Chapter 3

When the boys left Dex's Friday night, he immediately called Marty, his lawyer, and outlined the plan. She had driven right over, and after more discussion, insisted on monitoring the polygraph session. Like everyone else, she was absolutely enthralled with Mark's idea, and wanted to make sure there were no legal problems to damage its impact.

The polygraph session for Lindsey went extremely well, with a confidence level well above established minimums. Mark spent the rest of Saturday huddled with Dex on details of the site.

Mark's parents, Norma and Paul, had been very curious about Mark's frantic activities all weekend. He promised to show them what it was all about Sunday night, and that was enough for them. One of the few luxuries the Ventris had hung onto after Paul lost his job was their second car. Mark was allowed free use of it as long as neither parent needed it. That weekend, he used it a lot.

Sunday night, Mark proudly sat his parents and his 14-year-old sister Becks in front of his aging PC and showed them the site. The main page had a list of boys' names in one column, and the offense in the adjacent column. It was already set up with an alphabetic grid for last names, anticipating several pages of names. The three boys who had claimed sex with Lindsey were listed, with the offense shown as 'character assassination.' Clicking on any of the three led to Lindsey's story. If any boy had multiple offenses, a list of stories would appear. Mark assumed Regan would soon have such a list.

At the top of the home page, under 'Memorial High School Asshole Registry' was the statement 'All Victims' Accounts Verified by Licensed Polygraph Analyst.' The next section said 'If you have someone to add to this list, click here to start the process. You will be contacted by email.'

Mark's family read Lindsey's story in silence, and Becks was sniffling when she finished. Norma hugged her son and told him how proud she was, while Paul clapped him on the shoulder.

Andy wheeled the old mower into the cramped single car garage, thankful that he had made it through the three small lawns without a breakdown. It was late Sunday afternoon, he wasn't working that night, and the grass had sprouted early this year.

His aunt Carla lived in a small house in a quiet old neighborhood. He often wondered if it was genetic. Just like his mother, her sister had married a man totally unworthy of her, and stuck it out long enough to produce two kids. To be fair, they had both married so young it was hard to get a good read on what kind of men they would end up. Becoming fathers so young probably did not help them turn out the best they could, either. Carla was older than his mother by four years. Her oldest child, a daughter, had graduated college and moved away for a good job. Her son was in the service.

Carla could have done the lawn herself, but she was not mechanical enough to deal with the cranky old mower. Did no one in his family have anything new and in good condition? Well, the two older women whose lawns he also did needed his help without a doubt. It never took him more than a couple of hours, except when he fertilized.

Saying goodbye to his aunt, he fired up their second car, which was just slightly older than their first car, and headed home. He like Carla a lot, and he was happy to help her out. It was just that time always seemed so scarce. Between school and work, the time left for people was frustratingly short.

Andy had scheduled his mowing to arrive home before his mother, Gretchen, who worked until six most Sundays. She had worked at a department store for many years, and at times had made decent money. Nowadays, though, the outlook for department stores was pretty bleak. The last few years had been filled with talk of sale or closure of the store. It had been a while since the last really good period of sales.

His sister Beth would have dinner all ready when their mother got home, so Andy took a quick shower. There was a little loving ritual they played out many nights, depending on who was home and what shift Gretchen worked. She went right to her room and came back out in her robe, her dress and stockings removed. Then, she plopped down in a soft chair for Andy to give her a good foot rub.

When the ritual had started years before, Gretchen had of course protested. She soon realized, though, that it was not out of obligation but pure love and gratitude. She gratefully began accepting it in the spirit it was offered. When the foot rub was done, dinner was on the table.

Beth sat a glass of wine on the tub and started it filling while Andy collected the dishes. When Gretchen stood up from the table, Andy teased "Need me to wash your back, Mom?"

"You wish!"

"Sure do!" The words varied, but this was an important part of the ritual, too.

