A Girl in Need

This is the continuation of the story of Corporal Jake Rogers and Pat Williams two single parents in jobs that quite often overlap. I deliberately cut short the description of Pat's interview with Ginny as I wouldn't cater to any reader who would get pleasure from that, plus I have no intentions of getting involved with child pornography. Parts one and two are intended to set the stage and I hope that I am not boring the reader by taking too long to get on with the romance part of the story. A word of warning, there is no sex in this episode, as it deals with the treatment received by a child at the hands of a parent. Many thanks to Yellow Peril for his valuable insights and editing

When we got to the cruiser, Pat looked at me, "Can I make a suggestion?" she asked. "Is it possible to lose the uniform and the marked car?"

"We are just about to do that. I'm just heading for my place to get into civvies, and then to the office for a car."

We pulled into my place and I invited Pat in for a minute, and then headed upstairs to change. I told Pat to have a seat; I wouldn't be long.

- - - - - - - - - - -

As I sat in Jake's living room and took a look around, I couldn't help noticing that the house was nice but it had that air of masculinity about it, as if there hadn't been a woman's touch about the place for a while. There were several family photographs on the walls, and the biggest one showed Jake, a woman with dark hair, and a young boy and girl.

A little about me; I'm 30 years old, a widow and a single mom. My son, Sean, is a typical 8 year old boy into anything and everything. We had come to Clearville to try to find a more relaxed life in a smaller town. We live with my aunt, Chris. She is sort of a substitute Mom for me, and a great built-in babysitter for Sean. She had recently sold her wool and knitting store, and was overjoyed to have Sean to look after. She had been married, but for some reason could not have children. Once they found out, her husband wouldn't hear of adoption and, after he started cheating on her, they divorced.

Besides being 30, I am 5 feet 8 inches tall, I'm midway between a 35C and 36B chest and I have a pretty good rear end that I keep in shape by running and working out at the gym. While I know I'm no stunning beauty, I like to think I can hold my own, and while I'm open to a new relationship, I'm not doing any active looking and don't have anyone in mind right now.

This Jake guy could be a little different, maybe, after all - what better than a cop for trust?

I can just hear all those cops' 'exes' laughing their heads off! When Jake came down carrying a bag, I asked, "Is this your family?" I saw a fleeting image of pain in his eyes before he answered, "Yes, that was my wife with our son and daughter."

Uh oh,

I thought. "I'm sorry – that was an insensitive question."

Several expressions fleetingly raced across his face before he answered, "It's a long story. We don't have time for it now, we have to get moving." Again there was that impression of pain in his eyes.

Surprisingly, we only drove to the house next-door and pulled into the driveway to be met by a blonde woman about my age coming out. Jake said, "Pat, I'd like you to meet Tanya, one of my oldest friends. Tanya, this is Pat Williams, she has just moved to town and is with Children's Services. Tanya, it looks like we have a big one that could keep me really late. Could I ask you to meet Tommy and Anne and keep them until Mom gets here? She is in the office today, so she should be here by 5."

Tanya smiled and nodded, "Sure, I'll be happy to look after them. It looks like you are loaded for bear if it is plain clothes time, so good luck."

As we drove away, Jake told me that his wife Jenny had been killed in a car crash two years previously. I told him that I was very sorry, and explained that I was a widow as well. My husband, Geoff, had developed an inoperable brain tumor, and had died just after our son, Sean's first birthday. Jake frowned and continued, "I'm truly sorry to hear that. It must have been really tough for you to deal with, watching your husband die before your son was even a year old. It looks like we have some things in common, doesn't it?"

For some reason, I reacted to his comment, and my reply was kind of flippant. "We will just have to get together sometime, and maybe we can cry on each other's shoulder." He said, "That could be a plan." I looked at him in surprise. After all, we had only met an hour ago and, even if he seemed pretty nice and was good looking in a rugged kind of way, I felt his comment was a little rushed. Truth is, though, I did feel pretty comfortable with him, and his manner tended to inspire trust.

