Chapter Twelve
I t was a few days before Christmas, and school had let out for two weeks. Annie still had not told her husband that she had had a miscarriage. Lucy was now into her fifth month of her pregnancy and still maintaining a full schedule at the church. Mary was into her third month with her and Robbie's child; and Deena was also into her third month, with her and Simon's baby.
Peter and Ruthie were maintaining their self-imposed moratorium on sex, but were finding better ways to express their feelings for each other; much to the relief of both of their respective parents. They were still making out on the odd occasion, this morning in the living room at the parsonage, when the phone rang. Ruthie picked it up.
"Camden Residence; this is Ruthie Camden. How may I direct your call, please?"
"Ruthie, hi, it's Malcolm, Rhiannon's twin brother."
"Hello, Malcolm," said Ruthie as she gently pushed her boyfriend aside and turned on the speakerphone, "Merry Christmas to you, and your sister."
"Thank you, and many happy returns. Listen, we need your help. Is Peter there with you?"
"Right here," said Peter. "What's up?"
"It's Rhiannon's boyfriend," sighed Malcolm. He's gotten fed up with this whole thing, and wants to drop the charges against Henderson."
"You've got to be kidding me," said Ruthie. "He gets sodomized by that, that ."
Ruthie chose this moment to say a certain expletive.
". and now he wants to forget about it? Give me Rhiannon, please."
"I'm right here," Rhiannon said, "I'm using the speakerphone, too. I tried to reason with him but he said something like, 'Maybe it was my fault, maybe I wasn't doing good enough at camp or I was giving him the wrong impression, I just want it to end.'"
"Well, it wasn't his fault," Peter said angrily. "He knows that."
"That's why we need your help - and Ruthie's," replied Rhiannon. "We're driving up to where he lives to try to convince him to change his mind and keep his part of the case active. If anyone can convince him to do that, Ruthie, it's you."
"When are you going up there?" asked Ruthie.
"In about an hour," replied Malcolm.
"Geez, it's our turn to baby-sit Charles and Jennifer," groaned Peter.
"We're going to meet my boyfriend over at the zoo over there," said Rhiannon. "The twins will love that, and besides, my new van that my parents got me for my birthday has safety anchors for the child seats."
"Pick us up here whenever you're ready," said Ruthie. "There's something fishy going on there. Your boyfriend wouldn't be backing out unless someone got to him."
As Ruthie hung up the phone, Peter turned to his girlfriend.
"What do you mean, 'someone got to him'?"
"Someone tried to buy him off, to shut up," said Ruthie stubbornly. "He backs off, soon other complainants will too. It would become a roller coaster. By the time it goes to trial in a couple of weeks, the only charges standing will be related to just two tapes - Lucy, and you and me. Roxie told me that possession of child porn is just a misdemeanor in this state. He'll be back to work in no time flat!"
"Well, at least we get to spend the day at the zoo while we talk him out of it," shrugged Peter.
Forty-five minutes later, a van pulled up, and Ruthie strapped in the child seats into Rhiannon's van, having had a lot of practice doing so before with Sam and David and Annie's van. After an hour's drive they found their way to the zoo. Rhiannon met her boyfriend at the appointed meeting place, and the group started wandering the park.
They eventually found their way to the koala exhibit. Peter thought they were cute bears, but Ruthie quickly reminded her boyfriend that koalas aren't bears but marsupials, related genetically to the kangaroo. Peter quickly admitted his faux pas, and the group sat down on a bench. An ice cream cart came by and the teenagers bought chocolate covered ice cream bars while Ruthie bought her niece and nephew small ice cream cones. After nibbling on her bar for a minute, she decided to cut to the chase.
"Larry," she addressed Rhiannon's boyfriend, "I can understand that you're starting to get cold feet about this whole thing. But this is the worst time to be backing out. The DA says that if there's one case where they're certain of getting a conviction, it's yours. Why would you want to back out now?"
"No, Ruthie, you've misunderstood, and so has Rhiannon," replied Larry. "I have no intention of backing out. I was told that I should consider backing out; in fact I was offered money to do so. I turned it down, naturally."
"Who offered you a bribe?" asked Peter, shocked. He was gently brushing down Jennifer's hair, which had been blown up by the wind, with his fingers
"Henderson's girlfriend, Sharon," replied Larry. "She thinks everyone's got a price. Well I do, but she couldn't afford it on something like this."
"Wait a minute," said Malcolm. "You tried to blackmail her?"
"No, she tried to bribe me first, and named a price. I told her I thought it was an insult and told her she couldn't afford what it would take. She really couldn't, not on her salary anyway."
"But she does have power of attorney," pointed out Rhiannon to her boyfriend, "and while he's in pre-trial assessment she's managing his paychecks. If this comes out in trial, it could look really, really bad."
"I know," admitted Larry, "but regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, all of us victims are going to file a civil suit, remember? I was just testing the waters, seeing what it would take to put an end to this whole thing. If he admitted guilt and bought all of us off for an appropriate sum, I'd be satisfied to have the charges dropped as long as he quit the public service."
