Chapter 10

Brock didn’t expect an invitation to spend time at the Miles’ household and he wasn’t surprised when none was forthcoming. Corbly County was a more urban area so school was in session on Monday. A party had been raided Saturday night so Brock’s story was off the front burner of the high school gossip trail.

Monday’s events in Wilkins went off without a hitch. The grand jury indicted Suzy’s parents in less than 10 minutes and by 11 am Ma and Pa Simpson were behind bars. Unfortunately Leslie hadn’t been able to get the paperwork signed before Suzy’s parents were arrested and, true to form, the husband and wife tried to use their daughter’s welfare as a bargaining tool.

Leslie pushed the special prosecutor to offer a deal and was highly perturbed when she was informed that Brock would have to approve of any special consideration offered.

“It was the least I could do to assure him,” the special prosecutor told Leslie over the phone. “I know you’re aware of his situation and I don’t think it was asking too much of me to allow him to participate in getting a small measure of revenge.”

Leslie was waiting for Brock when he returned from practice on Monday but he simply shook his head at her and headed inside. The Simpsons wanted to be let off with probation for signing the guardianship papers. It simply wasn’t going to happen that way.

The situation got dicier between Brock and Leslie on Tuesday when Lynn Collingwood filed a lawsuit against the Simpsons on Brock’s behalf. By the time everything was finished he firmly believed he would own half the county and most of its money.

But he had made sure that Lynn knew not to accept property in the county as part of any settlement. He would force the owners to sell it and take the proceeds. The last thing he wanted to do was to cut his own financial throat by accepting property that would be taxed beyond the sales value to pay what the county would owe him.

Brock’s saga was pushed further from the minds of his classmates when Wes Mansfield and two other soccer players were suspended from school on Tuesday. The trio had barely made it off school property when they were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. A total of 16 girls had come forward alleging sexual misconduct on the boys’ parts.

Once again Leslie was waiting outside for Brock when he arrived home Tuesday. But this time she’d stationed herself in front of his door to bar his entry.

“Social Services is coming for Suzy tomorrow,” Leslie said. “I don’t know how you can be so unreasonable. She was a pawn in this whole thing. Just like you were. Brock, she was the victim of an attempted rape. You can’t know how traumatic that is. Is it any wonder that she closed herself off and focused solely on Suzy?”

Brock closed his tired eyes and tried to calm his nerves. It didn’t work.

“Leslie, I’m going to say this once and only once,” he said more evenly than he felt. “This has nothing to do with you. You might think it does, but you’re wrong. You’ve butted into my business since the week I moved in here. You’re not welcome in this portion of my life so it stops here and now.

“Please think about this. I was the youngest male ever sentenced to maximum security prison. Do you understand that? I was 14 years old when I went to big-boy jail. Don’t you dare tell me that I don’t understand about attempted rape. I was attacked my first night in jail, only a few days after Suzy was attacked. I managed to fight them off and spent most of my time in solitary. My first night in real prison my cellmate tried to rape me. I anticipated it and hit him with a bar of soap I’d rolled up in a sock. It knocked three of his teeth out and broke his nose.

“When he came back from the infirmary I choked him unconscious and tied him to the bars of the cell. I got stabbed in the shower for that one. Wanna see the scar? I can count at least a dozen serious attempted rapes I’ve fought off. So if you use that to excuse her actions, I guess I can use the same to justify mine.

“You might think I’m unfeeling or uncaring. You might be right. The simple fact is that I don’t care. I’m looking out for me. I’m the only one who will. That’s a fact you can’t dispute. If you want to save all the strays in the world, that’s your business. I won’t tell you how to live your life if you don’t tell me how to live mine. I would be willing to help Suzy if I could reasonably do so.

“If the Simpsons were willing to take five years each and pay restitution, I’d accept the deal in a heartbeat. I would consider three years and restitution. But I won’t consider allowing them to walk away scot free because they hold their daughter hostage. If they’re willing to see her in a foster home, so am I.

“I’ve made my decision and I feel comfortable with it. I’m sorry if you’re not. But I’m OK with that fact, too. You are welcome to come over here and talk to me about anything under the sun except what is happening in Lewis County. If you persist in bothering me about things that I’m unwilling to change then you are just as welcome to stay home. Am I clear?”

Leslie didn’t speak but turned and stomped back to her house.

It was barely an hour later when a quartet of teenaged girls stood knocking on Brock’s door.

“I’m glad to see you, Mel,” he said pointedly ignoring the rest. “How was your trip home?”

Mel just stared at the floor. Her mother had made it a point to fill her in on what was happening--at least from Leslie’s perspective.

It was Suzy who spoke first.

“I don’t blame you, Jor ... Brock,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about everything I could have done to make things right. If I would have done even one of them you never would have gone through what you did. But I did what I thought I needed to do at the time.”

“It doesn’t make what he’s doing right,” Tara said. “No matter what you or I did, he has a chance to do the right thing and he’s refusing.”

Brock looked at the girls. No one but Suzy would meet his gaze.

“Do you realize that Suzy’s parents want to get away with no punishment?” he asked. “And if I let this happen what stops them from rescinding the guardianship agreement the day they are released? Nothing. What happens if they just ship her to Social Services afterward? Nothing. If I let this go right now they will use the same tactic again anytime they want something. They will essentially use Suzy to extort money from whomever she winds up living with--especially if she’s happy there. If we do this Leslie’s way we’ll see more of Suzy’s parents than we see of Suzy. Your Mom is a smart woman but she’s ignorant of the way Social Services and the court system works.

“Unfortunately, I have firsthand knowledge of both. By doing things this way your parents have no leverage. Social Services will house you until Leslie gets the OK to be your foster parent. Then the courts will move to strip parental rights from the Simpsons. That means they can’t come back into your life next week or next month or next year without your permission. Use your heads, God damn it.

“Suze, your parents are snakes. I’m sorry, but it’s true. They saw a horrible situation and found a way to exploit you and me. Now they’re in trouble themselves and they want to do it again. I’m sorry. I’m unwilling to play their silly games this time. This is not an attempt to punish you or Leslie.”

Mel thought for a couple of minutes.

“Have you explained your rationale to Mom?” she asked Brock. “She’s on the warpath right now. I’ve seen it before and it doesn’t bode well for anyone when that happens.”

Brock shook his head.

“Leslie is too interest in justifying Suzy’s actions and inactions and in casting blame on me to listen to anything I have to say,” he replied. “As with your sister, she has a tendency to believe her way of thinking is infallible. She thought she could take the same stance with me as she does with you two--namely yelling and bullying--to get me to change my mind. She’s wrong about that, too. I’ve told her just as I’ve told each of you: I don’t care if you’re mad. You can get over it or be mad for a really long time. I’m OK with either.

“But if she wants to get into a pissing contest with me, you let her know that I won’t be the only one who gets wet.”

Jen’s eyes were blazing with anger at his categorization of her attitude but she kept her mouth shut. The objective portion of her brain knew he was right--about her and her Mom.

“Would you mind if I explain it to her?” Mel said. “I think it could ease some of the tension around here.”

Brock held his hands apart and crooked his head to the side with a half-hearted smile on his face.

“Mel, you can do whatever your little heart desires,” he said without rancor. “I’ve tried to explain everything as best as I can. But please, if the four of you take nothing from here but this, please know that none of your actions or decisions will affect the way I handle things in this matter. I believe that I am resolved enough to withstand even tears if I have to.