Double Fugue Page 3

  “Don’t be so modest, Daniel. You are really getting to be good. I know I would like to hear you. What about you, Eric?”

  “Yeah, play.” Eric answered. He seemed very interested for the first time as he actually sat more upright so he could see Daniel better.

  After checking the guitar tuning, Daniel began strumming a simple folk song accompaniment riff. He then started singing the American folk song classic “Shenandoah”. The song is on the surface very simple, but it also has a deeply emotional side to it, with its references about wanting to return home, lost loves, and crossing the wide Missouri River. Daniel’s voice was perfect for this kind of music, and his performance was very moving. When he was finished, both Jason and Eric applauded.

  “That was awesome, Daniel,” Jason said enthusiastically. “You are really developing into quite a musician!”

  Then, to their amazement, Eric spoke. “Yeah, Daniel, you are very good. I really wish I had a bass here so I could jam with you. This past year I started to learn to play the bass at school. I would stay after school several days a week to practice and work with the music teacher at school.”

  Daniel smiled at both of them. “Thanks for the compliments, guys, but I am just a beginner when it comes to solo performing. So you like to play the bass, Eric?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t get much of an opportunity unless it is in school.”

  “So music is an interest for you,” Jason said. “What other things do you like to do?”

  “Not much,” Eric said, going back into his monotone voice from before.

  Jason then told Eric, “You know, I would really like to get to know you better, but for that to happen we have to be honest with each other and say what has been going on in our lives. I know from talking to your Aunt Marilyn that you have had a real rough time here lately, and I understand how hesitant you are to bring this up. It’s so much easier to deny what happened, and not have to deal with it, even though what happened stays with you and is like a fire, burning you up inside.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Eric said in a depressed voice. “It’s too painful!”

  Jason replied, “I totally understand the fears and conflicting emotions going through your head. Listen to what happened to me earlier this summer. I was walking through our City Park one day when all of a sudden I was hit with a tranquillizer dart, paralyzed, and walked to a van. I went unconscious and the next thing I know, I am tied up, gagged and blindfolded, and dumped in a basement room.” Jason then went on to describe his week of hell as a kidnap victim and all of the disturbing things that they found out about the crime afterwards. [Editors Note: The complete story of Jason’s ordeal and aftermath is contained in the first Hunter & Holmes mystery, The Kidnapping.]

  “Then came the worst part,” Jason continued. “Although at first it felt great to be free again, soon all my self-confidence and concentration began slipping away, and I would have regular flashbacks about what happened. It took a major effort by Daniel here to persuade me to do something about it. And you know, as scary as it was to face my fears of the people who kidnapped me, once I did, everything changed for the better. Eventually, we were able to figure out what really had happened and who the kidnappers were. Now those bastards are sitting in jail where they belong!

  “So Eric, I think you can trust me when I say I know what it is like to be the victim of a predator! From what I can see just looking at you, and hearing a little of what happened to you this past weekend, I am pretty sure that you have been the victim of a very mean and brutal predator. You can sit there and continue to be abused or you can begin to fight back and do something about it. You already know that you cannot do this alone. You will need some more people on your side. Daniel and I are willing to be on that team. But first you have to confide in us; you have to tell some people from outside your own world and personal hell exactly what was done to you.”

  “All of that stuff happened to you, Jason?” Eric asked in a shy voice. “You seem so strong and confident.”

  “The only reason that I am able to be my old self again,” Jason replied, “is because I was able to deal with all of the demons inside me that were placed there as a result of being a crime victim. I was so lucky! I had a best friend who believed in me and was willing to do whatever it took to help me recover.”

  “I wish I had a best friend I could confide in,” Eric said with a resigned voice. “I feel really scared and confused right now. I don’t know if I can face going through all that has happened to me.”

