own. When Marvin arrived home, Penny immediately confronted him.
Marvin flew into a rage, a rage inspired strictly for the sake of theatrics. He really wasn't angry, nor was he sorry. He could have cared less about his victims state of suffering, it was all about him. Marvin was afraid because he had gotten caught. He wasn't in fear of any legal consequences because he would see to it that there were none, one way or another; he was smarter than 'the system'. What he was in fear of, and the last thing that he would allow to happen, would be for his activities to be interrupted. Marvin pounced on the opportunity at hand; to use the very scenario that presented itself as an excuse to outwardly terrorize this family, Penny and the children being alone with him in the house. He stormed about the house, raging and pounding on walls and destroying some of the children's toys, their beloved PlayStation and other belongings. Marvin screamed that they were 'all a bunch of losers and ingrates' and that 'without him they were nothing', making sure that everyone within the confines of the house would hear its echoes. He yelled that the children were 'retarded' and that their mother was 'insane' and that they were all 'liars and he would prove it'. Now, he intentionally lowered his voice, so only Penny could hear what was to follow. With an icy-cold glare Marvin looked her directly in the eyes and hissed 'who would believe someone who's insane? They'll believe me.' Penny's blood ran cold. She knew what he was alluding too. She had been diagnosed years ago with bipolar disorder and was taking prescribed medication for this condition. Then Marvin announced that he would be divorcing her; and as a reminder that all her assets and money were gone he added 'and where ya gonna go with your brats you stupid bitch?'
An even more sinister plan occurred to Marvin. 'I'll prove you're an unfit mother and gain custody of your children.' 'Go take some more of your pills bitch, you're gonna need it.' It was as if the devil himself was whispering in Marvin's ear as to what to say. And that's precisely what Penny did, as if she were hypnotized.
The very thought of this malignant monster gaining possession of her children generated a psychological and emotional meltdown in Penny. She could not bear the thought of what she was about to have to endure. Penny snapped. Void of all rational thought and as if she were following Marvin's command, Penny went into the bathroom medicine cabinet, got her bottle of pills, and swallowed what remained in the bottle in front of Marvin. He didn't jump into action and try to stop Penny. Instead, he stood by and watched her. Marvin felt this intense jolt of power that he had never experienced before, a total unharnessed rush of adrenaline. Could he have become so adept at manipulating people and events that he could get them to obey such life-altering commands? He felt all-powerful. He would savor the image of this moment forever.
Marvin didn't respond by calling 911 to report an overdose to summon an ambulance for Penny. He didn't dial for help to try to save her life; instead he simply glared at her with contempt. Penny knew about the children now, but she hadn't yet had the opportunity to tell anyone. If Penny did die she wouldn't be able to tell, ever. And the fact that she did it to herself, all the better! Within the next fifteen minutes, Penny regained enough rational thought to call for her own ambulance. She was treated and released from the hospital several hours after she arrived.
Before Penny awoke the next morning, Marvin left the house to begin damage control. He chose an attorney, the same aggressive, Pit Bull, take no prisoners, lawyer he had used before. Marvin liked his style. And he also thought that he would more than likely get some sort of preferential treatment since he was a repeat customer. Marvin was right about that. And he always made sure to remind his attorney just what a valuable client he was. Marvin had just awarded his attorney two cases that morning; one, the divorce from Penny; and the other, a child custody case, because he was filing to keep Nick, as he had promised Penny.
Marvin filed whatever had to be done to keep Nick, and filed for divorce from Penny. He had her money. He was taking her child. Now he needed to discredit her testimony if she pursued a child abuse case. Four days after filing these two cases, Marvin told Penny to get out and take her two brats with her. Only two. He told her he was keeping Nick. Somehow, he orchestrated that. Marvin made it happen. He kept Nick because Nick didn’t tell. Nick had denied any indecencies with Marvin. I don’t know how Marvin managed that. I believe he filled Nick with cunning lies. I believe that somehow Marvin convinced Nick that he was better off with him. I suspect he told him that being an only child would provide him with more than he would have with Penny. He wouldn’t have to share; everything would be just for him. Marvin poisoned Nick with lies about his family. He bribed the boy with “stuff.” He had a powerful hold on this 8 year old child.
