Chapter 41 Memory Loss
The little spatula had knocked Winona with such force that she momentarily let go of Hannah who dropped onto the floor. Winona stumbled backward onto the road, almost getting hit by the passing car. She came to her senses at the very last second, jumping out of the way and narrowly avoiding a crash. However, she took a fall by the roadside and hit her head on the curb.
“Are you crazy?!” the car driver shouted as he drove past.
Liam quickly scooped a shellshocked Hannah into his arms. Anthony eyed the little spatula lying on the floor. It was a gift from Gilbert to Lilly for her to use as an accessory when she played house. Who would have thought it would be the weapon to knock Winona out and cause her head to bleed?
Lilly fidgeted with her tiny hands, looking uncomfortable. “Uncle Anthony, I might have used too much stwength…” Her Uncle Anthony had always warned her not to display her strength in public. Oh no, she made a boo-boo.
Anthony looked at his niece’s guilty face and ruffled her soft hair. “It’s alright, Lilly. She deserved it.” Anthony was not too worried since they were only among family right now.
From afar, they could see Winona lying on the ground, clutching her bleeding head and moaning in pain. Her head was ringing as it bled profusely. She could feel a growing bump on her forehead, caused by the rock her head had landed on when she tripped.
She grasped for air and let out a strangled sigh as she cried. “Liam, it hurts… hug me please…”
Members of the Crawford family, who had been discussing the commotion in hushed murmurs and whispers, all turned to look at Winona Jackson.
Liam was not one to say much usually, but even he was stunned by his ex-wife’s antics. “Are you sick? Hug you? I’d rather hug a pig.” Winona remained silent.
“Winona, your divorce with Liam is finalized. Don’t make things difficult for us, or I’ll guarantee you won’t have anywhere to go in Clodston,” Old Mrs. Bettany Crawford threatened.
Winona closed her eyes, trying to hide the pain and misery she felt. She was lying on the ground wincing in pain and nursing her injuries, yet the Crawfords could not find it in them to have a sliver of pity or empathy for her. She wondered if any of them had a beating heart. She could not understand why they were so insistent on tearing Liam and her apart and making sure the divorce went through, but she knew it was too late to turn things around.
She regretted listening to her mother’s silly idea about begging the Crawfords to take her back. She should have refused to leave on the very day they kicked her out of the house. Her regretful thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud sirens blaring in the air. Not long after, two police cars stopped by the road close to them and a few police officers rushed down from the car, surrounding Winona.
“Don’t move! Winona Jackson, you are under arrest!” one police officer shouted as the rest of them pointed their guns and batons at her.
Winona was beyond shocked and mortified. How did she end up being arrested, when she was clearly the one who was injured here?
“Why… are you arresting me…?” she asked weakly.
The police officer produced an arrest warrant from a file. “New evidence has turned up against you in the murder of May Lee six years ago. Winona Jackson, you are now under arrest for murder in accordance with the law,” he declared.
Winona’s heart sank. It was impossible! Six years ago, they could not find any conclusive evidence to prove that she was the murderer. What could they have possibly found now? Were they trying to frame her?
Winona feigned shock as best as she could. “Who is May Lee? What are you talking about? I don’t know a May Lee…”
“There was a human hand found inside the West City Mall statue. The hand was clutching onto a wrapped piece of paper. Based on our forensic team’s analysis, the fingerprints on the paper belong to you, Ms. Jackson,” the police officer explained before producing another document from his file. “The wrapping contained some bank notes. We traced the bank notes to the ATM machine the money was withdrawn from based on the serial number. The $20,000 was withdrawn by you from an ATM machine in a neighboring district six years ago. The evidence is concrete. Take her away!”
How could this happen? Winona thought to herself. How could this actually happen? It had been so long ago! How did they find out?!
Desperate times called for desperate measures, she realized as she looked at the officer who was about to put her in handcuffs. She took tentative steps backward with a blanked-out expression as she stammered, “Wh… what are you talking about? Liam… what’s happening? How did I end up here? I… I don’t remember anything…” Her lips trembled as she sobbed. “Liam… I’m in pain… Please come here and hug me…”
The Crawfords were stunned into silence. Did she lose her memory from hitting her head too hard? The timing was suspicious, but at the same time not entirely improbable…
Lilly slanted her head to one side as she considered Winona’s confused state of mind. “Uncle Anthony, what’s wrong with Aunt Winona?” she asked innocently. “Is she acting silly? Why does she need to act silly? She’s usually silly enough.”
Winona wanted nothing more than to give Lilly a piece of her mind, but she swallowed her pride in hopes of putting on a good show for the Crawfords. “Oh no, my head… my head hurts so much. I… can’t remember anything. Why am I here? Why are you arresting? I don’t know anything!!” she wailed hysterically.
Most of the police squad were at a loss at what to do, but the commanding officer took charge quickly enough. “We’ve seen plenty of criminals who claim insanity or memory loss, so your tricks won’t work here. You’re still fully responsible for the crime you committed, lady. Take her away!”
Two officers walked up to Winona and grabbed her by the arms on each side.
“Liam! Liam… save me please!” Winona cried out pitifully. “Why are they taking me away? What’s going on?! I’m not pretending here. I don’t know what’s happening!”
Winona undoubtedly put on a good show that could fool any stranger. Unfortunately, it was of no use in the eyes of the law, since a person could be convicted of the crime they had committed even if they lost their memory. As she was escorted by the officers into the patrol car, Winona finally broke down.
“Liam! Liam!! I was wrong, it’s all my fault. Please ask them to let me go!” she begged. “Bettany, please! I’m begging you! Hannah is still so young, she can’t lose her mother at this age!” The car door clicked shut once the police had placed Winona in the back seat, but Winona was still frantically clawing at the window and crying for mercy. However, it was all too late. The jail sentence for the intentional manslaughter of May Lee, on top of an attempted murder of Liam by poisoning, was at least ten years. Liam Crawford had already filed for divorce, cutting off all ties between Winona and the Crawfords, so none of the Crawfords had any reason to come to her rescue. Her own mother was unreliable at best and Winona could only hope that she would be able to stay out of trouble herself. There was no light at the end of the tunnel at all, Winona realized as tears streamed down her face. How did things go so wrong so quickly?
Outside of the patrol car, a police officer was making notes for the investigation report before presenting it to Liam for his signature as a primary witness.
“If I may ask, how did Ms. Jackson injure her head?” the officer asked.
Anthony Crawford was quick to answer him. “There was a small scuffle that broke out just now, when Ms. Jackson threatened to commit suicide along with her child. Liam had no choice but to subdue her.”
The officer nodded as he took down his notes. “What did he use to hit her with? Don’t worry, things like this happen all the time. It’s just standard procedure for us to record down all the necessary details.”
Anthony nodded in understanding. “It was a spatula.”
“A… spatula?” the police officer repeated after Anthony, just to confirm he did not hear wrongly. “Where is this spatula now?”
Without a word, Liam walked over to where the spatula was lying on the ground and picked it up. The officer’s eyes widened in shock. “Are… are you sure that was the weapon, sir?” That tiny little children’s toy managed to bust Winona’s head open?
“Yes, it was,” Liam’s voice was firm.
The officer had no choice but to write his report as per Liam and Anthony’s statements. He then put the spatula into an evidence bag and sealed it up before the police squad left the scene.
Lilly pursed her lips in silence and stared at the police car that drove further and further away. Her little spatula went to jail!
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