Walking an Endless Path Pt. 01

When he was done, Joe felt hollow. He couldn't look his parents in the eye. He felt like he'd lost something important. Something he wasn't ever getting back. He heard Amy quietly crying. He started to turn to her, but his dad made a noise, and he understood he should leave her be.

Karl looked at his wife and saw the tears running down her face. Her expression showed she was incredibly proud of her son for protecting his sister but also terrified by what it might mean for Joe's future. He knew the same expressions were on his face as well. He knew he would have to rely on the help of his lawyer.

The telephone rang. Normally Karl would have ignored it as they did when having Family Meetings. But today was anything but normal. He picked it up on the fifth ring.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Neumann, it's Rene Duval."

"Hello, Ms. Duval. This isn't a good time to talk—" he began.

"I need you to come to O'Malley's tonight. Bring your wife. There is something you both need to hear before you speak with the police tomorrow," she said, her tone urgent.

"Uh, I'm not sure if that's going to be possible—"

Rene interrupted him again. "Karl, please. You both need to hear this. Please."

Karl could hear desperation in her voice. He looked to his wife, who had her eyebrows raised in question.

"Okay, give me the address."

Once he hung up, he leaned over and spoke into Clara's ear. She immediately got to her feet and went to get her purse and coat. Karl stood up and looked at his children. He felt an enormous weight settle on his shoulders. "Your mother and I have to go out for a bit. Get ready for bed, and we'll talk with you both in the morning."

Joe and Amy nodded, and he walked out of the house with Clara. Joe heard the truck start up and drive away. He turned to Amy. She had the most miserable look on her face. He held open his arms, and she was instantly against his chest sobbing her heart out. She was crying so hard she was gasping to breathe between the sobs. Joe just held her and rocked gently, rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head.

When her sobs quieted enough, he could hear her trying to talk, but it was muffled by his chest. He pulled away slightly.

"What did you say?" he asked gently.

"Oh god, Joe, I'm so sorry I told you what he did. This wouldn't have happened if I could have just taken care of it myself or accepted his date."

Joe seized his little sister's face between his big hands. He stared her straight in the eyes to ensure he had her attention. "NO! You did exactly the right thing! If you had gone on a date with Damien, he would have raped you. There is no question that's exactly what would have happened. He might have shared you with his brothers as well. You didn't see the look in their eyes. They were sick, twisted, and evil. Especially the oldest brother. You did nothing wrong. I did. I shouldn't have taken the law into my own hands. I should have brought you to the police so we could press charges against Damien. Instead, I charged in headfirst, trying to be a hero. That was stupid!" He pulled her into a hug again and rested his chin on her head.

They sat quietly for a while, Amy resting in his arms, her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his powerful heart beating. He was so warm, and his strong arms felt like the safest place in the world. The shameful truth was that she was glad Joe had punished Damien. She was also sure that if he hurt the others, they'd been deserving. She couldn't bring herself to feel bad about his actions outside of the danger it placed him in. That she was deeply sorry for. It was like her brother was a terrible weapon that she could aim at threats. She realized that was exactly how she'd used him.

"God, I hurt Mom and Dad," Joe whispered. "That's what hurts me the most. I've lost their respect. I don't know if I can get it back."

Amy pulled back from Joe's chest and looked him in the face. "Mom and Dad love you very much. That hasn't changed. They're just worried for you. I don't know if you're right, but respect can be earned back. Come on, we'd better do as Dad said."

-=-

Karl and Clara stepped inside O'Malley's. It wasn't a very big place. Maybe eight booths for four and twelve stools at the bar. Dart board. TV behind the bar turned down low. Just a small neighborhood watering hole. The atmosphere felt a little subdued tonight. He looked around and saw Rene in the far corner booth waving to him. He led Clara to the booth and followed her onto the bench seat, his back to the door.

"Sorry for calling you out on this night of all nights, but before you get your lawyer involved and speak with the police tomorrow, you should be made aware of a couple of things. You may have heard it from Joe, but in case you didn't, I've prepared an alibi for him and witnesses who will testify under oath that they saw him at the store at the time of the event. By now, they've already given their statements to the police."

