Chapter 68: A Perfect Storm

June 15, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

It was early on Saturday afternoon. Kara and I had gone to karate practice, but Jessica was too far along in her pregnancy to participate. We’d had lunch, and I’d excused myself to go to my study to make a phone call.

“Ohio law won’t be an issue,” Bethany said. “The statute of limitations ran out on your sister’s 23rd birthday. And Ohio has exceptions to reporting in certain, limited cases for therapists. I’m not so sure that your psychiatrist can avoid reporting in Illinois, though. Even if he doesn’t think it happened there, the law allows for no exceptions of any kind for medical professionals. He would be required to report it, even if the statute of limitations had expired. DCFS would investigate, and could keep records for decades, even if no formal charges could be filed.”

“Would that be true even if I were the one abused as a minor in Ohio? What if I refused to coöperate?”

“It wouldn’t matter. They could subpoena your psychiatrist’s records and get the names and do the investigation anyway. Granted, it would be tough for them to force someone from out of state to do anything, but they could certainly report it to Ohio. I don’t believe Ohio would do anything with the report because the statute of limitations has expired, but you never know.”

“So I can’t tell him?”

“No. He can’t promise what he did. He’s mistaken in his interpretation of the law. If you want a second opinion, ask Melanie. She’s not an expert in this specific area, but she can certainly read a criminal statute and tell you what it means. And the precedents, though the law has changed several times recently, so those may be of limited value.”

“But I could talk to someone in Ohio?” I asked.

“I think so, yes.”

“You think so?”

“I’m not about to promise you a THING in this area. Ohio could always come up with something, and you could be charged, even if the charges were eventually dismissed. Mandatory reporting has made it nearly impossible for someone in your situation to get counseling. Ohio has tried to create exceptions, but in the end, the therapist has to decide if it’s worth the risk of losing their license and the risk of criminal prosecution to keep it from the authorities. And you can imagine how most people would respond in such a situation.”

“So the law has made it impossible for people who need help to get it? Talk about the height of stupidity!”

“You know that in most cases, I agree with you about government overreach and over-criminalization, but your case is so exceptional that trying to write it into law would be nearly impossible without creating huge loopholes. Even Ohio’s exceptions are carefully drawn and extremely limited. With good reason.”

“So what do I do?” I asked.

“You have two choices. Tell him that, for his own protection, and yours, you have to keep it from him. Or keep hiding it. Well, or stop seeing him.”

“Those are all bad choices,” I sighed.

“Yes, they are. Your sister is in the same boat and has the exact same problem. At some point, if he hasn’t already, Doctor Fremd is going to twig to the fact that she’s keeping something from him and push for her to tell him. She can’t do that for the same reasons you can’t.”

“Then how the hell do we get help?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” she sighed. “Let me call my professor in Madison, the one whom you met, and talk to him. It would be in the context of my dissertation, so it won’t draw any suspicions. And because he’s not in Illinois, your state laws don’t apply to him. Wisconsin has research exceptions, too, even for licensed therapists.”

“Are YOU safe in this matter?” I asked.

“I had no requirement to report before I started my clinical work. I talked this through with the professor in Madison, the department head at Loyola, and the clinical director where I worked. Again, all in the context of my research. Because it WAS research, and it was done before I was licensed, and because it was over before I was licensed, I had a good enough argument that I wouldn’t have lost my Illinois license over it. In Ohio, I’m safer because of what I told you before about the statute of limitations and the limited exceptions for certain kinds of counseling.”

“Another good reason for you to stay in Ohio to practice,” I said.

“Yes. It wasn’t part of my calculation when Nick died, but now that we’re discussing it, I’d say it’s an important reason.”

“Let me know what you find out,” I said. “This is a shitty situation.”

“It has been since the very beginning. We just didn’t realize it back then.”

“You did,” I said.

“To a point. Remember, I acquiesced after I talked to your sister. I should have put a stop to it then.”

“I’m not sure you could have,” I said.

There was an awkward silence, and then we ended our call with a promise to speak soon, and Bethany asking if it was OK to visit when I got back from Europe. I told her she and Nicholas were always welcome, and I looked forward to seeing them.

After I hung up, I sat quietly contemplating the conversation that I’d just had. All I had before me were a series of bad choices, and I couldn’t see a way out. For me, I could probably safely stop seeing Doctor Bradford, though that would cause problems with Al. One thing was for sure, and that was that my sister couldn’t stop seeing Doctor Fremd. Not at this point, and probably not for quite some time.

