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Back Legacy of Lies Save as PDF
Chapters (88)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. DEDICATION
  4. CONTENTS
  5. PART ONE
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. PART TWO
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. PART THREE
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. 50
  58. 51
  59. 52
  60. 53
  61. 54
  62. 55
  63. 56
  64. 57
  65. 58
  66. 59
  67. PART FOUR
  68. 60
  69. 61
  70. 62
  71. 63
  72. 64
  73. 65
  74. 66
  75. 67
  76. 68
  77. 69
  78. 70
  79. 71
  80. 72
  81. 73
  82. 74
  83. 75
  84. 76
  85. 77
  86. EPILOGUE
  87. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  88. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

On the way back to her hotel from the club, she was accosted by two men on the sidewalk. One pulled a knife, and the other made a move for her purse. After the rape, Helen had never gone anywhere without a handgun, and she pulled the weapon on the men. Seeing the two thugs back down and cower at the sight of her sidearm gave her the first sense of empowerment that she felt since Birmingham.

From New York, she went to Las Vegas. She gambled enough to know she had no talent or passion for it and then drove on to California, where she remained for a month. She enjoyed the climate and energy of Los Angeles and relished the state’s more liberal stance on women in the workforce. There were times when she thought about looking for an apartment, but she didn’t.

Instead, she drove cross-country from LA all the way to Key West, Florida. Along the way, she practiced target shooting in towns that had ranges and watched the first season of Dallas on televisions in hotel rooms from Phoenix to Miami.

Tired from her travels and out of money, Helen returned home to Pulaski in November of 1978. Hungering for the power she had felt after holding off the two muggers in New York and hoping to follow in her father’s footsteps, she took a job with the Giles County Sheriff’s Office. For three and a half years, she worked her way up from deputy to corporal to sergeant. Because of her expertise with a handgun and quick instincts, she was a good cop and liked the work despite feeling slighted and disrespected at times because she was a woman. Regardless, she never regretted wearing the badge. It made her appreciate the officers when she later became a prosecutor. But she saw too many of her arrests pled down or dismissed and became frustrated with the bureaucracy of the department. Real power would come from being the one who made the decision whether to go to trial or not.

Only the district attorney general could ensure that justice was done.

Helen went back to Knoxville in 1982 and took and passed the Tennessee State Bar Exam. A few months later, she accepted a job as an assistant prosecutor with the district attorney general’s office for the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit.

She ran into Butch when he moved to Pulaski in 1983. After a couple of chance encounters, he confessed that he hadn’t been able to get over her. Helen hadn’t been with a man since the rape, and she loved Butch for his devotion. If she was honest with herself, she was also afraid of what it might be like with another man.

They married in 1984, but she knew by the time of the ceremony that it wasn’t going to work.

Butch was loyal but feebleminded and easy to manipulate.