New Beginning: Tortured by the Past, Haunted by the Future

The D.A.: Chapter 9

  "Mrs. Gage. My name is Jennifer Smalls and I am with the Hawaii Federal District Attorney's office. I will be prosecuting Thomas DeMayo once he is stable enough for trial. But I just wanted to ask you a few questions." Jennifer Smalls says.

Taking a deep breath, she looks at Madison and says, "Ms. Smalls, I am in the middle of feeding my daughter lunch right now. Can this wait until later?" Knowing that later may never come in the back of her mind.

Jennifer Smalls looks at her watch realizing that it's 7:30AM HST (Hawaii Time) and that it must be 1:30PM EST. "Mrs. Gage I know that this may not be a good time but it will only take a few minutes."

The toaster oven goes off, and she raises her shoulder up to hold the phone in place. "Sure but can you just give me a few minutes so I can finish preparing my daughters lunch. Before we go over what happeed"

"Yes of course Mrs. Gage. And again I do apologize for the inconvenience but I just want to make sure that we have all the information we need to lock him up for a very long time." Jennifer says to her.

"It's ok." Tracie says as she places the phone down and begins cutting the nuggets for Madison than placing them on her plate. "Baby these are hot. Ok so blow on them." Tracie says to Madison

Madison looks at her mother and says, "Ok mommy. I will blow on them." She picks up another piece of carrot putting it in her mouth and chewing on it.

Tracie walks back to the counter picking up her cell phone, turning her back to the counter so she faces her daughter and leans back.

"Ok, Ms. Smalls, I'm back. What would you like to know?" Tracie finally responds as she walks towards the table and pulls out a chair to sit down as she keeps an eye on Madison who is now feeding chicken nuggets to Teddy.

"Mrs. Gage I know that this is going to be hard but I just need to know exactly what happened the day that you were first abducted. And, please call me Jennifer." Jennifer Smalls says in a tender, caring tone.

Looking over at Madison then back at the mug in front of her Tracie says, "Sure. Ok, Jennifer." Then she goes back to that day in her memory. "It was a typical day actually. I headed to set. We were filming on Waikki beach. We had the cast from the drama Vice on the show that day. Then they took us on a little tour of their favorite spots, which was prerecorded. Then a local chef was on showing us how to cook a local dish, I don't remember what it was, but I have it in my notes if you need it."

"No not at all but I need to know what happened after you went back to your hotel." Jennifer says to her.

"After the show ended, I headed back to the trailers to prep for the next days show, and finish up on some paperwork, crew changes, the normal with Sammie, who is my right hand. I think that took a few hours and we left around 3 or 4 PM. We both walked out to the parking the lot and I got into my rental and headed back to my hotel." Tracie says taking a sip of he tea.

Jennifer is noting everything on the original report, making sure that whatever she didn't mention the first time is being noted now. "And once your were back at your hotel, what happened next? Or what did you do next?"

Tracie thinks back and says, "I jumped in the shower when I was back in my hotel because I remember it was extremely hot that day and being six months pregnant it really sucked. I got dressed, I texted my husband, telling him I loved him."

"Were you planning on meeting anyone for dinner that night? Say a friend?" Jennifer asks.

"Yes, I was meeting Matt Phelan for dinner in the hotel restaurant. I was tired and really didn't want to go far from the hotel. So Matt agreed to meet me I think around six or seven." Tracie says to her

"And then there was a knock on the door, is that correct?" Jennifer asks, as she reads the original statement that Tracie made.

"Yeah that's right and when I looked at the time, it was around 5:30 so I thought Matt was a little early and wanted to catch up so I didn't think anything of it and just answered the door." Tracie says

"And that is when you discovered it was Thomas DeMayo?" Jennifer asks.

Taking a long deep breath before she answers, "I think I said, "Hold on Matt. I'll be right there" because I had to finish buttoning my shirt. Then I answered the door and saw Tom standing there with this huge grin on his face and.." Tracie pauses, feeling her heart skip a beat.

"Once you realized who it was, did you try shutting the door?" Jennifer asks, hearing Tracie take a deep breath but also knowing the answer to her question but making sure that it is the same one as on the report. Because she has seen victims of brutal crimes sometimes forget some of the most important details needed to convict.

"Yes I did try to shut the door but he blocked it with his foot and put his hand in the on the door pushing it open. But I tried to push him out but I just couldn't fight him because I was six months pregnant. So he forced his way in and shut the door behind him." Tracie says remembering that day.

"Did he say anything or pull a gun out?" Jennifer asks

"Yes he had a Colt tucked into the back of his pants and he pulled it on me as soon as he closed the door. I think he also said, 'Nice to see you again Trace.' I think I told him to go fuck himself and that he was a piece of shit. He got pissed off called me a bitch and slapped me. And I punched him. Which caught him off guard and I thought would give me time to grab my cell phone but he got it before I did and he threw it on the floor stepping on it. Then he took the butt of the gun and hit me in the back of the head. And I blacked out after that." Tracie says.

"Can you remember anything else about that day or your kidnapping?" Jennifer asks

Tracie thinks for a moment, than remembers something, "Yeah I remember coming to in the trunk of a car but I couldn't tell you the make or model though. I just kept quiet listening to the muffled sound of the voices coming from inside the car. I think I heard a woman's voice but at that time just couldn't make it out. The ride in the trunk though felt like hours and hours. But we finally came to a stop and I heard the car shut off so I pretended to be unconscious again. Then I recognized the female voice and it was Sharon Lewis. I also remember her saying this isn't going to hurt her or that spawn of hers. It will just keep her unconscious until we get to the ranch in Lanai. And that was the last I heard anything."

Jennifer is writing everything down as she listens to what Tracie is telling her and making notes on the original report.

Tracie looks over at Madison who has finished eating her lunch.

Jennifer Smalls says, "I know this is hard for you and I want to thank you for your time."

Tracie asks, "Is that all? Because I have to really get back to my daughter who is now covered in chicken nuggets."

Jennifer smiles and says, "Yes that's all I have right now. But if I need anything else, I will be in touch." Pausing for a moment, she adds, "I know that this type of assault is traumatizing for the victim and I have seen families destroyed by it don't push those closet to you away, let them in. Tell them how you feel, seek counseling. Because I know they love you." She concludes before hanging up.

Before Tracie can respond, Jennifer is gone and all she hears is a dial tone. Which leaves her to reflect on that last part of their conversation. "Don't push those closet to you away." And that is exactly what she is doing with her bothers and the love of her life, John Gage.

Pushing the chair out, she stands, walks over to Madison and picks her up, saying, "Princess you have made a mess of yourself and Teddy. Let's get you changed." She says to Madison as they head upstairs.