Chapter Eight
Henderson spent only one night in jail. The next morning, a justice of the peace released him unconditionally on only $10,000 bail, citing his total lack of a criminal record. His girlfriend, Sharon the camp director, posted bond - a mere 10% of the bail - and offered herself and her credit line to be his surety in case of default. To make matters worse, the vice- principal was indefinitely suspended but with pay, pending an internal investigation of the allegations. In effect, he was continuing to draw his salary of almost $200,000 per year even though he had no official duties.
When Lucy, Ruthie and Peter heard that news down at the courthouse, they were outraged. How could the JP even consider letting him continue to roam the community essentially on his own recognizance, without any conditions? Moreover, how could the county school district even contemplate continuing to pay him while all of this was going on? If the allegations proved bogus, return him to his position with back pay and interest, naturally. However, if not, he would essentially be rewarded for his bad behavior and the taxpayer would be out for any salary owing to him from the time he was charged until either conviction or an internal finding of misconduct.
The threesome was each waiting their turn to be called before the Grand Jury. Lucy was wearing a freshly starched minister's shirt and Roman collar with a matching dress that went down to her just below her knees; Ruthie was sporting a white blouse, cut so that the top of her cleavage was clearly visible, and a tan mini-skirt cut just above the knees; and Peter came with a shirt and tie with slacks but no jacket. They knew the testimony they were about to give was secret, but also understood that the rules of evidence were much more relaxed.
There was no defense attorney present, so each witness could speak freely without having to worry about a cross-examination, although they knew they were in for the third degree from naturally skeptical jurors (for Grand Juries in that county had a reputation for refusing to be the proverbial "ham sandwiches.") Furthermore, the jurors only had to find proof of probable cause, not guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. With all the photographic and video evidence that had become known, they thought, indictments were almost a certainty.
There was one thing that was bothering them, however. Frank had not sodomized Ruthie and Peter. What possible evidence could they have to offer, other than what their friend had said? Wasn't hearsay evidence forbidden under the well-established principles of Anglo-Saxon-American law?
As for Lucy, she had nothing at all to offer - she was still reeling from learning of the allegations a mere twenty-four hours or so before. Reverend Lucy Camden Kinkirk - the name actually sounded weird on the tongue. She saw herself more as more of a facilitator than a rector, and a communicator more than a sage. Even if hearsay was permitted before a Grand Jury, and even if Kevin had let her in on what was going on, she would have invoked both clerical and spousal privilege. Had Roxanne told her, she'd still invoke her right to silence as a minister.
The bailiff, a woman in her thirties and who was showing the signs of being five months pregnant (she was married to one of the deacons at the church) stepped outside. "Miss Ruthie Camden, please?"
Ruthie got up, and stepped inside. She saw a judge at the front of the courtroom. Facing him were two ADA's, a man and a woman, and behind them were twenty-three jurors with notepads in hand. The bailiff closed the door, approached Ruthie and asked her to place her left hand on the Bible and raise her right hand. Ruthie, who had become a southpaw with great difficulty after a bad wrist injury playing girls varsity football eighteen months before, did the reverse but was not called on it.
"Do you solemnly swear," droned the bailiff, who had said those words so many times she sounded like a scratched 78, "that the testimony you are about to give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I do," said Ruthie, and took the witness chair. It was a swivel model but not behind a stand. She crossed her legs and the jurors could see, only momentarily, her scarlet red panties.
"Would you state your name for the record and your current address for the record, please?" asked the female ADA, a Ms Carter.
"My full name is Ruthie - R-U-T-H-I-E - Bernadette - B-E-R-N-A-D-E-T-T-E - Camden - C-A-M-D-E-N. I live at 524 Alta Drive, in Glen Oak, California."
"You are the daughter of a local minister, a Reverend Eric Camden, aren't you?"
"Yes. I'm also the sister of a minister, too - Reverend Lucy Camden Kinkirk."
"They are the minister and the associate minister, respectively, at Glen Oak Community Church?"
"My father is the minister there. My sister is only one of the associate ministers; the other is Rev. Dr. Chandler Hampton."
