Andre and Chris - 13. Chapter 13

Outside the interview room Andre was stressed so I continued to hold him until he settled. He finally did.

“Thanks Chris. I needed that.”

While I was supporting Andre, I was a turmoil of concern for him. I gently asked, “What do you want to do now?”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “I want to make a statement to the police.”

A man, looking every inch a police detective, approached us. “I’m Detective Senior Sergeant David Jenkins. I was watching from the next room and saw what happened. How are you feeling now? Can I help?”

I watched Andre’s expression. It changed and he looked determined. “I want to make a statement. That guy started having sex with me when I was about Ollie’s age. I need to tell you about it.”

The detective was surprised but quickly organized for someone to take his statement.

I hugged Andre. “I’ll come with you.”

He returned the hug. “I would like that, but Ollie needs you more than I do just now. You go and be with him. I know I’ll always have you.” I gave him another hug.

David was worried and spoke to me. “Normally with your partner making historical allegations against the same offender, I wouldn’t let you go in there, but Ollie is refusing to say anything until you are back there. You can go in as long as you don’t say anything.”

I understood they did not want anything to compromise the evidence. “I can do that.”

“Good. Let’s hope we can nail this guy.”

Ollie grabbed my hand as I sat down. “Where’s Andre? Is he OK?”

“He’s OK. He’s helping the police a bit more.”

Elizabeth got Ollie’s attention. “Are you OK to tell me more about what happened?”

Ollie tightened his grip on my hand, looked down and softly replied, “Yes.”

Elizabeth knew what she was doing and how to extract information. Oliver opened up and told her about being used sexually and the physical abuse when he resisted. He was, like most children, vague about dates for when things happened. He was able to give details, more than I wanted to hear, about the night before we found him. That turned my stomach. During that I covered Ollie’s hand which was still clutching my left hand with my right hand. It seemed to help give him courage to continue. He really opened up to Elizabeth. I don’t know how Elizabeth coped with her job. Listening to Ollie sent me on an emotional roller coaster and left me emotionally drained. My heart went out to Ollie for having gone through so much. I also realized just how much inner strength he had.

It had taken all morning by the time Elizabeth finished interviewing Oliver. She organized more food and drinks for Oliver and while he was eating, Elizabeth, David, Andre and I had a meeting in a nearby room. David was in charge and started talking first. “Thank you everybody. Oliver has told us enough for me to send a team to his house to make an arrest and search the premises. That’s happening right now. Andre, your evidence will be useful for the prosecution especially because we have a similar statement from someone else. There appears to be a pattern.”

Andre asked, “If you had a statement why didn’t you do anything.”

“For a conviction the statement isn’t enough, you have to be prepared to say it in court and convince a jury. He felt he was alone and wasn’t prepared to go to court.”

“Well, I’m prepared to go to court.”

David responded. “Thank you. That will really help our case, but I’ll ask you again in a few days. Just to check you still want to. You may want some legal advice. I’ll also talk to the other victim and see if he will change his mind. I’ll also have the names you provided followed up. There may be more who are willing to testify.”

“What will happen to Ollie?”

Elizabeth answered this time. “Well, first we place him in temporary care while a social worker assesses if it would be appropriate for him to go back to his mother. Another possibility is to contact his dad and see if Ollie can stay there.”

I replied. “His dad was killed a year ago. That bikie gang shooting where they got the wrong guy.” That had only happened once so both police officers immediately knew about it.

David looked down and shook his head. “The poor kid. So much trauma in such a short time. We’ll have to make sure we take care of him.”

Andre asked the question I was thinking. “Can he stay with us?”

“From what I’ve seen of the interaction between the three of you I think long term that would be just so great. However, it would not be wise before the trial. Besides you have to be approved to be foster parents.”

“Can I give him a gaming console and games that he can play while in foster care?”

David responded, “Now I know why you looked familiar. I’ve seen my son watching your YouTube videos. I think that’s a wonderful idea and generous of you.”

We all understood that it was now time for us to leave. Andre and I were reluctant. In a short time, Ollie had become very important to us. We didn’t want to leave him.

