Lauren DeBeaux

August 1st 1990

On this day in 1970 my husband was arrested and sent to prison for twenty five years for his part in running a drug and prostitution ring in Chesterton, North Carolina. One year later he was killed in prison and from his death I inherited a five hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy and I also inherited two acres of land and the home we shared together in Chesterton. The locals in Chesterton gossip that I had something to do with my husband being arrested and for once they are right. My husband who’s name was Jason was the town’s golden boy. He came from a wealthy family and was the star basketball player of his high school basketball team. He was tall and handsome and had a smile that could light up anyroom. Jason worked at his parents grocery store after school where he was often seen sneaking free food away to the customers who didn't have enough money to pay their bill. The town looked at Jason as the young man with the heart of gold and they hated me for taking him away from them. When Jason graduated from high school his mother fell ill with cancer, so instead of going to college as he had planned Jason stayed in Chesterton and took a job at the local steel mill to stay close to his mother. I first met Jason working at a local bar in town as a barmaid. Jason would come in every Friday with his co-workers after work for a drink. Right away I could see that Jason was not like his other co workers, while the majority of his friends would get pissy drunk and gamble all their wages away for the week in card games, Jason would just sit back in his chair and sip his drink while listening to the live band play music. I also noticed that Jason was not a big drinker, he never ordered more than one or two drinks while his co workers would order drinks until they couldn't stand up straight. On several occasions a few of Jason’s co workers would get into drunken fights at the bar and being the good friend that Jason was he would always break it up and make sure that no one was hurt and that everyone got home safe. Even more interesting was the fact that Jason never talked to me or flirted with me. Every man that entered that bar at some point tried to hit on me but Jason never did, he actually never even looked my way unless he was ordering a drink. I started to think in the back of my mind that he may have been gay until one day he proved me compltley wrong and pushed that thought right out of my brain. One friday night I was working at the bar when Jason and his co workers entered the bar for their regular friday night routine, that's when one of the men approached me and ordered a shot of whisky, apparently I did not pour the shot fast enough because the next thing I knew the man jumped behind the bar and put his hands around my neck yelling and screaming that I was taking to long to prepare his drink. Scared and gasping for air I attempted to grab the baseball bat from behind the bar to hit the man with so he would stop choking me and before I could Jason jumped up from his bar stool grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him to the middle of the bar room floor where he consistently punched the man in the face until some of his other co workers pulled him off the asshole. I stood up gasping for air and completely shocked at what just happened, Jason walked over to me and led me to sit down at a table across the room.

He gently touched my face and raised my head so he could look at my neck to make sure that I was okay. Jason looked at me and asked if I needed some water, I shook my head yes and Jason walked over to the bar and poured me a glass of water. When he returned I was able to get my breath back and looked at Jason and said thank you and I asked him what it was that I could do to make it up to him for saving me from that man. Jason looked back at me and told me that I didn't owe him anything, and that he was raised to never hit or let another man hit a woman, Jason took my hand and looked me in my eyes and asked me if he could take me home and I agreed. That night on the ride home Jason asked if he could take me out on a date. I was in complete disbelief, Jason had never spoken a word to me before this night and never showed any prior interest in me, and out of all the women in town that wanted him and threw themselves at Jason why would he want to date me, but before I could ask why me I could hear my mother's voice in the back of my mind saying Lauren when something good happens to you don't let doubt and fear take that moment of happiness from you, don't question why the good thing is happening to you just embrace it and enjoy it. Remembering my mother's words I touched Jason's hand and told him yes that I would love to go out on a date with him. Those words and that night changed my life forever.

