April 11, 2008

• The Third Message

  Having just worked the afternoon shift, I was greeted upon my arrival home by the blinking light of my answering machine. There were three messages.
  I fed the dogs and loaded the dishwasher before I turned my attention to the recordings.
  The first was a message from the library telling me a book I had requested was in. The second was from my sister, asking me to call her in the morning. I was tempted to call her and wake her up, just for fun, but in the end decided against it.
  The third call went like this:
  “This call is for Jared. This is Jillian Hartong at the Superior County Courthouse. I am calling to inform you that you do not have to testify in the court hearing of John Bottoms. Mr . Bottoms agreed to a plea bargain this afternoon. Once again, you do not have to testify.”
  I did not realize that my teenage son might have to testify in the murder trial of the decade for the next county over. I knew he had went to the sheriff’s office with information about Mr. Bottoms and the victim, Jordan Ames. I did not think he would be expected to testify. I didn’t want him tied to the murder.
  Jared worked at a haunted house on weekends in the fall. John Bottoms also worked there as well as another guy, Greg James. Jared said Bottoms and James were decidedly different characters at work, but never thought they were homicidal.
  Jordan Ames was Jared’s age. He and Jared were acquainted but not close friends. Jared knew Jordan to be a bit of a follower. He would do pretty much anything to make a friend.
  One evening after work, Jared headed to the area teen center. There he saw Bottoms and James, who said they were looking for Jordan Ames. They said that Ames had made an improper suggestion to Bottoms wife, Melinda. They made a remark referring to what they would do to Jordan if they found him.
  The next day, Jordan’s body was discovered in a nearby lake. He had been beaten, shot and dumped in the water. The coroner said he was murdered three days before.
  Someone reported seeing a pickup truck on a lake access road three days earlier. Three people were in it. The witness had written down the license plate number because he thought they were dumping garbage, The plate came back to Bottoms.
  When Jared heard the news he was concerned because of the conversation with Bottoms and James. He decided to go to the sheriff’s office with his information. I had raised him to do the right thing. And it could have been dangerous. If there had been a trial, something could have went wrong and Jared could have been exposed to the will of this cold blooded killer, Bottoms, who was the mastermind of this plot to “just kill someone” as James testified at his hearing. Melinda Bottoms was also involved in the plot. The three were sentenced to life in prison without parole, making this mom rest easier.

  • 12:26 am
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