|
Post by gipsy on Dec 3, 2019 22:33:05 GMT -6
They do talk a lot, I am sure.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Dec 5, 2019 14:42:06 GMT -6
Chapter 7
"JACK! IT'S SHERIFF STANFORD!"
"WE'RE OK, TOM! ONE PERP WOUNDED. I'LL UNBAR THE DOOR. Katherine, stand behind me."
"Yes, Daddy."
"Come in, Tom. I'll let you remove the masks."
"First the injured one. Roy? Maybe I should leave and let Jack see you come in through the window again then I wouldn't have to listen to your lawyer crap while you're in custody."
"I'll sue you for that, Tom! I have a witness!"
"And I'll be more than happy to swear that you were out of your head with pain and talking about seeing aliens dancing with the Virgin Mary. Shut up unless you want some buckshot to go with the slug that got your knee."
"Tom, his belt should make a good tourniquet… That buckle! Let me bring up a picture on my phone. Do you think it matches, Tom?"
"That's the scar on Katherine's other cheek?"
"Yes."
"Good enough match for him to get cuffs and leg irons before the EMTs come in. Deputy Stephens! Leg irons for one. Now to see who the other… Reverend Strother?"
"Mildred turned me down for Carl because he was rich. I heard her grandfather talking when we were kids and he said 'Kate has the maps' so I knew Mildred's mother had the maps for the gold and silver in that old mine. They never mined it so they were saving it for the kids and grandkids but I remembered 'Kate has the maps' so they would have told this Kate but she never would tell us where they were!"
"Need to get Carl and Mildred in on this discussion to see if they can make sense of it."
"I agree. Maybe after daylight? My sweet girl is about to be asleep standing up."
"I'll get these two out of here. What about the blood on the carpet?"
"I'll go read to Katherine while the CSI team does their thing. That rug can go outside or take it as evidence. When it's gone, I can mop the 'easy care solid vinyl' flooring this doublewide came with. It also works to catch the blood when there is gunfire."
"Nice that you can still have a positive outlook at this hour."
"I have a very good reason to be positive."
"The angel asleep on your shoulder."
"Yes. I'll put her back to bed and stay with her for a while in case of a quick bad dream. Tell Don to knock twice gently when they're done."
"Will do. Almost glad you kept him alive to get answers. Almost sorry you didn't take him out to eliminate the hassle of going through the courts. I think that's the unbiased way of saying it."
"Nice try anyway, Tom. I'm putting this one back to bed."
---
knock. knock.
"Jack?"
"Just a second, Don."
Extract my hand from hers and pull the blanket up. Another goodnight kiss on her nose.
"You're finished?"
"Yes. The rug is rolled up in a cheap blue tarp until you can dispose of it. Maybe an ad on Craig's List? '8 x 10 faux Persian rug with small (2 foot) bloodstain. Pick up only.'"
"Maybe easier to put it in the back of the truck and take it to the County landfill?"
"That too. She's OK?"
"Seems to be, Don. Sleeping quietly and breathing normally when I left her."
"Do you understand any of the 'Kate has the maps' stuff?"
"No. Not sure why anyone would think that a four-year-old would be entrusted with the maps for viable silver or gold deposits."
"If you have no idea then I don't feel bad that I can't put any of this together."
"At the moment, I have no clue. I'm hoping that phrase means something to Mildred or Carl."
"See you later today."
"Hopefully, much later."
"Agreed."
---
|
|
|
Post by texican on Dec 6, 2019 13:16:00 GMT -6
Two bad guys to jail and one is a preacher....
Greed always causes problems....
Thanks pp2 for the chatper....
Texican....
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Dec 6, 2019 13:26:58 GMT -6
The oldest of motives: greed and unrequited love.
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Dec 6, 2019 17:27:45 GMT -6
Chapter 8
Thursday, 17 June, 4:20AM
Movement on my bed?
"Hold me, Daddy!"
"Bad dream, sweet girl?"
"Bunch of bad dreams! He was hitting me. People came in the window. You shot one of them. Lots of people and noise."