After that night Jason and I were an item, and we spent every free moment we had with each other. Jason treated me like a queen, every Wednesday he would bring me fresh flowers to my job, and every sunday he would take me out on a picnic after church. Jason was the perfect man, handsome, caring, generous, a provider and protector, and God Fearing. Jason was quite the catch, every woman in town dream guy, that's why every woman in town hated my guts because I had him and no matter how much they threw themselves at Jason, Jason would never cheat on me because he loved me and me only. After about a year of going steady Jason and I were married and I couldn't have been more happier. I quit working at the bar and got a clerical job in town and Jason was promoted to manager at the steel mill. We didn't have much in savings after the wedding so we lived with Jason’s parents in their house in Chesterton Heights which was the high class part of town for colored people. I didn't mind living there with his parents but Jason did, even though he never spoke about it you could see it on his face that he wanted his own home. One day after Jason came home from work he pulled me out of the kitchen where I was preparing dinner and escorted me to our bedroom. Jason sat me down on the bed and looked me in the eye and said he had good news that could change our lives forever. Eager and excited I was ready to hear more. Jason told me that his father approached him today and asked him to be the manager of the new business that he was about to start. That's great I shouted, but you already have a job and you are already a manager at the steel mill, do you want to leave the steel mill, are you unhappy there I asked? Jason took my hand and said that he was not going to leave the steel mill, he would continue working there and that the management position at his father's business would only require him to work on wednesdays and saturdays from seven at night until one am, Jason felt he could do both jobs and he felt that the extra money would help purchase a house.

I was worried that Jason would burn himself out by working too much but Jason grabbed my hand and assured me that this was a great plan and that he wanted nothing more than to purchase us a home so we could start a family and that this opportunity would allow him to do so. I kissed Jason and gave him my blessing and soon after he started working for his father's new company as planned.

It didn't take long for the money to come in after that, I soon noticed that Jason would give me extra money on payday to buy myself something nice, and new pieces of jewelry were starting to show up in my jewelry box. One day I came home after work and there was a shiny new cherry red car in the driveway and standing next to it was Jason with a pair of keys in his hands, I ran up to him and he said this beauty is for my beauty. I couldn't believe it Jason had brought me a brand new car. I was starting to get spoiled by this new lifestyle that Jason was introducing me to but it also came with some downfalls. It seemed the more money that came in the less and less time I was able to spend with Jason, he picked up more hours at his father's business and I began to see him less and less and it started to affect our love life and we didn't go out as much. The miserable woman in town started noticing this too and it gave them courage to start throwing themselves at Jason again in hopes that they could get their chance to be with my husband and before I would let that happen I would sit down with my Jason and talk and work things out. One night I laid awake in bed waiting for Jason to come home so we could talk , it wasn't until three am when Jason arrived home and when he walked into the house I could hear that he was not alone. I got up out of the bed and placed my ear against the door in an attempt to hear what was going on. I couldn't hear much so I decided to sneak out of the room and lean against the wall at the top of the stairs to get a better listen and look , when I looked down at the bottom of the stairs to get a better look I couldn't believe my eyes. There were two guys with Jason and one of them was holding a woman in his arms. The woman looked passed out and had what seemed to be a black eye. I could hear Jason direct the man to lay the woman on the couch and then Jason directed the other man to call someone named Kevin and have him come over and clean this girl up. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, why was there a beaten up woman laying on my couch and what did Jason have to do with it? I acted as if I was awakened by the noise and walked down the stairs towards the kitchen when Jason stopped me at the bottom of the stairs. I could smell alcohol on his breath which was odd because Jason was never a big drinker. Go back to bed Lauren Jason said firmly grabbing my shoulders and stopping me from going any further. With a confused look on my face I asked what was going on and what all the noise was about. This time Jason turned me around and pushed me back up the stairs towards the bedroom. Stay in the bedroom and don't come out until I tell you too, do you understand me Jason said bluntly. I shook my head yes and Jason closed the door behind me. I was so confused, what was going on I thought, and who was this mysterious woman laying in our living room?

About five that morning Jason came into our bedroom and closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge on the bed and took a deep breath. Lauren are you awake he asked, I sat up from the bed and replied yes. Jason turned around and looked me right in the face and said that he had something to tell me and that I was not going to like it. The tone in his voice scared me and I took a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever Jason was about to tell me. That morning Jason confessed to me that his Fathers business that he managed was actually a drug and prostitution ring. Jason’s job was to oversee the drugs coming in and to watch over the girls to make sure they were protected. The girl I saw laying on the couch the night before was one of the women working for my husband as a prostitute and that she had got beaten and robbed by a customer earlier that night. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, my sweet Jason was involved in something like this? It couldn't have been true I thought to myself. Jason went on to say that now that I knew the truth I was a part of it, and that he needed my help running the business. He told me from that day forth I would no longer work my regular job but instead work for him where I would recruit young women to work in the prostitute business and he also wanted me to make deliveries of the drugs to his elite clients. He said if I wanted to continue living this lavish lifestyle that I would do what he said or else he would put me out on the streets with nothing but the clothes I had on my back. In complete disbelief I got up out of the bed and walked over to the window to get some air because I couldn't breath and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I went into a panic attack. Jason walked over to me and grabbed my face and told me to get some rest because in a few hours he needed me to go out and find some new girls for his business. He then led me to the bed and pulled the covers up over me and then took his clothes off and laid next to me in the bed and held me as if he didn't just give me the worst news of my life.

