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Tea and Bo arrived at O'Hare at two in the afternoon. Bo had scheduled an appointment with Police Commissioner William Jackson for three-thirty. Commissioner Jackson seemed pleasant enough over the phone. He had been with the Chicago Police since 1991 so he was not at all familiar with the case of Michelle Baker, a case that had been closed since 1984.

All Bo had told him over the phone was that he had some information on this case and that he would prefer to discuss it in person. His curiosity piqued, Commissioner Jackson checked out all the old files on this case.

It seemed like an ordinary missing persons case. A teenage girl, considered to be a runaway, reported missing by her parents. "Parents deny their daughter was unhappy or would run away . . ." "Girl seen leaving home with a backpack by a reliable witness . . ."

What did seem odd to Commissioner Jackson was that the case was closed in October of 1984, less than a year after the girl was first reported missing. Cases were usually kept alive for longer than that.

"Commissioner Jackson, there's a Bo Buchanan and a Tea Manning here to see you," Sergeant Ferrelli stuck his head in the door and announced.

"Please ask them to come in," Commissioner Jackson instructed with a friendly smile. "Commissioner Buchanan, Ms. Manning," Bill Jackson said, holding his hand out for each of them to shake.

Jackson was a tall man with broad shoulders. His arms still retained some of the musculature of the time he spent working out in his younger days. He had wavy brown hair and large, warm, brown eyes. He appeared to be in his mid to late forties.

"I have to admit you have aroused my curiosity," Commissioner Jackson pointed to the open file on his desk. "I wasn't here when this case went down. I have just read the file. There's really not much in here. The case was closed less than a year after the girl vanished."

"Isn't that a little unusual?" Bo posed.

"Yeah, I thought so," Jackson agreed honestly.

"Commissioner Jackson," Bo began, "we have a young man back in Llanview who has a connection to this case."

"He's very sick right now," Tea jumped in.

"Yes," Bo continued. "He has been hospitalized since July for mental illness and he is physically ill as well. Commissioner Jackson, I have to tell you up front that this young man is far too ill to be questioned. I have a letter from his psychiatrist and his cardiologist." Bo handed the letters to Commissioner Jackson.

Bill Jackson started to read the letters. A look of surprise appeared on his face. He looked up and turned to Tea. "Manning . . . is he a relation to you?" he asked, Tea.

"Yes, he's my husband," Tea answered surprising Commissioner Jackson even further.

Bill looked down at the letters on his desk and continuing to read. He looked up again and stated, "He has multiple personalities?"

"Yes, well it's called DID now. Dissociative Identity Disorder. Todd has twelve alters that we know about so far," Tea enlightened the Commissioner. She then turned to Bo. "Sam told me another one came out yesterday."

Bo shook his head at the severity of Todd's illness and said, "You can see that Todd is in no shape to be questioned by the police or anyone."

"Commissioner Jackson," Tea explained, "Todd's physical condition has also deteriorated in the last few days. He is having heart problems and he is very weak. He doesn't eat and will have to be fed through a feeding tube, again. He nearly died from pneumonia and it's complications less than a month ago. Many of his alters are very young children. One is only five months old. Todd is also suffering from psychosomatic blindness. One of his alters is suicidal. They are all terrified of strangers."

Bill looked down at the letters in front of him again and then up at Bo and Tea. "My God, how did such a young man get so sick?"

"That kind of brings us to why we're here today," Bo responded and went on. "Todd Manning suffered severe abuse at the hands of his adopted father Peter Manning. I mean we are not just talking hitting the kid or even beating the kid."

"Here." Tea handed Doctor Evans' files over to Commissioner Jackson.

"Todd Manning was systematically tortured by Peter from the day he adopted him." Bo continued, "He was beaten and burned and emotionally tortured and sexually abused. You can see by the type of injuries he sustained as a young child that this was going on. The doctor was a friend of the family and didn't report the abuse. He has since lost his license."

Bill looked at the medical reports. He shook his head and sighed. He was quiet for a few moments and then spoke. "Commissioner Buchanan . . . Bo, I can see that very tragic circumstances led to Mr. Manning's illness but what does any of this have to do with the Baker case?"

"We're getting to that," Bo said and took a deep breath. "Todd Manning and Michelle Baker were best friends in Junior High School. On the night she disappeared Michelle came to Todd's house to bring him a birthday cake."

Interrupting Bo, Bill stated, "There is no mention of a Todd Manning or Michelle going to a friend's house that night anywhere in this file. Wouldn't her parents have mentioned that?"

"As far as we could figure Michelle didn't tell them about her friendship with Todd or that she was even going out that night," Tea pointed out.

"So you're telling me that Todd was the last person to see her and no one ever knew that?" Bill questioned.

"Todd and his father Peter," Bo replied.

"Why didn't they go to the police? It was in the papers. They must have heard about her disappearance. Todd must have noticed that she never came back to school?" Bill declared.

