In an unconscionable rage Jack punched his mother in the head as she tried to prevent him from going out at 10:30pm. His mother tripped and fell backwards hitting her head on the concrete floor and lay unconscious. In a daze he stared at his Mum lying in a pool of blood. He walked away screaming, “die, you bitch!” and slammed the door shut as he walked out of his home.
Jessica, his nine-year old sister who was hiding in her room, came out when she knew her brother had left the house. She ran towards her mother but was terrified to see her in a pool of blood. Jessica ran towards where the landline was installed, lifted the receiver and dialled 000 for assistance. When the operator responded, Jessica told them that her Mum lay unconscious in a pool of blood. She gave her home address and begged for immediate help for her Mum. “I’m alone and I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed.
“Don’t worry Jessica; an ambulance is on its way. Stay calm and stay close to your mother.”
“Thank you,” Jessica replied and put the receiver back. She looked at her mother and wished she could do something to help her.
Within minutes the Ambulance arrived. She opened the door and the paramedic said, “Jessica, my name is William and this is Patricia, we are here to attend to your mother.” They immediately rushed to where her mother, Lucy, was lying unconscious.
William was desperately looking for a pulse and was relieved to find a faint one. Patricia brought an oxygen tank and placed a breathing tube in her nostrils. This helped Lucy breathe comfortably. The paramedics began to clear the blood from Lucy’s hair, bandaged her head wound and changed her into the hospital gown.
William and Patricia gently lifted Lucy and placed her onto the stretcher. “Jessica, would you like to come with us?”
Jessica replied, “May I please make a quick call to my dad?”
“Sure, we’ll wait in the ambulance for you.” Jessica dialled her Dad and briefly explained what had happened. She told her father that the ambulance would be taking her Mum to the Footscray Hospital. “Please Dad, I’m scared, please meet me at the hospital,” she pleaded.
Jessica locked the main door and ran towards the ambulance. Patricia, opened the door and Jessica got into the ambulance. She sat beside her mum and began to sob bitterly seeing her mother there with her eyes closed. She held her mother’s hand in hers and kissed it several times. “Please God, make Mum well.”
Patricia placed a comforting hand on Jessica’s shoulder and said, “The doctors will help your mum. Don’t cry Jessica, your mum will be alright sweetie.” This made Jessica feel better. The ambulance reached the Footscray hospital. Medical staff were ready with the stretcher in front of the Emergency Department. Jessica was worried and petrified; she was very concerned for her mother.
Just then, she saw her dad rushing towards her as she stood at the entrance of the Emergency Department. She ran towards him, held him tightly and began to sob once again. Her dad put his arms around her comfortingly and said, “Don’t worry darling, Mum will be alright. The doctors will help her get better.” Now that her dad was beside her, she felt safe in his presence and in his loving embrace. The paramedics came over to Jessica and her dad, Jacob.
They led them to the waiting room. William told Jessica, “Two police officers will be here soon. They would like to speak to you.” Jacob introduced himself as Jessica’s father and asked if he could stay with her. William told him that there should be no problem. Just then, two police officers approached them. One of the officers spoke, “My name is Matthew Molly. This is Officer Steven Barba, and we would like to ask you a few questions about what happened to your mother this evening.” Jacob moved closer to his daughter and held her hand firmly. “May I be allowed to stay with my daughter please, she is a mere child and the whole incident has been traumatic for her?”
“Sure,” said Officer Matthew.
Jessica was nervous and clung to her dad’s hand tightly. The sight of the two police officers made her frightened. “Can you please answer a few questions for us, Jessica?” She nodded her head. Officer Barba took a notebook from his pocket to record the interview. Officer Matthew drew a chair closer to Jessica and Officer Barba sat beside him.
Very gently Officer Matthew asked, “Jessica could you briefly tell us what happened to your mother earlier this evening in your house?” He reassured her in a gentle manner, “you don’t have to be scared, we are gathering information to ascertain what had actually happened prior to the injury sustained by your Mum.” Jessica began, “My brother Jack came home at about 6:30pm, and demanded a hundred dollars from Mum and an argument occurred. Jack roughed up Mum but she told him that she was not going to give him any money. Jack shoved and bullied her, screaming obscenities as usual, but Mum held her ground. At this stage, I was terrified and ran to my room because I didn’t want to witness another violent scene. I locked myself in my room, waiting for this scene to settle down.”
