Out For Justice (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kelly blinked her eyes and stared at the television. She didn’t normally have it on during the day, but at the first sound of thunder she turned it on to get the weather forecast. Rain meant Mark could come home early and she always liked to be prepared.

She played the commercial again in her mind.
When love turns to violence.
The image of the young woman with a bruised and battered face dialing a number and talking to a counselor. Another image of her learning to leave safely and getting away. Starting her new life without fear of violence. Could it really be true? Kelly committed the telephone to memory. 555-SAFE. For the first time in her life she felt a spark of hope deep inside.

But what if Mark found out? He’d make her pay. He’d beat her senseless. What if he started in on the girls? He’d never hit them before, but this might push him over the edge. It was too dangerous. She’d never be able to pull it off. Mark was too smart.

What was the harm in calling? Kelly could do that. But when? It had to be before the girls came home from playing with their friends and before Mark got home from work. There would be no other way.

Did she dare call now? What would she say? Would they want to help? Kelly checked the clock on the wall. She had time. Maybe she could get some information from them in case it happened again. For next time.

Kelly’s heart raced. She stood and paced between the kitchen and the living room. She squeezed her hands together to keep them from shaking. Stopping in front of the telephone, she reached a hand out to pick up the receiver. Her hand shook. Could she do this? She’d never told a single person about the things Mark did to her except when she had to take that polygraph. Could she tell someone now? Without being held to the truth?

Pulling her hand back, Kelly doubted her ability to talk with a complete stranger. Would they judge her? She spun her wedding ring around and around on her finger.
You can always hang up,
she told herself. Feeling a little bit stronger, she once again stretched out her hand to pick up the telephone receiver. She touched the telephone. She willed her fingers to curl around the receiver. She picked it up and looked at the numbers. Slowly, pressing each number carefully, she dialed. 555-SAFE. If only that word could mean what it was meant to mean. Safe. When was the last time she felt safe?

The ringing lasted only a few seconds. A woman’s voice sounded in her ear. “The Spring, this is Nancy, how can I help you?”

Kelly hesitated.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

“I—I saw your ad on TV.”

“Are you safe?”

“Now? Yes. For now. I can’t talk when my daughters get home.” Kelly felt a great fear rise up inside of her. “How…how does it work?”

“Let me tell you a little about our organization. The Spring of Tampa Bay is the largest emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence and their families. We have five locations. We not only offer a full spectrum of services to victim families, but we provide intervention services for offenders to help them accept responsibility for their actions.”

“Their actions?” Kelly couldn’t imagine Mark sitting down to discuss what he did to her.

“It’s an option we give to the offender.” Nancy’s voice was calming.

“How do I leave?” Kelly asked the question, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

“Are you ready to be safe?”

Kelly didn’t answer. She listened to her own breathing. Was she ready? What would she do when she left? How would she support herself and her children? “How can I ever be safe? What about my daughters?”

“We can help all of you. We have several options for you to help you leave your abusive situation.”

“What are they?”

“You can call the police and report the abuse and the police will bring you to our shelter.”

Call the police on Mark? Oh my God, she could never do that. He’d be furious. “No, I don’t think I can do that.”

“All right. You can drive here on your own. We can give you the address and directions.”

Kelly thought about taking Mark’s truck. It was his pride and joy. He’d kill her if she did. She knew it just as she knew she had to take another breath to breathe. “No. I don’t have a car of my own.”

Nancy said that she didn’t have to worry. “We also have volunteers that can come to you. We can make arrangements for a pick up time and all you have to do is leave.”

Kelly nodded her head. “That sounds like the best option. Do I call you when I’m ready to leave?”

“We can make plans ahead of time. We can set a prearranged time for a volunteer to meet you a few blocks from your house.”

“I don’t know. This is all so confusing. I know Mark would kill me if he knew I was talking to you. What if he finds out?” Kelly leaned her head into her hand.

“Our location is kept a secret for those particular reasons.”

“I have my two little girls to think about as well.”

“We have room for both your daughters and you. There’s an onsite school and after school activities. The Spring also provides counseling for you as well as your children.”

“You make it sound so easy. But—”

“I know how difficult it is to leave your husband and his abuse. I went through the same thing ten years ago. It was the best decision I ever made. We’re here to help you and protect you. You haven’t told me your name yet. Would you like to?”

“Kelly. My name is Kelly. And…and my husband, he hurts me.”

“Kelly, would you like a safe place to go with your daughters?” Nancy asked.

Kelly lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. “Yes. Please.”

 “Let me explain what you’ll need to pack. Use a garbage bag if you have to, but put in things like a few changes of clothes, identification for all of you, any medical records you may have, any medications, and anything that was in your name.”

“I don’t have nothing in my name. Mark, he said I didn’t need to own nothing with him.”

“The Spring provides you anything else you need like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and other toiletries.”

