Coming Out of the Dark: Second Chance Series - Book 1

by Joan Davis

  “The media never even scratched the surface of what went on in that house of horrors. Saren might not have raped Risa’s body, but that animal and his followers raped her mind,” Bill said raggedly. “I can’t go into detail, Sam. I don’t think I could do it and not get physically ill. But those bastards tortured my girl. They made her watch animal sacrifices and participate. They always wore the same hideous white masks over their faces. God, when I think of how terrified my girl must have been. I’ve had nightmares about those masks,” Bill muttered painfully.

  “Saren constantly tried to force Risa to use her so-called mystical powers,” Bill said in disgust. “That crazy bastard saw Risa dressed up in period clothing at a Renaissance Festival. In his warped mind she became this mystical ‘High Priestess’ or ‘sorceress’ that would help him conquer the world. That’s why he took her and . . . killed my wife, because of a damn costume,” Bill choked bitterly on his words. “Anyway, Saren subjected Risa to these rituals over and over again for over a year.”

  Bill took a ragged breath and forced himself to continue. “One night after being put through yet another ritual, one of those bastards that followed Saren attacked Risa. This guy was supposed to be taking her back to her room, but once he had her inside, he attempted to rape her. Apparently the other followers heard Risa’s screams and rushed in and stopped him before he got too far. Saren had him taken away and just locked Risa in her room alone.” Bills’ breathing was ragged as he fought for control. “The next night they killed this guy in front of her. They nearly cut him to pieces as Risa was forced to watched and begged for his life. Sam, they tried to make her drink his blood,” Bill said in a shuddering cry.

  Samson sat down hard on one of the barstools that lined one end of the kitchen island, afraid his legs wouldn’t hold him.

  “She would only have been 16 years old then. Who does shit like that to anyone, much less a kid? She was just a young girl . . .” Bill swallowed hard trying to fight nausea. Tears poured down his face.

  Samson groaned in pain and put his head in his hands, fighting his own emotions. A black rage was building inside him. He realized Bill wasn’t telling him everything, but he also didn’t know if he could take hearing any more.

  “They broke my girl that night. She just turned in on herself and stayed there. I thank God for that, because after that night they put her through another type of hell,” Bill sobbed. “They threw her down in that damned basement, where she suffered beatings, starvation and that damn cage for the next four years.”

  “That cage is where the police found her the day they were forced to raid the place. I still wonder what would have happen if those cops hadn’t been canvassing that particular neighborhood, looking for information on a group car thieves. Would Risa still be alive? Would they still be torturing her? She’s a fighter, but I really don’t know how much longer she would have survived,” Bill said and took another drink of whiskey.

  “Damn it, Bill, I had no idea. I don’t know how either of you came through this intact,” Samson said quietly, “It must have been hard to have Risa tell you all this. It was hard enough having you tell me,” Samson said, getting up to pour his own whiskey.

  Bill shook his head bitterly. “You don’t understand, Sam. Risa couldn’t tell me anything. After the doctors and nurses saved my girl’s life, they told me she was so mentally traumatized, that the possibility of her coming out of it was very slim. The doctors said Risa may never be normal again. They kept telling me to put her in a nursing home, but I couldn’t do it. I had finally gotten her back, and I just wanted to get her home with me. I convinced them let me take her home. I knew my girl was in there somewhere. I just had to figure out how to get to her.”

  “I don’t get it, Bill. Risa seems fine now. What happened? Did you find someone to help her?” Samson asked, confused.

  Bill laughed sadly. “Actually, you were the catalyst for Risa’s turn-around.”

  That brought Samson up short. “Me? Bill, I didn’t even know you were going through this hell. How could I . . .?”

  Bill interrupted. “That day you and Conner rode up on your Harleys across from Maybell’s Diner, that’s how you helped. I was in the drugstore checking out and trying to keep an eye on Risa through the glass front. When you guys drove up, I saw Risa react. I saw fear and terror on her face, and then Risa just curled up in a ball and sank on to the front seat.”

