Post by matt on Jun 14, 2022 9:07:59 GMT -6
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Kimberly still finds herself distracted by forces outside of her control. For the better of the year The Woman Scorned has found herself the victim of an obsessed stalker. Many celebrity athletes should be used to this kind of treatment, obsessed fans can be a part of life if you are in the public spotlight. The other problem is that this isn’t an obsessed fan. This stalker is obsessed with doing whatever it takes to ruin Kimberly’s life. What began as a direct physical assault on Kimberly herself outside of a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee eventually expanded to attacks on her sisters; Marie Jones’s home was burned down by an arsonist and Jessica Lasiewicz’s home was broken into.
It wasn’t hard for Kimberly to figure out who this stalker was; she already had an inkling as to the stalker’s motivation. The attacks began shortly after her twin sister, Marie, initiated a very public legal defense of their uncle, Douglas Williams, who was convicted of a series of murders in Massachusetts years before they were born. Kim had discovered evidence that their uncle may not have been acting alone and Marie wanted to use the evidence in order to get his sentence reduced. Kimberly knew their uncle was a murderer, regardless of if he acted alone, and that he belonged in prison. She also knew that Marie would potentially stir up a hornet’s nest if she got involved. Kim had no idea that someone would take such great offense to Marie’s legal wranglings that they would take it upon themselves to attack them and their family. But Kim knew that is exactly what had happened. Someone wanted to stop Marie…and by extension Kim…from helping exonerate their uncle. And a little more digging helped Kim learn the identity of the stalker; a young woman named Carol Johnson, the baby sister of a woman who had been killed by Douglas Williams.
A few weeks ago Kimberly came face to face with Carol in a local cemetery in Boston. After a brief struggle, The Woman Scorned had gained possession of a knife and had the opportunity to put an end to Carol once and for all. All she had to do was drive the knife through Carol’s throat and it would have been over. But somehow, for some reason, Kimberly could not bring herself to end Carol’s life. Perhaps Kim feels pity for Carol’s family? Kim’s uncle took her sister away from her, and if Kim took Carol’s life then their mother would be left all alone without either of her daughters. Kim’s act of mercy may have just prolonged the inevitable, because Carol made it clear that she would not stop until either she or Kim was dead.
It is obviously difficult to enjoy yourself when you have that kind of dark cloud hanging over your head. The Woman Scorned has also come to have a great appreciation for her family, especially after the lives of her sisters were recently threatened by the demented Carol Johnson. This is why Kimberly is currently spending time with her twelve year old nephew, Sean Connor Jones. The twelve year old is Marie’s son. Kim is taking care of him this afternoon because Marie is busy speaking with the attorney handling their uncle Douglas’s case. Marie had been hell bent on continuing the legal defense of their case, despite the attack in Nashville and despite the arson. But when the attacks began to focus on their half-sister Jessica Lasiewicz, Kim finally managed to convince Marie to drop the case. She convinced Marie to let Douglas stay in prison. Meanwhile Kim takes care of Sean today to ensure he is safe from Carol. Plus, Kim gets to bond with her nephew.
Williams and her nephew are walking down the streets of downtown Boston. Kim is dressed in torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a black “SCW” t-shirt. Sean is wearing denim jeans, sneakers, a plain white t-shirt. Kimberly is carrying her stuffed lead weight loaded penguin Wasley with her. Sean has his hands full with a bag of goodies that he just won at the arcade. In the other hand he has a thing of cotton candy that he is munching away.
“This afternoon has been awesome!” Sean exclaims as he takes a bite of cotton candy.
“I’m glad you had fun kiddo! You really did kick some major ass in that arcade…uh, butt, I said butt, right?”
“Sure ya did, Aunt Kim.”
“That better be your story. Your mom already doesn’t trust me with you. She thinks I’m dangerous or some shit like tha…uh, crap! Yeah! Crap!”
“Well…” Sean’s voice trails off as he thinks about what his aunt just said. Kim notices his doubt and shoots him a look.
“Wait, a sec, you don’t think I’m dangerous DO YOU?”
“You did get us kicked out of the arcade, Aunt Kim.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault that stupid manager doesn’t have a sense of humor!”
“You were using Wasley to play the Whack-A-Mole Game.” Sean says, pointing to the penguin. “You destroyed the machine.”
“And I said I’d pay for it!” Kim says defensively. “Besides, those stupid moles were asking for it. Did you see how they were looking at me?!”
“Heh…” Sean chuckles softly before embracing his aunt “...I love you, Aunt Kim.”
“I love you too, kiddo.” She pats him on his head. “Now come on, there’s a drink machine up ahead. We can get some drinks before catching a taxi back home.” Sean nods his head and follows Kimberly towards the pepsi machine. She looks down at Sean. “Do you have any cash?”
“No.”
“Neither do I.” Kim shrugs and then uses Wasley, smacking him just hard enough not to damage the Pepsi Machine the way Sean accused her of damaging the Whack-A-Mole machine, but definitely hard enough to jar a drink loose and out of the machine. Kim does a pose reminiscent of Fonzie of Happy Days “Eyyyyy!”
“Eyyyy?” Sean asks curiously. Kim rolls her eyes.
“Before your time, kiddo.” She reaches inside and pulls out a Pepsi. “It’s a Pepsi, is that good?”
“Uh, I suppose it’ll do.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well it isn’t my favorite. But it’ll do…”
“Nonsense! Only the best for my nephew!” Kim smacks the machine again with Wasley, this time two drinks pop out. Kim’s face lights up. “Sweet! Two for one!” She reaches inside and produces another Pepsi and a Dr. Pepper. “Do you want a Dr. Pepper?”
“Sure!” He quickly snatches it out of Kim’s hand. Kim then turns and begins to walk away, she motions for Sean to follow her. Kim leads Sean over towards a bench on the sidewalk facing the street. Kim sits down on the bench and then Sean follows suit. “Hopefully a taxi will be along soon. I hate waiting!”
“Right. But uh, Aunt Kim, may I ask you something?”
“Sure thing, kiddo. Just don’t ask anything about algebra or calculus. I hate math.”
“Calculus?”
“Don’t ask. You’ll find out later.”
“Ok…but uh, seriously can I ask you a question?”
“Of course you can.”
“I know mom named me after my grandfather. And I know he and grandma didn’t always get along that well. Why is that?”
