The Forgotten Witness

By Douglas Massingill and Tami Kline

Ten year old Kandice Jamison has witnessed one of the most heinous crimes ever recorded in the small town of La Junta, Colorado. Scared and alone, she hides to avoid capture. Rescued and thought to be the only witness, Police bombard her with questions. But Kandice isnt talking. The investigation comes to a standstill and she is placed in protective custody. Moved from place to place and forgotten about, Kandice is trapped with her memories and gripped by fear. She knows she is being hunted and the killers wont stop until they find her. Tormented and struggling to face her new reality, she sadly slips into a world of her own. By divine appointment, Pastor Sparks, who is well known in the community, stumbles upon Kandice and introduces her to Christian Psychologist, Cheryl Reed. Kandice is intrigued. Dr. Reed is different from all the other people. She has something that Kandice wants. Together the two embark on a journey of healing and revelation. Will Kandice be able to come to grips with her loss and finally open up and tell the police what she saw?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504911665

Douglas Massingill

Raised in Northern California, Tami writes emotionally filled novels that will bring you to tears then lift you to laughter. Her lighthearted books are filled with love yet have a twist of adventure, suspense, and humor throughout. Married and a mother of three, Tami enjoys sharing the small-town of Anderson and Redding with readers across the world. “Some of my best memories took place in Anderson, and I want to share my hometown with the world.” With her books already scoring five stars on Amazon, Tami looks forward to sharing her stories with you and the generations to come.

Book preview

Prologue

She could smell freshly-baked bread wafting along the breeze above. Standing from her hunched position, Kandice sniffed, taking in the scent. Her mouth watered. It had been three days since she ran to the cellar, three days since she saw daylight. Another day was ending. Dusk was afoot.

Slowly, Kandice climbed the ladder, placing her hand on the wooden cellar door. Listening as the wind blew past, she inhaled the aroma of fresh warm bread once more. Her stomach growled. Someone nearby was baking and the bread smelled wonderfully enticing.

Taking the risk, Kandice flipped the door open and slowly poked her head out, inhaling again. The evening temperature was dropping, sending a chill through her body. Still gripping the ladder, Kandice closed her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze and the scent of homemade bread, her stringy hair slapping her cheeks.

Hoping to find the house where the bread was being baked, Kandice left the cellar. She closed the wooden door behind her and covered it with leaves. She didn’t want anyone to find her secret hiding place, after all. Sniffing, she followed the scent until the wind lifted it away.

Seeing no houses nearby, she pouted, wondering if she should keep walking. She had wandered a long way from the cellar and the sun had now fully set. The birds had stopped singing and darkness encompassed her. Kandice didn’t like the dark. She wished the wind hadn’t carried the scent away so quickly, before she could find the house. Or any house, for that matter.

Leaning against a bolder, Kandice sat down and wept. She had forgotten to bring a flashlight and the darkness terrified her, especially when the owls hooted into the night.

Seeking comfort, she turned her thoughts to her brother and his last endearing words to her: Remember, I love you.

J.J. would be proud that she had survived the hunt and made it safely to the cellar like he instructed. She didn’t stop running, and she didn’t look back. Kandice Jamison was safe. For the time being, anyway.

Chapter One

What can you tell me about her case? Dr. Reed looked across the table to Pastor Brice Sparks, determined to make him speak. You and I both know how good you are at passing the baton and walking away and I won’t let you do that to me this time, Sparks. Cheryl adjusted her reading glasses, trying not to smile. It’s very unprofessional of you, if I do say so myself.

Sparks chuckled, leaning back into the booth where they sat, waiting to place their dinner orders. "You know, I have known you since were just a little thing and sometimes it’s hard for me not to still see you as that cute little redhead who used to challenge me about everything. Even though you are grown and have a marriage and a divorce under your belt, you’re still just as feisty as you were back then."

Sparks— She shook her head, dreading what was coming.

He took a quick breath. I know you wanted your marriage to work out. We all did, but sweetie, you’ve got to let go and move on.

Don’t do that, Cheryl snapped. "Don’t weasel your way out of this with your sentimental nostalgia. This isn’t about me, and I’m not here to reminisce about my failures. I don’t want to talk about my marriage or my divorce. I just want to know her story. Tell me about Kandice Jamison. Cheryl gave him a loving, yet stern look. And tell the truth."

