Marcia is seventeen, and along with Darryl, has moved south in Alaska to attend the Anchorage campus of the Alaska State University. She wants to pursue her dream, but will it pursue her instead?

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As is always the case, I'd like to thank Malady for his help checking through this story for the many errors I frequently insert, as well as listening to my sometimes completely crazy ideas about the direction of the story and telling me how crazy they are!

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Chapter 7

Friday, May 6^th, 2023

Brad exited the office to find Darryl sitting on a recliner, watching him.

“What was that all about?” Darryl asked.

“I think it was a power grab,” Brad replied.

“I see. So they’re questioning Fraiser?”

Brad nodded and sat down in an overstuffed chair across from Darryl.

“You need to wait for him, or can I give you a ride into Palmer?”

“I’ll wait,” Brad answered.

Suddenly Darryl stood up. “Let’s go into the kitchen. Less chance of being overheard there.”

Brad nodded, and followed the younger man.

Darryl got some coffee for them both, and they sat down at the breakfast nook.

“I suppose you want to know why I left Fairbanks,” Brad speculated.

“Well, it did cross my mind.”

“Darryl, Margot – Mage, is my idea of the perfect girl. She’s exactly what I’m looking for.” Darryl looked skeptical, so Brad went on. “When we were dating, though, she talked incessantly about Chet. She’s my ideal, but Chet’s hers.”

Darryl shook his head. “I’m not sure that’s a reason to leave though. Chet was acting like a jerk for a long time. She says every time any of your friends mentioned marriage, you avoided it.”

“Well, of course I did. I knew it was just a good time. We were having a good time, but it wasn’t gonna last. Then, when Chet turned around… That was it. I knew it was over.”

“No, it wasn’t. Chet was going steady with Trish.”

“Do you really think that would ever have lasted?”

“It could have,” Darryl said.

Brad laughed. “No it wouldn’t have. Chet’s ideal is Margot, or Mage, just like mine is. His ideal is certainly not Trish.” He shook his head again. “When Trish left, that was the absolute end. I was getting ready to go to the police academy anyway, but knew Mage wouldn’t be available to me when I got back. I was right.”

Darryl just nodded. He knew it took just a month for Chet and Mage to get together. And, barely a week after that to get married.

“You know,” Brad said. “If you really love something, or someone, you’ll let her go if she wants to go. Mage wanted Chet, not me. That’s all there is to it.”

“So if she hadn’t always been talking about Chet, you would have stuck around?”

“No, I still would have gone to Anchorage, but I might have married her before I left.” He chuckled a bit, then said, “I certainly wouldn’t have avoided the subject of marriage.”

“I see,” Darryl said. And he really did. He’d seen how Mage had been when Chet started acting up. She’d left for university, but she did so very reluctantly.

Slowly, the kitchen door opened, and Mage entered. Darryl saw the look she had on her face, and stood. “I’ll talk to you later, Brad,” he said.

Brad’s face looked scared, but he nodded. Mage sat down where her brother had been.

-=#=-

In the office, Fraiser felt like he was being beaten by Coleridge. French seemed to have eased off, but Coleridge had a definite chip on her shoulder. He wondered why, and finally he’d had enough.

“Are you arresting me?”

“No,” French said before Coleridge could say yes.

“Then I’m done here.” He stood up and walked up to Coleridge, placing his stocky build in her personal space. “If you want to ask any more questions, I suggest you remember that this is a free country, and people are innocent until proven guilty.”

“I can prove you’re an ass,” she said smugly.

“Can you? I just remembered. My phone has been recording this whole time. I don’t think it will show me as being an ass. It will, however, show you as a bitch.”

“Give me that phone!” she demanded.

“There’s not a chance in hell I’m giving you my phone.”

She started to say something, but French started laughing. “If you want to send a copy of the recording to my superiors, Ron, I’d appreciate it.”

Fraiser jerked his head toward French, and saw the FBI man grinning. “I’ll send a copy, but not my phone,” he said.

“That’s all I ask,” French told him. “I don’t think I need to tell you not to leave town, do I.”

“Not at all, Agent French.”

“Good. I’ll call you if I have any more questions. I don’t think Coleridge will be on this case after today.”

“So this isn’t ‘good cop, bad cop?’” Fraiser asked him.

“Not at all.”

“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you, French. I won’t talk to Coleridge again.”

With that, he left the room.

-=#=-

Fraiser walked into the living room and saw Darryl sitting on the recliner. “Where’s Brad?” he asked.

Darryl pointed his thumb toward the kitchen. Fraiser started walking that way, but Darryl said, “I wouldn’t.”

Fraiser stopped and turned his head toward Darryl. “He talkin’ to Mage?”

“Yep.”

Fraiser went to the overstuffed chair opposite Darryl and asked, “What happened with the murder in Fairbanks?”

“You mean Vic and Michelle?”

“Yeah,” Fraiser answered.

“What do you mean?”

“Marcia solved it, right?”

“She figured out what happened, and told the police, but they had to figure it out for themselves.”

Fraiser nodded. “I get that. They don’t want to be shown up by a fifteen-year-old, do they?”

“You tell me,” Darryl said to him.

Fraiser shook his head. “Darryl, I’ve been pulled off the case.” He turned and looked back at the door to the office. He could hear loud voices coming from the room. It seemed as though the two FBI agents were going at it.

