Emma Kathryn Burtch was born outside the little rural town of Tabor in southwestern Iowa. She was the second of six children; eleven months younger than her older sister and ten months older than her next younger brother. The other three also came rather quickly and times were hard in the early twenties. Her father was able to hold on to the farm during the depression but that involved him doing the farming and working away from home. When Libby, the oldest, was ten, her mother was able to find work outside the home and left Libby and Em responsible for the younger children - with Lib being the final authority.
Lib was the kind of girl who just seemed to be and do everything right. She was a beautiful child, did very well in school and was very responsible in her home responsibilities. Emma, too, had the deep blue eyes and long blond curls of her sister but was careless about her appearance. She was a second child with the typical second-child syndrome. She did reasonably well in school but not nearly as well as her intelligence suggested. She was resentful and quarrelsome at home. She deeply resented Lib - in fact, she resented all her siblings and as she grew, she became the proverbial "thorn in the side" of an otherwise placid family. Her parents tried but from a little girl, Em was arrogant and disrespectful.
What is it with some children? Emma had received the same love and nurturing, as had her siblings. No effort on the part of her parents and siblings could engender a loving bond. Alfred Adler would have blamed the order of her birth for her distance and irascibility. Perhaps a present-day psychologist might call it some form of autism or ADD - that catchall for less than compliant children. Whatever it was, the family felt an intense sense of failure and grief but also one of relief when she left home.
Because of the hard work of her parents, things got much better financially and all of the children were able to go to college. Em, wanting to get as far from home as possible, went to Bowling Green University in Ohio. She adopted a facade of sophistication and snobbery, registered as E. Kathryn Burtch and insisted that she be called Kate.
Libby was at a Normal School in Omaha studying to be a teacher. Kate would do nothing as mundane as teach. She would become a lawyer. She did a great deal more socializing and strutting than studying and for a period she enjoyed some popularity. She dated some of the campus jocks but was condescending to the point of being obnoxious so none of the relationships went anywhere. When she found herself in the lower third of her class, she could not cope with her own mediocrity. She was not going to be thought of as dumb. She had been sure from early childhood that she was superior to everyone and that her lack of compatibility with her family was their fault - that she had been treated unfairly. She was equally sure that her lack of success at Bowling Green was the fault of the unfairness of incompetent professors.
She left Bowling Green and enrolled in tiny Ripon College in Wisconsin. There, she was sure, her superiority and sophistication would make her fellow students appear to be what they surely were - north woods bumpkins. They weren't. She found a similar environment to that of Bowling Green. She did not, or perhaps, could not change her behavior and found herself, not completely ostracized but her company certainly was not sought out. Apparently she was the only person of college age in the United States who was not an ass.
She knew that she would never make it in Law School so she floundered around - taking a jumble of miscellaneous classes. In a Sociology class she met a girl who was planning to be a Social Worker. Kate thought the girl to be naive and a fool. The dumb kid was going out there to save the world. She actually cared about some homeless kid. She spoke passionately about "making a difference". Stupid! Kate knew that the real goal in life was to prove your superiority. But an idea began to form in Kate's mind. She was an adult. She had to be superior to kids.
She took her first job in Milwaukee County. She, of course, didn't like it. Her supervisor actually believed that shit about the best interest of the kid. It turned out to be not that much a problem. Within two months of Kate's hire, the supervisor was demoted and then resigned. The Area Coordinator for Child Protective Services had told her that she did not have the backbone to be a supervisor. One had to have the "courage" to tell the public what it wanted to hear but also the wisdom not to expect it to be done. She didn't have the public relations skills needed for the job. That was and is Social Worker speak for, "You have too much integrity to lie."
Kate's next supervisor was a long-term veteran of the system. She had raised lying to the public to an art form. Kate, for the first time in her life, actually found a soul mate. Over the years that she worked in the Child Protection business, she would find many more but, for now, it comforted Kate to know that at least one other person in the world was not an ass.
Kate could now do anything she wanted and the more unreasonable and arbitrary she was, the better her evaluations. She had only one problem. She could not get along with her co-workers. Dorothy Mills considered Kate one of her better workers and hated to see her go but it was either that or fire all the rest of her staff. They would have killed Kate.
