Harvest of Ruins

by Sandra Ruttan

  “She was jest messin’ wit’ ya.”

  “Was not. She’s my best friend. She wouldn’t lie.”

  “Oh yeah? Then why did God put animals on the ark?”

  “So Noah had something to eat, stupid.” She glared at him. “Why? Why do you think Noah put animals on the ark?”

  “I don’t. I don’t believe in that stuff.”

  “You don’t believe in heaven?”

  That stopped him. He was quiet for a moment, then said, “If people go to heaven when they die we should be happy, but we’re always sad.”

  She stared at him, didn’t know what to say. What he’d said had a truth to it she couldn’t argue with, but didn’t want to accept. “Well, I did not cry a lot even for a girl.”

  “Yeah, you did.”

  “You take that back, Jonah Tyson.”

  Vinny scrambled to her feet. Her mother always said things like Vinny has about as much on her as an unused coat hanger. Or that she had chicken legs. Vinny had finally figured out that her mother meant she was wiry, which meant skinny.

  Why couldn’t her mother just say what she meant instead of using all those words?

  Jonah was one year older than Vinny, so she wasn’t even as tall as him, but she wasn’t about to let her size stop her. More balls than brains. Another thing her mother often said, but only with a lowered voice, when her temper was boiling. She’d hiss the words, and then suck in a sharp breath that was usually followed by a long sigh. Vinny had snuck a look at her mother once, and seen the tears that followed.

  More balls than brains. Vinny didn’t know what it meant, exactly, but she knew two things. It hurt her mother and it seemed to mean she wasn’t very smart. She wasn’t going to prove she was dumb by asking someone to explain what balls had to do with it.

  She shook her fist at Jonah, who was still lying on the rocks. Vinny looked down at him. “I can make you cry.”

  “Pshaw. Can not.”

  “Can too.”

  He stood up. She had been looking down at him, but now she was glaring up into his face. He was stronger and at least two inches taller, but that didn’t stop her.

  She hauled off and kicked him right between the legs, and won that argument.

  Jonah had cried and groaned until the pain faded, and then they heard the clapping.

  Ivy had arrived. “Evelyn! You started without me.”

  Vinny hadn’t known what to say, but the way Ivy looked down at Jonah made her feel bad inside. She remembered the way her stomach twisted when she saw the look on Ivy’s face.

  They’d stood in a circle at the hill. Jesse, Heather, Adam, a collection of their other friends. Ivy held court in the middle.

  “I am the lady and I must have my servant clear a path for me.” She lifted her head like a queen, looking down on her subjects until she was staring at one person in the circle. “Well? Come. Clear my path to my fortress.”

  Jonah blinked. He looked at Vinny. She stared back at him as Adam and another boy grabbed him from behind and pushed him toward Ivy.

  She pointed at the ground. “Clear it.”

  He glanced at Vinny, shrugged and started stamping the shrubs down with his feet.

  “Not that way, you idiot.” Ivy shoved him hard as she stuck her foot in front of his legs. Jonah fell to the ground.

  “On your hands and knees. Clear my path. Make way for the lady.” Ivy's eyes flashed with a wicked look Vinny had seen before, always when Ivy was about to do something she shouldn’t, or say something mean. Ivy walked through the circle, found Jesse’s backpack, pulled it open and took something out of it.

  An Indiana Jones whip.

  Adam nudged Jesse in the ribs. “You’re still playing with toys?” Everyone laughed at Jesse; everyone except Vinny and Ivy.

  Ivy held up her hand and snapped her fingers. “Silence! This is excellent. For every slave we must have a whip.” She cracked the whip on the ground right beside Jonah.

  He flinched.

  “Isn’t that right, Slave?”

  She cracked the whip again, and barely missed his hand. He pulled it back toward his body and looked up at her.

  The look was something Vinny could never forget. It was… a look of such hatred and sadness all mixed into one.

  “Oww.” Jonah cried.

  Ivy stood over him, smiling. "It's what we should have done with the Indians when we settled here. We could have learned something from the South."

