RAPE-Serialized version

 

Hi Everyone:

I am pleased to publish chapter 20 of my novel, RAPE. After reading the chapter, I hope you will comment. As you know, your comments and suggestions influence my revision. If you missed any of the previous chapters, check the archives.

          I encourage you to visit my website:  joshswritingroom.com/ where you will find, the current short story.

You can also check out my e-published novels. If you find one to your liking, you can purchase it from Amazon.com, or from Barnes and Noble. You’ll find links on the website taking you right to it.

PATH TO A PARDON,

THE EINDHOVEN STRATEGY,

& PALM BEACH STYLE.

          All three novels were written to deliver hours of reading pleasure and are modestly priced.

 

As I publish each new chapter, the previous chapter(s) should be archived, so you can easily catch up. For those who prefer, here is an encapsulated version of the previous action:

 

PREVIOUSLY: RAPE

Prosperous executive, Gary Sanders, has an appointment at the home of Julia Walsh, the reigning Empress of Palm Beach. Julia’s niece, Oscar winning actress, Miriam West, is visiting and has jewelry to insure.

Miriam accuses Gary of assault and rape. Chief Moore shows Gary a close-up of her facial cuts and bruises. They await the lab report.

Gary’s wife, Carol is furious. She moves him into the guest room.

Reporters who publish stories favoring the actress surround Gary’s home and office. His children are harassed at school and Gary loses his clients and his major companies. Neighbors and friends shun Gary and his family.

Gary’s lawyer, Joe Flaherty sends P.I. Jim Bosley to investigate, and then visits Carol. He finds her parents have arrived and plan to take her and the children back to Boston.

A January court date is set. Bail is set. Carol tells Gary that she and the children are going to Boston to live with her parents.

One of Miriam West’s fans assaults Gary. A neighborhood committee offers money to help Gary sell his home, if his family leaves Palm Beach within 60 days.

P.I. Bosley learns that Consuela Arista was fired after Gary’s visit & Reporter; Miguel Gonzales is already looking for her.

Miguel’s editor helps him find an address for Consuela. He learns she has gone to visit her mother in San Antonio.

Consuela tells her mother that she was in the next room when Gary came to see her about insuring her jewelry and she saw him leave. Now, Miriam is forcing her to help bring him down.

Carol’s parents make an appointment for her to meet with the family lawyer about a divorce.

Bosley meets with ex-girlfriend, Connie, who works for the same newspaper as Miguel and learns the reporter has gone to San Antonio. He offers & she accepts a job running his office.

During lunch at the Sailfish Club, Miriam has too much to drink and thinks about how she advanced her career and what she may yet have to do.

 

 

CHAPTER 20

 

 

 

Carol closed the impressive glass door to Henry Castle’s tenth floor office and made her way along the carpeted corridor toward the elevator. She paused there, trying to get the thoughts spinning in her head to stop, or at least slow down. She liked Henry and had no doubt as to his competence, nor did she doubt that he was both efficient, and ruthless; all qualities one wanted in their divorce lawyer. She only had one problem and it consumed her.

It hadn’t taken the attorney long to get around to the subject. Either her mother, her father, or both had filled him in on Gary’s status and their personal desire to see her end the marriage. They never fully approved of him; after all, Gary came from Youngstown not Boston and a football scholarship sent him to Penn State not Harvard. She liked that lawyer Castle had made it clear that if he agreed to represent her, then she and not her parents became his client and he’d take no action until she gave him the signal to proceed. With great patience, he had laid out the pros and cons of acting now versus after the trial. She only needed to give him the signal.

She shook her head and pushed the elevator button. She heard the hum of the motor and looked back down the hallway at the door to the attorney’s office, recalling her impressions. She found no fault with the office; it had been clean and business-like. She had arrived on time, exactly eleven-fifteen, and Cynthia, his Administrative Assistant had asked her to have a seat.

The waiting area was comfortable, furnished with graceful Victorian overstuffed chairs and several expensive books graced the coffee table. She had barely touched one when Cynthia came to escort her into Henry’s private quarters. She remembered how impressed she had been by the tasteful artwork, the well-padded, deep blue carpet and the huge mahogany desk. The absence of file folders and loose papers she always associated with business types and especially lawyers had really grabbed her. These he’d replaced by a single I-Pad. Henry Castle, she decided, might be in his mid-fifties but he’s certainly up-to-date.  

            Stepping off the elevator she strolled toward the exit knowing that Charles, whom she’d known forever, waited with her father’s Rolls Royce. It occurred to her that Charles had to be about the same age as Mr. Castle. How odd, Charles is so tall and Henry is short. Oh well, look how people mocked short Napoleon. No doubt, the attorney has that same combative nature.

She settled into the back seat and waited for the chauffeur to close her door. She sighed and thought; I don’t know if I’m anxious to get back to the house on Louisburg Square, or not. Mother is sure to ask me what I decided. What do I tell her? I doubt she’ll accept the truth, neither will father.

Charles slid in behind the wheel, closed his door and half-turning said, “Where to ma’am? Shall we go home?”

As Carol tried to decide, her cell phone rang. Holding up an index finger, she answered. “Yes, this is Carol Sanders. He did what? Yes, of course. I’ll be there directly.” She closed the lid of her phone and looked at her driver. “Sorry about that, Charles. Please drive me to the Parker Hill Elementary. I’ve just been summoned. Robert is in trouble.”

