Chapter 54: A Possible Scenario at the Police Station
(Sioux City Police Station)
A distraught
teenager, Jennifer L. Semple, stormed into the police station, alleging that
Harley D. Semple, her grandfather, has been attempting to restrain her against
her will.
For her own safety, the girl was moved to a locked interrogation room.
Opal Casey, police matron, interviewed the grandfather and filled out
“Mental Illness, Inebriety or Epilepsy,” an informant’s report.
Harley Semple
Jennifer needs
help, I’m afraid. I don’t know what to do.
Opal Casey
You could commit
her to Cherokee for observation.
Harley Semple
Seems rather
drastic, but what choice do I have? She’s so angry, and the drugs...she scares
me.
Opal Casey
(Sighing as she
scribbles in his name on the information form). These kids today...(Shakes
her head.) Don’t know what’s good for them, what with all these strange
drugs and immoral ways. What is the world coming to, anyway?
Harley Semple
(Scratching his
forehead.) I don’t know, but if she gets wind of this, she’ll despise me...
Opal Casey
You’re doing the
right thing.
Harley Semple
I don’t know if I
can do this. (Pauses.) Who’ll pay the hospital bill, anyway?
Opal Casey
(Taps her pen.)
I’m afraid you’ll be financially responsible, Mr. Semple.
Harley Semple
(Wringing his
hands.) I don’t know. We can’t afford hospital bills; my wife and I are on
Social Security and barely making it now. This would kill us financially.
Opal Casey
(Takes in a
deep breath and sighs.) I can’t tell you what to do here. It’s your
decision.
Harley Semple
(Scratches his
chin.) Can’t you sign as informant?
Opal Casey
(She sets down
her pen and steeples her hands.) I don’t know the girl. I see she needs
help, but, to what extent, I can’t say for sure. It’s really your word against
hers.
Harley Semple
(Burying his
face in his hands.) Oh, God, I’d rather die than betray her.(Raises his
head. Pauses, as if he’s formulating a thought.) It’s not the money,
really. If I thought committing Jennifer would help, I’d do it in a blink and
worry about the money later. But she doesn’t trust me as it is; this would kill
anything between us.
Opal Casey
(Silence. She
sighs and picks up her pen again. She taps it against the paper a few times.
Then she scratches out “Harley Semple,” and scribbles in her own name.) This
is between us, Mr. Semple.
Harley Semple
(Brushes his
hair back with his hand. Softly –) Thank you. (Buries his face in his
hands and visibly shivers.)
With one scratch of Mrs. Casey’s pen, Woodbury County and Iowa assumed
financial and legal custody of the girl.
Memoir Madness Excerpts: Return to Table of Contents
_______________________
“A Possible Scenario at the Police Station,” © copyright 2013 - present, by Jennifer Semple Siegel, may not be reprinted or reposted without the express permission of the author. Published in Memoir Madness: Driven to Involuntary Commitment
Comments
Post a Comment
Comments are moderated.