Evidence of Darkness Read online

  Reesa abruptly put the car keys in her coat pocket and went back inside the house. After quietly making her way to the kitchen, she carefully scooted a chair in front of the refrigerator to stand on so she could reach the tin. As she climbed onto the chair and extended her arm to grab it, she heard a noise upstairs and her hands began shaking. Just as she had grasped the tin, it slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor, spilling the contents onto the worn vinyl flooring.

  Tears filled her eyes, making it difficult to see clearly as she quickly stepped off the chair and started scooping up the coins and bills from the floor as fast as she could. After she had collected the money and returned it to the coffee tin, she put the lid back on. Just as she stood up to exit the kitchen, she saw a dark silhouette standing in the doorway.

  “And where might you be going, Reesy? I thought maybe we could have some more fun? Don’t ya wanna?” Bryan asked, mockingly. He was slurring his speech and having difficulty maintaining his balance.

  He started stumbling towards her. She could smell his alcohol and cigarette stench as he approached her and quickly slid the chair in front of her to stop him from coming any closer. “Aw, come on, Reesy. Why ya wanna do that, huh? Are you playin’ hard to get?”

  Just as he reached for her, intense rage surged through her veins and she grasped both ends of the coffee tin firmly in her hands and slammed it into his forehead with as much force as she could muster. Momentarily losing his balance, he stumbled backwards and tried to regain his footing. She heard his head crack against the sharp corner of the countertop just before he fell to the ground.

  From the glimmer of moonlight shining through the kitchen window, she saw blood gushing from his head, rapidly surrounding the floor around him. He raised his hand to his wound and tried to stand up, but he couldn’t.

  As she ran out of the house, she could hear him screaming at her, “You fucking bitch! I’m bleeding!”

  She struggled to keep her balance on the frozen sidewalk as she ran to the car, then lunged for the door handle. She quickly discarded the coffee tin, covered in blood, on the passenger seat, put the key in the ignition, and started the engine. Without looking behind her, she threw the car into reverse and pulled out of the driveway and onto the icy street. She felt consumed with terror and determination as she pressed the accelerator to the floor and drove out of town.

  Metropolitan Correctional Center, Present

  Mike closed his file. “Reesa, do you have any further questions for Adele?” When she didn’t answer, he looked over at her and saw a look of sheer horror in her eyes as she stared trancelike at the wall behind Adele.

  “Reesa! Do you have any further questions?” he asked loudly, waving his hand in front of her face.

  She took a quick, deep breath, then returned to the present. Her voice quivered. “Yes…yes, I do.” She turned her focus to Adele, leaning in toward her with vengeance in her eyes. “Tell me, Adele, exactly how you felt when you plunged the knife into Victor DeWald’s chest. When you knew he was dead. When you knew he could never hurt you again.”

  Adele looked at Mike in astonishment as if to ask him if she had to answer the question. Then she looked back at Reesa, her eyes piercing through her in anger. “GOOD! It felt good! All right? Know what was even better? The look of terror in his eyes when I pulled it out and stabbed him again! Yes…it felt really good. Is that what you want me to say? I hoped the son of a bitch felt the same way I did when he raped me. I can rot in this hell hole for the rest of my life, but he got what he deserved!”

  Mike finally stopped recording the session. “Enough! We’ve heard enough. I think we’re finished here.” He was exasperated with Reesa and the direction the meeting had suddenly taken. He was perplexed at her question to Adele, and her total lack of professionalism.

  He kept his mouth shut about the incident until they were in the car heading back to the office, then he turned toward her. “What the hell happened in there?”

  Reesa stared straight ahead nonchalantly. “I was just interviewing our client. I really don’t know what you’re so upset about.”

  “You know damn well what I’m upset about, Reesa!” Running his hand through his hair in frustration, he continued. “You totally lost control in there!”

  “What if the prosecuting attorney asks her that very question when she’s on the stand? I needed to know exactly what she would say.”

  “They can’t ask her that and you know it. They can’t get away with that line of questioning and neither can you. If they would even remotely begin to go down that path, we’d object.”

  “You know as well as I do that in the courtroom, if she were to even begin to answer that question, the damage would have already been done. We’d have to change our entire defense strategy.”

  Mike was disturbed and looked out the window while shaking his head. “I don’t know what happened in there, but you need to get a grip on whatever it is that’s going on with you lately.” Mike felt very uncomfortable about confronting her about her mandatory anger management counseling, but figured he didn’t have much to lose. Besides, he represented her when Chad pressed assault charges against her. He did everything possible to get the charges dropped, and was even able to keep the incident off the records so no one at the firm would find out about it. He had every right to follow up on her attendance. “Have you been attending your anger management counseling sessions?” he finally asked.

  “Yes, I have. I’ve gone to three sessions. I have two more to go, then I’m finished. Besides, nothing is going on with me. I needed to ask that question. Period. End of discussion.”

  “Okay, fine. But if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m a good listener.”

  “I appreciate that very much, Mike. But, I’m fine…really.”

