The Dirty Dozen: Damsel Edition

by Kay Maree

  She took a long drink of her beer, then gagged as the taste hit her. She finished it just to get the little boost she needed to go back in the house, burped loud enough to scare the dog, squared her shoulders, and went to put the groceries away.

  Chapter Nine

  Jonah

  Bonnie was hysterical. "Jonah, you have to get here - he's dead, he's dead."

  "Calm down! Did you call an ambulance?"

  "An ambulance won't help! Trevor is dead! He's on the floor." her voice rose to a wail as the sobs increased.

  Jonah stood frozen in his kitchen. Dread crawled up his skin as he tried to focus on what to do first. Most important was to get someone there and he was twenty minutes away.

  He tossed his coffee mug in the sink, barely registering the shatter of the stoneware. He kept the house phone open with Bonnie's cries in the background as he grabbed his cell and dialed emergency services. As quickly as he could, he gave Bonnie's address and what little information he had.

  Closing his cell, he focused back on Bonnie. "Where's Sammi?"

  No answer, just sobs. "Bonnie - where is Sammi?"

  "I... don't... know..." came the ragged response.

  Leaving the phone dangling on its cord, Jonah grabbed his keys. Within seconds he was behind the wheel of his car driving like a maniac.

  Bonnie and Trevor Peterson lived with Sammi in a run-down suburb outside Toronto. Lawns weren't kept up, garbage didn't always make the receptacles, basically appearance didn't mean much. The Peterson's home had two bedrooms and one bath and didn't offer much in the way of space.

  Jonah had never seen obvious signs of drug use in the house but knew from listening to Sammi what went on behind closed doors. Whenever he babysat, he picked her up and took her back to his house where she had her own room and a closet full of clothes. Being a precocious four-year-old, Sammi kept Jonah on his toes as far as keeping her stocked up on Barbie dolls and hair accessories.

  The ambulance was already there with its lights flashing when Jonah pulled up. A police car was parked in front of the ambulance. One of the paramedics met him at the door as he ran into the house.

  "What's going on?" Jonah asked, slightly out of breath.

  "Are you family?" the man asked.

  "Yeah, yeah, I'm the little girl's Uncle," Jonah replied without hesitation.

  "Little girl? We have one deceased male and one hysterical female we had to restrain. There's no little girl here."

  "They have a four-year-old. Her name's Sammi. Are you sure she's not here?"

  "No sir, she's not. The officer searched the house when we found the drug paraphernalia. There's no little girl here."

  "Oh my God," Jonah panicked. "What have they done?" He rushed over to the gurney that Bonnie was strapped to. "Bonnie! Where is Sammi?"

  Bonnie looked at him through glazed eyes. "He's dead..." was all she kept mumbling.

  Jonah slapped her on the face. "Bonnie!! Dammit answer me. Where is Sammi?"

  She rolled her head to the side and closed her eyes. The paramedic answered for her. "She's pretty messed up, mister. She probably doesn't know where her daughter is."

  Jonah looked in Sammi's room. The closet was so crammed full of stuff that there was no way she could be hiding in there.

  "Daadddyyyyyy!" The cry cut through Jonah's heart like a hot knife. He whirled out of Sammi's room back to the kitchen. The officer came in the back door, carrying Sammi.

  "Uncle Jo!!" Sammi squirmed until the officer put her down. She ran to Jonah who blocked her view from the rest of the house the best he could. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hid her face in his collar.

  "She was hiding over by the neighbor's house."

  "What were you doing over there?" Jonah asked her quietly.

  "I was in my room playing, and Mommy started screaming because Daddy fell down. She kept screaming at me to help him. I didn't know what to do so I ran next door but nobody is home. I was scared she'd be mad at me so I hid."

  Jonah silently crucified Bonnie for being so stupid. He knew it was the drugs, but Bonnie should never have put Sammi in that position.

  "Nobody's mad at you, little lady. Mommy called me, and I got help so it's ok. Do you want to come stay with me for a couple days?"

