Chapter 62

"Your Honor," Miller began, "I'm president of A Child's Last Wish, Inc. We're the organization that made arrangements for Miss Crowley's trip to Hawaii. We operate on a very small budget and are staffed almost entirely with volunteers. We also receive invaluable assistance from travel and hospitality organizations. For example, on Miss Crowley's trip United Airlines donated the transportation, Hyatt Corporation was providing the hotel room, the Honolulu Chamber of Commerce was picking up a number of tours and incidentals, and so forth.

"The reason I came to Chicago today was to thank Miss Crowley. You see, on Tuesday I received a check in her name for one million dollars. It was the first payment on what is an annual pledge of at least as much money. Frankly, this is far more money than our organization has ever had before. Because of its volunteer nature, I don't believe we've had a total of one million dollars in our entire history.

"With the check came a letter from Evangeline Pierce Collins. In the letter she told us about her plans to adopt Kristin and also sent us a recent picture of her. She said that Kristin is the most lovable and loving person she's ever met. Although she had only known her for a couple of days when she mailed us the check, she didn't believe she could love anyone more and already considers her to be her daughter.

"Your Honor, our organization is very proud of one thing. With respect to money donated to us, over 99 percent is used directly for the children whose last days on earth we try to make a little more pleasant." With a pointed look at the Human Services table he added, "I wish the same could be said for other human service providers.

"However, Your Honor, I have here the file on Kristin Elizabeth Crowley we compiled largely from material supplied by the Mayo Clinic. Included are some photographs you may find interesting."

He opened a manilla envelope and removed a stack of five eleven-by-fourteen glossy photos which he put on the judge's bench.

Ferguson looked at them and visibly paled. They showed Kris in bed nude with the covers pulled down to her pubic area. Although some showed her nude chest, there were no breasts at all. In fact, all it showed was skin and bones. The last two showed her legs. Not only did her thighs appear to be no larger than the femur bone itself, but both the tibia and fibula in the lower leg were individually visible. The judge ordered the photographs to be marked as exhibits and passed to the Human Services table.

When she looked at the pictures, Pamela Castle exclaimed, "My God!", immediately retched and vomited up her breakfast. Ferguson noted that Kris herself had not reacted at all when she looked at the pictures. There was a short recess to clean up the mess.

Returning to the witness stand following the recess, Miller said, "There's one question I would like to raise. At the time these pictures were taken, the notation says that Kristin weighed seventy-eight pounds. Dr. Parker testified that she weighed seventy when she left the Clinic. Can you tell me where eight more pounds could have come from on a frame that already looks like a skeleton's?"

Ferguson thanked Miller for taking the time to come to the hearing and then excused him. When Miller left the witness chair, he took Kris in his arms, hugged her and said, "Miss Crowley, the only problem we have is that we usually lose the children we help. You're an exception. There is one more thing: I have been asked by my directors to invite you to serve on our Board of Directors. We realize you are only fourteen, but we're requesting an exemption from our state of incorporation to permit a minor to serve on our Board.

"Kristin, would you be willing to help us select more children to help? With your mother's extraordinary gift, we now have the capacity to help many more children than we ever could in the past. Will you help us? Please?"

Tears were flowing from Kris's eyes and she began to cry in earnest but kept her head up straight. "Mr. Miller, nothing could give me greater pleasure than to try to help you help other children. It's obvious what you've done for me. Who knows? Maybe there are other children who could make it if their desire to live was just a little stronger."

Then she addressed the bench and said, "Judge Ferguson, there's something else you should know. What you have seen is typical of Evangeline Pierce Collins. My first knowledge that she had done anything at all was when Mr. Miller told his story this morning. She never breathed a word to me, and I would bet all the money I have that she told no one else, either. It's just one more very small reason why I love her so very much!"

Looking at the girl, Judge Ferguson shook his head and said, "Kris, you were really in bad shape, weren't you?"

She grinned and said she was a disaster.

"Dr. Parker tells us that you may be the foremost authority on starvation. Would you please tell us what we're seeing in these pictures."