Andre was the one who asked, “Can we say goodbye to him?”

Elizabeth smiled. “Sure, and please let him know you still care about him.”

We walked in the interview room. Ollie was just finishing his drink. He looked up and saw us and rushed over and flung his arms around Andre. “Are you feeling better? Do you feel OK?”

“Thanks buddy. Yes, I feel better now.”

He then looked at me. “Can I stay with you? I don’t want to go back to Mum and him.”

I looked at Andre and realized he was as emotionally chocked up as I was. Elizabeth saved the situation. “Ollie, they would both like you to stay with them but that can’t happen until they are registered as foster parents and some other things are sorted out.”

His face fell. “What other things?”

“Just stuff we have to do to make sure you are safe and kept safe. Can you keep a secret?”

Ollie looked at her and smiled. “Sure.”

She knelt down and in a stage whisper said to Ollie. “Chris wants to give you a game console and some games.”

His face broke into a bigger smile. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Awesome. When?”

“Well they have to go and organize them and we need to get you settled somewhere safe.”

“OK.” He then came over and hugged both of us. “Thanks for helping me. You’re cool. You won’t forget me will you.”

“No Ollie, we care about you. We’ll never forget you.”

We were sitting in Andre’s car. We were quiet. It had been the most tumultuous morning and at the centre of it was Ollie. We didn’t need to say anything because we both knew we wanted him in our lives.

“How are you going to get the consoles and games to him?”

“Yeah, it’ll have to be through the police. They’ll know where he is.”

“Good. Now, what do we do about the shop and apartment. We didn’t really get to see it.” Clearly Andre wanted us to move from talking about Ollie. It was all very painful.

“I’m still all for buying it so how about we phone Noah.”

Noah was not at work because it was technically his day off but fortunately he was still happy to meet us. After a walk through the shop, we went into the apartment. Being there brought all our concerns about and feelings for Ollie to the surface. I wiped away a tear and Andre did the same. Both the shop and the apartment were in much better condition than we expected so we told Noah we would buy it for the asking price. He looked happy and suggested we go back to the agency and sign some paperwork. We agreed thinking it could help us stop thinking about Ollie.

We walked into the Agency, past a not happy Belinda and up to Noah’s cubical. We were about to sit when Boss Lady came out, introduced herself as Margaret and asked us to join her in her office. We followed her.

“I won’t take long. I just want to thank you for what you’ve done for Noah. It’s not just about him selling his first three properties. He’s new to all this and Belinda was, if you’ll excuse the language, being a bitch and sapping his confidence. You’ve given him the confidence he needed before I could. Now I’ll deal with Belinda. Noah’s a great guy and will be a great salesman.”

Andre and I were both smiling, and I answered, “He is a great guy and it’s been our pleasure. Has he told you about this morning?”

She looked confused. “No. What happened? I assumed he just showed you the property.”

“You should ask him.” I looked through the glass wall and saw Noah had the paperwork ready. “It looks like Noah is waiting for us.”

Margaret shook both our hands and thanked us again. Well we had brought her a lot of business.

Back in Noah’s cubical we all ignored Belinda’s death stare and signed the paperwork that would make the second shop and apartment ours. We were about to finish up, but my curiosity got the better of me, so I asked, “Noah, thanks for videoing everything this morning. The police were very pleased, but how did you know that could be important?”

“My grandparents. They’re foster parents but only for short term fostering. When the last of their children, actually that was my Dad, left home they decided to become foster parents but they considered themselves too old for permanent fostering. I’ve learnt a lot from them about the kids who need temporary care and what helps the police. I had my phone on camera and thought a video could be important. As it turns out it is important. Oh, and Pop and Nan only have three kids at any time because they only have three bedrooms for them. I’ve heard they only have one foster child at present so Ollie will be their second.”

I looked at Andre and Noah and we were all smiling. Andre commented, “Thanks. Knowing he will be safe and with your grandparents makes me feel a lot better.” I totally agreed.