He started the car and merged into the on-coming traffic; “Well, ma’am he’s pretty young; what, about eight?”

Carol sighed, “Seven, going on seventeen.”

“Youngsters can find all kinds of ways to get into trouble. Sometimes that’s okay. My oldest boy almost never did, and it worried the heck out of me until he became twelve. Then he and one of his friends played hooky and got caught. I remember breathing a big sigh of relief just knowing I had a normal child.”

“I wish Robert’s crime only amounted to playing hooky. I’m afraid this is more serious. He’s being accused of bullying.”

Charles stopped right in front of the entrance to the private school and hurried to open the door for his passenger. Inside the building, Carol walked beneath the banner that read: Boston’s Finest Students, and made her way to the administrative office.

After identifying herself, a young woman ushered her into the office of the Headmaster, Wilson Ford. His oversized spectacles rested on puffy cheeks, and his huge body overflowed his chair reminding her of the Pillsbury Doughboy.

The doughboy pushed himself to his feet, held out a beefy hand, and smiled. She shook the hand offered and said, “Mr. Ford, I can’t begin to tell you how your call shocked me. I just enrolled both of my children in your school yesterday, and today you say that Robert is acting up. I assure you he’s never done anything like this before. I can’t imagine what got into him. Is he physically all right?”

“Yes, Mrs. Sanders, he is fine. I can’t say as much for the little girl that he assaulted.”

“Assaulted? I thought you said he—Robert bullied the girl?”

Wilson Ford gave her a knowing nod; “Yes, that’s correct. In this case, he didn’t simply try to intimidate her into giving him her lunch; according to Miss Clark, the lunchroom supervisor, he actually pushed and punched her. The girl became extremely distraught. We contacted her mother, Mrs. Von Sprole, and she has already taken Angela home. I don’t think they will press charges but we must do something about Robert immediately.”

Carol felt the blood drain from her face; “You can count on my cooperation.”

The Doughboy gave her a quick smile; “I understand that you have just arrived from Palm Beach. If it were anywhere else in the south I’d suspect that the boy had been raised to a rougher standard of behavior. In any event, I’m afraid I have no choice but to suspend him, at least for the rest of the week. If Mrs. Von Sprole is satisfied, I’ll reinstate him effective Monday unless, of course, you prefer keeping him home until after the holidays.”

Carol nodded; “May I call you on Friday?”

“Yes, I think that will be appropriate. In the meantime I urge you to have an in depth conversation with Robert and have him see a child psychologist. It is apparent that he has some unresolved anger issues and we must separate Robert from our other students until they are resolved.”

Carol rose from her chair; “I’d like to take Robert home now.”

Within minutes she had her son by the hand and marched him out the front door to where Charles stood holding open the car’s rear door. Sliding in behind her son, she waited for Charles to close the door before turning to look at the boy’s downcast expression. Here’s another problem I don’t need right now. When am I going to get a break? This is all Gary’s fault; if he hadn’t gotten himself in a jam with that damned actress there’d be no need to consider divorce, no need to listen to my parents opinion. As things are, I have to answer to both of them and I have to deal with Robert and his behavior. Yes, Robert is certainly Gary’s fault. Like father, like son. Damn you Gary! Why do I have to be the one to discipline the child? Why in hell can’t I figure out what you’d do if you were here?

She took a deep breath, and then taking a firm grip on her son’s chin turned his face toward her; “Robert, what happened between you and Angela?”

His face, a miniature of his father’s, looked pale; “She had chocolate pudding and I wanted it. I asked her for it, but she said no, so I pushed her and took it off her tray. She said she’d report me to the teacher, so I told her she better not. She said it again and that’s when I hit her.”

Carol heard Charles chuckle. “Robert, if you wanted chocolate pudding, why didn’t you get it when you went through the cafeteria line?”

“I didn’t see it.”

Carol pursed her lips and shook her head in disapproval. “So you just stole Angela’s?”

“I asked her for it, but she’s stingy.”

“And then you pushed her and you hit her.”

“Well isn’t that what daddy does?”

“Young man, you have a lot to learn. When we get home, I’m going to call your father and you’re going to have to explain that to him. And, so help me, if he tells me to take a belt to you, that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

Within minutes, they were in the Beacon Hill section of town. Charles parked the car and opened the door. His face became serious as he looked at Robert, but Carol felt certain that he smirked as he closed the door behind her.

She marched Robert into the house and up the main staircase to his room without encountering her parents. Closing the bedroom door, she pulled out her cell and speed dialed Gary. He answered on the second ring.”

“Hi Carol, how are you?”

“I’m okay, but we’ve got a problem. Yesterday, I enrolled both kids in one of the finest private schools in Boston, and today they called me to pick up Robert.” Carol proceeded to relate everything she had learned at the school and finished by saying, “He can’t return to school until next Monday at the earliest.”

“I see. It sounds like you have a handle on it. What do you expect me to do?”

“I want you to talk to him. He thinks that everything you do is okay, so here you talk to him.” She handed the phone to her son and commanded, “Talk to your father!”

“Hi Dad”

“Robert, you mom tells me that you hit a girl.”

“I know, but she wouldn’t give me what I wanted, so I did what you do.”