The Boy on the Porch - 4. Things Move Fast

After a long lunch, allowing the boys some time in the play area, Brendan took the kids to look at the house. It was roughly halfway between his and the kids’ house. One thing he wondered about was how Nick could run, and walk, for most of two days between the two houses. It would probably have taken him less than two hours. When he asked Nick about it, Nick simply said he walked around in circles a lot. Further interrogation would wait, but Brendan thought it was more than that.

The house they looked at was just inside the school district where the older two children would be going to school the following school year. Fortunately for Steve, it was the same school he went to the previous year. Jill and Nick, however would need to change schools. Not ideal, but finding something close to their old schools would have been difficult. Or so he thought.

While the house they looked at could have worked, it needed a little more attention than Brendan thought a house at that price point would need. That, and he wasn’t looking forward to doing all that work, not being tremendously handy. Oh, he could change out a toilet and patch a hole in drywall, but much more than that would be a challenge. This house needed much more than that. He discussed his concerns with the agent. She indicated there was another house in the area of the kids' high school and the middle school that would probably meet their needs. It wasn’t empty, since the sellers couldn’t take everything, due to downsizing, but it was vacant and the sellers seemed anxious to unload it, having just dropped the price fifteen thousand dollars. Since it wasn’t inhabited, they could see it right away.

This one raised Brendan’s curiosity level up. After walking through, he had to ask the agent a question.

“This one is in better shape than the last, and it’s bigger. Why is it almost the same price?”

“The sellers don’t owe much on it, having been here a long time. And the listing agreement has some, let’s say unusual, conditions. For example, the buyers must have at least one child in school. They also want it to go to someone who really needs it. It's been hard to find a buyer who meets those qualifications. Knowing what you’ve told me, I believe they would accept an offer from you.”

“We definitely have some differences from typical buyers, that’s for sure. So, at the moment, there’s no competition?”

“No, but considering they just dropped the price on Friday, I wouldn’t suggest undercutting it by much.”

“My brother is actually providing the financing, so from the seller’s perspective it will be a cash sale. And since they’re no longer living here, we’d be willing to pay generously to rent it until the closing. Of course, it’s not only my decision. Kids?”

They answered in descending age order, “I think it’s great.”

“M-m-me t-t-too.”

“I didn’t like the kids at my old school much anyway, so moving here would solve that.”

“There you have it. I’ll give my brother a call with the particulars when we get back to my house. He’ll give you a call, maybe later, but probably tomorrow to talk numbers.”

“That’s great. I think you’re a perfect match for what the sellers are looking for.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in touch tomorrow as well. Bye.”

On the way ‘home’ they discussed it a little more.

“I like that we’ll all have our own bedrooms. Not that I don’t like sharing with you, Steve. But I know you want privacy sometimes.”

“Th-thanks, Nick.”

“I like that I can have my own bathroom, too.”

“Something a teen aged girl probably needs. With six bedrooms, I get a master suite and still have an office. That third floor room will be perfect.”

“Except no bathroom up there.”

“I don’t mind climbing steps, Jill. So, it sounds like we go for it?”

Yeses all around. Once they got to Brendan’s house, he put together an email to Rich with all the details about the house, the information for the agent they were working with, and a note about the recently dropped price. Then he called.

“Hey Brendan. What’s the scoop?”

“I just sent you an email with all the details, but there was one question I had.”

“Shoot.”

“Usually when the down-payment is less than twenty percent, you have to pay mortgage insurance. That might make buying this house tight.”

“Well, you’re not dealing with a bank, so that rule doesn’t apply. To protect my investment, I was thinking about taking out a life insurance policy for you. A small monthly amount to me, relatively, could be a little much for you. Since I’ll be the beneficiary, God forbid, I have my money back, and still have the house as an investment. But you should have no problem living beyond the time the kids grow up. Then when we’re old and gray, well, whatever happens, happens.”

“Gee, thanks for letting me live a long life, hehe. Okay, so the typical three or four hundred dollar PMI, wouldn’t apply.”

“Keerect! Looking at the numbers, through a bank, I’d guess it’d be three hundred sixty-five. What’s your upper limit for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance?”

“I can swallow fifteen hundred easily. I’m thinking seventeen hundred for the max.”

“That’d be doable if we write it for thirty years, no prepayment penalty obviously.”

“Sounds good, Rich.”

“Great, I’ll call this Ellen now and start the ball rolling. Did you mention the possibility of renting temporarily?”

“Yes. The current owners have already moved out, and left some furniture. Once we move my furniture and the kid’s bedroom sets in, it’ll be useful enough to start. With miscellaneous appliances as well, like TVs.”

“Cool. Let me get started on the paperwork and I’ll talk to you tomorrow sometime.”

“Great. Thanks a lot for doing this.”

“Happy to help. Like you said, we’re doing it for the kids.”

The kids overheard. Apparently, their mom wasn't too forthcoming with details about her brothers.

"Wa-what d-d-does Unnn-c-cle R-rich d-d-do?"