“Can we go somewhere quiet, and preferably private?” Fraiser asked.

“Sure,” Darryl said. He stood up and they went out to the back patio. “So why’ve you been pulled off the case, Detective?”

“Tell you what, Darryl. Call me Ron. I guess I’m not a detective anymore either.”

“Huh?”

“Brad and I’ve both been ‘fired’.”

“Okay, Ron. Why?”

“How long’ve you got?” Ron asked with a smile on his lips.

“As long as you need.”

Suddenly, the back door opened and Marcia came out. “What’s going on in my office?” she asked.

“The FBI agents are having a spat,” Darryl told her.

“FBI agents?”

“Ron was just going to explain the situation to me.”

Marcia sat down without being invited, but Ron figured he’d have to explain a second time if she wasn’t here this time, so he just nodded.

“Well, Bruce is my brother.”

“What?” Marcia asked, shocked.

“Yeah. Lisa was my sister-in-law, of course.”

“So the FBI thought it would be a conflict of interest for you to investigate the case,” Marcia concluded.

“Well, yeah. And so did Melissa’s superiors.”

“Who’s Melissa?” Darryl asked, and Ron answered. “She’s my immediate superior. In the office, anyway. At home, we’re equals.”

“She’s your significant other?” asked Marcia.

“My wife. She’s the chief of police up here.”

“So has she been fired too?”

Ron chuckled and said, “Not to my knowledge, but they won’t let her work on the case either.”

“I’ll bet,” Darryl commented.

“It’s even worse than that, Darryl,” the ex-detective said. “Melissa was Lisa’s little sister.”

Marcia sat with her mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then said, “You can’t be serious. This again?”

“Whaddya mean?” Ron asked.

“Well, some friends of ours were killed in Fairbanks a couple of years ago, and it seemed like everyone was related to everyone else then too.”

“I heard from Brad,” Ron told her. “His brother’s a cop up there.”

“Yeah, I know,” Marcia nodded.

“You solved the case too. The police had to confirm it, but you told them what happened.”

“Well… Not officially.”

“I’m not talking officially, Marcia. You figured it out.”

“Yes.”

Ron leaned forward. “Marcia, the FBI is right about one thing. I would have made sure I examined every piece of evidence to the extreme. I know my brother didn’t kill his wife. Any evidence that says he did is being taken wrong.”

Marcia nodded.

“You figured out what happened in Fairbanks before anyone else did. You’re a genius, Marcia. Will you help me figure out what happened?”

“Chet and Mage are geniuses too. So’s Darryl.”

“I am not!” he proclaimed.

“You just graduated as Salutatorian in our class, Darryl.”

“With your help, Foxy!”

“Oh, come on!” Marcia scoffed. “You’re smart, Darryl!”

“The more the merrier,” Ron told them before they could get seriously arguing. “If Chet and Mage can help too, that’s great.”

“How are we going to convince the FBI if we figure it out?” Marcia asked.

“We have to make sure every I is crossed and T is dotted when we present our findings,” Ron said.

“Uh, you said that backwards,” Darryl pointed out.

Ron chuckled. “It’s a joke between Bruce and me. I accidentally said it that way a long time ago, and Bruce never lets me forget it.”

Marcia giggled at that. “I can understand that,” she said.

“So you’ll help?”

She looked at Darryl who nodded, then she turned back to Ron and said. “Yeah, we will. I can’t promise, but I’m pretty sure Chet and Mage will too.”

-=#=-

“And what if he’s lying?” Bob asked. The group was sitting in the living room, discussing what Ron had asked for.

“Why would he want us to help if he’s lying, Dad?” Mage challenged. “That doesn’t make sense!”

Bob turned towards his best friend. “Mike? A little help here?”

“Well, Bob. I’m a bit hesitant about this too, but Mage has a point. I can’t see any purpose in asking for help if he’s not being truthful.”

Bob started to say something, but Liz poked him in the side and shushed him. “She’s right, Bob, and you know it.”

“Dad? Mom?” Marcia asked. She was still underage, so she wanted to make sure her parents were onboard with her helping.

“Sweetheart, if you’re certain, it’s okay with me, but I think if you’re gonna do something that could be dangerous, you need some good backup,” Gloria told her.

“I’ll have Darryl and Chet.”

“And, you need to clear it with your father first,” Gloria added.

Marcia looked crestfallen. Mike however, told her. “I’ll allow it under that condition, Marcia. And that’s the end of it. No arguments.”

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

“Marcia,” Chet said. “Dad and Mom are right. We’ve no idea what we’ll run into on this, but we’re all certain Bruce didn’t do it. That means there is the real murderer out there, somewhere. We’re gonna have to be careful in everything we do.”

“Why would Ron ask us to help then?” Mage asked.

“Well, you’ve got four very smart kids and two military men, along with two former cops, all working together,” Liz said.

“What?” Bob exclaimed. “Two military men?”

“Robert Johnson,” Liz said in a firm voice, “Are you going to let your son and daughter, as well as their partners go off and get hurt?”

Bob gave his wife a dirty look but said, “No. I suppose not.”

“You suppose!?”

The dirty look intensified, as he said, “No, I’m not. Happy?”

“Yes, I am,” Liz said, giving a single nod.

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--Rosemary