Author James L. Huetson Copyright May 1998 – First North American Serial Rights. Readers are free to download and use this material as long as they receive no payment for the material and credit this site and this author as the source.

DEFRAGGING THE HARD DRIVE OF LIFE

Or

CAN LIVING UP TO A CODE OF HONOR BE DISHONORABLE

CENTER: "911, how can I help you?" "My daughter has been raped" the woman on the other end of the line replied.

Ian and Carla were in lust. Their married life was full of happy, glorious, wonderful sex. Oh yes, Ian was rather a strict disciplinarian for the kids but it was understandable because he was a veteran of the Marine Corps. There were three children in the family one, a boy, from Carla’s first marriage and a girl and a boy from her marriage to Ian. They were open and frank about their sexual compatibility and needs. They loved to tell about when Ian had come home from a contract job in Louisiana. Carla had met him at the airport and they couldn’t wait until they got home to make love. They pulled over into a grove of trees off the road and had sex right there in the pickup truck she was driving. They both loved to party but somehow; it was different with Ian than Carla. She just enjoyed having enough alcohol to allow her to relax and have a better time while Ian seemed driven to drink. Although he would never talk about his time in the Corps in Korea, she always felt his obsession with alcohol related to that time in some manner.

Ian joined the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Eagles. His construction trade took him to various sites all over the country and meant that Carla was home alone with the children about half of the time with some periods longer and others short. They bought a home out in the country with a small acreage and some out buildings. Then they bought a female Pit Bull and had her spayed. She was a very gentle and loving dog in spite of the reputation of the breed. Soon they had a Great Dane male and then added a black longhaired German shepherd. The Great Dane was well mannered but the Shepherd never could be allowed off the chain when anyone came to call. He was very protective of his territory.

Ian had several too many drinks in his nightly round of the clubs to which he belonged. On the way home he stopped for gas and to buy a six-pack of beer for getting well the next morning. He pulled out of the gas station into the wrong lane of traffic and hit a car with two teenage couples nearly killing the front seat passenger and severely wounding the others. The families of these victims sued and it became apparent that his insurance was not going to cover any judgment. Ian decided that he had to quit drinking because it just wasn’t working for him any more. The hangovers were horrible, his work performance was so bad that the union was suggesting that he go into treatment or they wouldn’t be able to keep him on the “A” list, and he had even lost interest in loving his wife. Booze was the all- important part of his life. He could not stand to drink it any more but he felt as if he were going to go insane if he didn’t have a drink. Treatment would involve in-house treatment and opening up to counselors. He would just do it on his own. He didn’t make it quite 6 months when he decided to live up to the code of honor and take the only honorable way out. One night he drove his car out to a parking lot where he knew the Sheriff’s cars had side-by-side contact at times during the graveyard shift. He parked the car, put his 357- magnum to his chest and blew his heart out. His wife didn’t have to find him a cop did, and cops were able to handle such things better than his wife. To the end, he lived up to “the Code”.

Carla managed to survive as a single mom for about 18 months. She became acquainted with a man, Malcom Sweet, who had moved into the area. She met him at her church and as time passed he seemed very devout and was so considerate a friend, lover and companion that she married him on June 21, 1991. In December of that year she was diagnosed with MS. It wasn’t too severe yet and she was still mobile. In March of 1992 she received a phone call. The woman introduced herself as Marion Sweet and asked if this was Carla Sweet. Carla thought to herself, “Well, Malcom never told me he had a sister or sister-in-law.” She answered that yes she was Carla. Marion then asked if she could meet Carla and talk with her. Carla agreed and they met a local coffee shop in the nearest town. After introducing their selves Marion dropped the bomb; she announced that she had married Malcom Sweet in 1986 and that she had been looking for him to get some help with the costs of raising their two children. She also declared that Malcom had never bothered to divorce her and she had not been able to afford to divorce him. He was still married to her. Malcom immediately became the ex-new husband. Carla went to the courthouse, got a no-contact order and had a sheriff’s deputy deliver it to Malcom at his work. The stress of this event exacerbated Carla’s MS and left her needing a walker to get around. During this time of trial Malcom’s stepbrother, Josh, appeared on the scene and sympathetically offered his help to Carla, in order he said, to make up for the shabby treatment Malcom had given Carla. He moved in and offered no attempt to woo Carla in any way. He was a great help in doing the chores involved with the animals, taking care of the kids, and general maintenance around the place. He contributed to the finances and Carla’s MS improved with the reduced stress level in her life.

