by Mary Monroe
The two men occupied my couch, the woman sat on the love seat. I chose to remain standing in the middle of my living room floor as the younger man went on to tell me what had happened. I knew I was only hearing what they wanted me to hear, but I was glad for that. The gist of their report informed me that a task force had raided Hollywood’s house last night. He’d been arrested for a variety of offenses, including drug possession, stolen guns, and contributing to the delinquency of minors. My daughter was being held at the county juvenile facility where she’d been singing like a rock star, long and loud, about Harrietta and her sordid business. Charlotte had told anybody who would listen that she would tell them everything that Harrietta had made her and the other children do.
Shortly after the investigators left, Pee Wee arrived. He and I rushed down to Juvenile Hall. A trustee led us to a small room with no windows and waved us into seats at a low, metal table where Charlotte had already been seated. She looked so young and confused. Her hair was askew, and her eyes were red and swollen. And the gray smock she had on made her look like an unwanted creature that somebody had thrown away. I could not believe that my life had come to this!
“I’m sorry,” Charlotte muttered, looking at the floor. She looked so frightened. As soon as the trustee left us alone, Pee Wee and I jumped out of our seats at the same time and ran to her, covering her with hugs and kisses. We were all crying and talking at the same time. Charlotte was so scared she was shivering, but once she started talking, we didn’t stop her. “Mama, Daddy, I am so sorry for worrying y’all the way I did. I ran away because I was scared of what all Harrietta told Vivian she was going to do to me if I ever told what she was doing to kids—and what she made me do when I stayed at her house. Vivian ran away for the same reason. She was going to try and get her daddy to believe her because we didn’t know what else to do! The night I ran away, I was hanging out at the Grab and Go when Hollywood came in and told me to come with him because he was going to take care of me. I was just going to stay out for that one night, but, well, once I hooked up with him, he made me stay with him. He made me put on those hoochie-coochie clothes, and some makeup and stuff. He said he was going to be good to me so I had to be good to him.” Charlotte stopped talking and stared off into space. “I knew that what Harrietta was making us do was wrong, and I knew that what Hollywood was telling me I had to do was wrong. I was going to run away from him, too, and come back home anyway, but I was so scared. I was glad when I heard they had arrested that nasty, stinking Harrietta woman!”
“Baby, you should have told me what was really going on over there at that woman’s house!” I scolded. “I’ve always told you that there was nothing you couldn’t talk to me about.”
“And you ain’t never ever got to be scared to come to me when you got a problem,” Pee Wee told her.
“I tried. From the first time I had to go to her house, I knew she was crazy. I tried to tell you then. But every time I tried to tell somebody that that woman was not normal, nobody wanted to listen,” Charlotte hollered. “What’s the point of you grown folks telling us kids to tell if somebody does something nasty to us, if you don’t want to listen? And even if I had told you, you probably wouldn’t have believed me, and I would have been in a worse mess with Harrietta!”
“I tried to pry the information out of you each time, now didn’t I? I asked you point-blank why you didn’t like Harrietta and why you thought she was strange. Why didn’t you tell me then what she was making you and those other children do?” I asked.
“She said if we ever told, she’d shoot us,” Charlotte whimpered. “She even showed me and one of the other kids her gun. I was scared and worried that if I told you and you didn’t believe me, she would shoot us dead.”
A gun threat was one of the things that old Mr. Boatwright had used to control me during my ordeal with him. Once, when I was only seven years old, he told me that if I ever told anybody about our “love affair,” he’d use that gun to shoot me and my mother. I had been so frightened that I remained silent for years. Had Rhoda not smothered him to death during our senior year in high school, I don’t know how long he would have abused me.
“Uh, I’m the one that sent that anonymous package that ratted Harrietta out,” Charlotte said in a small voice.
Pee Wee and I looked at one another, then back to Charlotte with our mouths hanging open. “You?” I mouthed, keeping my voice low. Even though we were alone, I didn’t feel confident that our conversation was private. I’d seen enough TV shows to know about hidden cameras and microphones. I looked around the room; then I leaned closer to Charlotte, whispering, “You were the one who sent that anonymous package to that reporter? The detective told us that they were still investigating that, and that they were almost sure that the informant was one of Harrietta’s disgruntled associates.”
Charlotte nodded. “I guess you could say I was one of her disgruntled associates.” A puzzled look crossed Charlotte’s face. “What does disgruntled mean?”
“Somebody who is not happy with a situation,” I explained. There was a lot more to the definition than that, but I didn’t want to go into it at the moment.
“Well, then I really was a disgruntled associate,” she said, putting a lot of emphasis on her words. It seemed like she had matured a lot since the last time I saw her.
Pee Wee looked around the room; then he leaned closer to Charlotte, speaking in a voice that was even lower than mine. “Did you tell anybody else that it was you who sent that package to that reporter?” he asked.
Charlotte shook her head. “I didn’t tell any of the other kids because I didn’t know who I could trust. They were all too scared of that woman, so I didn’t want to take a chance on telling them what I was going to do.”
“And exactly what all did you send that newspaper man?” he asked. “You don’t even read the newspaper. How did you know about this man?”