"I stand corrected."
"No sweat."
"Miss Camden ." began Carter, but Ruthie waved her hand.
"It's Ruthie. And you are?"
"Carter. Janice Carter. You can call me by my first name, too. Now Ruthie, when did you meet Frank Henderson?"
"Well, Janice," said Ruthie thoughtfully, "I guess it was a little more than a year ago. I was taking my arts requirement for first year credit at high school, and picked visual arts. I also wanted to study Latin just for the heck of it. Well, actually, it was also because Lucy was taking Latin at the seminary too and I thought it might be fun to have chats with my sister in a totally dead language."
The jurors laughed.
"But when the class was cancelled due to lack of interest," continued Ruthie, "I had to pick another elective so I also took drama. Henderson was my teacher last year."
"What were your impressions of him as a teacher?"
"I thought he was amazing," replied Ruthie honestly. "He considered acting to be a craft, and he made us feel the various parts we were playing. I remember acting out one roll - it was Portia, from 'The Merchant of Venice,' where she confronts Bassanio for giving her 'promise ring' to the judge that spared the merchant's life - who turned out to be her. It was almost right at the end of the play where she admits the truth then tells the merchant Antonio that three of his caravans made it safely back to port. While the script doesn't call for it, Mr. Henderson made me as Portia feel genuine fury at her husband, which suddenly became forgiveness for him and pure elation for her good friend, the merchant. I actually cried real tears of rage and then tears of joy. He was that good."
"At any time during the last school year or at camp this past summer, Ruthie," asked Janice, "did he offer you sexual favors or proposition you in any way?"
"No, he didn't," replied Ruthie.
"Did he ever touch you in an inappropriate manner during that time?"
"Nope."
"Did he ask you permission to videotape you and your roommates in your cabin or in any other building at summer camp?"
"Certainly not!"
"Ruthie, would you turn to the TV monitor besides you?" requested Janice. "I'm going to play a tape, and I'd like you to identify who's on that tape."
The ADA hit the play button. The image, in black and white was blurred for a few seconds, and then came into focus. Ruthie squinted to see if she could identify the persons on the home video. She was fully expecting it to be two of her fellow campers. However, it wasn't. The likenesses in it were too uncanny. It was . it was .
"That's me," said Ruthie in a shaking voice, "and my boyfriend, Peter Petrovsky. From the date and time stamp, it must have the night we deflowered each other. But Janice, how . how did he know we were going to be there?"
"He didn't," said Janice. "He put in a hidden camera inside the cabins of all the female counselors, in hopes of collecting pictures of teenage girls in compromising positions for his personal collection. He got plenty of that. He also got this, and was going to use it to blackmail you; playing you off against your parents. If you went to the police and told them what you knew, he'd tell your parents you were not the innocent little preacher's daughter and offer the proof."
"So why didn't he?"
"Beats me," said Janice. "Since your friend Rhiannon was the first to allege misconduct against Henderson, he figured no one would believe her since he was the upstanding citizen. I think he was saving it as insurance just in case. He wasn't expecting this matter to snowball so quickly with so many people coming forward to accuse him - some from many years back."
"Wow. Is there anything else you want to know from me?" asked Ruthie.
"Are you certain Frank Henderson never touched you in any way, even if it was innocently, or to demonstrate certain acting moves?"
"Positive."
"Do the jurors have any questions?"
Juror number nineteen raised her hand. "I have just one, ma'am. Now that you know you were on hidden video, how do you feel?"
"The witness' feelings are not relevant to this proceeding," warned the judge, but Ruthie waved her hand.
"No, I want to answer that question, Your Honor. I'll tell all of you how I feel: Violated! I love Peter Petrovsky and we share something very special. Both he and I have a right to intimacy and privacy, and what he and I do is supposed to be no one else's business, even if I end up getting knocked up by the man I love! In fact, I almost wish I were just to spite that bastard! But since that videotape is going to be a matter of the public record once this evidence is disclosed to the defense, I want to be on record as saying that regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, what Peter and I did was consensual. If you indict us for statutory rape, we will fight the charges vigorously on the grounds we have a right to privacy."