"Todd dissociated shortly after Michelle disappeared. An alter named Pete came out and it was Pete who was out, mostly, for months after Michelle disappeared," Tea informed Bill.

"Man this is getting complicated!" Commissioner Jackson exclaimed and rubbed his temples. He then asked, "Okay, so this kid and his old man saw the girl that night. Was that after she was seen by . . . " Bill looked through the file for a minute to refresh his memory, "by Judge Alfred Connor?"

"Commissioner Jackson . . ."

"Bill," Commissioner Jackson interrupted and reminded Bo.

"Bill, that never happened. Judge Connor never saw Michelle that night. He was probably paid to say that he did," Bo completed his statement.

"Now just a minute! That's a pretty serious accusation you're making here. Do you have any proof of what you just said?" Bill realized the ramifications of Bo's accusations.

"About him being paid, no. About the fact that he could not have seen Michelle that night, yeah," Bo confessed looking Bill in the eye.

Bo turned to Tea and nodded his head. Tea took a tape recorder out of her briefcase and put it on Bill's desk.

"Connor couldn't have seen Michelle that night. At the time he claims he saw her she was already dead," Bo could see he shocked Bill with what he just told him.

The three of them sat and listened to the tape. Bill could see tears cascade down Tea's cheeks as she listened. In all his years in law enforcement Bill Jackson had seen and heard some things that would curl the toes of an average person. This was the sickest and most horrendous thing he had ever been privy to. Bill looked at the picture of his two sons and daughter that he kept on his desk.

"Man! How could he do that to his own kid!" Bill shook his head in disbelief for a few seconds before he spoke. "Okay, I have to ask you both this. Todd was hypnotized when he told this story. We use hypnotic recall of repressed memories to help witnesses remember things, sometimes. The memories are usually accurate, but occasionally not so accurate. Is Todd's doctor sure that things went down the way he described? Has she spoken to him about what he said at all?"

"Todd doesn't remember anything that happened after he was burned and hit with the belt. The boy you heard on the tape is an alter, also named Todd. The one you heard at the end is an alter named Pete. Todd went away shortly after the disclosure of Peter throwing Michelle out of the house," Tea explained to Bill.

"Bo, have you questioned him at all about this?" Bill inquired.

"Absolutely not. Bill, I know Susannah Hanen. If she says Todd can't be questioned, then he can't be questioned. Susannah was the one who suspected Todd witnessed something that severely traumatized him that night, in the first place. She was the one who went after the truth. It's not that she is trying to protect Todd. She knows that emotionally and physically he cannot handle being questioned about this. Bill, the kid went blind in order not to look at this." Bo answered.

"Do you have any idea where this girl's body is supposedly buried? I know the boy said it was a wooded area about twenty miles from his house. Is the address on this medical report the same house he was living in at the time of the alleged murder?" Bill asked.

"Yes," Bo replied.

"I know this area," Bill said, scratching his head in frustration. "There are wooded areas all around it. I would say that in at least three directions you could go twenty miles and find a wooded area secluded enough, especially in January, for someone to hide a body in. According to Todd, Peter wrapped his fingers around the bat and the bat is buried with Michelle. So if we find the girl, we find the murder weapon. Do you have any proof that it was the father who did the actual murder?"

"For God's sake, Bill! You heard the tape. You yourself said that in most cases, memories recovered during hypnosis are accurate. Are you doubting Todd's innocence?" Bo was starting to get worried.

"Bo, I'm not saying that. You have to realize that until an hour ago I didn't know you or Mrs. Manning. I don't know Todd or Doctor Hanen. At this time, I am certainly not in a position to make such a judgment. I don't have to tell you that I have to consult with the DA on this. What I can say is, at this point, we have the word of a very sick young man, told under hypnosis. We don't even know for sure if the girl is dead and neither of you can say for one hundred percent that Todd didn't imagine the whole thing, that it wasn't some kind of delusion. According to you both, even at age fourteen, Todd was already suffering from DID."

"Bill," Tea spoke up, "do you know why we went to Bo with this. It was because he had had a stormy relationship with Todd for many years. Bo has come pretty close to hating Todd. We knew if there was one person in Llanview who would love to have had something to put Todd in prison with, it would have been Bo. All of this is documented, if you don't want to take our word for it. We also knew that Bo could be objective and if he felt Todd was innocent his word would carry a lot more weight than the words of the people who love Todd."

Bill looked at Bo. "And you feel, with complete certainty, that Todd only witnessed this alleged murder?"

"I do Bill. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. Tea and Sam Rappaport, Todd's other lawyer and also his best friend, didn't ask me to come to Chicago. I volunteered. I have seen Todd Manning when he was guilty of things and when he wasn't. I'm telling you, the boy on that tape is telling the truth. I knew Todd's father. He was more than capable of murdering that girl. You can see by the medical records that he nearly murdered Todd."

