CHAPTER 19
Mabel answered the door, stepping aside so Senora could come in.
“You don’t look surprised to see me,” Senora said.
“This is a small town. Do you think that many State Troopers and Texas Rangers show up and people don’t talk?” She smiled. “Is it over? Did the Sheriff kill my Addie?”
“He did,” Senora said.
She waited for Mabel to crumple and almost wished she’d brought Ty with her, but Mabel looked relieved.
“I knew that man was nothing but trouble. He hated Addie something fierce, and always had. But I never believed that he would kill her.”
“Of course, you didn’t think for a minute that the Sheriff would do something so awful. No rational person would. I just wish we had more answers. I know that he killed her; I just don’t know why.”
“I think I can answer that,” Mabel said. “Or more accurately, Addie can answer that.”
Mabel stood, leaving Senora sitting in the living room in the same spot she’d sat with Ty just two short days ago. She couldn’t believe how much had happened in that time, and she didn’t think it would sink in until long after she was back home in D.C.
Senora was so deep in thought that she didn’t even hear Mabel come back into the room. When the woman sat down beside her, Senora was startled by the closeness.
“I feel like there’s a lot more on your mind than this case,” Mabel said as she placed something at her side, out of Senora’s line of sight. “I bet I can guess what has you off in the clouds. Or should I say, who?”
Senora blushed almost instantly, looking at Mabel then turning away. How did this woman know so much?
“I saw it yesterday, but not until you left. There was something about the way you both were together when you got into the car. I wasn’t sure if you knew, but I’m not surprised that he got under your skin. He’s a handsome man with a good heart.”
“He’s a pain in the ass,” Senora said, laughing.
“Aren’t they all, dear? Aren’t they all?”
Mabel patted her hand, then gave her a squeeze. It was so weird for Senora to be on the receiving end of comfort in her line of work, but it felt good to let the older woman be motherly. At twenty-seven, it had been so long since anyone had sat beside her like Mabel was doing and just shared their thoughts. She didn’t always like it when it happened, but Senora always walked away with something she didn’t have before. Sometimes, it was years before the advice clicked. Other times, it only took a few minutes. She didn’t know which it would be this time, but she knew as surely as she knew her own name that Mabel was about to give her advice. She could feel it.
“A word of advice?”
“Sure,” Senora said, bracing herself.
“I know you’re leaving, but there are certain things you learn as you grow older, and I’ve had a lot of time to learn a lot of things. One big lesson I’ve learned that I’m hoping you’ll take to heart is about missed opportunities. I’ve found that I regret the things I didn’t do much more than the things I did. So much more. I don’t want you to leave Glen Rose tonight and grieve that missed opportunity.”
“I’m not leaving until tomorrow afternoon.”
“Even better,” Mabel said. “I think that will give you plenty of time to get your fill.”
Doubtful, Senora thought.
“I’m not really a one-night stand kind of girl.”
“Then, it’s a good thing it’s not a one-night stand. This man saved your life and helped you bring down a long-time sex trafficker that was operating right under everyone’s noses. This man isn’t a stranger, and I think you’re using that as an excuse.”
“I am,” Senora admitted.
“Why?”
“I don’t want to fall in love with him,” Senora said, and Mabel snorted.
“Don’t you think if there was a way to keep ourselves from falling in love with men that are bad for us that we women would have figured it out a long time ago? Sleep with him, don’t sleep with him; it won’t matter. If you’re going to fall in love with him, it’s going to happen whether you’re okay with it or not. There’s nothing you can do to change that. But I can say with absolute certainty that if you get on that plane tomorrow and you let this moment slip through your hands because you were afraid of getting hurt, you will regret it for a long time.”
“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” Senora groaned.
“That makes two of us. I thought today’s women were more liberated. It’s only one night, and then you can walk away forever and guard your heart again. It’s not how I would choose to live, but I can understand why you do it. Think about it. Or better yet, don’t think; just go for it.”
Senora shook her head and laughed.
“I’m going to miss this place.”
“I don’t doubt it, but you’ll always be welcome here.”
