The Two Amys by Esther Minskoff

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And what did bu mean? Was it a name? Buddy, Buster, Buck, Bubba, Was
it a word? Was it the word bugs? Did bugs actually bite her? Was it bum, bun,
buzz? Was it just random gibberish?

Amy kept repeating, “Bu. Bu. Bu.”

She was even more dumbfounded than when Ashley said help me. This was
almost impossible to decipher. Was she babbling bu the way babies babble sounds
without meaning? She recalled Teri and Tammy as infants babbling ma, ma and
da, da before they knew the meanings of the words. Was bu just a chance sound or
the beginning of a word Ashley intended to say?

Just then, Janice, a newly-hired aide, yelled for help from Emily’s room.
Amy ran to her room to find Janice seething with anger. Emily bit her hand when
she tried to give her meds. She broke Janice’s skin so she was worried she might
have gotten something contagious. Fortunately, dementia is not contagious. One
of the doctors who was making rounds in the unit heard Janice yelling and came in.
He examined her wound and assured her that she was fine and to just put a band-
aid on it. But that didn’t stop Janice from storming out of the room as she yelled, “I
hate this place. I hate these people. They’re not humans. They’re animals. I wish
they were all dead. I wish this place would burn down with everyone in it. I’m
never coming back here.”

Amy and the doctor stared at each other, in a state of shock. They had never
witnessed a staff member spew such venom. Amy was glad to see Janice leave.
Obviously, she wasn’t the type of person who could work in such a stressful
environment with such needy people. Amy planned to tell Maggie about her so she
could be given an extremely poor reference.

When her shift was over, Amy described to Wendy, the head nurse, the
tumult of the last eight hours. She didn’t mention Ashley. That was for another
time, a less hectic time when everyone’s full attention could be focused on the
catastrophe that had mysteriously occurred. She needed to put her experience with
Ashley on hold. There was going to be a huge scandal, and she had to prepare for
her role in it. She hoped she wasn’t breaking the law by not reporting the rape
immediately, but she knew that she had to wait for a time when everyone’s
undivided attention could be focused on it.

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She went to her locker to put Ashley’s nightgown in it. She had never locked
her locker before, but she had to make sure this vital piece of evidence was
protected. For the first time, she set her combination.

She drove home in a daze, eager to shower and sleep. She knew that every
minute of today would be permanently etched into her memory, but she also knew
she wasn’t ready to analyze what had happened. She placed a temporary fence
around her memory, knowing that the gate would soon open fully to allow a flood
of people to examine every inch of the tragedy.

Chapter 7

When Amy pulled up to her house, she was glad to see there were no cars in
the driveway. She was too emotionally drained to talk to anyone. Teri had taken
Tammy to school and then gone on to work at McDonald’s. Keith had also gone to
work. She pulled down the visor to look at herself in the mirror. She wanted to see
if the experience had changed her, had aged her. She looked the same except for
her eyes. They harbored permanently etched visions of the horrors she had seen.
Interestingly, she had never cried. There was no room for tears now. There was
only room for analytic thinking to find out what had happened and what she had to
do.

The first thing Amy did after she got in the house was take a shower. She
needed to wash off any flu bugs that might have attached themselves to her. She
stood under the shower to let the hot water relax her muscles until she felt weak
from the heat. She got into bed and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. Her
nightmares about Ashley would come later, and they would be relentless. But they
wouldn’t be only about Ashley being raped; they would also be about Teri and
Tammy being raped. But strangely enough, she would not dream of herself as a
victim of rape. Oh, but she had been. Her body may not have been raped, but her
brain and soul had been.

When Amy woke at 3:00, she was groggy. Suddenly she felt an
uncontrollable urge to vomit and defecate. The shower hadn’t worked. The flu
bugs had tunneled into her. She texted Keith and Tammy and told them she had the
flu and to avoid her when they got home. Then she texted Maggie to tell her that
she was sick and wouldn’t be in.

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Fortunately, Amy had a mild case and was better by Friday when she
returned to work. She was glad that Teri and Tammy didn’t get it. Keith had a mild
case too and only missed two days of work. When he returned to work, he was
glad to learn that he had given the flu to Roger who was sick for five days.

Although Amy constantly thought about what had happened to Ashley, she
was too busy to say anything to anyone once she returned to work. When she went
into Ashley’s room, she checked the bite marks and bruises which were much
fainter, but still visible. The flu epidemic had run its course, so it was time for
Ashley to act.

It was Saturday night when Keith and Amy finally had some time alone
together. They were sitting on their back screened porch relaxing after a stressful
week of being sick. It was time for Amy to share her experiences with Keith. She
couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time to open the curtain and let the play, a
Shakespearean tragedy, begin.

Amy grasped Keith’s hand tightly.

“Keith, I have something terrible to tell you. I desperately need for you to
help me figure out what happened at work. This has legal implications and will
involve the police.”

Keith looked at her with shock. The police? The Petersons had never been
involved with the police. Neither Keith nor Amy had ever even received a
speeding or parking ticket. They were the epitome of upstanding citizens.

With shocked alarm, Keith asked, “Amy, what are you talking about? What
happened?”

“You know how crazy it was at work with the flu outbreak this last week.
Well, when I went in on Monday, we had the flu to worry about and a new patient
who was driving everyone crazy. She even called me a mother f-u-c-k-e-r. I can’t
even say the word. It’s hard enough for me to spell it. She bit an aide who quit.
That nutty aide said that she hated all the patients and wished Shady Oaks would
burn down. That got to me. I can’t understand how anyone could wish such cruelty
on the patients. Or how she could harbor so much anger. Anyhow, that’s not really
the problem.

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And sweet Hilda, our oldest patient, died. These would be big things in and
of themselves, but something much worse happened. Something I never thought
could happen at Shady Oaks.”

Amy started crying convulsively. This was the first time she had cried. Her
pent-up tears gushed uncontrollably. Keith held her, all the while wondering what
she had experienced that could have caused this extreme reaction. The last time he
had seen Amy so distraught was when she had the unwanted hysterectomy. But he
sensed that this was something far different. Something that was not just about
them, but others.

“I’m so scared about what this means. I’m not sure what to do, but I know I
have to do something now. I can’t put it off any longer. Maybe I should have done
something sooner, but I didn’t think people could handle what was happening with
the flu and this too.”

“You’re not making sense. Slow down and tell me what happened.”

Amy took a deep breath and braced herself to find the right words to
describe her indescribable experience.

“On Monday after a crazy hectic day with everyone throwing up and
pooping and crying and moaning, I went to check on Ashley before I went off
duty. I was in a hurry to get out. I felt like I was in a living hell. I was totally
stressed out. And the smell of vomit and poop was making me nauseous. Anyhow
Ashley was fine when I saw her when I came on duty, but then when I checked her
before leaving, I noticed she had vomit on her nightgown and she smelled of
diarrhea. During the night she’d come down with the stomach flu. So, of course, I
had to clean her up. When I took off her nightgown, I saw that she had bite marks
on her breasts, especially around her nipples. I could actually see the teeth marks
and dried blood where the teeth had penetrated the skin.”

Keith looked at her with disbelief. His mouth was hanging open.

“Stop. Wait a minute. Did you say bite marks? Couldn’t be bite marks. On
her breasts? Are you sure it wasn’t a rash or something else? Maybe it was bites
from a mouse or bugs.”

“No. I took pictures because I didn’t think anyone would believe me.”

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Amy got her phone and found the pictures of Ashley’s breasts. Keith stared
in shock. He enlarged the photos to clearly show the teeth marks.

“My God, this is unbelievable. Someone bit her breasts so hard he actually
drew blood. Why would anybody do that? Why would anybody hurt this poor,
pathetic woman who’s been destroyed by Alzheimer’s? This doesn’t make sense.”

“Because someone is a sexual pervert who took advantage of an innocent,
defenseless, helpless human being.”

“Look at these pictures of her thighs. Look at the bruises. It looks like
someone grabbed her legs hard. Maybe to force them open. And you know the
patients wear diapers. Well, Ashley wasn’t wearing one. I looked for it and found it
stuffed in her trash basket. Foolishly, I didn’t take it out or take a picture of it. I
don’t know what happened to it, but it might be important.

I hate to think of what all this means. Do you think someone raped her? How
could anyone get a penis into that shrunken vagina? Or maybe something small
was stuck up her. I feel sick when I think of this. I actually feel like vomiting, but
this time not from the flu. From disgust. From disbelief about what this all might
mean. Keith, what are we seeing here? What happened?”

Keith took time to let the impact of the pictures sink in. He went back and
forth to study them and make sure what he was seeing was evidence of sexual
abuse.

“We’re seeing sexual abuse in a place that does everything possible to
protect its patients from sexual abuse. Somehow, someone penetrated that
protective shield that everyone thought couldn’t be penetrated. How was this
possible? There are always so many people around. Someone would have noticed a
stranger, and there are hardly any men around except for the maintenance guys and
some of the staff. They’ve all been there for years. I know them. They could never
do something like this. How was this possible? Oh, there are visitors that always
come and go, but someone would notice a new visitor, a stranger. I can’t imagine
any of the visitors to the people on the unit doing something so horrible. And how
would a visitor or a stranger get into the unit without knowing the password? And
how would someone know about Ashley and that she’s one of the most vulnerable
patients there? That makes me think this wasn’t done by a stranger. This wasn’t a
chance occurrence.”

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Amy braced herself to tell Keith the most unbelievable part of her
experience.

“And there’s something else. Ashley talked to me again. I asked her who did
this to her. She said, bu. Not a word, just the /b/ sound. She said it twice. Twice so
it wasn’t just a random babble. And it was like the last time we communicated. She
didn’t actually say it aloud. She sorta radiated it. I really felt like she was trying to
tell me something; that inside her she was aware of what had happened. I hope to
God I’m wrong. Oh sweet Jesus, please let her not know what happened. A
normal person couldn’t process the trauma of a sexual assault like this so how
could a person with dementia?”

“This whole thing is crazy. It’s beyond belief.”

Keith sat with his mouth open in a state of shock. They were both silent for
several minutes, letting the significance of what had happened sink in.

“I don’t think this had anything to do with her asking me for help on Good
Friday. The rape took place afterwards. I don’t know when, but I changed her on
Good Friday before I left, and she had no marks on her body. The fact that she
spoke for a second time and she spoke meaningfully convinces me that she knew
what happened. And that thought kills me. I think of this totally helpless woman
who was unable to stop this animal from raping her. She couldn’t scream. She
couldn’t physically resist him. That makes the rape even crueler. Just the thought
of her being aware that she was being raped and that she couldn’t do anything
about it may be the worst part of all this. We can’t ever let her family know this. It
will be overwhelming for them to learn that she was raped but learning that she
was aware of the rape would totally destroy David and Courtney.”

“Amy, I don’t know how you kept this hidden from me. Why didn’t you tell
me about this right away?”

“I couldn’t. I had to hide this away or I was afraid that I’d collapse by the
weight of what this means. I was especially afraid of picturing what had happened
if I told you about it. I still try not to visualize it. I’s too overwhelming. But time is
making it easier for me to process this whole thing and sharing it with you helps
immensely. I feel like I transferred some of the weight off my shoulders onto
yours.”