"Peter was getting paid to take care of Todd. That was the only reason he did stop short of killing him," Tea added. She pulled some more papers out of her briefcase and handed them to Bill. "These are the names and addresses of Todd's old schools and some of his teachers are still there. If you question them, as Doctor Hanen did, you will find out that Todd's actions fit the DID profile even back then. If you speak to Peter's business partner, he can tell you how he always heard Peter verbally abuse Todd and Todd's mother. You have the medical reports right in front of you. They show how severely Todd was abused," Tea pleaded Todd's case.

"Did Doctor Evans admit that he knew the boy was being abused?" Bill asked.

Tea shook her head and said, "He never admitted any wrongdoing and he voluntarily surrendered his license."

"So you really have no proof that these injuries were caused by the father?"

"Jesus Bill, you know those injuries couldn't have been gotten any other way. Any doctor who reads those files would tell you that," Bo snapped. He was getting frustrated.

"And the DA could bring in a dozen doctors who would say that he could have been hurt in a playground or that someone other than the father could have done that to him. Look Bo, I'm playing the devil's advocate here. I know our new DA and I know that he would love to make a name for himself with a potentially high profile case like this. A fifteen year old murder, a rape, two kids from well to do families. This is the kind of thing Steve Harris has been looking for. Have you been in contact with the girls parents?"

Both Tea and Bo shook their heads.

"Sam Rappaport and I have hired a PI to try to find them. They too seem to have disappeared without a trace," Tea informed him and sighed in dismay.

Bill thumbed through the police file and told them, "The girl's parents were suspects themselves for a time." Then Bill asked, "What about Connor? Have either of you spoken with him?"

"He's dead and so is the man who could possibly have linked Peter to Connor. Michael Connor, the judge's son, said his father came into a lot of money shortly after Michelle died. Connor needed the money badly because his wife was dying of cancer and he wanted her to have treatments that their insurance wouldn't pay for," Tea filled Bill in.

"Bill, look," Bo began. "I know you don't know me from a hole in the wall and have no reason to trust my instincts. But I gotta tell ya, my gut is telling me that the girl is dead and that Peter raped and killed her and forced his son to watch and then forced his son's hands around that bat and forced him to help bury her body. You heard the terror in that boy's voice. You heard his screams. Does that sound like a murderer to you?"

Bill was quiet for a minute and then asked, "Is it possible for Doctor Hanen to come to Chicago?"

"No," Bo answered, "she can't leave Todd now. If you could possibly come to Llanview, she would be more than happy to meet with you."

"I may just do that," Bill answered and then said, "let me ask you something, on the tape Doctor Hanen told Todd that it was November seventeenth. Why did it take you so long to come to me?"

"Sam and I only told Bo about this a couple of days ago. So much happened immediately after Todd was taken to the lodge," Tea explained.

"The lodge?" Bill asked.

Bo and Tea then explained how Georgie Phillips' murder figured into all of this.

"This is getting more complicated by the second. Are you sure Todd was not connected to the death of the Phillips girl?"

"Bill, my stepdaughter killed Georgie. She confessed and is doing time for it right now." Bo could see the surprised look on Bill's face. He continued. "Bill I thought Todd did it. Right up until my stepdaughter confessed, I thought Todd did it. I was wrong. It wasn't the first time I thought Todd did something and was wrong. If anything I usually look to blame Todd for things he didn't do. This time, I am telling you, he didn't do it."

Bill sighed and looked at Tea. "Okay, so you were about to tell me why you took so long to report this."

Tea began again. "After the lodge, one thing after another started happening to Todd. Recalling the memory of what happened caused him to go into shock while he was still at the lodge. When Doctor Hanen tried to get him to talk about the memories he disclosed he went blind. Then he dissociated into a five-month-old. He got pneumonia and came very close to dying. Then the holidays came up . . . frankly, we knew what this could lead to and we wanted him to have as nice a holiday as possible," Tea said, honestly.

"Well I can't say I blame you for that, but you do know that what you and Mr. Rappaport did was unethical to say the least."

"I know," Tea admitted. She did not look sorry in the least and confessed, "I would do it again in a heartbeat. For the first time in their life those little boys were able to have a happy holiday and I am not sorry for any part I played in helping to give it to them."

"Bill," Bo asked, "can you tell us what you plan on doing right now? Please, tell me that Todd will not be questioned. If you or anyone did that now you would drive him over the edge."

"I have no immediate plans to question Todd or to bring this to Steve Harris' attention. I have a lot to absorb here," Bill assured them as best he could. Bill picked up the tape. "Can I keep this or make a copy of it?"

"Yes, you can keep it. We have the original," Tea answered.

"Bill," Bo pressed, "don't you think it's odd that the case was just dropped like that? Even the newspaper accounts of the story went cold after a few days. Then the girl's parents and brothers just disappeared. I mean the father was a college professor, her mother was a second grade teacher. I know how hard grief can effect people but they just walked away from their jobs, from their house. Something about this whole thing just makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up."

