The Boy on the Porch - 8. Depositions, and a Problem Appears

Greg showed up as promised at twelve-thirty Saturday afternoon. Lanny's mother was there a few minutes earlier to retrieve him. Then, they were on their way to the courthouse. They emptied their pockets, and stepped through the magnetometer. The guard directed them to the District Attorney's office, on the third floor. Once in the reception area, Brendan indicated they were meeting with ADA Martin Kaspar. They were told to have a seat, Mr. Kaspar would be with them momentarily.

Even though they were a few minutes early, Kaspar still came out to greet them almost immediately. Brendan made the introductions, and Kaspar led them all to his office.

"You can all wait in here. I see the kids all have a hand-held game to keep them occupied. Does anybody wish something to drink?"

They all declined. Kaspar continued, "Just ask my clerk in the outer office if you change your minds. Mr. Nelson, if you would follow me, please?"

"Of course."

Kaspar led them to small conference room and made more introductions.

"Brendan Nelson, I believe you know Jenny Smart, an associate of mine. As I told you on the phone, she'll be handling Mr. Taft's prosecution. We'll each be second chair for the other, since the two cases are linked. Over there is a court reporter, Joanne Fleming. We'll record these meetings as well, just so there's no confusion. We won't have many questions for you, obviously not being a direct victim, so this part will be short. Please respond with short, direct answers. If I need anything further, I'll ask you to expound on your answer. Anytime you need, feel free to go to the case there and get a cold water. Any questions before we start?"

"Do I get sworn in or something?"

"Yes. That's the first step, when we get started. Anything else?"

"No."

"Okay. You can ask for clarification at any time you need to. Let's get started. Joanne?"

"Ready."

Martin started his digital recorder, outlined who was present, and indicated the time and date. Brendan was sworn in and the questions began. The transcript beyond that step reads as follows:

MK: Mr. Nelson, when were you first made aware of the potential of criminal activity by your sister and brother-in-law?

BN: On Friday, August twenty-third.

MK: And what were the circumstances around that discovery? And exactly what transpired to cause you to involve the police?

BN: I came home from work to find a boy on my front porch. It was hot, and he was dressed in a number of layers of clothing, so I invited him into my house too cool off after asking his name, to which he simply said 'Nick.' I fed him dinner and over the course of the next hour or so, he described why he had left home. Do you need the details of what he said?

MK: No. We'll get those directly from him when the time comes. After you heard what happened, what did you do next?

BN: After he gave me some details, I phoned Child Protective Services and was met with a message to call back the next day.

MK: Where did Nick go with CPS being unresponsive?

BN: He stayed with me. I let him shower, gave him a T-shirt to sleep in, and made up a bed on my couch.

MK: And what happened when you called back?

BN: Saturday morning, I was told they were understaffed and I should call back on Monday unless the child was in immediate danger.

MK: What happened next?

BN: Nick asked if we could go swimming. It was hot, so we did that. I bought him a swim suit, a couple T-shirts, a couple pairs of underpants, since his got torn, and a booster seat.

MK: And after you returned home, did you continue to gather information from Nick?

BN: Yes. I asked a few questions and became aware that he was my nephew.

MK: You didn't know this at that time?

BN: No. I hadn't seen nor spoken to my sister in roughly ten years.

MK: Okay, you discovered he was your nephew, what happened then?"

BN: I prompted him for his phone number and called my sister.

MK: Okay, walk us through that conversation, please.

BN: At first, when I told her I had her son at my house, she denied having a son named Nick. After explaining what I knew, she indicated I must have her confused with someone else. I told her she could explain the situation to the cops and disconnected. She immediately called back. She said I couldn't call the cops for a couple different reasons, even after I confronted her with some of the things Nick told me she'd done. She tried to get me to not call the cops by playing the sister card. I told her she'd stopped being my sister ten years before and disconnected again. I didn't answer her next few calls. That's when I called the police.

MK: Thank you. I believe that's all we'll need from you. Jenny?

