Identity Crisis - Pt 5

For parts 1 - 4 click paste the following links:

https://vocal.media/fiction/identity-crisis-yb14r02l5

https://vocal.media/fiction/identity-crisis-pt-2

https://vocal.media/fiction/identity-crisis-pt-3

https://vocal.media/fiction/identity-crisis-pt-4

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Identity Crisis

Chapter 5

Twenty minutes passed after Detective Perkins took their finished statements before the door to the interview room opened again. The Marcelluses, expecting the detective, were surprised when an unfamiliar dark-haired man in sports coat and slacks walked in. “Mr. and Mrs. Marcellus, my name is Special Agent Davenport. I’m with the Indianapolis office of the FBI.”

Alicia and Clark looked at each other. The FBI? What the heck? Clark stood and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you, Agent Davenport. I’m Clark Marcellus, this is my wife, Alicia.”

“Pleasure, I’m sure,” the agent said. “Look. I know you two have been through quite a lot today what with finding out your son was kidnapped from another couple before being adopted out to you, but I really need to ask you some questions. Kidnapping is a federal crime and carries some very heavy penalties.”

“We didn’t know. We just wanted to adopt a child to love and raise,” Alicia said. “I can’t have children of my own.”

“Be that as it may, the agency you went through, Child Haven Adoption Agency, seems to be responsible for kidnapping children. That is certainly not something we can allow.”

“Of course not. But..., what about Quentin?”

“His real name is Jason Trilby. He’s here meeting his birth family right now.”

“Jason,” Clark whispered. He looked at the FBI agent standing there, looking at them sternly. “How can we help? We wrote down what we remember in the statements we gave to Detective Perkins.”

“I read them. And I appreciate it. Look, I need to know some basic things.”

“Okay. What do you need to know?”

“Mrs. Marcellus,” Alicia looked up, trying not to cry again, “you said you can’t have children? Why is that?”

“When I was seventeen, I was in a car accident. I wasn’t driving, but it was bad. I..., I had to have a hysterectomy. I never had the chance to have children of my own.”

“I’m sorry to hear that ma’am. That must have been quite a blow. So, fifteen years ago the two of you decided to adopt a child.”

“Yes. We wanted one so badly,” Alicia said.

“I see from the original papers that you told Child Haven that you had been to several adoption agencies and were turned down. Can you tell me why?”

Clark hung his head. “It was because I have a felony conviction on my record from when I was seventeen. Nobody would allow us to adopt due to it.”

“I see.” Davenport opened the folder in his hand. “At age seventeen you were convicted of aggravated battery on your stepfather. Can you tell me what happened?”

Clark’s gut clenched and his hands tightened. It was difficult to think about what had occurred all those years back. Swallowing, he looked at the agent. “My mother was a single woman raising a teenager after my father died of cancer. She..., went downhill pretty quickly. Never recovered. To be honest, she became an alcoholic. What was even worse was the men she brought home from bars and all. Losers. Until she met one she thought was “Mr. Right.” She remarried when I was sixteen. My stepfather turned out to be an abusive jerk who beat on my mother constantly. I came home one night to find her with two black eyes and bruises on her arms. I confronted my stepfather and he just laughed at me. When he asked me what I was going to do about it..., I lost it. I beat the crap out of him. My mother sided with him and I was convicted of felony aggravated battery. I’m not proud of it, but,” looking directly at the agent, “neither am I ashamed.”

“I get it. I probably would have done the same thing. I have copies of the court transcripts which I looked over yesterday on the way here. That had to be rough having your mother turn on you like that. Thank you for telling me. Personally, I thought you were railroaded. Some would have given you a medal.”

“Thank you, Agent Davenport.”

“So, you were unable to adopt a child. What brought you to Child Haven Adoption Agency?”

“One of the clerks at the last adoption agency we tried, Children’s Hope Center, told us we should try Child Haven. He gave me their phone number.”

“I see. That’s interesting. Do you remember the name of this clerk?”

“No. He was about mid-forties, balding, maybe 5’8”. White guy. I guess he’d be almost sixty now.”

“How much did you pay the agency for the adoption?”

“Fifty thousand dollars. It was our life savings.”

“You never thought that there was a possibility that Child Haven was doing something illegal given the circumstances?”

“I thought the possibility existed, but they told us that they charged more because of the legalities of working past things like my felony conviction. They told us that Quentin was the child of a single young woman who was a drug abuser with no family. They told us she had died in childbirth and Quentin had been in foster care from the day he was born. They were very understanding about the circumstances surrounding my conviction.”

“You know I could charge you two with abetting in an illegal child abduction ring. This is no small thing. Families are having their children..., babies, stolen from them. They live their whole lives in agony wondering if their child is dead or alive. Good families, like the Trilbies.”

