What Had To Be Done

1

What Had To Be Done2

The phone ringing woke me. I looked at the clock, trying to see what time it was. One a.m. I picked the phone up. “Hello,” I grumbled.3

“Susan,” came a panicky voice though the phone.4

“Jule, what’s wrong?” I asked as I sat up in bed. “It’s Jack. We’re fighting again,” she said, her voice was trembling. “Can you come get me?”5

“Yeah,” I said s I turned the light on. “Be right there.” I hung the phone up. I sighed heavily as I got dressed. This was the third time she had called me to come pick her. Julie was my twin and I would do anything for her.6

As I drove over to their apartment, I thought about the first call I had gotten from her. They had been at a party and Jack was drunk. They had gotten into an argument and then he slapped her. After she told me that I was ready to kill him .I didn’t like him anyway and this just added fuel to the fire.7

She called me at work once because Jack had thrown all her clothes and things out in the yard. I went over and helped her get her things. Julie stayed with me for a few days and then Jack called and said he was sorry, that he would never do anything like that again .I told her he was lying but she went back.8

I turned left on Main and drove up to their apartment. I could see Julie standing in the yard. Jack was in the doorway. I parked the jeep ad got out.9

“You all right, Jule?”10

“I’m fine,” she said wiping the tears away.11

I could see Jack’s handprint on her face. “You don’t look fine to me,” I said staring at Jack. He was still in the doorway.12

“You need to go home Susan. This doesn’t concern you,” he snarled.13

“You bet it does Jack. She’s my sister and if you touch her again I will kill you,” I said feeling my anger boiling over.14

“Whatever. Jule, come back inside.”15

“No, Jack. I’m going with Susan tonight,” Julie said as she walked to my jeep.16

“Fine! Then don’t come back at all,” Jack said.17

“Let’s go,” I said as I got in the jeep.18

We didn’t say anything on the way to my house. I didn’t know what to say to her .I was running out of things to convince her to leave him. I was afraid he would eventually kill her. Julie looked out the window. I guess she was ashamed to look at me.19

After we got to my house I got her some blankets and a pillow for the couch.20

“If you need me, I’ m just down the hall,” I said.21

“Thanks, Susan,” she said.22

“Yeah,” I said and went to my bedroom. I was lying down trying to figure out why she always went back to him. I couldn’t understand it. I finally fell asleep around three thirty.23

I got up to go to the bathroom and heard Julie on the phone.24

“I know,” she said. “It’s okay. I know you have a lot of pressure from work.”25

“Who’s on the phone?” I asked, startling her. “Is it Jack?”26

“Yeah,” she said covering the phone with her hand.27

“Why are you talking to him?”28

“He wanted to apologize for last night,” she said.29

“What? Give me the phone,” I said as I walked over to her and held my hand out for the phone.30

“No, Susan. This is between us,” she said. She removed her hand from the phone. “I’ll be home later, Jack.” Then she hung the phone up.31

“Julie, what is wrong with you?” I asked watching her stand up.32

“Nothing. Jack loves me and I love him. I want to work through this,” she said.33

“Have you lost your mind? He slapped the crap out of you again and now you’re running back to him,” I said, feeling angry again.34

“Look. Susan, things are difficult for us sometimes. Jack has stress from his job and sometimes I guess I add to it,” she said.35

“Oh my God! You’re going to stand here and defend that piece of crap? I don’t understand you, Jule.”36

“I love him, Susan. I don’t want to spend my life alone like you. I need Jack in my life,” she said.37

“Get out Julie! Now!” I yelled at her. I couldn’t believe she had said that. It really hurt. I turned and walked down the hall to the bathroom. I heard the front door close. I was really hurt by her words. True, I was alone, but that was my choice. At least I knew I didn’t’ want to spend my life with someone who thought I was a punching bag.38

I got ready for work and headed out. I was in a bad mood all-day and kept quite at work. Julie called me at the office around lunch to apologize .I hung up on her. I didn’t want to talk to her right now. She called right back.39

“Susan. Talk to me,” Julie said.40

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said as I looked over some financial reports lying on my desk.41

“I’m sorry I said that,” Julie said.42

“Look, Jule. Next time Jack decides to slap you around don’t call me,” I said and hung up. I knew it was a mean thing to say, but I was still upset with her.43

Around five thirty I left the office and headed home. I checked my machine, two messages from Julie and one from Mom. Great, I thought. Julie had called Mom and dragged her into this. I didn’t really want to talk to either one of them right now.44

The next couple of days were uneventful. Julie hadn’t called. So I assumed everything was fine with her. I finally called Mom and told her about the argument we had. But I didn’t tell her about Jack hitting Julie. She listened and then she told me what she thought about the situation.45

