*The usual disclaimers apply—thanks to Ermintrude for the title and for all of the help and support—hope you enjoy :) *

Some Justice--Part Nine

Arlington County Courthouse

Monday, April 2, 2009

4:45 PM

“How are you doing this afternoon, Jenna?”  Dr. Pfaff asked. 

“Pretty good,” Jenna took her usual seat, Dad sitting beside her. Mr. Welling was already seated across from them but he was looking down at the papers he held in his hand. Papers about her?  Jenna thought about asking whether she could look at them but hesitated—it was like thinking about Marcie Johnston.

Maybe she really didn’t want to know. 

“You look good,”  Dr. Pfaff said.  “Did school go well?”

“Yeah, I had a good day, and my classes are going pretty well.”  Jenna wasn’t sure what else she could tell him—there had been nothing about the day that had stood out—maybe it was her feelings—the day had just seemed better—brighter somehow.

Dr. Pfaff nodded approvingly. “What about that girl Terri—is she still giving you a hard time?”   

“No, not really,” Jenna said “At least not since Saturday.” 

“Saturday?” Dr. Pfaff and Dad spoke in unison—Jenna could feel Dad’s gaze on her.

“Tell me what happened on Saturday,” Dr. Pfaff said. 

“Okay, well Mom dropped me and Lisa off at the mall—to go shopping.”  She couldn’t say what she was shopping for—Dad’s birthday was supposed to be a surprise.

Dr. Pfaff raised his eyebrows. “Your mother dropped you off? That’s a pretty big step.” 

Jenna nodded. “Yeah, but she was still worried about it—she told us to be careful about a million times, not to get separated, things like that.”

“That’s understandable,” Dr. Pfaff said. “But still, she let you go. What happened at the mall?”

“Well—we were at the Food Court and Lisa saw this guy she likes, Brad somebody—he was standing in the line at Wendy’s and she wanted to go talk to him. And I needed to go to the restroom so we did split up—but it was only for a little bit.”

“Munchkin—I—”  Dad started to say.

“Lee,”  Dr. Pfaff said.  “What happened when you went to the restroom?” 

“I had finished—I was standing at the sink looking in the mirror—I heard the toilet flush and Terri came out of the bathroom. She saw me and just started saying stuff.” 

“By stuff what do you mean?”  Dr. Pfaff asked.

“Just that I shouldn’t go out in public with a face like mine—I told her to shut up—she said ‘make me’—and said that there was no one to stop her this time. My back was up against the sink and she was close—leaning over me.”  Jenna looked over at Dad—his jaw was clenched tightly, forming a visible knot. “And then she said that she hoped that Gary did get out—that he would make me pay for what I’d done.”  

“Jenna, why didn’t you tell someone about this?”  Dad asked her. “She has no right to threaten you that way.” 

“I didn’t tell anyone because I handled it myself,”  Jenna said.

“How did you handle it yourself?”  Dr. Pfaff asked her.

“I did my breathing—to stay calm, and then I told her that she was jealous—that she knew nothing because she hadn’t been there—she hadn’t been through what I went through and I didn’t think she’d be jealous if she had been through it. And I told her that she couldn’t scare me—she couldn’t bother me—not anymore. She just stood there and I walked out.”  Even as she spoke about it Jenna could feel a smile spreading across her face at the memory.

“That made you feel good—to do that.”  Dr. Pfaff said.

Jenna nodded.  “I felt good—it felt good to stand up to her.” 

Dad cleared his throat. “That was very brave, Jenna—especially with her standing over you like that.” 

“I just kept telling myself that I wasn’t in danger,”  Jenna said. “I mean, Terri’s not someone who’s really going to hurt me—she’s just a very jealous person and a bully.” 

“That’s very positive, Jenna.”  Dr. Pfaff paused for a few moments. “And that’s something we need to deal with –your fear of someone standing above you or leaning over you. I’ve told you several times—not everyone who does that intends to do you harm.” 

“I know you’ve told me that—it’s just when it happens—sometimes I just react.” 

“Yes, I know—and that’s because your reaction is automatic—you react without thinking. Now I know that I told you that Gary’s lawyer won’t be allowed to do that—”

The butterflies started again in Jenna’s stomach. “That’s what you said.”   

“Ideally we would hope that he would follow the rules,” Mr. Dutton said. “But Gary’s lawyer isn’t exactly known for following the rules.”

“So what can I do?”  Jenna asked.

“What we need to do is work on that fear—exposing you to it so that you can see that not everyone will harm you.”

