Day of Atonement (27 page)

Troy caught B.K.'s eye and it was like they'd both relived the Yom Kippur conversation on the way to Hitchcock. The two of them had formed a bond these last several weeks and especially
over the past few days as each man shared why he was burdened with guilt. Having been a friend of Jeff's for over forty years, B.K. felt that he'd been blindsided. When all was said and done, he refunded all the money that Elvin had paid to him. Troy and B.K. had to remind each other that ultimately Jeff was the only one responsible for what had happened to Elana and Lilly. They could not bear the weight of his actions on their shoulders, no matter what they could have or should have done differently.

“Hebrews ten explains how, when Jesus died on the cross, He became the final sacrifice. Yearly slaughter of animals was no longer necessary because the blood of Jesus took care of sin's debt once and for all. If you don't have a relationship with God, let today be your personal day of atonement. One day, it will rain in your life. Hopefully not in the same manner as it has rained in Elvin's, but rest assured, my dear friends, it
will
rain. If you want the peace during your storm like Elvin has during his, why don't you come now and make a decision to make Jesus your personal Lord and Savior.”

There was not a dry eye in the place, including Troy's. He had set his macho image aside for a second and let the humanness of the situation settle on him and allowed the few tears that pooled in his eyes to drop. Troy leaned over to his mom. “If you want to walk up front, I'll go with you.” He and his mom had not really had a conversation about salvation and he actually surprised himself by reaching out to her. The look she gave him in return indicated that if he did not change his course of action immediately, she would bless him with a speech that may very well get them both kicked out of church.

Troy kissed her on the cheek and chuckled to himself. As long as she remained resistant to changing her ways, he'd always have something to pray about.

The next day Troy stopped over to Lilly's to say goodbye to Elvin before he and Natalie flew back to Ohio.

“What time does your flight leave?”

“Not until seven thirty. Did Nicole and the boys make it home safely?”

“Yeah. I talked to Nik a few minutes before you got here. They're in school and she was busy working on a new catering order.”

“How long do you plan to stay?”

“I don't know. The good thing about being a self-employed graphic designer is that I can work from anywhere. I'll probably leave sometime next week and come back at the end of the month. I need to figure out what to do with the house. I don't know whether to sell it or rent it. I want to do whatever Mama would want. Either way, there's some work that needs to be done on it.”

“I'll text you my dad's number. I'm sure he'll do whatever you need.”

Elvin smiled. “It's nice to see that something good has come from all of this. Witnessing how God is restoring and strengthening your family is amazing. You have no idea how much it blesses me.”

“You
are amazing.” Troy looked at his friend with admiration, appreciative of the example he'd led of having unwavering faith. “I've learned a lot from you. More than you can ever know. Thank you.”

“Is that a tear I see in your eye?” Elvin teased. “You going soft on me?”

Troy laughed. “Whatever.” While he was overcome with emotion, he was not tearful. Lilly's funeral was the first time Elvin had ever seen him cry and even then, it wasn't a waterfall. Troy could have cried at Elana's service, but he was on duty at the time, scoping out the place for Elana's killer, painfully unaware that the culprit was literally right in front of him. Between the two of them, Elvin was the one unreserved when it came to showing such sentiment. “I'm not going to stay long. I came because I thought you might want these.”

He handed Elvin the bag. “What are they?”

“Elana's journals. B.K. was able to get them somehow. Since Jeff is dead, they won't be needed for trial.”

Elvin got one of the journals and leafed through it quickly and returned it to the bag. “Thanks, man, but will you hang on to them for me? I'm not ready to read these. If they're kept around I will be tempted and I'm sure Elana wrote some things that will be difficult to handle. I need to get a grip on my new normal before I can read about the pain my sister endured.”

“I got you, man. I'll take them home with me and when you want them, let me know.”

Troy and Elvin talked a little while longer. Troy hated to leave his friend alone, but his family was waiting on him. He and Natalie were going out to eat with his parents and sisters before their flight left. Troy invited Elvin.

