A man by the name of James Roads had been walking along the highway and offered to help change the tire. Both of them had advised him that they were just finishing up and Clarence had just started to lower the car back to the ground when the tire was secured.
Somehow, the man had managed to hold them at gunpoint and demanded that they both get in the vehicle and drive to the nearest bank. He made Clarence go inside to withdraw cash and told him that he would shoot Trudy in the back of the head had he told someone to call the police.
Listening to his every demand, he then forced them to drive to another location. When they got there, the man attempted to make them both get out of the car and into a house. The police had suspected that Clarence had refused to get out and turned around in an attempt to disarm him.
During the struggle, the man pulled out a knife and stabbed Clarence in his stomach multiple times. Brought back to reality through Trudy’s screams, he felt the need to silence her as well due to her being a witness. Slitting her across the throat, blood shot out everywhere in the front of the car.
James Roads had then pulled Clarence to the back seat and proceeded to drive around the city with both bodies in the car looking for heroin. During some time while driving, Clarence had made a noise in the backseat confirming that he wasn’t deceased. James then pulled over to a discreet location and continued to stab Clarence until he was sure he was dead.
Finally finding what he had been looking for, he parked the vehicle outside of an abandoned house and proceeded inside to use the drugs. Apparently, he had gotten so high that he forgot that the bodies were outside of the building in plain sight. One of the neighbors across the street had called the police about the car and told them that it looked as if someone had been sitting in the front passenger seat for a very long time.
When the police had arrived on scene, there had been traces of blood from the car to the front steps of the abandoned house. James Roads had still been in the house and was unconscious from an overdose. Medics arrived and transported him to the hospital. His version of the story was that Trudy and Clarence attempted to abduct him and that is why he had to kill them.
“Lovette? Honey, did you hear me?” said Joseph’s mother, Lorraine. Lovette had been replaying the story so many times and still couldn’t believe how things ended. All her parents had wanted to do was spend some alone time together. The worst part was that had he simply asked them for some money, they would’ve given it to them. They didn’t deserve to die that way and that alone made Lovette begin to cry again.
“Aww, I didn’t mean to make you cry. Come on, let’s go outside away from everyone and get some fresh air,” said Lorraine. Helping her daughter-in-law up from the couch, they both walked outside arm in arm towards the lake.
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“What I still can’t accept is why it had to be my parents, ya know? Like, why would he just walk up on two innocent people and take their lives? No one deserves to die that way,” said Lovette.
They both continued to drink their wine and talk about life and how cruel it could be. Joseph tried his best to console his wife and watched everything he said because she hadn’t broken down crying yet. This was the growth in her. She had now been able to express her feelings about her parents without crying and he didn’t want to be the one to make her cry.
“He was once a married man and has children; that really blows me. You would think he would’ve been more sympathetic towards a married couple but he didn’t even show remorse when it was time for him to go off to jail. I feel for his children but I’m glad he’s going to rot in that place.”
“The world is better off without people like him roaming around. There’s no telling if he even had done this before and gotten away with it. Sorry, I’m ranting babe. It’s just been awhile since I’ve talked about this and this wine is making my lips a little loose,” said Lovette.
“Now you know you can always talk to me about this an unlimited amount of times and an unlimited amount of rant miles. You’re my wife and you come first. This is what I’m here for. Never apologize for expressing yourself. Okay?” replied Joseph. He had a serious look on his face and had wanted her to know how much his words meant.
Placing her wine glass on the front porch, she slid closer to her husband and laid her head on his shoulder. These were moments that she loved the most. He was such a good listener and always paid attention. Joseph positioned his head on top of hers and they sat this way for a few minutes.
“Joe? Who got away earlier?” questioned Lovette. She had told herself that she was going to drop it for the time being but the question shot out of her mouth faster than it came to mind.
“Huh?” replied Joseph. He was lost in his thoughts for a second and was thinking of ways to help his wife heal. He meant what he said about always being there to listen but sometimes, he felt as if maybe a professional would be able to help more.
“I heard you yell on the phone earlier and you told someone that ‘she’ got away. So, who is she?” said Lovette. She had always trusted her husband to tell the truth.
“Oh that? We had bought a dog for the office because someone kept attempting to break in. Just an extra piece of security besides the camera footage. Criminals can cover themselves from the camera but it’s kind of hard to outrun a dog.”
“Will had went to the office and one of the dogs ran past him and right on out the front door. You know he can’t catch a dog let alone catch a slug if it got away from him. I’m pretty sure he was drunk,” said Joseph.
Joseph did tell her that they were having issues with someone trying to get into the building and at one point, they did believe someone had gotten in. This is why they had gotten a security system. Lovette dropped the subject and picked up wine glass back up.
“You feel like running to the store and getting another bottle?” she asked.
Chapter 15: Iris
May 31, 2001
Lovette had dropped Mary off to her counseling session, Joey was hanging out with his friends and she had the evening to do with as she pleased. Joseph’s parents were going to pick them up after and drop them off at home after dinner.
