Free Fifth Son by Barbara Fradkin Page B

Before Green could explain his visit, Sandy launched into a grilling of his own.
    â€œIt is true? They’re saying it was Derek in the church yard!”
    â€œWho’s saying?”
    â€œEveryone. I heard it from Harvey at the grocery store, who heard it from my stepfather.”
    â€œYou saw the picture. Did it look like Derek?”
    â€œI haven’t see him in twenty years, and I was only seventeen when he left.” Sandy scrubbed his hands over his face distractedly. “I always assumed Derek was off having a successful life somewhere. But all the boys looked alike. Miniature clones of their father. It was their personalities that differed a great deal.”
    Green settled into one of the client chairs and pulled out his notebook casually. He’d left Hannah in the car, blasting out the latest Disturbed album. “I understand you were Lawrence’s friend. What can you tell me about him? What was life like back then?”
    Sandy drew two deep breaths as if forcing himself to settle. He twirled his pen restlessly while he gathered his thoughts. “Lawrence... Such a sad case. We used to play together all the time, build forts in the woods and pretend they were starships. He was a gentle, sensitive, imaginative boy who was cruelly teased, not only by the other boors around here but by his own brother Tom. Tom was all brawn, no brains, and proud of it. He ran with a pack of troublemakers in town who used to beat Lawrence and me up regularly.”
    â€œDid Lawrence become schizophrenic?” It was a diagnosis that seemed to fit the symptoms Green had heard.
    Sandy’s face hardened in anger. “It was his father drove him over the edge. The old man shoved religion down all the kids’ throats, but some of them took it more to heart than others. Lawrence started obsessing about sin and worrying that people were damned to hellfire and brimstone if they didn’t purify themselves. Can you imagine—a house full of healthy teenage boys and Lawrence was obsessing about sin? He used to hide their condoms and spy on them. I tried to help, but as he got sicker, he started to retreat more and more. Stopped coming to school, shut himself up in the shed for hours on end, performing his rituals. It was spooky. Finally, it got so bad the family just snapped and committed him.”
    â€œWas this before or after Derek went away?”
    â€œRight after. I think that’s why they went ahead with the hospital. Derek had always protected Lawrence and stood up for him, especially against Tom. Look, these were country people, they didn’t understand what was happening to Lawrence. None of us did. It’s only afterwards I did some reading about schizophrenia, but back then we were just scared and angry at him.”
    â€œExcept Derek?”
    â€œWell, Derek was—” Sandy paused as if searching for words. “I was only a kid, but I remember how smart he seemed. He was in university, and he knew so much about the world. When he left, I think Lawrence probably flipped out, and the family grabbed the chance to ship him out of their hair.”
    â€œHave you seen or heard anything about him since?”
    Sandy shook his head. Green sensed a little regret, even shame, in his tone. “Not a word. Sometimes folks would ask the Pettigrews how he was doing, but they never said much, just that it wouldn’t be good for him to have visitors. Not that anyone wanted to visit the poor guy.”
    â€œWhat about Derek? Ever see him?”
    Sandy’s expression grew shuttered. “No, but he always said he wouldn’t come back.”
    â€œYou mean he discussed it with you?”
    â€œOh no, that’s just what I heard. He hated the farm. Country wasn’t his thing. Beneath him.”
    â€œDid he have any friends here that he might have kept in touch with?”
    â€œUniversity friends, maybe? But no one here in the village. Although of course, I