Is He Dead? Page 12

  After dropping off Robert at home, Melissa drove up to the takeout window at Hardee’s restaurant, where Amanda was working as a cashier.

  “May I take your order please?” Amanda asked over the intercom.

  “Hey, honey, it’s Mom.”

  “Hey Mom.”

  “Your brother is acting very strange today. I think you need to check on him.”

  Yes ma’am. I get off in ten minutes. I’ll go straight home.”

  Meanwhile, Robert continued to work on a way to avoid the impending confrontation with his stepdad.

  “I have to do this!” Robert said out loud, as he winced in pain and pushed the blade deeper into his skin. The pain was too intense, so he stopped. He watched the blood slowly trickle down from his wrist on to the toilet seat. Robert picked the razor and again pressed the edge into his skin. He didn’t place it along the same cut, because it hurt too much. As he pressed the razor deeper into his skin, the blood began dripping at a faster pace from his wrist.

  At this point, Amanda entered the front door and called him, “Robert, Robert!” She burst open the bathroom door and screamed when she saw the blood. “Robert, what are you doing?” Robert dropped the razor onto the floor and put his head into his lap.

  “Amanda, leave me alone. I have to do this!” His voice was muffled and faint.

  “No, you don’t, Robert. Why?”

  Robert looked up at her, his eyes red and swollen from crying.

  “I have two F’s on my report card. You remember what happened last time. Dad is going to kill me, so let me die my way.”

  “No! No! Damn it!” You are not going to die, I told you one day all this shit will be over, Robert!”

  “How? What are we going to do? Kill him first?” Robert was distraught and had totally given up.

  Amanda sat on the bathroom floor, looking lovingly up at Robert.

  “Maybe. Why not? We could do it. We just have to make it look like self-defense that’s all.”

  Robert looked at Amanda like she was crazy. “How would we do it?” he asked, hoping she was telling the truth.

  “We’ll shoot him, that’s what we’ll do!” Amanda exclaimed.

  Robert laughed at the thought. “We don’t even have a gun,” he said.

  “Let’s get this mess cleaned up before Tom gets home. Don’t show him your report card. I’ll sign it for you,” Amanda said.

  “Let’s go over to Kelly’s house and watch some TV,” Amanda whispered.

  “How am I going to explain these cuts to Dad?” Robert asked.

  “Hell I don’t know. Wear a long-sleeved shirt. If he sees your wrist, tell him you tried to kill yourself but changed your mind.”

  When Amanda cranked up her Z-28 she accelerated several times creating a small cloud of smoke behind the car. She put it in drive and left rubber marks on the pavement. They drove through town to a large subdivision near the county line where her friend Kelly lived.

  They were sitting in Kelly’s house watching “An Officer and a Gentleman” starring Richard Gere and Debra Winger. In the last scene, Richard Gere walks into a factory and lifts up his girlfriend and carries her away. Amanda was teary-eyed and Robert made fun of her. Amanda suddenly realized the time.

  “Oh shit. It’s 10 o’clock. We’re dead meat! Let’s go!” Amanda yelled.” Amanda and Robert jumped into the car and sped off.

  On the way home, Amanda laid out to Robert her master plan as to what they should tell Tom.

  “Okay, Robert. Let’s get our stories straight. We were watching the movie and lost track of time, right? As soon as we realized what time it was, we rushed home. Okay, don’t change it!”

  As they pulled into the parking lot, Tom was standing outside the front door. Their hearts sank.

  “Oh shit! Robert, you go straight past him and I will deal with him,” Amanda said protectively. Amanda walked up to Tom with Robert behind her.

  “What’s up Dad?”

  “Where the hell have you been? Do you know what time it is?” “Yes sir!” Amanda replied.

  Robert slipped past Tom and went inside. Melissa was sleeping on the sofa. Next to her on the side table was a bottle of valium and a glass of water.

  Tom ordered Amanda inside and said, “I know what you’ve been doing. You’ve been out screwing,” he yelled.

  “No sir. We was at Kelly’s house in BVL,” Amanda replied.

