The cleanup at the farm and the disbanding of all the police units involved seemed to drag on forever. I stuck around for some but, after promising Dan to come into town for a debriefing in the morning, we decided I was needed with the boys more than at the farm.
Finding a place that sold ice cream at that time of night was a chore. I finally found a convenience store that was open and had a small assortment of ice cream bars. I bought a couple boxes of each.
My greeting wasn't as spectacular with Dan's boys, once they saw the ice cream treats, as it was with my two and with Ralph, who was looking over my shoulder.
Just as the boxes of ice cream left my hand, I had two arms full of a twelve-year-old. Jeffy was right beside us as we made our way into the kitchen.
"Ralph, everything is fine, but your dad was commanding this whole event, so he'll be the last to leave, unfortunately. I think you'll do well to see him in the morning."
"Dad, is everything good? Ralph wouldn't tell us anything. I didn't believe him about the dessert part either."
"What?" said Jeffy laughing. "Is that why you asked Ralph what kind of dessert Pop was getting. What a little goofball."
"Okay, then, maybe just for a while I believed it. What kind did you get?"
"You are so funny, AJ. Go look and we can talk about something very important while you guys enjoy your desserts."
As my two moved away I was met with a nine-year-old with a sad look on his face.
Denver asked, "Is he hurt bad?"
I knew who he meant. He already knew that his Dad was fine; I'm sure Ralph wouldn't hold out on the boys about that. He wanted to know about 'his' boy, the one he wanted his dad to protect.
"Denver, you are so caring. Why don't you pick out an ice cream bar and let's all sit down, and I'll tell you all at one time, okay?"
"'Kay," he said. His eyes lit up a bit and his smile was big enough to see his dimples in either cheek.
When everyone was either sitting or standing around the table I told them what I could without going into any gory details. Ralph and Jeffy would hear more later, but not the younger ones; there was no need.
"Let's just say that there were three bad guys and they are no longer a threat to anyone, especially kids they try to kidnap."
"They all dead?" asked Jacob.
That put an intense look on every face, staring at me, anticipating my answer.
"Okay, yes, they are, Jacob. And, because of the great job your dad did, no one else was injured except for a few glass slivers on three of the men."
"No one?" asked Denver.
"One of the men took the boy with him and drove to Mr. Harding's house and had them both up in the attic. Mr. Harding was one of the ones that got cut with glass.
"Oh no, Dad! Is he going to be okay? Can we go see him?" AJ was hanging on my arm waiting for my answer.
"AJ, calm down, son. He's just fine. All his injuries were very minor. But he groaned and argued when they told him he had to go into the hospital overnight at least, until they threatened to sedate him if he didn't behave."
"Wow! What's sedate?" asked AJ, much relieved that his good friend would be just fine.
"Like knock-out pills, AJ," explained Ralph.
"Yes, or a shot in the butt that makes you sleepy and calm," I added.
"Ouch! The butt?" laughed Enrique.
"Anyway, the one that was hurt the most was your boy, Denver."
Denver gasped as did Melvin and AJ.
"Son, it was because they whipped him before your dad got there. He'd been whipped before. I promise that he'll be fine. He was doing fine and was taken to the hospital before I left."
I didn't say that he was still unconscious, but the EMT's said it didn't look like any of his wounds were life-threatening.
"And, he'll be okay? When can we go see him?" asked Denver.
"Whoa. Don't get all excited about going up there in the near future. He's going to need at least a few days to recover. Then he's got a lot of explaining to do to your dad and the rest of the deputies about how he fits into all this."
"But don'tcha see? He was made to do that stuff. He didn't want to. That's how come they hurt him because he told them no and they hurt him." Denver was so sure of his answer. I could see it pasted all over him; his face, his posture; everything told me he was sure.
"I believe you too, son. Your dad just needs to hear it from the boy too."
"What's his name, Dad? We can't keep calling him boy, can we?" asked AJ.
"Well, I don't think anyone has asked him yet. We're not sure about the names of two of the bad guys yet either."
"Yeah, but they're gonna be a lot harder to ask, huh, Sarge?"
"Yes. Very perceptive, Jacob," I said sarcastically.
"Ralph, I think that my boys and I will stay here tonight. That way I'll be here too since your dad isn't back yet. Boys, why don't you all go get ready for bed. My boys, you can just wear your T-shirts and underwear to bed for one night, okay? Ralph, we need to figure out where we're going to sleep."
"Jeffy can sleep with me in my room," called out Enrique. Then he got a little shy but everyone understood about their new friendship and the wonderful way it had all come about.