"Of course, Your Honor," she replied. "You see, the body has a number of energy — or nutrition — sources. The most common, of course, is the food we eat each day. The body burns it for energy to keep all the body processes functioning. If there's more food than the body needs immediately, the rest is converted to fat and stored. When food is lacking, the process reverses. The first thing the body does is to begin to metabolize its stored fat, converting it back into energy."

Kris smiled wryly and said, "I guess I'm an expert, Your Honor. The fact is I have a diary that may be useful to someone, someday. In it I report day by day on my progress in joining my parents. At any rate, once the body runs out of fat to burn, it faces some painful decisions.

"What happens next is really quite interesting. You see, the body has a hierarchy of importance for all organs, limbs, and even bodily functions. For instance, the body will metabolize muscles in the limbs to try to maintain the torso and its vital organs. It's ultimate organ is the brain. When there is no more fat, the body begins to metabolize muscle tissue following its pattern of taking from the least necessary organs to support the more vital ones, converting the muscle tissue to energy.

"The result is what you saw in the pictures. You see, Your Honor, the reason I knew I only had seventy-two to ninety-six hours left to live was that I had calculated the minimum rate of burning — calories are a measure of heat and they are chemically burned to fuel the body — and estimated the amount of my tissue left unburned that could be converted to fuel without causing death.

"I said minimum burning rate. The body is really quite interesting. You see, the reason my hair is so short is that all the hair I had before the accident has been shorn. If you were to have looked at one of my hairs under powerful magnification you could have seen where a strand thinned virtually to nonexistence. This happened during my starvation. Growing hair is a nonessential process, so the body stopped doing it. Similarly, I had no menstrual flow for well over a year. Reproduction is also a luxury function my body could no longer afford. Does that answer your question, Your Honor?"

Ferguson looked at Dr. Parker who said, "Judge, I would grade Kristin's answer A+. Furthermore, speaking for the Mayo Clinic and our medical school, we would be delighted to have access to Kris's diary. I believe it will extend our knowledge. Judge, now I think you see that I really meant what I said earlier: Kristin Crowley is the world's foremost authority on the mechanics of starvation. You could accept what she has just said as expert testimony of the highest order."

At this point Kris said, "Your Honor, before things get too maudlin I would like to move ahead. However, Mr. Miller helped me establish a point I was coming to: With respect to my appearance today, I supplied the skin and bones. Others provided everything else ... most particularly my will to live."

She smiled and said, "I have a bit of a problem now, Your Honor, that perhaps you could help me with. Is it possible to swear in two witnesses at once? You see, I would like to call Cathy and Ken Bradley together for reasons that I think will soon become clear. Together, they created today's Kristin Crowley."

Ferguson just shook his head and said, "I don't know about you, Kris. I do know that this has already been the most remarkable hearing I have ever had or ever heard of. You may swear them both."

Cathy took Kris in her arms and kissed her soundly, followed by Ken. He whispered, "You're doing great, little sister! Keep it up."

After they were sworn and were sitting together in the witness box, and after the preliminaries had been completed, Kris asked them, "How long had you two been married when you met me?"

Cathy replied that it had been less than twenty-four hours.

"When did you first have sexual intercourse, Cathy?" Kris asked innocently.

"The night before, with my husband, Ken. He took my virginity with my joy and gratitude that I had it to give to him," Cathy replied softly, blushing as she answered.

Turning to Ken, Kris asked a similar question, "When did you first have sexual intercourse?"

"The night before, with my virginal wife," he replied softly.

"In spite of having the first sexual experience of your lives the night before — unlike so many young people who only get married after living together for years — why on earth did you invite a twerp who was literally nothing but skin and bones to stay with you on your honeymoon? You were just getting to know each other's bodies.

"I can testify that if I were a man I could spend months exploring every square inch of Cathy's beauty ... and would! Moreover, I can testify that you're both incredibly passionate and desperately in love with each other. Why did you ask me to stay with you? And whose idea was it, anyway?"

