“Oh shit! I guess I messed up, please promise you won’t say anything about this or put it in the report.”
“The guy’s dead nothing matters now. I promise.”
“He raped Betty that night too. Betty didn’t want anyone to know because Darrell wouldn’t marry her if he knew she was violated.”
“That’s so crazy. She was assaulted not making out in the backseat. Darrell is idiotic to let that interfere with his life.”
“That’s what Chad, said too, he’s Amelia’s boyfriend.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in the military.”
“Here are you have three beautiful young ladies with no men around. Maybe I should appoint myself your protector.”
“I guess you could look at it that way, we’ve been OK up until now. We never needed a protector for anything before,” said Shelly.
“I was wondering,” said Wilson, “would you like to go out to dinner with me?”
“I think that sounds like fun and I could use a little fun in my life after all this. Let me tell Amelia we are leaving so she can come out and set the deadbolt.”
They went to a little café on campus and were having a nice time when Wilson’s phone rang.
“Please excuse me I have to get this, it’s my boss.” He got out his pad and pen and began to write down an address. “OK, got it, I will.”
“I’m glad about that call,” said Wilson.
“Why?” Asked, Shelly
“I’m still on administrative leave,” said Wilson, “and that was my boss calling me, he wants me to do some leg work for him tomorrow, it just shows that he has confidence in me that I did the right thing.”
“Why are you on administrative leave,” asked Shelly, “you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It’s routine,” said Wilson, “anytime an officer fires his weapon there is an investigation. The cop is taken off duty whether they suspect foul play or not. It’s supposed to help the policeman try and get the shooting off his mind and relieve stress, because shooting a suspect is always the last resort.”
“How long will you be on administrative leave?”
“It depends. Another team will investigate the shooting and see if I had any personal motives for shooting Thompson. If I knew him before we began the investigation or if we had any mutual acquaintances or interests. In case I wanted to shoot him for a reason other than the crime he committed. They will take into consideration, my experience, whether or not I have shot anyone before, and if they think I’m fit to carry a gun.”
“Are you worried about it?”
“Well I’m a little concerned because it goes on my record, but as to why I shot him and if it was the right thing to do, I have no worries there.”
“Did you ever kill anyone before?”
“Yes, when I was in the service I did, this is only the second one on this job.”
“How do you feel when you kill someone?”
“In this instance the guy was trying to kill me with a knife, so I don’t feel too bad. If he had allowed me to arrest him, I would have done that. I didn’t really want to kill him. In fact, I feel sorry that I had to kill him, but I look at it as if I did the right thing because he was trying to kill me. In my opinion, usually stalkers are a little loco, that’s why I wanted to check around your apartment that night before I went home. I was worried that I had given you a false sense of freedom and comfort and one of you might get careless and start taking chances.
“Anyway, what about you, what are you studying at college?”
“I’m pre-med,” said Shelly, “I have completed all my pre-clinical work now I have four years of med school, then an internship and then residency. After all that I will be a doctor, I hope, that’s if all goes well.”
“Wow! That sound like a lot of work to me.”
“Yup, it is, I have wanted to be a doctor as long as I can remember, and my parents are working hard to help me.”
“Are you planning on staying in the city?”
“Yes, if I can there are good hospitals here, if I’m able to get into one of them. It’s very competitive.”
“I’ve enjoyed talking to you Wilson. I have to go home now I have early classes tomorrow.”
“They walked to the apartment, would you mind if I call you and ask you out again,” Asked Wilson.
“That would be nice,” said Shelly, “I’ll tell you in advance, I don’t have tons of free time so if you call and I keep putting you off, don’t get discouraged.”
“Thanks for telling me that, I will remember it, and thanks for going out with me tonight. He kissed her and she liked it.”
Wilson and Shelly got along well, they had some interests in common, they both loved to read and play tennis although they spent long hours working, they enjoyed being together when they could. They began to develop a friendship.
[ Chapter 32 ]
It was a beautiful spring day many months after the attack. Amelia, Betty and Shelly moved to another apartment and were together again. This apartment was in an older house and the rooms were very spacious, each bedroom had its own bathroom. They had a balcony and they could sit out there when the weather was nice. Betty had moved up her wedding date and would be married at Christmas time, finish school, and then begin graduate school. She and Darrell would be living in an apartment they found close to the city. Darrell wanted to get a few more courses in business management and then he would be working with his father’s firm and might be traveling so Betty wanted to stay close to her friends.
Amelia applied for a job in a forensic laboratory and Shelly was going to medical school. After Betty got married Shelly and Amelia would look for another apartment they could share, which would be less expensive. They wanted to enjoy the last few months they would have together, so they spent a lot of time hanging out with each other.
The trio went to a local restaurant to have dinner one evening. Just after they ordered, Betty said she suddenly felt sick and had some cramps. They asked that their order be prepared for carry out and went back to the apartment. Betty had eaten very little and said she was feeling out of sorts all day. Her stomach was upset, and when they got in the apartment, she made a mad dash for her bathroom and threw up. After that Betty felt lightheaded and sat on the bathroom floor before trying to get up.
