Redemption

by Phil M. Williams

  April stared at the screen slack-jawed, her eyes like saucers. A lump formed in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. They lied to me. April slipped on her sneakers and took her phone downstairs, following the smell of French fries and grilled cheese sandwiches. Michelle was at the stovetop. She flipped a grilled cheese sandwich on the frying pan. French fries were in the oven below.

  April stopped at the center island. She swallowed the lump in her throat and said, “I need to talk to you.”

  Michelle flipped another sandwich, replying without looking back. “Lunch is almost ready. Can you get your brothers? They’re out back.”

  April glanced out the sliding glass door. They were playing catch. She clenched her fists and spoke through gritted teeth. “You lied to me.”

  Michelle removed the frying pan from the burner, turning it off at the same time. She pivoted to April. “What did you say?”

  Tears slipped down April’s face.

  Michelle knitted her brow, searching her daughter’s contorted face. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Michelle walked around the center island.

  April showed her palms. “Don’t touch me. You lied to me!”

  Michelle flinched and stopped a few feet away from April.

  “I know Jason’s my father.”

  “We’ve been through this, sweetie. We had a paternity test done when you were born—”

  “Stop lying!” April sneered at her mother. “How stupid do you think I am? I had a DNA test done.”

  Michelle opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  “You and Danny have been lying to me my whole life.”

  Michelle shook her head, her eyes glassy. “It’s not like that.”

  April crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s it like then?”

  “I was pregnant before I knew about the evidence against Jason. I never thought he could do such a thing, but …” Michelle wiped the corners of her eyes. “I left Jason, and I reconnected with Danny. Your father was like a shelter in the storm. I fell in love with him all over again. I found out I was pregnant shortly afterward. Your dad was so excited.”

  April tilted her head. “Does he know the truth?”

  “Yes. I told him right then. He was disappointed that you were Jason’s, but he wanted you from the beginning. He wanted us to be a family. We didn’t want you to know what your biological father had done. We didn’t want you to be forced to visit him in prison—”

  “So you lied?”

  Michelle sniffled and said, “We did what we thought was best.”

  “This is so fucked up.”

  Michelle approached April, with her arms out for a hug.

  April walked away.

  Michelle followed her daughter through the living room. “Where are you going?”

  April spoke over her shoulder. “I need some air.”

  “Please. I love you. I didn’t mean to—”

  “Leave me alone.”

  Michelle stopped in her tracks.

  April left the house, slamming the door in her wake.

  Chapter 95: Home

  Billowy clouds partially covered the sun. April marched around the corner, just out of view of her house. She sat on the curb between two of her neighbors. She tapped on her phone, opening her Uber app. She entered her destination. Gino was nearby, so she requested a ride from him. He responded almost immediately, accepting the fare.

  As she waited for Gino, she hugged her knees, her head resting on her arms, and sobbed. A few minutes later, Gino’s Ford Escape stopped alongside her. April wiped her face with her T-shirt and rose from the curb.

  Gino stepped out of his car. He pulled up his mask. “Are you okay?”

  April nodded. “I’m fine.”

  He narrowed his dark eyes. “You don’t look fine.”

  “I’m fine.” She opened the rear passenger door.

  “Do you want a mask?” Gino asked.

  April frowned. “Shit. I forgot.”

  “I keep extras.” Gino reached over the front seat to the center console. He handed April a new surgical mask in sealed plastic.

  “Thank you.” April opened the plastic and put on the mask.

  Gino drove them through downtown Loganville. April sat in back, staring out the window in silence. They drove across the bridge, leaving the Loganville city limits. Gino finally parked the SUV across the street from the construction site. Workers and machines labored in and around the wooden skeletons that would soon be someone’s home.

  “I can wait if you need me to,” Gino said.

  “That would be great,” April replied, opening the door.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Gino, asked, turning around in his seat.

  “I will be.”

  April stepped out of the car and approached the construction site. She scanned the men, searching for Jason. Two men sat on a truck tailgate, eating their lunch. Several others walked to their trucks parked along the street. They drove away, intent on eating out. Jason sat on a cinderblock, alone, eating a sandwich. She spotted him first. As if he sensed her gaze, he turned to her. Jason placed his sandwich in a Ziploc bag and shoved it in his backpack. He stood from the cinderblock, left his backpack, and walked to April. He stopped on the street, a polite distance away.

  April pulled down her mask, not wanting any misunderstanding. “I got the DNA test.”

  “You look upset,” Jason replied, his eyebrows drawn together.

  April removed her phone from her back pocket and walked closer to Jason. “You can see for yourself.” She tapped to the email in question and handed her phone to Jason. “Here’s the results.”

  Jason tilted the screen so he could see better in the sun. Then he scrolled, his face twisting in anguish as he read. “I’m sorry, April. I know this isn’t the result you wanted.” He returned her phone.

  April snatched her phone from his hand, stashing it in her back pocket. “No shit. My parents have been lying to me my whole life.”

  Jason looked down for a beat. “It’s just DNA. Danny’s been your father your whole life. This doesn’t have to change anything.”