I laid in that bed staring at the ceiling until about noon, I had completely convinced myself that everything that just happened several hours earlier was a fragment of my imagination, I got out of our bed and went on about my daily routine. While in the kitchen making myself a cup of coffee Jason walked in and sat down at the kitchen table, he opened his newspaper and after reading the headlines he asked me if I was ready for the day. I had completely convinced myself that everything that happened the night before was just my imagination so my reply was simple. I told Jason that I didn't have any special plans for the day outside of heading into town and getting a few things from the market to prepare for dinner. Jason got up and walked over to me while I was pouring my coffee and grabbed my face firmly and said the groceries can wait, I told you I need you to find me some new girls for my business today, that is what I want you to focus on today. Jason’s tone of voice was aggressive and his touch was firm which led me to believe that he was actually serious. I moved Jason’s hand from my face and looked him right in his eyes and said no, I told him that I would not be apart of this horrible and disgusting “business” that he was apart of and that is when Jason hit me for the first time, he slapped me right in my face in that kitchen knocking me to the floor. As I laid on the floor in tears Jason stood over me and told me to get up and pack all of my things, If I couldn't do the “simple” things that he asked of me it was time for me to leave. Jason then went on to shouting and yelling at me telling me to get out of his house.

With a bloody lip and tears streaming down my face I stood up and went into our bedroom and started packing my things, Jason did not follow. I packed my belongings in disbelief and complete confusion. Who has Jason become? How did he go from this amazing caring and sensitive man to this woman beating drug dealer who pimps women? When did this happen and how did I not notice it? Everything that I thought was real in my life was a lie. Jason really didnt love me, if he did he would have never put his hands on me and demanded me to help him pimp out women and sell drugs. Was this his plan all along, to sweep me off my feet, marry me and put me to work for him? My mind was going a million miles a minute. Once my belongings were packed I walked down the stairs and Jason was still in the kitchen sitting at the kitchen table. As I approached the door to leave Jason’s father walked in. He obviously knew what was going on because he grabbed my bags out of my hand and placed them on the floor and led me towards the couch and sat me down. Jason’s father softly touched my face and asked if Jason had hit me. I shook my head yes. He then grabbed my hand and looked at me in the eyes and told me to do what Jason had asked of me and things will get better, he went on to say that if I leave, Jason would make my life miserable by not only taking everything away from me and he would leave me with no money, no house, no clothes, and that Jason would make sure that I would never get another job in this town again but if I complied with Jason’s requests that I would never have to worry about anything. Jason’s father then went on to remind me that both of my parents had passed on and that I had no siblings so I would be completely alone if I tried to leave, and being alone and with nothing would be the death of me. Jason’s father told me that he cared about me and didn't want to see anything bad happen to me and begged me to stay and do what Jason asked and he then went on to assure me that he would make sure that Jason would never lay another hand on me especially if I stayed. As the cherry on top Jason came into the living room and sat down on the couch next me and apologized for hitting me, and that he would never do it again. He went on to explain that he never told me about the drugs and prostitutes because he knew that I would never approve of it and that he allowed the business to and the stress of the business and everything that comes with it take over his mind and body and he took some of that out on me and for that he was truly sorry, and then he went on to try and convince me that the money would make everything worth it, and that he would be able to give me the best life possible. Then he got on his knees and begged me to stay. That day after Jason and his father talked to me on that couch I found out that the backbone I thought I had was gone, and the morals I thought were instilled in me were nonexistent because I stayed and went on to work in the family “business”.

