“He needed to be punished. Jacob told me that Andrew needed to be punished, and I agreed.”
“Jacob?”
“My husband.”
“Your deceased husband.”
“He would speak to me and tell me that Andrew needed to be punished or that I needed to keep him in line.”
Was this part of a game, or did she really believe this?
“Why do you think Jacob would tell you to punish Andrew or keep him in line?”
“He was my submissive. I was in charge. He needed to be punished for going out with his friends. He was supposed to stay home with me. A good submissive does as they’re told.”
Her words were utter bullshit. All of my friends in attendance knew that a good submissive simply didn’t do as they were told. Submissives weren’t weak. Again, my friends knew better, but I was more concerned with my dad sitting right beside me, hearing that. I felt my whole body grow hot at the mention of the “s” word.
“So Jacob told you to keep Andrew in line and punish him for going out with his friends?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you how to keep him in line or how to punish him?”
“He said to use his flogger or a belt on him.”
Fuck.My face was hot with embarrassment.
“Did Jacob ever tell you to stab Andrew?”
“Yes.” Her words sent chills down my spine. “I didn’t think the knife could kill him. It’s not like I stabbed him in the heart,” she said coldly.
I think you did hit the heart.
The sheer coldness in her voice washed over me like an ice-cold bucket of water had been dumped on me. How could she believe a knife could not kill me or potentially inflict serious damage? The hearing voices thing aside, how could anyone believe a knife would not kill? I felt my dad’s hand rest on the center of my back. It felt warm and comforting, just like I had always remembered. Right now, I was grateful he was being so supportive, especially since he’d just heard that his son was a submissive to a woman.
James and I had had several conversations about mental illness and how so much of it could even be masked and never seen until something triggered it. Elise could have suffered from schizophrenia for a while, and perhaps the stress and grief over her husband’s death brought it to the forefront. Then maybe when I went out with Josh and Brandon it triggered the voice. One of the psychiatrists did say that anger and rage could bring on the violent voice of Jacob.
Did this information change how I felt? No. She could have killed me, and she could go over the deep end with someone else if set free. She needed to be off the street and where she couldn’t hurt someone else.
My body was stiff, and I ached when I stood at the end of the hearing. With metal cuffs around her wrists, she raised both hands and waved at me. She gave me a smug smile as her tongue glided along her bottom lip. Thankfully, I was holding on to the seat in front of me when Elise was escorted away because this had been mentally draining.
As I left the courtroom with my extended family, I wondered how long this next step would take. How long would the jury take?
* * *
After the hearing,I went to lunch with my dad, James, Brandon, and Tabitha. At this point, there was no shame in answering some of my dad’s questions. James and Brandon knew everything, and Tabitha’s knowledge of details of my relationship with Elise had grown considerably over the past month.
Dad was more supportive than I had ever dreamed he’d be about all of this. It felt good to have him here, and I was so glad James had talked to him. As my dad was telling Tabitha stories of the trouble I used to get into with my brothers, my cell phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket and swallowed hard when I saw it was Michael. I turned the phone around so they could see it was my attorney calling. I was going to step outside, but Dad encouraged me to stay and take the call. I assumed this was probably just a post-hearing call. Leaning back in my chair, I answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Andrew, the verdict is in.” I sat up straight and looked around the table. “It’ll be announced in a half hour. I’m on my way back to the courthouse.”
“Wow, that was fast.”
“Well, it’s pretty much a slam dunk case, Andrew. It’s just a matter of the defense illustrating to the jury that she isn’t mentally sound and cannot differentiate between right and wrong. They showed she was simply following the directions of her beloved dead husband. She’ll go to a mental health facility and hopefully will get the care she needs.”
“Do I need to be there?”
