Chapter 25

He didn't argue but couldn't get Jamie to respond. When the boy started to collapse the man moved faster than I could believe possible and scooped him up. Everybody now was concerned. I picked up the box and said, "Jamie is still upset. He is just going for a rest."

I hurried up the stairs and found Jamie on the bed and Charley kneeling beside it trying to think of what to do. I sat on the bed looking at the boy and Charley said, "Do you want me to go?"

"No."

I stroked Jamie's face to get the blonde hair out of the way and at least now his eyes were shut.

Charley nervously asked, "What happened?"

I got pen and paper and wrote, 'Either Jamie was caught in a lie or something far worse. I have heard in some wars that the enemy soldiers are conditioned to love their capturers. Jamie - Tony, or Jamie - Goldbalm.'

Charley's face changed radically and I had to move away. He got up quickly and was about to leave. "Charley," I yelled. "Turn around soldier!"

He did stop and reluctantly did as I asked, "Stay here and protect one of our unit."

I hurried out of the room and closed the door. At the top of the steps I called "Cap, will you come up here?"

Edgar looked funny at me but said nothing. I said, "I made a point to make the garage a special place for having sex. It was used to feed disinformation to the enemy. Jamie referenced it and I asked how he found out. He went catatonic on me. I told Charley about brainwashing and he may do something nasty to Goldbalm and or Tony."

Edgar said nothing but went to the bedroom and closed the door behind him. I came downstairs and there was only silence. "Jamie will be alright. He just needs a rest."

John came to me and whispered, "What happened?"

"It effects the family so we better go upstairs and I will tell you what I think. I may be wrong."

In the girls room because it was larger I mentioned what I said to Edgar but used more detail. Carm said, "Then the boy may not be a homo at all."

"I don't know Carm. He may be but he may also just have been going through a phase. Someone may have wanted that phase to last a lot longer. Jamie came to me soon after coming to school. He was like Alice but didn't ask as many questions. He may have been consciously aimed at me but his subconscious looks to have been aimed too. We need some good shrinks and I want them neutral to start with. I don't want them protecting one of their own if this is what the problem is."

Edgar came out of the room closing the door behind him. John got in front of him and asked, "What are your conclusions?"

"The child is showing some mental distress. I believe it was some type of conditioning too."

"What do we do about it?"

"He will come out of it among friends better but he does need some professional help. I don't think that kind of help is available here."

"That means Jeff goes with him or the professionals come here." John turned to Mason and said, "Is there a judge handy. We can get a court order now keeping Jamie here and get them to provide medical help."

"You might get that in Toronto but you won't get that here with Judge Greensen."

"Will you come to Toronto with Jamie?"

"Will I need my fancy duds?"

"Take them."

John made quite a few phone calls while Edgar got Charley to take Jamie to the bathroom. The boy was still unresponsive. Both of us figured he would soil himself on the way there. Many of the patients were this way.

I gathered my own clothes and then some for Jamie. I borrowed Susan's suitcase for the extra clothing.

The party was breaking up downstairs and I went to see the guests off. I apologised for being a poor host. James was going to take care of the Browns.

I gathered my girls and said, "Jamie has some mental problems. We are taking him to the hospital in Toronto. He needs a friendly face there while he is recovering. I don't know how long it will take before I can come back."

They all had long faces. I said to Maggie, "Don't think I am going to go through something more sensational for your birthday."

"I want a quiet party and I want you here when we have it."

Edgar was walking through the front room and I stopped him. I said, "We haven't had our talk. What do you think so far?"

"We are in for a month at least. We can talk later about a permanent solution."

Mr Mason was nearby and I signalled him to come over. When he got close I said to Edgar, "We need to straighten out the bug situation but after that I don't think there is any security problems other than secrecy. I need a building with a solid floor to begin experiments. Mr Mason and James know about this. I am trying to acquire a large section of land. Perhaps you two can work together on this. I will phone to give updates on Jamie and you can ask questions if you need to."

