Robert introduced Mr. Gene and Mr. George to his friends and explained they were part of security for them as Mr. Ken was staying home to hand out the candy. The teen told the other teens that Mr. Ken had been handing out candy the past few years and he wanted to be there to do it again, except that with the guards he figured it would be easier on the guards to do it up there. After that was done, the lads were off to beg for candy.
The lads hadn't gone past the main entrance to The Cove when a small group of little kids walked into the entrance area and walked to the Main Gate guard shack. The little kids stopped at the gate and seeing Mr. Ken was there they all said, "Trick-Or-Treat". Mr. Ken smiled at the three little ones and put a bunch of candy in each of their orange pumpkins.
The parent walking the little ones around asked Mr. Ken why he was up there. Mr. Ken told her that with the security measures they'd have to go through too much just to get a few pieces of candy, so he decided to do it up there. The parent thanked him for not making her walk all that way and then she was off to the next house letting her kids beg for candy.
Robert, Eric, and Kevin stopped at their first house. "Trick-Or-Treat" the three called out when the older woman opened the door.
"Oh, how cute you three are. Here's some candy for each of you. Walk safe," said the older woman.
As soon as the first group cleared the porch, Charles, David and Kyle walked up and rang the doorbell. When the door was answered the three called out, "Trick-Or-Treat." The lady gave them all the same amount of candy. Josh, Gordon, and Cody followed up after group two and were treated the same as the first two groups.
Mr. Gene was stationed out in front of the Cover lads and their friends and Mr. George brought up the rear. The two groups and their chaperones were no more than twenty feet apart at their most distant separations. Group one would be on the porch of one house while the second group would be on the porch of the house they just visited. The boys had it figured out pretty well.
Since they started out at about 6:30 it was still quite light out as they walked their first street. Even though the sun went down at 6:45, it was still light out until about 7:10. Gene and George had good, clear sight lines until then, but when the ambient light began to fade away the two security men tried to keep a closer eye on the lads and the boys in a tighter group. They kept reminding the boys to stay together and not get too far ahead or behind them.
Then the lads began to trade off members, and that began to cause problems for the twin security men. They knew which lad was which but when they switched up with Josh, Gordon, and Cody it made it more difficult to keep all six lads in sight as they began to spread out more.
Over at BAMC, earlier that afternoon, Detectives Joel Carrier and Jose Cortez visited Parker Parchsons. They were there to interview him one last time before the decision was to be made to finally arrest the man. They wanted to ask the man about his extensive monetary holdings that were outside his normal banking practices. They asked him where he got the funds deposited in the Money Market accounts he held in his name only. He refused to answer any questions without a lawyer present.
The detectives changed directions and then asked the hospital patient why Julian Hankers was a constant visitor of his. Parker again refused to answer their questions. Then Detective Carrier asked Parker if he knew that Julian had been arrested for suspicion of child abuse, indecency with a minor and endangering a child's physical and emotional health and development. Joel further asked Parker why he wanted that man to be the twin's guardian. Parker Parchsons still refused to answer any questions.
Jose Cortez took the next round of questions and asked Parker if his wife actually signed the Power of Attorney giving Julian Hankers control, of their twins. This time Parker hesitated telling them he wouldn't answer any questions without a lawyer present. Joel saw that hesitation, so he got up and said to Detective Cortez he was going to talk to Vivian Parchsons and ask her again about signing those legal papers.
But before Joel could exit the room, Parker asked him to stop. Joel looked to Jose and getting a nod the senior detective stopped and went and sat down. The detectives read him his rights and asked him if he wanted to be represented by a lawyer. Parker Parchsons said he didn't want a lawyer. Hearing that the detectives asked him what he wanted to tell them about his wife's signature.
The Cover lads were having a good time begging for candy. They even started to tell the people "We're begging for candy" in a sing-song manner. Some of the adults thought that was funny and even gave them a few more pieces of candy for being original. The boys laughed all the way down the street and back up before they stopped at the guard shack to drop off their containers of candy, and talk to Mr. Ken.
"'Dad', 'dad'," called Kyle, "this is so much fun. I wonder why our parents wouldn't let us ever do this. Thank you for buying us our costumes and letting us go out begging for candy." Kyle then hugged the man leaving some white face on his shirt.
