Cover photo by Jonatan Pie. Downloaded from Unsplash

As usual, I’m thanking Malady and KymmieLorain for their invaluable help in the writing of this story.

Chapter 22

Saturday, October 2^nd, 2021

It had been a rough week. The kids in the high school didn't know how to react to the death of two fellow students. Vic hadn't been a great friend to anyone, but Michelle had been liked. She hung with the same crowd Vic did, but people respected her ability in music.

It had turned out that Vic and Michelle had been raped and subsequently beaten to death. These facts hadn't been acknowledged by the police, but somehow, it was known to be true.

The rumor was that three people raped the two, and they were all closely related to Vic.

-=#=-

10:00 AM

Darryl and Marcia had asked if they could spend the day with Chet and Margot. They wanted to try and figure out what had happened with Vic and Michelle.

When they arrived, Rick and Carla were there as well. Neither of them figured they could compete with the other two couples, but they wanted desperately to know what had happened.

It was getting chilly, so they decided not to go out back.

Sammy was playing with a toy piano. He had already mastered the demo on the toy, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and was experimenting with different melodies he'd heard, although it frustrated him when he couldn't find the right notes. The toy was only one octave and had no sharps or flats. Margot had been planning to get him a regular electric piano, but her mom told her in no uncertain terms not to do that. It had already been purchased for Christmas.

Allie was reading a book, sitting cross-legged by Sammy. When he was able to play a melody, he had to show it multiple times to her, and she dutifully and patiently listened, encouraging him to play.

When Marcia sat down, she watched her brother for a few moments. He himself didn't notice his sister's attention, but instead was watching his kids. The pride on his face was readily apparent. He loved kids so much. She thought back to how he seemed when she first met him, breaking his jaw with Darryl's book bag. It seemed like that first person wasn't Chet at all. He was an entirely different person, that she didn't want to ever see the old one again.

He had been a bad bully. Not just a bad person, but someone trying to be a bully who was bad at it. When he decided to throw off that fake persona, he showed himself as being one of the most wonderful people there could ever be.

Marcia remembered Chet's mom, now her own mom, grabbing his ear and almost dragging him into the house after Marcia had broken his jaw. It was no wonder Gloria was so mad at him. She knew who he really was. And she knew why he was trying to be a bully.

This Chet, watching his kids play with such pride – this was the real Chet, and she was proud to be his sister.

Margot was also watching Chet and the kids and her thoughts had been running similarly to Marcia's.

Finally, Chet glanced at his wife, who was beaming at him. Then he glanced at his sister and found a very similar look on her face. "What?" he said in defense. "I love kids."

“Uh-huh," Marcia grinned.

Chet swiveled around in his recliner until he was facing Rick. He suggested they record the brainstorming session so they'd have a reminder of what was said as they thought about things more. Everyone agreed, so he put his phone on record, laid it on the coffee table, and then asked Rick the latest word.

“Well, I think I can confirm the rumors. The police asked me for a DNA sample. They took one from Dad too. I’m not sure why they'd want one from him, though.”

“So you figure the three relatives theory is true?” Margot asked. “Maybe they think your dad might be related in some way.”

“I sure hope not,” Rick said. “That would make me related to Simmons too.”

“Do you think it’s true?” asked Marcia.

“As disgusting as I find it, yeah,” Rick said, a look of revulsion on his face. “I believe it’s true.”

Marcia nodded, and she seemed to withdraw into herself, a serious scowl on her face as she looked down at her lap.

Both Darryl and Chet had seen the look before, and when Rick asked Chet a question, he simply put a finger in front of his lips, then pointed at his sister.

Rick scowled, but at Carla’s urging, he sat back on the couch and waited.

“What do you think are the possibilities of your dad being related to Simmons?” Marcia finally asked.

“I doubt it. They don’t look anything alike.”

“True,” she agreed, “but that’s not definitive proof.”

“Well, it was proof of Vic not being my dad’s son,” Rick argued.

