Sergeant Hayes, a tall, sandy-haired, middle-aged man appeared in the doorway. Ava knew why he was there. He had tried to question her back at the house, but she had been too upset. He carried an I-pad. The look on the man’s face was almost pleadful.
“Mrs. Edwards,” he said, “I know this is a tough situation for you right now. But please, I need to ask you some questions. Your husband simply cannot be talked to right now.”
Ava nodded her head for him to come on inside. The officer did so. He walked over to the couch and sat down beside Ava. He tapped a button on his I-pad.
“This won’t take long. The sooner we can get some answers, the sooner we can get to the bottom of this.”
“I really don’t know how I can help.”
“First of all, it looks like there was no forced entry into the house. Apparently, the back door was left unlocked.”
“Really? Well, actually, that really doesn’t surprise me.”
“It doesn’t. Why not?”
“Susy, she was such a sweet . . . she is such a sweet child. But she had a tendency at times to leave doors unlocked. I got on her about it, but the child is so sweet. You know how parents are. We spoil our kids sometimes.”
Hayes poked a few words into his I-pad. “Was she the last one to leave the house?”
“No. But she was the last person to use the back door last night.”
Ava broke her face up with misery. A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I should’ve been tougher on her. If she hadn’t left that door open, all this wouldn’t have happened.”
She fought back tears.
“Now, now,” said the Sergeant. He patted her on the back. “Don’t go blaming yourself like that. You’ll run yourself crazy.”
“I love her so much. She’s a stepchild, but I love her as if she came from my own body. She can’t die. She just can’t.”
“We’re all praying for her. This Riley character is an animal for what he did to your daughter.”
Ava’s woeful face instantly changed to one of immense surprise. For a second, she stared at Hayes, not knowing quite how to react.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“ . . . Riley? You’ve caught him? Somebody?”
“Oh. Yes. I’m sorry. He’s been in custody for several hours. He’s in a hospital across town. He was caught with your husband’s truck. He also had some money on him, which wasn’t in his wallet. It was stuffed in his breast pocket, like it had been stuffed there in a hurry –like after a robbery.”
“My goodness. Well, I’m glad you all work so fast.”
“The idiot made it rather easy for us. We also believe he left some blood behind at your house.”
Ava’s eyes popped at that statement.
“Detective Bent is in charge of the investigation,” Hayes continued. “He’s gonna get in contact with me again real soon. If there’s any more information, he’ll let me know. Then I’ll let you know.”
“Tell me, Sergeant. What was this Riley’s first name?”
“Joe. He apparently was injured in the attack. That’s why he’s in the hospital. But as soon as he’s healthy enough, we’ll put his ass behind bars where it belongs.”
Ava looked away from the Sergeant. She was stunned briefly. Like a reflex, she wanted to go into her purse, which was on the table next to her, and take out her cigarettes. However, she fought off the urge.
Ava couldn’t believe that Joe could have screwed up so completely. She would have expected it from his idiot brother Robbie, but not him. She was in some seriously hot water. Joe had been caught. He didn’t strike her as being the type who would go down by himself. He had no proof about her involvement, but still, just making the accusation would be enough to bring on some serious damage.
Anyway, for the time being, her only consideration had to be damage control. She had to distance herself from Joe as much as possible.
“Oh my God,” she said painfully.
“What’s wrong, Mrs. Edwards? Please, don’t fall apart on me. I need to ask you quite a few questions.”
“He . . . Joe Riley. He works for me. He works at my church. My God. Joe couldn’t have done this to me. How could he? Oh no.”
Ava smothered her face in her hands. She broke down into tears. She felt Hayes’ hands start to rub her back. Ava let her head fall slowly against his shoulder.
Tori had been treated at the house by the EMT's. When she had regained consciousness, they had given her some tranquilizers to calm her nerves. She had sat at the house a while to regain some semblance of composure. Afterwards, she had been driven to the hospital by Simone. They had left just minutes after the ambulance.
