Worm had run away from home, but she was not free just yet. The family that had taken her in lived off the system on many different levels and as I recall there were many who lived in this small home in north Lansing.
One day Killer received a letter from the Department of Social Security. They had been informed that Worm no longer resided with him and had not since January 1986. Technically, she ran away at the end of February and he was paid this social security on the first of each month. This was a benefit from the death of her Mother. I did not know that he received this each month. I didn’t know there was even a benefit out there for children who lost a parent. But I did wonder where he got all his money to buy these expensive car parts.
He gave me his check every two weeks to combine with mine to pay all the household expenses and all he asked for in return was $20 for pocket change. I knew that $20 did not buy these car parts, but again, I never knew Killer’s financials as this was not my business. I had been instructed where the safe deposit box was. I was informed that if he were ill, I was to go to this box and remove a brown paper sack which would outline everything I needed to know about his finances and I was to execute the message left in this bag immediately. But under no circumstances was I to look at this before he was very ill.
He had to repay social security two month’s of benefits and he was fit to be tied. First, she had not been gone since January but I think he understood his free gravy train was ending soon. He received about $1500 or $1600 a month for the care of this child. That was a lot of money in the early 1980’s. Close to $20,000 a year in fact.
I guess he could have afforded that water for Worm to take her showers if I had known this was out there in addition to our salaries. I was pissed at first. This benefit was for taking care of this child, yet we were supporting her on our salaries. Legally, I did not have an obligation to her to support her, but I did support her combining our two incomes together. He was taking the income to provide for her and spending it on cars and car parts.
Money wasn’t tight for us, we both made good money, but Worm didn’t always have brand new clothes to wear. Gone were the days that Killer bought her clothes at Jacobson’s. Gone were the days he bought his suits and shoes there. Mollie Belle had been a butcher at Kroger and made better money than Killer. That is how he afforded the Cadillac’s and Corvettes. He had the job, Mollie Belle had the career.
At this point, I realized that not only was he controlling me, but he was not being honest with me. He did not look at me as his partner in marriage; he looked at me as a possession. Why would he not share information about this with me or any other information such as bank accounts and stock portfolios. What other secrets did he have that I was unaware of?
The first year we were married he filed our taxes and all I was required to do was sign on the dotted line. I was not allowed to look at the tax return and honestly I trusted him, but at year four, we were audited and he was a bit frantic as he had to come up with receipts for deductions he had claimed. The year that was being audited was the first year we were married and the year right after Mollie Belle died.
He had forgotten to claim interest on a bank account Mollie Belle had in her name only. He had not known about it and discovered it the year after she died and the year we were married. She had earned about $12.00 in interest and he neglected to report it. Three years later, that simple mistake with interest cost us over $700 in penalties. I was livid as he expected me to pay those out of our joint account and I felt this was his mistake and he should pay it from where ever he was getting all these funds to play car collector. I ended up paying for it, but I was not happy. I suggested in the future we have a professional do our taxes but he stated it was nobody’s business what we earned. And I continued to just see the document that required my signature for filing, not the whole return.
He had to have paid social security back, but I don’t remember it. He was responsible for this debt and I made it very clear, I was not helping him out of this. If he’d already spent the money, he’d have to figure out how he was going to pay the government back as my name was no where on this federal screw up he had encountered.
Worm graduated with her GED in May 1986. She called to tell me about it and I attended the ceremony without Killer. He refused to attend as he was still very upset over the social security caper.
I bought her a rose and I met her after the ceremony to congratulate her. She would be leaving within a week or so for the Army. She had a list of things required for basic training, not much, but a few things and I made sure she had what she needed.
Killer wanted to be sure she left so he was there the day that she boarded that bus for her new venture. He wasn't sad to see her go, he just wanted to be sure, she was gone. He felt this was the only way she was going to make anything of herself.
It was June 6, 1986. He came home and announced she was gone. Life was about to change now that I knew she was safe and would never return to this nightmare. I checked this off my list on my plan on how I was going to leave. One, Worm had to be gone with no chance of returning.
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