I asked about Tanya, and if she looked after his children as a babysitter. He told me that she would, in an emergency, but usually his mother would be at the house when they got home from school and look after them until he got home. When he was on the rare night shift, the children would stay with grandma till his shifts changed. It wasn't the best arrangement, but it was the best they could arrange.

I looked at Jake and carefully asked, "Is Tanya a single mom?"

"No," Jake replied, "Tanya and her husband Mike were my best friends all through school. I had a crush on her for a long time but, while I was away at college, I realized that a crush was all it was. I didn't really love her, and I didn't feel unhappy when she got engaged to and married Mike. They are still my best friends."

"Anyway," he continued with a grin, "even if I wanted to get together with Tanya, I wouldn't dare. Mike's bigger than I am, and in the few fights we have had, he always won."

-------------------

I began to realize that, in spite of what she had gone through, Pat had a sort of irrepressible sense of humor that went along with her quiet, capable manner. I found myself looking forward to working with her as we headed into my office.

After introducing Pat to my boss, I filled him in on what I had. Picking up the keys to an unmarked car, I asked Pat, "How about a pre interview coffee? We can go over what we need, and decide what strategy we should use. If things develop the way I think they might, we won't get a whole lot of time for coffee or lunch once we get started. Pat thought it would be a good idea so we stopped at a coffee shop that I knew would be fairly quiet. Our waitress, Brenda, started right in on me, asking all kinds of questions about Pat. "Who is this, Jake, a new girlfriend? It's about time! We were beginning to figure that you had been up on the shelf for too long. I introduced Pat, telling Brenda that we were working together on a case, and that Pat was new in town. She replied, "Pat, we keep telling this guy that it is time to get moving again. He's the most eligible bachelor in town, with two beautiful kids, and nobody can get him to go out on a date; lots have tried, but no luck."

Pat laughed and came back with a grin, "Well, I don't know enough about him yet, and I don't suppose that I will have much time to find out during this case. Give me time, Brenda, Give me time!"

Pat turned to me and said, "Sorry Jake, That was just in fun. I just couldn't resist going along with Brenda, she so obviously cares about you!"

As Brenda left to see to other customers, Pat and I began discussing the case. I asked Pat if she had worked on many like this one. Her reply was, "Too many of them. Sometimes it would be really easy to become a raging, man-hating feminist, but then I remember that not all men are like the ones I am dealing with. There are others out there who are a pretty good bunch," I asked if there were any in particular, and she laughed and retorted, "If you're asking if I have a boy friend, the answer is yes, he's 8 years old, sleeps in his own room and calls me Mom."

"No, I'm not really prying into your private life; I hate these cases too. I have found, though, that once they start, they kind of take on a life of their own. While they are proceeding, you have to go with them, and if there are no personal things to worry about, that makes it easier to plan how to approach the case."

Pat assured me, "No matter how late we have to work, I'll be available. I realize that the first day is often the most important. I like your style so far. I've too often had to work with cops who had made their minds up well before they got there. You haven't, or at least you don't give any signs of it. That gives you full marks in my book."

I thought for a minute."Pat, the one thing I do know is that, by the time this day is over, we will have split a family up. Whether they ever get together again is a great unknown. I just can't help but feel sorry about that, even if the parents turn out to be real losers. If we have to take the children away from them, maybe the kids will do fine, then again they may be placed with people who mistreat them. It's all consequences that we can't tell ahead of time."

I thought for a moment, got out my cell phone and called the office. When Trudi, the secretary, answered, I asked her to put me through to dispatch. Joe answered the phone. "Hi Boss, what do you need?"

"I need a record check on Bernard Jacobs, 35 to 40 years old, living on Route 3 in Clearville. I have a hunch about this guy. I've definitely heard the name before, so check him out not just locally, but also check with Sunbury and Racine Bay police forces and have them check for criminal activities where there have been no charges laid. "

"Okay, Trudi says she has heard of him, too. Apparently he is the pastor of a Fundamentalist Church somewhere out in the country, maybe in Henry Township where he lives.I thanked him and, after paying our bill, we left the coffee shop and got on our way back to the school. While we were en route, Joe called me on the radio. "For your information, while the subject has no criminal record, both the cities you asked me to check have local records of him being picked up in some prostitution stings relating to underage girls. In fact, they say next time he is picked up he will be forced to attend 'John' school."

