Chapter 53

 

Jim had conducted a thorough check on Atwell, and the only thing he came up with was the fact that he had been sentenced to a period of three months in a juvenile delinquency institution when he was sixteen. Normally such a record would have been expunged; but fortunately, with an overloaded court system, it had slipped through the cracks.

The institution was in Gainesville, the home of the Florida “Gators,” a team that Jim had tracked since he was a kid. Jim thought it possibly more than a strange coincidence that Ford’s car had been found near Gainesville. Well, looks like I’m going to Gainesville again, Jim thought.

The institution looked more like a country club than a confinement complex. As he entered the complex, a large play field was to his left where kids, who looked like they were between twelve and sixteen, were playing baseball. To Jim they looked like normal kids. The only difference was that about five adults were watching their every move. He assumed they were the institution’s attendants. He also suspected that fights were not rare around here.

Mr. Crimshaw, the head of the complex, had agreed on the phone to see Jim, although he noted his time was brief. Crimshaw looked to be in his early sixties; Jim hoped that he had been at the institution for awhile and had firsthand knowledge to pass on about Atwell. Mr. Crimshaw was deeply concerned about releasing information that never should have been available, had all concerned done their job as expected. When Jim told him it was in connection with a murder investigation, Crimshaw reluctantly relented.

Crimshaw said, “I remember Marvin Atwell very well. I was never so happy as the day he left here.”

“Do you believe he was rehabilitated at the time he left?”

“Well, I’m one of those people who believe strongly in the power of rehabilitation, even more so back then. Often these kids come from broken homes, homes where they have not been loved or, worse yet, have been beaten on a frequent basis. We take them out of that environment, give them lots of love, make sure we socialize them, teach them discipline and self-respect, and it does wonders. Of course, our time with these kids is limited, but I’ve made it a habit to follow up on what has happened to them after they leave. You cannot believe how many have become very successful in society. Of course, there are the exceptions.”

“What was your experience with Atwell?”

“Well, he was small compared to his peers and he was picked on a lot when he first arrived here. Of course, we have counselors who attempt to make sure that doesn’t happen, but we can’t be everywhere all the time. At any rate, those boys didn’t pick on Marvin very long.”

“What happened?”

“I really don’t know, except the bullies gradually became terrified of Marvin. He had grown an inch or so in the short time he was here but he was still small for his age; so it wasn’t the fact that he could physically stand up to them. Kids would actually walk the other way when he came in their direction. It was the strangest thing. I attempted to interview one of the boys to see what Marvin held over them; but he actually started shaking as I was talking to him, and he almost begged me to stop the interview.”

“That does sound strange.”

“You bet it does. The reason Marvin had was brought here was because he enjoyed torturing small animals. He had a long history of doing it. The investigation all started when his neighbors complained that their dogs and cats were missing. Marvin had been seen with the animals prior to their disappearance. About ten cats and dogs were found buried in the back of the Atwells’ yard. The authorities said marks on their bodies indicated that they had all been tortured. Marvin admitted to the crimes and he actually seemed to take pleasure in his confession. He even explained in some detail the experiments that he had been conducting. His mother was shocked; his father unfortunately had died when he was five. His mother was concerned that his conduct might be irreversible without some type of intervention by authorities. She supported the very difficult decision to send him here.”

“Did you see any signs of a successful rehab?”

“Well, we took him out of the environment where he had access to animals. But I don’t have to tell you, that type of behavior tends to get worse as the kids grow up; and it often shifts from animals to humans. Frankly, I don’t think he ever became socialized; he remained a loner and had no friends here.”

“I had quite a few detailed sessions with him. We try to determine if the reason for the juvenile’s admittance has been corrected. Marvin verbally spoke of remorse; but over the years I have learned that communication takes many forms. His body language indicated that he had zero remorse. At times he almost seemed to anticipate my questions; he had a well constructed and rote packaged response ready for me right after I finished asking my questions.”

“Do you keep in touch with him since he left?”

“Not really, his mother moved from this area to Sarasota where she got a job as a real estate agent. I did contact her a few times as a standard follow-up procedure. She said he had made good progress, but I didn’t really believe her. She was a good person but I started to believe he was running the family, not her.”

“Is there anything else that you can recall?”

“After Marvin had been here about two weeks, one of the boys who had pestered Marvin was found hanged in his room. Some of the kids blamed Marvin; but we were never able to prove that, since he was nowhere near the room when the suicide took place. More than one kid came in to see me to tell me that Marvin was responsible; but I believed that it was just a form of mass hysteria. The kid that hanged himself had wedged a chair underneath his door handle. We had to break down the door to find him. There’s no way anyone else could have been responsible.”

“Thanks,” said Jim. “Oh, by the way, did you ever discern why the other boys said that Atwell was responsible for the boy’s death?”

“Very simple—he told them he did it.”

* * *

It was a welcome sight when Fred returned to the relative comfort of the station and saw Jim standing in the hallway. Fred always felt a dim disquiet while he was at AU. The whole company was functioning in a world that just a short time ago he did not believe even existed. Beyond that, there seemed to be something very ominous and hidden associated with the company.

Jim provided Fred with the detailed background report on Atwell. After Fred had been thoroughly briefed, Jim added, “I guess he’s not the type of guy I would invite to a church social.”

“And I certainly wouldn’t eat any food that he might have brought,” Fred countered. “At least we now have some revealing information on him, although all signs still point to Mr. Ford as being the person who is somehow involved in the bank and theater murders. Ford is definitely linked to Schultz’s organization, but I still don’t know how. And to make matters worse, the only people who could provide me with the details are both dead. At any rate I’ll continue my interview with Mr. Atwell tomorrow.”

“Fred, I thought you disliked talking to Atwell!”

“Do I ever! However, in a certain respect it is like being drawn to an auto accident, you don’t want to look, but somehow you are compelled to. Beyond that, I believe he may be able to help us solve this crime in some way. And of course it is distantly possible that he is our Mr. Saperstein, alias The Marvel.”