I remember a few years back hearing about Maria Tomas being raped and murdered by the Santiago cartel. It was all over the news because she was found beaten to a bloody pulp in one of the local school’s playground. One of the children found her.
“He was my son, and a part of me loved him, but he’s caused enough problems. He was going to be put down eventually anyway. Either by another cartel or myself.” He turns pensive. “It’s over. You have no need to fear retaliation.”
“How do I know you’re not spewing shit to bide your time?”
“If I gave you my word, would you take it?”
I stay silent. Fuck no, I won’t take his word. He may have integrity when it comes to women and children, but as far as he knows, I killed his son. Grieving an offspring can change a person’s principles. I trust his word about as far as I can throw a semi-truck.
“It’s all I have to offer,” he says in my silence. “No harm will come to you or yours. Take it or leave it.”
“See that it stays that way. I’ll have his body sent to you.” I grunt. Hanging up, I toss my phone on my desk and scrub a rough hand down my face.
“Think he’ll retaliate?” Judge asks, throwing an ankle over his knee.
“If he’s smart, he won’t, and Emiliano has never come across as stupid. I’ll still keep an eye on things for the time being.”
He nods. “How’s Eden?”
“Better. Trouble said the wound isn’t infected, so that’s a scare we don’t have to worry about.”
The knife Diego used on Eden was the same one he used on all of his victims in the video footage we found on the chip. Once Eden came to and I could think properly again, Emo showed me the knife and I recognized the handle. It appears that Diego at least kept the knife clean. Thank fuck for some miracles.
Judge pulls something from his coat pocket and tosses it on my desk. I reach up and grab the envelope, looking down and seeing Jenny’s name and address, but no return address.
“What’s this?”
His voice is gruff when he answers. “A letter that was delivered a couple of days before shit went down with Diego. It’s from Jenny’s parents.”
My eyes shoot to his, my brows lifting in disbelief.
“That’s not possible. Her parents are dead. They died just a few weeks before Sweet Haven was taken down.”
“Emo told me.” He jerks his chin to the envelope in my hand. “Read it.”
I flip the envelope over, pull out the two folded pieces of notebook paper and smooth it out.
Dear Jenny,
I’m sure you’ll find this as a big shock, and I wouldn’t blame you if you throw this letter straight into the trash without opening it, but it is my hope that you’ll read it.
Mick and I have fought with ourselves for years if we should write this letter or leave well enough alone. In the end, I knew in my heart I couldn’t pass onto another world without telling you the truth. I don’t expect it to change your view of your father and me, but you deserve to know everything.
When you were born, Mick and I were so very happy. You were the most precious little baby with your blonde hair and innocent beautiful blue eyes. The minute we saw you, we fell in love. You were simply perfect. We were also terrified because of where we lived and what would happen to you once you were old enough.
I’m extremely ashamed to admit, and no punishment will ever be enough for what we did, but up until you were born, Mick and I willingly participated in the monthly Gatherings. We were both young when you came along and all we had ever known was that it was okay for an adult to touch children during those nights, because it was their special way of showing love.
We don’t ask for, nor expect, forgiveness or understanding. There is no excuse for what happened those nights.
It wasn’t until you came along that we realized the wrongness of what we were all doing. The thought of us or someone else touching you in such a way made me violently ill. Mick felt the same way. You were our precious daughter. You were sent to us to protect and cherish. To love in the right way, with caring and compassion and protectiveness. Unfortunately, Mick and I both knew we couldn’t leave Sweet Haven. We had already witnessed other people being murdered because they tried. The children who were left behind were given to another couple in the community. We also couldn’t stop The Gathering from happening. We did the only thing we could do. We pretended. We pretended so we could keep you safe. We pretended because if we didn’t, they would take you away from us and the person they would give you to wouldn’t love you like we did. Really love you. Not the sick and twisted love like most adults did in Sweet Haven.
Jenny, I want you to know that Mick and I never ever wanted to hurt you. During every single Gathering, when we were forced to touch you, a part of us died. There are no words to express the pain or shame and guilt and complete disgust we felt for ourselves for doing what we did. I swear we tried so very hard to make it as painless as possible, but there was no way we could get around it. The Council, although they were there to participate as well, were always watching.
Once you reached five years old, the age a child is to finish their initiation, we knew we couldn’t continue. We knew there was no way we could convincingly go on with our deception. We knew you would more than likely go to your aunt and uncle, who were very much into The Gatherings, if something were to happen to us. We knew what they would do to you, but it was the only choice we had left. It was either spend the rest of your childhood being sexually abused or spend one night with the full effects of The Gathering. It was one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever had to make.
A week after your fifth birthday, Mick and I died. Or that’s what The Council believes. To them, we were attacked by a wild animal, but in reality, it was Mr. and Mrs. Swanson’s bodies, who had died a couple of weeks before from smoke inhalation when their house caught fire. We dug up their graves, put our clothes on them, and left them out in the woods. We made sure several people in town knew we were going for a walk in the woods, so it wasn’t a surprise when the bodies were found. We waited two days out there for a wild animal to find Mr. and Mrs. Swanson. Once they did, and The Council believed it was our bodies, we left Sweet Haven. I cried every mile that separated me from you.
As soon as we hit San Antonio, we made an anonymous phone call to the police. We gave them as much information as we could about what was happening in Sweet Haven. We kept in contact with them by using different payphones and found out they would be moving into Sweet Haven soon. A couple of weeks later, Mick went back to Sweet Haven and left a note under Shane and Delia’s door, knowing they were against The Gatherings, and warned them of the imminent raid on the town.