Swim Coach: A Novel

by Sam E. Kraemer

  "Hell, it seems even her own parents didn't believe her and had her committed after she reported the assault. I think there's more to the whole thing and apparently, the cops down there do too, but without her being able to pursue the charges, he got away without being prosecuted. He was fifteen at the time."

  "Did she go to the hospital? Did anyone examine her?" I asked, craving the information and holding my anger at bay. If she'd been assaulted and nobody took her seriously? Those fuckers were to blame for that abusive son-of-a-bitch walking around free and able to attack me.

  "From what Chief Dennison told me, she did report it. The hospital personnel performed the appropriate tests and went through the protocols, but Turner’s defense attorney claimed she'd seduced the kid who was under the age of consent.

  Apparently, there was evidence of penetration, but her parents testified in the evidentiary hearing she wasn't mentally stable so the charges weren't pursued. He walked away, and she was committed because she wouldn't let it go. Her parents made her a ward of the State of Mississippi and she was just left to rot in a criminal asylum."

  I felt my heart sink into my stomach. I didn't care how crazy they thought the young woman to be. If she was assaulted, and I believed it to be the case, she deserved to have someone take her seriously. I would take her seriously and go with her to hell if that was what it took to get someone to listen.

  "When do we leave?" I asked. There was no hesitation in my mind. Before that fuck did anything to anyone I cared about, namely my Andre, I'd see him behind bars or dead.

  "That's the thing, Colton. Um, Andre's gift…well, it's so sweet." I looked at Momma and cocked an eyebrow.

  "I can guarantee you anything he gave me can wait until this business is behind us. Give it to me and I'll call him. He'll understand, Momma." I prayed he’d understand.

  She rose from the table after Herb nodded. She came back with a box wrapped in familiar paper. I smiled as I tore into it, finding a note and an envelope inside the box. I opened the envelope, seeing round trip tickets from Portland, Oregon…the closest airport to Unionville…to San Francisco for New Year's Eve. I opened the note, though I hated to do it in front of Herb and my mother.

  My Beautiful Love,

  I talked to Momma about this, and she's agreed to release you for a few days so we could ring in the New Year together. I'll be waiting for you. Look for a man with a sign that reads "Wixsom" when you clear security. He'll bring you to the hotel, and we'll celebrate together.

  I love you, and I'll miss you, but the idea of being able to spend New Year's with you will keep me from losing my mind.

  Merry Christmas, Colton. I'll see you in six days. I'm counting the minutes.

  All my love,

  Andre

  I folded it and put it back in the envelope with the ticket. I looked at the two of them, and I swallowed hard. "Will Chief Dennison be able to get us in to see this woman?"

  "I'm pretty sure he will. We can leave on the twenty-eighth and hopefully, see her on the twenty-ninth. The reason this will mess with your trip is that Chief Dennison is going to file new charges if things go well, and he's going to apply for extradition for Turner from Washington to Mississippi. That is after he's arrested in Washington.

  "Turner, as far as I've been able to ascertain, is still in Seattle. If you appear as a material witness to back up the young woman’s claim of assault and we offer them the evidence of your assault, I believe we can get the evidence admitted in support of her case. With her case as a precedent, we can pursue your case if you still want to.

  "They'll be able to get DNA on him based on the young lady's case if we can get anyone to believe the girl. I don't know if we can get Turner to give up DuBois, but maybe we can, and then Turner can stand trial twice. I believe from your case, we can get DuBois in the process. It's up to you how you want to proceed with this, Colton."

  There was only one thing to do and my ass was going to be on a plane. It wouldn't be heading to a posh hotel in San Francisco to spend the time with the love of my life, because if there was a way to get the bastard who had ruined me for the most amazing man in the world? I was ON. FUCKING. BOARD.

  "He'll be back pretty quick, y’all. He went to break up a domestic violence dispute. The Voorhees family are fightin' again, and I swear it's just like clockwork. Can I get you boys somethin' to drink? The coffee's awful, but it's strong," the dispatcher, Betty May, offered as we stood at the front desk of the Vicksburg Police Department.