Sparks grunted, disapproving of her attitude. I’m a pastor, my dear. I wouldn’t lie to you. He cleared his throat and leaned back again. But don’t you see some similarities between you and the girl?

Cheryl cocked her head, giving Sparks an unspoken warning. It seemed to work, considering he began to squirm.

Well, I don’t know a whole lot about her, but there’s no doubt that she’s got a story to tell and we need to find out what it is.

Cheryl snorted. "Don’t play that game with me, Sparks. What do you really know?"

Cheryl knew him too well; he always loved a good mystery. When he wasn’t serving the Lord, Sparks’ favorite pastime was watching his favorite television show, Murder She Wrote. Kandice Jamison was just his next adventure. She wasn’t sure just yet if Kandice was going to be good for her or not. There was a whole lot of mess associated with her case. And Cheryl was sure there were things that had yet to be revealed. With her caseload already full, she wasn’t sure that she could squeeze Kandice into the picture. She hardly had any time to herself as it was.

The young waitress that had taken their drink orders approached. Placing their beverages on the table, she quickly took their dinner orders and left.

At this point, I know as much as you do. She’s apparently the only one who witnessed one of the worst crimes in La Junta Colorado in the last fifty years. She needs someone willing to help her, Cheryl. The moment I met her, I felt strongly that you were that person, the one who could bring her back to a healthy state of mind. Don’t you think so?

Cheryl pushed again, emphasizing her words. It’s been two years since the incident. I don’t know what damage has been done or what her treatment needs to be. The file says she is schizophrenic and suffering from PTSD. She’s only twelve and already she’s tried to commit suicide, what—five times already? I mean, what about school? Are they even educating her or attempting to keep her in school? What if she can’t even read?

Sparks sighed. By ‘they’ you mean the Home?

Cheryl nodded, her eyebrows raised.

Yes, the Home is trying to school her, but with the state that she is in they are having some challenges, which is why they need you. Kandice was in and out of foster care for the first year after the incident and barely educated because of her trauma. Some of the foster parents attempted to homeschool her, but she was non-responsive. Besides, Kandice’s education has been the least of the state’s concerns.

What do you mean by that? Cheryl asked, fidgeting with a paper napkin.

Like you read in her file, Kandice has been reported to be extremely agitated and distracted. Her last foster family was distraught and fearful for the girl. They told Child Services about yet another attempted suicide while in their home, which is why she was officially considered to be a danger to herself and could no longer be trusted to be left in the care of others. The Home became the only option for her.

So Child Services dropped her in the group home, hoping more medication would help her? Sipping her tea, Cheryl placed the cup back on the saucer. I need more. Most of that is already in her file anyway. What else?

I don’t have an answer about the medication part, I just know that the original plan was to hide Kandice in the foster system until she was well enough to testify against Willie Joe and his thugs. The hospital staff hoped that after some time passed Kandice would snap out of it.

Cheryl raised her eyebrows. Snap out of depression? They know better than to assume something like that, especially if this is a true chemical imbalance.

It wasn’t that they thought she would snap out of the depression. They just hoped being with loving foster families would help Kandice come back to reality and feel some sort of normalcy. But since that didn’t work, the Home was what was left for her. Now poor Kandice spends her days mumbling nonsense about her brother and Willie Joe Gomez.

Willie Joe. What do you know about him? Has he been apprehended yet?

Sparks shook his head. Not yet, but there is still a warrant out for his arrest.

They stopped talking for a moment so the waitress could place their dinner plates before them. Sparks thanked the waitress and said grace.

What about the father? Chery asked before taking a bite of her salad.

Jack? Well, last I heard he was being held in El Paso County Jail on a murder charge until the arraignment. But that was two years ago. I heard they were trying to put together a hearing for Probable Cause but I don’t know if he is still in custody.

Sparks bit into his sandwich.

Cheryl rolled her eyes. Don’t you have connections or friends in the police department? You have friends everywhere else in town.

"Not anymore. I’m in the dark, just like the rest of the world. But my guess is that if Jack was set free they are watching him very closely, especially since there is no statute of limitations on murder. They just need the guy to slip up somehow so they can nab him. Sparks shrugged. But that’s just my best guess. I don’t know if my speculation is even close to the truth."

