A Fever in the Heart: And Other True Cases by Ann Rule Read Free Book Online Page A

her a wonderful brick house and that she could furnish it however she liked without ever worrying about the cost. The lifestyle he painted for her sounded secure and happy and without any problems at all. Gabby seemed to love her with a passion and a fervor that the more taciturn Morris had never demonstrated. Morris made commitments and kept them that was the way he showed his love. Gabby was all fire and promises.
    The very fact that Gabby was fifteen years older than Jerilee may have drawn her to him. She had felt so forlorn when her father divorced her mother, even though he remained a part of her life. Indeed, her father had been about Gabby's age when he left her mother. Gabby had the confidence of a mature man. He seemed a dependable rock: half lover/half father. He was such a hero at Davis High School, and in Yakima itself.
    Morris had a teaching job too, of course, but he hadn't yet begun to achieve the status that Gabby had. Whatever it was chemistry, pragmatism, true love Jerilee had become completely mesmerized by Gabby Moore. When he asked her to leave Morris and marry him, she accepted. It could not help but seem that she threw away her marriage with scarcely a backward glance. Gabby had nothing to throw away, he was already figuratively on the street with a suitcase when Jerilee and Morris took him in. It wasn't that he was destitute had money but he was not a man who could live by himself. He never had been. Once they had admitted the obvious, there was apparently no going back for Jerilee and Gabby. It was spring in Yakima and the apple trees were blossoming. They were in love and they were not going to turn away from the overpowering emotion that swept over them. It had all happened in less than three months....
    When Jerilee told Morris that she was leaving him for Gabby, he was pole axed. She was the only woman he had ever loved. But like many powerfully built men, Morris was gentle and not the kind to rage and threaten. He was too hurt. If Jerilee wanted a divorce, he would give it to her.
    There was nothing else for him to do. He let her walk away from him with one proviso, though. He made it clear that he still loved her. If she ever needed him, if she ever came to her senses, he would take her back.
    Morris wasn't in a position to ask for custody of his children.
    Rick and Amanda were preschoolers. How would he take care of them? Olive couldn't be expected to take on the daily care of two little kids, and, besides, she was still working full-time. He knew that Jerilee would let him see them whenever he could, and so he didn't fight her for them. In his heart, he believed that she and the children would be coming back to him. It happened with such swiftness. When 1974 began, Morris Blankenbaker had considered himself married for life. By March, only a little over two months later, Jerilee had filed for divorce. Since uncontested divorces in Washington State take ninety days, she was a free woman by June. She and Morris would have been married for nine years on August 28, but, of course, they never made it that far.
    Coincidentally, Morris's marriage had lasted almost exactly as long as his parents' marriage. Jerilee came back to Morris once, but only for a very brief time.
    She was pulled in two directions. Her conscience and the familiar warmth and dependability of the man she had left drew her back. But when she was living with Morris again, Gabby wouldn't let her alone. He was the most persuasive person she had ever encountered. He kept reminding her that he was the one she loved, and that he could not go on living without her. He played "their" song, and her resolve melted.
    Lay your head upon my pillow, Hold your warm and tender body close to mine. Hear the whisper of the raindrops falling soft against the window, And make believe you love me one more time.... Unlike most men in his situation, Morris was remarkably civilized.
    Although he was crushed by the betrayal of both his wife and his best