Margo's Lullaby

by Groves, B.

  He didn’t know what he would do, but he had to do something.

  “She knows too much now,” Jason said pressing the gun into Gabby’s temple.

  Gabby squeezed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply.

  “We all do, Jason. Does it matter? I’m here. Dad’s here, and we can make sure you don’t suffer too much,” Michael said.

  Dean and Michael’s eyes met. Dean thought he saw a small nod from him.

  Dean sized up Jason. They were about the same height and the same size.

  It was the gun that kept holding Dean back. If the gun went off, then Gabby was as good as dead.

  Dean eased his way a few more inches. He needed to distract Jason somehow.

  Jason hadn’t even acknowledged him yet. His blazing eyes were fixated on his father.

  Michael continued to talk to Jason. Trying to ease the gun out of his hand.

  Jason trembled, and his hard eyes softened. Dean didn’t know exactly what Michael was saying, but it looked like it was working.

  Michael smiled at his son. “That’s right. Lower the gun, and let her go, and we’ll fix all of this. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  Jason’s arm slacked around Gabby’s shoulders. He then pushed her away, and she fell to the floor and scrambled away.

  Knowing she was safe, Dean knew this was his chance. He went to grab the gun, but another figure stumbled out of the next room, and before Dean could blink another gunshot fired at Jason from behind.

  A spray of blood came from the back of Jason’s head. His eyes bulged from his skull in shock, and his mouth fell open.

  Words formed on his mouth, but nothing was ever said.

  Dean heard Gabby scream, and Michael cried out.

  Jason then fell to his knees. Michael ran up to him to catch him before he landed on the floor.

  “No!” Michael screamed in anguish.

  Dean knew Jason was dead before he even hit the floor.

  Dean turned to see Randy White clutching a big, red splotch on his shirt. He turned and smiled at Dean as blood poured from his mouth.

  "I'll say hi to Jake for you," he gurgled.

  He then collapsed in a heap close to where Jason’s body was being held by his father.

  Dean and Gabby could only stare at each other while Michael’s wails were heard in the background.

  Dean turned his eyes to Michael who was cradling his son and rocking back and forth on the floor.

  Dean then ran over to Gabby and held her until the police came.

  Back at Gabby’s house, the music box played its hauntingly sweet melody with the ballerina turning in place.

  A hand reached out and closed the box. Gabby noted many years later the music box never opened on its own again.

  Chapter 28

  3 years later

  Gabrielle paced back and forth in the hotel room. She would sit down, stand, sit down again, and then stand.

  What was she thinking? Why did she agree to this interview? The news network was persistent, she had to give them that much. They called many times over the course of the year until one day Dean said it was time to have her say and put this all to rest.

  Gabrielle agreed under a few stipulations. 1. The interview would not be in a local news studio, but an unnamed hotel in Tampa to protect their privacy. 2. She wanted her family there, but they were not to be shown on camera or hounded for an interview under any circumstances. Her parents have already gone through hell and back—twice—they didn’t need to be bombarded with questions. Gabby was the family spokesperson and questions directed only at her. 3. The security footage outside of the school where Margo walked through the entrance of Seven Hills one last time was not to be played during the final segment that aired on television. Gabby did not want to encourage copycats. This country had enough school shootings over the last thirty years.

  “Gabby, you need to relax,” June said to her daughter.

  “Relax, sweetie, you’ll do great,” John Sr. piped in.

  "Thanks, Dad. I will, Mom."

  “Do we need to strap you into the chair?” Pam asked from the other side of the room.

  Gabby turned to glare at her friend, and Pam shrugged with a smirk.

  “I know. I can’t help it. I‘ll relax in just a minute.”

  “I’ve noticed your new line is ‘I can’t help it,’” Pam joked. “Do we need to trademark that one too?”

  The family snickered and Gabby gave a friendly, but obscene gesture to her best friend.

  Dean walked up her to and rubbed her arms. She wanted to lean into him for comfort, but the producers would have a fit if she messed up her clothes or makeup. Dean was already risking the producer’s wrath by touching her.

  “You can do this. I’m right here for you,” he said.

  Gabby needed to feel his strong arms around her, but it would have to wait.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “You’re welcome,” he said and walked back to his place next to John, Jr.

  They would watch Gabrielle Walker give her first ever television interview thirteen years after Margo murdered five people at Seven Hills High School.

  “I need to touch up your makeup, hun,” the makeup lady said from behind Gabby.

  Gabby maneuvered her way around the filming equipment and sat down. She squinted from the portable stage lights shining on her face as the makeup lady brushed her face with more foundation and touched up her eye shadow. She then had her stand to make sure no lint was sticking to her pantsuit.

  Gabby frowned at the makeup caked on her face like plaster on a wall. She could already feel her pores clogging and expected breakouts over the next few weeks. She loved makeup, but not that much.

  The producer coached Gabby again on the questions, and Gabby met with the interviewer, a famous newscaster, about the questions while she was getting ready.

  Gabby found her to be pleasant, though, condescending towards the staff.

  Gabby calmed her heightened nerves while she spoke with the woman.