"I'm not for sale at any price," said Ruthie stoutly, "and I say that even though he merely invaded Peter's and my privacy. He violated your integrity, and your girlfriend's, and heaven knows how many others. Look, Larry, all you have to say is you were just shooting the breeze, and repudiate any statement you may have made about it. We need a united front, now more than ever. We're counting on you."
Larry thought about it for a minute. Finally, he groaned.
"You're right, Ruthie. I've made many friends the last few weeks. We have common ears. I can't give up."
"You won't regret it," grinned Ruthie. "It'll be painful reliving it all, but you won't regret it."
"I sure hope not. Well, it was nice seeing you all again. And I'll call you tonight, Rhiannon."
Larry kissed his girlfriend and shook hands with everyone else.
As the group started the long walk back to the car, Ruthie stopped, and looked to the ground. She could see blood spattered on it.
"Ruthie, did you forget to ." Peter started, but Ruthie waved her hand.
"You know it's not my time of the month. Unless . oh, God, no! I have to get to a hospital!"
A panic button was nearby. Within a few minutes, Ruthie stepped into an ambulance, which took her to the clinic, the van trailing close behind.
Ruthie feared that she was having a miscarriage, something having gone wrong with Peter's and her choice of birth control. That, indeed, proved to be the case. The fetus was at thirteen weeks. She did the math quickly in her head and figured she and Peter must have conceived the unborn baby - a boy - when they made love after the candlelight dinner at his place.
Peter was there to console Ruthie. But he was also beside himself. He was certain he used protection that night but realized he might not have used it properly. However, when asked, he did acknowledge that he was the father.
Ruthie's situation was stable enough that it was handled on an outpatient basis, but she quickly remembered Annie's ultimatum and realized the consequences when the insurance forms got back to the deacons. Therefore, she quietly requested the doctors state that she underwent treatment for "an abdominal hemorrhage," and that the situation was treated on the spot with stitches and did not require further observation.
"You'll get paid more for that than a miscarriage," she told the doctor in the ER. "Besides, it's not like the HMOs are ever going to find out what you really did on me. They're idiots anyway."
As the group left the hospital and Ruthie and Peter were pushing the baby carriages again, she turned to her boyfriend, Rhiannon and Malcolm.
"This stays between the four of us," she warned them. "If anyone asks you, it's 'deny, deny, deny,' all the way."
Peter admired Ruthie for covering the bases. Nevertheless, he could not help but be worried that the rebellious girl the other Camdens siblings remembered ruefully might be back once more. He turned to the elder twins.
"Where have we heard that one before? 'Deny, deny, deny?'"
I t was a few days before Christmas, and school had let out for two weeks. Annie still had not told her husband that she had had a miscarriage. Lucy was now into her fifth month of her pregnancy and still maintaining a full schedule at the church. Mary was into her third month with her and Robbie's child; and Deena was also into her third month, with her and Simon's baby.
Peter and Ruthie were maintaining their self-imposed moratorium on sex, but were finding better ways to express their feelings for each other; much to the relief of both of their respective parents. They were still making out on the odd occasion, this morning in the living room at the parsonage, when the phone rang. Ruthie picked it up.
"Camden Residence; this is Ruthie Camden. How may I direct your call, please?"
"Ruthie, hi, it's Malcolm, Rhiannon's twin brother."
"Hello, Malcolm," said Ruthie as she gently pushed her boyfriend aside and turned on the speakerphone, "Merry Christmas to you, and your sister."
"Thank you, and many happy returns. Listen, we need your help. Is Peter there with you?"
"Right here," said Peter. "What's up?"
"It's Rhiannon's boyfriend," sighed Malcolm. He's gotten fed up with this whole thing, and wants to drop the charges against Henderson."
"You've got to be kidding me," said Ruthie. "He gets sodomized by that, that ."
Ruthie chose this moment to say a certain expletive.
". and now he wants to forget about it? Give me Rhiannon, please."
"I'm right here," Rhiannon said, "I'm using the speakerphone, too. I tried to reason with him but he said something like, 'Maybe it was my fault, maybe I wasn't doing good enough at camp or I was giving him the wrong impression, I just want it to end.'"
"Well, it wasn't his fault," Peter said angrily. "He knows that."
"That's why we need your help - and Ruthie's," replied Rhiannon. "We're driving up to where he lives to try to convince him to change his mind and keep his part of the case active. If anyone can convince him to do that, Ruthie, it's you."
"When are you going up there?" asked Ruthie.
"In about an hour," replied Malcolm.
"Geez, it's our turn to baby-sit Charles and Jennifer," groaned Peter.
"We're going to meet my boyfriend over at the zoo over there," said Rhiannon. "The twins will love that, and besides, my new van that my parents got me for my birthday has safety anchors for the child seats."
"Pick us up here whenever you're ready," said Ruthie. "There's something fishy going on there. Your boyfriend wouldn't be backing out unless someone got to him."
As Ruthie hung up the phone, Peter turned to his girlfriend.
"What do you mean, 'someone got to him'?"
