Tag Archives: Mr. Liu

A Hard Rain; chapter six

“Beth, we have some breaking news.  Senator Jonah Bronson of Chicago has been accused of molesting three girls, ages 10, 11, and 12 in his youth group, starting from when they were each eight years old.  Let’s go to his church for some reactions.”

Leslie stares at her television, her spoon halfway to her mouth.  She is killing time before her flight, and she had thought it good to keep up on what’s happening in the world.  She is watching the evening world news while eating a bowl of Kashi GOLEAN Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble with Josephine watching her every bite.  Jonah Bronson.  Chicago.  She knows the name—how does she know the name?  Then it hits her as she recalls John’s commentary which she had read just that afternoon.  In fact, John had mentioned this very thing, and Leslie had tried to forget it because it had bothered her so much.  She chastised herself for being so weak.

“Shit!”  Leslie gets up from her bowl of cereal in order to go to her computer, grabbing a protesting Josephine in one hand along the way.  Leslie shuts the door, plunks Josephine in her bed, and then hops online.  She Googles Jonah Bronson, and it’s just as she thinks—Senator Robertson’s crony and old friend—the one who loved kids and who babysat Amy when Amy was a little girl.  Leslie mentally runs through what she’s learned about the case, and she can’t help but wonder if Jonah Bronson’s predilection for little girls is not a recent thing—it usually isn’t with pedophiles.  Leslie does a Google search and discovers that there have been accusations against Senator Bronson throughout the years, but none of the cases had been substantiated—mostly because the girls refused to talk about it.  That makes Leslie wonder if the senator had employed intimidation to keep the girls quiet.  That is often the case when a powerful man abuses his position.  He intimates that no one will believe the girl and that she deserves it.  Sadly, it’s often true that a girl isn’t believed—especially against the word of a man like Senator Bronson.  Most people do not want to believe that a grown man would force sex upon a young girl.  Leslie knows, firsthand, however, that it does happen.

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A Hard Rain; chapter three, part three

Leslie’s stomach growls, but she does not want to eat anything until after the cops leave, so she ignores her stomach and concentrates on her computer.  She reads about how Amy had been rushed to the hospital with a broken leg when she was ten.  It was said to be an accident, but the article hints that Senator Robertson may have had something to do with it.  Another article methodically lists all the emergency trips the Robertson children had taken to the hospital in their childhood, and it was pretty long.  Then again, with five children in the family, it was only natural that accidents would occur.  The most interesting part of the article was the statement that Mrs. Robertson had been rushed to the hospital herself once when Jack Jr. was thirteen-months old.  She had been rumored to have been pregnant with baby Robertson number six, but no one could verify that tidbit.  At any rate, there was no sixth Robertson baby, so people freely speculated as to whether Mrs. Robertson had miscarried, and if so, whether Senator Robertson had caused the miscarriage.

Leslie’s mind is swirling with all the information.  The more she reads, the more she’s convinced that there’s something in Amy’s childhood that isn’t being reported.  What’s more, when she unearths this thing, it will clear up a lot of the questions surrounding Amy’s murder—of that, Leslie is dead certain.  And, of course, if she can solve Amy’s murder, she will solve John’s murder as well.  With that in mind, Leslie turns back to Google to see if she has missed anything.  Unfortunately, the problem is that Amy’s childhood was pre-internet, so nothing was recorded for posterity.  Of course, the fact that her father is a politician means there’s some dirt available, but not enough.  At some point, she may have to talk to Amy’s family, but Leslie pushes that thought to the back of her mind for now.  Leslie doesn’t have much use for family—which is not surprising given hers.

 

Mrs. Chang left her old job when the girls were six-and-a-half.  By then, she and Mr. Chang were sleeping in separate bedrooms, but there was no question of divorce.  Taiwanese people did not do that, and it would have brought great shame to both their families.  She was still a secretary, but she no longer had to put up with Mr. Pederson’s advances.  Mr. Chang finally got a job as an adjunct philosophy prof at the U, so their financial worries were eased somewhat.  However, Mrs. Chang was now an alcoholic, albeit a functioning one, and she had no intention of giving up the bottle.  Mr. Chang had long since given up arguing with Mrs. Chang about her alcohol consumption.  In fact, he pretty much emotionally checked out from the marriage when Mrs. Chang made it clear that she had chosen the bottle over him.

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