There really are no words to adequately describe the sheer terror Mark had put me and my kids through for the past few days. I couldn't use my cell phone at all. I had to shut it off. The moment I turned it on it would ring again. He would also call the house, so Chris had to unplug the phone. He didn't want Matthew to hear the vile recordings Mark was leaving on the answering machine. Mark also called Kristin's phone and left messages. Since I had blocked Mark on Facebook, he left vile messages about me on Kristin's Facebook account as well. He also called the shop non-stop. So much so that we had to call block my home number (the house where I lived with him) to make him stop.
If you read through the transcripts of yesterday you probably already understand why I was panicking. It's not too often you have a person whom you loved that wants to kill you. You probably also understand that I had a very sleepless night.
The first thing Monday morning I went directly to the Palm Beach County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens. I found the Victim Services division and asked them for help. A very nice lady named Susan was assigned to help me.
Susan sat with me and listened to some of the recordings. Then we talked about everything leading up to last night. When I told her about how he had killed my parrot and how Mark's brother had killed his wife and himself her eyes opened very wide.
I was deeply stressed and couldn't stop crying. I also was worried, ashamed, confused and believed that people would think I was over reacting. I mean, he never actually touched me. Susan was very kind. She told me that mental abuse can be just as bad or even worse then physical abuse. She gave me forms to fill out for a restraining order. She told me to go home and write down some of the death threats to add to my statements. She told me to make sure I was back by 2 P.M., or close, because the judge would have to have it before 3 P.M. to rule.
So, I left and went back to Kristin's around 10 AM to try to start transcribing the recordings. I had never listened to more then a couple all of the way through. Most I just listened to a few seconds. I was not at all sure just how many death threats there were, or which tapes they were on.
Within 15 minutes of me getting to the house Chris called from the shop. Keep in mind that none of us had heard any of the All-Safe overtime recordings from the day before. The guys there were hearing them all for the first time on Monday morning while I was at the courthouse. Chris told me that when they heard the death threats to all of us at the shop they called 911. The City of Riviera Beach police arrived and took the report. Chris told me they asked that I come to the shop to get my statement as well. So, I left Kristin's and headed to the shop.
The police officer took my statement and then went to his car. He said he would be parked outside in the parking lot. We were relieved, because Mark had said last night that he was going to come down to the shop and rape us, shoot us and burn the building down with us in it.
I started to work on the forms again Susan gave me. I called Dixie to tell her what was going on and what I had to do. She helped me keep my sanity through all of this.
By now it was after 11 AM. The phone rang and it was BB&T (the bank All-Safe's account was before I closed it). The person said, "Mark Walter wants to know what account the payroll is deposited to." I told her that we no longer do All-Safe's payroll through them and that the entire checking account was closed. I guess this upset him, because I found out later he wrote a FAX to Velocity Credit Union (where my daughter Kristin works and where I have several accounts) telling them to issue him an $18,000 check immediately. He said he would be by to pick it up. He doesn't have that kind of money. Kristin's manager called her in to question her about it, as everyone knows Mark is her dad. She was humiliated to say the least. Especially when the manager told her they were notifying security in case he showed up.
The fact that Mark was at BB&T alarmed me even more. The branch he was at is only 15 minutes from the shop. Chris looked out the window and noticed the police car was gone. He immediately told me to get my stuff, post a note on the front door, then we closed the shop. In hindsight, it didn't really matter if we were at the shop or his house. Obviously, Mark could come to the house if he couldn't find us at the shop.
Chris went on a call with Joe and I headed back to the house to continue working on my forms. It was now around 1 PM. I started to work to put everything together and get it all printed. By the time I finished everything it was close to 2:15 PM.
I raced back to the courthouse. Susan was on the phone when I got there. I was afraid we might not make the deadline. I took a seat outside and waited. The stress was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Susan called me in when she got off of the phone. She then began to read everything I wrote, as well as the transcripts.
Susan looked up at me and said, "Tell me why you are afraid. Look at me and make me believe you honestly believe he might try to kill you." I didn't understand why she was saying this. She repeated the same statements again, but this time she said, "Tell me why like your life depends on it, then you will add it to your statement." She then explained that there was a 90% chance the judge wouldn't grant the restraining order because he had never touched me. What he had done were just threats. So, I looked at her and told her my feelings, then I wrote them down.
When we were done she walked with me over to the Domestic Violence Unit. We got there exactly 5 minutes before they stopped taking the injunctions for the day. The clerk told us that the judge would review it and I would have my answer no later then 4:30 PM. It was now 3 PM. Susan went back to her office and I went and sat in my car.
If I haven't mentioned before, Dixie is my lifesaver. She looked at this blog and wrote me an "outline" to help me with wording my statement. I called Dixie when I got to the car. She sat on the phone with me talking for the next hour and a half. I was so stressed and being able just to talk to her helped a great deal.
At 4:25 I headed back into the courthouse. When I got the the clerk's window she looked up my case and informed me the judge hadn't ruled yet. I sat in the chair next to the window. About 15 minutes later the clerk called me up. She handed me the documents and said, "The judge approved your temporary order." I swear I almost passed out right then and there. I shook her hand and then raced back over to Susan's office.
When Susan saw the order was granted she jumped out of her chair and hugged me. She then looked through the pages and saw that my judge was Krista Marxx. She said that I was lucky I got a lady judge who probably was a bit more sympathetic. Susan also told me the injunction stated there would be a hearing on the 13th. Both Mark and I were ordered to appear. This hearing would determine if the order would be extended or revoked. Susan told me she would be with me every step of the way through the process. I hugged her again and then went home.
The ironic thing during all of this was that Mark didn't call one time all day. The day I file the restraining order he goes completely quite after days of harassment. My mind goes crazy second guessing everything I do. Am I overreacting? Is he out there watching me? Is he going to carry out his threats? Did he wake up this morning and decide, "OK enough is enough?" It was confusing and terrifying at the same time.
But, at least now, I do have a temporary restraining order. If he continues to stalk me I can now go to the police. Maybe I can sleep tonight. We'll see.
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