As brother and sister were finishing the dishes, Beth mentioned the big hubbub around school about a girl taking on three guys after church choir practice.

Jolted by the obvious similarity to Lindsey's story, Andy asked the girl's name, then bolted for the phone. He called the police dispatcher who reluctantly agreed to get a message to Jerry at home, since he was also off that night.

Another part of the ritual was due next, when Gretchen finished her bath. She would stretch out on the bed for a massage from her son, something he had become skilled at. When that loving attention first started, she had insisted he rub on top of her nightie. Her legs of course, were bare, and after a while, she decided she wanted the skin-on-skin feeling on her back, too.

Even though her back was bare, she wore her bra, at least at first. The way things had progressed, she now donned panties and a loose Tee after her bath. One of Gretchen's biggest problems was her desire to just forget the clothes and enjoy his wonderful touch all over. She knew he would never do anything inappropriate. She was not sure she wouldn't. Sometimes in the weariness of the day and the relaxation of the bath she had little debates with herself about what was inappropriate, anyway.

That night, as Andy started massaging, his mother detected a strange tension in him, and asked about it. He was just finishing the story about Lindsey when Beth called him to the phone. "Go," Gretchen instructed him, "help her out."

Andy had called Jerry just to find Lindsey's address. When Jerry called back, he insisted he wanted to accompany Andy when he visited Lindsey. At the Hall house, the two men asked for Lindsey. A confused and cautious Mary told them Lindsey was not home. Jerry then showed his badge, explaining that he was not on duty, but had been when he brought Lindsey home Wednesday night.

Floyd had now come to the door and asked "Did she put you up to this?" The two men looked at each other, realizing quickly what the situation was. Jerry rather forcefully talked them into the house where Andy explained.

"My sister is a Senior at Memorial. Tonight she mentioned a rumor about a girl having sex with three boys last Wednesday night."

"Rumor?" Mr. Hall asked, but Andy ignored him.

"When she told me the girl's name, I knew the rumor was false because Lindsey was in the store where I work for an hour until Jerry picked her up and brought her here in his squad car. She had run away from the kid giving her a ride when he wanted to go party with his friends."

"What time did she get to the store?" Mr. Hall asked. Incredulous at the question, Andy told him, and Mr. Hall said "There was still time."

Jerry spoke up then. "No, Sir, there wasn't. The park where the boys claim it happened is twenty minutes from the store. There would not have been time to get there and back, let alone do anything."

Andy was by now indignant at the Halls' attitude. "Let me guess. Lindsey was either kicked out or moved out because you believed the rumors instead of her, right? Now, you need to prove she did it to save face. That's more important than you daughter's morals, isn't it?"

"What right do you have to practically force your way into our home and insult us," Floyd asked angrily.

"I came here to help clear your daughter's name, something I thought you would be happy for. I feel sorry for you two." With that, the two men left hurriedly.

"Th... that's just the way she told it, isn't it?" Floyd asked with his head in his hands.

Back home, Andy became frantic, thinking what that poor girl must be going through. From their conversation, he knew she was sheltered and rather naive. The rumors must be practically killing her. He wracked his brain for any clue to how he could contact her. It took a few minutes, but he remembered the name of the boy trying to find her, Kevin Holt.

The list of Holts in the phone book was very long. He knew the boy lived somewhere close to the Hall's, though, so he narrowed the list down to the general area and started calling. He spent the better part of an hour calling numbers and asking if anyone knew the number of Kevin Holt who attended Memorial High.

At last, he reached the boy, only to be told that he was not in her grade and didn't know who she hung with at school. "Say Kevin," Andy asked, "you knew she ran away from those guys. Why didn't you stop the rumors?" With a muttered 'Shit!' Kevin hung up on him.

His efforts to reach Lindsey having failed, Andy tried to study a bit, then talked to Beth a while and went to bed. The apartment had just two bedrooms, so Andy slept on a day bed in a corner of the main room. The living arrangements were far from ideal, and required an extraordinary level of sensitivity and consideration. They were close to both schools and work and the rent was well below average. They had been trying to accumulate a down payment for years, but it was obvious there would be no house before at least Andy moved out.