  "Where's Daddy?"

  Jonah cringed. "Daddy has to go to the hospital; so does Mommy. The doctors have to look at them. Mommy is going to be ok very soon." He hoped that his overly simple explanation would suffice for now.

  "Can we go now? I have to get Jennifer."

  The cop looked at Jonah. "Jennifer?"

  "Her doll baby. She takes Jennifer with her everywhere." The officer got a knowing look on his face, and Jonah fleetingly wondered if the cop had little girls of his own.

  Jonah quickly grabbed the doll off Sammi's bed with his free hand. Sammi immediately grabbed Jennifer and hugged her close between her little body and his chest. Jonah didn't bother with any of the rest of Sammi's stuff. Everything she needed was already at his house.

  He carried the little girl back out the rear door to avoid the body and the paramedics attending to Bonnie. The officer followed them to the car and waited while Jonah strapped Sammi in and turned the radio on with one of her Kid Bop cd's that he carried in the car for her.

  Jonah closed the car door behind him and he and the officer stepped toward the back of the car so Sammi couldn't hear their conversation. Jonah gave him the preliminary information such as his name, address, contact information, as well as all the information relating to Sammi.

  "Do you know what happened here?" the officer asked.

  "No. Bonnie called me hysterical that Trevor was dead. I got here as quick as I could. I haven't babysat for a couple weeks, so I'm a little behind on information."

  "We know Mr. Peterson overdosed. The syringe was lying next to him, the band was still around his arm. Mrs. Peterson hasn't been able to give us much because she's pretty drugged up herself. What exactly is your role here? I know the little girl called you Uncle, but...."

  "But?"

  "You don't seem very concerned about either the victim or his wife, just the little girl. I can understand worrying about a child, but if you're an Uncle, that implies you're the sibling to one of the parents."

  "I'm Bonnie's ex-husband. She was already living with Trevor when we divorced, Sammi is his daughter. Bonnie is her step-mother, who I'm guessing now has full custody of her."

  "Where is Sammi's mother?"

  "She died of an overdose shortly after Sammi was born. Trevor had been raising her alone until he met Bonnie."

  "Has Bonnie always had a drug problem?"

  "Not always," Jonah replied dryly. "If you're asking if I do drugs, the answer is no. That was a habit she learned from the dirtbag lying on the floor in there."

  "Unusual for an ex-husband to be so close to the new husband's child." The cop said it as a statement, not as a question.

  "I met Sammi through mutual friends who were watching her while they were on a binge. Even though I was bitter, Bonnie and I have always been friends. We were together for a long time. None of this was Sammi's fault and I felt sorry for her. She got a raw deal in life and I didn't want her to suffer if I could help. I don't have any kids of my own so I became her uncle. I have all the paperwork signed for medical care."

  "That's admirable."

  "I'm no hero and I'm not looking for accolades. Just telling you the way it is. What's going to happen to Bonnie now?"

  "I'm not sure yet if there will be any charges filed against Mrs. Peterson. We'll have to interview her after she sobers up before we can make that determination."

  "Right now, I'm so disgusted with her that you could throw the book at her for all I care. She’s the only mother that Sammi has ever known and she can do this? The woman makes me sick."

  "I'll be in touch, Mr. Creer. Good luck with the young lady - she's lucky to have you."

  A paramed
ic walked over and informed Jonah that Bonnie was asking for him. The cop agreed to stay near Sammi until he got back.

  "You look like hell."

  Bonnie looked at him, her eyes were still glazed.

  "You have to take care of me, Jonah. You're all I've got now."

  "What about Sammi?"

  Bonnie actually had the audacity to laugh. "She's not my kid."

  "She is now, you worthless tramp. Trevor is dead, Bonnie. Do you understand that? You could be charged with murder."

  She touched his arm. “You won’t let anything happen to me.”

