By mid-week, Laura MacLeod was awash in paperwork. Trying to find some rhyme or reason in the filing system, old files and new ones were now scattered about her office as if a tornado had just visited.
Hearing a knock on her door, Laura shouted, “Come in,” as she continued to sort through paperwork, only stopping when she heard the door open. Looking over her shoulder, she saw John grinning back at her.
Puffing out a bit of air to blow a strand of hair from her cheek, she said, “Hiya, John.”
“So, you making sense of all this yet?”
“Give me another week and then ask me that question.”
“I heard you met Christopher yesterday. How’d it go?”
“Oh, he’s a sweetie,” she said, standing straight. “And I’m told the women love him.”
“Yes, they do. He’s quite a charmer, that one.”
Pausing for a moment as she remembered the soft-voiced man with curly blond hair, she said, “So, is he as gay as I think he is?”
“I believe they call it flaming,” John said with a hearty guffaw. “Luckily, no one here seems to care, and the students absolutely adore his wit and his cooking skills.”
Dusting off her hands, Laura said, “John, when am I going to meet...ah...” Pushing some files aside, Laura looked at the notes she had written the night before. “Antoinette Vaughn?”
Thinking for a moment, he asked, “You have any plans after work today?”
“Nothing comes to mind. Why?”
“Well, Connie is out of town visiting one of the kids. How about you and I go get something to eat and I’ll fill you in?”
“Sounds like a date to me.”
***
As their dinner plates were cleared from the table, Laura leaned back in her chair. The evening had been pleasant, filled with easy conversation and a delicious meal, but through it all the subject of her missing teacher had yet to be brought up. Eyeing her boss, Laura said, “Okay, John, you’ve stalled long enough. Tell me about Antoinette Vaughn.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, he signaled the waiter for more coffee and then returned his gaze to Laura. “She’s probably one of the most gifted teachers I’ve ever known,” he said quietly. “She has the ability to light a spark in a student, and like a wildfire, it spreads through the room, and before too long, everyone is chiming in on whatever it is they’re discussing. It’s really quite amazing to watch. The women flock to her classes, and if there’s one person in Calloway that has the respect of each and every resident, it’s Toni Vaughn.”
Something in the tone of John’s voice piqued Laura’s interest. “And why’s that?”
“Because she was once one of them.”
Raising an eyebrow, Laura processed the information. “What was she in prison for?”
Knowing that when he hired Laura, they would eventually have this conversation, there was no reason for John to hesitate any longer. His eyes met hers, and in a tone filled with sorrow, he said, “Murder.”
Before Laura could say a word, John reached down into his briefcase and extracted a manila folder which he slid across the table. Getting to his feet, he said, “Why don’t you give that a read while I visit the gents?”
As John walked away, Laura opened the file and lost herself in what it contained. Filled with information on Antoinette Vaughn’s background, education and work history, before Laura reached the last page, she was impressed...and she was confused.
A short time later, John returned to the table. Noticing Laura’s slack-jawed expression, he grinned. “Not what you were expecting was it?”
“No,” she said, closing the folder. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I find it hard to believe that with her credentials, she’d want to work at Calloway. I would think that at least one university in this country would give her another chance.”
“There are dozens who tried to hire her, but she refused them all.” Taking a quick gulp of coffee, he leaned toward Laura, keeping his voice low as he began to explain the history of one Antoinette Vaughn. “Do you remember...well, let’s see...about six years ago, a story in the paper about a professor arrested for murder?”
Shaking her head, Laura said, “No, but I had just moved here and was busy trying to get settled. I honestly don’t think I even looked at a newspaper for months.”
“Well, as you’ve already read in that file, Toni came from an affluent family and was quite the prodigy, finishing two years ahead of her class before going to university. By the time she was twenty-five, she was a published author and a respected professor at one of the finest universities this country has to offer. It didn’t seem like anything could stop her, but a few months after her second book hit the stands, her life took an unexpected turn.”
“How so?”
“She received a call late one night from a close friend who owned a club in Stoke Newington. Apparently, the woman’s car wouldn’t start, and since she needed to go to the night depository to drop off that day’s earnings, and didn’t feel safe calling a taxi, she called a friend instead. Toni drove to the club, but when she went inside, she found the woman being assaulted by a man. Toni apparently tried to pull him away, but he was too strong, so she picked up a chair and struck him with it. It shattered, and a part of it lodged in his neck.”
“Jesus,” Laura said under her breath.
