Chapter 13 – Dylan
Saturday, March 11th
It took Dylan two hours to find the Mission after he arrived in Chicago Saturday afternoon. He had started to wonder whether it was even around anymore when he spotted the small church with the long attached wing. He pulled into the parking lot and stepped out of the car, making sure he locked his doors. Dylan tried the door he had gone in to set up for the concert, but it was locked. He wondered if he’d have to wait until church services tomorrow to talk to someone, but the front door opened.
Inside several groups of people sat at tables eating soup which was being served through a window to the kitchen in the back. Dylan stepped over to a group that looked to range from early to late teens. “Hi, guys. May I join you for a few minutes?”
They looked to an older kid that sported a long earring in one ear. “Up to you,” he said, and then turned away to talk to the neighbor on the other side of him.
Dylan sat down and took out the pictures of David, holding them out. “Do any of you guys know anything about this kid?”
There were snickers as each saw the pictures. “That’s the prostitute’s dog,” said the spokesman of the group. “He was twenty-five dollars, but he’s gone now. She’s gone, too.”
“And she was good,” quipped another boy.
“Not good enough to waste all your money on,” said the first kid.
“Ya ever have him?” a third one said, leaning over and taking the picture.
“I’m no homo.”
“Heard she paid the last guys to take him. Three of them.”
Dylan felt a bit sick. He took the pictures and left the table without a word. He had found out more than he had wanted to know. Why hadn’t anyone stopped her? Why hadn’t they taken him away from her — that woman as David had called her? Is that what had put that look of terror in his eyes?
A large divider cut this part of the room off from the section where he had given his concert. Dylan went around it and found the piano. He sat down to pray for David and for direction. He began playing one of his compositions in an extension of the prayer he had just uttered.
A large young black man came and stood near the piano. Dylan nodded an acknowledgment, but didn’t stop until the song was finished.
“Dylan, I’m Jerome Johnson.” He held out his hand.
Dylan shook his hand. “Do you work here? Your name is familiar.”
“I’m a volunteer, and I was only fifteen when you gave your concert. I really wasn’t expecting you in here. I thought maybe… Well, there was this kid that could play that song as well as you. They didn’t tell me you were coming.”
Jerome. Wait, Wasn’t that the name David mentioned. She hurt Jerome. “This isn’t a planned visit.” Dylan pulled the pictures back out of his pocket. “Tell me, is this the kid?”
“Yes! It’s him! Dawg’s okay. And he’s even got some new clothes.” Jerome grabbed Dylan’s arm with his left hand as he held the pictures in the other. “You don’t know how many nights I prayed he’d be okay.” Jerome’s eyes became moist. “Is he… Is he with you?”
“No. He’s with a friend in another state. Maybe you can tell me a little about him. He hasn’t even told us his real name. We’ve been calling him David — David Timothy.”
“David Timothy.” Jerome smiled a little as he said it. “I like it. A new name, a new life. Like being born again from darkness into light.” Jerome shook his head and swiped the back of his hand across his eyes. Then he motioned toward the furniture in one corner of the room. “Let’s go sit over there. I’ll tell you what I can. I know you’ll help him.”
Dylan sat in an armchair, and Jerome on the couch next to it. Dylan took the small notebook from his shirt pocket that he had brought to write down anything important he found out. “Maybe we can start with his real name and age?”
“His real name, according to this mysterious doctor who doesn’t exist — I’ll explain later — is Dawg Ed Revine.”
“Dawg? Are you sure?”
“Yes. My lawyer friend found his birth certificate on file at the court house.”
“No wonder he didn’t want to tell us.”
“That’s not the worst of it, either. I’ve seen people treat their dogs better than the way that woman treated him.”
“I heard a few comments in the cafeteria. I hope they aren’t true. And if they are, why didn’t anyone do anything?”
“Whatever you heard was probably true. No one did anything because they didn’t believe it could be true. If it was true why didn’t someone else do something before this?” Jerome shook his head.
“If you knew it was true, why didn’t you do something?”
Jerome stood and walked over to the side of the piano as if listening to an imaginary musician. “I’ve asked myself that, too,” he said, subdued. “No excuse, really. Keep telling myself it’s not my fault. I’m just seventeen. If something’s to be done, surely the others would have. The truth is I wanted to fit in more than I cared about anyone else. Thought I was following Jesus pretty good there for a while.” Jerome shook his head and came back to sit down. He finally looked up at Dylan. “But he’s safe now, right? And between you and Tom, you’ll make sure he stays safe.”