“Naw, I'm cool, man. Thanks, anyhow. It's been a hectic few weeks. I don't want to do anything today but rest.”

Troy said goodbye to his friend one last time and then left to meet up with his family.

June 12, 1989—My name is Elana Marie Campbell. Today is my fifteenth birthday. Jeff promised to give me a calendar each year so I will always know the date. I'm sad. I miss my mama and my brother. Sometimes I wonder if they remember me. Jeff says that they probably don't. He says that mama told him to bring me to his house that day and that she would pick me up later. She never came. At first, I hated her. I hated my brother and Troy, but now I know that Jeff did not tell me the truth. For my birthday, he brought home another little girl, named Karen. She's six. Jeff told her the same thing, that her mom told him to bring her here and would get her later. I know that's a lie because I heard him and some of his buddies talk about her being next. I wish I could tell her that everything will be okay, but I don't want to lie to her, too. I don't think she has been touched before like I have been by uncle Bill, Herbert, Jeff, and a bunch of Jeff's friends. I told Karen that everything they do to her will hurt at first, but eventually she will get used to it. I have.

“Maybe you should follow Elvin's lead,” said Natalie who sat beside Troy on the plane. “I can tell by your face that you don't like what you're reading.”

She was probably right, but Troy flipped through to another entry anyhow.

February 5, 1993—Jeff sold Karen yesterday. He said he would never do that to me because I remind him of Mama and he says that he loves her. I guess he thought that would make me feel better to hear him say. He knows I write in the journals now. He encourages it. He says that I need a healthy outlet for everything I am feeling. I don't know if I feel anymore. I think I stopped feeling a long time ago. Well, maybe not, because I feel scared for what's going to happen to Karen. Sometimes when Jeff wanted a performance, I would volunteer so Karen could get a break. She still hadn't gotten used to this lifestyle. Sometimes Jeff would let me fill in for her. Other times he was insistent that she play out his
fantasies. I know Karen liked me protecting her. I don't know if she will have someone looking out for her the next place she goes.

Elana had not been consistent in chronicling her experience. Sometimes she wrote every day for a while, then other times she skipped months. There was only one entry for the entire year in 2000 and that was on January 1. Elana expressed her disappointment about the world not ending as she thought it would.

Instead of leafing through them all, Troy picked up the last of Elana's entries, curious to see what her thoughts were during her final days.

July 27, 2011—I didn't get my period. Jeff says that I'm pregnant. I hope not. I don't want him to do to my baby what he does to me.

April 7, 2012—Having this baby is going to hurt. Jeff has been learning about childbirth so he can deliver the baby. I tried to talk him into letting me go to the hospital, but he won't. He's scared that I am going to tell someone. I told him that I wouldn't. I don't have anywhere to go if they take me away from Jeff. It's been so long since I've seen Mama. She may not want me back now. Jeff takes care of me. Like he said, I don't have anyone else. He showed me this thing called the Internet the other day and showed me information about missing children. Jeff said that they only put information about children whose parents wanted them back. Some of the kids were missing a long time and there was still things about them. There was nothing about me. Mama doesn't miss me. I still miss her.

He forwarded through the entries once again to the very last one several weeks before her death . . .

