THE LAST HOUR OF SEVEN BELLS
The Friend
The fourth visitor came on a Monday.
She was young, nervous, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes darting around the room. Her name was Chloe. She was the fourth victim’s best friend.
Nora invited her in.
She offered her water.
Chloe accepted.
They sat across from each other at the kitchen table, the silence stretching between them like a wire pulled tight.
“I didn’t know,” Chloe said.
“Know what?”
“About any of it. About what he did. About who he was.”
“The fourth victim?”
“My best friend. We grew up together. We went to school together. We shared everything. Or I thought we did.”
“You didn’t know he was a rapist?”
Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.
“No. I didn’t. He never told me. He never showed me. He never acted like that around me.”
“We often don’t see what we don’t want to see.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No. It’s supposed to make you feel honest.”
Chloe wiped her eyes.
“I keep thinking about the signs. The things I missed. The things I ignored. The things I explained away.”
“Like what?”
“The way he talked about women. The way he looked at them. The way he touched them. I thought he was just being friendly. I thought he was just being charming.”
“Charming people can be dangerous.”
“Charming people are the most dangerous.”
Nora nodded.
“Yes. They are.”
Chloe looked at her hands.
“The Bellman killed my best friend. He took him away from me. He took away my chance to confront him. To question him. To understand him.”
“And to forgive him?”
“I don’t know if I could have forgiven him. But I would have liked the chance to try.”
“The Bellman took that chance away.”
“Yes.”
“Do you hate him for it?”
Chloe was silent for a long moment.
“No. I hate myself.”
Nora leaned forward.
“Why?”
“Because I should have known. I should have seen. I should have stopped him.”
“You couldn’t have stopped him.”
“I could have tried.”
“Trying isn’t the same as succeeding.”
“No. But it’s better than doing nothing.”
Chloe stood.
She smoothed her skirt.
“I don’t forgive the Bellman,” she said. “But I don’t want to carry this anger anymore. It’s too heavy. It’s too dark. It’s too lonely.”
“Then what will you do?”
She looked at Nora.
“I’ll let it go. Not because he deserves it. Because I do.”
She walked to the door.
She paused.
“Thank you, Detective.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Chloe left.
Nora sat alone in the silence.
The weight of the world pressed on her shoulders.
She did not cry.
She was done crying.
She was ready to release.