“Tom?”
“Tom Nepan, my lawyer friend. I met him… But maybe I should start at the beginning of when I really started caring.”
Dylan nodded, and Jerome began telling his story from the time he walked out his front door to see Kurt Smith having car problems. “After Kurt left with Dawg, or rather David, I went back in the house and prayed all night. In the morning I knew I needed help so I went to Pastor Hal and told him everything that happened. He arranged for me to meet Tom Nepan so we could see the legal angle of all this and what my options were. He also suggested that I never go out alone. It was more than a little inconvenient, but I wasn’t complaining. She actually sent them after me, too.
“Tom and I went over to her place during that first week, and Tom told her if anything happened to me, she would be the number one suspect, because I had given written and taped testimony in his office about what had happened. By the end of the week she had left, and I heard that the guys she sent for me were no longer interested since they weren’t getting paid.
“We wanted to prosecute her for what she did to Dawg, but we need him as a witness. Without him, we may convict her, but we won’t get a very strong sentence if we do. Also if she’s tried and she wins, then Dawg may not be able to try her for the same crime at some other time. So since she left, and we couldn’t find the doctor or Dawg, we’ve just let things be for now.”
“I’ll need to meet Tom. My friend wants to adopt David.”
“I thought you took him in.”
“No. I’m just as guilty as you for not caring enough when I first met him. My friend….”
“Jerome, you’ve skipped out on us,” said a woman, looking around the divider. “We’re closing up now, so you’ll have to leave.”
“Okay, Casey. Sorry about that.” Jerome stood, and Dylan followed his lead. Outside he said, “We won’t be able to see Tom until Monday, but you can meet Pastor Hal tomorrow if you come back for church.”
“I guess I’ll find a hotel and come back tomorrow morning. You need a ride home?”
“I hoped you’d ask. I still get nervous walking alone, especially at night.” He got into the car after Dylan unlocked the door. “They chased my friend and me twice, but we made it to safety in time. There were three of them, and they had bats and pipes.”
Dylan dropped Jerome off and then watched until he was inside before he drove away. He went quite a few miles before he found a hotel he was willing to stay at. In his room he called Kathy, and they talked for over an hour.
Monday, March 13th
Monday morning Dylan drove to Tom Nepan’s office at the time that Pastor Hal had unofficially set up for him the day before. Tom worked with two other lawyers in a large converted house on a main highway leaving Chicago. The waiting room was comfortably furnished, but not overly luxurious. The plump, blonde secretary bid Dylan to sit as she called back to Tom’s office.
A few minutes later a tall, wiry man came down the hall to him and introduced himself. “I’ve enjoyed your music for quite a few years now, Dylan. It’s an honor to meet you. Come on back.”
“Thank you.” Dylan followed him, and soon he was seated in a comfortable armchair in front on a large mahogany desk.
“I’ve been working on this case on a strictly limited, pro bono basis. It actually isn’t even a case, yet. I’ve done a little investigating and a little threatening, but that’s it.” Tom opened the file on his desk. “I’ve got his birth certificate and copies of his school records.” He pulled them out to show Dylan. “I take it, you have the boy.”
“A friend does.” Dylan reached for the papers. The birth certificate confirmed Elizabeth’s diagnosis. David was only thirteen. He would be fourteen on April seventh. “My friend wants to adopt him. I am willing to pay any expenses and fees on her behalf so that he can stay with her. He is scared, actually terrified, at the thought of coming anywhere near Chicago.”
Tom seemed to relax now that he knew he was getting paid. “I think we can form a good case for foster care. Adoption will take longer. For foster care he can be classified as an abandoned child since he has not been reported missing, and she has moved. We can and probably should start prosecution against her for what she has done if he has had the abuse that Jerome claims. Tell me, how scarred is he? That is prime evidence no matter how mentally handicapped the boy is.”
“I haven’t seen. I only know what Jerome has said. But what is this about him being mentally handicapped?”
“It’s in the school report.”
“May I have a copy of this for Elizabeth? She’ll need to know what to expect when she sends him to school.”
“Sure. I’ll have one made before you leave. Does your friend, Elizabeth, live in Tennessee, also? I’ll have to contact the child welfare people in the county she lives in so that they can approve her for foster care.”
“There’s no way they will try to take him, will they?”