"And here I thought I was the only police commissioner that, that happened to," Bill said smiling at Bo and Tea. He then added, "Look, I'm not making any promises but for the time being I need to think about this and go over some of these things a few times. I also want to ask around a little and see if I can find some detectives who were here back in '84. I may check out some of those people who knew Todd back then or knew Peter. I want to speak to Doctor Evans and see if a little police pressure might not jar his memory on what caused Todd's injuries. And then I think I want to meet with your Doctor Hanen. I'm gonna be so busy doing all that, bringing this to Steve Harris' attention might just slip my mind for a while."

Bill could see the gratitude on both Bo and Tea's face. "Hey look, eventually he will have to find out but maybe I can dig up something useful in the interim. How long are you two going to be in Chicago?"

"Well, I have my own jurisdiction to worry about and Tea has a law practice she needs to get back to," Bo pointed out.

"And I want to get back to Todd," Tea chimed in and then added, "I can't speak for Bo, but if you need me to stay in Chicago I will. Are you going to be looking for the burial site in the near future?"

"No, not until I look into this more. I'm still not completely sure that Todd wasn't delusional. We are talking about a very ill young man here. As I said before, we have many wooded areas around here. I can't send my people into every one of them and have them all dug up. Perhaps in the time it takes me to look into this Doctor Hanen can get some more details from Todd, like what direction they drove in or some landmark, something that would help pin it down. And since the girl's parents can't be found yet I don't see any pressing need to go tearing up all the wooded areas around here."

Bo and Tea knew they lucked out with Bill Jackson. He was trying his best to do the right thing. He would be fair. They asked him to please let them know if he was coming to Llanview and to let them know if he found out anything new.

Tea once again impressed upon him how important it was that she be there if they do try to find and exhume Michelle's body. Bill assured them both that he would contact them if any of those things occurred. They believed him. He seemed a decent and honest man. They headed for the airport. Both relieved that their stay in Chicago was a short one and that for now, Todd was safe.

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Tom was the one who woke up later that day. He was feeling better than Timmy had felt but he was also weak. He usually hated being stuck in bed, but he too felt kind of groggy and didn't put up too much of a fuss. They were able to get him to eat some ice cream and drink some ginger ale.

Sam played Boggle Junior with him for a while. Tom started to nod off during the game and went back to sleep.

Bo and Tea didn't want to pull Sam or Viki away from the hospital so they took a cab. Tea called Viki and Sam to briefly tell them how things went. She said she and Bo would fill them in on the details tomorrow.

They were relieved that Commissioner Jackson was a fair and objective man. They wished he could have given them a more definite answer about questioning Todd and about going to the DA. Nevertheless they were grateful that he was going to check things out before he acted.

Susannah checked in on Todd before she left for the day. She told Sam and Viki that his electrolytes had gone up. They were still low, but out of the danger zone. Susannah saw his heart rhythm was improving as well. Viki told Susannah that Doctor Williams, Todd's cardiologist, had been in to see him earlier. Tom had been sleeping so soundly he didn't even wake up when Doctor Williams examined him. She told Susannah that he also noticed some improvement.

"Do you think Todd will be left with any permanent heart damage?" Sam asked.

"No permanent damage has been done by this last problem. It is imperative that we get those electrolytes up and keep them up. I think one more day on the drip should do the trick. Once Todd is a little more stable, perhaps the day after tomorrow, I want to put the feeding tube back. I also want Todd to have an abdominal endoscopy, just to be sure there are no problems in his digestive system that are causing his constant stomach upset. Todd will have to be put under a light anesthesia and I don't want to do that until we clear up this problem first." Susannah knew Sam and Viki were hoping things would improve on their own. Sadly, she also knew that wasn't likely.

Tom slept through most of the night. Sam stayed with him. He had one nightmare around two in the morning. It wasn't too bad as far as the way his nightmares usually go. He woke up crying and disoriented. Sam was able to calm him and get him back to sleep in less than ten minutes. He slept quietly the rest of the night.

Viki returned at eight-thirty the next morning. Timmy had been the one to wake up. Frank and Nancy had already cleaned him up, in his bed. Timmy definitely seemed more alert and awake. He said his tummy still felt funny, but "regular funny, not special funny." He did agree to eat some chocolate pudding and Viki went to get it.

"Where's Andy?" Timmy asked Sam.

Susannah told Sam and Viki about Andy's appearance. "I guess Andy went back inside, pal," Sam told him gently.

Timmy shut his eyes for a few minutes and then sadly admitted, "I can't find him. He hided himself like Todd."

"Timmy," Sam asked tenderly, "have you been missing Andy all this time?"

Timmy nodded. "He would play with me. He once showeded me his secret tree. I was the only one he showeded to. I couldn't climb it 'cause I was scared and he didn't laugh at me. He played the game with daddy sometimes so I didn't have to. I'm glad daddy didn't killeded him forever."

"Me too, pal. Me too," Sam admitted and hugged Timmy tightly.

Viki came back in with Timmy's pudding and was able to get him to eat a little more than half of it. She also got him to drink a cup of milk. Susannah came into the room and was relieved to see Timmy looking so much better.

