“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”
Psalms 23:4
Walters and Conner sat in full attention, but Pearl stopped speaking and seemed to drift to another world. Indeed, she was in another world-- a world far from the present. She was back in her childhood home. Lying in her bed staring at the large orange and yellow flowers on her ceiling, hoping the hurt would end, hoping her mother wouldn’t find out, hoping that she did not cry too loudly. She sat immobile, in that room, hoping. Lifting her tired fragile, young body out of bed, she listened to the voices that cried to her on these nights—the nights that seemed to be more frequent the older she grew. She was now seven, but these voices she had heard since she was only five. That specific night, they were louder than ever before as she emerged from her bedroom and walked down the narrow hallway toward the formal living room.
As Pearl drew closer to the living room, she heard the voices more prevalently- now accompanied by the sound of the train,. A smile formed on her face. She turned the corner and in the dark, quiet room, circling the outer wall, she saw a train with children of every age sitting on top, with dolls stuffed through the windows, and music, there was loud wonderful music that resounded as a carousel. One of the voices captivated her and beckoned her aboard. She climbed on top of one of the cars as she had many nights before and enjoyed her circles around the living room.
Her train was only hers, the laughing was only for her, and the music was also hers alone. The train looped the room for what seemed like hours, but when the sun rose the next morning,
“Ms. Mackinac. Ms. Mackinac, are you all right?” Walters asked softly as she gently touched her hand on the table in front of them.
“Oh, oh my, I am terribly sorry. I must have slipped into thought. I am sorry, please excuse me.”
“That’s quite all right Pearl.” Conner retorted, “But, where did you go” What took you so deeply into thought?”
“Well…hmmm, that’s kind of a long story in itself. I guess all this talk about my nieces and my sisters-in-law have caused me to revisit my youth. And, sometimes when I visit, I stay too long.” A tear welled in Pearl’s left eye, and she hung her head sensing that the detectives had seen her thoughts and her hurt. She averted her eyes as if she were ashamed.
“Well, I guess we should ask you a few questions now… that is if it is all right to change the subject for a moment,” Conner stated.
“Yes, that’s fine,” she replied, wiping a tear from her face and inhaling deeply.
“Ms. Mackinac, you said your sister-in-law saw you last night on their street.
“Actually, I never said I visited him at all. I did; however, say that his wife said that she had seen me on their street.”
“Pardon me. I guess I got ahead of myself.”
“Not a problem. I just don’t want you to put ideas in the air that don’t need to be there. If those ideas are there, people who do not need to be hurt will be hurt.”
“Okay, so did you go to
“Actually, yes, I went to Little Rock last night and yes, I did drive down to Cavanaugh.” “Well, imagine that.” Walters chimed in, “So, did you visit him?”
“How about some more coffee? There’s plenty. Or, would you like something else?”
“Ms. Mackinac, why don’t you answer the question?”
“Officer Walters, I visit my brother every day.”
“Wait a minute. I am a little confused. You visit him every day, but you live an hour and a half apart, and you work here in town.”
“Yes, and until about six months ago, I worked in Batesville and he lived in our hometown of
“Okay, so you are saying that you two have seen each other every day for your entire lives.”
“I am saying this; every day my memory of my brother haunts me. Conversely, his memory of what he did to me, to his wives, to his daughters, to our brother, this memory haunts him as well. I see him every day, and he sees me every day. He sees me as a little girl who used to live in the bedroom at the end of the hall. The young woman who he bought nice gifts for, so she wouldn’t tell mommy what was going on. The woman he lost when she found a man who showed her what real love was and introduced her to herself and all of the wonderful qualities she possessed.”
“So, you didn’t stop at his house last night when you drove down to the city?”
“Again, would you like some tea, coffee, water?”
“No, Ms. Mackinac, I want some answers to my questions. We have been here nearly two hours, and you have avoided answering questions and have told stories about your dying brother.”
“Dying?”
“Yes, he’s very critical. I am sorry, but your brother has had a terrible accident. We are asking questions, because you may have been the last person to see him, and we need some answers to some questionable activity.”
“You are serious… My brother is in danger. He’s not gone though right? Where is he? Is he in the hospital? Oh my; that must be what mother was so upset about. I have to call my parents. Please excuse me.”
“Of Course; we’ll just wait in the living room if you don’t mind.” said Conner.
Walters asked, “Do you mind if I use your restroom?”
“No, that’s fine. Make yourself at home. It’s down the hall to the right… second door. Please, I am so sorry, excuse me.”
Detective Conner walked into the living room and milled through the magazines on the table. Walters adjourned to the rest room and Pearl, hands shaking, took the cell phone to her bedroom.
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