  The rest of the kids laughed. Nobody pointed out the pioneers settled there before there was a 'South' and slavery. Vinny stared at the spot on Jonah’s back where the whip had cut him through his shirt. It was already spotted with blood.

  “I said clear the path.” Ivy cracked the whip into Jonah’s flesh again and again, until he inched his way forward and began patting the ground with his hands as tears streamed down his face.

  “Faster!” The whip cracked again and another line of blood spread out in the center of the back of his shirt while the other kids jeered and shouted at him to work faster.

  “It’s unladylike to whip my own slave. Vinny, come manage my slave for me.”

  She stared at Ivy. Ivy wasn’t serious… was she?

  Ivy, tossing her head, laughing. Jonah on the ground, looking up at Vinny, his eyes pleading for help. The crack of Ivy’s whip as it lashed him again.

  “Be a good mongrel and go lay in the bushes.”

  Watching Jonah as he slowly crawled into the shrubs. Ivy pointed at him as the others laughed.

  Jesse and Adam, laughing…

  And then the images faded, and Vinny's face came forward through the mist. Her face now, not the way she'd looked as a kid when this had happened. And she mouthed the words to Hunter, as though giving her a message.

  "Hidden where all my secrets are buried."

  ***

  "Nobody would ever mistake me for a shrink," Noah said.

  Hunter laughed out loud. It felt inappropriate and wonderful at the same time.

  "You know so much about Evelyn, and Tom. You know this case. It is possible you're just, you know, working something out in your head that can only get out in your dreams because of the court and everything.

  "But it could be something else." Noah looked at her. "I'm part Native."

  "I didn't know."

  "I don't tell people. They'd think I only got the job because of affirmative action."

  "Only a fool would think that, Noah. You're a great cop."

  He offered her a thin smile. "You know, my grandmother used to tell me stories of dreams, and sometimes, those things would happen. Like me being a cop, and being partnered with a hunter, working in the woods."

  "She didn't."

  "She did. You see, you're having all these dreams, and you still don't want to believe."

  "Believe what?"

  "That the spirits are speaking to you."

  "Noah, Vinny isn't dead."

  "What if she will be soon?"

  Hunter didn't know what to say to that. "Even if that's true, what difference does it make? I'm having these dreams now."

  Noah shook his head, and looked more serious than she'd ever seen him look before. There was a weight to his eyes as he looked at her. "My grandmother spoke to me in my dreams in the weeks before her death. At the time, I just thought it was my subconscious, but then, before she died…" He stared into the distance for a moment, seemed lost in thought as he watched the wave whip the waters of the lake. "Well, I found out it was all true. Everything I'd seen. Everything she'd shown me."

  "So you're saying that Vinny's spirit has gone back to a time prior to her death to show me things in dreams?"

  "I know it sounds crazy."

  "You're right, it does, and I never would have dreamed such an unbelievable suggestion would come from you."

  "Then when I look for this evidence you said Tom spoke of, when I look for the secrets Evelyn has buried, I'll find nothing."

  She watched him walk away, and struggled to sort
through the guilt she felt after dismissing his story, and the shock of what he'd told her about himself and his own experiences, which were underlined by a thread of doubt.

  A part of her that wondered if Noah might be right.

  EMOTIONAL TRUTH

  - Tom Cochrane & Red Rider -

  Dr. Waters was solemn and professional as he was sworn in, and his voice was equally balanced and unemotional as he summed up his evaluation of the mental health of Evelyn Shepherd. When he was finished, John Solomon remained focused on the notes in front of him for another moment before he raised his head.

  “Doctor, the court has already heard about a traumatic sexual assault Evelyn Shepherd experienced as a child. Have you had an opportunity to review that document prior to testifying today?”

  “Yes, I have.”

  “And have you had an opportunity to speak to Evelyn Shepherd about these incidents?”

  Hunter fought to keep her head from snapping upwards as a murmur rose in the courtroom around her. The judge called for order, and the room grew quiet again.