Timmy reached out for hug, which Susannah happily gave him. She examined Mr. Rabbit, who still wasn't feeling that good according to Timmy, and then she examined Timmy. Susannah played "the stethoscope game" with both Timmy, and at Timmy's request, Mr. Rabbit. Viki and Sam stood by, exchanging glances and smiling at their precious child.

"Can I go play with my toys?" Timmy requested after Susannah finished examining him.

"Maybe a little later, sweetie. You have to stay in bed until the medicine in this bag is all gone."

"Why don't you tell me what toys you want and I'll bring them to you?" Sam suggested.

"My Pooh coloring book and my crayons."

Sam brought them to him, and colored with him for a while. Timmy became sleepy and took a nap.

The medication finished while Timmy was sleeping. When he woke up he was happy that the IV had been disconnected and only a hep lock remained in his arm. He was free to walk around.

"Can I go to the art room?" he asked Susannah.

After checking to make sure it wasn't occupied Susannah walked him over there. He was still wobbly on his feet, though much less than the other day. Susannah hoped he would react better to the next medication she tried.

Tea and Bo did not want to drag Viki and Sam away from the hospital. They came there to speak with them.

Susannah joined them in the lounge.

Bo and Tea gave them a detailed description of their meeting with Commissioner Jackson. Viki, Susannah and Sam were relieved that he seemed to be a fair man and that he was not going to rush into anything. They were worried by the knowledge that eventually he was going to have to turn the case over to the DA. Especially, when they heard what Bill Jackson had said about Steve Harris. They didn't want Todd being used as a stepping stone for someone's ambitions.

Laura, the art therapist, brought Timmy into the lounge. He had drawn a picture of Andy and he wanted to show it to Sam, Viki and Susannah.

Bo, who had not seen Todd since that day at the jail, could not believe his eyes. He could not believe that this incredibly pale, almost skeletal, young man he saw was Todd Manning. He noticed that Laura had to steady him as they walked. He also noticed Todd's face. The innocent Timmy came shining through. This was clearly a child Bo was looking at.

"Look! I drawed Andy," Timmy proudly held up his drawing up for them to see.

Timmy was happy to see Tea and said, "I remember. Your daddy bought you stuffed animals."

"That's right," Tea stroked his hair back as she spoke to him, "and do you know what? My grandmother still has some of my toys in her house. Would you like her to send me some of them for you?"

"Really!" Timmy exclaimed gleefully.

"Really," Tea said. Timmy's big smile was like a reward to Tea.

Timmy noticed Bo sitting there and pulled back towards Laura. They all realized that Bo was a stranger to Timmy. He had no memory of meeting him in the jail cell that day.

"Timmy," Susannah said holding out her hand, "come here, sweetie. I want you to meet someone."

Timmy hesitated for a moment and then took her hand and stepped over to where they all sat.

"Timmy, this is Bo Buchanan. Bo, this is Timmy."

"Hey, there, Timmy. How'er you doin'?" Bo smiled at the fragile child standing before him.

"I drawed a picture of Andy," Timmy said shyly. He held up the picture again.

"Let's see pal," Sam held out his hand for the picture.

They looked at the picture of a little boy with medium length dark blond hair and hazel eyes. Andy was closer in appearance to Todd than either Timmy or Tom. They saw that Timmy drew Andy standing in front of a huge tree.

Timmy sat down on the floor in front of them and asked hopefully, "Do you think Andy will like it?"

"I'm sure he will, sweetheart," Viki assured him. She kissed the top of his head.

"Can I put Andy's name up on the board in our room and the day room?" Timmy asked Susannah.

"Sure you can, sweetie. We'll go do that in just a minute, okay?"

"I want to show Kevin. Is he ever coming back?" Timmy asked Viki. She heard the sadness in his voice.

"I just spoke with Kevin and he is coming to see you today. He should be here very soon," Viki promised him.

"Kevin's coming just to see me!"

The joy on Timmy's face and in his voice surprised Bo.

Timmy turned to Bo and Tea and proudly informed them, "Kevin is my bestest friend. He says I play football the best and he knows a whole lot of good games. Do you know how to play alphabet spaghetti?" Timmy asked Bo.

"No, I can't say that I do," Bo responded. He smiled at Timmy.

Timmy explained the game to him.

"It sure does sound like Kevin knows some good games," Bo admitted. Bo was impressed and deeply touched by what he could only think of as a delightful child.

"Timmy," Susannah said, standing up and holding her hand out again, "let's go get Andy's name up on the bulletin board and get your picture hung up."

"Okay." Timmy grinned and took Susannah's hand. Bo noticed he was too weak to stand up on his own. Susannah helped him and he then walked to his room with her.

"So that's Timmy," Bo said.

Viki, who had gotten used to the way Todd looked, saw the expression on Bo's face when he first saw Todd and it broke her heart. "I know you were probably shocked by Todd's appearance," Viki stated. Her voice broke slightly.

"He's lost a lot of weight." Bo acknowledged.

