Trust A Stranger

by Baxter, Cole

  "We'll get to New York City in no time," Mace said, misinterpreting her silence as thoughtfulness. "It's been a while since I visited it," he offered.

  "Why are you being so kind to me?" Mary asked out of the blue.

  He glanced at her before refocusing on the road ahead. "I don't know," he replied with a shrug. "Because it's the right thing to do. Besides, I always suspected Ruby was up to something. Nothing like this, but something."

  "Your paths crossed in the past?" Mary asked curiously.

  "Unfortunately, yes."

  And he lives to tell the tale.

  "For years, she's pestered me, tried to buy my land. I refused all her offers, and she even tried to take it by force, hired some thugs to scare me away."

  "That's horrible."

  "Yes, well, as it turned out, she's one horrible person. I guess now I know why she wanted my land in the first place."

  "So she wouldn't have any witnesses around," Mary provided.

  "Exactly."

  "Thank you for resisting," Mary said.

  His unwillingness to sell, to relocate someplace else, was what saved her life. There wasn't a doubt in her mind about that.

  "My pleasure," he replied genially. "Any time."

  "Truth be told, I'm not used to people helping me, or standing up for me, for that matter." Mary couldn't say what forced her to share that with Mace.

  Mace repeated that thing with the look, glancing at her as though trying to read her face before looking back at the road.

  "Don't take this the wrong way, but how often do you actually ask people for help instead of assuming they would say no?" he asked.

  Mary really stopped and thought about that for a moment because that was an excellent question. "Point well taken," she eventually replied.

  “I'm sorry, it's probably none of my business. It's just that it appears to me that you've spent your life surrounded by terrible people."

  Mary laughed at that description of her life despite herself. Thinking about Nick and especially about Ruby, Mary had to admit there was some merit to what he said. Although Mary was grateful enough to have some good people in her life as well. She knew that now. Mary said as much.

  When they reached the city limits, Mary took a deep breath. The air wasn't as fresh or good as the air surrounding Mace's property, but this was home. I'm home.

  "Where to first?" Mace asked, impersonating a taxi driver.

  "The police station, I suppose," Mary replied with a small shrug. Even though she gave her statement to Sheriff Wild, Mary knew it was important to go and see Detective Decker.

  After giving Mace the address, he drove her straight there. Entering the police station, Mary encountered that same police officer behind the desk. As she approached, he didn't even flinch because of her appearance. Working here, he must have already seen it all, she realized.

  "Hello, sir, could you please tell Detective Decker that Mary Wright is here to see him?" she asked politely.

  Both his eyebrows shoot upward. "Mary Wright?" he asked as though wanting to make sure he heard it right.

  "Yes," she replied simply, although not fully understanding his reaction.

  Detective Decker appeared in front of her in mere seconds. "I've been looking for you," he said instead of a more formal greeting.

  "I figured as much."

  Mary remembered Norman saying something about the police looking for Ruby, and she figured Detective Decker would be involved because of her. As it turned out, she was right.

  "Did Sheriff Wild contact you?" she asked.

  "Yeah, first things first, though. Are you capable of giving me your formal statement now, or do I need to call the medics first?" He wanted to make sure.

  "I can do it now."

  Detective Decker eyed Mace with interest.

  "This is Mace Winston." Mary made the introductions. "He's a . . . friend. He helped me escape."

  "So you're the neighbor." Detective Decker instantly connected all the dots.

  "All I did was dial nine-one-one," Mace replied humbly.

  "Could you stick around so we can have your statement, as well?" Detective Decker asked him.

  "Whatever you need," Mace replied instantly.

  He nodded in return. "Let's go," he told Mary.

  "We just received a tip that the guy who snooped around looking for Nick, Norman Oates, is staying at his aunt's upstate property near Markville," Detective Decker provided almost conversationally.

  Aunt's house. Yeah, right.

  "I was just about to go there, pay him a visit because your landlord said he saw him too."

