Page 62 of Blink of an Eye
Andy stood up next. "Jack, your brakes failed because the brake lines were completely empty. Not an ounce of brake fluid. The guy at the shop does not know how that even could have happened but said they looked like they'd been washed out with water and then drained."
Jack turned his head slowly and pinned Erin with a hard stare.
"IsaidI was sorry," she muttered.
"You're paying for the repairs," I told her. "And you owe me a pot of flowers."
"Yeah, yeah."
Nigel frowned at her, and she slid down in her seat and concentrated on her milkshake.
My family was watching all this with wide eyes, but nobody interrupted.
"Okay, so now we're going to all do something you should have done fifty years ago, and compare notes," Jack said briskly. "Lorraine?"
Lorraine slowly walked over to join us and then perched on the edge of a chair. "Well, you all know about Earl. about how awful he was to me. I was young, and I was terrified, and I couldn't see how to escape. And then came that awful day. I thought he was going to kill me that day. I really did. And when I got away from him and drove to Ruby's, well, he followed me."
She sat there, as brave as anyone I've ever known, and told everyone what she'd told us. About how he'd hurt her. The terrifying escape to Ruby, with her head bleeding and her ribs broken. Ruby's kindness.
Earl's arrival.
The pitchfork.
The final punch that knocked her out
"And that's all I knew, at least until these past few days," she concluded.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" I asked, my voice gentle.
"Because I believed Beau when he said he took Earl to the bus stop and told him not to come back. There didn't seem to be much point to discussing it anymore. And I was ashamed that my friends got hurt because of me."
Jack crouched down next to her and gave her a hug and then scanned the room. "And? Tell them the rest."
She looked blank.
"The Dead End Foundation for the Assistance of Women and Children in Need. I found out that you not only created it, you provide a big part of the financial support. You're a genuine hero."
She shook her head. "No. I'm just paying forward the help I received from my friends."
I hugged her, and we both had to wipe tears out of our eyes, and then I turned to face Aunt Ruby.
"You're next, please."
Aunt Ruby nodded and began. There were gasps and murmurs when she got to the part where she stabbed Earl with the pitchfork, and Mr. Oliver called out "Bravo!"
By the time she described Earl's boot coming toward her head, everyone in the room was leaning forward.
"And why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Well, Beau said Earl was gone. And I didn't want to go to jail for stabbing him with that pitchfork!" She shot a nervous glance at Susan, who just shook her head.
"I'm pretty sure the statute of limitations on all pitchfork-related crimes has long since passed."
Eleanor squeezed Mr. Oliver's hand and then stood. "I guess that makes me next."
She took a deep breath and told everyone about her terrifying ordeal. Where she'd gone, what she'd seen, and what she'd done. She also gave Susan a worried look.
"Sounds like you should have hit him harder," Andy observed.