He had, in fact, moved into an apartment his second year at college. Both to save money and because both women begged him to, he moved back after just a few months. At least both of the bedrooms were quite large, so there was always somewhere for all three to be by themselves to study or whatever.

In the night, the solution to finding Lindsey hit him, and he got up early and headed for the school.

For forty-five minutes, he walked alertly between the three entrances, asking everyone if they had seen Lindsey Hall. He got a number of strange looks and snickers, which got him angry, but he did not find her. As starting time neared, he asked two boys.

"Lindsey? Why you wanna know about her?"

"I, uh, have some information that can help her."

"Information? What kind?"

"About the, uh, rumors. I can prove they're bogus."

"You can what? Listen, Asshole. You mind your own business and get the fuck outa here before I rearrange your face. Now move!"

"N... no! I have to find her!" Andy was in decent shape, but obviously no match for the two. It struck him that he might have stumbled across the accusers, or at least their close buddies. Bad luck! Strangely, rather than scaring him, it stiffened his resolve. He doubted they would really do anything to him with the crowd as large as it had become. There were even some adults close by.

"Listen, Dickhead!" the same boy spat at him. "This is none of your damn business, so just fuck off or I'll make you real sorry."

"You and what other ten quarterback wimps, Manthei?" It was Ben, with Lindsey and all the others who came up behind Andy.

"Andy, what are you doing here?" exclaimed Lindsey.

"God, I'm glad to see you. My sister just told me last night about the rumors. I called Jerry and we went to your house, but I don't think they believed us. I finally found Kevin Holt, but he didn't even know where you were staying. This is all I could think of. I can clear this whole thing up for you."

Andy was a little mystified when Lindsey broke into tears, but she saw his expression and said "Andy, that's so sweet. With all the bad stuff happening, there are some great people going way out of their way for me."

Regan had been standing listening to the exchange. He snorted, said "What a fuckin' soap opera!" and stomped away. He had an inkling his story might unravel, but the idea that his status as King of the Hill might be in jeopardy did not even register.

Andy had to get to a class, so he exchanged numbers with the group and Lindsey gave him a website card before they all split up."

Trish had gotten into the spirit of the registry, and enlisted Janie and her cousins to help. By Monday morning, they had several hundred cards that said 'Before you date him, check www.mhsassholes.com.' Getting to school early, Trish and Lindsey spread stacks of cards in every girls' restroom and locker room.

The two girls came back outside to meet with their friends, and that's when they encountered Andy. They had all talked on the phone and decided to come to school as if nothing had happened in the principal's office.

There were about fifty computers in the school with Internet access and available to students. By the end of second hour, the place was in an uproar. Naturally, second and third hand versions got distorted, but by lunch time, Lindsey was encountering smiles and sheepish looks wherever she went, rather than snickers.

Mrs. Grunewald heard about it and called the school board attorney in a panic. The attorney decided there was no legal ground for any action against the website since none of the activities were directly school related.

The football coach heard, and called Regan out of class and into his office. "You, Vrohmann, and Holt will not play for me next fall. Porter is graduating, so there's nothing I can do to him. You have plenty of time to transfer if you can find a school to take you."

Regan reacted with total arrogance. "Won't have to transfer. I'll just get you fired. You'd risk our state championship and your job over some cunt?"

"I'm not risking anything important. I'm preserving my integrity, something I have risked more than I should for you already. Winning is important, and I'm a winner, but it's not that important. You're dismissed."

The coach was in the principal's office within the hour, ordered to reinstate the boys or tender his resignation. He refused to do either, insisting she would have to fire him. Thanks to the secretary again, the news spread through the school before the next class. By the end of the day, thirty players had signed a letter saying they would not play if the coach was fired and delivered it to Mrs. Grunewald.