“What happened after this?” asked the Officer.
Jessica replied, “I just heard yelling and swearing by Jack ordering Mum, ‘Give me the damn money, you bitch!’ In response Mum shouted at Jack, ‘No way in hell will I give you a single cent. Go to your room and leave me in peace, Jack. Don’t cause any more trouble. Go to your Room. Stop this immediately.’ Jack continued to harass Mum and screamed, ‘Give me the damn money’ in a threatening voice. Mum threatened to call the police if he continued to misbehave. Jack in a violent rage promised never to return home. ‘You will stay home Jack, you are just being idiotic,’ shouted my mother. Jack dashed towards the front door with Mum in pursuit. After this I don’t know what happened. I only came out from my room after I heard the main door slam shut. I knew Jack had left home in a raging fury.” Jessica began to weep once again.
“Is Mum going to be alright?” She asked with trepidation. “The doctors are attending to her injury. She will be alright. Don’t worry,” said Officer Matthew. “Where were you when this happened, sir?” he asked Jacob.
He cleared his throat and said, “I don’t live at Jessica’s home. I left Lucy three years ago. I live by myself in St Albans.”
“My name is Jacob Walters. This is my daughter Jessica.”
“Where do you reckon your son would have gone?”
Jacob answered sadly, “Perhaps, to a place where he could get ICE to soothe his nerves.” Jacob said with some element of sadness and anxiety in his voice, “We have to get on to Jack as soon as possible. Only he can tell us of his mother’s injury.”
Sergeant Matthew continued, “Just give us some indication as to where Jack could have gone?”
“Sorry officer, I can’t help you with this, I haven’t seen my son in over two years!” exclaimed Jacob.
Jessica remained very quiet during this conversation. An overwhelming sorrow engulfed her. Jack was the reason why their whole life had turned chaotic. She was only six years old when the problems with her brother Jack surfaced. She was too young to comprehend what the problem was between her parents and Jack. Frequently her parents argued with Jack, who got into trouble at school, with the police, as well as the kids in the neighbourhood. Finally, her dad packed up his bags and left home.
Jessica could not understand why her dad had left home, or why her Mum let him walk out. Once again tears began to flow and Jessica felt a deep sense of sadness and a desperate need to know if the police would arrest Jack before he came to grievous harm. Jacob held his daughter closely to reassure her that he wouldn’t let anything befall her. “I love you Jessica, Daddy is going to fix everything,” he said.
Both the police officers left them promising to locate Jack and bring him to the hospital. They shook Jacob’s hand and gently tapped Jessica’s shoulder as they left the waiting room.
Jessica asked her dad, “Dad, what will happen to Jack now!” she asked with great concern.
“Jessica, let’s pray for Mum’s recovery first, the police will find Jack, he will come to no harm. I think he has gone to his friend’s home in Sunshine. Isn’t that what happens every time he has problems with your mother?”
Jessica shrugged her shoulders and said, “I want Mum to get better, Dad and Jack to return home and be a good boy!” Jacob looked at his daughter and felt a great sense of remorse and sorrow. He sat there and his mind wondered over the events of the past.
It was a happy middle class home. Jacob and his wife Lucy were such a lovely, well-adjusted couple. Lucy was a senior lecturer in Chemistry at Victoria University, Footscray Campus, while Jacob ran his own accounting firm in Sunshine. Jack was a cherubic youngster, smart, disciplined and a well-adjusted youth. Their little girl, Jessica adored Jack and followed her brother everywhere. He was indeed a devoted, loving, caring brother.
Suddenly their peace and harmony shattered. Jack began to get into trouble at school. The charming, well-adjusted youngster turned into a violent-tempered demon who stole money from his parents and caused violent domestic disputes. These incidents constantly saw Jacob and his wife Lucy, quarrel. Lucy felt that Jacob was too critical of their son Jack, whereas she put Jack’s misconduct as “growing pains”.