Her daughter Rose, now 9, suddenly started skipping school and the teachers were in contact with Carla to tell her that Rose’s grades had gone from nearly perfect to barely passing. They felt that something was wrong. Carla, thinking that Rose was upset because of the turmoil and stress in the family, sought counseling for her daughter through a local mental health service. They had joint sessions with Carla and Rose and individual sessions with each once a week. Carla was very surprised one day 3 weeks later when a female Sheriff’s detective called and asked to see her immediately. She agreed, tells Rose to go chain up the shepherd, and brought the pit bull into the house. When the detective, Sandra, arrived, it was to tell Carla that Josh had been arrested for sexually assaulting Rose. He would not be bailed out until he was arraigned and the judge would be issuing a “no contact” order on the stepbrother prohibiting him from coming within 500 yards of the residence, Carla, or Rose. There would be a Community Service Officer coming to the residence after school was out as they had made an appointment with the hospital to do a physical examination of Rose and document what they found. Sandra told her she could go to the hospital with Rose.

Art had been a Community Service Officer for about 6 years. He was older but still strong. He could lift anything that he could get a grip on and was physically in excellent shape. He arrived at Carla’s residence about thirty minutes after Rose had been dropped off by the school bus. He checked out the dogs through the fence. The black, longhaired shepherd was on its chain and the Pit Bull was in the house. The Great Dane was dozing on the front porch so he opened the gate and went in. The shepherd started raising a ruckus but the Great Dane just wandered out to Art, placed his side against Art’s leg and leaned so heavily against him that he was nearly knocked off his feet. He went to the door, knocked, and Rose came to the door. He identified himself and Rose invited him into the house. Art observed Rose carefully. She appeared to be in good spirits and handling everything well. Carla wheeled in from another room in her wheelchair. Art asked her if she had enough mobility to get out of her chair and into the car. She replied that she did but when they got to the car it became evident that the stress of the situation had weakened her to the point that she could not stand at all. Art asked what she weighed and her answer was 113 pounds. Hell, thought Art, I lift more than that all of the time so he opened the car door, picked her up out of the chair and started to put her into the car. What he had misjudged was that in order to place her into the car seat he was going to have to bend over low enough to avoid hitting her head on the top of the door. Just as he was setting her down his back went out virtually crippling him. When they arrived at the hospital emergency room Art went to the desk and asked for someone to come and get Carla out of the car. The attendant who came out to get her showed Art how to rotate Carla in the car seat, get her legs onto the ground, place his knees against hers, and lift her to her feet without having to pick her up. Art needed to know this because with his aching back he was going to have to get Carla from the car into the house when they returned to her home.

As they entered the emergency room the male physician who would be performing the examination took Carla and Rose into a private cubicle and described what he was going to be doing to perform the exam. As they came out of the room to go into the examining area Art noted that the bright little nine-year-old girl was gone and had been replaced by a zombie like figure with dead eyes. Full of compassion he understood that she felt that she was about to undergo another rape performed by a strange man and this at the instigation of those who should be protecting her. He immediately went to the physician and asked him to delay the examination until he could contact Sandra, the lead detective. When he told her what had happened to Rose she put a hold on the procedure until she could get to the hospital. When she arrived she went into consultation with the physician and a female doctor was summoned to perform the examination. When the new doctor, the detective and Carla went into the examination room with Rose, she still appeared to be uncomfortable but there was new life in her eyes.

