Acts of Desperation by Emerson Shaw

Author:Emerson Shaw [Shaw, Emerson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B00HV4G7MS
Publisher: Emerson Shaw
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“Girlfriend?” I said and stood up.

“Sember, she’s dead—and has been for a long time,” he said.

“What?” I said.

“You actually remind me a lot of her.” He laughed nervously. “I’m sorry. We can talk about this later. I’m sure you’ve had enough today.”

“I’ll decide when I’ve had enough. I have too many questions in my life right now, and I need answers so you better start talking. Now.”

“Ok,” he said. “Sit down and I’ll explain.”

“No. I’ll stand thank you.”

“Just sit down, please. You need to rest.”

“Fine,” I said. My hip did hurt, so I sat down and crossed my arms. “Talk.”

He glanced up to the ceiling and ran his hand through his hair, searching for an explanation. Finally he took a deep breath and said, “She died in a car accident that was my fault.”

“Ok…” I said. “What happened?”

He sighed. “She was my girlfriend in college and one night we got high in her dorm room. We got hungry and hopped in the car—I drove. When we were on the road, a cab crossed the yellow line and hit us head on. She didn’t have on her seat belt, and she flew through the windshield,” he said.

“Oh my God,” I said.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “They said she died instantly. It would have been the cab drivers fault, but since I was under the influence, I was charged with involuntary manslaughter.”

I sat with my mouth open in shock then asked, “This is what you’ve been holding back from me?”

“Yes, but there’s a little more to it,” he said.

“The texts?” I asked.

“The texts, the phone calls, sometimes slashed tires…being followed,” he said.

“Ok, but I don’t see how all of it fits together,” I said.

“Her brother has never been able to make peace with what happened. Bernie worked out a plea deal and pulled some strings so I only did a minimum amount of time in prison—four months. He thinks I got off too easy, so he’s devoted his life to making me suffer,” he said.

“He’s been harassing you since then?”

“Yeah.” He sighed.

“For how long?”

“I was twenty when the accident happened. So fifteen years now.”

“That’s a long time.”

“It is, but he’s never been normal. He’s had a long history of mental problems. She said he had a chemical imbalance with obsessive tendencies,” he said.

“Who?”

“Grace. She told me shortly after we started dating. She wanted to warn me a little because she said he was a little different—exceptionally smart—but different. After I got out of prison and finished law school, he started to show up wherever I was: restaurants, events, occasionally outside of courtrooms—always calling. There have been peaks and valleys in his behavior over the years, but he always resurfaces. He was the real reason I decided to come here.”

“The fresh start you mentioned?” I said.

“Yes, I’ve had enough and I’m tired of always looking over my shoulder. Bernie went to New York to file a restraining order and to try to put an end to this once and for all.

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