Innocent as Charged

Betty was the youngest of three children. Her sister Lorraine died as a youngster following a severe illness and her newlywed brother Jerome was killed subsequent to a head injury after having been thrown from a horse. Not only that, but Betty’s mother and father were only children. Without Betty having any aunts, uncles, or siblings, and now with her having been involuntarily sterilized, the Belcher family bloodline would come to a despondent end, or would it?

Mother found herself infertile due to a teenage malady that impacted her ovarian complex. Such a misfortune warrants a brief explanation. Young Betty had been misdiagnosed with appendicitis and agreed to surgery for removal of the supposed inflamed small hollow organ. However, a surgical incision under anesthesia revealed the true nature of the problem; the surgeon decided to forthwith completely withdraw the suspect infected ovaries. Keep in mind, this “butchery” occurred without any previous consultation with the patient. Naturally, when the medical doctor in charge met with Betty to coldly inform her that she would never bear children, she was distraught. Nonetheless, fiancé George Adams married Betty in spite of her medical history.

Now let us introduce the main character in this story. The daughter in question here was the second addition to the wealthy Adams Family in 1957. The proverbial stork in this case was the Children’s Home Society adoption agency. Lorraine was named after the deceased aunt on mother’s side of the family. Previously in 1955, and after ten years of matrimony, the childless couple had already arranged the adoption of an infant boy whom they named George, after father.

The happy pair (George and Betty) were pleased to have begun their dream of raising a pair of beautiful children. Never had there been a discussion of needing or wanting to adopt a third. Akin to an unplanned pregnancy, this is what occurred next. In September of 1958, it was time to celebrate toddler Georgie’s third birthday party. First, let’s take a moment to “rename” the little boy. Understand that Dad had begun to call his son “Dibbons” after a business associate in Great Britain with the same name. Eventually, the nickname was revamped to the simpler form of “Dib” and it stuck.

Now back to the story. While the majority of family and friends participated in the celebration of the birthday party, the godfather of the birthday boy, Dr. Garrett, was absent. He had been called to the hospital to deliver a baby. The unwed mother planned on putting the newborn up for adoption. Well, just three short days later, a boy they would name James, became another member of the Adam’s Family! George and Betty had never planned such a move, but the story Dr. Garrett shared with them tugged at their heartstrings. This led them to reach out to make a sacrifice for the sake of the unwanted child. Where beforehand the couple had purposely adopted two children with matching green eyes, James was a brown-eyed boy.

As the children matured, naturally their unique personalities came to the forefront. Of course, the two boys having shared the same birthdate, would celebrate the occasion together on the same day every year. Dib revealed an occasional mean streak at home, but was better known for having been an outstanding student. Dad claimed that James would “rather climb a tree and tell a lie, than stand on the ground and tell the truth”. Based on the substance of her fake “crocodile” tears, it was common knowledge that the family characterized our subject Lorraine as a phony. While still in grade school, Mom portrayed her as “boy crazy”, which would foretell things to come.

Dad, whose ancestors had once held an interest in cattle ranches in the State of Nevada, had always wanted to be a cowboy. With an inheritance windfall in 1969, he purchased a cattle ranch where the Adam’s family moved the following year. Raymond, the caretaker of the ranch, had been living in a two-bedroom mobile home located just yards away from the family residence. When Ray and family relocated, Lorraine and James (just teenagers) asked permission to move into the vacant mobile home. After some whining, badgering, and pestering (and against his own good judgment) Dad agreed to the proposal. After all, with just a holler, the two kids could be called back home for dinner. If that did not work, they could always be called on the other phone line that Ray had left behind. Now that Dib would no longer need to share his bedroom with James, he had little to do with the his younger siblings living in the space next door.

With all the new found freedom for two of the least mature members of the family, what do you suppose could possibly go wrong? Lori (Lorraine), who by this time had established a reputation for being a “sneak”, found herself slipping out at night. Jonathan, her boyfriend, would pick her up some distance away so Mom and Dad were never the wiser to her shenanigans. As a co-conspirator, younger James was sworn to secrecy by way of some kind of blackmail, gifts, or threats on Lori’s part that were never unearthed by the adults next door.

Previous to their move from the city, all of the children had attended nearby Catholic schools. This first school year at the ranch, the kids needed to commute about half an hour to the nearest parochial academy. Later, in part to avoid the long daily drive, they began to attend the local public high school. Dib graduated in good standing. On the other hand, James was once busted for stealing audio-visual equipment from a locker.