  Samson nodded. “That’s the memory I kept replaying in my head for days. I have felt a lot of guilt over scaring her that day. She seemed so frail.”

  Bill looked at Samson and smiled sadly. “Well, get rid of the guilt. Because of that day, I began to have real hope of getting Risa back. It was the first time I saw any emotional reaction from my girl since I got to the hospital after the EMT’s brought her into the Emergency Room. You have no idea. Even after getting her home, unless I gave her direction she would just stare into space for hours. I had to tell her to eat. I would take her down to the dock, and if I didn’t tell her to sit, she would just stand there until I came back to get her. I had to help with her personal care. In some ways it was like she was still a baby. Every night when I put Risa to bed, she would curl up in a ball, as close to the wall as she could get; and every morning it would start all over again. I had all but giving up hope, until the day you drove up on that wonderful motorcycle.”

  “So that’s why I heard you were cutting back on all those carpentry jobs. You were trying to help Risa,” Samson stated, amazed that Bill had dealt with all of that by himself. “I don’t know how you did it, man. So, when did things change? How were you able to get Risa back?” Samson asked.

  Bill looked down at his empty glass. “I got her back on the third of October. That was my wife’s birthday.” Bill gave a watery smile to himself.

  “I don’t understand, what happened?” Samson asked again.

  “You have to understand, Sam. I was losing her. Risa was sinking deeper and deeper into her own mind. The day Risa reacted to your motorcycle, I had hope, but the next day it was just more of the same,” Bill said a bit desperately.

  “What did you do, Bill?” Samson asked.

  “I pushed my daughter off the end of our dock into the freezing water and let her sink to the bottom of the lake,” Bill said, and at Samson’s shocked look, he rushed his next words. “I was desperate. I couldn’t reach her, and I could feel her slipping further and further away every day. That day, I did the same thing I had been doing for months. I took her down to the end of the dock and was about to turn away, when I heard my wife’s voice,” Bill said raggedly.

  “What?” Samson asked, amazed.

  “I know it sounds crazy. I know that, but it’s true,” Bill’s voice broke, his eyes pleading for understanding.

  Samson stared at Bill’s tortured expression before asking, “What did she say?”

  “She told me to push Risa,” Bill choked out. “So I did it. I pushed my daughter as hard as I could. You know how clear the water is. When she hit the water, I could see her sinking down, but she wasn’t moving, and I began to panic. I was just about to go in after her when I saw her start thrashing her arms and legs. She looked up and started clawing towards the surface. I know it was only a few seconds, but it seemed like forever before Risa reached the surface, and I was able to drag her up onto the dock.” Bill groaned at the memory.

  “Damn, man, Risa could have drowned,” Samson said. I could have lost her, He thought savagely.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Bill asked angrily. “I hadn’t planned to push her, but when I heard Sandy’s voice, it became so clear to me. I had no choice. I wasn’t going to lose my girl a second time,” Bill snapped in anger. “It worked, and that’s all I care about in the end. Risa came out of that water swinging and screaming at the top of her lungs. I was never so happy to see that temper of hers,” Bill said, relief clear in his voice. “After that day, I had my girl back. Risa was like a puppy. She walked around the house for hours looki
ng at every detail. We talked about everything, and we grieved over her mother’s death.”

  “From that day on, Risa has become curious about everything from food, to all the new electronic gadgets. Since it has gotten warmer, she has spent most of her days outside of the house. I still catch her walking barefoot in the grass, and she looks up and grins at me like it’s the most amazing thing she has ever done. Mostly, she spends hours in the lake just floating. I told her she going to turn into a prune, but it doesn’t make a difference,” Bill smiled fondly.

  Bill then sighed and frowned. “Don’t get me wrong. It hasn’t been all sunshine. When I let everyone know that Risa was lucid and able to communicate, the vultures started circling. District Attorney Addison wanted to interview her. The doctors wanted me to take Risa to a shrink. They said that therapy was essential for her, considering the traumatic mental and physical torture she suffered. There was talk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression that could set in at any time.”