  “But Eric, we are reaching out to you,” Daniel said. “We would like to be your friends and help you out. Sure we have only just met. But think of our relationship like we were all trained musicians. You know that three good musicians can get together and immediately make music together. Why? Because they have common training, similar shared experiences, and know how to communicate with each other in the musical language! Now look at the three of us. We are teenaged boys all about the same age, have been subjected to some very horrible experiences in recent times, and are together here free to talk about our experiences. Let’s take this opportunity to do something about it!”

  “Don’t carry this burden alone any more, Eric,” Jason added with persuasion in his voice. “Talk to us. Tell us what has happened. We won’t think any less of you because of it, and then we can start you on the road to recovery!”

  Eric looked at both Jason and Daniel, with pursed lips and clenched fists. He sat there and mulled over what he had just heard. Finally, he made a decision. “Okay, guys. I will give it a try. But this is very difficult for me. I may have to stop and control my emotions if things get too intense.”

  “Take your time, Eric,” Jason said in an encouraging voice. “We have all afternoon, plenty of drinks and snacks, and a real desire to help you!”

  ERIC’S NIGHTMARE

  (Tuesday Noon)

  Eric’s story was horrendous and shocking. When he was 11 his father was killed in an auto accident. After that their happy family life drastically changed. They had a lot less money to live on and his mother Anna had to work long hours to support the two of them. At least they could keep their house, because it had a low house payment.

  About a year later his mother got remarried on the rebound to a man named Rogelio Fernandes. Eric never got along well with his new stepfather, who showed no interest in doing “fatherly” things with Eric like playing sports, going on trips or camping, or even something simple like going to a movie.

  Rogelio did seem to have a strange obsessive interest in one of Eric’s favorite sports and pastimes. Eric was always a good swimmer and was ready to go to the town pool on an instant’s notice. When they first met, it was a very hot summer, and Eric would often be dressed in just his swim trunks because he loved to run through the sprinklers at home. Rogelio started calling him “my swimmer boy” and repeatedly would tell him that is the way he wanted him to look all the time.

  His stepfather began to insist that Eric should only wear his swimming trunks when he was at home no matter what time of the year it was. When Eric would come home from school, he would have to take off his shorts or jeans and put on trunks or gym shorts. He insisted that Eric be barefoot at home, and would get angry with him if he wanted to wear shoes or socks inside the house.

  Rogelio was very vague about what his job was, and he refused to spend any money on his new family or on their household expenses. He would talk about his grandiose plans for a huge farm estate, and he said that all of his money was going toward that property which was located up north in the county. He was gone a lot but then would show up and demand attention. All of Anna’s meager earnings went toward the house payment and for their basic food and utilities. She also had to cover her car and gas expenses to get to work. Once that was paid, there was hardly any money for any extras or even clothes for Eric.

  Rogelio refused to spend any money for clothes or other normal items for Eric other than the most minimal amoun
t for what was absolutely required to go to school. He would never buy him any shoes or socks. Most of the time Eric had to wear flip-flops to school. The only sneakers he ever got to wear were cheap hand me downs from the thrift store, and he was equally embarrassed wearing them. The kids at school started teasing him and calling him Eric Flip-flops.

  “Did you have any friends or teachers you could confide in?” Daniel asked.

  “The friends I had been hanging out with were the ones who deserted me and started calling me names,” Eric said. “I couldn’t figure out why they did that to me. We had gotten along fine when we were in the earlier grades. Now they just blew me off and it seemed that no one would give me the time of day!

  “This past year was tough. I was entering high school abandoned by my friends and things were getting worse at home. Rogelio never wanted much of a social life. We used to go out and do things when my real father was alive. Now when my stepfather was home, all he wanted was to be waited on and have his swimmer boy around when he snapped his fingers.

