CHAPTER 30

REDEMPTION

The Washington Huskies had cracked the top 25 last week for the first time in 5 years and, they were undefeated, just like CAU. They weren’t a big defense, but they were very quick and ran lots of different blitz packages and defensive schemes to utilize that speed. The game plan was to just run the ball at them and “out-big” them and wear them down. By the time practice was over on Thursday, Caleb had the game plan down pat and was ready to play. They’d be flying out to Washington early Friday, have a light practice there, then go to a movie for a bit of relaxation.

Caleb made sure that the first thing he did when he got back to his apartment was to call his dad. They’d released Jack the past Monday, and he was home resting. The game wouldn’t be televised, so Jack said he’d keep up with it in the papers.

“Call if you need anything,” Jack said once again. “I love you.”

“Love you, Dad,” Caleb said. “Take care of yourself.”

He hung up and sighed—thank goodness his father had pulled through the worst of it. He sat thinking quietly for a few minutes, then a sudden ring from his phone made him jump.

“Hello, this is Julie Tatum. Do you remember me from Enapay?”

He paused, wracking his brain for a memory of her face. “Uh, hi! How are you doing? It’s been a long time.”

“Not long enough,” she said with a huff.

“What do you mean?”

Caleb could hear her voice quavering. “Do you remember the date we had when we were sophomores in high school?”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed and he scowled. “Uh, I’m not sure. Why do you ask?” He did know who this girl was and where this was going, and he wasn’t going to incriminate himself on a phone call; he didn’t know if it was being taped.

“Well, let me remind you of it,” Julie said. “You took me to the lake, and we were walking on the beach, and you were drunk and high on something. I was so proud and excited that I was going out with Caleb Lewis, the best-looking guy in Enapay High School, not to mention the quarterback! As we walked, you convinced me to lay down with you in some dense coverage by some trees and told me you wanted to make out with me. I wanted so badly to be one of the cool girls, so I said okay. Do you remember kissing me, your hands all over my body? I told you to slow down. I told you I was a virgin and didn’t want to go all the way, I just wanted to kiss. I still remember so vividly you looking at me with those terrible, evil eyes of yours—I’ll never forget them. You were so messed up, and you turned crazy all of a sudden, like someone flipped a switch. Out of nowhere you threatened to beat me up and said you would kill me if I didn’t do what you wanted.”

Julie stopped for a minute as her voice cut out in a fit of sobbing. When she’d regained her composure, she said, “You grabbed me by the throat and started choking me and started making a weird noise deep in your throat. You were staring at me with those vile blue eyes. You were just glaring at me as if you were getting pleasure from watching me die. After I almost passed out, you let go of my throat and I got my breath back. You were so big and strong and I was so small, I felt so helpless. I told you over and over again that I wanted to go home. I’ve never felt so powerless. I just wanted to be at home safe with my mom and dad. You took off your clothes, and I tried to get up and run, but you grabbed my leg and dragged me back. I started screaming as loud as I could for help and then you hit me hard, three times in my stomach.”

Julie was sobbing uncontrollably now. She could hardly get the words out of her mouth. “Then you told me to take my clothes off, and I was screaming ‘NO, NO, NO’ and you told me, ’Don’t worry, you won’t be a virgin much longer.’ I stood there looking at you, so scared and ashamed that I just took off all my clothes. I had never been naked in front of a man, but there I was, standing there in front of you. I felt so dirty, so degraded, but I didn’t want you to hurt me anymore. I didn’t know what else I could do. Then you grabbed me, threw me to the ground, and turned me over on my stomach. I have never felt so much pain in my life, and you just kept going! I felt like you were ripping my guts apart! When you’d finished, I lay there on that beach in total shock, feeling totally degraded and bleeding badly. Then you got up, put on your clothes, and told me to ‘get dressed and quit crying, you sound like a little girl.’ You said if I ever told anyone anywhere about this you would do the same thing to my little sister.” She paused. “You said something I’ll never forget. You said, ’Julie, you should thank me; you’re no longer a virgin. You won’t have that burden to carry around anymore.’ I should thank you? You just raped me and I should thank you? I have never been so traumatized, so terrified in my life since that night! I’ve had nightmares about that night over and over again since it happened. I’ve never spoken of this to anyone for fear you would hurt my little sister.” Caleb could hear Julie’s voice coming out in short, angry puffs. “I want redemption, Caleb. I want $25,000. You ruined my life. I haven’t been on a date since that night because I’m terrified of men and what they might do to me. Caleb? Caleb? Are you there? Are you listening to me?”

