“It’s not often that we get to have a young hero over for lunch!” Ariel added.
“Finding Ben in that subbasement was just the icing on the cake of a very crazy yet ultimately rewarding day,” Jason replied. “When Sgt. Malone mentioned that what he assumed was Nick’s bicycle was in the garage, everything just clicked together. That’s when we started to pound on the walls to see if you were in that house somewhere.”
“By that time we were beyond despair,” Paula said. “When that call from Captain Garcia came saying that they had found Ben, it was like Christmas, the Fourth of July, and our birthdays all rolled into one! We were so happy that Ben was still alive!”
“And then the day that the bill arrived from the hospital where Ben spent that week afterwards — well I almost fainted when I saw that your foundation had completely paid for everything!” Ariel added with a hint of emotion in her voice.
“That’s exactly what the foundation is for,” Jason responded, “helping out teenaged victims of crime, and making their recovery as pleasant as possible. It was hard enough for your family to go through the terrible fears and worry after Ben’s disappearance. Then to be stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills — well that just isn’t right. It’s better that you spend your time and money helping Ben with his recovery, and meeting his future needs. You don’t need the added burden of all those medical costs.”
Jason then looked at Ben and continued, “The foundation can also provide any other kind of assistance you need, whether it be in the form of clothing, art or music lessons, counseling sessions, or even equipment that you would need to do those things. I want the foundation to be there for you, Ben, like a rich old grandfather who dotes on you! Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything at all!”
“Jason, you have been so generous already. I couldn’t dream of asking for anything else!” Ben replied.
“Nonsense!” Jason exclaimed. “After what you have been through you need some special treatment. I think we should start by getting you a whole new set of clothes for the rest of the summer and for school this fall. I’m sure you could use some new outfits and shoes to wear!”
“Yeah, don’t be shy, Ben,” Eric added. “One of the first things Jason and his foundation did for me was exactly that. I’ll tell you, I felt like a new person actually having a complete set of brand new clothing and sneakers!”
“Mrs. Kessler, before we go today, would you mind writing Ben’s sizes down on a piece of paper for me?” Jason continued. “My girl friend Laura and I love to go shopping to help someone out. We would be delighted to do so for Ben.”
After lunch, the three boys went outside and played some catch for a while. Jason and Eric weren’t sure what Ben liked to do for physical activity, so they came prepared with their mitts, and some baseballs, a basketball, and a football.
Gradually the afternoon heat began to build up, so they decided to go inside and have more glasses of the lemonade Mrs. Kessler had made. Then they talked about different activities they liked to do, and asked Ben about his school situation for the fall. He told them that he was about to start high school, and was a little unsure about things.
“All freshmen go through that,” Eric said. “But once you learn the ropes it won’t be so bad. If you have some friends that are freshmen also, it makes things a lot easier.”
Jason and Eric continued their visit for another half hour, and then it was time to go. Dr. Agoura had advised them not to stay too long, for a first visit. As they were getting ready to go, Eric asked Ben, “Would it be all right if I came back again to visit you?”
Ben’s eyes lit up at that statement. “Sure, Eric, I would like to see you again whenever you want!”
“Well, how about tomorrow? I am pretty much free during the day. I could come down late morning, we could hang together, and then maybe pick up some lunch in town.”
Ben looked at his mom, who nodded her okay. “That sounds great, Eric. Come down whenever you can! I’ll look forward to seeing you again.”
True to his word, Eric drove down the next day, and he and Ben ended up having a great time. One-on-one, Ben was more open and animated, and he and Eric hit it off as friends. Ben was thrilled that an older teen was taking such an interest in him. Eric was like a big brother that he never had. Eric was having a good time also, and he wanted to give Ben some peer support, because he knew just under the surface, Ben was still having difficulties dealing with what had happened to him during his captivity.
Having Eric around was really good for Ben’s self-esteem. When Eric found out that Ben was unsure of himself swimming, he volunteered to help Ben learn to be more confident in the water. He got them passes at the local town pool, and they would often spend an hour or two there when Eric would visit, which was now four or five times a week.
On his third visit, Eric brought down a large box filled with clothing that Jason and Laura had picked out for Ben. Inside the box were several new pairs of shorts, a swimsuit, new pairs of jeans, about a dozen tee and polo shirts, a Giants baseball cap, packages of new underwear, pajamas, crew and quarter socks, and a couple of sweatshirts. And no Jason gift package was complete without a new pair of chucks. Jason sent down several pairs of high tops, in black, red, and brown, and a pair of white low cut chucks.
“You are set, my friend!” Eric exclaimed as he encouraged Ben to put on some of his new threads. “You will be one sharp-looking dude walking into high school this fall!”
Ben’s mother, Ariel, was very touched by Jason’s generosity, and his sister Paula was very pleased as well. Now the money that was going to be spent on new clothing for Ben would be spent on her instead, so she would have some additional outfits for school.
With Eric now spending so much time with Ben, Rebecca, Eric’s girl friend became curious about what he was doing down there. Eric explained to her, “I feel a real kinship with him, because I went through the same kind of ordeal. After I was freed from it, Jason and Daniel took it upon themselves to make sure that my needs were taken care of, that I was given counseling, and given a lot of new things to help me get my life back together again. Now I want to do the same thing for Ben.”
