut in town?”

  “Sure. After that, do you think you could drop me off at a hotel? I’ve been up for one…two days straight now. It’s catching up with me.”

  Mitch drove them over to a retro place called The Donut Diner.

  “Cool place, man,” Crowley said as they walked through the door.

  “Leah liked it, too. She visited nearly every Thursday, according to the owner’s daughter who helps run the place.” Mitch pointed over to a twentysomething strawberry blond. “There she is now.”

  “Shayna, I’d like for you to meet a good friend of Gabby Sadler’s.” Mitch motioned over to Crowley.

  Crowley nodded. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  The young woman’s face was full of anguish. “Please tell me Gabby is okay.”

  Crowley nodded again. “She’s fine.”

  A slow smile washed over her face. “Thank God.”

  Crowley pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture he had snapped on their last fishing trip. He handed the phone to Shayna.

  Shayna looked at a picture of a grinning Leah, who was holding up good-sized bass she had just wrangled in. “Wow. Gabby looks awesome.”

  Mitch looked over at the photo. “That’s one beautiful woman.”

  “I absolutely agree,” Crowley said proudly as he put his phone away.

  Mitch cleared his throat. “Shayna dear, can we have two coffees and half a dozen donuts?”

  “Sure. Any ones in particular?” she asked as she headed behind the counter.

  “Gabby’s favorites,” Crowley answered before sitting down wearily.

  “That would be Bavarian crème–filled donut with chocolate ganache icing, lemon curd–filled powdered, and apple fritters,” she said as she began filling a box.

  Shayna served the donuts and coffees, and then she turned to speak to Crowley. “Please tell her I’m so glad she’s okay and that the devil is dead.”

  “You knew about Brent abusing her?” Crowley asked.

  “She never told me, but the signs were pretty clear. I tried to get her to open up, but she never did.” She shook her head.

  Crowley placed his hand on her arm before she strolled away. “Thank you for showing her kindness.”

  She smiled. “Gabby is a great woman.”

  Mitch dropped Crowley off at a swanky hotel. Before he left Crowley, he gave him the information for a hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska. “This was as far as we got to finding Leah. She was admitted and treated for close to a week. Her trail went cold after that.”

  Crowley took the information and then shook the investigator’s hand. “Thank you Mitch. You’ve been a great help. I’ll give you a call as soon as I get back to South Carolina.”

  “You’re welcome, my man. I’m glad this case ended on a positive note. Most of my missing persons don’t.”

  As soon as Crowley was checked in and settled into his room, he looked over the hospital information and booked a flight to Nebraska for the following morning. Something was bothering him and he couldn’t figure out what it was. Another puzzle piece was missing, and hopefully he would find it tomorrow.

  After a quick shower, Crowley tried calling Leah’s apartment but got no answer. He was desperate to hear her voice. He powered up his computer and pulled up the security cameras at the plantation—hoping. Crowley slumped in the chair and sighed when he found no signs of her around the house in the past few days. He was about to close the icon when a light in the distance from the pool camera caught his attention. It was coming from the river cabin.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  To Crowley’s relief, the flight over to Lincoln, Nebraska, was quick. As soon as Crowley arrived, he took a cab straight to the hospital. He was more than anxious to get this behind him so he could head home to South Carolina. He had called Matt late last night and asked him to set up meetings with the doctor and main nurse who treated Leah.

  He made his way to the reception desk in the lobby of the hospital and stated his name to the receptionist. From there, he was directed to a small conference room to wait for the doctor, who was delayed.

  Thirty minutes later a casually-dressed woman walked in the room. She smiled. “Mr. Crowley Mason?” she asked.

  Crowley stood and offered his hand. “Yes ma’am.”

  She shook it with some gusto. “My name is Mona. I was the head nurse for Gabriella Sadler. Sorry about the wait. I’m off today and just got the call you wanted to meet. If you can wait ten more minutes, I’ll go grab her medical record. The legal department has cleared some information for release.”

  Crowley nodded his head. “Sure. Sorry about you having to come in on your day off.”

  “No, don’t worry about that. I’m just so relieved that she is alive and well. I honestly wasn’t so sure she would make it.”

  “I’m supposed to meet with a Dr. Daniels as well…?”

  “Sorry about that, too,” Mona said as she was halfway out the door. “He had to perform an emergency caesarean.” She closed the door.

  Caesarean… Leah had been pregnant?

  Crowley ran his hands over his weary face and sat. The scar so deep down, she had screamed at Lulu about it. Pain so deep that sometimes she couldn’t breathe.