  Tom grabbed Amanda by the hand and led her into the bathroom. “Pull down your pants!” He ordered.

  Amanda unbuckled her belt and zipped down her pants.

  “Take them off!”

  Amanda pulled her pants down and stepped out of them. She left her panties on.

  “Everything!" Tom said.

  She took off her panties and tossed them on the sink. Tom ordered her to put down the toilet seat and sit down.

  “Spread your legs. I told you I was going to inspect you from now on, didn’t I?”

  Amanda looked at him innocently. “Yes sir, but I didn’t do anything.” Tom inserted his finger into Amanda’s vagina to see if she was wet. “Okay, you passed the test. Now get dressed.”

  Tom walked out of the bathroom, picked up Melissa from the sofa and carried her to bed.

  He went into the kitchen and made himself a drink then entered the living room. He sat down and called Robert and Amanda to come in there with him. They walked in and sat down next to each other.

  “Where the hell were you two tonight? And don’t lie to me, Tom demanded.

  Robert responded first. “We was at Kelly’s house watching “An Officer and a Gentleman.”

  “That’s right!” Amanda said.

  Tom had a glass in his hand about half-full of Jack Daniels whiskey. He took a sip and turned towards Robert.

  “Tell me the truth, boy!”

  Tom slammed his drink on to the coffee table. Robert and Amanda both said in tandem, “We were at Kelly’s house.”

  Tom got up from his recliner and walked into the kitchen.

  “Call Kelly, if you don’t believe us!” Amanda was terrified at the thought of what Tom’s next move might be.

  Tom opened a utility drawer and removed a pair of pliers. He walked back into the living room and sat down. He drank the last half of his drink and belched out loud. Amanda and Robert sat there staring at him. Tom stood and walked up to Robert. He took the pliers and squeezed them shut on to a lock of Robert’s hair.

  “You fucking liar!” He jerked his hand and pliers away from Robert’s head. Robert shrieked out in pain.

  “You motherfucker!” Robert blurted out. Tom took the back of his hand and slapped Robert’s face. Amanda sat there quietly.

  “You called me a motherfucker! I’ll kill you, you little bastard! I’m your damn father!” Tom was beet-red and out of control once again.

  Robert became defiant, “You ain’t my dad. My dad lives in Tennessee.”

  “Yeah right! The Dad who loved you so much he gave you up for adoption. You can pack up your shit tonight and go back to that cocksucker!” Tom snarled.

  He pushed Robert on to the floor and straddled him. Robert attempted to push him off, and in the process managed to expose his wrist cuts. Tom grabbed his wrist and yelled. “What the hell is this? What did you do? You are one fucked-up kid. What did you do, try to kill yourself? You want to die?”

  Tom began strangling Robert. Amanda jumped on to Tom’s back and tried to pull him off. She pulled his hair and bit him on the shoulder. Tom balled up his fist and struck Amanda in her jaw. She dropped on to the floor and laid there unconscious.

  Robert yelled, “You killed her!”

  Tom interrupted his assault on Robert to turn his attention to Amanda. He lifted her head up to his knees and shook her in an attempt to wake her. Tom opened her eyelids and saw that her pupils were rolled back. He shook her again and she came to.

  “Go to bed Robert!’ He put the pliers down on the carpet. A clump of Robert’s hair was still attached.

 
The next morning Robert didn’t go to school and Amanda didn’t go to work. As a matter of fact, Robert missed the next three days and Amanda was fired from Hardee’s for being a no-call and no-show.

  Forty-Two

  Robert was in his bedroom watching television and Amanda had just returned from Burger King. She was munching on a chicken sandwich. The front door opened. It was Tom. “Hey, I’m home,” he announced.

  Amanda had eaten half the sandwich and was about to eat the rest, when she heard Tom say, “Let’s go out to dinner!”

  “Oh my God!” Amanda thought. She knew Tom would explode if he knew she had eaten already.

  “Let’s go out to eat,” Tom said again. She quickly wrapped up the sandwich and put it into the garbage can. Melissa said she was hungry.