  "We're fine, ma'am," Herb told her. We took seats in plastic chairs, and I picked up a magazine to look as if I had something to do. I was thinking about the Skype I'd had on Christmas with Andre when I told him I couldn't come to San Francisco and I felt horrible.

  "Babe, thank you for your gift. I'd love to be able to do it, but something's come up and I can't exactly get away. I need to be here to help Momma out with some stuff at the house, and the guy can only do it now. She can't take time off, so, um, I need to be here. We can do it again some other time, right?"

  He looked broken hearted at my explanation, but he bucked up and gave me half a smile. "Okay. If you need to help Momma, then you help Momma. We can plan it another time." He was smiling, but I could see it was fake.

  I felt so horrible for lying to him but I had to push forward. "Of course, babe. I'm so sorry for fucking up your plans. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

  "Hey, we'll have many New Year's to take the trip. You do what you have to do, Colton. I'll talk to you later, okay? I love you." He quickly ended the call before he heard my response, "I love you, too."

  "Betty May, any calls?" I heard which brought me out of my head. There stood a huge African-American man who gave us all an easy smile. He was about my height, but damn, that man could likely pick up a car.

  "Chief, those boys are waitin' for ya. They've been sittin' a spell," she stated.

  He turned to us and Herb hopped up. "Chief Dennison? I'm Herb Wynn, Sheriff of Union County. We've spoken a few times on the phone. This is Colton Wixsom," Herb introduced, pulling me to my feet.

  "Sir," I greeted as I extended my hand.

  "Good to meet y’all. Let's take this into my office." We nodded and followed the man to his little office. He closed the door and took off his coat, hanging it on a coat rack behind his desk.

  "Have a seat, gentlemen," he offered. Herb and I sat down, obviously waiting for something, though I didn't know what.

  Chief Dennison reached into a drawer and pulled out a file, flipping it open on his desk. He looked it over and flipped some pages, and then he looked up at us. "So, Mr. Wixsom, tell me what business you had with Jameson Turner."

  "Well, sir, he was my roommate at the beginning of the term. I'm a freshman at the University of Washington in Seattle, and he was assigned to my room. We didn't hit it off so well in the beginning…"

  I gave him the story of meeting the prick, him puking on the floor that first night. I told him what happened in the shower room that first time, and finally, I told him about Halloween night. For the first time, I didn't cry while relating the story because I had no more emotion over it.

  It was simply an exchange of information because I was interested in what he had to offer about the girl who had lodged the same accusations against the devil himself. The Chief simply nodded and made notes on a legal pad.

  When I finished, I saw he had no emotion on his face. I looked at Herb and he placed his hand on my shoulder, leaning to whisper, "Colton, show him your back, son. I wouldn't ask you to do it if it wasn't important. Chelle knows nothing about that scar, I swear, but the Chief needs to see it."

  When he pulled away, he squeezed my forearm. I looked at the man and swallowed. "He, um, he left a little memento of his assault." I stood from the chair, untucked my shirt and slipped it off, handing it to Herb. I pulled up the undershirt and stood there in front of a stranger, baring the heinous scars I hated to acknowledge. I fought the tears but when I heard the gasp, I quickly low
ered my shirt and turned around.

  "That son-of-a-bitch." The Chief was visibly upset, but he got himself together and picked up the phone. Herb took my hand, pulling me down next to him and handing me my shirt. I crumpled it up on my lap and watched with surprise as Chief Dennison got to work.

  "Judge Carlson, please, Wanda. It's Chief Dennison and I'll hold. It's important."

  He hung the phone down and looked at me. "Son, you want a soda or somethin'? You look a little pale."

  I could only nod. He rose from the desk and knocked on the window. When the woman looked up, he motioned for her to come in. She hurried inside and smiled. "Yeah, Chief?"

  "Get this young man a Coke. Herb?"

  "Yeah, make it two."

  She hurried away and came back quickly, handing them to us. We thanked her and I opened mine and took an eager sip.

  "Your Honor, how are ya, Sir? Merry Christmas," the Chief greeted before he listened to the response from the Judge.