JS: Nothing here.

Brendan was asked to stay and Martin went to retrieve Nick. Nick recounted everything he'd told Brendan up to that point, including the time in the hole. Brendan had to prompt Martin to ask about what his father did to him, to get the kissing incident on record. Jenny made a note about that one item specifically. Next up, Martin went to retrieve Jill, so he could take a break from the questioning. Jenny would lead the next part of the session, after they all took a short break.

Once Jill was brought in, she had some misgivings about repeating what happened in front of Brendan. Ms. Smart said a parent or guardian had to be present during the questioning, and she muddled through. Another transcript follows:

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********** Warning, graphic descriptions of abuse. Skip to next set of asterisks if desired ****************
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JS: Thank you for being brave enough to do this in your Uncle's presence, Jill.

JT: You're welcome.

JS: I'll be referring to your conversations with Officer Case for most of my questions. So we'll start out with the first instance of your father abusing you. About how old were you when you first realized some of the things your father did were things he should not do?

JT: I think I was around eleven, maybe a little later.

JS: Do you believe there was an incident that started the abuse?

JT: I wouldn't say an incident, but when my breasts started getting more noticeable was the first time.

JS: And what did he do at that point?

JT: He started coming into my room at bedtime, to say goodnight. But he would tell me to remove my pajama top, rub my nipples and kiss me on the mouth.

JS: And did his actions escalate from there?

JT: Yes, after a couple months of that he would say I was pretty and ask me to remove my bottoms.

JS: And did you do that?

JT: Not right away. It wasn't until he told me that he would send me away to a girls school if I didn't. He also told me that it was normal for fathers to look at their daughters if they were as pretty as I was.

JS: Was there further escalation?

JT: After a few more months, he said I was growing up fast and I needed to learn how to let a man do more things to me. So he started rubbing my vagina. That didn't last too many days until he started licking it.

JS: And how long was he doing that?

JT: I'd have to say about six months.

JS: And did anything else happen after that?

JT: (After a long hesitation) He would rub his penis up against my vagina.

JS: Did he ever insert it into you?

JT: (Another long hesitation) Maybe once in a while it slipped in a little, but that was all.

JS: Was there more than that later?

JT: One time. He put his penis in my mouth once.

JS: Only once, why was that?

JT: He didn't do it again after I bit his penis.

JS: Did he do anything after you bit him?

JT: Yes. He was bleeding, so he punched me, hard, in the stomach right after that. Ever since then, he's stopped with the sexual stuff and just hits me.

JS: Where on your body does he hit you?

JT: Pretty much anywhere it wouldn't show. My stomach, chest, upper arms, lower back and buttocks.

JS: Why didn't you ever tell anybody about this?

JT: Dad said he would kill me if he even suspected I said anything.

JS: Finally, did he stop abusing you at some point in time?

JT: Yes, when they arrested the moth... arrested him.

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*********** Safe to read from here if you skipped *****************
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Jenny asked a lot of questions. She wouldn't find out until later; she didn't ask all the right ones.

Steven's interview covered all the things he had already told Brendan and the police, most specifically the sexual abuse, although he reiterated the fact that their father would hit them often. Apparently, Steve was kissed deeply by his father a lot too. He also repeated the death threats made to ensure their silence.

They finished at about five-thirty and decided to go straight to dinner. At dinner, Brendan complimented all three children on the great job they did speaking with the Attorneys. When they got back to the house, Brendan sent the kids in because Greg wanted to tell him something.

"What did you want to say?"

Greg took a few slow, deep breaths, "This is hard, so just let me get through this, okay?"

Worried, Brendan responded, "Yes, sure."

"The rumors about the retention bonus were confirmed yesterday. It's twice what the severance is. Four weeks per year of service. There's no way I can turn down sixty weeks of pay. I'm going to take the transfer."

"Yeah, I'd be hard pressed to do anything to counter that. So, we have until the end of the year?"