“If you don’t think there’s anything wrong with where and how she’s living, I doubt there will be any problem with her being approved. The only thing that will place a boy that age and with his problems anywhere is the federal money that goes with him. It’s sad, but it’s a fact of life.”
“I don’t think Elizabeth cares at all for any money that might be attached to him. She wants him for her own son. Whatever we have to do to keep him there, I want done. Also, is there any way that we can legally change his name? He never told us his name, and I can understand why now. Elizabeth has named him David Timothy.”
“I’ll admit it’s a much better name. I’ll see what I can do. Does he want a different last name also? Perhaps this Elizabeth’s last name?”
“Yes, I think she’d like that.”
“Okay, I need her full name and address.”
Dylan gave it to him.
“Michigan. That kid sure travels a lot.” Tom stood. “Come back tomorrow at three thirty, and I’ll tell you what I find.”
After Dylan got his copies, he went for lunch and read over the school report. It prompted more questions than it answered. He decided to go to the school.
Once there he was taken to a room with two instructors and ten children of various ages who each appeared to be doing something different, from playing with blocks to scribbling on the chalkboard to running and screaming. The instructors were working with two different children at separate tables and seemed oblivious to the rest. The male instructor noticed Dylan and came to greet him.
“I’m Mitch Lawrence. May I help you?”
“I understand that this was the class of… Dawg Revine?”
“Yes. But he hasn’t been here in over a month. I think they moved away.”
“Is it always like this?”
Mitch laughed. “Sometimes it’s worse.”
“How do they learn?”
“Most of them can’t, but we try to keep them busy. If we can teach them, they get moved to another class.”
“What about Dawg?”
“Unteachable. He was here before I was, and I’ve been here two years. No one could get near him. He mostly sat in the corner, and if anyone came too close to him he’d run to another corner. Once in a while we’d have to grab him and put him into the time out closet when he would go crazy and start hitting the other kids. That was usually when someone was too stupid not to leave him alone.” Mitch hit his forehead. “I’ve done it again. They keep getting after me for my politically incorrect assessments. I’m not supposed to use words like crazy and stupid.”
A boy screeched beside them and then ran into a tower of blocks causing its builder to wail in protest. Dylan had to fight to keep his hands from rising to his ears. He didn’t think he could learn here either, and he’d never considered himself mentally impaired.
“What do you mean, put him in the time out closet?”
“I’ll show you.” Mitch led him to the back of the room where there were three doors along the wall. He motioned for Dylan to look inside. It was a small room, no more than four by five with carpeting on the floor and walls. “Sometimes these kids can’t process information fast enough, and they go into sensory overload and lash out. They need a place like this to calm down in. By the way, just what is your interest in Dawg?”
Dylan looked around the room and back at the closet. An impotent anger formed in him. “Didn’t anyone ever try to figure out why he was so scared? Didn’t anyone realize he was being beaten and worse at home?”
“Now wait. I met Ms. Revine on several occasions, and she seemed like a concerned single mother doing the best she could with a mentally and emotionally handicapped child that she obviously had at a very young age. To accuse her of child abuse is a bit extreme, wouldn’t you say.”
“No, I wouldn’t. Thank you for your time,” he said tersely. Dylan walked out to the car as quickly as he could. The concerned parent image was the same one several mission workers had given him when he asked yesterday why they hadn’t said anything.
He got into the car and pounded the steering wheel. He had to violently force his mind to focus on God. He breathed deeply until he was finally able to pray to his Savior about all that troubled him with David, from his anger over the boy’s extreme mistreatment to his concern that Elizabeth might be hurt by him because of it. If only she had a husband to help her with him.
Dylan drove around the city until almost three. Then he went to see if Jerome was home from school. Jerome’s mother let him in, and they visited while he waited.
“Hey, how’d it go?” Jerome asked, when he walked in and saw Dylan.
“Okay, I guess. Tom’s looking into some things, and I go back tomorrow. I’m stuck in town another day. I found out David’s birthday is next month. Do you want to go shopping with me? I get the feeling he hasn’t had much in the way of gifts before.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get him something, too.”
Dylan dropped Jerome off at home around eight and went to his hotel with two wrapped packages for David in his trunk. He called Keith first and told him what he had found out.
Keith told him about the scratches and the few scars he had seen on David’s arm. “I hope it’s not true, Dylan, but he might have put you in the same group with everyone else who’s hurt him. It didn’t sound like he knew the difference.”
