Part Twenty-Nine :Summoned

4247 Maplewood Dr.

Friday, February 23, 2001

2:46 PM

"So--goofy golf tonight?" Lee pulled the car into the driveway.

"I think it would be fun,"Amanda said. "It's been a while since we've gotten out
and done something as a family--and Dr.Pfaff thinks that it would do Jenna a
world of good."

"For once I agree with the man." Lee got out of the car and opened Amanda's
door. "And maybe--later tonight, you and I can spend some time together--what do
you say?"

Amanda smiled "It's a deal, Stetson"

As they approached the house Lee saw it--the yellow piece of paper--it had had
been folded and taped to the door. Lee knew what it was before he even unstuck
the tape. His hands shook as he unfolded the paper.

'Not now--not this soon--I thought we'd have more time to prepare--'
These were the thoughts running through his mind as he stared down at the paper.

"Lee?" Amanda came up behind him. "What is that? What's going on?"

"It's a summons." Lee handed Amanda the paper. "Jenna is due to testify at the
preliminary hearing on April sixth."

He unlocked the door, stepping inside, Amanda following behind him. The house
seemed awfully empty without Dotty's presence, but she and Captain Curt had
called earlier--letting them know that they had decided to spend a couple of
days at Pocahontas State Park.

A summons to testify--Lee tried to picture Jenna on the stand, telling the court
the details of what Johnston had done--he thought back to Jenna's reaction after
seeing that creep on the television--the stark terror in her expression as she'd
recounted the details under hypnosis--

Could she handle this? Lee just wasn't so sure.

"Mr. Dutton told us this was coming," Amanda's voice broke into his reverie.
Still holding the paper, she sank down onto the sofa. "I just--I guess I didn't
think it would be this soon."

"Yeah--me either." Lee sat beside his wife. "It's still over a month away--that
gives us time to prepare."

"I guess so." Slowly Amanda folded the paper--Lee noticed her hands were shaking
as well. "Should we tell her now?"

Lee shook his head. "No--after everything that's happened--this would be too
much right now. I'll talk to Pfaff--see how we can go from there--try and
prepare her for this."

"Good idea," Amanda said. "We also need to talk to Mr. Dutton about our options.
I've been looking at that pamphlet he gave me--you know, the one about
testifying via closed-circuit TV? I really think that's the way to go."

"But what about expelling Johnston from the court? That way she wouldn't even
have to see him."

"It's still an option, Lee--but it's granted so rarely--nine times out of ten the
judge rules against it--constitutionally the defendant has the right to face
their accuser."

'Face their accuser--' Lee thought. The thought of Jenna having to face that
monster in court chilled him to the bone. "So--closed circuit TV?" He finally
managed to say.

"Yeah--I think that really might be the way to go."

"And it would apply in Jenna's case?"

Amanda nodded. "According to law, any child under the age of fourteen who's
believed to have suffered abuse at the hands of an adult is eligible to request
the option--and as much as I hate to admit it, Jenna fits--" her voice broke off
abruptly.

Lee took her hands. "We'll talk to Dutton about it Amanda--it'll work
out--you'll see."

"I know--I know we will--it's just--" Amanda looked down at their joined hands.

"Just what?"

"I never thought I'd be in this situation--I never thought something like this
would happen to my child. Phillip and Jamie had their share of scrapes and
bruises, but for the most part it was just normal kid stuff, you know? But
this--" she drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "I can accept that this was out
of my control, but Lee--if I could've taken Jenna's place during this whole
ordeal--just to spare her all of this--and keep her from any more--I wouldn't
hesitate."

"I feel the same way." Lee said.

"Accept and move forward--that's what Dr. Pfaff said--that's what we have to do--I
just wish I knew how."

"Wish I did too." There were no other words, nothing else he could say--Lee
pulled his wife close, smoothing her hair.

 Goofy Golf

4:20 PM

"Oh no, dad, here it is--the Chipmunk of Doom," Jenna teased.

"Munchkin--please--it doesn't bother me any more." Lee eyed the concrete rodent
on the second hole--the thing always seemed to be smiling at him somehow--mocking
him.

Well, this time he would win.

"It bothered you the last time we were here," Jenna reminded him.

"She's right, Lee," Amanda said. "For some reason this hole always gets to you."

"Yeah well, not this time." Lee concentrated on the little orange ball in front
of him--all he had to do was get it through the chipmunk's legs. It was supposed
to be easy. He'd seen little kids do it in one--even Jenna had done it--but for
some reason it always took him at least four or five tries. Lee recalled the
first time he'd ever played with Amanda and her boys. Phillip and Jamie had been
almost hysterical with laughter--it was Phillip who had coined the term
'Chipmunk of Doom'--and ever since that day it had stuck.

Every day except today--today was the day that he'd finally do it. Lee readied
the club, widening his stance--he hit the ball at just the right angle--it
rolled--almost there--it would make it this time for sure--

The ball hit the chipmunk's foot and veered off to the side. Lee let out a hiss
of frustration as he glared balefully at the animal--he could almost swear that
the thing was now wearing a smirk.

"Oh Lee," Amanda rubbed his shoulder.

A hissing sound from behind startled him. Lee turned to see his daughter --she
had both hands over her mouth--tears in her eyes--her shoulders shook--crying?
Had something triggered an episode? Lee looked around--he didn't see anything
that--

Then he realized.

Jenna was laughing--actually laughing. The hissing had now erupted into full
blown giggles. It had been so long since Lee had seen her laugh--really
laugh--thata33;for a moment his throat tightened, making it hard to speak.

"Munchkin--" he finally managed to say.

"Dad--I'm sorry--" Jenna gasped out, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm not making
fun of--really--it's just--the way you were looking at that chipmunk was--it was
just too funny."

