polygraph, and the results showed that he was telling the truth, that he was not abusing children. I strongly suspect that this polygraph test never happened. I have heard that there are sociopaths who have such perfect control over their reactions that they can pass a polygraph test in spite of being guilty. How can this be? It’s simple enough. Sociopaths are so bereft of conscience that emotions are not a factor. They see whatever they do as right and proper. Their pulse and blood pressure will not rise in the absence of guilt.
Marvin further insinuated that the reason Nick was remanded to his mother’s care was that his lawyer was dyslexic, had trouble with paperwork, and was late in filing a key document. Marvin claimed he was incompetent. He complained that he had paid some $30,000 in legal fees in a custody case that had gone against him, and now the lawyer “owes me big time.”
Martin in fact had used Penny's money to fight her in Nick's custody battle. He had opened a secret bank account while still married, where he deposited some of his takings from her. He used this money to try to take Nick from Penny.
Penny’s father was worried about his daughter, and tried to file a civil suit to regain some of his daughter’s stolen finances. Marvin got more credit cards, maxed them out buying and borrowing as much as he could with them, and then filed bankruptcy. He was able to keep $90,000 in newly purchased assets. He hired an accountant to repair his credit scores, and was able to obtain a new stack of credit cards. Nothing was left for Penny. The civil suit was dropped.
Chapter Fifteen — MALIGNANT
Marvin continued his whirlwind sociopathic games. He continued his non-stop seductions. He would take all he could from his prey, suck them dry of money, favors, and dignity. He was contemptuous of all his victims. He thought them all inferior, only useful for what he could take from them. He felt entitled, superior in every way. Each manipulation provided him with a new adrenaline rush.
One afternoon he purchased a book titled, How To Cast Spells. He proudly displayed it on his coffee-table . I doubt he had ever read a complete book, so this was out of character. There were no other books in his house. I am sure of that. But How To Cast Spells was there for all of us to see. Marvin saw the curiosity on my face as I stared at the book one afternoon and volunteered, “I can make things happen to people just by thinking them.” He then told me of a teacher he had hated as a kid. Alone in bed one night, he actively wished the teacher harm. The next day the teacher’s family were all killed in an automobile accident. Marvin smiled when he told me that story. There was an evil sneer on his face as he added, “believe it. It is true.” I thought then and still believe that Marvin had begun his descent into madness.
Marvin spent hours at his office computer every day, searching gay man-boy websites. Through an international website, he found a gay male twenty years his junior, who lived in Russia. This boy spoke broken English and was poor. He didn’t own a computer but would walk to a library to access the use of one. In Russia at that time, it was illegal to engage in any homosexual activities. Although it was punishable by a mandatory prison term, Marvin convinced the boy to maintain contact, and planned to sponsor the boy and send him enough money to get a visa and come to the States to live with him. What a perfect victim. If he did not comply with Marvin’s demands, he could be left alone in a foreign land. He would have no shelter, and would barely be able to communicate. I don’t know why the plan failed. I do know that failure was a monumental gift for the Russian boy. This failed plan and others like it were discovered after the fact by criminal investigators. I shudder when I think of the expansion of Marvin’s capabilities allowed by a computer. Now he had the whole world at his fingertips. He could expand his deviant search around the globe. He could find victims anywhere.
Chapter Sixteen — EDDIE
It was years after the fact that I found out about Eddie. An investigator looking into Marvin’s past interviewed me, and in the process of that interview, told me about the 8 year old boy. The story nearly mirrored Ben’s, but had a different ending. Once again, Marvin tried the adoption process. He used his computer to view photos and profiles of many candidates. He cruised electronically, searching posted information and imagining possibilities. He looked for what he had with Ben: a boy with emotional disabilities that would make a prospective couple look elsewhere, and that made adoption by a single male more feasible.
His brazen schemes were more refined, more cunning. Marvin found a way to make himself sound reasonable, at least in a computer print-out. He developed patterns of behavior from sifting through his past. He found what hadn’t worked, and threw those ideas out. He looked at the things that had worked, and honed his skills using those techniques.
He developed plans for his future entertainment, for a future filled with Bens and Pennys and multiple seductions and molestations. The hunt was more protected when done with a computer, but the thrill of the chase wasn’t satisfied electronically. The computer was fine for a search, but he needed live people for his active seduction. He needed a child from another state so it would be highly unlikely that his past would come to bear. Ben had to remain undiscovered if Marvin was to adopt again.
He hoped all information regarding his documented past would slip through the cracks in the system. There were no trials, no time in prison, no court decisions that went against him. All that showed in written record was the “bit of bother with that bitch Penny and her two brats.” The charges had been dropped in that case, but Marvin did not want anyone to connect events in his past with his plans for here and now. So when his computer search found Eddie, Marvin set his evil sights on him. He would replace Ben with Eddie.
Eddie was an 8 year old boy with documented behavior problems. He lived in a foster home in another state. Eight years old was good for Marvin. A little boy that age was easier to convince and to control; easier to manipulate and bend to his private pleasure. Marvin was certain he could handle an 8 year old. He was more confident now of manipulating both the adoptive system and the courts. It had worked before, he thought, and he had learned a lot since then.
The adoption agency did not learn of Ben. They told Marvin they would give him Eddie for a trial period, but first wanted them to spend just one night together as a test of compatibility, and of Marvin’s ability to handle a hyperactive child. Eddie’s hyperactivity was equally as bad as Ben’s had been, but the child was well controlled on medication. Marvin saw no problem there. Eddie was beside himself with excitement. The thought of someone wanting to adopt him filled his heart with hope. As they drove away, he waved goodbye to the other children, aware that he was one of the lucky ones. Then he turned his attention to Marvin, who told him of the fun they would have at an amusement park, and at supper, and getting to know each other when they spent the night together. Marvin said they could eat anywhere that Eddie wanted. The little boy’s mind was filled with dreams, and he grinned from ear to ear.
When they reached the theme park, Eddie leapt out and raced to the entrance. It was a paradise, something he had imagined but never thought he would see. He spent the day taking it all in; the rides, the games, the food. Finally his senses were on overload, and he was exhausted. Marvin insisted on one more indulgence. They stopped on the way to the hotel for ice cream. It was another first in a day of firsts. Eddie had his fill of ice cream. That day was a dream come true. His fill of ice cream! Imagine!
With a belly full of ice cream and a mind filled with wonder, Eddie arrived at the hotel. Marvin showered while Eddie watched television, then told Eddie to shower as well. Marvin, covered with just a towel, watched Eddie closely as the boy disrobed. He watched just as closely as Eddie dried himself and started to put on pajamas. Marvin took off his towel, climbed into the bed naked, and told Eddie that it was so much more comfortable to sleep “in the raw.” Marvin patted the place beside him and smiled. “Come on, Eddie. We’ll need a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s fun.”
The hours that followed were worse than any nightmare Eddie had known or imagined. He found the Boogey Man really did exist. Each time in the past he had dreamt of him, the Boogey Man was gone when he woke up in the morning. This time he was here to stay, and he wanted to keep Eddie forever.
Eddie went berserk. He flew out from under the covers, shaking and crying. He tried to cover his nakedness