  “Yes, I have.”

  “Were you able to confirm with Evelyn Shepherd if the boy she alleges assaulted her as a child now attends the same high school she does?”

  “Yes-”

  It was Grainger's turn to jump to his feet. “Objection, Your Honor. Your Honor, this is hearsay, and falls under the category of doctor-patient confidentiality.”

  “On the contrary, Your Honor, Dr. Waters interviewed Ms. Shepherd for the purpose of testifying to her state of mind, and a copy of his findings was provided to the prosecution. Ms. Shepherd herself waived confidentiality.” Solomon extracted a paper from a file and held it up for everyone to see.

  “Your Honor, that’s irrelevant, considering Ms. Shepherd is currently confined in a mental health facility and is not competent to testify or make those kinds of decisions for herself. Ms. Shepherd is, in fact, a minor-”

  “Your Honor, the defense contests the assertion that Ms. Shepherd is unfit. In fact, Ms. Shepherd has been voluntarily admitted to the mental health facility, by her mother, possibly in an attempt to circumvent prosecution for shooting her father and to facilitate the process of bringing these charges against my client.”

  The judge called for order. “I am reserving a ruling on allowing the testimony of the interview Dr. Waters conducted with Evelyn Shepherd with regards to Ms. Shepherd’s fitness to testify until I've reviewed the reports of the prosecution's psychologist as well as Dr. Waters' report. Mr. Solomon, you may continue.”

  “Thank you, Your Honor.” Said as though he’d won the argument, but Hunter knew Solomon had hoped to get the evaluation Dr. Waters had completed admitted as evidence. Solomon didn’t tell her much about his strategy, but that was one thing she’d known from the beginning.

  “Doctor, what kind of impact did seeing a boy who’d sexually assaulted her have on Evelyn?”

  “As you might imagine, it brought up a lot of traumatic feelings and unresolved issues.”

  “You mean, after all these years, Evelyn Shepherd was still suffering as a result of what had happened to her as a child?”

  “Yes. Childhood wounds often leave permanent scars on the psyche.”

  “I see. So, not only is it possible that this reopened old wounds, but it possibly created new ones?”

  “Yes, I believe so. And the extent of the new injuries was exacerbated by a conversation she overhead, between Jesse and Dylan. Ms. Shepherd was betrayed.”

  “And how might these recent events have affected Ms. Shepherd’s-”

  “Why don’t you ask me?”

  The voice shouted from the back of the courtroom. Hunter turned automatically, although she already knew who had spoken. There were gasps of shock amongst those seated in the court and a rising tide of voices that wasn’t automatically quelled by the sound of the judge striking her gavel.

  “Hunter didn’t do anything wrong,” Evelyn screamed as the bailiffs grabbed her. “Let me go. Get your hands off me.”

  Evelyn had always been skinny, but to Hunter she looked pale and gaunt now. The white shirt and jeans she was wearing hung loosely on her frame and her hair was windswept and wild. What struck Hunter most, though, was the look in Evelyn’s eyes.

  Calm. In control.

  Like she was perfectly sane.

  Grainger was rambling his objections and the judge was issuing orders that Hunter barely processed.

  Her gaze connected with Evelyn’s, and when it did the young girl yelled, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Hunter. I’m sorry.”

  And then the officers dragged her away.

  EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE

  - The Police -

  News Review

  The assessment of the developments in court was already underway when Hunter turned the TV on. It had taken longer than usual to get Audra to fall asleep. She wondered if those would be the memories that would stay with her longest from this ordeal. Coming home after hours in court and having your daughter cling to you. Not old enough to understand what was going on, but aware of the fear and worry that had shadowed her mother’s eyes for months.

  Somehow, sensing something was wrong, and never letting Hunter out of her sight as long as she was in the house. Screaming and crying when Hunter had to leave.

  Tantrums Audra had never even had when she was two or three.

  “…stunned when the doors burst open and Evelyn Shepherd appeared in the courtroom,” Meadow said.

  “I can imagine. Tell us more about the reaction in the courtroom.”

