Junior Year Box Set

“So, you’re admitting to having sex with her and getting her pregnant?” he asked, seemingly surprised. “Don’t you want any kind of proof other than her word?”

Dad came back in at that point, and he was pissed.

“This charade is over. I got a call that told me the press was gathering outside. I walked out, and the first question thrown at me was why David had raped Pam,” Dad said as he stared at the detective. “What I want to know is, how did they know he was here? And second is, how did they know you were trying to pin a rape charge on him?”

“I have no idea. Can you give me a moment?” Detective Kitchens said and then left the room.

“Call Frank. We need advice,” I said.

Mom talked to Frank, who had just landed, and he suggested that I make my escape out the back. I would get Billy to give me a ride and my parents would pick me up away from the press. The detective came back into the room.

“There’s more going on here than I knew about. I apologize for putting your son in this position. Get him a lawyer, and then I’ll arrange to interview him at the lawyer’s offices. Could we set something up for tomorrow?” he asked.

“Of course. Thank you for understanding,” Dad said.

The way I’d been treated told me two things: the first was whatever proof they had was weak, or Detective Kitchens would never have helped us. The second was we were in a small enough community that everyone knew my parents and me, and they knew I wasn’t about to take off. The police cars were kept in the back in a fenced-in area. Billy had me get in the back seat and lie down. I would have to add this to the list of firsts: I had never snuck out of a police station before. Mom and Dad were waiting at an office complex up the road. I thanked Billy and we drove to Tom’s office.

◊◊◊

“Let me get this straight. Pam Bell, Cal’s daughter, has claimed that you raped her,” Roy Thompson, a name partner of Rigby, Thompson and Associates, said.

As soon as we told Tom what had happened, he invited Roy and Don Rigby to the conference room. They both seemed worried because Cal was a lawyer on their staff. The potential for serious conflicts of interest arose because they represented me.

“We think that Cal has forced Pam into making the allegations. David never forced her to do anything,” Mom said.

“Is it your baby?” Don blurted out.

“Yes. Pam says it’s mine, and there is a possible opportunity about eight weeks ago when it might have happened,” I said.

“You’re dealing with two separate but related issues here,” Don said. “The first is the criminal matter. That’s not our specialty, and I’d advise you to find someone suitable to defend yourself. You being a high-profile person in the community means that shortly you’ll be on the front page of every newspaper across the Midwest. The state’s attorney won’t want to be seen as soft on crime and may charge David and let the system figure it out.

“The second issue is the baby. Pam may be looking for a payday. In the long run, it might be cheaper to marry her.”

“Do you have any suggestions as far as an attorney to represent David against the rape allegations? Detective Kitchens wants to interview David tomorrow,” Dad said.

“We only have a handful of lawyers in the county. We really don’t have any I would recommend for something like this. The only one I might suggest is Thomas Fox. The only problem is he’s wet behind the ears, and from what I’ve heard, plays it a little loose. If you needed an attack dog and weren’t worried about collateral damage, he’d be who I would suggest,” Roy said.

“That isn’t what David needs. Mr. Fox is a bull in a china shop, and this needs some finesse. We’ll make some calls. There are some excellent firms in Springfield,” Don assured us.

“We need to talk to Cal,” Roy said.

“You need to be careful with that. We represent David in other matters, and we have a duty to him as our client. Cal can’t be involved in any capacity other than as a father,” Tom said.

That comment made me nervous. If Tom had to remind Roy and Don that I was their client, it didn’t sound good for me. I would have to keep an eye on them.

Roy and Don left the room, leaving Tom and Kendal. Everyone just stared at each other for a moment.

“This is bullshit. There’s no way Pam is behind this. It has to be Cal intimidating her,” I said.

“Why would Pam go along with something like this? I thought she had a level head on her shoulders. Why wouldn’t she have just told you she’s pregnant?” Kendal asked.

“She’s acted strangely for a couple of weeks. I guess she’s been avoiding me. I had a weird conversation with some of the other cheerleaders. I suspect Pam has known or suspected she’s pregnant for three or four weeks,” I said.

“Cal has had it in for you ever since the summer,” Mom said.

“But that still doesn’t explain why she’d tell the police,” Kendal said.

“Pam has a problem with confrontation. I saw it when we were on our date at the Thunderbird. It was the same night Cora ran up the bar bill and tried to have me pay for it,” I said.