  “At school I was pretty much a loner and I never had any money for extra curricular activities. As for confiding in my teachers, I considered school to be my safety zone. I was really afraid that I would be taken out of school if I confided in anyone about my home life. Whenever possible, I tried to take advantage of any free after school programs like tutoring or study hall. I figured that school was the way out of my unhappy home life, and I spent every possible moment at school trying to make sure that I got all of my homework done. That was how I started learning the bass. One day the music teacher put up an announcement that he was looking for a student willing to practice and learn the bass. I immediately took him up on his offer. I would go to the music room after school a couple of days a week when the music teacher was there and use the time to practice or get instruction.”

  About a year after Rogelio came into their lives the physical abuse started. Eric’s mom had a low paying job at a motel located about twenty miles away. Often she had to work double shifts to make ends meet and would just stay at the motel two or three times a week. This would leave Eric alone with his stepfather when he was there.

  At first the abuse was just inappropriate touching. Or Eric would be asleep in his room and wake up to find his stepfather watching him or lying down in the bed with him. When Eric would tell Rogelio to leave him alone, Rogelio would grab him and put his hand over his mouth until he would quiet down. “Keep quiet, swimmer boy,” he would say. “Don’t sass your father.”

  In the second year, the abuse started to get worse. Rogelio would sometimes come to their “sessions” with a knotted blue bandana that he would use to gag Eric so he wouldn’t cry out or protest his treatment. The sessions were longer and more intense. Eric was forced to be more of a participant in his own abuse and Rogelio was becoming more aggressive with him. Sometimes he would humiliate Eric even more by making him wear the gag through the night as a reminder and warning to tell no one about what was going on. Or he would sucker punch Eric and threaten to kill him and his mother if he said a word to anyone. After these instances of abuse, Eric would retreat even more into his personal shell of fear and shame. With no one to talk to about his shame and embarrassment, Eric’s confidence and self-esteem were gradually eroding away.

  This last weekend things escalated into a major assault. Eric’s stepfather came home a day earlier than he was expected. For some reason he was in an exceptionally bad mood. It was a very cool day in the valley with lingering fog most of the day, and Eric was wearing his jeans, a tee shirt and socks inside the house. When Rogelio saw Eric dressed like that, he became infuriated. “Take those clothes off right now! I want to see a swimmer boy!”

  This time Eric decided to fight back. “I’m not your swimmer boy! I’m 14 years old now and it is cold outside. I don’t see you going around in just a pair of shorts!”

  This defiance caused Rogelio to go ballistic. “You have exactly one minute to strip those clothes off!”

  Eric continued to act defiantly. “Leave me alone, you pervert! Get away from me!” Rogelio stormed out of the room, and Eric couldn’t believe it. Were things going to actually change?

  That assumption turned out to be a big mistake on his part. Instead of running away and getting help, Eric stayed there in the living room. Rogelio was back quickly and he had a roll of duct tape in one hand. He set it down on the table and came over to Eric and sucker punched him. When Eric was doubled over in pain, he gave him a vicious uppercut to the jaw. Things became a blur for Eric. He could feel Rogelio stripping off his clothes, but he was powerless to stop him. Rogelio grabbed his socks, stuffed them in his mouth, and completed the gag with several strips of duct tape. He then bound Eric’s wrists together behind his back with the tape, winding it around them multiple times. Even though Eric was completely helpless, his beating continued until he fell down unconscious to the floor.

  Hours later Eric gradually awakened and discovered that he had been moved onto the bed in the downstairs bedroom and placed face down on the mattress. Eric’s utter degradation and humiliation continued as Rogelio sexually molested him over the next few hours. After Rogelio finished abusing him, he went berserk again. He took the roll of duct tape and nearly mummified poor Eric with it, winding the tape over all of his body. Rogelio yelled in Eric’s ear, “You stupid piece of shit! How dare you defy me! You are nothing but teenaged filth, so now you will get to roll around in it all night.”