''Thirty-four pounds since July," Viki confirmed and added, "They're going to put the feeding tube back tomorrow." Viki took Bo's hand. "Bo, you can see that Todd cannot be brought in to this whole Michelle thing. Can you imagine that little boy you just saw being questioned by the police?"

"No Viki, I can't. Unfortunately, I have no jurisdiction in Chicago. I have no control over the situation. We have to hope that Jackson, on his end, or Tea and Sam and I on our end, can find some proof that it was Peter who killed Michelle and not Todd."

"Who's Michelle and why would anyone think Todd killed her?" They were all surprised to see Kevin standing there. He had come into the lounge looking for Viki.

"Kevin! We didn't hear you come in," Viki said. She looked at Bo, Tea and Sam nervously.

"What are you talking about? Is Todd in some kind of trouble?" Kevin inquired anxiously.

"Kevin this is a private conversation," Tea stated coldly. No matter how Timmy felt about Kevin now, Tea had not forgiven him for hitting Timmy with the football. She didn't trust Kevin.

"You don't think this is any of my business! This is my family you're talking about. This affects my mother and my . . . well Todd is family, too. Now what the hell are you talking about? Did Todd kill someone?"

"Kevin," Bo began. He stood up and put his arm around Kevin's shoulder. "If we tell you, you have to keep it to yourself. You can't turn it into a story or use it against Todd in some way."

"I wouldn't do that!" Kevin declared angrily.

Kevin turned to Viki. "Mom, look I know why everyone feels that I can't be trusted where Todd is concerned. I just hope you know that's not true. I would never again do anything to hurt him."

"Honey, I know that," Viki assured Kevin. She caressed Kevin's cheek.

"Is this the thing you said I'd find out about soon enough? Is this what you meant by 'Todd's in trouble?'"

Viki looked at Sam and Bo and Tea and then said, "Kevin sit down."

Kevin was left speechless by what Viki told him. They all noticed tears well up in Kevin's eyes as he listened to the horror of the night of Todd's fourteenth birthday. It took Kevin several minutes before he could speak. Even then he wasn't sure he digested it all.

"You're telling me that Peter Manning used sexual abuse as a way to punish Todd? You're telling me that he raped and then murdered a fourteen-year-old girl in cold blood and Todd was forced to watch it and then bury her! You're saying that a bat with his fingerprints is out there somewhere with that girl and . . . Oh my God! Georgie! The bat!" Kevin suddenly made the connection. "That's why he lost it after he found Georgie. Oh God! Mom! I accused him of killing Georgie. Oh, God!" The tears that had filled Kevin's eyes now spilled down his cheeks.

"Kevin look, I did too. I mean I really thought he did it." Bo confessed.

"All those things I printed in the paper about him . . . mom, I'm so sorry. You tried to tell me."

"Kevin," Viki began. She put her hands on Kevin's shoulders. "What counts is what you do now, and how you treat Todd now. Honey, let me tell you, Timmy's face lit up the room when I told him you were coming to see him. He cares for you very much you know?"

"I do know, mom. I would never, ever, hurt him, or any of them. Mom, does Todd remember about the murder?"

"No! Kevin you have to be very careful what you say in front of Timmy or any of them. Todd has no memory of being sexually abused or even being as severely physically abused as he was. Oh Kevin, you can't imagine how Peter tortured that boy. I mean day in and day out. He would drag him out of bed in the middle of the night to torture him."

Kevin's mind was spinning. He was bombarded with guilt for all the things he felt about Todd. It wasn't that all of Kevin's hatred and jealousy suddenly vanished. It was the realization that he never bothered to even think about why Todd did the things he did. It was also the thought of such atrocities being done to a child.

Then something else occurred to Kevin. "If Todd wasn't the one who stayed out for the abuse then which one . . . I mean . . ."

"You want to know what Peter did to Timmy?" Viki stated. She could see her son couldn't find the words.

Kevin nodded.

Viki took Kevin's hand. "Kevin, Timmy was physically abused but mostly he and Andy, a six year old alter, were the ones who were sexually abused. From the time Todd was four."

Viki had not seen Kevin really breakdown weeping in a very long time, not since she told him what Victor had done to her. Kevin sat with his face in his hands. His body shook with sobs. Even Tea and Sam believed his feelings to be genuine.

Finally Kevin calmed down. He looked up at Viki, who had been holding him pressed to her waist as she stroked his head. Viki wiped the tears from Kevin's cheeks. "I know, it's seems too horrible to even think about, let alone go through. Todd couldn't go through it. That's why Timmy and the others were created. Timmy had no choice. He had to go through it. Kevin, as soon as we have the chance you and I will sit down and I will fill you in on the rest of the details of Todd's life. For now, you have to remember to be careful what you say in front of Timmy. He remembers the abuse but thinking about it causes him to have flashbacks. Kevin, you must also remember that what you heard about Todd and Michelle must not leave this room. Bo and Tea went to the Chicago police and the Commissioner there is looking into things. We are too, on our end. Todd can't be questioned. He is far to fragile for that."

