Chapter Two
Three days after Ruthie had mailed the letter, a police car from the local detachment pulled up the driveway. In the car were a local police officer, and Roxanne Richardson of the Glen Oak Police Department, who had made the long drive up to the camp. She checked in at the headquarters building of the camp and asked to see Ruthie Camden.
The secretary picked up a telephone, punched a few numbers and called for Ruthie on the loudspeakers that were scattered around the camp. Ruthie and Peter were in a drama class, doing a read-through (in character) of the lead characters from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," by Edward Albee, George and Martha; with Rhiannon and Malcolm playing the other two characters, Honey and Nick.
It was a very intense play, and all four thought, very adult even for a so- called "comedy of manners," as each character tried to outdo the other in humiliating everyone else. While the four teenagers appreciated the humor and could read it as a radio play, they weren't sure they'd be ready to actually act out the party games within the play, such as "Hump the Hostess" and "Get the Guests," when they were supposed to present the finished product in front of the other campers on the penultimate night of the camp. At least, they all thought, this camp, with all its educational content, qualified for two high school credits as "Personal Life Management."
The foursome heard the page, and Ruthie dropped her script, walked offstage, and picked up the "Bat phone" that was linked to the main office.
"Ruthie Camden here," said the young woman.
"Hey, Ruthie, it's Roxanne," said the cop. Can you come to the office for a few minutes?"
Ruthie dropped her voice to a whisper so none of the counselors could hear her. "You mean with Rhiannon?"
"No, just you," said Roxie. "I don't want to tip our hand just yet. But I do want to ask you to come up here so a local cop and I can ask you a few questions."
"Tell you what, Roxie," said Ruthie. "We're going to finish up here in about ten minutes. Why don't you grab a golf cart and ride down to Women's Cabin 9 where Rhiannon and I are bunking? Everyone else is going to be in the mess hall for lunch, but she and I can survive on the big breakfast we had this morning. No counselors will be around so there will be no overseer, no one to snoop. You can get the story from her yourself. She can't hold in herself much longer."
"Okay, sure thing, Ruthie. See you in a bit."
About twenty minutes later, the two cops had found themselves in a charming little cottage. Ruthie had just brewed a cop of coffee and offered them to the cops; while Rhiannon made herself some Earl Grey Tea.
"All right, Rhiannon, can you tell us what happened on the afternoon of July 31st?" asked Roxie, pulling out her tape recorder and opening up her portable computer.
"Well," said Rhiannon, taking a huge breath, "Ruthie, a few other girls and I had just finished our auditions for the parts in 'Virginia Woolf' when Frank asked me to stay behind a few minutes. I thought it was odd but I agreed. He closed the door behind him, and then told me that he thought of all the female campers who had ever gone through this camp, I showed more promise than any as a future stage actress. He actually said I was as good as Maggie Smith or Glenda Jackson in their prime and better than Martha Henry or Faye Grant today. To which I said that Dame Maggie was just as sharp today as she was in the sixties and seventies, and justly deserved to be knighted.
"Well, Frank laughed, and said that if I stayed on the ball, he could guarantee that he'd use his connections to get me into an off-Broadway production as soon as I graduate next summer. I thought, 'this is so cool! I've always wanted to be in a New York production, and this might be the ticket to go onto a bigger stage.' But then he said there was only one thing he wanted more than anything. He drew me forward, grabbed my face, and started kissing me. I fought back, saying I didn't do that. He replied that to get into Broadway, you have to sleep around.
"Well, I said I knew that, that's pretty much standard in any industry, but I wasn't going to do it here, with him. He then said that, if I didn't have sex with him right there and then, I could forget about even getting a part here at camp. I thought about it for a minute, but finally gave in, and pretended to like it. Then he made me promise not to tell anyone. But of course, I told my twin brother: there's nothing I hide from Malcolm, especially something like that."
"How long passed between your consenting and completion of the act?" asked the other cop, who had still not identified himself.
"Well, first of all, Officer ." began Rhiannon, and then paused.
"Oh, sorry," said the cop. "Simpson. Bill Simpson."
"Thank you," said Rhiannon. "Officer Simpson, I'm sure you're aware that when someone abuses his power and induces someone to have sex with him or her on that basis, there can be no consent. In this state, 'quid pro quo' sexual harassment IS rape."
"Yes, I am aware of that. Sorry, ma'am," said Simpson. "What I meant was what amount of time passed between his believing you agreed to his blackmail, and the completion of the act?"
