“No, you need to slow down.”
“Mother!”
“Don't you dare mother me, and tell me who is that woman living with you.”
“Nobody is living with me.”
“Don't you lie to me.”
“Mother I am not lying.”
“Then your sister is lying.”
“No mother, she is not lying either.”
“Is there or isn't there a woman and a child living at your place?”
“Her name is Josie, and her daughter's name is Vicky.”
“About time. When is the wedding?”
“Mother there is no wedding.”
“You will not dishonor me by taking advantage of a woman.”
“Mother, I’m not taking advantage of anyone.”
“That’s not how I see it, so listen carefully. No son of mine is going to be living in sin. I'm going to speak with the pastor.”
“Mother you won't like her.”
“Does she love you?”
“I don't know. Maybe.”
“Do you love her?”
“Again...I don't know.”
“Well you better figure it out before Pastor Carmelo calls you.”
“Mother, she's white.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I thought it would bother you.”
“Listen son, there is plenty of racism in this world, but there is a lot more love, compassion, and acceptance. For your sake, do not let the actions of a few make you live your life bitter and on guard.”
“But mother...”
“But nothing. People are going to hurt you, not because they are white and you are black or vice versa, but because they are human.”
“Mother, really?”
“Really. If she is a good woman, don't let her slip away.”
“I've to go ma.”
“Drive carefully.”
Jerome looked at the speedometer and saw that he had slowed down considerably, and needed to speed up again to catch up. He looked at his phone and saw that her avatar had stopped. It would take him at least thirty minutes to get there.
He tried to think of who to call for back up, but could not think of anyone, as Tom was on leave and Gaston was further away than he was. He called Gaston. It was better to have him get there late than not to have any backup. At least if he got in a mess there would still be someone to help get him out of it, after all the killer couldn’t be allowed to kill another person and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Josie.
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.
Jude 1:2
Chapter 33
They had been driving for a while and Josie noticed that they were going away from the city. The two-lane highway was busy with few houses scattered here and there. She was able to see some horses and cows, and she was able to see cotton plants that normally would have made her wish for a big house with a big yard for Vicky to play in, but right now she was terrified. She had no idea where he was taking her. Would she be able to see her baby again?
The feeling of dread increased with every mile. Could her uncle be the killer? No! She could not believe it. This man had been part of their lives and had never acted violently toward anyone, at least until today; she reminded herself.
She kept looking out the window as she could not face him. Tears were rolling down her face and she could not help the feeling of helplessness. She tried to pray, but the fear had taken over and the only words she repeated over and over again were oh God, oh God. Then something caught her attention in the side mirror. That was Maria Esperanza's car. She would recognize it anywhere. Her pink Mini Cooper was one of a kind. No one else would dare add eye lashes to the headlights and Polka dots to the hood. Oh God, please don't let them get hurt. Then, as she kept looking at her friend, she saw another car almost as ridiculous pass them. This one was a green smart car covered in sunflowers. As Josie was mesmerized by the ridiculous cars, a maroon colored Lincoln with dark windows passed Maria's car. There was plenty of oncoming traffic, but as soon as it cleared, Maria moved to the opposite traffic lane and floored it, passing the Lincoln, but not being able to pass the smart car, and got back in her lane, between the two cars.
“Irresponsible kids. Coming in and out of traffic like that. They are going to cause an accident.” Uncle Ken said.
Josie ignored his comment as she kept looking at the cars. It reminded her of an old black and white movie, except that this was not a set, but a real life highway, where real accidents happened. Maria's Mini Cooper and the Lincoln moved out into the oncoming traffic at the same time, thank God the Lincoln had moved back into its lane or there would have been an accident. Maria moved in front of the smart car.
She heard her uncle chuckle. She knew it was the car's paint job that had done it. She herself remembered how hard she had laughed when she had seen the car for the first time.
Her uncle sped up to about eighty-five miles per hour leaving the other cars behind. Josie did not know if it was because he was trying to get away from the crazy teenagers, or because he recognized one of the cars; after all, Maria had been parked right behind him.
She could not stop looking at the cars going in and out of traffic passing each other fighting for the chance to be first.
“How much further is this place of yours?” Josie asked.
“Not too far now.”
Josie was really scared. She wasn't just scared for herself, but also for her mother and for her friends. Jerome might be the only hope all of them had. Please God help him find them on time.
“We are here, how do you like it?” Uncle Ken asked.
“You act like if I came here willingly.”
“You did! I never had to put a gun to your head or anything.”
“I guess pulling me by the hair and pushing me into the car does not count.”
“Stop your sarcasm. Now let's go in and remember to agree with me with everything I say.”
“Agree on what?”
“You are one of the dumbest people I know. All I want is to make your mother happy and you are making it difficult.”
“Please explain to me what we have agreed on.”