  “At first, Risa didn’t want to have anything to do with any of it. She just wanted to be left alone with her lake. But the D.A. just kept coming, and finally he threatened to have a court-ordered psyche exam if she didn’t cooperate,” Bill said in disgust.

  “I knew I didn’t like that asshole when I met him,” Samson said grimly.

  Bill nodded. “I have thought about taking a swing at him more than once. But he had his reasons. The lawyers for the other side are trying to get evidence thrown out. It turns out that Saren and that sole follower they arrested along with him, Melissa Sue Banner, have both given videotaped confessions to the police. Saren has told them everything. He said he wanted everyone to know how well he treated Risa, and how he protected her. Can you believe that shit?” Bill asked incredulously. “That bastard said he had nothing to do with the murder of the police officers. He is claiming that his followers went off on their own when they started shooting at the police that day. He acted like he was the wronged party,” Bill said tightly. “The Banner girl’s confession was even more bizarre to me. She spoke about all of it as if she were discussing the weather. She acted as if she couldn’t understand why there was so much fuss being made about it all,” Bill snorted in disgust.

  “Anyway, you asked me how I knew so many details. Well, a police detective I know in Cloverdale told me that Saren’s and Melissa Sue Banner’s cases have been taken up by a big-time lawyer who has advised them to recant their confessions. The lawyer is trying to get them thrown out due to police coercion. It’s a load of crap, but the D.A. thinks it’s possible. That’s why he wanted to get Risa’s statement. He wants as much corroborating evidence as he can get, so he can make sure that son of a bitch pays the maximum penalty for everything he did.”

  “When the D.A. shared the threat to me about Risa, I agreed to talk to her and try to convince her to talk to him. But I also made my own threat. I told him that I wanted to see the taped confessions made by Saren and the Banner girl first, and if he didn’t agree, I would get my own damn lawyer and file a harassment suit against the entire District Attorney’s office. After a lot of yelling and threats on both sides, he agreed and let me watch the confessions.

  “You had to know what they did to Risa, didn’t you?” Samson asked, understanding that need.

  Bill sighed, “Yeah, sometimes I wish I hadn’t been so driven. Saren is an oily sub-human creature. He looks like what he is, a con artist. Everything about him is putrid and rotten. But seeing Saren, and listening to him twist his actions like he was some kind of benevolent god, helped me realize something. Risa was going to need psychological therapy to help her get through all this.”

  “Does Risa know you saw the tapes?” Samson asked.

  “To tell you the truth, I don’t really know. She won’t talk to me about it. One of the conditions Risa gave when she agreed to see a psychologist and to speak to D.A. Addison was that I was not allowed to sit in on any of it. She was adamant, and I agreed to whatever she asked. I was afraid that if I didn’t, she wouldn’t get the help she needed,” Bill said slowly. “I knew her therapy sessions would have to be private, and after meeting the therapist I felt okay with that. The fact that she would have to meet with the D.A. and his people was much harder to handle. Sam, you have to understand how truly terrorizing it is for Risa to be around strangers. She has had to force herself to sit in that D.A.’s office with people she doesn’t know and recount over and over again the details of her abduction and captivity. Damn, Sam, you’ve seen how hard it is for Risa to walk into Maybell’s with me and have a simple lunch. When strangers approach her, I can see the absolute terror in her eyes at times. Those people who took her always wore those hideous masks. Risa never saw their faces. She doesn’t know who she can trust. To her, every stranger is a potential threat,” Bill said painfully.

  “At least the sessions with the therapist are better. Risa has formed somewhat of a bond to her doctor. It’s still been hard on her, but I feel like the psychologist is at least helping.” Bill hesitated, but then decided to continue. “Samson, besides me, you are the only person I have seen Risa truly make a connection to and trust. I don’t know why, but she does trust you. I see it when she looks at you.”

  Samson nodded but didn’t say anything. What he shared with Risa was almost sacred to him, and it was not something he would easily share, even with her father. “Risa is a strong woman, Bill. For her to have survived everything she’s been through, she has to be far stronger than we know,” Samson said meaningfully.