Cheryl grinned. You watch too much television. If Mr. Jamison committed this crime, he would have to be locked up. There’s no way a judge would let him walk. Cheryl thought for a moment. Would he? Do you really think Jack Jamison could be free right now and roaming the streets searching for his daughter?

Sparks shook his head. I don’t know, Cheryl. Why don’t you go over to the county jail and see if anyone will tell you anything? Sparks pushed half his club sandwich away. Maybe someone will tell you something, since you are the kid’s shrink.

Cheryl cringed. She hated that word.

Pastor Sparks laughed and tapped Cheryl’s hand in jest. "I’m kidding. I know you’re more than just a shrink."

If you don’t play nice, I’m leaving, and you can pay for dinner.

Sparks smiled his wrinkly smile. I’m sorry. Look, my main concern is the girl. We both know she has some issues, but you can help her. I know you can, that’s why I called you. I mean, you should have seen her the day I found her, curled up on that cold floor in her room at the Home. She was sitting in a pool of her own drool and urine, for heaven’s sake. I don’t know why she didn’t get up off the floor herself. But I read you the list of drugs they have her on. I think that’s the real reason—she is so heavily medicated that she couldn’t lift herself off the floor.

There. Cheryl waved her hand in the air to make a point. You just nailed it. Kandice is too drugged up. There is no way I can make any progress with a zombie.

Sparks looked at her, confounded.

What? Do you think I can work miracles or something? She’s not a puppy and I’m not the Messiah, she scoffed.

Temper. Temper, Cheryl, Sparks teased. In cases like these, it takes a village to help a child. We just need to involve more players and I think I may know of a doctor who will help you wean her off the meds. He pulled out his wallet and flipped through a collection of business cards. Ah, here it is. Call this doctor. He knows me and owes me a favor. He passed her the card. And you’re the next best thing under the Messiah, in my opinion.

Cheryl exhaled, taking the card. Thanks. Sorry about the attitude. You know I have a hard time with cases like this. Why do parents subject their children to such harsh lifestyles? Cheryl stopped talking and looked angrily out the window, changing the subject. "And why did you have to bring him up? You know I still ache for him. She sighed, He has two kids now, you know, with that woman, the one he left me for."

Sparks sat up straight, his lips twisted.

I saw pictures of him on Facebook. They look like him. Cheryl looked back at Sparks. A boy and a girl.

Sparks reached across the table and patted her hand again. The Lord knows, Cheryl. We don’t always know why things work out the way they do, but God’s got it all planned out. Just be patient.

Cheryl snatched her hands away, placing them on her lap. "You know I don’t believe in marriage anymore, Sparks, much less love. I’m never making that mistake again, which means I will never have children of my own."

Sparks smiled, a sparkle in his gray eyes. You do have a child of your own. The Lord is just keeping her for you.

Cheryl wiped a falling tear.

And never say never, Cheryl Reed. You should know better by now.

__________________

Cheryl headed home after the dinner meeting with Brice Sparks. She pondered his words as she drove the winding road, and her heart warmed. Sparks was more than just her pastor. He loved her like a father, even though he didn’t have to. Truth be told, she loved him too. He had been a great influence in her life and had been there for her more times than she could count. He didn’t let her get away with anything. Over the years Cheryl tried to pull a few fast ones over on Sparks, but he never bit. Sparks played the father role well.

Cheryl’s real father had vanished without a trace, after a drunken blowout with her mother when she was eight. The day he left, he never looked back. He never called, wrote, or made any sudden appearances. He just vanished, leaving Cheryl fatherless and her mother a bipolar mess.

Cheryl always rejoiced that she was an only child. She didn’t have to worry about anyone else getting hurt. She just had to put up with her mother’s mood swings and negativity. The words hurt her the most. Cheryl’s mother constantly reminded that she was nothing and that she would never amount to much when she grew up.

Then she met Pastor Sparks, a tall, thinly-framed man, who happened to be a neighbor as well as a pastor in town. As time passed, he helped her to see past her mother’s cruelty by showing Cheryl how to see her mother’s pain instead. Hurting people hurt people, he said, drilling it into her head.

As the years came and went, Cheryl continued to grow stronger in her faith, sitting under the teaching and preaching of her neighbor and pastor. The day finally came when Cheryl was no longer affected by her mother’s negativity. Instead, she took the destructive words as a challenge to work hard and succeed in life.

