Juvenile Crimes - Epilogue

And Final Author's Notes

Coquille, Oregon, December 24, 1996 continued…

I only needed to cover the morning Circuit Court arraignments and pleas before being able to head out for Portland. By the time I got done, word had spread from Chloe about my unexpected visitor the night before to the few who were manning the Office that day. Amongst them was Steve Keutzer.

“I hear you had a visitor from the past,” Steve joked with me as I reached the “L” after court. “What’s that all about?”

“Oh, you’re not going to believe this shit!” I began before giving him, and any available ears (meaning everybody in the Office), the condensed version of the Tami story from the year before. It still took almost ten minutes. They were all dumbfounded but amused by how I ended it.

“I’m telling you all this just in case I wind up dead in a ditch somewhere, you know?” I said with a big grin, but I was also serious. “At least you’ll have the number one suspect and know who you’re looking for!”

Steve laughed. “We always like the easy ones!”

“Yeah, but none of you assholes get to go to my autopsy. Especially Ted!” I laughed with him. The conversation was satisfying in a way – Steve and the rest of the Office were informed of the life I was struggling to live right at the time they were the worst they could have been to me. I didn’t have to tell them how wrong they were to be like that to me. I could see it on their faces. That was enough.

I didn’t want to leave for the Holiday before talking to Bob, the head of the Juvenile Department. Sadly, he was already gone on a Holiday vacation break. That didn’t stop me from making sure the remaining folks in that department learned what I had the night before. I cared about them too much to let a snake like Tami infiltrate their ranks without giving them a warning, at least.

“So, you all remember that fiancé that ran out on me last year?” I said to the group in the reception area, which included a couple juvenile probation officers and support staff. “Well, she’s back! And she’s applying for a job with you guys, in this department.”

There was at least one, “What the Hell?” along with a few puzzled looks. I briefly explained the situation before saying, “Now, I know you would have probably figured out that there aren’t a lot of women from Grand Forks around here named Tami with an “i”, but I thought I owed you all a heads up. I’m not saying what to do about it…I just wanted you to be aware.”

I owed these folks the integrity I brought to the job by telling them about her. I owed the woman I used to know less than nothing. So, that’s what she got.

They thanked me. I said my goodbyes to them individually and they all wished me well in Portland.

All the attorneys from that District Attorney’s Office went on to have their own successful and noteworthy – and occasionally, notorious – careers.

My adventures were just getting started…

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