The Boy on the Porch - 15. Ups and Downs

Brendan didn’t have to worry about what to do for Christmas. His company always had a Christmas Eve dinner for the employees and their “families.” Significant others were welcome. The past two years it had just been him and Greg. This year there will be five. Two weeks before Christmas, he went to sign up for the party. The administrative assistant for the President and CEO wasn’t someone he interacted with much. But she did remember him from years past.

“Hello, Mr. Nelson, RSVP’ing for the Christmas party I assume? Your usual two?”

“No Annie, it will be five this year.”

“Five? You do know the dinner is just for families, don’t you?”

“I do. As of Christmas Day, I will have been guardian for a niece and two nephews for four months.”

Annie insisted on pulling up his personnel record before she gave him the five tickets.

“Taft. Oh, my. That was your sister?”

“Technically still is, although it’s doubtful she’ll ever wake up.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that. The children must have been devastated. What are their ages?”

Brendan modified her verb, “Yes, they were traumatized. Fifteen, thirteen, and eight.”

“Okay, you’re all set to go. Here are your tickets. See you there.”

“Thank you.”

Mid-afternoon on the Friday before Christmas arrived with a disturbing phone call. Apparently, the hospital had gotten Brendan’s name attached to Kathy’s record as a secondary contact. Abel was primary, but he was still in jail with a wired jaw.

“Hello?”

“Brendan Nelson?”

“Yes.”

“This is Doctor Daniel Carter over at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.”

Brendan was a little confused about the call, “Hello, Dr. Carter. What can I do for you?”

“I’m calling to tell you some news about your sister, Kathy Taft.”

Brendan assumed the worst, “Okay.”

“She woke up a short time ago.”

Brendan was shocked, exclaiming, “What? I thought she was never expected to.”

“It surprised all of us as well. But she’s awake. I’m sorry to say that’s really the extent of the news. She can’t move on her own and can’t communicate. Honestly, I’m not sure that she wasn’t better off in the coma. She’s aware, and reflexively responds to stimuli. About all she can do, though, is blink and move her eyes.”

“That does sound worse.”

“I understand the friction between the two of you, but it would give us some idea of the depth of her cognitive abilities if we can gage her reactions if she saw you.”

“Wow. Yeah, I guess that’s the humane thing to do. I suppose I can come by later, after work.”

“The staff and I would appreciate that, Mr. Nelson. I’ll stay a little later than usual. Just have a nurse page me when you arrive.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you later. Bye.”

Brendan needed some time to digest the news. Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to get it. The kids were all about to arrive home starting in less than ten minutes. Once they all arrived, Brendan sat them down to talk.

“I have some news about your mother.”

It was obvious the kids assumed the worst as well. Even though there wasn’t much love left for her, if any, they still appeared sad.

“She woke up today.”

Not completely unexpected, they were all stunned speechless for a moment. Jill reacted first.

"How awake?"

"If you were a witch, your spell would have worked. She's awake, but that's really it. The doctor says all she can do blink and move her eyes.”

"Do they think she'll recover m-more?"

"The doctor wants me to come in, to see if she recognizes me and to get some idea of what she realizes, if anything."

"Are you going?"

"I think I have to, Jill. If for no other reason than to help the doctors know where she stands."

She continued, "When are you going?"

"I have a little more work to finish up, then I'll head over. I'll come back and we'll go out to get something to eat since I won't be able to make anything."

None of them asked to go along. Brendan got to the hospital and the nurse paged Dr. Carter. They walked into the room together.

"Just go stand in her field of vision first."

Brendan did so. There was no reaction. The doctor suggested he say her name. After Brendan did, her eyes shifted slightly to look directly at him. The doctor started asking questions.

"Kathy, if you see Brendan, blink twice."

She blinked twice.

"If you remember who he is, blink twice."

She didn't blink.

"He's your brother, does that help? Again, blink twice."

Still no blinks.

After a few more questions, with no real recognition of anything around her, the doctor thanked Brendan, and they left. She may have been awake, but it didn't seem like she had any idea about what was going on around her. Probably a good thing, but even being awake and self-aware would still be hell for her as long as she lived.

The holidays passed quietly; Brendan's new extended family had a good time at the Christmas Eve dinner. There were about a dozen other children of mixed ages present, so his had something to keep them occupied. All the kids present got a twenty-five-dollar Amazon gift card. The spouses or significant others each got a fifty-dollar Darden restaurants gift card. Skylar said he'd take everyone to Cheddar's with it. Brendan got his annual bonus. The company had a good year. A nine-thousand dollar, before taxes, deposit would be going into his account on Thursday the twenty-sixth. If the monthly bills became tight, he had a bigger bankroll to draw from.

The five of them spent a quiet night at home for New Year's Eve. After hearing about Jill's horrendous night exactly three years earlier, he didn't think going out and leaving her in charge on the anniversary of that day would be a good idea.

Steve had a few friends over for his birthday on the fifteenth of February. His stuttering was almost completely gone by then, making his social universe quite a bit wider. Nervousness still generated the occasional stutter, but his sunny day situation was clear speech.