Jacob on the other hand feared their son, Jack, needed strict parental control and counselling for whatever issues he was undergoing. Lucy did not support Jacob on matters relating to Jack. She was allowing her motherly instinct to blind her, and believed he would come around eventually. But it was too late when Jacob realised Jack was taking drugs of all sorts and was not attending school regularly. He and Lucy decided to make an appointment to see the school principal.
They were alarmed when the principal, Mr Albert Jones informed them that Jack was no longer attending classes. He said, “I wrote three letters to inform you of the school’s concerns over Jack’s absenteeism and misbehaviour, but I didn’t receive any response from you.”
They sat in the Principal’s office stunned, dismayed and saddened. Jacob said, “Sorry Mr Jones, we didn’t receive any communication from you.”
“Oh! Well, Jack must have intercepted the letters. Despite several warnings, Jack showed no remorse for his unruly behaviour at school.”
They thanked Mr Jones for his time and sincerely apologised for Jack’s conduct and atrocious behaviour at school. Mr Jones extended his hand to Jacob and said, “Hope it’s not too late for Jack. I wish you both the best of luck.” It appeared as if he was also gravely concerned for Jack’s wellbeing. Once again they thanked him and walked out of his office, with a grave sense of worry and a great sense of disillusionment.
As Jacob was driving home, he earnestly asked Lucy, “What can we do to get our son back?”
Lucy looked at him sadly and remained silent. Suddenly a desperate cry escaped from her heart, “Jacob, have we lost our son Jack to ICE?” It was at this point in time it dawned on him, and he realised the gravity of the whole situation. Jacob’s shock made him swerve his car. “ICE?! ICE?! What are you saying Lucy? Have you known about this earlier, and yet you never once told me about it?!
Oh my God!” cried Jacob in despair. Lucy very calmly told him to keep his eyes on the road. Jacob drove silently and he now knew why his son behaved so erratically and irrationally. The demon, which possessed his son, was none other than the demonic, dreaded ICE! Now everything fell into place! The violent outbursts and the destructive behaviour towards them made sense. “Oh! Why God! How blind am I?”
Tears streamed down his face. He reached out to Lucy and held her hand and told her comfortingly, “Don’t worry darling, we will work through this and get our son back.”
Lucy squeezed her husband’s hand and whispered, “We must at all cost; he is our precious son!”
Jacob and Lucy tried to help Jack but things deteriorated, resulting in Jacob and Lucy’s relationship breaking down. Lucy molly-coddled Jack with hope that her love for him would cause him to change, whereas Jacob wanted to put Jack in a Rehabilitation Centre for drug addicts and get his son cured. But as a couple, they were not resolving the problem.
So, Jacob being frustrated and furious left their family home, leaving Lucy to cure her son’s ICE addiction. He could not take Jessica with him as he felt Lucy would care for her better than he ever could. Lucy did not stop Jacob from leaving home. She knew that things would never be the same again.
Jacob told Lucy if she ever needed his help to call him without any hesitation. Lucy never once asked for his help over the three year period. Today he was waiting at the Emergency department for news of his severely injured wife, and praying for the Police to get to Jack before something dreadful happened to him.
Jessica was almost falling asleep; she had gone through a lot at this tender age. He looked at her with grave concern and promised himself he was going to protect his family. He vowed that he would return home to face the situation as head of the family. He held Jessica in his arms and let her rest for awhile. He felt better at arriving at a sensible and responsible decision.
Two hours in the waiting room was torturous. Poor Jessica was asleep, Jacob kept praying for his wife and son. He waited anxiously for news of Lucy. A nurse came to the waiting room and said, “Mr Walters, your wife is presently in the ICU ward. Her situation is critical and she hasn’t recovered from the anaesthetic as yet but you are welcome to visit her.”
“Oh! Thank you, Nurse; we would like to see Lucy please.” Jacob said, “I’m relieved to know Lucy is recovering.”