“Toni tried to stop the bleeding, and her friend called for help, but by the time anyone got there, the man had already bled out. They gave the local constabulary their story, but when the police found the surveillance video machine from the club empty, and it was discovered that the dead man was an off-duty copper who had visited the club several times for possible drug violations, things seemed to go from bad to worse. Toni was arrested the next morning, and before the year was out, she was sentenced to life for murdering Harlan Leavitt.”
“Life? Then how did she get out of prison?”
After signaling the waiter to bring yet more coffee, John said, “A little over two years ago, a police officer by the name of Gordon Jacoby was killed in a car accident while driving home from work. When his supervisor went to clean out his locker, he found two video tapes, and not knowing their contents, he took it upon himself to watch them. They were the missing tapes from the night Leavitt was killed.”
“But how—”
“Jacoby had been Leavitt’s partner, and he was one of the first officers to arrive that night. He apparently stole the tapes in order to protect Leavitt’s reputation and just never got rid of them. Needless to say, they proved Toni’s innocence, but unfortunately, the damage had already been done.”
“What do you mean?”
“She was in Thornbridge,” he said quietly.
Cocking her head to the side, Laura said, “I’m sorry, John, but I’ve never heard of a prison called Thornbridge.”
“Actually, I’m not surprised,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “It was a medium-sized facility in the north of England that was opened in the late sixties, and then privatized about twenty years ago. It was meant to house only the criminally insane, the women deemed too unstable to be among the general prison population, but Fagan and Dent had other ideas.”
“Fagan and Dent?”
“The company that ran it.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, the more prisoners you have the more money you make, and since Thornbridge had a lot of empty cells and our prisons were overflowing, Fagan and Dent began taking in the worst of the worst. It was a maximum security facility, and what better place to send the dregs of society than to a prison so far away that they could easily be forgotten. Nobody cared about the women incarcerated in that place, so eventually Thornbridge slipped under the radar.”
“In what way?” Laura asked cautiously.
“I’m afraid Thornbridge became the last bastion for those with the spare-the-rod, spoil-the-prisoner mentality. Since no one was watching them, the guards could do whatever they liked.”
“I don’t like the sound of this, John. How long did it go on?”
“Too long,” he said, hanging his head. Thinking back to the reports he had read, he closed his eyes and tried to rid himself of the images, but they were there forever. Taking a deep breath, he looked up and offered Laura a sympathetic grin. “Where was I?”
“You said it had gone on too long.”
“Right,” he said with a nod. “Well, due to their sentences or mental instability, it was rare that an inmate ever left Thornbridge, but there were a few. One woman...oh what the hell was her name?” he grumbled, pausing to take a sip of coffee. “Oh, yes...Lucy. Lucy, that was it. This woman, Lucy, was visiting her probation officer and during their meeting, he noticed some scars on her arms. He mentioned them, and she told him that she had been punished by the guards for something or another. Now Lucy, poor thing, wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, and she had no idea that the punishment she had received wasn’t normal prison policy. Fortunately, her probation officer knew better. He informed the authorities immediately, and as they say, the snowball started rolling down the hill.”
“What happened?”
“An undercover officer was sent inside, and in less than a month, the doors to Thornbridge were closed. Many of the officers were arrested and are now serving time in prison for their crimes, and those that aren’t…well, they’re probably stocking shelves in your local supermarket.”
Although she was afraid to ask the next question, she did. “What kind of crimes?”
John’s shoulders slumped. “Extended periods of time in solitary and—”
“What do you mean extended?”
“I heard weeks, possibly months.”
“Oh, my God…”
“And there were beatings, many of which ended with the prisoner in the infirmary.”
“Jesus Christ!” Laura blurted. “How could this happen, John? There are monitoring boards for Christ’s sake, not to mention privatized prisons are supposed to be inspected!”
“Laura, like I said, Thornbridge was in the middle of nowhere. Since those boards are made up of locals, and most of the prison staff lived in the area, it wasn’t long before that board consisted of nothing but friends and family of the officers who worked behind those walls. And as for the inspections, it was so remote, they didn’t happen that often, and when they did, they were scheduled. It’s easy to make it appear that everything’s the way it should be when you have ample time to do so.”
“Okay, fine, but that still doesn’t explain why someone like Antoinette Vaughn would end up in a place like that. There’s nothing in this file about her ever being violent.”
“Originally, she was sentenced to Sutton Hall, but within a few months of her arrival, the Home Office began getting reports from a guard over there stating that she was disruptive, argumentative and violent. After the fourth report, she was deemed unsafe for the general population and was immediately transported to Thornbridge.”
