“Keith, she didn’t.…”
“I don’t want to hear it!”
Katie flinched and curled her legs to her chest. “Keith!”
“You betrayed me and now I have to answer for it!”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
She bit her bottom lip. She was afraid of what he would become.
“Tomorrow, you will tell them that Shelly is lying, and that I have never hit you, locked you in a room or anything else. You will tell them that you left because you were upset about the baby.”
Katie nodded. “Please tell me about Hockman.”
“He was a reporter.”
Katie’s eyes opened wide. “The one….” She didn’t finish the sentence as she remembered the story. “You guys killed him.”
Keith jerked her close to his body - a deep glare in his eyes. “You’ll never say that again. Now, you listen to me. The only thing that stands between my father and you, is my love. If you ever leave me again, or do anything that hurts my family, I will remove my protection and you won’t last the night.”
Katie gripped his shoulders as she crumbled, tears pouring down her face.
His eyes softened. “I’m sorry I had to scare you, but you have no idea what’s going on, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Do you understand?” He lifted her face.
She nodded.
“You’re not going to leave me, are you?”
“No.” Her voice cracked as a tear ran over her lips.
“Be a good wife and everything will be fine.” He caressed her chin, sending prickles of fear through her. “And remember.” His right lip lifted in a smirk. “Men like my father and I don’t get caught.”
Everything about her appearance was in order. Not one wrinkle could be found on her floral satin dress, not one curl out of place, and she couldn’t see one trace of the dark bruise under the light-tone foundation.
An older male cop brought her to a small, completely gray room with a mirror at the end. A long, brown desk with a few neatly piled folders was the only item in the room. She sat in a chair and two female cops sat across from her.
Why hadn’t Mr. Wilkerson sent a lawyer with her? Didn’t he want to make sure she didn’t misspeak? Or was he testing her?
The two female cops smiled, and looked up when a tall, slender woman with long brown hair walked into the room and sat next to her.
“Mrs. Wilkerson,” the older cop said as she pointed to the woman. “This is Ms. Elizabeth Canady from the My Sister’s House.”
Katie’s eyes opened wide. So that was their tactic. The young woman’s light brown eyes looked sincere, making her want to tell her everything. But Katie knew her husband too well.
“It’s a domestic violence center,” the cop said.
“Mrs. Wilkerson,” said Ms. Canady. “We can keep him away from you.”
Katie swallowed hard, squeezing her fingers together. Did she really have to defend him - this monster that emerged more and more every day? But if she didn’t he’d allow his father to release his wrath on her. The thought alone sent prickles of fear through her. “My husband has never hit me,” she said.
“Did he force you to return with him?” she asked.
Tears rose in her, as images of being slammed on the floor, rug burns spreading across her legs filled her mind. Did he even see those marks when he made love to her this morning? He had showed no reaction as his hands swept over her skin. “No, I wanted to return with him.”
“Why do you seem scared?” Ms. Canady said.
Because he’d kill her. “I don’t know why you want to talk to me.”
The room went silent although everything screamed at her. The truth burned behind her lips. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. One misspoken word and she’d find herself at the bottom of a canal.
“We think you have information that can provide insight into Josh Hockman’s death.”
“I don’t know anything about him.”
“You don’t or are you scared to talk?” asked the older cop. She pushed a strand of brownish gray hair behind her ear. Her hazel eyes took on a lightness just like her mother’s eyes always did. She must have children. “Mrs. Wilkerson, we can hide you away. We have helped many women married to wealthy and powerful men.”
Katie shook her head. No, they couldn’t. If they tried they’d find themselves with her at the bottom of the canal.
“Would you like to see the center?” Ms. Canady asked. “Or learn what we could do for you?”
A shiver piled through her, making it feel as though her bones shook her in her body. “My sister lied. They don’t like him.”
The older cop picked up her pen and dropped it several times in a smooth rhythm.