Karl nodded at Rene, not trusting himself to speak.

"More importantly, you should hear a little about the people your son dealt with today."

"Joe told us his side of the story, and we heard exactly what these boys said about Amy. I don't think we need to hear more about that." Karl made to leave the booth but stopped when Rene reached across the table and put her hand on his.

"Yes, I'm sure Joe told you about this one event. But you need to understand that this wasn't a one-time thing for the Rossmans." Rene looked outside of the booth and nodded. A woman stepped forward with a tall slim girl at her elbow. The woman must have been in her thirties, but she looked like she'd been beaten by each of those years. The younger woman was her daughter, as Karl could see the resemblance. She looked gaunt, but her eyes had an intensity that Karl found disturbing. They slid into Rene's side of the booth. Rene introduced them as Margaret and Linda.

"He raped me!" Linda blurted out. Margaret gripped her daughter's hand as her face pinched, trying to hold back the tears. "Is it true? Did your son punish him? Hurt him?" Rene jumped in before Karl and Clara were frightened off.

"Linda, we aren't going to say anything here to incriminate anyone, right?"

Linda looked at Rene and nodded. She gave them a huge smile and left the booth. Margaret gave them a sad smile and thanked them. She told them that Wallace raped Linda five years ago. Wallace's lawyer had ripped the young girl apart on the stand, and she'd remained unraveled since that day. She apologized and rushed out after her daughter. Rene nodded to someone else, and a big man with car grease stains on his rough hands slid into the booth. Rene introduced him as Roger.

"Three years ago, my Becky attended a house party with her girlfriends, and sometime during the party, they got separated. When her friends found Becky, she was tied to a bed upstairs. She'd been drugged, raped, sodomized, then beaten black and blue. Three people at the party reported seeing Becky being led upstairs by either Derek or Kevin Rossman. The twins were at the party with Wallace. No one saw them leave. When we tried to take them to trial, the witnesses suddenly couldn't remember seeing the Rossman brothers at the party. They walked. Becky couldn't cope with what they did to her and killed herself. Today these dirtbags didn't walk. I don't know who did this to them, but if I did, I'd want to shake his hand." He nodded and left the booth.

A small woman in her forties slid into the booth beside Rene and patted her hand. "My name is Gwen. I was a high school teacher a few years back. After school one night, on my way back to my car, I was struck on the back of the head with a club and dragged behind the school. I was raped by four men wearing masks. The smallest one slipped up and said, 'Don't hog her ass, Wallace.' He got a beating for that. After they raped and sodomized me, they beat me unconscious. I came to in the hospital. I heard from the other teachers that Damien showed up at school the next day with a black eye and a swollen lip. Apparently, this wasn't enough evidence to bring them to trial. Wallace's lawyer accused me of child molestation and manufactured evidence to prove his case. I was fired, and I'll never teach again. Not that I could. The first blow to the back of my skull gives me chronic migraines preventing me from keeping a full-time job. They took my life from me." She nodded to them, then left the booth.

Karl's jaw was working hard, and he was looking a little desperate. Clara was already in tears. Rene held up her hand to prevent the next visitor. She looked at both of them. "Many more people were hurt in terrible ways by the Rossman brothers. Every time charges were laid, they wouldn't stick due to witnesses being beaten, threatened, or financially destroyed by Wallace's lawyer. If the case went to trial, this lawyer would destroy the victims, and witnesses would dry up again. The grapevine lit up like wildfire when word got out that the brothers had been handed some vigilante justice. Everyone affected wanted to thank that person. I managed to convince most to lay low, but many wish to thank him."

Karl and Clara suddenly realized the bar was silent. They looked around and saw that everyone in the bar was facing them with thankful smiles and tears in their eyes. There had to be about twenty people.

"The owner of the bar, his fourteen-year-old daughter, was raped by Damien though he can't prove it," Rene explained. "Everyone here was either directly assaulted by one of the Rossman brothers or is a relative of someone who was. None of these people have the financial clout to go up against Wallace's lawyer, and no one can figure out how they can afford him." She slid a business card across the table to Karl. "Here is his card. You need to prepare your lawyer before meeting this guy. From what I've been told, he's pure evil in a suit. We can't get involved, but please know you have the support of many people. One last thought; everyone here is from Glennville. Wallace has been at his university for over two years. Who knows how much damage he's done there."

