Angelina's Journey

ANGELINA’S JOURNEY

Gwen Beaudean Thoma, EdD

Copyright © 2022 by Gwen Beaudean Thoma, EdD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/12/2022

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1   The Trial

Chapter 2   The Verdict

Chapter 3   Life Goes On

Chapter 4   Returning to School

Chapter 5   The Life of a Registered Nurse

Chapter 6   Changes and Choices

Chapter 7   The Meeting

Chapter 8   The Second Date

Chapter 9   Angelina Tells Her Story

Chapter 10   The First Goodbye

Chapter 11  Angelina Blooms

Chapter 12  Angelina’s Happiness

Chapter 13  Police get involved

Chapter 14  Angelina Awakens

Chapter 15  A Night on the Town

Chapter 16  Awaiting Adam’s Return

Chapter 17  Waiting to Hear

Chapter 18  Adam’s Return

Chapter 19  Angelina’s Desire

Chapter 20  Surrender

Chapter 21  Vandalism

Chapter 22  Getting Ready for the Trip

Chapter 23  The New York Trip Begins

Chapter 24  Thanksgiving Eve

Chapter 25  Thanksgiving

Chapter 26  The Shopping Trip

Chapter 27  Exploring New York City

Chapter 28  Back to Cape Girardeau

Chapter 29  Return to New York

Chapter 30  The Holidays with Adam

Chapter 31  Wedding Planning

Chapter 32  The King of Hearts Escapes

Chapter 33  Christmas and New Year’s

Chapter 34  More Fun and Games

Chapter 35  Mr. and Mrs. Adam Harris

Chapter 36  The Endgame

Chapter 37  The Final Journey

About The Author

Dedicated to old friends

and loved ones

CHAPTER ONE

The Trial

Angelina Harper sat in the back of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse courtroom. She arrived early so she could sit in the back row in the corner behind the defendant section. She wore a navy blue skirt, a white blouse, navy blue shoes, and a navy blue large-brimmed hat with a white bow. She also was wearing sunglasses. Angelina had put all of her long black hair up under her hat, hoping that no one would recognize her. She arrived early, hoping to avoid news reporters. She was anxious for the trial to start, but then again, she dreaded all the media attention. She just wanted her life to get back to normal if that was possible.

Angelina was beautiful at the age of twenty, even more beautiful than when she was in high school. The man on trial had stalked Angelina for four years and had murdered seven young men who were her boyfriends through high school. Her teenage years had been traumatic, to say the least, and Angelina had begun to realize that her life would never be the same or normal. It was an odd feeling knowing that events in one’s life can have such a dramatic and profound impact. Angelina fought back tears as she waited for the trial to begin. She was dreading being called as the first witness at the trial. The prosecuting attorney had worked with her in preparation for her testimony, but Angelina was still emotional and afraid.

Angelina’s parents had wanted to come with her to the trial to provide her with emotional support, but Angelina did not want them there. She felt this was something she had to do on her own. She did not want her parents to have to listen to all the gory details. Angelina felt if she could do this all on her own she would become stronger. At the age of twenty, Angelina was almost an adult and wanted to take care of herself.

As people began to file into the courtroom, Angelina felt some relief that no one seemed to recognize her. The prosecuting attorney recognized her as he entered the courtroom. He smiled and nodded in her direction as he went to the front of the room. Angelina recognized some of the parents of the boys that had been killed. They did not appear to recognize her though. A few news reporters came in also. No cameras were allowed.

Right before the judge appeared, a man in a dark suit was brought in by the county sheriff. Angelina’s heart began to pound in her ears, and she immediately put her head down, hoping he would not recognize her. That was not the case. He stood at his attorney’s table, staring at her with a big, awful smile on his face. Several people in the courtroom noticed and turned to see who he was smiling at. Angelina wanted to die, but she maintained her composure. She next heard a man with a loud voice say, All rise. The judge entered the room just as she expected and had seen on television when she had watched Perry Mason shows. He was announced as the Honorable Judge Bartlet.

Angelina relaxed a little as the proceedings began with jury selection. That took the better part of the morning. Finally, seven men and five women were seated in the jury box. Angelina did not know any of them. The judge asked the prosecuting attorney if he was ready to present his case. He answered that he was.

Then call your first witness, said the judge.

I call Angelina Harper, said the prosecuting attorney.