Jefferson County's population was such that only one caseworker was needed. There would be no one else there for Kate to fight with. A kid just out of college, Mervin Gross, was the Area Coordinator and he needed a strong person like Kate. Dorothy reluctantly recommended Kate to Mervin and the two of them had "lovingly" seen to the "best interest" of Jefferson County kids for thirty-five years.
As the years passed, Kate had the power she craved but at about fifty, she realized that she would never amass the fortune she thought to be her due. Although she had no contact with her family, she had not even attended her parents' funerals. She knew that all of her siblings had done well financially. Libby, her most hated among them, had married well and word was that her husband was a millionaire. Her younger brothers were all professional men, two of them physicians and two lawyers. The unfairness of life needed no further proof. She was superior to all of them and they were well to do and she was practically a pauper.
But she was superior to them - smarter than they. If those dolts could become rich someone of Kate's sagacity surely could. She would make herself rich. Since she was a genius, she was surely smarter that your average bookie. She would gamble her way to wealth.
It didn't, of course, work. Within five years she was deeply in debt to some very unsavory characters in Chicago. She had to negotiate to save her life. She satisfied her first debt by delivering Jenny Bracht to her bookie. Where he took the girl, Kate didn't know. Jenny was twelve; still a little girl but her family was riffraff so she probably would have ended up a whore anyway. What difference did it make if she went into her profession a few years sooner than she otherwise would have?
After she had used Lonny Witman as chattel the gambling was not so much the problem as the blackmail. She still was deep in debt but her creditors no longer wanted money as much as they wanted the young bodies she could provide. She began drinking heavily, not from guilt. These kids were worthless and would be leaches on society. They might as well provide some useful service both to her and to whatever use they were put by her "friends" in Chicago. Merv was such a dunce. She could get him to agree to anything. So far as he knew, the kids were still in Jefferson County so he continued to pay the per diem. She pocketed that and getting the kids kept the Chicago goons temporarily off her back. No, her drinking was because of that "temporarily". She couldn't continue to make kids disappear and she had finally reconciled herself to the fact that she was a lousy gambler. If she couldn't come up with money somewhere, they'd kill her.
But - her luck finally changed in the person of Dr. Henry Schmidt. He was very rich and he loved that little Marty shit and would pay dearly should the kid happen to be kidnapped. From what she was hearing while in detox, the old fart had developed affection for the other group home brats. That girl, Linda was still young enough to interest some well healed perverts and little boys always had a surprisingly ample clientele. She could satisfy her debt with the kids and establish her opulence with the ransom. That damned Schmidt had tried to get her. Now she'd get him.
Kate never did know who the big shot was. She'd done all her business with the bookie/bagman, Vito Punto. She had gotten word to Vito and this good, sympathetic friend had been "visiting" her for several months. The plan they'd worked out, they were sure, was fool proof.
Security at the detox center in Chicago was so loose that Kate just walked away. Vito went to Madison and took Stevie from the hospital at gunpoint. They would meet at Lake Mills where Vito would drive the stolen car into Rock Lake. They would then go to Jefferson where Vito had left his car and where Kate thought she would have no trouble getting Linda and Freddy into her car. She knew that she could not get Marty to go with her so she would take Linda, Freddy and Stevie on to Chicago while Vito picked-up Marty. The boy would surely either play outside or go from Henry's house to Friesema's or the barn.
The Middle School children were dismissed before the elementary school children. Linda was confused at Miss Bitch showing up but went with her. She was, after all, a foster kid and was used to never knowing what was going to happen to her. Freddy, too, climbed dutifully into Kate's car but Marty, standing just inside the door, waiting for Uncle Henry, panicked. He couldn't find Mr. Brainard but did manage to hold his composure until Uncle Henry arrived. He wept as Henry drove him home and now was cuddled into that comforting lap but there was no comfort there this evening.
"I'm so scared, Uncle Henry. Why did she do it? Why did she take Freddy and Stevie? They ain't even got poverty yet. She's gonna take me next. I know she is. Miss Bitch is gonna to take me next."
