Blind Retribution

by K. T. Roberts

  Julie slid her finger over the glossy image, briefly turning back the hands of time as she remembered that day. They’d each smiled for the camera, even though they’d been dying inside, but they’d done it for their mother, who’d stopped long enough to take the picture before heading out for work that evening. She’d had two jobs just to keep the family afloat. Unfortunately, those jobs were such that she slept during the day and saw her children in passing before she started her next shift. Julie resented the fact that David Lee Turner not only took their virginity, but took their mother away from them too while he stayed home and entertained himself at Julie and Max’s expense. As a result, their mother saw very little of her girls. The monster had been laid off too many times to count. Seemed like he was always between jobs.

  Julie wiped the moisture from her eyes with a napkin sitting on the table. A muted image of David Lee Turner’s face appeared in her mind. She remembered his smug expression after their mother had been killed by a hit-and-run driver, which gave him legal guardianship of them to do whatever he wanted—and he did. If it hadn’t been for Ellen’s mother, she didn’t know what would have happened to them. Fortunately, the woman reported him to the police, and David Lee Turner was sent to prison for the rest of his life, where the bastard was killed by an inmate. Julie prayed his death was slow and painful. Just the thought of him made her shudder. Refilling her glass with wine, she tried to push the horrid thoughts from her mind. She prayed that one day the ugly memories would fade away if she focused her attention on the good that had come out of their past: her bond with Max was so tight, nothing could ever come between them.

  “Mom,” Ellie’s voice screeched as she elongated the letters, “Jenny said she’s not going to let me wear her Halloween costume.”

  Although Julie was thankful for the interruption, her daughters’ constant bickering drove her nuts. She closed her eyes and splayed her hands over them, counting to ten. Then she made her way over to her daughter and rubbed her ribs to stop the child from crying. “First of all, girls, I’m the boss of who wears what, and secondly, Jenny, why are you so mean to your sister?” she asked.

  “She was mean to me.” Jenny pointed a short skinny finger at her twin. “Like the time you . . .”

  Julie cut her short. “For God’s sake, this is your sister,” she said, pointing to Ellie. You should have more respect for her.” Julie doubted her words had penetrated permanently. She knew the words had gone in one ear and out the other. Nevertheless, she scolded them, hoping they’d learn to love each other the way she did Max. “Keep it up and neither one of you will be going out for Halloween,” she said in a threatening voice. “And you know those new iPads you got for your birthday? They’ll be on their way out, too and given to children who appreciate their sisters. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” they said at the same time.

  “Now hug your sister and tell her you’re sorry.” Jenny rolled her eyes. “Girls, I’ve really had enough crap today to last me a lifetime. Don’t push it!”

  “Who’s giving you crap?” Max said, entering the kitchen as the two girls stopped what they were doing and ran to her. “What’s going on that you’re making your mom crazy?”

  “She started it,” Ellie said, pointing to her sister.

  “Stop,” Julie yelled. “Now go watch some television until dinner is ready.” Julie opened her mouth and gave a silent scream when the girls stomped their feet on their way out to the den. She walked over and gave Max a tight hug. “I love you, sis.”

  “Tough day, Jules?” Max asked.

  “Yes, they’re driving me to drink over stupid Halloween costumes. Cripes, do I have to listen to this crap for another freakin’ week?” Julie held up her glass of wine. She took a sip, then set it down on the counter. “Want one?”

  “Of course.” Julie handed her a wineglass and nodded toward the bottle. Max raised her nose in the air and inhaled. “Mmm, it smells like we’re having meatballs and pasta for dinner.”

  “We are. Hungry?”

  “Starving,” Max said, suddenly noticing Julie’s new hairdo. “I love the new do.” She stepped back and eyed her from a distance. “Yeah, I’ve always loved you in short hair.”

  “I know you have, and today, I do too. After looking at myself in the mirror a few times since I got home from the beauty salon, I’m really glad I let her cut it all off.” Julie played with the spiky hairstyle. “I resisted for a long time, but trying to maintain my sanity while refereeing two nine-year-olds made me realize that short hair seemed to be the only sane thing to do.” She laughed.

