Helpless

Chapter 27

Tom drove Jill to Lindsey’s house.

Jill was too busy texting to talk. Tom asked who was sending her so many text messages.

“Mitchell,” Jill said, using her third spoken word of the drive.

Tom remained deeply troubled by his daughter’s new “friendship” with Roland Boyd’s son. He didn’t know any details about their burgeoning romance. It wouldn’t be an easy topic of conversation even if he and Jill were closer. Tom had felt his relationship with Jill was progressing like some of his favorite Bruce Springsteen lyrics—the song about taking one step up and two more back. One step up, five hundred steps back, it seemed.

“Persistence and patience” had become a difficult motto to follow with his reputation under heavy attack.

But the Jill-Mitchell tandem was only one check-box item on Tom’s growing list of concerns. Kip Lange had yet to be found. Kelly’s homicide investigation remained active. The police had made no progress identifying the mysterious girl who texted him her naked pictures. And they still didn’t know who had created the blog or bogus Facebook posts that razed ten years of his good works in a single swoop.

Tom pulled into the Shilo Middle School parking lot ten minutes before the school board meeting was scheduled to start. That was part of his plan. He figured the corridor outside the gymnasium would be mostly deserted by now. He knew, as did everybody else, that Millie Rubenstein’s home-baked cookies would be gone. Since Millie started baking cookies for these school board meetings, people had stopped showing up late and most had begun to come early. Better to miss out on the cookies, he decided, than be forced into chitchat with people who might consider him a rapist. Tom parked his Taurus as close to the entrance as possible. That way he could make a quick escape if need be.

It had been two days since new rumors about him spread. Thank you, Facebook. Two days for a town to rush to judgment. Two days for parents to pull their kids from the soccer team. Two days to bring a three-year winning streak to an abrupt and sad end.

Superintendent Angie Didomenico had called Tom after he forfeited the Riverside game to warn him of a potentially chilly reception at tonight’s meeting, not knowing that he planned to resign from the school board. Angie disagreed with his decision and went on to say that despite the unfortunate circumstances, she felt it imperative he not resign. Tom was one of the two teacher representatives on the board. His absence would be viewed with suspicion, an admission of guilt. Angie feared it would add fuel to an already fast-spinning rumor mill.

Tom had thanked Angie for her support in what both referred to as a difficult time, though he well understood the subtext of their conversation. She’d better not be making a mistake by throwing her support behind him.

Tom traded a warm summer breeze for the cool air-conditioned corridor of Shilo’s only middle school. As he expected, no people were milling about, and all that remained of Millie’s cookies was a scattering of crumbs on the long foldout table. Before Tom could make a stealthy entrance into the gymnasium, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Surprised anybody could sneak up on him, Tom whirled around to see the porcelain-smooth face of Adriana Boyd smiling at him. Roland’s wife, adorned in gold jewelry, dressed in an elegant all-black pantsuit, had a Styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and a napkin blanketing a cookie in the other.

“Good to see you, Tom,” Adriana said. She shrugged her shoulders because she could not shake Tom’s hand. She didn’t offer Tom her cookie, and he couldn’t blame her.

“Nice to see you, too, Adriana. What brings you here tonight?”

“I’m going to give feedback to the board about our PLC initiative.”

Tom nodded. PLCs (professional learning communities) were in vogue with many educators and parents these days. The big idea behind PLCs was that students should not just be taught, but rather that they needed to learn. It was a simple shift in thinking that carried profound implications. School systems with an effective PLC policy developed action plans based on intervention, not remediation, and provided systematic guidance that required that struggling students receive additional support until they mastered the concepts being taught. Opponents of PLCs feared that the policy would lead to a diminishment of teacher effectiveness and that all its benefits would accrue to a small minority of students.

Of all the PLC champions in Shilo, Adriana was the most vocal and determined advocate for change. Mitchell Boyd, along with a handful of other struggling Shilo High School students, took part in a PLC pilot program developed by Adriana herself and approved by the board only after several contentious debates.

