“Tell us how you know this, Mr. Tyne,” Moultrie says.
“There are several incidents I could tell you about, Mr. Moultrie. Several during the course of my two years of working closely with Dr. Erskine as his research assistant.”
I can’t take this anymore. I stand. “Bill...why are you saying this? You know it’s not true.”
“Sit down, Dr. Erskine,” the judge says and bangs her gavel. But I don’t sit. I hold Bill’s gaze. And what do I see? Absolute rage in his eyes. His diseased body is straining to fill his face with enough blood for the flush.
Bill points a bony finger at me. He is trembling. “Don’t you dare,” he coughs, repeatedly, “accuse me of lying. Just look at you. You aren’t so high and mighty now, are you? And again Bill lapses into a paroxysm of coughing.
The judge bangs her gavel again. “Dr. Erskine, sit down.”
Jim looks at me as I sit. “I hope your plan works for dealing with this guy,” I tell him.
“Mr. Tyne,” Moultrie says, “I won’t tax you. Just tell us of one incident, sir, in which you know Dr. Erskine engaged in sexual activity with boys.”
My attention returns to Bill and...I swear, there are tears in his eyes.
“It was the week before Christmas, Mr. Moultrie...our last week in New York City...”
“When was that?”
“1980.”
“Tell us about that last week in New York. You were there with Dr. Erskine?”
“Yes, we had spent three weeks interviewing boy prostitutes. That last week, Glen said he would like to find a boy to do an in-depth interview with. A boy he could devote an entire chapter of his dissertation to as a case study.”
“And so you and Dr. Erskine went looking for such a boy?”
“Yes. But we found him quite by accident.”
And I know the story Bill is going to tell. The story of David, the boy I did devote a chapter to in my dissertation. Bill and I were staying at the Plaza. That morning, we were walking down Forty-Second Street just around the corner from Times Square. It was early...hardly anyone was on the streets. We were talking when suddenly we realized we had a companion. We stopped and turned and standing behind us was a boy. He was cute. Bright green eyes, freckles, and fiery hair—his Irish heritage was immediately evident.
“...the kid said, ‘Do you guys want to fool around for a while?’”
“And what was Dr. Erskine’s response?”
“He asked the kid if he wasn’t afraid we were cops. The kid said we didn’t look like cops and he asked again if we wanted to fool around. Glen said, ‘It depends. How much?’”
“And what did the boy say?”
“He said he didn’t normally do it with two, that it would cost extra. But for twenty bucks we could do everything with him.”
“And then what happened?”
“Glen asked him if he had had breakfast. He said no, so we went to some hole-in-the-wall diner and bought the kid breakfast.”
“Breakfast isn’t all that happened that morning in the diner, is it, Mr. Tyne?”
“No. Glen and I had sex with the kid in the john.”
“THAT’S A LIE!” I shout and stand.
The judge is banging her gavel. “Dr. Erskine, if I have to warn you again, I will cite you for contempt, sir. Now sit down.” Jim pulls me down.
Moultrie moves over to the jury. “How old was this boy, Mr. Tyne?”
“Eleven or twelve, I think.”
“And you had sex with him in the restroom of the diner that morning?”
“I did.”
“And Dr. Erskine had sex with him in the restroom of the diner that morning?”
“He did.”
“And was that the only sexual encounter the two of you had with this boy?”
“It was for me...not for Glen.”
“Please elaborate.”
“When Glen and the kid finished they came back to the table. We talked some more and Glen asked the kid if he had a place to stay that night. The kid said he didn’t, so Glen wrote down the name of our hotel and his room number and told him that if he wanted to talk some more to come see him.”
“And did he?”
“Yes. Glen and I split up that afternoon and I went down to SoHo. I didn’t get back to the hotel until around eight that night. I knocked on Glen’s door and it was the kid who answered. He had just come out of the shower and he had a towel wrapped around his waist.”
“And was Dr. Erskine in the room with the boy?”
“No. I went in. One of the beds was messed up and the kid’s clothes were in a pile on the floor. I asked where Glen was and he said he didn’t know.”
“Anything else, Mr. Tyne?”
“I offered him money to have sex with me again and he refused. He said he was going to spend the night with Glen and he didn’t want to do anything with me.”
“And what did you do?”
“I went back to my room.”
“And did the boy spend the night with Dr. Erskine?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because the next morning at breakfast, in the hotel restaurant, he was at the table with Glen when I got there. Glen was practically doting on him, like a love-sick teenager. And the kid was all smiles. I’m sure Glen paid plenty for those smiles.”
“Thank you, Mr. Tyne. You have been very helpful.” Moultrie walks back to the prosecution table, turns, and with a smile of his own says, “Your witness,” to Jim.
Jim gets up. “Mr. Tyne, please tell us when you actually witnessed my client having sex with this boy in New York.”
“Look, at the diner I went in the john with the kid. I paid him five bucks for a blow job. Then I paid him five more to let me do him. We come out. Glen goes in. The kid goes back in. A few minutes later they come out together and Glen’s got his arm around the kid’s shoulder. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.”