"Your head on my shoulder. My arm around you. You bring this hand up to hold my hand on that side. Now you hold my other hand with this hand. Feel safe now?"
"Un huh. Best Daddy ever…"
Good that I pulled the sheet up before I told her to hold my other hand. She's covered. She's relaxing. She almost has a smile. All things considered, that's pretty good. I think I set the alarm for nine…
---
Beep!Beep! Beep!Beep!
Guess I did set the alarm. My shoulder decoration let go of one of my hands to get her thumb in her mouth. No surprise after the last 24 hours. I'm just glad she doesn't need more comfort than that. If I could get to her nose, I'd give it a good morning kiss but there's a fist in the way. Maybe a raspberry on her belly button?
Pfth!
"Daddy! Oh, it's you Mister Jack. My Daddy did that sometimes when I was sucking my thumb. I think you are my new Daddy!"
"I'd be very happy if you want me to be your new Daddy."
"OK, new Daddy. Is it OK if I forget and say 'Mister Jack'?"
"As long as you're with me, it will always be OK. Now up and a quick breakfast and we go the Sheriff's Office and see if your Grandma and Grandpa can make sense of what Reverend Strother said."
"About 'Kate has the maps'?"
"Yes, smart girl."
"I wanna know too."
"I'm sure you do which is why we are going to the Sheriff's Office instead of just me."
"You're nice."
"I might like you…"
"More than a smidgen but less than a pinch. Grandma and I looked that up in one of her old cookbooks yesterday and she wrote the numbers for me so I could show you. It's in the pocket of my shorts."
"Then we can check that when we get you dressed. Cereal OK so we can leave quickly? I can fix hot chocolate in the Keurig."
"Hot chocolate! Yes."
"To the table."
"After my good morning kiss."
"OK. Your nose is kissed. Go."
---
"This goes how far back, Tom?"
"Mildred, here's the transcript of what Strother said when we interviewed him at the jail."
"OK. 'Kate has the maps.' I remember that. Momma and Daddy were driving to California to visit some friends from college and Momma was always his navigator. Someone had asked Daddy which route they were taking and he said 'Kate has the maps'. We were maybe nine or ten and had been talking about the mine, so maybe Jethro's imagination ran away with him and he just kept building on it? The only maps of the mine are the one posted at the entrance and the copies that were made of it for the miners. Two people dead, Katherine tortured and almost killed and all for an ignorant nine-year-old's faulty information and ridiculous imagination? Sheriff, can you tie both those men to whipping posts and give me a whip?"
"Mildred, please don't tempt me. As a sworn officer of the law, I have to see that these men are processed through the proper channels. Three hundred years ago, I might have had that authority and I might have been selling tickets for those who wanted to use the whip."
"I'd certainly have paid for the privilege."
"I know you would've, Jack. Strother and Roy are very fortunate that our punishments are 'less barbaric' than they once were. I suspect that neither will leave prison unscathed. The belt scars from both of them and the buckle scar from Roy could very well be death sentences once they get to prison and there are bound to be information leaks about things like that."
"Somebody would beat on them like they beat on me?"
"Yes, sweet girl. Most people don't like people who hurt kids, even some very mean and dangerous people who are in prison for hurting other people. Those two beat up on you but they're no match for the people they might encounter in prison."
"They'll never hurt me again?"
"Not ever. If I see either of them near you again, I'll shoot first and ask questions later. Tom, did the search warrants turn up Katherine's missing underwear?"
"No, Jack. You think someone else was also involved in the first incident at your place?"
"I think Roy renting her to 'uncles' might have included G. Edward Mathis as 'Uncle George' as she said that she saw one of them at the diner and Ed started sweating the other day when he noticed I had a badge. You think Roy might be interested in a deal to keep him out of the general prison population for the next 50 years?"
"A deal that provides names for those 'uncles'."
"You mean 'Uncle John' and 'Uncle Paul' and …"
"All the names you can remember, smart girl, and as much as you remember of what they look like."
"OK."
"I'll get Brenda to talk with Katherine about her list and then talk with the DA. He's all fired up to railroad both of them to the death penalty but we might be able to corral more people who need to be put away."