“Well, you can probably blame me and your mom for that.” Kim says snickering. “I mean, we didn’t exactly have the most normal of childhoods. Your grandfather and your grandmother, through no fault of their own, thought I was dead. They blamed each other for losing me so they split up. They only had your mom left in their lives. And they both wanted her to themselves. They fought bitterly over your mother.”
“But I have heard mom saying some things about him lately and I’m wondering, was my grandfather really as bad a person as mom says?”
Kimberly sighs deeply. This was a touchy subject that she really was hoping to avoid. Unfortunately kids his age are very curious and it appears that he has overheard some of what Marie has been saying about their father, Sean Williams and his potential involvement in the serial killings perpetrated by their uncle Douglas. Kimberly isn’t even used to dealing with kids of any age. Should she be direct and honest with him and tell him his grandfather was a monster like uncle Douglas? Or should she lie and let him live in blissful ignorance until he is old enough to understand?
“I don’t want to lie to you, kiddo, because quite honestly, I was lied to my entire life. And it made me into a very resentful and bitter person because of it; I don’t want to see that happen to you. So I’m not going to lie. But what you just asked is probably a question your mom can answer better than me. But I will tell you that your grandfather was a flawed man…but hell, we’re all flawed individuals. None of us are perfect. We will always make mistakes and when we do, the only thing we can do is strive to be better. I think your grandfather was trying his best to be a better man and to overcome the mistakes he may have made in life. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“I think so.” Sean says, nodding his head.
“And just remember, your grandfather was not a bad man. He made mistakes but he did try to better himself. He tried to help people by becoming a police officer, before he died he started studying law because he wanted to help people who were unjustly found guilty of crimes they didn’t commit.”
“That’s cool, I guess.”
“It is.” Kim says nodding her head. “Your grandfather…my father…was a flawed man but at the end of his life he was a good man. You understand?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Kim pats him on his head. A smile creeps across her face and a warm feeling enters her heart. She feels good. She enjoys this time she is spending with her nephew. For a long time she never would have expected herself to be a family person, yet here she is enjoying this time with her nephew. She almost wishes this feeling would never end.
Unfortunately it is at this point that the feeling ends abruptly and violently. A loud shriek is heard from behind the pair. Kim feels a rope wrapping around her throat and it squeezes, cutting off her air and oxygen. Sean screams in terror as he jumps off the bench. He sees the figure of Carol Johnson choking the life out of his aunt.
“Aunt Kim!” Hearing this distracts Carol. She releases Kim and slowly begins to stalk the twelve year old. She points an accusatory finger at him.
“I cannot let another generation of Williams live!” Before she take another step towards Sean, Kim tackles Carol to the ground. Kim looks up to see Sean running off to make sure he is safe. Carol then kicks Kim off and tackles her back to the ground. Carol mounts Kim and begins to pound away with rapid fire right hands to the forehead and face.
“I told you, Williams! I told you that this would not end until one of us is dead!” Carol continues to pound away at Kim’s face but surprisingly, Kim just starts laughing uncontrollably. Carol growls angrily. “What is so damn funny?!” She punches her again. “Why are you laughing?!”
You need to hurt me in order to move on. Hell, you probably won’t move on unless me and my sister. But me…” Kim spits up some blood as she chuckles nastily “...I have moved on. I no longer care. So go ahead, Carol. Hit me!” Carol obliges and punches Kim in the face. “Oh come on, you can do better than that!” Carol hits her again. Kim snickers. “That’s better. Not good but better.” Carol punches her again. “HARDER! HIT ME HARDER!” Kim doesn’t have to ask twice, Carol hits her again. Kim just continues laughing uncontrollably and the more she laughs the angrier Carol gets. Carol gets up off of Kim and begins shouting.
“Why are you shouting?!” Carol stomps on Kim’s gut and Kim still laughs. Carol sets up for another stomp but then from out of nowhere several police officers swarm the area and point the firearms at Carol.
“Freeze!” One of the officers shouts. “Put your hands in the air!” Carol looks at the officers surrounding her. Then she looks back down at Kim who is slowly getting back to her feet and still laughing. Carol considers her options. “Don’t do something you will regret, lady!” Ultimately Carol does put her hands in the air, surrendering to the police. The police approach and begin to take her into custody.
Meanwhile Kim has pulled herself back to her feet. Sean quickly returns to her side. “Are you ok, Aunt Kim?”
“Don’t worry about me, kiddo, I was never in any danger.”
“Are you kidding me?! She was beating you up!”
“Her?!” Kim points to Carol, who by now has been handcuffed and is being stood up by the police. “Please. I recently took a dive off of a steel cage onto a pane of glass. I think I can take whatever that crazy broad has to offer. Besides…” she walks over to the bench and picks up Wasley the penguin “...I was never in any real danger.”
“Then why didn’t you use him against her?”
“Because she was threatening you, and taking care of you is more important than anything else. Also her family has suffered too much because of violence. I don’t need to add to that count by bludgeoning her with Wasley.” Kim pats Sean on the head. “You were brave to go get the police for me, kiddo.”
“Thanks, Aunt Kim.”
“This isn’t over!” Kim and Sean turn to see Carol being shoved into the back of the police cruiser. She is shouting angrily back at Kim. “It isn’t over!”
Kimberly’s heart tells her that she did the right thing, that letting the police handle it is the moral and just thing to do. It serves as a good example to her nephew. But her mind suggests that Carol is right, that this isn’t over. Kimberly’s mind tells her that at the end of this, one of them will have to die before it truly ends.
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Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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What was meant to be a nice, normal, ordinary day for Kimberly Williams turned into an absolute wreck. Although let’s face it, anytime The Woman Scorned is involved nothing is ever normal or ordinary. Kimberly did hope to spend some time bonding with her nephew, she had hoped to just enjoy herself, and most importantly, Williams had hoped that the nightmarish stalking would be over. Those hopes were all dashed when Kimberly and Sean were jumped on the street and assaulted by none other than Carol Johnson, the same obsessed stalker who had been making Kim’s life a living hell for the past few months. What is more frightening to Kimberly is the fact that Carol has slowly been escalating her attacks. It started with a targeted strike only on Kim and Marie physically, outside of a Nashville hotel. Then she burned down Marie’s home in Boston. Then she went further and attacked other members of the family, namely Kim’s half-sister Jessica Lasiewicz by breaking into her home and wrecking the place.