I called in my thanks, and Pat looked at me with a quizzical look on her face. "He seems to have quite a thing for sex with teenagers, doesn't he? This is beginning to look really bad; we had better talk to all the girls. I will have to, anyway. If I don't, I won't be doing my job properly. I looked over at her. "That is a given. We just follow it up, wherever it takes us." She took out her cell phone and called her aunt to tell her that she would likely be late getting home, as she had a serious case on hand.

Then she turned to me and asked, "Would it be possible to pick up all three girls and take them to our office? We have better facilities there. With all respect, I know that if I am on my own or with another female worker, I will have a better chance of getting the girls to tell me the truth. We have an interview room with audio visual capabilities, so the interview can be recorded while you can watch and see what is happening from another room. You can buzz me if there is something that I haven't covered that you need."

I breathed a big sigh of relief; there is nothing I hate more than interviewing girls on sexual matters, especially when it's taking place in the family. I don't have any problem with mature women. I can easily talk to them, but teenagers and I don't speak the same language. "I have no problem with that at all," I said with a grin. "Anytime you want to take that task on is fine by me. We'll take a run by the school to pick up the two older girls, and then we'll head for the elementary school. If you go in with the her eldest sister, it probably will scare the youngest girl less than if I went in. I'll call the principal from the high school."

When we got to the high school, I explained to Tony what we were going to do, and asked if he would have the two older girls quietly brought to the office, with the eldest first. Then I called the elementary school and explained to the principal that a case worker from Children's Services and I were in the midst of an investigation, and that we needed to talk to Paula Jacobs the youngest sister, at the Children's Services office. I informed him that Ms. Pat Williams would be coming to the school with an elder sister to pick her up.

Just then, Ginny Jacobs arrived. I borrowed Tony's office for a while and asked her to come in and sit down. I watched her carefully as I introduced myself. "I'm Corporal Jake Rogers of the Provincial Police. I was given some information that indicated you are being assaulted by your father. Ms. Williams and I are required by law to investigate that information, and we also have to talk to your two younger sisters."

Ginny burst into tears, and sobbed," Beth wasn't supposed to say anything to anyone! I trusted her, and she blabbed it to the teacher, didn't she? I hate her! I'll never speak to her again! I'm 18, I can sleep with whoever I want!"

Pat gave her a tissue, "Ginny, believe me, you don't know how much of a friend Beth is. You don't have to go through these trials. You are entitled to a life without them, without fear. We want the best for you that we can do, but we can't allow your father to continue doing this. We have to get you away from his influence."

Ginny cried, "If you do that, he'll just start on Gail! He told me he would do that if I ran away. He told me it's God's punishment for my sins."

I reassured her, "No, Ginny, that won't happen. It's all over. Your father won't be able to do anything to Gail, or to your other sister, either. It's obvious from what you have said that I will be arresting your Dad today for a criminal offence."

She cried even more as her sister Gail was brought into the office. "Gail, Dad is going to be arrested! We have to go with these people to be interviewed, then they will be arresting Dad. He has been hurting me, and has been for a long time now."

Gail looked at her as the tears started down her face, and she whispered, "I know, I've seen him with you. He has done the same to me. Mum had to put me on the pill, too."

I realized that this was worse than we had at first thought. I wondered what we were going to find out when we interviewed Paula? It looked as if the worst had happened, but from what the girls had said so far, it was beginning to appear that their mother was, maybe, not a willing participant.

We got the girls in to the car and drove over to the elementary school. Pat and Ginny went in and brought Paula out to the car. She thought that getting into an unmarked police car was a great way to get the afternoon off from school. She happily climbed in the back with her sisters, and we took them all back to the Children's Services office, where we took the girls into a waiting room and supplied them with books and drinks. At that point, another worker came in and sat down with the three girls. Helen and Pat asked Ginny to go with them into the interview room. I was shown to an office equipped with a television showing the interview room.

