Sex. Murder. Mystery(220)

It was further proof of her love for Vili Fualaau.

When the second-pregnancy story made the news, it was attributed to Kate Stewart, “a good friend from the Midwest.”

But she had never confirmed anything.

“That was a reporter's trick,” she said later. “They were only saying that because they got inside information from the prison and they needed a second confirmation. They just used me. They couldn't say they got it from the prison… that was illegal. They tried to get me to confirm it but they couldn't.”

Abby Campbell called Michelle Jarvis to recount Vili's words when the teenager found out he was going to be a father again.

“Oh, fuck!” he had said.

'What do you think of his reaction?” Abby asked.

What could Michelle say? She figured it could be one of two things. Vili might have been horrified that he was going to be a father again, or it might have dawned on him instantly that her pregnancy could provide proof that they had sex again.

For Bob Huff and David Gehrke, the pregnancy meant Mary Kay had made her story worth all that much more money. And some believed that was all that mattered. As spring marched forward, Michelle Jarvis began to feel that no one really cared about Mary Kay. All they cared about was making money off her.

“She's nothing but a commodity… her story is something that is fodder for the media. They own it and it's just money making,” she said later.

Bob Huff, for one, would have no part of Michelle's allegations. He had been given a job to do—to sell her story, but he insisted that didn't mean he didn't care about her. He said when visiting her in prison, at times, he was depressed for her.

“Whatever she is… in love with Vili or some sick monster… whatever anyone thinks, prison is not the place for Mary Kay. She's quick-witted. She's charming. She's funny. And I was more concerned about what was happening to her than she was. She'd try to cheer me up.”

One of the most tragic aspects of her friend's life, Michelle believed, was that Mary Kay was so wrapped up in herself and her love story that she couldn't see what was happening.

“She's so narcissistic that she thinks that she is so important to all those other people, she doesn't see herself for what she is—just a way for them to make money, that's all. I don't think that anybody really gives a damn about her. Does Vili?”





Chapter 73

IN THE LAST week in April 1998, Michelle Jarvis boarded a flight to Seattle to honor the request of her best friend. Mary Kay had asked Michelle to be Audrey's godmother. She didn't want to go and considered trying to get out of it. She had been worn down by the pressure and the hopelessness of everything that swirled around her childhood friend. Mary Kay had been mad at her for some of the things she had said on the Sally Jessy Raphael show.

“I never said Vili was twenty-some years old… ” Mary Kay protested.

Michelle had processed so much her head was spinning. She thought of excuses, but her sense of duty won out. Among the items she carried onboard was a copy of People magazine with Mary Kay and baby Audrey on the cover and a note from her husband, Michael.

“Read it when you get onboard,” he said when he kissed her good-bye.

She and Michael had argued over the whole affair and whether it really was a good idea for Michelle to be a part of what was happening in Seattle. They had anguished over it for months. There had even been tears the morning of the flight. From where the Jarvises sat, Audrey's baptism looked more crafted for the camera than for God. Michael wondered if Michelle was simply being used.

“A lot of times,” Michael Jarvis said later, “Mary Kay wasn't really there for Michelle, but whenever she needed something or help with her problems, Michelle was there.”

Michelle got to her seat and unfolded her husband's note. No words ever rang more true:

“Mary Kay being the fine manipulator that she is, look where you 're sitting right now. I know you love your girlfriend regardless [of] how she feels about you—I know you are going to be there, because that's the kind of person that you are.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she stared out the little oval window, not focusing on anything but her thoughts. It was such a terrible mess and Michelle knew it was far from over. She knew that because she knew her friend better than anyone else in the world. She doubted that Mary Kay still loved Vili, but she had been boxed into such a corner that she had no choice but to continue the charade.

“Regardless of what she thinks about Vili,” she said later, “she's going to have to make the world believe that she's a victim, because that's the kind of person she is. She manipulates things to that extent. It doesn't matter what she thinks of Vili, she's going to let the world believe that she's in love with him until it is convenient for her to let go.”