“How long was she there?”
“Almost four years. The information about her innocence came to light only a day or two before they closed Thornbridge, so she was there until the end. She was put into a holding facility for a few weeks while they sorted out the details, and then she was given a full pardon and set free.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“When she arrived for her first day of work, she had a friend with her, and after we got Toni settled in her classroom, her friend and I had a chat. She filled me in on some of the details, and the rest I already knew from working at Sturrington.”
“At Sturrington? I don’t understand.”
“In my position as governor there, I was privy to most of the reports that were funneled through the Home Office, and when I read the one about Thornbridge, it made me ill. It’s the reason I left. I didn’t want to work behind the walls any longer. I needed to do more. I wanted to open some doors instead of locking them all the time, and what better way to do that than to work in a place like Calloway.”
“Okay, so you tracked down Miss Vaughn and hired her, but that still doesn’t explain why I haven’t met her yet.”
“I didn’t track her down,” John said, shaking his head. “As fate would have it, my first priority when I came onboard was to hire replacements for two of the teachers who had left, so I placed an advertisement and Toni answered it a few weeks later. Things were quite hectic back then. New job, new responsibilities and we were understaffed, so I honestly didn’t remember who she was until after the interview, and to tell you the truth, I almost didn’t hire her.”
“What!”
“Even though her credentials were impeccable, all during the interview, she never once made eye contact. She stared at the floor, the desk...anywhere but back at me, and even though I know that some people are nervous when it comes to applying for a job, she was downright terrified. You could see it in her posture, the way she set her jaw, the way her hands were clenched in fists, and she was so introverted that she could barely answer anything I asked in a sentence consisting of more than just a few words.”
“Then why hire her?”
“To this day, I have no idea why, but after the interview, I took her on a tour of Calloway. I already knew that I wasn’t going to offer her a job. It was ludicrous to imagine that someone so withdrawn could ever teach reading and writing, let alone literature, but nevertheless, I showed her around. When we got to one of the classrooms, we walked in on a discussion that some of the women were having about a book they were reading. Don’t ask me what it was called, but as Toni and I stood there listening to their conversation, I noticed excitement in her eyes, and before I knew it, she had immersed herself in the discussion.”
“Just like that?”
“It was quite remarkable, actually,” John said, his eyes creasing at the corners. “This reclusive creature, who moments before could barely utter two words, had changed into this brilliant educator. Sitting on the edge of a desk, motioning with her hands, she was so passionate about the discussion they were having, and within a few minutes, I knew I had found my teacher.”
“So, I’m guessing she’s still reclusive?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. She doesn’t associate with any of us, and her classes start and finish earlier than all the others.”
“I don’t understand. Why?”
“In the classroom, Toni’s comfortable and confident, at least with her students. However, among the teachers and especially strangers, she simply can’t handle it. Therefore, I arranged for certain liberties when it comes to Toni. By allowing her classes to start earlier and end sooner, she can come and go when the halls are nearly empty. It seemed a small price to pay to have someone like her on our staff.”
“Are there any other liberties that I should know about?”
“I’m the only one she allows to monitor her class.”
“What?” Laura said, leaning forward in her chair. “John, as head of the department—”
“I know what you’re going to say, Laura, and you’re right, but Toni is a tremendous teacher, and I don’t want to lose her.”
“And you think she’ll quit if I try to do my job?”
“Honestly, I don’t know, but the woman is frightened of her own shadow, and I don’t want to inflict any more harm on her. I have to ask you to take it very, very slowly where Toni is concerned. I promise that I’ll arrange for you two to meet soon, but as for you doing your job, as you put it, that will take a bit of time, I’m afraid.”
“What about the monthly reports?”
“For the time being, I’ll continue to monitor her classes, just like I’ve been doing.”
“If she’s this scared, why does she trust you?”
“I have no idea.”
***
On Friday, John Canfield came to work an hour earlier than scheduled and headed to the second floor. Lightly tapping on the doorframe before entering, he smiled at Toni when she looked up from her desk, and a tiny grin of acknowledgement crossed her face.
“Good morning, Toni.”
“Hi, John,” she said quietly, glancing down at the papers in front of her.
“I’m sure you’ve heard by now that we have a new department head.”
Nodding in reply, Toni rearranged some papers and then picked up her coffee cup, her hand trembling slightly as she lifted it to her lips.
“She wants to meet you.”
Once again, she nodded an acknowledgment, but said nothing.
