All for Acceptance II

By: Rod
(© 2010 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 4 

“Professor Saunders, do we have any idea when we can expect the new boy to arrive?” inquired Brad.

“It shouldn’t take too long.  I got a petition into the court system today as soon as I had gotten the request to consult in his case for that new home,”

“I take it the home doesn’t know anything about your plans?”

“They shouldn’t.  This Phillip’s Second Chance Home is too new on the scene to have any idea how things really work.  I just can’t believe they could be so naïve, but then, why should they have any idea.  Our studies have to be kept secret or we would have all kinds of idiots breathing down our necks.  It’s bad enough we can’t let the brass here at the University really know what is going on.  They think our study of child geniuses is very elementary, even babying our subjects.  If they only knew the stresses we put them through to obtain the data we are looking for I’d hate to think what might happen.  When we publish our final paper it will be worth it.  They won’t complain when our paper gets the attention it will deserve.”

“It’s just a pity we lost Jeffrey when we did,” interjected Brad.

“Who would have known the kid would commit suicide like he did.  If that social worker had never had a conversation with him maybe, it wouldn’t have happened.  Her and her big mouth, she had to ask too many questions and make too many comments.  Let’s face it, the kid was a genius or he wouldn’t have been here to start with.  With that level of intelligence, the comments she made paved the way to trouble.   We can only hope this time we will be able to keep Child and Family Services away.  For that reason I’ve made arrangements to have the new boy taken elsewhere.  If Child and Family Services comes by we just have to tell them he is being housed out of state during our studies and hope we can keep them at bay long enough,” explained Professor Saunders.

“I hope we can keep a closer eye on this kid so we don’t lose him like we did Jeffrey.  We were so close.  We had him almost to the pinnacle of stress.  Just a few more days and we would have had all the data we needed.  Now, we have to start all over again with the new kid.”

“We better; it’s not easy to dispose of a ten year old.” 

“Good morning, Your Honor,” said Detective Jones as he entered Judge Hamilton’s chambers.

“Well, do we have any information that can influence my decision?” asked Judge Hamilton.

“I think so, Your Honor.  First of all didn’t you say that Professor Saunders claimed to have the mother’s permission for them to take responsibility for Paul?” queried Detective Jones.

“That’s what the petition claims.”

“According to Children and Family Services she signed over all parental rights.  I may not be an attorney, but I would be lead to believe that they could not have a valid authorization from her under those circumstances.”

“I will have to verify the dates and times of signature and which is supposedly signed first to determine that.  What else might you have found out?”

“I was following up on whatever I could find out about Professor Saunders and it seems he got custody of another young man, a Jeffrey Adams about a year and a half ago.  Jeffery seems to have disappeared.  Melanie Fairbanks with Children and Family Services told me that for the last three months she has felt there has been a problem as far as Jeffrey was concerned and the last time she saw him they had a rather long conversation.  Jeffrey seemed to be rather disturbed during their conversation, but wouldn’t tell her anything that could be of help.  She felt something was wrong but couldn’t come up with enough to remove him from the premises at the time.  When she went back to see him again after checking with the director, he couldn’t be found.  They claimed that he had gone on a trip, but couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her where he went, or when.  Any information she did get could not be verified.  We are just afraid of where he might be.”

“If that is the case then I can’t see any reason why we should chance them getting custody of another boy at this point in time.  Was there anything in particular special about Jeffrey?”

“A very high IQ for starters,” responded the Detective.

“I think it would be in the best interest of all concerned that we deny the petition and you keep up the investigation.  Since the missing boy Jeffrey was a ward of the state,  I’ll order he be presented immediately. If he cannot be, then I want you to continue till we discover just what has happened. By the way, where is Paul’s mother right now?”

“That’s another good question.  She seems to have disappeared as well.  The last time she was seen was yesterday morning when Children and Family Services got the form relinquishing her parental rights.  According to the officers who were following up to verify Paul’s story and accompanied the social worker once they informed the mother of what they had found,  she was all too happy to give up all rights.  Then she disappeared.  We are still trying to locate her.”

“When we do, I want her questioned about the authorization she supposedly signed,  but be careful how the interrogation is handled.  I want her to tell us about it.  At the same time, see what can be found out about the signing over of parental rights.  I presume there were appropriate witnesses to the signature of the document for Children and Family Services?”

“Yes, Your Honor, no question about that.”

“Good, let me know anything else you may find out as soon as possible.  I am heading over to the home to meet Paul and have a discussion with the staff there.  Keep in touch.”

“Certainly, Your Honor, I will let you know anything that comes my way.  Good day  Sir.”

“Thanks again,  Detective. Good day to you, too.”

“Good morning, James, I believe we have a few things to discuss this morning.”

“Good morning, Your Honor, it’s nice to see you again. I can only hope that we can share some good information that will best serve Paul.”

“I think we can. Is he available?  I’d like to meet him.”

“Certainly, when I saw you arriving I let Bill Murphy know that we would expect him and Paul to come here to my office to meet you.  They should be here about any time.”

“Your Honor, may I present Paul Stevenson.  Paul, this is Judge Hamilton from the Juvenile Court System.   Paul, the Judge decides many of the cases concerning those children who come under the care of Children and Family Services.”

