Read Online This Little Piggy Went to Murder by Ellen Hart - Free Book Online
Authors: Ellen Hart
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sure, the truths of Howell A. Purdis had ceased to hold any meaning for her. The moral foundation of her life had, amazingly, begun to look like the pathetic whims of a sick, twisted, pompous old man.
Now it was Norman’s turn to be hysterical. He might have forgiven her for taking their son to a doctor, but he would never forgive her for the divorce papers he received two months after they left the state. On the advice of his lawyer, a loyal church member, he began a custody battle that ended in a tiny courtroom in New Prairie, Montana. With the entire church to back him, financially as well as emotionally, he produced witness after witness to attest to Sophie’s unstable, godless character. It had never really been a fight at all. Sophie knew she would lose as soon as she stepped into the courtroom packed with local church members. Norman was awarded custody, with visitation to be entirely at his discretion. Finally, he’d won.
Sophie had returned to her parents’ home in Minneapolis, dead tired and broken. Her parents tried to help, but it seemed that everything they said she mistook as veiled criticism. It was becoming almost intolerable, yet she had no money and nowhere else she could go. That’s when, out of the blue, Amanda had called. She’d learned through a mutual friend that Sophie was back in Minnesota. Why didn’t she just hop a bus and come up to Duluth? The invitation felt like a gift. Sophie knew she was making her parents’ lives miserable, and that only depressed her all the more. Luther and Amanda had bought the house at Brule’s Landing the year before, and Amanda suggested that she might like to come up and help them whip it into shape — that is, if she had the time. My God, thought Sophie; time was all she had left. Without her son, every day seemed like a pointless eternity. Intuitively, she knew Amanda wanted to give her a quiet space in which to recover.
Gratefully, she’d accepted. She hadn’t really understood how deeply depressed she was until she saw herself reflected in her friends’ eyes. Amanda and Luther didn’t say anything, but their tenderness and generosity became her lifeline.
Even so, three weeks after arriving, Sophie hit bottom with such a crash that she knew she’d never recover. One afternoon she found herself at Enger Tower, her eyes mesmerized by the sight of the ground three stories below. She was certain she would never see Rudy again, and equally certain that a stiff upper lip meant nothing in the face of such hopelessness. As she looked up at the sky one last time, the sound of footsteps caused her to turn around. There, at the top of the stairs, stood Luther. The silent, undisguised fear in his eyes stopped her cold. Slowly, he began to talk. She couldn’t remember now what he’d said. It wasn’t important. But, somehow, he’d convinced her to take a drive with him. He never actually said he knew what she was about to do, but strangely, he didn’t need to. That shared secret had instantly formed a deep, unbreakable bond between them. All these years and he’d never told anyone.
After that day, Sophie had felt as close to him as she had to Amanda. In a strange way, they had become her saviors. Their continuing kindness and willingness to let her talk it out — after the attempted suicide the words burst forth like an August thunderstorm — helped her to heal, if healing was ever really possible.
And now, after ten years of brainwashing, Rudy would not even speak to her. The child whose life she’d fought to save believed his mother to be teetering on the verge of damnation. Norman had convinced Rudy that Satan literally lived in his mother. He was to have nothing to do with her. Yes, thought Sophie with a grim smile, thanks to Luther and Amanda I’ve still got my life, but Rudy’s never going to be a part of it. I can wish all I want, but my child will never know me, and I’m never going to know him.
“Let’s head
Now it was Norman’s turn to be hysterical. He might have forgiven her for taking their son to a doctor, but he would never forgive her for the divorce papers he received two months after they left the state. On the advice of his lawyer, a loyal church member, he began a custody battle that ended in a tiny courtroom in New Prairie, Montana. With the entire church to back him, financially as well as emotionally, he produced witness after witness to attest to Sophie’s unstable, godless character. It had never really been a fight at all. Sophie knew she would lose as soon as she stepped into the courtroom packed with local church members. Norman was awarded custody, with visitation to be entirely at his discretion. Finally, he’d won.
Sophie had returned to her parents’ home in Minneapolis, dead tired and broken. Her parents tried to help, but it seemed that everything they said she mistook as veiled criticism. It was becoming almost intolerable, yet she had no money and nowhere else she could go. That’s when, out of the blue, Amanda had called. She’d learned through a mutual friend that Sophie was back in Minnesota. Why didn’t she just hop a bus and come up to Duluth? The invitation felt like a gift. Sophie knew she was making her parents’ lives miserable, and that only depressed her all the more. Luther and Amanda had bought the house at Brule’s Landing the year before, and Amanda suggested that she might like to come up and help them whip it into shape — that is, if she had the time. My God, thought Sophie; time was all she had left. Without her son, every day seemed like a pointless eternity. Intuitively, she knew Amanda wanted to give her a quiet space in which to recover.
Gratefully, she’d accepted. She hadn’t really understood how deeply depressed she was until she saw herself reflected in her friends’ eyes. Amanda and Luther didn’t say anything, but their tenderness and generosity became her lifeline.
Even so, three weeks after arriving, Sophie hit bottom with such a crash that she knew she’d never recover. One afternoon she found herself at Enger Tower, her eyes mesmerized by the sight of the ground three stories below. She was certain she would never see Rudy again, and equally certain that a stiff upper lip meant nothing in the face of such hopelessness. As she looked up at the sky one last time, the sound of footsteps caused her to turn around. There, at the top of the stairs, stood Luther. The silent, undisguised fear in his eyes stopped her cold. Slowly, he began to talk. She couldn’t remember now what he’d said. It wasn’t important. But, somehow, he’d convinced her to take a drive with him. He never actually said he knew what she was about to do, but strangely, he didn’t need to. That shared secret had instantly formed a deep, unbreakable bond between them. All these years and he’d never told anyone.
After that day, Sophie had felt as close to him as she had to Amanda. In a strange way, they had become her saviors. Their continuing kindness and willingness to let her talk it out — after the attempted suicide the words burst forth like an August thunderstorm — helped her to heal, if healing was ever really possible.
And now, after ten years of brainwashing, Rudy would not even speak to her. The child whose life she’d fought to save believed his mother to be teetering on the verge of damnation. Norman had convinced Rudy that Satan literally lived in his mother. He was to have nothing to do with her. Yes, thought Sophie with a grim smile, thanks to Luther and Amanda I’ve still got my life, but Rudy’s never going to be a part of it. I can wish all I want, but my child will never know me, and I’m never going to know him.
“Let’s head
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