too stupid for even that. I thought he was right. I keep thinking if I could only do things right, then the old Rudy would love me.”
“Did you ever consider leaving him?”
“Yes, after the miscarriage, things got so bad, I thought we should break up.”
“But you didn’t leave.”
“I was too scared.”
“Of him?”
“Yes, I was scared of him but that wasn’t the only reason. I hadn’t been able to make him happy. I kept doing everything wrong so I didn’t think anyone else would want me. Then I got pregnant again and I thought, ‘He was happy the first time. A baby will make him happy again.’”
Mary Margaret gingerly moved her right hand to her belly.
“Did it make him happy?”
“No. He seemed to lose interest in me and I learned he was cheating on me with that other woman.”
Ah , I thought, she knows about Gloria Lucinda .
She looked emotionally spent, so I said, “You’ve done great. You’ll make a fantastic witness. When we get into court, I probably won’t be able to ask you much about those other times he raped and beat you.”
“Why?”
“It’s not allowed generally, but I can ask you about the Friday night when he put you in the hospital. That should be enough.”
“I talked to Detective O’Brien about that night. He has it all in his report now.”
I nodded. “We can talk more about that later, but for now, we’ve done enough.” I gave her a tissue and she wiped her eyes with her right hand.
“You’re going to put him in jail, right?”
“I’m going to do my best.”
She looked scared. “You got to do it,” she said, squeezing my hand hard. “If you don’t, he’ll kill me.”
8
An hour later, O’Brien and I were sitting on the front seat of an unmarked Ford police cruiser parked less than a hundred feet from the entrance to O’Toole’s bar. We were waiting for Rudy Hitchins to surface. I’d assumed we’d simply drive over to the apartment house on Canfield Avenue that Rebecca Finn owned and arrest him, but O’Brien had insisted on waiting here. In my hand was a temporary order of protection signed by a judge that prohibited Hitchins from coming within five hundred feet of Mary Margaret and the apartment that they’d once shared. I checked my watch and it was 4:45 p.m. The evening traffic was beginning to back up as weary workers made their trek home through downtown White Plains.
“Why do you think Hitchins is going to show up here? Isn’t this the last place he’d want to show his face?” I asked.
Detective O’Brien, with his ever-present toothpick held firmly on the right side of his mouth, said, “Oh, he’ll come here.”
I noticed a sudden glint in his eyes. “You a betting girl?” he asked. “I’ll bet you a ten-spot Hitchins shows up here.”
I shook my head. “No thanks.” He seemed too confident for me to bite.
“C’mon,” he prodded. “I thought you had balls. Look, I’ll make it even sweeter. If he don’t show up in the next fifteen minutes, I’ll give you fifty bucks. If he does, then you owe me only ten. He shows in fifteen minutes or you win.”
I could hear my father’s voice screaming in my head—“Watch out! You’re being suckered!”—but I said, “Okay, I’ll take those odds.”
O’Brien grinned and part of me was glad. Even if I lost the bet, he seemed to be warming up to me. Or so I thought. His smile could also be part of a con.
I checked my wristwatch again and as I was raising my head, O’Brien said, “There he is and he’s got that blond broad with him.”
I glanced out the sedan’s front windshield at O’Toole’s, but didn’t see Hitchins or Gloria Lucinda. I looked at O’Brien and saw that he was looking into the car’s rearview mirror. As I swung my neck to check behind us, Rudy Hitchins and his girlfriend strutted by my car door on the sidewalk next to where we were parked. I reached for the door handle, but O’Brien gently took my left arm and said, “Not yet! Wait for him
“Did you ever consider leaving him?”
“Yes, after the miscarriage, things got so bad, I thought we should break up.”
“But you didn’t leave.”
“I was too scared.”
“Of him?”
“Yes, I was scared of him but that wasn’t the only reason. I hadn’t been able to make him happy. I kept doing everything wrong so I didn’t think anyone else would want me. Then I got pregnant again and I thought, ‘He was happy the first time. A baby will make him happy again.’”
Mary Margaret gingerly moved her right hand to her belly.
“Did it make him happy?”
“No. He seemed to lose interest in me and I learned he was cheating on me with that other woman.”
Ah , I thought, she knows about Gloria Lucinda .
She looked emotionally spent, so I said, “You’ve done great. You’ll make a fantastic witness. When we get into court, I probably won’t be able to ask you much about those other times he raped and beat you.”
“Why?”
“It’s not allowed generally, but I can ask you about the Friday night when he put you in the hospital. That should be enough.”
“I talked to Detective O’Brien about that night. He has it all in his report now.”
I nodded. “We can talk more about that later, but for now, we’ve done enough.” I gave her a tissue and she wiped her eyes with her right hand.
“You’re going to put him in jail, right?”
“I’m going to do my best.”
She looked scared. “You got to do it,” she said, squeezing my hand hard. “If you don’t, he’ll kill me.”
8
An hour later, O’Brien and I were sitting on the front seat of an unmarked Ford police cruiser parked less than a hundred feet from the entrance to O’Toole’s bar. We were waiting for Rudy Hitchins to surface. I’d assumed we’d simply drive over to the apartment house on Canfield Avenue that Rebecca Finn owned and arrest him, but O’Brien had insisted on waiting here. In my hand was a temporary order of protection signed by a judge that prohibited Hitchins from coming within five hundred feet of Mary Margaret and the apartment that they’d once shared. I checked my watch and it was 4:45 p.m. The evening traffic was beginning to back up as weary workers made their trek home through downtown White Plains.
“Why do you think Hitchins is going to show up here? Isn’t this the last place he’d want to show his face?” I asked.
Detective O’Brien, with his ever-present toothpick held firmly on the right side of his mouth, said, “Oh, he’ll come here.”
I noticed a sudden glint in his eyes. “You a betting girl?” he asked. “I’ll bet you a ten-spot Hitchins shows up here.”
I shook my head. “No thanks.” He seemed too confident for me to bite.
“C’mon,” he prodded. “I thought you had balls. Look, I’ll make it even sweeter. If he don’t show up in the next fifteen minutes, I’ll give you fifty bucks. If he does, then you owe me only ten. He shows in fifteen minutes or you win.”
I could hear my father’s voice screaming in my head—“Watch out! You’re being suckered!”—but I said, “Okay, I’ll take those odds.”
O’Brien grinned and part of me was glad. Even if I lost the bet, he seemed to be warming up to me. Or so I thought. His smile could also be part of a con.
I checked my wristwatch again and as I was raising my head, O’Brien said, “There he is and he’s got that blond broad with him.”
I glanced out the sedan’s front windshield at O’Toole’s, but didn’t see Hitchins or Gloria Lucinda. I looked at O’Brien and saw that he was looking into the car’s rearview mirror. As I swung my neck to check behind us, Rudy Hitchins and his girlfriend strutted by my car door on the sidewalk next to where we were parked. I reached for the door handle, but O’Brien gently took my left arm and said, “Not yet! Wait for him
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