CHAPTER 22
Breakfast was consumed in silence. We were all trying to come to terms with the last 24 hours. Afterwards, the kids cleaned up while Steve and I talked. He told me that he had talked to the detectives handling the case and that they would be over sometime this afternoon to take my statement. There was something in Steve’s tone I did not like. He did not come out and say it but it seemed to me that he was not happy to learn that this guy was handling the case. I started to confront him about it but realized that if he wanted me to know he would have told me. However I made a mental note to keep an eye on him. If there was a professional reason for him not to be on the case I was sure that Steve would tell me. If it was personal between them I hoped they would keep it between themselves.
After we talked I went back and washed up the best I could with a washcloth. Dressing was an adventure with my arm and ribs but I eventually got the hang of it. It was about 2 hours later that the detectives arrived to interview me. Their names were Jim Simmons and Randy Keys. Detective Simmons was obviously in charge of the investigation as he did almost all the talking.
The interview lasted about half an hour and they were particularly interested in my confrontation with the preacher from the park. That is when I finally found out what his real name was. I had called him Preacher just like everybody else in town did. It turned out that his real name was Franklin Smith. A very ordinary name for someone who well might have tried to kill me. I could not give them much information about the shooting as my back was turned to the window it when it broke. I instinctively turned when I heard the sound of the glass shattering. Then before I had time to think I heard the shot and felt the bullet tug at my arm. It all had happened so fast that it was one big blur the sound the shot and me diving to the floor. I had been too busy diving to the floor to see anything. They did tell me that one of our neighbors had seen a van pull up and park in front of the store a few minutes before the shooting. However she could not say if it was there when the shot was fired. By the time she had gone to her door to find out what had happened it was already gone. Unfortunately nobody they had interviewed had remembered any other details. They thanked me for my information and told me that they would keep me posted on any new developments. Then they headed out the door with Steve. It was about ten minutes before Steve came back in. When he did he looked worried and I asked him. “What’s wrong Steve?”
He frowned and hesitated for a moment before he said, “The lead detective Jim Simmons has a reputation for tough but very thorough. His partner however…” I could see that he was hesitant to say more, but this was too important to let go so I said, “Steve what ever you tell me stays here but I need to know if there is a reason to be concerned about him.”
“I know Joe. I did not know that Simmons was paired with Randy Keys When Timmy came out it took everything I had not to punch out that little slime ball. He was making all kinds of comments about Timmy to other people. Of course he did not say them to my face. He is one of the most homophobic guys on the force. He has been reprimanded twice for harassing gays. There was even a law suite filed against the city because of his actions. All they did was give him a slap on the wrist and force him to take sensitivity training. The second time they gave him a formal reprimand that is in his permanent record. If he screws up again he is going to be fired. So hopefully he will be smart enough to keep his nose clean.
The sad thing is that a lot of the other officers made comments about Timmy as well. All that died down eventually but it left me with a whole new outlook on some of my fellow officers. Keys was and is still the worst of the bunch and he has never made a secret of his dislikes of gays. If Simmons were not the lead detective I would have demanded that Keys be taken off the case. But I think that we will be ok. Simmons does not give a damn about anything but his job. I have not seen or heard him do anything that was in any way not professional. I have a lot of respect for him. If anyone can keep Keys in check it will be him.”
With everything I had just heard I was not feeling too good about the situation. But at least we knew what was going on. If Steve had faith in the lead detective then I would have to go along with him.
My own experiences mirrored what I had just been told so I could not say it came as any big shock that a lot of police officers were still homophobic.
So I said, “Ok Steve I trust your judgment on this. I know you will be keeping your eyes open as well. So I doubt that he will try anything stupid when his career is on the line.”
He nodded but I could tell that he was not happy with the situation either.
Changing topics I asked him, “What are we going to do about the kids and school. Not to mention my store. I will need to go and get things cleaned up and get ready to open back up. I’ll be damned if I will let some SOB drive me away from my own house and business. Don’t get me wrong Steve I am very grateful for all you have done and I know we have to protect the kids. But I am going to have to head back within the next couple of days at the latest. We can’t leave them here while we go to work. Do you have any ideas how we can keep them safe and still keep on with our lives?”