“But Gary’s lawyer will—”

Dr. Pfaff shook his head. “Gary’s lawyer is many things, Jenna—but he’s not a bad person—at least—not in the sense of someone who would physically hurt you. If he stands over you nothing bad will happen—but the last thing we want is for you to panic or flashback during your testimony.” 

Jenna’s voice shook. “No, I don’t want to do that either.” 

“Exactly,” Dr. Pfaff told her. “So what I want you to do if someone does that—stands over you or leans over you—is just what you did with Terri. I want you to focus, breathe, and tell yourself to relax—that everything is okay. We’re going to practice with your father.  Lee?”

Dad stood. 

‘But I’m not ready,’ Jenna heard a creak as Dad rose from his chair.  ‘I’m not—’

But suddenly there he was—his shadow fell over her, blocking out the light—he put his hands on the arms of her chair on either side as he leaned over—Jenna had forgotten how large Dad was—it made her feel very small— trapped—her heart pounded wildly, she swallowed—she could feel herself on the verge of slipping—.

“Your breathing—concentrate—” Dr. Pfaff said. “Look up at him, Jenna—focus—you can do it.” 

She could do it—this wasn’t like Gary—this was her Dad—who talked to her, held her when she was scared, comforted her—Jenna drew in a deep breath and held it before letting it out slowly—her heart slowed, breathing back to normal—she looked up at him and Dad smiled—Jenna smiled back. 

“I love you, munchkin,” he said.

“Love you too,” Jenna said. Dad stayed there a moment more before returning to his seat. 

“How do you feel?”  Dr. Pfaff asked her. “Do you feel nervous at all?”

“Not right now,” Jenna said. “I mean, I had a moment—but I know Dad—I know that I’m safe with him.” 

“That might be part of it,” Dr. Pfaff admitted.  “But the fact that you did have a ‘moment’ shows that you had an unconscious reaction—and then you were able to bring it back under conscious control.” 

Dr. Pfaff made sense, Jenna thought—but still— “Do you think I’ll be able to do that when the person is a stranger—someone I don’t know very well?” 

“Sure you can,” Dr. Pfaff told her. “You’re in control of your own reactions, Jenna—you just have to take that control.” 

“Okay.”

Mr. Welling cleared his throat, startling Jenna—he’d been so quiet that she’d almost forgotten he was here. 

“Are you ready to begin?”  he asked her.

With the questions, he meant. “I’m ready.”  Jenna replied.

“When we left off, Jenna—you had cried yourself to sleep, is that correct?” 

Again Jenna nodded. 

“No nods—you have to answer.” 

“Sorry,”  Jenna said. “That’s correct—I fell asleep.” 

“Did either Gary or Suzanne Johnston visit you during the night?” 

“No, they didn’t.” 

“What were they doing?” 

“I don’t know.”  

“Did you wake up at all during the night?” 

“Yes—I had a dream and that woke me up.” 

“A bad dream?” 

“No—jut a dream about when I was little—about being home—feeling safe.” 

Mr. Welling was silent for a moment—Jenna thought he would ask some more about her dream but he didn’t—maybe it wasn’t relevant. That was fine with her—the dream wasn’t something she wanted to share. 

“What happened when you woke up—did you try to escape?” 

“Not then, no—I just hoped I was home—that maybe everything had been a bad dream, but it wasn’t—and I hurt –my head and my neck—I just fell back asleep again.” 

“And you woke up the next morning?”

“Yes.” 

“What happened then? “ 

“I sat up –I felt sore all over—I heard Mr. and Mrs. Johnston downstairs.” 

“What were they doing?”  

“They were yelling at each other.” 

“You mean arguing?”  

“It was an argument, yes.”  

“Can you tell me what the argument was about?”  

“It was—” Jenna thought back. “Suzanne wanted to make me breakfast—and Gary said not to—he didn’t think I deserved it.” 

“Why do you think that?” 

“Because that’s what he said—that I didn’t get breakfast because I didn’t eat my dinner.”

*~~*

“She doesn’t get any damn breakfast! Not after she didn’t eat her dinner…” 

 “You can talk about making that stupid kid breakfast but you can’t make something for me? Is that it, huh?”

“Gary, please don’t do this.”

*~~*

It was strange how she could still hear the voices in her head. Jenna shivered slightly—she felt her Dad’s hand covering hers. 

“And what happened next?” 

“He hit her.”  

“How do you know that? Did you see it?” 

“No—but I heard it—and when she came upstairs later she had a red mark on her face.” 

“She could have just as easily run into something, though—that’s possible.” 

“It’s possible, but I heard a hit.”  

“But you didn’t actually see it, did you?” 

Jenna’s voice sounded very small to her ears. “No, I didn’t.” 