She gave them a compassionate smile. "Thank you for coming out tonight."

Karl nodded to Rene and helped Clara exit the booth. She was still quietly weeping. She was such a tender heart. He was sorry to have exposed her to such horror. He was surprised when she reached out to touch the hands of the people in the bar as they left. He heard so many people whispering thank you as they passed. He also had tears in his eyes when they finally left the bar. They returned to his truck, and he wiped his eyes until he could see. He dialed his family lawyer, Christof Waechter, immediately. He answered on the third ring. Karl quickly described the situation and gave Christof the name of Rossman's lawyer. He heard Christof chuckle. He'd never heard him make that noise before. In fact, he couldn't recall ever having seen Christof so much as smile.

"Karl, rest easy tonight. I will contact you in the morning. We will take care of things, yes?"

"Thank you, Christof! If there is anything you need, please let me know."

"Ya, good night!" and he hung up.

Karl looked over at his wife. She looked at him hopefully. "Why do I feel like I've just launched a nuclear strike against a small-time gangster?" Suddenly Karl looked back at the card and reread the lawyer's name. He'd seen this name before. His brain was feeding him clues from something he'd read somewhere. When he'd said Gangster, his brain was thinking Mafia. In North Dakota? No, that couldn't be right.

Karl's brain hurt. Well, it was in Christof's hands now. He looked over at Clara. "Mama, let's go home to our babies." She gave him a sweet smile.

Chapter 16

Joe had slept poorly. He had dark circles under his eyes and sat at the breakfast table, pushing his cereal around with his spoon.

Amy shuffled into the kitchen, subdued and also showing signs of poor sleep. She cast Joe a guilty look when she saw he was staring into his bowl. She got her own bowl of cereal to ignore and sat across from her brother.

Karl and Clara walked into the kitchen. They'd just finished talking with Christof on the phone in Karl's office. Joe and Amy looked up.

"We have news," Karl said. He sat in his usual spot, and Clara took her seat.

"Last night, your mother and I spoke to Rene Duval. She introduced us to a large number of people who were hurt by the Rossman brothers. Apparently, these men have been... raping women and girls for a number of years and getting away with it due to being careful. When they weren't, their lawyer made the witnesses go away or directly threatened the victims and their families. It's been a very bad time for those people. The police have been unable to bring them any justice at all."

"Last night, I asked Christof to begin working on this. This morning he informed us that Wallace's lawyer, Angelo Brusco, has close ties to the mob. I've never heard Christof so eager to work on a case before. Anyway, he spoke with Mr. Brusco this morning and explained that should the brothers choose to move forward with the charges against Joseph, Christof would bring the full resources of the law firm to bear on the case and would bring it and Mr. Brusco's involvement in it to national attention. Apparently, Mr. Brusco was not expecting someone from Glennville, North Dakota, to be represented by a law firm as powerful and connected as Waechter, Bergström, & Volkov. Mr. Brusco will be speaking with his client later today."

"Christof then explained to us that we'd be bringing out each and every prior case against the Rossman brothers to establish reasonable doubt. A lot of people wanted to do harm to the brothers. The damage caused to them is more likely to have been caused by a group of angry fathers and brothers than just one man. Especially one man with an alibi."

Karl paused and looked at his wife before turning his attention back to his son.

"Joe, Rene has established a very good alibi for you, and several decent, hardworking people have put their livelihoods and freedom on the line to support it just because it's the right thing to do. Under normal circumstances, I would not condone lying, especially to law enforcement, but the world you are inheriting isn't black and white, good and bad. These... monsters have been preying on the good people of Glennville for years, apparently. Justice for all of these victims and the safety of these people is going to require a sacrifice. While it may seem self-serving, I'm asking you to respect our wishes for you to support the alibi. Can you do that?"

Joe saw no hesitation in his dad's face or body language. His voice was assured as well. He truly believed this was the best course of action. Joe knew his father held personal integrity as one of the corner stones of human character. So, he did as well. For his dad to suggest there was a time for this to be sacrificed? It shook Joe's world deeply.