“Well my mom and dad will be back from their trip tomorrow evening. They have volunteered to keep an eye on them for a couple of days. But I am not sure that we are going to be able to get Matt to agree to let you out of his sight.”
“Yeah I know.”
“Lets just play it by ear and see what happens. I am hopeful that we can catch them. They cant stay hidden forever its only a matter of time till they slip up and get them.”
The rest of the day slipped by and before I knew it, it was time for supper. Steve had just called us to supper when my cell phone rang.
When I answered it was Zack.
“Mr. Brooks you will need to turn on the TV watch the 6:00 PM news, we are going to be the lead story.”
“How do you know that we are?”
“My boyfriend is a journalism major and he works at the station part time. He called me a few minutes ago to let me know. Please don’t say anything to anyone about it. I don’t want him to lose his job. He can’t afford to. His family disowned him when he came out and without his job he would have to drop out.”
“Don’t worry Zack I won’t let anyone know that I knew ahead of time.”
“Thanks Mr. Brook. Oh, listen before I forget. I went by the store this afternoon and they did get it boarded up.”
“Thanks Zack I appreciate you checking for me. I hope I can get back there tomorrow so we can get the story cleaned up and reopen. Call me tomorrow when you get out of class and I will let you know.”
“Ok, Mr. Brooks I will.”
“Bye for now. Will talk with you tomorrow.”
When he had hung up I just cringed when I thought of all that had happened being on the news. I am a very private person and I did not want a bunch of people gawking at me and I worried about Matt and Timmy what if someone else decided to target them when they learned details of what had happened.
It was just one more level of stress to the situation.
I was grumbling as I called to Steve and asked him to come into the den for moment. When he came over he was worried I could tell. I told him that we were going to be the lead story on the 6:00 PM news on channel 8. He did not look happy but he shrugged and said, “It was to be expected. It is not everyday that someone gets shot in his store in you section of town.”
I nodded but still was not happy with it. He suggested that we call the boys in so they could watch as well. They were going to hear about it at school anyway this way they could at least know what was really said.
Steve went back into the kitchen and sat up a small TV in the kitchen and then we called the boys to the kitchen. They were puzzled when they came in as neither one of us allowed TV’s in the kitchen. So it was obvious that something important was going to be on.
Timmy spoke first he asked, “What’s going on dad?”
“Channel 8’s lead story tonight is going to be what happened at the book store.”
They both were excited at first then when they realized what that could mean in reference to their safety they became worried. We were just finishing up dinner when Steve turned on the TV and about a minute later the news came on. As promised the lead story was about the shooting. They opened the broadcast with a picture of the shop boarded up with the headline. “Local bookstore owner Mr. Joseph Brooks was shot while working in his store.” Un named sources in the police dept, tell channel eight news that Mr. Brook was targeted because he is gay. They also said that the police were treating it as a hate crime. Fortunately they did not mention Timmy or Matt. They did however mention that a local teen (They did not mention Josh by name) had been attacked as well. I was furious when they said that. They did not use his name but in this situation everyone would know who he was. They went on to say that the police were working on the assumption that they were connected in some manner.
When I looked up from the screen Steve was livid. “Those stupid SOB’s don’t they realize that they have just given away facts that we were using to help find the idiots. Now we will have crackpots calling up to claim responsibility and we will have to wade through them all. With the information that was withheld we could ask a couple of questions and rule out 90% of them. If I find out who leaked this I will personally make sure they are fired.”
He looked up at all of us and said, “I need to make a few calls I’m sorry guys but you will have to finish without me.” With that he got up and headed for his bedroom dialing numbers as he went.
Matt looked over at me and said, “When are we going to go home? My schoolbooks and all my assignments are in my room. I have a big test Monday in my history class. Timmy and I are getting really stir crazy here.”
“I know Matt we are getting that way. But right now we are safer out here. Whoever is doing this does not know where we are, if we were to go home he would know right where we were. I am not prepared to take that chance right now.”
Matt looked frustrated but agreed.
I am going to try to get back to our place tomorrow long enough to pick up some extra clothes and get your schoolbooks. Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Are you going to leave us here alone?”
“No Steve’s parents are going to be coming back tomorrow and they have offered to have us stay here till things are settled. I will be going with Steve and will only be gone for a few hours. I know that things are tough right now. I just want you to know that I am very proud of the way you have handled all of this.”