Of course, after Lori stopped seeing Jon (Jonathan) on the sly, at least a couple of other guys would take his place. One day an intimate buddy of Jon’s shared a rumor with Dib that his sister (now fifteen years old) was “expecting”. Dib brushed off the outrageous gossip as a boldfaced lie and thought nothing more of the matter. Oddly about the same time, although the weather had not yet begun to chill, Lori was observed constantly wearing her heavy jacket indoors.

Then one evening, Dib overheard a discussion brewing in the other room. Lori was crying and both parents were upset. All the rumors were true after all, Lori was pregnant and an adoption for the coming child had already been secretly arranged. The father was called out to be a classmate from an affluent family. However, other reports spread that the guilty party was someone from “the other side of the tracks”. Purposefully, the adoption put an end to the scandal.

With that behind her, after Lori graduated from high school she attended a business school financed by father and lived in the campus dormitory. Dib completed a community college two-year degree program and became a peace officer. James enlisted in the Navy as a submariner. After Lori completed her course of study, she never again returned to live at home. While living in her own apartment, she worked in retail sales and eventually was promoted to manager of a music store.

Lori began to date the manager of another affiliate music store in the neighborhood. Michael was quite the gentleman and one who left a good impression on everyone. The couple married during a summertime church ceremony where Dib gave the introductory welcoming remarks. After an expensive country club reception financed by father, Michael and Lori honeymooned for a couple of weeks on a Caribbean cruise. On their return, and very unexpectedly, Michael separated from Lori for a short period.

When it was revealed that Lori had conceived a child (girl) on the honeymoon, Michael dutifully returned to her side. Four years later, a second girl was born into the family. Forever evident during family gatherings, and in the back of his mind, Dib wondered why he did not behold more frequent public displays of affection between his sister and brother-in-law. On the other hand, Dib did notice it was awful nice of Michael to help do the dishes while Lori often sat down in the other room to watch television. Well, Lori did have the reputation of being lazy and messy. Dib still remembers having to clean all the trash out of her car the one time he asked to borrow her Chevrolet Camaro for a Friday night date.

Mother Betty and father George were lifetime smokers who supposedly quit at the age of 50. However, Betty only pretended to quit. Once she fell asleep while smoking in front of the television and the cushion of the chair she was sitting on caught fire! Later in life, Betty began to have some strange dental problems. For example, one day and for no apparent reason, a tooth fell out. She was very afraid of consulting with medical professionals, preferring for some reason to stick her head in the sand like is said of the proverbial ostrich. With encouragement from a dear family friend, she eventually made an appointment with a dentist. It was too late; even after gruesome treatments and surgeries, she succumbed to mouth cancer in 1988.

Returning to the subject of Lorraine again: about the 18 year mark of the marriage, Michael decided he had completed his obligations and departed, never turning back this time. After the divorce, Dib called Michael to thank him for always being kind, considerate, and helpful. A strange thing took place afterward. Namely, Dib’s father (George) specifically referring to the phone call, began to insist that he never speak to Michael again. Being the fact that during this last telephone conversation with Michael, Dib was more than 500 miles away from home, how did Dad even know a phone call had taken place? Something sneaky must be going on here! Since Lori did everything possible to turn her girls against Michael during and after the divorce, she evidently had also turned father against her ex-husband. Dib could only wonder who Lori had employed as her personal spies, her daughters perhaps? For sure someone was surreptitiously keeping a close eye on Dib.

Before the aforementioned call came to a close, Michael divulged something that Dib would never, ever have imagined. Michael confessed that previous to the day he exchanged vows with Lori, he was positive he was making a grave mistake! However, with the expensive celebration already planned (country club venue, live music, catered bar/dinner) Michael could not bring himself to back out of the marriage. That disclosure would explain everything Dib witnessed for years. Michael must have forged on with the marriage wholly for the sake of his two children. Now Dib suspected Lori may even have “trapped” Michael on purpose by making sure her honeymoon resulted in the conception of a first child! Or more accurately in her case, a second child.

A short time before his demise, father George sold some property for several millions of dollars. As the old man’s health deteriorated, faithful son Dib would drive 400 miles one-way on weekends to visit father to help administer his medication and perform chores around the house and ranch. One evening while Dib and his spouse were visiting Dad, Lori arrived from her own out of town residence and began a private conversation with father in his bedroom. The following morning, Dad was very upset about something and ordered Dib and his wife to leave and never come back!

Up until that day, Dib and father had always been “pals”. The only explanation for this extreme and uncalled for change of heart must have been something instigated by Lori herself the night before. In order not to upset father any further, Dib and his wife followed the request to leave. After that day, Lori began to take over all of father’s affairs: intercepting his phone calls, redrafting his health care directive, accompanying him to conferences with his attorney, and driving him to every one of his doctor’s appointments. Rumors began to unfold that the filing of a restraining order was being considered to legally prevent Dib from seeing his father again in the future!