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Keith hugged Amy tightly.

“I’m here for you. I’ll do everything in my power to help you and Ashley.
You’re both victims. Of course, Ashley because she was abused, but you because
you’re the witness to the abuse and the one who has to defend her and protect her
from any more harm.”

“I get overwhelmed when I think of all the things that have to be done. I feel
like I have to be the cop who solves this even though I know that’s crazy. I just
want to tell everybody and make sure there’s no cover-up. I think the higher up
Shady Oaks administration may want to keep this out of the paper and off TV, but
that won’t be possible.

Keith, do you think I should mention my communication with Ashley to the
police?”

“Only the bu sound because that might be a clue. Don’t mention her asking
for help or saying your name. They won’t believe you so they might discount
everything you say. I think this bu sound is important, but I have no idea what it
means.”

For the next two hours, Keith and Amy discussed what had happened.
Although they repeated the same things over and over, they didn’t get any closer to
resolving the mystery of Ashley’s attack and her mysterious communication with
Amy.

They decided that they had to have an action plan. Amy took out her iPad
and made detailed notes of everything they said.

First, Amy had to meet with the Shady Oaks Director, Mike Wall. He’d been
at Shady Oaks for two years and was well respected. He was fair in dealing with
the staff and sensitive to the needs of the patients and their families. Amy had to
lay out all the details to him so he could consult with his superiors about how to
proceed. Of course, she knew that the police had to be involved from the start.
They even discussed whether she should call the police first but decided that it
would be more appropriate if Mike made the first contact.

And then they discussed who was going to tell Ashley’s family. They didn’t
know how these people could live through yet another tragedy. They especially

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worried whether Courtney could survive. Her mental health was so tenuous. This
might cause a total, maybe even irreversible breakdown.

Amy knew that she had to be one of the people to tell the Bennett family
because she was the staff member closest to Ashley and because she was witness
to the evidence of the crime. She knew that she would be tested to see if she had
the compassion and the strength for this challenge. She also knew that if she was
going to meet this challenge, she and God would have to spend a lot of time
together. She would need His guidance every step of the way. He would have to
bless her with a massive infusion of strength.

Amy was planning to phone Mike when she recalled that he was away for
the weekend at his engagement party in Philadelphia, his fiancé’s hometown. Mike
had just gotten engaged to Sherry Dinardi, a physical therapist at Shady Oaks. It
was the first marriage of Shady Oaks staff, so everyone felt involved. How this
would destroy Mike and Sherry’s plans. The effects of this rape were going to
reach far beyond Ashley, her family, Amy, and her family. They would be
unimaginable, such as the effect on Marietta, an aide in the assisted living unit,
who had been raped as a child. When she learned of Ashley’s rape, she tried to
commit suicide. Fortunately, she was unsuccessful. Yes, the tentacles of this
tragedy would be far-reaching.

Amy called Mike and left a message that she had to see him first thing
Monday at 8 AM. It was a serious emergency. She lamely ended the message by
saying that she hoped the engagement party was a success. She knew that future
memories of what should be the happiest time of Mike’s life would be tainted
forever.

Keith looked intently into Amy’s eyes as he held her hands. “This is going to
change our lives forever. We can’t begin to imagine all the things that will happen.
But my beloved Amy, I’m with you always.”

They hugged for a long time.

Chapter 8

After Amy left the message on Mike’s phone, she and Keith spent the rest of
the day laying out an action plan. Teri had taken Tammy to a birthday party so
there were no interruptions from them. They took Amy’s laptop to the patio since it

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was a glorious spring day filled with brilliant sunshine and the sweet smell of a
neighbor’s freshly mown grass. The incongruity of the horrendous topic of their
discussion and the calm, soothing setting for the discussion was not lost on them.

They wrote a detailed outline of everything Amy would say to Mike. They
decided not to tell him about Ashley asking for help and saying Amy’s name on
Good Friday. That seemed too bizarre even to them, and they didn’t want this to
cause people to question the veracity of the second time Ashley spoke. They
decided to tell Mike about Ashley saying bu because this might somehow be
related to the identity of the rapist. They knew that some, maybe even most people
would say that this was ludicrous, impossible, incredible and disregard that
somehow Ashley tried to break free of her prison of silent solitary confinement to
identify her abuser. This criticism was certainly understandable considering
Ashley’s semi-comatose state. But Amy was certain that Ashley had somehow
been awakened by the trauma of the rape. From her study of the brain, Amy knew
that the amygdala, the most primitive part of the brain responds to danger with a
fight, flight, or a freeze response. Since it is the most primitive, maybe it is the last
part of the brain to be destroyed. And since fight and flight were not possible
responses, Ashley’s only response was to freeze making her aware of what was
happening and paralyzed to stop it. And what was even more shocking was that
she knew the rapist. She recognized him when she didn’t even recognize her
husband or daughter. Not only was Ashley’s body raped, the little that remained of
her functioning brain was also raped.

Amy didn’t know if there was any research on the relationship between
Alzheimer’s and trauma. She would have to see if she could find some information
on this from Google. But maybe such information was only available on esoteric
medical sites, if it was available at all.

Amy wondered how it was possible that Ashley was able to bounce into
reality and respond rationally to Amy’s question, and then bounce back out into
oblivion. If Amy hadn’t experienced it, she wouldn’t have believed it, but she
knew that it had happened. She had absolutely no doubt. She marveled at the
capacity of the brain to resuscitate itself even when it was thought to be dead.

They knew Amy had to be well prepared in her presentations because they
were certain that there would be some who would want to deny, cover up,
minimize, or change what had happened. But they had the evidence – the photos

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and the nightgown. There were so many potential obstacles, but the most daunting
one was finding the abuser and bringing him to justice.

They couldn’t foresee all the effects this tragedy would have on the Shady
Oaks staff, the Bennett family, themselves, and so many others. As they talked,
they realized that some people had good intentions when they tried to cover up
such situations to protect and avoid further pain for the victims who had
experienced insufferable pain. And they began to consider the effects on
themselves from being in the limelight and the resulting publicity. They knew their
lives as average people were gone forever. Amy would always be known as the
whistleblower who brought to light a tragedy or the nutty lady who thought she
could communicate with patients with advanced Alzheimer’s. There would be
people who would deride her and say maybe she could communicate with the dead
or aliens too. There would be deniers saying that the abuse never happened, just
like there were deniers of the Holocaust and the mass shooting at Sandy Hook
School despite incontrovertible evidence. Or there would be crazies who would
claim that Clinton or Obama was the abuser or that Jesus had returned to
impregnate Ashley with a future messiah.

They couldn’t begin to envision all the outrageous stories that would arise.
It was easy to laugh at them until you realized all the loonies out there who
actually believed them. And some even acted on them, sometimes violently. Just
think of the man who shot up a Washington DC pizza restaurant because he
believed fake news that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring out of it.
Fortunately, no one was injured and the shooter was sentenced to prison.

They feared that some snoopy reporters might discover Teri’s past, and
imply that the person who had impregnated her had also raped Ashley. There
would be some lunatics who would even make wild accusations against Keith and
David. No one would be immune from irresponsible slanderous lies which are
epidemic in the age of the internet and fake news.

Saddest of all would be the effects on the Bennett family. Every detail of
their lives would be examined. Keith and Amy couldn’t begin to envision all the
bizarre, outrageous stories that would arise from this tragedy. They felt helpless in
preventing the tsunami that was about to hit their lives. They knew they had no
choice but to expose what had happened no matter the consequences. Their

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consciences dictated their actions. They both knew they had to do the right thing.
Even if the right thing was the most painful.

When they went to bed that night, they prayed to God for guidance and
strength to do what was right. They fell asleep curled in each other’s arms, hoping
to gain strength from each other in the fight of their lives.

Amy and Keith tried to put the upcoming ordeal out of their minds by
spending Sunday with Teri, Tammy, and their friends at a local park. They
brought a picnic lunch with fried chicken and brownies, Teri and Tammy’s favorite
foods. The Silvers brought potato salad and cole slaw, while the Teppers provided
enough drinks for an army.

Keith and Amy rowed a rented boat to the far coves of the lake to get close
to the swans, ducks, and geese that tried to evade them. Tammy put her dolls in the
water to pretend they were swimming. Tommy put his GI Joe dolls in to search for
unknown enemies. Although they were calmed by the warmth and the quiet
surroundings, their apprehension about the next day was inches below the surface
of their consciousness.

Amy and Keith weren’t ready to tell their friends about the tragedy. They
thought that just being with them would be comforting, and it was. When Teri,
Tammy, and Tommy went to the playground, the six friends sat around the picnic
table as they sang along to country music they played on an iPad. After a few
songs, Ira stopped and said, “What’s going on with you two? I know you well
enough to know that something’s happening and you’re trying to cover it up. And
it’s obvious that whatever it is, isn’t good. Please tell us so we can help.”

Keith responded, “What a great cop you are! We thought we were doing a
good job of hiding something going on in our lives. We can’t tell you about it now.
Not yet. It has to do with work and nothing personal. There are some legal aspects
that we have to take care of first. But after this becomes public, we’ll desperately
need your help. Not only for advice for what to do, but more importantly for your
support and love. We’re in for some tough times.”

They knew that they might also need legal advice and hoped that Sylvia
could refer them to someone in her firm who could help them negotiate the legal
quagmire they were about to enter. More importantly, they also knew that they

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would need spiritual support. They were hopeful that Lillian and their fellow
congregants could lead them on the path to find strength from God.

Amy and Keith thought that sleep would provide calm before the storm, but
there really was no calm. Keith and Amy slept fitfully. Their subconscious painted
ominous, murky dreams of an uncertain future. They awoke more tired than when
they had gone to bed.

That morning Amy showered for longer than usual. She needed to be alert.
She soaked her armpits with deodorant because she knew she would sweat a lot
from anxiety. She chose to wear her navy pant suit because it fit the seriousness of
the occasion. She usually wore it to funerals, which she usually attended for her
patients. In a way, today’s meeting was like a funeral, a funeral for their past
tranquil lives.

When she opened her jewelry box to get earrings, she found a note from
Keith.

I love you my precious Amy. You’re doing the right thing. This will be hard
on you and everyone, but you will get justice for Ashley, and somehow she will
know it. You are my brave, strong angel. Trust in God. He is guiding you.

Love forever and ever,

Your Keith

She kissed the note and said, “I love you my Keith. Thank you God for
blessing me with Keith and give me the strength he believes I have.”

With him at her side, she knew she could face the countless challenges that
would confront her.

Keith didn’t go with Amy to her meeting with Mike because he thought it
best that only Amy be present They decided that Keith would accompany her to
other interviews, especially those with the police which would be more
intimidating.

Amy brought her phone to show the evidence of the abuse. Keith was
worried about the photos getting destroyed or lost, either accidentally or
intentionally, so he made copies on his phone, on a storage disc, and to an account
in the cloud. They also agreed that she had to give the police Ashley’s nightgown

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because of possible DNA evidence on it. She knew that it was safe in her locker
because no one knew that it was there, but she worried that the dampness might
cause further deterioration and possible damage to any evidence it might contain.