  April threw up her hands in frustration. “This changes everything! I’m in an impossible situation. If you’re guilty, I can walk away knowing that my parents did the right thing, shielding me from you, but, if you’re innocent, my whole life’s a lie. My parents aren’t the people who I thought they were.”

  “What do you want from me?”

  April put her hands on her hips. “The truth. Did you molest your sister?”

  He cocked his head. “How did you …”

  “I listened to her audio from the preliminary hearing, and I talked to her. She and your mother both said you molested her. Did you do it?”

  His eyes were glassy. “Yes.”

  “What about Becky?”

  He blinked, and a tear snaked along his nose. “Yes.”

  “I wish I never knew you existed.” April ran back to Gino’s SUV. She climbed into the back, put her face in her hands, and cried.

  “Are you okay?” Gino asked.

  April looked up, her face red and tear-streaked. “Just go.”

  Gino turned around, driving back the way they came. “Where to?”

  “Home. Take me home.”

  Chapter 96: Nine Months Later

  Azaleas bloomed pink along the edge of the ground-level deck. The sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds. Everyone wore light jackets or sweatshirts. Frank and Ruth Murphy and the Gibbs family crowded around the Murphys’ patio table and sang happy birthday to Dylan and Lance.

  The twin teens blew out their candles.

  Everyone cheered, including April. It had been nine months since she’d found out the truth about her father. She hadn’t had any contact with Jason since. It had taken several months of professional therapy to repair her relationship with her parents. Given Jason’s confession of guilt, April eventually forgave her parents for hiding the existence of her biological father, now understand
ing the difficult choice they had to make.

  At the height of the pandemic, she had completed her first semester of her sophomore year online, but, as new cases slowed, she’d gone back to the University of Pennsylvania for the spring term. It had been good for her to spend time with her friends from college, who vastly outnumbered those from high school. After acing her exams, she was back home for the summer.

  Ruth cut the cake, and Michelle used the spade knife to set squares of cake on the birthday-themed paper plates.

  The newly minted fifteen-year-olds scarfed down their cake and went to the lawn to throw the football. April ate her cake at a leisurely pace, listening to the adult conversation.

  “Any word from Susie?” Michelle asked Ruth.

  Michelle had extended a party invitation to Susie through Ruth because Susie had blocked Michelle’s calls. Michelle had said, “Maybe if it’s at mom’s she’ll feel more comfortable.”

  Susie and Michelle’s relationship had fractured, after Susie lost her house to foreclosure. Susie had blamed her misfortune on Michelle for exposing her and Becky to Jason and his dirty money. April had wondered if Aunt Susie was simply searching for someone to blame for her poor choices.

  Ruth frowned at Michelle. “I’m sorry, honey. She said she has to work.”

  Susie had updated her license and had gone back to work as a nurse.

  “Anything new on Maria?” Grandpap Frank asked Danny.

  Danny swallowed his cake and shook his head, a scowl on his face. “She disappeared into thin air, just like the rest of them.” Danny let out a breath. “I’d like to be optimistic, but she’s been gone for almost three weeks. The chances of recovery now, … well, you know.”

  Frank nodded and clenched his jaw. “I keep thinking I should’ve done something. I should’ve seen something.”

  “Stop beating yourself up,” Ruth said, placing her hand atop Frank’s. “Basketball season had been over for months when she disappeared. How could you’ve known?”

  Maria was the latest child to be taken from Loganville, and she had been on Frank’s basketball team.

  Frank shook his head. “I don’t know. Her mom never came to pick her up on time. I used to stay after practice, waiting with her, because I didn’t wanna leave her alone. Her mom was always in a rush. She always appeared tired. Maria wasn’t really interested in basketball. I think her mother signed her up for free after-school care. I never even thought about what might happen after basketball season.” Frank stared at his half-eaten cake. “Now she’s gone.”

  “Do you think it’s a serial killer?” April asked.

  Everyone turned their attention to April.

  “There’s no evidence of that.” Danny huffed. “There’s no evidence period.”

  “I saw that community organizer guy, Hector Cruz, on the news. He said, there’s been nine missing girls from Loganville, all Latinas between five and seven years old. He said the first one was Nina Diaz in 1999.”

  “The first one might’ve been Heather Sample in ’97,” Frank said. “She disappeared without a trace, just like Maria.”

  ***

  Later that afternoon, April sat at her desk, her laptop open in front of her. She signed on to her CorrLinks account, which was an email messaging service to communicate with incarcerated persons. All incoming and outgoing messages were monitored by prison staff before delivering. She had a new message from her cousin. Becky had been sentenced to two years in prison for trafficking Vicodin, which was a Schedule II substance. With her time served, she had another fifteen months to go.

  Becky: Hey, PP. What up! Miss you girl. I hope you are home from school.

  I was wondering if you would come see me next Saturday? We have visiting hours from 10-4. It would mean a lot to me. It’s part of my recovery. Please come alone. We need to have some real talk without the parental units. Also I’m finished with your CDs, if you want them back. I love you.

  April: Hi, Becky. It’s great to hear from you. I miss you too.

