Page 15 of Stranger Gifts

Nash sat alone with Jenna near the windows, allowing her to not feel so closed in. He asked about the last forty years of her life and what made her become a nun.

“I knew you were a devout Catholic,” he said, “I just didn’t realize you were that devout.”

“Well, I was and I wasn’t,” she said looking at him. “My folks really hit a rough patch and couldn’t afford to send my three sisters and me to college. Jeannie got a scholarship for music. She was always so talented.”

“I remember,” smiled Nash. “She played the piano, didn’t she?”

“She did,” nodded Jenna sadly. Nash felt the pit in his stomach realizing that she’d lost her sister. Likely, her parents were gone now as well. He’d been so wrapped up in hiding himself, he didn’t think about old friends that might have needed him.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said reaching for her hand. She pulled back, settling her hands on her lap and he shook his head in apology again.

“No. No, it’s me,” she said. They were quiet for a few minutes, just eating in silence. “Anyway. The twins, Jillian and Jari got married right out of high school. I’m not sure what happened with all of us but I’m the only one left. Jillian was killed by a drunk driver and Jari had a stroke at forty-one. Mom and dad are long gone. So, it’s just me. Joining the convent seemed my chance to get a college degree and do something to help others.”

“Then why leave? What happened isn’t your fault.”

“I know,” she said. “I know that but I can’t go back. I just can’t. I’m not the same any longer, Nash. I’ll never be the same again.”

“Well, you don’t have to go back and you don’t have to be the same. You can stay here and think about how you want to proceed with your life. We’ll all protect you and you’ll have access to our legal and medical teams.”

“You mean psychiatric care,” she frowned.

“No. I mean medical care for any injuries you have. If you want to talk to someone, yes we have counselors, therapists, psychologists, and much more. Everyone needs someone to speak with now and then. I’ve just moved here but I can tell you that these people are extraordinary.”

“I was beaten nearly to death and repeatedly raped on a grocery store floor, Nash. Not one person has stepped forward as a witness. Not one. I don’t need a therapist to tell me that I’m never going to find a resolution to this.”

“Yes, you will,” said Ghost walking toward the couple. “Evening, ma’am. I’m Ghost.”

“Ghost?” she frowned.

“Just a nickname. We’re going to make sure that you’re safe here and that this nightmare ends for you. Those men threatened our friends and family and no one does that and gets away with it.”

“They’ve done it before,” she said. “The first attorney tried to scare me away from them and told me they’d raped and killed dozens of women and yet they never went to jail. He even said that they held women hostage in their homebase, their club house. He said I should watch myself so that they didn’t take me.”

“We’re aware of all of that. But your attacker is in jail now,” said Ghost.

“Because I pointed him out in a line-up and proceeded with my case. I didn’t care if they knew who I was.” Nash looked at his old friend.

“Well, we care and no one will ever touch you again.”

CHAPTER NINE

“This one is going to bring a lot of shit our way,” said Ghost looking at the other senior leaders. “I know you all know this. We’ve dealt with one-percenter gangs like this before. These guys are different at every level. It’s almost as if they want to take over entire cities. They might be small cities, but still.”

“We need to get the footage from that grocery store. There were witnesses to her rape and they’re terrified. If we can find them, we need to speak with them,” said Nine. Code turned to them and frowned.

“The grocery store mysteriously lost their footage in a storm,” he said skeptically.

“Shit.”

“I didn’t say I couldn’t find it,” grinned Code. “Everything gets uploaded to the cloud nowadays. I guess they didn’t think about that. One of the members went in and wiped out an entire week of video but didn’t think about it being uploaded.”

“Why didn’t her attorney think about that?” asked Nine.

“Sam Bolchek is a fifty-three-year-old father of a daughter. Samantha Bolcheck went missing about six months ago, around the time that he took Jenna’s case.”

“Shit, they’ve got his daughter,” said Ian.

“I would think that’s right,” said Code. “He lives in Maringouin and his office is next door to his home. He’s just a small-time lawyer and has never prosecuted a criminal case. This was all a set-up.”

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