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Discuss! Please? I wanna know what everyone thinks is going on. You may, after all, be right! Take a chance, talk about your theories... wild, logical, or just random. Hee!
Part 10
by Edeyn Hannah Blackeney
“Devin, could you get that?” called Katarina Scroggs from the kitchen. Homemade quesadillas have so much less fat, but you had to watch them like a hawk. She heard the door open and Charlie Brown's teacher, then the door close.
A wide-eyed boy fairly flew into the kitchen as she was pulling Devin's quesadilla off of the griddle.
“Whoa. Jeff. What's the hurry?” she asked as she slid her creation neatly onto a plate. She glanced at Devin, and in the way that close sisters have, they communicated without words. So she started a quesadilla for Jeff, then.
“Um. If I were to tell you that the police were after me, but it was for something that I didn't do, would you let me hide out here?”
She paused in sprinkling the onions and peppers into the cheese. “But why would you tell me that, Jeff? I'd have to let your guardian — Matt Tomkins, right? — know that you were here, but yes, I would give you sanctuary as long as you could assure me it was for something you didn't do.”
Devin reached across the table and took his hand and squeezed it, then let it go. Not trying to get overly familiar, just showing support. “Us Thoughtful Spotters gotta stand together.”
Neither of the teenagers said anything more until Katarina turned and set a plate in front of each before taking her own and setting it on the table, as well.
“Now,” she said, “for dinner conversation, you need to explain your hypothetical situation a bit more.”
Jeff told her everything he knew. His mother had kidnapped him from his father. That he had hit her and tried to stop her from divorcing him, then used his money and the fact that he put that money into the Mayor and City Councils' pockets to get custody of him. And that the cops wanted to get him to go back to Florida, now.
“Wait,” inserted Devin, “your mother put all that in her diary? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but wasn't that just asking for it?”
“No,” answered Jeff. He paused to chew and swallow, then went on, “It was more like describing the stuff he did to her, then there was no entries from the divorce until six months later, when she started writing again about, 'that horrible man trying to take my baby from me' — and with what that detective had already told me at the police station the day after she died, I put it together. There's entries ranting about him for two years, then they stop with one talking about losing custody, but having a plan. They just stop there for years, then start up again with normal stuff around my seventh birthday. What she got me, y'know, like that.”
“Wow,” said Devin.
“Yes,” agreed Katarina, “very soap opera. Okay, Jeff, you can stay here until Matt comes to get you, but I'm gonna call over there. I'll leave a message if he's not there. Devin, you get him set up in the guest room.”
“Yes, ma'am,” the two answered in unison.
He grinned at her and she punched him in the arm, returning his grin.
* * * * * * *
“Wow. Okay, Aunty. I think I can handle that. It makes more sense now. But Mom? Really? That's almost... spiffy,” Emily was saying as she mopped the last of her gravy from the plate. Brenda looked much more relieved, and the other two ladies were smiling. Hard to believe that they were both really guys, too. And her mother had been the one to get him started in this crossdressing thing? Before they'd even gotten married? All because of this Cosplay — or was it called Crossplay? — stuff and a bet. Whoa. Just. Wow.
“And it's time we headed back, Em,” said Brenda, leaving cash and a tip on the table and giving quick hugs to the other ladies. “I'll visit again soon, girls,” she said, “it'll be easier since I don't have to hide it now.”
With that, the two of them got into the car and began the drive home.
* * * * * * *
“Devin. Please, help me. You're the only friend I have other than Emily that knows, um, what I am. It's Florida, where the president's brother is in charge. They'll hang me or shoot me or something, I just know it!” pleaded Jeff.
“Don't worry. I have a plan. We're gonna sneak out in a bit, but first we gotta hide you in plain sight. You ever done any acting? Plays and the like?”
“A bit,” he answered, following her into what he figured was the guest room.
She looked back over her shoulder at him and grinned, “Good. Do you trust me?”
“I guess so.”
“Sit on the bed,” she told him as she shut the door behind them, and locked it.
She walked to the closet and opened it, pulling out a skirt. She turned to him and said, “Okay, strip.”
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Comments
Well, You Wanted Theories...
...so if I blunder into something, it's not my problem, right?
We certainly don't know everything yet, and I'm sure some surprises are coming -- one consequence of the snapshot style is that we can't be sure we're not being misled somehow because of things we're not seeing. Still, we seem to know who all the characters are now, where they fit together, and why most things are happening.