"I know," Kevin acknowledged sadly. " You told me how sick he's been for the past few days. That reminds me . . . ." Kevin sniffed away the last of his tears. "Is Timmy still too sick to get out of bed?"

"No, he's feeling better and was able to go to the art room before. He's still very weak and his . . . all their health is very precarious right now," Viki informed her son.

"Is Susannah still planning on putting a feeding tube in him tomorrow?" Kevin asked Viki.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. We just can't get any of them to eat enough," Viki lamented.

Kevin could see the fear in Viki's eyes. He remembered what she told him on Christmas Day. "As bad as you could possibly imagine things were for Todd, they were worse." A shiver ran down Kevin's spine. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know any more about Todd's tortured life.

**********************************

Timmy was sitting on his bed, cuddled next to Susannah, watching cartoons when Kevin walked into the room. Kevin stood in the doorway for a minute. He looked at Timmy and thought about what Viki had just told him. He felt sick inside. "How could Peter have done it? Peter . . . Grandpa Victor . . . no wonder mom feels bonded to Todd. How could these men have done what they did?"

Susannah noticed Kevin standing there and put her finger to her lips. When Kevin got closer he saw that Timmy was sleeping. He quietly stepped back. Susannah carefully lowered Timmy to the bed and stood up.

Susannah walked over to Kevin. They walked towards the door and away from the bed. "Hi! I'm really glad you stopped by. Timmy has had a really bad few days and he is looking forward to your visit. I hope you can stick around for a while." Susannah whispered.

"Oh yeah, I can wait. Mom told me how sick he's been. She said he's a little better now. He is, isn't he?"

Susannah heard the concern in Kevin's voice.

"Yes, his electrolytes are back to normal and he's feeling stronger," Susannah assured him.

"Mom told me that he's having a feeding tube put in tomorrow. Is that painful? Will it hurt him a lot? I can be here with him if you think that might help," Kevin volunteered before Susannah had a chance to answer.

"He'll also be having an abdominal endoscopy at the same time. He'll be put to sleep, so he won't feel the procedures, but he will probably have a sore throat when he wakes up." Susannah explained. "I think it would be an excellent idea for you to be here with him tomorrow," Susannah added.

"What's an endoscopy?" Kevin inquired.

"A flexible tube with a light and a camera on the end will be lowered through his digestive tract, via his throat. Then we can see what's going on in his digestive system. After that is done they will put the feeding tube in."

"It sounds painful," Kevin shuddered.

"It would be very uncomfortable. That's why he'll be put to sleep."

"Does Timmy know you are going to do that to him?"

"No, I haven't spoken with him about it yet. I've found that if he or any of them know about frightening things too far in advance it makes it worse for them. Their anxiety level keeps increasing. Also, it may not be Timmy who is out and he would be needlessly frightened. I will tell him shortly before he has to go down for the procedure."

"It can't be done in his room?" Kevin asked. He was worried. This was more complicated than he had imagined.

"No, he has to go down to the endoscopy room. They have the necessary equipment there," Susannah explained.

"He'll be terrified," Kevin stated. He then offered, "If you think it would help, I could go down there with him and be there when he wakes up."

"Thank you, Kevin. Yes, if Timmy is out I think it would be very helpful if you were with him when they put him to sleep and for him to see you when he wakes up. The procedure is scheduled for ten in the morning. Do you think you can be here?"

"I'll be here," Kevin said firmly. "Will he still be able to eat normally if he wants to?" Kevin inquired.

"Yes. The tube may irritate his throat a little and some things may be a little harder to swallow, but he should be able to eat most foods, especially soft foods. We will still encourage all of them to eat every chance we get," Susannah wanted to make sure she clarified things for Kevin.

Kevin hesitated for a minute and then brought up what he had just learned about Todd's life. "Susannah I overheard mom and the others talking about what happened to Todd on his fourteenth birthday and about what Todd's father did to Todd and to Timmy and the rest of them. She didn't have time to go into details but she did tell me that Timmy was the one who was there for much of the sexual abuse. I figured Todd's father hit him and I knew he emotionally abused him, but . . ." Kevin couldn't continue.

"Kevin, Peter Manning was a sick and twisted man. He blamed Todd for all his problems from the day he adopted him. He abused Todd's mother as well. She was beaten, too. She was too beaten down and too weak a woman to protect Todd. If you want to speak with me about your feelings about this, please, come to see me any time."

"Thank you. I just might." Kevin really meant it.

"Kevin, I am trusting that you know you cannot tell anyone what you learned about Michelle. The police are . . ."

"Susannah, you don't have to worry. Mom already warned me. I swear I am not out to hurt Todd. No one will hear a word about this from me. If there is anything I can do to help, I will," Kevin swore.

They turned toward the bed. Timmy was having a nightmare. "No! Mommy! Please! Moooommyyyy!" Timmy was crying out.

