Stevie's first several days with Dr. Collins were unproductive. Stevie, although obviously a severely damaged little child, maintained the facade of a macho, pint-sized Lothario. He boasted that he could bring to orgasm fourteen-year-old Susie who lived at the Miller's in Milwaukee through intercourse, "And I only got three inches and I can't even shoot yet.
"You gotta know how to screw a girl. You gotta kiss her a lot and suck her tits. When you screw a boy all you got to do is put it in and pound away."
He boasted of "screwing" all the kids in the house - even seven year old Crystal." He wouldn't talk about the "guy" who penetrated him at age seven.
Marty was not the same boy. The joy seemed to be gone. He still loved to snuggle into Uncle Henry's lap but a side of life that he somehow knew to have been even uglier than his own had been opened to him and it confused and frightened him. He didn't want Henry out of his sight on weekends and he cried Sunday evenings when he had to be returned to the group home. Even Aunt Myrt noticed a change in the boy. Freddy was seeing a psychologist and seemed to be handling the situation much better than Marty.
Henry was worried. When asked what was wrong, Marty would just cry and say nothing. It was three weeks before he opened up. He was snuggling in Henry's lap when, almost like that first night, he almost inaudibly asked, "Uncle Henry, is sex bad?"
Henry thought for a minute. How do you answer a question like that for a nine-year-old boy? Finally Henry asked, "Do you think it's bad?"
"I think it is."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because when Stevie was doing sex stuff to Freddy and saying he was going to do sex stuff with me and the rest of the kids, it felt bad. It felt like Dort Street."
"Marty, is a baseball bat bad?"
There was exasperation in Marty's voice. "I need to know about sex stuff, not baseball."
"Trust me, Little Bird, we'll get to the sex stuff. Is a baseball bat bad?"
"No."
"What if you use a baseball bat to hit someone on the head?"
"That bat couldn't help that. The person who hit was bad, not the bat."
"That's how it is with sex. Sex is not bad but sometimes it can be used badly."
Marty thought about that for several minutes. When he finally spoke he was difficult to understand because he was crying so hard. "I do sex bad."
"What do you do, Little Bird?"
"I don't try to do it bad. It just happens."
"What happens?"
"Do you 'member when I first come - uh - came to our house after I was in the hospital?" Henry had been working on Marty's grammar.
"Yes, I remember."
"When you were looking at my information - - no inflammation and my penis got big?"
"I remember. That's not uncommon for boys. That surely wasn't the first time your penis got big."
"No, it always did that but it just did it. I wasn't thinking about anything. Now, when I remember about Stevie doing sex with those girls where he used to live, it gets big. I try not remember but I can't help it. It just comes to my mind. Do you think Stevie really did that?"
"Did he tell you about that?"
"He said he did it with girls and boys and when he was telling me and Freddy, it felt like Stevie was being bad. I don't want to be bad but I can't help it. I'm just bad. Even sometimes when I remember Stevie sucking on Freddy, it gets big."
"Is that what you've been worrying about? Little Bird, you're not bad. Yes, what Stevie was doing is not what a boy eleven years old should have been doing particularly to a ten year old boy. Little Bird, you saw things and heard things that are very hard for a nine-year-old boy to understand and I'm not sure I can help you understand. But, I think Dr. Collins could help you understand. Would you like to talk to her about it?"
"Will she think I'm bad?"
"Look at me, Little Bird. No, she won't think you're bad. She has studied a kind of medicine that I didn't study. She knows how to answer questions like yours. I'm sure she can help you know that you are not bad."
"Even if sometimes I wonder how it would feel if I put it in a girl's front like Stevie said he did. I don't want to think those things but I can't help it. It just happens. I don't even want to do it but something just makes me wonder."
"Little Bird, those feelings are normal. Sex is a mysterious thing and all children are curious about it."
"Every boy wants to put his penis in a girl's front?"
Henry wasn't sure where to go with this conversation. He didn't know how a child's sexuality or his sexual curiosity developed. He knew that Marty had had no guidance at all in this matter and it broke his heart that the child had worried so because of misunderstanding. Did all children have the same concerns or was it Marty's emotionally and nurturing deprived background? Henry didn't know. He did know, however, that never having watched a child grow to nine years old, he was not equipped to properly handle this matter.
"Little Bird, most nine year old boys have not seen or heard the kinds of things you have. All boys have sexual feelings but they may think different things when they have them. Let's have you talk to Dr. Collins. I know she can help you but, please, remember - you are not bad."
Marty had three sessions with Sarah Collins. The woman was a marvel. Marty left after each session less anxious but it took him a month to get completely back to his old, playful, exuberant self.
The Brewers were playing the Orioles on July fourth. Marty was excited to see Brooks Robinson. When Marty played in gym class he played third base. Mr. Franks said they needed his glove and his arm on the hot corner. For now, at least, Brooks Robinson was Marty's favorite player. That might change tomorrow but it was a regular Marty Moment when he saw the Orioles take the field for practice and their seats were in the first row along the third base line. The Orioles team doctor was a friend of Henry's and arranged to have Brooks come over and shake Marty's hand and sign his program. The boy almost hyperventilated.
During the drive back to Grünfelder Marty casually said, "You know what? Stevie's got recessed memory."