If circumstances were different, and I didn’t have my wives and kids, and the business, I’d take the risk of telling Doctor Bradford. If things went badly, I could always find a job in another state and escape any bad publicity. It wasn’t as if what happened was going to make the national news. Heck, it might not even make the local news, though any public investigation would get back to people who I would never want to know about it.

The other problem was that DCFS would have a field day. Jane Danforth would instantly reopen her investigation and could cause no end of trouble if she chose to do so. There wasn’t anything there, but I’d heard enough stories of DCFS using the flimsiest of arguments to seize children from their parents and create a nightmare for the parents to clear their names. And in this case, I wouldn’t be able to clear my name completely, no matter what I did.

There wasn’t much I could do about it at the moment, so I spent a few minutes breathing deeply and clearing my mind before I rejoined my family and our guests.

“Are you joining us for Guys’ Night tonight?” I asked Kent as we shot pool in the basement.

“Absolutely. And Jennie is going out with the girls. How does the babysitting work?”

“Tonight it’s my friend’s daughter, Fawn, along with a friend of hers, who are watching the kids. Other times it’s one of Josie’s friends from work and her friend.”

I still needed to talk to Fawn, and I hoped I could find a few minutes to at least arrange a time to talk. I was sure I could excuse myself for a few minutes to check on the kids, and then take her aside.

“Very convenient!” Kent said.

“And very expensive! $25 an hour!”

“But don’t they have ten to twelve kids to watch?”

“Yes.”

“I’d say you’re getting off cheaply!”

I chuckled, “Probably so. But Fawn, and the other main sitter, April, have been around the kids for years, and the kids love them.”

“What about your nanny?”

“She goes out with the girls. It’s one of her nights off. She always takes Friday nights; because that’s the night she goes out with her friends.”

“How long as she been your nanny? She seems pretty young!”

“About two years. We had one before her, but she up and got married!”

We played pool and talked until dinner, and then after dinner, our friends arrived. The girls all headed out to a jazz club that Josie and Jennifer liked, and the guys split between playing pool and poker. To the delight of Karl and Terry, I decided to play pool and mingle, rather than play Hold ‘Em. I’d won the last three tournaments and figured it was time to give someone else a chance. Around 9:30pm, I excused myself to check on the kids.

“Everything OK?” I asked.

“Yes,” Fawn said brightly. “This is my friend Keisha!”

A beautiful girl with ebony skin and legs that didn’t seem to quit got up from the couch and extended her hand. I shook it gently.

“Hi. I hope my kids weren’t too much trouble!” I said.

“Oh no, Mr. Adams!” Keisha said mirthfully. “I have six little brothers and sisters! I’m used to it!”

I laughed, “Well, I see Fawn brought in a professional! Of course, she thinks dealing with ONE little brother is a nightmare!”

“That’s because he is!” Fawn said with a smile. “He’s a royal pain in the ass! Just like Jesse is to Birgit!”

“Were those two at it again?” I asked.

“Actually, they were pretty good tonight. Carol and Stan are here, so Jesse was with Francesca, and that usually helps him behave. Of course, that also means that Kristin is going to try to cause trouble!”

“She can be a real brat,” I said. “She’s still angling for Jesse.”

“It’s cute, really!” Keisha said. “They’re all five and younger! Well, except for those two cousins that are visiting.”

“Is everyone in bed?”

“Except Chelsea and Colin, yes,” Fawn said.

“Good. Fawn, do you have a minute for a quick chat?” I asked.

Fawn smiled, and after I said ‘goodbye’ to Keisha, she followed me into the kitchen.

“Sorry about the other day,” I said. “You just shocked me.”

“Because you thought I’d done it with Brandon?”

“I suspected, after Jennifer caught the two of you on the couch here.”

“Oh!” she blushed deeply. “You know about that?”

“Yes. She told me because she didn’t want me to be surprised if your dad somehow found out.”

“My dad,” she sighed, sounding exasperated. “He would send me to a convent!”

I chuckled, “And apparently with good reason!”

“What?!” she gasped again, this time sounding shocked.

“I meant from his perspective,” I said. “I have no problem with the concept, but your dad certainly does. And most dads are like yours.”

“And you’re afraid of him!” she said accusingly.

“I don’t think that’s the right word,” I said. “I just don’t want to wreck our friendship.”

“I won’t tell! I promise!”

“I know,” I said soothingly.

“So will you?” she asked softly, looking down at the floor.