Iris had come back home to attend Joey’s graduation and they both were headed to do some shopping before dinner time. Lovette had been stoked that her baby sister had come to spend time with her.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here! It’s been forever! Tell me everything and don’t leave out any juicy details. Love life? Work drama? I want to know it all!” said Lovette excitedly.
Iris had always been her favorite person. Not only because they were sisters but because Iris was always honest with Lovette. They had a bond that couldn’t have been any better.
“Sheesh, you sound like you haven’t seen me in 20 years or something. It hasn’t been that long,” replied Iris while laughing. “We talk on the phone all the time. Everything is pretty much the same.” That was nothing less than the truth but somehow, seeing her sister in the flesh made things that much more exciting.
Although she had completed high school at the top of her class, Iris had struggled to do so after their parents had died. When Harvard had sent her letter of acceptance, she was relieved that her hard work paid off. She had graduated from school and was now a neurosurgeon. Lovette couldn’t have been prouder of her sister. One of the best parts was that Iris didn’t owe a penny towards her education.
“So, nothing new at all? Now, I know you better than that. Something is new, so spill the beans, missy.”
Lovette had been right. Something was new with her sister but Iris didn’t know how to tell Lovette out of fear of being judged. She hadn’t told anyone yet and was waiting for the right moment to let the cat out of the bag.
“Ok, well…promise me you won’t judge me or get mad. I just…I just don’t need that right now,” confessed Iris. Taking her eyes off of the road for a moment, Lovette saw how serious Iris’s fac
e had become. This alarmed her. Iris never had any bad news.
“You know you don’t have to worry about me judging you. I’m here, so whatever it is, you know you can tell me. There’s nothing that would make me love you any less or look at you any differently. Unless…you didn’t kill anyone did you?!” joked Lovette. They both busted out laughing while Iris shook her head at her sister’s wild guess.
“Of course not. I’ve worked my butt of to become a doctor. I refuse to lose that. But seriously, I’ve been seeing someone for a while now,” said Iris. She was fiddling with her fingers and Lovette knew there was more to the story.
“Okay. Seems like you really like him. There must be a catch coming up. What? Is he like 20 or something? Ahhh, he’s a youngin’, huh?” laughed Lovette. Iris hadn’t changed her facial expression and turned to look out of her windows.
Iris had despised the highway. This was the place where her parents had been forced to get into their car by a maniac who only wanted to get high. This had been part of the reason she hardly ever visited home. She was too afraid to travel by a plane because she now lived in New York. Also, the house seemed to haunt her as well.
“He’s married,” whispered Iris. Without breaking her stare from the trees beyond the car window, she heard her sister gasp as quiet as she could manage. Judgement. She had always felt safe with talking to Lovette about anything but this was the first thing that Iris had come out in the open with something that would be perceived as wrong. She had always been so “perfect” and nobody really expected anything less from her.
“I heard that gasp, so go ahead and say whatever it is that you want to say. I’m ready for it,” continued Iris.
“Oh no! Don’t think I’m mad at you. This is your life. No one is perfect; not even you. Yea, you’re the better sister between us two but things happen. People make mistakes in life and do things they never thought they would do. Things happen and we move around them. It’s a part of being human and you’ll grow from it,” replied Lovette.
She was shocked and felt bad for her initial reaction but she hadn’t been expecting for her sister to tell her that she was dealing with a married man.
“Thanks for not beating me over the head about this. I’ve been holding it in for so long and just needed to get it out there. I didn’t want to tell my friends because they would’ve just pointed the finger at me, especially since all of them are married,” replied Iris. She could feel herself getting emotional; she loved the man so much but wasn’t sure how to go about things.
“Let’s start with you telling me about him. How did you meet him?” asked Lovette. Although sleeping with a married man wasn’t good at all, she wanted to hear her sister’s full side of the story before she had to say everything she needed to tell her. Jumping down her throat about her life’s decisions would only push her away and possibly make Iris never want to visit her again.
“He’s my boss,” said Iris. She was now staring at the side of her sister’s head while she continued to steer the car around the mall’s parking lot looking for a space. She needed to see her every reaction to everything she was about to tell her. This was a portion of judgment. Lovette was good with words but she was no good when it came to controlling her facial expressions.
Lovette raised any eyebrow and said nothing. Waiting for her sister to continue talking, she pulled into the nearest space of the mall’s entrance and parked the car.
“Okay…What else?” she said.
“Well, he has two children that are ages ten and thirteen. He’s been married for 15 years but says he’s unhappy and wants to leave his wife for me,” said Iris. Lovette turned towards her sister and gave her a look of sadness.
Lovette had wanted to be honest with her baby sister. There was absolutely no one that loved Iris more than Lovette, so she knew it was her duty to tell her sister exactly how this would go.
“How long have you been seeing him?” she asked.
“About a year now,” replied Iris. Her stomach began to growl as soon as she opened her mouth. She just realized that she hadn’t eaten all day and this conversation was definitely one that would take a while to fully get through.