“Susan, you know Julie isn’t strong like you. She has her way of dealing with things even if it doesn’t seem like the right way to you. Things will work out between her and Jack. And things will work out between you two as well. Just let her deal with it, okay?” Mom said.46

“I know what you’re saying, Mom. I’m tired of her attitude. She doesn’t appreciate anything I do for her. I’m tired of trying to help her.”47

“I understand what you’re saying, Susan. Julie does appreciate you and she really loves you. I’m sorry that things are difficult for you two sometimes. Just take some time to cool down and then talk to her Susan,” Mom said.48

“Yeah. Okay, Mom,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later.”49

“All right. By dear.”50

I was still upset with Julie. I couldn’t believe she would go back to him again. I didn’t understand it and I knew if I kept thinking about it I would probably lose my mind. So I just locked everything inside and went about my routine.51

It had been about a week since I had last talked to Julie. Then I got a call from her friend Ginger while I was at work.52

“Hey, what’s going?” I said.53

“Have you heard from Julie? She hasn’t been to work the last couple of days.”54

That sent an alarm off inside me. “I haven’t talked to her for a few days.”55

“She’s not answering her cell. Can you get in touch with her?”56

“I’ll try. I’ll call you back, Ginger,” I said and hung up. 57

I called Julie’s cell and got her voicemail. Then I called their house and got the machine. I felt panic set in .I called Mom next. She had talked to Julie Sunday night around nine. Everything seemed fine then, she said. I told Mom I was going to Julie’s apartment. She said she’d meet me there.58

When I got there I saw Julie’s car in the parking lot. Jack’s truck was gone. I hoped she was gone in it. I ran to the door and knocked loudly. I looked in my bag for the spare Julie had given me last year. I unlocked the door and opened it slowly. 59

“Julie? You here? It’s Susan,” I said looking around the living room. Everything was in disarray. The furniture was overturned and the lamp was lying in a smashed heap. I heard something behind me. I turned around. It was Mom.60

“Susan, where is she? What happened here?”61

“I don’t know. You stay here. I’m going to look around,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. Broken dishes were lying in the floor and the trashcan was overturned. No sign of Julie. I went down the hall to their bedroom. The door was half closed.62

“Jule, are you in there?” I asked as I turned the knob. What I saw next made me scream.63

“Susan! What is it? ”Mom yelled, running down the hall to the bedroom.64

I was standing frozen in the doorway. Julie was lying in the floor next to the bed. Her left hand was outstretched as if she were trying to reach the phone. There was a pool of blood surrounding her head.65

Mom ran over to her. “Oh my God! Julie, my baby!” Mom lifted her head up. Blood covered Mom’s hands. “Call 911 Susan!” Mom held Julie as I managed to dial 911.66

The ambulance got there in about a minute and a half. I watched the paramedics work on her for a few minutes. Then one of them said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. She’s gone.”67

Mom lost it then. She pushed the EMTs out of the way. She fell to her knees holding Julie, crying and screaming. I went over to her and tried to her pull her away from Julie. 68

“Oh God! My baby’s dead!” she screamed, not letting go of Julie. She was rocking her head in her lap. I took Mom by the arm and tried to get her to let go of Julie.69

The paramedics helped me get Mom outside. The police asked us questions and wrote down the information. I told them I knew who did it. Jack Long.70

I drove Mom home. After I got her inside I went to the bathroom where she kept her sleeping pills and madder her take one. I sat there with her trying to calm her down. After about fifteen minutes the pill kicked in and she fell asleep on the couch.71

I went to the den and poured a shot of whiskey. I downed it and closed my eyes. I saw Julie lying there, blood all around her. Her skin was pale and her brown hair looked black. Her blue eyes were staring straight ahead. This couldn’t be real, I thought as I poured another shot. I sat down in Dad’s old chair with the bottle of whiskey. How could this have happened, I thought. I should have called her. I should have never let her go back to him. I replayed the last thing I had said to her .Not to call me when Jack hit her again. I felt hot tears flowing down my face. I took a drink straight from the bottle. “This can’t be real,” I said outloud. I felt sick inside. I thought about how people said that twins feel each other’s pain and things like that. I hadn’t felt anything like that. Not even when we were kids. We didn’t have that connection people assumed we had. I cursed myself for not having that ability. If we had had that connection I could have saved her. I took another drink, feeling numb from the pain and alcohol.72

The phone startled me. I got up to answer it. “Hello.”73

“Is this Mrs. Harper?”74

“This is her daughter Susan.”75

“Susan, I’m Detective Smith from the fifth precinct,” said the man.76

“Yes, can I help you?”77

“We’re still looking for Jack. You have any idea where he might go?”78

“He has family in Colorado. Boulder, I think.”79

“I’ve got every man I can spare looking for him. I’m sorry about your sister,” he said/80