  “I wish you could have known her before this all happened,” Bill said, smiling sadly. “She was a free-spirited, confident little hellion. She never met a stranger and had no problem talking to anyone. It didn’t matter if it was a maintenance worker or the President of the United States of America. And her hair was her crowning glory,” Bill said laughing. “Wait until she grows it out. It’s like it has a life of its own, bouncing curls and ringlets swinging around wildly.” Bill stopped, he was suddenly too choked up to talk.

  “She will regain her confidence over time, Bill, and to tell you the truth, Risa’s hair is one of the things I find most intriguing about her. You have to admit, it still has a life of its own,” Samson grinned.

  Bill grinned, too, and nodded in agreement. He eyed Samson for a moment. “Conner told me that you and Risa acted like you knew each other when you found her in the woods yesterday. Is that true?”

  A shutter came over Samson’s eyes. Feeling protective he said, “I did meet her a few weeks ago. She was floating in the lake and had gone out pretty far. She was almost to my side of the lake. I was sitting on the dock when I saw her and knew she must be your daughter. I didn’t know if she would be strong enough to make it back, so I dove in and introduced myself, Samson explained sparingly. “Risa held on to me until I got her back to your dock,” Samson shrugged. He planned to have a word with Conner later.

  “. . . and Risa didn’t have a problem with you holding her?” Bill asked thoughtfully.

  “No,” Samson said simply and met Bills eyes. “Risa hasn’t had a problem being near me at all, Bill, although, after tonight, that may have changed,” Samson said, only half joking.

  Bill sat back and was quiet for a time. Seeming to make up his mind he said, “I’m exhausted. I appreciate you listening. I thought it was important that you should know everything. As for Risa, just give her a few days to cool down,” he said with a small smile, and walked out of the kitchen towards his bedroom.

  Samson got up, rinsed out the glasses and put away what was left of the whiskey. Bill said Risa needed time to cool down, and Samson would follow his lead for now. After all she thinks I’m hot. I can work with that. Samson thought, his chest puffing out just a little with male pride. He turned out the kitchen lights and called it a night.

  CHAPTER 5

  Samson had had just about enough. It had been four days, and Risa had still not come around and forgiven them. She ignored him and Bill most of the time. She just a
cted like they didn’t exist. She spent most of her time in her bedroom. But even when she’d sit in the same room to eat or watch TV, Risa acted like she was alone. Bill seemed to take it all in stride and just gave her space. When she’d go back to her bedroom, Samson noticed Bill would get this self-satisfied look on his face, but never said anything. Samson didn’t get it.

  Samson was standing at the kitchen sink when he heard Risa as she came into the kitchen. Her hair was still wet and spiky from her morning shower. She was dressed in an oversized quarter-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of mid-thigh, ragged cut-offs. Samson thought she looked damned sexy. She acts like I don’t exist, dresses like a bag-lady, has crazy, crazy hair, and all I want to do is carry her off to my bedroom and have wild-monkey sex with her. I’m the one who’s gone fucking crazy, Samson thought in frustration. He watched Risa prepare a bowl of cereal and sit at the kitchen island to eat. He looked at Bill for guidance and got squat. Risa’s dad just continued to sit stoically on one of the other bar stools and drink his morning coffee.

  Tired of her attitude, Samson turned abruptly and fixed his own coffee. He stared morosely out the big kitchen window, he but stiffened when Risa came up next to him and began rinsing her bowl and spoon. “I can do that for you,” Samson said helpfully. But once again, Risa acted like he wasn’t even there. She opened the dishwasher and placed the bowl and spoon in it, then closed it softly. She turned, without a word, and started to leave the kitchen to go back to her bedroom.

  “Risa, I am going over to Cloverdale to finish up a job. I just wanted to let you know,” Bill said, as Risa was about to pass him on her way out of the kitchen. “Just in case you might worry,” Bill finished and took another drink of coffee, looking down calmly at the morning paper.