As she graduated from high school, and even college, Sparks was the only one to cheer her on and to congratulate her when she succeeded. He picked her up when she failed and guided her when she felt lost. He was with her during her courtships and walked her down the aisle when she married the man of her dreams.

Although he never married or had children of his own, Pastor Sparks for all intents and purposes became a father to Cheryl, and she loved him accordingly. She knew that he loved her as well, even though he never said it out loud. So, when he called her about Kandice, she couldn’t refuse him even though she wanted to.

Most cases were simple, but not this one. Kandice Jamison should have been treated years earlier instead of being shoved into the system and forgotten about. Sadly, Cheryl had witnessed this many times over the years. The government’s idea of patient reform for children is to drug them up and let the patient find their way back to reality. They are forced to fight if they want to survive because once the child gets put in the system, the régime forgets all about them.

Thankfully for Kandice, Pastor Sparks walked with God and listened when the Holy Spirit told him to enter the dark room, where he found the child shaking hysterically and wallowing in her own drool and urine.

Unfortunately, with so much time having passed since the incident, Cheryl wasn’t sure she could help Kandice. Diagnosed as a schizophrenic with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Kandice stuttered, wet herself constantly, and suffered from nightmares and severe depression. For the cherry on top, she was also discovered just recently to be a type 2 diabetic, caused by her severe obesity. The child truly was a medical mess. But, for some reason, Pastor Sparks had faith that if anyone could help Kandice come back to reality, Dr. Cheryl Reed could.

__________________

Cheryl flipped back the covers, ready for bed. Her heart ached as the earlier conversation with Sparks ran through her thoughts again. She didn’t want to remember him and she didn’t need Sparks to remind her of what once was.

Although it had been six years since the divorce, she still had no desire to love another. She had loved her husband to the depths of her soul but succumbed to the fact that she wasn’t his happily ever after the way he was for her. Cheryl had put all her eggs in one basket, as some would say, and opened her heart to the man whom she thought would love her as he promised on their wedding day. His abandonment showed Cheryl that his love was not true, but instead conditional.

They had tried for years to have a child of their own, but Cheryl struggled to conceive. When she finally did, the baby died hours after being born. She was premature and her lungs had not fully developed. She died from Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It broke her heart, and her husband shattered what was left when he walked out on her for another woman. Cheryl buried her daughter alone and hadn’t been back to the gravesite since.

Many men had tried to date her over the years, but Cheryl wasn’t willing to give them the time of day. Her ex had ruined her for anyone else. At least she felt that he had.

Her plate was now full with other people’s children and their needs. She found herself content with her life, although Sparks often shared his thoughts on her decision to act like a wounded hermit. Cheryl didn’t feel like a hermit, even though Sparks was right about the wounded part.

Flipping out the light, Cheryl asked the Lord to wipe away the pain so that she could sleep in peace without the ache.

Thoughts of Kandice Jamison carried her off to sleep. There was something unique about her newest client. Something made her heart twinge, and she couldn’t help but pay attention. Cheryl couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was just yet, but she was confident that with just a little bit more time the answer would surface.

Chapter Two

Kandice! J.J. whispered, scrunching down by the front room window, trying to hide from whoever was outside. Come here, quick! He waved his hands wildly, encouraging the child to move immediately.

Still crouched down, J.J. grabbed the wooden bat he kept behind the front door. His eyes darted around wildly, as he crawled to the dining room window on all fours. Kandice followed. Laying the bat at his feet, J.J.’s breathing intensified as he lifted Kandice through the unscreened dining kitchen window, feet first, shushing her.

Go to our secret place, Kandi. Do it now and don’t look back. When you get there, close the door and don’t make any noise. J.J. looked to the door, then back to Kandice. Listen to me, this is important, J.J. said. He stuck his head out the window, looking down at her. Run as fast as you can and don’t look back. Promise me. And whatever happens, remember that I love you.

J.J., Kandice whispered as fear gripped her. J.J. was in danger. He never would have sent her into the woods alone otherwise, even if she did know her way.

Kandice’s feet felt like lead weights, frozen to the earth. A rainy mist dampened her face as she backed away from the window, her feet sliding through the damp leaves. She backed into the treelike bush next to the house, terrified by J.J.’s fear.

As soon as J.J. pulled his head back inside the house, the door whipped open. Kandice gasped as she backed