Small Town Confessions: Judy Simmons

Judy Simmons.

January 19th, 2018.

New year, same old shit. I guess that's not so surprising really. People say they want to change and make a new start, but if they really did want to, they wouldn't wait for a new year to go by before doing so.

Anyway... I'm pissed because Roger stood me up, again. This makes the third time in a row. At least the first two times the fucker had the common decency to actually call me and cancel. This time however, I didn't hear so much as a peep. He just didn't bother to show up. The asshole.

The first time he cancelled on me was just two days before christmas. We had made plans to have a nice dinner and exchange a few small gifts together before having the "real" holiday celebrations with our respective families. But, alas, the day before our planned dinner he calls me and tells me that his wife had planned a surprise date night, so he had to cancel. I didn't think much of it then, but then he cancelled our "almost new years" date too because his wife had gotten tickets to the opera two towns over.

And now yesterday he never showed up for our lunch date. No message, no phone call, nothing. I've tried both messaging and calling him but haven't gotten any answers. I'll try again later and see if I can get hold of him. I hope he's alright.

****

January 21th. 2018

Still no messages or calls from Roger. I've tried calling but last night my calls started going straight to voicemail. I left a couple of messages there too, just in case. Maybe I'll swing by his work later in the week and see if I can catch him there. He doesn't like it when I just show up there; he says the kids and other teachers will start talking, but I'm really worried. Yes, I think I will go see him and give him a piece of my mind. If he want to break it off he can be a fucking man about it.

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January 22nd. 2018

Just woke up from a terrible nightmare, but I couldn't tell you what it was about. All I remember is waking up in a cold sweat, screaming and crying hysterically. I read somewhere that if you write down your dreams, eventually you might learn to control them, so I'm writing this down just in case. Even though I don't remember the dream, maybe just writing about the dream will have some effect. No harm in trying, right? Going back to sleep now, if I can. I still have a few more hours before I need to be at the library to open up.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph... I'm so fucking tired right now. It took me forever to fall back asleep. I don't think I managed more than three or so hours before the alarm went off. I really hate that alarm sometimes. A cold shower helped a little. Four cups of black coffee helped a little more. Luckily Monday's are usually our slowest day of the week, so there weren't that many customers. By the time lunch came around I was way too tired to make the treck over to Black Rock Elementary where Roger teaches. Even as I write this I'm feeling my eyelids droop and my head starting to nod. It will definitely be an early night tonight.

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January 26th. 2018.

What a week! When I got to work on tuesday, my boss reminded me that the elementary school's annual book fair started that day. I had completely forgotten about it in my... obsession, if you will... about Roger. Not only that, but Miss Bertram was out sick with suspected food poisoning, so she didn't come in until today. I have barely had time to eat lunch, let alone go out anywhere. I have tried calling Roger a few times though, I must admit. Still going straight to voicemail. It's really odd. I have to remember to stop by the school at lunch on monday. He owes me an explanation!

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January 28th. 2018.

I almost died last night! No, literally, I seriously almost died. I could feel my heart actually stopping in my body.

I was out with some of the girls from work last night, just chatting and drinking as you do. We were talking about work, and men, the financial crisis, and men, our other colleagues, and men. I couldn't mention Robert, of course. If they knew I was involved with a married man there would be a huge scandal. Black Rock is a small town after all. Everyone knows everything about everyone... almost...

****

Anyway, we were just sitting there, drinking and talking, and in walks Laura Taylor; Robert's wife. She apparently knows Tiffany; they went to school together or something. She sat down at our table, introducing herself to everyone, and just chatted away the night. It took me a good half hour before I even dared to look at her, but she didn't seem to pay me any kind of special attention. She is actually really nice, and funny. The night ended with her inviting everyone to a dinner party she was hosting the following weekend. "Nothing fancy, just come as you are" she said. Not sure if I'll go yet. Definitely have to talk to Roger first.

****

January 29th. 2018

Stopped by Roger's school today at lunch. I couldn't find his office, which I thought was weird. It's not like I've never been there before. Eventually I caved and asked another teacher where he was and she gave me a funny look before informing me that Roger had quit and left the school about two weeks ago. I walked out of there in a daze and spent the rest of the workday just going through the motions, like a zombie or something. I can't believe he quit his job without telling me.