I looked over at my AJ and he had on his best proud smile with his chest pushed out a little. After all, he'd done a lot to square things up between the two when he made a few things clear to Enrique earlier in the evening. Yeah, how could I help but be proud of him?
"Okay, and I can sleep on the couch," offered Ralph, "You and AJ can sleep in my bed if that's alright."
"Huh? No way!" said AJ. He blushed too until I let out a loud laugh and told the boys that I didn't blame him.
Ralph and Jeffy stayed up a bit longer than the others and I went into more detail about what happened at the farm.
"Wow, Pop. So that's why they called you to come over there. I never woulda guessed that," said Jeffy, loud enough that I had to quiet him a little.
"Yes, but don't let on to the other boys, guys. I would never want to be held up as a hero or someone special because I took someone's life," I said.
"Ha! Too late, Pop! But not cuz you killed him, but just because you could shoot so good from that far away."
"Yeah, Tim, that must have been an awesome feeling to be so accurate at such a distance," added Ralph.
"Well, guys, I'll have to say that none of that really registered when I pulled the trigger knowing that another person's life would end by my actions. It was the first and, I hope, the last time I have to make that kind of decision."
I could see some of the air drain out of their sails as they thought about what I'd said. The Sheriff was the only living thing I have ever shot at, much less killed. In all the time I was in Iraq, my team had only wounded two of the enemy and Lenny had to kill one to protect his comrades. It didn't occur to me until later the incident AJ and I had with Jarod not long before, that cost someone's life.
"Still, I was thankful that my actions spared lives that were definitely in jeopardy at the time."
"Ye-e-ah," said Jeffy.
The morning dawned too early for some sleepy boys and Dan and I decided to let them sleep for another hour. We each drove a group of them to either school and went in to give the office excuses for their late start. I played it down and Dan said he tried but the principal of the high school came out to talk to him, luckily after the boys had gone to class. It seems his brother-in-law was on the SWAT Team who mentioned that Dan was commanding the raid against the County's Sheriff.
"I thought he'd never stop talking about it. At least he had the good sense to take it into his office where it wouldn't spread all over the school. It'll get out soon enough as it is."
I had spent the rest of the morning at the Sheriff's Office, debriefing with the others that were on Dan's team the night before. Debriefing – I thought that was all in the past. I sure didn't miss it.
"So, Dan, the county needs a new Sheriff, if for no longer than it takes to get an election organized. Will it be you?" I asked.
All the guys looked at Dan, except for Norton, who looked down at the table and gripped his coffee mug.
"No. Norton and I had talked about it before and we've decided that we'd approach the commissioners and see what they thought."
"But they'll ask you for your recommendation," said one of the men.
"Yes, and if it's okay with you guys, I'd like to recommend Norton here as our new Sheriff. You all know he'll do a good job and, quite frankly, he doesn't have any kids to tie him down like I do."
I thought Norton looked a little worried about the others' responses, especially when there was several seconds of silence before,
"Great idea!"
"I agree, wholeheartedly!"
"Here, here!"
It was nice to see Norton's persona perk up every time someone responded to Dan's choice.
"Thanks, guys. I promise that I will never behave rudely or like . . ."
"An asshole!" shouted one of the guys.
"Well, I wasn't going to use that exact phrase, but, yes, you're right on."
The room was suddenly electric as all the guys started bantering back and forth and slapped Norton on the shoulder to congratulate him. He seemed very proud.
I tried to slip out but Dan motioned for me to hold up.
"I want to go over to the hospital to check on the boy this afternoon. I'm also having Ms. Cottington meet us there. Even though we think he's too old for the system, we can't be sure, and I don't want to flub up something by not having him have an ambassador there to take care of his interests. I wanted to know if you want to tag along."
"Good idea, I suppose, but surely you can't still think he was involved in all that."
"Tim, I have to go by protocol and it says to cover all bases. After all, he was most certainly the man that attempted to kidnap Denver and he was living at the farm for how many years, in the midst of all the kids coming and going."
"Yeah, and he was hanging from those ropes in the barn, and he was whipped to within an inch of his life, and who knows how many times and for how many years," I added a little indignantly.
"Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a bunch! I agree with you, but I still have to do my job so no one else will come down on the boy later."
"By the way, do you know his name yet? We can't keep calling him boy."
"No, but I did find out that the hospital might be able to do a DNA test faster than the Crime Lab can. We might have results in only a few days."
"Well, that would be great. And by the way," I asked my friend.
"Yeah?"
I leaned in and whispered into his ear, before I made my getaway through the front doors, "How did you know I was wearing panties?"