Mabel held her arms wide. Surprised, Senora stepped into her embrace and leaned in. Mabel squeezed her tight, then kissed her cheek and sighed before letting her go.
“My Addie would have loved you to pieces. She always wanted to be strong like some of the women she saw on television, but she never quite managed to find her calling.”
“Addie was stronger than she realized, and she put up one hell of a fight.”
“That’s good to know. Somehow, that makes things a little better.” Mabel grabbed a book off the couch and handed it to Senora. “This was hard to read, but I think this will help you put some of the pieces together and get all the answers you couldn’t get from that nasty Sheriff.”
Senora held it close and nodded.
“I’ll bring it back before I leave.”
Mabel was already shaking her head.
“You keep it. I have all the beautiful memories of my Addie and the happiness she found within these walls. The last thing I want to do is wallow in her misery. I have a lifetime of birthday cards and Mother’s Day gifts with her handwritten notes on them, and that’s how I want to remember our time together. I can’t change what happened to my sweet girl, but I can choose to hold onto the good times, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“I understand,” Senora said, and she did. “Thank you for this. Maybe Addie’s words can help others like her in the future.”
“I’m hoping her words can prevent others from being like her in the future.”
“Don’t we all?” Senora said. “I have to go check back into my hotel by noon so I can get some rest and maybe enjoy some of the sights before I check out and head to Dallas tomorrow. Take care of yourself, Mabel.”
Mabel’s smile was wicked as she stood in the doorway and let Senora out onto the porch.
“I wouldn’t waste my money on a hotel stay, but that’s just me. Take care, dear.”
Before Senora could answer, Mabel closed the door, and from where she stood, Senora could hear the woman’s footsteps in the hall, walking away.
Senora stood there for a long moment, clutching the journal to chest and staring at the closed door. This place was something else, and for the first time in all her travels, she realized that she really was going to miss Glen Rose and the people that called it home.
She got into her rental and drove to the hotel. She parked under a tree, but left the engine running with the air conditioner on blast. Today wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been a few days before, but it was still too hot to sit in the car with the air off and the windows rolled down.
The journal beckoned to her from the passenger’s seat. The thick book had writing on nearly every page, and Senora couldn’t wait to read what Addie had written and see how it matched up with what Senora knew and the information she had gleaned from Robin Harrison’s notes. She still didn’t know how the therapist had fit into this crazy scheme, but she had her suspicions. She hoped she was right.
“You should check in and read it in the room,” she said out loud, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen.
There was no way she could read the entire thing today, and she would probably take it on the plane to read, but right this minute, she couldn’t wait to skim it and see just how much Addie revealed.
Giving into the temptation, she grabbed the book and opened it, flipping through the pages until she found an entry dated just over a year before.
This. This was exactly what she was looking for. There was no name used, but Senora was sure that “RH” was meant to be “Robin Harrison”. Running her finger along each line, she read Addie’s words and could almost hear the woman’s voice as she did.
She believes me, the entry began. For the first time in a long time, someone believes me.
I was afraid to tell RH the truth, but she’s been so nice this past month that I just let it all out. Once I started, I couldn’t stop, and I was almost afraid she was going to call me a liar or worse. But when I looked up, she had tears streaming down her face, and before I knew what she was going to say, she said the words that would change everything.
“I believe you.”
Three little words, but I knew; I just knew that RH was the only one I could trust with everything I had been through, even the things I couldn’t force myself to remember.
So, I told her. I told her about D and K, and all the things they made me do. I feel horrible, but RH said it wasn’t my fault. That I was a victim and that D used that against me. It felt good to hear those words, because I hate myself for what he makes me do. I never wanted to do it, and RH said she believes me. D said no one would ever believe me, but he was wrong.
Senora furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of the entry, but she was sure that “D” was Dale, the Sheriff. She turned the page, skimmed through a few entries that had nothing to do with the case, then stopped again.
Today was hard. RH and I talked for more than an hour, and I don’t know how I feel about it. D has been pressuring me, but it’s been months since I did a job for him, and for the first time in a long time, I feel good about myself. RH says I don’t have to do it, that he can’t make me do it, but I’m afraid. D doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and he says that no one is going to believe me because I always fake my disappearance.