---
"Lunch at the diner, Jack?"
"Yes, Carl. I think this kid might like to eat lunch sitting between her Grandma and Grandpa."
"Un huh!"
"And I'll talk with Ed about Roy and Strother being headed for hard time and that the Sheriff will be getting a list of their 'clients'."
"You told Tom?"
"He said he'd have deputies here five minutes after we arrived. Don and Sherry are taking a table at the other end, closer to the register."
"I see one of the prisoner vans blocking in a Lexus - I'll guess that's Ed's car. If he runs, he'll need money and the register has ready cash?"
"Exactly. He walks out with a hand or pocket filled with register cash and they arrest him for theft which means they can hold him while other things happen."
Carl spoke to Ed and hadn't said more than two sentences when Ed ran to the register, took the cash and ran for his car - to be met by deputies with drawn weapons. He was cuffed and placed into the prisoner van and a roll-back wrecker was waiting to impound his car. Like watching the last couple of minutes of an episode of the 'A-Team', except it was the Sheriff who said "I love it when a plan comes together."
---
"Mildred?"
"Yes, Jack?"
"What do you know about Roy and Jethro?"
"They're first cousins and they both look a lot like their grandfather Amos Tucker. I don't understand why Katherine always said 'he' in the singular."
"Perhaps two men who looked alike, acted alike, asked the same questions and dispensed mostly the same punishments were blended into one by a four-year-old? Or perhaps her mind didn't want to deal with two monsters so they were combined as 'he'?"
"That makes sense. Next time I see Dr. Hastings, the school psychologist, I'll ask his opinion."
"We might all learn something more from him."
---
|
|
|
Post by 9idrr on Dec 6, 2019 20:47:43 GMT -6
Thank you for another of your same ol' everyday, extraordinary, top of the line stories.
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Dec 7, 2019 8:46:01 GMT -6
Cool beans. More Bad guys in the hoosegow
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Dec 7, 2019 18:20:29 GMT -6
Chapter 9
Monday, 13 April, nine years later
"Daddy?"
"My very expressive favorite daughter just put more frustration into a one word question than most people can an entire sentence. What's this about, sweet girl?"
"You and Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Tom and all the deputies have helped me put my story together but now I'm not so sure I want to present it at school."
"That's a difficult choice. Will people who have known you a long time change their opinion of you or stop being your friend because of things that happened to you nine years ago?"
"Exactly. Even my answer to you sounds just like you!"
"I think I told you that the good parts would rub off on you if you spent a lot of time in my lap or with your head on my shoulder."
"You did. So what options do I have?"
"You can publish it on Amazon under a different name. They don't know Katherine Thompson from…"
"Katherine Thompson Wilson, Daddy."
"Yes, sweet girl. As I was saying, people don't know Katherine Thompson Wilson from Lizzie Borden online or in book publishing, whether ebook or paper. If you want to share your experiences, you can publish under whatever pen name you choose. You could be 'Scared Girl' or 'Scarred Girl' or 'S. Cared' or 'S. Carred' or 'B. Uttbuckle…"
"Stop! You're gonna make me laugh and I'll…"
"Then take time to go and we can talk more when you get back."
---
"Feel better now?"
"Daddy!"
"Or 'Not Katie' or 'Not Katie Now' or just maybe 'K. T. Wilson', 'Kate Wilson' or 'Kathy Wilson' and perhaps in the future you would feel ready to acknowledge what you've written but it might have helped other people while you're on your way to making that public announcement."
"What about the title?"
"'Peaceful Valley' says where things occurred and makes it sound like a nice place where things like that wouldn't happen so that might be fitting. You could have a subtitle that tells a little more about what happened. Maybe 'Kidnapped at Age Four and Tortured for Months'? That's something else for you to think about."
"You are at least consistent."
"In what way?"
"Every time I ask a question, you make it into three more questions I need to answer."
"Do you end up with a good answer?"
"Usually the best available answer, Mister Philosopher."
"So what's the problem?"
"I'm smarter than most of the boys at school."
"That's nothing new. It's been happening for years. Ask your Aunt Alice…"
"But Uncle Brad is so smart about computers!"
