| |
They met in a conference room at a small Maine State Police outpost in Alfred. State Police Detective Miles brought in Aaron Foy—a burly guy with thinning brown hair and a big bushy beard. Everybody sat at a distance from each other, and the window was open for ventilation so they could drink coffee and eat donuts maskless. The room was pretty cold.
“Hello, Mr. Foy. I’m Lili D’Amico from the Massachusetts State Crime Lab, and this is our consultant, Gil Novak. We’re investigating a set of related incidents dating back to 1971, and some of them involve your father, Remi Foy, and his children.”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “My father’s name was Doug, not Remi. I don’t know any Remi Foy.”
Lili was writing on her pad. “DNA analysis shows that your father was a man named Remi Foy. He had a warrant out for his arrest in New York State, so he likely changed his name. He was also known as Luke Forest at one point. What was his full name, please?”
“My father’s name was Douglas R. Foy. I don’t remember what the ‘R’ stood for. Wait, should I have a lawyer?” asked Aaron.
Lili said, “You can have a lawyer present if you want, but none of these incidents involve you.”
“Good. But I don’t want to say anything that will get my brother or sister in trouble.”
Lili raised her eyebrows. “Oh, none of this would involve those family members either, Mr. Foy. These things happened before any of you were born. Is your father still alive?”
““Nah, he died of liver failure about twenty-five years ago. He was a drunk.” He hesitated a moment. “Slow down a minute. You just said this involves my father and his children.”
Lili smiled. “Your father had other children, Mr. Foy. You have two half sisters.”
He blinked several times and took a deep breath. “Whoa. That’s . . . wow. Okay then. What incidents are you talking about? And please just call me Aaron.”
“I’ll get into that shortly.”
“Is your mother still alive?”
“Yeah, she lives in South Portland.”
“Please tell me the names of your mother and your siblings.”
“My mom is Regina Levine. My brother is Chris Foy, and my sister is Carly Pelletier.” He looked up their phone numbers and addresses on his cell phone and wrote them down for Lili.
“What do you do for a living, Mr. Foy?”
“I’m a carpenter, a cabinet maker. What’s this all about, anyway? I’ve answered your questions.”
“Fair enough. Gil, why don’t you take him through the high points.”
“Okay, but this is going to be kind of a disturbing story,” said Gil. “In 1971, your father was living with his first wife and two daughters in northern New York State. He’d abused his older daughter and had two sons by her.”
Aaron had a disgusted look of disbelief on his face.
Gil continued. “He attacked his wife and left her for dead. He took off with his children and grandchildren, and they ended up camping in a cave in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The older child was about two years old and severely deformed. That child died under suspicious circumstances and was buried in the cave. The family left their cave and went to live in a nearby hippie commune. At some point, your father tried to abuse his younger daughter, and the older one hit him in the head with a stick, apparently knocking him out. Some of the commune members helped the girls escape and change their identities. The girls didn’t know if your father was dead or alive.”
“It turns out that their mother didn’t die after all. For fifty years, they thought she was dead. They’re waiting to meet her again, too, but she lives in Canada. Things are a little complicated with COVID.”
Aaron was trying to calm himself by breathing slowly and deliberately. “Jeez, I don’t even know what to say about any of that. My dad did that?”
“He did,” said Lili. “Now that you know the story, are you satisfied that you can continue without an attorney present?”
He thought for a few seconds. “Sure, there’s no way this can come back on me. I wasn’t even born yet! When I was really young, my father was a normal dad. He went to work and watched my football games. But then he started drinking and beating up my mother. When I was seven, my mother left him, and she moved us to Portland. I never saw him again. After a few years, my mother married Jerry Levine. Great guy. At some point, Mom told us our father had died.”
“We’d like to talk to your mother,” said Lili.
“Sure, I think she’d appreciate knowing about this. It might explain some of my father’s demons. I’ll let her know we’re coming, and you can follow me there. Hey, can we meet my half sisters?”
Gil smiled. “I’ll ask them, but this was all very traumatic for them. Don’t get your hopes up.”
______________
––––––––
The Levine house sat just a block away from the harbor in South Portland. Aaron brought Lili and Gil inside, where they met Jerry and Regina Levine. They looked to be in their mid-seventies, but at first glance, Regina could have been mistaken for a fourteen-year-old girl. She was very petite, with straight blonde hair and a heart-shaped, welcoming face. Gil and Lili looked at each other knowingly. Remi was nothing if not consistent.
Regina sat on the couch between Jerry and Aaron, while Lili and Gil sat in comfy chairs. As Gil went through the story, each recounted event visibly caused Regina pain. By the end, she looked frail and had teared up. Aaron brought her a glass of water, and she took some sips. “When I first met Dougie,” she said, “he was the answer to my dreams! He was very handsome, a foreman at a lumber mill, and he had a lot of friends. For a few years, he was great with our kids, and we were very happy. At some point, cracks started to appear in his personality, and his decline was very fast. After hitting me a few times and threatening the kids, I got out of there as fast as I could. I felt lucky that he didn’t come after us, but I always worried he would. He was a monster with dark secrets and just couldn’t keep it together. I never knew he had a predilection for young girls, but I know I . . . Jesus!” She burst into sobs.
Gil passed over a tissue. “Did Dougie tell you anything about his previous family?”
Regina stifled more sobs. “He told me he was married when he was young, but that his wife died suddenly due to bleeding in her brain.”
“Not a total lie,” said Gil. “Or so he thought. She’s actually still alive. Technically, your marriage to him wasn’t ever valid.” Regina’s jaw dropped, but Aaron burst out laughing.
Aaron said, “Living in sin, as you used to say! The coolest thing is that I have more sisters!”
Regina smiled. “That’s you, Aaron. Always looking on the bright side.”
______________
––––––––
Gil looked online and found a bed and breakfast overlooking nearby Casco Bay. He showed the details to Lili on his phone.
“One room or two?” she asked.
Gil’s eyes lit up.