"Tell me about it."
"Stevie said that he can't help it. He just gets mad. He said that he gets mad all the time but when he gets mad in school it's because his principal did sex stuff to him. He said that he don't know what the principal did because his caseworker said he had recessed memory. The way she knew that his principal had done sex stuff was that Stevie got so mad all the time at school."
"Did Stevie say repressed?"
"No, I ain't - - I'm not getting my words mixed up. He said recessed."
"Well, I think Stevie got his words mixed up. His caseworker probably said repressed memory."
The next morning Henry called Rick Olmstead and asked if he's heard anything about a school principal being accused in Milwaukee County. Rick had not but he called his counterpart in Milwaukee County. No such charges were pending.
Henry called Sarah Collins and told her what Marty had said. Stevie was mellowing somewhat and had told Sarah the whole story of the Millers Foster home in Milwaukee. There were six kids, three boys and three girls, ages seven to fourteen. All of the children slept in the basement and although they were not physically mistreated and were fed reasonably well, they were generally left unsupervised. They went to school and played outside and were allowed the use of the upstairs during the day but were locked in the basement at night - six children with no adult supervision. Stevie gave some graphic descriptions of sexual activity involving all the children. Manual, oral, anal and vaginal sex was described in such a way that Sarah felt that an eleven-year-old boy could not have invented the stories. He had to have witnessed and experienced it.
Sarah had called Milwaukee County Child Protection and was given the caseworker responsible for the children at Miller's. The caseworker claimed that she had recently inspected the Miller's home and that no more than two children shared a bedroom and that they were well supervised - and, what was Sarah Collins doing interviewing one of her cases. When told where Stevie was, Liz Jennings became violently angry. Stephen Zubor was her responsibility and who the hell did Sarah think she was interfering with her kids.
When told who Sarah was and why she was involved with Stevie, she panicked. She, like Kate Burtch, was not going to have some dumb-ass principal telling her what to do. So Stevie had a temper. Let those wimpy teachers deal with it. Tom Landover had called her boss after she did nothing about his concerns for Stevie. No ass-hole principal was going to get her in trouble. She was sure that Linda Burg could scare hell out of him so she came up with the repressed memory thing. Hell, Stevie was only eleven. How would he know if he had repressed memory or not? Liz had convinced the boy he had been molested by his principal and that's what he told Linda on the phone before he was shipped off to Jefferson County.
Liz knew that if some psychiatrist at University of Wisconsin was working with the kid, she was in deep trouble. She called Linda.
When she heard that Stevie was in a Madison hospital, Linda Burg was furious. This was her big case. She'd get a lot of ink. Think about it - a school principal molesting a boy. She could probably even get national attention. She hadn't taken the case to the Prosecutor yet. She had to get more details. But an Elementary School Principal - everyone would know about her.
Linda didn't even know the details of the case. She just knew that the caseworker told her that Tom Landover, Principal of Meadowside Elementary School, had molested Stephen Zubor, an eleven-year-old ward of Milwaukee County. That was enough for Linda. She agreed with Liz and had sent him to Jefferson County because she knew that Kate Burtch was the kind that wanted to believe a story like this and would be thrilled at the possibility of someone getting a principal. If those people in Madison got the kid all confused, he might mess up and say something he shouldn't. Linda thought she could get the kid back in Milwaukee County by the end of the day and assured Liz that they still had a case.
Tentatively reassured by Linda, Liz thought she was "out of the woods". By noon the next day, however, she had tendered her resignation. Sarah had called the Milwaukee police and they had "raided" the Miller home at 10:00 the previous night. What Stevie had said about the sleeping arraignments was true and from what the kids were telling the police so were his descriptions of sexual activity. The police and the prosecutor's office were investigating the possibility of charges against the Millers and Liz Jennings. The county Director of Human Services was, however, able to keep it from the media.
The police officers who had done the investigation were furious. It always ended up this way. They'd pick-up kids from the most miserable situations and too often as soon as CP got involved the kids were right back in that mess. Those Child Protection people did the damnedest things to kids and always seemed to get away with it. Even though this situation didn't get the publicity it should have (People can't fix what they don't know about.) the police took some satisfaction from the fact that Liz was out but she was just one. The whole agency needed cleaned out.
Stevie was very open with Sarah about his "recessed" memory. A confused little boy replaced the cocky, boastful little profligate. "Ya, he done it but I don't know what he done. My caseworker said I got mad all the time at school because Mr. Landover was 'lesting me."
"Molesting?"
"Ya. What does that mean?"
"It means doing sexual things to you."
"He done it but I don't know what he done. My caseworker said that was 'cause I had recessed memory."
"The term is repressed memory."
"Whatever. She said I had to tell a judge that he 'les - what was that word again?"
"Molested."
"Ya, I had to tell a judge that. I can't even 'member what he done. When Virgil done it to ------.
"Don't ask me no more questions. It's none of your damn business!"
Sarah tried to pursue the Virgil thing but Stevie was again the arrogant, amoral little tough.
"Who is Virgil?"
"Virgil ain't none of your business. Don't never ask me nothin' about Virgil. I ain't no damn queer."
This may be the proverbial smoking gun. Sarah would bide her time.