“How did the public sessions go?” asked Tom. He knew a lot about the subject, because PLCs had been the talk of the teacher lounge.

“Very well. Thanks for asking,” Adriana said. “Mitchell should be proof enough that the PLC effort can work.”

“He’s doing better?” Tom asked.

“From a two-point-two to a three-point-four in one semester,” Adriana said, pride in her voice.

“Well, that’s all credit to you, your vision, and your perseverance,” Tom said.

“They don’t call me Black Hawk for nothing,” said Adriana.

Tom gave her a puzzled look. “Black Hawk?” he asked, because he’d never heard her called that before.

Adriana grinned. “You’ve heard of helicopter parents,” she said.

Tom nodded. “Sure. Of course.”

“Apparently, some people in town think my style of parenting is a bit… well, extreme. I guess they think my helicopter is state of the art, fully armed, and combat ready.”

Tom laughed for what felt like the first time in days. “They’re just afraid of a good fight, that’s all,” he said.

“Maybe they don’t know the fight I’ve already had.”

In that instant, all levity was pushed aside, and Tom looked down at his feet, unsure how best to respond. “Nobody should know that kind of pain,” he said in a soft voice.

“But you understand,” Adriana said. “I can see it in the way you fight for your daughter. I can feel how much you love her. If there’s one good thing to come from what happened to Kelly, it’s that Jill will finally get the chance to know the man you really are.”

Tom felt his fears about Jill and Mitchell’s burgeoning romance lessen. The force of Adriana’s convictions made him believe Mitchell Boyd could be more than the promise of his reputation.

“We should get inside,” Tom said. “I’d hate to miss the opening gavel.” Tom gave Adriana a wry grin, nodded toward the gymnasium double doors, and took two steps in that direction.

Adriana reached out and took hold of Tom’s arm, pulling him back toward her. “Listen, Tom, I’ve been meaning to call you,” she said. “I heard about what happened at soccer practice and the game against Riverside. Everybody has by now. I want you to know that there are a lot of us who don’t believe it’s true.”

“A lot?”

“Well, some,” Adriana amended. “The Internet can be a dangerous place. We all know that.”

“You don’t have to remind me.”

“Just the other day, Roland told me about one of his employees who sent an email to his entire address book with a link to a gay porn site. He claimed he’d never been to any of those sites. Turns out it was a computer virus that sent the emails without his knowledge.”

“That’s a nasty virus.”

“Trust me, I saw the site. Very nasty.”

The two shared another quick laugh. Having Adriana in his corner felt significant. Tom needed every friend he could get.

Merle Gornick, an eleventh-grade chemistry teacher, a late arriver herself, walked past the pair and fixed Tom with a hard stare. Adriana definitely noticed.

“Around school I only get that look about half the time,” Tom said with a forced smile.

“Well, people talk, and I know there is plenty of support out there for you,” said Adriana. “Just not everybody. No matter what happens to you, you’ll come out on top. I sense that about you.”

Adriana expressed so much empathy, Tom believed it genuinely hurt her to see him suffer.

“I appreciate all your support, Adriana. I really do.”

“Roland believes in you, too. He’s traveling on business but wanted me to tell you that we’ve got your back.”

Tom laughed. “That sounds like Roland,” he said.

I’d hate to be on his bad side, thought Tom, remembering the confrontation with Bob at the club.

Now it was Adriana who nodded toward the gymnasium doors. Tom followed, walking beside her. Inside, a dozen or so rows of small gray plastic chairs were set up. Most of the people were seated, but some noticed Tom and Adriana enter. Tom didn’t hear anybody gasp over the echoed din of voices, but he saw expressions change. Soon others began to notice him. Some stared. Some whispered. Dale Rivers, the father of one of the girls he coached, looked ready for a fight.

“Not feeling the support right now, Adriana,” Tom said under his breath.

