A Silence of Mockingbirds by Karen Spears Zacharias

Author:Karen Spears Zacharias
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: M P Publishing Limited
Published: 2012-05-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sarah is angry with me.

I knew she would be. That’s why I put off calling her and telling her about this book.

I intended to sit down and talk to Sarah about it, but I knew before I wrote one word that Sarah wouldn’t like it. And I knew why. This book is nonfiction. Sarah prefers made-up stories, what David calls her alternate reality.

My cell phone rang the minute I walked out of the Benton County courthouse. It was the spring of 2007 and I’d come to town to pull some documents, and to visit with folks at the courthouse about the case. Sarah had been on my mind all morning long. A woman who knew the case intimately had pulled me aside earlier that day and warned me to be careful when going through the documents.

“Those of us who work around this stuff all the time were shocked by what we saw,” she said. “Don’t look at the photos. I’m warning you. They were the worst ever, even for those of us used to it.”

I thanked her for her advice, but assured her that as a former cop reporter, I’d seen my fair share of nightmares.

“Not like this,” she said. “And your relationship with the family and all will make it even harder.”

Then she paused, placed her hand over mine, and added, “I understand her.”

“Sarah?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. Then taking me by the elbow and leading me to a quiet corner, she added, “My ex-husband was abusive. I understand how a woman can get caught up in a relationship like she did.”

She proceeded to tell me how she never knew when her ex would be in a foul mood, could not tell what little things would set him off. Finally, after one terribly explosive evening, she called it quits. She left him.

“So I know how these things can happen,” she said.

“Did you have children?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“Did he ever threaten or hurt your children?”

“Yes, once,” she said. “That’s when I made up my mind to leave.”

“Exactly,” I said. “That’s the difference between you and Sarah. You protected your children. She didn’t.”

The lady nodded her head in the knowing way of mothers and grandmothers and sisters the world over. We will take a heap of abuse ourselves, but God help the person who tries to harm one of our children. Scorn us thusly and most of us will storm the Gates of Hell and do hand-to-hand combat with legions of demons.

Sarah looked the other way in hopes of hanging onto Shawn.

It pleased Sarah that David didn’t like Shawn. And while David clearly had no affection left for Sarah at this point, Sarah fancied him jealous. And, in fact, told investigators David’s jealousy was the source of all of Karly’s problems.

Of course, I didn’t have a clear picture of what had happened the day Sarah called me, the way I do now after spending hundreds of hours studying court documents and after talking to the people involved, and reflecting on all of it as the years have passed.

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