“That’s all very interesting, but please answer my question. When did you actually witness my client having sex with the boy?”
Bill just glares at Jim.
“Your Honor?” Jim says, looking up at the judge.
“Mr. Tyne, I am instructing you to answer Mr. Aiken’s question.”
Bill turns his gaze on me. “I didn’t see him have sex with the kid with my own eyes, if that’s what you mean. But he did...I know it.”
“You didn’t see my client having sex with the boy in the hotel room that night, either, did you?”
“The boy told me he was going to have sex with Glen.”
“Are you changing your testimony, Mr. Tyne?”
“What?”
“When Mr. Moultrie was questioning you, you stated that the boy said he was going to spend the night with Glen. You didn’t say anything about the boy saying he was going to have sex with my client. Are you changing your testimony?”
“The kid said he didn’t want to do anything with me—and he knew what I wanted—because he was going to spend the night with Glen. Now, come on. We all know what that means. The kid was going to spend the night with Glen. He was going to have sex with him.”
Jim looks over at the jury. “Yes, I suppose to someone who paid the boy ten dollars in a public restroom to have oral sex with him, the words ‘spend the night’ probably would mean ‘have sex.’ I suppose you couldn’t even conceive of spending the night with the boy and not having sex with him, could you?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Moultrie says. “Argumentative.”
“Sustained. Move on, Mr. Aiken.”
“Yes, Your Honor. Tell us, Mr. Tyne, where did you do your doctorate in psychology?”
“Objection. Irrelevant.”
“I’ll show relevance, Your Honor.”
“Overruled. The witness may answer.”
Bill shifts in the seat. “I didn’t do a doctorate,” he says quietly.
“And why is that?”
“I was not accepted anywhere.”
<
br /> “How many doctoral programs did you apply to?”
“Only one.”
“Where was that?”
“At Penn, where I did my master’s.”
“And you were not accepted into the doctoral program there at Penn?”
“No, I was not accepted.”
“Did you know that your advisor, Dr. Erskine, was on the admissions committee that year?” Jim walks over to our table and removes a manila folder from his briefcase. He takes the two forms from the folder. Bill still hasn’t answered. Jim drops one of the forms on the table in front of Moultrie and holds the other out in front of him as he approaches Bill. I see the rage again in Bill’s eyes as he reaches out and grabs the paper.
“I KNEW IT!” he screams, looking at me. “I knew you screwed me with the committee. You bastard...you bastard…” Bill’s coughs cut short his tirade.
“That’s enough, Mr. Tyne,” the judge says.
“I have nothing further, Your Honor,” Jim says. “I think we see the real reason Mr. Tyne is here.”
“OBJECTION!”
“Sustained. The jury will disregard Mr. Aiken’s comment.”
As Jim sits at our table, one of the bailiffs steps up to the rail and motions for him to come over. The bailiff hands Jim a slip of paper and points to the door. Jim looks at it and nods.
“Mr. Moultrie?” Judge Booker says.
Moultrie stands. “The State rests, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Aiken?”
Jim acts as if he is ignoring the judge. He looks again at the note the bailiff gave him.
“Mr. Aiken?” the judge repeats.
Jim stands. “If we may have a brief recess, Your Honor, the defense will be ready to proceed.”
“Mr. Aiken, do you wish to make a motion at this time?” Judge Booker asks.
“No, Your Honor.”
The judge looks a little perplexed. “Very well. We will recess for thirty minutes.” The judge raps her gavel and we stand.
Jim turns to me. “I’ve got to meet with someone, Glen.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know. The bailiff handed me this note.” Jim holds up the piece of paper. It says, See me before you put Dr. Erskine on the stand. I’ll be on the courthouse steps.
“Do you want me to go with you?” I ask.
“No, stick around here. This may be some crackpot. I’ll check it out.”
“Okay, Jim.” He starts to walk away. “Jim?”
“Yeah?”
“Why did the judge ask you if you wanted to make a motion?”
“Because she expected me to move for a directed verdict of acquittal.”
“What?”
Jim shakes his head. “Let me go see who this is, Glen. Get yourself ready to go on the stand.”
And with that, Jim turns and leaves the courtroom.
Jim and Moultrie have just stepped out of the judges chambers. Moultrie doesn’t look happy. Jim is all smiles. The judge has just settled herself behind the bench.
Jim sits down beside me. “We’ve got a new witness,” he whispers.
“Mr. Aiken, is the defense ready to proceed?” the judge asks.
Jim stands. “We are, Your Honor. We call John David Fain to the stand.”
I turn around in time to see the bailiff open the door. And in walks the handsome young man. The same man I have been seeing in and around the courthouse since the trial began.
Now I know why he looked so familiar. It is David, the boy from William Tyne’s story.
I can’t believe after so many years David remembers me. Or cares enough to testify on my behalf. He smiles at me as he walks through the gate. He is sworn, and takes the seat on the stand.
“Please state your name and spell your last name for the record,” Jim says.
“John David Fain, F-A-I-N.”
“Where do you live, Mr. Fain?”
“In Exeter, New Hampshire.”
“And what is your occupation?”
