The Wolf Code

“I understand,” Senora said, and she did.  “Thank you for this.  Maybe Addie’s words can help others like her in the future.”

“I’m hoping her words can prevent others from being like her in the future.”

“Don’t we all?” Senora said.  “I have to go check back into my hotel by noon so I can get some rest and maybe enjoy some of the sights before I check out and head to Dallas tomorrow.  Take care of yourself, Mabel.”

Mabel’s smile was wicked as she stood in the doorway and let Senora out onto the porch.

“I wouldn’t waste my money on a hotel stay, but that’s just me.  Take care, dear.”

Before Senora could answer, Mabel closed the door, and from where she stood, Senora could hear the woman’s footsteps in the hall, walking away.

Senora stood there for a long moment, clutching the journal to chest and staring at the closed door.  This place was something else, and for the first time in all her travels, she realized that she really was going to miss Glen Rose and the people that called it home.

She got into her rental and drove to the hotel.  She parked under a tree, but left the engine running with the air conditioner on blast.  Today wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been a few days before, but it was still too hot to sit in the car with the air off and the windows rolled down.

The journal beckoned to her from the passenger’s seat.  The thick book had writing on nearly every page, and Senora couldn’t wait to read what Addie had written and see how it matched up with what Senora knew and the information she had gleaned from Robin Harrison’s notes.  She still didn’t know how the therapist had fit into this crazy scheme, but she had her suspicions.  She hoped she was right.

“You should check in and read it in the room,” she said out loud, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. 

There was no way she could read the entire thing today, and she would probably take it on the plane to read, but right this minute, she couldn’t wait to skim it and see just how much Addie revealed.

Giving into the temptation, she grabbed the book and opened it, flipping through the pages until she found an entry dated just over a year before.

This.  This was exactly what she was looking for.  There was no name used, but Senora was sure that “RH” was meant to be “Robin Harrison”.  Running her finger along each line, she read Addie’s words and could almost hear the woman’s voice as she did.

She believes me, the entry began.  For the first time in a long time, someone believes me.

I was afraid to tell RH the truth, but she’s been so nice this past month that I just let it all out.  Once I started, I couldn’t stop, and I was almost afraid she was going to call me a liar or worse.  But when I looked up, she had tears streaming down her face, and before I knew what she was going to say, she said the words that would change everything.

“I believe you.”

Three little words, but I knew; I just knew that RH was the only one I could trust with everything I had been through, even the things I couldn’t force myself to remember.

 So, I told her.  I told her about D and K, and all the things they made me do.  I feel horrible, but RH said it wasn’t my fault.  That I was a victim and that D used that against me.  It felt good to hear those words, because I hate myself for what he makes me do.  I never wanted to do it, and RH said she believes me.  D said no one would ever believe me, but he was wrong.

Senora furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of the entry, but she was sure that “D” was Dale, the Sheriff.  She turned the page, skimmed through a few entries that had nothing to do with the case, then stopped again.

Today was hard.  RH and I talked for more than an hour, and I don’t know how I feel about it.  D has been pressuring me, but it’s been months since I did a job for him, and for the first time in a long time, I feel good about myself.  RH says I don’t have to do it, that he can’t make me do it, but I’m afraid.  D doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and he says that no one is going to believe me because I always fake my disappearance. 

I wanted to hit him, but I didn’t dare.  I didn’t fake anything, but I know he’s right.  Every time I work for him, he makes me stay and when I get home, the whole town was looking for me.  But I was just at D’s farm, wishing I could walk away from this life.  It’s not fair.

So, I told her about the farm, too.  And how D used me to trap girls to sell.  When I was done, RH was shocked, but she still believed me.  Hearing the words come out of my own mouth, I still sound think it sounds like a lie, but she says that’s because D tells me all the time that I lie about everything.  Even when I’m bringing water and food to a woman who isn’t sold yet, he tells me I’m lying and that there’s no one in the barn.  It makes me feel crazy, and RH says that’s how controls me.

Senora stopped, a chill running down her back that had nothing to with the air blasting in her face.  She had at least a hundred more pages to go, but she could already guess what had happened.  Even knowing what she knew about the Sheriff and what he’d been doing all these years, she was still shocked by what Addie was saying.  He’d used her to kidnap teens and young women, and then he’d convinced her that she was lying. 

She knew without a doubt that the Sheriff had chosen Addie because of her past, and she wished she could tell Addie that the poor girl hadn’t had a chance.  Looking back at the dates of Addie’s fake disappearances, the Sheriff had swooped in not long after Addie had appeared out of nowhere with no memory and no idea who she was.  He’d taken a broken person and molded her into the accomplice he needed, then convinced her that she was insane.