  He walked away from the gurney, ignoring her calls to him. The same dread he had felt that morning in his kitchen once again crawled all over his skin, except this time mixing with the anger rolling off him in waves

  Chapter Ten

  Lucy

  Lucy waited impatiently as her computer booted up. Jonah hadn't returned her texts earlier and she was worried. His moods had been a little off since Trevor's death, but she fully understood the stress he was under having to deal with Bonnie. She had sent care packages to Sammi a few times over the last several weeks to try and help out. She had tiptoed around several of Jonah's moodier days, just trying to be supportive without being pushy or nosy. She had learned to reign in her opinions with his current issues with Bonnie because he didn't tend to like her ideas in that particular forum.

  Sarah's wedding was two weeks away. They were as prepared as they could be for the big day and short of any last-minute details, all they had to do now was wait. Lucy floated between being broken hearted that her baby was getting married and being excited to watch her little girl start her own life. Grandchildren were also going to be a plus.

  Finally! Her messenger opened, and she quickly clicked on Jonah's name to open a message box. "Good morning my love."

  After several long minutes, he answered. "Hey."

  Ok, it's going to be one of THOSE days. "Hey yourself. What's up?" Feel him out slowly.

  "I'm at Bonnie's. She was having a rough night and called me over. I left my cell at home if you've been trying to call."

  Lucy's heart sank. His moods were worse when he was at Bonnie's house. Quelling her desire to voice her opinion, she tried to keep the conversation upbeat. "Gotcha. How's Sammi?"

  "She's still sleeping. It took me awhile to get her to bed because Bonnie was so upset."

  Why didn't you just take Sammi to your house and leave Bonnie to have her own little pity party? “Is Bonnie okay?" She gritted her teeth even as she typed the question.

  "They're charging her with possession and child neglect. The cop came over yesterday afternoon to tell her. They're not going to arrest her, but we do have to get her an attorney to deal with the court stuff."

  "What do you have to do with it?"

  "She could lose custody if I don't help. You know she won't do anything to help herself."

  "Wouldn't that be better for Sammi? She could come live with you full time and be happier."

  "And what about Bonnie? Just leave her hanging?"

  Who cares what happens to the bitch? "Bonnie's a big girl who caused her own problems."

  "Okay."

  "Okay?" Lucy puzzled. "Okay what?"

  "If that's your opinion, that's your opinion."

  "I'm not the bad guy, Jonah. I love you; you know that. I'm on your side."

  "Yeah, I know. I'm just stressed over this whole mess. I love you too, Syn."

  Deciding maybe a change of subject was necessary to lighten the tone, Lucy brought up a happier subject. "I can't believe Sarah is getting married in two weeks."

  "It'll be here before you know it."

  "I wish you were the one walking her down the aisle. That would just make the day perfect." They had talked about that before, after Sarah had made a comment about Jonah being more of a dad to her than her own father.

  "Why? I'm not her father."

  Lucy sat stunned. If ever words could stab a person through the heart, his just had. Stress was one thing, but that comment was just plain cruel. Even with all the crap going on the last few weeks, Jonah had never turned his frustration personally towards her.

  Think. Think before you type. Don't react because you know that trailer trash is stressing him out. Maybe he didn't mean it like you took it. Jonah had never spoken harshly to her before, so Lucy decided to ignore it.

  "It's just me daydreaming, that's all. No biggie."

  "Bonnie needs me here anyhow."

  "No," Lucy corrected. "Sammi needs you, not Bonnie."

  "Same thing. Sammi needs a mother."

  "Jonah, I'll be there in a few weeks. I'm not her mother, but I'll be a damned sight better for her than Bonnie is." Lucy had made the decision months ago that once Sarah's wedding was over, she was finally leaving. There was no need for her to stay and it was high time to start a life of her own. She and Jonah had decided she would make the trip to Toronto to finally meet.

  "I don't know what's best anymore. I think I'm doing what's right, but then I wonder if I really am."

  "You don't want me to come up there? Is that what you're saying?" Lucy held her breath as she waited for his response.