As Amy got in her car, she looked at her house and Tammy’s bicycle on the
lawn. She knew that she would never see them in the same way again. Everything
would be different. The world was getting darker and darker.

Chapter 9

Amy got to Shady Oaks at 7:30 because she wanted to see Ashley before
meeting with Mike. She went to her room and found Ashley in her usual frozen
state. She was wearing a different nightgown from the one Amy had last put on
her, and her diaper had been changed. Over the weekend she must have been
cleaned by several people who had to have seen her body. Did anyone notice the
abuse, or did they not realize what it signified? Why didn’t anyone report this? No
matter what someone thought it might be, it was evident that it was strange,
different, unusual. Someone should have reported it to Maggie or to her.

Amy pulled up Ashley’s nightgown and saw that the bite marks on her
breasts were still visible, but less so. The bruises on her thighs were fainter, but
detectable. She didn’t know why, but she took pictures of her breasts and thighs to
document the continued evidence of the abuse. She felt that she had to substantiate
the fading physical evidence of the abuse before it totally disappeared if it ever did.

She decided to tell Ashley what was going to happen even though she knew
that Ashley wouldn’t understand. Or would she? Amy honestly didn’t know
anymore. She felt she owed it to Ashley to treat her as if she had a functioning
brain. She’d seen traces of an awareness that seemed unbelievable given her
history.

She held Ashley’s hand as she whispered in her ear.

“Ashley love, can you hear me?”

There was no trace of a response. No flutter of her eyelashes, no twitch of
her fingers, no quickening of her breathing. Nothing.

“I’m going to tell everyone about the terrible thing that happened to you.
There will be lots of people coming around to examine you. They might even try to
get you to talk, but I know you won’t. People will think I’m crazy saying that I

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communicated with you. But I’m hoping that there are some who will believe me.
We know the truth though – you did talk to me. You do know what happened. Oh,
how I wish you didn’t. But since you know who did this to you, you have to keep
helping me. I know that bu was your way of telling me something. I just have to
figure out what it means.

Oh Ashley, I can’t begin to understand what you must have felt when that
animal attacked you. I know how I as a normal woman would have reacted. I’d be
damaged for life as I know you are. Oh my Ashley, I wish I could do something to
help you. No one could have prevented the rape, but we must prevent this animal
from doing this again.

And your poor David and Courtney will suffer most. They’ll be devastated. I
wish I didn’t have to do this to you or to them, but I can’t cover this up. I couldn’t
live with myself if I didn’t report this. We must find out who did this to you and
punish him. We must get justice. I feel like that has to be my goal in life now. To
get justice for what was done to you, for how you were violated.

You know I never believed in the death penalty, but I’m not sure how I feel
about it now. Maybe your rapist should be put to death for murdering the Ashley
who was almost dead, killed by Alzheimer’s. I really don’t know what’s crueler –
rape or Alzheimer’s. But the two together are the most horrible things imaginable.

By doing the right thing for you, I may be doing the wrong thing for David
and Courtney. If I didn’t report this, they wouldn’t know what happened, and they
would go on with their lives. They would struggle with your dementia, but not
your rape. It’s so hard to say that word - rape. Next to the word murder, it’s the
ugliest word in our language. Their memories of you will be forever tainted by
that. I don’t think they’ll ever be able to remember the good things. Ashley, the
loving mother and wife and successful professional will be buried forever.

Ashley, I can’t let that evil pervert get away with this. He might do it again
to somebody else. Sexual abuse is not a one-time thing. It goes on and on. There
must be justice even if the price paid by your family is so high. I realize why
people don’t always report abuse. I feel like a courtroom judge. I’ve made
decisions that will impact on so many people’s lives. I ask myself: Amy, who
made you judge and jury? And then I say God because He tells me that this is the
right thing to do even though my family and yours will be damaged.”

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And then Amy recited her favorite psalm – the 23rd which she often said
once a day, and even more when there was stress or sadness in her life. It guided
her when she was at a crossroads and it calmed her with God’s love.

She held Ashley’s hand tightly as she fervently whispered in her ear.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still
waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his
name’s sake.

She stopped to digest the meaning of this. She knew that He was leading her
on the path of righteousness by reporting the tragedy. She knew he was guiding her
to get justice for Ashley.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil: for thou art with me; they rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Amy stopped again. She had a premonition that there would be death in the
future, but she didn’t know whose death it would be. She even considered that it
might be her. Maybe the rapist would learn of her role and want to punish her by
killing her. Then she discarded this outrageous thought before another outrageous
thought popped into her consciousness. Maybe she would kill the rapist for
punishment and to get justice. She shut her eyes to push this thought out of her
mind. She couldn’t conceive of herself as being capable of violence no matter the
circumstances. Amy had always thought of herself as gentle and peaceful,
incapable of violence. She suspected she was wrong and that somewhere very deep
inside her there was a well of violence waiting to erupt.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

She knew that goodness would follow her, but she wasn’t sure about mercy.
She felt no mercy for the rapist.

Amy kissed Ashley on the forehead and grasped her hand tightly.

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“I know God is with me. I know I’m doing the right thing.

I wish He had been with you to protect you from the rapist. But we can’t
know why God allows rape to happen or why He allows Alzheimer’s to happen.
These are challenges He gives us and we must meet them.”

At 7:50 Amy went to Mike’s office, trying to avoid other staff because she
knew that she couldn’t cover up her anxiety. She was shaking violently and feared
that she might topple over. She was sweating so profusely, she thought that she
might even leave a trail of water.

As soon as Amy entered Mike’s office, he shut the door and began the
conversation. He knew something critical had occurred, and he didn’t want to
waste time on small talk.

“I’m not going to start off with any niceties. Just tell me why you’re here.
What happened? I know it’s something very important or you would never have
arranged to meet like this. And you wouldn’t be all dressed up.”

Amy took out her notes and her phone.

“My husband, Keith, and I wrote notes on what I should say so I would be
sure to include everything that happened. I also brought along some of the
evidence for what I’m going to tell you.”

When Amy said the word ‘evidence,’ Mike winced as if he’d been struck. It
confirmed his fears of a major legal issue.

They sat across from each other. Mike stared at the top of Amy’s head as she
read from her iPad. Amy began her description of the tragedy. It was made easier
by the script which she read verbatim. This would be the first of many such
descriptions she would give. Next to the police, then the higher echelon
administrative staff of Shady Oaks, state health department investigators, various
law enforcement agencies, and other countless ears that needed to hear what
happened from the witness, not the witness to the crime, but the witness to the
evidence of the crime. In her early presentations, she read from her script to make
sure she included everything that needed to be said. After repeated recitations, she
memorized everything. The words for the ugly deeds became permanently carved
in her memory bank and on her vocal cords.

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Mike listened intently to Amy. When she showed him the photos, he sobbed
loudly, and said, “How could this have happened? Ashley, you poor baby.
Fortunately, you didn’t know what was happening. Sweet Jesus please keep her
locked away and not aware of what happened then or what will happen now. Oh
Jesus, I’m sorry we failed to keep her safe. Please, please forgive us.”

Mike put his face in his hands and wept loudly. He repeatedly asked Jesus
for forgiveness.

Amy was encouraged by Mike’s response. She thought he might have been
primarily concerned about the damage to Shady Oaks’ reputation or potential legal
problems. But his first and sole concern was for Ashley. Eventually that would
change somewhat as legal factors became important, but he always continued to be
people-oriented and put the welfare of Ashley and her family first. Mike was a
good man. Tragedies like this bring out the goodness in most people, and the
meanness and selfishness in a few.

When Amy showed Mike the pictures, he recoiled with horror and again
cried uncontrollably.

“What will happen to the Bennett family? They’ll be devastated. Losing her
to dementia at such a young age and now losing her to rape. Twice cursed. Jesus,
what can we do to help them? I don’t know if Courtney can survive this. I’m really
afraid for her. I hope she doesn’t have a complete breakdown or try to kill herself.
Jesus. Jesus.”

At the end of her planned speech when Amy talked about communicating
with Ashley, Mike’s reaction changed. His face expressed skepticism and doubt.

“Amy, I’m sorry but I can’t believe that Ashley communicated with you. I
know she’s been in a vegetative state for months. I’ve seen her many times, and I
know what she’s like. It’s impossible. I think you imagined this, especially since
you didn’t see her lips move. You were shocked by the abuse. Nobody can
communicate without talking. Speech can’t radiate from a body. That’s incredible.
That’s science fiction.

Amy, I don’t think you should mention this. I think this makes you look
crazy. We’ll have enough people doubting that the abuse actually happened

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without involving the nuts who’ll say this was the devil talking through Ashley,
just like in the Exorcist. I don’t want you to mention this.”

“Mike, I have to mention everything that happened even if it seems crazy. I
won’t withhold anything especially our communicating with each other.”

As she said this, she was aware of the fact that she was lying. She was
withholding Amy’s Good Friday communication when she asked for help. She
quickly banished this from her consciousness.

“There’s something horrible about her saying bu when I asked her who did
this to her. It means she was aware of the abuse and she might even know who did
it. That’s horrifying. I’d rather believe it’s a stranger, but it might not be.”

Amy spoke these words with crippling pain in her voice. Her eyes
overflowed with thick tears that wouldn’t stop.

“I need to tell the police everything, especially her saying that bu did this.
That might be important.”

Amy stared deeply into Mike’s eyes. “Mike, you can’t tell me what to say. I
know what I experienced and I’m going to tell the truth no matter what. I know
that it makes me look crazy, but I can’t hide this. God is guiding me. I have to do
what He tells me to do, and He tells me to share everything that happened -
everything.”

Mike paused, shocked by her independent resolve and strength. He knew he
couldn’t stop her from doing what she thought was right, especially if she believed
that God was on her side.

“Mike, there’s something else I want to mention. It’s not related to the rape,
but to the care we’re giving. I checked on Ashley this morning when I came in.
Her nightgown and diaper had been changed so people must have seen the bites
and bruises. They either ignored them or didn’t know what they meant or refused
to admit to themselves what they meant. Why didn’t someone else report this? I
suppose the abuse workshop didn’t make much of a difference in the long-run.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. That brings up lots of other issues about our
care and there might be some heads that roll because of that. I’m sure mine will
eventually roll. I suppose I’m responsible in the long run. Like Harry Truman said,
“The buck stops here.”

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As he said this, he banged his hand firmly on his desk.

“Maybe your head won’t roll because you reported this and there can’t be
any indication of retaliation against you. Oh, that’s all in the future. Let’s just solve
this rape first. That has to be the top priority. God only knows what other problems
will arise.

Oh, I forget to mention the diaper she was wearing. It was in the trash in her
room. I forgot to take it out so it was collected. It might have some evidence. Do
you know where it might be? Could we get it?”

“I don’t know. We’ll talk to the police about that and if we need it and how
we could possibly get it, which I doubt.”