“When can you be here?”

“Any time you’d like. If you want to leave in the middle of the night, we’ll meet you.”

“No. No, I can’t do that. Mark’s not a sound sleeper. He’d know if I wasn’t in bed. He works during the day when it’s not raining. How about Monday after my girls get home from school? Mark, my husband, will still be at work. I hope.”

“Kelly whatever works best for you so that you can be safe. Just give me your address and a specific time and we’ll make sure a volunteer is waiting for you.”

Kelly sighed. It just didn’t seem real yet. She gave Nancy her address and told her that the volunteer could meet her at three o’clock Monday afternoon. The girls would be home from school by then. She raised a shaking hand to her face. She had to leave. She couldn’t let her girls believe that it was okay for their daddy to hit their mommy—for any man to hit a woman. Not anymore. It wasn’t right. She pressed a hand to her stomach. It twisted into a knot. She swallowed quickly before she threw up.

Chapter Thirty

“Look, man. I told you already. We ain’t seen Ray.” The tall, thin, disheveled man poked a finger at Karen’s face to punctuate his words.

“Don’t,” Karen said with an even but firm tone. “Don’t point your finger at me.” Karen wrinkled her nose at the sweaty stench emanating from the man. “Get back away from me. You stink.”

“He told you we ain’t seen him. What more do you want?” A shorter man with a small black moustache whined and squinted up into the sun. “Man, it’s hot out here. How long you gonna keep us here?”

Karen exchanged looks with John Hendricks. She shrugged her shoulders then addressed the taller man. “Okay, Jose. Let’s say you haven’t seen Ray. When was the last time you saw him?”

“I dunno.”

“You don’t know?”

The thin man shuffled his feet in the dirt and kicked up a cloud of dust. “I don’t see him all the time, you know? Sometimes he goes weeks without talking to me. I ain’t his keeper, you know?”

“Are you believing this shit?” Karen asked Hendricks.

“No. I don’t believe  one word of it. I think he’s lying.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Shut up,” Karen addressed Jose. “Listen. We’re not here to play games. If you don’t talk to us, we’ll take you down to the station and put your ass in jail. Maybe someone will get around to talking to you then. We’ll charge you with accessory and get a warrant to search your place. What do you think your wife will say if we show up at your door?”

Jose’s defiant look crumbled a bit under Karen’s hard stare. He tried to sound brave, but his hand shook a bit as he wiped sweat from his forehead. “She ain’t there.”

“Well, that’ll make things easy then, won’t it? She won’t have to know that you’ve violated probation again and this time the judge might not be so easy on you.”

The shorter man spoke up. “Maria’ll kick your ass if you get sent to jail. She told you that.”

“Shut up, Manny. They ain’t gonna take me nowhere and they know it,” Jose said.

“Manny’s right, Jose,” Hendricks said. “You better listen to your friend. He sounds like he’s looking out for you. Do you want to have to tell your wife about violating probation?”

“What probation? You don’t have nothing on me.”

“Turn out your pockets, Jose,” Karen said.

“What?”

“You heard me, turn out your pockets.”

“Shit.” Jose stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his pants and then pulled them out. He kept his hands closed.

“Now, open your hands.”

Jose hung his head. Dejected, he slowly opened one hand and then the other.

“Hmm, what do we have here? You see this?” Karen picked up a small, slender rolled cigarette from among the lint and change. She sniffed it. “I don’t think this is part of your probation, Jose.” She handed it to Hendricks. “Looks like we got enough to charge him with a probation violation. Imagine that.”

Hendricks looked at Manny. “Okay, my friend. Your turn.”

“Oh, man. Come on.” Manny started to back away.

“Stop right there. Don’t move. I said, empty your pockets.” Hendricks voice carried in the hot air.

Manny muttered under his breath in Spanish then plunged a hand into his pocket. He pulled it out and shoved it in Hendricks’ face. “There, you satisfied?”

Hendricks plucked another carefully rolled cigarette from Manny’s hand and added it to the one he held in his other hand. “Twins.”

Karen smiled. “Why don’t we add a possession charge as well?”

“Might as well.” Hendricks smiled back.

“Oh, look, man. You gotta believe us, we ain’t seen Ray,” Jose begged.

“When was the last time you saw Ray?” Karen asked again. “And I can tell when you’re lying so don’t bullshit me.”

“No bullshit, man. This is the truth. The last time I saw Ray was about three or four days ago.”

“Where did you see him?” Karen pulled out her notebook and started writing.

“My place. He stopped by real late. Said he was laying low and needed a place to crash.”

“Did you let him stay?”

“Are you shittin’ me? My wife said no, that means no.” Jose swiped at his face. “Ray knows that. He must have been desperate to come by my place.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No, man. He said something about hanging out at the park, to wait for Manny.” Jose turned to his short friend. “Did he ever catch up with you, man?”