Kimberly, Marie, and Jessica at least can defend themselves if necessary. Carol has now taken it too far by targeting Sean, Marie’s son and Kimberly’s nephew. Kim had suspected that she would eventually take it to that level; she had secretly hoped that Carol wouldn’t go as far as to attack an innocent child but Kim is a realist and she decided to take precautions. Williams clued authorities into the fact that she would be taking her nephew out on the town and that she was afraid for his safety due to the threat Carol posed. Authorities agreed to have police follow Kimberly, just in case Carol decided to strike. Sure enough, Carol did strike. And she did threaten the safety of Kim’s nephew Sean Jones. But Kim put her own health and well being at risk to defend him. She intercepted Carol, allowing her to beat on her over and over, giving Sean time to get away and most importantly allowing the police time to arrive and take care of the situation.
She may appear to be a psychopath, she may seem to be a lunatic, but deep down in her heart and soul she loves her family. Kim would sacrifice her very life for her family and today she damn near had to; but thankfully, Carol was captured. The obsessive stalker who wanted nothing more than to ruin Kimberly’s life has been taken into custody. Unfortunately, that may not be the end of it. Carol Johnson herself had already shouted at the top of her lungs that it wasn’t over. Despite being in handcuffs and thrown into the back of a police cruiser, the somewhat demented Johnson was adamant that she would not let it end here and now. Kimberly had hoped that by doing things by the books, letting the legal system handle Carol and showing her mercy, that perhaps it would finally end.
Yet the fact that The Woman Scorned is sitting in the hallway of police headquarters outside of a detective’s office is an indication that it may not be over. Kim is still dressed in torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a black “SCW” t-shirt. Seated next to her is her nephew Sean, who is also still wearing the same attire from earlier; denim jeans, sneakers, a plain white t-shirt. Kimberly has a cup of coffee, black, in her hands. Kim and Sean, as the victims and therefore witnesses of this attack, were brought in to give statements to the detectives. After all, they were just attacked by a woman who clearly wanted to do them physical harm, maybe even kill them.
Murder isn’t unusual to Kimberly Williams. It is a tactic she has used before in order to deal with problems. Usually she is good at hiding the evidence of her crimes. Weeks ago she had the opportunity to put an end to Carol Johnson. She had a knife in hand and a prone Carol in a local cemetery; she could have cut her throat right there. But Kimberly decided to show mercy. In Kim’s mind, murder started all of this when her uncle murdered Carol’s older sister, sending Carol spiraling into a quest for revenge. Would murder really solve the problem? Would ending Carol’s life really finish things? Murder is normal for Kim. Mercy, on the other hand, this is a new thing for The Woman Scorned. She isn’t used to showing mercy. And it scares her to death.
“Kim!” Williams and Sean both look up. It is almost like seeing yourself in the mirror, for Kim’s identical twin sister and Sean’s mother, Marie Jones, comes rushing over. Marie is dressed in a red blouse, black knee length skirt, and black patent leather high heel pumps.
“Mom!” Sean jumps up and runs over to greet his mom. The two embrace in a tight hug. Marie kisses him on his forehead.
“Are you ok, Sean? Did you get hurt?”
“No.” He points to Kim who has now risen up to her feet. “Aunt Kim saved me.”
“Oh Kim!” Marie exclaims as she turns to her twin sister. The sisters embrace in a tight hug and both begin to cry. “Thank you so much! Thank you for saving him! You have no idea how much this means to me!”
“Don’t mention it.” Kim says with a smirk on her face. “Seriously, don’t mention it. I don’t want anyone to realize I actually have the feelings of a normal, sane individual. It would totally ruin my reputation as a psychopath.”
“But after what I’ve done to you…” Marie’s voice trails off. Kim sighs.
“Marie, I love your son. He is my nephew, after all. He is my family. Just like you are my family. Regardless of any past differences we have had, I would still do anything to help my family.”
“Thank you.” Kimberly sits back down. Marie sits down next to her and Sean leaps over in between them. “So what happened?”
“I had just taken him out to an arcade.” Kim smiles sheepishly. “And Wasley may have broken a Whack-A-Mole machine.”
“Wasley…your boyfriend or the penguin?”
“Yes.” Kim says, nodding her head. Marie sighs and rolls her eyes.
“Look, just fast forward to when you two were assaulted.”
“The juicy details then! Well, we were waiting for taxi when a rope was wrapped around my neck. That nutjob Carol was trying to choke me out. Then she went after Sean. But I tackled her to the ground. Carol gained the upper hand and proceeded to kick the ever living crap outta me.” She motions to the bruises and blood stains on her face. “See?”
“Yeah…” Marie cringes “...damn, that was rough.”
“I know, right? I coulda washed up, I suppose, but you know what they say on those True Crime shows, you never want to tamper with a crime scene.” She motions to her face. “I think my face qualifies as a crime scene!”
“This doesn’t make sense.” Marie says, shaking her head.
“What doesn’t make sense? She punched my face until it looked like ground beef. I think that qualifies as a crime.”
“No, what doesn’t make sense is you.” Marie points a finger at Kim. “You are a highly skilled fighter. Hell, you are better than either me or Jessica.”
“Really?” Kim smirks. “You both have won world titles in other companies. I haven’t won any world title anywhere.”
“That’s because you haven’t had a fair one on one shot. So why does some untrained nutcase get the better of you?”
“Uh, I dunno.” Kim shrugs her shoulders. “She got lucky?”
“No way. Not THAT lucky. You were showing her mercy, weren’t you?”
“Hush!” Kim says while holding a finger over her lips. “What did I say about ruining my reputation?”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, Kim. In fact, I’m proud of you for showing restraint.”
“You are?”
“Yes.” Marie nods her head. “Going through the legal system is the best way to handle this. You were right all along, this woman has been stalking us and harassing us since Nashville months ago.”
But now the police have her in custody and it is over. We can move on with our lives.”
“I wish I could believe you.”
“What do you mean? The police have her, Kim. They have her dead to rights. She’s going to prison.”
“But for how long? Sure, she already has a record so maybe she will spend some extra time in prison due to that bit alone. But she just assaulted me, that’s all she did.”
“And she burned down my house…and she broke into Jessica’s house and wrecked the place.”
“But can they connect all of those incidents?” Kim asks. “Can they prove that the person who attacked us in Nashville, the person who burned down your house, the person who broke into Jessica’s house, and the person who attacked me today are all the same person? Even IF they can prove that, which is a difficult task, then at most she may get ten years, maybe fifteen? Twenty if we’re lucky. But then we have to worry about the possibility of parole. If she behaves herself and is a good little girl then she may get out early. And she’ll pick up right where she started.”