"Well, taking the transfer isn't all I wanted to say. I don't see the point in continuing a relationship that will end in about three months anyway. I have to say goodbye, Brendan. It will hurt even more to do it later."

Brendan was understandably speechless for a moment, but recovered, "Can't we talk about this a little more?"

"No, Brendan. I can't subject myself to a prolonged goodbye. I'd wake up every morning wondering if this was the day I'd tell you. I'd go to sleep every night regretting that I hadn't told you that day. You've known two days, and I've been torn up the entire time. I can't do that for three more months. Goodbye, Brendan."

Greg started to get out of the car. Brendan grabbed his arm, "Please, we have to talk about this more."

"No, Brendan. Please let go of my arm. I have to do it this way."

Brendan held on.

"Please, Brendan. This is hard enough, don't make it worse for me."

Brendan released Greg, "Goodbye, then, Greg."

Greg nodded and left. Brendan sat alone in his car for ten minutes more, crying. When he walked into the house, the tracks of his tears were evident. All three kids were in the living room, waiting. They'd heard Greg's car leave earlier, and looking at their uncle, were able to make a pretty good guess at what happened.

Ever the spokesperson, Jill asked the difficult question, "Are you okay?"

"No. Not really. I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late."

"We can talk if you want to."

Brendan just shook his head and went upstairs. A few minutes later, it sounded like a tornado appeared upstairs. Brendan was throwing anything that wasn't easily breakable around his room. When one very loud thud came, accompanied by an equally loud, angry scream, they ran up the stairs and knocked. Brendan didn't answer, so they opened the door to see Brendan, wearing only a pair of boxer briefs, banging his head against the wall, just above and to the left of a fist sized hole. Nick ran in front of Brendan, between him and the wall, pushing on his uncle's chest, hoping maybe he would stop. Jill and Steve each grabbed an arm gently and led him toward the bed. Brendan became a glob of silly putty and let them lead him to the bed to lie down. After a minute, he realized what had happened.

"I'm sorry guys. I wasn't expecting..."

"Shhh, it'll be okay, Uncle Brendan. Whatever it is, me and the boys are here for you. It's the least we can do after all you've done for us."

"Thanks. I just need to sleep. Getting blind-sided with a breakup takes a lot out of you."

"I b-b-bet p-punching a w-wall d-does, t-t-too."

Brendan looked up to see what Steve was talking about, "Oh, shit. I don't even remember doing that. I'll be okay guys. I just need to sleep."

Brendan closed his eyes. The children watched for a minute, but they quickly realized their uncle had, indeed, already fallen asleep. Jill pulled his blanket over him. Fortunately, in one sense, the sleepover Nick had initially planned fell through. Otherwise it would have taken a last-minute call to tell his new friend not to come over.

Brendan woke up early Sunday morning with a stress induced headache. Or perhaps it was due to him banging his head on the wall the previous evening. He ambled slowly into his bathroom and took a few Tylenols. He knew two wouldn't cut it, and hoped four was still safe. He slowly made his way down to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. He was surprised when all three kids were there. Jill was scrambling eggs and cooking sausage links. Steve had started the coffee and was pouring juice, and Nick was setting the table.

“What’s this?”

Jill replied, “You seemed like you needed a break last night. We started when we heard you moving.”

“Thanks. Yesterday was a tough day. For all of us, really.”

“B-but it wa-was harder f-for you.”

“Yes, it was, but I’m getting through it. Like anything else, it just takes time.”

Nick asked, "So, Mr. Ward doesn't want you anymore?"

Brendan looked around the room, seeing three concerned faces, he decided to open up. He really hadn't planned on sharing details with the kids. He felt if he was open with them about everything, they'd be more willing to share when he needed them to.

"It's not exactly that. He decided to stay with the job and move. But he didn't want to spend the next three months agonizing about the impending breakup. He felt he needed to cut ties now. I can see his point, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

Nick didn't understand, "You mean he hit you?"

Brendan put his hand on Nick's chest, "No. It hurts inside here. Think of how alone you felt when your parents told you to leave. Hurt can be both physical, and emotional."