She stood out in the hallway, just outside the lounge where her daddy sat. She had been in there with him, but Tori was having a hard time staying still right now. She needed to move around. She had wanted to comfort her daddy, but it was all she could do to hold on to her own sanity currently.
She began pacing back and forth. Her head began to hurt. She rubbed her right temple with her hand as she walked. Simone came around the corner, holding two large cups of water. She walked to Tori and handed her one of the cups.
“She’s going to be alright, Tori,” said Simone. “I know she is.”
Tori continued to pace, with Simone walking beside her. Tori took a drink from her cup.
“I can’t believe this happened to my baby sister. This just can’t be real.”
“I don’t know how anyone can do this to a little child.”
“It wasn’t like Susy to forget to lock a door. She’s always so efficient.”
“Well, no one’s perfect, Tori. Anyone can make a mistake sometimes.”
“Susy . . . Susy, please don’t die.” Tori said the words as if she were trying to will them to happen. “You can’t die.”
Doctor Fisher, a tall, gray-haired man, came around the corner from which Simone had previously come. Beside him was Ava, who was busy puffing on a cigarette. Tori and Simone quickly walked over to the doctor.
“How’s my sister?” asked Tori fearfully. “Please tell me she’s conscious.”
The doctor did not look optimistic.
“ . . . I’m sorry, Ms. Edwards. There’s been no change. The child’s still in a coma. The suffocation caused a lot of oxygen to the brain to be lost.”
“But she is gonna come out of it, right?”
“Right now, I can’t say. There might even be brain damage. The brain can rarely survive that long without air. She’s being prepared for surgery. We’ve got to try and repair those cut veins. She’s also lost a lot of blood. I hate to say it, but right now, her chances are fifty-fifty at best.”
Tori looked at him almost with contempt.
“What do you mean? Fifty-fifty? You’re telling me my sister could actually die? She’s just ten years old.”
“We are doing everything we can for her. She’ll get the best treatment possible. But I have to be honest, it doesn’t look good. From the look of the damage, even if she lives, she may forever be in that coma. Or if she comes out of it, she may be a vegetable.”
Tori almost felt as if she would faint again. This entire situation was still so hard to grasp, and the news was only getting worse. She could not say a word. She felt both torture and intense rage currently. She wanted to kill whoever did this to her sister. She knew that the police had someone in custody. She wished they didn’t. She wanted him to be free, so she could break his neck.
She looked to Simone, who had tears in her eyes. She then turned away from Doctor Fisher. She just walked a few steps away and stopped. She thought she heard another “I’m sorry” come from the doctor, but she really didn’t care. She stood there, again just outside the room where her daddy sat. Simone gently massaged her shoulder.
Tori looked in at her daddy. He had his head on Mr. Shaw’s shoulder. He was an elderly neighbor. Henry looked at Tori. His eyes were nearly lifeless. He couldn’t move. He had become almost morose. He looked
as though he knew his daughter were dead.
Tori had her problems with her father, and she had threatened to disown him more than once. But still she loved him. She felt dreadful for him. However, she just couldn’t handle anybody’s emotions right now, but her own.
She turned back around and looked at Doctor Fisher and Ava. The two were conversing. Tori couldn’t help but notice – smoking wasn’t allowed in the hospital, but the doctor had allowed Ava to do so, knowing that she was in such misery. Tori had heard him give her permission, as long as she wasn’t near any patients.
But Tori was immediately taken by the fierceness with which Ava smoked. It was almost as if she were taking revenge on the cigarette. She puffed on it as if she were possessed. Tori also noticed that the woman seemed to be exceptionally nervous. For the time being, though, she couldn’t worry about it. Susy was her only concern.
“Doctor,” she said. “I want to see my sister.”
“Yes, of course. Just be warned, she has quite a few tubes running into her body. It’s not a pretty sight.”
“As long as those tubes are there, it means she’s alive.”
“I’d come with you,” said Ava, “but right now, I just can’t bear to see that sweet child in her state. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Tori walked past the doctor and Ava.
