Re: Episode 4: Mirror, Mirror
“My Ronald is not a violent man, he didn’t touch that little girl. He was always so gentle, woulda never hurt a soul.” Mrs. Jackson spoke with the steely restraint of one used to speaking calmly about an old, awful family tragedy. Her haggard voice hinted that she’d already cried most of those tears, if not healed from the enduring pain of institutional injustice perpetrated against family .
“Ronald always treated those children with kindness. He was a little slow, but gentle, and certainly never had no mind to imagine the awful thing that happened to that poor girl! Wasn’t much of a trial, though. That girl’s family were out of their minds with grief at the time. Back then, they didn’t mind taking my own child away. Guess they hoped it could ease some of their own pain.” Melba heard a deeper voice on the other end, likely male, asking questions. Mrs. Jackson could be heard shooing him away.
“Let me be! Anyone want to help my Ronald, I’m gonna hear them out!” Pause. “I’m sorry, my husband is protective of me. We used to get the nastiest phone calls. It’s only occasional now, but my family gets protective. That’s what you’re supposed to do, when one of your own is in trouble.”
“I do remember one of the teachers petitioned to save Ronald from the death penalty. She even helped him get a lawyer. They kept arguing that Ronald was ‘sick’, needed a mental institution. Except Ronald was never mentally ill. I don’t know why they kept saying that, and mentally ill don’t mean you’re a murderer anyway...!”
Again, Melba heard hushed whispers over the phone. Then, Mrs, Jackson resume the call. “My husband asked me to ask you if you knew anything about the principal’s connection to the D.A.’s office...”
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:09, Thu 30 Apr 2020.