The younger cop opened a notebook and looked down at the pages. Her brown hair was cropped short and spiked up a little. The only feminine part of her was her diamond earrings. “May we ask you some questions?” she asked.
The shaking grew more intense. She looked down at her hand as it rattled on the table. She needed to get out of here or her body might explode. It felt as though her soul was trying to escape her deceitful body. Katie jumped to her feet. “No, I want a lawyer.”
“Mrs. Wilkerson, please, sit down,” the younger cop said.
“Once I ask for a lawyer, you can’t continue to question me.” She turned for the door. The younger cop stood and unlocked the door. She led her to where Mr. Wilkerson waited.
Katie thanked the younger cop before she walked into Mr. Wilkerson’s outstretched arm. He curled her into a possessive embrace that reminded her too much of Keith. “Please, don’t let them talk to me alone.”
He led her outside to his car. While they waited in the car for Keith, she told him about the conversation, and he said she did well. It took two hours for Keith to emerge from the police station. He had a smirk on his face as he got into the back seat of the car.
“They have nothing,” he said.
Mr. Wilkerson turned the car on and drove it out of the parking lot.
“They’ll want to talk to her again,” Mr. Wilkerson said.
Katie looked in the rear view mirror at Keith nodding. “They’ll probably subpoena her.”
“I don’t know anything,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter, Katie, they think you do, and you’ve given them enough reason to suspect they’re right,” Mr. Wilkerson said.
“How?”
Mr. Wilkerson stopped the car at a store parking lot, and turned in his seat; his eyes full of the glare. She sat back — keeping her eyes focused on him.
“Your husband is being framed. Someone was going to leak information to you, thinking you would get scared and want to talk, since their apparent real witness won’t.”
“If he exists,” Keith said.
“You took off right around the time the info was to be delivered,” Mr. Wilkerson continued. “So the cops think you know something.”
“But I don’t.”
“We know.” Mr. Wilkerson reached under her hair and grasped her neck, squeezing. Her eyes popped wide open.
“This is my son’s life Katie, you better not betray us and lie,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Good.” Mr. Wilkerson caressed Katie’s cheek with his thumb, leaving a trail of Goosebumps. “Remember, Katie, everything you love, we hold in our hands.”
Katie nodded and pushed the images of what could happen from her mind.
The next day the two female cops showed up at their hotel room and asked if she had a lawyer yet, or would she like them to help her find one. Keith, his father and a small legal team were next door, so she went there and knocked on the door.
Keith opened it and led her inside, closing the door on the two female cops without a word to them.
She took his hands and brought them to her chest. “Do I have to talk to them?”
“It would look bad if you didn’t.”
/> Katie looked around Keith at Mr. Wilkerson who sat at a table with two older lawyers next to him. “Don’t send me alone.”
“Mr. Douglas will go with you,” Mr. Wilkerson said as he patted one of the lawyers on the back. Mr. Douglas stood, his height reaching just past Keith’s head. With his gray hair, and blank face, the man looked like a formidable opponent. She shuddered as he walked over to her, taking her elbow.
“We’ll be back soon,” he said, leading her out the door.
When they got to the police station, he took her aside, and instructed her on what to say. Katie focused on the floor, repeating his lines. She would perform well even if she had to lie through her teeth.
They were brought to the same room as yesterday. Ms. Canady was there, holding a few pamphlets – her eyes light. Katie whispered in Mr. Douglas’s ear. “They really think he hits me.”
The man nodded. “We only want to talk to law officers.”
“We want her to talk to Mrs. Canady,” the younger cop said.
“I will advise my client not to speak in front of non-law enforcement officials.”
The younger cop glared at Mr. Douglas, as the older one led Ms. Canady out of the room.
The younger cop opened her notebook and motioned for them to sit down. Katie took a seat and folded her fingers together. Her index finger rubbed the three diamonds of her engagement ring - to remind herself just who she belonged to.
“Do you know who Josh Hockman was?” the younger cop asked, looking up with a blank look on her face - but deep lines formed between her brows.