Edgar said, "Carm wants to go. Charley does too but he should stay here so I can keep an eye on him."

"That works."

John was doing some talking with Mr Sackman and they stopped when I approached. "John, what do you think of Corinne staying here? Charley and Edgar are here too. There is school for the girls and I won't be here but Jane is well capable of doing what is needed."

"She will be just as safe here and though not as comfortable she will feel more loved. She can stay if she wants to."

Jane was nearby and she ran to do the asking. Corinne was already with her mothers.

We had a snack and took extra with us. I got the plastic sheet from the garage and some blankets and towels.

I kissed the girls goodbye, they were crying as I got into the car. Carm was already inside and he was holding Jamie in his lap like an infant.

"Carm, pick Jamie up for a minute." When he did I put the plastic down and a few layers of towels. A blanket went around the child even though it was going to be warm soon. John got in the front seat and Gregory was our driver. Mr Sackman had Al with him in his car.

I waved as we left but the girls were still crying. On the way, I used my voice on Jamie but only after warning the rest to what I intended to do. It took a half hour but eventually Jamie started to respond. I got short sentences but nothing was asked that could set him off again.

When we drove through a town we stopped at a gas station and I got Jamie to use the toilet. When we got back in the car though he still had the plastic just in case. I took off his coat and shoes to make him comfortable and Carm cuddled him to him. Jamie seemed to respond and then went to sleep.

Carm asked, "Where did you learn that?"

"Books and a bit of personal experimentation. I have done this to myself, and it really helps. I have used it on others to reduce pain and discomfort. I never made suggestions that they forget anything and never make compulsions other than to feel good. Probably hypnosis and drugs were used to condition Jamie but there may be more that I don't know of. I'm not going to ask stressful questions."

It was a long trip and I woke up leaning against Carm. He didn't seem to mind so I just went back to sleep. There were no nightmares this time.

Carm shook me awake and he said in a soft voice, "Put Jamie's shoes on him." I did as I was asked then looked around. We were definitely not in a subdivision but coming to a large building on what looked like a golf course.

Carm and I got Jamie's coat on him before the car stopped. John got out and went inside and in a moment an orderly came out and wanted to take Jamie. He didn't get him. Carm got up and carried the child in. I carried Jamie's suitcase.

We all went into an examination room and a tall, thin, bespectacled doctor by the name of Doctor Palver came in and introduced himself to us. He made a preliminary examination and then asked for specifics. Everybody looked at me so I said, "Let's talk outside this room."

The doctor said, "Why?"

"Jamie was not reported as deaf. You of all people should know why."

"Ok."

We got into the hall and I went into my background only so far as to give a reason for a psychiatrist to be interested in me. No names were mentioned. The present court case was mentioned. I left Alice out of the equation but talked about how Jamie entered my life. The bugs came next. I mentioned the act in the garage. Jamie's rape was mentioned and even how I saw the evidence. I gave the doctor all of what I heard Jamie say to me. This included his expulsion from his family in Saskatchewan to his spinster aunt taking him in, here in Toronto. The situation that happened yesterday was added then the fateful question.

"How do you know he is following a compulsion?"

"He went Catatonic. You are the expert. I'm just good at seeing things and coming to a reasonable solution."

"Did you have sex with Jamie?"

"I hugged him and kissed him like I do to my family. Our home has been recently crowded so we slept together on the floor for a few nights. I was poked in the night but it was cold in the house. As for an erection, you no doubt were the same way when young. To give a definite answer; you will get no, I have not had sex at any time with Jamie."

"Ok, let's go back."

The doctor injected a drug into Jamie and began to ask some questions. None of them were difficult or stressful. When he got to questions about the man he was living with in North Bay, Jamie immediately stopped responding. Simple questions didn't work now.

Doctor Palver said, "I am sorry but Jamie will have to stay with us a while longer. There is something definitely wrong." John asked a lot of pertinent questions but there was little the doctor could supply us.

