CHAPTER 7 : RAY'S TURN

Detective Cromwell hangs up the phone and shuffles through the files on his desk. Finding the one he was looking for, he opens it and jots down a few notes. His eyes fall on the file marked "Swier".

Cromwell’s teeth clench and his head shakes.

He suddenly stands up and begins to take a wide lap around his desk. Stopping, he runs his fingers through his hair and stares back at the file. “Fine!” he sharply mutters and turns away from his desk.

Ray is sitting in his apartment, eating lunch. Slouching down into his couch, he scoops another spoonful of ravioli into his mouth. On the TV a man is giving a talk on the importance of not being lukewarm. As Ray scoops the remainder of the sauce out of the bowl, there is a knock at the door. After quickly rinsing his dishes in the sink, he opens the door.

Cromwell is quick to greet Ray.

“Good morning, Ray! Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Detective Timothy Cromwell,” the words come calculated, but smooth. “Don’t be alarmed, I mean you no harm,” Cromwell reassuringly declares as he reaches out his hand. Ray takes the gesture and returns the smile.

“Exactly what’s going on, Detective?” he ponders aloud. He had thought it was going to be the landlord wanting to introduce himself, not, a detective.

“Well Ray, I’m afraid I’m going to need your help today, and I’m not the only one.”

“Is someone in trouble?

“I hope not Ray, but he could be. Mr. Gary Swier is a friend of yours, correct?”

“Yes Sir, for some time now. Is he alright?” The urgency and concern in Ray’s voice is unmistakable.

“Fear not, he’s… he’s quite alright at the moment, but there are some that wish him great harm. I’m hoping your cooperation, and information, will put an end to their scheme. If you aren’t too busy, would you please help us and come down to the station to answer some questions?

“Absolutely! Just let me shut the TV off and lock up quick first.” Ray eagerly slips back into the apartment only to reappear seconds later, ready to go.

“Thanks!” Cromwell warmly exclaims as he pats Ray on the back. The two head downstairs to the detective’s car.

“I’ve been at this way too long to play this any other way,” Cromwell thinks as he smiles and lets Ray into the car.

Detective Cromwell leads Ray into an interrogation room.

“Take a seat, I’ll be right back.”

Ray sits down and waits. After waiting for a few moments, Ray bows his head and begins to pray, but shortly after he begins, Cromwell returns.

“I got off to a rough start this morning and I haven’t really eaten yet. I’ve just been worried about this whole thing with Gary,” Cromwell momentarily pauses, “But now we should be able to sit down and figure this thing out. I brought you a doughnut too, we’ll need our energy. This may be a long day.” Cromwell hands Ray the doughnut and an orange juice, then takes a bite of his own.

“I just finished lunch, but thanks for dessert. It’s been years since I’ve had a doughnut, Detective. Umm, what’s going on with Gary anyway?” Ray asks as he opens his orange juice.

“Hopefully nothing, but I’ve got to plan for the worst just in case. I’d hate to be unprepared and have Gary end up getting arrested or something just because I didn’t try to help him. Do you need anything else, Ray? I can get pretty much anything if you want it.”

“No, that’s ok. This doughnut is great though. Thank you. I just want to focus on helping Gary right now. What do you need to know?”

“Well, I know what happened all those years ago between you and Gary, and I know how much he’s been helping you. I think all that is really great. Perhaps if I knew more about you though, that would be a good place to start. You’ve obviously lived a rare and interesting life, Ray, but how did it start? What was your life like before that night?”

Ray chews his doughnut a little more and swallows. He's not sure how this will help, but he likes the detective and plays along.

“It’s nothing pretty, that’s for sure. My home life was always a disaster. My old man was always a real jerk to me… my whole life. I know he was usually drunk, but what a jerk. He was so mean too, and often violent. Mom was always too scared of him to say anything, and when he’d start in on me, she usually just left the room and let him go at me. I hated him so much, I just wanted to find a way to get mom out of there, but she would have been too scared to leave anyway. I tried not to be home much, but I hated leaving Mom there alone with him, even if it was just to go to school. There were a few times when I had enough and just took off, but he always found me and would drag me back home. For as much as he hated having me around, he sure wouldn’t let me be anywhere else. I just couldn’t get out.”

“Really?”

“I felt so trapped. Life was a constant battle, and I felt like I was losing. I still can’t understand how Mom ever was able put up with it.”

“Ray, that’s terrible! I thought I could use that question as just a little icebreaker.”

The detective’s eyes woo compassion at Ray as the conversation continues.

“Why didn’t you try to do something else about it, Ray?”

