AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I fold my hands in my lap. “When I became Rowan’s legal guardian, I noticed almost immediately that she was scared of everything. I mean everything. Dogs, cats, frogs, loud noises, crowds, trucks, storms, knocks on the door, even the dark, despite that she was a teenager. She’d jump at everything. It unnerved me, just being around her. Eventually, I allowed her to sleep with me, and that kid would clench onto my arm and never let go, not once, all night long. It was the only way she could sleep.”
“That’s sad.”
“Yes, it was. It took me a long while to realize this was a side effect of being raised in such a dysfunctional family. At the most basic level, Rowan was abandoned from birth, really. She was hardly tended to, dirty diapers all day, and allowed to cry until she vomited. My sister—her mom—took “cry it out” to an abusive level. Rowan was never taught how to regulate emotions. Then they eventually started physically abandoning her at school by not picking her up. Fear of abandonment became as engrained in her psyche as breathing and eating. It became an automatic response. Fear is part of her life, plain and simple.”
“I’m not sure I’m following, Ms. Willmont.”
“Call me Jenny.”
“Jenny, yes, ma’am.”
“Because of this, Rowan latches onto anything that provides her a sense of safety—even a false sense. Her husband, Shepherd, gave that to her and she latched onto him with bloody fingernails and never let go. He became her entire world. You see, Rowan is fiercely loyal to those who have helped her—to me and Shepherd. She feels indebted to us.”
I raise my hands from my lap and wrap them around the Styrofoam cup, sloshing coffee onto the table.
“I truly believe that if there was a threat to either me or Shepherd, Rowan would kill for us. I think that’s true for a lot of families actually.”
Agent Briggs dabs up the coffee with a napkin.
A moment of silence spreads between us.
“Thank you for that background information.” He clears his throat. “It helps give me a clearer picture.”
“She’s a good person with good intentions. I want her released from prison.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Yes you can.
“Ms. Willmont, I understand this must be very hard for you, being her family and all. But we have your niece's DNA at Cora Granger’s crime scene, and also a clear motive for all three of the homicides.” He pauses. “You speak of Rowan feeling indebted to both you and her husband. I understand. But I believe she felt indebted to the community who has supported her, and therefore took it upon herself to rid them of what she considered harmful people.”
“I think you’re wrong, Agent Briggs.”
“I wish I were. Believe me.”
FIFTY-THREE
ROWAN
Four months later
I know, from experience, that there is a pivotal point in trauma where the body simply shuts down. The parts of the brain responsible for dealing with emotion become so taxed that they shut off to preserve the parts necessary for survival. Your emotions vanish and your reactions dull, leaving you a shell of a human. A robot. A nothing.
That’s how I feel as I stand in front of the judge. Completely void of expression, of feeling life. I’m not hot, I’m not cold, I’m not nauseous, dizzy, or sick.
I’m a dead woman standing.
“All rise,” the clerk says. “The honorable Marcus Fitch presiding.”
I begin shaking uncontrollably as the judge walks into the room and takes a seat behind the bench.
“Everyone, please take your seat,” he says to the room.
Chairs squeak along the tiled floor, followed by a rush of movement as the crowd settles in to witness my fate.
“People of the State of Texas vs. Rowan Velky.” The clerk nods to the defense to begin.
“I am Sheri Hobbs,” she says, “appearing as counsel for the accused.”