Amy saw Mike visibly change before her eyes. He seemed to have aged
twenty years since she walked into the office an hour earlier. Then he was a
friendly, easy-going, young guy of 35 who was overjoyed about his engagement.
He was always smiling and joking with the staff and patients. It would be a very
long time before he smiled or joked again. Now he looked like a stressed, tense
middle-aged man of 55. He looked like Atlas carrying the weight of the world on
his shoulders.

Amy asked, “So what do we do now?”

“First thing I need to do is contact the police and then I’ll contact my boss
and she’ll start the ball rolling to alert the higher-ups. They’ll know the procedures
we need to follow.”

Mike picked up the phone and called the police department which he had on
speed-dial. He identified himself and asked to speak to Chief Brown because of an
emergency. He was put on hold while they tried to contact him.

While they waited, Mike said, “Amy, I’m going to put you on paid leave
indefinitely. I know you won’t be able to work with what will be happening around
here and what will happen to your life.”

Amy hadn’t thought beyond the next 10 minutes, so she was relieved at his
consideration. She and Keith needed both their salaries to meet their living
expenses.

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“Mike, that would be great. Thanks so much. We’re in for some very
difficult times, but I think you’ll be able to handle this. You’re a strong, moral
man.”

“Thank you for your kind words. I wish I had your confidence in me.”

When the chief came on the phone, Mike said, “Chief, this is Mike Wells,
the Director over at Shady Oaks. I’ve just been made aware of a case of sexual
abuse against one of our dementia patients. The nurse reporting the attack has hard
evidence.

Do you want us to come down to the station or do you want to come here?...

Okay. We’ll see you in 30 minutes….

No. we won’t discuss this with anyone. Oh wait, should I call my boss?...

Okay, I’ll wait until after we’ve met.”

He put down the phone and stared ahead as if awaiting the hangman’s noose.

Chapter 10

During the 30-minute wait for Chief Brown’s arrival, Amy and Mike were
silent, lost in their ominous, hazy fears of what was coming. They both took time
to go to the bathroom because they knew that once the police came, there would be
no time for anything other than official business. Amy examined her face in the
mirror. She had never before seen the face she wore now. It looked as if the words
apprehension and resolve were captioned on her cheeks. The sweet, simple Amy
had morphed into someone else. She wasn’t sure who.

Gloria, the receptionist, knocked on the door to announce Chief Brown.
What an imposing figure Randall Brown cast. Interestingly, he was black so
having the name Brown was humorous, but Brown was not a man who found
humor in much of anything. He was 6’4” and muscular. His presence filled the
room. Everyone called him Randall, even people who knew him well. No one
called him Randy. Not even when he was a child. He was respected, admired, and
even feared because he was competent, fair, and relentless in his pursuit of the
truth.

He was accompanied by two people, Helen Moore, the detective who headed
the sex crimes unit, and Phil German, the detective who would lead the Bennett

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investigation. Moore was a forty-year-old woman with prematurely white hair who
exuded an aura of support and understanding, much like a grandmother. She was
especially effective at relating to sexual abuse victims, making them feel protected,
and more importantly, believed. German, a surprisingly young man of 33, was
short and stocky, and exuded a sense of self-assurance.

After introductions were made, everyone sat. No one accepted Mike’s offer
of coffee or water.

Brown started the conversation. “All right Mr. Wells, please tell us
everything from the very beginning.”

“Mrs. Peterson, Amy here, called me on Friday to tell me that she had
something very important to tell me. I was in Philadelphia at my engagement party,
so we decided to delay her telling me until this morning. She then told me what
happened to Ashley Bennett, one of our patients with advanced early-onset
dementia. She described her experiences and shared evidence with me.”

Chief Brown then turned his laser stare to Amy.

“Mrs. Peterson, please tell us exactly what you told Mr. Wells. I’m going to
tape you so that we have a guide for starting our investigation. Tomorrow we’ll
video you in a more formal interview at the station.”

“That’s fine. You can see that I’m very nervous because I’ve never dealt
with the police before. I’ve never even got a speeding ticket.”

Amy’s hands shook as she looked at the script on her iPad. She was so glad
that she had prepared a written statement. She knew that if she had to speak on an
impromptu basis, she would omit important facts.

Mike said, “Before she starts, let me tell you a little about Amy so you’ll
appreciate the significance of what she has to say. Amy’s worked here for five
years. She’s probably the most respected and trusted nurse on staff so when she
makes an accusation like this, we have no doubt about the truth of the matter.”

Brown smiled politely at Amy, and said, “I appreciate knowing this about
you.”

Then Amy read from her script the description of what had happened. She
showed him the photos on her phone and told him that she also had copies on

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Keith’s phone and the cloud so they wouldn’t get lost. She told him that she would
get the nightgown from her locker after they finished. As she spoke, her
nervousness decreased, and she seemed more in control of the interview.

Brown, Moore, and German listened with rapt attention and refrained from
asking questions. However, when Amy described Ashley talking to her, they
couldn’t suppress their disbelief.

Brown interjected, “Excuse me Amy, are you absolutely sure that she spoke
to you?”

“I’m absolutely sure. I think she spoke, but not in the usual way. I know this
sounds crazy and I hope you won’t think I’m some sort of nut because I’m not. I’m
really the most normal person in the world. That’s why this experience with her is
so jarring. My life is totally normal. I don’t have experiences like this.”

Brown tried to hide his skepticism when she described how Ashley
communicated with her. Up to that point, her description had been lucid and totally
believably. But now, he didn’t know what to think because she seemed to be a
rational person who wasn’t the type to imagine supernatural things. On the other
hand, she had just witnessed evidence of a horrible rape so perhaps the trauma let
her imagination run wild. He was unsure what to believe. He had to suspend
judgment for now.

After 30 minutes, Amy was finished. It was as if she had completed a
marathon. She took several deep breaths and gulped down a bottle of water.

Brown said, “Is there anything else?”

“Yes. I’d forgotten about her diaper. I was reminded about it because I saw
her wearing a diaper when I visited her this morning. She wasn’t wearing a diaper
when I saw her on Monday. I checked her garbage can and I saw it stuffed in there.
I should have taken it out, but I didn’t. I don’t know where it is now. It’s probably
someplace with old trash or in the landfill. I hope it doesn’t contain evidence, like
maybe sperm.”

“I’m glad you remembered that. It may be important. We’ll have Mike look
into the possibility of tracking it down. But with so many diapers collected over the
past ten days, I’m doubtful we’ll find the exact one.”

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And he was proven right. They were never able to track down that diaper
from the land fill where it had been dumped. Fortunately, the other evidence they
had was more important and would prove critical.

“I don’t think we’ll ask you any questions now Mrs. Peterson. I think it’s
best that we see Ashley before we go any further.”

They went to the memory care unit. As Mike punched in the passcode,
German said, “We’ll want to ask you about security, especially the people who
have access to the passcode and if the security is ever turned off and if there are
any cameras around.”

As they walked down the hall, the staff stared at the entourage of police and
staff. Maggie came running and asked, “What’s going on Mike?”

“I’ll tell you all about this later. I’m taking the police to Ashley’s room. Just
wait outside until I can brief you.”

The police noted that Ashley’s room was at the far end of one of the
corridors next to an exit door. They also noted that there was a security camera
aimed at the door and another aimed up the corridor.

Mike asked, “Do you want me to give you any specific information on
Ashley now?”

Brown replied, “No. Let’s just take a look at her and her room.”

When they entered, Amy said, “Hi Ashley. You have some visitors today.
Of course, you know your old friend Mike. This is Chief Brown, Detective
German, and Detective Moore. They’re from the police.

How are you feeling today hon?”

Then Amy kissed Ashley’s cheek as she squeezed her hand.

Ashley was totally unresponsive. She stared blankly into space. Her eyes
showed no engagement with the outside world. They looked like a doll’s glass eyes
stuck in the open position.

Moore asked, “Is this how Ashley usually is?”

“Yes. She’s always like this except for the time she answered my question
about who did this to her, and she said bu.”

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“Do you always talk to her?”

“Of course. I talk to all my patients no matter their status. I want them to
know I’m here for them. I want to relate to them just in case they can understand
me. You just never know with dementia patients.”

The police asked about each of the pictures of Ashley and her family
covering the walls. Then Mike described Ashley’s life before she developed
Alzheimer’s and her present family situation.

Helen said, “She was a beautiful woman. It’s hard to believe the Ashley we
see now is the same Ashley in the pictures. What a cruel disease.”

Brown said, “I think you should put security cameras in here as soon as
possible. I know it’s like locking the barn after the horse, but we have to make sure
no one, including the rapist, tries to make contact with her once this becomes
public. We’ll also want to talk to your boss about security cameras for the facility
since I only saw the ones at the exit doors and the ones in the parking lot. Mike, do
you have cameras anyplace else?”

“Yes. I’ll show you them later. But I should tell you that they were all out
for a while after we had that terrible electrical storm on Good Friday. We had
electricians come in over the weekend to repair the cameras, the security system,
and all the lights that were out.”

“How long was everything out?”

“Friday, Saturday. And part of Sunday. Everything was back in working
order by Monday.”

Brown turned to Amy and said, “Amy, we can’t put this off any longer.
Let’s see the bite marks and bruises. Please pull up her nightgown.”

Amy gently pulled up Ashley’s nightgown and pointed to the bite marks and
bruises. The atmosphere in the room became even more somber. It was as if
everyone was looking at a dead body at an autopsy. Here was the undeniable
evidence that Ashley had been cruelly sexually abused.

“I see they’re still visible. We’ll take pictures of them later. We’ll have our
forensic people examine her to get information on the bites and to see if there’s any
evidence of penetration even after all this time. The nightgown also might have

73

some evidence, some sperm or DNA. I’m glad you kept it and didn’t wash it or
discard it. Hopefully, we can approximate the date the abuse took place based on
how the marks have faded. Your photos will be helpful for that.

Please make sure no one has access to this room or anything that belongs to
Ashley. We’ll be placing a policeman outside her door later and we’ll also install a
camera in here.

I think it would be wise for us to talk to the staff now since they obviously
know something happened with Ashley. Later we’ll want to get individual
statements from each of them and get their fingerprints and DNA.

Amy, would you get the nightgown now. We need to have it in our custody
as soon as possible.”

As soon as Amy left the room, staff members ran to her and bombarded her
with questions. She ignored them and got the nightgown from her locker.

Mike said, “I think we should assemble the memory care staff in the social
area in this unit so we can respond to any calls from patients. I’ll talk to Maggie
about how we’re going to do this. Maggie is the supervisor. I’ll also get Bailey
Schifflett, our head nurse, and Wendy Randall, our social worker. We’ll inform the
rest of the staff later.”

Mike arranged the chairs in the social area and asked one of the aides to put
up a large fresh pot of coffee and put out bottles of water.

Amy returned with the plastic bag containing Ashley’s nightgown. It reeked
of vomit and feces, especially after having been stored in the closed bag for over a
week. Chief Brown asked Amy to put it in several other bags to lessen the putrid
smell.

Once everyone was assembled, Mike told them the purpose of the meeting
and introduced the police.