When the twin pulled away from his 'Dad' he saw what he'd done and said, "Sorry!" All Mr. Ken did was bop the lad's oversized hat.
"Yes, 'Dad Ken", this has been fun. I can't wait until we start the next street over. I sure hope Mr. Gene and Mr. George can keep up with us," now laughed the older twin.
"'Dad', this has been fun. I can't remember it being this fun the few times I got to do this," said Robert.
"I'm glad you are all having a good time. Eric, David, you getting your fair share of candy or are my 'son's' horning you out of a good take?" teased Mr. Ken.
Eric and David showed the man their full pillowcases and they asked if there was a corner they could dump their haul as their bag was getting heavy. The guard heard the boys' questions and he told them where they could store their take. The man did tell them it would cost them a few pieces of candy as a storage fee. Eric and David looked at one another and then told the guard they could have anything BUT the chocolates.
The guard laughed and said, "Thanks lads, I was only teasing you. Mr. Ken has graciously offered us any of his large stash of candy he's been handing out. But thank you anyway. It is good to know there are lads out there who are not selfish. Thanks again." All the boys smiled.
The lads dropped off their take and headed out for the next street over. It was 7:30 PM and the boys had lots of energy left to spare. Gene and George quickly followed behind the boys but called out to them and asked them to wait up, so they could do their job. The boys slowed down, some.
Earlier that day, during the mid-afternoon, Bandera Detectives Joel Carrier and Jose Cortez visited Parker Parchsons down at BAMC to try to get him to open up some more and tell them what they needed to know. Joel had already talked to Parker Parchsons a few times so he introduced his partner, Jose Cortez. The detective also reminded the hospital patient about his Rights to Self-Incrimination. That done, their first round of questioning centered on the Power of Attorney and whose signature was actually on Vivian Parchsons line on the form.
After some back and forth the detectives learned it was Julian Hankers who signed her name. The detectives then asked why Julian signed instead of his wife. Parker told them that she wouldn't sign when he asked her to, so Julian took them and signed them and said he was going to get the twins.
Detective Carrier asked Parker why he chose Julian to take care of his twin sons instead of all the other people he knew. Parker swallowed hard at the question and took a full minute to think it through before he answered. When he did, he told the detectives that he called and talked to his entire family, but none of them would accept taking both boys. Then, he said after he talked to all his local friends only Julian was ready and willing to watch the twins. Parker then inadvertently said that Julian had paid him a large amount of money and that Hankers was intent on getting what he paid for.
"Mr. Parchsons ... what ... what is it that Julian Hankers paid you for and ... and how much did he pay you?" directly asked Joel Carrier.
Parker Parchsons, knowing he just messed up, swallowed hard before he answered. "Ahhh, well that's not important. But ... what do I get out of this if I answer your question?"
"Well, you know WE can't offer you anything. That's above our purview. The only thing we can do for you is to tell the DA how cooperative you were and only he can talk to your lawyer that is if you needed one, and work something out. By the way ... what is it that you'd want from us in exchange for telling us what we want to know?" asked Detective Carrier.
Parker thought about it for a few moments and then said, "I'd want you to keep my wife out of all of this. I promise you; she has no idea what was going on."
Both detectives looked to one another. They had no idea what the man was talking about so they asked.
"What is it ... that your wife didn't know about?" asked Jose Cortez.
"Come on guys, you know what I was doing, otherwise you wouldn't be here," replied Parker.
Then it hit Joel Carrier what the man might be alluding to, so he asked, "You mean ... your wife didn't know about what you and Kevin have been doing with all those other men and boys on all those Sundays you two were gone?"
Parker Parchsons eyes lit up when he heard what the detective just asked him. He had no idea they knew anything about what he and Kevin did on most Sundays. He thought they were going to ask him about all the extra money he had stashed away and how he acquired it. He knew now he had to somehow to put them off that train of thought. But he didn't know what to say or do. He was so confused.
"Mr. Parchsons ... can we go back to a previous question?" asked Jose Cortez.
Not thinking what he was saying, Parker said, "Yes, sure, anything."