October 9, 2012—I think Jeff is going to kill me one day. He killed my baby. He says he didn't. He says he dropped her off at the hospital nursery, but he's lying. I heard her crying and then a big pop and after the pop she wasn't crying anymore. I will never forget that sound or how horrible I felt knowing I would never see her again. It's been months and I miss her. I didn't even get to hold her, but for a few minutes. I named
her Lilly like my mom. Having Lilly and loving her taught me that there is a special connection between mothers and their children. No matter what Jeff says, Mama loves me. So what, I'm not on the stupid Internet. She loves me and she misses me. If I could talk to her, I would tell her that I'm sorry. If she asked me why I got in the car with Jeff, I would tell her everything that happened. I went outside to see if I saw Troy's dad because I needed him to pay for my push pop. Jeff pulled up, asking me what I was doing there. I told him and asked if he would buy my push pop. He gave me the money to go back in the store to get it. When I came out with his change, he said Mama asked him to get me and keep me until she came. (I heard him talking to one of his friends saying that he wanted to take me way before he did, but he never had a chance to get me alone until the day at the store.) I think he's going to kill me because he says that he is tired of keeping secrets and wants to live a normal life. I guess me and the other girls that passed through here over the years were his secrets. Jeff said that he and Mama have been talking again and he wants to marry her, but he can't with me being here and so he has to send me away. A guy came to look at me, but he didn't want to buy me. He said I was too old. I asked Jeff why I can't see Mama and he said because she doesn't want to see me. I know he's lying. Mama doesn't know I'm here. One day if she ever finds out, I hope she knows that I know she loves me. I love her, too. I don't know how he's going to kill me, if he will, but I think he will. I'm not scared of dying. It has got to be better than living locked up in a room. If he kills me, I will be free and I will get to be with Lilly.

Troy wiped his eyes hoping to catch any tears before they fell. Surprisingly, there were none. Only the silent cries from his heart, relieved that, in the end, Elana had some sense of peace.

“You okay?” Natalie reached over and gently squeezed his hand.

“Yes,” he replied, putting the journal back in the bag and deciding he would not read thrugh any more entries, “Elana is finally free.”

Two Months Later

“Y
ou're doing great babe, keep pushing.” Troy sat by Natalie's side, holding her hand in the hospital delivery room. His parents and Salome were in the waiting area anxiously anticipating the new arrivals, along with Aneetra and Corrine. Tracy couldn't come because she had to teach, but she was planning a trip in the very near future. With the exception of Aneetra, who had been sworn to secrecy, Troy and Natalie had decided to keep everyone in suspense about the babies' genders.

Finally, one screaming male child was out and a few pushes later came the baby girl. Both had a healthy set of lungs. Natalie grinned from ear to ear as she held them while Troy snapped a picture. “We make beautiful children, babe.”

“Don't get any more ideas, buddy. These are the last beauties we will ever make as long as I have a say in it.” He laughed and joined them in the photo while the nurse took a picture. Troy and Natalie mutually agreed to give the babies names that started with E in honor of Elvin and Elana. The middle names were the same as Troy's and Natalie's.

The boy, Ean Jermaine, was seven pounds, six ounces and twenty-one inches long. The girl, Ebony Reneé, was seven pounds, two ounces and nineteen inches long. The name they had chosen fit
her perfectly as it meant, “Dark beauty,” and it so happened that she had a gorgeous mahogany skin tone. Ean, who was lighter than his twin, had a name that meant, “God is gracious.” Neither Natalie nor Troy had been aware of the meanings when they'd originally picked the names, and upon learning the meanings they liked them even more. Natalie joked that if Ebony was light-skinned it might confuse her.

After being given the clearance, Troy headed to the lobby to get their family. His mom was relieved to hear that both babies were healthy. She'd gotten mad when Troy notified a few of his friends to tell them that Natalie had gone into delivery. She claimed that it was bad luck to notify anyone other than immediate family members until after the mother delivered. When Troy called her superstition ridiculous, she went to the gift shop and bought bubble gum, which, if chewed by at least one grandmother during delivery, would offset the curse. When Troy announced that each child safely entered the world, Salome teased his mom about having saved their lives.

Over the past couple of months, Troy had begun building a relationship with his newly discovered sister. The more Troy learned about Salome, the more he liked her. She fit right in as though she'd been part of their clan all along. She got along well with everyone and tended to liven things up a bit for their family with her hippie/afrocentric flavor and she'd been the needed glue to help repair relationships, especially between Troy and their father, whom she still called by his first name.

One by one, everyone passed the babies around. Troy took a few more photos and sent them to Tracy and Elvin. Within minutes Elvin was ringing his phone at the same time his mom was dialing Tracy.