“What could I do? If I called the cops or social services, he’d have just got me back, or he would have taken it out on Mom.”

“What about school? How was that?”

“I don’t know. I got alright grades, well at least I passed everything. Couldn’t graduate, you know, but I got my GED while I was locked up. Had some friends and stuff, but no one too close. I tried to escape a bit while I was there, but I could never stop thinking about what was going on at home. I always thought I would come home one day and find Mom dead, or in the hospital again, or something. Although I always liked sports I never went out for any, mostly because Mom would have to be home alone with him for that much longer. I suppose my old man would have never let me anyway. It probably would’ve cost too much, and brought me a little happiness...”

“Wow, Ray, I’m sorry to hear that. Where was your parents’ house at the time?”

“Same place it is now, 1748 Oak Street. Small little house. My old man lives there alone now. Mom died shortly after I got locked up. I’m sure the jerk blames me for it and thinks that I killed her. I can’t believe she made it as long as she did living with him. They were married like 22 or 23 years when she died.”

“Did your dad visit you while you were in prison?”

“No, not once the whole time I was in. In fact, the only visitor I ever had was Gary.”

Ray pauses for a moment and then adds, “It’s not like I expected my old man to come and see me, though. The letter, cold as it was, was more than I expected from him.”

“He wrote you then, huh?” Cromwell digs deeper and prompts further discussion about the topic.

“Yeah, just once. It was shortly after the trial was over. I have to admit, I was a little excited when it showed up. Totally surprised, but a bit excited. That ended abruptly once I opened it. The man is so nasty. The letter was short, hateful, and to the point. It pretty much said that he had always known I was a waste of space and completely worthless. Now that I had proven what an idiot I was by killing someone, he would never speak to me or acknowledge my existence ever again… ever. For all practical purposes I was dead and my corpse was disowned. He added that he would not allow Mom to see or write me either, and that she knew it wouldn’t be any good for her. I think that all letters into and out of the prison get checked and read, so once I saw it, I was kind of surprised that they even gave it to me. A letter like that can really mess with a man.”

“Ray, I had no idea. I’m so sorry to have even brought it up.”

Cromwell’s face and eyes are so soft, they are almost melting with compassion.

“It’s ok. It’s the truth, and I can’t change that. All I can do is learn to prayerfully accept it and move past it. My parents were too ashamed to come to the trial, so I never even got to tell Mom goodbye. Gary was actually the one who let me know she died, and I fear the next time I’ll see my old man will be at his funeral. It’s a shame too, because there’s so much I want to tell him now.”

Ray looks up at Cromwell, a little teary-eyed.

“I’ve forgiven him, and I don’t stand a chance at changing him, but I know the One who can. I just wish he could forgive me. If Gary can, why can’t he? But I know that answer too.”

“When did you first meet Gary anyway?”

“I guess I must have seen him the night of the accident, but I don’t remember it. The first time we met was about two months after I got sentenced. I got brought out for a visit, and I had no idea what to expect. I thought maybe Mom had snuck out, but I get there and it’s some guy I don’t recognize, and I had no idea who he was. I thought maybe it was a reporter doing a story or something, and here it’s the guy whose wife I killed, and he don’t even look angry.”

Puzzled, Cromwell asks, “You mean you didn’t recognize him from the trial.”

“Gary never showed up.”

“Really, you killed his wife and he didn’t even bother showing up at trial? Didn’t he want to see you get locked up?”

“He never told me. I thought it was strange he wasn’t there, but I was relieved too. After all the movies you see with people yelling and screaming at the defendant, I was probably most afraid of facing him. Some of Julie’s family and friends were there with teary or resentful eyes, but Gary definitely wasn’t, or I would have recognized him when he came.”

Peering peculiarly at Ray, Cromwell shifts gears.

“But you should have recognized him from when you planned the murder.”

“What?!?” Ray exclaims, wide eyed and puzzled.

“Oh, you didn’t think I knew? Look, we know the whole thing was a set up. That’s the trouble your good buddy is in. You served your time, but he never did.”

Leaning forward Cromwell adds, “But of course you were only charged with vehicular manslaughter. If they knew that Gary hired you kill his wife, I’m sure you’d still be rotting away in that old cage of yours.”

“Detective, I don’t know who told you what, but they are lying," Ray earnestly pleads. "It was an accident. Gary had nothing to do with it. There’s no way I could intentionally kill someone. If I could, my old man would have been gone a long time ago.”

Ray is baffled beyond belief and trying to recall all of what he just shared. Why did he start sharing do much with this detective?

“Really?!? Why didn’t you just kill him and help your mom then?”

“I couldn’t do that. There’s no way I could just kill someone.”