"My partner asked you ... what Julian Hankers had to do with the Power of Attorney and what was it that he paid you a large amount of money for? Just two simple questions that you said you'd tell us if we helped you. Now ... you alluded that Julian was the one who forged your wife's signature on that Power of Attorney. So ... what else was it that Julian wanted your twins for? We know Kevin knows Julian and we also know that Kyle has no idea who the man is. So ... why did you choose him against all the other people you know and ... and what is it that Julian paid you for?"
Parker knew that if he told them what Julian paid him for they would also know what he'd done, not only with his own son, but also with the other boys who were there on those special Sundays. He decided not to answer them, but ignore them.
"Mr. Parchsons ... do you know where your friend Julián Hankers is right now? We've tried to locate him and seeing he visited you very often this past week we thought that, well, that maybe you knew where he was. Can you answer that for us?" asked Jose Cortez.
"Well ... he said something about going to see a judge. He told me he was going to use those Power of Attorney papers, to get the judge to issue some kind of release order to put the boys under his guardianship. He said once he had that order he'd have to decide to go back, or not, to where the boys are staying. But, I figure ... if he gets that release order then ... then he'd definitely go back to where the boys are staying and get their Mr. Ken to release them to him. He talked about doing that when he was here this week. That's all I can tell you," replied Parker Parchsons.
"Mr. Parchsons ... can you tell us which judge he might want to go to in order to get this release?" asked Joel Carrier.
"Hmmm ... he mentioned someone he knew. A Terry somebody who lives up in the area my boys are now living in. Does that help?" smiled Parker.
"Mr. Parchsons ... you won't tell us what Julian Hankers paid you for, but ... well ... could please tell us how much he paid you?" asked Detective Cortez.
Parker Parchsons thought about it for a few moments. He thought to himself that it wouldn't hurt to tell them how much money Julian paid him to de-flower Kevin. He knew how much Kevin disliked the man, but he was the highest bidder. Parker remembered how Julian was adamant that after he paid he wanted control of the boy while the twins' dad was in the hospital. Julian indeed did pay him and that was before their accident and Julian was anxious to get his prize.
"Well, gentlemen ... I guess it won't hurt to tell you how much Julian paid me. I did a service for him and he paid me, ahh ... a total of five thousand dollars. I don't see how knowing that figure helps you, but good luck," smiled Mr. Parchsons.
The Cover lads and their friends talked as they walked to the next street. They all agreed that going Trick-Or-Treating was well worth all the walking they're doing. The twins thanked the boys for doing that with them. Kevin told the older boys that there was no way their real parents would ever do that with them, or even allow any older kids from their block to take them out.
When the lads got to the top of the street, the groups started going to the houses as they had been doing. Robert, Eric and Kevin would ring the doorbell and either say, "Trick-Or-Treat", or they would say, "We're out begging for candy". They would always get something. Then Charles' group would immediately followed up the stairs as the first group was coming down. The third group followed right behind.
The boys got about halfway down the one side of the street when Robert noticed something. The teenager didn't say anything to his 'brothers', or to his friends about what he saw, but he called Mr. Gene over to talk to him.
"Mr. Gene ... as I was coming down the steps just now and I, ahh, I noticed a van ... a white van that I think I saw, you know, when we were on the other street. What made me notice it was that it just pulled into a parking space, but I am sure it was also at the top of the street when we started," revealed Robert.
By then all the boys had gathered next to Robert and Mr. Gene. They all wondered why they weren't moving down the street and Robert said he just needed to make sure they weren't walking too fast for Mr. Gene or his brother. The teen then told Charles to go to the next house and he and Eric will catch up. He also told Kevin to go with his twin. The group of teenagers followed right behind.
Gene and George talked about the possibility of there being something not right with that van and they told Robert they'd keep a watch out and see what the van did. George told the teens to catch up with their friends and they'd be right there.
As Robert walked away, they could hear the teen telling his Best Friend why he had to talk to the men. They then heard Eric ask if Robert was going to call his dad, but the lad said that was what the security men were for and he wasn't going to bother his 'dad' unless it became necessary. Eric said that was probably the right thing to do, and the two were soon out of earshot.