“Hello, Paul, how are you this morning?” inquired Judge Hamilton.

“Very well, Sir, now that I am here.  Things are really great and I appreciate being able to be here.  I already room with someone I can view as a little brother.  I know he looks at me as a big brother and that is the best kind of friend one can have.”

“I’m glad to hear you are enjoying your new life here.”

“May I ask sir, why you came to see me today?”

“There are some things I have to find out so that I can make a decision as to where you will be staying.  I want to be sure this is the best place for you,” answered Judge Hamilton.

“I don’t know how anything could be any better; I certainly hope I will be allowed to stay here,   Sir.”

“I hope you can as well, Son.  I know everyone here does everything they can to make things the best possible.  Maybe not today, but in the near future I would like to spend a little more time with you to get to know you better.  Would that be alright with you?”

“Yes, Sir, I don’t see any reason why not. I would be happy to talk more with you, Sir,” replied Paul.

“Very well.  Should you be going to some classes yet this morning?”

“I don’t know for sure.  No one has really said what classes I will be in.  I think Mr. Murphy here would like to give me some more tests first.”

“Then I think perhaps you and Mr. Murphy should attend to those.  I will meet you again at a later time.  Thank you for being so polite.”

“Thank you, Sir, for caring.  I’ll look forward to meeting with you again.”

After Paul and Bill left James’ office, Judge Hamilton turned to James and said, “I don’t think I have ever met a nine year old with such manners, confidence, and language skills.  He really is quite something.  What did you say his IQ is?”

“From the tests Bill gave him it appears to be somewhere in the vicinity of 170.  His language skills seem to have been developed with a rather heavy use of the library facilities.  Have you heard about Bill’s little test with the Rubik’s cube?”

“No, I haven’t.  What is that about?  I seem to remember when Rubik’s cubes were rather popular.”

“Bill manages to let the boys play with one of the cubes.  After explaining the object of moving it in such a way that each side becomes a solid single color, he challenges them to solve it with a monetary prize dependent upon the time it takes for them to come up with the solution.  In the time he has used the challenge, starting long before he came here, he has never had anyone be able to claim any money as a prize.  Yesterday,  Paul solved it so quickly that Bill had to come up with the maximum amount possible to win, $25.00.  There were several people very surprised when he had to pay up.   A few where tickled that someone finally beat him at his own game.  He,  however,  couldn’t have been happier to find someone who could complete the task.   He looks forward to dealing with Paul. From what Bill tells me, Paul started asking him questions about the tests he was going to be given and knew quite a bit about each one and what their purpose is.”

“Is he going to take classes or teach classes here?” asked the judge with a bit of laughter in his voice.

“That is yet to be determined.  That was the reason we called the University and requested a conference meeting, so that we could discuss his test outcomes and determine the best way to help him continue his education.”

“From what I can gather, it seems the University, or at least one Professor Saunders has more interest in somehow studying young geniuses. When you called for a conference,  they decided he should be another guinea pig for their studies and petitioned for his custody.  With some unanswered questions about another boy placed in their care,  I cannot see granting their petition at this time and have decided that he would be best served here in this facility.  We also have a discrepancy in as much as Children and Family Services has a document from the mother releasing all parental rights turning him over totally to the agencies care.  At the same time, the University is claiming to have a document signed by the mother turning him over to their care.  I need to study both documents and see if I can determine just what is going on.  I would suggest that you contact the University and simply tell them the conference has been postponed for now.  I honestly would not reschedule it.  If you are looking for a psychologist to examine Paul and assist with a determination of what you should be doing in his case, I think I could recommend a few who would be quite capable.  For now I would keep anyone from the University at bay.  I will issue an answer to their petition when I get back to my chambers denying it.”

“Professor Saunders?  This is James Townsend from Phillip’s Second Chance Home.  We had contacted you earlier concerning a consultation for Paul Stevenson.”

“Yes, have we been able to set an appointment for that?”

“That was the reason I was calling.  For at least the time being, we need to postpone the meeting.  There are several other things we need to address first.  I am sure we will be in touch at a later date to set a time and date.”

“From what I understand of the young man, I feel we should set the consultation as soon as possible.  Is there a particular reason for the delay?” asked Professor Saunders.

“I’m sorry, but for now any conference is being postponed.  As I said,  we will contact you at the appropriate time.  Thank you for your time,” replied James as he hung up.

“Somehow, I’ll make them regret messing with me. I’ll get that kid yet,” stated Professor Saunders to no one, as he heard the click of the phone being hung up.

“Professor Saunders, we received a call from the Juvenile Court.  A clerk for a Judge Hamilton called and said that the petition we filed was denied.  The clerk also stated that an order would be delivered requesting that Jeffrey Adams be presented before the court to show his well being,” rattled Brad.  “Sir, what are we going to do now?”

“Brad, I don’t know, but I think the first thing we need to do is try to stall things.”

“But the question is how?”

“That, or disappear for ever!”

“If the brass of the University gets wind of what has happened, we may be forced to leave.  There is no way they would understand or accept what we are trying to do.”

To be continued...

A special thanks to Jesse Mercer for editing.

Posted: 12/03/10