Pam by Jacqueline Druga Read Free Book Online Page B

Andrews with a concrete sla b ; h e had this look of shock on his face.
    “He told Sharon  ... you r Sharon … that he loved her?”
    I nodded.
    “Are you sure it was Sharon?”
    “Yes , and it started to make sense. They were fighting an awful lot. Too much. She said he had her car forever. ”
    “What did you do?”
    “I drove to the bank; I wanted to believe that it wasn’t her. Maybe another Sharon. But I saw her car. Parked in the lot. Sharon had been avoiding me for weeks saying she didn’t have a ride or she didn’t want to see Richie.”
    “So you hadn’t seen her in a while?”
    I shook my head. “No. So I went into the bank. It was crowded. I got a deposit slip and wrote on the back, ‘Are you having an affair with Richie ? ’ I took it to the window.”
    “So you called out Sharon?”
    I nodded. “But she ran. Ran out. Didn’t apologize . Didn’t say anything. She ran out of the bank. In fact , she looked angry. I stewed about it and left. I figure d it would all come to a head.”
    “Had Richie ever cheated on you before?”
    “Yes, more times than I care to count.”
    Hands folded in a prayer fashion, he nodded. “Okay, so his telling you about the affair and leaving you wasn’t a blindside.”
    “He didn’t tell me about the affair, not the one with Sharon. We never got to talk about it. The day happened.”
    “So his testimony was a lie,” Dr. Andrews said.
    “Yes. We never spoke. Never again. I finished errands and returned home. Did that wife thing in the car and thought about what I was going to say to him after the party. I was upset, yes, but I didn’t know who I was upset with more . ” I paused to catch my breath. “When I got home, I knew something was up. That’s when I saw the figure. There was a figure in the bush. I saw it. It moved . I thought it was a teenager and I went into the house . I went in the back way.”
    “Did you tell the police about the figure?”
    “I did. Just once. When I walked in, water was coming out the kitchen door.” Suddenly I lost all breath; I found it hard to breathe.
    “Pam. You okay ? ”
    I broke down. “The baby.”
    “You don’t have to continue.”
    I violently shook my head. “I have to say it. I never told anyone what I saw. What happened . No one. Not even the police . But please, never ask me again.”
    He nodded. “Agreed. But stop if it’s too much o r too painful.”
    “Painful? It will never stop being painful. Ever. Every single morning for years, I would wake u p and before I opened my eyes, I prayed to God it was a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. Then when I opened my eyes, I would be home and my babies would be fine. But it wasn’t a nightmare . And I’d be struck with t his heart ache that I physically felt. A pain that wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t a nightmare ; it was real , and I’d never have my babies again.” I grabbed a tissue from his desk and swiped it hard across my face. “My mother tried. I saw that. The water was pink, the sink was still on. M y mother was on the floor, holding Lizzy. She held my baby. She was covered in blood, her hands were sliced up as if she was trying to protect the baby.” I paused, the vision was still real in my mind. “And I cried out . I cried, ‘No’, and charged to find my other children. I thought of them. I hoped and prayed that they ran an d hid or got out. But as soon as I got to the steps. Doyle was there. My little boy. My precious baby boy.”
    “Pam …”
    I lifted my hand, sniffed hard and looked at him . “They got him as he ran. I could tell. His hand was still on the steps. The n I heard it. A whimper. Mandy. Oh my God, I ran, I ran, calling out her name over and over. I ran into her room and didn’t see her. The room was trashed. Everything was thrown about. I called again and the n I found her. She was on the floor by the bed.” I grabbed another tissue; blood rushed to my ears as I told the story and relieved it. The visio n of my