Warning, this chapter contains recounts of child rape
"How's this?" said Amanda. She and Sonny were looking at flights. "Spirit departs LaGuardia at 6:30 in the morning tomorrow, gets to Fort Lauderdale at 9:25. Departs Fort Lauderdale at 8:20 tomorrow night, gets back to LaGuardia at 11:20. It's non-stop and the cheapest."
"Perfect," said Sonny. "Book it. I'll meet you at the airport at 5:30am tomorrow."
"Great," said Amanda booking the flight. "I'll ask the nanny to come early."
Amanda printed out their boarding passes and she Sonny each took some of the case files with them. After that, they headed home.
Amanda packed a small personal bag containing the files, her computer and the other stuff she carried around in her purse. She knew Spirit charged for carry on bags, so she didn't want to bring a suitcase. And she brought a swimsuit "just in case we have time," she thought.
Sonny packed the same stuff in a bag as well. He also brought his swimsuit.
The next day Amanda and Sonny met at the Spirit check in at the airport.
"Hey Sonny," said Amanda. "Are you tired?"
"Yeah," said Sonny sipping coffee. "I'll get some sleep on the plane."
"Good luck said Amanda. "I've flown Spirit before. There's no recline."
"Oh boy," said Sonny. "No wonder the flights were so cheap."
The two went through security and boarded the plane. Sonny sat on the window and Amanda sat in the middle.
"You were right Amanda," said Sonny looking at the magazine. "They don't even give you free sodas."
The plane took off on time into the morning sky. Sonny soon fell asleep. His head fell onto Amanda's shoulder. Amanda gently pushed his head back onto the window. The rest of the flight was uneventful and they landed in Fort Lauderdale early.
"Ugh," said Sonny as they were walking off the plane. "I feel like I slept on a rock."
Amanda let out a small giggle. "Lets go get a taxi," she said.
They walked to the arrivals area and outside to the taxi stand. They were able to get one quickly.
"The W hotel please," said Amanda when the driver asked them where to go. Thirty minutes later, the cab dropped them off at the hotel. It was right next to the beach.
"This place is fancy," said Sonny as they walked inside the hotel. The lobby was large and seemed to be completely made of marble.
"Yeah," said Amanda. "I can see why all the rich New Yorkers go on vacation down here."
They walked up to the spa desk. "Good morning," said the concierge. "Do you guys want to book a treatment?"
"No," said Sonny showing his badge. "We're from the NYPD. We need to talk to Jennifer Wooten."
The concierge looked surprised. "Jennifer?" she said. "Is she in trouble?"
"Not at all," said Amanda. "We just need her to answer a few questions for our investigation."
"Oh sure," said the concierge. "She should be done with a facial in a few minutes. Can you wait with me?"
"Sure," said Amanda.
"While you're with us," said Sonny. "We just want to ask you, what's Jennifer like around here?"
"Oh everyone loves her," said the concierge. "She only started here a few months ago, but she's probably our hardest worker. Always willing to lend a hand to someone, because she knows so much about spa treatments. That's why I was so surprised when I found out you wanted to talk to her."
"Thanks," said Sonny.
The concierge made a call. "Hi Jennifer," she said. "There are some people who want to talk to you." She paused. "Okay, bye." She hung up. "She's on her way," she said.
A minute later, a young petite woman with shoulder length blonde hair walked to the desk.
"Are you Jennifer?" said Amanda.
"Yes I am," she said.
"We're from the NYPD Special Victims Unit," said Amanda showing her badge. "You're not in any trouble, we just want to talk with you."
"Does this involve my family?" said Jennifer. "If so, I want nothing to do with this."
"Jennifer," said Amanda gently. "It's okay. We won't make you do anything you don't want to. But we really need your help right now."
Jennifer sighed. "Okay," she said.
"Thank you," said Sonny. "Let's go up to a conference room to talk. Then we can have privacy."
They walked up to an empty conference room.
"Jennifer," said Amanda after they sat down. "Have you had any contact with your family for six years?"
"None at all," said Jennifer.
"Then I'm sorry I have to tell you this," said Amanda. "But your brother Matt is dead."
Jennifer gasped. "No!" she said and began to cry. When she calmed down a bit she asked "How did he die?"
"He was beaten to death," said Sonny.
"Who did this to him?" said Jennifer angrily standing up.
"Calm down," said Amanda. "We have the suspect in custody. He's being charged with second degree murder."
"Okay," said Jennifer sitting back down.
"When we performed the autopsy on Matt, we saw evidence that he might have been abused," said Amanda. "Do you know anything about this. Was Matt abused?"
Jennifer started crying again. "I d..don't k..know what to t..tell you," she mumbled. "H..H..He said he'd k..kill me."
"Jennifer," said Amanda gently. "We're going to keep you safe no matter what. But if you tell us, we can put him in prison."
Jennifer paused for a minute trying to calm down. She then took a deep breath and said "Our Dad did it."
Amanda and Sonny looked at each other. Their theory was true.
"Did he abuse you two?" asked Sonny.
"Yes," said Jennifer.
"When did he do it to you?" asked Sonny
"In the afternoons when Mom wasn't home," said Jennifer
"What did he do to you?" asked Amanda.
Jennifer took deep breaths as she struggled to tell the story. "From the time I was young, he took photos of Matt and I naked. He said daddies were supposed to do it to their kids. He also liked to touch our genitals and cuddle with us nude. Then when I was nine, he..he..he began to have sex with me. I hated it and threatened to tell Mom, but he said he would kill me, her and Matt if I told. He kept doing it to me and started doing it to Matt when he was nine. I tried to rebel against him in other ways, but he would yell at me and use rape as punishment. One time he even got me pregnant, but he made me have an abortion before Mom found out."
Jennifer couldn't take it any longer. She began to sob. Amanda put an arm around her.
"Is that why you left home?" said Amanda.
"Yes," said Jennifer. "I came down here because it we went here on like our only big vacation. I loved it here. I severed all my ties with my family because I never wanted my father to get near me again."
"Jennifer," said Amanda almost in tears herself. "You did the right thing by telling us. Have you talked about this with anyone?"
"No," said Jennifer.
"Well," said Sonny gently. "Talking is the first step to healing."
"We also need to tell you something else," said Amanda. "Your parents got divorced a year ago."
"Really?" said Jennifer.
"Yes," said Sonny. "Your father was abusive towards your mother in the years after you left, so she filed for divorce. Then he pulled a gun on her."
"Oh no!" said Jennifer. "This is my fault! If I hadn't left home maybe he wouldn't have hit her!"
Jennifer began to cry again.
"Jennifer," Amanda said gently. "This is not your fault. It's your father's. He's the only one responsible for his abuse. And your mother is okay."
"R..Really," said Jennifer through her tears.
"Yes," said Sonny. "She ended up getting 80% of their assets out of the divorce and a restraining order against him. She lives in Rye now."
Jennifer let out a small smile.
"In fact," said Sonny. "Do you want me to call her? You haven't spoken to her in six years. She really misses you. I think it would help both of you to talk to each other."
Jennifer paused for a minute. "Yes," she finally said.
Sonny dialed her number and waited.
