by Crist, J. D.
"I'll get us all some notebooks from the store," Jessica said as she stood. "I want to keep notes as we do this, and I'm sure everyone else does as well."
"Yes," Julia agreed. "I would hate for us to pronounce someone guilty because we mixed up their names. There are thirty-four souls out there."
"I agree," Emily nodded.
"I also want to talk to Jose about turning one of the old office buildings into a town hall type of building," Sam spoke. "Doing all of this business where you live just seems wrong."
"I'm fine with that," Emily agreed.
"We can use the conference room in one of them for the interviews to start with," Jessica spoke. "It's large enough."
"While Doc finishes his exam's we can all head over to get it set up," Shawn said as he stood.
"Doc, is he allowed to clean?" Emily asked and could feel Shawn glaring at her.
"I would rather he come with me to finish the exams," Doc spoke. "Just having him there would keep the men from wanting to kill me."
"Alright," Shawn sighed. "One-armed bodyguard coming up."
Everyone laughed, and the tension was finally released in the room. Emily stood as everyone got up and headed for the door.
"I'll meet you at the conference room," Shawn said as he wrapped her in a hug.
Emily hugged him back and watched as he headed out the door with Doc. Emily made her way to the kitchen and fed Hope her lunch. Marley followed her and ate what was left of his breakfast, and then laid on the floor. Once she was finished, Emily walked with Hope and Marley out into the town.
"Howard said you may need someone to watch Hope," June greated her.
"It may not be best to take her into the interviews," Emily smiled back.
"She can hang out with me for the rest of the afternoon," June said as she took Hope from Emily's arms.
"I appreciate it," Emily said as she let go of Hope.
"With everything going on," June began, "I was wondering if you needed help with the plans for her birthday?"
Emily stood with a blank expression on her face for a few minutes. Emily then remembered that Hope's first birthday was the following week.
"I completely forgot," Emily admitted. "I should be able to handle it. It will just be a small celebration here at the house."
"I don't think so," June said as she shook her head. "Everyone will want to celebrate, and your house is not nearly large enough for that."
"I just thought…." Emily began.
"Hopes birthday is not just the day that you gained your daughter, but the day that gave us all hope. It's the day you opened those gates and let us all in," June smiled. "Why don't you let us handle the plans, and you just worry about getting the birthday girl there on time?"
"Okay, but nothing too crazy," Emily said as June was walking away.
June didn't reply and simply waved as she walked with Hope towards the school.
"She's going to go crazy, isn't she?" Emily asked, looking down at Marley.
Marley stared up with a puzzled look on his face and started to walk up the road. Emily took that as a yes and followed. Emily made her way to the conference room and took a seat at the table. Everyone except for Shawn and Sam had already arrived and were sitting. Marley laid down under the table, but Emily knew he would not be sleeping.
"How was the last of the exams?" Emily asked Doc.
"I separated three," Doc responded. "No clear bites, but they had a fever and were pretty scratched up. I'll watch them for 24 hours, and if their fever breaks, we can start their interviews."
"Please keep me informed," Emily said as she looked down at a list that Doc slid in front of her.
"I thought we would start with the women and children," Doc said. "Sam and Shawn are escorting the first of them here now."
"Did the men all behave during their exams?" Emily asked.
"One took a swing at me," Doc replied. "He missed, and Shawn warned him that if he did it again, he wouldn't be walking out of my office."
"I take it he didn't do it again?" Emily asked, laughing.
"No, he didn't," Doc laughed.
Sam and Shawn entered the room as he finished with a woman, about fourteen years old and an eight-year-old boy. Emily could see that the kids were clinging to the woman, who was probably their mother. All of them looked terrified, and Emily could not blame them. Sam shut the door behind them and then followed Sam to the table to take their seats.
"I know it won't help," Emily began. "But there is no need to be scared. We are just talking right now and trying to get to know each of you better."
"You want to make sure we are not crazy like Husband, I mean, Jeff was," the woman said, looking down at the children.
"Well, yes," Emily replied, looking at the others.
"Ask your questions," the woman said, looking Emily in the eye.
"Just to make sure we have things correct, let's start with your names," Emily said.
"My name is Clair, my daughter Jenny and my son Christopher," Clair answered no, looking up.
"How long had you been with Jeff?" Emily asked as she wrote down their names.
"He captured us in the early spring," Clair answered, still not looking up.
"Did Doc go over the findings of your medical exam with you?" Emily asked as she glanced at Doc.
