The hardest call of all was to the Yees. He called Tommy’s mother at her accounting firm. She was businesslike and cold. She was very proper and formal on the phone, but Taylor could tell that she was horrified, and he had a feeling that Tommy would be severely punished by them, whatever happened, for being implicated at all. They were extremely tough on him, and he agreed with Nicole’s concerns about Tommy’s reaction.
By the time he hung up after speaking to Shirley Yee, Taylor felt as though he had been squeezed like a lemon and thrown away.
* * *
—
Gwen was with Vivienne by then, and very gingerly explored with her the stories that the boys had told them.
“Why were they interrogated at all? I said I wasn’t with them that night,” Vivienne said, looking shaken.
“You lied to us, Viv. Your fingerprints and theirs were on the tequila bottle.”
“Is that why you fingerprinted the students?” she asked in a frightened voice, and Gwen nodded.
“You have a right to be protected, valued, and vindicated. Do you want to tell us the truth now?” Vivienne didn’t answer her for a minute.
“I don’t want them to get in trouble because of me,” she said in a small voice.
“Why not, after what one of them did to you? If it was one of them.”
“Maybe some part of it was my fault. Maybe I did something wrong or gave them the wrong impression. And besides, I got drunk with them.” She was willing to admit that much now. She had no other choice since the boys had talked about it and the fingerprints on the bottle were undeniable.
“Every rape victim in the world says what you just did, and thinks it. It doesn’t matter what you do. I don’t care how short your skirts are, or how drunk you get, you have the right to wear whatever you want and not be raped.” Gwen sat in silence for a minute letting her words sink in. “Viv, are you going to tell me what happened?”
Vivienne shook her head and then slid deep into her bed. “No, I can’t. And I didn’t say any of them did it.” But Gwen knew they did, and she knew that Vivienne remembered what had happened.
“Are you in love with one of them?” It was the only other reason Gwen could think of that she would protect them.
“No. I like them all…and I like two of them a lot. Maybe I could have fallen in love with one of them, but now it will never happen.”
“No, I guess it won’t. So you let them all go scot-free, no matter what?”
“Their lives will be ruined forever if they go to prison.”
“And yours?”
“I’ll be okay,” she said in a small childlike voice, but she was having nightmares about it, and headaches.
“You’ll remember it forever and that you did nothing, and you’ll regret it one day. I want you to think about this, Viv. Hard. You have a responsibility to yourself, the community, and even to them.” Vivienne turned her face away then and ignored her.
“My head hurts,” she said in a whisper.
“I’ll go. Call me if you want to talk…and tell me the truth about what happened.” She left Vivienne alone in her room then. Her parents had been out somewhere, and Dominic was waiting for her in the car in the hospital parking lot. She slid into the front seat next to him and looked at him in frustration.
“Well, did she tell you the truth this time?”
“More or less. One of them did it. But if I try to get a statement out of her, she’ll deny it. She doesn’t want to send them to prison. She’s afraid she might have caused it to happen, and I think she had a crush on two of them. Shit, teenage girls are complicated.”
“So are grown women. Now feed me for chrissake. We can talk about it again after lunch.”
“Okay, okay, take me to your diner.” She smiled at him and they drove away, as she thought about Vivienne and what a devastating experience she’d been through, and it tore at Gwen’s heart yet again.
* * *
—
Adrian Stone went to his advisor that afternoon, as he’d been instructed to do, if he needed advice or assistance. He said he wanted to call his court-appointed lawyer, and he wanted to use her phone to do it.
“Is something wrong, Adrian? Have you had a problem with your parents?” She was all too familiar with his history with them.
“I have a legal problem,” he said seriously, sitting on the edge of his chair.
“What kind of legal problem?”
“It’s confidential.”
“All right. You can use my phone. I’ll leave you alone for as long as you need.” She left the room and went to get a cup of coffee in the teachers’ lounge.
“Thank you,” he said. He dialed the number in New York. It was an emergency cellphone number he’d been given by the attorney, and the lawyer picked it up on the first ring.
“Mr. Friedman, this is Adrian Stone, at Saint Ambrose,” Adrian said in a strong voice.
“Are you okay? Are your parents filing court orders again? Have they come up to see you?” He hadn’t been notified of any recent motions.
“No, it’s not about them this time.” He sounded businesslike and very adult. “I think I’ve committed a crime, and I could go to jail. I’m having anxiety over it, and my asthma is back. I need to see you.”
“What kind of crime?” The lawyer sounded shocked. Adrian was the meekest kid he’d ever met.
“I’d rather tell you in person. I need your advice. I don’t know what to do. Do you think you could come up to school to see me?” There was something about the orderly way he said it that convinced the attorney it was important. He glanced at his calendar and almost groaned. He had back-to-back appointments and court appearances for the next month.
“Can it wait till Friday?” the lawyer asked, curious about what his client had gotten into. Adrian was a good kid with terrible parents and he wanted to help him.
“I think it can.” He wasn’t sure. It meant waiting three days.
“Then I’ll be there. If things get rough before that, call me.”
“I will. And thank you. You’re a very good attorney.”
“Thank you, Adrian.” Sam Friedman smiled and promised to be at the school on Friday afternoon after lunch. He was going to drive up from New York.
Adrian looked a thousand percent better when he hung up, and he was proud of his decision. He knew it was why he was having the asthma attacks. He could hardly wait to see his lawyer on Friday. He thanked his advisor when he saw her in the hall, and left, feeling relieved.