Eric then took Rebecca’s hands and held them. “I don’t think that you should think of this as any kind of threat to our relationship. My love for you is unwavering. In many ways you did for me what I am now doing for Ben. You were always there when I needed someone to be with. Maybe we would just sit together and hold hands. Or do something simple and fun like go to a movie.”
Rebecca leaned forward and gave Eric a kiss. “That’s why I love being with you, Eric. You are so straightforward and sincere. You’re such a sweet boy and so nice to be with! From that first moment we met, I felt comfortable in your company and attracted to you.”
“I have a great idea!” Eric continued with some enthusiasm. “Why don’t you come with me the next time I go down to visit with Ben. He has a sister, Paula, about our age, and his mom is real nice. They are a farm family, so they don’t have outside jobs. There is always stuff they are doing around the house, garden, and kitchen. And you know that they suffered while Ben was missing! I bet they would enjoy having some outside company for a change. Plus I want you to meet Ben. He really is starting to come out of his shell.”
The next time Eric drove down to Ben’s place, Rebecca came with him. Everybody was pleased to meet her, and within about fifteen minutes, Paula and Ariel had her in the kitchen where they were putting up preserves. They got to talking, Rebecca helped with the work, and soon they were having a great time, totally oblivious to Eric and Ben.
“Can you believe that?” Eric said to Ben.
“That’s okay,” Ben said. “They are having fun and enjoying themselves. Let’s go outside and play some catch.”
Soon Rebecca became a regular visitor with Eric. She would bring down things that the Kessler’s couldn’t grow on the farm, like large bags of flour, shortening, sugar, oil, and other cooking stapl
es. They would share recipes, make all kinds of baked goods like pies, tarts, and turnovers, put away preserves, sauces, and gravies with Rebecca’s contributions and the fresh produce from the farm gardens.
One day when Eric was visiting by himself, Ben suggested that they go for a walk to the edge of the Kessler farm property. The land was a little higher in elevation than the rest of their property. Near the property line was a large holding tank for fresh water. The water tank had a ledge about fifteen feet up from the ground, where you could sit and have a very good view of the farms in this area.
After the boys climbed up onto the ledge and sat down with their feet off the edge, Ben showed Eric some of the sights around his farm and the local area. Then he pointed over to a back road about a mile away. “That was the road I was on when I was kidnapped. Sal, the man who grabbed me, had set up a wire on the trail between two trees. I didn’t see it until it was too late. I went tumbling off of my bike and fell onto the ground. As I was lying there dazed from my fall, Sal brought over a rag soaked in chloroform. He held it over my face and I passed out. When I regained consciousness, I was inside Angelo’s cave, chained to a pipe and gagged with a piece of duct tape. After that my daily routine consisted of being whipped or beaten as part of Angelo’s ‘training program for kids.’ Then I would have to listen to his continual clichés about what ‘his daddy always said.’ If I expressed even the slightest attitude or anger, he would beat me up some more and leave me bound and gagged in the dark for hours to suffer alone! I think most of the food and water he gave me was drugged, because I was constantly passing out and waking up in different parts of the cave!”
“For what you endured, I bet you must still have recurring nightmares and flashbacks of what happened to you,” Eric responded in a quiet, calm voice. “It took me over a year before I was pretty much free from regular flashbacks of the things my evil stepfather did to me. I guess I will never be totally free, as long as I can still remember the abuse he heaped on me, and the degrading way he talked to me. He called me his ‘swimmer boy’, and made me wear nothing but a pair of trunks around the house whenever he was home!”
“How long did that go on?” Ben asked.
“It was over a year’s time, and gradually his abuse became worse and more aggressive. Then one day he went berserk. It was a cold day, and when I refused to strip down to a pair of swimming trunks, he beat me up, tied me up and gagged me with duct tape, raped me, then later tumbled me down the stairs into our basement to spend the night, all taped up, bruised, and helpless. That was one of the worst times of my life!”
“My God, Eric!” Ben responded with shock in his voice. “I never realized that you had suffered so much! I am so sorry you were treated like that! You are such a nice person; how could anyone do that to you!”
After Eric’s confession about some of the abuse he suffered, a floodgate of emotional release opened up for Ben. He was now able to freely talk about some of the details of his treatment at the hands of Salvatore Butera. He told Eric how he was forced to be Sal’s sexual slave, chained by his leg to a cot in that small subbasement room. If he refused to cooperate he was beaten up until he did. “Or Sal would threaten to return me to Angelo’s cave of horrors! The thought of that was usually enough to make me comply with whatever his latest sick request was. The worst days were when he would come in and chain my wrists or put a gag in my mouth. Then I knew something really awful was about to happen to me!
“I still feel ashamed for the things I had to do while I was their prisoner. Dr. Agoura tells me that I shouldn’t blame myself for anything I was forced to do. He told me that no young kid has a defense against a stronger, older adult. He said that I should remember that I was kept chained or tied up most of the time, and that my cooperation was coerced not voluntary. He said I did what I had to do to survive! But I still get shaky inside when I even think of what I had to do at times!”