Shelly called to Betty through the door to see if she was ok and got no response. She motioned Amelia to come over and Amelia knocked on the bathroom door and thought she heard Betty moan. She had a little flashback to the night they found Betty on the floor of her room beaten and raped, and she quickly put that out of her mind. Worried, Amelia and Shelly opened the bathroom door. Betty was passed out on the floor lying in a puddle of water. They laid her flat and tried to arouse her. She only mumbled something that was garbled. They began undressing her so she could breathe easier. When Shelly went to unbutton her slacks, they were so tight around the middle the button almost flew off. Shelly looked at Amelia and they immediately knew. Betty was pregnant. Amelia put her hand on what looked like a big hard ball in Betty’s stomach.
“Shel,” she said, looking horrified, “I think Betty’s in labor. I don’t know too much about human babies, but I have seen plenty of animals being born.”
Betty began to wake up, Amelia said, “did you hit your head Betty?” Betty shook her head no, put her hand over her eyes, and began to cry.
“You know, don’t you?” She asked. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone and have a quiet abortion, but I couldn’t do it,” she sobbed. “I just couldn’t do it.” The girls sat on the bathroom floor each on one side of her and they all looked like they were in misery but said nothing. Amelia had tears running down her face but remained silent.
“My life is over, Darrell will never marry me, and my parents will probably disown me. I never wanted a baby. I couldn’t have an abort
ion. It didn’t seem right the baby is innocent.” She stopped and groaned and had a contraction.
“Before you say another word,” said Shelly, “you’re in labor Betty and we need to call an ambulance.”
“No! No!” Screamed Betty, “I don’t want to go to the hospital, I don’t want anybody to know I’m having a baby that’s why I worn such tight clothes, I hope it didn’t hurt the baby, I couldn’t, she trailed off,” sobbing.
“What are we going to do?” Shelly asked, Amelia.
“Betty,” said Amelia, “can we talk some sense into you and take you to the hospital, we will go with you? We’ll stay with you every minute.”
“Only if you tight me up and physically make me go there,” said Betty.
“Shel,” said Amelia, “do you know any obstetric people or do any of your med student friends?”
“I don’t know,” said Shelly, “none of us has taken OB/GYN yet.”
“Betty we’re going to go get some towels and pillows and clean you up,” said Amelia getting up.
When they got out in the hall Amelia said, “this will take some time, we need to get Betty cleaned up and dry and make her comfortable, so we have some time. You need to get on the phone and try and find someone. I don’t really want to do this here, but I’m not willing to go against Betty wishes. How about you?”
“God,” said Shelly, “I don’t know what to do. We’ll need someone who knows what they are doing in the end to be sure Betty and the baby are ok.”
“For now,” said Amelia, “let’s clean her up and be sure this is what she really wants to do.”
They got her wet clothes off and cleaned her up.
“Betty, please can we talk you out of having the baby here, what if something goes wrong with you or the baby and we can’t help you,” begged Amelia.
“I don’t care about me, if the baby were to get into trouble then you could call 911, until then I’ll take my chances. I don’t want to put you on the spot,” she said looking at Amelia and Shelly, “but this is what I want.”
“Shelly, I’ll stay here you go and get on the phone and see what you can come up with.”
It had been several hours, and Betty’s contractions were coming closer and closer together.
Amelia called to Shelly, “Have you had any luck with finding anyone?”
“Not yet, Harold’s mother is a nurse midwife, she’s out on a case. He is going to try and get her and call us back. I went to class a few times with my sister when she was getting ready for her baby but that’s all,” said Shelly, “so I can help Betty with coaching a little bit.”
Betty was able to rest a little between contractions and she talked to them.
“Darrell and I talked about a family and we were going to wait for several years until we were financially in good shape and then maybe plan”….her voice broke off, as another contraction hit her and she moaned.
Amelia said, “Betty I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say to comfort you or help you.”
“To start with you are both sworn to secrecy. You need to help me find a way to hide this from Darrell. I’ve already started to lay the groundwork by telling him I had a terrible accident when I was young, and it involved my private areas. He didn’t ask any questions so maybe that will be ok.”
“What will you do with the baby?”
“Give it up for adoption, I guess.”
“Don’t you think Darrell would understand about everything if you told him?” asked Amelia.
“I have tried several times to see what he would say by making up stories about girls who had to drop out of school because they were pregnant to see how he would react. He says, that we are all makers of our own destiny and if woman chooses to give up college for a baby well then that’s her problem.”
“What about the circumstances,” said Shelly, “you didn’t do this on purpose?”
“I’m afraid that if I told him he wouldn’t want me anymore. I don’t want to start off my marriage with a lie. It would be much more simply if I could die myself.”
“Don’t even go there,” said Amelia. “Look we are supposed to be smart women we need to think of something to remedy this situation.”
They tried to think of things to say to Betty, they asked her how she was able to hide the pregnancy from her family and Darrell.
