sitting there, just sitting there … I knew I should tell someone.”
Boldt glanced over at Daphne; he wanted the interview
“Please,” Daphne repeated.
“In our bedroom,” the mother replied.
Down a narrow hall, she showed them into a cluttered bedroom. The boy had a set of blocks out on the floor, reminding Boldt of Miles, and in turn making him think of Sarah.
“Honey,” the mother said, “these people are going to help us find Ronnie. They want to talk to you. I told them they could. Okay?”
The boy averted his eyes shyly, down at the toes of his Air Nikes.
Boldt said, “I understand Henry is quite the hero.”
“A brave little boy,” Daphne agreed. “We’re just going to ask you some questions. Okay?”
The boy checked again with his mother, who sat down on the floor and took the boy in her arms from behind so the child faced Boldt and Daphne. Daphne signaled Boldt to lose some altitude. He joined her on the floor so he no longer towered over the boy. “Please, honey? We like these people. They want to help Ronnie.” She prompted, “You bit the man, didn’t you?” The boy nodded.
“On the leg?” Daphne asked.
The boy shook his head no. Henry had several of his teeth and a small scar on his chin. His s’s whistled when he spoke.
The mother said, “Would you tell me again about what happened when the man came for Ronnie?” The child vigorously shook his head no. The mother encouraged, “You heard them in the kitchen.”
“Me hearded Ronnie crying. Me shout for Julie.”
“The baby sitter,” Daphne said.
Henry nodded.
“And when she didn’t answer, did that scare you?”
He nodded again. He was a cute boy with a round face and his mother’s large blue eyes.
“And then what happened?” Daphne asked.
“Me go into kitchen.”
“
“What did you see in the kitchen?” Daphne inquired.
The boy grew restless in his mother’s arms. His voice was excited. “Julie asleep on the floor. The man with a bag. Ronnie crying.”
“Did you see
“Julie sleeping on the floor.” He looked frightened all of a sudden.
Daphne signaled Boldt off with her eyes.
“What did you do then?” Daphne asked.
His voice sped up with his description. “Me pulled on his arm. He kicked me. Me screamed.” He hung his head.
“You tried to help Ronnie, didn’t you?”
“I bit him,” Henry said, proudly.
“Yes,” Daphne returned quickly. “On the leg … on the-”
“His arm,” Henry interrupted.
Boldt restrained himself from interrupting, his heart racing painfully.
Without prompting, the boy continued, “Me bit him and I fell down and hit my head and it hurt.” He rubbed the back of his head. “There was a bump, wasn’t there, Mommy?”
“There sure was.” Doris Shotz grimaced. She didn’t want to relive any of this.
“It hurt!” the boy declared, still rubbing his head.
“I bet you hurt him more,” Boldt said.
“He bleeded.”
He smiled up at Boldt. All the innocence of the world was in that smile. What powers ultimately corrupted such innocence? he wondered. How was it so quickly lost? Because of the Pied Pipers of this world, he realized. Because detectives asked painful questions.
“I bit him on the birdie,” the boy blurted. Doris Shotz was as surprised to hear this as Boldt and Matthews.
“A birdie?” Boldt asked. “On his arm?” The boy nodded. “A drawing?” Another nod.
A tattoo was as good as a fingerprint with a jury, and juries loved child witnesses.
“What kind of birdie? Do you remember?” Boldt asked.
Daphne let him go. Boldt had opened up the tattoo information.
“Like on TV.”
Boldt was on pins and needles. He needed a detailed description of the tattoo, and the chances of that from a three-year-old were slim.
“Big Bird?” Boldt asked.
“No, the
“Is the bird on a show?” Daphne asked.
He shook his head no.
“A commercial?”
He half nodded, half shrugged his shoulders in puzzlement.
“Which commercial would that be?” she asked.
Henry offered Daphne a silly expression and said, “The one with the bird in it!” He giggled.
Daphne maintained her composure, but Boldt barked out spontaneous laughter.
Henry said, “Big bird flying over the river.”
“An airplane?” Daphne asked.
“A bird!” the child repeated. “We deliver, we deliver!”
“The post office!” the mother said.
“An eagle,” Boldt announced.
Henry turned toward him and nodded vigorously. “An eagle!” he repeated.
Daphne was not pleased with Boldt, and her eyes told him so. He had fed the witness an answer. In the process of answering questions a witness reached a heightened state of wanting to please. Especially children. That desire, combined with the frustration of a blocked or vacant memory, would often jump at the first offering, even if it meant answering erroneously. Boldt had planted a word in the boy’s head to go along with whatever image lingered. No matter what the bird looked like, the word eagle would now be used.
“Where was this bird on his arm?” Daphne asked, avoiding mention of the species.
Henry Shotz pointed to the top of his forearm.
Boldt said, “If a friend of ours sketched the bird, drew the bird, do you think you might recognize it?”
The boy shrugged.
The mother said, “Henry loves picture books.” The boy nodded agreement.
Boldt wanted a sketch artist with the child in a hurry.
“So what happened after you bit him?” Daphne asked, adding to her notes.
“The man ran out. I gone to Julie, but she was sleeping.”
They repeated the line of questions a second time and got the same answers, a detective’s dream. Boldt took more detailed notes the second pass. They left at 9:07 P.M. Boldt made note of this as well. Daphne was watching him, expecting this of him. Illusion was everything.
On their way back to their cars, Boldt stopped Daphne and told her he would take care of arranging a sketch artist. If they got a decent sketch, he’d pass it on to LaMoia to present to the task force. Daphne accepted this-as staff psychologist she had no part in evidence collection. But it was her role to assist in artist rendition sessions where the subject’s state of mind was critical.
She mentioned her participation as if pro forma. “You’ll let me know time and place,” she said. “I have a ten o’clock tomorrow, so anytime after eleven will work. I’d suggest the sketch be done here, by the way. A three- year-old doesn’t need any additional stimulus. Environment is everything.”