“I teach music at Phillips Exeter Academy.”
“Do you know the defendant, Glen Erskine?”
“I met him once, when I was a boy.”
“And where was that?”
“New York City. In December of 1980.”
“You are the boy whom the previous witness spoke of?”
“I am, Mr. Aiken. In 1980 I was a boy prostitute on the streets of New York.”
“And you are how old now?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Have you seen or had any contact with Dr. Erskine since those few days in December of 1980?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“And why now, Mr. Fain?”
“Because when I heard about this case I couldn’t believe it. I had to come see if this was the same man I met back then. I came just to watch the trial...to see what would happen. But after what William Tyne said, I knew I couldn’t keep silent.”
“You are not afraid that telling the world your story will ruin you?”
“It doesn’t matter. All I have, all I am today, I owe to one man. And he is sitting right there.” David points to me.
I wipe my eyes and look at the jury. They are looking at me. I cough into my hand and look back at David.
“What do you want to tell us, David?”
“That Mr. Tyne’s story was only half true. He paid me to have sex with him, and I did. But I never had sex with Glen Erskine. Never.”
“So that morning in the diner, you did fellate William Tyne in the restroom?”
“Yes.”
“And he performed oral sex on you?”
“He did.”
“And you did follow Glen into the restroom?”
“I did.”
“And what happened?”
“I told Glen I would do him for nothing because he had bought me breakfast.”
“And what did he say?”
“He put his hand on my shoulder, and told me he was not interested. He said that he was glad I enjoyed the meal and that he enjoyed talking with me and that I didn’t owe him anything.”
“Did you think he was serious?”
“Not really. I just figured he didn’t want to get caught with me in the restroom. And when we got back to the table and he asked me if I had a place to stay...well, I was sure of what he wanted then. I figured he would be good for maybe a hundred dollars if he wanted me to spend the entire night with him.”
“And you went to Dr. Erskine’s hotel?”
“Yes, I went that afternoon. He wasn’t there, so I waited in the lobby. They tried to throw me out, so I told them I was Glen’s nephew and that I was supposed to meet him.”
“And what happened when Dr. Erskine got back to the hotel?”
“He asked me if I wanted to eat and I said okay.”
“So even though Dr. Erskine was treating you nicely, showing some kindness, you assumed he was just like all your other...customers?”
“That’s right.”
“When did you start to think that maybe Dr. Erskine was different?”
“During dinner, while we ate. Glen asked me questions...what I thought about things. He seemed to be really interested. He let me talk about what I wanted to talk about. That’s when I told him I wanted to learn to play the piano. So we started talking about music. It was great. No grown-up had ever talked to me like that. Glen didn’t laugh when I told him how I felt about music. He told me for some people, music touches a place in the soul that no one or nothing can touch. And for the first time in my life, I felt special.” David blinks twice and a tear slides down his cheek.
“What happened after you and Glen finished eating?”
“He asked me again about where I lived.”
“Where were you living?”
“I had a room with another guy in a cheap hotel off Forty-Second.”
“Did you tell Glen that?”
“No, I told him I didn’t have anywhere to stay. But, as I said, I had been through this before. It was my standa
rd line to a guy who wanted me to spend the night with him. I’d say I don’t have anywhere to go and he’d say I could stay with him. We go to his place, negotiate a price, and I spend the night. Next morning, the guy usually looks at me like I was a big mistake and I’m gone.”
“And is that what happened with Glen?”
“No, but I thought it was going to be that way. I thought that’s why Glen told me I could stay with him.”
“Tell us what happened after you went to the room.”
“We talked some more. Glen asked me questions about where I was from, how I wound up doing what I was doing, how old I was. I started talking about things I hadn’t thought about in a long time...”
“Things like what?”
David’s composure breaks and he stifles a sob. I think back to that moment in my hotel room...how he cried then, too.
“What kind of things?” Jim repeats.
“My family...my mom and dad...living at home...the beatings. Glen asked me...” David is crying now. “I’m sorry,” he says.
Jim takes the handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to David. I look over at the jury. One of the men and two of the women have tears in their eyes. I glance over at Tommy. He is looking down at his lap. Moultrie is tapping his pen on the table, silently. David continues:
“Glen asked me...what I wanted for Christmas.” He breaks again and holds the handkerchief to his eyes.
“What did you tell him?” Jim asks.
“I didn’t...I just started crying. He held me and I cried and cried. He picked me up and carried me over to the bed and laid me down. He sat there beside me and started running his fingers through my hair, rubbing my scalp. I started to unfasten my pants...I knew what was coming next. But Glen put his hand on mine and stopped me. He told me I looked tired. And he was right. Before I knew it, I was falling asleep with Glen holding me and running his fingers through my hair. The last thing I remember was feeling safe, really safe, for the first time in my life.”
I hear it and turn to the prosecution table. Tommy is crying. Moultrie puts his hand on Tommy’s shoulder and he shrugs it off. I look to the jury. They are looking at Tommy, too.
“What happened when you woke up, David?”
“Glen was gone. He left me a note saying that he had to go out but would be back. He said he hoped I would still be there when he got back.”
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