The Girl Who Was Buried in Her Ball Gown
Chapter Eighteen: Judgements

“Guilty!” The gavel came down with a satisfying ‘thunk’ as Judge Eastern called out the penalty. “Twenty-nine years without parole for the murder of five girls and three boys, as determined during the police investigations and revealed within this court hearing. And for gross sexual abuse, including the rape of twenty-two girls and boys, most of whom were minors.

“Mr. Jim Cotter, you are the most perverted and evil man I have ever passed sentence upon. I will make sure you never get out of a maximum–security prison for as long as I live. Case dismissed!”

That was it, it was all over. Sophia, along with several children and others, now adults, who had been called up to the witness stand, let out a great sigh of relief, mixed with deep sobs.

The case was intensely harrowing as evidence and testimonies were given. Many tears were shed and utter horrors finally settled, some stretching back to over twenty years before. Finally, the victims had a small victory; those who were still alive anyway.

Sophia, with gritted determination beyond her years, had popped the balloon of deep-set resentment and dark secrets, evil experiences that many had endured for such a long time in silence. Her vivid memories (Toni’s actually), were spot-on when she, her mother and I went to the police. Sophia was able to go through many identikits and narrow–down the field to a single man, Mr. Jim Cotter, who had a short criminal history, consisting mostly of petty theft, assault, being in possession of pornographic material and one, or two minor sexual charges against adults. Oh, he had hidden below the radar his true crimes, very well. But with some information I had uncovered and with what Sophia had vividly been able to communicate, it became a much larger trail of corruption indeed.

A few months had passed, while more and more evidence was stacked up against this wicked, demon-possessed man. Then the day of the arrest had happened, which involved fifteen police officers. They seized him, plus two computers which were in his possession.

He was a man on a health benefit and had a habit of wandering around primary school grounds on a regular basis. He often approached children. I watched him, on one occasion, during the evidence gathering. He was being wooed by none other than Pohane! She was like a serpent preparing a trap for her victim. She had rounded up a poor little girl, toward a pile of large rocks, which were situated on the far–side of the train tracks that ran past her primary school. A long freight train came along and blocked her access to safety, then Mr. Cotter, tried his wickedness against her tiny frame.

“Noooo! Get away!” I realised what he was doing and ran to the girls aid, bursting through the moving train and trying to grab the filthy man off her. At my first attempt, I could not touch him but then remembered my experience back in the prison, when Dad was being attacked. My focus changed and I grabbed him, but he was too heavy. So, I grabbed his balls with both hands and squeezed them with all my strength and pulled him off her. He cried out with intense pain; good!

Pohane, was screaming at me to let him go, while the demons hammered wickedness into his corrupted mind. She tried to pull me away, but for some reason, couldn’t. I saw several demons, swirling around, screaming in anguish. Such wickedness was in the atmosphere. There were about ten demons who had helped with the roundup. I could not have been more disgusted and my body literally convulsed with rage for this little girl; I could feel a sensation, like my heart being ripped from my chest and jumped upon with spiky boots. The poor, defenseless girl’s whimpering urged me on to stop the attack!

It had been the most harrowing experience I’d ever endured in my spook-state. Afterwards, she was bleeding, pale and in shock. I sat with her, as Jim and his spectres fled the scene. We sat quietly for a while, before she began to have deep guttural sobs and then she suddenly got up and walked toward the tracks as another train was coming along. The train sounded the horns and began braking; she was going to walk out into its path!

“Stop! Don’t!” but she didn’t hear me. “Stop!” I screamed but she kept up her vigil, to certain death. I blocked her and adjusted her direction bit by bit; her eyes were dead-looking, distant. She stopped and just stood there, as the train rumbled past and headed off into the distance. Soon afterwards, she walked home and I stayed with her until she arrived safely.

Her mother came rushing out and picked her up in her arms, hysterical. “Sonya! Oh, my darling, what happened to you?” Sonya drooped into her mother’s arms like a rag doll.

“She saved me, the girl. I saw her! She saved me Mum but not all of me.” Sonya wept with her mother and the police were called. Fortunately, Sonya had made a great scratch mark across Jim’s face, during the attack and it provided a good DNA sample. More evidence, ammunition to nail Jim Cotter!