"Less than two minutes," said Rhiannon. "It was all over in less than five and I didn't like it at all, compared to my other . um, experiences. It was very uncomfortable."
Roxie had typed all of this into her notebook. "Would you take this pen, Rhiannon," she said, "and sign your signature on this pad right here, next to the computer? This will be your affidavit."
"No problem," said the victim, taking the electronic pen and writing her autograph.
"Ruthie, would you also sign as a witness to the statement?"
"Naturally," said Ruthie, signing on the pad.
"Okay, now, you understand we're going to have to talk to Frank about this and get his side of the story," said Roxie.
"Go ahead," said Rhiannon, "but you know it's going to be 'deny, deny, deny' all the way."
The two cops had gotten up and were about to leave, when Roxie remembered something.
"By the way, Rhiannon," she said, "have you .?"
"No, I still have my periods," said Rhiannon. "I insisted Frank use a condom. He had plenty in his pocket, no thanks to his ongoing relationship with 'Commandant' Sharon."
"Okay, take care of yourself," said Simpson, "and we're sorry this happened to you."
The cops jumped into the golf cart and started driving around, looking for Frank. Meanwhile in the bungalow, Ruthie hugged Rhiannon.
"That was very, very courageous of you," Ruthie said. She looked at her friend, thinking she was going to lose it any minute now. But she kept her composure.
"Maybe," said Rhiannon, "but I wasn't ready to talk about it now. And I can only imagine what's going to happen when they confront Frank. I'm going to be treated like you-know-what for these last 10 days." She paused, wanting to change the subject. "By the way, Ruthie, how was it with you and Peter the other night? Did you like it?"
"I'm sorry, Rhiannon, but that's between Peter and me if you don't mind," said Ruthie. "Maybe I'll tell you more about it when school starts up again in a few weeks."
"Okay, no problem. Sorry," said Rhiannon.
Meanwhile, Roxie and Simpson had driven around the camp for nearly an hour, asking anyone if they knew where Frank was. They were about to return to the main office when another golf cart pulled up besides them. A man in dark glasses, who said he was the groundskeeper, said Frank was unavailable for a statement as he had to attend a family funeral, but that he was a friend of Frank's and described his duties. Then he stated: "I am confident that neither Frank, nor any of the other counselors, has had any inappropriate contact with any other campers or other staff members during the course of the camp session."
The comment was totally unsolicited. But before they could ask any more questions, the groundskeeper had driven away.
Roxanne and Simpson rode back up to the main office, thanked the secretary, and then took the patrol car back into town.
"What do you think, Richardson?" said Simpson.
"Well, first, I just think it's odd that the groundskeeper wouldn't give his name. Second, he denied that there had been any wrongdoing but we didn't even get a chance to ask him if any allegations had been made at all. He controlled the entire conversation from start to finish. Someone must have tipped Frank off that we were coming. I don't believe for a minute there was a 'family emergency,' and even if there was he sure picked a convenient time to disappear."
"How can you be so sure of that?" asked Simpson. "Your friend sent the letter using one of the 'Special Delivery' stamps she had in her stock. No one could read that letter but you."
"Maybe," agreed Roxie, "but still, the reaction of the groundskeeper was automatic, like he had memorized a script or something. It's like ."
"Watergate," finished Simpson. "When Kent Clawson turned on the 'deny, deny, deny' machine as soon as Bob Woodward asked him a routine question about Howard Hunt's duties at the White House. He made a totally voluntary remark about no one at the White House having anything to do with the 'deplorable incident at the Democratic National Committee,' even though no one asked him about the break-in at the Watergate Hotel."
"Exactly," said Roxie. She had read the book "All the President's Men" in high school and was absolutely fascinated by the story. "This means we may be only scratching the surface. I know it violates standard procedure, but I think we should let Frank mourn his loss. As soon as camp lets out in two weeks and Frank gets back to Glen Oak, we can call him in for questioning. My department will pay mileage for you to come out there."
"No problem, Richardson," said Simpson, "but what if this isn't an isolated case? What if he's been interfering with female campers all summer?"
"I don't think so many women could keep that a secret all to themselves for long, Simpson," said Roxie, picking up her belongings. "There would have been a revolt by now."
"Yeah, you're right. Well, Richardson, have a safe trip back, and say hi to Detective Michaels," said Simpson. "He and I go back all the way to the Academy."
"I will. Thanks." Roxie left the station and hopped into her car for the long drive back to Glen Oak. Both Rhiannon and Simpson had given her a lot of food for thought. There was something more to this story, she believed, but she wasn't sure what it was.