Penny was emotionally battered to the point she left the house with her two older boys, leaving Nick alone with a child-molesting sociopath. He convinced a small circle around him that Penny was insane, and the older son’s were confused because of their mother’s insanity. Nick was young enough not to have been infected with his mother’s madness, Marvin maintained. And certainly Nick’s consistent denials that there had been improprieties gave Marvin a thick smoke screen to hide behind. Nick was questioned by many people, but stayed with his story of innocence. Marvin, with Nick’s help, convinced the legal system that keeping Nick, at least temporarily, was for the best, and he was awarded temporary custody of the young boy.
Again I gave “the system” the benefit of the doubt. I had to believe that the authorities had investigated the situation thoroughly before awarding custody of a child to a man who was not his father.
I’m sure that Penny’s suicide attempt had a lot to do with the outcome. He painted Penny as unstable, which of course she was. He neglected to mention that he had been the one to convince her to take more medicine; that he had badgered her with, “Take more of your pills, bitch,” until she snapped and did just that. Marvin broadcasted Penny’s bipolar diagnosis to all his acquaintances, and implied that the children likely would have starved if he had not taken over the cooking in the home. When he was asked why he filed for custody of only Nick instead of all three children, Marvin said that he and Nick had a special bond. “Nick loves me and needs me,” Marvin said. “That little boy needs me and he thinks I hung the moon.”
Marvin had custody of Nick for the next five months. I saw them together at a school function once during that time. Nick was draped across Marvin’s lap, his head resting on his stepfather’s chest. The boy reached up and put his arms around the older man’s neck. His little voice was almost dreamy as he cooed, “I really love you, daddy.” Nick was not yet nine.
Chapter Fourteen — PENNY’S STRUGGLE
The days ahead for Penny were a monumental struggle. This marriage had lasted only eight months but left her life in ruins. She had to wonder if she would ever get her son back from this monster. She didn’t know if she would be able to gather up the broken pieces of her life. She had no way of knowing if she could repair the damage to her reputation, to her family, to her concept of self. She didn’t know if her children would heal from the assault by this monstrous human being, or if they’d ever get their little brother back. She had a divorce pending and no funds for legal counsel. She was squeezed dry, and withered, and had no place to turn. She was fighting a calculating evil, and the system didn’t seem to want to help her.
Two months after Marvin and Penny separated; I received a call from Marvin asking me to be a character witness for him at Nick’s custody hearing. I was nauseated by the request, and very nearly vomited. For the first time, I shook off the lethargy that I thought had protected me, and that I often hid behind. I didn’t fold and look away from danger. I told him he should be ashamed, trying to take a little boy from his mother. I asked him how he would feel if someone tried to do that to him. His answer was a furious, spitting, surge of anger. “That bitch is trying to put me in jail!” Nothing more. No rational explanation. No attempt to sway me with facts. Just, “that bitch is trying to put me in jail.” “Good,” I thought to myself, but only told him I wouldn’t help. Finally I had faced Marvin. Finally I had mustered the courage to deny him something he wanted. A rush of satisfaction flowed through me and painted my cheeks and made me catch my breath. Finally!
As soon as Marvin had assumed custody of Nick, Penny’s father requested a meeting. He begged Marvin to return his grandson to his daughter. He confronted Marvin about selling all of Penny’s possessions and spending the money on himself. Marvin held the meeting in his kitchen, and prepared for it by placing a tape recorder behind the refrigerator to record what was said. He wanted to catch the old man in an impropriety, something he could use against him if he needed. He didn’t find anything, but he later related that he listened to the recording often, laughing at the old man begging for the return of his grandson.
I don’t understand the why’s and wherefore’s, but Marvin managed to have his marriage to Penny annulled. It meant no child support, no alimony, and Penny remained broke while Marvin’s financial future was unscathed. He and his lawyer convinced the court that the child molestation charges were the fantasy of a woman scorned, and were not valid. Marvin told us that the molestation charges were dropped because he demanded to take a
