Savage Cinderella

Chapter 28 and 29

Chapter 28

A Promise is a Promise

Brinn hugged her father as tears streamed down her cheeks. It seemed she cried about everything lately. It was as if she had stored the tears up for so long that the dam had finally broken and there was no stopping the flood. “You did it, Daddy. He’s behind bars where he can’t hurt anyone else.”

Her voice sounded strained and hoarse from holding her emotions in check on the way back from the farmhouse. After walking like a ghost from room to room with memories flooding her mind as she stared at the stained mattress and barred windows in her old room, she would have liked to have seen the place burnt to the ground.

Although they were back at home, Brinn could still remember the anguish on her father’s face when he’d seen the chains. Her father held her for a long moment and then stepped back, holding her face in his hands. "We did it, Sweetheart. Without the help of you and your friends, the police might never have found him. Because of you, that little girl was saved.” His smile faded as he continued. “Stockman is still in South Carolina, but he'll be transferred to Atlanta as soon as all the paperwork is done. After finding Carrie Weston, and with what the police found upstairs at the house, they have a solid case against him.”

Brinn had overheard the police talking about finding evidence of several other victims in the second floor rooms of the old farmhouse. Photos, old clothes, hair ribbons, each small grouping of items placed in its own shoe box labeled with names and dates. Stockman had kept souvenirs, mementos of his conquests. Brinn shuddered and tried not to imagine the fate that had befallen those other girls. Her father’s voice interrupted the gruesome images that sprang to her mind.

“Even so, there’s a lot of pressure from my office for you to testify. Obviously, I can't handle the case myself, but I have my best prosecutor working on it, and she thinks we can get the maximum penalty if we can have you identify him and then give testimony at his trial."

Brinn was silent for a long time. She turned to face her mother and Justin, resisting the urge to pace. "What do you think, Mama?"

Her mother shook her head, "It has to be your decision. You know you’ll have to recount details of your story to a courtroom full of people, and the defense attorney will not be kind." Her mother eyed her father across the room, a distinctly chilly glare covering the distance.

Brinn looked to Justin, who responded with a shrug, "Your mom is right. It’s up to you. It won't be easy, Brinn, but I know you, and you won't feel right about your decision unless you do everything in your power to fight on your own terms. And you won't be alone. This is your chance to end this." Justin placed his hands on her shoulders, his sheer proximity infusing her with confidence. “Just know that whatever you decide, we will all support you.”

She hugged him and whispered in his ear. "You make me believe I can do anything.” He held her tightly for another moment. She turned back to her father. “I’ll do whatever I have to. I want this over and done with. Just let me know when you need me to come to the police station to identify him."

∞∞∞

Two days later, Brinn stood in a tiny square room behind a one-way mirror, flanked by the prosecuting attorney and a female, plainclothes detective named Walker. Sweat trickled down her temple and her spine felt like a rigid pole. Her limbs shook and her throat dried up instantly as six men were marched into the room, handcuffed and in single file. Brinn recognized the man almost immediately, but the force of her recognition hit her square in the stomach when he faced forward and stared with those cold, empty, dark eyes straight through the glass at her. All the other faces in the lineup disappeared. Brinn clutched the table for support.