Taking Connor(73)

“You fell hard,” Connor notes. “It scared the shit out of me.”

“I hit my head on something,” I state it more than ask it as I touch the sore spot on the back of my crown.

“Tool bench,” he states.

“The next thing I remember is waking up on the gurney.”

“We have to see Wendy and Jeff. Obviously the girls haven’t come forward with what that old f*ck did to them, or we would have been questioned about it by now.”

McKenzie was frantic after she hit Mr. Jenson over the head. I have no doubt she’s lied about everything, terrified she’ll go to prison for murder. No matter what happens, I’ll take the heat for all of this—after all, I did kill him. But the most important thing is that the girls get help, counseling to help them cope and understand the feelings something so horrendous might make them feel. My heart aches as I think of McKenzie; the years of carrying the pain around must have been unbearable.

Tears fill my eyes. “I can’t believe that I didn’t know; that I was so blind.”

“You’re so good, Demi,” he murmurs as he kisses my temple, “you only want to see the good in people.” He rubs gentle circles on my back before lying back, pulling me with him. I rest my head on his chest and let my fingers dance over the quote tattooed on his chest.

‘Return good for good; return evil with justice.’

“Is it bad I don’t regret killing him?” I ask my voice monotone.

“I’m the wrong person to ask that question,” he replies.

“Looks like we’re not so different after all,” I sigh.

A loud knock on the door startles us, and Connor climbs out of bed, quickly tugging on his boxers and a pair of jeans that were crumpled on the floor.

“Police. Open up,” a deep voice yells as they knock loudly once more.

Grabbing my white robe, he tosses it to me, and I quickly slip it on, my heart hammering in my chest a mile a minute. They’re going to arrest him. Shit. This is happening.

“Say nothing,” Connor tells me, his stare direct. Then he opens the door, but only halfway so the officers can’t see inside the apartment.

“Mr. Stevens, we’re looking for Demi Stevens,” the officer says.

“And why is that?” Connor asks, closing the door more.

“We have a warrant for her arrest for the murder of Ned Jenson. Is she here?”

“She’s been charged?” Connor asks as if it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. “On what grounds?” Connor’s shoulders are pulled back, his chest is out, his stance tense. He’s getting upset. I need him to calm down before he gets himself in trouble.

“Is she here Mr. Stevens?”

“Yes, I’m here,” I call as I round the door, tugging my robe closed.”

“This is bullshit,” Connor yells. “They’ve already charged me.”

“Connor,” I plead as I place a trembling hand on his arm. “Please, calm down. Call Jim for me. I need you to see Wendy and Jeff as well.”

The officer pushes his way inside and begins reading me my rights, while his partner more or less, blocks Connor from me. My entire body is trembling as he cuffs me.

I’m being charged with murder.

And I’m guilty.

I’m going to prison.

“Let her put some goddamn clothes on!” Connor shouts. “She’s half naked.”

But the officer doesn’t listen. He turns me and pushes me out the door and down the steps where a herd of reporters are waiting, snapping photos, and yelling questions at me. I lower my head, letting my hair hang over my face as I’m led to the car when I hear someone shouting.

“You killed him!” Mrs. Jenson shrieks. “He gave candy to those kids! He was kind to you, and you killed him!” She’s sobbing as she wipes at her nose with her forearm. The reporters are snapping photos, flashes from their cameras blinding me.

“Grab her!” The officer holding my cuffed wrists shouts as he pushes me forward. The other officer grabs Mrs. Jenson and pulls her away, and I’m pushed forward toward the car. This is humiliating. I’m practically naked, being shoved into the back seat of a cop car.

“Don’t worry, Demi,” Connor is right beside me all of a sudden. “It’s going to be okay, baby. I love you,” he whispers in my ear before the officer leading me shoves him away. His words slice right through me. Here, we just found one another, finally came together, and now I’m probably going to prison.





A vigilante.

That’s what the newspapers were calling me.

Demi Stevens—takes justice into her own hands.

After my arrest, Connor went straight to Wendy and Jeff’s and told them everything. McKenzie reluctantly came forward, confessing her part in Mr. Jenson’s death, and she also shared the horrific details of what he did to her years ago. Mary-Anne also came forward. Just as I had suspected, McKenzie had coached her, made her swear not to tell what happened that day, terrified she’d go to jail.

The prosecutor dropped the murder charge on Connor and for me, but then I was charged with voluntary manslaughter. The coroner’s report showed that ultimately Mr. Jenson died from suffocation. Jim showed me the photos from the crime scene, and I was immediately confused. Nothing looked as I remembered it. Mr. Jenson was positioned differently, and there was blood in places there wasn’t from what I remembered.