Gene and George pulled out their special camera and decided to try to take some pictures of the boys, but were, in reality, going to take pictures of the van and its occupants and license plate number. The men had to walk fast to catch up with their responsibility.
When they security men did catch up with the lads the third group was just coming down off the front porch.
"Hey, boys," called out Mr. George, "how about letting us take a few pictures of you so we can give them to Mr. Ken later and he can send them off to their parents. Will you do that for us?"
The boys all smiled at one another and got together in a group. Mr. George had the boys get closer together and he pointed the camera in their direction and focused it. The focus, though, was on the driver in the van. When Mr. George pushed the shutter release, the boys all heard it click and then they started to walk away. Mr. George called to them to stop and get back in position. He told them he wanted to make sure the picture was a good one so he wanted to take two shots. The boys got back in line.
The lads continued walking down the street. As they did, they passed a number of other kids out begging for candy. Sometimes they'd stop and talk about their costumes and where they got them. Sometimes the parents wanted to stop and talk to Mr. Gene and Mr. George to ask them if they lived in the neighborhood. All the twins security men would tell them was they were asked by their parents to watch over the lads as the parents were too busy. That seemed to satisfy the parents.
The boys continued to go to each and every house that had left a light on to show they had candy to give out. At each and every house that gave out candy, the lad's containers or pillowcases got fuller and fuller and heavier and heavier. They all had great big smiles on their faces because they were having loads of fun.
After the detectives talked to Parker Parchsons, at length, and didn't get any further than Joel had the other times he talked to the man, the Bandera County Detectives decided to head back to their office and talk over what they did get. Since it was rush hour, when the detectives headed back to their office, it took them quite some time to arrive. When they got there they pulled out their investigative file and added what little they just got. Once they added the information to the folder holding all the material they'd gathered, they began to look through it
Detective Jose Cortez came onto the investigation late and didn't know all the players who were initially involved that started the investigation in the other county. As he looked through the back information he would ask the senior partner about this person or that one.
As Jose was doing that, Joel Carrier was trying to make sense out of the two pieces of info they did get – a payment of $5000.00 and the name, Terry. It was while Detective Cortez asked who Lieutenant Brandt Matthias was that Joel got this wild idea to call and talk to the man.
Joel Carrier got the phone information off Jose and started to call. When he got through, the duty sergeant told him that Lieutenant Matthias was off for the evening and asked if he could help. Joel asked him to call the lieutenant to ask him to call him back since it had to do with an investigation they were working on. The sergeant agreed to do that.
It was about a half hour later that Brandt Matthias called back to Joel Carrier. They made some small talk before Joel asked Brandt, "Do you have any idea who this Terry person could be that Julian Hankers supposedly knew in the area."
Brant thought about that for a few moments and then told Joel he didn't know anyone who was called Terry, but he recommended to the detective that he might look through Hankers phone contacts to see if there was anything there. The two men also talked about the $5000.00 Parker Parchsons mentioned and Brandt Matthias told the detective that he had no context in which to ponder the possibilities.
Joel thanked the lieutenant for calling him back and Brandt told him to call anytime if he thought he could help. After the two detectives hung up, Joel went to the investigative file and began looking through Julian Hankers' cell phone contact list.
Now that Robert noticed the white van he watched for it after every house they went to beg for candy. Mr. George would stop the boys every now and then and he'd ask the individual boy to pose for a picture. The security man told the lad to hold for at least two shots and maybe three if he thought the picture wouldn't be any good. The reason Mr. George did that was because he and his twin brother saw the van was moving down the street when a parking space became available.
Over at The Cove, Mr. Ken and the guards were having a fun time with all the Trick-Or-Treaters who were stopping by for candy. The little kids would thank them for the candy and some of them remembered who Mr. Ken was and they thanked him for having all those great parties they got to go to. One young lad even asked if there would a Christmas Party that year, too. Mr. Ken ruffled the lad's hair and told the boy he was already in the planning stage. That put a smile on the boy's face.
Some of the parents took a few moments to talk to Mr. Ken and they asked him why his foster kids weren't up there handing out the candy. Mr. Ken just smiled and told them that they were out begging for candy and that was where he got his candy to pass out. Some of the parents were aghast at what they heard. Mr. Ken would then pull out the empty candy bags and then they laughed when they realized the joke was on them. That joke put a big smile on the parents' faces as they walked away.