  It was time. Gabby sat down in her chair. She folded her hands demurely in her lap, crossed her legs, and gave one last unsure glance to her husband. She adjusted her pantsuit to get more comfortable in the chair and made sure her microphone was still in place.

  Dean nodded and gave her a thumbs up sign.

  “Are you ready, Gabrielle?” The interviewer asked.

  Gabby closed her eyes one last time and looked up to gain strength from any power above.

  “Yes.” Gabby’s voice was only a whisper. She cleared her throat, and said, “yes,” with more conviction.

  The director set the clapperboard in front of Gabby’s face, and the cameras rolled.

  Gabrielle told her story to the world. It all started with the sentence, “Tell me about that day.”

  Gabby recounted all of it. From the moment they woke up that morning to find Margo missing again, to the time she placed the note on Margo’s locker to meet her.

  “All I wanted to do was make sure she was safe,” Gabby recalled.

  Gabby dabbed her eyes with a tissue as her emotions took over while she faced her own regrets about her words to her sister that day.

  “Do you think she planned it for the library?” The interviewer asked.

  Gabby shook her head. “No. I think all the pieces fell into place that day for her so-called revenge. I think she would have held off a little longer if Michael or Jake would have been anywhere different.”

  “So, you think perhaps she was specifically aiming at Jake White and Michael McConnell?”

  Gabby thought for a moment. “I don’t want to speculate, but after Michael confessed he was indeed in the library that day, a lot missing puzzle pieces fit. As she was talking, she kept eyeing Jake. I can only come to that conclusion based on what I saw.”

  “You and Dean Walker unknowingly discovered a child pornography ring. One where Michael McConnell was covering up his son’s crimes. You risked your life to expose this. Why?
” The interviewer asked.

  “I knew the answers were in her diary. I thought it was as simple as a party gone wrong one night. She had too much to drink, perhaps smoked something that made her pass out. I wasn’t expecting more than that. I wanted answers, and I got more than I bargained for.”

  Gabby’s memories of the day Jason McConnell kidnapped her bubbled to the surface. She recalled the fear and uncertainty of not knowing if she’d live to see another sunrise. She shivered in the chair thinking about the crazed look in his eyes when he and Randy were arguing. It was another trauma to add to her list, but Gabby felt she had the closure she needed after discovering what Randy and Jason were involved in.

  “Gabby, you are now a two-time survivor. How does it make you feel?”

  “Grateful to be sitting here today.”

  “You were lucky.”

  “To say the least,” Gabby answered. “I didn’t know it went that deep. It was quite a shock to the system. Finding out what they did, not only to my sister but other young girls, broke my heart all over again,” Gabby recalled. “If hadn’t been for my brave husband, and the two courageous young girls who confessed everything to him, I might not be sitting here today. I have to thank Michael McConnell too. He led Dean to me. No matter his punishment, he was a hero in his own right.”

  Melanie White lived after that day and was handed the maximum sentence of twenty-five years in federal prison after many victims came forward with their stories. Michael pleaded to a much lesser charge. He wouldn’t serve time, but lost everything including his career and his son.

  “Back to Margo. Is there anything your family could have done better with her?”

  Gabby felt the fresh tears well up in her eyes. “We should have dug deeper. My parents were being—parents. Lectures, taking away privileges, all the normal things a parent would do if their kid is acting out. It wasn’t enough. I’ll admit that I ignored her because I couldn’t stand to be around her. We’ve gone back over our lives with a fine-tooth comb. What could we—as a family—could have done differently? We never thought we were the type of family to become a statistic.”

  “Every single day, I think about them. All of them. Jennifer was a good friend of mine,” Gabby cried when the interviewer asked about the victims. “But, after Jason McConnell and Randy White tried to kill me, every single one of those families, including the injured reached out. I’ve spoken to them all several times in the past three years, and it’s been very comforting.”

  Gabby was able to take a few seconds to compose herself, and the interviewer asked if she was ready to continue.

  “Was Margo like this every day?” The interview asked.

  Gabby’s eyebrows rose. “No. In that year and half time, there were days the sweet, loving sister shined through the darkness.”

  “You had no idea?”

  “We had no idea.”

  “How did your parents handle the news when you had to tell them what their daughter was involved in?” The interviewer asked.

  Gabby forced her eyes to stay focused on the interviewer. She didn’t want the audience to realize they were sitting about twenty feet away from her.

  “My dad had to be rushed to the hospital with chest pains. He was fine, but it was another blow to them. After the news, they took it upon themselves to seek counseling to deal with the revelations. They were upset enough about my ordeal, they didn’t need more bad news, but it would have been unfair not to tell them the truth.”

  “How are they now?” She asked.

  “They take it day by day,” Gabby answered.

  Gabby thought about the time it was just she and June in the house. John Sr. and Dean had left early that morning to go fishing.

  “I saw her,” June said out of the blue.

  Gabby poured the rest of her coffee and sat down next to her mother. June pushed her graying hair out of her face and rubbed her eyes. She turned her gaze to her eldest daughter and smiled sadly.

  “She was there, Gabby. The bridge stayed this time,” she explained. “I got to say goodbye to her.”