“You worry too much, Kim.” Marie remarks. “Maybe she could get out early if she is a model prisoner. But you saw how crazy she is; do you really think she could fake it for that long in order to get an early release?”
“I do…” Kim’s voice trails off. She laughs softly. She looks down at Sean. “Hey kiddo, why don’t you go get Aunt Kim another cup of the black stuff?”
“Coffee?”
“You got it.”
“Sure!” Sean gets up and walks off. Kim then turns her attention back to Marie once she is certain Sean is out of sight.
“Just because someone is crazy doesn’t mean they aren’t cunning. People say I’m crazy. But for a long time I had the world convinced that I was dead. Meanwhile you were locked away in my basement, as my prisoner, whilst I replaced you in your life. Do you remember that?” Kim asks. Marie quietly nods her head. It was a painful memory, and it was the event that got Kimberly locked up for a time in a mental hospital when Marie was ultimately rescued. “If I can pull off that kind of act, then I think crazy Carol can easily pretend to be a sane human being for a few years, long enough to earn an early release.”
Kim and Marie stare at one another for a few tense moments. Sean then returns, walking back towards them with a cup of coffee in hand. Before he can hand it off to Kim a door opens and an older man in a black suit, a detective, steps out and turns to face them.
“Ms. Williams?” He asks for Kim. She nods her head. “Would you mind stepping into my office please?”
“Sure thing, Columbo!” Kim gives a playful salute as she stands up. She looks at Sean still holding the cup of coffee. “Give that to your mom, I think she may need it more than me.” Kim turns and walks away from the pair and towards the detective. Kim follows the detective into his office. He shuts the door behind him.
“Have a seat, Ms. Williams.” He motions to a chair. Kim sits down in the comfy black chair. The detective goes to his desk and sits down. “My name is…”
“Columbo!”
“Not Columbo.” He chuckles softly. “Though I did love the show.”
“Oh darn! I was hoping for Columbo. Does Andy Griffith work here at least?”
“Sorry, wrong state.” He chuckles. “My name is Detective Smith. I read over the statement you gave to the police that were on the scene…”
“I hope I was graphic enough! I even left my face the exact same way Carol had left it! Don’t wanna mess up any evidence!”
“I appreciate that…I think…” the older detective sighs “...but yes, I did read your statement, and it matches up completely with the confession Ms. Johnson had made earlier. I was actually surprised that she confessed so quickly and so easily. But what surprised me most is how proud she sounded. She seemed proud of what she had done to you….and your sisters.”
“Wait…” now it is Kim’s turn to look surprised. “...she told you everything?”
“Ms. Williams, our department has been following your case for quite some time. Ever since the arson investigation into your sister’s house being burned down, actually. We learned that you two were attacked earlier by someone in Nashville. We had suspected from that moment that perhaps you were the victims of the same person and not two different people. Then when we investigated your other sister’s home getting broke into and vandalized, we again kept your case in the back of our mind. My department did not think it was a coincidence. Ms. Johnson confirmed our theory by confessing to all of them.”
“So you already cracked the case?” Kim grins from ear to ear. “You’re better than Columbo and Andy Griffith put together! But uh, if you already have this figured out, why do you need me?”
“What I do not understand yet is the motivation.” He looks straight into Kim’s eyes. “In fact, she told me to ask you about her motivation.”
The grin that Kimberly Williams had been sporting immediately goes away. This was not a topic she had wanted to discuss. She had hoped to move on from her tumultuous past. But Carol’s one last ditch gambit is to force Kimberly to admit to her own family’s crimes and horrid past. Kim knows that she is a good liar. She was trained well in the art of lying and knows she could easily lie to this detective’s face and he would believe her. But Kim decides once again to go against her nature. She decides to open up and tell the truth.
“Look detective, I’m gonna be totally honest with you.” She studies him closely. “You look like you’ve been here awhile. Are you near retirement age?”
“Pretty close. As you can tell by my silver hair, I have indeed been around the block quite a few times.”
“Then maybe you would remember my last name.”
“Williams?” He shrugs his shoulders. “I can’t say that I do. Then again, Williams is a rather common last name.”
“What about Douglas Williams?” Kim asks. This name immediately causes the detective to sit up straight in his chair.
“Douglas Williams? My God, I helped investigate those killings. “Are you his…”
“...his niece, detective.” Kim says, finishing his thoughts for him. “I’m his niece. My dad was Sean Williams.”
“Damn.” He shakes his head. “You know, I was convinced your father was involved but I couldn’t prove it. And when your uncle confessed to everything, well the district attorney’s office refused to let us go any further at that point.” He sighs. “I apologize, I shouldn’t be letting my emotions get to me like that. It’s unprofessional.”
“It’s ok. I mean, I get it. I know my uncle was a monster and quite honestly, I believe you, I think my dad was involved. But what I do know is that my dad felt guilty about his involvement. He worked hard to turn his life around and try to make up for his crimes in some way.”
“He should’ve turned himself in.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not perfect. But he did try.”
“Carol Johnson…now I know!” He snaps his fingers. “Her sister was one of the victims! That’s why she was stalking you?”
“That’s right. When my sister got wind of the fact that my uncle may not have been involved in the whole series of murders, she decided to fund a legal defense on his behalf, to get our uncle’s sentence reduced. I warned her that she would be stirring up a hornet’s nest but she didn’t care. Sure enough, someone noticed; namely, Carol. Carol just couldn’t accept that there was a chance her sister’s killer would get time taken off of his sentence. So she decided to exact revenge the only way she knew how.”
“It certainly makes sense.” Detective Smith sighs. “Unfortunately your testimony probably won’t be enough. I probably need to hear that motivation come from Ms. Johnson herself.”
“She’ll admit it.” Kim says. “Trust me.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Just trust me, she will admit it. She didn’t say anything to you because she wanted to force me to admit that my father and my uncle were monsters. And that I, by association, am also a monster.”
“Well I’m not a philosopher or a preacher, and I’m certainly not god.” he rises up out of his chair and approaches Kim. He places a hand on her shoulder. “But you risked your life to protect your nephew. In my eyes you are not a monster. You are a hero. Now I don’t know if your father really was trying to turn his life around, if he really was trying to redeem his family or not, but looking at you right now, I’d like to think that maybe YOU take a giant step in redeeming your family name.”