  Rogelio then dragged Eric to the basement door and tumbled him down the creaky wooden stairs. The basement was partially finished there, but over on the other side it was just dirt. Eric was then dragged to the dirt and left there overnight. After kicking Eric one last time in contempt, Rogelio went up the stairs and turned off the light. Severely bruised, bound and helpless due to the tape all over his body, and traumatized from the assault, Eric just huddled in the darkness and dirt, trembling with fear, while going in and out of consciousness.

  * * * * *

  The next morning Rogelio turned on the light and came back down the stairs into the basement. He had box cutters in his hand. He proceeded to cut the duct tape all over Eric’s body so that he could free himself. He told Eric to peel off all of the tape and go back upstairs when he was done. He grabbed Eric and held the blade of the box cutters to his neck. “If you tell anyone about this I will kill you very slowly and painfully.”

  It took Eric a couple of hours to remove the tape, and then with great difficulty he climbed up the stairs into the main house. He looked for his clothes and to his dismay, discovered that Rogelio had ripped them all apart with the box cutters. For a long time he sat naked in the living room and cried bitter tears of frustration and despair. All he had left to wear were the trunks and tee shirt he had on now, which he found in a drawer in his bedroom. Starving and thirsty, he scrounged around the kitchen for some water and food, finding some cereal, a little milk, and leftover macaroni and cheese in the refrigerator. Although Rogelio was long gone, waves of fear and pain from his beating and wounds would regularly overtake Eric, and he eventually retreated to his room where Anna found him later when she returned from her two days of double shifts at the motel.

  JASON’S PLEDGE

  (Tuesday Afternoon)

  You could have heard a pin drop anywhere in the house after Eric finished telling the story of his recent life. Jason went over to where Eric was sitting. “Eric, I want you to look me in the eye.” Eric, who had tears in his eyes from describing the events of his horrific ordeal, slowly looked up.

  In a very determined voice Jason said, “Eric, I want you to know that this horror of a life you have been living is coming to an end as of today! We are going to take you out of here and bring you to a new life up in the Silicon Valley. There you will be staying with your aunt and uncle in a safe environment, you will be able to train, swim, and work out at the YMCA, you will be given a new bass and lessons so you can play music, and you will be able to meet and make friends with
a lot of interesting people. You will be able to attend a quality high school where you will be treated with respect. You will get all the counseling and medical assistance you need to overcome the despicable abuse you have had to endure from that pig of a stepfather. You will be protected from him; if he ever shows his face in our community he will be arrested and sent away for a very long prison sentence. That is, if the cops get him first. If Daniel or I or any of our friends ever get a chance we will beat him into a bloody pulp with our baseball bats for what he did to you!”

  Daniel came over and sat on the floor by Eric. “You have shown us some real guts and courage by telling us the terrible things that were done to you. I know that it wasn’t easy for you to relive those frightening experiences again and open up to people you haven’t even met before. I want to tell you something about my friend Jason. He means what he says, and he has the money and resources to make every promise he just told you reality. That is something you can count on!

  “No kid should ever be treated the way that you were by your stepfather,” Daniel continued with righteous anger in his voice. “Personally, I am so furious about how you were abused and beaten that I would do anything it takes to get you out of this place, even if I had to ride you out of here on the handles of my bicycle! Luckily we don’t have to worry about that. Your transportation to a safe place has already been arranged. You are coming with us today! But we do have a lot do, starting by getting you all cleaned up and ready to go up north with us.”

  Jason then told Eric: “There are a few more things I need to tell you. Every thing that has been said in this room has been recorded. This way you won’t have to tell this story again until you are ready to and not until after you have received medical attention and counseling. But Rogelio Fernandes has committed a series of very evil crimes against you, felonies that cannot go unpunished. Our friend and advisor Mr. Connor and your mother needed to know exactly what happened to you. Eventually the police need to know what happened. Right now our first priority is to protect you from any more abuse and start you on your road to full recovery. The first step is to bring the life of Eric Flip-flops to an end, and make you back into Eric Acosta! What do you think, Daniel? Could Eric become a cool chucks guy?”