Brendan was notified of Abel's trial date being rescheduled for April fourteenth. He received a call from Abel's lawyer two weeks before that. Obviously, Brendan didn't recognize the phone number.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Nelson?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Hi, it's Julian Langston, Abel Taft's lawyer."

Concerned, Brendan said hesitantly, "Yes?"

"Your brother-in-law has asked if you would come and visit him."

"I think you can tell Mr. Taft that I have no interest in seeing him."

"He assumed you would feel that way. He wants to talk to you about some items that could aid in the children's care."

"Him being put away forever is all the help they need from him. If there's nothing else..."

"Wait, Mr. Nelson. He apparently has some investments that he wants to put you in control of."

"Investments? I'm sure whatever he's got socked away was gotten illegally. I don't want any part of it."

"I can assure you, Brendan, if I may be so familiar, that none of his finances have been acquired through illegal means. His parents were quite well-off. His portfolio was inherited."

"Yeah, Brendan's fine. You can prove that? I don't want to have anything to do with anything that even hinted at being illegal."

"Yes. I can provide proof if you require it. Can I tell him you will come talk to him? It's not a long trip for you. He's at the Hall County Correctional Institution. It's in town."

"Okay. I'll visit. I don't know any of the rules or regulations. When could I do this? What are the restrictions, whatever?"

"If you give me your email address, I can send you a couple links. But it's Saturdays and Sundays between nine AM and one PM."

Brendan shared his email address, "You can tell him I'll be there this Saturday, probably around ten o'clock."

"Thank you, Brendan."

"You're welcome. If this didn't benefit the kids, I wouldn't be coming."

"I understand that. Bye."

"Bye."

Brendan disconnected, "Fuck!"

That was said a little too loudly. Three kids came running, Steve asked, "Are you okay?"

"Okay is relative. Your father wants me to visit. Apparently, he has some investments he wants me to control for you guys."

Jill was incredulous, "Investments? He always acted like he never had a penny to spare."

"His lawyer claimed there was something. It wouldn't surprise me if it was only a couple hundred dollars, and he wants something from me."

Brendan would find out the amount was wrong. Abel wasn't very wealthy, but the value was still quite a bit more than that. Brendan read the rules, filled out the appropriate forms and headed to the facility Saturday morning. After going through security, he was shown to the visitation area. Abel arrived a couple minutes later.

Abel reached out to shake hands, Brendan didn't accommodate him, "Okay, I guess I should have expected that. Thanks for coming."

"I won't say you're welcome until I know that discussing these investments wasn't some kind of ruse just to get me here."

"No. The investments are real. I know I'll be spending the rest of my life here, so they aren't going to do me any good. I've screwed things up enough for the kids, I may as well let you have the money to use for them."

"How generous of you."

"Take your shots, Brendan. I deserve anything you throw at me. I wouldn't be going to trial if there wasn't the slimmest hope that I can be acquitted of at least some of the crimes I've been charged with, and maybe get out at some point."

"I don't think murder comes with that possibility."

"I'm sure you won't believe me, but that was Kathy's doing."

"Didn't you bury Joey?"

"You know I can't answer that."

"Fine. Whatever. What are these, so called, investments?"

"My father owned nearly an acre of land on Tybee Island. It's currently listed for three-hundred-ninety-nine thousand dollars. The house in Gainesville is paid for, but I fully expect the state or whomever to take hold of that if I'm convicted. But if not, it's worth another two hundred plus thousand. Bank accounts and the like, another couple thousand."

"Why would they take the house?"

"I can't answer that, either."

"So, basically four-hundred thousand?"

"Pretty much. It's not enough to retire on, but maybe you can use it for the kids' educations. Will you take those?"

"Once I have proof from the lawyer there's nothing even close to illegal about them, yes, I will. For the kids. Personally, I don't want anything of yours except a death certificate."

Abel flinched at that last, "Again, I guess I deserved that. I'll tell Julian to get you the paperwork. I do have one more request."

"You can ask, I'm not guaranteeing anything."

"Can you bring the children to visit?"

Brendan stared at Abel, shook his head in disgust, stood up, and walked away.

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

"Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. All rise. District court for Hall County, Georgia is now in session, the Honorable Judge William C. Carpenter presiding. The case is the state of Georgia versus Abel Taft."

"You may be seated... Ms. Smart, are you ready with your opening arguments?"

"I am, Your Honor."

"Please proceed."

"Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you see before you a man accused of quite a few crimes. They include aggravated child molestation, statutory rape, aggravated sexual assault, enticing a child for indecent purposes, kidnapping, four counts of cruelty to children, and one count of murder in the first-degree. Let me repeat and define that last. Murder in the first-degree. In Georgia, first-degree murder, also known as malice murder, is the most serious category of murder and is defined as a premeditated or intentional killing that is committed by a malicious act intended to cause death. It's usually a result of direct malice and is typically penalized more harshly than felony murder.

“A charge of accessory to murder in the first-degree is included as a secondary charge, because the defense will argue that the defendant did not take an active role in that murder.