“No. Vic's birth certificate was proof. At least legally. Their appearance was just a sign of it. At best, evidence."

Thinking about what Marcia said, Rick murmured, "I see," but Marcia was already scowling into her lap again.

They waited for her to speak again, and finally, she said quietly, without looking up: "Go ahead and discuss things. What you say helps too. I'm not going to solve this on my own."

It took a few moments for the other five to start conversing. They had been keeping quiet for Marcia to think, but finally, Darryl said, “I’m really sorry, Rick. I know this idea is disgusting but, can we take it as a fact that Simmons was one of the three who raped them?”

“Not as fact,” Margot said, “But it’s a good possibility.”

“But why would he do that?” Carla asked. “He was his son!”

“There are cases of incest all the time,” Rick said, his revulsion showing again.

“But…” Carla clearly didn’t want to believe that anyone would do that.

Marcia suddenly asked, “Have they found Simmons yet?”

“I don’t think so,” Rick answered.

“What are you thinking, Foxy?” asked Darryl.

Again, Marcia looked at Rick. Hesitantly, she asked, “Where did Crystal go instead of your uncle’s?”

“Why?” he countered.

“We’re not sure,” Carla said. “She won’t tell anyone. Not even Fred.”

Marcia turned to her sister and brother. She was deeply in love with Darryl, but she knew Chet and Margot would follow her logic easier.

“Here’s my theory.” Turning to Rick, she assured him. “It’s only a theory, okay?”

He slowly nodded. He knew very well how perceptive she was. It might be a theory, but a very good one.

“We know that Simmons was Vic’s father,” Marcia began. “I hesitate to use the word ‘dad’ because he really doesn’t seem like much beyond a biological father.

“Anyway. He was always ogling Vicki in class. I noticed it. I’m sure Darryl noticed it.”

Darryl nodded in agreement.

“The thing was, he ogled all the cute girls. It wasn’t a paternal look at all. He was taking in their looks.”

“He didn’t look at you that way,” Darryl said.

“He knew that I was born a boy.”

“His loss.”

“Thanks,” she said and gave his cheek a quick peck, “but I’m just as happy he didn’t look at me that way.”

Darryl raised his eyebrows as if just thinking of the ramifications of that, as he nodded his head and said, “Yeah. Me too.”

“The point is, the way he looked at those girls was distinctly sexual.”

“You aren't thinking…;" Rick stopped what he was saying.

“He eyed girls in our classes the same way, Rick,” Margot pointed out.

“Oh.”

“Could the two guys he was with at Ross’s be the two other people whose… well, seed the police found?” Darryl asked.

Marcia smiled at him. Somehow he'd come up with that theory too. "That's a possibility," Marcia said. "I don't know how likely it is, but… What if they were some of his wide-ranged sons?"

“Oh, wow!” Rick groaned. “This gets worse and worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Marcia said quietly. “I didn’t think you’d want to hear this.”

“No, but once I understood who Vic was, it was like… Well, I suddenly understood him so much better.”

“I know,” Marcia said in the same tone of voice. “Me too.”

“Yeah. I was looking forward to having a brother. Go on. I need to know what happened.”

“It’s only a theory,” Marcia said. “I could have it completely wrong.”

“Yeah,” Rick said. “You could.” He didn’t sound convinced.

“We don’t know where Crystal went, but it wouldn’t have left enough time for her to get to Whitehorse and back, so I don’t think she was the one who used the debit card there. If the two men were sons of Simmons, one of them may have. Where were they from? The lower forty-eight? If so, did they drive here?”

Chet was nodding. “That’s a good question.”

“Might Simmons react the way he did when his daughter came out as his son?” Marcia cocked her head a bit. “And how far would he take his anger?”

Margot was beginning to see where her sister-in-law was going. “So you’re saying that Crystal has something to do with Simmons's disappearance?”

“Do you think he’s dead?” Chet asked.

“I don’t know, but if such a person killed my son, I know how I’d react.”

“How would she know he did it?” Carla asked her.

