Chapter 4
March 12th - 7:35am
“Ok, Lori, one more time, please. Just to be sure that we have it correctly,” said Detective Frank Williams. He was sitting in the living room of Mayor Jacob Donovan with the Mayor seated in his recliner, smoke rings circling above his head from the Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco he was smoking. Chief Martin sat on the couch to Donovan’s right and Donovan’s daughter, Lori sat on the couch with her mother, Mindy. Detective Williams sat in a chair directly in front of Lori and her mother, the chair having been brought in from the dining room for this occasion. Lori began speaking, looking down at the floor.
“He and I have been dating for a year now, behind his back,” she motioned to her father who began puffing thicker clouds of smoke as she recalled the story for the third time this morning.
“We knew Donny would overreact,” her mother defended.
Mayor Donovan’s face grew red, “Overreact?!” he shouted. “You’re doggone right, she’s seventeen years old!”
Chief Martin leaned forward, “let her finish, Donny.”
Mayor Donovan reluctantly leaned back in his chair, puffing on his pipe again, but didn’t respond.
Detective Williams looked at Lori and beckoned her to continue.
Lori rolled her eyes at her father before continuing, “anyway, we had been dating and, you know, we did what people do.”
“Trashy people,” the Mayor said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear it.
“Donny!” exclaimed his wife.
Donovan leaned forward and retorted, “she gets that lifestyle from your side of the family.”
Tears welled up in MIndy’s eyes, “Donny, please! I can’t believe you…” but she didn’t finish her sentence.
Donovan turned to Chief Martin and demanded, “can we wrap this up? You guys don’t get paid to hear this story over and over do you? It’s about time you leave and go arrest this jerk. And don’t give me any crap story about this being legal, she’s seventeen!”
Chief Martin calmly responded, “Now Donny, I know you’re upset, but you and I both know we don’t make up the laws, we enforce them. You said it yourself, she is seventeen. In the state of Georgia she can legally sleep with whoever she wants as long as they are over the age of sixteen themselves. So there is no law broken here, because she says it was consensual.
Lori looked at her mother, but didn’t speak. Mindy encouraged her daughter, “go ahead, tell ‘em.”
The room grew quiet and everyone looked at Lori as she began to speak, looking down at the floor again.
“Last night,” she began, “it wasn’t consensual. He raped me.”
The mayor took his seat as she continued.
“I mean, it started out consensual, but I wasn’t feeling like it. I told him to stop and he got upset. He told me if I didn’t have sex then we were over and I said that was fine if that’s how he wanted to be. Then he pushed me down and forced me. The whole time he kept calling me a stupid, immature high school kid. I didn’t yell because I was afraid of what my father would say if he found out. He left at about five o’clock and I woke mom up to tell her. I had to tell someone,” she was crying at this point in her story. Mindy pulled her daughter close as she sobbed in her arms.
Donovan leaned forward, looked at Chief Martin and said calmly, “I guess you boys have enough for an arrest now, right? Go pick the punk up.”
Detective Williams responded, “We have enough to go talk to him, certainly, but there is just one problem.”
“Oh yeah,” demanded the mayor, “what’s that?”
Williams sighed, “he’s in a coma.”
March 12th - 7:35am
“Ok, Lori, one more time, please. Just to be sure that we have it correctly,” said Detective Frank Williams. He was sitting in the living room of Mayor Jacob Donovan with the Mayor seated in his recliner, smoke rings circling above his head from the Sir Walter Raleigh pipe tobacco he was smoking. Chief Martin sat on the couch to Donovan’s right and Donovan’s daughter, Lori sat on the couch with her mother, Mindy. Detective Williams sat in a chair directly in front of Lori and her mother, the chair having been brought in from the dining room for this occasion. Lori began speaking, looking down at the floor.
“He and I have been dating for a year now, behind his back,” she motioned to her father who began puffing thicker clouds of smoke as she recalled the story for the third time this morning.
“We knew Donny would overreact,” her mother defended.
Mayor Donovan’s face grew red, “Overreact?!” he shouted. “You’re doggone right, she’s seventeen years old!”
Chief Martin leaned forward, “let her finish, Donny.”
Mayor Donovan reluctantly leaned back in his chair, puffing on his pipe again, but didn’t respond.
Detective Williams looked at Lori and beckoned her to continue.
Lori rolled her eyes at her father before continuing, “anyway, we had been dating and, you know, we did what people do.”
“Trashy people,” the Mayor said under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear it.
“Donny!” exclaimed his wife.
Donovan leaned forward and retorted, “she gets that lifestyle from your side of the family.”
Tears welled up in MIndy’s eyes, “Donny, please! I can’t believe you…” but she didn’t finish her sentence.
Donovan turned to Chief Martin and demanded, “can we wrap this up? You guys don’t get paid to hear this story over and over do you? It’s about time you leave and go arrest this jerk. And don’t give me any crap story about this being legal, she’s seventeen!”
Chief Martin calmly responded, “Now Donny, I know you’re upset, but you and I both know we don’t make up the laws, we enforce them. You said it yourself, she is seventeen. In the state of Georgia she can legally sleep with whoever she wants as long as they are over the age of sixteen themselves. So there is no law broken here, because she says it was consensual.
Lori looked at her mother, but didn’t speak. Mindy encouraged her daughter, “go ahead, tell ‘em.”
The room grew quiet and everyone looked at Lori as she began to speak, looking down at the floor again.
“Last night,” she began, “it wasn’t consensual. He raped me.”
The mayor took his seat as she continued.
“I mean, it started out consensual, but I wasn’t feeling like it. I told him to stop and he got upset. He told me if I didn’t have sex then we were over and I said that was fine if that’s how he wanted to be. Then he pushed me down and forced me. The whole time he kept calling me a stupid, immature high school kid. I didn’t yell because I was afraid of what my father would say if he found out. He left at about five o’clock and I woke mom up to tell her. I had to tell someone,” she was crying at this point in her story. Mindy pulled her daughter close as she sobbed in her arms.
Donovan leaned forward, looked at Chief Martin and said calmly, “I guess you boys have enough for an arrest now, right? Go pick the punk up.”
Detective Williams responded, “We have enough to go talk to him, certainly, but there is just one problem.”
“Oh yeah,” demanded the mayor, “what’s that?”
Williams sighed, “he’s in a coma.”
No comments:
Post a Comment