Caleb just sat there silently. Finally, he said in a soft, comforting voice, almost a whisper, “Julie, where do you live now?”

“In a town called Sallisaw, Oklahoma.”

“Is your name still Julie Tatum?”

Julie snarled. “I just told you, you psycho, I haven’t had a date since I was with you.”

“Julie,” Caleb said quietly, “I want to help you. What’s your address in Sallisaw?” Julie told Caleb which address to send the money to, and Caleb sat silently for a minute. Then he smirked.

“Julie, I think you may be drunk or on drugs, and you may have mental problems. You certainly have a big imagination! The only thing I can remember about our date is we went out to eat and to a movie and then I took you home. You’re not by any chance in a mental institution, are you?”

Caleb held the phone away from his face as she screamed, “YOU MAKE ME SO SICK, I want $25,000 or I’m going to the police and the press about this!”

“I want to help you because I’m concerned about you as a friend of mine, Julie. Can I call you on Monday and talk to you some more? Could I have your phone number?”

Julie gave Caleb her phone number and then said confidently, “You have until Tuesday morning. If I don’t hear from you by then, I’m going to the police about this.”

Caleb said, “You need to rest this weekend and get yourself together. I’ll call you Monday evening,” and hung up the phone.

Caleb sat there on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor. Ugh, I knew this stuff was going to come back and haunt me someday. All the true crime books he had read in his life kept popping up in his mind. His brain was like a computer, searching files to come up with an answer. He thought and thought about how to handle this. If I just give her the money, what will happen when she spends all of it? She will just keep coming back for more and more, and where will it end? But man, I can’t just keep killing people I’ve hurt. It’s not her fault. He thought and thought, but only one solution kept coming back to him. He then did something he didn’t really want to do, but try as he might, he couldn’t come up with anything else. Caleb reluctantly called Johnny back in Enapay. He asked Johnny if he would be interested in another $10,000 job and gave all the details.

“Monday at the latest,” Caleb said.

“I remember Julie. I asked her on a date once after she graduated high school and she said no.”

“I bet she said no,” Caleb said. “Anyway, I’m not sure if she lives with anyone, so you’ll need to do a bit of surveillance. She’s trying to blackmail me for money and has threatened to go to the police if I don’t pay her.” He paused, then said, “Johnny, I know I don’t have to tell you this, but I feel I need to so we don’t have a misunderstanding. You are the only one I’ve ever spoken to about any of this, and I’m putting a bunch of trust in you. If you were to get caught, I would still take care of the money you need until you get out of prison. But you can NEVER mention my name or what you do for me to ANYONE. You do understand this, don’t you?”

Johnny replied with a bit of panic, “Caleb, all I want to know from you is when all this is over, you won’t come back and kill me.”

Caleb chuckled. “I promise you’ll be safe as long as you keep your mouth shut.”

“Okay, buddy,” Johnny said, “consider it a deal.”

“Thanks,” Caleb said. “And we don’t ever have to mention this trust thing again—my word is my bond, and your word is your bond, okay?”

“Okay,” Johnny said. “I’ll get this done before Monday.”

Johnny knew that Caleb was smart and felt like he must have other people working for him, so he’d better watch his step or he’d be the next one on his list. Johnny never knew Caleb to be a liar, and as long as he just did his job and shut up about it, he would be okay.

Caleb went to his closet to see how much money he still had. After counting, it turned out to be over $150,000 stuck in a gym bag. He took out $10,000 to mail to Johnny first thing on Friday morning before the plane left.

As he lay in bed, he felt terrible for what he did to Julie Tatum. He knew that in his high school years he was out of control, and he knew why, but what could he do about it now but get rid of her and put her out of her misery? Maybe I’m doing her a favor.