Cracks in the Sidewalk(44)

Doctor Belleau handed JT a box of tissues as tears streamed down his face.

Before the session ended Jeffery had poured out his story of the father he adored who was stony-hearted and impossible to please.

~

After JT left the office, Peter Belleau sat at his desk and composed his final analysis.

“Jeffrey Caruthers has a genuine but rather misdirected sense of protectiveness for his three minor children, and he has convinced himself that seeing their mother will destroy whatever peace of mind and security he has been able to provide. I believe he has deep-seated issues with his father, and this is the root source of his insecurities.

“While Jeffrey’s wife, Elizabeth, was previously a bastion of comfort offering unbridled acceptance, her illness has now positioned her as the ultimate challenger to his emotional stability. Because he has been deprived of what was previously his safe place, Jeffrey feels certain that everyone is adversarial and every situation is dangerous. Coincidence has become conclusion, and he is confident that all misfortunes are a result of his in-laws attempts to punish him for his failures. This insecurity has escalated into a state of free-floating anxiety so great that he perceives every setback to be yet another crisis.”

Peter Belleau went on for several pages, describing the specifics that led to this conclusion. He ended the report by writing, “Although I am of the opinion that Elizabeth Caruthers is an intelligent, caring individual who is well-qualified for visitation privileges with the three minor children, I caution the court not to push Jeffrey Caruthers beyond his emotional limits because of his fragile emotional state.”

Peter Belleau read through the report once again. Then he slipped it inside an envelope and dropped in into the mailbox as he left the building.





September 1985


Judge Brill read through Peter Belleau’s analysis of Jeffrey Caruthers; then he reread the phrases that troubled him. Certain words jumped off the page and stuck out. “Overwhelming sense of insecurity”; “beyond his emotional limits”; “fragile emotional state.” Judge Brill thought back to six years ago, when Jack Wallner, a man much like Jeffrey Caruthers stood before him. Jack Wallner, a man who’d returned to the courthouse steps and discharged a bullet into his brain just hours after the judge had awarded Alma Wallner custody of their two girls.

The judge knew he had been justified in that decision. After all, Jack was unstable, “stretched beyond his emotional limits,” in the words of the psychologist who’d conducted his interview. Judge Brill had no reason to doubt that awarding Alma Wallner custody was the right decision, yet for months afterward he could see Jack’s desperation in every pair of eyes that came before him. For a while he’d considered leaving the bench and returning to private practice where he could deal with the cut-and-dry issues of embezzlers and negligent landlords.

When he could no longer tolerate the agony of sleepless nights, Judge Brill took a three-month leave. He rented a camper and drove cross-country with his wife and her pocket-sized Chihuahua. Only after they’d watched sunsets from atop the Blue Ridge Mountains, strolled the tropical beaches of the Florida Keys, fished for salmon off the coast of Washington, and basked in the California sun, was he able to forget. Until now.

After several minutes, he lifted the receiver and dialed Dudley Grimm’s number.

“Counselor,” he said, “I realize we’ve already discussed this, but I’d like to ask again if there is any possibility you and the opposing counsel can reach a compromise.”

“It’s highly unlikely, Your Honor. My client is flexible on the return of her jewelry, but she’s been diagnosed as terminal and before she dies she wants to spend time with her children. There’s no chance she’ll back down on that.”

“Have you offered the jewelry concession to opposing counsel?”

“Yes, at our last conference. But her client flatly refuses to budge on visitation. Even though Jeffrey Caruthers realizes his wife is dying, he’s adamant about not allowing the children to see her.”

Judge Brill gave an exasperated sigh.

“Elizabeth Caruthers is a dying woman,” Dudley said. “She should at least have the opportunity to say goodbye to her children. Do you think that’s unrealistic?”

“In cases like this it becomes near impossible to determine what is realistic or unrealistic,” Judge Brill said sadly. “Everything simply becomes a point of argument.”

“Your Honor, if anyone is being unrealistic and uncooperative it is the opposing counsel. She knows that time is critical to my client, and she’s employing every delay tactic conceivable.”

“Miss Sarnoff claims the grandparents are an issue.”

“That’s nothing but a red herring. They figure Elizabeth Caruthers is quasi-bedridden and lives with her parents, so there’s no way the children can visit their mother without exposure to the grandparents. If they ask to keep the kids away from the grandparents, it effectively eliminates any visitation with the mother.”

“Point taken,” Judge Brill replied. “I’ll have another chat with Miss Sarnoff to see if she can’t move this along.”

~

Judge Brill called Noreen Sarnoff.

“May I assume you’ve read through Doctor Belleau’s report on your client?” he asked.

“Yes, Your Honor, I have,” Noreen replied.