“Bradly Sr.’s abuse went on like that for about five more years. Statler did what he could. He alerted the proper authorities, but as you already know, Mr. Bothwin had lots of connections. So when those ‘visits’ from DHHSdidoccur, nothing was ever done.
“Of course Mr. Bothwin eventually found out it was Statler making the complaints, and he was incensed. I was punished that day until I was bloody, and he threatened me with even worse if I kept telling Stat what was happening.
“It almost killed Statler to back off, but he knew he had to, and things returned to…baseline abuse. I guess I should be thankful that it never went so far as…losing my virginity, but I thought, at the time, that this was the worst hell I could endure. Then I turned thirteen.”
“Deep breath, Petula,” Julian told her, gruffly.
Petula hadn’t been aware she’d been holding it. So much for being able to tell her tale without losing it.
Still, she had to get everything out.
“Junior was ten. That’s when Mr. Bothwin began…enlisting his help. The elder Bradly, sick bastard that he was, must have had those arbitrary ages in mind all along, because he had a lot of things planned for the two of us. It was…awful.
“There was…touching, and…posing for pictures, and eventually…” Petula almost gagged, recalling. “…worse. But I’ll get to that.”
She remembered to breathe again. “I was told over the next four years that if I didn’t comply, if I told a soul, I’d be killed and buried somewhere so deeply I’d never be found. And I believed it. Nobody had come to my aid before, so there was no expectation there’d be intervention regardinganycrime the Bothwins’ might commit.”
“He taught his son to be just like him.” Julian’s teeth ground so hard, she could almost hear them crack.
“He did. And with his son’s involvement, I finally found out why there was no…intercourse attempted.”
That concession had been huge; calculated though it was.
“Senior told his son, in no uncertain terms, that DNA evidence in court would be irrefutable, so there’d be none of that. But thateverythingelse he could dream up, was on the table.
“I attempted to run away many times from that point on, but I was always brought back by people who Bradly Sr. had in hispocket. The punishments got worse every time, and there was nothing I could do, so I finally stopped running. Which brings me to…water. When I was seventeen.”
Julian slowly stroked her shoulder, and she could feel the trembling in his fingers.
The tears she’d been holding back, began to fall.
“By this time, Mr. Bothwin was spinning out of control with his fantasies and his…ejaculations over the things that he had me doing. He put a lot of thought into his debauchery.”
She could get this out. She could.
“We lived right on a pond, and one night, when Mrs. Bothwin was away—which happened more and more as time passed—they took me down to the water and made me strip naked. Junior then…filmed me while Mr. Bothwin—disguised with a mask for the video they were making—held me under and brought me to the edge of death over and over again.”
“What the fuck?” Julian snapped, the sound coming from his chest was like that of a wounded animal.
Petula couldn’t blame him. What she was revealing had been the cruelest, the vilest thing that had ever been done to her. And that was saying a lot.
“It happened on many occasions after that first time,” she managed to get out. “Mr. Bothwin would choke me and hold me underwater, while Bradly took movies and pictures. Never with his father’s face uncovered, of course.”
The older Bradly got off on it right away, and every time, he’d made sure she watched as he…took care of himself. It didn’t take long for Junior to get his pleasure from it, as well. She’d never forget the disgusting sounds of arousal from the pair.
“It was those pictures and films, I guess, that finally did Jr. in,” she relayed, this time with a little more strength in her voice.
“By the time I reached high school, there was a teacher at school who I trusted implicitly. She was new. From Boston. And I decided to seek her help. But of course, I needed evidence.”
She brought her eyes back to Julian’s and saw the anguish there. It allowed her to continue.
“I wasn’t young and helpless any more. I was seventeen, and one year away from Statler promising to get me out. But here’s the kicker. Mr. Bothwin was already talking about adopting another young girl, and I just…couldn’t let that happen. I waited patiently, knowing I had to get my hands on those pictures that Junior always uploaded onto his computer.
“I watched him carefully, until one day I was present when he logged in, and I saw his password. It was a partial success, but weeks passed before I could act on it. Finally, one night, Bradly Jr. wasn’t feeling well, and went up to bed, forgetting his laptop; leaving it on the kitchen counter.”
Julian wasn’t moving at all now, as ifhisstealth was needed to hear the rest.
“Everyone retired for the night, and after the house went quiet, I snuck downstairs with a memory stick in my sweating hand.” She felt her palms getting wet, just remembering.