“He was a reporter covering my husband’s case,” Katie said.
“Have you heard your husband ever speak of him?”
“No.” Katie snapped back.
“Never?” The younger cop raised her right eyebrow - highlighting the trim cut of her hair.
Katie shook her head and the younger cop wrote something down.
“Mrs. Wilkerson has anybody outside of your family spoken to you about Josh Hockman?”
Katie took a deep breath. At least these questions she could answer truthfully. “No.”
“Have you been given any documents about him?”
“No.”
“You weren’t?” The younger cop shouted, slamming her pencil down.
“My client will not respond to badgering,” Mr. Douglas said.
The younger cop shook her head and took a deep breath as tears built in her eyes. She must be the reporter’s sister. Something tugged at Katie’s heart. If she could only....
“Mrs. Wilkerson, do you know that the night before he died, Josh Hockman called an officer, and said he had information on your husband’s family? Scandalous information.”
“My husband is innocent,” she whispered.
“Why did you leave your husband?” Her voice choked.
Images of Keith’s raised hand filled her vision - that hand had finally swung through the air and bruised her. Someday he’d beat her. “My husband and I lost a baby. I was upset about it.”
“Then why did you tell your father he is cruel to you?”
Katie’s mouth flew open. She should have warned them not to speak the truth to anyone, but she had never known what perils waited around the corner. Please Lord, let the Wilkersons leave them alone.
“Mrs. Wilkerson?”
Katie shook her head. “I didn’t. He’s lying.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know.” She took a deep breath trying to keep the tears in, but one raced down her cheek. All she could see was her father’s bloody body spread out across the den - a gash wound across his neck.
“Will you take a polygraph test?”
“No,” she whispered - her voice choking up.
“She will,” Mr. Douglas said in a calm voice. “But not right now. Let her calm down first. Do you have any more questions?” he asked the cops.
The younger cop ran a hand through her short cropped hair. “Mrs. Wilkerson, your father and husband had a good relationship until recently. What made him stop liking Mr. Wilkerson?”
Katie dug her fingernails into her palm, conjuring up anger in her - she needed to stop this before she let something slip out that would seal her family’s fate. “I don’t know. But look,” Katie said. “I love my husband, and I’m getting sick of how you’re trying to turn me against him.”
Mr. Douglas nodded with a slight smile on his face.
The younger cop leaned her forehead against her hand.
“I think we’re done, Mrs. Wilkerson,” said the older cop.
Katie stood and slammed the chair against the table. She then left with Mr. Douglas behind her.
Mr. Douglas took her back to the hotel. Katie went right to the hotel room that Keith was in. She knocked on the door, and waited until Keith opened it, allowing her to walk past him. “I need to talk to you.”
Keith nodded.
“How did she do?” Mr. Wilkerson asked.
Mr. Douglas explained what had happened. Mr. Wilkerson smirked when he mentioned how angry she’d gotten.
“She’ll be taking the test tomorrow,” Mr. Douglas said.
Mr. Wilkerson leaned back in his chair. “Keith, Katie, stay, everyone else out,” he said.
The other lawyers left. Mr. Wilkerson scooted out his chair while motioning for her. She walked over to him and grabbed the sides of her dress as he patted his knee. She sat on his lap, and turned so he could look in her eyes.
“She can’t pass on her own,” Keith said.
“It’s time to make up for your mistakes,” Mr. Wilkerson said.
Katie folded her hands in her lap, and squeezed them. He opened his phone and pressed a button.
“Hey Will, I need Katie to pass a lie detector test. Have an agent bring me something.” The phone clicked shut making her flinch. Mr. Wilkerson rolled it in his hands.
“Are you pregnant?”
“No.” She looked at Keith and noticed the blanchness to his face.
“You’re not lying?”
Katie turned back to Mr. Wilkerson and leaned over, so she was staring straight into his eyes. “No, Mr. Wilkerson.”