“You’d been through a lot—you might have been so disoriented that you imagined it.” 

“I wasn’t disoriented—I hurt, but it wasn’t like I was out of it—and I heard a hit.” 

“That was good, Jenna,” Mr. Dutton said. “You stuck to your guns and stayed calm—a jury would find that very believable. Continue, Mr. Welling.” 

Mr. Welling nodded.  “Did you just stay in bed?” 

“No—I wanted to get up—get out of there—I went to the bathroom—and I looked in the mirror—and my face—it was—”

“What did your face look like?” 

Jenna swallowed. In her mind’s eye she could still remember—it—the shock of her reflection—seeing her face like that. “One side—the side where I was hit—it was swollen—the bruise was shaped like his—like Gary’s hand. My lip was split open and there was dried blood all over my chin—I got one of the washcloths and cleaned myself off.” 

“After that?’ 

“I decided to search the room.”

“Did you know what you were looking for?”

“Something—mainly I was trying to figure out where I was.” 

“And what did you find?” 

“Nothing much—some music CD’s, videos, and a black book with the pages ripped out.” 

“Did you know what the book was for?” 

At the time Jenna had thought it was a diary, but she couldn’t say that—she wasn’t supposed to speculate. “I don’t know—there was nothing in it—and then the door opened and I threw the book in a corner of the room.”

“Why did you do that?” 

“I was afraid it was Gary—I didn’t want to get in trouble again.” 

“Was it Gary?” 

“No, it was Suzanne—she had a glass of water—she said it was my breakfast—all I was allowed to have.” 

“I see—and is that when you noticed her cheek was red?”  

“Yes—she kept trying to cover it up.”

“Did you ask her about it?” 

“No, I wanted to find out where I was.” 

“That’s what you asked her?” 

“I asked her if I could go to Ballston Common—I figured that if she knew what I was talking about that I couldn’t be too far from home.” 

“How did she reply?” 

“She said that my father didn’t like me going there—so I knew I was close to Arlington.”

“What did you do after that?” 

“Well Suzanne went downstairs to get some stuff—to clean up the mess from the tray last night—she left the door open.” 

“Did you try to escape?” 

“I went to the stairs, but then I heard Gary’s voice—telling Suzanne that they had company coming over.”  At those words Dad’s hand tightened over Jenna’s. She looked at him but couldn’t read his expression. 

Had she said something to upset him?  Jenna didn’t think she had—Dad’s gaze met her own and he smiled.

Maybe she’d imagined things.

“So you didn’t want to attempt an escape with Gary downstairs.” Mr. Welling said.

“No—I didn’t want to be hurt again—but I did want to escape later—and I saw a napkin on the floor and got an idea.” 

“Which idea was that?”

“To stuff the napkin in the lock so the door wouldn’t lock—I saw that in a movie once.” 

“That’s what you did?” 

“Yes.” 

Mr. Welling rose from the chair—he began to pace back and forth in front of her. What was he doing?  Jenna found her eyes drawn to him as he moved, glancing at her. Her hands tightened on the armrests.

“What did you do next?” he asked her.

“I grabbed a fork and hid it under the mattress.” 

“Why a fork?” 

She wished that he would just sit still—Jenna’s heart pounded a little faster—the butterflies were doing somersaults and backflips. “In case I needed it—for later.” 

“Were you intending to use it as a weapon—to hurt someone?” 

“Well I was—”

“The same way you were going to use the CD Player? You were going to commit assault and battery?” 

“I didn’t really want to—”

Without warning Mr. Welling leaned over her.  “Look at me, Jenna—answer me. Is that what you were going to do?”

She had to stay calm—Mr. Welling wouldn’t hurt her—he was here to help—that’s what he was doing now—Dad gave her hand another squeeze. 

‘I can do this,’ Jenna thought. Breathing slowly and evenly she forced her gaze up to meet Mr. Welling’s.

“I had been kidnapped, drugged—he hit me—I felt like I had to defend myself.” 

“Yes or no—you were intending to hurt someone.” 

Jenna’s voice still trembled slightly, but she managed to hold it together. It was just like facing Terri—the fear was still there, but it didn’t have her—it wasn’t taking her over. “It’s not a yes or no answer—I was only going to hurt someone if they tried to hurt me first.” 

“Very good answer, Jenna,”  Mr. Dutton interjected. 

Mr. Welling stepped back, sitting down in his chair. 

“What happened after that?”  he asked her.

“Suzanne came in after I hid the fork—I drank the water—it hurt my lip though—the cold,” Jenna said. “After Suzanne left I checked the door to make sure it would open.”