Henry was so upset and concerned that he didn't even notice Marty's malapropism - something the boy hadn't done for months. He wept with the boy and shared his anxiety. He had been told of Stevie's kidnapping and his agency men and Jerry, along with all of the County Police force and the State Police were aware of the situation. They thought they had planned so well but Kate had eluded them. Henry was worried and angry.
As long as he had no word regarding Kate's whereabouts, Henry had no intention of letting Marty out of his sight. "She won't take you, Little Bird. She'd have to kill me and I won't let that happen."
While Marty had been in the bathroom, Henry had taken his 9MM Glock from the gun safe.
Marty cuddled and trembled in Henry's lap for an hour. Jerry promised to let Henry know any developments. That hour seemed an eternity. Finally Jerry called. The Chicago police had gone to the detox center. They didn't even know that Kate was gone. They did, however, know the name of Kate's frequent visitor. The police knew Vito Punto so Vito's house was staked out. An APB had been put out for Kate's car. All they could do now was wait and hope.
Fritz was whining to be let out and Marty started toward the door. "Little Bird, don't go near that door!"
Henry opened the door, Fritz rushed out and everything went black. Marty was grabbed and Fritz was so busy doing his thing that Vito had the boy in his car and was gone before the usually very alert dog knew what was happening.
Ces, after having listened to Fritz whine and bark for half an hour, went across the road and found the still unconscious Henry. Ces called Reind and Jerry. By the time Jerry got there, Henry was beginning to come around. Jerry insisted that Henry go to the hospital. Reind did his best to calm himself and a very upset and concerned Ces. Two of his kids had not come home from school and although he knew that the police were doing their best, Reind had to almost physically restrain Ces from going looking himself.
Now that he had actually gotten "took", Marty was more angry than afraid. He was afraid, no question about that but this guy had hurt his Uncle Henry and Marty was just plain mad. But he was also thinking. Grünfelder was north of town and they were heading toward town. Marty knew that if he could get out of the car in town he could get away. Years of exploring the town had made the boy aware of many places that he could hide.
Marty bent and seemed to be rubbing his foot. "What the hell's the matter with you, kid?"
"You hurt my foot when you pulled me in the car."
"Tough shit."
"You'll get caught, you know. Uncle Jerry will catch you."
"Oh, I'm scared. Who the hell is Uncle Jerry?"
"He's the kid cop around here and he don't want anyone messing with me."
"Shit, kid. I'm from Chicago. Do you think some hick town cop scares me?"
"You can't be that smart. You just ran a stop sign and you're driving too fast. You're tryin' to kidnap me and you're so stupid you'll probably get caught for a traffic violation."
"You got a smart mouth, kid."
"And you got a stupid brain, ass hole." Marty was glad Uncle Henry was not there to hear that.
"I got you, ain't I?"
"Not for long." Vito had stopped for a stop sign and Marty whacked him across the face with the heel of his shoe and was out the door, around the corner and gone.
Vito was bleeding. He had a deep cut above his right eye. Marty's new shoes still had that sharp edge on the hard rubber heel. Vito, indeed, wasn't that smart. He had just committed a major crime and was more worried about a cut on his head than getting caught. He wasn't thinking about Marty anymore. Hell, Capo would get his three kids and Vito thought the bitch was lying about the ransom money anyway. Hell, she was a damn drunk. Even if he did get the hundred thousand she promised him, Capo would find out about it and decide that if Vito was making side money - why pay him. If she wanted that Little Marty shit, she could get him herself.
He asked a passerby the way to the hospital. He was still being stitched up when Jerry brought Henry in. One doesn't run into many Italians in Jefferson County and the orderly from whom Stevie was taken gave an excellent description. Vito went directly from the hospital to jail.
Marty didn't like the thought of going back there but he knew that the best place for him to hide was Dort Street. He knew how to get there through alleys and he knew where to cross streets where there was no streetlight. If the guy was from Chicago like he said, he didn't know Jefferson and would never find Marty.
Kate Burtch needed a drink. She was frightened but mostly she was angry with Henry Schmidt. She had done as she liked for forty years and had never before felt fear. True, she had never before done anything quite this ambitious. Four kids at one time were dangerous but it would be her coup de grâce. She would be rich and finished with kids and Jefferson and mostly she would have devastated that damn Henry Schmidt.
