Broken Doll Read Online Free

her life. “He had three kids of his own, so we were kinda like the Brady Bunch,” said George. “After him came Bob Smith, and they had kids together too.”
    Bob Smith was known for continuous consumption of strong drink with his wife, his strong opinions on child training, and his even stronger methods of behavior modification. “He beat us,” said George flatly. “He beat us with a belt, a fireplace poker, electrical cords, and his fists. He took a liking to Jennet, and she was spared. His own daughter, Crystal, could do no wrong. But he beat the rest of us—Richard and me more than he beat Leslie. Maybe because we were boys, or maybe because he didn’t hate her as much as he hated us.”
    According to George Clark II, the three kids—Leslie, he, and Richard—would wait in line for their beatings. “We had to watch each other get beat,” he recalled. “What made me scream the most was the fireplace poker that he used on us.”
    Unlike his older brother, Richard Clark didn’t scream. “Richard would grit his teeth,” said George, “he wouldn’t cry until after Bob was gone. Me and Leslie would scream like crazy, but Richard very rarely cried until after it was over.”
    According to Aunt Carol, shortly after Kathleen married Bob Smith, she picked up Richard Clark for a visit. “I took him home with me for the weekend,” said Carol. “He had bruises up and down his back and his legs from being beat with a belt. He cried and couldn’t sleep for two days. I wrote his mother a letter. I told Kathleen that if I ever [saw] anything like that again, I would report Bob to the authorities.”
    Because of that admonition, Carol Clark was not permitted to visit again for three years. “I next saw Richard when he was eight years old,” recalled Carol Clark. “My mom and I had gone to the doctor’s office for her appointment, and I saw Richard come out of the doctor’s room with his mother. And I didn’t know if it was Richard or not because he had lost so much weight and his teeth were protruding out of his mouth. Well, at that time I asked Kathleen if I could bring Richard home with me and keep him because he looked so bad. And she thought it over and she did let me bring him home eventually and keep him because of what was going on. He must have been about eight years old at the time,” said Carol Clark. “Richard lived with me for two years straight.”
    Times were always tough in the Bob Smith household. Kathleen broke her neck when Richard was very young and never worked again. Smith did seasonal berry picking, sold marijuana, and poached deer to obtain meat.
    â€œThe Clark side of the family was always good to us,” recalled George. His aunt Carol verified the accuracy of his assessment. “Members of our family bought food and clothing for the children,” she said, “and one time I even went to Richard’s school and gave him some money.”
    Carol desired neither recognition nor praise for this surreptitious expression of honest, loving concern. Sadly, Bob Smith got wind of his stepson’s financial windfall. “When Bob found out,” recalled George Clark, “Richard was beaten as punishment.”
    Frequent school absences characterized the Clark brothers’ school records. “We were kept home from school,” explained George, “because the beating left us so bruised and swollen. Smith didn’t want some teacher seeing the signs of severe abuse.”
    According to George Clark, Smith was continually under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and he seemed to concentrate his meager mental efforts on making George, Richard, and Leslie’s lives miserable.
    â€œWhen the family lived in Arlington, Washington,” explained George, “we were forced to sleep in a woodshed. When we moved to Darrington, Smith bought a two-bedroom