(Except for Mr Ugg's trip up from Florida by police car. The original abduction case ought to be way past the statute of limitations (assuming no showing of injury to or death of the victim, Jeff, which would be additional crimes), and it was a Florida case anyway. The perp's dead, and has already been identified circumstantially, so they don't need his confirmation of her ID at the morgue. Besides, if that's why he was coming, it wouldn't seem to explain his being told not to discuss the case with the officers.
Ugg does have legal custody of Jeff, but putting Jeff on a bus to Florida and alerting Ugg and the Orlando social services people would seem to satisfy the local responsibilities there. If Ugg did want to come up and claim him, he wouldn't want or need an out-of-state police car to do it, especially since we've been told he has money.
Is it possible that Ugg conspired with the "burglars" to cause Jeff's mother's death and is therefore being brought in as a suspect in a murder case? Doesn't seem to work; the officers would have had to read him his Miranda rights and let him know that he was under investigation, wouldn't they? Entrapping him into their state without extradition would poison any case against him, I think, their telling him not to talk notwithstanding.)
Moving on: Jeff's an undersized, preadolescent boy who has decided he's gay based on one incident of attraction from afar. It's possible that something in connection with his birth or early development (hiding of an intersexed condition?) may turn up as the reason for his physical appearance or his abduction by his mother, but there's no real indication of that yet.
Actually, it just occurred to me: all the references we've had so far say that Ugg's child was stolen. If his late wife's plot somehow involved changing their intersexed infant daughter's apparent sex without Ugg's knowledge at the time of abduction -- shades of Mombi the witch and Tip/Ozma! -- Devin's new idea may backfire because Ugg thinks he's here to reclaim his daughter. (Seems unlikely that with Jeff's reading of his mother's diary, Kerry's lookup of the case particulars, etc. -- Edeyn could have been concealed that from us readers, though.)
Matt would need Ugg's disqualification to become Jeff's guardian (or stepfather) even if it turns out that he and Jeff's mother had secretly married before her death, since Ugg is still entitled to legal custody. Matt's crossdressing would probably hurt his cause in a custody hearing if it came out; we of course don't know what skeletons are in Ugg's closet.
Emily, given her ambivalence about being a girl, is likely to envy her father, though it remains to be seen what she can or would want to do about it. (As I wrote in a previous note, her father's status as an MTF occasional CD sounds a lot like Emily's self-conception.)
I still think that Katarina Scroggs' aside about her need for caution when Jeff came out to her, Devin's presence in Miss Scroggs' home, her androgynous first name and her "appointment", her sitting with Jeff (and identifying with him?) at the elementary school without bothering him, and now her deciding that the solution to his problems is to put him in a skirt, all add up to Devin being TS and thinking Jeff might be as well.
Guess that'll do for now... Looking forward to seeing whether any of my guesses hit the mark.
Eric
PS - There seems to be a word or several missing here:
She heard the door open and Charlie Brown's teacher, then the door close.
musings?
I agree with Eric about most of what he suggested. Short term it does look like Jeff is going to get disguised as a girl. I think it is likely that Devin may have something going as well such as being TG. As far Jeff having any sort of intersexed condition it is completely unknown at this time. It does look if Marlene was a trophy wife and Lee Ugg is very controlling and ultra macho. No big deal about Jeff at this time thinking he might be gay. He is questioning but what he may discover is yet in the future. Possible outcomes? Well the cops not fooled by Devin's and Jeff's clever work pick him and carry him to the station. Lee Ugg seeing his son in drag loses it and strikes him with the entire PD as witnesses. Aunt Brenda, Emily and Jeff lives happily everafter!
Hugs!
grover
Nifty theories
But you know I'm not going to confirm any of them yet :)
I will say, that it's too late for me to change anything to jerk you around further, though... I've written through FTS-13
As for the Charlie Brown reference, I was describing it that way as a sound. She heard Devin answer the door, but was too far away to make out the conversation as more than, "Wah wahwah wah wah wah waaaaaaah"
Edeyn
Theory?
Actually it comes down to; Theory? Concept? I got no stinkin theory, concept or idea where this is going. I'm just along for the ride and the author is the driver.
However, knowing the general type of fiction that is posted here, some of the guys are going to end up in female clothing. Hmm.... Maybe that is it, Mr Ugg is being too macho to cover his own sins ie gay or trans.
OH! Well just going to wait and see what twists Edeyn throws into the plot.
It has turned out pretty decent so far.
Author = driver ?
It seems reasonable to expect that the author is the driver for this ride. But I have a suspicion she might simply be a passenger making notes where this uncontrolled story is running to.
Hugs,
Kimby
Hugs,
Kimby
Elementary, my dear Edeyn
Sorry, had to say it.