  Some scars are too deep to ever heal. She had told him this as he held her in his arms in the pool only a few nights ago. His mouth went dry and his own stomach ached in raw pain.

  Mona hustled back in within ten minutes. Crowley put on his lawyer façade and braced his stomach for more waves of aches that could soon arrive. And did they ever. Wave after wave ripped his heart out as the nurse began explaining the horror Leah had endured.

  Mona sat down beside Crowley and unfolded the record’s contents. “Mrs. Gabriella Sadler arrived here in late October with numerous wounds, causing premature labor. She was hemorrhaging profusely, so our first order of business was to try to stop the bleeding, but it was too late. The baby was already breaching, so Dr. Daniels had no choice but to deliver. The baby girl was stillborn. She weighed only one pound and ten ounces.”

  She watched this colossal man struggle with the news. He paled before her and the whites of his knuckles strained with his anguish. She placed her hand on his arm.

  Crowley cleared his throat. “How far along was she?”

  “Our estimation was about twenty-five weeks. After she knew the baby didn’t survive, Mrs. Sadler shut down and refused to give us any information. I guess she thought there was no point in it.”

  “She goes by her first name now as well as maiden name. Please call her Leah Allen.” Crowley couldn’t stand Leah being attached to that man’s name.

  Mona nodded and made a note in the file before continuing. “I cleaned the baby up and tucked her in a blanket and let Leah hold her before we had to take her away. She held that baby tight for several hours while we tended to her wounds. Once Dr. Daniels stopped the bleeding and had completed a blood transfusion, he instructed one of the nurses to take the baby.” Mona shook her head and waited for the lump in her throat to clear.

  “Mr. Mason, of all my years in nursing, I have never before seen, nor will I ever forget the agony of that mother that night. I have nightmares about it. She screamed and wailed and refused to hand the baby over. I tried to talk to her, promising I would take care of her baby. She would just hold her closer and sob harder.”

  Crowley swallowed hard. “What did you do?”

  “Eventually we had to sedate her to get the baby away. I tell you, I have no idea how she remained conscious throughout the entire ordeal before the sedation. It was as if she knew that when she closed her eyes, the baby would disappear forever.”

  Crowley rubbed his stubbly chin. “Was there permanent damage? Can she have—”

  “No permanent physical damage. She should be able to have more children with no complications. Dr. Daniels reassured her o
f this, but she had already shut him out.”

  Crowley nodded and watched her pull out some photos from the medical record.

  “These are shots of Gab…Leah. We took them to file a police report, but she refused to cooperate. We took them without her permission after we sedated her. I also had to search her purse for her driver’s license to get some information. She wouldn’t even share her name with us. We really weren’t sure she was going to pull through.”

  Crowley looked at the first photo. It was of a redhead with her face so distorted that Crowley would have never identified her as his Leah. Her left eye was purple and so swollen that there was no way she could see through it when she was awake. All of the wounds he had seen on her face when he first laid eyes on her, only two weeks after this night in the pictures, were now evident in their most raw form. The woman in the picture looked dead.

  “She required stitches for the wound over her eye and the one on her bottom lip. The chin wound only needed a butterfly bandage.”

  The next was a close-up image of her neck. “Those bruises are hand prints on her neck. She had been severely strangled. We braced her neck to help with the sprain.” Mona pointed to a swollen shoulder image. “She sustained a fractured collarbone. I gave her a sling to wear which was to also help with her broken wrist.”

  The nurse then spread out the last two gruesome photos. They were shots of Leah’s abdomen. Her belly and left side were covered with swollen bruises that were so deep they looked painted on. “This was the obvious trauma that caused her to go into labor. She was either hit with a blunt object or punched. She also sustained two cracked ribs.”

  Crowley thought about the broken bourbon bottle. If Brent weren’t already dead… What kind of monster is allowed to do this to someone? A quiet rage took over. This wasn’t just anyone …but the woman he loved.

  Mona put the photos away and momentarily closed her eyes before speaking. “I dreamed of being a labor and delivery nurse ever since I was thirteen years old, Mr. Mason. It was the year I was blessed to witness my own mother give birth to my baby brother. Such a beautiful thing—to see life enter this world…” She shook her head. “I never imagined I would ever witness such a horrible beginning and ending to a mother’s story of her firstborn child.” Mona tapped the photo of Leah’s battered face. “This woman’s joy was stripped away from her body, and it sickens me that there was nothing I could do.” She batted away tears. “Sorry.”