It wasn't until I'd reached the bottom step that I heard a loud enough guffaw that it would have put Jeb's outbursts to shame.
I met Dan in the hospital lobby after asking the Curtains, Stewart's parents, to make sure AJ and Jeffy got home okay. It would mean a separate trip to the high school but they were only a couple of miles apart.
There was a Police Officer sitting in a chair outside of the room where the boy was. I looked at Dan as we approached.
"Just protocol, Tim. He has orders not to go in. I don't want to frighten the boy any more than he already is. And certainly, the boy isn't going anywhere in his condition."
Just as we approached, and the officer got to his feet and shook Dan's hand, a doctor came out of the room with a nurse behind him.
The officer introduced Dan as the Deputy in charge of the case concerning the patient. Then Dan introduced me as a friend. When that didn't get the reaction, we wanted from the doctor, enough to give me the right to be there, Dan leaned in and whispered something to the doctor. The doctor then nodded as though he understood and held out his hand to shake mine.
"Doctor Strauss. Pleased to meet you both. Good job, Sergeant. I was with the 212th Combat Support Hospital in Pakistan to support the 2005 Kashmir earthquake relief operations some years ago. I don't envy your role in this."
"Thank you, but my concern now is for the welfare of the boy. How is he doing?"
The doctor shook his head and noticed our concern.
"Oh, I'm sorry. He's doing really well for what he's been through. My head shaking was because I don't think I'd ever seen anything like what he's been through on one person's body. When he regained consciousness this morning, I had him down to x-ray for his back. The x-ray technician called me when he looked at the x-rays to see if they were clear. He said there were signs of trauma and old wounds that looked very old. We decided to x-ray his entire body at that point. They looked like a poorly made jigsaw puzzle when I saw them a little while ago. This boy has had many broken bones and deep scarring. I've never seen anything like it."
I heard something behind me and saw the nurse walk quickly away with a hand to her mouth. She tried to keep her crying quiet but it was clear to all of us that she was overcome by the knowledge of what her patient had gone through. I couldn't blame her.
"Doctor, are any of his injuries permanent or disabling in any way?" I asked.
"Let's go sit in the waiting room for a minute. To answer your questions, though, they don't have to be."
After we sat down, he went over some of the major problems that the boy had incurred. "I saw what must have been a broken jaw bone. It healed well enough. He's had several cracked ribs, most of which were recent. When I say recent, I think I saw five that could be no more than a year or two old. That's only a guess, of course. Either way, this boy has seen more than his share of injuries. He has two places that could be a problem later, one of them is almost a certainty. He'll need surgery to repair those two places and I would recommend that we do it sooner than later, even while he's recovering. Both places are on his torso, so he'll be in a body cast for the summer. If he isn't treated there, he could be permanently disfigured in time and in even more pain than they are causing him now."
Just then we looked up to see Linda Sue Cottington standing over us with the doctor's nurse.
"Ms. Cottington, good to see you again," said the doctor.
"Yes, it is, Dr. Strauss, especially under these circumstances."
"These circumstances?" asked Dan.
"Hi, Dan, Sergeant. Yes, Dr. Strauss has been seeing our kids for years and done some phenomenal things to help some of our children lead normal lives after being abused and, as in this case, beaten severely."
"Ms. Cottington and I have already been on the phone together about the boy. We know that you could easily take him into custody, Deputy, but we'd like to proceed with his surgeries before then."
"Quite honestly, doctor, Linda Sue, I don't think there is much chance that we'll be holding him after we interview him. Even my foster son, the boy he tried to kidnap, says the boy didn't want to do what he was trying to do and that he even apologized to Denver, my boy. He also told me that the boy could have easily overpowered my other son, Melvin, and taken Denver without much trouble, but he chose to run instead."
"That's a relief, Dan," said Linda Sue. Then she looked at me with a slight smile. "And, Tim, is this boy another of your little one's projects as well? Is AJ out to save him too?"
"I'm sure that if Denver wasn't so adamant about the boy's outcome, that AJ would step in and tell us what for," I said with a laugh.
"Well, people, I need to do some scheduling, then. I know that it doesn't seem fair to the boy to be put through more misery but quicker is better than waiting and this way he only has to go through one recovery for his contusions and these surgeries. He will be in a body cast, like I said and, because of his back, which I will keep open as much as possible to promote healing, he'll be confined to lying on his stomach for a while."
"Thank you, Dr. Strauss, for spending time with us and explaining everything," said Dan, holding out his hand as we stood to let the doctor go.