Before either could respond, Kris turned to the judge and said, "Your Honor, there are several reasons for this very personal line of questioning. First, I want to introduce the people I have been living with. Please also keep in mind that it is the parents of these two who propose to adopt me. I believe that those parents must have been materially responsible for the way their children developed and the attitudes they display.

"I intend to show that in Ken and Cathy Bradley we have two people who are each extraordinary individuals. But far more that, we have two people whose capacity for love is so great that they could share so much of theirs with a dying girl at a time when they were preoccupied with merging two magnificent bodies to create a new life.

"I don't believe there is a time when two people's attentions are more concentrated on their mate to the exclusion of everything else than on their honeymoon. Notwithstanding, these two shared their bountiful love with me. Please keep in mind that if you approve my adoption, they will be my brother and sister. I think you'll see why I want this adoption to happen so desperately!"

Turning back to Cathy she repeated, "Cath, whose idea was it to invite me?"

Cathy thought for a moment and then replied, "It was both of ours!"

"Cathy... !" Kris said, stretching out her name. "Remember, you're under oath."

Cathy glared daggers at Kris but then murmured, "Mine."

"I beg your pardon, Cathy, but I didn't hear your response."

"It was mine!" she exclaimed. Turning toward the judge she asked, "Your Honor, what constitutes justifiable homicide? There is a married sister who is planning to kill her fourteen-year-old sibling who is being nasty, nosy, and just plain mean. I think I need some legal advice."

Judge Ferguson raised both hands in protest. "Keep me out of this, young lady! In answer to your question, though, older sisters have been threatening to murder younger sisters since the dawn of time."

Then he looked thoughtful and added, "As a matter of fact, my elder daughter usually says that death is an inadequate punishment for her brat sister — her words. She's been trying to come up with something worse than death which might be more suitable."

Then he grinned and just shook his head. Meanwhile, Pamela Castle was horrified at both Cathy's question and the judge's response. She began whispering feverishly to the attorneys.

Kris, meanwhile, had returned to her line of questioning. "Cathy, why did you lie and tell me that you and Ken had talked about inviting me earlier. You hadn't mentioned a word to him. Weren't you afraid of what he might say?"

"Kristin Bradley, I hate you!" Cathy exclaimed. "The fact is I was scared to death. I could see my marriage to Ken not lasting long enough even to reach the one-day mark."

"Then why did you do it?" Kris insisted.

"Because I thought it might save your life. In you, Kris, I saw a girl who was nothing but skin and bones, but also a girl with fire burning behind her purple eyes."

Then she grinned at her sister, shook her head, and said, "Purple eyes, yet! What ridiculous coloring. And in view of your behavior this morning, can we still throw you back?"

Kris very politely stuck out her tongue and grinned back.

"Anyway, I saw that spark of life. I was determined to fan it back into a flame."

"What did Dr. Parker say when you asked him about me seeing you making love with Ken?"

"He said it couldn't hurt and might help—" She stopped and glared daggers at her sister and said, "How did you know that, brat? You couldn't have!"

Kris shrugged and said, "Good guess."

Then she turned to Ferguson and said, "That's a lie, Judge. I knew she must have had such a conversation because that's the kind of person she is. She would be primarily concerned about avoiding anything that could possibly hurt me, regardless of what it might mean to her, to Ken, or to their honeymoon.

"Your Honor, what can you say about a person like this?"

Turning back to Cathy she was about to ask another question when Pamela Castle rose to her feet screaming, "Do you mean to say you saw these two people having ... having sexual intercourse?"

"No, Miss Castle. I did not. I saw them on numerous occasions making passionate love to each other. In fact, it would be more accurate to say I saw them worshiping each other's body. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen in my life.

"You see, Miss Castle, my sister is, with the possible exception of my mother, the most beautifully put-together female on the face of the earth. She has a body that any man would cheerfully kill for. On the other hand, my brother, Ken, is built like a Greek god, only better. When you see two people like that, each with a golden body, making love, it's the most beautiful sight imaginable.