  "Norman is dead."

  "I know."

  "He killed Nick because Ruby told him to do it."

  That was a piece of information Detective Decker didn't know.

  "You were up there all this time?"

  "Yes."

  Detective Decker cursed.

  "How did you know I went missing, anyway?" Mary asked out of curiosity as they settled into the interrogation room because Detective Decker wanted to record her statement.

  "A lot of people reported you missing."

  Mary was surprised to hear that. "Who?"

  "Well, Alisa Adams."

  Mary's boss. That made sense since Mary was about to go see her when Norman kidnapped her. I wonder what happened to the contract? I hope it's still inside the apartment. Mary knew how important it was to Alisa. Mary had those random thoughts running inside her head, and she forced herself to focus.

  "Shannon Woodward and that PI you hired, Lara Cheng, also came forward. Shannon insisted that Ruby took you. I figured as much myself, although there was no proof for any of it."

  "Ruby tried to kidnap Shannon as well. Norman couldn't find her," Mary said.

  "I told her to get out of town the instant we realized you were missing. Oh, yeah, and Doctor Kellan Carson also came. He is extremely worried about you."

  Mary was humbled and grateful beyond measure that she had such good people in her life. Mace was right, she did encounter some horrible people. At the same time, she met some great ones as well.

  "Are you ready?" Detective Decker asked, turning the recorder on.

  Mary nodded.

  Detective Decker stated his name, date, and the nature of this briefing, after which it was Mary's turn to tell her tale.

  Since Mary had already told everything to Sheriff Wild, it was marginally less difficult telling it the second time around. Mary made sure she didn't leave anything out. She wanted all of Ruby's crimes to be on record so she could be prosecuted for them.

  After the detective explained to her all the future steps and Mace gave his own statement, they were free to go.

  "Where to now?" Mace asked her as they stepped outside.

  Mary realized she preferred to be outside. Nevertheless, she said, "Home."

  He eyed her with reservation. There was clearly something on his mind.

  "What?" she prompted.

  "Don't you need to go to the hospital, have a check-up or something?" Last night, Mace helped her with her wounded feet, cleaned all the cuts, but he was not a professional.

  "Maybe tomorrow. For now, I just want to go home," Mary replied honestly. Besides, none of her wounds were life-threatening.

  "All right."

  Unfortunately, when they reached her apartment, Mary realized she couldn't go inside and not just because she didn't have the key. Mr. Fritt provided her with the spare, expressing his joy that she'd returned safe and sound, as a victor.

  Entering, Mary was confronted with everything Norman did to her and she couldn't bear it. Her heart started pumping like crazy and there was no air. "Mace, could you please take me to the hotel? I can't stay here."

  Mace complied without a word. Mary must have looked on the verge of a breakdown, but he remained calm and helped her in any way he knew how.

  "Are you sure you don't want me to stick around a little longer?" Mace lingered, dropping her off at her hotel.
>
  She would have to be alone at some point, she realized. I might as well start now. "Yes, I'm sure, but thank you for everything."

  He nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

  "I promise." He'd given her his phone number earlier after they stopped by a mobile shop on their way to the hotel. Mary got a new phone, and she gave him her number in return.

  Mary waved goodbye as he drove off. She felt funny entering the hotel. Luckily, all her things were still there. The hotel had saved them for her when the police had informed them that she was missing. She was really glad she didn't have to replace anything.

  Mary turned on all the lights inside the room. She couldn't bear being in the dark. Before going to bed, Mary made sure to call everyone she knew and let them know she was back and okay.

  She saved Shannon for last to tell her she could finally come back home. Each conversation was hard in its own right yet heartwarming at the same time. Once again, she was confronted with the fact that she wasn't alone in the world and never had been. That knowledge gave her power, strength to carry on.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  As the days went by, Mary tried her best to piece her life back together. The sad truth was that now she needed therapy more than ever and visited Dr. Carson almost every day. Nightmares about Norman and Ruby, sometimes Nick, and all the dead women inside that basement plagued her during the day as well as during the night. She started hating enclosed spaces and the dark alike, preferring to spend her days on the small terrace of the hotel despite the cold.