When we were part way down the hall Doctor Palver called John back. After a few seconds John waved us on. I had to guess that this was a ploy to find out if what I had told the doctor was truthful.

When we got to John's home we found Mr Sackman and Al there ahead of us. We sat down now and discussed what had happened with Jamie. I felt helpless in this situation and instead focussed on the offensive.

Goldbalm had been using all the tricks his lawyers knew about to buy him time. The time was spent on a new offensive against me. Part of that offensive had involved corrupting one child of only thirteen. Even if his body was a year older than mine his mind was still that of a child.

After a few hours of this mental flagellation planning for revenge we parted company. Al and Gregory left for their quarters while Charm, Mr Sackman and I had our own rooms. I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep. I simply took a hot shower and got dressed. The kitchen was empty but it still felt like home. I pictured the new counters and all the equipment I wanted to put in place.

Microwaves were monstrous in size and my toaster oven hadn't sold yet. Somehow it didn't fit this home. There were automatic dishwashers but they were all for restaurants and not for the home yet. The other basic appliances had changed little. Ice cubes and water in the door of a fridge was just a nice add on. Coffee pots though were all percolators that circulated the boiling water through the grounds until the desired strength was reached. Drip coffee makers were around too but they were all manual.

It was when I got to the windows that I noticed something. Windows now were single pane. They rose and fell in tracks with a cast iron weight in the frame to assist. The outside had storm windows for the winter and screens for the spring. These windows were hard to clean and very inefficient. In the future there were a lot of double pane systems that used plastic to keep the sheets apart, while some windows were actually a glass box filled with nitrogen. Plastic was good enough for me as long as I could get at the outside of the glass for cleaning.

The area outside the home was beautiful but still I could see the ugly hydro poles. The utilities could all be buried. Transformers though had to stay above the ground. They failed too much otherwise.

I saw the world as it would one day become and it was not a lot better than what we had today. Things like computers would be new but more efficient refrigerators were just a qualitative change. Some of the good things of today could possibly be kept but I had no idea how this could happen. A person's word and work ethic would be whittled away by one individual after another. All it took is for people to give their word then not fulfill their commitments. When that happened enough contracts and penalties had to be stipulated and of course lawyers would grow fat.

Not all lawyers were bad, I reminded myself, as I heard one coming down the steps.

"Good morning Jeff. Have any difficulty sleeping?"

"Oh, a bit."

"Sinclair?"

"No, some were just about Goldbalm but I am just looking at the way we live. I see the world changing even as we watch. Values will change and the world of today will look like utopia in some cases."

"How are we going down hill?"

"Television gets watched more each day. When the writers of movies have run out of ideas they will push the boundaries of good taste until we get into violence and then more violence. Children learn from their parents but by now the parents are sitting down watching television and the images are taking their place. The exciting shows depict a violent nature and thus children think it is quite alright to shoot and kill with a gun."

"People are not all like that Jeff."

"What percentage of the population is not like that? Do they happen to be the older generation? Tell me what portion of the children that will not be swayed by watching violence on television? Don't forget it will not be one show but it will be many shows that come day after day and year after year."

John said, "Then I guess you have to write scripts that depict our good qualities."

"Feel good movies are ok but all we need is for one writer to show a cop shooting bad guys. A youth can side with either good or bad and thinks it is ok to use a gun. Censorship does not taste good and not good for our liberties. The government wielding a big stick like that can mean a police state if we let them. Better that the media police itself. Then if one cash strapped company buckles under and puts out a gory spectacular then the excitement seeking populace will crave more."

John said, "We are our own worse enemies. I guess we are fated to grow then decline then finally fall completely while another civilisation is on the ascension."

"That was true before but we are coming to a world of one government. It may not come for a hundred years but it is coming. We will be dead but the pain and suffering will go on. When that one government falls then what, a new dark age? Little of our food now comes from the old ways. Tractors and technology are going to cause a farmer to get rid of horses. When the collapse comes then the horses may be no more."