Manny jerked his head up. “Not me. I didn’t go to the park. I scored some—I mean I stayed home that night. He didn’t come to my house neither.”

“What about his place. Did he say why he couldn’t stay there?”

“He just said it was getting too hot to hang there.” Jose sneered at Karen. “You cops kept coming by, he said.”

Ignoring his sneer, Karen asked, “Did he say anything about the woman that was staying with him?”

“Maggie? Nah. Not really. I think he said something like ‘the bitch wouldn’t turn him in if she knew what was good for her.’ Or something like that.” He shrugged his shoulders as if to say he didn’t pay much attention.

Karen and Hendricks exchanged looks. Karen bet he was thinking the same thing she was, that Ray might have thought Maggie turned him in and beat her for it. Karen tapped her pen against her notebook and thought for a moment. She looked at the two men who stood before her. They were hot and sweaty. So was she. The miserable heat beat down on her head. The humidity pressed in around her, as if suffocating her. Her t-shirt was stuck to her back beneath her blazer. After leaving Mike’s place this morning, she didn’t have time for much except a short run and a quick shower. She would have been late otherwise. Getting dressed up wasn’t high on her priority list. She couldn’t give herself any time to think about Mike. She had a job to do. “Look. I’m going to talk to my partner here about what we’re going to do with you.” Karen eyed both men. “Don’t move.”

Karen and Hendricks stepped a few feet away from the nervous men and put their heads together. “You want to bust them?” Hendricks asked.

“Not really. I think they told the truth finally. I doubt they have anything left,” Karen said to her partner, but kept an eye on the two men.

“Okay then, it’s your call. We’ll let them off with a warning.” Hendricks blew out his breath. “I’m through with them.”

Karen and Hendricks walked back over and stood in front of the two men. Hendricks spoke first, “It’s your lucky day, boys.”

“You’re not taking us in?” Manny asked with a slight whimper to his voice.

“Nope.”

“What about our…?” Manny eyed Hendricks hand.

“This? Yeah, right.” Hendricks laughed. He held his hand open and said, “Say goodbye, fellas.” He unrolled each small joint and let the contents spill onto the ground. For good measure, he kicked at the dirt to mix it up. He crumpled the papers and placed them in his pocket.  

“I catch you with pot again and I won’t be so lenient.” Karen stared hard at the two men. “I’ll have your ass in jail so fast you won’t know what hit you.” Karen pointed a finger at Manny. “What do you think your mother would say if she had to bail you out of jail again?”

“Oh, man,” Manny whined.

“Shut up, man.” Jose growled at his friend.

“I suggest you stay away from Ray Thomas too. He’s bad news right now and anyone caught with him is gonna be in some deep shit,” Hendricks said.

“Do you understand what we’re telling you?” Karen asked.

“Yeah, man. We get you.” Looking relieved that he wasn’t going to jail, Jose brought back some of his swagger. It didn’t last long.

“When we catch up to Ray, we might come back looking for you two anyway, no matter if Ray tells us you two were involved or not.” Karen eyed Jose with disdain. “Let’s see what your wife has to say about that, Jose.”

“We ain’t done nuthin’.”

“We’ll see.” Karen motioned with her head. “Now go on, get out of here before I change my mind.”

Jose and Manny looked at the detectives standing in front of them then looked at each other. They turned and quickly started walking away.

“You could have busted them, you know?” Hendricks said as he walked back to their car and opened the driver side door.

“I know. But I’m hoping they lead us to Ray.” Karen opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat.

Hendricks slid behind the wheel and turned on the car. Hot air poured from the air conditioning vents. “It’ll cool off in a minute or two. So, how’d you know they had marijuana on them?”

“I didn’t. I just guessed. God, it’s hot.” Karen pulled at her t-shirt and blew down the front. She positioned the passenger air vents so that they pointed directly at her. “Why can’t these guys hang out in air conditioned buildings? Why do they always hang out on a hot, dirty street corner?”

“That’s a rhetorical question, right?” Hendricks laughed. “Nice guess. It shows you have good instincts. Always trust them.”

“Yeah.” Karen sighed. “Let’s follow these guys and see where they go.”

“You’re the boss.” Hendricks put the car in gear and drove slowly in the direction the men had taken.

“If they know what’s good for them, they’ll head home. Jose lives down the street here. Manny, he lives further, about three streets over.” Karen pointed her finger toward the direction of Manny’s house.

“Don’t these guys work?”

“Sometimes. They pick up day labor jobs around the end of the month when the benefits start running low. Manny, he lives with his mother and she works.”

“Shit. Some kind of life, huh?”

“Jose’s got a family. He could make something of himself if he’d just quit the drugs and alcohol. I dunno why Maria puts up with him.”

 “Maybe we didn’t do him such a great favor by not busting his ass. Maybe some time in jail might help dry him out.”