“I thought I’d bring her up next week some time, so that could happen.”
In a whisper that was barely audible, Toni said, “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”
His heart heavy with sadness for the broken woman, John walked over and knelt by her desk. “Toni, you know if I didn’t need to do this, I wouldn’t. She’s a nice woman with lots of good ideas. Just give her a chance. Okay?”
Toni slowly raised her eyes and stared blankly at the man next to her. “Sure...like I said, I don’t have a choice.”
***
Krista Nielson parked her car and glanced out the window at the rundown apartment building in front of her. It was just another Friday in a long line of Fridays, and tonight would be no different than it had been for the past two years. She had visited the local supermarket and picked up the usual things, just enough to last a week, nothing more and nothing less. Going against the rules, she had also tossed in two new items, but they were small, and Kris hoped they would go unnoticed until she left the flat.
She knew the rest of her short time here would be the same as the groceries, repetitive and limited. With her best friend’s identity all but erased by prison walls and corporal punishment, their conversation would be cordial yet stilted. It pained her to see Toni this way, but unlike all the others who had walked away from the cold, empty woman who lived three floors up, Krista could not. Until her dying day, she would never give up on the woman who had saved her life.
Filling her arms with bags, Kris walked into the building and climbed the three flights of stairs, wishing that once she arrived at 3-D, she could playfully joke about the tiresome ascent, but she didn’t dare. She knew she couldn’t cross that line because it would give Toni a chance to send her away. Along with everything else, Toni’s sense of humor had disappeared.
Arriving at Toni’s door, she tapped on it with her foot, and seconds later it was opened by her tall, dark-haired friend, dressed as she always was, in clothes that were worn, faded and two sizes too large. Stepping aside, Toni allowed Krista to enter.
“Hi, Toni,” Kris said, leaning over to kiss the woman on the cheek, and even though Toni backed away, Kris followed until her lips softly grazed Toni’s face. “How you doing?”
“I’m okay,” she said, her voice still as dull and lifeless as it had been since the day Krista drove her away from the holding facility.
As Toni aimlessly headed back to the lounge, Kris went to the kitchen to put away the groceries. Emptying her meager purchases into the cupboard, she quickly stashed the new items behind the old and opened the refrigerator. Noticing that it only contained beer, water and one bottle of vodka, she called out, “Did you eat tonight?”
Not hearing a response, Kris checked to make sure there was more beer in the crate on the floor and then walked into the lounge to check on Toni. Finding her sitting on the sofa, looking through a stack of papers, Kris repeated, “Toni, did you eat tonight.”
“I had a sandwich delivered,” Toni said, without looking up.
Aware that the woman could easily go without food for more than just one day, Kris glanced at the door. There were three restaurants in the area that delivered and long ago, Kris had made arrangements with all of them. Explaining that her friend was a shut-in, she instructed them to knock four times and Toni would slide a brown envelope containing payment under the door. Once they received their money, the food was left in the hallway, and Toni would retrieve it, but only after she watched from her window to make sure they had left. Noticing the money envelope, along with a take-away menu sitting near the door, Kris breathed easier. At least she was eating.
“I checked the beer. You have about a dozen bottles left so I’ll bring you over a new crate early next week. Okay?”
“I only drink one a night. You don’t have to make a special trip.”
“I don’t mind,” Kris said, sitting on the arm of the sofa. “Toni, I was thinking...maybe we could go out and see about getting you some new clothes.”
“I don’t need anything new. These are fine.”
“Well, they are getting a bit worn, don’t you think?”
Raising her eyes to glare at the woman, Toni said, “I don’t need anything new, Krista. We’ve gone through this before.”
The room went silent, and chewing on her lip for a moment, Kris said, “Hey, I have an idea. Antonio’s is right down the street. How about I order a pizza, and we have dinner together. Like old times. I’ll even buy a bottle of wine. How’s that?”
“I told you, I already had a sandwich.”
“Oh, right,” Kris said. Noticing the pile of papers on the coffee table, she said, “It looks like you have a busy weekend planned.”
“Yeah. I have essays from two classes to grade. I need to hand them back on Monday.”
Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Kris tried to think of something else to say. Years before, they could spend hours talking about a recent bestseller, a new shop or people making headlines, but that was no longer the case. The books scattered around were old and used, and although popular in their day, Krista hadn’t read any of them in years. Toni refused to have a television or radio in the apartment, and whenever Krista brought over a magazine or a newspaper, it left when she did. The world held no interest for Toni any longer, and she showed no curiosity over technology or the latest novel to hit the stands. The classics were safe, providing a warm cocoon where she could hide amongst the words she had read a hundred times before, allowing her to forget, if only for a moment, the ugliness that lay beyond the door to her flat.
