The Raccoons: No Refusal - Epilogue
#5 of The Raccoons
Right after Bentley had freed his sister, he made the decision to call the police. Getting out of the room to preserve the scene--not to mention getting Lisa away from the bloodied remains of Bert--Bentley tried comforting Lisa, who could barely speak after her rape. Knowing that their parents were not able to get home anytime soon, Bentley phoned his Uncle Ralph and Aunt Melissa, trying to tell them what happened. Horrified at their niece's rape, and unable to believe Bert would do something, the couple rushed over, beating the police by only a few minutes.
Upon arrival, the police sealed off the house, labeling it a "crime scene". Ralph, hearing an officer use those words, thought the worst. Though not doubting that his nephew acted appropriately given the situation, he informed the officers that his nephew had nothing to say and that he would be getting him an attorney immediately. Ralph, veteran journalist knew full well that there were occasions such as these where a friend or family member was forced to kill someone in self-defense, but might still face a grand jury, or worse, prosecution for their actions.
Melissa went with Lisa on an ambulance ride to the hospital. Bentley had seen to his sister well; making sure that she didn't wash so that nothing would be contaminated for the rape kit the doctors would no doubt want to give her. Melissa's heart ached for her niece, so beautiful, smart and promising; something like this could shatter her life, making her a hollow shell of the creature she once was. It was terrible for Melissa, but she had to stay strong for her niece. She would need all the help she could get.
Hours passed before the doctors had finished their examination of Lisa. She was treated and released. Leaving the hospital, Melissa received a call from Ralph, who told her the police were wanting to put Bentley, a minor, into the custody of Child Protection Service. Ralph, knowing this might be an end run around his demand for Bentley to have legal counsel, staunchly opposed this. The police threatened to take Ralph into custody for disorderly conduct, and to question him about Bert, once they learned Bert had been living in his home. Ralph reminded the police that he did not have to talk to them, and that being the owner of a newspaper, he had no qualms whatsoever about publishing editorials critiquing what he saw as police misconduct. Seeing that they had no other avenue to pursue, the police, upon finishing their investigation at Bentley and Lisa's house, dropped the matter. Bentley and Lisa would stay with their Aunt and Uncle
George and Nichole returned four days later to the shocking news of their daughter's ordeal. Nichole broke down sobbing, while George blamed himself for not being there to protect his little girl. Though Lisa had suffered the most, George and Nichole were still conscious of the fact that their teenage son had been forced to kill another creature. They made plans for both their children to get the proper counseling.
While this was going on, the lawyer Ralph had hired for his nephew suggested Bentley write a formal statement for the District Attorney, who wanted to know if Bentley had any other options instead of shooting Bert. George and Nichole wanted Bentley to remain silent, but Bentley insisted he tell his story, saying he had nothing to hide and nothing to be ashamed of.
The DA found Bentley's story troubling. Reading the section ofver and over about how Bert had tried explaining to Bentley what he was doing when the young raccoon shot him dead, the DA threatened to put Bentley up on charges of manslaughter, saying there was a possibility that Lisa--despite her testimony to the contrary--was actually engaged in consensual, albeit very rough sex. George and Nichole were furious, as well as scared at the prospect of their son being sent to a juvenile detention center for his actions. No sooner had the DA ordered a grand jury be summoned to determine whether or not criminal charges should be filed, when a doctor came forward with extremely disconcerting news.
Bert, who everyone, even his closest friends had considered the nicest guy in the world had a dark, very troubling past. Lisa had thought that she was the only one who had witnessed Bert's erratic behavior, but this was far from true. Though Ralph and Melissa had grown up with Bert, they were completely at a loss when his secrets were revealed. Bert had shown serious behavioral problems when he was only a small child. He had been violent, so violent that he almost beat one of his cousin's to death for no appearant reason. It was at this time that Bert's parents' took him to receive pyschiatric treatment; treatment he had been undergoing surreptitiously for years. With the aid of medicine, Bert was able to lead a relatively normal life, aside from a few side effects. One: Bert would often act goofy, not taking things very seriously. Two: Bert would act childish, never wanting to grow up. Lisa heard these revelations, and she then understood why Bert had never lived on his own and why at his age he was still working a job most children did. The doctor said that normally this information was a matter of doctor/patient confidentiality, but Bert's death and the investigation into Bentley convinced him to come forward, even if that meant disciplinary action from an ethics committee. When the DA asked the doctor why Bert had been behaving so strangely over the past few months, the doctor said he suspected Bert had stopped taking his medicine and was reverting to his normal state. But what the DA really wanted to know was this: Would Bert have simply stopped his sexual assault of Lisa even with a deadly weapon pointed at him. The doctor shook his head, saying that given Bert's history, he might have tried to snatch the gun away from Bentley, killing him instead of the assailant.
The District Attorney issued a formal statement: Bentley Raccoon had, given the circumstances, was justified in his killing of Bert Raccoon and no charges were to be filed against him now, or in the future.
A month had gone by since that fateful night, and Lisa was busy packing up her car, getting ready to head off to college. She thought about waiting until the next semester to start, to try and let her emotional wounds heal, but decided against postponement. The last thing she wanted to do was let Bert control her life. He wouldn't control her in life, and in death she was certainly not going to let him control her either.
Bentley, George and Lisa, and her Uncle Ralph and Aunt Melissa all gathered around her, wishing her a happy, safe trip to college; hardly believing that she was now old enough to start her own life. It was a new road for Lisa, one she was looking forward to. Look forward to the future, and let all the bad that had taken place remain in the past. She was just about ready to leave, when her Aunt Melissa asked her a question no one had bothered to.
"Lisa, what are you going to major in at school?"
Everyone turned to look at her, waiting for the answer. She smiled. "I'm going to be a social worker, specializing in counseling rape victims."
Her future was indeed promising.