“Than you,” I said. “I wanted to be informed about everything.”81

“Yes, ma’am, ”he said. “I’ll call as soon as I have something.”82

“Thank you, Detective,” I said and hung up.83

The next several days were extremely rough. The corner’s report said that Julie had been killed by blunt force trauma to the head. In other words Jack had smashed her head in, I thought. The police had found a ball bat several streets down covered in blood. After they told me that I knew it was the bat that I had given to Julie to use as protection. I want to get my hands on Jack so bad then.84

I was trying to make funeral arrangements and keep myself together. Later in the afternoon I got a call from Detective Smith.85

“Susan, we got him. We got Jack, ”he said. “He was at his sister’s house in Boulder.”86

“Good. What happens now?”87

“There’ll be a trial. We have enough evidence to put him away for life.”88

“Thank you, Detective Smith,” I said.89

“I’ll call you later when I have the rest of the details, ”he said.90

“Thank you.”91

I went to Mom’s bedroom where she had been for the last couple of days.92

“Mom, the police got Jack,” I said as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Mom looked awful. Her face looked sunken from the lack of sleep and the abundance of tears.93

“Good. I hope the bastard rots,”she said, looking at me with such sadness in her eyes.94

I hugged her and she started crying. She pulled away. “If your father were still alive, this would have killed him. God rest his soul,” she said.95

I nodded .In a way I was glad Dad wasn’t here to deal with this. He had passed three years ago from cancer. Julie had been his favorite, and this would have killed him.96

Thursday morning I got up early and went outside. I sat in the porch swing with a cup of coffee. Julie and I used to sit in the swing and eat ice cream and giggle .I smiled at that thought and felt my heart break at the same time. I sat there for a while and then went back inside. I got ready and drove to the funeral home. I got Mom settled inside and greeted people.97

The wake had been very painful last night. Jule had had a lot of friends. People lined the block to pay their respect to her. Flowers just kept coming. Some from people who didn’t even know her, but had seen the story on the news.98

I walked up the aisle to the casket. I stared at her. It was like looking in a mirror except her eyes were closed. Crying, I touched her had. “Jule, I’m so sorry. I’m going to make sure Jack pays for this,” I said. I touched her dark hair and straightened the cross necklace that I had given her for our last birthday.99

I sat down by Mom and held her hand. I couldn’t believe Julie was gone. The service went smoothly. The pastor from the church we attended when we were kids performed the service. I also spoke a few words.100

At the cemetery I had a hard time. I cried so much I threw up. A couple of friends helped me to the car.101

I went through the next few days in a strange state of mind. I got another call from Detective Smith on November tenth. The trail for Jack was scheduled to start in a week. I counted the days. They seemed to drag on forever.102

Finally it was the first day of the trail. I couldn’t understand why Jack even got a trail. Everyone knew he did it.103

We sat close to the back of the courtroom and listened to opening statements. The next couple of days were full of experts on DNA and things I didn’t really understand. Then Jack took the stand .I looked at his smug face and wanted to bash it in. 104

He sat there without a care in the world. His black eyes were full of hate. Finally the lawyer from the DA’s office cross -examined Jack. Jack lied about Julie said she was into drugs and was a violent person .He said the night that she had died, she had attacked him. He hit her in self -dense. I stood up and yelled, “You lying bastard! You’re going to burn in hell!”105

“Order!” The judge banged his gavel. “Sit down, Miss, or I’ll have you removed from the courtroom.”106

I sat down slowly. I wanted to choke the life out of Jack. I couldn’t believe they were allowing Jack to say that awful stuff about Julie. The court recessed late that afternoon. I was walking to my car, trying to calm down. I didn’t think I could take much more of this.107

I made it to the courthouse the next day after the lunch break. I sat down beside Mom. “Where have you been?” she whispered.108

“I had some things to take care of.”109

Jack was on the stand. The DA was still cross examing him.110

“You testified that you were in fear of your life from a hundred and fifteen pound woman? ”the lawyer asked.111

“Yeah,” Jack said. “She was hopped up on crack and was freaking out.”112

“Freaking out? Could you explain this please.”113

“You know, she was screaming and throwing stuff at me. She did that a lot lately,” Jack said.114

The lawyer asked him another question and Jack answered, “I had to hit her. She was crazy She might have killed me.” 115

I stood up and took the gun out of my bag. I aimed at Jack and fired until the gun was empty. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. People were screaming and ducking under tables. I dropped the gun slowly and looked at Jack’s body slumped over in the witness box. I felt empty inside but relief washed over me too.116

“It’s what had to be done,” I said as the police cuffed me.117