Saturday Sept 29th, 2018 (The day of the arrest)
I was just about to walk out of the door before Laurie quickly walked up to me, put her arms around me and gave me a hug that lasted about 15 seconds.
"Drive safe" Laurie said, and then she kissed me on the cheek for the very last time.
After I was gone, Laurie immediately pulled out her phone and decided to give her husband a call. Maybe it's because she's my sister and could sense my vibe, but Laurie could tell that I was about to hurt someone. She was just wrong about who that person was.
"Ben" Laurie said over the phone, "Have you guys decided where you're going to watch the game?"
"Yeah, we're about to head to Ale Chambers" Ben replied
"That's what I was worried about"
"Worried?"
"Yes" Laurie replied, "Ben, this is very important, I need you to watch the game somewhere else"
"Why?" Ben asked
"Because Torrey and Javier are going to be at the game"
"That'll be fine" Ben responded, "I'll buy them a drink, it'll be a good time"
"No it won't be" Laurie replied
"Why not?"
"Because he knows"
There was a pause in the conversation after Laurie uttered those words.
"What does he know?" Ben asked
"He knows what's been happening between the two of us"
"What do you mean?"
"He knows that you've beaten me" Laurie replied
"Okay" Ben responded
"So, you need to not be alone with him"
"What do you think is going to happen?"
"I think he's going to try to fight you"
"I would like to see him fucking try" Ben responded.
"I would not" Laurie said, "Look, I'm pleading with you, make up an excuse and please find a different place to watch the game today"
"Fine" Ben replied, "I'm not happy about it but we'll find a different place to go"
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Ben had shown up to the Ale Chamber. I don't know how different things would have turned out for me, but I would bet that when the choice came down to Hank and Ben, Hank would not be the person on the receiving end of Javier's baseball bat.
* * * * *
Monday, Oct 8th 2018
Laurie was predictably distraught with the news that I had been arrested. It was a lot to process for her. She didn't know when she would see her only brother again, she lost Javier who she considered to be a friend and she had to be concerned about how everyone at work would respond to the news that Hank had been killed.
Laurie was not an easy person to get in touch with at this time. There were a lot of people trying to get a hold of her like her friends, but also people from the media who wanted to do a story about me. She was letting all of her messages go to voicemail. She didn't talk to anyone. She would listen to her voicemails and delete them after approximately three seconds, but there was one voicemail that needed attention.
"Hi Laurie, my name is Kylie. I can understand you not wanting to talk to people right now but this is very important. I met Torrey a couple of weeks ago and we've talked a lot since then. I work at the same school that your daughter Molly goes to and I've spent some time her last week too. It's important for you to know that Molly knows everything. I'm not going to get into detail on a voicemail but I think you know what I am talking about. Please call me back at your earliest convenience"
Laurie knew that when it had something to do with Molly, it wasn't something that could be ignored. She called back immediately.
"Hello?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Kylie. I work at the Great Lake school"
"Do you teach Molly?"
"No I don't" Kylie replied, "Like I said, I met Torrey and he just loves Molly so much, so I figured I had to meet her. I met her just before the incident took place with Javier and I knew she would need someone to talk to after that. She's been very comfortable talking with me."
"Alright"
"I've also been talking to her teachers"
"What are they saying?"
"They're saying that there have been changes with her lately. She seems very distracted"
"She's going through a lot right now"
"I understand that, but there were things happening before Torrey got arrested"
"Like what?"
"I mean, wasn't it really strange that she got two F's?" Kylie asked, "Her teachers say that she's very intelligent and she's always been a strong student, but out of nowhere, she's not been doing great in school. I'm sure you're aware that she's seen the principal and the school counselor to talk but she doesn't tell them anything. She's talked to me and I've told them what she told me and it's beginning to make more sense"
"What's making more sense?"
"She's afraid of Ben" Kylie replied.
"That's quite a leap"
"I don't think it is, Laurie" Kylie responded, "Some of us and have been talking and we've begun to wonder if the reason she didn't sing at the talent show had less to do with Torrey not being there and more to do with Ben being there"
"Did she say that?"
"That's just me guessing" Kylie replied, "But she has told me that she's afraid of him really hurting you. She's been afraid to say anything because she fears it might make things worse. She's afraid of Ben hurting her and even hurting Charlie. She says that you think she can't hear you when she's in her room but she sits by the door and she listens"
There was silence on the other end.
"I'm sorry Laurie" Kylie said, "I know this is not the proper procedure but I just felt like something needed to be done. I care about Torrey and I care about you and your kids. I think you need a plan"
"Thank you Kylie, I appreciate that, I really do" Laurie said, and then hung up.
She stared down at her phone and knew what she had to do. She went through her contacts, slid down to the letter K and gave Kevin a call.
"Hey Laurie, what's up?" Kevin said
"I'm just calling to tell you that you're right"
"I'm right?"
"Yeah" Laurie responded, "I'm talking about doing what you talked about doing before. I'm on board. Something needs to be done about Ben"