****

January 30th. 2018

I did some "investigating" today at work. Working at a library has its advantages sometimes. I searched through the Black Rock Prophet to see if there had been any incidents at the school that might explain Roger's sudden exit, but there was nothing. Likewise there were no reports of anyone missing, found dead or being sent to the hospital. And Laura didn't mention anything when we met, but then again why would she? She doesn't know me.

****

January 31st. 2018.

I have decided to go to Laura's dinner party. I can't get hold of Roger anyway, and if I have an excuse to go to his house, maybe I will see him there. Sure it will be awkward, but I can play it cool if I need to. If nothing else I might be able to do some snooping around. I have been to his house before, once, when his wife was at a medical conference out of state. I felt kind of bad having sex in her bed when she was away, but what she doesn't know won't hurt me, right?

****

February 2nd. 2018

Got an official invite to Laura's dinner party in the mail today. It's next weekend. It's all the girls at work have been talking about ever since we had our night out. Tiffany says she has been to a couple of Laura's parties before and she says they're something to look forward to. And apparently this one is going to be really special. I quizzed her about that but she wouldn't tell me anything, but the way she said it made me a little uneasy. I'm sure it's nothing and I'm just being stupid though.

****

February 5th. 2018

My colleagues were acting really strange today. A couple of times I caught them throwing weird glances at me as I or they walked by, and when I came into the break room they all suddenly went quiet for a second before starting up their conversation again. I'm sure they were talking about me. I'm probably just being paranoid though; nervous to be going to Laura's house with her actually in it. Yeah... That's all it is, I'm sure.

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February 8th. 2018.

Woke up in the middle of the night. Not from dreams this time, but from what I was sure were noises coming from downstairs. Strange, creepy scraping noises, and some kind of whispering sound. Probably just the wind making the trees scrape against the windows, but in the middle of the night it sounded like a ghost or something. I got up and went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of warm milk to get myself back to sleep. Just as I got to the bottom of the stairs, I swear I saw a shadow slinking out through the crack at the bottom of the front door. Probably just a trick of the light, but it still sent a cold shiver down my spine. I got my milk and went back to bed. Couldn't fall back asleep again though, so work today was horrible. Nobody said anything, but I could see them all looking at me, whispering to each other. I'm sure I looked like shit though, so I don't blame them.

****

February 9th. 2018.

Someone is following me. I'm sure of it. The first thing I noticed was that my house keys had moved from the first to the second hook in the key cabinet. I always hang my keys on the first hook; it even has a small label above it saying "house" on it. The second thing was that there was a very small trail of dirt inside the front door. I don't know who broke in, or how, but I am absolutely sure that there was someone in my house while I slept. Then as I was walking to the library, I could swear that someone was following me. Every time I turned around to look, I could just barely see someone ducking in behind corners, cars, hedges and things like that. About halfway I started running. I got to work a complete mess; hair all out of sorts, sweating like a pig and panting like a german shepherd locked in an overheated car. I had to go into the bathroom to wash my face in cold water and reapply my makeup before I opened the doors to let the public in.

****

February 10th. 2018.

So today is the day. In just a few hours I'm going over to Roger's house, to have dinner with his wife. I'm sure it won't be awkward at all. I just wish I could get a hold of him. I really miss him. I have also noticed that someone has been in my backyard sometime during the night. There were large, muddy footprints on my sun deck; much larger than anything I could have made. Maybe I should put up some security cameras around the house. That's something I would have asked Roger about. I wonder where the hell he is.

Ok, so I'm about to leave for the party. I have an uneasy feeling about it, but I'm sure it's just nerves. It's just a dinner party with a few friends... and my boyfriend's wife... but she doesn't know that. Anyway, I'm about to go and I just wanted to write this down in case I don't come back. So to whoever finds this; Laura did it! No seriously. If you're the police, and I'm dead, Laura did it!

Oh my god! She's actually insane! I don't know why I'm writing this instead of packing up and getting the fuck out of here. Maybe I need to get it out to process it all and try to make sense of it. Or maybe I'm hoping to leave behind enough evidence to make sure justice is served after I'm dead. Either way it comes down to the same; Laura Taylor is completely insane!

So, I get to Laura's place right on time and see that Tiffany, Jane and Emily are already there; their cars parked out front. Everything seemed absolutely normal at first. Laura answered the door looking absolutely stunning in a long, black evening gown that clung to her like fly paper. She seemed happy, friendly and was the perfect host. She offered me drinks and appetizers and always made sure I was included in conversations. Dinner was absolutely delicious too. It turns out I've eaten it before, many times.