“I have terrible news to share with you. I know this is hard to believe, but
Ashley Bennett was sexually abused. We don’t know when this happened, and we
don’t know who did it. Amy found out when she was changing her nightgown after
she threw up and had diarrhea last week during the flu outbreak. When she took off
her nightgown, she found bite marks on her breasts and bruises on her thighs.”

74

“Oh my God, I saw them. I didn’t even think about what they meant with all
the craziness going on here last week,” Juanita screamed as she sobbed.

“The last thing I would have thought was that she’d been raped. I just never
thought about what I saw. I was blind to what was so clear to see. Oh my God,
maybe if I said something earlier, we could have caught this piece of shit.”

Chief Brown said, “Don’t blame yourself. There’s nothing you could have
done. We’ll want to get details on when you first noticed this and anything else
you saw.”

Several of the staff cried silently and others sobbed loudly. All were visibly
overcome with emotion. Some prayed. Several said Ashley’s name over and over.

Maggie fondled the cross she wore around her neck, and said, “God, forgive
us for not protecting Ashley. We will live with the guilt over this for the rest of our
lives.”

Mike said, “I’m sure you have lots of questions, but I want the police to
handle everything from now on.

This is Chief Brown, the Police Chief. This is Detective Moore, head of the
Sex Crimes Division. And this is Detective German who will lead the
investigation.

Chief Brown.”

“Thanks Mike. I really appreciate your professionalism and total
cooperation. I know how hard this is for all of you and it’s going to get a lot
harder. It’s something you never imagined happening here at Shady Oaks. No one
could.

First, I need to caution you about talking about the case. We are just at step
one of our investigation, so we want you NOT to share what you learn or what you
think about the case with the media because this will be sensational with
widespread coverage. If you say anything even if you think it’s not important, it
might hinder our investigation and I know that’s the last thing you want.
Obviously, you can talk with your family, especially since you’ll need their
support in getting through these hard times. But even with your family, be careful
what you tell them. If possible, just share the facts we give you. And ask your
family not to share what they learn.

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We’ll be speaking to each of you individually so if you have anything you
want to say, feel free to do so. Everything will be confidential. We need every bit
of information or advice you can give us. We’ll also be taking your fingerprints
and your DNA. We’ll be doing this for anyone who has entered Shady Oaks in the
last three weeks.

This is a terrible, terrible tragedy.”

Chief Brown bowed his head as if he were praying for strength to continue.
He was obviously overcome with the gravity of what had happened.

“We haven’t spoken to the Bennett family yet. We will do that right after our
meeting. As you can imagine, they will be devastated. I also don’t know what they
will decide to do in terms of keeping Ashley here or moving her elsewhere.

I’m sure David’s background as a lawyer may also come into play. The three
of us have worked with David on cases in the past. He’s a good man. I know how
much he loves Ashley and how totally devastated he’ll be.

Detective German will get statements from you as soon as we get more
information on a timeline so we can approximate when this might have happened
and if it happened more than once. Hopefully, it didn’t happen to anyone else. We
need you to check everyone on the unit to make sure this only happened to Ashley.
We’ll probably talk to each of you several times. We will always record our
conversations.

I’m also going to talk to Mike about getting you some psychological help if
you think you need it. It’s normal for people to react to traumatic situations like
this by reaching out for help. You also might want to get help from your minister
or your priest.

I know you have questions, but I don’t know if I can answer them now. If
there is anything you can tell us before we start our investigation, please share it
now. If you want to do it privately, please call any one of us. Here are our cards
with all our contact information. I can’t emphasize enough that we desperately
need your help. You may have vital information that will help us solve this horrible
crime and you may not even realize it.”

As the meeting was breaking up, Maggie asked, “When can we tell our
families?”

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Chief Brown replied, “This will be in the papers and on TV by tomorrow so
you can tell your families when you get home. Tell them what we’ve told you.
There’s not much else to say since we haven’t started our investigation yet. Just
don’t tell anybody until after 5:00. I want the Bennett family to get the information
from us before they get it from the media or the grapevine in town.”

Mike escorted Amy and the police back to his office. The staff started
talking excitedly to each other. There would be no other topic of conversation for
a long time.

Brown said, “I’m going to contact David now. I’ll see if he can come down
here as soon as possible. I would rather talk to him here than at the station or his
home. I think he’ll want to see Ashley.

Mike, is it okay if we talk to him in your office first and then go see
Ashley?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Mike, I think you should call him. Just tell him there’s a serious problem
here.”

“And Amy, obviously you should be here to share what happened. The
family will need your support more than ever now.”

Mike called David’s office and found that he was available.

“David, something has happened with Ashley. Can you come here as soon
as possible?”

“Is she dead?”

“No. I can’t talk on the phone.”

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

Chapter 11

While they waited, the police used their cell phones to conduct business that
they had put on hold and to inform others who needed to know about what had
happened. Mike and Amy discussed how they thought the meeting with the staff
had gone. They both talked about how they might consult with Diane Frankel, the
Shady Oaks psychologist, for the staff and for themselves.

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In 10 minutes, David arrived at Shady Oaks. He had dropped everything at
the office because he was certain that Ashley was dying or had died. He had run all
the way from his car and was frantic. When he entered Mike’s office, he was
surprised to find the police there. He knew each of them from cases they had
worked on in the past.

Before he was through the door, he looked at Mike and said, “What
happened? Is Ashley dead?”

Then he looked at the three police and asked, “What are you doing here?”

His gaze lingered on Helen, wondering why someone from the Sex Crimes
Division was present.

Mike responded, “I have something terrible to tell you and I won’t try to
sugar coat it, even if it was possible. Sit down David.”

Mike steeled himself to utter the most life-shattering words he had ever
spoken to anyone, something he could never have imagined himself saying. His
voice shook as he uttered the dreaded words. “Ashley was sexually abused. She
was raped.”

David looked as if he had been hit by a bullet. Confusion and horror
engulfed his face. He had been so sure that Ashley had died. Well, she had died,
but not in the way he’d expected.

He was dumbstruck. “What are you talking about? How could that have
happened? She’s in a secure institution. That’s impossible.”

Chief Brown said, “David, Amy is the one who reported this, so we’ll start
out with her statement and then I’ll take it from there.”

Amy choked back tears as she hugged David. “I’m going to tell you some of
the ugliest things you’ll ever hear. I know you’ve heard some pretty horrible
things in your profession, but nothing this bad. But before I do, I want you to know
how much we all care about Ashley, Courtney, and you. We love you like family.

I’m going to explain everything from the start.”

Amy read from her notes as she described the horrific event. When she got
to the pictures, David held her phone as if he were actually touching Ashley. When
Amy took the bag with the nightgown out of the heavier bags, the smell engulfed

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the room causing everyone to recoil from the stench. It was inescapable until she
returned it to the heavier bags, and even then, there was a lingering olfactory
reminder of the crime. The putrid smell matched the putrid crime.

After Amy described how Ashley said bu, she said, “David, I know you may
not believe that she communicated with me. I even wonder if it happened, but at
the same time I know it did.”

David interrupted her. “Amy, I believe it. You had a loving relationship with
Ashley. It was special. I think she knew you loved her even from behind the walls
of dementia. I think she may have wanted you to help her. You were the only one
who could. But now that we all know what happened, we have to focus on one
thing only and that’s getting this animal who did this to her. We need to get justice
for Ashley.”

David changed from a man who was overwhelmed with grief to a man who
was gathering strength to dedicate himself to getting justice for his wife. David
listened with two different ears – one the loving husband and the other the criminal
lawyer who analyzed the evidence he was hearing.

Amy felt relief that someone believed her, and most importantly David, the
man who loved Ashley more than anyone. Amy noticed a change on the faces of
the others in the room. They no longer looked dubiously at Amy. They showed the
beginnings of believing that Ashley indeed had communicated with her.

When Amy finished, Mike told David what he had done as soon as he was
apprised of the abuse.

Then Chief Brown took over. “I know you have lots of questions. We all do.
But I want to lay out a plan for protecting Ashley and your family now and a
tentative plan for the investigation. I want your input at every step, both because
you’re Ashley’s husband and because you have a good legal mind.

First, I want to install a camera in Ashley’s room and post a guard at her
door. We have to protect her in case the perp wants to do her more harm.”

David hurriedly said, “Good. Good. But before we go any farther, I need to
see my Ashley. Amy, will you go with me? I know how much you loved Ashley
and our family. I think we’ll need you more than ever now.”

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Amy took David’s arm as they walked to Ashley’s room. They looked like
they were going to a funeral to view a dead body, and in a way they were.

When they entered, David rushed to Ashley and kissed her face as he
repeated, “I love you, my Ashley. Please forgive me for not protecting you. I pray
that you didn’t know what happened. I pray that your dementia protected you from
this cruelty. But at the same time, if you do know who did this to you, I hope what
you said will help us bring this animal to justice.”

Then he howled her name over and over. “Ashley, Ashley, Ashley. I thought
God gave you the worst punishment possible, but He gave you something worse
than Alzheimer’s. Why God? Why God? Why are you punishing her? What did
she do to deserve this? Why are you punishing Courtney and me?”

Then he pulled up her nightgown and examined the faint, but still visible,
bruises and bite marks. He gently moved his fingertips over the wounds as if he
were a faith healer who could erase their existence.

“Ashley, I’m not going to cry anymore. I have to be strong for Courtney
now. But after the animal who did this is caught, I will cry. I will cry for the rest of
my life. There will be no end to my tears. They will fill an ocean. This is a worse
tragedy than your Alzheimer’s. This is the worst violation of a person I’ve ever
witnessed.”

He took Ashley’s hand and spoke directly to her. “I know I couldn’t protect
you from what happened, but I will do my best to get justice. I won’t rest until I
see this animal locked up for the rest of his life.”

Then David took a crucifix from his pocket, kissed it, and prayed quietly. He
looked upward as he whispered pleas for Ashley to be protected from further harm,
for Courtney to find strength in God and family, and for himself to find the abuser
and ensure that he is given the punishment he deserves. He also knew that he might
be overwhelmed by the tragedy and neglect Courtney. He had to make sure that
that didn’t happen, that he was with her to help her cope with the biggest challenge
of her young life. He wasn’t sure she could survive this. He knew she was fragile,
and this might cause her to shatter.

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David gently kissed Ashley on the forehead and said, “Good-bye my
beloved Ashley. I’m so sorry I couldn’t protect you. I will never get over the guilt I
feel.”

As they walked back to Mike’s office, David took Amy’s hand and squeezed
it tightly. “I’m glad you’re the one who found the abuse. You handled this so well.
You’ve been like an angel sent from God.”

Amy clenched her teeth to prevent the emotions bottled up within her from
escaping. She couldn’t speak but she squeezed David’s hand in response.

When they got to Mike’s office, the police outlined their initial plan of
action.

Brown said, “We’ll secure Ashley’s room and the entire memory care unit.
We’ll collect the video from all the security cameras for the past three weeks;
however, the Good Friday storm caused an outage of all the cameras and much of
the electrical system so we probably don’t have the most important video footage.
We’ll take DNA and fingerprints of all staff and visitors. We’ll get the list of
visitors for the last three weeks and decide who we need to follow up with. We’ll
have forensic specialists examine Ashley to find any residual evidence of the
abuse. We’ll get whatever evidence we can from her nightgown. Hopefully, there
will be some usable DNA.