“I didn’t go to my parent’s home often and Darrell was away so much. I was wearing the tightest girdles I could find, always-full skirts, empire style dresses, and jumpers. Darrell did remark that he thought I gained some weight and my face looked a bit puffy and I should start working out so I wouldn’t be fat for the wedding.”
“Fat,” said Amelia, “you probably only weight 125 now even with the baby. I could punch him in the eye for saying that, he has some nerve.”
They kept trying to come up with scenarios of how she could keep the baby, but none seemed workable. Shelly was starting grad school. Amelia was just about able to support herself and would be working and hoping to start on her master’s degree. It was a brick wall.
Betty’s contractions were now about 5 minutes apart and Shelly got a call from Harold.
“Shelly, I got a hold of my mom, she’s almost done with a home birth she was assisting at. She was skeptical when I told her the story, but she is a willing to come by your apartment and see if Betty is ok. She is on the other side of town and it will probably take her about 40 minutes to get there.”
“Thanks, Harold, I appreciate your help we’ll wait for her to get here, I hope the baby will too.”
As Betty’s time drew nearer Amelia and Shelly spread out clean towels and got some plastic bags for the soiled cloths they had been using. Betty told them she had some diapers and a few undershirts and bunting bags she bought for the baby in her room. Shelly boiled water and placed her hemostats and scissors in the pot to sterilize them to clamp and cut the cord. Amelia had a rubber, nose irrigation bulb and they washed that out as best they could. They were praying Harold’s mother would get there before the baby was born but had to be prepared if she didn’t.
Betty gripped Shelly’s arms very tightly and screamed out, “I have all this pressure, I have to push.”
Amelia looked at her bottom and said, “Go ahead Betty, I think I see the baby’s head.” Betty let out a moan and water and blood rushed out of her along with the baby’s head.
Amelia said, “Betty one more push and I think the baby will be here.”
Amelia had used Vaseline around the birthing area to help the baby slide out easier, she had seen her father do that when calves were born. She prayed that babies did not get stuck as calves sometimes did and she would have to try and pull it out. A flashback of pulling on her father’s legs went through her mind, but she shook it off.
They were all a mess now. The bathroom was littered with bloody towels and garbage bags and the girls themselves were disheveled their hair was wet with perspiration and they had pulled it back into ponytails, but little stray strands of hair stuck on their faces. They had on tee shirts and sweats that were wet and stained with blood. A contraction came and Amelia told Shelly to try and help Betty to sit up to help push the baby out. Betty gave out a yelp and her face was scarlet red, flushed with pushing, she was soaked with perspiration too. She pushed once more and out popped the baby.
“The baby is here called out Amelia, I have to clean it up and be sure it’s breathing is ok.” As soon as she wiped the babies face off, the baby began to cry. Amelia cleared the baby’s mouth with the bulb irrigator and q tips and tried to get the mucous out. She called out to Betty, “It’s a girl!” Betty began to sob. Amelia wrapped the baby in a soft white bath towel, took the hemostats, and clamped the birth cord and cut it.
There was someone knocking on the door. Shelly ran to see who it was and almost threw her arms around the woman when she said she was Harold’s mother. Shelly
brought her in the bathroom and she nearly gasped.
Amelia said, “Please check the baby first, Betty seems to be OK.”
Mary checked the baby and said she thought everything was fine and the baby was healthy. “Finish cleaning the baby up,” Mary suggested, “and keep her warm, put a towel in the microwave, make sure it’s not too hot. I will work with Betty to finish up this job.”
“Betty,” asked Mary, “do you want to see the baby?”
“Yes,” said Betty, Mary placed the baby in Betty arms and again she cried. “You are so beautiful,” she whispered to the baby. Then she called to Amelia, “please come take her.”
Amelia and Shelly cleaned the baby up and got the clothes Betty had in her room and dressed the baby. They put a receiving blanket Betty bought in the microwave to make is warm and swaddled the baby. Betty had also purchased a newborn starter kit for infants and a folding cradle.
After Mary finishing taking care of Betty, Amelia helped her to her bed. Mary gave them instructions on what to look for and what to give the baby and said she would look into getting a birth certificate for the baby.
“Before I go Betty, what do you want to name the baby?”
“Her name is Gina, Gina Evans. Thank you, Mary, for your help and please keeps this as quiet as you can.”
“I will and I’ll be looking for a good home for Gina.”
For the next week, Amelia and Shelly took care of Betty and the baby. They all agreed that Betty would have as little contact as possible with the baby, since she was going to give her away. At the end of the week, the girls sat down at the kitchen table and had a powwow. Betty would go and to her parents’ house since they were not home and Amelia and Shelly would keep the baby in the apartment until a good home was found for her. When they needed help Alice one of their professor’s wives or one of Shelly’s married friends would keep the baby. They told everybody the baby was Amelia’s.
Amelia researched adoption agencies and their qualifications and reputations to see if they were legit and made good placements.
Secrets of Amelia Page 20