  At the same time, since she'd already survived all that horror, Mary knew this was just a small obstacle on her road and that she would overcome it too. She had to because she'd already survived worse.

  Thankfully, she didn't have to add job hunting to her list of worries. Alisa offered her the job of being her only assistant. The catch was that she had to go to the office every day for work, which Mary was grateful for and accepted the offer without a second thought.

  Also, once Shannon returned, they started seeing one another a lot, and she helped Mary find another apartment to live in. Mary simply couldn't return to her old place no matter how much she liked it. It was just too much for her. She needed to get rid of everything that reminded her of Ruby, to move on.

  "Are you ready for the trial?" Shannon asked her when they met for coffee and apartment hunting one day.

  Mary shrugged. "As much as I can be," she replied.

  Truth be told, Mary tried not to think about it at all. She had confidence in their legal system and that was that. Ruby was facing several charges, and both Shannon and Mary would have to testify against her. The list of witnesses was long, and Mace was among them as well. The prosecutor warned Mary that it would be a long and tiring trial. Mary made a promise to herself that she wouldn't miss a single day in court. She wanted Ruby to see her every time and know she’d lost.

  Mary was slightly nervous when her day in court arrived. The night before, she fussed about what to wear and what to do with her hair as though that was the most important thing in the world. Like the jury would care more about that than what she had to say. She didn't bother practicing what she wanted to say, knowing the right words would come to her when she needed them.

  "Good luck," Shannon mouthed to her before Mary got to the stand and swore an oath to tell only the truth.

  The prosecutor, Mr. Rose, allowed Mary in her own words to recount everything that happened during her captivity. "Ruby Thompson and her accomplice, Norman Oates, held me against my will for eighteen days . . ."

  Mary was proud of herself that she didn't fall apart while speaking, although she couldn't stop treacherous tears from streaming down her face. The judge asked her if she needed a moment to compose herself and Mary declined. She needed to see this through in one go.

  "And then what happened?" Mr. Rose prompted her at some point.

  "And then Norman dragged me to the basement. That was when I discovered I was not the only one. There were dead bodies everywhere. Women were chained to the wall, left to suffer and die in the darkness."

  "Lies, all lies," Ruby screamed. She was constantly interrupting the proceedings with her protests. Ruby's outbursts were not exclusive to Mary's testimony, but they were more frequent for some reason. Probably because Mary was the key witness, the one who escaped and lived to tell the tale.

  The crowd became restless every time Ruby had a fit.

  "Order in the court," Judge Stevenson banged with his gavel, trying to calm everyone down, Ruby included.

  "This is slander," Ruby continued. "I will sue you for all the lies you're weaving against me." Then she started yelling at the attorney for not doing his job the right way. “You are useless,” she spat with disdain.

  "Mr. Cartwright, caution your client that this is the last time she's made a mockery out of my courtroom," the judge yelled. "Miss Thompson, if you don't settle down I will stop this trial and fine you."

  Ruby had been warned multiple times already. Mary believed she was simply too far gone or too arrogant to actually care.

  With that settled, when everyone calmed down, the prosecutor turned toward Mary again. "Miss Wright, please continue."

  Mary took a deep breath before doing just that. "It was dark, and I couldn't breathe from all fumes from the recently deceased down there, but I forced myself to look around. Most of the bodies had seriously started to decompose before I arrived. I did recognize one victim, though."

  "Could you tell the court something about her?"

  "Her name was Carla Blake. I met her at one of Ruby's gatherings. She confessed to me that she was there because Ruby paid her to be there."

  "No," Ruby started screaming, interrupting her again.

  And she didn't stop there. She actually rose to her feet and jumped over the table like she wanted to reach Mary where she sat. And then what? Mary wondered.