Three days after Ruthie had mailed the letter, a police car from the local detachment pulled up the driveway. In the car were a local police officer, and Roxanne Richardson of the Glen Oak Police Department, who had made the long drive up to the camp. She checked in at the headquarters building of the camp and asked to see Ruthie Camden.
The secretary picked up a telephone, punched a few numbers and called for Ruthie on the loudspeakers that were scattered around the camp. Ruthie and Peter were in a drama class, doing a read-through (in character) of the lead characters from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," by Edward Albee, George and Martha; with Rhiannon and Malcolm playing the other two characters, Honey and Nick.
It was a very intense play, and all four thought, very adult even for a so- called "comedy of manners," as each character tried to outdo the other in humiliating everyone else. While the four teenagers appreciated the humor and could read it as a radio play, they weren't sure they'd be ready to actually act out the party games within the play, such as "Hump the Hostess" and "Get the Guests," when they were supposed to present the finished product in front of the other campers on the penultimate night of the camp. At least, they all thought, this camp, with all its educational content, qualified for two high school credits as "Personal Life Management."
The foursome heard the page, and Ruthie dropped her script, walked offstage, and picked up the "Bat phone" that was linked to the main office.
"Ruthie Camden here," said the young woman.
"Hey, Ruthie, it's Roxanne," said the cop. Can you come to the office for a few minutes?"
Ruthie dropped her voice to a whisper so none of the counselors could hear her. "You mean with Rhiannon?"
"No, just you," said Roxie. "I don't want to tip our hand just yet. But I do want to ask you to come up here so a local cop and I can ask you a few questions."
"Tell you what, Roxie," said Ruthie. "We're going to finish up here in about ten minutes. Why don't you grab a golf cart and ride down to Women's Cabin 9 where Rhiannon and I are bunking? Everyone else is going to be in the mess hall for lunch, but she and I can survive on the big breakfast we had this morning. No counselors will be around so there will be no overseer, no one to snoop. You can get the story from her yourself. She can't hold in herself much longer."
"Okay, sure thing, Ruthie. See you in a bit."
About twenty minutes later, the two cops had found themselves in a charming little cottage. Ruthie had just brewed a cop of coffee and offered them to the cops; while Rhiannon made herself some Earl Grey Tea.
"All right, Rhiannon, can you tell us what happened on the afternoon of July 31st?" asked Roxie, pulling out her tape recorder and opening up her portable computer.
"Well," said Rhiannon, taking a huge breath, "Ruthie, a few other girls and I had just finished our auditions for the parts in 'Virginia Woolf' when Frank asked me to stay behind a few minutes. I thought it was odd but I agreed. He closed the door behind him, and then told me that he thought of all the female campers who had ever gone through this camp, I showed more promise than any as a future stage actress. He actually said I was as good as Maggie Smith or Glenda Jackson in their prime and better than Martha Henry or Faye Grant today. To which I said that Dame Maggie was just as sharp today as she was in the sixties and seventies, and justly deserved to be knighted.
"Well, Frank laughed, and said that if I stayed on the ball, he could guarantee that he'd use his connections to get me into an off-Broadway production as soon as I graduate next summer. I thought, 'this is so cool! I've always wanted to be in a New York production, and this might be the ticket to go onto a bigger stage.' But then he said there was only one thing he wanted more than anything. He drew me forward, grabbed my face, and started kissing me. I fought back, saying I didn't do that. He replied that to get into Broadway, you have to sleep around.
"Well, I said I knew that, that's pretty much standard in any industry, but I wasn't going to do it here, with him. He then said that, if I didn't have sex with him right there and then, I could forget about even getting a part here at camp. I thought about it for a minute, but finally gave in, and pretended to like it. Then he made me promise not to tell anyone. But of course, I told my twin brother: there's nothing I hide from Malcolm, especially something like that."
"How long passed between your consenting and completion of the act?" asked the other cop, who had still not identified himself.
"Well, first of all, Officer ." began Rhiannon, and then paused.
"Oh, sorry," said the cop. "Simpson. Bill Simpson."
"Thank you," said Rhiannon. "Officer Simpson, I'm sure you're aware that when someone abuses his power and induces someone to have sex with him or her on that basis, there can be no consent. In this state, 'quid pro quo' sexual harassment IS rape."
"Yes, I am aware of that. Sorry, ma'am," said Simpson. "What I meant was what amount of time passed between his believing you agreed to his blackmail, and the completion of the act?"
