Instead Steven
managed to find an old school friend, Patches Sigrist, who was now a city
commissioner of Fort Lauderdale. He invited the private investigator to his
constituency office. Patches Sigrist looked more like a surfer dude than a
politician. He was blond with a stylish haircut and pearly white teeth. His
physique indicated he was a sporty type.
Mr. Sigrist's
office was contemporary and even the laptop and few papers on the writing desk
made it look cluttered.
The councillor
offered Steven Otto juice or green tea. Steven took the juice. "I have
cleared my appointments for the rest of the morning, so that we can discuss
Fin." "That's generous of you and I appreciate it." "You're
welcome." "So, how have you two met?" "We went to the same
schools from age six to fifteen." "Okay, were you always
friends?" "Nearly from the beginning. Fin was very shy. When you knew
him better he was the whole opposite. He was creative and fun to be with. We
also liked windsurfing, which connected us even more." "Did you have
anything else in common?" "Oh yes. When we were small we loved Tom
& Jerry, the Marlins, which didn't change, playing with our Masters of the
Universe figures and skateboarding. Our favorite character from the Sesame
Street was the Cookie Monster." "Have you been round to Fin's
home?" "Of course, but we preferred to play at my house just a few
blocks away." "Any reason for that?" "Fin and his parents
weren't very close. I'm not sure if it's true, but I had the feeling they hated
him. When Fin was very young, maybe up to the age of ten, twelve, he tried very
hard to please them. I think he gave up, because it was fruitless. He never
managed to get the recognition he deserved." "Hatred is a strong
word, considering Coldham and Beverly are Fin's parents..." "Well,
you should have seen how they looked at him. It wasn't the way my parents
looked at me. There was nothing loving about it. Mr. and Mrs. Noose were very
cold, sometimes angry and no matter what Fin did it seemed never good enough.
It wasn't unusual to hear a sentence like: "Mike would do that... Mike would
never do this... Mike is so much better behaved than you! You could learn from
your brother!" And so on. It's a wonder Fin never had self-confidence
issues." After pausing for a short moment Patches continued: "I guess
his self-confidence had to do with his grandparents. His paternal grandmother
was very good to Fin. He had a close relationship with his maternal grandfather
too." "Do you think Fin was abused?" Patches considered how to
answer this. Steven was expecting an answer a politician would typically give -
saying something by saying nothing. The question made Patches Sigrist
uncomfortable and he struggled with his conscience. Steven wondered if Patches
knew more than he wanted to admit. The commissioner came to a decision.
Straightening he said: "Well, he was definitely emotionally abused. I
witnessed something else. I wondered why Fin always wanted to be last in the
showers after PE and preferable alone. I... Once or twice I pretended I had
left already and spied on him. The first time Fin's body was unblemished. The
second time he had a bruised behind and there were welts. By my estimation the
injuries were a bit older, because the bruises had faded. They were green and
yellow. At first I thought he had had some kind of accident, but I couldn't come
up with any accident that would cause welts, so I guessed Fin's father had
punished him physically." "Why do you think it was his father?"
It was a bit awkward for Patches. "Hm, good question. Even if Mrs. Noose
was cold und uncaring, I can't imagine her wielding a belt or whatever was used
to cause such damage. She's a woman after all and should be slightly more
nurturing." Steven Otto wasn't so sure about that. He couldn't help
believing Beverly Noose might have been much more involved than anyone thought.
If the Nooses really had used a cane it wouldn't have mattered, who spanked Fin
with it. The implement was a great equalizer. The private investigator had
informed himself. According to his sources not a lot of strength was necessary
to inflict an unbearable amount of pain to the person at the receiving end.
"Okay, how
many welts did you see?" "I'm not sure. Maybe two or three."
"Did Fin show fear of going home or did he mention that his parents
spanked him?" "No and no. I mean, of course, when he had done
something wrong, he wasn't too keen to go home, but I didn't think he was more
scared than others. We didn't talk about spankings. Fin could be very
particular when it came to discipline. He would listen to others describing how
their misbehaviour was handled, but never wanted to speak about his own
experiences. Fin shut down completely and let you feel it was better to leave
him alone. A class mate pressured him too much and Fin promptly ignored the
person afterwards. It was as if he didn't exist." "How were others
dealt with?" "It depended. If I remember correctly the majority
received corporal punishment, some had their privileges taken away and others
were grounded." "What about yourself?" "My parents never
touched me. They tended to shout at me, if they were very upset or angry and my
punishment were groundings." "Did you see Fin had bruises or welts
any other time?" Patches Sigrist tried to remember. "No, but there
were clues." It seemed the commissioner didn't want to elaborate, so
Steven Otto questioned: "What clues?" "Fin had phases he seemed
to be unable to sit still. I caught him a few times grimacing as if he was in
pain or limp a bit." "Did you ask him about it?" "Yes, his
answers were a bit elusive. He claimed he had a headache or banged his knees or
other excuses." "How often did that happen?" "Since it has
been quite a long time ago I'm not sure if my memory is reliable... It wasn't
that often, though." "Once a month? Every quarter of the year?
Yearly?" "I think when Fin was younger it was more often. Maybe four
to six times a year, later maybe once or twice." "In your opinion was
Fin physically abused?" Patches Sigrist replied: "That's difficult to
answer. From the perspective when it happened - in the eighties and nineties -
no. Seeing it from today's standpoint: yes." The private investigator
didn't have any further questions, so he thanked Patches Sigrist for his time
and answering honestly.
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