  3

  CAT IN THE HAT

  Reesa had another appointment with her psychologist during her lunchtime on Thursday. She had hoped to get all of her therapy out of the way before Christmas. It was an emotionally draining session, and lasted well over the hour timeframe she had allotted in her busy schedule. She was furious! Not only because her counselor had continued to prod her about her past, but more importantly, she had planned to get Jade a birthday present afterwards. She had to be in court at 1 p.m. Not only was she not able to get Jade’s present, she was going to be late to court. She ran into the courtroom and sat down beside her client just as the judge took his seat.

  Due to a heavy docket that afternoon, the hearing lasted far longer than she had anticipated. But, she got the case against her client dismissed due to a motion to suppress, so she walked out of the courthouse with an adrenaline rush – just as she always had when she was victorious in the courtroom. Her feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that had surfaced during her counseling session a few hours before were defeated. Her power and control had been restored.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall as she exited the courthouse – 3 p.m. She knew if she hurried, she’d still have time to swing by Roni Rubinov’s and pick up a special piece of jewelry for Jade’s sixteenth birthday before heading back to the office for a 4 p.m. meeting with a new client.

  Just after she climbed in the car, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and saw it was Mike. “Hi, Mike. I hope this isn’t important. I’m heading to the jewelry store to get Jade a birthday present.”

  She could hear him take a deep breath. “I’ve located LeeAnn.”

  “You did? Good job! Is she still in Arizona?”

  “No. Her name is now LeeAnn Adams, and she lives in St. Louis with her husband and three children.”

  Reesa found it difficult to contain her excitement. “This is outstanding news! Do you have her contact information?”

  “Yes, I do actually. Would you like me to go ahead and call her or is that something you want to handle? I’d really like get moving on this today.”

  “No, don’t call her! This is something I need to do. She’ll be more receptive if she’
s approached by a woman. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Hang tight.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll be here. I figured you might want to be the one to initiate communication with her.”

  When Reesa arrived at the firm twenty minutes later, she went straight to Mike’s office. She tossed her coat over the chair across from his desk and set her briefcase on the floor. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  He handed her the document containing all LeeAnn’s pertinent information. She took the piece of paper and began reading it. “Nice work. How in the world did you get all of this information on her?”

  “Well, let’s just say someone owed me a favor. Would you like to call her now?”

  “Yes, I would, but –” She paused and looked at her watch.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  “Yes, I mean no. I’m so sorry, Mike, but today is Jade’s sixteenth birthday and I haven’t had time to get her a birthday present. I feel awful! We always have a special dinner together on her birthday. I’ve just been stretched to the limit lately, and I have a meeting with a new client at four o’clock and probably won’t make it out of the office in time to get her anything before our reservation. I may have to call LeeAnn tomorrow.”

  Mike could sense the stress in her voice. He knew she had been close to the breaking point for several weeks. Additionally, he was anxious for her to contact LeeAnn. He needed to get a meeting solidified so he could proceed with discovery on the Castillo case. “I have an idea. Do you trust me?” He had a mischievous grin on his face.

  Reesa couldn’t help but smile. “Of course I trust you, Mike. And what exactly is this bright idea of yours? I can’t wait to hear it.”

  “Why don’t you call LeeAnn, and I’ll get Jade’s birthday present. The only thing left on my agenda today is preparing my closing argument for my case tomorrow, and I have all night to work on it. Do you have any idea what she might like?”

  Reesa snickered and answered sarcastically, “Of course I do. She’d like a shiny new Corvette convertible. Can you manage to secure one before six o’clock tonight?” She looked at him, pouting. “You’d really be my hero if you could.”

  Mike burst out laughing. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I think I can find something she’d like. I have two daughters of my own you know. They’re in their early twenties now, but I think I can still remember when they were sixteen.”

  “You really don’t have to do this. I’ll figure something out.”

  “No, I can handle this. I’d like to get out of the office for a few minutes anyway.”

  “Oh, all right. I guess I really don’t have a choice, do I? Seriously though, I was contemplating getting her a diamond necklace and earrings or something.”

  “That sounds a little mundane, don’t you think?”

  “Honestly, Mike, I just haven’t had time to give it much thought.”

  He stood up and grabbed his coat. “I’ll be back before five thirty.” Then he scurried out of the office.

  Reesa looked at the document in her hand and sighed. She couldn’t help but think that he was the only man she’d ever known that hadn’t let her down or tried to control her. She hoped desperately he wouldn’t let her down now. She didn’t want to let Jade down on her birthday by going home empty handed.

  Moments later, she was in her office. She felt very apprehensive as she dialed LeeAnn’s phone number. She wondered why her stomach was upset, then remembered she hadn’t eaten lunch. She surmised that was all it was.

  When she heard a woman’s voice answer the phone, she froze and wished she would have taken a few minutes to script her questions.

  “Hello?... Hello?”

  “Is this LeeAnn Wilde Adams?”

  “Yes, this is LeeAnn, and who is this?”

  “This is Reesa Collins. I’m very sorry if this call is inconveniencing you in any way. I’m an attorney in New York City representing a client who’s being held on murder charges. Do you have a moment to talk?”

