The Second Rape of Dr. Emily Pershing - C8
Chapter 8
Later that day
WMH
I stopped at the hospital to see the test results for myself before calling Deputy Warren to let her know what Gabby’d told me. She burned with such anger I could smell the smoke from through the telephone! Louisiana has recently enacted child abuse reporting laws and it was time to make the report official. It didn’t matter any more. I had earned Gabby’s trust, but I had no choice now. Wasn’t just her wellbeing that was at risk.
The deputy showed up with her partner, Deputy Shatemer, who warned us both about this being too personal. He explained that if they went to collect Mr. Martaugh, and it turned out Gabby was lying, we’d all be in a heap of trouble. *“She might have been beat up by her boyfriend. She might be protecting him and blaming her father. She might have actually been raped by some boy on that night and she don’t want to say who it was, or that she had been raped at all, and now if she changes her story and says she was, it’s gonna be hard to convince anyone she’s telling the truth about anything. Now, you two are in enough hot water for treating a minor without her parents’ consent as it is. Look, I don’t doubt he’s abusive, but if she’s using what happened to her as an opportunity to get her father into trouble, once the dust settles on this, her father’s likely to give her the whooping of a lifetime for blaming him for what some other kid might have done. Now this is a serious accusation and normally, I’d say let’s get her out of there while we figure all this out, but if it turns out she aint telling you the truth, this whole thing’s gonna get real messy.”
Deputy Warren decided they should go have a talk with Gabby, in person. Shatemer suggested I should come along, and I was glad of that. I knew I’d betrayed her confidence and now two sheriff’s deputies would be showing up just an hour after we had talked. At least this way I could explain why. Sometimes doing the right thing sure can feel awful wrong.
Martaugh’s Ranch - Burr Ferry
Gabby was throwing hay to a couple of horses in front of her house as the deputies pulled in. She saw them round the corner to the drive but she just kept throwing hay. As I followed them in, we all drove right past Gabby, she nodded hello but kept working like we were just passing through. I noticed a little smirk on her face as she worked. It was a devious grin. She knew why we were there. Started wondering if maybe she expected us. Suddenly I started to understand Shatemer’s warning a little better. Could she have played me and Deputy Warren for sympathetic fools? Well whatever was set in motion was certainly in motion now, and nothing was going to stop it. I stopped and backed up to where she was throwing hay. Thought it would be best if I was there with her. It was a ways up the drive, but I could see the house. Honestly I was glad to be further away. Bill Martaugh stepped out of the house as they were pulling up. He seen us coming too. Gabby hadn’t been surprised, but he sure seemed to be.
The deputies hurried out and confronted Mr. Martaugh while I went over to talk to Miss Gabby. No sooner than I had got over to where she was feeding them horses, I turned round and saw Deputy Warren putting handcuffs on Mr. Martaugh. He stared over at Gabby with what the Deputy said was the meanest gaze she’d ever seen. Even though they were all the way over at the house, I swear I could feel the heat coming out of that stare too. They had to be two hundred feet away, but if they were ten feet closer, his gaze alone might have set her afire. But Gabby, she never batted an eye. Didn’t even look his way.
Shatemer walked over to us once Mr. Martaugh was secured in the truck. He asked Gabby to accompany him inside the house to make sure everything was locked up, and that she would have to come to the sheriff’s office to sort things out. She asked if she could ride with me instead of with them and he said that was up to me. Once the house was locked up, we headed out, and the sheriff and deputy with Mr. Martaugh soon followed after.
Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Dept. - Leesville
I told Gabby along the way what had been explained to me before we left the hospital. Told her they would have to make a report about suspected child abuse and that she would have to go into the state foster program unless she had any kin in Louisiana that would take her in. Told her she could stay at home if maybe her Aunt and Uncle from Texas would stay at the house. She just said no. Told her it would be a lot easier if we could just ask them if maybe they would just take responsibility for her until this mess was done. NO! That was the end of that.
Mr. Martaugh was taken in for questioning and I’m sure Deputy Warren gave him what for in there. Another deputy whose name I don’t recollect took Gabby for questioning too. It was a long wait and my shift was going to start soon. Had my concerns about what would happen to Gabby so I asked one of the deputies as soon as one appeared. She wouldn’t need a ride, turns out she wasn’t going anywhere except with a social service worker anyhow. Mr. Martaugh had been charged with child abuse. He wasn’t going anywhere with anyone.
I left a message for Deputy Warren to please call me, even though I figured she likely would. Right at that time I didn’t know what to think any more. Didn’t know for sure just who Gabrielle Martaugh really was. Things were looking like the victim in all this was actually the one running the show. Figured I’d better steer clear while things got worked out.
WMH
I got a call from the deputy as expected. **Told her I had to split before because my shift was starting and I only did after I knew Gabby didn’t need a ride. Didn’t bother her none. She told me Bill Martaugh was going to get what was coming to him. She hadn’t spent too much time with his interrogation, but did speak with Gabby for quite some time. Apparently the abuse was nothing new. She’d had many lessons beaten into her over the years.
They were going to put her into a foster care program where she’d be looked after by better people than her father. That wasn’t saying much but it was still relieving for me to hear. What I didn’t hear, however, was a bit unsettling. I didn’t ask Deputy Warren if she knew because she would have brought it up if she had known. So for now, it looked like Gabby and me were the only ones who knew about the baby, and apparently, she wanted to keep it that way.
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