The embattled principal sat in her office, angry at Lindsey. She was at least honest enough to admit to herself that the girl had done absolutely nothing wrong. That, however, did nothing to solve the dilemma she could now see threatening her very job. She also had to decide what to do about Mark Ventri, who had been openly insubordinate and insulting to her. What had gone wrong that she should she be considering how to discipline her brightest and best behaved students? Mark had mentioned that lawyer. Maybe life would be easier if she just forgot about him.

The school board's internet expert got the website on the banned list before school opened on Tuesday, but it didn't matter. By then, everyone knew about it and story submissions started flooding in. Mark had guessed there would be quite a few, but the response stunned him. He found himself in the unenviable position of having to do triage. Almost all of the stories were sad, and most made him angry, but he had to come up with some standard for making the first cut.

Unwilling to make such a decision himself, Mark got the whole group together at Torvold's and discussed the problem. Trish and Lindsey agreed to form a panel with him to review all the stories. Only those stories recommended by all three would make the website.

Even with help, the first two weeks were very busy. The most stunning revelation was the submission of three cases of flat out rape in the first week of operation, plus two cases of probable use of roofies. Wisely, Mark went straight to Marty with those.

After days of deliberation, Marty came up with a procedure for cases involving potential felonies. They would require three satisfactory polygraphs from three different analysts. Before posting, the story would be sent to the accused, and they would be offered the chance at polygraphs with the same analysts. Obviously, those cases were going to be a lot more expensive. Dex fronted the money for all the additional tests.

One of the rape stories never made it thru the first polygraph before the girl gave up. The other two were posted without being contested by the accused. The girls still refused to press charges. In the courts, they faced being treated more as the perp than as the victim. On the website, no one cross-examined them or exposed their sexual history.

Fifteen years ago, up and coming TV reporter Judy Morrison had intervened for Dex when he was unjustly expelled for stopping an attack. She had done another spot after Dex's 'game of a lifetime, ' and it had helped her to national attention.

Though nine years older, Judy and Dex had been lovers for years until Judy went East for a network position. Right up until Dex committed to Elise, they shared a bed when she was in town.

As an accomplished professional journalist, Judy tried to keep emotion out of her work and just stick to the facts. She had not been very receptive when Dex called and said he had a local personal interest story that was right up her alley. Her network schedule was full, and she wanted all her spare time to go to her book. But it was Dex who called, after all. Besides, she owed her old station manager, who had helped her selflessly on her way to the big time.

After a few hours on the phone, Judy decided it was indeed a choice story, and bought a plane ticket. The local station was more than happy to supply a camera crew, and she set out to tape interviews. The biggest coup was Regan Manthei. He apparently thought the interview was a chance to tell about the unfairness of being banned from the Memorial team. Instead, Judy's merciless interviewing technique exposed him for what he was, eliciting several words that had to be bleeped, and a shocking reference to Lindsey's character.

All of Lindsey's friends were taped, and the pastor even agreed, but stuck to CYA statements. The coach was very forthright, but took only a few questions. Mrs. Grunewald and the Halls staunchly refused.

The real highlights were the interviews with Lindsey and Mark. She insisted on all her friends being around her. When Judy asked if there was any chance for reconciliation with her parents, she responded "The Bible says we are supposed to forgive, and I try to live by the Bible. Honestly, I am having to work very hard on the forgiveness. I'll get there, but I can't imagine going back to live with them. They don't trust me, although I've tried to be trustworthy. They have given me too many reasons not to trust them." She went on to recite all the inequities in treatment between her and her brother, and the unusual prohibitions for a sixteen-year-old, such as dating and driver's license.

"Do you love your parents."

There was a pause before she answered. "It's probably not a good time to ask me that. I love them with the love of Christ. I can say that for sure. But love between people requires some things that just aren't there between us. I am terribly wounded, and I guess they are feeling pretty bad right now, too."