Alicia had tears running down her face, her mascara was a mess. “We didn’t know. We never would have gone to such a horrible place if we had known.”

“I have warrants here,” the agent pulled some more papers from the folder, “to search your home for any information surrounding Jason’s adoption.” He set the papers on the desk, which Clark pulled over to glance at. “I don’t want to tear apart your home, but we need to look through your papers, computer files, a safe if you have one. We have to be sure.”

“Of course. We understand.” Clark set the papers back down.

“I can follow you to the house, along with Detective Perkins, and have a couple patrol officers meet us there.”

“What about Quentin?”

“Jason? I think that needs to wait a bit until after we look through the house. So long as there isn’t anything that contradicts your story, I’m certain we can let you see Jason. You do know that he’ll be going back to Indiana, don’t you?”

Alicia Marcellus looked stricken. Clark just looked down, clenching his hands.

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Jason spent the next forty-five minutes talking with his biological parents and his brother about his life here in Deland and listening to them talk about Greenfield, Indiana. His brother, not a soccer player, but instead a swimmer, told him about his friends, the swim team, and school. Greenfield sounded nice, but Jason couldn’t hardly fathom leaving Laura, his friends, and everything he had ever known.

“How did it happen…, uhm…, do I call you Mom?”

“Yes. Of course.” Lorraine reached over and moved an errant strand of hair from next to Jason’s eye. “I’m Mom, and this is Dad.”

“Yeah, I know. It just seems weird.”

“I know son. We’re just so glad you’re here,” Marcus said.

“So, the kidnapping, how did it happen?”

“We were at the park. It was a Saturday, about noon. Actually, it was your first birthday. March 5th, 2008.”

“I was told my birthday was April 2nd.”

“No, It’s March 5th. In any case, your brother needed a diaper change. You were in the double stroller behind me. I put Anthony in the back of the SUV, the hatchback part, to change his diaper. It was only a minute or two, I swear. When I turned around, you were…,” she choked up, “gone. Just gone. There wasn’t anyone nearby. I know I heard a car leave while I was busy with your brother, but I didn’t see it. It was just…, so quick. I freaked out. I called your dad who told me to call 911. Police were there in a few minutes, although it seemed like forever. They blanketed the whole area, but…, you were just gone. We never saw you again until Phil sent us that photo.”

“Wow. That really sucks.”

Just then, Detective Perkins walked into the room. He looked around at the faces sitting there. Mrs. Trilby looked both happy and sad at the same time. It was obvious she had been holding back tears. Mr. Trilby looked bemused. Anthony seemed uncertain but appeared to be trying to be happy about the whole thing. “Folks, I think we’re about done for now. We’ll have the DNA results in about twenty-four hours. Uhm, we need to talk about what we’re going to do with Jason for the next day or so.”

“What do you mean? He’s coming with us,” Marcus said.

“Well, until we get the DNA results and verify everything we really can’t do that. I hope you understand. We have a DCF worker on the way. They can set him up with a place to stay.”

“DCF? You mean go to a foster home?” Jason looked stricken.

“Just for a night or two Jason. We really can’t send you with your family here until this is all officially verified.”

“And I can’t go home?”

“Afraid not.”

“What about my friend Dan’s house? Can I spend the night there?”

“I’ll have to check with Agent Davenport, but possibly. Can you call your friend? We’ll need to speak with his parents and probably arrange for a patrol car to be in the area. That is, if Agent Davenport agrees.”

Lorraine looked stricken at the thought of Jason going anywhere but with them. Clark stood. “I understand. We’re at the Marriott. Call us if you need anything at all. Jason, can you take my phone number?”

Detective Perkins stepped back into the room. “Agent Davenport said that should be fine so long as we have a patrol car in the area.”

Jason exchanged numbers with his parents and brother then called Dan.

Daniel Rigby answered immediately. “Jason, wtf? School just let out. Where are you?”

“I’m at the police station. You already know what happened. Apparently the whole school knows.”

“Yeah. Everyone is talking about it.”

“Look, Dan, I need a place to stay for a couple days. Can you check with your parents to see if I could stay there?”

“Of course. Let me give them a quick call. I’ll call you right back.”

“You’re the man. Thanks.”

Dan called back five minutes later advising his parents said it was fine. “They can’t believe this shit either,” he said. “Do you need a ride? They said they’d pick you up.”

Jason checked with Detective Perkins who told him they’d have a squad car give him a ride. He told Dan, then hung up.

Lorraine hugged her newly found son. Marcus clapped him on the shoulder. Anthony gave him a high five, then his new family left. “Call us if you need anything Jason,” his father said.