For the back story on the predator next door, click here…

I got home and told my husband that Jim was the most disgusting pervert of all time and recounted everything and my husband looked at me like I was crazy.  And so I thought I was…

but there was a niggling at the back of my head telling me that everything I’d felt was valid.  “DANGER!  DANGER!”  kept ringing in my ears.

So, on Monday, I left a voicemail for a member of my bookclub, a woman in her mid-50s, whom I thought would be an objective person to run everything by to get an honest reaction and opinion.

You see, not only did my husband feel like I may be overreacting, but I was also worried that I might be.  I was PMSing, had just read an article on Jaycee Dugard (the girl who was kidnapped by a husband/wife team when she was 11 yrs old and wasn’t found for 18 yrs), and read The Weight of Silence, a book which I’ve reviewed on this blog (see link) and which outlines how a child predator grooms the parents & child to trust and like them before they commit their crime.

I didn’t hear from my friend until Tuesday and then she insisted on coming over to talk.  I relayed everything to her, starting from when we first met Jim and Sarah.  She did not interrupt once.  When I stopped she asked if I was done.  I said I was.  She said, “This is dangerous.  There are red flags all over this.  You need to talk to someone.  You need to stay away from this guy, these people.  There are issues all over this story and you need to keep your Baby away from him.  Write everything down.  Start from the beginning.  then send it to this lady who runs a website for those who have been abused and see what type of advice she gives you.  You are not overreacting.  I am not PMSing.  I have never read nor heard of the book you’re talking about.  And I don’t know the story of Jaycee Dugard.  And I feel the danger.”

And so I started writing everything down…

and kept talking to my husband and told him what my friend had said…