"Oh, think nothing of it. These kids are my life too," he said, looking at Linda Sue with a nice smile. "They deserve the best care, especially the ones that come in here as this young man, having gone through their own hell at the hands of some very wicked people. I just don't get it, especially when it comes from the child's family.
"Oh, there is one other thing. We don't know his name yet and I hate to call a child John Doe or something if they can hear it. But when I asked him his name he only knew himself as Boy. Very strange. Ms. Cottington is working on that, right, Linda Sue?"
"Right, doctor. No success yet of course. I'm sure we'll have to rely on anything Dan's people find at the house or the DNA your lab comes back with."
"That's right. I'll make sure they're on top of that downstairs and let each of you know when we have something. We aren't set up to do a search like the FBI. Dan, you'll need to take it to their office in the capitol in the next couple of days if you want to expedite it."
"Not a problem. Thank you again, doctor."
He turned to walk away, then snapped his fingers and turned back toward us.
"One more thing I forgot. The boy doesn't react well to men right now. It's obvious that men were responsible for his beatings. He almost fell in love with Nurse Flora though."
He indicated the nurse standing next to Linda Sue, who was still dabbing her eyes with a tissue and smiling at us. I found out later how much she reminded the boy of his Luanne Ma'am.
"I think I'll assign a female intern to see him for the most part. He did react to me so, while I'll still see him once a day, I think he needs to have some reassurance and build some self-esteem before he's inundated by male figures right now. Hopefully, by insinuating into his space a little at a time and being very positive and supportive, he'll relax around me."
"How about Tim and I seeing him now, Doctor? Will that be okay?"
"Oh, sure, deputy, but he's sedated after getting twisted and bent for his x-rays. I wouldn't plan on talking to him until maybe tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay. Thanks."
The doctor left and we went in with Nurse Flora.
"Oh, he's so adorable. It just breaks my heart when I think of the pain he was in and how much he's been through," said the nurse.
"It's always horrible to think about how much children go through under these conditions. I'm just glad we were able to save this one from certain . . . well, I'm sure he wouldn't have survived much longer," said Dan.
The boy was lying on a flat bed with the rails up on both sides. His arms were at his side and there was a sheet over him. He seemed peaceful in his sleep as well.
"Doesn't that sheet rub against his wounds?" asked Linda Sue as we stood on either side of the sleeping youth before us.
"No, some of his wounds needed stitches and some are covered in bandages, so there's room for air to get between him and the sheet. Besides, he has a drip that is taking away the pain right now and helping him to sleep and another feeding him. He's probably a lot more comfortable now than he has been in a very long time, considering," explained Nurse Flora.
"Can we see his back, nurse?"
"Okay, but I warn you, it isn't pretty, and I've seen lots of trauma in my days here," she said as she slowly pulled down the sheet from his neck to just about halfway uncovering his rump.
Linda Sue gasped and I wanted to look away.
His bottom was almost completely covered in bandages and his back had some bandages, but mostly we could see the damage that was done to him there.
"There are whip marks on his legs also but they're not as severe as his back and bottom."
I think the bruising looked as hideous as any new cuts to his skin. His back was a zigzag of old scars, topped by new, red welts that had swelled. The yellow soap they used, along with the same yellow that old bruises leave made his coloring even worse looking.
"Ah. I've never," said Linda Sue rather loudly.
Her outburst caused the boy to twitch slightly causing Linda Sue to react again. Her hand went to her mouth as she hurried out of the room. The nurse was close behind.
In the time it took Dan and me to cover up the boy's back and walk out to find Linda Sue, they had made their way to the same waiting room we had been in. The nurse was coming back with tissues for both of them as we approached.
"Gentlemen, please excuse my sudden outburst. I've seen the results of severe beatings, as close to this or maybe even worse, one in which the youngster never regained consciousness. For some reason, this one struck a nerve I didn't know I had," she said, with a laugh as though she were as surprised as we were by her reaction.
"I can't imagine what you've seen, Linda Sue. As you know, Denver had some bruising when he came to me, but nothing like this young man's," Dan said.
"I'm sure it was just a surprise, though I was told in some detail what to expect. I guess I can't really say why I behaved like that."
"Well, maybe in time, we'll understand why," I added to encourage her.
We all left shortly after that. Dan and I both had boys at home by that time, but we'd both decided to downplay the boy's injuries until we all went to visit him, probably when he was out of surgery. By then Dan hoped any question of his involvement would be put to rest.
Linda Sue wanted to be there when we came back with the boys to meet our recovering patient. She also said she'd be with him when Dan questioned him.
I would like to hear/read your criticisms, good and bad. I'd love to talk about where this gets to you. Matthew Templar