Chapter 5

[Jack writes]

They arrived almost together. We invited them inside and they came in and sat down.

I said, "Okay, What's going on?"

John and Becky looked at each other. Finally, John said, "It's our mother. She is in the hospital."

Sandy said, "What happened?"

John replied, "As best we can find out, she went out Saturday night after the wedding and began partying. She stayed at the hotel until Monday when she checked out. At some point, it appears she met some of the same crowd from two years ago. She was badly beaten and tortured as well as used hard sexually. She was found in a cheap hotel downtown unconscious and with no identification. She came to last night late. The hospital had tried to call Becky but her phone was off for the night. She didn't have my cell phone number since the company gave me one and I had stopped the old number.

"She's in bad shape. It's worse than last time. We went to see her after church. We know how you feel and neither of us blames you. We understand that you don't want to be involved in this. However, Dad, we need ideas about what to do."

I looked blank. Then I said, "Have either of you called your grandfather?"

John shook his head and Becky said, "No, sir."

"I think you should. Your grandfather has probably been enabling your mother's behavior. He excuses everything she does as not her fault. He needs to be involved. She may not be competent to care for herself and both of you have lives that preclude being her caretaker. Her father is retired. He can find the time."

Becky said, "I will make the call. Dad, what else should we do?"

"One is to be careful. Those are some bad people and you don't want to get caught by them. They are violent and neither of you want to be part of that life style.

"Second is to practice tough love. This situation was of her making, not yours. She has to understand that decisions have consequences. Pam, John, this particularly affects you. I'm not sure she should be left alone with Johnny after he is born. I would make sure your liquor cabinet can be and is locked when she is at your house.

"Third is to get your grandfather, her father, to take responsibility for her. I suspect that she may have used up the money from the divorce settlement and from the sale of the house and is living off him. John, you heard what he said about your old and current houses. That has always been his attitude. You have to guard against it. It's insidious."

John smiled. "Been there, done that. Pam and I have reconciled our lives on that issue." He gave Pam's hand a gentle squeeze. Pam leaned into him and smiled.

I said, "Sandy, do you have any ideas?"

"No, dear. You know her and her father. I've just met her twice and have never talked to him. My concern is that the people who injured her might injure someone here. I am sorry for her getting into that situation but she will have to find it in herself to extract herself from it or stay away from it. For her, my concern is that the violence is escalating. They left her in a coma for days this time."

Pam said, "John and I have talked about this before and he had worried about the silence from her over the last six months. We plan to be careful about her presence in our lives and even more so in our son's life.

"Dad, you will be happy to know that we have joined the church where we've been going for the past year. It's like any church, lots of good people, some hypocrites, and some social types."

Mark said, "I haven't inquired into Becky's mother's situation because she just hadn't been in contact lately. Some of what you have talked about alarms me. I have to be concerned about my wife's safety. If these folks can't get hold of her mother, might there be an attempt on Becky?"

I said, "Mark, we just don't know. This is a crowd that she got involved with after the divorce and after Becky moved out from the house. No one knows who they are or really anything about them. The unknown is always more a problem than the known.

"Having said that, I have some but not a lot of concern. Becky, you aren't recognizable as a 'Norris' any longer. Short of putting up a sign, I don't know how they would find you unless they are keeping watch on her room. That wasn't the case last time and I don't think it's the case this time. It seems that she finds them then they use her and discard her.

"Are the police involved?"

John said, "Yes, but it's hard to determine how much attention the case will get. I don't think there are any real leads. Mother hasn't been able to tell them anything useful. At least, that's what I seemed to hear.

"Sandy Mom, at least it wasn't you. You and Dad are anchors in our relationship along with Pam's parents. We both appreciate you and love you.

"We want you and Dad to be involved in Johnny's life. He will have four grandparents. I don't think he needs a fifth at this time."

"Son, I understand what you're saying but she is going to need emotional support. You and Becky are the logical ones to provide it. I'm not sure how much Grandfather Roberts will or can provide."

Becky said, "I would like to call him here on speaker. I may need some quiet help and, if it gets bad, Mark, I may motion for you to step in." She looked around at us as we nodded at her. She pressed the buttons for the call. She pressed the speaker button and we could hear the phone ring. "Hello, Grandfather Roberts, this is Becky. I need to talk to you, sir."

"Hello, Becky. It's good to hear from you. Do you know where your mother is. I haven't been able to get in touch with her for days."

"Yes, sir. I know. That's why I'm calling.

"She was found in a cheap hotel downtown, naked and with no id. She was in a coma for days and the hospital didn't know who she was or who to call. She finally regained consciousness and gave them my name and number but my phone was turned off for the night. When I turned it on, I got the message.

"She's still in the hospital. From what she has been able to tell the police and me, she found the same crowd that hurt her before. They abused her sexually and physically until she was unconscious. They left her for dead after paying cash for the room. When the money ran out, the manager came to check on the room because of a 'do not disturb' sign on the door. She was found on the floor unconscious. The cops and an ambulance were called. She was taken to the hospital.