I wanted to hit him, but I didn’t dare. I didn’t fake anything, but I know he’s right. Every time I work for him, he makes me stay and when I get home, the whole town was looking for me. But I was just at D’s farm, wishing I could walk away from this life. It’s not fair.
So, I told her about the farm, too. And how D used me to trap girls to sell. When I was done, RH was shocked, but she still believed me. Hearing the words come out of my own mouth, I still sound think it sounds like a lie, but she says that’s because D tells me all the time that I lie about everything. Even when I’m bringing water and food to a woman who isn’t sold yet, he tells me I’m lying and that there’s no one in the barn. It makes me feel crazy, and RH says that’s how controls me.
Senora stopped, a chill running down her back that had nothing to with the air blasting in her face. She had at least a hundred more pages to go, but she could already guess what had happened. Even knowing what she knew about the Sheriff and what he’d been doing all these years, she was still shocked by what Addie was saying. He’d used her to kidnap teens and young women, and then he’d convinced her that she was lying.
She knew without a doubt that the Sheriff had chosen Addie because of her past, and she wished she could tell Addie that the poor girl hadn’t had a chance. Looking back at the dates of Addie’s fake disappearances, the Sheriff had swooped in not long after Addie had appeared out of nowhere with no memory and no idea who she was. He’d taken a broken person and molded her into the accomplice he needed, then convinced her that she was insane.
But the plan had backfired, and Addie had sought help to stop lying to herself and to quit disappearing and pretending that she’d been taken. When Robin saw the truth in Addie’s eyes, it had opened the floodgates, and all the careful manipulation she’d been subjected to over the years had slowly been peeled away to reveal the person beneath the mess that the Sheriff had created. With Robin’s help, Addie had discovered memories that her delicate psyche had pushed away and buried. And from there, Addie had found the strength to resist.
Addie’s journal wouldn’t have the particulars of the night she died, but Senora had a feeling she knew exactly what had happened.
Curious, she flipped to the last few pages and began to read.
We have a plan. I can tell RH is scared, but I am, too. We can’t let this keep happening, and another tourist went missing. The papers say her car was found in a ditch on a road heading back to DFW, but I know the truth. I’ve given RH everything I know, and she’s written it all down. Every day, D calls me, or he pulls my car over and gives me a bogus ticket for speeding just so he can make me miserable. But I’m not going to do it, and I’m going to make sure that D isn’t able to hurt another person ever again. He’s going to pay for what he did, and so is everyone else that helped him.
Senora closed the book and leaned back, taking it all in and knowing that this was going to be a hard read. But her hunch had been right, and it looked like Addie paid for her strength with her life. The journal shed a lot of light on Robin’s notes, and she knew she’d been right about Robin. Robin was a good person, and she had ended her life out of fear and not because she was harboring the secret of her own involvement. Robin was one of the good guys, and Ty would be relieved to know that his friend hadn’t been involved in everything that had been going on. She couldn’t wait to tell Ty what she had discovered.
She looked at the hotel and grimaced. She didn’t want to spend the night there, and she wasn’t entirely convinced that everyone in town who had been part of the Sheriff’s operation had been caught. Senora would be willing to bet that there were a few low-level players that were still running loose and would never be tied to the crimes. She wouldn’t know who those people were, and she knew from experience that hotel managers often turned a blind eye in exchange for a little cash. She didn’t want to spend the night here, and she knew that there was only one place in this town that she would feel safe.
You’re making excuses, she chided herself, but she didn’t care. She left the engine on and got out of the car, jogging into the hotel’s lobby and coming out a few minutes later with the carryon bag she’d left in the room when they’d fled. The clerk hadn’t even asked her for ID, but she didn’t care. She was done with this place, and she wasn’t looking to come back. She knew where she wanted to be, and for the next twenty-four hours, she was going to pretend that she didn’t have a life halfway across the country or that she was never going to see Ty again. She was going to follow Mabel’s advice and make sure she didn’t regret walking away.