"You are worried about Jamie aren't you?"

"Yes I am. Even if he was programmed to come after me, I cannot say he has not effected me."

"Jeff, all of us go through this stage. It is part of growing up."

"Yes I know but it doesn't change the facts." In a moment I said, "What do you want to eat?"

We both made breakfast. I think it was the first time in years for him. We got up again as two more guests arrived.

Around two o'clock I could take it no more and asked John about seeing Jamie. He moved quickly so I guess he wanted the same thing. Carm looked pitiful sitting in the easy chair in the corner so I knew he had to come too.

When John got off the phone he said to me, "They are running some tests at the moment. He is back to what looks normal. He has been asking for you. They say the tests should be done in an hour."

"Sunday traffic is light so that means twelve minutes to the hospital and at least five more to get in. Who's going besides Carm and me?"

John looked around and saw Mr Sackman and said, "You two can go this time. I would like to see how the boy is getting along but you can tell me this time."

A thought just struck me. "Who is paying for the stay?"

"I guess I am because I signed him in. This was done semi-legally because I assume your mother would agree and she would be the one in charge of him."

"Semi-legally! You're a shyster but I am glad we are friends. I want to take care of the bills. I couldn't sign the papers anyway. We can use the usual mumbo jumbo that you are doing this on my behalf."

"Ok, I can make an addendum to the admission form."

Carm knew the way and drove carefully. I had the feeling that he would be an aggressive driver but he wasn't. We went in the same way as yesterday and had to actually sign in. When Carm was signing I said, "Put you are family instead of friend."

We walked to Doctor Palver's office and saw that his secretary was now in attendance. "Hello, my name is Jeff Congdon. The gentleman with me is Carmen Victorio. He is Jamie's second cousin."

"Hi, I didn't know that the patient had a second cousin here."

Alarm bells were going off again. "He is the one that brought him in yesterday. Jamie was carried in his arms. We would like to see him. I heard he was specifically asking for me."

"There were are some tests being run and Doctor Palver asked that you just wait here a few moments until they are done. Please take a seat."

We did but Carm had to wiggle a bit to sit down. Chairs were not usually made for him or for Charley for that matter.

The secretary wrote some things down then looked up and stretched. She had a low cut dress for this time of the year and even for this part of the century. She looked very healthy with her breasts coming close to bursting from the confines of her dress. She was a good-looking woman of about thirty. Her hair was not done up as if to be an attractive asset but her dress was.

She was looking at me all the time she stretched and I got the feeling that she was showing me her charms for a reason. Women had tried to seduce me for over forty years and this was easy to see.

When she put her pen down she asked in a conspiratorial voice, "I had to type up the report yesterday. I see that you are a very amazing young man. You rescue damsels in distress and then get yourself out of a very serious matter."

"Just a knack I have — " I looked on her desk and added, "Mrs Charnwood."

"Just call me Lucy, young man. Did you really stab that man then damage him so much that they had to hospitalise him?"

"Did you know who the man is or what his past was? He had a police record."

"No, I don't believe I did."

"He worked for the mob. After visiting the police station, I found out that he had killed two men and many more attributed to him."

"Oh, my god. I didn't know that. How did you know that though?"

"I have looked into killer's eyes before. I think one of his subtle hints was to pick me up by the scruff of my neck and throw me with one hand into the trunk then flee the city. Would that give you the same sort of information? Last I heard kidnapping was a capital offence. I'm no lawyer but to me that means he would hang for what he did. That made it a life and death situation for me."

"I can see your reasoning very well. How did you defeat him? You said he was very strong."

"He started to beat me and I let him. When he got close I did all I could do for I felt I would die otherwise. When he was down I made sure he stayed down. When fighting for your life, gentlemanly rules are thrown out."

"How do you feel now about what you have did to the man?"

"Do you mean, that I might wish that I had hurt him less?"

"Yes."

