That afternoon, I became Chelsea McNamee. I dyed my blonde hair brown, cut it short, and armed with papers that contained everything I would need for my new life, I boarded the first plane out of Atlanta.
I ended up in a rural town in Texas, where I got a job at a television studio as a "gopher" but at least it was an honest job and no one knew about my past.
A few years after I got going in my career, working my way up the corperate ladder, I met a nice gentleman by the name of Mark. Part of me wanted to tell him about my past, but another part said to leave it where it belonged, in the past. Every time I would try and bring it up, something would make me change my mind. After Mark and I had dated for over a year, he proposed and we were married one spring afternoon. It was quite a change from my previous marriage. mark was everything I had ever wanted in a husband an by the next year, I was pregnant with twins. My daughters, Ariel Justine and Lacey Michelle were our pride and joy. I quit work to stay at home and take care of them. When the girls were four, Mark got a job offer in Birmingham, AL. It was closer to Atlanta than I would have liked, but I didn't want to tell Mark. Besides, it had already been 10 years.
One morning after dropping the girls off at preschool, I was shocked as I read the headlines in the local paper. Richey was being released from prison for good behavior. My hands began to shake as I called Mark at work and asked him to come home immediately. When he arrived, we sat down and I told him the whole story of my past, every last ugly detail. I could see the shock in his eyes as my story unfolded. After talking for a while, we decided there was no way that Richey could find me, yet I still had a uneasy feeling about the whole thing. Something told me this was not over, as a matter of fact, it was just beginning.
After the fist six months of Richey's release, I was a nervous wreck. I never left the house anymore and when I did, every man looked like Richey to me. I would wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats and trembling. It was horrible. Mark was beginning to lose patience with me and the girls were confused. Finally Mark issued an ultimatum, either I get into counceling or he was going to take the girls and leave me.
I began counceling one fall afternoon. Dr. Carol was a gentle woman with bright blue eyes and a huge smile. We hit it off immediately and things actually began looking up for me until the day I walked out of my appointment and there stood Richey, leaning up against my car with a cocky smile on his face. I wanted to run until I saw the shiny barrel of the gun inside his jacket that he flashed at me as he forced me into my car. I knew then this was the end.
*******The next morning the headlines were full of all the details of the brutal murder of Melody Rose. Richey Leon Patton is still at large. Mark buried his face in his hands and cried.
You can join Unsolved Mysteries and post your own mysteries or
interesting stories for the world to read and respond to Click hereScroll all the way down to read replies.Show all stories by Author:  45948 ( Click here )
Spring is coming |