With sarcasm dripping off every word, Cromwell replies, “Well I guess it had to be an accident then. Case closed.”

“It was an accident!” Ray implores.

“Yeah right! Do you know what I do for a living? I’m the guy who catches the criminals who would have slid through the cracks; the guys who would have gotten away with it, like you and Gary. That’s why you are here, Ray. I realize Gary pretends to have ‘forgiven’ you for helping him out, but I am actually willing to give you a chance at real forgiveness.”

Doubt is the only expression on Ray’s face as he slowly responds.

“I don’t think you know the first thing about forgiveness, Detective. I have received true and lasting forgiveness already. That’s an offer that’s open for you too”

“Knock it off, Ray! Unlike some, I’ve done nothing that needs to be forgiven. But I do have a pretty good offer for you. If you would be willing to testify against Gary and admit that he set up the murder of his wife, I could probably get you witness protection. Then you would have an even nicer apartment and car than the ones Gary bribed you with and you wouldn’t have to worry about ever facing him or your dad ever again.”

Cromwell has started enunciating Mr. Swier's first name and inflecting a derogatory tone to it. Whether it will plant the desired seeds within Ray's subconscious or not remains to be seen. But the detective knows that it can't hurt, especially since it should help out with what's to come.

“Gary is probably the only real friend I’ve ever had. There is no way I would lie to get him in trouble, no matter what you offer me.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. Ray, I’m trying to help you here. Gary isn’t the only one in serious trouble. You’re in the same boat! If he goes down, you will go down with him. You only have one way out; cooperate with us and put Gary where he deserves to be. I’m not asking you to lie, I’m asking you to quit living the lie. Let the truth set you free, right?”

“The real Truth has already set me free, Detective, and Gary too. He has done nothing wrong, and you can’t prove he has.”

“Speaking of truth, you do know that ‘Gary’ isn’t Mr. Swier’s real name, right? That’s just an alias that he uses now. It’s kind of hard to trust a man living a lie, who pretends to be your friend and isn’t even honest with you, huh, Ray?”

Detective Cromwell coolly plays another card. Breaking this creep and taking down Mr. Swier will bring both pleasure, and justice…

Ray looks completely baffled.

“I don’t know anything about that, Detective, but Gary is an honest man and a true friend!”

“Ray, you told me yourself that he didn’t show up for the trial. Who does that? A man who’s glad his wife is dead, that’s who. Was Gary ever mad at you? Did he even once act angrily towards you?”

“No, he didn’t. He’s forgiven me.”

“Ray! Can you not see what’s going on? Of course he’s not angry, you gave him what he wanted, freedom from his marriage. He doesn’t have any reason to forgive you. In fact, he should thanking you. Wait! Wait a minute… that’s exactly what he’s been doing, isn’t it, Ray?”

Ray shakes his head and looks away, “No, he’s just being a good friend. He actually cares about me and wants to help me. He knows no one else will. It’s not like my old man will let me live in one of his empty rooms or anything.”

“Well that’s the other appeal of the deal I’m offering you. Ray. Your dad would never be able to find you. We can hide you, and protect you. You know he’d never leave you alone before. How long will it be until he finds out you’re out, changes his mind, and puts you under his control again? How long will you let him abuse you? Help me help you!”

Cromwell is almost screaming at Ray now.

“That abuse is done, over and forgiven. He can’t control me now even if he wanted to.”

“Right. And I’m sure he won’t even try, huh? Is that really a chance you want to take?”

“That’s in the Lord’s hands, ok? If he tries to contact me that would be great, like I said, I have a lot I want to share with him.”

“Won’t you at least do it to help Julie then? Her husband had her killed, Man, and you did it! Help put him away, let justice be served.”

The appeals that Cromwell can make are almost endless, and so far Ray hasn't thought about asking to leave. Thankfully, the detective had kept him quite preoccupied and distracted. He's become a professional at playing every angle in these situations, hence his lack of needing another officer for the “good detective, bad detective” routine. Yes, Cromwell can handle this quite well on his own, and those guys are all clowns anyway.

“I’ve already told you, Gary had nothing to Julie’s death,” Ray continues. “That was an accident, one which I have already paid for!”

“Just look at the evidence! Gary didn’t bother to come to the trial, did he?”

“No,” Ray admits.

“And has he ever acted angrily towards you?”

“No, but that’s because Jesus has helped him forgive. You see…”

“No! I don’t see! Do you see Jesus?!?!?” Cromwell cuts him off. “It makes no sense Ray. Have you ever been in love? Truly, madly, deeply, intensely in love?”