As Jim was stepping out of the prison truck into the compound of his new home, a great swarm of blackness and demons suddenly began swirling, ducking and diving around him; penetrating his mind with screaming, rage and celebrations. They were delighting in him, having a party at his expense.

He buckled at the knees from the weight of the cloud and the prison guards dragged him up sharply. “Get up idiot!”

“Don’t play silly-buggers with us,” the second guard said roughly and struck him in the stomach with his truncheon.

“Ooff! Piss off, bastards! Bloody screws!” Jim yelled, once he got his breath back.

“You will need to be showing a bit more respect for the guards, arsehole!”

“Yeah! Or we’ll be leaving you out for our pet gorilla, Doug. He will have a good going over of your virgin arse Jimbo!”

“Nah, I don’t reckon he’d be into this wrinkled prune, but ya never know,” replied the first guard, before the two of them laid into him again with truncheons and boots, until he cried out for mercy. They stopped and then carried on with the incoming prisoner detail.

They stripped him naked and checked all around for any concealments, scars, tattoos, everything. It was recorded and then slammed into a folder along with his mugshots and fingerprints. Then they lead him to his cozy cell in the maximum–security wing.

Along the way, other prisoners mocked him calling him all sorts of horrible names. The prisoners knew who he was; maybe, they’d watched the 6 o’clock news. The case had been on the telly, the night before his lockup. Paedophiles were the worst of the worst, in all of the prisoner’s eyes and carried a stigma that revved them all up. Jim would not be safe on his own in here.

Suddenly, I saw Dad doing his rounds with the library books. His job was to take books to the cells throughout the prison and to look after the library. I whistled up beside him, thrilled to see him again. And he knew I was there. He gave me a smile even though he didn’t know exactly where I was.

He walked up to Jim and handed him a book. The Bible. Dad said, “You might need this Jim. I’ll pop around to see you in your cell when you’re settled, okay?” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Jim spat a grotesque hoick of green snot at Dad and said, “Screw God! I don’t need this.” And he knocked it out of Dad’s hand; Dad looked at the snot on his shirt and picked the Bible up and then handed it to the guards.

“Make sure he gets this, okay boys.”

“Sure, we will Max,” and they meant it. It was a funny response from the guards but it made me smile too, they respected my Dad. I left them and followed Dad, just waiting for an opportunity to show myself – to mind-meld with him and talk again. He’d be getting out of this place soon! Woohoo!

At last, “Dad, why didn’t you hit him when he spat at you? He’s absolutely disgusting!” I whinged.

“Yeah, he’s pretty gross, I know. But still, he was once someone’s adorable son, like my daughter is. And someone loved him; even if it was a very long time ago.

“Emms, God loves all of His kids, even His bad ones.”

“Well, I don’t think God could love him! Do you know what he’s done Dad? Do you know how many kids’ lives he’s destroyed? He’s rotten through and through, he’s, he’s… grrr! Revolting! No one could ever love him! No way!”

“Well, that’s not our concern anymore. He’s locked up, for good. That’s where dumb decisions will take you, and in his case, they’ve brought him right into here.”

“Oh Dad, when are you coming home? I hate it that you’re in here. You’re not a bad person, you shouldn’t be in here.”

“Well, who else here, got drunk and then got behind the wheel, Emma? Me! I did and I killed Brian, remember.”

“Dad, that was an accident and you know it!” Now I was even madder!

“I decided to get drunk Emma and that’s what happened. Where is Brian now?”

“I don’t know. I don’t Dad,” and I was silent for a few moments. “All I know, is things have happened with you and things have happened with me. I’m still here and so are you.”

“That’s right! We’re both still here; we both have some things to do. I’m getting out next month and I’m looking forward to it! I want to find out where all of this will end.

“I love you Emma, and I don’t want to lose you again. But I know you need to go into your eternal reward, sooner or later. We need to get you there and soon. I have treasured this extra time we’ve had with each other. I’ll never forget it and I’ll never forget you.” Dad had a resolve about him and he made me feel so loved and warm inside that I was crying; silent, ghost tears again. But what would he know, what could he do? My life — death, whatever it was, was in God’s hands, even if I didn’t understand it all.

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