  "I don't know what I want any more Syn, to be honest."

  Not able to catch her breath, Lucy reached up with her mouse and clicked out of the chat box. She signed out of messenger and made a beeline for the bathroom so her co-workers didn't see her lose it.

  When she got home, she curled up on her bed with Crusader at her side, cuddled close. “What would I do without you, sweet boy?” Emotionally drained, it didn’t take long for her to doze off.

  The dream came into focus once she was in a deep sleep. She had always been an avid dreamer and often could consciously participate in them.

  I can't do this anymore. I just can't do it.

  The next thing she knew, she started running. With the wind in her face and her hair blowing every which way, she ran away from everything - every demand, every issue, every person. It was just her running away from it all, stress falling away as she ran, a feeling of complete freedom.

  Even though it was dark, Lucy could see the path in front of her. She saw the cliffs that rose up on one side, the valley between the dike and the cliff getting narrower the further she ran.

  STOP!! Her intuition screamed at her and she skidded to an abrupt halt. Her toes hung over the edge of the path. She leaned against the cliff to catch her breath, exhilarated but not tired. Lucy was startled by the fact that she had almost run straight off the cliff but strangely enough, she didn't feel fear.

  Beyond the cliff, the full moon hung low in the night sky. The magnificent beauty stunned her. It appeared almost blue it was so bright against a pure black background. Moonlight reflected off a pool created by an indentation in the cliff wall. She couldn't tell if it was part of the ocean or a wide river, but she could tell that it was deep by the way the currents swirled through the middle. The water looked inviting and beckoning. The sudden desire to jump off the cliff and go swimming was almost undeniable.

  The same intuitive voice that stopped Lucy from running off the cliff warned her now. She would die if she jumped into the pool. The knowledge was beyond question or reproach - she just knew. She was there to drown.

  Crusader shifted and startled her awake. She still felt the pull of the water, encouraging her to jump.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lucy

  The dream plagued her waking thoughts. Lucy finally had the nerve to sign back into her messenger. She had hoped beyond hope that she'd get a text message from Jonah apologizing and assuring her that everything was fine. After some thinking back, Lucy realized that little comments over the last couple weeks should have clued her in that something was not right. The red flags in her mind hadn't waved hard enough to fully get her attention whenever Jonah had said something that wasn't normal for him.

  Jonah wasn't online. She started to call Tera but
remembered that she was probably still setting up the grand opening of a new gallery.

  Facebook dinged that she had a message. She enlarged the box and saw that it was Jonah's sister, Celeste.

  "Syn, are you there?"

  "I'm here. What's up?"

  "I just got off the phone with Jonah. I know this is a little weird, but I think you should know. You need to watch Bonnie."

  "What do you mean, watch her?" The hairs on Lucy's neck stood up. Despite their group chats, she and Celeste had never gotten personal before. Lucy knew that Celeste felt the topic was important enough to cross those boundaries.

  "That woman gets her claws into Jonah and won't retract them until it's convenient for her. She almost killed him when she left him. Obviously, she isn't done with him yet."

  Lucy didn't know if she should be having this conversation or not, but losing Jonah was not an idea she wanted to even think about. "What's the deal with her?"

  "She and Jonah basically grew up together. He was always her knight in shining armor, saving her ass on more than one occasion through the years. He was such a good guy that he never stopped to think she was bad for him. He'd fight anyone tooth and nail if they tried to tell him that she was using him."

  "So, it's that first love, true love, forever thing?" Tears welled up in Lucy's eyes again.

  "Nope. Not like that. Bonnie embedded herself in Jonah's sense of obligation, responsibility, honor, whatever you want to call it. Over the years, she cultivated that feeling in him. As they got older, she'd have her boyfriends, and Jonah would go into a depression. He would just start to snap out of it, and suddenly she'd be back cause she 'needed' him. In reality, she was using him, but he'd never listen. She became a trigger for him."