I’ve been on pins and needles ever since I spoke with Mancuso yesterday.It’s frustrating being locked out of the investigation, and I spent a few hours last night, and a couple more this morning, surfing the internet to dig up whatever I could on Remi’s shop teacher from last year.
Mr.B was what the kids called him.Doyle Benjamin, my son’s forty-three-year-old teacher, who appeared to be a guiding light to many of his students, including Remi.Except, as it turns out, the man was not so much in the business of inspiring the younger generation, but rather exploiting them.
“Also, he turns out to be sidelining as a youth leader, or minister, for several faith communities.Those seem to change with the same frequency his teaching jobs do,” he continues.“He created himself quite a pool to pick impressionable kids from.”
“Kids he could mold and shape to create his own little crime gang of devotees,” Hugo observes, his jaw clenched.
The pattern is chilling, as Rick outlines everything the FBI has uncovered about this man so far.Almost diabolical.
“Is there enough to pick him up?”I wonder out loud.
“Mancuso doesn’t want to jump the gun on that.He’s going to need more concrete evidence before he shows his hand and this guy slips through our fingers,” Althof explains.“Even if they can make something stick for the car theft ring, at this point, there are still two murders that need to be proven.They are going to make sure whatever charges they bring will keep the man behind bars.The feds had already infiltrated the app he’s using to communicate with those kids.That’s how they were able to track the guy to that internet café.But even before that they were gathering information, were monitoring some targeted locations from the intel they’d pulled, and in the last couple of days, directed local law enforcement to intervene in a series of vehicle thefts.They’ve tracked down some of these boys, and found out that piece of shit was indeed targeting mostly boys of single-mother households.At this point in time, some of those kids are starting to talk, Mancuso is taking notes, hoping maybe one of them may also have information to connect Benjamin to these murders.He’s building his case.”
“Did he mention Remi at all?”I want to know.
“Just that your kid confirmed the security feed was indeed his former shop teacher.”
Good.I’m glad he finally came clean, and now that there are more kids talking, the focus shouldn’t be on Remi anymore.
As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to put another call in to Special Agent Mancuso.Given these new developments, it doesn’t seem necessary to keep my son hidden away anymore.
So far, we’ve stuck to the cover story Remi is staying with relatives to heal from the injuries he sustained in the attack which, we claimed, turned out to be more serious than initially thought.We had to come up with something to explain his absence from school.He’d just been back for one day before disappearing again.Nobody questioned the explanation, since concussions and any other kind of head injury can be quite unpredictable.
But he’s missing quite a bit of school, and I think it’s time he comes home.
“…any evidence there is a connection to Edwards County?”I just catch Hugo asking.
“Not really,” Althof responds.“Tessa nor I were able to find any evidence of a storage location or transit station where the stolen vehicles would be processed and transported from.Doesn’t mean it’s not there,” he hurries to add.“It just means we haven’t found anything.”
I guess we’re still dealing with the question of how that Mustang and Ryan Wells’s body ended up on Black Mountain.It may just have been a fluke, or it could even have been a deliberate choice to divert attention from somewhere else.Who the hell knows?
The moment we’re done, I head for my desk and put a call into Mancuso.I was fully expecting to leave a message, but to my surprise he answers on the second ring.
“Rick briefed you,” he says by way of greeting.
“He did,” I confirm.“You’ve made some progress.”
“That we have.”
“And I understand my son confirmed his teacher’s involvement?”
“Reluctantly, but yes.Just like what became obvious from interviews with a few other boys, Remi has a serious attachment to this Mr.B as well.They view him as something of a father figure.It sounds like he preyed on their weaknesses, their vulnerabilities, and managed to fill a role each of these kids were lacking.The boys were made to feel special, selected to become part of the chosen few, so to speak.Lured with the promise of something they were craving, they were slowly reeled in, gently molded before being subjected to loyalty tests.”
I was already angry, but now I feel the bile crawling up my throat.Having it laid out like that is terrifying.The simple fact some predator has found a way to exploit the one thing I, as a single mother, am not able to provide for my child, is so cunning and devious, it turns my stomach.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if every single one of these kids will need some counseling at the end of this,” Mancuso continues.“Remi may have gotten out before too much damage was done, but even he will likely be struggling.”
That’s the part that makes me want to physically hurt Doyle fucking Benjamin.My child’s trust was already damaged after witnessing his father’s abuse and experiencing his abandonment.His insecurities already colored his relationship with me and his brother.
Because of this bastard, it’s going to be even harder for Remi to believe in himself or trust others.
I need my son here now.The sooner I can start working at earning his trust and building his confidence, the better.
“I want him home.”
It’s silent on the other side for a few beats before Jason comes back.
“Give me today.I’ll have him back to you tomorrow morning.”
