Prologue
It was July eighteen back in nineteen fifty-six in Waterford, Georgia. This town was located between Columbus and Atlanta, Georgia.
It was a somber afternoon in one of the three viewing rooms at the Delaney Funeral in downtown Waterford.
At the end of the room was a casket with potted flowers on the floor.
Inside the casket laid Erica Conner a twenty-two-year-old mother and wife to Jesse Conner. Erica looked so peaceful in her light blue dress.
The sounds of young women blowing their noses were heard at the other end of the room while they sobbed. Some of those women were childhood friends of Erica and couldn't believe her life ended so soon. They all talked about living a long life in Waterford.
One of Erica's old friends walked up to the casket. She glanced down at Erica. The woman got teary-eyed while she glanced down at her. She remembered Erica as a sweet teenage girl so full of life that would babysit her six-year-old daughter. The woman walked away, blowing her nose into a handkerchief. She recalled how happy Erica was the day she gave birth to her only son.
At the other end of the room by the doors sat Jesse Conner who was Erica's husband of three years. Jesse was a blue-eyed twenty-four-year-old, muscular man and sported a black crew cut. One trademark with Jesse was that he loved to wear brown snake skinned boots. He wore them with his cheap black suit for his wife's funeral.
But today, Jesse also sported a giant goose egg on the left side of his forehead, which was the result of a confrontation where he lost. The encounter was with an intruder in their home three nights ago that took away Erica's young life.
Jesse stared down at the casket. He appeared to be distraught but fought hard to show it. He always felt that if a man cried, it showed a sign of weakness. And Jesse didn't want to appear to be a weak man in front of anybody.
Two chairs down from Jesse sat his blue-eyed three-year-old son Ernie in his black suit.
Ernie looked around at everybody and was confused. He was confused as to why his mother was sleeping inside that wooden box. He wanted her to get out and be with him. He wanted to know why people would walk over and look at his sleeping mom. He thought this was a strange event he didn't understand.
Fifteens minutes had passed, and the room in the funeral home was thinning out with people.
Matt Conner and his wife Wilma, both in their fifties, entered the room and walked over to Jesse. Matt was a muscular man of intimidating size with a buzz haircut.
"Son, we're heading over to the cemetery," Matt said while he placed a comforting hand on Jesse's shoulder.
Wilma's eyes welled up while she took one last glance at Erica in the casket.
"Okay," Jesse replied while he continued to stare at his dead wife.
Matt and Wilma left the room.
Jesse stood up when Judge Buford Peabody and his lovely wife Cindy, also in their fifties, entered the room.
They walked over and took one last glance at their daughter in the casket.
Cindy's eyes filled with tears while she looked at Erica. She remembered the day Erica was born like it was yesterday, and now her only daughter was dead. Cindy got weak in the knees and started to drop to the floor. Judge Peabody sensed this and grabbed her right arm and kept her up on her feet.
Judge Peabody thought it would be best to get Cindy out of the room.
He walked her back to Jesse.
"I know your dad will catch this guy and I'll make sure he gets what he deserves. I'll give the longest sentence the law allows," Judge Peabody said, and he looked furious.
"I know he will too and thanks," Jesse replied and looked like something troubled him, so he avoided looking at Erica's casket.
"We're heading out to the cemetery," Judge Peabody said then he walked Cindy out of the room.
Ernie got out of his chair and walked toward the casket.
Jesse stared at the other end of the room, still avoiding eye contact with Erica's casket.
Ernie climbed up on a chair in the front row by the casket. He stared down at Erica.
"Wake up, mommy. Please wake up," Ernie pleaded with his dead mother.
Jesse looked perturbed with Ernie. He walked down to the casket.
Ernie glanced at Jesse with teary eyes.
"Mommy won't wake up. Why won't mommy wake up? I want her to play with me," said Ernie while tears rained down his small cheeks.
Jesse looked mad. He grabbed Ernie's left arm and yanked him off the chair and almost pulled his tender arm out of its socket.
Ernie cringed in pain when his feet landed on the floor. He started crying while he held his left arm.
Jesse glared down at Ernie. "She's not getting up. So quit crying, or I'll give you a damn good reason to cry," Jesse said through gritted teeth and glaring eyes.
Ernie got scared with Jesse's glaring eyes. He peed his pants.
Jesse saw the wet stain in Ernie's pants and got furious. He started removing his belt.
Ernie shook in fear, knowing what this meant.
Beth Whitfield was a drop-dead gorgeous stacked twenty-one-year-old blond with an hourglass figure and soft brown eyes.
She entered the room and saw Jesse with his belt in his right hand. She frowned and stormed over to him.
She smacked Jesse hard on his cheek. "You will do no such thing! Not today!" she scolded Jesse.
"Beth, I need to make a man out of him and peeing your pants is not conducive of being a man," Jesse replied and looked determined to give Ernie a whopping.
"Jesse, he's only three years old! I will not let you treat him like the way dad treated my brothers. I will not!" Beth replied in a raised voice and gave Jesse a look that she meant it.
"Dad used his belt on me, and I turned out just fine."
Beth ignored Jesse while she knelt down at Ernie. She felt sorry for him while she held his hand. "Let's get you cleaned up, Ernie."
Beth frowned at Jesse while she walked Ernie away.
Jesse reinstalled his belt while he watched Beth walk Ernie out the room. She was the only woman Jesse would obey besides his mother.