“You will tell your mother that you know you are not the best mother and that you are giving your parental a rights away.”
“Am I giving these rights away to her or to you?”
“To me of course.”
“Where are the papers?”
“Here. Might as well sign them now.” He took the papers out of the envelope and straightened them on the hood of the car. He pulled a pen from his suit jacket and handed the pen to her.
She was planning on scribbling all over the paper to make sure he could not use it. She grabbed the pen and the paper. Just as she was about to scribble on the form, she heard him and it was as if he could read her mind. “If you do anything to these papers, I'll just falsify your signature. I have plenty of witnesses that would testify and then I won't allow you to see your daughter.”
“I want to know what mom says first.”
“Sign!”
Stand your ground, she told herself. She would not sign her parental rights away, not even to protect her life.
“No!”
Ken Smith could not believe his ears. This young woman was a brat and he was not going to put up with it any more. As she turned to walk into the cabin he grabbed her by the hair pulling her to him with one hand, and with the other he closed his hands into a fist and punched her across the face.
Josie opened her eyes slowly. She was seeing stars. For a second she thought that it was funny; then she felt the pain. Her face hurt like nothing else she had ever experienced and the pain increased exponentially with every second. Then through the corner of her eye she saw his fist come to her. She tried to move, but was not fast enough. She felt the pain to her gut, and then the pain to her lungs, as she could not take in air, and finally the pain to her hands and kn
ees as she hit the ground when her knees buckled under her. Just as she had managed to take the first gulp of air, she felt a kick. She tried to roll into a fetal position to protect her body from the blows, but was having hard time lifting her body and moving her arms and legs. She knew she had to roll away before the next blow reached her, but she was getting dizzy. She felt his arms pulling her to her feet. Then everything went black.
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
Titus 3:4-5
Chapter 34
“Tie her up.”
“She's hurt,” said Ivonne.
“Ivonne, let’s have something clear. I've let you do this on your own and you have failed.”
“You've let me do this on my own? Since when did you assume to have rights?”
That's when she saw it and froze. Inch by inch he lifted the gun and her bravado left her. Oh! She had made so many mistakes, but the biggest had been not to take charge. She had let this man have control of everything. Now her daughter and granddaughter were paying the price for her apathy.
Ken Smith approached, grabbed her by the chin, and moved her face so that she would be facing her daughter. “Look at her! She has more holes than a pin cushion.”
“She's young.”
“Really! Is that what you call it? She needs discipline. I don't even know how she got hired looking like that.”
“Ken I don't know what has gotten into you, but this needs to stop.”
Ken Smith heard it before he saw it. He moved to the window. A car, no, two cars, had just parked. Drat! The clown cars he had seen on the highway outside his cabin were on his driveway. What was he going to do now? He recognized Maria, the owner of the Mini Cooper. He had never liked her. Then he saw Vicky as she got out of the smart car. He did not recognize the tall black woman. They had been following him, and he had not paid attention, because he just wanted this part of his plan to be done and over with. He knew that everything would be okay, eventually, but right now he had to deal with this.
He looked at the woman he loved. She was angry and hurt now, but she would soon understand. They were meant to be together. He had fallen in love with her when Chase had introduced them. Now, he would stop at nothing until she was his.
“When is this going to stop, you asked me? It'll stop when you marry me. Now tie her up and if you are obedient, I will let you go console your granddaughter. She seems upset.”
Ivonne, angry and confused, tied her daughter to the chair. She was completing the final knot when all of a sudden, Ken pulled the cabin door open and two young women fell to the floor.
Immediately, Ken pointed the gun at them and ordered them to sit and for Ivonne to tie them up. Neither one of them followed directions, as they started fighting with each other.
“This is your fault.”
“No, it's not.”
“Yes, it is. I told you to tackle him.”
“You really wanted me to run against a dude with a gun. I don't think so.”
“SILENCE!” Shouted Ken.
They both stared at the man with the gun and moved to the back of the cabin. They both looked at each other, and realizing their predicament, shrunk from the man.
Jerome drove by the house first. Then he did a U turn and parked fifty yards away. He did not want to warn anyone of his presence. As he walked toward the cabin, he was surprised to see the kids all huddled together in the Mini Cooper. The windows were down and the car was parked under a tree, but it was still hot.
He was even more surprised when he opened the door and Vicky jumped into his arms. Her face was wet and red. He gently pulled her away from him and wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. She immediately wrapped her arms and legs around him again. Then she whispered, “Mommy's hurt.”
“Where is she?”
“In there.”
He looked at where she was pointing and knew he had to move fast. He had difficulty dislodging himself from Vicky, but after some promises he was able to convince her everything would be okay.
“I will be right back.”
“But...”
“But nothing. You need to let me go so I can help your mother.”