He followed the Nurse with Jessica in tow. Jessica was tired but was happy to know that her Mum was going to be well again. Whereas, Jacob was worried whether the injury sustained by Lucy was critical. He walked towards the ICU ward with his heart thumping with anxiety. When they reached Lucy’s bedside they were alarmed to see all the tubes and machines to assist her breathing. Her eyes were shut and a tube was inserted in her mouth. Overall the vision was so intimidating that Jessica began to cry hysterically.
The nurse took her away from Lucy’s bedside and calmed her down by giving her a can of “sprite”. She kept asking the nurse, “Is my Mum going to die?” The nurse answered, “No darling, she is not going to die, she is just very ill.”
Jessica sipped the sprite silently while waiting for her dad. Jacob was deeply troubled to see Lucy in a critical condition. He couldn’t believe that the son she loved unconditionally could have hurt her so seriously. Jack, their son, had obviously turned into a monster. He could have killed his mother in his senseless act of violence!
Jacob held Lucy’s hand and said repeatedly, “You are going to be fine, Lucy.” Lucy moved a little as if to let him know that she was going to be alright. Jacob asked if he could help a little to ease her pain. The doctor, who was recording Lucy’s progress, told Jacob to take his little girl home and make her comfortable.
Jacob kissed Lucy’s forehead and whispered: “Get well darling. God be with you.” He left her bedside to take Jessica home.
Jessica was exceptionally quiet on the way home. She seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts. “Poor child,” sighed Jacob, “It is not fair that she has been brought into a situation of drugs and violence!”
Jessica had fallen asleep, so Jacob woke her up and she walked sleepily to the front door. When Jacob opened the door an overpowering stench of stale blood confronted him. He was shocked to see the blood stained floor. He led Jessica away from the puddle of blood and took her to her room. Jacob told her to have a quick shower and change into her pyjamas, while he went into the kitchen to make a quick snack and hot chocolate for her. After settling Jessica with the hot chocolate and snack he told her to brush her teeth and go to bed.
Jessica asked, “Am I going to be alone, Dad?” Jacob answered reassuringly, “No sweetie, Daddy is going to sleep over here until I settle a few things.”
“Thanks Dad,” said Jessica and got ready for bed….
It had been a very stressful night. Meanwhile Jacob took the mop and bucket of water to clean the bloodstains in front of the living room. As he was mopping he wondered if the police had found their son, Jack. He hoped fervently that the police found his son and no real harm had befallen him. Just at that instant he heard the doorbell ring.
He looked through the peephole and saw two police officers standing at the door. He opened that door to let them in; they were Sergeant Matthew Molly and Constable Steven Barba, the same officers who interviewed him earlier.
Jacob told the officers, “Give me a few moments please, I will complete the mopping and join you. Why don’t you sit down, I’ll be with you shortly.” Jacob cleaned the mess, took the mop and bucket to the laundry before joining the officers.
Jacob joined the officers as promised. “Would you like coffee or tea?” Both officers replied.
“No thanks, it has been a very long day, however, we came to inform you about your son Jack.”
“Is he alright? Where is he?” asked Jacob anxiously.
“I’m sorry Mr Walters, something terrible has happened. Your son has met with an accident and we need you to identify his body. Three young men have met their tragic end.”
Jacob sat down shocked beyond belief! “Oh! No! No!” cried Jacob, “Please tell me this is not true!”
Sergeant Matthew calmed Jacob and in a soft caring voice told him that in an ICE induced craze, the three young men drove a vehicle, which crashed into a pole not far from Footscray Market. Unfortunately all three died in the crash. Jack was identified with the ID he was carrying on him. “Please, Mr Walters, we need you to come with us to identify your son.”
Jacob was deeply shaken. He told the officers that he couldn’t leave Jessica alone in the house as he had just settled her in bed. Sergeant Matthew said he would ask a female officer to come and stay with Jessica. He rang for the officer to come and stay with Jessica while Jacob accompanied the officers to the Mortuary at Footscray Hospital.
Jacob burst out sobbing heartbreakingly, “Oh my God!” Sergeant Matthew put his arms around Jacob and said, ”Mr Walters, please calm down you have so much to do. We have to first ascertain if the young man taken to the Mortuary is indeed your son Jack.” At that very moment the doorbell rang and a constable, Sarah Dickenson, arrived to stay with Jessica. Jacob grabbed his jacket and car keys and followed the officers.