After Lori had sequestered father for about a month, Dib decided to stop by unexpected and uninvited to visit Dad. Again, a four hundred mile drive, but he lovingly made the effort. When he walked in the front door, Dib was aghast to find father flat on his back in a hospital bed. His stomach was extended and swollen like Dib had never seen anyone else before. The room smelled like death. Obviously, father had not bathed or been provided proper hygiene for quite some time. Dib was in shock when he understood this surely was going to be the last time he ever saw his father alive. Lori feigned a welcome and patronized Dib by stating that father was pleased to see him.

A widower now of 18 years, father died the following day due to an untreated bowel obstruction. According to Lori, corrective action was not taken because the condition was considered inoperable. Because of Lori keeping her dastardly doings with father secret, no member’s of Dib’s side of the family had an opportunity to bid farewell to father, including Dad’s lady friend of almost twenty years (who considered herself his significant other).

For the funeral, Dib stayed at a local motel, since Lori had taken over the Adam’s family home when Dib was asked to leave the month before. Two weeks later, Dib received a copy of father’s updated last will and testament. Lori received all of father’s personal property and millions of dollars in cash, except for one million dollars left to a weirdo ranch hand named Tom whom Lori had recently hired to help her and father with chores. Dib, his wife and step-daughter, brother James, and father’s significant other had all been disinherited during Lori’s recent “kidnapping” of father. Neither was even a penny bestowed on any other family member, friend of the family, church, or charity.

Dib hired an attorney to sue Lori in Superior Court for fraud and elder abuse. She employed father’s attorney for herself. If you can believe it, the female judge selected in the case just happened to have been previously employed during her youth as a babysitter for father’s attorney (now Lori’s attorney). Dib was made the fool during the course of the trial (kangaroo court) and lost on every charge and motion.

We still have not answered the questions: Why did father suddenly turn against his adopted first son George (Dib) just a month before his demise? And why and how did father leave all his earthly possessions to adopted daughter Lorraine and her friend? Well, father’s most terrifying fear would have been to find himself dumped off at a nursing home. Knowing this, Dib would never have considered that course of action under any circumstances. Being so far from reality, neither had the subject ever been approached or discussed between father and son. But not until after the trail decision was finalized in Lori’s favor would the truth be revealed as follows:

Not mentioned beforehand, but brother Jim (James) had gotten himself into deep trouble and had been incarcerated for several years already at this point. During a prison visit, Dib’s brother revealed what would have to be the biggest lie ever told in the history of the world. Lori had told her incarcerated sibling that Dib intended on putting their father in a nursing home! Unmistakably, Lori had convinced both her brother and father (during his failing and weakened state of health) that Dib was an imminent threat to Dad’s well being and freedom. Pushing the idea that only she could protect him, Dad believed he had no other option than to surrender his life to his conniving daughter. That would explain the dramatic switch of father’s love and affection for his son to his uncharacteristic state of paranoia. In other words, Dib was eliminated from father’s life and estate plan after Lori convinced him that her older brother was the enemy.

Another dishonest practice on Lorraine’s “rap sheet” is what one may consider outright embezzlement. You see, father lent Lori and Michael all the money they needed to purchase a new home for cash. One stipulation mentioned in this interest free loan agreement was that, at such time the house were sold, father would be re-paid the loan amount in full.

After settling in to their new place, and without any funds of their own, the couple purchased a second home by placing a mortgage on the house father helped them to purchase for cash. In order to accomplish this, Lori had to trick father into signing a document that stated he had either forgiven the loan or the loan had already been repaid. The poor man must have failed to examine thoroughly what the document he signed actually entailed.

So Lori and Michael moved into the second home and rented their first home, now both with monthly mortgage payments due. After having overextended themselves with this imprudent scheme, they secretly declared bankruptcy and lost the first house father had purchased for them. Afterwards, whenever father mentioned that home in conversation, the two continued the ruse by claiming it was rented and provided for them an extra income. Father went to his grave without ever finding out about their crime. If father had known about this felony, would he have favored his daughter so generously in the end?

Now we must come to recognize the dire consequences of leading a life of deceit and manipulation. Well, in the case of sweet Lorraine, we find none at all! Looking back on it, feigning sadness or remorse by crying crocodile tears, as performed by the juvenile version of Lorraine, may very well have been early signs and symptoms of a sociopathic personality. What do you think?