"Someone tried to buy him off, to shut up," said Ruthie stubbornly. "He backs off, soon other complainants will too. It would become a roller coaster. By the time it goes to trial in a couple of weeks, the only charges standing will be related to just two tapes - Lucy, and you and me. Roxie told me that possession of child porn is just a misdemeanor in this state. He'll be back to work in no time flat!"
"Well, at least we get to spend the day at the zoo while we talk him out of it," shrugged Peter.
Forty-five minutes later, a van pulled up, and Ruthie strapped in the child seats into Rhiannon's van, having had a lot of practice doing so before with Sam and David and Annie's van. After an hour's drive they found their way to the zoo. Rhiannon met her boyfriend at the appointed meeting place, and the group started wandering the park.
They eventually found their way to the koala exhibit. Peter thought they were cute bears, but Ruthie quickly reminded her boyfriend that koalas aren't bears but marsupials, related genetically to the kangaroo. Peter quickly admitted his faux pas, and the group sat down on a bench. An ice cream cart came by and the teenagers bought chocolate covered ice cream bars while Ruthie bought her niece and nephew small ice cream cones. After nibbling on her bar for a minute, she decided to cut to the chase.
"Larry," she addressed Rhiannon's boyfriend, "I can understand that you're starting to get cold feet about this whole thing. But this is the worst time to be backing out. The DA says that if there's one case where they're certain of getting a conviction, it's yours. Why would you want to back out now?"
"No, Ruthie, you've misunderstood, and so has Rhiannon," replied Larry. "I have no intention of backing out. I was told that I should consider backing out; in fact I was offered money to do so. I turned it down, naturally."
"Who offered you a bribe?" asked Peter, shocked. He was gently brushing down Jennifer's hair, which had been blown up by the wind, with his fingers
"Henderson's girlfriend, Sharon," replied Larry. "She thinks everyone's got a price. Well I do, but she couldn't afford it on something like this."
"Wait a minute," said Malcolm. "You tried to blackmail her?"
"No, she tried to bribe me first, and named a price. I told her I thought it was an insult and told her she couldn't afford what it would take. She really couldn't, not on her salary anyway."
"But she does have power of attorney," pointed out Rhiannon to her boyfriend, "and while he's in pre-trial assessment she's managing his paychecks. If this comes out in trial, it could look really, really bad."
"I know," admitted Larry, "but regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, all of us victims are going to file a civil suit, remember? I was just testing the waters, seeing what it would take to put an end to this whole thing. If he admitted guilt and bought all of us off for an appropriate sum, I'd be satisfied to have the charges dropped as long as he quit the public service."
"I'm not for sale at any price," said Ruthie stoutly, "and I say that even though he merely invaded Peter's and my privacy. He violated your integrity, and your girlfriend's, and heaven knows how many others. Look, Larry, all you have to say is you were just shooting the breeze, and repudiate any statement you may have made about it. We need a united front, now more than ever. We're counting on you."
Larry thought about it for a minute. Finally, he groaned.
"You're right, Ruthie. I've made many friends the last few weeks. We have common ears. I can't give up."
"You won't regret it," grinned Ruthie. "It'll be painful reliving it all, but you won't regret it."
"I sure hope not. Well, it was nice seeing you all again. And I'll call you tonight, Rhiannon."
Larry kissed his girlfriend and shook hands with everyone else.
As the group started the long walk back to the car, Ruthie stopped, and looked to the ground. She could see blood spattered on it.
"Ruthie, did you forget to ." Peter started, but Ruthie waved her hand.
"You know it's not my time of the month. Unless . oh, God, no! I have to get to a hospital!"
A panic button was nearby. Within a few minutes, Ruthie stepped into an ambulance, which took her to the clinic, the van trailing close behind.
Ruthie feared that she was having a miscarriage, something having gone wrong with Peter's and her choice of birth control. That, indeed, proved to be the case. The fetus was at thirteen weeks. She did the math quickly in her head and figured she and Peter must have conceived the unborn baby - a boy - when they made love after the candlelight dinner at his place.
Peter was there to console Ruthie. But he was also beside himself. He was certain he used protection that night but realized he might not have used it properly. However, when asked, he did acknowledge that he was the father.
Ruthie's situation was stable enough that it was handled on an outpatient basis, but she quickly remembered Annie's ultimatum and realized the consequences when the insurance forms got back to the deacons. Therefore, she quietly requested the doctors state that she underwent treatment for "an abdominal hemorrhage," and that the situation was treated on the spot with stitches and did not require further observation.
"You'll get paid more for that than a miscarriage," she told the doctor in the ER. "Besides, it's not like the HMOs are ever going to find out what you really did on me. They're idiots anyway."
As the group left the hospital and Ruthie and Peter were pushing the baby carriages again, she turned to her boyfriend, Rhiannon and Malcolm.
"This stays between the four of us," she warned them. "If anyone asks you, it's 'deny, deny, deny,' all the way."
Peter admired Ruthie for covering the bases. Nevertheless, he could not help but be worried that the rebellious girl the other Camdens siblings remembered ruefully might be back once more. He turned to the elder twins.
"Where have we heard that one before? 'Deny, deny, deny?'"