The May Day Murders Read Online Free PDF Page B

had recently hired as an
apprentice photojournalist. Her name was Shelley Hatcher. She was
around twenty years old and fairly new in town; having recently
moved to Smithtown from somewhere in Kentucky. Apparently, Sam had
taken Shelley under his wing since he himself was an accomplished
photographer, and in fact, always shot his own pictures for his
articles in the newspaper.
    Ann had a funny hunch what was
happening, so she had made a quick phone call to one of her friends
who once mentioned that she knew where this Shelley woman lived.
Apparently Shelley had had a few wild parties at her apartment and
Ann’s friend, who lived nearby, had twice seen the cops come to
break them up because of complaints about the noise. Ann got
Shelley’s address from her friend, trying her hardest not to arouse
her suspicions yet knowing all the while that she wasn’t fooling
her for a second.
    Ann had then hopped into her car and
drove by the Observer to see if Sam’s Jeep was in the
parking lot. Just as she suspected, it wasn’t. She drove to the
address her friend had given her, which turned out to be a small
apartment complex on the other end of town. And sure enough, the
Jeep was parked out front.
    Ann had parked across the street and
waited for nearly an hour before Sam suddenly came out the door
with Shelley Hatcher hanging all over him. The slut had just
planted a big kiss on Sam’s cheek when he glanced across the street
and spotted her. He had immediately broken away from Shelley and
run over to the car to beg Ann’s forgiveness. He knew he’d been
caught, and hadn’t even tried to lie his way out of it…
    Ann took off her other shoe, then went
over to the dresser and picked up the family portrait. She stared
at Sam’s tall, slender frame, his long, unruly hair and his soft
gray eyes. His expression was calm, content. She and Sam both had
their arms around Amy and the three of them looked like one happy,
loving family. Even Amy looked content and at ease, in contrast to
her present demeanor; smiling and full of love for her mother and
father. Ann’s eyes traveled over to her own image and smiled
pensively, recalling how long it had taken to get her hair to look
that good …
    She quickly set the picture down and
felt a stab of sadness. A family once so full of love and
togetherness was no more. She could still recall how hurt and angry
she had been when she’d caught Sam cheating on her, and how old and
obsolete she’d suddenly felt when she saw Shelley Hatcher for the
first time that awful night. Ann no longer felt wanted; her husband
no longer found her desirable. That’s what had gone through her
mind. Sam had risked everything just to sleep with a younger, more
attractive woman, and she knew that she could never make love to
him again knowing that.
    Ann had filed for divorce the following
day.
    Word spread quickly about the incident
and the public humiliation had been unbearable. Once it got out
that Ann wanted a divorce, it seemed as though everyone in town
started looking at her differently—as if she was the wrongdoer, not
Sam. Everyone except Marsha, that is. Marsha liked Sam as much as
the rest of the town did, but Marsha also knew how proud her friend
was and how much it had hurt her to see her husband with another
woman. Marsha encouraged her to go through with the divorce and
supported her all the way to the end.
    Amy, on the other hand, had mixed
feelings at the time. She knew that what her father had done was
wrong but at the same time didn’t want to see her parents split up.
It had been especially hard for her the day that Sam had packed his
bags and moved in with Roger. Their house had suddenly become a
broken home.
    Ann had to admit that she’d actually
felt sorry for Sam by the time the divorce had been finalized. He
was really hurt and it showed, yet he had still managed to be a
gentleman throughout the whole thing. He’d tried his hardest to
make it as painless as he could, just for Amy’s