Eric brings up an intriguing possibility about Ugg. I thought the detectives going to get him was a bit odd too. I would point out there is no statute of limitations regarding abduction, not even when it's by a non-custodial parent. That's a moot point anyway as Jeff's mother is dead.
Luring Ugg out of Florida under false pretenses would not be entrapment, as that applies to arranging an opportunity for someone to commit a crime. If Ugg is involved in his ex-wife's murder, the crime was already committed, and if he was dumb enough to go with them knowing he's guilty that's his problem. However, such subterfuge would seem unnecessary as extradition from one state to another is fairly simple, and his connections with the local politicos wouldn't provide much help. It would seem very premature on the part of the police as they don't even have a suspect for the killing that we know of, and the only way they could build a case for conspiracy would be with the confession of the killer. (If the had any hard evidence linking Ugg as the killer, they would have just issued an arrest warrant and had the authorities in Florida pick him up.
I'm not anywhere near an expert, but there are legal avenues open to Jeff and his friends. Matt could ask the court to award him custody on the basis of Ugg's abuse of Jeff's mother. It would be a hard case to prove, but it could be used as a delaying tactic to prevent Jeff from being sent back to Florida. Jeff himself could ask for emancipation under the same grounds and the potential for future abuse, especially if he came out (which would no doubt enrage Ugg). Rather than full emancipation, Jeff could also ask the court to sever Ugg's parental rights and award custody to Matt. Legal cases like these can drag on for years, and Jeff is starting high school. He only needs to reach his eighteenth birthday to render the issue moot. If it turns out that Jeff finds he likes being a girl, his status as TS could also lend weight to fears of possible abuse.
Not that I think any of that legal maneuvering is in the future, other than perhaps as a delaying tactic. I suspect there is some teenage sleuthing in the making. What they need is some kind of dirt on Ugg that will make him back off. We still don't have any details on the actual murder of Jeff's mother, so the possibility of a hit is out there.
I'm a bit disappointed that Matt took Emily and just left Jeff at a time like this. The poor kid just lost his mother, and they know that the custody issue is looming. I understand that he wanted to deal with Emily's discovery of his cross-dressing, but he has accepted at least temporary responsibility for Jeff, and taking off seems irresponsible.
One last note - Jeff has put his teacher in an awkward position. She could get into a lot of trouble for hiding him. Notifying Matt alleviates it to a degree, but if the police ask Matt where Jeff is, and he knowingly withholds the truth, then he has committed a crime and made Ms. Scroggs an accomplice.
Scott
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of--but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
Lazarus Long - Robert A. Heinlein's 'Time Enough for Love'
Bree
The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy
http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph
Same thing
That I said above. Nifty theories, but I'm not going to confirm anything :)
And, of course, as far as I'm concerned, once something is written, it's really what happened in the story. I've got the next three chapters written and things will soon be revealed
This story is turning out to be a LOT of fun for me
Edeyn
Thanks, Scott...
...for the corrections on the legal issues, and the sanity check on Ugg willingly accompanying the police if he were guilty of his ex-wife's death.
It occurred to me after I wrote last night that if both the assistant DA and Kerry's police partner think that Ugg is legally entitled to take Jeff home to Florida -- as they stated last episode -- it seems clear that they don't consider Ugg a suspect of any sort right now -- and they should know. (Which continues to leave the question open as to why Ugg was picked up.)
On the other side of things, there may be some significance to Kerry making sure that his and Sheila's weapons certifications were in order before the left the state. That certainly makes it seem as though he were preparing for the possibility of armed resistance to their taking Ugg with them.
(Of course, there are more innocent reasons that Edeyn might tell us about that: it was first brought up as one in a list of inconveniences Kerry was running into, and it does serve the character point of showing us Kerry's attention to detail, which may be of interest if some detective work is indeed on the horizon here. It may also simply be a matter of routine for an officer traveling out of state on official business.)
Eric
Interesting story!
I can't come up with anything better than what Eric said as far as theories go (even if I disagree with much of his legal analysis...lol).
I know a few things for certain: Jeff will be gettin' dolled up shortly and he'll like it. I also predict that Mr. NASCAR Ugg will be doing time for something (murder 1 sounds likely) but probably not in Florida. I'm guessing that Jeff will fool a lot of people with his beauty, including Mr. Ugg, Emily, Matt, and Devin's older "sister", but I don't think Jeff will be able to pull one over on the sheriff. The sheriff will get rid of his nine headaches and sort everything out.
For some reason, and I'm not sure exactly what it was, I really found myself slipping into the story around Part 8. There was something in the writing that made it easy to visualize everything at that point.
I can't wait to finish it--cough up the goods, Edeyn!
Jodie
xoxo