  Max looked closer. “I really like the blond-on-blond streaks too. It brightens your entire face and accentuates your hazel eyes.”

  Julie grinned. “Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”

  “How does Mike like it?”

  “He hasn’t seen it yet. I didn’t tell him I was having it done today, and now I’m a little nervous, because he hates short hair.”

  Max laughed. “Well, you have nothing to worry about, because you look like a hot mama! With that new look and your amazing figure after having twins, that man will be all over you. And just to show my support, I’ll take the girls out for ice cream after dinner so you two can be alone.”

  Julie, two inches taller, stood and wrapped her arms around Max, giving her a tight squeeze. “You’re my hero.” she said, her eyes beginning to glisten with moisture. “If it wasn’t for you always telling me things would be okay, I don’t think I would have survived.” Max’s eyes welled up too.

  “Through thick and thin, we’ve pulled each other through the storm.” It wasn’t until Max noticed the photographs sitting on the counter that she understood Julie’s melancholy mood. “Ah, now I see what’s happening. Why do you have the pictures out?”

  “Today is twenty years that Mom’s been gone. I just wanted to refresh the image of her face in my mind, but the only thing looking through those photos did was stir up old wounds.”

  “We’re tough, Jules; we can handle this.” Max kissed her cheek. “We’ve survived, and look at us now. Don’t go back there. It’s not worth it and only digs up all those bad memories of something we can’t change. It happened and it’s over.” Julie’s eyes lowered and she gave a slow nod. “Jules, maybe now is the time to go for therapy. You can let this destroy your life, or you can find ways to release that hatred by talking to a professional.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” Julie let go a heavy sigh.

  “And speaking of being right!” Max said with enthusiasm, aiming to break through her sister’s mood. She immediately had Julie’s full attention. Max set her glass down and stepped back to look at her sister. “I need your advice,” she said timidly.

  “Excuse me?” Julie quipped and looked behind her. “I could have sworn you just said you needed my advice?”

  “Very funny, Jules. You’re really going to make me grovel, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Julie said smugly, crossing her arms against her chest.

  “Okay. Yes, I’m asking for your advice.”

  “This is pretty amazing, because I thought you told me to mind my own business after that disastrous evening at Yankee Stadium.”

  “Are you having fun?” Max said, placing her hand on her hip and blinking her eyes.

  Julie giggled. “Honestly, I am having a helluva good time.” She giggled some more. “Okay, talk to Dr. Julie, mother of two rambunctious twins and wife of Mike Shelton, husband extraordinaire.”

  “Yeah, well, this is about that guy.”

  “The obnoxious one?” Julie screeched.

  “Yes,” Max said with a wide grin. “That one, who, by the way, is a private investigator, and I don’t think he’s so obnoxious anymore.”

  Amused, Julie shook her head. “You’re kidding, right?” Julie stared at her sister, waiting for her to explain, but Max’s face only morphed into a cringe. “Okay, but now you have to tell me what made you decide he’s not so bad after all.”


  “Hey,” Max said, raising her palms in the air, “what can I say?”

  Julie pulled two stools out from under the bar, poured herself another glass of wine, and topped off Max’s glass. “You have my undivided attention.”

  Max filled her sister in on everything that had happened between her and Cory, including the slight tiff. “And now, I’m just not sure how to react.”

  “Sounds like he’s giving you a dose of your own medicine.” She snickered. “I’ll just bet you were dying after you practically ripped the guy’s face off with your wrath yesterday.” She threw her head back and laughed, because she knew Max’s aggressive tendencies all too well, and she knew Mr. Ball-Cheater had received the bitter taste of her venom. “I can just see the look on your face when you realized he was talking to you as the detective who arrested his friend and not for a date with you.” Julie giggled. “I’ll bet you wanted to crawl under your desk and disappear into thin air.”