  “Me too!” Amanda and Robert said in unison.

  Tom had a beer can in his hand and was headed for the trash can to discard it. He popped open the lid and dropped the can inside and just stood there. He looked around the room and noticed Amanda was very nervous. Tom scratched his head, and then re-opened the trash can. He reached in and removed the sandwich.

  “Is this your sandwich, Amanda?” Tom asked accusingly. Amanda responded with a shaky, “Yes sir, it’s mine, but I didn’t eat it all.”

  “Damn it!” Tom yelled. He walked over to Amanda and threw the sandwich in her face. The mayonnaise and lettuce stuck to her hair.

  “Every fucking time I want this family to eat together, you go and screw it up!” he screamed. Out of the blue, Tom swung and backhanded Amanda in the face. Robert yelled for him to stop and Tom grabbed Robert by his throat and told him to shut his mouth. At that point Robert walked out of the kitchen.

  “Why is it that nobody in this family gets it? You know damn well we are going to eat at night and we always eat together. Why can’t you have enough respect for your family to not go out and buy a damn hamburger before we eat?” Tom was screaming at the top of his lungs. “You just get the hell out of my house and don’t come back!” Tom yelled.

  Amanda looked at Tom and said, “I think Mom has something to tell you about the insurance!” Melissa looked at Amanda and asked, “Why did you say that?” Melissa looked at Tom and began apologizing.

  “I‘m sorry, Tom. I swear I didn’t mean to.”

  “Mean to what?” Tom asked.

  “Well, I got a notice in the mail yesterday that if I didn’t pay the insurance it was going to be cancelled. I didn’t want you to be mad at me, so I paid the insurance from the Sun bank account. Then I went to NCNB and got me a cash advance on the Visa card. I took that money and put it back in the Sun Bank account. I didn’t want you to get mad at me.”

  Tom stared at Melissa for a minute, then bent over and picked up a five pound dumbbell from the floor and threw it at her. It missed Melissa by a few inches and struck the sofa. Melissa fell back and her right arm went between the sofa cushions and the left arm of the sofa. The springs tore into her skin, causing a laceration the length of her forearm. Melissa yelped in pain. Tom walked over to her menacingly.

  “You fucking liar. After all these years, I still can’t trust you!” He grabbed Melissa’s hair and pulled her to the floor. Melissa relaxed her body and lay motionless on the floor. Tom became even more aggravated and kicked her in the stomach yelling, “You and your filthy daughter can get the fuck out of my house!”

  Melissa stood up, but she couldn’t stand straight due to the pain in her stomach. Amanda grabbed her mother’s hand and said, “Come on Mom.” Melissa picked up her purse and they headed for the door. Tom yelled for them to stop. You ain’t going nowhere with my money and credit cards. Take them out right now and put them right here,” he pointed to the coffee table. Melissa turned her purse upside down and dumped the entire contents on the coffee table. Then she just dropped her purse. Her arm was still bleeding. Amanda grabbed her hand again and motioned for her to leave.

  They walked outside and Melissa told Amanda she had a friend at work called Ann who was leaving to New York tomorrow. She told Amanda that she thought maybe they could ride with her and get away from here. “She just lives around the corner,” Melissa said.

  “Mom, your arm is bleeding pretty badly. I’ll put something on it at Ann’s house,” she replied.

  Melissa and Amanda walked up to the door and before Melissa had a chance to knock, Tom drove up in his truck. He yelled out of the passenger window for them to get into the truck.

  “Maybe he’s over it,” Melissa said to Amanda. “Come on let’s go.”

  Melissa jumped into the truck and scooted next to Tom. Amanda sat next to the door. Tom backed up on Ann’s grass and turned around. He accelerated the truck, causing the tires to spin out digging a rut in her yard. He drove past the street that would have taken them home.

  “Where are we going?” Amanda asked anxiously.

  “I am just tired of the two of you liars. You don’t have any respect for our money. I have been thinking about this for a long time and I think the timing is right now.”