  "It's good to hear your family's here for the holidays. I hate to bother ya when the Court is in recess, but I need an Order signed tonight so it can be executed tomorrow. It's a cold case, and new evidence has been presented but I need to speak with a potential witness who's a ward of the State. I need your help for that, Sir. It's a sexual assault." After that, there was a lot of "yes, Sir" and "I understand, Your Honor" in the conversation. When he hung up, he smiled.

  "Mr. Wixsom, I truly hate to ask, but could I take a picture of your back? It's the lynchpin in this whole thing, and well, without it, I doubt the Judge will open the door for me, much less issue a Court Order he'll have to write himself."

  I looked at Herb and he nodded. I stood up, took off my shirt, and closed my eyes, thinking of my gorgeous boyfriend and what he might be doing at that moment. I put myself on that beach in California watching him surf. I was sure that was what he was doing anyway.

  He was on the water where he was happy and he was waiting for the next swell to come in. He was paddling quickly, and when he found his wave, my man was standing up and riding it all the way to the shallow water. He didn't fall off. He jumped off and he grabbed that surfboard and jogged up the beach to where I was waiting on a towel.

  "Thanks, son. I'll call you later this evenin', Sheriff Wynn." With that, we were dismissed. I redressed and when I pulled on my t-shirt, I dried the tears on my face as I pulled it down my body. I didn't even know they were falling, and I wasn't particularly happy with anyone seeing them.

  Herb helped me put on my other shirt and placed an arm around my shoulder as he steered me out to the waiting area. He handed me my jacket before he put on his coat. We both told Betty May goodbye as we went out to the rental car.

  We got in and sat on the parking lot for a moment before he turned to me and smiled. "You have your fake ID on ya?"

  "Sheriff, I don't…"

  "Oh, knock it off, Colton. I know Bryana has one, so I'm sure you have one as well. I think we're gonna go back to the motel, get ourselves a cab, and then we're gonna go get drunk. I sure could use a few drinks, how about you?"

  His cell went off in his pocket and he pulled it out, bursting into laughter at the text he was reading. "Well, it seems there's suddenly a change of plans. We'll find a store and then we'll go back to the motel. What's your room number?"

  "One-oh-six," I told him, worried a little. He pulled into a gas station where they sold beer, and he got out, motioning for me to follow him. He pushed me to the cold case and I grabbed a six pack of domestic beer. "I'd get a twelve if I were you. Better value." He grabbed a twelve of something else, and then a bottle of wine as we made our way to the cashier.

  Herb walked away as I was carded, and after I paid for my beer, we went to the car. I guessed it was a lot easier for him to pretend he wasn't contributing to the delinquency of a minor if he didn't exactly see it happen.

  After we returned to the car, he turned to look at me. "Look, Colton, I believe everything you've told me. I've sent all of the evidence to the crime lab in Seattle, and all they're waiting for is a sample from the suspects to match it against what they've collected from your things. They just needed your former roommate's DNA to identify him. What we need is for the samples from this girl's case to match up with the samples from yours.

  "The lab has some hair fibers from a few unknown sources we'll need to track down from your evidence, but there's enough evidence to proceed with charges. We just need to have more than an accusation from you, especially since you didn't actually see the culprits. It's not that I don't think we have enough evidence to go after him based on your case, but I'd sure like to have something to show he has a history of this type of behavior.

  "The only thing I think the District Attorney in Seattle will see as a problem is whether or not your interaction with the guy was consensual in your case. Don't get wound up about it yet. This young lady we’re set to meet tomorrow? Hopefully, she can give us what we need to put that piece of shit behind bars.

  "I need you to stay strong and not let the fear of facing him, in the event we can go to trial, intimidate you into not coming forward with your case. We can and we will put him away. I just need you to stay strong and keep the faith."

  I chuckled darkly, thinking about the other demon I needed to purge before I was good enough for Andre. I needed to get it out of me, and if Herb had a way to help me, I was all for it. "There's nothing I want more than to see him behind bars or dead. I don't care which one, and I'd be happy to be the one to put him in either position. If you've got something to go on, I won't question it. Just lead me to the water, Sheriff. I'll be happy to dive in and drink."