“Okay, listen to me. I love you deeply. You’re one of my favorite people in the world, so don’t take anything I say as if I’m attacking you, okay?” said Lovette. Iris nodded and waited for the blow that she knew was about to come next.
“That man will never leave his wife for you. He’s probably said the same thing to his first few side pieces and won’t stop. He doesn’t care about you. Want to know how? Because he doesn’t care about cheating on his wife. The woman he’s been with for 15 or more years and has given him two children.”
“The woman who has stuck by his side through whatever he’s put her through because every marriage goes through SOMETHING. If this man can cheat on his wife with you and go back to her as if nothing is going on, he has no heart,” said Lovette.
“You’re beautiful and can get anyone you want. Don’t settle for this. Don’t waste your time on someone who is feeding you filthy lies about leaving his wife just to continue to get in your bed whenever he feels like it. If he were a real man, he would’ve handled his business and left his wife before even starting a ‘relationship’ with someone else. You don’t even like children. Suppose he did leave his wife. That means you’re going to be playing step mommy to some children that are old enough to form their own opinions and probably give you hell for thinking you stole their dad away from their mother,” Lovette continued.
“He’s trash and you’re a diamond. Don’t make yourself dirty with him when you can eventually be with someone who has good intentions. This creep only cares about himself and how he can get as much out of a woman as he can until he finds a new one. You’re better than this,” said Lovette with tears in her eyes.
She didn’t mean to get so emotional but she didn’t want to see her sister get hurt. But, it was inevitable. Iris had fallen in love with a married man and either she had to be strong enough to cut him off or he was going to string her along with his promises to leave his wife.
“…but he loves me,” whispered Iris. She was staring at the car floorboard and had refused to make eye contact with Lovette. She knew that she had been crying due to the sniffling at the end of her spill on things.
“Hun, he tells his wife that he loves her but you see what he’s doing to her. He didn’t just have a one night stand with you, felt bad, confessed to his wife and promised to never do it again. This man has been dealing with you for a whole year now and is telling you these lies about leaving her. I can just about guess the lies he’s told.”
“I’m sure he’s with you with excuses like the divorce is going to be expensive…he’s trying to stick around a little longer because he doesn’t want to hurt the kids. He’s scared of child support. Oh, his wife might try to hurt herself if he leaves right now because she’s emotional. Stuff like that, right?” said Lovette.
The tears that dropped on top of Iris’s red Prada bag Lovette had given her for Christmas last year had confirmed that these had been the lies he fed her. She had eaten each and every lie.
Every time Iris would bring up him leaving his wife, he had a new excuse. Every time she wanted to go out and do something together, he reminded her that he couldn’t do it just yet out of fear of being caught. The only time she saw him was at work and in her bed a few times a week.
Wiping her face and lifting her head, she knew her sister was right. It felt better to hear it from someone who genuinely cared about her and wouldn’t tell her anything to hurt her. Had she told her friends, she would’ve thought they were just being judgmental without considering her feelings.
“You’re right. I don’t know why I even started this thing knowing he was married. I’m so glad I have you, Vetty Betty,” replied Iris while laughing. She hadn’t called her that in years and it felt good to say it out loud.
“Oh, Lord! You done brought up the world’s worst nicknam
e ever! But, seriously, this is just a bump in the road. Like I said before, you’re human. Don’t beat yourself up over this. Let his ass go and continue on with your life. It’ll be hard because you both work together but just do your job and keep it at that. Maybe you could ask them to transfer you in the hospital somewhere else or under someone else,” said Lovette.
“Well, I actually got another offer from another hospital but it’s a couple of hours away. I’m really considering taking it. I had been looking at other options prior to this thing with Chris but maybe this was just the shove and a sign that I needed to start over,” replied Iris. “Plus, the pay is a lot better than the coins Justice Memorial was pushing out.”
Lovette was relieved that Iris wasn’t angry with her words. She had never wanted to hurt her but Iris had needed to hear the truth. Never in a million years did she imagine that they would be having this conversation.
“Good for you! You deserve it. You know what would be even better? If you came back home and worked here. You know they would hire you instantly,” said Lovette cheerfully.
The look on her sister’s face was the complete opposite. Iris had been so ready to get out of Shawford and had no plans on coming back to stay. She loved her sister but she didn’t love Shawford.
“Now, Lovette. You know damn well I’m not coming back here. Period…” said Iris. Gasping and almost choking on air, Iris coughed until she could breathe normal again.
“What is it, Rissy?” questioned Lovette. They both were still sitting in the car and Lovette was sure Iris had seen something suspicious. Looking around the parking lot, there were couples and teenagers walking into the mall but nothing seemed off. “What’s going on?” asked Lovette, again.
“I didn’t get my period this last month…or this month,” confessed Iris. “Work has been so hectic and I lost track of my cycle. At first, I just figured it was stress and totally forgot about it. I don’t know how I missed something like this! What am I gonna do?!” she cried.
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