"He told us we would live and told us what happened to us like we didn't already know," Clair responded shortly.
"The mother was sexually abused, but neither child showed any signs," Doc spoke, and everyone continued to write.
"Are you able to identify if any of the men we returned with are the ones who assaulted you?" Sam asked.
"Does it matter?" Clair laughed.
"We don't want to invite them to stay if they are guilty of such things," Emily explained.
"Invite?" Clair laughed again. "You took us all prisoner just like he did but sat here like you’re better."
"I understand why you would feel that way," Emily said, trying to sound comforting.
"Right now, we want to make sure you are all healthy, and we want to remove the men who did those evil things."
"And then what?" Clair asked sharply. "You tell us what we are expected to do and what the consequences will be if we don't."
"Not at all," Emily smiled. "We will invite those who were prisoners inside to see what we have. We will explain how things work here, and then we will give you a choice. You are welcome to join us, or you are free to leave. If you choose to leave, we will give you supplies and let you go on your way."
"You expect us to believe that crap?" Clair spat at her.
"It's the truth if you believe it or not," Emily remained calm in her tone. "We will prove it as soon as this process is finished."
"Are you able to give the names of the men here that assaulted you?" Sam asked in a professional tone.
"No," Clair said. "I only knew them by Husband."
"Are you willing to identify them if you were able to see them?" Julia asked.
"You planning on a lineup?" Clair asked in a mocking tone.
"We could do pictures," Jessica suggested.
"If it would make you more comfortable."
"You all are serious," Clair said with disbelief."
"We are," Emily smiled back. "Are there any of them you feel comfortable saying are innocent?"
"There were some that were kind and never touched us," Clair stated. "They would even help us when no one was looking, but I don't know their names."
"Is there anything we can get you to make you more comfortable while we work through this process?" Emily asked.
"A pregnancy test?" Clair asked, looking at the floor. "I just need to be sure."
"I took a blood sample," Doc stated. "I will be checking all the women for pregnancy. I will have all of the results in the morning."
"Thank you," Clair said, looking back at Doc.
"Shawn and Sam will take you back for now, and we will talk again once we have the pictures," Emily smi
led.
Sam and Shawn stood right away and led them out the door. Shawn closed the door as they left, leaving Emily and the rest of the council alone.
"I don't know if we are going to learn much until we have the photos," Cole spoke.
"I agree," Emily replied. "I think we should hold off on the interviews until we have them."
"I will get the camera and get them right away," Jessica said as she stood. "I should have them ready first thing in the morning."
"We will meet back here in the morning then," Emily stated. "Let's try to get photos of everyone. I'm not sure we should assume that all of the women are innocent. Some of them may want to continue living in that type of society."
"You think some of them will want to go back to living that way?" Jacob asked in disbelief.
"The human mind is complicated," Howard replied. "I agree that we should be suspect of everyone until we know for sure."
"I'll go with Jessica to keep her safe while she takes the photos," Cole said as he stood and followed Jessica.
Everyone filed out of the room, leaving Emily sitting at the table looking at what she wrote.
"I heard you want a building converted," Jose said as he entered the room.
"Yes," Emily said as she looked up. "We were thinking a town hall type of building."
"I'll work on drawing up some plans tonight and bring them to you for approval," Jose said, looking around the room. "I will need to get the original blueprints to decide which will work best."
"Of course," Emily smiled back. "They are in my office. Please, help yourself."
Jose left without another word, passing Shawn as he went.
"We should get out of here," Shawn said. "There's nothing more that we can do today."
"It just feels wrong to stop after the first interview," Emily said as she closed her notebook.
"I know, but you said it yourself; we have to take our time."
Emily stood and walked to Shawn, who wrapped her in a hug. Emily allowed Shawn to lead her out of the building and back out onto the street. Shawn walked Emily and Marley to their front door.
"I'll go pick up Hope," Shawn said as he let go of Emily. "I assume she is with June."
"Yeah," Emily said, feeling exhausted. "But you are not supposed to lift anything."
"Then I will let her walk," Shawn smiled. "This could take a while."
Shawn turned to leave laughing. Emily opened the door and headed inside with Marley. Emily walked straight to the couch and allowed herself to collapse. Marley jumped up on the sofa beside her and laid his head in her lap. Emily petted his head as she leaned back and closed her eyes.
Emily and Marley remained this way until the front door opened.
"Mama!" Hope yelled as Shawn closed the door.
Emily's eye shot open, and she leaned up.
"Hope?" Emily called back.
