her last night and no one has seen or heard from her since.”
My chair topples over with a heavy thud as I jump up from my seat.
“This is fucking wacked! That psycho bitch isn’t going to rest until she destroys my wife, is she?”
I grab my beer and toss the rest of it down, then head for the cupboard above the fridge and pull out the hard stuff. I’m not much of a drinker, but right now I need this shit. I pull a glass out of another cupboard and pour it half full of the amber colored whiskey. I drain my glass; the burn feels good as the liquor slowly streams down my throat.
“Does he know where she is?” I ask as I pour another one.
“He says he doesn’t, and at first I didn’t believe him. I do now, though. For whatever it’s fucking worth, I believe him. There’s something else.”
“What?” I bring the glass to my lips.
“They’ve offered him a plea bargain.”
In one fluid motion, I suck down the whiskey. Every limb in my body feels like it’s being crushed. My neck tenses, my throat closes up, and I’m immobile. That motherfucker is going to get away with raping and kidnapping my wife.
“Turner! Do you hear me, brother?”
“I heard you. It sounded an awful lot like my dear brother is going to get off.”
I’m seething with the anger raging inside of me, this damn close to boiling over and erupting.
“That’s not what I said,” Zack says. “A plea bargain doesn’t mean he will get off. He still has to do time. If I had to guess, he’s looking at fifteen to twenty instead of life. Maybe more now with this new information we found out today.”
I can only imagine what my face is expressing right now, because Zack looks worried.
“Look, man. We need to him to help us find Tina. He’s our only hope. There’s nothing good about any of this. This whole thing is like some fucked up shit out of some crime drama television show brought to life, but his confession is the best thing for all of us right now.”
My gaze narrows, locking onto him.
“And how do you figure that? We’re all just supposed to say, ‘thank you for confessing to the violent crimes you committed, for nearly destroying our lives, for a nightmare we will never get over?’ I don’t think so.”
“Jesus, no! You’re only half listening to me, damn it. It means there will be no trial! It means Clove will never have to see him again.”
“I’ll never have to see who again?”
Clove walks out looking somewhat better than she did when she went in there. The both of us are now silent.
“Trent.” I say.
“Trent? What’s going on? Won’t I have to see him when he goes to trial?”
“No, sis. He confessed to everything, so he won’t be going to court. He gave up his right to a trial. The asshat even refused an attorney. He was willing to spend the rest of his life in prison... up until this morning, that is.”
She pulls back, looking at him sharply.
“What aren’t you telling me?” she demands in a raised voice.
Dr. Jollup walks around her and pulls out a chair.
“Clove, why don’t you take a seat?”
Clove shuffles her feet sluggishly across the floor. She still looks defeated. I’m scared for her. Scared that after she finds out what has happened, she is going to snap. She told me a few days ago she was broken and couldn’t be repaired. She may have felt that way at the time, but in a matter of a few days I have gotten back more than a glimpse of the old Clove. But this... this could push her over the edge, and I may never be able to get her back.
“Look at me, okay?”
I squat down next to her. If anyone is going to tell her this, it’s going to be me. I’m the one who is supposed to protect her, even if I have to protect her from herself, from the demons she has buried inside of her. From the way she thinks she has betrayed me.
“Tell me. You’re both starting to scare me. Is it your mother? Did something happen to her and that’s why you couldn’t get a hold of her earlier?”
Leave it to my girl to worry about my mother at a time like this.
“No, she’s fine as far as I know.”
“Well, what is it then?”
“Tina is missing.”
Clove’s head starts to shake back and forth.
“No.