The Girl Most Likely To ... - Part 33
by Barbara Lynn Terry

Chapter 1 - Shaiya is very awed by Naomi.

As they came up from the basement, Shaiya noticed Naomi playing a game of Twister with a few of the girls. Shaiya stood there in amazement of this deputy sheriff who puts people in jail and yet has time to help troubled girls have fun. There was laughing and giggling in this game.

As Naomi tripped over herself, Shaiya giggled.

"Naomi, you continuously amaze me. How is it that you have the energy and time to do this?"

"Do what, Shaiya?" Naomi asked, still lying on the floor.

"See, that is what I mean. You put people in jail, and yet you come here and get involved with these girls. I can't help but be in awe of this ... this .... attitude of yours."

"Shaiya, I promised one of the girls that I would be here for her and help her through her therapy and emotional times. These girls made me an honorary sister. So, I do what I can, when I can, for my sisters. See, Shaiya, it is like this. Each one of these girls is here because they need help with one thing or another. It doesn't take much time to be able to help these girls get through their most formative years with pride, dignity and strength to face the outside world when they become legal adults.

"This is why they have the privileges they do. They are being raised like they were not even in an institution, but at home. This way, the stigma of being in an institution doesn't settle in to their minds to create PTSD. See, they had a problem with one of the staff here, who is now in jail waiting several trials. They were afraid to say anything, until Rachel was molested by this pervert, and it was the house father here that had him arrested. He was the chief of psychiatry here as well as the medical doctor.

"When the girls found out that one of their sisters had the courage to tell another staff member what he had done, the rest just broke down and admitted they had also been molested by this perverted doctor."

"Was Janice molested by him, too?"

"Mrs. Peyton, Janice was actually raped by him."

"What is your name, young lady?"

"I'm Melanie, Mrs. Peyton. I am one of Janice' closest friends. Actually, Mrs. Peyton, the girls here have called Sharon, Janice and myself the Three Musketeers, because we are always together, mostly."

"Well, I only hope that through the years, young lady, that when you leave this home, you stand strong against whoever thinks they can over lord themselves over you. That is what it takes to be a woman in today's world. If we don't stand strong, the men will run right over us. Our place in this world is to be equal partners with the men, not be their slaves for whatever they think we should be doing.

"I own my own internet business. I make greeting cards on my computer and sell them via the internet. I do quite a good business, too. I'm not rich, but I do have some money to do things with, like maybe see a movie, go bowling, but a new dress or outfit, or maybe buy a nice pair of shoes.

"Tomorrow I have to check my orders and see how many I need to make and send out. I make them on my computer, but I send them through first class mail.

"Excuse me, Shaiya," Jack Olsen said, interrupting. "I have a phone number here for you to call. This is a house not too far from here for sale or rent to own. It is about two and a half miles east of the town, about two miles from here."

"Thank you, uhm..."

"Jack."

"Right. Nice to meet you, Jack. I'm Shaiya."

"It is nice to meet you, too, Shaiya. Anyway the sign says for sale or rent to own and that is the number to call."

"Thank you, Jack, I will call them right now. May I use the phone?"

"Yes, right this way."

Jack led Shaiya in to the office, and told her to dial nine before dialing an outside number. Shaiya dialed the nine, then the number.

"Yes, hello, I am calling about the house you have for sale or rent to own. I was wondering if we could meet and I could see the house." Shaiya listened for a few moments. "In an hour? All right."

Shaiya hung up the phone, and told everybody she had an appointment to see the owner in an hour. Since it only took about maybe five minutes to get there, Shaiya asked Naomi if she could come with her.

"I would love to. This way if you get the house, I will know where you live. I was lucky to get the house I did." Just then, Naomi's cell ring tone went off. "Hello, Deputy Petersen." Naomi listened, then made her apologies. "I am sorry, Shaiya, but the perverted doctor just tried to hang himself. I have to meet my lieutenant at the hospital."

Melanie, with narrowed eyes and a scowl, looked at Naomi. "Good! I hope the perverted bastard dies."

"Melanie, I won't give you a demerit for the language, but in the future, say it without the cuss word."

"Oh, uhm, yes, daddy, thank you. It just slipped out."

"Well, I was thinking the same thing, too. He really does need ... Never mind. See Shaiya, when Rachel told Jan what he had done, I called the state police. That was when the rest of the girls came forward and told what he had done to them."

"Shaiya," Melanie looked at her. "I am sorry you had to find this out, but maybe it is good, too. This way, when Janice talks about it, you will be able to understand what and who she is talking about."

Naomi left for the hospital with her siren and lights going. Even out of uniform, Naomi was a dedicated law enforcement officer. It took under ten minutes to get to the hospital. She parked in one of the police parking spaces and went in to the emergency room.

"Oh, Naomi. Yes, Dr. Poole tried to hang himself and he left this note."

"To whoever finds my body, please tell the girls at the Pine Meadows Home For Adolescent Girls, that I didn't really mean them any harm. I am sorry for molesting them, and I only hope God can forgive me."

"God has more forgiveness than the girls do, right now." Naomi stated. "But, this note is considered a death bed statement, even though he will survive and is admissible evidence against him. I'm going to go and give this to the district attorney. Then, there is something I must do."

