Page 55 of Dirty Filthy Boy
Marigold fetches the broom from the closet and starts sweeping. Ty and Oliver walk through the space straightening furniture. They work well together, silently and efficiently, while I either nod for something to be tossed into the heavy duty trash bags we picked up on the way or ask for something to be put aside.
After two hours of cleaning, the guys go out for pizza and beer. While Ty's gone, I finish packing up what's wearable or usable to take back with me.
That's when I notice a framed photo is missing. "Oh, God." I wrap my arms around my waist trying not to succumb to the pain.
"What?" Mar asks.
"Jeanie's picture. It's gone. I know who broke in." My teeth are chattering so much, I can hardly get the words out.
"It was him, wasn't it?" Mar asks.
Him. Tommy Hawkins. The man who kidnapped and raped my sister.
It'd been a fine summer day with not a cloud in the sky. While Jeanie groomed her horse below, I'd climbed to the barn loft to play with the new litter of kittens our barn cat had delivered. He'd covered her mouth to keep her from screaming while he violated her. Too afraid of what he'd do to me, I'd cowered in the loft, not making a sound while he abused my sister. I'd been eight at the time.
It took the police a month to find her. That monster had caged her like an animal. He'd beat her up so badly, they couldn't set her legs straight. She'll walk with a limp the rest of her life. But the worst damage had been to her mind. Jeanie had checked out and never checked back in. My parents had prayed and prayed for her recovery. But it was not to be. Upon the advice of her doctors, they'd placed her in an institution where she spends her days coloring and singing songs from fifteen years ago. She's safe and cared for, but she'll never be the same outgoing, happy sister I once knew.
"I think so."
Not surprising he's coming after me. I testified at his trial. It had been my testimony that had put him behind bars. My father had asked our neighbors not to discuss what happened to Jeanie. Our community honored his wishes. After a year, they put away all her pictures, and never mentioned her name again. They erased her from their memories like she never existed. But I never forgot.
"I'm so sorry, MacKenna. But wasn't Tommy Hawkins in jail?"
"He was sentenced to twenty years. But he was paroled a few months ago. He must have tracked me down." When my parents were notified he'd been released from jail, they called in a panic. I calmed them down as best I could. They hadn't told anyone where I'd gone to school. I'd legally changed my last name to Perkins. So there was no way he could find me, and yet somehow he has. A sudden thought occurs to me. "You can't tell Ty. Or Oliver."
"I won't. But you have to tell the police."
"Yes. They need to know. I'll call the detective tomorrow. Tell him what I suspect." During his sentencing, Tommy Hawkins had promised he'd get even with me if it was the last thing he did. And seemingly, he is.
"It will be okay, MacKenna. You'll see. Once we get you settled at my place, things will look better."
I shake my head. That's not happening. Not any more. "Mar, I can't. If I move in with you, then I'll place you in danger, and I can't have that."
"But where will you go?"
"There's only one choice, isn't there?"
"You mean—"
"Until the police catch that monster, it means I'll be living with Ty."