"In addition to the other charges, the defendant had allegedly taken the victim, Joey Keys, who at the time was only ten years old, from his home in Newberry, South Carolina, bringing him to Georgia, bludgeoning him to the brink of death, and burying him alive in his back yard. I'll repeat allegedly one more time, so Mr. Langston doesn't have cause to object. Allegedly. buried. him. alive.

"The state asks you to find the defendant, Abel Cain Taft, guilty of malice murder, and all the rest of what he is accused of. As you were informed at jury selection, this is a capital case. A guilty murder verdict comes with it a sentence of death. You are legally bound, if the evidence warrants it, to find him guilty, and sentence him to death. Thank you."

"Mr. Langston?"

"Thank you, Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there's no excusing Mr. Taft from some of these crimes. However, for the most severe charge, murder, he was an unwitting accomplice. The prosecution has no proof that Mr. Taft either bludgeoned the victim or performed the burial which eventually led to the victim's death. Those actions were the sole responsibility of his wife, as were most of the other alleged crimes. You are required to only find the defendant guilty of any of these charges if you feel he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Reasonable doubt runs rampant in the prosecution's case for nearly all of these charges. Do the right thing and only convict him if reasonable doubt doesn't exist. Thank you."

"Thank you both. Ms. Smart, please call your first witness."

"The prosecution calls Detective Jerome Taos."

Taos is sworn in, and the meat of the murder case is presented.

"Detective Taos, were you involved with every step of the investigation into the charges made against the defendant?"

"I was."

"We'll cover the most severe charge first. In relation to the first-degree murder of Joey Keys, what evidence was found?"

"On the morning of Tuesday, October twenty-second of last year, the partially decomposed body of Joey Keys was found in the defendant's back yard. Two pieces of conclusive evidence were found. Firstly, the victim was bound in two pairs of handcuffs. The pair which bound Joey's ankles contained only Mr. Taft's fingerprints. Regardless of what Mr. Langston wants you to believe, only Mr. Taft's fingerprints were found on these handcuffs. His wife's were not. His wife's were found on the other pair which bound the wrists. His wife's fingerprints were not found on the pair used at the ankles. Secondly, a shovel found in the defendant's garage also contained only the defendant's fingerprints."

"Can you explain how Mr. Taft's fingerprints were found on those handcuffs if he didn't actually place them on Joey's ankles?"

"That would not be possible. Either someone else's prints, or no prints at all would be found if Mr. Taft didn't attach those cuffs to Joey."

"What material was the shovel made from?"

"A variety. The shaft itself was wood, specifically ash. The handle was ash and steel. The blade was steel."

"And where exactly were the defendant's fingerprints found on said shovel?"

"At the tip of the blade, on the handle, and numerous places along the shaft."

"Are viable fingerprints retrievable from all those materials?"

"They are."

"On to the kidnapping charge, is there any way that Joey could have been transported into Georgia without Mr. Taft's knowledge?"

"No, for two reasons. Because bruises on Joey's body were found that matched Mr. Taft's hand structure. We believe that the force of lifting and carrying a struggling Joey Keys proves that Mr. Taft had some interaction with a conscious victim. Secondly, they moved themselves, however Joey was transported could not have been missed by the defendant."

"Thank you. I will save Mr. Langston the trouble of asking this question. With respect to all the charges related to the abuse of his children, did you yourself or the police in general find any evidence which would prove Mr. Taft's involvement?"

"No, that evidence was presented by doctors and the victims."

"Thank you. Nothing further at this time. The prosecution reserves the right to recall Detective Taos again, if it is found to be necessary."

"Agreed. Your witness, Mr. Langston."

"Thank you, Your Honor. Detective Taos, if Mr. Taft purchased the handcuffs and never touched them after that point. Would his prints still be present?"

"Yes."

"If Mrs. Taft later used gloves to put those handcuffs on the victim, would Mr. Taft's still be the only prints present?"

"Yes, that would be true."

"If Mrs. Taft used one pair of handcuffs, say for sexual purposes, and Mr. Taft used the other for that same purpose, would that explain the fact that each pair only contained the fingerprints they did if Mrs. Taft used gloves during the burial?"

"That would explain the scenario."

"Is it possible that some other man caused those bruises to be present on the victim's body, say for example Mr. Keys?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"If those bruises were caused by this other man, would they still be present, say two or three days later when death occurred?"

"I'm not a doctor, but my experience tells me that they would."

"Similarly, with the shovel. If Mr. Taft used the shovel for a traditional purpose, and Mrs. Taft used it to bury the victim wearing gloves, would that explain why only his prints were found?"

Taos squirmed a bit, "Yes."

"Nothing further."

"Redirect?"

"No, Your Honor."

Call your next witness, please."

"The prosecution calls Jill Taft."

Even though her testimony against her mother was supposed to be limited to only certain parties, the fact she gave it was discovered, so the anonymity of a minor was no longer necessary. Regardless, Jill had decided she wanted to face her father when she testified against him. There was nothing more she could hide.

Next Up - “Jill Helps Figuratively Bury Her Dad”