The Cover lads and their friends crossed the street and started going up the other side. Their candy buckets and pillowcases were getting full again, but they were still having fun, so they decided they'd make the decision to continue on after they got to the top.
Detective Joel Carrier went through Julian Hankers cell phone contacts twice, but he didn't see any man named Terry on the list. He threw the list down on the desk and told Jose he was going out for a soda. Jose picked up the list and began looking through it. He knew he wouldn't find the name Terry on the list, but he wanted to get a sense of what this man, Hankers, was all about.
It was going on 8 PM Saturday evening when Joel came back into the office and told Jose it was late and they should already be home and be with their own families as the kids came to their doors Trick-Or-Treating for candy. Jose told his partner to hold on a second. He called Joel over and asked him to look at something he found on the contact list.
Joel went over to see what Jose was pointing at and when he saw it he was shocked that he hadn't seen it himself. He took the list from Jose and went to his desk and made a phone call. The phone rang five times before it was picked up. Joel asked if Brandt Matthias was there and told the person on the phone that it was a police matter.
When Lieutenant Matthias picked up the phone he asked who it was.
"Lieutenant, this is Joel Carrier. You told me to call if you could be of any more help. LT, remember I was asking you about a man named Terry, well I found a name, but it wasn't Terry it was Terryman. Do you know anyone out your way with that name," asked Detective Carrier?
"Joel ... we have a judge by the name of Terryman up here. He was arrested for indecency with a child way back in the spring. He is out on supervised release pending trial. Why? What does ... Wait, you're looking through Hankers' cell phone contacts and if I remember right Judge Terryman's chambers phone number was in there. Do you think there is a connection between Parker Parchsons and Judge Terryman?" excitedly asked Brandt Matthias.
"LT, my partner, Jose, and I interviewed Parker this afternoon. He told us that Julian Hankers was going to ask his judge friend to sign some sort of release papers to put the Parchsons twins into his care. Parker also told us that Julian probably would go back to where the twins live and get them. Lieutenant, I know Mr. Thomas has guards at his house; I saw them when I was there to interview the twins. Sir, I'd recommend you call over there and tell the man what might be going on," counseled Joel Carrier.
Brandt Matthias thanked Joel for the information and told him he'd make a phone call. The two said they stay in contact and then they hung up. Lieutenant Matthias immediately picked up the phone after he hung it up and made a call.
The lads were still having fun but Robert was constantly looking over his shoulder searching for the white van. It was while the large group was headed to another house to beg for candy that the teenager noticed a different but larger white van parked at the top of the street. He called Mr. George over and asked if he could take his picture, but he wanted him to focus on the white van at the top of the street and see who was in there. Mr. George did what he was asked.
After George took the picture he called his brother over. "Gene ... it looks like we may really have a situation here. The man who was driving the white van earlier ... he's now driving a white step van and it is now parked at the top of the street. Robert noticed it and had me use the camera to check the driver. The other white van is nowhere to be seen.
"If it is someone intent on taking the twins they upgraded to the step van in order to hold more people. I wonder if they can't figure out which boys are the twins and they intend to at least take the four smaller lads. Gene ... my bet is they intend on doing the deed when all the lads get to the top of the block.
"Gene ... with the camera I could see there are at least four men in that large vehicle. It is large enough for all nine boys to fit in, too. I think ... no I bet they know the twins are in this group ... but they don't know which two they are. They can tell the five bigger lads aren't them but ... well, my bet is they'll want to take them all in order to get away before any alarm is made. They outnumber us and we can't put these kids in harm's way," explained George.
The thing was, that while the twin security men were talking, Robert pulled out his cell phone and called his 'dad'.
"'Dad' ... was all Robert got out.
"Hello to you too," said Mr. Ken, as he interrupted his 'son'.
"'Dad' there's this van ... I think it's been following us. Mr. Gene and Mr. George know about it and have stayed close to us. The thing is ... the white van I noticed a while ago left but now there is a larger van, a step van Mr. George called it. 'Dad' it's stopped at the top of the street. Mr. Gene and Mr. George are talking ... and they keep looking up the street at the van. 'Dad' I'm scared. I'm afraid they're here to maybe take the twins," almost cried the teen.