“I saw him on TV talking about how he had helped expose some people who were running scams on old people, cheating them out of their life savings and everything else they owned. This year he helped them shut down that funeral director that was stealing jewelry off dead folks just before he had them buried. He mentioned a lot of other good stuff that he’d done, so I knew then that he was the right person for me to get in touch with. First I thought about sending him an e-mail, but I know they can trace e-mails. So I called up that reporter first, but as soon as he heard my voice and realized I was just a little kid, he told me to stop playing around on the telephone, so I hung up real fast. I had called him from a pay phone at school.” Charlotte paused and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. Her hands were so ashy and her hair looked so limp. I didn’t know much about juvenile facilities and how they took care of the kids, but I knew that this was one place that my daughter did not want to be.
“I didn’t know you even watched the TV news programs,” I managed.
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Mama.”
CHAPTER 63
WHAT I HAD JUST HEARD OUT OF MY DAUGHTER’S MOUTH MADE my ears ache. Her words broke my heart because what she had just said was true. Oh, I had my work cut out for me. Now I not only had to work on being a good wife, I had to work on being a good mother! I knew that I had been a much better wife and mother than a lot of women, but that didn’t make me feel any better.
“Well, we are goin’ to fix that. Me and your mama are goin’ to find out everything we need to know about what’s goin’ on with you. Now go on and finish tellin’ us your story,” Pee Wee said.
Charlotte let out her breath and then sucked in some air. She looked from me to Pee Wee before she continued. “Anyway, the next day after I tried to talk to that reporter on the telephone, a better idea came to me. I got it from that old Morgan Freeman movie that I wasn’t supposed to watch... .” Charlotte confessed.
Pee Wee and I looked at each other again. “What Morgan Freeman movie?” I asked.
“The Shawshank Redemption.
Morgan Freeman’s friend broke out of prison and then he sent a package to a reporter that told everything that mean warden and his guards were up to. I took some pictures with my cell phone and I downloaded them on my computer. I printed out a lot, but I only sent that reporter the ones that Harrietta was in. She used to get so confused, she couldn’t keep things straight. I typed up a four-page letter to go with the pictures. I had my mittens on so I wouldn’t leave my fingerprints on anything. Then I sealed up the letter and the pictures in a big brown envelope, and I sent the package to that reporter by registered mail. I put a fake name and address on the return address.”
I was stunned to say the least. Who would have thought that a Morgan Freeman movie would turn out to be so important in this mess?
“But if you did all that, why did you still run away?” I asked.
“I sent that package two weeks ago and when nothing happened, I didn’t think it would. That’s why I ran away.”
“Well, I hope you never run away again. You pretty much was jumping from a frying pan into a fire. Harrietta and Hollywood are two of a kind,” Pee Wee pointed out. “What did you think Hollywood was goin’ to do for you?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes, not the way she usually did, but in a gentler manner. It was so subtle that Pee Wee didn’t even notice, but I sure did. A stern look from me brought her back down to earth. There was a contrite look on her face. By her blinking her eyes, which had tears in them now, I decided that this gesture was part of her apologetic position.
“I didn’t plan on hooking up with Hollywood. I was just going to hang out for a while until I figured out what else to do.” Charlotte scratched her arm and sniffed. “I ... one other thing is ... uh ... I want y’all to know that ... um ... I’m still a virgin. Hollywood was going to give me a week to get myself ready to make him some money,” Charlotte said quickly. “I know y’all might not believe me, but you can have a doctor check me out.”
“We know. One of the investigators told us you’d been examined,” Pee Wee said.
“The important thing now is that you are all right,” I told her, squeezing her hand and then patting the side of her head.
“All I had to do for Harrietta was help her take those nasty pictures and hold the video camera when she ... you know ... filmed the kids doing nasty stuff,” Charlotte said, looking at the floor. “She said I was too old to do most of the stuff she made the other kids do. She said her Internet clients liked real, real young kids the most.” At this point Charlotte paused and a very angry look crossed her face. “Mama, she even showed us some video somebody sent to her of real little kids in Asia talking about how they enjoyed doing nasty stuff! She kept telling us that the whole world had gone sex crazy—even President Clinton. She said that the sooner we learned about sex, the better prepared we’d be to deal with it when we got older!”
Pee Wee and I looked at one another at the same time. I could see my reflection in his eyes. I never felt or looked so helpless and hurt before in my life.
“Oh my God!” Pee Wee yelled, clenching his fists. “Do you mean to tell me that there is pictures of you doin’ God knows what that some sick bastards are gettin’ their freak on over? And some of them pictures might even be on the Internet for the whole world to see?”
“NO! I wouldn’t let her take no pictures of me. She made me take pictures of some of the real young kids, doing all kinds of nasty stuff with their fingers and those fake, uh, penis things. By me taking the pictures, she said I was as guilty as she was, so that’s another reason I was scared to tell on her.”
“What about Hollywood? Did he ... what all did he ...” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. If my daughter had lost her innocence before her time the way I had, I didn’t think I could stand to hear that and not lose my mind.