Dylan sighed. He felt more than a little out of his league. If he was overwhelmed with how to deal with this kid, how in the world would Elizabeth be able to do it? “Okay, Keith. I’ll try to think of some way to reassure him I’m not a monster.” He hung up the phone.
Over the last four years, Dylan had come to love Elizabeth as a sister. She and Kathy were as close as sisters. Even though Elizabeth was older than him, Dylan almost felt like she was a younger sister because he wanted to protect her from any more pain. But she wasn’t going to let him protect her from this.
Tuesday, March 14th
The next day Tom told him that the child welfare people would be going to visit Elizabeth tomorrow. He said he could get an AKA for Dawg, but he would have to officially file a name change when he was eighteen, became emancipated, or was adopted, whichever came first. Tom also wanted to meet Dawg to determine how good a witness he would make. Since Dylan wanted to get back to Tennessee and his family as soon as possible and Dawg would not come to Chicago, Tom said that he could rearrange his schedule and go to Michigan with him tomorrow since he didn’t need to be in court.
That night Dylan called Elizabeth. She answered on the first ring as if she had been working on the computer right next to the phone. “Dylan, I hoped you would call soon. Let me switch the phone.” Then next time she spoke her voice was clearer, and he knew she was using the hand piece instead of the speaker. David must be in the room, and perhaps she didn’t want to unnecessarily upset him. “Now, did you find out anything?”
“I found out more than I wanted to know.” Dylan told her what he had learned and about everyone planning to invade her apartment tomorrow. He hesitated before telling her the worst things he had heard but then decided she needed to know what she was dealing with. “Elizabeth, I want you to be absolutely certain about this. He can still be sent to a foster home with people who normally deal with this kind of thing.”
“Dylan,” she whispered. “They wouldn’t love him. They would… I’m keeping him. Please help me.”
“I will, Beth. I just want you to know that it won’t be easy. It’ll be much harder than anything you’re going through with Jared.”
“I appreciate your help, Dylan. I’ll be sure to call you when I need advice.”
In other words, thanks for your opinion, but I don’t believe you, yet. Stubborn woman. He just hoped he wasn’t helping her to hurt herself. But she was right. No one else would probably love David the way she did. “May I talk to David for a minute?”
“What are you planning to say?”
“Elizabeth, have you ever not been able to trust me? Stop being so suspicious.”
“Sorry, Dyl. I guess I am a little paranoid. I can’t wait till this custody thing is over with.” Dylan heard the difference when she switched him on to the speaker. “David, Honey, come over here. Dylan wants to talk to you. Okay, Dylan. He’s listening.”
“David, Keith tells me that I accidently hurt you the other day. I’m really sorry. I only wanted to stop you from running away. I didn’t mean to scratch you. I want you to know that the only reason I would ever hurt you on purpose would be to stop you from hurting someone else. But that would be up to you, David.” Dylan paused.
David didn’t say anything and neither did Elizabeth. They weren’t making this easy for him.
“Well… I’ll see you tomorrow, David, Elizabeth. Bye.”
Wednesday, March 15th
Wednesday morning Dylan and Tom caught a commuter flight to Flint’s Bishop Airport, and Dylan rented a car to take them to Flushing. As Dylan parked next to the curb beside Elizabeth’s house a car pulled up behind him. A woman got out and started toward the house. Dylan ran to catch up and introduced himself.
“I’m Ms. Andrea Collins. Do you live here?” When Dylan shook his head, she continued. “Oh, well, I’m looking for a Ms. Weaver.”
“You’ve come to the right place. This is Tom Nepan, her lawyer.”
“Oh, right. Your name is on the papers I was faxed.”
Dylan knocked on the door. When Elizabeth answered he gave her a quick hug before introducing the other two.
Andrea looked around the living room critically. “Do you rent the entire house?”
“No, I only rent out the two upstairs apartments.”
Andrea turned back to her after peeking into the kitchen. “You are saying that you own this house?”
“Yes. Of course, the bank still owns their share.”
“Of course.” She turned away to study the room again. “May I see the rest of the area that you live in and the boy’s room.”
“Sure. The kitchen’s in here,” Elizabeth led her away.
There was a knock on the door, and Dylan opened it to see Rob. “Join the party, Rob,” he invited. Dylan introduced him to Tom. “And here comes Ms. Andrea Collins with Elizabeth. Did she let you know that we’d be here?”
“Yes, I called earlier.”