  I hope you’re doing well with your recovery. Grammy Ruth tells me that you’re doing really great. I’m sorry I haven’t been to visit in a while. I’ve been really busy with school and everything. I know that’s not a good excuse. I will be there on Saturday. I look forward to seeing you. I’ll be there around noon, if that’s okay with you. The CDs are Norman Tuttle’s. I’m pretty sure he forgot about them, but I’ll take them back to him, if you’re finished. I love you too!

  An email notification appeared on the bottom corner of her laptop screen. April clicked on the notification.

  From: updates@publicrecords.com

  To: aprilgibbs2234@gmail.com

  Date: May 8, 2021, 4:20 PM

  Subject: Update Jason Lewis

  You’re receiving this email because you elected Public Records to notify you if there were any updates to the following background check:

  Jason Lewis

  The following update(s) have been made.

  Address

  200 Valley View Drive

  Apartment 3F

  Loganville, PA 16666

  April clicked the link at the bottom that read Click here if you no longer wish to receive notifications regarding this record.

  Chapter 97: Clean

  April wanted to hug her cousin but waved and smiled under her mask instead. Becky smiled back, the evidence coming from her eyes, her mouth also covered by a surgical mask. Inmates weren’t required to wear masks, unless they were sick or visiting with the public.

  Becky appeared a little heavier in a good way. “Thanks for coming, PP.”

  “Of course,” April replied.

  Becky grabbed a stack of bound CDs from the nearby stainless-steel table and handed them to April. “Thank you letting me borrow these.”

  “You’re welcome,” April replied, taking the CDs. “I forgot you had them.” At Becky’s request, April had lent the recording of Jason’s trial to Becky, shortly after she was incarcerated.

  Becky gestured to the table. “You wanna sit?”

  April sat across from Becky at the table. She set the stack of CDs on the seat next to her. A folded note sat in front of Becky on the table. Like her fellow inmates, Becky wore a maroon smock and matching maroon pants. DOC was etched across her back in big white letters. The tables around the meeting room were filled with female inmates, talking and laughing with their families, everyone muffled by a mask and social distancing.

  Several inmates gazed at their children playing or coloring, desperate to touch them. Some met with older people, who appeared to be their parents. Several guards watched over the scene, also wearing masks. One inmate wiped tears from her eyes, the man in front of her delivering distressing news.

  Becky rested her elbows on the table, her hands folded. “So, what are you planning to do this summer?”

  April shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. I need to get a job. I may go back to waitressing, but I wanted to take a few weeks to decompress after the school year.”

  “Are you still seeing that cute Italian boy?”

  “Gino?”

  Becky giggled. “Is there another cute Italian boy in your life?”

  April frowned. “No. We broke up.”

  Becky mimicked April’s frown, the evidence in her eyes and on her creased forehead. “Why? What happened?”

  “Before the spring semester, we got in this big fight about long-distance relationships. We were both going back to school in the spring, and we wouldn’t be able to see each other much, so I suggested we take a break. He freaked. Thought I didn’t care about him.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  April lifted one shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m thinking about calling him and apologizing. I’ve been stalking him on Instagram. It doesn’t look like he’s dating anyone.”

  “Go for it. If I was you, that’s what I’d do.”

  April nodded.

  Becky cleared her throat. “So, the reason I asked you to come see me is because of my recovery
and my therapy.”

  April leaned forward, her elbows on the table, and her hands folded like Becky’s.

  “As part of my recovery, I’m supposed to make amends.” Becky stared into April’s eyes, unblinking. “I’m so sorry for subjecting you to drugs and alcohol and all the scumbags at my house. You always said no, but I was wrong to offer you drugs and alcohol. It was like I wanted to ruin your perfect life. I was wrong, and I’m so sorry.”

  April nodded again. “That’s really nice of you to say. I forgive you.”

  “Thanks, April.”

  This made April smile. Becky rarely called her April. “You’re welcome. Is that what you wanted to tell me?”

  “There’s more. As you know I’ve been in therapy. The therapist here is really nice. She’s really helped me.”

  “I’m so happy for you.”

  “We’ve talked a lot about my mother and her addictions. I’ve learned a lot about myself and why I do the things I do. I’m trying to break my bad habits for good.”

  “That’s great,” April said.

  “I’ve been clean, and my mind’s been so much clearer. Anyway, I uh, started to remember things from the past. I think listening to the trial and my deposition helped too.” Becky took a deep breath. “One of the things that I remembered was from when I was a little girl. It was a man telling me that Jason touched my pee-pee part. That’s the word I remember him using. Pee-pee part. He told me this over and over again, like he was trying to hypnotize me or brainwash me. And then I used that same word in my deposition.”

  April’s eyes widened. “Who was it?”

  Becky shrugged. “I don’t know. The face is a blur. I’m pretty sure it was a man though.”

  “I don’t understand.” April glanced around, making sure nobody was listening. Then she spoke in a hushed whisper. “Does this mean you don’t think Jason molested you?”

  “I don’t know for certain, but I doubt it was him.”

  “But …” April pursed her lips. “He admitted it to me.”

  Becky knitted her brow. “He did?”