“Okay, ...”
“No tears. We'll be right back.”
Jerome peeked through a side window and got an idea on how to proceed. There was one gunman who was acting erratic. This man was not used to holding a gun. He had to be patient and wait for this man to get distracted. He saw Josie and his heart broke. Then he saw Ivonne tying his sister and Maria together and finally his eyes went back to the gunman.
Jerome called Gaston to see how far back he was. He wanted to know if he was going to have backup or not. Then he dialed 911. From his angle he could see that Josie was seriously hurt.
He moved to the door and turned the knob praying it would not make any noise. The door was unlocked and he pushed it opened no more than an inch. He wanted to wait for the right time.
Josie was in so much pain, but when she opened her eyes and saw her friend and Jerome's sister being tied up, she knew she had to do something. Where was Vicky? Jerome’s sister was supposed to have her. Where in the world was Jerome?
She tried to move her hands. The rope was loose, but it was still painful to move. She knew that she must have a broken rib or two. She could barely take a breath. Every time her lungs expanded she felt agonizing pain. As she tried to move to dislodge herself the chair squeaked calling attention to herself.
Uncle Ken approached her and inspected the ties. He saw how loose they were, and approached Ivonne. Josie knew that they were in trouble. She had never seen this man looking like this. His eyes were unfeeling and his whole body was tensed. She had been a recipient of his anger a few minutes earlier and knew her mother was next. She had to do something, but what?
Jerome took advantage of the distraction. He ran in and jumped the guy from behind. He knocked the lawyer to the ground and in less than thirty seconds he had him in cuffs and had the area secured. Ivonne ran to her daughter, leaving the other two girls alone. Maria and Alicia wiggled their hands until they came free, and both young women kneeled in front of Josie. They saw the bruises and the blood. They wanted to help her lay down on the floor, but did not know where to touch her.
Jerome finished securing the place and moved to Josie. He sent his sister and Maria to take care of the kids, and gently pushed Ivonne to the side. He untied Josie and lowered her to the floor.
He barely paid attention to Gaston when he walked in and he did not move to help him when Gaston picked Smith up and took him to the patrol car. Jerome moved away from Josie only when the paramedics came in to put her in a gurney. When they loaded her into the ambulance, he jumped in as well. He was not going to leave her alone.
When Jones saw the ambulance leaving the tree-hidden plot and several cars following it, he paid attention. Could the killer be in there, was he finally caught? When would this charade be over? All the way from New York he’d been following these crimes ever since they had happened three consecutive weeks. When he tailed the vehicle out of New York he had gotten all the way down to South Carolina before losing him. The one thing going for him though was that he had seen the man right before he disappeared in an awful downpour. The killer had proven that his will to escape outmatched even a small level of sanity and now, maybe, just maybe he could actually sleep tonight knowing this mess was over. He would go to the police station and check on this “uncle” of Josie St. Claire.
Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Joel 2:13
Chapter 35
J
erome stood by Josie's bed. He could not walk away. This woman had forced herself into his life and he did not know if he could ever live without her. He already adored Vicky and he would be honored to be her daddy. Both females had pushed and pushed until his defenses had collapsed and now he was having a hard time containing his excitement. He wanted her to wake up so he could tell her how much he loved her.
“Hi.” Said Josie when she finally opened her eyes.
“Hi, yourself.”
“What happened?”
“I think your uncle confused you for a punching bag.”
“Uncle Ken? I was hoping the whole thing was a bad dream.”
“Sorry hon. I know how much you loved him.”
“I couldn't stand the man.”
“You couldn’t? You called him uncle and he was at your house a lot.”
“I had no choice. My mother gave me an ultimatum. I either called him uncle and treated him like my best friend, or I could lose the freedom of going out with my friends.”
“I see.”
“Is he the killer?”
“We won't know that until the jury finds him guilty, but I think it’s safe for you to go back to your normal life.”
“Are you going to be part of that life?”
He smiled. Josie was the kind of person that went for what she wanted. He was so blessed that she wanted him. “I would like to get to know you and then see what happens.”
Josie could not handle her excitement and wrapped her arms around him. It only lasted a second as the pain in her mid-section jolted her back into reality and very carefully she leaned back into her pillow.
“Sweetheart, the doctor has already released you and I need to take you home.”
“Where is home?”
“Your mother is expecting you. We need to get Vicky, she’s with Alicia.”
“What about my place?”
“It would make me feel better if you and Vicky moved back in with your mother.”
“Jerome, I don't know how wise that is.”
“Sweetheart, I want to marry you. I want to go out on dates with Vicky and without Vicky. I want us to get to know each other.”
“What does that have to do with my mother?”
“She can babysit.”
“I guess it'll be okay.”
“I love you, my sweet Josie.”
“I love you, too.”