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
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Kimberly still finds herself distracted by forces outside of her control. For the better of the year The Woman Scorned has found herself the victim of an obsessed stalker. Many celebrity athletes should be used to this kind of treatment, obsessed fans can be a part of life if you are in the public spotlight. The other problem is that this isn’t an obsessed fan. This stalker is obsessed with doing whatever it takes to ruin Kimberly’s life. What began as a direct physical assault on Kimberly herself outside of a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee eventually expanded to attacks on her sisters; Marie Jones’s home was burned down by an arsonist and Jessica Lasiewicz’s home was broken into.
It wasn’t hard for Kimberly to figure out who this stalker was; she already had an inkling as to the stalker’s motivation. The attacks began shortly after her twin sister, Marie, initiated a very public legal defense of their uncle, Douglas Williams, who was convicted of a series of murders in Massachusetts years before they were born. Kim had discovered evidence that their uncle may not have been acting alone and Marie wanted to use the evidence in order to get his sentence reduced. Kimberly knew their uncle was a murderer, regardless of if he acted alone, and that he belonged in prison. She also knew that Marie would potentially stir up a hornet’s nest if she got involved. Kim had no idea that someone would take such great offense to Marie’s legal wranglings that they would take it upon themselves to attack them and their family. But Kim knew that is exactly what had happened. Someone wanted to stop Marie…and by extension Kim…from helping exonerate their uncle. And a little more digging helped Kim learn the identity of the stalker; a young woman named Carol Johnson, the baby sister of a woman who had been killed by Douglas Williams.
A few weeks ago Kimberly came face to face with Carol in a local cemetery in Boston. After a brief struggle, The Woman Scorned had gained possession of a knife and had the opportunity to put an end to Carol once and for all. All she had to do was drive the knife through Carol’s throat and it would have been over. But somehow, for some reason, Kimberly could not bring herself to end Carol’s life. Perhaps Kim feels pity for Carol’s family? Kim’s uncle took her sister away from her, and if Kim took Carol’s life then their mother would be left all alone without either of her daughters. Kim’s act of mercy may have just prolonged the inevitable, because Carol made it clear that she would not stop until either she or Kim was dead.
It is obviously difficult to enjoy yourself when you have that kind of dark cloud hanging over your head. The Woman Scorned has also come to have a great appreciation for her family, especially after the lives of her sisters were recently threatened by the demented Carol Johnson. This is why Kimberly is currently spending time with her twelve year old nephew, Sean Connor Jones. The twelve year old is Marie’s son. Kim is taking care of him this afternoon because Marie is busy speaking with the attorney handling their uncle Douglas’s case. Marie had been hell bent on continuing the legal defense of their case, despite the attack in Nashville and despite the arson. But when the attacks began to focus on their half-sister Jessica Lasiewicz, Kim finally managed to convince Marie to drop the case. She convinced Marie to let Douglas stay in prison. Meanwhile Kim takes care of Sean today to ensure he is safe from Carol. Plus, Kim gets to bond with her nephew.
Williams and her nephew are walking down the streets of downtown Boston. Kim is dressed in torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a black “SCW” t-shirt. Sean is wearing denim jeans, sneakers, a plain white t-shirt. Kimberly is carrying her stuffed lead weight loaded penguin Wasley with her. Sean has his hands full with a bag of goodies that he just won at the arcade. In the other hand he has a thing of cotton candy that he is munching away.
“This afternoon has been awesome!” Sean exclaims as he takes a bite of cotton candy.
“I’m glad you had fun kiddo! You really did kick some major ass in that arcade…uh, butt, I said butt, right?”
“Sure ya did, Aunt Kim.”
“That better be your story. Your mom already doesn’t trust me with you. She thinks I’m dangerous or some shit like tha…uh, crap! Yeah! Crap!”
“Well…” Sean’s voice trails off as he thinks about what his aunt just said. Kim notices his doubt and shoots him a look.
“Wait, a sec, you don’t think I’m dangerous DO YOU?”
“You did get us kicked out of the arcade, Aunt Kim.”
“Hey! It’s not my fault that stupid manager doesn’t have a sense of humor!”
“You were using Wasley to play the Whack-A-Mole Game.” Sean says, pointing to the penguin. “You destroyed the machine.”
“And I said I’d pay for it!” Kim says defensively. “Besides, those stupid moles were asking for it. Did you see how they were looking at me?!”
“Heh…” Sean chuckles softly before embracing his aunt “...I love you, Aunt Kim.”
“I love you too, kiddo.” She pats him on his head. “Now come on, there’s a drink machine up ahead. We can get some drinks before catching a taxi back home.” Sean nods his head and follows Kimberly towards the pepsi machine. She looks down at Sean. “Do you have any cash?”
“No.”
“Neither do I.” Kim shrugs and then uses Wasley, smacking him just hard enough not to damage the Pepsi Machine the way Sean accused her of damaging the Whack-A-Mole machine, but definitely hard enough to jar a drink loose and out of the machine. Kim does a pose reminiscent of Fonzie of Happy Days “Eyyyyy!”
“Eyyyy?” Sean asks curiously. Kim rolls her eyes.
“Before your time, kiddo.” She reaches inside and pulls out a Pepsi. “It’s a Pepsi, is that good?”
“Uh, I suppose it’ll do.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well it isn’t my favorite. But it’ll do…”
“Nonsense! Only the best for my nephew!” Kim smacks the machine again with Wasley, this time two drinks pop out. Kim’s face lights up. “Sweet! Two for one!” She reaches inside and produces another Pepsi and a Dr. Pepper. “Do you want a Dr. Pepper?”
“Sure!” He quickly snatches it out of Kim’s hand. Kim then turns and begins to walk away, she motions for Sean to follow her. Kim leads Sean over towards a bench on the sidewalk facing the street. Kim sits down on the bench and then Sean follows suit. “Hopefully a taxi will be along soon. I hate waiting!”
“Right. But uh, Aunt Kim, may I ask you something?”
“Sure thing, kiddo. Just don’t ask anything about algebra or calculus. I hate math.”
“Calculus?”
“Don’t ask. You’ll find out later.”
“Ok…but uh, seriously can I ask you a question?”
“Of course you can.”
“I know mom named me after my grandfather. And I know he and grandma didn’t always get along that well. Why is that?”
“Well, you can probably blame me and your mom for that.” Kim says snickering. “I mean, we didn’t exactly have the most normal of childhoods. Your grandfather and your grandmother, through no fault of their own, thought I was dead. They blamed each other for losing me so they split up. They only had your mom left in their lives. And they both wanted her to themselves. They fought bitterly over your mother.”