About nine or so I excuse myself and ask where the bathroom is. I already knew, of course, but I didn't want her to know that. She informed me that the only bathroom in working order at the moment was the one in the basement. Apparently the other two were being redecorated or something, I don't know. So I make my way down the stairs to the basement and open the door, and instantly I hear a kind of moaning sound from somewhere. I couldn't quite place it, but I knew it sounded familiar somehow. Trying to ignore it and looking for the bathroom I opened the first door I came across. The door wasn't quite closed properly, so I gently pulled it open, and I froze. I don't know how long I stood there, just staring at the horrible scene in front of me, but it was now pretty obvious where the moan had been coming from. It was indeed the bathroom I had found, but I no longer needed it. I am not ashamed to say that the shock caused me to lose control of my bladder, though I didn't even notice that until I got home again.

The once white floor tiles were now speckled with a deep crimson colour. My brain tried to rationalize that it was just some distasteful paint scheme, but in my heart I knew it was blood. The whole floor was covered in it, and so were most of the walls; which looked like they had been padded with something. There was no toilet in the room, nor was there any bathtub or shower, though I could clearly see where they all had been. The only thing that was left to indicate that it was indeed a bathroom was a sink on the wall and a drain in the floor; other than that the room was completely bare. Bare, except for Roger. He was sitting, propped up against the far wall, looking dazed and out of it. Low moans were escaping him as he breathed, and I noticed that he had a big black rubber ball in his mouth, secured around his head. It looked like it was at least two sizes too large, forcing his jaws apart wider than what could possibly be comfortable. Though I guess an aching jaw wasn't even worth considering for him at that point. As my mind started coming back to me more and more I realized that he was naked. I wondered briefly how I had not realized that before, but then my eyes blinked and focus returned to them. I tried to scream, but it was as if all air had escaped my lungs and nothing came out but a low, pathetic whimper.

Roger was sitting naked and propped up against the wall with a giant rubber ball in his mouth. This much I had noticed. What I hadn't noticed right away, or maybe my brain just wouldn't let me accept it at first, was that both his legs were missing. There were only two blood soaked bandages where his thighs were supposed to be. Not only that, but the lack of obstructions also gave me a clear view in between where his legs used to be. His cock was also missing; only a tiny bloody stump remaining to mark the sport where it had once been. As my eyes lingered on the remnants of the member I had enjoyed so many times, something else caught my attention. Around the stump, held on by a tiny pink bow, was a little piece of paper. I knew already then that I shouldn't, but curiosity got the better of me. I carefully took the few steps required to cross the room; taking great care not to step in any blood. I reluctantly reached down, untied the bow and took the paper. "I hope you enjoyed your meal. XO /Laura" was all that was written on there. My mind blanked and I ran from the house. God forgive me, I ran away. I left the man I love, dismembered, naked and tied up in his basement and I ran. I could barely hear someone shouting "Leaving so soon?" After me as I ran past the dining room, and the rest of them laughing. I don't even remember the drive home.

Someone is outside. I swear I just heard a car door shut out on the street. I have to get out of here. I have no idea where I'll go, but I have to get away. That bitch is crazy. How did she know??? Fuck! Anyway... I'm leaving now. Going south to start, maybe down to Brighton, then only God knows where. The further away the better. I'm leaving this here for anyone who might be looking for me. If I don't answer on this number: 555-xxxxx assume that Laura Taylor is responsible for whatever happened to me.

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News article, Black Rock Prophet, February 11th, 2018

Local librarian found dead after suspected suicide.

Local librarian, Judy Simmons 34, was found dead late last night. She was discovered by a man walking his dog as he spotted the rear end of the car sticking up out of the water in Black Lake.

"At first I thought someone's boat had drifted in toward the shore." The man told reporter Ann Daley. "But then I saw the break lights flicker on and off a few times and realized it was a car. I figured some kids had taken a stolen car for a joyride and dumped it there, but when I looked in I saw that lady just sitting there, looking like she had seen a ghost or something. I've never seen anyone that pale before."

Police spokesman, Sgt Jack Barrett, stated that while it is still early on and he couldn't make any official statement yet; it looked like it was most likely a suicide. Medical examiner, and former surgeon at St. Augustine's Hospital, Laura Taylor said that she couldn't make any statements yet, but would release the official report as soon as she had examined the body.