When the examination was over and the attendant had helped Carla into the car Art suggested that they go to Baskin and Robins for an ice cream treat. Both Carla and Rose vetoed that idea saying that they just wanted to get home and into their house. When they arrived at the house the Pit Bull was still in the house and the shepherd was still chained up as they unlocked the gate and went into the yard. Rose ran up to the house and got Carla’s wheelchair letting the Pit Bull out as she returned. Carla reassured Art that the Pit Bull was safe, just a big loving baby. The dog came right up to her and started licking her face. Art went around the car, got the wheelchair and put it in place to help Carla into it. He got her turned in the car seat, placed his knees against hers and had her grip his arms to assist her in standing. Just as she cleared the seat his back went into spasms and they both ended up lying across the front seat with Art on top. All he could think was, “that dog is going to think I am attacking her and I am in big trouble”. The dog, however, just stood there and wagged her tail. When everyone got done laughing, Art got out and up, re-seated Carla on the seat with her feet on the ground, and this time had her put her arms around his neck and hold on. That way he could put his hands on the top of the automobile’s door frame and push to lift her to her feet. It worked very well. He spun her turning her back to the wheelchair and then by putting his hands on the arms of the chair gently deposited her into it.

After getting Carla settled in the house and as Art returned to the car he heard dispatch calling him.

Dispatch: “734”

Art: “734”

Dispatch: “Nora Sam 3 needs your assistance at 23217 Shore View Lane.”

Art: “In route”

He knew the address. It was the home of Newton Moses. Art and the sergeant, Quincy Stone, had been interviewing neighbors, friends, family and school counselors over reputed incestuous attacks on the 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. Stone must have found sufficient cause to take her out of that environment. As he cleared the gate and Rose closed it behind him he heard Dispatch calling Stone.

Dispatch: “Nora Sam 3”

Stone: “Nora Sam 3”

Dispatch: “We have an infant locked in a running car at the Silver Lake

Shopping Mall and all units are unavailable.”

Stone: “Can you give that to Lincoln 2?”

Dispatch: “Lincoln 2 is logged out at a conference with the Sheriff and the

Council.”

Stone: “The temperature is presently over 90 degrees we have to get that infant

Out of that car soon. Where is 734?”

Dispatch: “734 your location”

Art: “Mile post 63 on Highway 9”

Stone: “Art, divert from coming here and get to that infant ASAP!”

Art: “Copy”

Art accelerated to 80 mph on the two-lane highway with a speed limit of 55. The adrenalin was already narrowing his field of vision and making him impatient with traffic that seemed to be manned by complete idiots. He knew from his training that he had to be extra careful. As he rolled along he realized that at best he was eight minutes out from the site and there was no telling how long the child had been in the car already. He called Dispatch.

Art: “734”

Dispatch: “734”

Art: “Do you still have the reporting party on the line?”

Dispatch: “No, they hung up and left.”

Art: “Can you call the phone they were reporting from and see if someone will answer?”

Dispatch: “It was from the America First Bank. I will attempt to call them.”

Art: “If you get someone have them tell the car owner to go into the hardware

Store, get a hammer, and break out the car window farthest from the child.

Then get the door open and get that child out.”

Art continued to speed through the afternoon traffic cussing out the block heads who couldn’t seem to understand what to do when confronted with a car running code. Then came the good news, as he was about to arrive. Dispatch called him and told him the car was opened and the child was safe. He pulled the car over and spent about three minutes calming down, then reported to Stone that he was again in route to that location.

As he drove he was thinking about Rose and what she still had to go through and that with Sandra now in control of the case it was most likely he would never know the outcome for Rose. He would be informed what happened to her molester but Rose would finally disappear from his life. He knew they would lose everything when the judgment was ordered following the civil lawsuit brought by the families of those young people injured in Ian’s vehicle accident. He would never be aware of how the loss of her home, her pets, and her country style life would affect her. He would be unaware of how moving to a low-income housing development would re-shape her life once more. And all because of her father’s misinterpretation of the word honor as it had been warped into his soul by a senseless conflict that accomplished nothing with such a great sacrifice of life and idealism. And in this case the result of living up to such a code of honor made the honorable act dishonorable.

Art remembered some of the others. The little 20 month old boy whose mother drop kicked him three times across the living room and Art had to take him through the tests at the hospital to ascertain the damage while the deputy booked Mom for domestic assault. On that one he had taken the little boy to the DSHS caseworker. The next week the deputy had told him that DSHS now felt that they had sufficient case history, 15 times in his 20-month life the Sheriff’s Office had taken him out after Mom abused him, and now they could seek an adoptive home for him. A month later the same deputy had to tell him that Grandpa had gotten a sharp lawyer and the courts were ordering the child placed back with his mother. Art knew that in all likelihood he might have to be present on the day they took that little boy’s body out of her apartment. That was going to be an inevitable result of the screwed up justice system. As he pulled up in front of the Moses residence he had to clear his mind of that thinking and go about the next task with new enthusiasm. For once in a while, the street level employees of the Sheriff’s office did make a difference.