Knowing that their limited conversation had come to an end, Kris reached out and touched Toni’s sleeve, the simple action causing the woman to jerk away. Refusing to allow her sadness to show, Kris said softly, “I know I say this every week, but if you ever need anything, if you ever just want to talk…I’m here for you.”
“I know you are,” Toni whispered.
Looking into Toni’s dark brown eyes, Krista felt her emotions begin to rise to the surface, remembering a time when those eyes, now dismal and empty, once sparkled with life, love and mischief.
“I love you, Toni,” Kris said as she walked to the door, needing to leave before she broke down like she always did. “Please call me if you need anything…anything at all.”
A few moments later, Toni murmured, “See ya, Krista.”
She hadn’t noticed that her friend had already left.
***
With Duane out of town visiting his parents, Laura spent most of the weekend going through paperwork and getting a grasp on the monthly reports, so by the time she returned to work on Monday, she was raring to go. Even though there seemed to be a mountain of forms and requirements to adhere to, she quickly came up with a schedule that would allow her ample time every month to monitor the teachers, submit her reports and bring a few of her own ideas to Calloway House.
On Wednesday morning, as Laura sat in her office drinking her third cup of coffee, John appeared in the doorway. “Good morning.”
“Hiya, John.”
“Do you have a few minutes?”
“Sure, what’s up?” Laura said, putting aside her paperwork.
“I thought it was time that you meet Toni.”
Instantly grinning, Laura popped out of her chair, and quickly followed John out of the room and up the stairs.
Pausing once they got to Toni’s classroom, John said, “Laura, don’t expect too much, all right? I mean, I doubt that she’ll say more than a few words, if that.”
Laura was nervous, and she didn’t know why. The woman she was about to meet technically worked for her, so taking a deep breath, she straightened her suit jacket. “I understand, John. It’ll be fine.”
“Good.”
Hearing the hushed voices in the hallway, Toni recognized one as John Canfield’s and immediately knew that she was about to meet the new head of her department. Sighing, she took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves. She hated this...this requirement of life that she couldn’t avoid. Meeting people, strangers until they weren’t, but they were all strangers to her. She didn’t trust them. She couldn’t trust them. They would hurt her. Maybe not with a fist or a foot or a belt, but somehow, in some way, they would hurt her.
Entering the room, Laura saw her sitting at the desk, and while most people would have looked up to acknowledge their visitors, Toni Vaughn did not. Several moments passed and Laura began to feel awkward, unsure as to why John hadn’t said anything and the woman behind the desk hadn’t moved an inch. Biting her lip, Laura began to take another step forward when John reached out and touched her arm. Shaking his head, he whispered, “Wait.”
Another minute passed before Laura heard the screech of the wooden chair across the tile floor, and she watched as the apprehensive woman stood and took a few hesitant steps toward them.
Since their discussion the week before, Laura had built an image of this woman in her mind. She believed that Toni Vaughn would appear hard and much older than her age, downtrodden by her time in prison and the brutalities inflicted upon her, but Laura couldn’t have been more wrong.
Appearing to be nearly six feet in height, with short black hair that had a style all its own, Toni Vaughn was an attractive woman. Although gaunt, her features were striking and natural. Her jaw was strong and her nose narrow, and while dark circles appeared under her eyes, they couldn’t offset the whole. Even though John had explained that the years behind bars had taken their toll on her psyche, as far as Laura could tell, they had done little to affect Antoinette Vaughn’s beauty.
“Toni, I’d like to introduce you to our new Education Administrator, Laura MacLeod.”
Laura watched as the woman dipped her head a millimeter, but continued to stare at the floor.
“Laura, this is Toni Vaughn, one of our most popular teachers.”
Extending her hand, Laura smiled. “Nice to meet you, Toni.”
Taking a quick step backward, Toni shoved her hands in her pockets. Refusing to look in Laura’s direction, instead she raised her eyes to glare at John. Abruptly turning her back on both of them, she walked to the window and stared out the glass, desperately trying to hold it together. They needed to leave. They needed to leave now.
With a frown, John motioned toward the corridor, and they left the room without saying a word. As soon as John closed the door to Toni’s classroom, Laura asked, “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But I did.”
“What do you mean?”
“I forgot to tell you. Toni doesn’t like to be touched.”