Matt looked close to tears as he said, “Uncle can I please come with you.”
I hesitated and said, “Let me talk it over with Steve and see if he thinks it is a good idea. Ok?”
Matt did not look happy but he did agree to wait and see what Steve said.
In the end we decided to wait it out one more day and see where we stood. Steve promised to bring back their schoolbooks and more clothes for all of us. I stayed with the kids and we watched TV and read some.
For me at least the day did not drag to badly as Steve’s parents had an extensive library. I was able to find a couple of good books to take my mind off of things. Timmy and Matt did not fair as well. They were getting irritable and snapping at each other and me. Several times I had to count to ten to myself to keep from getting caught up in it.
Timmy and Matt were beginning to hate the place. The tension brought on by the knowledge that someone was trying to kill them added to the sense of everything being out of their control. Matt was beginning to withdraw and that scared me even more than the idiots that were trying to kill us.
What I had feared came to pass when around 8:00PM Matt and Timmy came to my room. I could tell immediately that something was wrong. Matt was crying and Timmy looked very worried and close to tears.
“Matt what’s wrong hon?”
He just started crying even harder. I held out my arms to him and pulled him into a hug. He just kept crying and softly I asked him again, “Matt what’s wrong?”
Uncle I am so sorry I could not help it. I tried to stop myself. I really did.”
That’s when I knew what had happened. I hugged him tighter and said, “Hon I know you did. You are doing great. I know how hard you have been trying. It’s going to be ok. I love you and am so very proud of you.”
“But I failed Uncle. I did it again. Why can’t I be strong?”
“Hon you are strong. I am so proud of the fact that you came and told me. That shows how much you want to get better. We will call Dr. Woodlief in the morning. You can talk to him on the phone for a while. I wish we could go see him but right now we cant take the chance.”
He was still crying but not as hard now. I just rubbed his shoulders till he gradually stopped.
He looked up at me his face streaked with tears and said, “Thanks Uncle.”
Timmy looked relieved that I had not been angry with Matt. I knew that Matt must have been thinking I would be as well so I said, “Matt I will never be disappointed or angry when you are trying to do what is right. I will always be proud of you when you are doing your best. None of us is perfect and we can’t control outside forces. The only thing we can do is to try to learn how to keep them from controlling us.”
Later when Steve came home I told him what had happened and how I had dealt with it. He looked angry for a second then he said, “Damn those stupid jackasses. He is doing so well and trying so hard.”
“I know Steve. What he needs right now it to know that we are proud of him and will continue to be there for him.”
In the morning Matt talked with Dr. Woodlief and Matt promised to tell me right away if things began to get to that point again. He told him don’t let the stress build up so far. He agreed and seemed to feel better.
Finally on the 3rd day we received the call that I had been praying for. Steve called to tell me that they had caught the preacher and two wanted for Josh’s assault and rape.
I quickly relayed the news to Timmy and Matt. Timmy was so excited that he grabbed Matt and swung him around and then kissed him.
I had to laugh at the two of them. Oh to be young again.
I think I was as glad as the kids were to be getting back to my shop. I was never very good at lying around and doing nothing. When I sit still too long my mind tends to go back to things that are best left alone. Matt had asked me once why I always had music playing and was always working on something. I had not been totally honest with him I told him that I just like to have music playing in the background, as it was soothing to me. What it really did was keep me focused on positive thoughts instead of dwelling in the past.
Matt thinks that I don’t get enough sleep and he is right. To this day I still have nightmares intense enough to wake me up in a cold sweat. Fortunately they are not nearly as frequent as they used to be.
It was about 2 hours later that Steve arrived back to the farmhouse.
We were waiting in the den when Steve came home. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and joined us in the den. Before we could say anything he said, “Just let me tell you what I know first. Then I will answer any questions you might have. First and most importantly we caught Mitch’s accomplishes. We also arrested the preacher Franklin Smith. He is charged with possession of stolen property, robbery, and attempted murder.
The two boys are charged with attempted murder, rape, assault, robbery, and possession of a controlled substance.
When they raided the preachers home they found the gun that was used to shoot you Joe, as well as stolen goods from several recent robberies. The other boys involved were Jessie Martin and Samuel Taylor. Jessie is 16 and Samuel is 17. They will both be charged as adults.