Cromwell is standing now and glaring down heavily upon Ray. He pauses, breathing heavily, and waits for a response.

“Once, for a while,” Ray timidly replies, looking startled and concerned.

“Well let’s pretend that that love lasted. It continued to grow and blossom and develop and mature. Let’s pretend you two had gotten married and that she was the best wife you could ever imagine and a more fulfilling companion than you could have ever dreamed of. Then some guy killed her, and took the biggest part of your life away from you forever. FOREVER, RAY! How would you feel towards the man who did that?”

“Honestly, I would hope that I could forgive and show him the love of God.”

“I didn’t ask what you hoped, I asked how you would feel, but you aren’t willing to admit that are you? You know that you would feel like strangling him. You would want him dead and her back, but since you would know she ain’t coming back, you’d settle for having him dead, wouldn’t you? If they found out who did it, you would want vengeance! Admit it Ray, that’s the proper response. Not some carefree, spiritual, religious, ‘land of make believe’ hope, but a real, normal, human response. You’d want justice, but Gary doesn’t. There is only one explanation for that, whether you two planned it or not, he wanted her dead. He wanted her out of his life, and you gave him that. Did he ever thank you?”

“Not for what happened that night, Detective.”

“But he showed his appreciation for what you did by visiting you in prison all the time, right?”

“Gary did visit, and sometimes often, but I don’t think it’s out of gratitude for killing his wife. Seriously, Detective.”

Cromwell scowls and barks, “I am serious! Yes, you think, but you can think wrong, Ray. Seriously wrong! What about all the gifts? It doesn’t make sense. You know he paid rent on that apartment for a whole year, don’t you? Just how much life insurance did he have on her?”

“Honestly, he never mentioned it, but he sure wasn’t acting like he’d won the lottery! He’s just helping me. It may be in an extremely generous and strange way, but he’s just helping me. Not thanking me or repaying me, but helping me, Detective.”

The conversation pauses. Ray looks completely bewildered by the accusations. Cromwell seems collected, and deep in thought. Suddenly his eyebrows raise and he smirks.

“Is Gary married?” He probes and continues to smear Mr. Swier's alias.

“He was, remember? But he’s a widower now.”

“So he never remarried?”

“No.”

“Come on, Man! Does that sound like a guy who thought marriage was a good idea? If he wanted a wife, then why has he spent the past decade single and alone? He obviously realized his mistake, and you gave him a way out. Even if Gary didn’t talk you into killing his wife, he wanted her dead and he’s glad she’s gone. Won’t you at least admit that?”

“I guess I understand how you could take it that way, but…”

“But what?!? It’s obvious, Ray! Admit it!” Cromwell screams.

“It’s just not true!” Ray shouts back.

Cromwell pauses, it takes only a moment for him to regain his composure.

“Ray, I’m not going to charge you right now with anything. I would hate for you to miss your one chance just because you feel like being stubborn. I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded how terrible it was in prison, and after such a brief breath of fresh air, I’d hate to send you back for five or six times as long right away. I’m going to release you and let you think about this. You must realize that you have very few options, so think it over.”

Cromwell walks behind Ray and pats him on the back in a reassuring manner. Good Detective.

“You will only get this one chance, and then, you’re done. Both of you, Ray.”

Cromwell squeezes Ray’s shoulder hard, his hand still resting on it, and tries to dig his nails into the skin beneath Ray’s shirt. Ray winces. Bad Detective. Cromwell leans in and begins to whisper.

“Either way Gary is going to pay for this. If you think you’ve already paid enough, let’s make a deal, but if you want to keep Gary company and show him the ropes in prison, that’s your choice. Then you’ll be able to help him, and thank him for all he’s done. I wouldn’t suggest talking to Gary about our conversation either. He already let you take the rap once before. It’s time you started thinking about yourself and your own well-being. Gary ripped you off anyway. He wanted her dead and you provided that for him, and yet he’ll only give you a used car and a tiny apartment. Most guys would pay you way more than that. Until I know whose side you’re on, I’d rather not be seen hanging out with you, so here’s a twenty for a cab.”

Cromwell releases his grip and rounds the table. He looks sternly at Ray and pulls a crumpled bill out of his pocket, letting it drop onto the table. He pulls out a business card and flings it at Rays head. It slaps him on the cheek before falling onto the table.

“That’s so you know I mean business,” Cromwell smirks at the pun. “Call me soon or I might have to bring you both in. It was nice to meet you, Ray. I hope you’re smarter than you’ve been behaving

THE END OF CHAPTER 7

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LOVE LIKE HIS : Chapter 7 – Ray’s Turn - An Original Story by @papa-pepper