Olivia explained that he’d done this to other girls. Some were her friends, and some had left town already. “I don’t know how many years he’s fucked girls, but a long time,” Olivia added. “He’d get good stuff off the street to trade us for sexual favors. Sometimes he wanted me to suck him, and sometimes he wanted to stick it in me. Sorry, Mommy, you don’t have a saint for a little girl.”
Olivia was hateful to Sarah. Then she softened a tiny bit. “Will you tell Daddy? I just can’t.”
Olivia seemed remorseful. When she broke down crying, Sarah saw in Olivia a flash of the little girl she had read nightly stories to and tucked in safely. There was no longer the hardened edge that a perverted priest had brought to her only daughter. Olivia needed her mother’s help, and Sarah would remove Olivia’s danger. She would kill the reverend. This man would no longer prey on the town’s young girls and women. God wanted this sinner dead. Sarah would obey God.
***
Henry successfully averted the lazy patrolmen in the scruffy town of Wichita Falls. He stayed in a motel on the banks of the Wichita River, the perfect place if he had to escape through the back of the building and slide down to the dry weed-infested riverbed. Henry could hide in the brush, leaving Becky to fend for herself before he headed to the Rocky Mountains to disappear.
He slept through the night with no interruptions. Becky dressed in her short skirt and low cut blouse, spraying on more of Rose Mooney’s cheap perfume.
Henry wasn’t aroused. “Stop spraying that cheap shit on your tits,” he growled. “It gives me a headache.”
Becky pouted.
When he went downstairs to check out, he slid a wad of dollars at the motel receptionist. The woman taking the money was chatty. “Where you headin’?” she inquired.
Henry hated women who asked questions but answered her anyway. “Toward Amarillo,” he mumbled.
“Oh, not this morning you’re not,” the clerk said. She was pious.
“Why not?” Henry asked.
“The freeway’s shut down,” she said, counting the bills. “There’s a six-car pileup right out of Vernon, people killed on both sides of the road. Since it’s only two lanes there, they won’t let you around it. It’s been all over the news. Just happened ‘bout an hour ago. Two eighteen-wheelers hit head-on, doin’ about 80. Both cars behind the rigs hit’ em, and cars behind them ran into the backs of those cars. My God, there must be a thousand cops and patrolmen there! Might as well have some breakfast and stay in Wichita Falls a while. No reason to sit on a highway.”
Henry nodded. She was right. Clearly agitated but glad the woman warned him, Henry did not want or need a bunch of cops breathing around him. He’d get some breakfast and then watch the television in his room, checking on the progress of the accident.
***
Nurse Betty entered Olivia’s room and announced she could go home later that day when she was ready. Sarah smiled, and even Olivia seemed relieved.
“Thank you,” Sarah whispered to the nurse. Nurse Betty frowned at her, wanting to lecture Olivia about having an abortion but decided to hold her tongue.
Country nurses had seen and treated most everything, but botched abortions carried with them lots of unanswered questions and likely poor judgment. The nurse left the room disgusted.
Sarah stroked her daughter’s hair, choosing not to mention her decision about Reverend Thomas. She asked Olivia, “Honey, will you promise me one thing?”
Olivia looked apprehensive.
“Will you stay away from Reverend Thomas for a few weeks? I want you to heal and get your head on straight.”
Olivia nodded, “yes.” Sarah knew she’d have him dead within days.
“That’s my girl,” Sarah beamed and went to check on Pete.
He was sitting up in the bed, his tray empty. He reached his hand out toward Sarah, something he’d rarely ever done. “Thank you for saving my life. I can never thank you enough.”
Sarah answered, looking directly at him, “You are my husband, and what God joins together, let no man put asunder.” It was the first tender moment between Sarah and Pete Sears, wife and husband, in their whole lives.
“I’m taking Olivia home today,” Sarah continued. “The nurse has released her. No infection and the bleeding had stopped. You and I can discuss what to do about her when you come home.” Pete seemed relieved that Sarah was making the decisions. He was not the control freak he’d been for more than twenty years.