The audience started whispering and turned to look at her when she stood up. The judge used his gavel and said, Quiet in the courtroom.

Angelina was sworn in and sat down in the witness chair. She then removed her sunglasses and looked at the prosecuting attorney as she waited for her first question. He asked her to state her name.

My name is Angelina Harper, she said in a quivering voice.

Angelina was asked her age and where she lived. She was then asked a series of questions about when her stalking began and how she realized it was a stalker. She had to talk about each of the young men who had been killed and her relationship to them. She had to describe receiving the king of hearts playing cards, the sympathy cards sent to her by the stalker after each murder. She described how the playing cards appeared everywhere she seemed to go, including at her house, at school, and on her car. She described her fear and pain with each murder. She talked about the four years she had worked with the police trying to identify the killer and how her life had been an emotional roller coaster. The prosecuting attorney presented the large box of king of hearts playing cards, sympathy cards, and gifts she had received over the four years of her ordeal. Angelina cried when she saw them all and had to identify them. When she was presented with the tiny silver charm bracelet that had been stolen from her house, Angelina broke down. She was given a few minutes to compose herself and have a drink of water. She stated that it was a Christmas present from her first boyfriend.

Angelina’s testimony went into the second day of the trial. The worst was when she had to answer the accusing questions of the defendant’s attorney. She had been warned about this, and she waited before responding to each question to see if the prosecuting attorney would object. The prosecuting attorney exploded when the defense attorney implied that Angelina had led the stalker on. The debate between attorneys went on for several minutes, and Angelina was trembling with anger.

Finally, her cross-examination was over, and Angelina got up to leave the witness stand. As she passed between the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorney, she felt the murderer stand up, and he yelled at Angelina that she was his and he would always love her. The sheriff’s deputy had to restrain John Noble, and the judge used his gavel, telling the man to sit down and that he would be physically restrained if he tried something like that again.

The trial continued for two weeks, and every day, Angelina had to be present. She hoped and prayed that she would not have to give more testimony. She listened to the testimony of Sergeant Jones, who had been the detective working with Angelina on this case for four years. She had to listen to how each of her seven boyfriends had been killed. During the testimony, Angelina wore her sunglasses. They were her only line of defense from all the people in the courtroom. From time to time, John Noble would turn in his seat to stare at Angelina. The sunglasses prevented him from seeing her eyes. The deputy always kept John Noble from looking at Angelina for very long. Each day when court was dismissed, the deputy had to restrain John Noble from getting to Angelina.

Finally, the trial was over. Little did Angelina know that that was just the beginning. The jury was given instructions for their deliberation, and they were dismissed to the jury room. The judge told them that their sequestration would continue until after they delivered a verdict. Sergeant Jones and another Cape Girardeau police officer escorted Angelina from the courtroom to her car to prevent reporters from mobbing her. That had been the routine every day after court was dismissed. Angelina was so grateful for their help. Every day John Noble would stand up and stare at Angelina as he was taken out of the courtroom. He always mumbled some words of love as he was escorted out. Angelina wanted to throw up.

Angelina went home and told her mom about the events of the day, just as she had done every day of the trial. Now the waiting for the verdict began.

CHAPTER TWO

The Verdict

That night Angelina received a call about 6:00 p.m. from the court, stating a verdict had been reached by the jury. They instructed her to be back at the courthouse at 8:00 p.m. Angelina took a deep breath as she hung up the phone and told her parents. Because it was dark outside and because reporters would be waiting for her, Angelina’s mom and dad insisted on accompanying her to the courthouse. That relieved some of Angelina’s anxiety.

Angelina sat in the back of the courtroom as usual. She had her hat and sunglasses on. John Noble was escorted into the courtroom in shackles. He, of course, looked at Angelina and smiled. Next the attorneys and the judge came in. The jury was escorted into the jury box. Judge Bartlet called for order in the courtroom. He asked the jury if they had reached a verdict. An older gray-headed lady stood up and said, We have, Your Honor. She handed the bailiff a piece of folded paper, which was taken to the judge. Angelina started to tremble. The judge read what was on the paper, then asked for John Noble to stand and face the jury. His attorney stood with him. The little old lady read the verdict.

We the jury find the defendant, John Noble, guilty of murder in the first degree for the seven murders he was accused of.

The judge ask each juror to state their verdict separately.

A roar came up from the courtroom and reporters sped out of the courtroom to