"Thank you, Ruthie. That is all," said Janice.
Ruthie got up, and stormed out of the grand jury room.
"What's wrong?" asked Peter.
"I can't say anything unless indictments are issued, but you'll find out soon enough." Ruthie was furious.
"Mr. Peter Petrovsky?" called the bailiff.
Twenty minutes later, Peter came out, just as angry as his girlfriend was. Lucy was called into the room.
"I can't believe we were so stupid!" Peter was beside himself as Lucy was being questioned inside. "Why didn't we wait to find a place where it was really private?"
"We were probably going to have sex that night at the motel, Peter," replied Ruthie quietly, trying to hush her boyfriend so no one could her them. "We just didn't know, and we couldn't have cared anyway."
"Your father is going to kill you when he finds out!"
"No, he won't. You learn a lot being a PK, and one of those things is being a smooth talker. It's not as if I'm on drugs or anything. I'm not pregnant, either. He, Mom and I will just have a chat. I might be restricted to study dates in the living room with you for a while, but even that can't last more than a month or two."
"Let's hope so. But maybe we should lay off the sex for a while. It's not like I'm getting bored with it - you're just incredible ."
"And so are you ." Ruthie kissed Peter. He quickly but gently pushed her back.
"But I think we should take a pass on doing it again until the Christmas break, at the very least. We need to rethink our relationship and where we want to take it. If you want to give back the promise ring and have us date other people to see if we're right for each other, I'm cool with that. Is that okay with you, Ruthie?"
"Sure," she finally said. "After last night, even I was beginning to think we need a cooling off period. Okay, Peter, we'll go cold turkey for at least three months and then take it from there. But we're still dating exclusively - and I'm keeping the promise ring. I love you, and we both have too much invested in this relationship to throw in the towel."
She took Peter's hand and squeezed it in hers. Peter squeezed back.
Meanwhile, Lucy was shown numerous videotapes, seized from Henderson's home, of many of her former classmates in high school. Henderson was feeling some up, while others were undressing themselves in the gym locker rooms. She recognized Suzanne, Laurie, Shelby, Ashley, Rod, Jimmy Moon, and Jordan, among others. There was even Karen, the older sister of Simon's one-time friend Stan, who was nearly killed when she tried to escape from a street gang. Here, she was in bondage, apparently a couple of years before, as Frank repeatedly raped her. Apparently, she found comfort in the gang's company soon afterwards after they delivered an ultimatum to the teacher to leave her alone. Karen had last been seen headed for San Francisco, still in the witness relocation program.
Lucy had to drink several glasses of water during the entire exhibition to stop from getting sick. She knew the DA's office wanted her to name names of victims she recognized but who still had not come forward to identify themselves. However, she could not understand the reason for her presence until they came to the final videotape.
"Rev. Kinkirk," said Janice, "would you identify the young woman on this tape - People's Exhibit 247?"
Lucy feared the worst. Janice plunked the tape into the VCR and hit the play button. It was from the spring of 1998, a couple of months before Annie told the extended family, Jimmy Moon and Rod that she and Eric were expecting again.
It was the day after the mall incident, when Lucy and a couple of other girls were working the mall dressed up grunge style. When Annie caught her, she told her daughter it would be a very long time before she could ever trust her again. Lucy had gotten the message, but the next day was still despondent. During her spare, she went into the girls' restroom, walked into a stall, undressed, and fondled herself for nearly an hour - very unaware that a camera the size of a lipstick container was recording the whole event above her and transmitting it to a VCR buried in the ceiling of the staff restroom, three doors down.
"That's me," said Lucy quietly, "when I was fourteen and a half."
"Are there any questions from the jurors? No? Thank you, Rev. Kinkirk. That will be all."
Lucy got out of the Grand Jury room as fast as she could. She took Peter and Ruthie by the hand and they ran towards the electric car before anyone could take their pictures. Lucy had a lot of explaining to do to her husband tonight; Peter was going to have to tell his mother the whole truth; and Ruthie was racking her brains as to how to justify herself to her parents.