‘And did it open?” 

“Yes. But I felt strange—very dizzy—I had to lie down.” 

“Then after that?” 

“I passed out on the bed—I think the water was drugged.” 

“Did you taste anything in the water?”

“I’m not—” Jenna tried to think back. Had she noticed?  She couldn’t think. “I can’t remember,”  she admitted finally. “I was so thirsty that I gulped it down without really thinking.” 

“So, would you say that it’s possible that you weren’t drugged at all—that you were just very tired?” 

“No, I don’t think so—it was so sudden—I had felt fine a minute ago.” 

“Is that the only reason you think you were drugged?” 

“No, that’s not the only reason—when I woke up later and I looked at the glass—there was all this white stuff at the bottom.” 

 “What did it look like?”

 “Like some kind of powder.” 

Mr. Dutton looked at his watch. “I think we’ll end this here for now—this was a very productive session.”

4247 Maplewood Dr.

8:40 PM

Lee stood in the doorway—for a few moments he just watched her—she was lying on her stomach—notebook spread out in front of her—pencil in hand—her face a mask of concentration—the expression reminded Lee of himself when he was thinking out a problem. 

Jenna looked up and smiled. “Hey Dad.” 

“Hey yourself.” He came into the room, sitting beside her on the bed. “You still doing homework?” 

Jenna sighed, rubbing her head. “Word problems—usually I like math—well, some math—but these—”

“Yeah, munchkin—I remember word problems too. Is it one of those about the trains leaving the station?” 

“You got it—they put them in these books just to be mean—I’ve tried and I can’t seem to get it.” 

“Let me see.”  Lee took the book. “I see—you have to find out the distance—that’s rate multiplied by the time.” 

“I know that, but how do I find out what the time is?”

“You divide the distance—that’s 260 miles by 70 miles per hour—and then you do the same for the other train.” 

“What you do to one side, you do to the other side—that’s what Mr. Soros says.”

“That’s right.”  

“Okay—and then—” her pencil moved over the paper—she chewed her lip. “Oh—I get it now.”

He ruffled her hair. “I knew you could. Going to go to bed soon?”

“In a minute—this is the last problem,” Jenna said. “Hey, was there something you wanted?” 

“Just to say that I was very proud of you—you handled yourself really well today.” 

Jenna’s smile lit up her entire face. “You mean it?” 

 “I mean it—things got tough in there but you stayed calm and you got through it. “

“Thanks—hey—my testimony didn’t upset you at all, did it?”

“Why would you think you upset me?” 

“It was just one part—when I talked about Gary having company over—and about the water—you squeezed my hand—and the look on your face—you looked kind of upset, that’s all.” 

Lee hesitated.  He couldn’t tell her—couldn’t tell her that he and Amanda had been the “company” that Gary had been expecting—that he had given Jenna chloral hydrate so her parents wouldn’t discover her. The thought of that bastard talking to them about his van and all the while Jenna had been lying upstairs, drugged—it still got to him.

“Dad?”  Jenna was looking at him. Lee drew in a deep breath before speaking.

“It’s just hard for me sometimes,” he told her. “Hearing what you went through—part of me still wishes I could’ve been there to stop it—to stop Gary from hurting you the way he did. ”  he remembered how Gary’s face had turned purple when he’d grabbed his collar, twisting tight—

*~~*

“Can’t breathe—” the man had gasped.

“If it were up to me, Mr. Johnston—you’d never breathe again.” 

*~~*

Part of Lee still wished that he could make good on that promise.

“You stopped Gary from killing me,” his daughter’s voice brought him back to the present.  “That’s the most important thing.”  Her expression clouded slightly. “I certainly couldn’t have stopped him at that point.”   

“No, you couldn’t,” Lee rubbed her shoulder. “But listen to me—you didn’t give up—you put up a good fight—and when you tell the court what he did you’ll have the power to stop him once and for all—think about that.”  

Another smile—a small smile. “That does sound good. And you’ll be there with me, right? During the hearing?” 

“You couldn’t keep me away.” 

“What about during the trial?”

The trial—Mr. Dutton had told him that Jenna probably would have to testify in open court—and if Lee’s own testimony was required he wouldn’t be able to be there—but nothing was decided as of yet. “We’ll think about the trial when we come to it, munchkin—that’s quite a few months away. All right?”

“All right,”  Jenna yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Have you done your exercise yet?”  Lee asked her.

“Right before I sleep—now that I’m finished with the math.”  Rising to her knees Jenna put her arms around him. “Night Dad—I love you.” 

Lee hugged her, kissing the top of her head. “Love you too, munchkin.” 

TBC