Chapter 38
1983
It started about twenty-six years ago. Higgins was only a deputy at the time. He was on duty one night when the call came in about a domestic disturbance at the Caulder residence. This was not the first time that this had occurred. Mr. Caulder was a drunk, a mean drunk. On more than one occasion, he had come home intoxicated and had beaten poor Maggie for no reason other than she was near him when he felt like beating up on someone.
On this particular night, he was in a really foul mood. He’d gotten into a fight at the local bar and had been thrown out. He was steamed when he got home. His wife, Maggie, had had dinner ready for him two hours ago and it had gotten cold. She was annoyed with him but knew better than to say anything. She had seen him in these moods before and she knew better than to say anything to him.
"Where’s my dinner?” he snapped at her.
"I’m sorry dear, but dinner was ready two hours ago, and when you didn’t show up, I just assumed that you weren’t coming home, and so I threw it out.” Maggie retorted back, finally having had enough of his belligerence. She would soon regret this, wishing she could have taken it back, but it was too late for that.
"What did you say to me, you bitch. I expect my dinner to be on the table whenever I get home. It’s your job to have it there for me when I want it.”
"Don’t talk to me like that, you drunken asshole. I’ve had enough of this from you. You can go to Hell and cook your own damn meals. I’m not your slave!”
"You’ll do what I tell you to do. Don’t piss me off, Maggie, I’m warning you. I’m not in the mood to listen to your shit.”
"Not in the mood to listen to my shit. That’s a laugh. I listen to yours all the time. You’re a pathetic loser, and you’ll never be anything but a loser. I want you out of my house.”
"Your house; without me, you’d be nothing. You’d still be serving at that diner down the road if I hadn’t come along, being pinched by anyone and everyone. You don’t how good you’ve got it.” He had risen out of his chair and was approaching her in a sinister way.
She had seen this look in his eyes before. Every time, just before he’d strike her, he would look the same. He didn’t seem to know what he was doing. His eyes would start to roll up into his head and his breathing would become labored. Then, he would usually strike her with the back of his hand and continue beating her.
The last time he had hit her, she was in hospital for two days. She told the staff that she had fallen down the stairs and had hurt herself. If this had only happened once or twice, they may have believed her story. However, she was in the emergency room too often for these injuries to be accidental. They asked her if she had been beaten by her husband, but she denied it, saying that he would never hurt a fly. She kept saying that she was accident prone and would try to be more careful. They didn’t believe her, but if she didn’t want to press charges, there was nothing that they could do. They told her that unless he was stopped, her injuries could become more severe. He might kill her one of these days if nobody put a stop to it. She still refused to press charges, and so went home. She felt that they might be correct but she felt trapped. He supported her and gave her a good life. Surely, the attacks would stop and they could have a normal life. But here she was again, about to be assaulted.
She started to back away, becoming afraid of him now. He kept getting closer and closer. She looked around for something to protect herself with. The staff at the hospital was correct; she wished that she had pressed charges and had the prick locked up. But it was too late for that now. She began to become terrified of him. The look was different this time, evil seeming to emanate from him. He did in fact look like he intended to kill her. She had to get away, get away from this mad man that was closing in for the kill, so to speak.
Before she could react, he had punched her this time. This was something new. Usually, he would cuff her with the back of his hand once or twice and that might be all. This time, he had stepped up the violence to a whole new level. He had never started throwing punches, just the usual slapping about to get her attention before he struck her with his closed fist. This time, he really meant to hurt her without the slapping.
Her head reeled from the blow and she felt like she was going to pass out. She knew that if she did, he would be upon her in a flash and she wouldn’t stand a chance. He would pummel her to death and there was nothing she would be able to do about it.
She reached behind her and grabbed the nearest thing she could get her hand on. It was a large kitchen knife, honed to a fine point, its edge glistening in the kitchen light. When he saw the knife, he hesitated for a moment. She managed to get a small distance from him.
"Get away from me, you bastard. You’re crazy. Come any closer and I’ll cut you, so help me God I will.” She started to cry but kept the knife pointed toward him, not taking her eyes away from him for a moment.
"You little bitch. Pull a knife on me, will you? You’re going to regret the day you were born.” He raised his hand as if to strike again, but she slashed and cut him just below the elbow.
He howled in pain, but lunged forward and grabbed the knife from her. At least he intended to grab it from her. All that happened was that he got a gash across the palm of his hand. Blood poured from the wound. He screamed and threw all his body weight against her, knocking her to the floor. The weapon came loose, and fell a short distance away. They both went for it, struggled for what seemed an eternity, but he came up with it. He grabbed it with his right hand but let out another yelp. This was where he had been cut. He switched it to his left hand, all the time wrestling with Maggie. He pushed her away, and raised the knife, ready to attack.
Maggie thought that she was going to be dead within seconds. This was the thought going threw her mind when she heard a loud bang that sounded like a cannon going off. Her husband’s head rocked backward with a jerk and he slumped to the floor. A gaping hole appeared above his right eye. Deputy Higgins had shot him and blown a hole the size of a baseball through his skull. Brain matter and bits of gore dripped from Maggie’s face. She started screaming until she finally passed out.
At the inquest, Deputy Higgins testified that someone had called 911 and he responded as quick as he could. He got to the door and saw Caulder approaching Mrs. Caulder with a knife in his hand. He was asked why he didn’t try to apprehend the victim. Why had he just shot Mr. Caulder without even attempting to stop him? Higgins said that he had ordered Caulder to drop the knife but he was ignored. He said that something had to be done or Mrs. Caulder would have been seriously hurt, possibly killed.
When questioned about the incident, Maggie couldn’t remember Higgins ordering her husband to drop the weapon. She denied it vehemently. Everyone felt that she must have been in a state of shock and that the situation was too intense for her to be thinking clearly. As far as everyone was concerned, Higgins had acted appropriately.
That was how it was reported in the file. Case closed. There were suspicions as to whether Higgins actually tried to subdue the suspect or whether he just fired and that was that. The point of the matter was, Higgins had had a thing for the cute Mrs. Caulder for a long time and now with the husband out of the way, the deputy might have a shot (no pun intended) at Maggie herself. The problem was Mrs. Caulder wanted nothing to do with him. As far as she was concerned, no warning had been issued. Higgins had murdered her loving husband. It’s funny that she should consider her husband loving, but in most cases of spousal abuse, the victim usually believes that it is their own fault and that they are being punished so that they will see the error of their ways. They would keep coming back for more no matter how many times, or how severe the beatings. They were always the one to blame for their better half acting the way they did. She never forgave Higgins for taking her husband, her loving husband, away from her. She never forgave him at all.
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