Back home I had a promise to keep. I wanted Ollie to be able to play games with the other foster child. I found a PS4 and three controllers. Certainly not the latest but still supported and fun for them. I also had gaming headsets and a big monitor. Tomorrow, I’ll deliver them.

Looking for the gaming gear had kept me occupied. Now it was back to just thinking about today and how exhausting it had been. I looked at Andre and it was obvious he was in the same situation. “We need to cuddle and talk.”

Andre responded. “More so than ever. How about we do it in bed naked. When we do that, I feel we’re not hiding anything.”

I couldn’t agree more. I pulled Andre into a hug and gently kissed him.

In bed we cuddled. “Andre, you haven’t talked about making your statement to police. Can you tell me how it went?”

He sighed, “Yes. It went better than I expected. I think that was because I’d already told you and I knew that no matter what I told the police, you would still love me.” We hugged tighter. “I think I told them even more than I told you.” The emotional strain of disclosing was returning to Andre so I poured as much love as possible into hugging him. I let him get it out.

After a while Andre continued, “I know I’m going to be OK because I’ve got you. I’m worried about Ollie because at the moment he doesn’t have anyone.”

“He has us. We will do all we can to keep him safe and look after him.”

“That’s what I so want but can it happen?”

I heard Jamie enter and walk down towards our bedroom. He looked in and saw us in bed. “Oh fuck, sorry. Am I interrupting . . . .” He stopped and looked concerned, very concerned. “What’s wrong? You both look like shit. What happened?” He walked over, sat on the bed and took hold of our hands. “OK, talk to me.”

We let go telling Jamie what had happened during the day regarding Oliver and Andre’s decision to make a statement. We explained how emotional it had been, even though it was obvious in our voices and body language. Jamie let us talk until we were more or less talked out.

“I think I know who the offender is, but Andre, I didn’t know you’d been caught up with him. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.” He stretched out on top of the covers and wrapped his arms around Andre. Andre hugged him back. The tears were back. Jamie held Andre until he settled again.

“Did you know about this Chris.”

Andre answered, “Yeah he did. I told him when we were deciding about living together. It’s because Chris has been so loving and supportive that I was able to tell the police.”

“You two are so strong together. So, you want to adopt this young Oliver?”

I was surprised. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes, it’s obvious whenever either of you talk about him. You want to look after him. So, we need to find out what you have to do to become foster parents and then about adoption.”

“You’re right. We need to do some online searching to find out what we have to do to become foster parents.”

“But first, we need to relax and have something to eat. Let’s go to the Sailing Club for dinner. I’m a member. It’s my treat.”

We dressed and the three of us were about to head off for the Sailing Club when Jamie’s phone rang. It was Michael.

Jamie answered on speaker. “Hi Babe. Missing you.””

“Missing you too Babe. Are you all together?”

Andre and I both called out, “Hi Michael.”

I added, “How did the operation go?”

“That’s what I’m calling about. It went really well. We were successful. The biopsy showed clean edges all around the cancer, so it looks like we got it all. Mamma will need to stay in hospital for a while and will still need follow up, but it all looks good. Working with Sandra is awesome.”

“How about Bruno and Papa?”

“The whole family were at the hospital. They closed the restaurant for the day. Sandra and I explained about the operation, and they were able to see Mamma briefly about an hour ago.”

“Fantastic.”

“Congratulations.”

“Wonderful news.”

“Pass on our best wishes to Mamma and all the family.”

“We’ll organize flowers for Mamma.”

Michael’s smile was in his voice. “OK, OK. Slow up. Don’t worry, I’ll let them all know how you feel.”

Jamie asked, “When are you coming home?”

“Saturday morning. I’ve booked an early flight. I want to stay here to check on Mamma for the next two days.”

Jamie responded. “I understand Babe, and I’m good here with Chris and Andre.”

“I know you are. Anyway, what’s happening with you lot?”

We gave Michael a brief run down on finding Ollie, taking him to the police where he disclosed physical and sexual abuse. We deliberately kept it short. We will talk at length when he is back from Melbourne.

The call finished with Michael and Jamie telling each other how much they love each other and saying goodbye.