“Okay,” he agreed, laying back on his pillow. This scrape with death had profoundly changed Pete Sears. He was no longer at war with his wife.
Sarah took Olivia home that afternoon and got her settled into her room to rest.
***
Zach answered the sheriff department’s phone. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick,” he chastised Sarah.
“I’ve got a lot to tell you, Zach,” she said, “and I’m going to need your help.” Zach was intrigued. He liked working with Sarah, especially on crimes of any kind.
“When are you back in the office?” he asked. Zach was excited to get the scoop.
“Let Ruby go home. I want to talk to you with no one there.”
“You got it, boss,” Zach said. He always complied with Sarah in all things.
Sarah tiptoed into Olivia’s room at home, leaving a note on her dresser. It read, “I’ll be back shortly, and I love you! Love, Mom.”
Zach had a pot of coffee ready for Sarah. He knew she loved her coffee with vanilla-flavored creamer. Sarah sat at her desk, and Zach pulled up a chair. He could hardly wait for Sarah to put him in the game. Sarah looked stern and resolved.
“Zach,” she said, “there are two people God wants us to get rid of, and the earth will be a better place.” She proceeded to explain Reverend Thomas’ role in repeatedly raping her daughter in exchange for drugs and alcohol.
Zach was secretly happy that the reverend turned out to be a sinner. This minister had often called out Zach for being a “fag” and predicted Zach would burn in Hell for his sexual preference. Zach hated all religion and especially Thomas. He would love to help kill the self-righteous bastard.
The weekend was approaching, and Sarah hoped never to hear this man deliver a sermon again to any believers. She planned to kill the reverend on Saturday. Pete would be home from the hospital by then, and Olivia would still be bedridden. The day before the Lord’s Day was the best day to rid her community of a scourge of a man and a fraud of God’s word.
“Can you help me kill him on Saturday?” Sarah questioned Zach.
“You bet,” Zach answered quickly. “What’s the plan?”
“I’ll call him and make an appointment asking him to meet me alone,” Sarah began. “I will be a little flirty on the phone. He has come on to me in the past. I plan to come near his body, as though I want to confess some sin to him. When I get close enough, I’m going to reach for a tissue in my purse, and instead, I’ll grab a sharp knife and stab him in the throat. I have just the blade to do it.” Sarah thought of what was under her mattress at home.
“Do you need me to help you dispose of the body?” Zach asked.
“No,” Sarah answered deliberately. “I want all of Nocona to know what this man did and make it clear that some distraught parent couldn’t stand the thought of his molesting another child. I want to castrate him and hang him on the cross at the altar.”
Zach sat spellbound.
“Can you fake handwriting and tell the community why he was killed this way? Make it short but powerful.”
“Yes, but who’s number two?” Zach was scintillated.
“Henry Lee Lucas,” Sarah said firmly.
“Hey now,” Zach replied, sitting back against his chair. “That guy is really mean. Maybe it would be better to let some other county take on that killer. He’s probably not in Montague County anyway. What’s got you so worked up?”
“He tried to kill Pete,” she said.
“What?” Zach asked and looke
d at Sarah, surprised. Why would Henry Lee Lucas even know Pete Sears?
Sarah wove her story to fit her actions. She told Zach how she had approached the killer in town and tried to apprehend him, but he got away. Unbeknownst to her, Lucas then followed Sarah to her house. She figured he wanted to kill her, in case she suspected him of the murders.
“Pete answered the door,” she continued, explaining to Zach how Henry stabbed her husband and drove away before Sarah could stop him.
“I have to find him. He might come back to kill my family or me,” she added. “Zach, God has anointed me to kill this stranger.”
Zach never fell for Sarah’s God talk, but he was in on helping get rid of Henry Lee Lucas. “How can I help?” he responded eagerly.
“I’m not sure yet,” Sarah answered, “but I will probably need you to be involved some way.”
“I’m your man,” Zach said, always a willing team member.
“It’s getting late, and I need to stop by the hospital and check on Pete. Tomorrow I’ll set up the appointment for Reverend Thomas on Saturday. I don’t have to tell you not to say anything to Ruby. Our secret and our bond.”