After about two years had passed I was deep into the drug and prostitution game with my husband. I was bringing in some of the most beautiful women that brought in tons of money and I was selling drugs to some of the most elite clientele on our side of the state. The business was bringing in anywhere between 50,000 and 100,00 a week. Jason kept his promise and we were living the most lavish lifestyle I could have ever imagined. I was driving a brand new sports car, we had two new homes built, Jason had opened up five new businesses in town to help clean his money that two of them I managed which were a beauty salon and a ice cream shop. I wore nothing but designer clothes and owned some of the finest pieces of jewelry. I allowed the lifestyle of drugs and money and prostitutes to take over my life. I had become a different person. I had become a drug dealing pimp just like my husband. I secretly hated the woman I had become but I was so fearful of what would happen to me if I left that I allowed my mind and my actions to be taken over by what I was doing. I was living in a glamorous fear.

One day while making dinner the phone rang and it was Jason, he asked me to stop what I was doing and head over to the Greentop Hotel in town. He stated that he just hired a new girl and that he needed me to go over to the hotel and help her get ready for the night, I was confused as to why he just didn't get one of the other woman to help her but after two years of working for him I knew not to question him so I stopped making dinner and headed over to the hotel. When I arrived at the hotel and knocked on the door I was not prepared for what I was about to see. Instead of a grown woman opening the door a young girl at the age of thirteen opened the door. She looked up at me and asked me if I was Lauren. I said yes and asked her if I could come in. As soon as I entered the room I rushed into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I felt sick to my stomach. This girl was only thirteen! I immediately made up in my mind that I would not have no part introducing this little girl to the prostitute game. I splashed some water on my face and sat on the toilet and thought of a plan to get this little girl out of this danger. After about five more minutes I walked out of the bathroom to the young girl sitting on the edge of the bed. She was obviously scared and nervous. I sat down next to her and took her hand, I told her to stop being scared and that I would not do anything to hurt her and that I wouldn't let anyone hurt her. I told her that I needed her to trust me and to do exactly what I said. I told her to not leave the room at all for any reason and not to let anyone in the room unless it was me. I had developed a plan in my mind to get the young girl away from danger and that required me leaving her alone for a while. The young girl whose name was Ann looked up at me as I was preparing to leave the hotel room and asked me what If Jason’s father David came to the door should she let him in. I looked back at Ann and asked her why would David come to the door. Ann then told me that David, my father in law had come to the room several hours before and taught her how to be a woman. My father in law had sex with and raped this thirteen year old girl. An anger came over me that I had never felt before in my life. I wanted to kill my father in law from what I just learned about him. I told Ann to grab her bag and follow me.

I put Ann in my car and drove her to another hotel right outside of town. I paid the clerk an extra two hundred dollars to not say anything if anyone came around asking if they saw me or her and not let anyone know that Ann was in the room. I knew there was a chance if I left Ann at the room at the Greentop hotel that it was possible that David could come back and rape her again and I could not let that happen so I decided to move her while I put my plan into action. I left Ann with some food I picked up along the way and about a hundred dollars in cash. I told her if I did not return by the next morning to leave immediately and go and buy herself a bus ticket to the closest family member in another town and never look back.

I left the hotel and began driving back to my home. I was mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do. I was scared to my soul and I knew that I could end up dead if I did not execute my plan properly. When I arrived home I was relieved to see that my husband was not there, I rushed to the kitchen and quickly picked up the phone and called Mr Reynolds who was the sheriff of the town and also one of my top customers when it came to drugs. Mr Reynolds was a man drunk with power and with the current mayor of our town in the process of retiring I knew that Mr Reynolds had his eye on the position and was preparing a campaign to run for mayor. Blackmail with Mr Reynolds was my plan and it worked. I simply explained to him that if he helped me take down my husband's business and put my husband and his father behind bars that not only will his little secret of being addicted to heroin never be exposed, it will also be a guaranteed win for him as mayor. He would be showing the community that drugs and prostitution were not going to be tolerated in his town and that he cared about the safety of his town’s people. Without any hesitation Mr Reynolds agreed. I knew that he would not want to risk anyone knowing about his drug addiction especially his wife and children and I knew how desperately he wanted to win the election for the town mayor. We quickly developed a plan for my husband and his father to be caught in the act of distributing drugs and prostituting women for sex.