Elizabeth took Andrea through to see the bathroom and the bedrooms. “This is his room.”
Andrea studied it. “Everything appears to be in order. Your room is at the end of the hall?”
Elizabeth led her down the hall and let her look into her room. “It’s not real organized. I haven’t had time to rearrange things since I put the sewing machine in there.”
Andrea looked into the room across the hall and stopped. “Whose room is this?”
“My son Jared’s.”
“I don’t remember the report stating that you had any other children. I assume that he is in school.”
“I assume so, too. Jared lives with his father.”
They walked back toward the living room. “Why doesn’t he live with you? Is there some reason that you did not want your own child, but want a stranger?”
“I want Jared. I just lost the custody battle.”
“Why? If you are unfit to be a mother, I don’t know if we can approve this.”
Dylan saw Elizabeth’s distress and tried to think of some words of support, but Rob stepped in. “She’s not an unfit mother.”
“And you are?”
“Rob Weaver. Her ex-husband’s father. The only reason Elizabeth lost custody is because I have a lot of influence in the community, and I used it to support my son, which I have regretted. Please, do not let my mistakes, or my son’s, deprive Elizabeth of another child.”
Andrea studied him and then said, “Okay. I’ll take your word for it. I understand that Dawg is here now. I haven’t seen him. Where is he?”
“Dawg?” asked Rob.
Elizabeth pushed aside the curtain separating the office from the rest of the house. “This is my office.” She looked toward the piano and then glanced over the rest of the room. Dylan saw David as she did, hiding behind the chair in the corner by the bookcases. Elizabeth gently pushed the chair aside so that she could kneel down next to him. “What’s the matter, Honey? I know all these people at once can be overwhelming.”
David clutched his legs tightly and looked at her with moist brown eyes. “I want to be beloved and honored of God,” he said so softly that Dylan barely heard him. “I don’t want to be a… a dog.”
“Oh, Sweetheart, you’ll always be beloved and honored of God. You’ll always be David Timothy no matter what the legal system says.” Elizabeth put her arm on his shoulders.
Andrea strode in and crouched down near them. “Hi, Dawg. We’re trying to see if….” Andrea touched David’s arm.
He jumped up and ran past the others out of the room. Dylan did not try to stop him this time.
“His name is David,” Elizabeth said firmly, as they stood. Dylan detected a hint of anger and hoped that Ms. Collins did not.
“Are you sure that you are aware of the extra work and requirements needed to care for an emotionally and mentally handicapped child? It may cost you more money than you will receive from the state.”
“David is not handicapped except that he was never allowed to learn. He has an excellent memory.” Elizabeth grabbed a stack of papers from her desk. “These are his work sheets from last week,” she said, handing Andrea several pages. She took the next few sheets off the stack. “These are from this morning. I’m planning to home school so that he’ll have the opportunity to learn as much as possible as quickly as possible. He’s already taking piano lessons, and his instructor says that he has great potential. I work at home, so there is no need to worry about him being left with anyone else. Here is my financial statement for last year. I can afford to care for this child regardless of how much his extra schooling will cost. Here is a list of all that I have invested in him so far, and I am not afraid to spend more.” Elizabeth handed the last paper to a stunned Ms. Collins with flourish.
Dylan grinned and turned away so that neither Ms. Collins, nor Elizabeth could see and take it the wrong way. Elizabeth certainly was more prepared than he thought she’d be. Kathy would be proud of her.
“Well, I see that you’re serious about this child,” Andrea Collins started out shakily and then became firm. “However he must be enrolled in an accredited school. Let me leave you some papers to fill out and return to me by Friday afternoon. May I keep these for his file?” She waved the pages Elizabeth had given her.
“Yes, those are photocopies for you to keep, but David isn’t ready for public school. You saw how scared he was.”
“Public or private, it doesn’t matter. But it must be a school.” Andrea stuffed the papers into her briefcase and pulled out the forms for Elizabeth. “I’ll see you Friday afternoon then,” she said and left.
Elizabeth sunk into a living room chair. “What am I going to do? David’s not ready for school. It would be torture to send him, and he’d probably not learn a thing.”
“Do you know anyone who works in a private school, perhaps a church school?” Tom asked.
“Our church runs a small school, but still I don’t know if he’s ready.”
“Maybe you can get the administrator of that school to work with you, allowing you to teach him, and then he will keep you accountable for the state’s purposes,” Tom suggested.
“Do you think he would?”