I could tell that my daughter was uncomfortable talking about what she’d been through, but I wanted it all out in the open as soon as possible. I wanted her to know that no matter how ugly something was, she should still talk to me about it.
“All Hollywood did was kiss me and play with my titties. That’s all Harrietta did to me too. But Hollywood did say that he would have to do the nasty to me before I ... you know ... got with my first man,” Charlotte managed.
I didn’t know how much more I could stand to hear without throwing up. I was amazed that I hadn’t already done that by now.
“Lizel told me she saw you on the stroll with Hollywood,” I told her, massaging the tsunami taking place in my stomach.
“I know. I seen her spying on me. Hollywood took me out that night so I could see where I’d be working. Then he took me to McDonald’s to get a Happy Meal. Just before the cops busted down his front door, he was getting ready to, uh, test me, he called it. He said he had to see how much I was worth.” Charlotte paused again. “Before we did it, he was going to take a bath after I took one. I was going to sneak out while he was in the tub. I wasn’t going to let him do nothing nasty to me. Honest to God.”
“That cheesy-ass son of a bitch! If that nigger ever walks the streets of this town again, I am goin’ to kill him with my bare hands!” Pee Wee threatened.
“Pee Wee, let’s try to be calm about this.”
“Calm my ass! My daughter has been violated by two grown-ass people! And I don’t know which one was worse! If I ever see Hollywood or that bitch Harrietta on the street again, I am goin’ to go to jail for homicide!” I had known Pee Wee for over thirty-five years. This was the first time I’d seen him this angry.
“Well, it’s all over now. Let’s keep things in perspective so that something like this will never happen again,” I advised.
“You damn right nothin’ like this is ever goin’ to happen again! Not to my child! I am goin’ to be watchin’ her like a hawk from now on!”
“Does that mean you’re moving back home, Daddy?” Charlotte asked, smiling and blinking with hopeful anticipation.
I didn’t wait long enough for Pee Wee to respond. “Charlotte, are you sure Harrietta didn’t do anything to you except make you take pictures of those other kids? You have to tell us everything. There are not going to be any more secrets in this family.”
“She used to feel up and down my titties and squeeze and rub my butt, but that’s all; honest to God,” Charlotte admitted, hunching her shoulders. “Every time I threatened to tell on her, she said nobody would believe me. She said that sooner or later she’d make me do more stuff ... be in the pictures doing all kinds of nasty things with some of the other kids, and even to myself so she would have something to hold over me and keep me in line. Am I in trouble?”
Pee Wee and I gasped at the same time. “No, you ain’t in trouble, baby. If anything, you’re a hero. If you hadn’t done what you did, there is just no tellin’ how far Harrietta would have gone with this mess!”
“It was wrong for you to run away, Charlotte. That’s why you are in here. And I want you to know that I was the one who told them to bring you here.”
“You wanted me to go to jail?” Charlotte whispered, her voice as weak as a newborn kitten’s.
“I wanted you to see what it’s like for kids who break the law. Running away from home is a crime. I hope you never do anything else to wind up back in a place like this,” I said. “If being in here doesn’t scare you straight, nothing will.”
“And I couldn’t agree with your mama more,” Pee Wee added.
CHAPTER 64
FROM THE WAY THAT CHARLOTTE’S FACE SCREWED UP INTO AN extreme pout, I could see that she didn’t like what her daddy and I had just said.
“Can I come back home, or do I have to go to live with foster folks or something, or Hollywood? When he picked me up on the street that night I left home, he told me that from now on he was going to be my daddy, because y’all didn’t want me anyway. He even took me to the video arcade so I could play games while he talked to me.”
“That mangy dog is in jail, and will be for a while! You’re comin’ home after we finish up with that s
ocial worker and do whatever else we need to do. I’ve already set us up for our first meetin’ with a family counselor.” Pee Wee paused and gave me a pitiful look. “We all need some professional help. The sooner we get it, the better off this family will be.”
All I could do was nod, but I managed a weak smile too.
“The trustee told me the news about Harrietta and how her bail was set so high even God couldn’t afford to bail her out. But ... what about Hollywood? Did they set a real high bail for him too? He was real mad when the cops kicked down his door. I hope he don’t bail out and come to our house to start some mess,” Charlotte said in a low, worried tone of voice.
“With his long criminal record, they ain’t even set his bail yet. You don’t have to worry about Hollywood comin’ to that house. If he ever does, it’ll be the last time he makes a house call!” Pee Wee boomed. “Like Harrietta, he’s got enough charges against him, they might put him up under the jailhouse, let alone set him a bail he can afford. But you have to be strong, baby girl. If you have to testify, you can’t let his ugly face or threats stop you from tellin’ the law what he tried to make you do. Did he give you anything illegal?”
“You mean like beer?”
“Yeah, that too. But I meant somethin’ stronger.”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, he didn’t give me nothing stronger than beer. All he would give me and the other girl that he had picked up was a few puffs on a joint, that’s all.”
I hadn’t eaten since the news about Harrietta broke. My stomach felt like somebody had vacuumed out all of my insides. But after what Charlotte had just revealed, yet another knot suddenly formed in my tortured stomach. I had to bend over and grab my knees to keep from throwing up my intestines.