Pat showed Ginny to a comfortable chair, and Helen and Pat sat down close to her. I watched spellbound as Pat went through the process of taking a statement from Ginny. "Ginny," she began, "I have to interview you regarding an allegation that your father has sexually assaulted you. The interview will be recorded with both sound and video so that the results will be totally complete and totally accurate. Now, I have to ask you, is this allegation true? If it is, for how long a period has this been taking place?"

Ginny began answering as I watched, impressed, while Pat took Ginny through a detailed statement of her miserable treatment at her father's hands. It was clearly shown that the story was coming from Ginny, and that nothing was suggested to her. Hearing what she said left me feeling really angry. I have always had a soft spot for kids. Working with them and helping them was always deeply fulfilling, and hearing what this dirty old man had done to his own children really pissed me off. When prompted by Pat, Ginny agreed that what she had said was the truth, and was willing to sign a transcribed statement

Pat excused herself and came next door to see me. "What else do we need." I angrily replied, "Nothing. I have no problems arresting him on what she has said. Can you convince her that, since she is too old to be taken into foster care, her best plan is to come with me to the Women's Crisis centre, at least temporarily?. At least there she can get some counseling to help her deal with this. They will also help her to be able to deal with the ordeal that she is going to have to go through if this goes to court and her father pleads not guilty. Also, we will have to take her to the hospital and have her examined by a Doctor."

Pat replied, "That sounds good to me. I will talk to Ginny and get her to go with you. I also have to interview the two younger girls. We can get them to foster parents, and will arrange counseling for them, too. If you want to take Ginny up to the hospital, I can interview the other two girls and get them both to the hospital if needed. Gail will definitely need to be examined." She went back to the interview room to talk to Ginny, and then brought her out to me. "Ginny has agreed with your idea, and is ready to go with you to the hospital. I'll call the ER and let them know you are on your way. I'll also ask them to complete a rape kit just in case." Ginny and I left for the short trip to the hospital. I took her in to the ER through a side door, and a nurse who had been watching for us quickly took Ginny and me into a private room. She then brought the doctor on duty in and I explained to him what the situation was. He asked me to wait outside while he examined Ginny and made some tests with the rape kit. I told Ginny to keep her chin up, that the worst would soon be over and then we could get her to a comfortable place.

After about 20 minutes, the doctor came out and took me to another private room. He told me that his examination showed that Ginny had definitely had recent sexual intercourse. He said that there was no tearing to indicate extreme force, but he thought there was fresh semen in her vagina. He had taken some swabs for samples, placed them in a signed and sealed container, and turned it over to me. I dated, timed and initialed it and then placed it in my brief case and locked it. While Ginny was of age, DNA evidence would hopefully show it was from her father, and, of course, in this country

incest

is illegal at any age.

For the next couple of hours things got pretty hectic as I followed all the necessary steps for a successful investigation. They seem routine but they are needed to present a successful case in court. Each step is vital or the case can fail. Ginny came out of the examination room just as Pat arrived with Gail, and I told the doctor that we needed the same thing done for Gail as he had done for Ginny. I then took Ginny out to the car and drove to the Crisis Centre.

Thank the Lord we had them!

For so long we had been forced to return beaten and abused women to the very places they had been abused, because we had nowhere else to take them for shelter. I turned her over to the duty counselor after telling the counselor what had been happening. I carefully took both of Ginny's hands in mine and told her I would be back to see her the next day before I left.

My first stop was the court building where I contacted a local justice of the peace and swore to a declaration for a warrant to search the Jacobs residence for evidence, and a warrant for the arrest of Bernard Jacobs for sexual assault. With these in my hand, I went back to the office. I told Joe that I needed another officer to meet me at the Jacobs' farm to assist in an arrest. He told me that there were already two officers there. Apparently the Sheriff's bailiffs had requested assistance, as Jacobs' bank had foreclosed on a loan and were in process of removing the cattle owned by Jacobs to be sold to pay the debt. The thought crossed my mind that this was not the luckiest day for the Reverend Jacobs, and I headed out for his place. This was one arrest that I intended to make myself, almost hoping that he would get violent and give me an excuse.