Henderson spent only one night in jail. The next morning, a justice of the peace released him unconditionally on only $10,000 bail, citing his total lack of a criminal record. His girlfriend, Sharon the camp director, posted bond - a mere 10% of the bail - and offered herself and her credit line to be his surety in case of default. To make matters worse, the vice- principal was indefinitely suspended but with pay, pending an internal investigation of the allegations. In effect, he was continuing to draw his salary of almost $200,000 per year even though he had no official duties.
When Lucy, Ruthie and Peter heard that news down at the courthouse, they were outraged. How could the JP even consider letting him continue to roam the community essentially on his own recognizance, without any conditions? Moreover, how could the county school district even contemplate continuing to pay him while all of this was going on? If the allegations proved bogus, return him to his position with back pay and interest, naturally. However, if not, he would essentially be rewarded for his bad behavior and the taxpayer would be out for any salary owing to him from the time he was charged until either conviction or an internal finding of misconduct.
The threesome was each waiting their turn to be called before the Grand Jury. Lucy was wearing a freshly starched minister's shirt and Roman collar with a matching dress that went down to her just below her knees; Ruthie was sporting a white blouse, cut so that the top of her cleavage was clearly visible, and a tan mini-skirt cut just above the knees; and Peter came with a shirt and tie with slacks but no jacket. They knew the testimony they were about to give was secret, but also understood that the rules of evidence were much more relaxed.
There was no defense attorney present, so each witness could speak freely without having to worry about a cross-examination, although they knew they were in for the third degree from naturally skeptical jurors (for Grand Juries in that county had a reputation for refusing to be the proverbial "ham sandwiches.") Furthermore, the jurors only had to find proof of probable cause, not guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. With all the photographic and video evidence that had become known, they thought, indictments were almost a certainty.
There was one thing that was bothering them, however. Frank had not sodomized Ruthie and Peter. What possible evidence could they have to offer, other than what their friend had said? Wasn't hearsay evidence forbidden under the well-established principles of Anglo-Saxon-American law?
As for Lucy, she had nothing at all to offer - she was still reeling from learning of the allegations a mere twenty-four hours or so before. Reverend Lucy Camden Kinkirk - the name actually sounded weird on the tongue. She saw herself more as more of a facilitator than a rector, and a communicator more than a sage. Even if hearsay was permitted before a Grand Jury, and even if Kevin had let her in on what was going on, she would have invoked both clerical and spousal privilege. Had Roxanne told her, she'd still invoke her right to silence as a minister.
The bailiff, a woman in her thirties and who was showing the signs of being five months pregnant (she was married to one of the deacons at the church) stepped outside. "Miss Ruthie Camden, please?"
Ruthie got up, and stepped inside. She saw a judge at the front of the courtroom. Facing him were two ADA's, a man and a woman, and behind them were twenty-three jurors with notepads in hand. The bailiff closed the door, approached Ruthie and asked her to place her left hand on the Bible and raise her right hand. Ruthie, who had become a southpaw with great difficulty after a bad wrist injury playing girls varsity football eighteen months before, did the reverse but was not called on it.
"Do you solemnly swear," droned the bailiff, who had said those words so many times she sounded like a scratched 78, "that the testimony you are about to give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I do," said Ruthie, and took the witness chair. It was a swivel model but not behind a stand. She crossed her legs and the jurors could see, only momentarily, her scarlet red panties.
"Would you state your name for the record and your current address for the record, please?" asked the female ADA, a Ms Carter.
"My full name is Ruthie - R-U-T-H-I-E - Bernadette - B-E-R-N-A-D-E-T-T-E - Camden - C-A-M-D-E-N. I live at 524 Alta Drive, in Glen Oak, California."
"You are the daughter of a local minister, a Reverend Eric Camden, aren't you?"
"Yes. I'm also the sister of a minister, too - Reverend Lucy Camden Kinkirk."
"They are the minister and the associate minister, respectively, at Glen Oak Community Church?"
"My father is the minister there. My sister is only one of the associate ministers; the other is Rev. Dr. Chandler Hampton."