"I asked the man twice to let me go when I was first tackled by him. He didn't respond to the entreaty in a civilised manner. If he had done so I would be happy to let the matter drop. I may have wished to do less damage but plunging a pen into the man's arm and through a heavy coat would not hurt him much. In fact he would probably proceed to kick me to death. I am not remorseful at what I did but I could not see any other way of disabling him."

"Did Jamie make any — shall we say suggestive moves toward you?"

"I need to go to the bathroom. Could you tell me which way to go? I can answer when I come back."

"Just continue on from the way you came in. It's — three doors down an your right."

"Thanks." on the way out I winked at Carm.

I went up the hallway past the bathroom until I came to a man in a white smock. "Excuse me."

The man looked down to me and I said, "I was supposed to meet a doctor but I forget her name. She is about thirty with light brown hair that is tied up in a bun."

"Medical doctor?"

"She is a psychiatrist."

"That would be Doctor Davits."

I put a confused look on my face and asked, "Do you know her first name? The last name doesn't ring a bell."

"Madeline."

"Thanks, that was it."

"Her office is on the second floor."

"Thank you Sir."

I hurried to the elevator and went up one floor and soon found her office. I walked in and the receptionist gave me her canned smile.

I said, "Hi, I was talking to somebody about a problem. Doctor Davits name was mentioned. Would you be able to tell me what her speciality is?"

"She is a doctor young man."

"And she is a psychiatrist. Would you tell me what she specialises in and within the realm of psychiatry?"

The woman now gave a full Spock eye at me then considered before saying, "She deals with the more violent types of antisocial attitudes I believe."

I smiled at her and said, "Thanks. That at least doesn't apply to me."

I hurried back to the other waiting room and sat even closer to the woman. "Hi again. You asked about Jamie making sexual advances. Let me ask you a question first?"

"What is that Mr Congdon?"

"A man like Anthony Sinclair is pursuing you. He tackles you from behind then throws you into a trunk of a car and drives you out to a lonely country road. Tell me what you would feel like and then exactly what you would do in this situation."

"I can't even begin to visualise that. Please tell me about Jamie?"

"You are obviously an intelligent woman with at least thirty years of experience. Have you been in a situation like this before or it is too traumatic to contemplate?"

The woman now looked at me with a more intelligent look. "That is not proper for you to know Mr Congdon."

"So it did happen. You asked me questions and I answered truthfully and fully. Why can't you? Surely the scars are not that deep. I have heard that it is good to get your deep seated anxieties out in the open instead of letting them festering deep down."

"Where did you hear that?"

"It is what I feel. Now back to the question. Tell me about your own traumatic experience. I feel that you were not as lucky as I was. How badly were you molested?"

"You are only a young man, it's not proper to be discussing it with you."

"But Madeline, you know what happened to me and I know you're still wondering how you should have dealt with a similar situation. Not all of us are prepared for a situation like that. Threats of bodily harm were as foreign to me as they were to you. I was just lucky enough the first time that I had a chance for rational thought. Our customs and the bible tell us to turn the other cheek. You didn't react strongly enough because of our customs. You held back. That is nothing to be ashamed of. You are a product of our culture. I think that you must have relived the scene in your mind thousands of times and castigated yourself for not acting differently."

I paused to read her facial characteristics. "Oh, you did act differently, didn't you? That is the healthier thing to do. Was the person hurt greatly? All those long years of study to see if you had done the right thing? Yes Madeline, you did the right thing. You had to protect yourself. If you had to kill or maim then it was warranted. I just wish that I had been there to help you. Better if I was large and older and able to keep you safe."

The woman started to tear up and I moved beside her and pulled her to me. "It's alright Madeline. Let it all out. You did what was right. You had to fight against great strength. You can never give in or you will collapse inside. You have to be strong and sure. You have to learn about aggression, but some of it is justified. That's not in just a code of law but in the way we are. We cannot let others beat us or they will do it again and again.