"Naomi, did you get enough rest last night and this morning?"

"Yes, lieutenant, I did. But now,I need to unwind from all the hectic activity I have been through. Another one of the girls parent is moving up here, and I promised I would look at the house with her. It is right on Barker Road past the Barker farm.

"Yes, you go and help this girl's parent. I remember hearing about Josiah Barker, whose farm was a mainstay of vegetable supply in the county. When he passed away, the whole town turned out. Tim Barker runs it now with his son, Tommy."

"I will have to stop by and have a country talk with them."

"That is a good idea. Mrs. Audrey Barker is quite the lady in this county. She is always trying to out best Wanda Jameson at the county fair. I think those two are going to have a bake to the death duel one of these times." Naomi giggled and wished the lieutenant well, then left to go back to the house.

Naomi stopped at the district attorney's office to give him the note. He said he would forward it to Mr. Townsend. Naomi thanked him and left to meet Shaiya at the home so they could go and look at the house.

Naomi pulled in to home's parking area, just as Shaiya was coming out.

"Now that is what I call good timing," Naomi stated, facetiously.

"Yes. Your business didn't take that long."

"No, I was just informed what the doctor tried to do in his jail cell, and then I stopped by the district attorney's office to drop off a piece of evidence. The doctor was sedated when I got there, and he is restrained to the bed, so he doesn't try anything when he wakes up. He is on strict suicide watch."

"How old is this doctor?"

"He is forty two."

"Why would he want to molest teenage girls?"

"Shaiya, that has been the question law enforcement has been asking for decades. Maybe he just doesn't get along well with girls and thinks he has to molest them to have sex."

"That is awful, Naomi. A grown man who has to molest young girls, is not sane in my book."

"I agree, Shaiya, but my job is to arrest him when he violates the law. What I don't understand is, he was sent to the state hospital for a thirty day observation period. I don't understand why he is back here so soon."

"Maybe he sneaked away."

"That could be. I will have to ask when I go in to work in the morning. He was in a jail cell when he tried to hang himself. How did he get there from the state hospital?"

"That is very puzzling."

"Well, since you are the mother of one of the girls, you have a right to know. Janice was one of the girls Dr. Poole raped, not just simply inappropriately touched, but actually placed his penis inside her vagina and came to full orgasm. He is in jail waiting to be tried on all counts. The only girl he didn't molest is the girl that came a month before the girl I brought up here. So, tomorrow, I am going to find out why he is back here so early."

"Why didn't the girls report this abuse?"

"Because they were afraid nobody would believe them. See Shaiya, these girls have been self sufficient for a very long time. But when they were molested by a staff member, they felt the rest of the staff would side with the doctor. That was until their house father called the state police and had them investigate. But, I am going to find out a few things tomorrow. Something isn't right here. Here's the house.

Naomi drove in the drive way and parked by the front door. As they waited for the owner, they talked a little more.

"So, how has Janice been since she was molested?"

"Very mistrusting of authority. She even questioned my motives for wanting to help not only Rachel, but all of them." Just then another car stopped by the house. "This must be the owner."

Naomi and Shaiya got out of the car and greeted the man who was going to show them the house.

"Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Tim Barker, I own this parcel. Let me show you the inside."

They went inside and looked around. The living room was quite the size. There was also a full basement where Shaiya could put a washer and a dryer. The upstairs had six bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was bigger than then the rest, so Shaiya considered this for her sewing room. The other bedrooms were smaller, but larger than most you would find in the city. The dining room was a good size where you could put a banquet table and still have room to move around. The kitchen still had the old wood burning stove to cook on and Tim Barker had said that cord wood could be bought at reasonable prices.

Shaiya looked at the house and then at Mr. Barker.

"So, how much are you asking for the house and the land?"

"Well, on a land contract, I would be willing to sell the house for fifty thousand, and the acreage for about maybe one hundred dollars and acre and there are fifty acres, so that would be a total of fifty five thousand dollars. You said on the phone, that you would be interested in renting to buy, so fifity five thousand dollars for ten years would come to about two thousand dollars a month. Would you be able to afford that much?"

"I can, and we can actually make something out this place too. Naomi, this house needs a woman's touch."

"Yes, it does, Shaiya."

"Naomi?" Tim Barker asked. "Like in Naomi, the dragon lady of Pine Meadows county."

Shaiya and Naomi looked at each other and giggled.

"Yes, Tim, as in the dragon lady of Pine Meadows county."

"Well, in that case, today is your lucky day Miss. I would be willing to sell this place for twelve hundred a month for ten years. How does that sound?"

"It sounds wonderful Mr. Barker."

"Mr. Barker was my father, I'm Tim. I have a place just down the road not too far from here."

"I bought the old Connors place," Naomi said, just to add a little something to the conversation.

"So we are all in the same area. Good. So, are you going to sign away your life, Miss?"

"I might as well. There will be me and my daughter Janice living here."

"Would that be Janice Peyton, from the home just up the street?"

"Yes. Why? Is that a problem?"

"No, no, my son Tommy said he hasn't seen her lately."