She'd known that Jenny and Lonny were performing their public service down town on Rush Street but she's never been there. Vito had met her in Rockford and the transfer was made there. That's also where he took her bets. This would be the first time she'd done business with anyone other than Vito. Capo concerned her. Vito seemed to hate the guy. Said he was crazy. Called him a fat ass Irishman who thought he was a tough, big time Mafioso. Vito didn't even know his real name - O'Brian or O' some shit. Hell, he was nothing but a small time bookie and a kid pimp. A real Mafioso would eat him alive. But, according to Vito, the bastard paid him and was at least one layer between him and the cops.
She had told the children that she was taking them to Brookfield Zoo. The boys were excited but Linda was old enough to realize that by the time they got to Chicago, the zoo would be closed. Linda was worried. Miss Bitch had done some dumb things before but she had never taken Linda out of Jefferson County.
Kate made it to Rush Street, delivered the kids and headed back toward Jefferson. What she didn't know was that she had been followed since Rockford. There were several Illinois Troopers waiting in the area of the bar. Henry's detectives had followed her there several times. Kate was less than three blocks away when what seemed like the entire Chicago Police Force descended on Capo's "Kitty Palace". They found fifteen kids there - Jefferson County's five and ten others. Jenny was the oldest at sixteen and the youngest was a girl of seven. They also found some interesting customers, among them a few rather influential Chicago businessmen.
Kate was allowed to leave because Marty was still missing. It was hoped that she would lead the police to the boy. That didn't work. Kate went back to the detox center, explaining that she just had to get away for a while. They bought it. Kate wasn't even given a Breathalyzer test. She'd already mailed the ransom note. Now all she had to do was sit and wait for Vito to pick up the money at the "drop".
Marty stayed hidden until dark and then carefully made his way toward Dort Street. As he approached the house he could hear Julio's mama screaming, "Llame la policia! Llame la policia!
Marty entered the front door running and almost tripped over Sophia, Julio's sixteen-year-old sister who was lying, moaning at the bottom of the stairs. It looked like she had fallen down the steps. He saw Julio sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. The boy appeared stunned. Marty was concerned about his friends but more concerned about the panic in Julio's mama's voice. He ran up the stairs and into the Rojas' second floor apartment.
For just a moment Marty stood frozen in shock. Kiki was there and the druggy. They had Jaime lying of the table and the druggy was pulling at Jamie's pants. Marty's shock gave way to wrath. He emitted a sound that was unmitigated fury. It was part yell, part cry, part scream but all rage. He threw himself at the druggy in a kind of cross-body block. The druggy, already unsteady on his feet, did a kind of awkward dance in an attempt to regain his balance and in doing so, stumbled backward crashing through a large window, falling those two stories. Kiki, her mind addled by drugs, ran to the window, leaned out, looked down for him and yelled, "God damn you, you owe me a hit". It was too dark to see him so she leaned out further - too far for her unsteady condition and she followed him to her own fate.
It was an ugly scene. A now rusty wrought iron picket fence surrounded the once opulent house. Both bodies were impaled on the pickets. Both were dead by the time they got to the hospital. All of the Rojas family needed hospitalization. Sophia and Julio had been pushed down the stairs as they tried to protect their brother. Sophia had a concussion and a broken arm. Julio had a mild concussion and many bruises but no broken bones. Julio's mama and other sisters were in hysterics. Jamie, of course, was severely traumatized.
Jerry was called from the hospital when the responding officers recognized Marty. Marty still stood in a trance when Jerry took the boy in his arms. Even then it took Marty several minutes to realize who Jerry was. He hugged tight and then said, "We gotta get to Grünfelder. That ass hole hurt Uncle Henry."
Marty was taken out the back door to avoid the goriness. Jerry assured the boy that his Uncle Henry was all right. Henry appeared to have only a mild concussion but the emergency room doctor insisted he stay overnight. Jerry wanted the boy to go home with him for the night but Marty would not leave his Uncle Henry. He said he'd sleep in the chair. That had, indeed, been his intent but he needed Uncle Henry's hug. At midnight, the nurse did not disturb them when she found them both sleeping in Henry's bed - Marty snuggled into Henry's arms.