  He pulled up in front of the motel and turned off the motor of the rental car. He turned to look at me again with a mysterious grin. "I have no doubt, Colton. I'll send you a text when I hear from Chief Dennison. Night, kiddo."

  I hopped out of the car and took my twelve-pack of beer to my room. I placed it on top of the fridge, deciding to take a shower before I got drunk. It wasn’t a habit I planned to develop, but I was upset by the events of the day and I missed my man, so a little self-induced numbness would get me through the night, I hoped.

  Just before I stripped off my boxers, there was a knock on my door and I hoped it was a misdirected traveler, not Bryana's dad who wanted to talk more. We'd talked enough.

  I pulled on a t-shirt and opened the door slowly. When I saw Andre standing there with a duffel bag and a smile, I couldn't do anything but pull him inside. The how? I didn't know but I had an inkling. The why? I didn't need anyone to tell me.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “It is hard to fail, but it is

  worse never to have tried to succeed.”

  -- Theodore Roosevelt

  "Why, Mr. Dupree? What on earth brings you to Mississippi?"

  "Mr. Wixsom, I found out my boyfriend was down here, and hell, I've missed him so I came to see him. Is there a problem with following my heart?"

  I pulled him into my arms and kissed him, sweeping my eager tongue over his gorgeous mouth. When his tongue came out to play, I closed my eyes and I just breathed. He was there. His presence was more than I could put into words, and he knew I needed him. Yeah, we were going to have our ups and downs, but in that perfect moment, Andre knew I needed him and he was there for me.

  When I pulled away and closed the door, I saw he actually appeared to be angry, and I wanted to laugh. Of course, that would only piss him off more so I encouraged him to get it off his lovely chest. "Go ahead. Give it to me."

  "You go off to fucking Mississippi to…do you know I'd have never…if it wasn't for Chelle, I'd have never… What the fuck, Colton? I could beat your ass for this. You straight-out lied to me."

  I wanted to laugh at his wild hand gestures as he hissed at me, but I knew better than to mock him. He was totally enraged and I didn’t want us to come to blows, so I decided to be the understanding one for once. "Andre, honey, I didn't really have a lot of notice on this, and I didn't want
to get your hopes up there might be an end to this nightmare anytime soon. Come on and take a shower with me, please. We can talk under the water." It was true, but yeah, it was lame.

  He paced the room and pulled his hair, clearly angry beyond rational thought. "You were going to shower, so go. I can't talk to you right now. I need to calm the fuck down," he snapped as he grabbed the beer and ripped open the carton. He began loading the fridge in my room, so I did as he said. I climbed into the shower and I closed my eyes, enjoying the warm water washing over me.

  I had no fucking idea what the next day would bring when we went to that place to meet that woman, but Andre was there with me, even if he was totally fuming at me. With him, I could survive anything. That much I knew.

  I heard the television in the room droning on and I hoped he'd calmed down some. I opened the door and waved a white hotel towel into the room in surrender, hearing him chuckle a little. "Come out, Colton."

  I secured the towel around my waist and walked out, seeing he was still dressed save his shoes. He was sitting on the bed leaning against the headboard with a beer in his right hand. His gaze ran over my mostly naked body and he gulped. "Put your clothes on, Wixsom. We're going to have a serious discussion and I can't do it with you dressed in a towel." Okay, no problem. I dropped the towel.

  Of course, I was hard because he was in the room, and his eyes grew wide before he slammed them closed. I chuckled a bit. "Hey, the towel bothered you so I got rid of it. Now, what do you want to talk about?" I asked as I walked to the little fridge and grabbed myself a beer.

  I could see he was getting wound up again and as cute as he was when he got going, I knew we needed to talk about something serious…I'd lied to him and in his mind, it was a deal breaker. I didn't want to lose him but I felt I had a legitimate reason for not telling him the truth. Whether he'd see it that way I didn't know.