A Tortured Soul

Chapter 15
Chapter 15

Laura burst into tears, brought both her hands to her face and cried, “Oh my God!”

The police officer saw the color drain from her face, and helped her to sit down on the step.

Pain speared through her as she considered what Mrs. Gelt was going through right now. She knew what that felt like, and wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy. She felt the hole still left by Amy’s passing; it was there every minute of every day. The pain had gotten easier to bear, but never went away. Things like her nephew’s death, and now this, brought it back as sharp as a razor.

After a moment, she snapped her head up to look at the policeman, and pleaded, “Please, you can’t. Eddy is having such a hard time right now with the death of his sister, telling him that his friend passed will destroy him. And Katie just lost her parents and her brother to a fire. Please...I beg you...come back at another time.”

With a heavy sigh, the officer replied, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” When Laura looked like she would object, he added, “But I can limit the questions to what went on today. I don’t need to tell them that something bad happened.”

The radio on his belt started squawking, and he reached down and turned the volume all the way down.

Laura sat a moment thinking about that. She felt helpless. Finally deciding she wasn’t going to get a better offer, she stood, wiped her face dry, took several deep breaths and said, “All right. But promise me you won’t let them know he’s gone.”

“I promise,” he reassured her. “My name is Officer Grant, by the way. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier.”

“Laura Deitz,” she replied. “Before we go in, I need you to understand that Eddy, my son is not your typical ten year old. He’s actually at a toddler level, so please don’t react negatively when you see him behaving that way.”

“I can assure you, it’ll be fine,” the officer said with a smile. He stopped her as she went to reach for the knob and added, “I’d like to talk to them one at a time first. Can you make that happen?”

“Sure. I’ll ask Katie to stay in her room until I call her.”

“Thank you,” he replied as Laura opened the door and headed in.

When she closed the door, she told the officer, “Wait here a moment.” She wanted to tell Katie before he entered the livingroom and Eddy saw him. That way she would be there when Eddy first met him.

When she stopped outside Katie’s door, she knocked two times and opened the door. Katie sat at her desk, playing solitaire on her laptop. “I need you to stay in your room until I come to get you, okay?” she asked.

“Okay. Why?” Katie asked.

“I’ll explain it later, just don’t leave your room, Honey, please.”

“All right, I’ll be right here.”

“Thank you,” Laura replied, and closed the door before heading back to the livingroom.

Just as she got back to the foyer, the front door opened, and Jim entered the house. Seeing the police officer, he looked to his wife and asked, “What happened?” worry clear in his eyes.

“Oh Jim,” she answered, and hugged him tight, fresh tears falling, unable to say more. She was grateful when the officer quietly explained what happened, and why he was there.

After a moment, Jim said, “Let me say hi to Eddy while you get yourself together,” kissing her cheek.

“Thank you.”

*************

Eddy sat playing with Leggos on the blanket. He had forgotten how much fun Leggos could be. When he saw Daddy walk into the livingroom, he grabbed Mister Bear, got to his feet, and ran to him, saying, “Daddy!” smiling around his paci. He had been acting just like Amy used to, all day long so that Mommy wouldn’t try to make him be a big boy and make Katie mad at him.

“Hi little fella! How are you?” Daddy asked as he picked Eddy up and hugged him close. Eddy liked Daddy’s hugs, and smiled when Daddy kissed his forehead and patted his dipey.

“I good!” Eddy responded with a giggle. He had been sure to talk just like a baby today.

“Yes, you’re a very good boy,” Daddy told him, making him smile wider. Daddy hadn’t held him like this in a long time, and he liked it.

A moment later, Daddy set him down on his feet. Just then, Mommy came back in the room, and Eddy saw a policeman with her. This frightened him, and he moved to her, putting his arms up, and said, “Uppy?” in a fearful voice. He didn’t like that he wasn’t wearing anything over his dipey when someone else was there. Mommy had left his shorts off when she changed him after dinner.

Eddy clung to her when she picked him up. He felt better when she sat down on the couch with him facing her, snuggled close. He nursed hard and fast on his paci and hugged Mister Bear tight as her hand worked a gentle rhythm on his bottom.

“It’s okay Baby, this is officer Grant. He needs to ask you some questions. Mommy wants you to answer him, okay?”

“Okay,” Eddy replied, not happy to be talking to someone looking like he did.

“Hi Eddy, who’s that?” the officer asked, pointing to his bear.

“Mithtew Beaw.”