“It’s there for you,” said Adriana. “Just not everybody.”

The two made their way to the front of the room, where school board appointees and representatives sat. Tom felt their eyes on him all the way to his seat. He understood that these people didn’t need any evidence to convict him. All they needed to hear were the words sex and coach in the same sentence for it to be true. Understanding their reaction didn’t make it easier to endure.

Angie Didomenico approached Tom, while Adriana found her seat a few rows behind his.

“Thanks for being here,” Angie said, giving Tom’s right arm a strong squeeze.

“As long as everybody left their torches at home, I should be fine.”

“I know you will be.”

Angie brought the meeting to order. Things seemed to settle down after that. The board agreed to add kitchen staff to better clean pots and pans for kids with nut allergies. Adriana presented her PLC report crisply and without much discussion. They debated longer and more intensely over several ways to ease parking lot congestion at the high school. Tom kept silent throughout the meeting.

At ten till ten, Angie slammed her gavel and the meeting concluded. Tom felt a modicum of relief that his quick escape plan had proved an unnecessary precaution. He texted Jill.

Green.

He texted her again. Pick you up in ten.

She texted back. Green.

Very funny, Tom typed.

Tom opened his car door, and the darkness around him ignited into a bright frenzy of red and blue strobe lights. Two police cruisers from the Shilo PD pulled up, boxing in his car. Brendan Murphy emerged from one of the police cars. Officer Rich Fox was with him, as well as two other uniformed police officers, whom Tom didn’t know or recognize.

Tom’s eyes scanned in all directions for an escape. It was instinct, his navy training kicking in.

Distract and evade.

But no retreat was available. Not without inflicting casualties.

Murphy approached, and Tom observed his hand on the butt of a weapon. People from the board meeting heading for their cars stopped to watch the spectacle unfold.

“Turn around! Hands on the hood of your car! Feet spread wide!” Murphy shouted at Tom.

Tom did as he was told.

Murphy took hold of Tom’s arms and pulled them behind his back. Tom knew better than to resist.

“Tom Hawkins,” Murphy said, “you’re under arrest.”

Murphy recited Tom’s Miranda rights.

Again.

Tom felt handcuffs secured around his wrists, locked tight. Amidst the flashing lights, Tom spotted Adriana standing close by, watching. Her face was frozen in a horrified expression, and she appeared to be crying.

Tom glanced over his shoulder, back at Murphy. “What are the charges?” he asked.

“Possession and trafficking of child pornography,” Murphy said.

“What the… What are you talking about?”

“Let’s go,” Murphy said.

Murphy grabbed hold of one of Tom’s arms, while Fox took the other. Together they escorted him to a waiting police cruiser. Tom could almost feel Murphy’s pleasure as he shoved him into the back of the cruiser.

Tom’s thoughts quickly turned to panic. Not for himself, but for Jill. He finally understood what this was all about.

“Murphy, listen to me,” Tom pleaded. “I can’t leave Jill alone. She’s not safe. I’m being set up. Somebody wants me out of the picture so they can get to Jill. I’m telling you, you’ve got to find Kip Lange. He’s doing this to get me out of the way. Please! Brendan, you’re making a big mistake here.”

Murphy crouched low so that Tom could see his face through the cruiser’s open rear door.

Tom could see he was smiling.

“No, Tom,” Murphy said. “Remember what I told you? Guys like you always screw up. The only mistake made here was you thinking you’d get away with it.”

Tom closed his eyes and thought of Jill. In his mind, he saw her not as the teenager she was, but as the little girl she used to be. He remembered her in jeans and a plaid cowboy shirt. Her long hair tied in pigtails. A fourth grader with two missing teeth. Face full of freckles. Her knee skinned up badly and her bike a bent wreckage. Tears rolling down her eyes. Back then, he could make it all better. He had cleaned up the cut. Put the bandage on it. Kissed the knee. Now he couldn’t do anything to help her.

He couldn’t protect her anymore.

He was helpless.