"I was sad, and angry, but yeah, I felt bad."

"Exactly."

"You're a great guy, Uncle Brendan. You'll find someone else. I think Greg made a mistake. I bet he'll regret this down the road sometime."

"Thanks, Jill. Right now, though, I don't need anyone else. You three are enough for me right now. I can give you all of my love."

"And w-we'll g-give ours b-b-back."

"Thanks, Steve. Did someone say something about food?"

"Coming right up, U.B."

"U.B., Jill?"

"Uncle Brendan takes too long to say. That and it's easier for Steve."

Steve agreed, "U.B., U.B., U.B."

Brendan laughed, "Thanks. I needed that."

They sat down, Jill said grace, thanking God not only for the food, but also for helping Nick find their uncle exactly when he was needed. Brendan needed to wipe away a tear when Jill finished.

When they all finished eating, Brendan decided they all needed an escape. It was a two-hour drive, but he thought it was a good idea.

"So, how would you all feel about a road trip today?"

"Where?"

"Nowhere, if you don't want to go, Nick."

"Will it be fun?"

"I'm going to have to say... Yes."

They all agreed a road trip was a great idea.

"Okay. I need to make sure we can do what I'm thinking. I'll run up to my office, it'll be easier to search this out on my laptop. Clean this all up and I'll be back down in a few."

Brendan checked the place's website, saw they could get there early enough to make it worthwhile, being open until eight PM, and booked four day-passes at Great Wolf Lodge. He headed back downstairs to share the news. Well, some of it.

"Okay, we're booked. Everybody, grab your bathing suits and a towel so we can hit the road right away."

"Are we going to the Aquatic Center again?"

"Not exactly, Nick. At least not the one in town."

"Should we wear our suits?"

"It's about a two-hour drive. I think you'll be more comfortable in clothes. Especially on the way home later."

"You're n-n-not t-telling us wa-where f-f-first, are you?"

"Nope. It will be a surprise. But I can guarantee you'll love it."

Everybody grabbed their suits and a towel and they were off to LaGrange. No, not ZZ Top's LaGrange. LaGrange, Georgia. Brendan brought up another item on the ride.

"I'm curious. Your parents treated you awful at times, but yet you say grace. It's hard to believe they were religious enough to do that."

"They were constantly quoting bible verses that sometimes seemed to conflict with being good Christians, like 'Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.' Another common one was 'Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.' They took some of those verses to extremes."

"Another wa-one was ‘Honor your f-f-father and m-mother.’"

Nick contributed, "I think the one we heard most, was 'Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.'"

"True. But this one accompanied a beating pretty often, 'Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.'"

"Ya-yeah. We h-heard th-that one a l-lot t-too."

"Did you ever hear any that praised children?"

"We didn't think there were any, at least not as far as they were concerned."

"Wow. I loathe my sister more and more every time I hear more about her."

"Why do you love your sister more?"

"No Nick. Loathe. I guess it's a nicer way of saying hate."

"Oh. I loathe my parents then."

"As true as that may be Nick, it's still not a nice thing to say. Without your parents, you wouldn't be here."

"Th-that's f-f-for sure. We'd n-n-never know you if th-they tr-tr-treated us ru-ru-right."

"Not exactly what I meant, Steve, but you do have a point. Okay. On to more pleasant things. When we get to the water park, there will be rides that Nick won't be able to go on. I won't stop you, Jill and Steve, from going on them, but there may be some rides he likes that maybe you think are too slow, or boring. You'll have some freedom, but I expect you to accompany him on at least some of those. And when he and I aren't riding with you, you stay together. Understand?"

"Yes, U.B."

"I'm going to have to get used to that. Steve?"

"I'll s-s-stay with J-Jill."

"Great."

They all had a good time at the water park. Brendan didn't even have to work hard to convince then to leave an hour or so before closing, since they were all tired. School came early the next morning.

Next Up - “A Return to Normalcy, a Change, and Discussions”