"Your mom never mentioned it?"

Jill answered that one, "No. She never talked about either of you."

"I guess I'm not surprised. Your Uncle is a relief pitcher for the Braves. They're on a long home stand right now, so he has a little time to handle all of this for us."

"C-c-cool. C-can wa-we go see a g-g-game s-some-t-t-time?"

"Sure. Jill, would you be interested, too?"

"Yeah. It'd be nice to learn about baseball. There's this guy at sch... Oh."

"It's okay. You're allowed to talk about boys."

"Dad never wanted to hear it. He didn't want me to date. He wanted... Never mind."

Brendan knew there was more going on there than met the eye, but didn't push. She'll share what she wants to, and anything too awful, she'll likely be sharing with the cops and/or CPS.

"Nick?"

"Yeah!"

"Since we'll be running back and forth between here and the motel for the foreseeable future, I'll see about getting tickets this week. It'll be a nice break for us."

They left to check into the motel and get dinner. Brendan and the boys took the room with two queen beds, Jill got the adjoining room with one queen. They gathered in the boy's room to watch some TV, before hitting the hay.

"We'll leave the door on this side unlocked, Jill, in case you need anything. But just in case of an emergency, would you leave your side unlocked too?"

"You're not going to sneak in and watch me or anything, will you Uncle Brendan?"

"Never. Nick already heard this, and it's the reason your mom hated me, but I'm gay. And even if I wasn't. I'd never do anything like that to a young woman or child. Those people should be strung up by their balls and slowly be whipped to death. Pardon the crudeness."

"I guess that explains her attitude toward you. Her and dad have made comments about gay men, none of them good."

"Sh-sh-she c-called th-them f-f-f-fucking p-pervs."

"I know you were just quoting your mother, Steve, but that language isn't necessary, okay?"

"S-sorry."

"No harm done. And especially in front of Ni... Well, you get a pass on that one tonight, looks like he fell asleep already."

With that, the rest of them got ready for bed, turned the lights out and slept in their temporary home.

**********************************

Monday

The next morning, after another breakfast out, they went back to Brendan's house. Brendan had forgotten to call his landlord to give him a head's up about possibly moving out soon. After talking to him, Brendan was happy he was reasonable, he'd have to pay next month's rent regardless, but since the lease was just renewed in May, he could have been stuck with nine months. He also called his boss and provided a summary of what was going on. The boss was fine with him taking a couple days off. A little later, he called the real estate agent to see if she knew anything yet.

"Hello, Century twenty-one, Ellen Walsh speaking."

"Hi Ellen. Brendan Nelson. How are you doing today?"

"Excellent. I spoke to Richard last night, and called the owners a little while ago. I explained your situation, the desire to rent sooner, and your brother's offer. They agreed verbally. I've been putting the paperwork together, I should have everything to you in another hour or so for your e-signatures. Then I'll send it to them. I'll also work on a rental agreement for the interim."

"That's awesome. Any idea when we could move in?"

"Since Sunday's the first, I'm going to set the rental to begin then. Unless you want me to try for sooner?"

"Saturday would be better, at least to get in and start bringing in our furniture. I need to arrange for movers. The kids' house is probably locked up tight right now, so I'll need to go through the Sheriff's department to get their furniture out. A few days lead time can't hurt. Or if one or both of their parents are out on bail... Hmm, I should call the detectives about that, maybe I won't need the sheriff."

"Saturday's fine, since it'll be week-to-week, the start date isn't all that important. Sounds like there's more to your story than you told me yesterday."

"Yes, there is. I'll fill you in when we get the keys for the rental."

"I'm looking forward to it. Okay, let me finish all this paperwork, and you should have it in no more than a couple hours."

"Thanks, Ellen. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Brendan."

"Hey kids!"

They came running up to his office, a chorus of "Yeahs" followed.

"The owners verbally accepted the offer. I'll be getting the paperwork to sign today, hopefully we can start moving things in on Saturday."

Triple "Awesomes" on that one.

"Okay, I need to call the Detectives about your parents. If neither got bail, I'll have to go through the Sheriff's department to get into your house."

Jill queried, "Can we stay and listen while you do that?"

"I don't see why not."

Brendan called the detectives to get the status.

"Ah, hello Brendan. You were on my list to call. I have good news and bad news."

"Should I take you off speaker? The kids are listening in."

"No. I think you'd be telling them anyway. The good news is, their father didn't get bail, mostly due to the felony charges. I won't say what they are to protect Jill's privacy. So he'll be locked up until the trial."

"That's the good news."

"Right. The bad news is their mother did and she petitioned to have the kids returned to her."

"Can she do that?"

"She can, but that will be up to Child Services to determine. I will say, the case against her is a lot weaker. Unless the kids can share more than they did yesterday, she may not go to jail at all."

"Oh, no. Let me talk to them each alone. If there is anything else, we'll come by and sign whatever we need to."