  “New York City? I really don’t see how this affects me in any way. I’m very sorry, but – ”

  “The victim was Victor DeWald,” she blurted, before LeeAnn had a chance to hang up.

  There was silence on the other end.

  “Are you still there, LeeAnn?”

  “Yes. I’m here.”

  Softly, Reesa asked, “LeeAnn, did you know Mr. DeWald?”

  “Yes…yes. I knew him. A long time ago.”

  Reesa continued. “My client, Adele, allegedly murdered him while he was attempting to sexually assault her. I would really appreciate a moment of your time. I promise to make it brief.”

  “Um, okay. My kids will be home from school in fifteen minutes, so that’s how long you have.”

  Reesa delicately asked her how she knew Victor. She expected her to deny any allegation of him raping her. Instead, LeeAnn openly discussed the incident.

  Reesa was surprised, and relieved. “Why did you drop the charges against him?”

  “I was a complete mess at the time. I started seeing a counselor and decided I could either get better, or endure an emotionally painful trial. I opted to get better. There were no witnesses. It was my word against his. I didn’t tell anyone soon enough to collect valid DNA samples. I was more concerned with me – not getting him locked away. I guess I chose me.” She paused for a second, then added, “I’m so sorry about Adele. In retrospect, maybe I should have tried to get him locked up so he couldn’t harm anyone else. Maybe I was selfish, but at the time, I just didn’t feel I could handle a trial.”

  Reesa felt her stomach start to churn and fought to gain control of her voice. “No, LeeAnn, you did the right thing. Really. He can’t hurt anyone else now, but Adele could really use your help. Would you be interested in coming to New York so my co-counsel and I can talk with you? We’ll take care of all your travel expenses.”

  “I would like to, but I really can’t. I have a husband and three kids who need me here. Can we do this over the phone or something?”

  “No. We’d really like to talk to you in person.” Reesa thought for a moment. “Would it be possible for us to come to St. Louis and meet with you?”

  “Um, yes, I guess that would be okay. Could we do it after Christmas? I have so much going on right now. The kids have their Christmas programs, shopping, my husband’s parents are coming.” She chuckled and added, “You know, all the important stuff.”

  “I understand completely. I have a daughter myself. Things can get hectic around Christmas.”

  Reesa looked at her calendar and frantically began contemplating what she could reschedule or delegate to accommodate a trip to St. Louis. “Would it be possible for us to come the Thursday or Friday right after the first of the year? We can meet whenever and wherever it’s convenient for you.” She really wanted to talk with LeeAnn before the prosecutor had a chance to talk with her; however, she really doubted they would want to bark up this particular tree.

  “Yes, sure. Either day is fine. My kids will be back in school then. They get on the bus at seven forty five in the morning and get home a little before three. I don’t want them involved in this in any way, so we’ll have to meet while they’re not home.”

  “I understand completely. We’ll try to make this as quick and painless as possible.” Reesa was about to end the call but felt compelled to ask one more question. “LeeAnn? Does your husband know about the rape?”

  “Yes, of course. I told him shortly after we started dating. He’s a wonderful man. We’ve been married seven years now and have three beautiful children. I’m very happy. I hope everything turns out well for Adele and she’s able to get the help she needs.”

  Reesa felt a lump form in her throat. “Yes…yes, so do I. Thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch.”

  After she ended the conversation, Reesa felt numb. She was envious of LeeAnn’s ability to openly discuss the rape, and her seemingly normal family life. She tried to shake off the feeling, but couldn’t. It w
as a new emotion for her and she didn’t know quite how to process it.

  She thought she had worked through her past, too. Then it hit her – ignoring it and trying to suppress her anguish for almost seventeen years didn’t exactly qualify as dealing with it. She began to wonder why she hadn’t worked through it better after it happened. This time, she consciously looked back to the timeframe immediately following her own rape and tried to determine what she could have done differently.

  Connersville, Indiana – 1999

  After Reesa sped down the highway and out of town during the wee hours of the morning on that bleak March day, she had no idea where to go or what she would to do. She just knew she couldn’t stay in Connersville. She had stolen her mother’s car, had only the money in the coffee tin, and just the clothes and belongings she was able to load quickly into the car.

  She drove for over thirty minutes before she realized she was about out of gas. She followed signs to the nearest gas station and prayed it was open twenty-four hours. After pulling up to a pump, she began hysterically rummaging through the coffee tin. There were nine dollars in ones, and a bunch of change. Deciding to count the change later, she put five dollars worth of gas in the car, wanting to save some money for food, then walked into the station to pay.

  After she paid the attendant, she drove until she was worn out, then pulled into a nearby grocery store parking lot, turned off the car, and tried to get some sleep; but, her mind continued to replay the events of the past few hours. She knew she had to devise a survival strategy.

  After hours of running hundreds of scenarios through her head, she finally came up with a plan. Bryan had done enough damage. She decided that college was the most important thing to her, and she refused to invest her time and emotions on more pointless interviews with the police or testifying in court. At that moment, she planned to bury the incident as far down in her subconscious as possible. She would be in control of her life and her future – not Bryan, not her mother, and not the legal system.