We’re going to have a hard time controlling the media. This is quite a
sensational story, so they’ll be all over you and everyone who works here. Rape in
a secure setting like this is a story in and of itself, but the tragic figure of Ashley
and David, you as a prominent attorney in town just make this all the more
attractive. Please, please try to speak cautiously. We don’t want any leaks of
unauthorized information.

Here are our contact numbers. If you think of anything you want to share,
call any one of us at any time of the day or night.”

Mike took David’s hands and said, “David, I want to express my deepest
sympathy for what happened to our Ashley. Ashley isn’t just a patient here. You
know that we all love her like family. I feel a personal loss. I failed her. We all
failed her.”

He hugged David as he fought back tears.

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“Thanks so much Mike. This isn’t your fault. I don’t want you to feel
responsible for what happened.

Chief, I know you’ll do everything in your power to get the bastard. I want
you to know I’m here to help in any way, but I don’t want to interfere. That’ll be
hard for me.

Even though you haven’t really started the investigation, I have one
question. When do you think this happened?”

Brown replied. “Some time over Easter weekend, but not on Good Friday
because Amy changed her nightgown and diaper before she left at 7 AM on
Saturday morning and she didn’t see any signs of abuse then. She checked her
several times Friday night because she knew Ashley was terrified when the lights
went out. The first time she went to her room when some of the lights were out,
she found Ashley totally freaked out. She was staring ahead and shaking. Amy had
seen that reaction from her previously when it was dark.

I think Ashley was probably attacked over the weekend because the
cameras were down and many of the lights were out. Amy changed her Tuesday
morning before she left at 7 AM and that’s when she found the signs of the abuse.
We have to do a careful time analysis to try to pinpoint the time more exactly. But
I’m sure it happened sometime Saturday or Sunday. On Monday the flu outbreak
started and there were too many people around, so I don’t think it happened then. I
also don’t think anyone noticed the abuse because of what was going on with the
flu.”

David said, “We visited Ashley on Easter Sunday at about 4:00. We’d gone
to church and then out for lunch. All the lights were on when we visited so the
electricity had been fixed. She was her usual self. Unresponsive, but she wasn’t
frozen in that terror state. I don’t recall noticing anything about her nightgown.
Wait. When I think of it, she was covered with a blanket which was pulled up to
her neck. It was like she was covered because she was cold. We didn’t move it. We
just left her the way she was. We must have spent about an hour praying with her
and talking to her. We left at about 5:00 because Courtney had an upset stomach. I
didn’t notice anything unusual about Ashley or her room. We kissed her and told
her how much we loved her. When I think of what had happened to her and how
ignorant we were of it, I feel sick. Could we have made a difference if we had seen

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her body? But why would we look at her body? We never did. In fact, we avoided
seeing her naked. It was too painful to see how she’d wasted away.

I’m going to call Elena Gonzalez, Courtney’s therapist, and arrange for her
to be with me when I tell Courtney and my mother.

I’d like you to be there too Amy. She trusts you. You’re one of the few
people who can get through to her. Can you plan to come to my house at about 10
tomorrow morning? I’ll call you and finalize the time after I talk to Elena. I don’t
want to do it today because I don’t think I can handle it. I’ll let Courtney and my
mom have their last night of sleep without nightmares of Ashley being raped. It’ll
be many years before they can sleep peacefully again.”

He hugged Amy, and said, “Thank you for all you’ve done for Ashley and
all of us. You’re really part of our family. You’re Ashley’s fairy godmother. You
always try to protect her.”

“Except this time, I failed.”

Amy choked back tears and hugged David. He pulled away and rushed out
so he could let his emotions erupt privately.

The police shook hands with everyone and left.

Mike said, “Amy, thanks for all you’ve done and all the stuff you’re about to
face. Wish I could make it easier, but I can’t.

Now I have to call my boss who will call her boss until it hits the CEO of the
corporation. This will be a test of how far I go in this field. If I handle this the way
they want me to handle it, I’ll be okay. But if I handle this in a way that I think is
right, and they don’t, then this might be the end of my career.”

“Mike, I know you’ll do the right thing and that means that you’ll be able to
live with yourself and respect yourself for the rest of your life.”

“First, I’m going to tell Sherry and then the rest of the staff. Wish me luck.”

Chapter 12

When Amy got home, she was mentally and emotionally drained. She called
Teri and told her that something terrible had happened at work and that she didn’t
want to talk to her or Tammy, and to tell Tammy that she was sick. She told her

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that she would tell her everything later. She went straight to her room and laid in
bed staring at the ceiling, trying to process what had happened and plan what she
would say to Courtney and David’s mother, Jeanette.

After a few minutes, Keith came into the room. He sat on the edge of the bed
and asked, “Do you want to talk?”

Amy looked into Keith’s eyes and said, “Yes.” She proceeded to tell him
about her day not omitting any detail. As she spoke, Keith wrote her words on the
iPad so there would be verification of everything that transpired. When she
finished, they hugged. She felt Keith’s strength penetrate her skin.

“I’m going to the Bennetts tomorrow along with Elena Gonzalez, Courtney’s
therapist. This may be the hardest thing I have to do. How can I describe this
abomination? It’s impossible to water down the ugliness of this. I know
Courtney’s been suicidal for a while. She couldn’t handle Ashley’s Alzheimer’s.
Now there’s a double whammy – her Alzheimer’s and rape. Sometimes I think we
should try to hide the rape from Courtney, but it would be impossible. I just wish
we could hide it until she was stronger emotionally, but that day may never come.

How can we stop her from trying to kill herself after she hears about this?
I’m so afraid, Keith. How can I do this? I’m not a trained therapist.”

“But you’re a loving, sensitive person who will somehow give Courtney
hope. It won’t be now, but it will be in the future. She needs your strength.”

“I need my strength. I hope God and you to help me find it.

At 10 tomorrow morning I’m going with Courtney’s therapist to tell her.
They think that I’ll help the situation. I don’t see how. I keep thinking about how
she’ll react. I hear her screaming. I’m petrified. I’m sure I’ll mess up and do
something wrong.”

“You won’t mess up. If anybody can do this, you can.”

Amy stayed in her room for the rest of the day. Keith brought her soup, tea,
and toast which she devoured since she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She had a
restless night. In the morning, her bed looked as if she’d been in a wrestling match.
She showered for a long while, hoping to somehow prewash the sweat that she
knew would coat her.

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Elena called and asked if Amy could meet her at the Bennett house at 11:00
instead of 10:00 because she had to adjust the babysitting arrangements for her
three-year old twins.

At 10:30 Amy left for the Bennett house. She had never been there before,
but she knew where it was. The house was a large, handsome colonial style in an
upscale development.

As soon as Amy drove up and parked in the circular driveway, a Honda Pilot
with two car seats in the back pulled up behind her. It was Elena Gonzalez,
Courtney’s therapist. She was a stunning woman with thick black hair pulled into a
ponytail, blue eyes, and light brown skin. She was 45, but looked 30. When she
was eight, she had immigrated from Venezuela with her family. She learned
English quickly and excelled at school. She received her doctorate in psychology
when she was 32. Then she married, and with her husband who was also a therapist
set up a practice. Her husband was named Frederick Richter. His German heritage
was obvious not only in his name, but also his blond hair and blue eyes. They were
a striking couple with Elena showing her Hispanic background and Frederick his
Teutonic background. When she was 41, she and her husband decided they wanted
to have a child. They conceived their identical twin boys on their first try. Elena
had a loving family life married to a therapist she adored and delightful twins. Her
idyllic family life was such a contrast to the destroyed families she worked with.

She greeted Amy as she got out of her car. “Hi, you must be Amy. I’m
Elena.” She hugged Amy in such a way as to infuse her with support.

Amy said, “I am so dreading this. I’m afraid I’m going to mess things up and
make things worse.”

“Don’t worry. This will be hard on all of us, but I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

They walked arm in arm to the front door. Before they could ring the bell,
David opened the door.

“I wanted to talk to you before you saw Courtney. Oh hi. Sorry to be so rude
and not even say hello. I’m so nervous. Courtney has been talking about killing
herself since I told her that you were coming over. She knows whatever you have
to say will be bad. She just babbles and then she’s becomes quiet, almost
catatonic.”

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“We’ll tell her what happened and then I’ll take her to Treetop. I don’t think
she should be left alone, even with your mother guarding her. David, can you drive
us there? I’ve talked to the people there and they’re expecting us. You’ll need to
sign lots of papers.”

“Yes, of course.

My mother Jeanette is with her now. She’s been her 24-hour guard. She was
an emergency room nurse before she retired last year so if anybody can handle this,
it’s her. I don’t think she foresaw her retirement like this. She was planning to
travel the world, not be a guard. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

He led them into the living room. As Amy went through the house, she saw
that it was tastefully decorated. Ashley must have created this handsome house
before she became oblivious to her surroundings.

David pointed to each piece of furniture as he said, “Elena, why don’t you
sit next to Courtney on the sofa so you can hold her hand. My mom can sit on the
other side of her. Amy, sit across from her on this chair and I’ll sit on the other
chair.”

David went to the bottom of the staircase and called out for his mother. A
few minutes later Jeanette and Courtney came down. Courtney was a pretty girl
who looked very much like Ashley, pre-Alzheimer’s. But her prettiness was being
eroded by the emotional toll of what was happening in her life. Her face was drawn
as if her features had been pulled down in sadness. Her skin was tinted a white
pallor. She had lost weight and her clothes hung loosely, even her previously tight-
fitting jeans. She had a vacant expression, perhaps from the medications she was
taking.

Jeanette was an attractive woman who looked younger than her 70 years.
Her hair was dyed a dark brown and her face was relatively free of lines. Her years
as an emergency room nurse enabled her to be a pillar of strength. But she found
that it was easier to be strong for strangers than for the three people she loved
most.

Elena orchestrated the seating arrangement and then she hugged Courtney
tightly.

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“Courtney, something terrible happened to your mom and that’s why Amy
and I are here.”

“I know. She’s dead,” she said with finality as she looked at Amy.

Amy answered, “No. It’s not that. Something terrible happened to your
mom. Something we can’t explain. We don’t know how it was possible.”

As she prepared to speak poisonous words, she braced her body as if she
were facing an attacking animal.

“Your mom was raped. We don’t know who did it or why he picked your
mom.”

Courtney looked at her with confusion. “What are you saying? How could
she be raped? She’s protected like she’s in jail. How could this have happened?
How could anybody get in there?”

Amy said, “We don’t know how it happened, but I found evidence on her
body.”

“What kind of evidence?”

Amy realized that she’d made a mistake. She hadn’t wanted to disclose the
bite marks and bruises. Not yet. She didn’t want Courtney to visualize them. She
had wanted to delay telling her about the evidence until she was more stable.

“It doesn’t matter. The police are launching a full-scale investigation and
I’m sure they’ll find the man who did this.”

It was as if the information about the rape slowly percolated into Courtney’s
brain until she grasped its meaning.