“Well hi Mister Bear,” the cop said earnestly, and then asked the stuffed animal, “Is it all right if I talk to Eddy for a little bit?” A second later, the officer leaned closer, said, “What’s that?” and then turned to Eddy with a smile, and told him, “He says it’s all right.”

Eddy knew Mister Bear didn’t say anything, but he smiled because the policeman was trying to make him feel better.

“Eddy, did you play outside today?”

“Mmmm Hmmm.”

“What did you play when you were out there?”

“Hide an’ theek.”

“That must have been fun, huh?”

“Uh huh.”

“Who were you playing with?”

“Katie, an’ Wawwy, an’ Twathey,” Eddy answered, wondering why he asked.

“Where did you hide?” Officer Grant asked, looking like he wanted good ideas for his next hide and seek game.

“Busheth, by howthe.”

“Where did Tracey hide?”

“On uddew thide.”

“And where did Larry hide?”

“In da shed.”

“Was Katie it?”

“Uh huh.”

“Did she find you?”

Eddy’s eyes teared as he answered, “Uh huh, I cwied.”

“Why?”

“Boo boo.”

“I see, well boo boo’s are no fun, that’s for sure. Where did you get the boo boo?”

“Go poopieth.”

Mommy hugged him tighter, and said, “He’s had diarrhea for the last two days. He had diaper rash earlier.” Looking to Eddy, she asked, “But it’s all better now, huh?”

Eddy nuzzled Mister Bear as he nodded his head. He would never forget the boo boo he had as he laid in bed with Katie rubbing his dipey against his bottom.

“Well that’s good,” the officer said. “Did you see Katie go into the shed?”

The way Mommy stiffened when the policeman asked that made Eddy sit back and look at her as he answered, “No.” When he saw Mommy trying not to cry, he whimpered, “Mommy?” knowing something was terribly wrong.

Mommy hugged him tight, not saying a word. He felt her shoulders bobbing, and forced himself back to look at her again. What he saw made him cry, “No Mommyyyyy.” He knew in that moment that something bad happened to Larry.

“Oh Baby, I’m sorry...I’m so sorry,” she told him as she rocked him back and forth. “Larry did something you’re never supposed to do, he hid inside a refrigerator. There’s no air in a refrigerator Honey,” she told him, tears streaming down her face.

Eddy was certain in that moment that Larry didn’t hide in the refrigerator, somehow, Katie had made him get in it. He started trembling from head to toe as he remembered the thumping sound he had heard. A vision came to him of Larry drumming his fists on the inside of the door, trying to get out, and eventually his hits slowing to a stop.

He sat there sobbing hard for several minutes as Mommy rocked him. When he managed to get that image out of his head, he looked up at the policeman. Could he make Katie stop? Could he take her away? Fear gripped him when he wondered if they would believe him.

He knew that Katie was crazy, and she had told him that she killed her family, but now she had killed someone he knew, and there was no doubt she was telling the truth. Taking a deep breath, he looked straight at the officer, and said softly, “Katie killed him.”

“What?!” Mommy exclaimed.

“She killed him. She killed her Mommy and Daddy too and Bobby. She said Bobby didn’t do what he was told, so she killed him.” Crying hard now, he added, “She told me if I didn’t do what she wanted...she’d hurt Mommy and Daddy. She wouldn’t let me use the potty,” he finished, trembling in fear as warm pee saturated his diaper.

Eddy watched the policeman reach down toward his weapon. His hand stopped when they heard a click of metal on metal, and Katie say, “Don’t.”

Everyone spoke at once. The three adults trying to convince Katie to put the gun down, and Eddy crying, “I thowwyyyyy...I thowwyyyy,” over and over. He knew she was going to do something terrible to punish him now.

“Shut up!” Katie screamed, her face livid and a wild look in her eyes. Not another word was spoken. “Come here little boy,” she told Eddy with an angry voice.

Not wanting to make her any more mad, Eddy scrambled down out of Mommy’s lap, worming his way out of her grasp as she tried to hold him there. When he approached Katie, she spun him around, gripped his neck, holding him in place, and put the barrel of the revolver she held, against his temple.

“If I hear one more word, or if anyone doesn’t do what I tell them to, I’ll put a bullet in the boy’s brain.” Pointing the weapon at the officer, she said, “Get up, and drop the gun on the floor.” When he did as she said, she told him, “Kick it under the couch.”

Eddy watched the policeman kick the gun, and it disappeared beneath the sofa.

“All right, everyone into the kitchen.”

When they filed ahead of her into the kitchen, she instructed, “Downstairs.” Fear could be felt in the air as they started down and Katie growled, “I’ve got to teach a little boy a lesson.”