"I stand corrected."
"No sweat."
"Miss Camden ." began Carter, but Ruthie waved her hand.
"It's Ruthie. And you are?"
"Carter. Janice Carter. You can call me by my first name, too. Now Ruthie, when did you meet Frank Henderson?"
"Well, Janice," said Ruthie thoughtfully, "I guess it was a little more than a year ago. I was taking my arts requirement for first year credit at high school, and picked visual arts. I also wanted to study Latin just for the heck of it. Well, actually, it was also because Lucy was taking Latin at the seminary too and I thought it might be fun to have chats with my sister in a totally dead language."
The jurors laughed.
"But when the class was cancelled due to lack of interest," continued Ruthie, "I had to pick another elective so I also took drama. Henderson was my teacher last year."
"What were your impressions of him as a teacher?"
"I thought he was amazing," replied Ruthie honestly. "He considered acting to be a craft, and he made us feel the various parts we were playing. I remember acting out one roll - it was Portia, from 'The Merchant of Venice,' where she confronts Bassanio for giving her 'promise ring' to the judge that spared the merchant's life - who turned out to be her. It was almost right at the end of the play where she admits the truth then tells the merchant Antonio that three of his caravans made it safely back to port. While the script doesn't call for it, Mr. Henderson made me as Portia feel genuine fury at her husband, which suddenly became forgiveness for him and pure elation for her good friend, the merchant. I actually cried real tears of rage and then tears of joy. He was that good."
"At any time during the last school year or at camp this past summer, Ruthie," asked Janice, "did he offer you sexual favors or proposition you in any way?"
"No, he didn't," replied Ruthie.
"Did he ever touch you in an inappropriate manner during that time?"
"Nope."
"Did he ask you permission to videotape you and your roommates in your cabin or in any other building at summer camp?"
"Certainly not!"
"Ruthie, would you turn to the TV monitor besides you?" requested Janice. "I'm going to play a tape, and I'd like you to identify who's on that tape."
The ADA hit the play button. The image, in black and white was blurred for a few seconds, and then came into focus. Ruthie squinted to see if she could identify the persons on the home video. She was fully expecting it to be two of her fellow campers. However, it wasn't. The likenesses in it were too uncanny. It was . it was .
"That's me," said Ruthie in a shaking voice, "and my boyfriend, Peter Petrovsky. From the date and time stamp, it must have the night we deflowered each other. But Janice, how . how did he know we were going to be there?"
"He didn't," said Janice. "He put in a hidden camera inside the cabins of all the female counselors, in hopes of collecting pictures of teenage girls in compromising positions for his personal collection. He got plenty of that. He also got this, and was going to use it to blackmail you; playing you off against your parents. If you went to the police and told them what you knew, he'd tell your parents you were not the innocent little preacher's daughter and offer the proof."
"So why didn't he?"
"Beats me," said Janice. "Since your friend Rhiannon was the first to allege misconduct against Henderson, he figured no one would believe her since he was the upstanding citizen. I think he was saving it as insurance just in case. He wasn't expecting this matter to snowball so quickly with so many people coming forward to accuse him - some from many years back."
"Wow. Is there anything else you want to know from me?" asked Ruthie.
"Are you certain Frank Henderson never touched you in any way, even if it was innocently, or to demonstrate certain acting moves?"
"Positive."
"Do the jurors have any questions?"
Juror number nineteen raised her hand. "I have just one, ma'am. Now that you know you were on hidden video, how do you feel?"
"The witness' feelings are not relevant to this proceeding," warned the judge, but Ruthie waved her hand.
"No, I want to answer that question, Your Honor. I'll tell all of you how I feel: Violated! I love Peter Petrovsky and we share something very special. Both he and I have a right to intimacy and privacy, and what he and I do is supposed to be no one else's business, even if I end up getting knocked up by the man I love! In fact, I almost wish I were just to spite that bastard! But since that videotape is going to be a matter of the public record once this evidence is disclosed to the defense, I want to be on record as saying that regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, what Peter and I did was consensual. If you indict us for statutory rape, we will fight the charges vigorously on the grounds we have a right to privacy."