Zach shook his head and smiled at his friend. He now realized how lucky he was to have Sarah Sears in his life.
***
Pete Sears had time to reflect on his life. He was beginning to feel grateful for his family, especially Sarah, who had been a faithful and dutiful wife. He vowed to be kinder to her and to treat her with respect. No wonder Olivia disrespected her mother so much in the past, he concluded. He would speak to his daughter about this and hopefully rectify her relationship with her mom.
Feeling a renewed sense of gratitude, Pete determined to change his behavior permanently. He would show his daughter and more so his wife how much he appreciated them. Pete suddenly felt shame for his repeated and hateful abuse of this woman who had been devoted to him for decades. His heart dreaded the realization that he might have already lost whatever love Sarah could have felt for him in their early years. Pete would do everything he could to make up for the lost time between the two.
Sarah pushed open the hospital room’s door. Pete’s eyes lit up when he saw her, but the surprise on Sarah’s face moved him. What had he done to his family through his thoughtlessness and cruelty?
Sarah regained her composure and asked, “How are you feeling?“
Pete had actually been thinking about how an animal felt when he’d stabbed it in the gut on one of his many hunting trips. “A little sore,” he confided.
“Well, you get to go home tomorrow,” Sarah informed her husband.
“That will be great,” Pete said, seemingly happy about the news.
“Is there anything special you’d like to eat when we get home?” Sarah inquired.
“Nope, whatever you cook, I’ll love!” he said.
Sarah was once again startled by Pete’s new attitude. What had happened to her surly and mean-spirited man? She’d been hurt so often that she questioned if it would be a matter of time before he turned on her. But, she decided, she’d keep up the cheerful demeanor until such time.
They talked for a while and then Sarah told him she’d see him tomorrow. “Have your traveling clothes on,” she said.
“Sarah,” Pete called out to her as she opened the door to leave.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for being my wife.” Pete looked remorseful. Sarah walked over and touched his arm.
“You’re welcome,” she told him.
***
Henry was enjoying his coffee, watching Becky rifling in her whipped cream and strawberry pancakes at a small diner. He often toyed with ditching Becky, as she cost him extra money. And sex with her wasn’t exciting after so many times. But the kid knew too much and would likely be incarcerated if he left her somewhere. Police might rape her and beat her until she sang like a bird. If not, she’d turn to prostitution and some pimp would abuse her, he surmised. Henry had a soft spot for her.
He paid the check, and he and Becky went back to the Wichita Falls motel. Henry went by the office to check on the interstate closure. The clerk informed him it was still a problem but was getting better. There were six fatalities, she informed him.
Henry was rightfully wary of cops, and the highway patrol was particularly a problem. They loved to arrest anyone who did not look like a West Texas farmer or a churchgoing, faded beauty with too much makeup.
“I think we’ll stay here again tonight and take off tomorrow morning. If you have the room, that is,” Henry said.
The clerk was happy to have a paying customer, and this man had a certain charm.
“That’s great. Where you headed after Amarillo?” The clerk was more than a little curious.
“Not sure,” Henry answered. “Got some relatives in Grand Junction, Colorado. Might go there.”
The clerk nodded and said, “That’s a long drive, I bet.”
“Oh, it’s okay,” Henry replied, ready to disconnect from this woman.
“See you in the morning.”
He walked into the motel room and yelled, “Becky unpack your shit. We’re staying here again tonight.”
Becky didn’t complain. At least she wasn’t at Mrs. Mooney’s house, tending to a fire of flesh.
***
“Hi Reverend,” Sarah sounded chirpy but a little needy. She had stopped by the church to talk with the pastor.
“Hello, Sarah,” he greeted her, welcoming her into his office. “What can I do for you?”
The reverend had heard Olivia was in the hospital. When he called the front desk at the hospital, Nurse Betty had confided in him that it was a botched abortion. Reverend Thomas was concerned Olivia might have told her mother the details of their relationship. The man of God needed to know what he was dealing with, so he proceeded cautiously.