"We should be here, unless we get another assignment, but you can call one of our cell phones, and we'll meet you back here as soon as we can."

"Thanks detective. Bye."

"Bye. Mr. Nelson."

"You heard me. First, I'll simply ask if there's anything your mother may have done you didn't tell the cops yesterday. Just yes or no."

Jill said, "I'm pretty sure I covered it all. I had to wait for a female cop to tell some of it."

"I get it. Like I said before, you don't need to tell me, but it will almost definitely come out prepping for the trial."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe by then it will be easier to say."

"Steve?"

"Um, I g-g-guess s-so."

"Okay, Nick?"

"I didn't tell the cops anything."

"Was there anything else other than what you told me and I passed on to the cops?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Jill, you go ahead downstairs with Nick and I'll talk to Steve first."

They left, and Brendan started the audio recorder on his PC, "Brendan Nelson with my nephew Steven Taft, August twenty-sixth, two-thousand-twenty-four, eleven-ten AM. I hope that's sufficient for evidence. Steven, are you okay with me recording this?"

"Yes."

"What else did your mother do that you hadn't already told the police Steve? Now remember, I don't know anything, so if you repeat some things, that's okay."

"Okay. I t-t-told you d-d-dad wa-wa-wa-would slap m-me on th-the head.'

"Did you tell the police exactly what you told me?"

"The only th-thing m-more wa-wa-was that it's a b-b-big ring."

"Okay, take your time. More so about your mom though. It sounds like your dad did enough to Jill to warrant him staying in jail."

"O-o-kay. I said sh-she would hit m-me f-f-f-for no-oo reason, b-but I di-didn't say sh-she wa-would hold me b-by m-m-my hair when sh-she hit m-me. Usually p-p-pulling s-some out."

"Okay, that will help. Anything else?"

Steve looked toward the floor.

"Something embarrassing?"

"Ya-yeah. Sh-she wa-would m-m-make m-me l-l-lick her, b-b-between her l-l-legs."

"And would she do the same to you?"

"K-k-kind of. Sh-she p-p-put it in h-her m-mouth."

"I hate to ask this, but is there more?"

"Sh-sh-she made m-m-me p-p-put it i-iiiin her, d-d-down th-there."

Brendan thought to himself, 'Fuck jail, maybe I should just go over there and kill her.'

"Anything else?" 'God, I hope not.'

Steve shook his head no.

"Steven indicated there was not. Okay. Thanks, you're going to have to tell the police that."

Steve nodded, resigned, and said, "K."

"Go tell Nick to come back up."

Brendan stopped the recording. When Nick arrived he made a similar announcement and asked, "Is there anything else your mother did that you didn't mention to me?"

"Yeah, one thing."

Brendan assumed the worst, "What was it?"

"One time I broke something she said was real valuable. She said something like, 'I don't know what I'm going to do with you.' But she figured it out pretty quick. She put me in the hole for three days."

"The hole?"

"Yeah, there's kind of a room, it's dark because it's underground, in the back yard, she made me go in there and pulled out the ladder and closed the top so I couldn't get out."

"Did you have anything to eat or drink while you were down there?"

"Not after I finished the couple mouthfuls of water that was already down there... I was really thirsty, I had to..."

"It's okay, Nick. Whatever it was, you didn't do anything wrong."

"I peed in the bottle, and..."

"I get it, you don't have to say it."

"Drank it."

"Nothing else?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Okay. You did good. Thank you."

He stopped the recording. "Go ahead and go back down with your brother and sister while I call the detectives back."

"Detective Taos. How can I help you?"

"Hi Detective. It's Brendan Nelson again. You can go lock my sister up and throw away the key."

"Uh oh." To his partner, "Pick up on two Dan... Okay, go ahead."

"She molested Steven and locked, no, Nick just said put him, in a hole in the back yard for three days with no food and water."

"Those are definitely new charges. We'll get a warrant and go pick her up. To her own kids. I can't believe it. Oh, I mean, I believe you, I just can't believe a woman would do those things to her own kids. But it's not the first time ever, and unfortunately, it won't be the last. Thanks for letting us know."

"You're welcome. Obviously I didn't want to have to do it. Oh, I recorded the boys saying those things, do you want the recordings?

"Yes, definitely, you have my card, send it to my email, please."

"Will do."

Brendan grabbed four towels and went back downstairs and told the kids, "You all did great. I think you deserve a reward, we'll stop back at the motel so you all can pick up bathing suits. Wait, did you pack any?"

Kids, leaving the house to stay somewhere else, maybe that even had a pool, for some unknown number of days? Of course, they responded yes, Nick indicating his was still here at the house. They stopped by the motel's pool, saw that it was closed, and headed back to the Aquatic Center. Like Saturday, with Nick, they grabbed a quick bite to eat there. While the kids were playing in the pool, Brendan checked his phone, saw the offer email from Ellen, and read through it. Everything looked okay, so he clicked the link to sign it, created an account on that website, and signed away.

Next Up - “More Charges, and Moving Day”