  Ruby tried to get past multiple bailiffs and cops to get to her. Mary remained completely calm. Ruby held no power over her. Mary was not afraid. And I will never be afraid of her again.

  The courtroom turned into a complete madhouse.

  "Stop talking," Ruby screeched. "You are a bad friend."

  To Mary's complete shock, both Detective Decker and Mace put themselves between Ruby and herself, adding to the defensive wall around her. They shouldn't have bothered since the cops in charge of Ruby subdued her easily, but Mary appreciated the gesture.

  Just like Mary, Mace came to each trial day and sat with Mary, offering his silent comfort and support. Mary was always glad to see him even though she had to admit circumstances weren't ideal for socializing.

  It was funny how Mary had felt isolated all her life and unloved, mostly thanks to Nick and their screwed-up relationship. And now, she was actually confronted with what that actually looked like when someone was completely alone and unloved. Ruby, being her true self, a monster in a way, was truly isolated and unloved by anybody.

  Mary had a lot of people in her life who cared about her, even put themselves in danger to protect her. Realizing the distinction, Mary felt truly blessed. Just because she had one bad experience in her life didn't mean she should give up trying. Finding love was a noble pursuit worthy of the risks.

  Of course, the trial was stopped thanks to Ruby’s acting out, once again.

  "You need to learn how to behave," Ruby continued to scream at her. "Let me go. I need to teach her a lesson."

  It took two enormous police officers to subdue her. Apparently, the craziness gave her strength as well.

  "Take her away," the judge boomed, clearly losing his patience.

  After that decree, Ruby was dragged back to jail kicking and screaming all the way.

  Good riddance, Mary thought.

  Mary felt really confused regarding Ruby. No, the Stockholm Syndrome never really kicked in, but despite everything, a small part of her felt sorry for Ruby. A really, really small part of her. It was hard to distinguish how much of her atroc
ity was her own and how much was triggered by her disease. Would Ruby be a decent person if she'd taken her medications or if she were never sick at all? At the same time, there were a lot of people in this world who struggled with borderline personality disorder who never turned into serial killers. So at some level, Ruby had to be rotten to begin with, and the disease only magnified everything else, or at least that was what Mary believed.

  After months of such theatrics, shouting in court and accusing everybody of wanting to harm her on purpose, Ruby was found guilty of kidnapping and attempted murder of her, as well as seven counts of first-degree murder for the women she'd tortured and killed, as well as the murders of Norman Oates and Nick. Mary felt uncharacteristically nervous on the day of Ruby's sentencing, and she couldn't quite explain why. It wasn't as though she believed the jury would set her free. Luckily, she had Shannon and Mace by her side to calm her down.

  After the jury found her guilty, it was the judge's turn to finalize everything. Since Ruby was found guilty, she would spend the rest of her life in one of those special facilities for the criminally insane. It was a maximum-security prison, and Mary felt like she could finally breathe again because justice was served.

  Listening to Judge Stevenson speak, Mary couldn't quite decipher her feelings. She was glad, relieved beyond measure that Ruby got what she deserved because that meant that chapter of Mary's life was finally over. Is it over? a part of her questioned. Mary would have her scars, both physical and emotional, for the rest of her life, no matter what. Overall, Ruby’s going to prison didn't make Mary instantly feel better or cured.

  She shared as much with Shannon since they went for coffee afterward. Mary had asked Mace to join them as well, yet he couldn't. His sister who lived in New York City just had a baby, and he went to visit his nephew for the first time.

  "I know just how you feel. I keep waiting for something else to happen," Shannon replied.

  Mary nodded. "Dr. Carson told me it's perfectly normal to feel high-strung after something like this," Mary tried to reassure her.

  "Did he tell you how to get unstrung?"

  "Meditate?"

  Shannon shook her head. "I can't believe it's actually over. One less psychopath on the streets of our beautiful city."