A Matter of Life and Death Epilogue
By Marcie Gore Rated G
Joe and the others were found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life without parole. except Larry who agreed to testify against the others and got off with 25 years in Black gate.
A couple of days after the verdict are read Bruce asks Barbara and me over. We sit in his study and talk. Yes, we talk! It's rare that he puts two words together to actually talk to his loved ones. Alfred greets us with a tray of coffee, homemade cocoa and fresh chocolate chip cookies Alfred really knows about comfort food. His cookies are so soft and chewy.
The three of us sit and talk about the wedding and how life is in the Haven I was able to get back on the streets just a week ago. Have I made any headway against Blockbuster? We talk about everything but what happened to me.
Finally Babs brings up the subject. She tells me how proud of me she was while I was on the witness stand. I had been strong and dignified in her words in the face of the defense attorney's grilling.
I remember seeing the faces of the jurors when I was giving my testimony. There were tears in their eyes, male and female alike. They recoiled in horror when the prosecution showed the video of the beating I received at my captors hands. The sight of me bloody and in obvious pain caused some of the jurors to cry harder. As usual Bruce's reaction was hard to read.
I ask Bruce, "What were you thinking then? How did the video make you feel?"
"So have you set the wedding date," Bruce asks trying to change the subject.
"Bruce, I know you don't like to talk about emotions but I'm not letting you off that easily. We need to talk about this."
"Ok, You want to know what I was thinking and felt?' Bruce asks. "I felt the same helplessness I felt when I first saw that terrible videotape. I had seen you being beaten up before, but some how this time seemed worse. Maybe it was because I could see your eyes. There was no mask covering the pain you felt. You seemed weak even from the beginning of the tape. I thought you must not have had anything to eat or drink since you were kidnapped. The whole time you were missing I slept even less than I do normally. Yes, I was worried that you wouldn't make it out alive. I went to your old bedroom a couple of times just to feel close to you. It was hard on us all. When I finally cornered one of the men who grabbed you, in an alley outside of a bar I could've killed him. The only things that stopped me were I needed information out of him and the thought of how disappointed in me you would be.'
Just then the phone rings. It's Jim Gordon, my future father in law. He tells us that Kemper just received a taste of his own medicine. When the officers came to transfer him to Black gate they found him severely beaten in his cell. It looks like he's going to the infirmary first.
By Marcie Gore Rated G
Joe and the others were found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life without parole. except Larry who agreed to testify against the others and got off with 25 years in Black gate.
A couple of days after the verdict are read Bruce asks Barbara and me over. We sit in his study and talk. Yes, we talk! It's rare that he puts two words together to actually talk to his loved ones. Alfred greets us with a tray of coffee, homemade cocoa and fresh chocolate chip cookies Alfred really knows about comfort food. His cookies are so soft and chewy.
The three of us sit and talk about the wedding and how life is in the Haven I was able to get back on the streets just a week ago. Have I made any headway against Blockbuster? We talk about everything but what happened to me.
Finally Babs brings up the subject. She tells me how proud of me she was while I was on the witness stand. I had been strong and dignified in her words in the face of the defense attorney's grilling.
I remember seeing the faces of the jurors when I was giving my testimony. There were tears in their eyes, male and female alike. They recoiled in horror when the prosecution showed the video of the beating I received at my captors hands. The sight of me bloody and in obvious pain caused some of the jurors to cry harder. As usual Bruce's reaction was hard to read.
I ask Bruce, "What were you thinking then? How did the video make you feel?"
"So have you set the wedding date," Bruce asks trying to change the subject.
"Bruce, I know you don't like to talk about emotions but I'm not letting you off that easily. We need to talk about this."
"Ok, You want to know what I was thinking and felt?' Bruce asks. "I felt the same helplessness I felt when I first saw that terrible videotape. I had seen you being beaten up before, but some how this time seemed worse. Maybe it was because I could see your eyes. There was no mask covering the pain you felt. You seemed weak even from the beginning of the tape. I thought you must not have had anything to eat or drink since you were kidnapped. The whole time you were missing I slept even less than I do normally. Yes, I was worried that you wouldn't make it out alive. I went to your old bedroom a couple of times just to feel close to you. It was hard on us all. When I finally cornered one of the men who grabbed you, in an alley outside of a bar I could've killed him. The only things that stopped me were I needed information out of him and the thought of how disappointed in me you would be.'
Just then the phone rings. It's Jim Gordon, my future father in law. He tells us that Kemper just received a taste of his own medicine. When the officers came to transfer him to Black gate they found him severely beaten in his cell. It looks like he's going to the infirmary first.