“Why would anybody want to rape a dying scarecrow? Maybe the rapist will
find me and rape me too. He’ll take his hairy dick and stick it up my hole. Then
he’ll stick his dick in my mouth until I choke to death.”

As she spoke these horrendous words, David, Amy, Jeannette, and Elena
visibly flinched as if they’d had ice water thrown in their faces. They were
picturing the disgusting evil that Courtney was describing.

Then Courtney spewed progressively louder staccato screams. Elena tried to
hold her, but she violently shoved her away.

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“I want to die. You can’t stop me. I’m going to find a way to escape. I’ll find
a sharp knife or a razor or something. I can’t handle this. I can’t take any more
pain. My heart is breaking into pieces. I feel it.” As she said this, she clutched her
chest as if she was having a heart attack.

Elena said, “Courtney, we want to help you, but first we have to help you get
control. Dad and I are taking you to Treetop Center. It’s a place that specializes in
therapy for teens. The people there will give you the medications and therapy that
will get you through this.”

“I don’t want to get through this. I know kids who went there. None of them
got cured. I even know a girl who went there and killed herself as soon as she got
home. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll find a way no matter how you try to stop me.

I don’t want to live. I just want to die. I can’t see my mother go through any
more pain. I love her so much. I love her more than anybody in the world, even
you Dad. I adore her, or at least before Alzheimer’s. First seeing my beautiful,
intelligent, loving mom deteriorate and become a living corpse. And now picturing
her getting raped. I think it would be best if we both died. I’m sure she’ll be whole
when we’re in Heaven. Then we can be true mother and daughter again.”

She looked at each of them with pleading eyes and her hands in a praying
position. But she wasn’t praying. She was imploring them to let her die.

As Amy, David, and Jeanette watched Courtney, they were filled with
overwhelming anguish at not being able to stop her descent into total despair. They
felt totally helpless.

Jeanette said, “Courtney, let’s go upstairs and pack a bag.”

Suddenly Courtney started biting her arm drawing blood as she screamed,
“I’m going to eat myself and then I’ll die.” Then she started screaming again.

Elena pulled her arms down to her sides and said, “Courtney, I have some
new meds I want you to take now. They’ll help you.”

She took some pills from a bottle that she had in her pocket. Jeanette filled a
glass with water from a pitcher that had been on the table. Courtney gulped the
pills down as she slurped the water. Then Courtney and Jeanette went upstairs to
pack.

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David, Amy, and Elena were overwhelmed. They couldn’t talk. They were
overcome with feelings they had never felt before. Their inability to help Courtney
was paralyzing. Elena was at a loss to offer consolation. Words were superfluous.

David said, “Let’s go to the kitchen and wait for them. I need some coffee. I
really need a bottle of booze but not at noon. This has been so much worse than I
thought it would be. Not only is Courtney’s heart breaking, but so is mine. I’m
losing both of the girls in my life. I have to hold myself together until this is over.
Then I’ll probably be in mourning for the rest of my life.”

David made coffee and the three sat around the kitchen table staring into
space.

“David, my husband is a therapist who specializes in grief. When you’re
ready to talk to someone, let me know and I’ll refer you to him. I think he’ll be
able to help, but not now. Later, when things calm down.”

“Do you think they’ll ever calm down? Maybe after Ashley dies, but I don’t
know about Courtney. I don’t know how she’ll make it out of this nightmare that’s
her life. I’m so afraid that we won’t be able to protect her. She’ll either kill herself
or stay in a state of madness.”

Amy looked intently at David and said, “I don’t know if this is the time to
ask you this question, but can you think of anyone who might have wanted to do
this to Ashley?”

“No. But I can’t help but think that this person knew Ashley. If it was a
stranger, he wouldn’t have picked her. She looks like a dying witch. He might
have picked someone like that woman Beverly who is old, but still pretty. No, this
is someone who knew Ashley.”

“I think you’re right. But why would someone who knew her want to rape
her now when she’s like this?”

Just then Jeanette returned with Courtney who had washed up and combed
her hair, but still wore the same clothes. She moved sluggishly from the meds.

Amy hugged her tightly. “I know Treetop is the right place for you. They’ll
help you get through this. I can visit you if you want to talk to me. Just have
Jeanette contact me. I know that she’ll be visiting you every day. I love you and
your mom and your dad.”

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Courtney’s words were slurred making it hard to understand what she said.
“Thanks Amy. Maybe I will want you to come see me. I don’t know. It all depends
on what happens with Mom.”

They hugged and kissed, and Courtney left with Elena and David.

Amy and Jeanette talked for a bit, but it became evident that both wanted to
be alone with their thoughts and fears, so Amy hugged Jeanette and drove home to
be comforted by Keith.

Chapter 13

When Amy got home, she went directly to her bedroom and described every
aspect of her time with Courtney as Keith recorded her words on the iPad. She
tried to separate herself from her words in an unsuccessful attempt to evade the
anguish they evoked.

As soon as Amy finished dictating her experiences, she got into bed and
immediately fell into a deep sleep, almost like a drug-induced sleep. Eight hours
later she awoke energized to meet the day’s challenges which would be much less
taxing than those of the previous days. She felt invigorated knowing that she had
an overriding goal in life – to help the police catch the rapist. Even though she
wasn’t in law enforcement, she was confident that somehow she would be
instrumental in getting justice for Ashley.

Amy showered and dressed. As she was putting on makeup, she stared at
herself in the mirror. On the outside, she looked like the Amy everyone knew, even
showing a hint of a turned-up smile on her lips. On the inside though, she was
someone else. She wasn’t sure who. This experience was morphing her into
someone else. She was an unfinished product, changing with all the new
experiences she was having.

Amy ate a hearty breakfast so she would be ready for whatever the day
would bring. Her appetite was back. She was building up her reserve for her fight.

Keith had brought the morning paper in so she read it as she ate. There was
the story on the front page. Her name was mentioned as the nurse who discovered
the abuse, but nothing else about her. That was good. She wanted to avoid the
limelight. Publication of the crime allowed her to now tell everyone what had

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happened, except for Ashley saying bu. That would be information only for the
police and a few others.

She again wore “nice” clothes because she was going to the police station.
She didn’t know if there was a certain dress code since she’d never been inside a
police station before.

Amy was nervous as she entered the station where she was to meet Helen
and Phil at 1:00. First, she was fingerprinted and had a DNA sample taken by a
friendly young policewoman. She was led to an interview room with video
equipment and a large one-way mirror. So far, everything looked like the setting
for a TV police drama and she was one of the actors.

After a few minutes, Helen and Phil entered. Helen hugged Amy, and asked,
“How are you holding up?”

“Okay, but telling David and Courtney yesterday had to be one of the
hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. Although David is suffering unbearably,
he’s strong, and I think he’ll be okay for a while. But once this is finally over, I
think he’ll have issues with life-long mourning and guilt, even though he bears no
guilt. It’s the same guilt I feel for not preventing this from happening even though I
know there was nothing I could have done to prevent it. Inside me there’s a finger
pointing at me accusing me of letting the rape happen.

Courtney is another story. David placed her in a residential treatment center
yesterday. She has a wonderful therapist who’s helping the family do what’s best
for her now. Most importantly, she’s helping to keep her alive.

After I told Courtney what happened, she lost control and talked about
killing herself and even bit her arm until it bled. I’ve never seen anyone act like
that. She was raped by this animal as much as her mother was. No, she was
murdered by him. He killed the normal Courtney. It broke my heart to see this
beautiful, intelligent young girl disintegrate before my eyes. Honestly, I don’t
know if she’s going to make it.”

Amy stopped talking and lowered her head to gain control of herself so she
could go on.

“I feel relieved that it’s public now. I read the article in today’s paper. It
seemed accurate. It wasn’t sensationalized – yet. I’m going to try to limit what I

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look at. I’m certainly not going on-line because that’s where all the fake news is,
and where all the crazies hang out.”

Phil said, “The story was on local TV this morning. It’s about to go national
since the ABC affiliate here is working on a story for the national news so expect
calls for interviews.”

“I’m not going to be interviewed. I don’t know how I’ll react if Shady Oaks
or I’m blamed for what happened. I just feel too unsure about what I want to say or
do. Maybe after a while, but not now.”

Phil said, “Before we get started, I wanted you to know that Ashley was
examined by a forensic gynecologist named Dr. Patel. He affirmed that she was
sexually abused. The bite marks on her breasts were made by human teeth.
Although teeth can’t be used to identify the rapist in court. There was semen on
her nightgown, but not in her vagina. The rapist probably couldn’t enter her but he
ejaculated and left semen on her nightgown. You washed her after she had diarrhea
so if there was any semen on her body, you probably washed it off. Because of the
time element and how the nightgown was stored, we’re not sure if the DNA is
usable.. We’re working on that now.

Amy, let’s get started. I’d like you to read the statement that you gave
Monday when we first met. But first I have to give the required identifying
information for the video.”

After Amy read her statement, Helen and Phil asked several questions for
clarification.

“Amy, we’d like you to help us put together a timeline so we might identify
when this might have happened.”

“Well in a way this started with the Good Friday storm. As you know it
knocked out a lot of electrical things – all the security cameras, keypads, and lots
of light bulbs. On Friday night, I went into Ashley’s room to check on her because
she’s petrified of the dark. Even in her state, she can’t be in a totally darkened
room. Strange how Alzheimer’s patients are so sensitive to light. Anyhow, I found
that only one light was working in her room. Before I left on Saturday morning at 7
AM, I washed her up, put a clean nightgown on her, and changed her diaper. I
didn’t see any signs of abuse, so we know it didn’t happen on Good Friday.

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David told me that he, Courtney, and his mother visited Ashley at about 4:00
on Sunday. They went after church and Easter dinner at his aunt’s house. They
didn’t see her nightgown or her body. David did say that she was covered with a
blanket pulled up to her chin which was unusual, but he didn’t pull it down. There
was no reason to. He figured that maybe a nurse thought she was cold and covered
her like this. As usual, she was totally unresponsive to them while they were there.

When I went back to work on Monday night, I found that there had been an
outbreak of the stomach flu which as you can imagine can be deadly in such
confined quarters with medically fragile people. I’d forgotten that the electricity
had been out, so I didn’t notice that everything was working again. When I first
looked in on Ashley at about midnight on Monday, she was okay. She wasn’t
covered with a blanket so someone must have changed her after David was there.
But when I checked on her at about 6 on Tuesday morning before I was leaving, I
saw that she had vomited and smelled of diarrhea. When I took off her nightgown,
I immediately saw the evidence of the abuse. Not only did I have to clean her, I
had to change everything on her bed because of the diarrhea. She wasn’t wearing a
diaper, so it had soaked all the way through to the rubber mattress cover.

I think she was raped sometime on Saturday or Sunday before David visited.
I think that’s why she was covered with a blanket. I think the rapist did that. Does
that sound right?”

Phil said, “It’s possible. We need to check with the nurses who were on duty
over the weekend. We’ll get that info from Maggie.”