He nodded, a smirk crossing his face - drawing attention to the deep darkness of his eyes. “You’re going to let us drug you, so you can pass.”
She nodded again.
“Then afterwards, call your slutty sister, and say you never want to see her again.”
“No.” She reached for Mr. Wilkerson’s arm. “I’ll.…”
“Where is your loyalty? Huh?”
Tears poured down Katie’s face. “What about my parents?”
“No,” he shouted. “And, I don’t care what my son does to you, say something again and I’ll.…” He shook his head. “You’ll find out what cruelty is. Now go to my son.” He pushed her off of him, stood and turned around. Katie fell on all fours, her knees banging onto the floor. Keith pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in his arms, leading her outside.
When they slipped into their room, Keith wrapped her in his arms, pushing her head against his chest. “You need to listen,” he whispered. “Or I can’t do anything to protect you.”
She looked up at his light eyes. “Do you love me more than him?”
“My loyalty is to him.”
“But.…”
“My loyalty is to him.”
Katie clenched onto Keith’s shirt and let the tears pour forth. Would she ever be able to talk to her family again? She looked up at Keith. His baby blue eyes no longer seemed mesmerizing. One poorly made decision had led to this life. Only if she had listened to God’s word and never chosen to date him. He kissed her cheek and led her back to their room. If she hadn’t she might be with her family now.
The next morning, Keith brought Katie to the room next door. He took the door handle but before he opened the door he turned to her. “We keep family secrets. Remember.”
“I know.”
“This is for your own good,” he sai
d, opening the door and pulling her with him as her small feet stumbled after him. Once inside, Keith wrapped her in his arms, making her focus on the scene in front of her. Mr. Wilkerson stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed, shaking his head. The dark suit he wore stretched with his movements.
Mr. Ayden, a young lawyer in the firm, knelt in front of him with his hands up. His blond curls matted over his head with sweat. “Look, no one approached me.”
“Why does it link to you? A hair? Was that all you could think of?” Mr. Wilkerson bent his head to the side, and smirked. “Not a very intelligent move.”
“I.…”
Mr. Wilkerson grabbed him by the back of the head and threw him down, planting his foot on his neck.
No one ever knew what he did to her. Ashley’s words echoed in her mind. Was she about to find out? Dear Lord. Katie reached for Keith’s arms, squeezing, as every part of her trembled. She leaned against his hard body. His chest rose in a smooth rhythm. How could he be calm at a moment like this?
“Who paid you?” Mr. Wilkerson asked.
“A man. I don’t know who.”
Mr. Wilkerson pushed down upon the man’s neck. A gurgling sound rose from him as he pushed on Mr. Wilkerson’s foot. She jerked her body to the side but Keith held her firm, keeping her captured in his firm embrace. She didn’t want to watch this. Didn’t want to see them actually hurt someone. Please God, save him. Please.
“Watch,” Keith whispered, his hot breath brushing her cheek, the scent of peppermint filled the space between them. Something rose in her making her swallow hard.
“I don’t know,” the lawyer screamed.
Mr. Wilkerson removed his foot and gave the man one quick kick into the stomach. The man rolled over in pain, his muted cries filling the room.
Mr. Wilkerson looked at her, a heat burned in his eyes. A chill swept through her as he walked over to her, yanked her from Keith and into his arms. He turned her so she faced the lawyer.
The scent of the cigar he smoked passed over her.
“Watch,” Mr. Wilkerson said. “I’m done.”
Two of Arther’s agents got off the couch. They wrapped the lawyer’s head in a plastic bag as he struggled. She couldn’t turn her eyes away. One of the agents took out a dagger, held Mr. Ayden’s mouth shut and slit his throat. His body shuddered, but it slowed to small jerks and then stopped, lying like he was no more than a mannequin. An agent took out his wallet and slipped off his wedding ring. She knew his wife and young children. But she would never be able to tell them what had happened to him.