  “Ginger, members of the jury start to get up out of their seats. Everyone was straining to catch a glimpse of this young girl, who has been the center of so much of the testimony during this trial, but has never been in the courtroom herself.”

  “And if I understand correctly, the prosecution hoped she never would set foot in court,” Ginger said.

  “That’s right. Evelyn Shepherd’s mother had her voluntarily committed to an unnamed mental health facility, where Evelyn has stayed for months. The prosecution contends that Evelyn Shepherd’s mental state renders her unfit to testify during these proceedings.

  “And that’s actually a critical part of this trial. The whole reason DS Hunter McKenna was charged was because the prosecution argued that the questioning of Evelyn Shepherd by Hunter McKenna during the investigation into the murder of Shepherd’s classmate, Adam Fields, was what triggered an emotional breakdown and ultimately led Shepherd to shoot and kill her own father.”

  “Meadow, how does Evelyn Shepherd’s appearance in court yesterday help or hurt the prosecution’s case? I would think it would help the defense.”

  “Well, it’s really hard to say at this point. The prosecution will undoubtedly argue that Ms. Shepherd’s appearance yesterday proves their assertion that she’s mentally unfit-”

  “I didn’t get the impression she was hysterical or out of control,” Ginger said.

  “Nor did I,” Meadow responded. “But she did run away from the facility where she’s been staying, and she disrupted the court proceedings. The prosecution will argue that her actions were irrational and reckless.”

  “What will the defense argue?”

  “Well, Ginger, that’s a great question. Actually, Evelyn Shepherd appeared in court during the testimony of the defense’s psychiatrist, who evaluated Evelyn Shepherd after she was admitted to the mental health facility. The psychiatrist, Dr. Waters, appears prepared to testify that Evelyn Shepherd is competent to stand trial.”

  “What do you mean, ‘appears?’”

  “The prosecution argued against admitting his evaluation of Ms. Shepherd into the court record. The judge hasn’t ruled yet; she’s evaluating the reports written by psychiatrists for both the prosecution and the defense.”

  “Isn’t that unusual? Doesn’t a judge normally let both sides present their case and let the jury decide?”

  “It is odd, but then, everything about this case has been strange, hasn
’t it?”

  Ginger nodded in what appeared to be enthusiastic agreement. Hunter felt like she was going to be sick. She reached out for the nightstand to steady herself.

  “The defense has alleged that Rose Chadwick, Evelyn Shepherd’s mother, had her daughter committed in order to shield her from facing charges herself and to orchestrate pressing criminal charges against DS McKenna.”

  “And, again, for any viewers who might be new to this case, why would Mrs. Chadwick blame DS McKenna?”

  Hunter could have sworn she saw a gleam in Ginger’s eye when she asked that question.

  “DS McKenna used to be partnered with Thomas Shepherd, before his promotion to lieutenant, and it was their affair that led to-”

  Hunter clicked the TV off. She’d hoped for more substance and less sensationalism.

  What she’d really hoped for was someone to confirm that they stood a good chance of having Evelyn take the stand.

  I SAVED EVERYTHING

  - Deric Ruttan -

  It was Vindication Day, as Solomon called it. Time for Hunter to freely tell her side of the story.

  Hunter wasn't sure what to expect, but she felt detached from the process unfolding around her in court. The prosecution had portrayed her as a home wrecker who’d been responsible for irreparably damaging a young girl, and therefore was culpable in the murder of Thomas Shepherd. The press was so bad she’d dropped the ten pounds that had always plagued her.

  The process of returning to the stand and being reminded of her oath seemed surreal.

  Solomon began with a refresher of some of her testimony, but kept it brief. Then he asked her about the next time she spoke to Evelyn.

  Another series of events she'd seen in her dreams through Vinny's eyes.

  ***

  Hunter was with her partner when Vinny opened the door.

  “How are you, Vinny?”

  “Evelyn.”

  “Right. Sorry.” Hunter smiled. “Evelyn. You look a bit better than you did the other day.”