"She is in the hospital. She was in a coma for a couple of days."

"I will tell you what. You can move in anytime, here are the keys. I will revise the land contract and remove the sign. Tommy will want to go and see Janice. I'm sorry Miss, that this happened."

"Thank you, and it's Shaiya." Tim Barker smiled a weak smile and left the women to themselves. Naomi hugged Shaiya and Shaiya had a good cry.

Chapter 2 - Shaiya tells Janice the good news.

Shaiya suggested they go back to the hospital and tell Janice that they are now living in Pine Meadows county. Naomi agreed. They went out and got in Naomi's SUV and headed for the hospital. When they got there, Tommy was just getting in the elevator.

"Hold the elevator!" Shaiya exclaimed. They got in the elevator and went to AICU. When they found out the young man in the elevator was Tommy Barker, the women introduced themselves.

"You must be Tommy Barker. I'm Naomi Petersen and this is Mrs. Shaiya Peyton, Janice' mother."

"When my dad told me about Janice, I wanted to get here quickly to see her. Mrs. Peyton, I go to the parties at the home quite a bit. I have made many friends there." Then they walked in the room.

"Tommy! Oh! Thank you, so much, for coming. The doctor says maybe I can go home tomorrow, but she wants to be sure I don't go back in to the coma. She said, too, that I could slip in to the coma at any time, whether I am here or at the house."

"Janice, you know that if you ever need to talk, you can call me and I will come and talk with you. Maybe take you in town and buy you a burger and fries."

"I'd kill for a burger and fries, right now. This hospital food is terrible."

"Tell me about it. When I had my tonsils out when I was seven, it was bad even then. I am glad to see it hasn't changed any."

"Now, but now they called the food service, room service, like this is a hotel." Just then the nurse came in to check the IV and the monitors.

"Honey, at these rates, this might as well be a hotel. When they charge twenty five dollars for an aspirin, you know it's a hotel." The girls all giggled while Tommy guffawed slightly.

"Anyway, sweetie, I found a house owned by Tommy's father, and he will sell it to us on a land contract for ten years." Shaiya was smiling when she said that.

"That's wonderful, mom. You mean, I will actually be living with...you?"

"Yes, sweetie. No more arguing, except when you want to wear what I consider too short skirts or dresses."

"Oh mom," Janice said looking sheepish.

"Anyway, I thought I would ask if a few of your friends can come with us and help us pack."

"That is what Naomi did. She took a few of us to her house and Renée's house in Forest City. We helped both of them pack, and even helped Renée's dad put his heavy tool chest in the trailer. It was funny, because he was trying to show off by doing it himself. We knew he needed help, so we helped him."

"That is a good idea, Shaiya. It shows the girls they are trusted in more than just in town. Yes, I think that would work out beautifully."

"Thank you, Naomi."

"You are quite welcome, Shaiya. I even left a few of the girls on their own for an hour or so, and when we got back, they had everything packed, almost. Just a few trinkets here and there."

"Naomi?"

"Yes, Janice."

"You know when you first brought Rachel to the house, I was very suspicious of you and your intentions. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Sis, never apologize for what comes from your mind. You have had a bad experience with authority, and you were suspicious of all of us who are the authority. So, what I will tell you is this. When you have a question, ask it, otherwise you will probably be misinformed when you hear about it again. You didn't trust anybody with a badge. I can understand that. But my intentions are nothing, if not honest. I am here to help, and here I will stay."

"Thank you, sis." Naomi hugged Janice, but delicately so she didn't rip the tubes and wires off.

"No thanks is necessary, sis. But, you know what? You don't have to live at the home any more. You will still go to school on the grounds until school is out for the summer. Then next semester, you will be going to Pine Meadows Senior High. You are going to be on an extended home visit, for as long as you want, maybe forever."

"Is this true, mother?"

"Yes, sweetie it is. Mr. Barker said we can move in anytime and he even gave me the keys. He said he would revise the land contract so all we had to pay is twelve hundred dollars a month for ten years."

"I will like that. The house you bought is just a little past Tommy's. Maybe Tommy and Darla can come and visit sometime."

"I would like that, Janice," Tommy said, with a smile. "Darla and I have made up, and we have our next date this Saturday evening. There is a square dance at the VFW post. Darla wants to go to it."

"I haven't been square dancing in a coon's age, as my grandfather used to say." Everybody giggled at what Naomi had said. "Maybe we can make an evening out of it. I will let Ms. Wells know about it too, and maybe the home can send the girls for a evening of fun. You said Saturday, Tommy?"

"Yes, it starts at six and goes until whenever. The bar will will be closed and there will soft drinks for us as well as the adults. This way nobody gets drunk and everybody can have a good time."

"Then it is a date, Tommy."

"Mom, are we going to have a garden?"

"Yes, sweetie, we are. I want to plant corn, potatoes, and beets. We will also have flowers around the house, too, and along the pathway leading to the front door. We won't just have a house, honey, but a real home." Shaiya hugged Janice, carefully, and promised her no more arguing, no more do this or that, or else. "From now on, sweetie, we will be mother and daughter."

"Thank you, mother, so much."