Marcia shrugged. “My guess is she’d confront him. Maybe she was prepared to kill him, or maybe it was an accident. I don’t know, but I’m sure if she suspected, she went to see him ready to exact revenge.”

They talked a while longer, and around midnight, Darryl took Marcia home. When he arrived at his house, he was still thinking about what had been said.

Chet had made a copy of the recording for everyone, and Darryl played back Marcia’s theory. He figured she was pretty close to the actual truth.

Epilogue

Allie was officially adopted by Chet and Margot. They got a bit of a surprise afterward. Bill and Sylvia explained that their daughter, Lisa, had left the farm in Palmer to them. They thought it best to sell it, for an extremely low price, to the young Chathams, where it would be used to help their granddaughter and her new family.

There was a staff that worked the farm, which had several fields of different vegetables. After visiting the farm and speaking with the staff, Chet and Margot decided to allow the manager to continue to run things. The farm was very profitable, and Lisa had used a local job in a bank to support herself and Allie, and the money from the farm had gone directly to pay off her loan, so she had owned it free and clear.

=#=-

Chris had a few snags while he was in the hospital, but he was released at about the 35-week mark. Everyone was thrilled to have him home, and he seemed to revel in the attention. Marcia was delighted to help in his care, and Amber was absolutely ecstatic to have a little brother.

-=#=-

It was a couple of weeks later that Simmons's body was found. His car was in the river, southeast of North Pole, and his dead body was in the trunk.

A painted, broken bit of fingernail was found inside his shirt. Marcia was right. It came from Crystal.

When confronted at her house, she didn’t deny it. Fred tried to make her wait for an attorney, and it quickly came out that he’d figured out what she’d done.

Both of them were taken into custody, her for murder and him as an accessory after the fact.

That, of course, left Rick in an empty house. It was too hard on him, his entire family being ripped apart in the way it was. He couldn't stay in the place, so he moved into Carla's apartment, and then he and Chet closed up the house for the winter.

At trial, Crystal said that she had confronted Simmons for what he’d done. Simmons was furious that she was allowing Vic to transition.

The two men were the ones who also raped the kids. One was his brother and the other, his nephew. They had been picked up by the police and would be sent back to Alaska to stand trial there, as both lived in the lower forty-eight.

Simmons had decided to show Vic what a girl like her was supposed to be for, so he had his way with her and Michelle. Then his brother and nephew did as well. After they were satisfied, they realized they’d have to get rid of the two, so they stabbed both and put them in Vic’s car. They jammed the gas pedal down and let it run into the river.

Simmons had admitted to Crystal that they followed the two from Ross's to a secluded spot where they were making out and attacked there.

When Crystal confronted him after he bragged about it, he tried to hurt her, but she was backed against the fireplace, where she grabbed the ash shovel.

She was able to hit him across the face, and he stumbled backward and fell. Acting on instinct, she jumped onto him, straddling his chest. She then went to work, driving the shovel again and again into his face.

Had she gone to the police at the time, it would have been self-defense, but since she hid her actions and only admitted when accused by the police, she faced prison.

Fred admitted that he got her to talk about it when he heard that she’d never gone to Talkeetna to see her brother. He knew that she’d be facing prison, so he agreed to keep it quiet.

The two were sentenced to time in prison.

-=#=-

In the spring of 2023, Chet and Margot were best man and matron of honor, respectively, at Rick and Carla's wedding. Darryl was a groomsman, and Marcia was a bridesmaid. Granny sat in the front row, beaming through the entire service as the two said their vows.

At the wedding reception, Chet told them that he was making Rick COO of Chatham Yardworks, which had expanded into Fairbanks, and had quite a staff. He and Margot would be moving to Palmer to manage the farm as the manager had given his notice.

Darryl and Marcia were accompanying them where they would attend Alaska State University in Anchorage. The only stipulation that Gloria and Mike had given their son and daughter-in-law was to make sure they had separate bedrooms!

The End

(of book 2)

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– Rosemary

P.S. Book 3 is being written now.

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