“I don’t know him, but it’s worth a try.”
Elizabeth nodded and then left the room.
“Where’s she going?” Tom asked in surprise.
“I imagine to check on David.”
“Oh.” Tom followed Elizabeth down the hall. Dylan went after him, and Rob was right behind him.
David was in the corner again, and Elizabeth sat next to him with her arm around him. When the three men entered the room he started shaking. “No,” he screamed, and then dived under the bed.
“David. It’s all right. They’re not going to hurt you.” Elizabeth shook her head and then stared at the men. “Can’t you people stay in the other room by yourselves for five minutes. It’s a good thing I didn’t go into the bathroom.”
Dylan laughed.
Tom looked shocked. “I just need to ask David a few questions to see what kind of case we can make against his mother.”
“Well, David won’t be ready to speak for fifteen to thirty minutes, so you all might as well go back into the living room.”
“I’m going to take off, Elizabeth. I have to get back to work,” Rob said.
Elizabeth got up off the floor and went around the bed to Rob. “Thank you, Rob, for setting the record straight back there. I appreciate it a lot.”
Rob shrugged. “I know it doesn’t make up for Jared. Let me know if you need any more help.” He left.
Dylan, Tom, and Elizabeth sat in the living room. “Does David clam up and hide often?” Tom asked.
“He never speaks much, but it’s even harder for him when there are a lot of people around, especially ones he doesn’t know.”
“I’m just wondering how well he’d do in court.”
“Right now, I doubt you’d be able to keep him on the witness stand and get a coherent answer from him. Especially if he has to face her. Now that he’s been away from what was there, he’s scared to death to have to go back. I think it’s like someone who’s been in some serious situation who is able to keep going during the battle, but as soon as it’s over they break down from the prolonged stress. Like Elijah broke down after he had the battle at Mount Carmel and needed rest before he could go on, David needs rest and security right now before he can go on and battle that woman in court. He needs a chance to learn and grow, to feel safe and loved.”
“You impressed me with your preparedness earlier,” Tom said. “And your assessment appears to agree with the behavior I’ve seen so far. We’ll let things go for now until you think he’s ready. He’s safe, and I guess that is the important thing right now. I don’t think we have time to wait much longer before we must catch our return flight.”
“No. But Beth, I have some things in the car for you.” Elizabeth followed Dylan out and took the presents for David that he handed her. “I’ll be going back to Tennessee from Chicago so I won’t be here for his birthday.”
“Thanks, Dylan, for all your help.”
“Just returning the favor.” Dylan hugged her before he got into the car. “It must be your job to rescue people.”
“Only the ones that get thrown in front of me. Watch out for those deer.”
Dylan grinned at her reference to their first meeting. It had been a deer that had caused his original accident, forcing him to walk along the highway for help. “I will. I’ll call you after I get home.”
Dylan drove them to the airport. After the plane took off he turned to Tom. “Now what?”
Tom turned a little in his seat. “I don’t think there’s enough evidence if he doesn’t testify. There are no hospital or doctor’s records of physical abuse. Sexual abuse is his word against hers. If he doesn’t say anything, there’s nothing.”
“What about what I heard at the mission?”
“It’s rumor unless we can find someone who will testify that has actually seen it or has taken part, and that’s unlikely because they’d be implicating themselves.”
“So she gets away with it?”
“Dylan, we can’t even prove she did anything. He may just be an emotionally and mentally handicapped boy who’s had some bad experiences because of it, and those may not have happened at home.”
“He specifically asked not to be sent back to her. I’m sure….”
“I believe you. But I’m just telling you how it’s going to sound in court with no evidence. We have nothing, and the defense could probably call those people who told you she was just a concerned parent.”
“But what about Jerome.”
“Jerome said the boy was healed. First, testimony like that isn’t real popular in court. Second, if the boy was healed, I assume there is no physical evidence at all. It certainly didn’t look like it from what I saw of him.” Tom shook his head. “If David gets over his fear and can actually testify coherently we may be able to do something, but until then I don’t think there’s anything more we can do. I’ll send Elizabeth a letter to that effect, so she’ll know to contact me if things change.”
Dylan wasn’t happy, but had to admit that legally things looked pretty bleak. He rode with Tom back to his office, thanked him, and then started home for Tennessee.
Go to Chapter 14
© 2013, 1995 by Deborah K. Lauro. You may make one copy for personal use. To share, please direct friends to this website.