“You can’t stay long,” Doctor Fisher said, stopping her. “We have more tests to run before the surgery.”
“Alright,” Tori answered. “I just want to spend a few minutes with her.”
“You want me to come?” Simone asked.
“No, not right now, Simone. I just want to be alone with her.”
Tori departed from them all, headed for the trauma care unit. She felt so tortured right now. She felt as though her entire world was about to cave in on her.
Chapter Seventeen
It was too late for regrets, nevertheless, Joe had them. He lay in his hospital bed. Mostly, he stared at the ceiling. However, every now and then, he would take a look over at Lieutenant Bent. He sat in a chair to the left of Joe. He had his legs crossed. He did nothing but stare at Joe. It was an icy, cold stare. Joe could tell by the look in the man’s eyes, that he wondered what kind of a man would commit such an act? Joe now wondered himself. What he wouldn’t give right now to be able to turn back the clock twenty-four hours. Too late.
Joe had sent for his brother Robbie. The Lieutenant had indeed been shocked by the story Joe had told him. However, it had been hard for him to believe it. He was convinced that Joe was lying. He believed that Joe just wanted to bring someone else down with him. He was a disgusting man. He would do anything. After all, he had tried to stab a child to death. Bent had very ardently told Joe his feelings.
Joe had decided to have Robbie come there to the hospital with the videotape. He would then prove to that bastard who sat next to his bed, that he wasn’t the only disgusting person in the world – there was at least one other. Actually, two, counting Robbie.
The door to the room came open. A police officer entered first, and then Robbie came in behind him. Joe instantly perked up.
“Hey there, Baby Bro,” Joe said.
Robbie shook somewhat. His face was red. He didn’t know what quite to make of the situation.
“It’s alright, Robbie,” Joe said. “You ain’t got nothing to worry about.”
Lieutenant Bent stood.
“You this disgusting piece of crap’s brother?” he asked.
“Y-Yeah. What’s this all about?”
“I’m Lieutenant Bent of the Del Toray police. Apparently, you’re supposed to be in possession of some kind of videotape.”
Robbie didn’t say anything. He looked to Joe.
“It’s okay,” Joe said slyly. He had every intention of protecting his brother. He would at least keep a little dignity.
“You know that tape I gave you,” he went on. “The one I wanted you to keep for safe-keeping? You know how I throw things away. I told you it was a porn tape.”
“Oh?” Robbie’s face showed some relief, as he saw what his brother was doing.
“Well you brought the tape, right?”
Joe noticed nothing on Robbie’s person.
“Didn’t the cops tell you, I said to bring the tape?”
Lieutenant Bent asked dubiously: “You have a tape of Ava Edwards plotting to kill her stepdaughter? No mother, not even a stepmother, would do such a thing. He’s lying, right?”
Robbie stared at Joe. Joe slowly motioned his head for Robbie to go on and talk.
“I . . . I uh. I . . .”
“Go on, Robbie,” said Joe. “Tell him about the tape.”
Robbie ran his hands through his hair. He then anxiously looked at the Lieutenant.
“He . . . He might have a tape. But, I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout it.”
At first, Joe thought that he hadn’t heard correctly.
“What’d you say?” he asked his brother.
Robbie continued to talk to Bent, whose expression showed that he had wasted his time listening to Joe Riley’s conspiracy story.
“There ain’t no tape, I know ‘bout.”
Joe raised up in the bed. He tilted his head perplexedly to one side, as he tried to figure out what was going on. He couldn’t move, he was so shocked. His stinging leg even seemed to lose its pain, as his mind could concentrate only on what he had just heard.
“So it’s a lie,” said Lieutenant Bent. “Your sick brother made the bullshit up.”
“I just don’t know what’s goin’ on. I ain’t heard of no tape.”
“What the hell you talking about, Robbie?” Joe spat out. “What you trying to pull?”
“I ain’t pullin’ nothin’, Joe. Honest.”
“You won’t get in no trouble. Tell him about the damn tape.”
“What tape?”