But his father had also taught him to be wary of inflexible thoughts. There were no absolutes. If Justice would be best served by a lie... he would have to swallow it and carry its taint.

"I-I can do that," Joe's voice cracked. He saw his parents sag with relief.

"There is still the matter of your taking the law into your own hands. You need to understand the consequences of your actions. In this instance, the police cannot be involved as too many good people would be at risk. Doc Watson sent me a report on the injuries sustained by the four men, so we'd know what they were claiming. Wallace has two broken wrists, a broken nose, an orbital fracture, and his left knee cap was destroyed. The ligaments in the knee joint behind it were torn as well. It's questionable if he will be able to walk again without assistance. Derek and Kevin came out of their comas, and their brain swelling has subsided. No word yet on the extent of the brain damage, but they haven't responded well so far. Damien lost his left testicle. It had to be removed surgically. After the operation, they had to sedate him again as he went into a rage and started making rather spectacular threats, including sending mob enforcers after you. Mr. Brusco will be thrilled to hear that when he arrives."

Karl looked at Joe, who looked a little sick. Frankly, he was relieved to see how troubled Joe was by this. "Did you know you'd caused this much damage, Joe?"

"No, sir."

"It's obvious you're strong. Evidently stronger than you think. But you used your strength to hurt people. Whether they deserved it or not isn't the question. If they had died, you would have been responsible for their murder. You would be a murderer, and that changes a man. You'd never be the same. Do you truly understand what the consequences of that would have been?"

Joe sat with his head hung in shame, tears running down his face. Amy's heart was breaking. She reached across the table for Joe's hands, but he pulled them to his lap. Amy's tears started in earnest then.

"Amy, you were right to tell someone about Damien's improper touching. No one holds you to blame for that. But can I assume you've been asking Joe to intervene for you on other occasions?"

Amy looked at her dad with tears in her eyes. She nodded silently, shame on her face.

Karl looked at Clara as he wasn't sure how to approach this. Clara took over.

"Having a brother like Joseph must be wonderful. Big, strong, protective, and he loves you so very much. I wish I'd had a brother like him to watch out for scoundrels in school like your father," she said with a smirk. Karl made an outraged expression, but Clara just stuck her tongue out at him cheekily. She turned back to Amy.

"But having someone big and strong to come to your rescue doesn't mean you should ask them to every time. There were alternate avenues for handling that improper behavior at school. Bringing your parents into the loop would have also been a good choice."

"Joseph, we love you very much and think you were very gallant for coming to your sister's rescue, but you know now that your actions have consequences. You put your future at risk, and this price is too high. We hope you've learned a lesson from this."

Joe looked up at his parents, got up from his chair, and dropped to his knees at his mother's side. He put his head on her lap and hugged her waist while he cried. She ran her hands through his hair and rubbed his back. Karl stood up and walked over to his wife. He put his hand on Joe's shoulder, and Joe gripped his hand as he cried on his mother's lap.

Amy rushed over, hugged her Dad, and kissed her Mom's cheek. Then she dropped to her knees and rested her cheek on Joe's back as her own tears fell.

The family stayed like that for a few minutes. When Karl heard his son's tears subside a little, he spoke.

"Okay, we have things to do today. Let's get started. Joe, go get cleaned up and dressed. I need you to get to your chores. Your mother and I will go get your truck. We'll speak with Rene when we're there to bring her up to speed. You'll need to stay home for the next few days, so we'll arrange to adjust your shifts. Amy, I believe you should stay home from school today, but there are chores you can do as well. We'll contact the school and bring your homework home when we return".

They had a plan, so the family moved.

-=-

Rene was relieved to hear that Joe would go along with the alibi she'd constructed. Each of her witnesses had reported to the police seeing Joe in the store wearing the grey track pants and yellow t-shirt during the appropriate time intervals. This established a conflicting timeline. Now that Joe was on board, it validated their story. She let Karl know about the clothes Joe was to report he'd arrived in. Patrolman Bartlett had witnessed him leaving in them.