Page 5 of Justice for Aleta

The girl made a face. “She’s not here today. It’s her day off. Why, you got a dirty dish?”

“No. I just think I might know her, that’s all. Do you know her name?”

“Yeah. We call her Gimpy behind her back, but her name’s Alice or Aleve or something like that.” The girl’s scorn for the woman filled the space where Jack sat, and his skin crawled.

“Maybe Aleta?”

“Yeah! That’s it!”

Jack couldn’t believe it. What was she doing there? Her people all lived in the eastern end of the state, and her husband had been a pastor in the western part. So why would she stay in Elizabethtown? “When does she work again?”

“I dunno. Whenever she’s scheduled, I reckon,” the girl answered and walked away.

Well, shit. I can’t come back every damn day and hope I see her.Still, Jack wanted to see her, to tell her who he was and how sorry he was about what had happened. He’d never done that with another accident victim, but he wanted to do it with her. The pictures in his mind of her husband and son, their bodies broken and bloodied, haunted him from time to time, and he didn’t think he’d ever forget them.

His phone rang, and he thought he recognized the number, but he didn’t answer it. Sure enough, they left a message: The gunsmith in Needmore, telling him his old shotgun was repaired. It had belonged to his great-grandfather, and his dad had let it go to pot. Jack wanted it to look great again. Amos had its twin, their great-grandfather’s twin brother’s shotgun, and it was in just as shitty shape as Jack’s had been. Instead of going home, he decided he’d just go on to Needmore and pick it up.

He glided onto the parkway in his Camaro and headed toward the little town southeast of Bardstown. The first Bardstown exit disappeared in his rear view mirror, and he rolled on down the road. That was when he spotted it.

The site of the accident. Every time he’d been through there, he’d noticed the little crosses and flowers placed on the side of the road, as close to the rock formations as one could get, and he figured some of the family had put them there, although he hadn’t known who. As he drew closer, he saw a car, and he decided he’d better stop and remind them that the shoulders of the highway weren’t safe, and that they shouldn’t spend long there.

He pulled up behind the car, but he didn’t see anyone, and all his trooper instincts kicked in. He was wearing his ankle holster, so he had a weapon if he needed it, plus his Kimber .380 in his glove box. Glancing around, he opened the door slowly and unfolded his six feet and three inch frame from the short car. That was when he spotted her.

Leaning down from the waist and teetering, AletaCulp stood by the little crosses, gently fingering the fake blooms there, straightening them and adding to them. As he watched, she kissed her fingers and touched one cross, then moved on to the other one and did the same, fussing with the flowers and a bow there. He assumed she’d heard his car pull up, but when she straightened and turned, she let out a scream. “Oh my gosh!”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you okay?” Jack asked, watching the color come back to her face. Her jaw dropped and her eyes flew open wide, her eyebrows disappearing into the dark hair at her hairline. She only said three words, whispered and reverent.

“You’re the angel.”

Jack could feel his face heating up, and he knew it had to be as red as blood. “Oh, no, ma’am. I’m no angel. I’m a Kentucky State Trooper, and I just wanted to stop and?”

“You were here. I know you were here. I’d never, never forget your face. You were right here that day. Oh, I’ve wanted to see you so many times, to talk to you and thank you!”

The woman had started to cry, and Jack decided he probably shouldn’t have stopped. Maybe it was too much for her. Maybe he’d stirred up too many horrible, painful memories. When he realized it was her, he should’ve gotten back in his car and driven away. “No thanks necessary, ma’am. I was just doing my job.”

“You don’t understand! I’ve needed to talk to you for a while now, but I didn’t know who you were. I asked some of the police officers who come into the restaurant if they knew you, but I didn’t know your name, so they couldn’t figure out who I was talking about. I thought you were a sheriff’s deputy. It never occurred to me that you were a state trooper.” Jack hadn’t realized he’d been backing away slowly, but the woman cried out, “Oh, please, no! Please don’t leave! I need to talk to you, please!”

What the hell have I done?Jack wanted to yell and beat himself. The poor woman had been hurt enough. He shouldn’t hurt her any more. “Ma’am, I?”

“Oh, please, now that I’ve found you, don’t deny me that. Please? I’m begging you, please don’t. I really need to talk to you, sir.”

Without thinking, he stuttered, “M-m-m-my name is Jack.”

She quieted instantly. “Jack. That’s a strong name. Jack, I’m Aleta. AletaCulp.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Those eyes were so lost and in so much pain that he couldn’t look away. “I talked to you in the hospital right after you had surgery.”

She tipped her head slightly and a tiny smile pulled the corners of her lips upward. “Yes. I remember now. You and another man, an older man.”

“That’s my friend, SheriffFoley from NelsonCounty.”

“Yes. But it was you I wanted to talk to.” Jack didn’t know how to respond. “Could we go somewhere else, somewhere where we can sit down? This is hard on me, standing this way.”

Jack didn’t quite know what to say. He’d closed her portion of the investigation a good while prior, and yet something about the woman made him want to talk to her. “Uh, okay. What would be good for you?”

“I live in Elizabethtown now. Wanted to be close to the accident site and all, you know. I come here and I feel close to them, like they’re still here with me. But there are some restaurants up here at the exit in Bardstown. Would one of those do?”

“There’s a Mexican restaurant where the troopers go. They’ll let us sit and talk,” he offered.Have I completely lost my mind? I shouldn’t be doing this, he told himself, and yet he couldn’t seem to stop. Even though they’d gotten all her information and determined that she and her family were innocent bystanders, it was like there was a piece of the puzzle missing. Oh, he knew what it was. No one had ever been able to figure out what the other car had been doing there. They knew what was going on, but how did it all come together on the highway? What part did the other car play? Where was the chemist? No one had come up with that information yet.

---