knowâregardless of their âbook learninâ!â She chuckled softly. âYou might be able to fool others, Gerald included, with your âdumb old womanâ routine, but donât try it on me. I know better. And I trust your judgement. You know I do.â
Audra stood and faced Mike, suddenly decisive. âOkay. Letâs go to the station and fill out those reports. Quickly, before I lose my nerve.â
*Â Â Â *Â Â Â *
That evening, Audra found herself defending her actions.
âI canât believe you actually went through with this crazy notion, Audra,â Gerald said stiffly. âWhat if the board gets wind of what youâre doing? Hell, for all you know, that voice on the radio could be one of the board membersâor one of their familyâor a priestâor a minister! Why didnât you wait until we had discussed it before actually making out a report?â
âWhat you mean is, why didnât I wait until you had talked me out of doing anything. Isnât that it, Gerald?â
He was amazed at her accurate assessment, but denied it vehemently. âNo! That isnât what I meant. There were several other avenues we could have explored before going to the police. We could have found out who the man was, and let you see him, before going any further. If you recognized him, fine. We could have then gone ahead. But now your name is on record as accusing this person of a heinous crime. If he isnât the man, thatâs bad enough, but what if he is the man? How long do you think it will take him to discover your name? What if he comes after you again? Have you given any thought to that?â
Audra sat down quickly on the sofa in her living room, her shaking legs giving way. It had all seemed so easy at the police station. Everyone had been courteous and polite, taking her seriously as nearly as she could tell. Mike had stayed right by her side the entire time. âHeâthey told me my name would not be given outânot until much later. They are just going to check up on the manâhis alibi, if he has a record, that sort of thing.â
Gerald shook his head in disbelief. âBut donât you see, Audra? Once they start questioning him, he will know it has to be you! Is there any way he could have found out your name ten years ago?â
âNo. I donât think so. My name was kept from the papers, and the hospital was ordered not to give out any information about the crime. My name was never even officially entered on the hospital computers. My father saw to that, personally. When the police told him it would be unsafe for me if the man determined my name, since I could identify him, my father made sure he couldnât reach me through the hospital computers. Heâhe worked with computers, knew they could be accessed.â Audraâs eyes filled with tears as she remembered. âDad caused quite a ruckus over it, actually. Threatened to sue if my name was entered! One of the girls told me about it afterâafter his heart attack. She said I was lucky to have a father who cared that much.â
Gerald stopped pacing and sat down beside Audra. âThen all we have to worry about is whether or not this guy can get your name from the police hereâif he is the man, which, of course, is questionable. If he isnât, we have a whole other set of problems.â
âLike what?â
âLike accusing an innocent person, dragging him through a police investigation, the paper getting hold of it, that sort of thing. How long do you think youâll keep your job at Williamâs if this gets out? And have you forgotten we have a wedding in three weeks?â
âNo, I havenât forgotten, Gerald! This doesnât have to change any of our plans.â Audra hesitated briefly, then decided to get it over with. âAnd speaking of the wedding, I suppose you know that I want Bess to sit in as my mother. We
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