Now none of what we have talked about here can be repeated. I am depending on you all to keep this quite. I just thought you all needed to know.
Timmy why don’t you take Matt for a walk down to the pond just make sure you 2 are back before supper.”
I looked over at Matt and could see that he was confused but Timmy said, “Come on Matt you will love it. I don’t want to spoil the surprise but trust me it is well worth seeing.”
Matt looked a little dubious but went to get his coat, hat and gloves.
As they were getting ready to go for their walk I asked, “How did you finally catch them?”
“We put out a warrant for the preachers arrest and made sure he found out about it. Then we just waited and watched him. Sure enough he panicked and headed right to where the rest were hiding out. We were able to nab them all at once. The two kids sang like canaries.”
They walked out the door talking and laughing. It was so good to see them start to get back to normal.
When they were gone Steve said, “Matt really will enjoy the creek and pond. It is at the far end of the meadow up against the edge of the forest. I will take you out there when your arm and ribs are healed.
Now that they are gone I need to talk to you about some of the stuff that we found when we raided the preachers house. It was a lot uglier than I let on. I did not want the kids to know the details.
He was into a lot of dirty things. The rape of Josh was not just a spur of the moment thing. They planned it, and even took pictures.”
I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach when I heard that. One of the hardest things I had to get over was the fact that others could still see me doing what I did to survive. I can only imagine how bad it would be for Josh when he realized that what had been done to him was on film.”
“Did you find any evidence that they had posted the pictures anywhere? Josh will have a hard enough time dealing with all of this without the thought that its all over the internet.”
Steve looked close to tears when he said, “Yeah we found a computer there at his house is being used as a server. He was making money charging for viewing the filth. We will be paying a visit to a number of people who paid to access the site. Because Josh is one of the victims we wont use it as a sting. But we are going through all of his records. Believe me when I say that there will be a whole lot of sick bastards in jail before this is over. He had a thriving business with clients all over the world. We have been in contact with a number of countries. This is too big to keep under wraps for long. The FBI has been called in and will be taking over the investigation of the child porn side of it.
Just be glad you did not have to see any of it. I don’t know how anyone could do anything like that to a child or to any human being for that matter.”
What I had heard was just too much for me with all the other stress we had been under. I remembered back to when I was on the street. Several times I had been “paid” to be in porn videos. They were all violent videos where the least that happened was that I was beaten up. I would be sore for days afterwards. The physical scars healed a lot faster than the emotional ones. When you are used in that way it is incredibly damaging to your sense of self worth. You are just an object not a human being. When there are pictures out there you feel like the violation never ends. It was very hard for me to have a sense of closure when I knew there were people out there getting off on what was done to me. You feel like you are being violated over and over again. It was going to be even harder for Josh. With the advent of the Internet those pictures could be all over the world. There was no way to close Pandora’s box on this.
Suddenly I realized that Steve was talking to me. I had gotten so lost in my memories that I zoned out. He asked me again, “Joe, are you ok? Joe?”
It took me a moment to compose myself then I said, “I’m sorry Steve with all that has happened the last couple of days I am overloaded. Not too many people know it but I was a street kid. I was in a couple of those “movies”. So you don’t have to tell me how sick they are. I just pray that Josh will be able to heal from all of this. He will need a lot of support. No one deserves to go through what he is going through.”
Suddenly I had a horrible thought, “Does he know that they took pictures?”
Steve sighed and said, “No he does not. They think he blocked out most of what happened. He only remembers the very beginning. In a way that is a real blessing. But sooner or later he is going to start to remember. So they are going to have to help him begin the process of healing.”
I said a silent prayer for him. Then I said, “Steve I need a few minutes alone. I think I am going to my room.”
He nodded and said, “If you need me I will be in my room on the phone. There are a lot of lose ends that need to be taken care of.”
I went to my room and sat on the edge of the bed. It had been a long hard week for all of us. Matt had cut himself again. But this time he had been honest and come to us about it. Dr. Woodlief had warned me that it might happen. With all the extra stress and nearly all of it being out of Matt’s control. We had worked hard to avoid it but in the end it had been just too much. I was very proud of Matt and told him so. He had made a lot of progress since he had come here. In spite of incredible odds he was moving forward. Now that the threat on our lives was over I prayed that we could move forward again.
© Joseph Men 2004