"Mama!" Hope yelled as she ran towards Emily.
"Why didn't you tell me she started talking?" Shawn asked as Emily picked up Hope.
"Was she talking the whole way home?" Emily asked.
"No, silent as a mouse until we came in the door. Is this the first time she's talked?" Shawn asked, realizing Emily had happy tears in her eyes.
"Yes," Emily said.
"Now, that's a way to end a long day." Shawn smiled as he sat down next to her.
Chapter 23
Everyone had gathered in the meeting room the next day, eager to start the interviews. Jessica had arranged all of the photos on top of the table.
"Rumor around town is that Hope is talking," Howard smiled at her.
"Yes, she said mama last night," Emily smiled with pride.
"Did she call you mama or Shawn?" Doc teased. "I joke, of course, most babies who learn to talk don't know what the words mean."
"Well, she seems to," Emily laughed. "She called it out when she got home. I called her name out of surprise, and she yelled it again while running to me."
"That's a smart little girl," Howard smiled at them.
Shawn and Sam came in with Clair and her children once more. Clair seemed calmer today, and the children were visibly more relaxed.
"You stopped the interviews yesterday," Clair said as she looked at Emily.
"You helped us realize that names may not be something people could give, so we wanted to get these pictures ready," Emily replied.
Clair stepped forwards and looked at the photos. Emily and the rest of the council sat quietly as Clair and her children looked at them.
"He's the one," Jenny said, pointing at a picture of a man.
"What did he do sweetie," Emily asked as she held up the photo.
"He hid me when the bad man came for me," Jenny said, looking at her mom. "He took me back to my mommy after the sun went down."
"Do you recognize anyone else?" Emily asked them all as they continued to look at the pictures.
Clair pointed at three of them and stated that they had all raped her. Christopher said that he saw two of the men kill a woman who wouldn't follow the rules.
"What about the women?" Emily asked, noticing that they all stared at the photos of the women but didn't say anything.
The family, along with the council, seemed confused by the question.
"What about this one?" Emily asked as she picked up a photo of a brunette woman that she saw them all look at with just as much fear as they had the men they claimed assaulted them.
"She was a wife leader," Jenny spoke.
"What's a wife leader?" Julia asked.
"She was one of the high-ranking women," Clair began. "She received better food and clothing. She was in charge of keeping the young girls in line and training them to keep the men happy."
Emily set the picture back down and looked around at everyone. She could see that they were all just as disgusted as she was.
"Were there others?" Howard asked.
"Yes," Clair replied as she pointed at five more pictures.
"Thank you," Emily said and then motioned to Shawn and Sam that the interview was over.
"Do you have my test results?" Clair asked.
"Yes," Doc replied. "All of the pregnancy tests were negative."
Emily watched as Clair breathed a sigh of relief. Shawn and Sam walked them to quarantine and brought in the next person. Emily continued to ask the same questions and identify who they could be in the pictures. Emily learned during Bridgett's interview that one of the men that everyone kept saying helped them was her father. They had interviewed everyone except the six accused women and all of the men.
"I don't know if I can talk to anyone else," Sarah said as Shawn and Sam left with the last woman.
"We have to try," Julia said.
"She's right," Emily agreed. "We need to try to at least get through the first of the interviews today."
"I'm trying," Sarah sighed as Shawn and Sam returned.
Emily conducted the interviews with the remaining people just as she had all of the others. If a man had been accused of rape, she would ask them if they had anything to say to defend themselves. It surprised her that every man accused would begin pointing at the pictures of the woman who accused them, calling them crazy when Emily was careful not to tell them who accused them. The ones that hadn't always been accused demanded to know if their families, wives, or children were safe as soon as they came in.
"That's everyone," Jacob said as he leaned back. "What do we do now?"
"Do we just vote or…" Cole started.
"We should at least talk about them," Julia spoke. "Just to make sure no one missed anything."
"I agree," Emily sighed. "I know we are all mentally exhausted, but I think we do need to talk about it while it's fresh in our minds."
Emily sat with the council and talked about each of the thirty-four people they had met that day. Emily listened as they talked back and forth about how best to handle a particular person, things they thought a person was lying or hiding. Emily remained quiet as they spoke and simply lis
tened to them.
"I believe we all have a lot to think about," Emily said as they finished. "We will meet again in the morning for a vote."
"We can take a break, but I think we should vote today," Sam replied. "They are crammed in like cattle in the quarantine area. It was not meant for that many people at once. With the six women being accused, we don't have the room to separate them."
