Tell Me No Secrets Read Free Page B

put Rick Ferguson behind bars.”
    The very mention of the man’s name caused Connie’s body to visibly tremble. “It was hard enough for Steffan to lose his father at so young an age. What could be worse than losing his mother too?”
    Jess felt her eyes instantly well up with tears. She nodded. There could be nothing worse.
    “Connie,” she began, surprised by the trembling in her voice, “believe me, I hear what you’re saying. I understand what you’re going through. But what makes you think that if you don’t testify, you’ll be safe? Rick Ferguson already broke into your apartment once and raped you. He beat you so badly you could barely open your eyes for a month. He didn’t know that your son wasn’t home. He didn’t care. What makes you think he won’t try it again? Especially once he knows that he can get away with it, because you’re too frightened to stop him. What makes you think that the next time he won’t hurt your son too?”
    “Not if I refuse to testify.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “I only know he said I’d never live to testify against him.”
    “He made that threat months ago and it didn’t stop you.” There was a moment’s silence. “What happened, Connie? What’s frightening you? Has he contacted you in any way? Because if he has, we can have his bail revoked. …”
    “There’s nothing you can do.”
    “There’s plenty we can do.”
    Connie DeVuono reached inside her floppy black leather purse and pulled out a small white box.
    “What’s that?”
    Connie DeVuono said nothing as she handed the box to Jess.
    Jess opened it, gingerly working her way through layers of tissues, feeling something small and hard beneath her fingers.
    “The box was in front of my door when I opened it this morning,” Connie said, watching as Jess pulled away the final tissue.
    Jess felt her stomach lurch. The turtle that lay lifeless and exposed in her hands was missing its head and two of its feet.
    “It was Steffan’s,” Connie said, her voice flat. “We came home a few nights ago and it wasn’t in its tank. We couldn’t understand how it could have gotten out. We looked everywhere.”
    Instantly Jess understood Connie’s terror. Three months ago, Rick Ferguson had broken into her apartment, raped her, sodomized her, beaten her, then threatened her life. Now, he was showing her how easy it would be to make good on his threats. He’d broken into her apartment again, as effortlessly as if he’d been handed the key. He’d killed and mutilated her child’s pet. No one had seen him. No one had stopped him.
    Jess rewrapped the dead turtle in its shroud of tissues and placed it back in its cardboard casket. “Not that I think it’ll do any good, but I’d like to show this to forensics.” She walked to the door and quickly signaled for Sally. “Get this over to forensics for me, will you?”
    Sally took the box from Jess’s hands as carefully as if she were handling a poisonous snake.
    Suddenly Connie was on her feet. “You know as well as I do you’ll never be able to connect this to Rick Ferguson. He’ll get away with it. He’ll get away with everything.”
    “Only if you let him.” Jess returned to Connie’s side.
    “What choice do I have?”
    “A clear choice,” Jess told her, knowing she had only a few minutes left to change Connie’s mind. “You can refuse to testify, that way ensuring that Rick Ferguson walks away scot free, that he never has to be held accountable for whathe did to you, for what he’s
still
doing to you.” She paused, giving her words time to register. “Or you can go to court and make sure that that bastard gets what he deserves, that he gets put behind bars where he can’t hurt you or anyone else for a very long time.” She waited, watching Connie’s eyes flicker with indecision. “Face it, Connie. If you don’t testify against Rick Ferguson, you’re not helping anyone, least of all yourself. You’re only giving him permission to