Read Online Disturbed Ground by Carla Norton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carla Norton
Tags: True Crime
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and they were having some trouble connecting.
Finally, arrangements were made. Mary Ellen would photocopy the article and leave it in her out box at work. They could come by and pick it up. Fine.
That day the VOA workers were in a rush, as usual, on their way to some emergency or other. Judy was driving, so Beth jumped out, fetched the article, and hopped back in. Popping the van into gear, Judy asked Beth to read the article aloud. While Judy wheeled through traffic, Beth skimmed the two photocopied pages.
It was confusing. The first page was apparently missing, and the first paragraph began in midsentence; ". . . son (not her real name) was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison on charges of forgery, grand theft, and administering stupefying drugs. But she was never, some feel, convicted of her worst crimes."
Beth flipped from one page to the other. There was no photograph of Mildred Ballenger, Dorothea Johansson, or anyone they recognized. Instead, there was an American Indian pictured and quoted, as well as a heavy boy working in a kitchen , both apparently unrelated to the article. Odd.
Beth quickly skimmed until she came to parts she thought relevant:
Everybody trusted Eleanora Anderson, even Mildred Ballenger. A longtime Sacramento health care attendant, Eleanora had references that included some of the city's most prominent citizens and famous politicians…. About four years ago a client of Mildred's, a woman in her eighties, developed a mysterious illness and kept bouncing back and forth between her home and the hospital like a rubber ball. Her doctor was completely puzzled. Mildred was concerned. Only the woman's home attendant took the situation in stride. Her name was Eleanora Anderson, and when she visited her sick employer in the hospital she always made sure to bring a sandwich. “Here, eat this," she said. “I know you don't like the hospital food."
The article went on to explain that Eleanora Anderson, the villain of this story, was apparently poisoning this elderly woman, then stealing from her. Beth continued reading: Several more of Eleanora’s victims came through Mildred's office reporting things missing…. Four other clients reported having health problems while under her care…..
The story seemed so incredible that Judy and Beth couldn't help but punctuate the reading with exclamations: "Oh, isn't that ridiculous?" "That just seems absurd!" "This can't possibly be Dorothea!"
But Puente had already admitted that her name used to be Johansson.
Judy mused, "If Eleanora Anderson is really this same Johansson character that Mary Ellen is so worried about—"
"It's hard to believe," Beth interjected.
"That's just it. Dorothea seems so unlike that…. Maybe she's changed."
"Well, right. Even if she made a mistake once, don't we owe her another chance? Because now she's paid her debt to society."
"That's true. Besides, we don't really know the circumstances."
"Right. For one thing, she could have been desperate at the time. For another, she could have been framed."
Judy sighed. "It's really impossible for us to know exactly what did happen."
"Yeah. And you know how the press always sensationalizes anything having to do with social services."
Judy paused, mentally reviewing everything she knew about Dorothea Puente. Beyond those conversations with Mary Ellen Howard and Polly Spring, she'd neither seen nor heard anything negative about Dorothea. Nothing. On the contrary, Dorothea's boardinghouse was among the best in town, the tenants seemed utterly content, and Bert had flourished beyond all expectation since moving there in February.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Judy wondered aloud. "Even if Dorothea broke the law some years ago, she hasn't done anything wrong now. And Bert is the only one we've placed in her boardinghouse. What would be the point of moving him elsewhere?"
"Right. Dorothea absolutely dotes on Bert," Beth added.
"I just don't think he'd get that
Finally, arrangements were made. Mary Ellen would photocopy the article and leave it in her out box at work. They could come by and pick it up. Fine.
That day the VOA workers were in a rush, as usual, on their way to some emergency or other. Judy was driving, so Beth jumped out, fetched the article, and hopped back in. Popping the van into gear, Judy asked Beth to read the article aloud. While Judy wheeled through traffic, Beth skimmed the two photocopied pages.
It was confusing. The first page was apparently missing, and the first paragraph began in midsentence; ". . . son (not her real name) was sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison on charges of forgery, grand theft, and administering stupefying drugs. But she was never, some feel, convicted of her worst crimes."
Beth flipped from one page to the other. There was no photograph of Mildred Ballenger, Dorothea Johansson, or anyone they recognized. Instead, there was an American Indian pictured and quoted, as well as a heavy boy working in a kitchen , both apparently unrelated to the article. Odd.
Beth quickly skimmed until she came to parts she thought relevant:
Everybody trusted Eleanora Anderson, even Mildred Ballenger. A longtime Sacramento health care attendant, Eleanora had references that included some of the city's most prominent citizens and famous politicians…. About four years ago a client of Mildred's, a woman in her eighties, developed a mysterious illness and kept bouncing back and forth between her home and the hospital like a rubber ball. Her doctor was completely puzzled. Mildred was concerned. Only the woman's home attendant took the situation in stride. Her name was Eleanora Anderson, and when she visited her sick employer in the hospital she always made sure to bring a sandwich. “Here, eat this," she said. “I know you don't like the hospital food."
The article went on to explain that Eleanora Anderson, the villain of this story, was apparently poisoning this elderly woman, then stealing from her. Beth continued reading: Several more of Eleanora’s victims came through Mildred's office reporting things missing…. Four other clients reported having health problems while under her care…..
The story seemed so incredible that Judy and Beth couldn't help but punctuate the reading with exclamations: "Oh, isn't that ridiculous?" "That just seems absurd!" "This can't possibly be Dorothea!"
But Puente had already admitted that her name used to be Johansson.
Judy mused, "If Eleanora Anderson is really this same Johansson character that Mary Ellen is so worried about—"
"It's hard to believe," Beth interjected.
"That's just it. Dorothea seems so unlike that…. Maybe she's changed."
"Well, right. Even if she made a mistake once, don't we owe her another chance? Because now she's paid her debt to society."
"That's true. Besides, we don't really know the circumstances."
"Right. For one thing, she could have been desperate at the time. For another, she could have been framed."
Judy sighed. "It's really impossible for us to know exactly what did happen."
"Yeah. And you know how the press always sensationalizes anything having to do with social services."
Judy paused, mentally reviewing everything she knew about Dorothea Puente. Beyond those conversations with Mary Ellen Howard and Polly Spring, she'd neither seen nor heard anything negative about Dorothea. Nothing. On the contrary, Dorothea's boardinghouse was among the best in town, the tenants seemed utterly content, and Bert had flourished beyond all expectation since moving there in February.
"So what are we supposed to do?" Judy wondered aloud. "Even if Dorothea broke the law some years ago, she hasn't done anything wrong now. And Bert is the only one we've placed in her boardinghouse. What would be the point of moving him elsewhere?"
"Right. Dorothea absolutely dotes on Bert," Beth added.
"I just don't think he'd get that
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