Susannah rushed to him and shook him gently. "Timmy, Timmy. Come on, sweetie, wake up. You're having a bad dream."

Slowly, Timmy's eyes opened. He was trembling. "Mommy," he whimpered and held on to Susannah. He was still crying.

Susannah rocked him gently while stroking the back of his head. "It's all right, sweetie. Shhhhh, it's Doctor Hanen."

"The monster grabbed me and it hurt. He wouldn't let go. Mommy can't hear me. The monster's gonna come back and get me," Timmy wept.

"No, sweetie, it was a bad dream. There's no monster here," Susannah assured him. She was now rubbing his back as she continued to hold him close.

"There is. He's a bad monster and real scary," Timmy continued to cry.

"Tell me in what way he's scary and bad," Susannah asked. She pushed back some strands of hair that clung to Timmy's tearstained face.

"He's real big and mean and he has a whole bunch of arms and hands."

"He does!" Susannah stated. "What does he do with all those hands?"

"He hurts me. He does all kinds of stuff to hurt me all at once and everything hurts and he so big I can't run around him cause he's as big as the whole world," Timmy wailed.

"Sweetie, the monster is gone now. It was just a dream monster. He's not real. Look around you'll see he's all gone."

"Noooo! I'm afraid I'll see him again," Timmy whimpered and hid his eyes in Susannah's shoulder.

"But sweetie, look who's here to see you," Susannah pointed to Kevin.

Timmy was still afraid to look up. He held on to Susannah tightly and kept his eyes hidden against her shoulder.

Kevin walked over to the bed and said, "How's my bestest friend?"

"KEVIN!" Timmy shouted with joy. He raised his head from Susannah's shoulder and released his grip on her. He then got up so fast that he started to feel dizzy. Kevin saw what was happening and caught Timmy as he nearly fell over.

Kevin sat Timmy back on his bed. "Hey, buddy, are you okay?" Kevin was frightened.

"I feel like I'm on a merry-go-round," Timmy whimpered.

"Put your head down for a minute, sweetie," Susannah instructed and gently pushed Timmy's head toward his knees.

After a couple of minutes Timmy felt better. "You can't stand up to fast sweetie. Remember? I told you that?" Susannah asked. She stroked back the hair that covered his face.

Timmy nodded and confessed, "I forgot." Timmy turned to Kevin. "Viki said you were coming but I thought you forgot."

"Forget to come see my best buddy? No way! I just stopped to pick up another friend on the way over." Kevin walked back to get a shopping bag he left at the door. He took a stuffed panda out of the bag. "I was talking to Mr. Panda here and when he found out I was coming to see Timmy he insisted on coming along." Kevin handed the panda to Timmy and showed him a surprise. "Timmy, if you press his stomach right here," Kevin showed Timmy where to press, "he'll talk to you, too."

Timmy pressed the toy's stomach and squealed with delight when he heard the panda say, "Hi Timmy! My name is Mr. Panda but you can give me another name if you like."

"He knows me!" Timmy exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"You bet he does and you know what else? You can get him to say any thing you want by pressing his back right here." Kevin turned the toy over and took Timmy's right index finger and showing him where to press the recording device. "See, and you say what you want him to say right here." Kevin showed him where the microphone was.

Timmy reached out and hugged Kevin. "Kevin, I love him!" Timmy suddenly remembered his other stuffed friend. "I wanna show him to Mr. Rabbit."

"Get up slowly, sweetie," Susannah reminded Timmy and helped him up.

While Timmy took care of the introductions, Susannah praised Kevin. "That was a great choice. I know it's pretty hard to find something Sam and Viki haven't already bought him."

Laughing, Kevin agreed. "Yeah, this whole unit does kind of resemble a toy store."

With his new toy tucked under his arm Timmy walked back to Kevin and took his hand. "I drawed a picture of Andy, do you want to see it?"

"You bet I do. I love looking at the pictures you draw." A huge smile appeared on Timmy's face. Kevin felt his heart swell with affection for this child.

Timmy held Kevin's hand as they walked to the bulletin board. Kevin noticed the name Andy was now spelled out in the same colorful magnetic letters. "See! It's the toppest picture," Timmy pointed to the picture of Andy he drew.

Part of the picture was covered with the edges of another. Kevin said, "Let me take this down so I can get a good look at it, okay?" Timmy nodded.

As Kevin removed the magnet that held the picture of Andy the picture next to it came loose and floated down to Timmy's feet.

"Oops! I'm sorry Timmy. The picture of your mommy fell down. Here I'll get it." Kevin bent down to retrieve the picture.

Timmy stood staring at the picture at his feet for a second and then his eyes blinked a few times and his new panda fell from his arm. "Timmy? Are you okay, buddy?" Kevin asked. He put his hand on Timmy's shoulder.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" He screamed in terror. He backed from Kevin and pleaded quietly, "Please don't. It hurts! It hurts!" After all this time Susannah was shocked to hear Jimmy's voice.

TO BE CONTINUED

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