"Thank you, Ruthie. That is all," said Janice.
Ruthie got up, and stormed out of the grand jury room.
"What's wrong?" asked Peter.
"I can't say anything unless indictments are issued, but you'll find out soon enough." Ruthie was furious.
"Mr. Peter Petrovsky?" called the bailiff.
Twenty minutes later, Peter came out, just as angry as his girlfriend was. Lucy was called into the room.
"I can't believe we were so stupid!" Peter was beside himself as Lucy was being questioned inside. "Why didn't we wait to find a place where it was really private?"
"We were probably going to have sex that night at the motel, Peter," replied Ruthie quietly, trying to hush her boyfriend so no one could her them. "We just didn't know, and we couldn't have cared anyway."
"Your father is going to kill you when he finds out!"
"No, he won't. You learn a lot being a PK, and one of those things is being a smooth talker. It's not as if I'm on drugs or anything. I'm not pregnant, either. He, Mom and I will just have a chat. I might be restricted to study dates in the living room with you for a while, but even that can't last more than a month or two."
"Let's hope so. But maybe we should lay off the sex for a while. It's not like I'm getting bored with it - you're just incredible ."
"And so are you ." Ruthie kissed Peter. He quickly but gently pushed her back.
"But I think we should take a pass on doing it again until the Christmas break, at the very least. We need to rethink our relationship and where we want to take it. If you want to give back the promise ring and have us date other people to see if we're right for each other, I'm cool with that. Is that okay with you, Ruthie?"
"Sure," she finally said. "After last night, even I was beginning to think we need a cooling off period. Okay, Peter, we'll go cold turkey for at least three months and then take it from there. But we're still dating exclusively - and I'm keeping the promise ring. I love you, and we both have too much invested in this relationship to throw in the towel."
She took Peter's hand and squeezed it in hers. Peter squeezed back.
Meanwhile, Lucy was shown numerous videotapes, seized from Henderson's home, of many of her former classmates in high school. Henderson was feeling some up, while others were undressing themselves in the gym locker rooms. She recognized Suzanne, Laurie, Shelby, Ashley, Rod, Jimmy Moon, and Jordan, among others. There was even Karen, the older sister of Simon's one-time friend Stan, who was nearly killed when she tried to escape from a street gang. Here, she was in bondage, apparently a couple of years before, as Frank repeatedly raped her. Apparently, she found comfort in the gang's company soon afterwards after they delivered an ultimatum to the teacher to leave her alone. Karen had last been seen headed for San Francisco, still in the witness relocation program.
Lucy had to drink several glasses of water during the entire exhibition to stop from getting sick. She knew the DA's office wanted her to name names of victims she recognized but who still had not come forward to identify themselves. However, she could not understand the reason for her presence until they came to the final videotape.
"Rev. Kinkirk," said Janice, "would you identify the young woman on this tape - People's Exhibit 247?"
Lucy feared the worst. Janice plunked the tape into the VCR and hit the play button. It was from the spring of 1998, a couple of months before Annie told the extended family, Jimmy Moon and Rod that she and Eric were expecting again.
It was the day after the mall incident, when Lucy and a couple of other girls were working the mall dressed up grunge style. When Annie caught her, she told her daughter it would be a very long time before she could ever trust her again. Lucy had gotten the message, but the next day was still despondent. During her spare, she went into the girls' restroom, walked into a stall, undressed, and fondled herself for nearly an hour - very unaware that a camera the size of a lipstick container was recording the whole event above her and transmitting it to a VCR buried in the ceiling of the staff restroom, three doors down.
"That's me," said Lucy quietly, "when I was fourteen and a half."
"Are there any questions from the jurors? No? Thank you, Rev. Kinkirk. That will be all."
Lucy got out of the Grand Jury room as fast as she could. She took Peter and Ruthie by the hand and they ran towards the electric car before anyone could take their pictures. Lucy had a lot of explaining to do to her husband tonight; Peter was going to have to tell his mother the whole truth; and Ruthie was racking her brains as to how to justify herself to her parents.