Andre drove to the Sailing Club. The radio was on, and we heard on the news that a local man had been arrested for abusing a young boy in his care. They couldn’t give his name for legal reasons. That was, because it could identify the boy, but we knew who he was.

Upstairs at the Sailing Club Bistro we sat next to the window where we had a view across the calm expanse of Brisbane Water. Sailing had finished for the day but there were still a few yachts furling their jibs, lowering their mainsails and seeking their moorings. Their day was winding down just like the day itself. The sun was setting and reflecting orange and red off the scattered clouds and throwing the yachts into silhouette. The evening was much more tranquil than we felt and was just what we needed.

We ordered a bottle of wine and fish mains. While we were eating, Jamie asked, “What was Ollie doing in the apartment? You said he was hiding there, but why there? Does he live close by?”

I replied, “Sorry we haven’t told you. Do you remember that gang assassination a year ago where they shot the wrong guy?” He nodded. “That was Ollie’s dad and that’s the apartment.”

“Fuck! The poor kid. He’s really going to need the love and stability you two can provide. Are you still going to buy the property?”

“Yes. We signed the purchase agreement this afternoon.”

“Was that wise? I mean you were both emotionally stressed. Not good for making sound financial decisions.”

Andre smiled. “You’re not wrong, but we decided yesterday that we would buy it. The inspection this morning was just a formality before finalizing.”

“I’m still not sure why you are buying the second shop and apartment. The apartment I can understand. I can see the possibility of combining the two apartments into a big luxury apartment. But, why the shop? Chris needs a shop for his business. What are you going to do with the second shop?”

The waiter arrived to start clearing the table and asked if we wanted dessert. We all ordered Lemon Lime Tart.

Andre answered Jamie’s question. “It’s for me. I’m going to start my own financial services business. That will be my office.”

“So, you’ll be an accountant and do tax and financial stuff?”

“Yeah. Sure. That’s what I’m planning.”

“Thank God! We’re unhappy with our accountant and want to change. Looks like we’ll be your first clients.”

“Nah. I’m officially his first client.”

Our serves of Lemon Lime Tart arrived. It summed up our day; bittersweet.”

Back home Jamie took charge. “At the club I got you talking about something other than Ollie, but I’m not silly enough to believe you’ve stopped thinking about him so here’s what we’re going to do. Chris you’re going to do an online search to find out what you have to do to become foster parents. We’ll worry about adoption later.”

I smiled at this side of Jamie. “I can do that and what are you and Andre going to do?”

“Well, with another glass of wine, Andre and I are going to compare notes on who we know visited that house in Ettalong. For example, I know a few of my friends did, and not all were happy about what happened. Getting the word out that he’s been arrested could encourage some more to tell the police what they know.”

I questioned this. “Andre has already given the police some names. He needs to let the police do their job. It wouldn’t look good if he started phoning people. Maybe Andre should just give the police the additional names.”

“I agree it wouldn’t be good for Andre to do it and it won’t be Andre contacting people. I’ll use my network. I’m sure if we brainstorm this, we’ll come up with more names than Andre has told the police.”

I couldn’t disagree and left them at the dining table brainstorming names and started my online search. It didn’t take me long to discover how we could become foster parents. It would involve a series of checks, including police checks, working with children checks, references, interviews and some training courses. Nothing we needed to worry about.

I printed off copies of the significant information and forms we needed to complete and went back to Andre and Jamie. I joined them at the table.

“Right. I’ve found out what’s involved in becoming foster parents and how to apply. I’ve even printed off the information. How have you gone?”

Andre answered, “Better than I would have expected. We have a list of names that I haven’t given to the police. Four I didn’t know about and two I had forgotten when I was telling the police. Also, we’ve remembered the names of a couple of the adults involved.”

I commented, “Looks like we’ve achieved a lot tonight and it’s time for bed.”

Jamie was more direct. “We need to have a shower together and tonight I’m sleeping with you again. The difference is that before it was you comforting me. Tonight, I’ll be comforting you. Oh, and Andre will be in the middle. He needs to know that he’s surrounded by love and support.”

So true.