“But I have heard mom saying some things about him lately and I’m wondering, was my grandfather really as bad a person as mom says?”
Kimberly sighs deeply. This was a touchy subject that she really was hoping to avoid. Unfortunately kids his age are very curious and it appears that he has overheard some of what Marie has been saying about their father, Sean Williams and his potential involvement in the serial killings perpetrated by their uncle Douglas. Kimberly isn’t even used to dealing with kids of any age. Should she be direct and honest with him and tell him his grandfather was a monster like uncle Douglas? Or should she lie and let him live in blissful ignorance until he is old enough to understand?
“I don’t want to lie to you, kiddo, because quite honestly, I was lied to my entire life. And it made me into a very resentful and bitter person because of it; I don’t want to see that happen to you. So I’m not going to lie. But what you just asked is probably a question your mom can answer better than me. But I will tell you that your grandfather was a flawed man…but hell, we’re all flawed individuals. None of us are perfect. We will always make mistakes and when we do, the only thing we can do is strive to be better. I think your grandfather was trying his best to be a better man and to overcome the mistakes he may have made in life. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“I think so.” Sean says, nodding his head.
“And just remember, your grandfather was not a bad man. He made mistakes but he did try to better himself. He tried to help people by becoming a police officer, before he died he started studying law because he wanted to help people who were unjustly found guilty of crimes they didn’t commit.”
“That’s cool, I guess.”
“It is.” Kim says nodding her head. “Your grandfather…my father…was a flawed man but at the end of his life he was a good man. You understand?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Kim pats him on his head. A smile creeps across her face and a warm feeling enters her heart. She feels good. She enjoys this time she is spending with her nephew. For a long time she never would have expected herself to be a family person, yet here she is enjoying this time with her nephew. She almost wishes this feeling would never end.
Unfortunately it is at this point that the feeling ends abruptly and violently. A loud shriek is heard from behind the pair. Kim feels a rope wrapping around her throat and it squeezes, cutting off her air and oxygen. Sean screams in terror as he jumps off the bench. He sees the figure of Carol Johnson choking the life out of his aunt.
“Aunt Kim!” Hearing this distracts Carol. She releases Kim and slowly begins to stalk the twelve year old. She points an accusatory finger at him.
“I cannot let another generation of Williams live!” Before she take another step towards Sean, Kim tackles Carol to the ground. Kim looks up to see Sean running off to make sure he is safe. Carol then kicks Kim off and tackles her back to the ground. Carol mounts Kim and begins to pound away with rapid fire right hands to the forehead and face.
“I told you, Williams! I told you that this would not end until one of us is dead!” Carol continues to pound away at Kim’s face but surprisingly, Kim just starts laughing uncontrollably. Carol growls angrily. “What is so damn funny?!” She punches her again. “Why are you laughing?!”
You need to hurt me in order to move on. Hell, you probably won’t move on unless me and my sister. But me…” Kim spits up some blood as she chuckles nastily “...I have moved on. I no longer care. So go ahead, Carol. Hit me!” Carol obliges and punches Kim in the face. “Oh come on, you can do better than that!” Carol hits her again. Kim snickers. “That’s better. Not good but better.” Carol punches her again. “HARDER! HIT ME HARDER!” Kim doesn’t have to ask twice, Carol hits her again. Kim just continues laughing uncontrollably and the more she laughs the angrier Carol gets. Carol gets up off of Kim and begins shouting.
“Why are you shouting?!” Carol stomps on Kim’s gut and Kim still laughs. Carol sets up for another stomp but then from out of nowhere several police officers swarm the area and point the firearms at Carol.
“Freeze!” One of the officers shouts. “Put your hands in the air!” Carol looks at the officers surrounding her. Then she looks back down at Kim who is slowly getting back to her feet and still laughing. Carol considers her options. “Don’t do something you will regret, lady!” Ultimately Carol does put her hands in the air, surrendering to the police. The police approach and begin to take her into custody.
Meanwhile Kim has pulled herself back to her feet. Sean quickly returns to her side. “Are you ok, Aunt Kim?”
“Don’t worry about me, kiddo, I was never in any danger.”
“Are you kidding me?! She was beating you up!”
“Her?!” Kim points to Carol, who by now has been handcuffed and is being stood up by the police. “Please. I recently took a dive off of a steel cage onto a pane of glass. I think I can take whatever that crazy broad has to offer. Besides…” she walks over to the bench and picks up Wasley the penguin “...I was never in any real danger.”
“Then why didn’t you use him against her?”
“Because she was threatening you, and taking care of you is more important than anything else. Also her family has suffered too much because of violence. I don’t need to add to that count by bludgeoning her with Wasley.” Kim pats Sean on the head. “You were brave to go get the police for me, kiddo.”
“Thanks, Aunt Kim.”
“This isn’t over!” Kim and Sean turn to see Carol being shoved into the back of the police cruiser. She is shouting angrily back at Kim. “It isn’t over!”
Kimberly’s heart tells her that she did the right thing, that letting the police handle it is the moral and just thing to do. It serves as a good example to her nephew. But her mind suggests that Carol is right, that this isn’t over. Kimberly’s mind tells her that at the end of this, one of them will have to die before it truly ends.
==========
Boston, Massachusetts
Off Camera
==========
What was meant to be a nice, normal, ordinary day for Kimberly Williams turned into an absolute wreck. Although let’s face it, anytime The Woman Scorned is involved nothing is ever normal or ordinary. Kimberly did hope to spend some time bonding with her nephew, she had hoped to just enjoy herself, and most importantly, Williams had hoped that the nightmarish stalking would be over. Those hopes were all dashed when Kimberly and Sean were jumped on the street and assaulted by none other than Carol Johnson, the same obsessed stalker who had been making Kim’s life a living hell for the past few months. What is more frightening to Kimberly is the fact that Carol has slowly been escalating her attacks. It started with a targeted strike only on Kim and Marie physically, outside of a Nashville hotel. Then she burned down Marie’s home in Boston. Then she went further and attacked other members of the family, namely Kim’s half-sister Jessica Lasiewicz by breaking into her home and wrecking the place.