"Hey," Lee enfolded his daughter in a gentle hug. Looking over Jenna's head at
Amanda, he could see that his wife was smiling, her eyes also filled with happy
tears. "Don't apologize for anything, okay? It's wonderful to hear you laugh."

6:00 PM

"Here we go," Lee walked back to the table, a large tray in his hand. "Burger,
fries and a water for me, Salad and water for you, and a cheeseburger, fries and
milkshake for Jenna--where's Jenna?"

"She had to go to the restroom," Amanda said.

Lee raised his eyebrows. "By herself?"

Amanda nodded, her eyes fastened on the door near the back of the cafa33;. "I'm
giving her five minutes before I go charging in."

"Good call--that's a good step." But even as he reassured his wife Lee found
that he was also watching the bathroom door--silently praying that everything
would be all right.

"Has Jenna talked to you since the last hypnosis session? You know--about
Gary--what he did to her ribs?" Amanda's tone was halting--Lee could see the
pain in her eyes--he knew how hard this was on her--the thought of her child
being hurt like that.

"Not yet," he told Amanda. "When I woke her up to feed her I asked--she said she
didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to pressure her--she'll probably
open up when she's ready."

"Probably." Amanda said. "I was glad to see Jenna laughing, though. That was a
good sign."

"It was--hopefully she's starting to heal."

"Hopefully." Amanda sighed, looking at her watch and then again at the bathroom
door. "It's funny."

"What is?"

"How we never used to think about some things--you know--letting Jenna go to a
public restroom, walk home from school--now I just--I can't quite shake the
feeling that if I let her out of my sight for even one second something horrible
will happen."

"Yeah, I know." Lee reached across the table, squeezing his wife's hand. "I
feel the same way."

"Dr. Pfaff said that if I was too overprotective it could be bad for Jenna--it
might make her think that the world is a dangerous place. But the world can be
dangerous sometimes--we know that better than anyone--so what do we do then?"

"I guess--we just take things as they come--teach her how to protect
herself--and try to keep her safe without making her afraid."

"It's not going to be easy though."

"No, it never is. But I think it'll get easier--over time."

"I hope so--but if she's in there one more minute I'm going in."

 At that moment the door opened and Jenna walked out--Lee watched as the tension
left Amanda's body--she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your food's right here, munchkin," Lee said.

"Thanks," Jenna sat in the booth next to Amanda and picked up her cheeseburger.

"You played a pretty good game," Lee told his daughter, hoping to get the
conversational ball rolling.

"Yeah," Jenna said. "Mom's still the best though."

"Well, your Mom's had more practice than both of us combined." Lee said. "But
you played really well--and you had fun--that's the most important thing."

Jenna smiled, squeezing some ketchup from a packet and dipping her French fry.
"It was fun."

"Did you have a good day at school, sweetheart?" Amanda asked.

"Not bad," Jenna said. "Classes are okay--I like my new Social Studies teacher a
lot. But if Terri would leave me alone it would be better."

"You mean Terri Morgan?" Lee recalled both Terri and her mother--from Jenna's
ballet a few years back--not the most pleasant people. "What is she doing?"

Jenna stared down at the Formica tabletop. "She's telling people that I'm
exaggerating about what--what happened to me--that I wasn't really
kidnapped--I'm just doing this to get attention. But I haven't even been talking
about it--I haven't--and people at school seem to know some stuff without me
even saying anything."

Television--Lee's fist clenched. Francine had said a week ago that Gary's lawyer
was making the rounds of all the talk shows and news programs--even
Oprah--trying to drum up sympathy for his client. Lee didn't know what the
creep had been saying--frankly he didn't even care--but if it was getting out on
the television and other kids were watching--and their parents--what could he
do? His eyes met Amanda's.

"Jenna--" Lee began, but Jenna cut him off.

"You don't have to tell me--it's on TV, isn't it? The kidnapping--and Gary--I
mean, his lawyer--like that one night. That's why you don't watch the news
anymore like you used to."

"That's part of it, sweetheart," Amanda said. "We just don't want you to be
upset anymore--you have enough going on without seeing all that."

"Whatever that lawyer is sayinga33;--or whatever Terri or anyone else says,
Jenna--it's all just talk," Lee said. "The case against him is very strong--I
swear to you--that man's not going anywhere for a very long time."

Jenna's voice was quiet. "I hope not." She took a sip of her milkshake, staring
out the window at the golf course.

"Do all of the kids think the way Terri does?" Amanda asked.

Jenna shook her head. "No--most of them think Terri is a--that she's
mean--they're really nice to me--which is good, I guess--but I just wish they'd
forget about it so I can be normal again. Does that make any sense?"

"Perfect sense." Lee told her.

"I remember him, you know--Gary--telling me that he killed Marcie." The
statement came out of nowhere--Jenna continued to look out the window as she
spoke. Lee kept silent, waiting to see if she would continue. Finally she spoke
again.

"It was in the car, just before we reached the place where--where you found me.
I was tied up in the backseat. We went over a bump--and my chest--it hurt so bad
and I cried--I told him I wanted to go home and he said that I was a whiner,
just like Marcie--then he told me--what he'd done--he called her 'defective
merchandise'--said that he'd 'returned' her." She looked up at him--Lee could
see the pain and confusion in her expression. "How could he do that--how could
anyone do that to their own kid?"

Lee struggled with half-a-dozen answers before finally deciding on the direct
approach. "I don't know, munchkin--I wish I did know."

"He was going to kill me, too--he almost did--but he didn't--I survived. Dr.
Pfaff says that's the most important thing to remember."

"Dr. Pfaff is right," Amanda said. "You were very brave--you survived and
things will get better for you--I promise."

Jenna smiled again, faintly. "I just hope it happens soon."