Stone took Art aside and briefed him on the situation. They finally had concrete evidence that her 17-year-old stepbrother, Cliff, had been raping Elizabeth. Stone and Art went in the house and consulted with Newton, her father, Janice, her stepmother, and Elizabeth. She needed to be removed from that environment until all of the legal action necessary could be taken against Cliff. Stone suggested foster care with DSHS. Newton did not want that as they were Indians and he feared for Elizabeth’s welfare in a white foster care home. Art had personally become acquainted with Newton’s mother, Sarah, and felt she would be a safe house for Elizabeth over a short period of time. Both Newton and Elizabeth agreed with this plan and Elizabeth went upstairs to pack some clothes and belongings. When she came down she an Art proceeded to Sarah’s residence in town, about 7 miles away. Art helped Elizabeth into Sarah’s house, got back into his car, cleared the scene with Dispatch and pulled away from the curb. As he pulled out he saw Cliff entering the side door of Sarah’s residence. He pulled right back in and called for Stone.

When Stone arrived they both went to the house and Sarah let them in. Shortly Newton showed up and there was a family conference with Art, Stone, Newton, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Cliff. Cliff had been arrested and taken to the Juvenile Detention Center, as he was under 18. The Center had filled up with juveniles charged with more serious crimes and Cliff had been kicked loose to make room. Stone said that Cliff had to leave and that he was going to go to the judge and get a restraining order to enforce that. Newton, Sarah, and Elizabeth said that if Stone tried to take Elizabeth to DSHS without their consent she would simply run away from DSHS and find somewhere in the tribe to live. Stone decided that under the circumstances the best he could do was to get the restraining order and hope that the family would comply with it. He had Art take Cliff out to Newton’s residence and went to the judge’s chambers to get the restraining order. As Art dropped Cliff off at Newton’s he knew from past experience that all of the casework was in vain and that all of the witnesses would suddenly realize that they were mistaken and there would be nothing left for the prosecutor to use in trying the case.

Art’s 10-hour shift was over. He had about 2 hours of report writing that had to be done before he could go home. As he entered the precinct he heard a deputy talking to Stone on the radio saying, “Can you have 734 respond to this location? I need him to take care of two juvenile boys.”

Stone replied with, “734”

Art replied “734”.

Stone, “ 734, respond to 13245 Riverside Dr. to assist 357 with two juvenile boys. Overtime is authorized.”

Art, “Copy”.

When Art arrived at the location, Deputy Conrad briefed him. The father and mother had been drinking and fighting all evening. She had left to go to her parents home. He had called her there to continue the argument. She had told him that she was going to hang up and he had replied, “Oh Yeah! Well listen to this!” and with that he stuck a 45 caliber semi-automatic firearm to his temple and pulled the trigger. He did this in front of his 9 year old and 11 year old sons. They had to pull him off the phone and convince their mother to hang up in order to call 911 for help. The deputy needed Art to help by taking the boys out of the house and finding suitable shelter for them. He took the two boys to his car, fished out two of the better teddy bears from his supply and talked with them until he had managed to calm them some. Then as the mother sounded drunk and hysterical when he talked to her on the phone and as she was at her parents he called the father’s parents home after ascertaining that they had been informed of the situation. He found them sad but sober and calm. They were happy to take their grandchildren into their home and so Art delivered the boys to their grandma and grandpa’s home. All he could think of on the way back to the precinct to do his reports was that all he had been able to do was give those two boys a teddy bear apiece when the nightmares of what they had experienced would probably haunt them the rest of their lives.

He knew that after the reports he would go home, his wife would be putting the children into bed and his supper would be turning to crispy critters in the oven where it was being kept warm for him. And he knew that it was going to be the visions of all of the eyes and the quivering lips that would plague him until he could exorcize them out with intense physical exercise and a situation comedy on TV. Only then would he sleep at all.