Page 17 of Little Hidden Fears

“When I first got here, you didn’t want to talk,” I said. “Now it seems you do, and while I appreciate it, I guess I’m questioning why you changed your mind?”

“Let’s just say I had a change of heart.”

A change of heart.

Even if he’d indulged in a fair amount of liquid courage, it worried me and didn’t make sense. Something was off. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

“I want to keep going,” I said. “I’ve learned so much about Noelle from our conversation today. But I also know the toll it must be taking on you.”

He waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about me. All I ask is one thing—get all your questions out, right here, right now. Deal?”

“Deal.”

I’d been mulling a few over during our break.

“What happened after Noelle told the police about Gabe?” I asked.

“He was arrested and convicted of the crimes he’d committed against her. I should also tell you that during the trial another teen came forward, a girl he’d dated the year before. He’d assaulted her once, slapped her across the face, but she wasn’t raped.”

“Did the girl say what happened?”

“Same reason. He was pressuring her for sex.”

And yet, he hadn’t forced himself on her the way he had with Noelle, which told me his violent temper had escalated from one woman to the next.

“What sentence did Gabe receive at trial?” I asked.

Dominic yawned, covering his mouth as he said, “He was supposed to be locked up for eight years, but he was out in six—good behavior and all that bull crap. No idea what happened to him after he was released. Haven’t seen him since he got out.”

“Did Gabe ever try to contact Noelle?”

“Not in person. He wrote her a letter while he was in prison, though. It was full of apologies, telling her he still loved her, and he was committed to getting the therapy he needed so he wouldn’t ever do what he did to her to another woman again. I thought it was nonsense, that he’d sent the letter to make himself look apologetic so he could convince everyone he’d changed. Guys like Gabe, they don’t change.”

“What did he have to say for himself at the trial?”

“I expected him to come in all full of himself, denying what he’d done. He surprised me when he did the opposite. He admitted it, all of it, and said he regretted the assault and the rape. He acted like he didn’t know what came over him, like he’d been possessed or something.”

“Was he going for an insanity plea?”

“You’d think so, but he said he wanted to be locked up for what he’d done. He also said being behind bars would give him the opportunity to change his ways and not hurt anyone else.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Was it a ploy to get a reduced sentence?

If so, it had worked.

I wondered where Gabe was now, and what he’d done with his life after getting out of prison. I made a mental note to find him and see what he was up to nowadays. And I wanted to verify he had no involvement in Noelle’s murder.

“I appreciate you sharing Noelle’s story with me,” I said. “Do the police know about it?”

“I thought about telling them—” he shrugged, “—but in a way, it felt like I’d be betraying her if I did. Feels like I’m betraying her now, telling you.”

“If it helps me to find out who killed her and why, it will all be worth it.”

“Yeah, well ... I’m assuming we’re done, with that subject, anyway. What other questions do you have?”

I considered what I hadn’t asked yet.

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