“Robbie, damn it, I’m warning you. I’m gonna tell the whole truth about this, if you don’t stop playing this damn game.”
Robbie looked to Bent. “I just don’t know what he’s talkin’ ‘bout.”
“He’s lying,” Joe shouted at Bent.
Lieutenant Bent looked at Joe as if he thought the man was out of his mind.
“He was involved too, damn it! He knew about the murder attempt. I promised to give him some of the money Ava was paying me.”
“Oh really?” Bent answered. “This lady’s ministry loves her. I’ve heard about her. There’s no way she could do something like this.”
“She’s a coldhearted, ruthless bitch. And he knows it.” He pointed at Robbie. “He filmed her coming up with the murder plan. Robbie, what the hell’s wrong with you?”
“Can I go?” Robbie asked Bent. “I hate seein’ him act like this. I hate seein’ him in this kind of mind.”
“Get out of here,” said Bent.
Robbie looked at Joe. His eyes looked as though they wanted to apologize to Joe, but they still kept enough hardness, such that Joe could tell that they had no intention of giving in.
“Robbie, what’s wrong?” Joe’s voice suddenly turned to pleadful. “What have I done? Why are you stabbing me in the back like this?”
“Bye . . . B-Bye, Joe.”
Robbie turned and quickly left the room.
“Robbie, stop!” Joe yelled at a closing door. “Don’t do this to me, man. We’re brothers. I love you. Come back, Robbie. Damn you, come back!”
Joe became so desperate, that he tried to get out of the bed. He threw back his covers.
“Whoa, there,” Bent said sternly, moving for Joe. “You better stay right there, Riley. Don’t give me an excuse to blow your ass away. I’d love to do it.”
Joe stopped.
“But you got to stop him. I’m telling you, he knows about this. He’s part of it.”
“Yeah. And JFK was my daddy.”
“I’m telling you the truth, damn it. Robbie has a videotape with me and Ava plotting the kid’s murder.”
Bent had become
totally fed up. Joe Riley so disgusted him. He walked up close to the bed. He put his face down close to Joe’s.
“I’ve got some advice for you, Riley. You’re in enough trouble already. Don’t make matters worse by making unfounded accusations. In other words, ‘Shut the hell up.’”
Bent raised up, and he angrily walked for the door. As he arrived at it, he opened it, turned, and took one last appalling look at Joe. With a deep sneer on his face, he departed the room.
Joe fell back on the bed. He pressed his hands tightly against his head, as if he were trying to put his head in a vise. He couldn’t believe this. Suddenly, he felt like the loneliest man on earth. He was in this all alone. Nobody was going to pay for this heinous crime but him. Ava Edwards, that sick, jealous, money-hungry witch was going to walk. Robbie was going to walk. He was going to walk also – straight to prison. He would maybe even receive a stiff needle.
What was Robbie doing? he wondered miserably. He had nothing to worry about. Nobody could have traced the tape to him. All he had wanted Robbie to do was give a tape to the police, that he had innocently given him. Oh my God, he thought gruesomely. He had to find a way to get Robbie to change his mind. He hadn’t asked to be involved in this situation, though by no means had he been an innocent bystander. Still, it wasn’t fair that he would have to suffer for it alone. What was he going to do?
Joe had never considered himself a weak man. Only weak men cried. However, he would now join the list. He didn’t give a damn. He covered his eyes. The tears came pouring out.
This had to be a nightmare. It simply could not be a part of her life. All she needed to do was pinch herself and she would awaken from this dismal horror. But it wasn’t to be. This was indeed reality.
Tori sat in a chair next to the bed. Her arms were folded. She overflowed with tenseness. Her head softly pounded. She looked down at a sight which made her nearly want to throw up. Susy lay in the bed, her eyes closed. Both of her wrists were heavily bandaged. A tube ran from her mouth which helped her to breathe. Two more tubes ran from her nose, one from each nostril. The child looked pale, weak. Her breathing was erratic. The sheets rose up to her neck. Susy was stiff as a board. She looked dead.
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