“Are you okay to drive Mr Walters? You are welcome to travel with us,” said Sergeant Matthew.
“It’s fine, I’ll drive,” said Jacob. With a heavy heart he turned on the ignition of his car. He had to be strong for Lucy and Jessica; he had to do this for them. As he was driving to the hospital, he was wondering if Lucy had regained consciousness, and how he would tell her that her beloved son was dead. He was deeply concerned about how Lucy would react to this tragic news.
He parked his car at the Footscray Hospital car park and followed the officer to the Mortuary. “I must be strong,” he kept telling himself as he walked towards the hospital.
The Mortuary officer led them to where the bodies were kept. Jacob had a powerful sense of loss and sorrow. He prayed, “Oh Lord, don’t let it be Jack.” As the officers approached the three bodies, they took Jacob to where Jack’s body was to be identified. Jacob walked towards the stand. The officer lifted the sheet, and there lay Jack’s badly battered body. Jacob gave a rendering cry.
“Oh Jack, what have you done, my son, my boy!” Jacob wept. “Yes, officer, this is my boy,” cried Jacob.
The officers led him out of the Mortuary. Jacob wept as he was led away from his son. “Oh God! How am I going to break this dreadful news to my wife and daughter?”
Sergeant Matthew had seen such tragic scenes many times. “Mr Walters, our heartfelt condolences to you and your family. We are so sorry that you have lost your son. We need your statement; sorry to impose this on you during such a tragic situation.”
Jacob answered, “Sure I’ll do this; you need to do your job.”
Both officers shook Jacob’s hand and walked away briskly, as if it was too much to witness the sadness of a father identifying the body of his only son.
Jacob walked towards the ICU ward to check on his wife, Lucy’s recovery. He had made up his mind that he would not say anything about Jack’s death to her. He rang the bell to identify himself and the ICU staff let him in. As he entered a young intern approached him and ushered him to the waiting room. “My name is Dr Albert Chan, Mr Walters, I need to speak with you before you see your wife.”
Jacob looked worried as Dr Chan led him to a chair. Jacob sat wondering what was going to be worse than losing one’s son?” He gathered enough courage to hear what Dr Chan had to say to him.
Dr Chan said, “Mr Walters, your wife is suffering from memory loss. She does not know who or where she is. The head injury is serious and it is going to take some time before she fully recovers.” Jacob gave a sigh of relief. “She has regained consciousness, that’s great!”
“Mr Walters, it’s a long road to recovery; in this situation we should not impose any stress on her.” Jacob assured Dr Chan she would be given the best care at home. Dr Chan said, “It is going to take a while before she can be sent home.”
Jacob understood his concern. He asked, “Can I see her.”
“Yes, you can but she may not recognise you.” Dr Chan said. Jacob was comforted by the thought that Lucy was alive. He walked towards her cubicle with a heavy heart.
Lucy’s eyes were closed, as her eyes were puffy from the punch inflicted by Jack. But her heart rate was stable and her blood pressure was normal. Jacob sat for a while beside Lucy and then left the ICU, as he was anxious to get home to Jessica.
Jacob reached home and the police officer, Sarah Dickenson, told him that Jessica was fast asleep. She extended her condolences to Jacob and his family. He led her to the door and thanked her for staying with Jessica during his absence. He returned to the living room and collapsed on the armchair. He was emotionally drained and physically exhausted.
There was so much to be done: the funeral, Lucy’s recovery, Jessica’s wellbeing and the overall wellbeing of his family. He must find the strength and courage to rebuild his broken family! Jack’s ice addiction had not only destroyed his life, but had almost ruined the life of every member of his family. The demonic power of this addiction was destroying the lives of so many. Was there no solution to rid our society of this evil drug?
“Oh God!” sobbed Jacob heartbrokenly. In utter sorrow and desolation, the heart of a grieving father cried for a young life lost! Jack’s life was taken at a tender age of seventeen! No parent should be subjected to such a cruel fate.