Kimberly, Marie, and Jessica at least can defend themselves if necessary. Carol has now taken it too far by targeting Sean, Marie’s son and Kimberly’s nephew. Kim had suspected that she would eventually take it to that level; she had secretly hoped that Carol wouldn’t go as far as to attack an innocent child but Kim is a realist and she decided to take precautions. Williams clued authorities into the fact that she would be taking her nephew out on the town and that she was afraid for his safety due to the threat Carol posed. Authorities agreed to have police follow Kimberly, just in case Carol decided to strike. Sure enough, Carol did strike. And she did threaten the safety of Kim’s nephew Sean Jones. But Kim put her own health and well being at risk to defend him. She intercepted Carol, allowing her to beat on her over and over, giving Sean time to get away and most importantly allowing the police time to arrive and take care of the situation.
She may appear to be a psychopath, she may seem to be a lunatic, but deep down in her heart and soul she loves her family. Kim would sacrifice her very life for her family and today she damn near had to; but thankfully, Carol was captured. The obsessive stalker who wanted nothing more than to ruin Kimberly’s life has been taken into custody. Unfortunately, that may not be the end of it. Carol Johnson herself had already shouted at the top of her lungs that it wasn’t over. Despite being in handcuffs and thrown into the back of a police cruiser, the somewhat demented Johnson was adamant that she would not let it end here and now. Kimberly had hoped that by doing things by the books, letting the legal system handle Carol and showing her mercy, that perhaps it would finally end.
Yet the fact that The Woman Scorned is sitting in the hallway of police headquarters outside of a detective’s office is an indication that it may not be over. Kim is still dressed in torn denim jeans, flip flops, and a black “SCW” t-shirt. Seated next to her is her nephew Sean, who is also still wearing the same attire from earlier; denim jeans, sneakers, a plain white t-shirt. Kimberly has a cup of coffee, black, in her hands. Kim and Sean, as the victims and therefore witnesses of this attack, were brought in to give statements to the detectives. After all, they were just attacked by a woman who clearly wanted to do them physical harm, maybe even kill them.
Murder isn’t unusual to Kimberly Williams. It is a tactic she has used before in order to deal with problems. Usually she is good at hiding the evidence of her crimes. Weeks ago she had the opportunity to put an end to Carol Johnson. She had a knife in hand and a prone Carol in a local cemetery; she could have cut her throat right there. But Kimberly decided to show mercy. In Kim’s mind, murder started all of this when her uncle murdered Carol’s older sister, sending Carol spiraling into a quest for revenge. Would murder really solve the problem? Would ending Carol’s life really finish things? Murder is normal for Kim. Mercy, on the other hand, this is a new thing for The Woman Scorned. She isn’t used to showing mercy. And it scares her to death.
“Kim!” Williams and Sean both look up. It is almost like seeing yourself in the mirror, for Kim’s identical twin sister and Sean’s mother, Marie Jones, comes rushing over. Marie is dressed in a red blouse, black knee length skirt, and black patent leather high heel pumps.
“Mom!” Sean jumps up and runs over to greet his mom. The two embrace in a tight hug. Marie kisses him on his forehead.
“Are you ok, Sean? Did you get hurt?”
“No.” He points to Kim who has now risen up to her feet. “Aunt Kim saved me.”
“Oh Kim!” Marie exclaims as she turns to her twin sister. The sisters embrace in a tight hug and both begin to cry. “Thank you so much! Thank you for saving him! You have no idea how much this means to me!”
“Don’t mention it.” Kim says with a smirk on her face. “Seriously, don’t mention it. I don’t want anyone to realize I actually have the feelings of a normal, sane individual. It would totally ruin my reputation as a psychopath.”
“But after what I’ve done to you…” Marie’s voice trails off. Kim sighs.
“Marie, I love your son. He is my nephew, after all. He is my family. Just like you are my family. Regardless of any past differences we have had, I would still do anything to help my family.”
“Thank you.” Kimberly sits back down. Marie sits down next to her and Sean leaps over in between them. “So what happened?”
“I had just taken him out to an arcade.” Kim smiles sheepishly. “And Wasley may have broken a Whack-A-Mole machine.”
“Wasley…your boyfriend or the penguin?”
“Yes.” Kim says, nodding her head. Marie sighs and rolls her eyes.
“Look, just fast forward to when you two were assaulted.”
“The juicy details then! Well, we were waiting for taxi when a rope was wrapped around my neck. That nutjob Carol was trying to choke me out. Then she went after Sean. But I tackled her to the ground. Carol gained the upper hand and proceeded to kick the ever living crap outta me.” She motions to the bruises and blood stains on her face. “See?”
“Yeah…” Marie cringes “...damn, that was rough.”
“I know, right? I coulda washed up, I suppose, but you know what they say on those True Crime shows, you never want to tamper with a crime scene.” She motions to her face. “I think my face qualifies as a crime scene!”
“This doesn’t make sense.” Marie says, shaking her head.
“What doesn’t make sense? She punched my face until it looked like ground beef. I think that qualifies as a crime.”
“No, what doesn’t make sense is you.” Marie points a finger at Kim. “You are a highly skilled fighter. Hell, you are better than either me or Jessica.”
“Really?” Kim smirks. “You both have won world titles in other companies. I haven’t won any world title anywhere.”
“That’s because you haven’t had a fair one on one shot. So why does some untrained nutcase get the better of you?”
“Uh, I dunno.” Kim shrugs her shoulders. “She got lucky?”
“No way. Not THAT lucky. You were showing her mercy, weren’t you?”
“Hush!” Kim says while holding a finger over her lips. “What did I say about ruining my reputation?”
“There’s nothing wrong with that, Kim. In fact, I’m proud of you for showing restraint.”
“You are?”
“Yes.” Marie nods her head. “Going through the legal system is the best way to handle this. You were right all along, this woman has been stalking us and harassing us since Nashville months ago.”
But now the police have her in custody and it is over. We can move on with our lives.”
“I wish I could believe you.”
“What do you mean? The police have her, Kim. They have her dead to rights. She’s going to prison.”
“But for how long? Sure, she already has a record so maybe she will spend some extra time in prison due to that bit alone. But she just assaulted me, that’s all she did.”
“And she burned down my house…and she broke into Jessica’s house and wrecked the place.”
“But can they connect all of those incidents?” Kim asks. “Can they prove that the person who attacked us in Nashville, the person who burned down your house, the person who broke into Jessica’s house, and the person who attacked me today are all the same person? Even IF they can prove that, which is a difficult task, then at most she may get ten years, maybe fifteen? Twenty if we’re lucky. But then we have to worry about the possibility of parole. If she behaves herself and is a good little girl then she may get out early. And she’ll pick up right where she started.”