“Can I ask what your plan of action is? I know that you don’t have to tell
me, but I do want to help you and I can only do that if you tell me what’s going to
happen. I promise not to interfere with anything you do.”

“We plan to interview everyone who works at Shady Oaks in any capacity,
and also take their fingerprints and DNA samples. As I said before, I’m hoping
we’ll be able to get some DNA from Ashley’s nightgown. There’s a problem with
fingerprints though because there are so many on all the surfaces in her room.

We’ll also check on visitors. Because it was Easter weekend, there were lots
of visitors and security was down because of the storm. There was even a morning
church service with a choir over in the assisted living unit. We’ll check out the
church people. I don’t think they took any of the patients from the memory unit to

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the service, but I have to check. We’ll try to identify all the people who came into
the center over the weekend and interview and test them. That’s a lot of people and
they may be hard to track down, so we’ve been given extra personnel to help.

We’ll be in touch with you if we need any information or if we feel you can
help us in any way. We can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done. I know how
hard this has been on you. But I wish you wouldn’t feel any guilt. It’s the opposite.
You should feel proud of all you’ve done. You really have been brave.”

Amy couldn’t respond. She wished she could believe him, but she couldn’t
shake the feeling of guilt that engulfed her. She was overcome with emotion. She
said a hurried good-bye.

Amy drove from the police station to Shady Oaks. The parking lot was filled
with police cars and TV trucks. She had to park far down on the street.

She went to Mike’s office. The door was closed so she went to Gloria’s desk
and asked if she could see Mike. Gloria said that he was with several of the
administrators from the head office. They’d been together most of the day.

Amy decided to see Maggie while she waited. She had to ring the bell to the
memory unit because the passcode had been changed. Maggie opened the door and
the two friends fell into each other’s arms as they cried. This was the first time they
had been alone since the rape was made public.

Maggie asked, “How’re you holding up?”

Amy replied, “Ok, I suppose, and you?”

“OK too.”

They both laughed at the formality of their interchange. They went to
Maggie’s office so Amy could tell her about her time with David and Courtney.
They both cried when Amy talked about Courtney’s hysterical and suicidal
behavior and her commitment to a treatment center.

Then Amy asked Maggie about the nurses who had been with Ashley over
the weekend and if any reported seeing anything unusual.

Maggie said, “We were short staffed because of Easter. Roberta was
Ashley’s nurse and made no mention of anything special. For Sunday, she said that
she found Ashley tucked in with a blanket, but she assumed one of the aides did

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that because she was cold. She didn’t mention anything about not finding her
wearing a diaper. She may not have tried to change it because her back was acting
up and it was hard for her to do any lifting. Maybe she just skipped it and that’s
why you were the one who found out about it.

On Monday, the flu started so I’m not sure that Ashley was even checked
until you saw her at 11:00 Monday night. You said she looked okay, but you didn’t
change her diaper either because you were so busy with everyone being sick. So
you didn’t notice until Tuesday morning which means she could have been raped
Saturday or Sunday morning and no one noticed it or did anything about it. I’ll talk
to Roberta after the police question her. She’s going to be rattled by the police
because her son’s in jail. Mike may decide to fire her after everything cools down.
She should have reported this if she found out about this and if she didn’t find out
about this, she wasn’t doing her job.”

Amy took Maggie’s hand and said, “Poor Roberta. Another victim of the
rapist.

Let’s go see Ashley.”

Outside Ashley’s room, they found a police cadet seated in a chair reading a
sports magazine. A camera covering her room had been installed.

Maggie said, “Well Ashley seems to be safe for now. When I talked to
David on the phone, I asked him if he planned to keep Ashley here. He said yes.
He doesn’t blame us. He also doesn’t want to take her away from you since you
have this special bond with her and their family.”

“Maggie, do you think she really communicated with me? I think most
people doubt that that happened and that I was so overwhelmed by the rape that I
just imagined it.”

“Frankly, I don’t know what to think. I can’t really see her communicating
in her state. I’ve never seen her show any sign of being in touch with the world. I
don’t know, but I do know you. And you’re one of the most normal people in the
world.”

They stood next to Ashley’s bed looking down at her while she slept. Before
leaving, Amy kissed Ashley’s forehead and squeezed her hand. She got no
response.

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Then Amy went to Mike’s office. The top brass had left. He looked
exhausted after spending most of the day being grilled. Their questions were
different from those of the police. They focused on liability issues. They told him
that they thought he acted appropriately, but he wasn’t sure he believed them. He
thought he might be a sacrificial lamb if they needed one in the future.

Amy told him about her visit with David and Courtney. He looked as if he
might break down, but he controlled himself.

“Amy, do you want to come back to work?”

“Yes. I can’t stay home.”

“Then how about working day shift in assisted living? That would be less
stressful for you and would make you available if the police or if we needed you
for anything.”

“Yeah. I think that would be great. Thanks. Mike, you’re such a good
person.”

They hugged each other, trying not to break down.

As Amy was leaving, she bumped into David who had come to visit Ashley.

“Hey Amy. You can’t seem to get away from me.”

“How are you? I don’t know why I’m asking you that when I know the
answer. That was stupid.”

“I’m drained of all emotion. I keep thinking about leaving Courtney at
Treetop. I know she’ll be safe there, but I still feel like I just threw her away. But I
can’t keep her home because I can’t keep her safe and I’m not a therapist. And my
mom shouldn’t have to spend every waking minute guarding her.

Can you believe that both my girls are in institutions? I don’t know how I’m
going to handle that. I can’t begin to conceptualize what that means.”

David was emotionally overcome by the thought of losing the loves of his
life. He looked as if he was going to collapse. He quickly went to press the bell of
the memory care unit to escape from Amy and the thought of the rape that haunted
him relentlessly.

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When Amy turned from David, she bumped into Elvis, the Shady Oaks
electrician. She said, “Elvis, you did a great job of getting the electricity back on
over Easter weekend. That must have been a hard job. I hope you were able to
enjoy some time with your family.”

“I didn’t work over the weekend. I was sick. I had the damn stomach flu
like everybody else. They had to call in those Russian electricians who do extra
work for us once in a while.”

“So you’re the one who gave everybody the stomach flu. Thanks for
sharing.”

They both had a hearty laugh.

Chapter 14

Amy was starting a different life, no longer working the night shift with
dementia patients. She hoped that this one would be less stressful, and she’d be
able to focus on healing herself as well as her patients. She knew she was damaged
by her experiences, but she didn’t know exactly how. She did know that she felt
hatred, something she hadn’t felt since she lived with her parents. But the emotion
she felt was different than hatred. It was entwined with a wish for death for the
rapist. She had never wished death on anyone before. She felt an emotion she had
never experienced before – the desire for revenge.

She was taking a few days off before going back to work. She spent her first
day relaxing at home. She kept Tammy home from school so they could spend the
day together. Tammy was like a mood elevator for Amy. Every time Amy looked
at Tammy, she was reminded of what mattered most in life – family and love.
When Amy looked at her, Tammy broke into a smile that sent the message, “I’m
here for you Nana. I love you and I’ll always love you.” Thank God for Tammy.
She counterbalanced the negative feelings that Amy was trying to rein in.

On Thursday, Amy started her new job on the assisted living unit from 7
AM to 3 PM. Although she knew most of the patients, treating them was different.
Most were lucid, although some were borderline senile, and all had serious medical
needs. She had to change catheters, dress wounds, give shots, and regulate oxygen
levels more frequently than she had done on the memory unit. But still, these
patients were much easier to nurse than her memory unit patients. She enjoyed

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joking with them because they understood her jokes and laughed heartily even
when they weren’t funny. They initiated conversations, some endlessly because
they were hungry for companionship. Amy was disappointed to find that a few
patients were dumped by their families so they could be forgotten. They were
placed at Shady Oaks because their relatives lived far away. This way the relatives
could say that they couldn’t visit because of the distance. Amy tried to be
especially attentive to these patients, but she knew she couldn’t erase the pain of
them having been abandoned, much like a dog at a shelter.

The changes at Shady Oaks were apparent as soon as Amy entered the front
door which now had to be accessed by ringing a bell and being identified before
gaining entry. There was a newly hired receptionist in the lobby directing people.
The police had designated the gym for taking fingerprints and DNA samples and
the social worker’s office for interviews. Chief Brown had decided to test and
interview the Shady Oaks staff on site so there would be less disruption to their
work schedules and less intimidation by being interviewed at the police station.
Others, such as visitors, the Sunday service church people, and some workers were
interviewed and tested at the police station.

Mike had banned all press from the premises and referred all requests for
interviews to his superiors in the main office. But that didn’t stop some media from
loitering in front of the building hoping to get an interview or at least a sound bite
from someone entering or leaving the building.

Although Amy was busy getting to know her new patients, she made time
during the day to visit Ashley. She didn’t want Ashley to think that she had
forgotten her even though she knew that Ashley was unaware of her visits. She was
glad to see that there was still a police cadet in front of her room.

Amy’s life was taking on a new normal, one less stressful than her pre-rape
life. She checked with Phil daily to see the progress the police were making. He
said that they were swamped with all the testing and interviews, but that he would
contact her if anything important arose. She wondered if he was politely humoring
her or if he was serious. Time would tell.

Amy called David to see how he and Courtney were doing. He told her that
Courtney was under heavy sedation and on suicide watch. She asked if it would be
helpful for her to visit. He thanked her and said no. He said that Courtney was

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unresponsive even to Jeanette and him. He told her that he would call her if she
could be of help. They talked about the progress the police were making. He said
that he had no criticisms yet. They were doing all the right things. He was most
concerned about keeping the press away. He didn’t want to talk to them, but that
didn’t stop them from harassing him. The media parked their cars on his street
even though he was at work most of the day and Jeanette stayed inside the house or
went to Treetop to visit Courtney. His neighbors complained to the police about
the media’s presence, but that didn’t stop them from slowly driving around David’s
house waiting for a possible photo op.

Amy wanted to return to a normal home life, so she and Keith made plans to
get together with the Silvers and the Teppers on Sunday. They hadn’t seen them
since the crime was made public. Amy planned to tell them everything. She was
ready to share her experiences, all of them, with her best friends. She was going to
tell them more than she had even told the police.

They started the day with going to the 9 AM church service. Lillian was on
vacation so there was a substitute minister who tried unsuccessfully to be
interesting.

After church, they all went home to change to outdoor clothes. It was a
lovely spring day, so they met at the park for a few hours and then planned to go
back to the Peterson’s house because their conversation required privacy.

The men rented a boat and went out on the lake with the kids. The men
fished and the children put their catches in buckets, screaming and squealing with
delight as they touched the slimy fish. Then they had a picnic lunch with food
brought by everyone.

Although everyone enjoyed the outing, they were eager to go to the
Peterson’s house to discuss what had happened. The Silvers and Teppers had read
articles and watched TV coverage, but they knew that they only got the surface of
the story. They also wanted to provide support Amy might need.

When they got to the Peterson’s house, Lois and Teri set Tommy and
Tammy up in the living room with a new Disney video they’d rented. That would
give the adults 90 minutes without interruption from the kids. They also supplied
them with candy and drinks, a lot more than usual.