"Less than two minutes," said Rhiannon. "It was all over in less than five and I didn't like it at all, compared to my other . um, experiences. It was very uncomfortable."
Roxie had typed all of this into her notebook. "Would you take this pen, Rhiannon," she said, "and sign your signature on this pad right here, next to the computer? This will be your affidavit."
"No problem," said the victim, taking the electronic pen and writing her autograph.
"Ruthie, would you also sign as a witness to the statement?"
"Naturally," said Ruthie, signing on the pad.
"Okay, now, you understand we're going to have to talk to Frank about this and get his side of the story," said Roxie.
"Go ahead," said Rhiannon, "but you know it's going to be 'deny, deny, deny' all the way."
The two cops had gotten up and were about to leave, when Roxie remembered something.
"By the way, Rhiannon," she said, "have you .?"
"No, I still have my periods," said Rhiannon. "I insisted Frank use a condom. He had plenty in his pocket, no thanks to his ongoing relationship with 'Commandant' Sharon."
"Okay, take care of yourself," said Simpson, "and we're sorry this happened to you."
The cops jumped into the golf cart and started driving around, looking for Frank. Meanwhile in the bungalow, Ruthie hugged Rhiannon.
"That was very, very courageous of you," Ruthie said. She looked at her friend, thinking she was going to lose it any minute now. But she kept her composure.
"Maybe," said Rhiannon, "but I wasn't ready to talk about it now. And I can only imagine what's going to happen when they confront Frank. I'm going to be treated like you-know-what for these last 10 days." She paused, wanting to change the subject. "By the way, Ruthie, how was it with you and Peter the other night? Did you like it?"
"I'm sorry, Rhiannon, but that's between Peter and me if you don't mind," said Ruthie. "Maybe I'll tell you more about it when school starts up again in a few weeks."
"Okay, no problem. Sorry," said Rhiannon.
Meanwhile, Roxie and Simpson had driven around the camp for nearly an hour, asking anyone if they knew where Frank was. They were about to return to the main office when another golf cart pulled up besides them. A man in dark glasses, who said he was the groundskeeper, said Frank was unavailable for a statement as he had to attend a family funeral, but that he was a friend of Frank's and described his duties. Then he stated: "I am confident that neither Frank, nor any of the other counselors, has had any inappropriate contact with any other campers or other staff members during the course of the camp session."
The comment was totally unsolicited. But before they could ask any more questions, the groundskeeper had driven away.
Roxanne and Simpson rode back up to the main office, thanked the secretary, and then took the patrol car back into town.
"What do you think, Richardson?" said Simpson.
"Well, first, I just think it's odd that the groundskeeper wouldn't give his name. Second, he denied that there had been any wrongdoing but we didn't even get a chance to ask him if any allegations had been made at all. He controlled the entire conversation from start to finish. Someone must have tipped Frank off that we were coming. I don't believe for a minute there was a 'family emergency,' and even if there was he sure picked a convenient time to disappear."
"How can you be so sure of that?" asked Simpson. "Your friend sent the letter using one of the 'Special Delivery' stamps she had in her stock. No one could read that letter but you."
"Maybe," agreed Roxie, "but still, the reaction of the groundskeeper was automatic, like he had memorized a script or something. It's like ."
"Watergate," finished Simpson. "When Kent Clawson turned on the 'deny, deny, deny' machine as soon as Bob Woodward asked him a routine question about Howard Hunt's duties at the White House. He made a totally voluntary remark about no one at the White House having anything to do with the 'deplorable incident at the Democratic National Committee,' even though no one asked him about the break-in at the Watergate Hotel."
"Exactly," said Roxie. She had read the book "All the President's Men" in high school and was absolutely fascinated by the story. "This means we may be only scratching the surface. I know it violates standard procedure, but I think we should let Frank mourn his loss. As soon as camp lets out in two weeks and Frank gets back to Glen Oak, we can call him in for questioning. My department will pay mileage for you to come out there."
"No problem, Richardson," said Simpson, "but what if this isn't an isolated case? What if he's been interfering with female campers all summer?"
"I don't think so many women could keep that a secret all to themselves for long, Simpson," said Roxie, picking up her belongings. "There would have been a revolt by now."
"Yeah, you're right. Well, Richardson, have a safe trip back, and say hi to Detective Michaels," said Simpson. "He and I go back all the way to the Academy."
"I will. Thanks." Roxie left the station and hopped into her car for the long drive back to Glen Oak. Both Rhiannon and Simpson had given her a lot of food for thought. There was something more to this story, she believed, but she wasn't sure what it was.