Read Online In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean - Free Book Online
Authors: Harry N. MacLean
Ads: Link
lot of time with a new girlfriend in St. Joe. Sally had no friends or close family left, so she moved with her three kids into a tiny apartment in Maryville. She had trouble keeping a job, but she took good care of the children. Except for one night.
A girlfriend talked Sally into going to a party in St. Joe after promising her that she had a responsible babysitter for Sally's kids. The babysitter, a high-school girl, invited her friends over, and they partied and drank and threw bottles from the rooftop, creating such a disturbance that the neighbors called the police. The police came and, finding no responsible adult, took the children into custody. When Sally learned what had happened, she went to see her children and cried when the authorities took the little baby back from her. The county filed dependency and neglect charges and the kids were placed in foster care. Without money, without friends or family, Sally didn't fight. She simply disappeared.
Linda and her husband, the foster parents, fell in love with all three of Sally's children when they came to live with them on the farm. Ken, Jr., was about three and had blue eyes and light blond hair. Lisa was a darling two-year-old with golden hair that framed her face in a cascade of falling ringlets. Jeffery, who was just a baby, didn't stay long. Upon discovering he had a serious hernia, they decided that, because their farm was far from any medical care, they weren't the right family for him, so he was taken away. Ken, Jr." and Lisa were bright and friendly, and apparently well adjusted. They seldom cried. They didn't seem to know who their dad was, and Linda didn't tell them. She also didn't tell people in the community, who had taken a liking to the kids.
Sally had visiting rights, but in the almost two years her children were on the farm, she never came to see them. McElroy never came around or showed any interest in them either.
Eventually, the county initiated proceedings to terminate parental rights and put Ken, Jr." and Lisa up for adoption. (One courthouse observer felt that the fact that they were Ken McElroy's kids hastened the court's decision to terminate parental rights.) When Sally showed up at court for the final hearing, in which she did not contest their adoption, Ken, Jr." and Lisa scarcely seemed to remember her. After the proceedings were over, Sally played with them in the hall outside the courtroom for a few minutes, sweet and gentle, almost like a child herself. Then the kids got excited about going, the way kids will, and Ken, Jr." said to Linda, "Come on, Mom, let's get in the car and go!" Kneeling, Sally drew her children to her and hugged and kissed them. Gently brushing the hair from their foreheads, she looked each one in the eye and whispered good-bye. Then she stood and walked alone down the long hall. As the retreating figure grew smaller in the dim light, and the kids tore down the stairs in a racket, Linda was overcome by sadness.
Preparing Ken, Jr." and Lisa for the adoptive parents who were coming to get them was difficult for Linda. The children seemed all right, but on the way to their new parents' car, Ken, Jr." reminded Linda of his younger brother, saying, "You know, you gave Jeffery away, and he never came back." Right before Ken, Jr." got in the car, he turned to give her a final hug and said, "Mom, someday you'll hear a knockin' on your door, and it'll be me."
Linda had one snapshot of the three kids, with their blond hair and blue eyes, and she put it in a special place in her album of foster kids. Later, she heard that Sally had been in a mental hospital and then became a prostitute in St. Joe, although she never learned if it was true.
By the mid-sixties, Ken McElroy was creating a common cause among lawmen in St. Joe and adjacent counties. They knew he was stealing hogs, cattle, and coon dogs; they were convinced he ran a ring of thieves that stole grain from elevators and expensive chemicals from farmers' supply
A girlfriend talked Sally into going to a party in St. Joe after promising her that she had a responsible babysitter for Sally's kids. The babysitter, a high-school girl, invited her friends over, and they partied and drank and threw bottles from the rooftop, creating such a disturbance that the neighbors called the police. The police came and, finding no responsible adult, took the children into custody. When Sally learned what had happened, she went to see her children and cried when the authorities took the little baby back from her. The county filed dependency and neglect charges and the kids were placed in foster care. Without money, without friends or family, Sally didn't fight. She simply disappeared.
Linda and her husband, the foster parents, fell in love with all three of Sally's children when they came to live with them on the farm. Ken, Jr., was about three and had blue eyes and light blond hair. Lisa was a darling two-year-old with golden hair that framed her face in a cascade of falling ringlets. Jeffery, who was just a baby, didn't stay long. Upon discovering he had a serious hernia, they decided that, because their farm was far from any medical care, they weren't the right family for him, so he was taken away. Ken, Jr." and Lisa were bright and friendly, and apparently well adjusted. They seldom cried. They didn't seem to know who their dad was, and Linda didn't tell them. She also didn't tell people in the community, who had taken a liking to the kids.
Sally had visiting rights, but in the almost two years her children were on the farm, she never came to see them. McElroy never came around or showed any interest in them either.
Eventually, the county initiated proceedings to terminate parental rights and put Ken, Jr." and Lisa up for adoption. (One courthouse observer felt that the fact that they were Ken McElroy's kids hastened the court's decision to terminate parental rights.) When Sally showed up at court for the final hearing, in which she did not contest their adoption, Ken, Jr." and Lisa scarcely seemed to remember her. After the proceedings were over, Sally played with them in the hall outside the courtroom for a few minutes, sweet and gentle, almost like a child herself. Then the kids got excited about going, the way kids will, and Ken, Jr." said to Linda, "Come on, Mom, let's get in the car and go!" Kneeling, Sally drew her children to her and hugged and kissed them. Gently brushing the hair from their foreheads, she looked each one in the eye and whispered good-bye. Then she stood and walked alone down the long hall. As the retreating figure grew smaller in the dim light, and the kids tore down the stairs in a racket, Linda was overcome by sadness.
Preparing Ken, Jr." and Lisa for the adoptive parents who were coming to get them was difficult for Linda. The children seemed all right, but on the way to their new parents' car, Ken, Jr." reminded Linda of his younger brother, saying, "You know, you gave Jeffery away, and he never came back." Right before Ken, Jr." got in the car, he turned to give her a final hug and said, "Mom, someday you'll hear a knockin' on your door, and it'll be me."
Linda had one snapshot of the three kids, with their blond hair and blue eyes, and she put it in a special place in her album of foster kids. Later, she heard that Sally had been in a mental hospital and then became a prostitute in St. Joe, although she never learned if it was true.
By the mid-sixties, Ken McElroy was creating a common cause among lawmen in St. Joe and adjacent counties. They knew he was stealing hogs, cattle, and coon dogs; they were convinced he ran a ring of thieves that stole grain from elevators and expensive chemicals from farmers' supply
Similar Books