“How is Olivia? I heard she was in the hospital,” he said, concern in his voice.
Sarah despised this charlatan more than words, but she maintained her composure.
“I think she’s going to be all right,” she replied. “She told us her girlfriend helped her self-abort. She almost bled to death.”
“Do you know the young man who fathered the child?” the reverend asked sheepishly, trying to cover his anxiety.
“No,” Sarah said, resolute. “Maybe someday she’ll tell us, but not now.”
The reverend was relieved by this news and asked, “Well, how can I help, Sarah?”
Sarah explained how the ordeal with Olivia had tested her faith. “I need you to pray with me,” she concluded. “Would you do that, Reverend?”
“Of course, when is a good time for us to schedule an appointment?” he asked.
“Is tomorrow okay? I really need you,” she begged.
The reverend grew slightly aroused. He’d always wanted to fuck Sarah Sears. Maybe tomorrow he’d get a chance? “Yes, tomorrow is good,” he said.
“I can come by at 2:00 if that is okay. Just you and me, right?”
“Yes, Sarah, come to my office tomorrow at 2:00. But Sarah you know there will be three here with us.”
Sarah was disappointed that another person might join them until the reverend explained that the third person would be God himself.
“Yes,” Sarah agreed, smiling contentedly. “God will want to be there.”
***
Sarah and Zach laid out the plan for Reverend Thomas’ demise. Sarah would meet him at 2:00 and be sure the murder took place by 2:30. Zach would be waiting in the men’s restroom at the church and enter Reverend Thomas’ office only after 2:30.
They planned to carry the reverend’s body to the baptismal pool where Sarah wanted to castrate the holy man. If possible, she even wanted to tie him somehow to the wooden cross behind the altar, leaving the body in full view so the congregation could see the reverend as a fallen man of God. He was someone who deserved retribution and punishment for what he did to the town and his flock. In her dark fantasy, Sarah envisioned his sp
illed blood covering his priestly white robe.
Zach already had the note prepared to explain the reverend’s evil deeds. One of Zach’s secret skills was forging handwriting. He copied the script of a former inmate whose personal belongings had been left with the sheriff’s office after the man had a massive stroke while incarcerated in the Montague County jail. No one would ever check a dead man’s handwriting.
Sarah and Zach planned to leave the note by the reverend’s body as his confession. Sarah took quiet delight imagining this flawed sinner paying for his sins against her daughter and countless other girls and women. God would smile down on Sarah for this just deed.
***
Pete looked anxiously at the nurse taking his vital signs in preparation for discharging him from the hospital Friday morning.
“Looks like you’re fine, Mr. Sears. How about you going home?” asked Nurse Betty.
Pete nodded. “Will my wife be here to get me?”
“Yes, she’s driving the car up to the entrance to meet us. I told her yesterday you were healing quickly, and you’d be just as well off at your house. Besides, we might need your bed. You never know around here,” Nurse Betty joked.
Sarah waited downstairs for the nurse to bring Pete to the front of the hospital. She thought about how she longed for normalcy, even if it involved spending time with her abuser. However, Pete had been different the day before. Like a cowed dog, Sarah didn’t trust her judgement. She needed to steel her emotions for her husband.
Sarah saw Pete and the young nurse’s aide making their way to the car. She was pushing him in a wheelchair. Pete’s bulky bandages showed under his loosely hanging shirt. Seeing his wife, he smiled.
“You ready?” Sarah called.
“I’m ready to go home. I can’t wait to be home with my family,” Pete said.
Sarah got Pete and Oliva settled in by Friday afternoon, and they both slept through the evening and into the next day. Saturday morning brought sunlight and hope to the Sears household. Sarah was pleased that her husband continued showing uncharacteristic kindness. Olivia seemed surprised by her father’s turnabout, but she welcomed his new demeanor. Sarah made a hearty breakfast and announced that both patients should remain in bed today. They appeared compliant and eagerly ate the food Sarah delivered to them on trays in front of the television downstairs.
Twisted Retribution Page 17