“Ben, you were forced into an adult world controlled by predators!” Eric responded with strong passion in his voice. “Their plan was to use you, abuse you, take perverted pleasure from you, and then discard you like a piece of trash!
“They kept pounding away at your innocence and self-respect in an attempt to possess your soul and destroy your sense of manhood! Sure you may feel guilt because you know the things you had to do were indecent and immoral. But now they don’t control you any more, and your sense of right and wrong is back in balance again. They tried very hard but they never could reach your soul. In the long run they could only abuse your body!
“Now your body is healed, but your mind still remembers the horrors you faced during your captivity. That is the hardest thing to deal with, and probably it will always be an unfortunate memory. That’s because deep inside you are a moral and righteous person, Ben!” Eric went on.
“I know I still have occasional flashbacks from when I was abused.” Eric looked away at the view for a moment while he gathered his thoughts. He sniffled for a second as his eyes blinked back a few tears. Then he continued in an emotional voice, “Not only that, but after I was rescued —when my stepfather found out I had left my mother’s home to escape his abuse — he forced my mother to tell him where, accidentally killing her in the process! Then he came to my aunt and uncle’s house to kidnap me. His plan was to make me his sexual slave! The last time I ever saw him, he was laughing at me, after he had strung me up in his personal torture chamber. He even tied a bandana gag in my mouth to remind me to never talk back to him.”
“Eric, you are blowing my mind with these stories!” Ben reacted with some astonishment in his voice. “This stepfather of yours sounds like a real bastard!”
“Well, I should say former stepfather,” Eric replied with a more resolute voice. “Because Jason and Daniel were there to support me, I learned to try and fight back, even when the odds were stacked against me. And it worked! Before my stepfather took me away to his ranch in the hills where he would take his victims, I was able to leave enough clues so that my friends and the police were able to track me down. I never did have to become his slave, thank God! He was shot and killed by the police SWAT team, resisting them to the bitter end. His contempt for my life and freedom was so great, he even refused to tell them where he had stashed me as he was dying! Luckily Jason and Daniel were able to figure it out, find me, and rescue me from his horrible dungeon.
“And Ben, from what you have told me about how Sal and Angelo treated you, I know you were forced to be their slave for a while. Just remember that those actions were not voluntary, they were not the real you, and now that horrible nightmare in your life is over! I’m here to tell you that you can and will recover, just like I did! How do I know this? It’s because you are a nice person, a good person inside, and you know right from wrong! Already you are making great strides toward your full recovery!
Eric looked directly into Ben’s eyes and put his hands on Ben’s shoulders. “Look at yourself in the mirror now, Ben. You look good, you seem more confident than ever, and you are starting to be happy again! Just the fact that you are able to confide in me some of those horrible things that happened to you shows that you are getting beyond the impact of those experiences. I feel privileged that you choose me to confide in and that you trust me enough to do that. When I first came down to visit, I did so because I wanted to help out a young kid who had suffered a terrible experience. But now I come down because I like you as a friend, and we enjoy each other’s company! Each day I visit with you, I see a little more of that weight lifted off of your back.”
Eric then gripped Ben’s hands in a handshake. “And now your mind is starting to move away from the shock mode that it has been in for these last weeks since you were rescued. The fact that you are able to voluntarily talk about what was done to you is a very positive sign! Now when you look out over this beautiful land it should be a sign of hope, not a reminder of the evil that was done to you. Your life is going to continue to get better and better as the days and years go by. I kn
ow that will happen to you, because it happened to me!”
“You are an amazing friend, Eric!” Ben replied with gratitude and emotional fervor. “Thank you for those kind words and for being willing to confide in me about the cruel things that were done to you! Your words have given me hope for the future, and made it easier for me to talk about what happened to me. I am so lucky to have met you! You really have helped me out this summer!”
Ben let go of Eric’s hand and stood up. “Now I have a proposal. All this serious talk and memories of our past horrors needs to be washed away. Let’s go to the pool in town and swim a few laps!”
“That’s the best idea I have heard today!” Eric exclaimed as he offered Ben his knuckles to hit. “That proves to me you are on your way, Ben!”
“You taught me that, Eric,” Ben answered. “You and Jason have helped me find the pathway back to having fun again. Now I feel comfortable doing normal things like going swimming. I never had that confidence before.”
The two friends quickly climbed back down off the ledge and walked back to the farmhouse. Ben had a huge smile on his face the whole way. For the first time, he felt in his heart and mind that he was truly on the road to recovery. It was an awesome feeling!
Chapter 5
The Bike Ride
(Thursday)
Ever since Nick’s rescue, Jason had promised that the rest of the summer would be devoted to just having fun. Jason knew that when he and Daniel worked on cases, it was a strain not only on the two of them, but also on their girl friends, Laura and Diana. Each couple had decided to go steady this summer. As a result, they were spending a lot more quality time with each other. Before Diana and Daniel had become serious in their relationship, they often liked to go for long bike rides together. Today they were bicycling to a park at the foothills to the Silicon Valley and Jason and Laura were accompanying them.
Eyewitness News Page 4