  “Oh my God, you know it!”

  “And what was he doing while you zipped along from one thing to the next?”

  “Smirking! But of course, that only made me madder. And by the next time I saw him in court, and then again at The Alibi, I had completely changed my mind about him being a jerk. I’m suddenly finding myself daydreaming about him and wondering what it would be like to have a relationship with him.” She threw both palms in the air. “Am I a nutjob, or what?”

  “No,” Julie said. “It’s all part of the infatuation stage in a relationship.”

  “And get a load of this one,” Max said, touching her sister’s arm. “He took me out to dinner and he expected nothing from me.” Max intentionally left the part out about Cory borrowing the money from his client’s fund, for fear Julie would only wind up judging him.

  “You mean like the after-dinner dessert?”

  “Right. I’m either not that appealing or he’s one helluva guy. He’s so different from anyone I’ve ever dated.” Max sipped her wine.

  “It sounds like he is one helluva guy.” She tilted her head to the side and gave Max an affectionate smile. “I love seeing you bubble with excitement over a guy.” What she didn’t say was that she was concerned Max’s work persona might turn him off. “How about that? If I could only have one wish, it would be for you to have the same kind of happiness I share with Mike.”

  Then Max’s face fell. She returned to their blowup over the phone this afternoon, asking Julie what she should have done differently.

  “What I am concerned about is whether or not you’re going to be able to separate your work from your personal life. When you said you called to share your disappointment with him about interviewing friends of the family, whose case you’re both working on, I might add, what set you off?”

  “The fact that he had the witnesses—potentially testifying witnesses—believing I had sent him for further questioning pushed me over the edge, and I expressed my opinion rather abruptly. None of them had anything nice to say about Jack, so he pushed a little too hard proclaiming the guy’s innocence. And it ticked them off.” Max reached for the bottle of wine and poured more of the red liquid into both glasses. “Couple that with one of those friends wondering if this new line of questioning made me unsure about whether I had the right guy in jail. It made me look like I had done a bad job of investigating.” Max stared at Julie. “See what I mean?”

  Julie crinkled her nose and gave a slow nod. “But he wasn’t really lying, because he is working the same case, just not on the same side. Yes, he embellished it a little too much.” Julie shrugged while Max nodded her agreement. “It sounds like he held you accountable for something he did by playing the blame game. He might have been embarrassed.”

  Max released a deep sigh. “Am I crazy for missing him? It was only one date.” She gave Julie a quizzical look. “I am kicking myself for not handling it better.” Casting her eyes downward, she told Julie what was bothering her. “He hung up on me, and I haven’t heard from his since. What should I do?” Seeing the slight smirk on Julie’s face, Max knew exactly what was happening. “You’re gloating, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not gloating,” Julie said with a wide grin, exposing her teeth. “Do I look like I’m gloating?”

  Max gave her an arched brow. “Okay, well maybe a little. So, let’s see. What do I think you should do?” Julie scratched her head while she pondered a thought. “First of all, it only happened today, right?” Max nodded. “Well, I think you’re jumping the gun here that he may never call you again. He’s probably just as ticked off, and I’m sure embarrassed that he messed things up with you by fibbing his way into seeing those potential witnesses. I’d invite him out to talk about it. You have to communicate. Right now you’re both speculating about what the other one is thinking.” Julie’s eyebrows rose and wrinkled her forehead. “You both need to apologize—you, for coming at him like gangbusters, again, and him, for making the witnesses think you’d sent him. He didn’t handle the call so well either. At least you’ll have tried to mend fences. And I’d find it hard to believe he wouldn’t want to mend them, given the long list of attributes you’ve mentioned. I have to admit, he sounds like the perfect mate for you. Learn to agree to disagree.” Julie leaned her head to the side. “You’ve lived alone for so many years, Max, you’ve never had to be flexible, but here’s an opportunity to grow and learn from your mistakes.”

  “Thank you, Jules,” Max said grabbing her hand. “Your advice is usually spot-on.”