'Dad' Ken told the teen to hang up and he was going to make a phone call.
While Mr. Ken was calling Sheriff's Lieutenant Dan Fischer, Lieutenant Matthias was already on the phone with the man. Lt. Matthias told Dan what Joel Carrier just told him and the two decided they needed to be ready for something. While the two Sheriff's Lieutenants were talking Dan's cell phone made a signal he had another caller. Dan looked at the caller I.D. and saw it was Ken. He told Brandt to hold on while he asked Ken Thomas what he needed.
"Ken, Lieutenant Matthias just told me ..." was all Dan got out before Ken yelled at him to listen.
"Dan ... Robert just called to tell me there was a small white van following them earlier, but now there is a large step van at the top of the street they are on. He told me Gene and George are aware of it and are talking about what they're going to do. Dan ... Robert's afraid they're there to take the twins," quickly got out Ken Thomas.
"Ken, Brandt just called me to tell me that Julian was going to use Judge Terryman to give him some sort of release papers for him to take control of the twins. My guess is he didn't know the judge was arrested months ago. I'm going to hang up and I'll be over there as quickly as I can. I'm already in the area like I told you I'd try to be. I'll also call in some reinforcements." Dan then hung up.
Dan then got back to Brandt and told him what was potentially going on near The Cove. The two lieutenants agreed they'd each make some calls. Brandt said he'd call Sheriff Barnes and tell him what they think is going down. Dan said he'd call his patrol and get some units over to the area, but using lights only as they didn't want to spook the potential kidnappers.
As Dan drove over towards the neighborhood where The Cove was located, he called Ken to get Gene or George's cell number. He told Ken what he planned and for him to remain at The Cove and he'd call him when they had whomever in custody. Ken Thomas didn't like that request.
Dan called Gene and told him they were on their way and to delay getting to the top of the hill until they were in position. Gene told him they could do that as they'd been taking pictures and talking to other kids out in costume and some of the parents and that will give them a good excuse to slow down.
In the meantime, Brandt Matthias, after he called and talked to the Sheriff, then called Sergeant Roberts. The two detectives decided to head over there in plain clothes and come in from the bottom of the street. Brandt called Dan to tell him where they would be.
Now, with more of a plan coming together, Dan called Gene and told him that Lieutenant Matthias and Sergeant Roberts would be approaching from below the street in plain clothes and to allow them to subtly catch up to them. Gene asked if he should tell the boys what was going on. Dan thought about it for a few moments and told the security man to fill the boys in, but to ask them not to react or panic and that the Cavalry would soon be there.
Dan then called Ken and told them what they had planned. He also told his friend not to go near the area as he could change the parameters of the surprise they were setting up for the people in the van.
Gene and George took pictures of the lads, but they also had the lads go to the houses and ring the doorbells and do their thing, so their observers wouldn't think they knew what they did. The kids weren't as enthusiastic as they had been when they started going to the homes, but they did what they were asked knowing they had four armed men watching their backs.
At the next house, the lady asked the teenagers if they weren't a bit too old to go out Trick-Or-Treating. Robert spoke up and said he was out with his younger twin 'brothers' and he told her he decided he'd dress up to support them. Robert then put his hand on each twin's shoulder. He then told the woman that he had one more 'brother' there and he pointed out Charles.
The resident then asked them how they were all doing and if they were getting lots of candy. It was Kyle who held up his Cheshire cat bucket that was almost full and said they'd been out since 6:30 and he, at least, was getting tired. The woman gave the youngster a bunch of extra candy.
Then she looked at the time and decided she'd give her remaining candy to all the lads. She had them open their containers and she put handful after handful of candy into each lad's receptacle. The lads graciously thanked her for doing that, but they also told her she didn't need to do that for them.
She told them, "Nonsense, when I give out all my candy I can turn this light off and go back to watching my shows." The woman laughed as she gave out the last of her candy, turned off the light and closed her door. The boys all called out "Thank you" as they walked down the steps.
All comments are encouraged. You may email Chowhound at: Chowhound