Later that night I arrived at one of the warehouses that we used to store drugs and both my husband and his father were there. My husband was outside sitting on a barrel of hay waiting on the new shipment to arrive from Tennessee and his father was inside of the warehouse taking count of the money that was made from the night before when the new shipment arrived. I was so thankful that it arrived on time with no delay because Mr Reynolds had scheduled a raid of the warehouse that was about to take place at any moment. My husband yelled out for his father to join him outside when I saw the lights of the police vehicles speeding down the road heading straight towards us. My husband yelled at the driver with the shipment to drive off but before he could the police had everyone blocked in. My husband grabbed my hand and told me to go inside and not to come out or speak a word to anyone.

I did as I was told and went inside the warehouse as the police and the sheriff were getting out their vehicles. Once my husband saw that it was Sheriff Reynolds I saw a wave of relief come over his face, but little did he know what was about to happen to him. Within seconds Sheriff Reynolds had my husband and his father in handcuffs and the rest of the police officers were inside the building raiding it. The police officers found twenty pounds of cocaine and to my surprise also numerous assault rifles that were being prepared for sale. They also uncovered a small room towards the back of the building that housed all the cash that was waiting to be cleaned and laundered. Once my husband and his father were in the back seats of the police vehicles I returned outside. My plan was to play the role of the distraught wife that was clueless to all that was going on and demand that my husband and his father be let go. But Sheriff Reynolds had something else in mind for me, Sheriff Reynolds had his own plan for me since I blackmailed him, once I walked outside Sheriff Reynolds lowered the windows of the police vehicle that my husband was sitting in and said “Thanks to this lovely lady right here we are able to get the scum that is destroying our communities like you off of the streets and make our community safe again”. Sheriff Reynolds had told my husband that I set him up to be arrested right in front of me. The look on my husband's face was the one of betrayal and hurt. I couldn't dare look him in the face. I turned my back to my husband and looked at Sheriff Reynolds. Sheriff Reynolds had a smirk on his, one of satisfaction and ordered the driver to take my husband and his father to jail to await trial. “Well it's over now, you got what you wanted pretty lady, how do you feel”. Sheriff Reynolds asked me. In complete disbelief I didn't say a word I just got in my car and drove away heading back towards the Greentop Hotel to make sure Ann was okay and to reassure her that she was safe and that she would never have to worry about David or Jason again.

As the weeks past it quickly spread around town that I was the one that had my husband and his father arrested and I was hated for it. With my husband employing a lot of people in town through his drug business and now that it was over because of me everyone hated me and several even wanted me dead. The women who were prostituting for Jason would often chase me down and threaten to beat me up, stab me, or whatever else came to mind. One day after leaving the local market in town I was almost ran off the road and killed by two men that worked for Jason and I knew then that it was time to leave town. I returned to the house that me and Jason shared and packed up all of my belongings that could possibly fit into my car and packed up Ann’s things also. Ann had been staying with me ever since the night that Jason and his father were arrested. I felt responsible for her, and I knew if she went back home that she would only end up selling her body for money and using drugs just like her mother and older sisters. The sad thing is that Ann’s mother didn't even notice that her daughter was gone, Ann had been staying with me for over three weeks now that is how strung out Ann’s mother was.

Once I had all of our things packed I asked Ann if she wanted to go by her mother's house and let her know that she was leaving town, Ann said she didn't want to see her mother again until she was clean and sober but she did want to drop off a letter she wrote her. So before leaving town we stopped by Ann’s house where Ann left a letter for her mother in the mailbox. Ann didnt want to go inside for fear that her mother would be there and try to make her stay. After that we drove for eight hours on the road and ended up in Maine where Ann and I started a new life.

Once we arrived in Maine I settled Ann and I into a small two bedroom apartment and found a job as a seamstress in a factory, and I enrolled Ann in school, things were finally starting to feel back to normal, I was at peace and Ann felt safe. About a year later I received letter in the mail from the county jail stating that Jason had been murdered and since Jason never signed any divorce papers I was the next of kin to be notified, about a month later after that I received a check in the mail from Jason’s life insurance policy for five hundred thousand dollars. I used that money to give Ann the best life possible, she deserved it especially after all she had gone through. Deep down inside a part of me still hates myself for allowing someone to have that much power over me, how could I let a man control me for so many years? How could I be so weak minded? Why didn't I stand up for myself from the beginning? These are the questions that haunt me everyday of my life and that will continue to haunt me until the day I die. But one thing is for certain I will never let anyone take control over me again and take away my joy and happiness for fear of being alone.

Sincerely,

Lauren DeBeaux