  “Was she happy?”

  June inhaled a shaky breath. “She looked sad. The only thing I can hope is that she isn’t suffering.”

  Gabby talked about her family trying to process their grief over the years and how they’ve been threatened and ostracized. By the time Dean was brought onto the set, Gabby was emotionally spent. They took a half-hour break so Gabby could gain control over her emotions, and the crew could get Dean ready.

  The family and Pam spoke with the interviewer while Gabby and Dean had private time on the balcony until they were ready again.

  Gabby and Dean gazed over Old Tampa Bay watching the palm trees below them swaying the breeze. A thunderstorm was forming over the gulf coast. Gabby could see the dark, purple clouds moving to their way. She could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance and thought she spotted lightning in the distance. It was summer, and you could expect a thunderstorm every day in Florida. It took Dean some time to adjust to the Florida weather and culture, but he said not driving in snow anymore was worth the move alone. His skin was tanning from their many trips to the beach.

  “I don’t what I’d do without you here,” she said to her husband.

  Dean grasped Gabby’s hand and kissed it. She spotted the redness in his eyes, the makeup lady tried to hide. He looked so handsome with his beard neatly trimmed, his hair spiked, and his dress clothes pressed.

  “I kind of have to be here. You have me chained to you now, remember?” he joked.

  Gabby laughed. Dean always made her laugh, and she was forever grateful.

  They were called back into the room, and this time two chairs awaited them.

  The interviewer cocked her head and smiled when the cameras rolled again, saying, “You spoke of the victims, and you married one.”

  Gabby and Dean turned to each other and grinned.

  The interviewer turned to Dean and asked, “How does something like this happen?”

  Dean inhaled. “It hasn’t been an easy road for either of us, but one that’s been the most fulfilling of my life.”

  Gabby smiled lovingly over at her husband.

  “It’s kind of bizarre.”

  Dean and Gabby nodded in sync. “Yes, but when you share a special bond like we do, you’d understand,” Dean answered.

  Their wedding was held at Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, Florida. It was small but more than perfect. They held it sunset to take the perfect pictures. Gabby wore a simple strapless dress, no shoes, and her hair in a twist with little white daisies placed around the twist. Dean didn’t even bother to wear a tie, and they told all their guests to dress casually. They wanted it as informal as possible.

  Dean’s hand was shaking as he placed the ring on Gabby’s finger. Not from being nervous, but from a dream coming true for him, he told her later.

  They hadn't taken a honeymoon yet but planned for an Alaskan cruise sometime in the near future.

  That was fine with Gabby. All she wanted was to be with the love of her life. The rest could come later, like buying a new house.

  Gabby never thought she’d make it through meeting Dean’s family for the first time, but once they were all together, it was wonderful.

  Gabby watched as her husband told his story and answered all the interviewer’s questions.

  “Dean, your best friend was killed in the shooting, but later his picture was discovered with the girls, including Margo. How did you handle that?”

  Gabby looked over to Dean. He was right, their road to recovery had been tough, but they were getting through it.

  Dean looked down for a moment and then back to the interviewer. “When I saw those pictures and recognized him… I… was… felt betrayed. You know…” Dean looked far away and tried to bring the words together. “He was my best friend, and there was no question he’d been abused by his parents. If only… if only he had said something, it could have stopped this nightmare. What bothered m
e the most was his smile in the pictures, looking as if he was having the time of his life. I wonder if I knew the real Jake because I certainly didn’t know who this person was.”

  “He never told you?”

  “No, and I didn’t have a clue either.”

  “How do you deal with it now?”

  Dean looked over at Gabby and smiled. “By having the best support system.”

  Dean taught the rest of the year but always felt out of place in the school. He was hailed a hero, and a brave whistleblower, but inside the school, those always loyal to Michael McConnell treated him as an outsider and those who thought he went insane for falling in love with Gabrielle Ryan turned their backs on him.

  Dean resigned at the end of the year, no longer wanting to work with most of his peers. It wasn’t only him, but Robert Larson retired in solidarity with Dean, and Dean’s friend William transferred to another school.

  It was a struggle for a while. Dean was substituting at other schools but found he was not happy doing only that.

  They made the hard decision to move to Florida, and his parents were generous enough to contribute to Dean pursuing a career in physical therapy.

  Gabby sobbed for days when she had to say goodbye to her best friend Pam, once again, but New Jersey was not the place for them anymore. She’d seen Pam many times—she was at the interview today—but she would always miss living near the one woman who stood beside her through this whole nightmare.

  Dean secured a job as a therapy assistant about six months ago, and their world was looking more promising every day. Gabby sold all her paintings from the publicity, and that helped them financially. She had three more she would display in the coming year.

  The interviewer turned back to her one last time, and asked, “Gabby, with the news you found out, are you here today to excuse your sister’s actions?”

  “Absolutely not. I will never excuse her actions. We only wish she had come to us for help. That is our only wish, and I hope by doing this interview today, I can tell another young person to please seek help. It doesn’t have to be a parent. A teacher, a nurse, a policeman—anyone. Trying to find the person responsible for causing her to snap was my only goal from the get-go.”