  “What? What is right?” Melissa’s body shook with fear.” Tom looked at Melissa and with a stone-cold face replied, “I am going to kill ya both. I’m doing it tonight! This is your last day on this earth.”

  Melissa started crying and yelling at him to stop saying that. Amanda opened the truck door with the intention of jumping out, but Tom was going too fast for her to risk it.

  Melissa again asked Tom where he was going and he told her he was taking them to the woods where he could cut their heads off and throw them into a creek. He drove down Bermuda Ave. and had stopped at a red light at the intersection of Bermuda and Broadway. While the truck was stopped, a police car pulled up next to the passenger side of the truck. Amanda turned her head and looked out of the window. The policeman looked over at her and smiled. She nodded her head at him and turned her eyes toward Tom, trying to get the policeman’s attention without alarming Tom. The light turned green and Tom accelerated slowly from the intersection. The policeman stayed with him for almost a mile.

  Tom told Amanda, “You try to get his attention again, and I will kill your fucking momma right now in the truck.” He pulled his buck knife from the sheath and placed it next to Melissa’s abdomen. Amanda just looked out the window as the police turned away.

  Tom drove six miles to a community in the southern part of the County. It had been all swamp before it was developed. The community itself was in the boondocks. Tom turned off the main road just before reaching a long bridge. He drove for two or three more miles back into the woods and stopped at an opening a few feet from a creek. The moon hovered above, cascading streaks of dull light through the canopy of cypress trees. The murky creek water trickled southward with a blanket of rotting leaves and moss. The large cypress trees towered like skyscrapers above the shallow creek bed. Closer to the water line, large, ghost-like cypress knots extended from the ground. Just as Tom shut off the motor, there was a loud splash in the water. A six or seven foot long alligator whipped his tail across the surface.

  He ordered both Amanda and Melissa out of the truck. He pointed to a grassy area next to the water and demanded,

  “You stand right there and don’t move!”

  “What about alligators?” Melissa asked.

  Tom opened a tool box that was mounted on the back bed of his truck and removed a large machete. “It’s not going to matter in a few minutes,” he said coldly as he removed a machete from its canvas cover and walked over to Amanda and Melissa.

  Melissa began begging, “Oh no. Oh God, no, Tom, no!” Amanda joined in her mother’s pleas, her voice breaking with fear and dread. “Please don’t kill us, Tom. Please, I won’t eat no more before we all eat.”

  “Get down on your damn knees and bend over!”

  Melissa knelt down and began praying out loud, “Our Father, who art in Heaven!”

  Amanda was hysterical, “Help us, somebody help us!” she cried desperately. Tom took his foot and kicked Amanda off her k
nees and over on to her side, “Shut the fuck up!” Melissa instantly stopped praying out loud.

  “Now go next to your Momma. Who wants to go first?”

  Melissa was coughing and weeping uncontrollably. She put her arms around Amanda and said. “I’m sorry honey, I’m so sorry.”

  She suddenly pushed Amanda away and said to Tom. “Kill me first!” Melissa bent over and extended her neck. Amanda screamed and put her arms around her mother, “NO!”

  Tom pushed her away once again with his foot. Amanda put her head between her legs crying and pleading for Tom to stop.

  Tom raised the machete above his head and held it there for a moment.

  “Are you ready to die?”

  Melissa started praying again. Tom grunted, and then swung the machete downwards. Melissa braced herself for the blow to her neck. Tom swung past her and drove the blade into the ground. Amanda shrieked, not sure if she was alive or dead. Tom bent over and grabbed Melissa by her hair and stood her up in front of him. He picked the machete up from the ground and threw it into the creek. He pulled Melissa towards him forcing her to hug him and said, “Listen, you have to start being responsible, Missy. Hey, I am not going to kill you guys. Hell, I love both of you!”

  Amanda was on the ground, stunned and in shock. Her mascara was smeared all over her face and she had dirt in her hair. Her eyes were red and engorged from crying for so long and so hard. Tom looked at her and asked. “What is that on your face? Are you wearing make-up?”

  Melissa interrupted and said. “That’s enough Tom!”