I put my hand under her chin and gently lifted her head to look into her eyes.

“Will I what?” I asked.

“Make love to me?”

“Yes,” I said. “But not tonight. We’ll talk soon.”

I bent down and gave her a quick kiss, just touching our lips for a brief instant. I turned and walked out the door. That brief contact had given me an instant, raging erection, so I walked to the corner of the yard and took several deep breaths, willing the blood to flow away from where it had so quickly gathered. As I stood there, trying to compose myself, I saw Fawn looking out through the window of the back door of the coach house, with a huge smile on her face.

June 16, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“When?” Jessica asked.

“We’ll have to work that out. I don’t want it to be rushed. She’s going to have to be super careful about the timing. I’d almost think it has to be during the day when Al is at work and when Belinda is traveling. There’s a question of where, as well.”

“Too many little eyes and ears here at home!”

“And too much risk to be at her house. I’ll have to think about it.”

“How did you leave it with her?”

“Just that I would. Obviously, I need to talk to her some more, but I wanted to let it sink in and give her a chance to think about it.”

“Think about it?” Kara giggled. “She’ll be so hot and bothered she won’t be able to think straight! You know how it is with teenage virgins!”

“And older ones, too,” I grinned, looking at Jessica.

“What’s the plan for today?” Kara asked, ignoring my leer.

“Not much, really,” I said. “There’s a race, but Bill and Alan have both had a really crappy string of races. They did finally fix the rules, so maybe things will improve, but I’m still annoyed at the crazy response to a single pit road accident.”

“A man died!” Jessica protested. “Someone you met! And a friend of your friend!”

“And do we close all the roads when someone dies in a traffic accident? Or shut down all air travel when a plane crashes? No! NASCAR’s response was bullshit, and they know it. But to save face, they won’t admit it, and it’s taken nearly half the season for them to get to a reasonable point.”

“Don’t argue with him, Jess, you’ll just get him wound up. You KNOW his stance on risk-taking and personal responsibility.”

“All over a dumb sport where they drive in circles,” Jessica sighed.

“Versus one where you try to move an egg-shaped ball past eleven men who are all trying to throw you to the ground and pounce on you?”

“Careful, Tiger! Football is a religion in Texas!”

“Only Americans could call a game where it’s illegal to use your feet to advance the ball ‘football’!” I teased. “At least in the rest of the world, it’s illegal to use your hands in ‘football’! But not here! No! You HAVE to use your hands in ‘football’. Now, if that’s not dumber than driving in circles, I don’t know what is!”

“See what you did, Jess?” Kara giggled.

“A unified penalty box!” Jessica teased.

“Yeah, OK. That probably wasn’t the brightest idea the NHL ever had, but that went away back in the 50s!”

“The ‘two-line pass’ rule,” she countered.

“You got me on that one!” I laughed. “A stupid rule if there ever was one. It’s a remnant of the ancient rules where you couldn’t make a forward pass. When they changed them, they created all kinds of ‘offside’ rules to prevent you from simply flinging the puck down the ice. The ones we have today are icing, two-line pass, and offside when entering the attacking zone. I’d love to see the two-line pass rule go away and open up the game a bit.”

“So what are we doing today?” Kara asked again.

“Just the Rap Session,” I said. “Kent, Jennie, and the kids are leaving about noon so they can be back to Ohio by 6:00pm. Otherwise, just another lazy Sunday at the Adams’ house.”

June 17, 1991, Chicago, Illinois

“Steve, Jamie Ferguson is on the line for you. He says it’s urgent,” Keri said.

“Put him through.”

He was on the line a few seconds later.

“Jamie? What’s up?”

“We were just served with a lawsuit by Boston Legal Systems.”

“What?!”

“They’re alleging that NIKA, in violation of the end-user license agreement, reverse engineered their system. They’re alleging both copyright and license violations, as well as tortious interference, and are asking for $5,000,000 in damages and an injunction against doing it again in the future.”

“What the fuck?” I spat.

Penny looked at me, and I held up a finger to tell her to wait.

“Nelson, Reed, and Pulver are named as the primary defendants, but we’re named in the suit as well. They sued us in Massachusetts state court under the terms of their license agreement with Nelson, Reed, and Pulver.”

“We never signed that! They have to sue us in Illinois or in Federal Court! Even I know that!”

“They allege that we were agents for Nelson, Reed, and Pulver, and as such, party to the license agreement. There’s an adhesive clause in the license.”