"Ask your Aunt Alice what her degree is in and ask to see her graduation picture."
"You're setting me up."
"For a good answer to your problem."
---
"You were right, Daddy. Aunt Alice aced her computer degree and graduated with honors. Uncle Brad was like number 25 in the class."
"And?"
"She almost always leaves the computer stuff at work but he brings it home and talks things through with her. They worked out how to be a team."
"Lots harder to see and do things like that when you're 14 but a good example usually helps. Who would you like to be a team with?"
"Daddy!"
"The 'May Madness' dance is next month. We called it 'Sadie Hawkins' because of a character named Sadie Hawkins who was bold enough to ask a boy instead of waiting for him to ask her. You're thinking of asking someone but afraid that you're so smart you'll scare him to death and have to call 911."
"It's not that bad!"
"It's not? Then why is a very pretty 14-year-old talking about it with her father instead of calling that boy? Are you doing a Jethro Strother?"
"Daddy! I'm not that bad."
"Aren't you letting your imagination run away from reality? Was Chris scared to come to your birthday party? Or go on that hike with us? Or put his arm around a scared and muddy girl when that car ran your bike off the road into the ditch - and him in his soccer uniform and on his way to the Division Playoffs?"
"Maybe I am going Jethro over the dance. I should just ask him?"
"Correct. You can call him now as you both spend this hour doing homework when you have it. I think our discussion might be called 'home' work."
"Sometimes you're awful but sometimes you're the best Daddy ever."
"Thank you, I think. Make your call. Then you can text Emily, Alicia, Kelly, Tina, Maria and Elana so they'll be brave enough to call Jason, Pedro…"
"Enough! I'm calling him."
"That's my smart girl."
---
The End
|
|
|
Post by texican on Dec 7, 2019 18:35:11 GMT -6
Bad guys falling and more to fall....
Thanks pp2 for the chapter....
Texican....
|
|
|
Post by kaijafon on Dec 7, 2019 18:58:42 GMT -6
thanks for the story!
|
|
|
Post by gipsy on Dec 7, 2019 22:56:36 GMT -6
Nope. Not yet. We haven't found the map.
|
|
|
Post by ydderf on Dec 8, 2019 9:14:16 GMT -6
Thank you
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Dec 8, 2019 11:26:05 GMT -6
Nope. Not yet. We haven't found the map. Go back to Chapter 8 and find the paragraph that starts with 'Kate has the maps.' It's a short treatise on people having limited or poorly understood information. Somewhere there's a story with an adult mentioning fallout and one of the under-10 kids asks "Fallout? Isn't that what makes zombies?" Some adults also make those leaps of ignorance... Consider your neighbors and which ones could handle an announcement of "Power, including the water and sewage treatment plants will be off in the County for 10 days, beginning at 10AM tomorrow." Most PAW fiction fans would have a plan for that and be able to produce a "Better stock up on list" in less than 10 minutes. You probably know someone whose list would start with ice and beer :-( You also know someone who would see steady light in your window (whether large flashlight or oil lamp) and want to know how you have power and where they can plug in. I have family and friends that I've spoken to (once) about being prepared for power outages and the responses have run from "Never happen" to "I'll come to your house". Good luck with getting here. The last significant outage we had (12 hours) was from 7-12 inches of snow across the county. You'd need adequate vehicle clearance and tire chains, which none of them have. All you can do for some people is let them enjoy their ignorance. My little truck has just over 8 inches of clearance and I do have chains for it. Didn't need to use them during that snowy outage because we're good for multiple days without going out for anything.
|
|
|
Post by texican on Dec 8, 2019 13:28:38 GMT -6
Thanks pp2 for the story....
Texican....
|
|
|
Post by udwe on Dec 14, 2019 20:54:23 GMT -6
I really do love your stories!
|
|
|
Post by feralferret on Sept 25, 2023 15:36:20 GMT -6
Papa, just reread this one. I originally read it a back when I was just another lurker on this board.
Still an excellent story. Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by papaof2 on Sept 25, 2023 17:17:14 GMT -6
Always good to know that people find the stories worth a second read.
|
|