Read Online Don't You Forget About Me by Suzanne Jenkins - Free Book Online Page A

station. One of the officers opened the door for Bill. He struggled to get out with his hands shackled. The urge to sprint away was strong; the officer must have sensed he was ready to bolt because he took him gently but firmly by the upper arm and led him into the building. No one spoke as they rode the elevator together. Once they got to the office, the man let go of his arm.
    “Come with me,” Jim said. He was getting sick and tired of rich people making more work for him. He led Bill to a small room.
    Interrogation popped into Bill’s mind when he saw the table and two chairs. He hesitated before walking through the door, frightened at the confined space.
    Jim explained, “Someone is using my desk right now. We’ll be more comfortable in here.” A lunatic was screaming in the background. “Don’t mind the noise. He’s here once a week. Have a seat.” He pulled out one of the chairs for Bill to sit in. “Do you want something to drink?” Bill shook his head no. Jim left the room, closing the door behind him.
    Bill was so nervous. What if they take me back to jail? For the first time since he had arrived home, he thought of Anne and the boys. He hadn’t seen his sons yet. It was obvious his wife was furious with him. Maybe he shouldn’t have rushed off to see his mother like he did.
    The officer returned with two cups of coffee and a notepad. It looked like Bill would get coffee whether he wanted it or not.
    “So tell me what happened today.” He looked at Bill and smiled. Bill had nothing to hide. There was no reason to withhold anything.
    “I got out of jail this morning,” Bill said. Jim put his pen down and looked at him. How did I miss this news when I did the background check on this guy?
    “What were the charges?” the officer asked. Bill looked at him, confused.
    “Why were you incarcerated?” he clarified. So this is one of those guys who just looks smart .
    “I put a knife to my sister-in-law’s mother’s throat.”
    Where have I heard that story before, just today? Jim put his pen down and excused himself. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
    Bill sat there, bored, thinking about his kids, his mother, his life. What would I have done differently? Hehated business. He would have liked to have been a nurse. He loved his mandatory biology class freshman year. But when he approached his father about it, the old man had a fit.
    “Go to medical school, for Christ’s sake! No son of mine is going to be a nurse.” Bill knew he wasn’t smart enough to go to either medical or nursing school. He barely got through college. He just didn’t have the confidence needed to do much with his life outside of what fell into his lap. That included finding his wife.
    Anne was his roommate’s sister, attractive but shy. She followed him around, and since he wasn’t aggressive enough to make a pass at her, they hung out together and nothing more. Eventually, they had been together long enough that it was expected they would get married. He went to his brother, Jack, for advice.
    “How’d you know that Pam was the one?” he had asked innocently.
    Jack felt sorry for his brother; he was still an idealist, no matter what his life had been like. “She fit in with the family. That was the only criteria.” Jack admitted that he was attracted to her as well. But it was more important that a wife would be there by his side through thick and thin. Pam was devoted, if nothing else.
    Anne certainly fit the mold. However, where Pam was carefree and accepting, Anne was suspicious and unsatisfied. She hated Bernice’s intrusion into their home life from the beginning. She and Bill fought passionately about it.
    It was during one these confrontations that Bill found out how much he liked hitting his wife. There wasnothing better than to haul off and smack her across her smug face. If she wasn’t expecting it, his open hand could send her flying across the room. He rationalized that as long as he didn’t punch