“You worry too much, Kim.” Marie remarks. “Maybe she could get out early if she is a model prisoner. But you saw how crazy she is; do you really think she could fake it for that long in order to get an early release?”
“I do…” Kim’s voice trails off. She laughs softly. She looks down at Sean. “Hey kiddo, why don’t you go get Aunt Kim another cup of the black stuff?”
“Coffee?”
“You got it.”
“Sure!” Sean gets up and walks off. Kim then turns her attention back to Marie once she is certain Sean is out of sight.
“Just because someone is crazy doesn’t mean they aren’t cunning. People say I’m crazy. But for a long time I had the world convinced that I was dead. Meanwhile you were locked away in my basement, as my prisoner, whilst I replaced you in your life. Do you remember that?” Kim asks. Marie quietly nods her head. It was a painful memory, and it was the event that got Kimberly locked up for a time in a mental hospital when Marie was ultimately rescued. “If I can pull off that kind of act, then I think crazy Carol can easily pretend to be a sane human being for a few years, long enough to earn an early release.”
Kim and Marie stare at one another for a few tense moments. Sean then returns, walking back towards them with a cup of coffee in hand. Before he can hand it off to Kim a door opens and an older man in a black suit, a detective, steps out and turns to face them.
“Ms. Williams?” He asks for Kim. She nods her head. “Would you mind stepping into my office please?”
“Sure thing, Columbo!” Kim gives a playful salute as she stands up. She looks at Sean still holding the cup of coffee. “Give that to your mom, I think she may need it more than me.” Kim turns and walks away from the pair and towards the detective. Kim follows the detective into his office. He shuts the door behind him.
“Have a seat, Ms. Williams.” He motions to a chair. Kim sits down in the comfy black chair. The detective goes to his desk and sits down. “My name is…”
“Columbo!”
“Not Columbo.” He chuckles softly. “Though I did love the show.”
“Oh darn! I was hoping for Columbo. Does Andy Griffith work here at least?”
“Sorry, wrong state.” He chuckles. “My name is Detective Smith. I read over the statement you gave to the police that were on the scene…”
“I hope I was graphic enough! I even left my face the exact same way Carol had left it! Don’t wanna mess up any evidence!”
“I appreciate that…I think…” the older detective sighs “...but yes, I did read your statement, and it matches up completely with the confession Ms. Johnson had made earlier. I was actually surprised that she confessed so quickly and so easily. But what surprised me most is how proud she sounded. She seemed proud of what she had done to you….and your sisters.”
“Wait…” now it is Kim’s turn to look surprised. “...she told you everything?”
“Ms. Williams, our department has been following your case for quite some time. Ever since the arson investigation into your sister’s house being burned down, actually. We learned that you two were attacked earlier by someone in Nashville. We had suspected from that moment that perhaps you were the victims of the same person and not two different people. Then when we investigated your other sister’s home getting broke into and vandalized, we again kept your case in the back of our mind. My department did not think it was a coincidence. Ms. Johnson confirmed our theory by confessing to all of them.”
“So you already cracked the case?” Kim grins from ear to ear. “You’re better than Columbo and Andy Griffith put together! But uh, if you already have this figured out, why do you need me?”
“What I do not understand yet is the motivation.” He looks straight into Kim’s eyes. “In fact, she told me to ask you about her motivation.”
The grin that Kimberly Williams had been sporting immediately goes away. This was not a topic she had wanted to discuss. She had hoped to move on from her tumultuous past. But Carol’s one last ditch gambit is to force Kimberly to admit to her own family’s crimes and horrid past. Kim knows that she is a good liar. She was trained well in the art of lying and knows she could easily lie to this detective’s face and he would believe her. But Kim decides once again to go against her nature. She decides to open up and tell the truth.
“Look detective, I’m gonna be totally honest with you.” She studies him closely. “You look like you’ve been here awhile. Are you near retirement age?”
“Pretty close. As you can tell by my silver hair, I have indeed been around the block quite a few times.”
“Then maybe you would remember my last name.”
“Williams?” He shrugs his shoulders. “I can’t say that I do. Then again, Williams is a rather common last name.”
“What about Douglas Williams?” Kim asks. This name immediately causes the detective to sit up straight in his chair.
“Douglas Williams? My God, I helped investigate those killings. “Are you his…”
“...his niece, detective.” Kim says, finishing his thoughts for him. “I’m his niece. My dad was Sean Williams.”
“Damn.” He shakes his head. “You know, I was convinced your father was involved but I couldn’t prove it. And when your uncle confessed to everything, well the district attorney’s office refused to let us go any further at that point.” He sighs. “I apologize, I shouldn’t be letting my emotions get to me like that. It’s unprofessional.”
“It’s ok. I mean, I get it. I know my uncle was a monster and quite honestly, I believe you, I think my dad was involved. But what I do know is that my dad felt guilty about his involvement. He worked hard to turn his life around and try to make up for his crimes in some way.”
“He should’ve turned himself in.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not perfect. But he did try.”
“Carol Johnson…now I know!” He snaps his fingers. “Her sister was one of the victims! That’s why she was stalking you?”
“That’s right. When my sister got wind of the fact that my uncle may not have been involved in the whole series of murders, she decided to fund a legal defense on his behalf, to get our uncle’s sentence reduced. I warned her that she would be stirring up a hornet’s nest but she didn’t care. Sure enough, someone noticed; namely, Carol. Carol just couldn’t accept that there was a chance her sister’s killer would get time taken off of his sentence. So she decided to exact revenge the only way she knew how.”
“It certainly makes sense.” Detective Smith sighs. “Unfortunately your testimony probably won’t be enough. I probably need to hear that motivation come from Ms. Johnson herself.”
“She’ll admit it.” Kim says. “Trust me.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Just trust me, she will admit it. She didn’t say anything to you because she wanted to force me to admit that my father and my uncle were monsters. And that I, by association, am also a monster.”
“Well I’m not a philosopher or a preacher, and I’m certainly not god.” he rises up out of his chair and approaches Kim. He places a hand on her shoulder. “But you risked your life to protect your nephew. In my eyes you are not a monster. You are a hero. Now I don’t know if your father really was trying to turn his life around, if he really was trying to redeem his family or not, but looking at you right now, I’d like to think that maybe YOU take a giant step in redeeming your family name.”