  Julie’s hand slapped against her chest. “You mean you really do follow my advice?”

  “I listen to your advice, I just don’t always follow it.” Max razzed, giving Julie a playful punch on her arm.

  “You know what, sis?” Julie said grabbing Max’s fist and holding it tight. “I can’t wait to meet the guy who has captured your heart. He must be pretty special.” Julie stood and hugged Max. “I can’t imagine having anyone other than you as my sister.”

  Max hugged her right back. “I love you too, Jules. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  The whirring sound of the garage door had the twins running for the door shouting, “Daddy’s home!”

  Max quickly rose from her seat and put her glass on the counter. “I guess that’s my cue to finish the salad.”

  “And mine to get dinner on the table,” Julie said.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Bloodcurdling screams echoed through his ears, images of bodies peppered the landscape, pins and needles shot up his arms from the vibration of the tat-tat-tat of the ammunition feeding into his machine gun. He wanted to stop killing. He’d tried to run, but his friend pulled him back so the commander wouldn’t see his weakness, but doing so caused his friend to wind up in the line of fire, catching the bullet meant for him. He died right at his feet. He remembered being slouched over his friend’s body, sobbing like a baby, only to be scolded by his commanding officer, who told him to suck it up—this was war.

  He crouched down into the darkened corner, his knees squashed against his chest, his hands slapping against his head, begging God to stop the scene playing out in his mind. But the stench of the decaying bodies, the blood and sweat, the shrill scream from a goat in the line of fire had him back in Kandahar, Afghanistan, reliving the ambush like a video on constant replay.

  The sound of the door opening caught his attention momentarily. He slowly eased himself deeper into the corner to avoid being seen from the light flooding into the room. He held his breath to avoid another ambush. The intruder took a mop and left as quickly as he’d come in. His commander’s voice told him he had work to do, and he’d better get himself out there and do the job he’d been trained to do.

  He took a deep breath and stood upright, dried his tears, and gingerly opened the door to see if anyone was passing. When the coast was clear, he slipped out into the hallway, trying to meld into the crowd filled with visitors anxious to see their loved ones.

  He checked the time and was pleased he’
d get there shortly after she was brought down from the recovery room. He walked past the room and noticed she was already back in her room with her mother leaning over her, planting a kiss on her forehead. He hadn’t planned on the mother being there so early, but he’d wait across the hall. When the older woman left the room and headed for the elevator, he felt a sense of relief.

  With the coast clear, he entered the private room where Candy Morrison was just beginning to stir. Reaching for her chart, he noted she’d been given Propofol during surgery, a drug anesthesiologists used to put their patients to sleep.

  The young girl blinked her eyes open, saw him, and moaned in pain. “Nurse, it hurts.” She cried soft tears.

  “I know, sweetheart,” he said, rubbing her arm. “I’m going to make you feel all better in a few minutes. You just hang on.”

  “Thank you,” she said weakly.

  Glancing at her, he noted she was a cute little thing. He hesitated before reaching inside his pocket, but then he heard his commander’s voice shouting out his order to “Carry on.” He jerked into action immediately, removed the vial and hypodermic needle from his pocket, pulled the plastic cap off with his teeth, and drained the bottle, filling the entire shaft with Propofol. Then, he inserted it into the port in her vein. “This will make you feel better and help you sleep for a long time. Sweet dreams, little one.”

  He stood and watched her decline, the numbers quickly lowering just before she flatlined and his heart rate escalated at having killed another. When the monitor began to beep, he narrowly escaped the room just as a team of medics raced inside. He bolted into a public restroom down the hall, locking the door behind him. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, a mass of confusion suddenly overcame him and he was once again watching the villagers weep for their family members. He brought his hands up to the sides of his face and covered his eyes to block out the image, but it only served to give him a more vivid picture. He punched his head to stop the playback when his commander told him to stop being a wimp. This is war! He stood at attention and saluted the man. “Sir, yes, sir!” he shouted and pulled himself together.