Month: September 2019

Excerpt:

Steed’s phone began to ring. He answered. It was his father Arthur Ramsey. Arthur said, “I talked to Mayor Racoon. It was not his son. His son and the real Jess had been sent on some kind of red herring which had taken them where their cellphones did not work. Then their car broke down. So far, we still have no idea who the fake Keith Jr. and Jess are. We don’t know what this is all about. I’ve sent security to the mental hospital to watch your mom. Do you want a security detail?”

“No. No. We have two police officers with us now. Tomorrow I want to start the day fresh and act like nothing has happened. I don’t want a security detail.”

Hearthville Serial 3
What Happened To Victor:
A Paranormal Suspense Gangster Horror

By Charles Peters

Copyright 2019

All Rights Reserved

This Story is Not Free, Purchase For Your Kindle, $2.99

Chapters

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Chapter 15

Steed and Deven walked into the kitchen area of the Ramsey Mansion. Deven looked around.

Deven said, “Nice but not rock star or Hollywood nice.”

Steed said, “I am the son of a gangster. I am not the son of a movie star.”

Officer Ellie Mae and Officer Doug Robinson followed the two into the kitchen. Officer Doug said, “Oh, I love this kitchen. I bet your mom was a wonderful cook.”

“She was okay. She wasn’t born rich. She knew how to cook. But our maid Rosanne cooked most of our meals.”

Officer Ellie Mae said, “Oh, I would love to have a maid. That would be so wonderful. I should have been born rich.”

Officer Robinson said, “Yeah. You and me both sister. But I love to cook. I wish I had this kitchen. Do you know the last oven I bought, well, actually my boyfriend bought it, I can’t even cook biscuits with it. The damn top heating element does not work right.”

Deven said, “My mom must have bought the same oven. She complained about the same thing. She ended up back using the old one where the timer does not work right and the door does not work right, but it cooks good biscuits man.”

Officer Robinson grinned and gently touched Deven’s shoulder in a flirtatious manner. He said, “Oh darling, you are so cute. I sometimes watch your chaturbate channel.”

“I really need to stop doing that. I did not realize that so many people were watching.”

“No. Do not stop. I probably could not do that though. My dick would probably be too shy to get hard. Plus the police department would probably frown on me doing a stream there big time.”

Steed smiled at Officer Doug Robinson and Deven. Then he winked at Officer Mae. She laughed. Then Steed said, “On the biscuits some ovens require you to set to roast so that both elements will heat. On the ovens I was testing I found 17 minutes and 390 degrees works about right with the convection setting on.”

Deven said, “I will tell mom to try that. So you cook?”

“Not really. When I was helping run the hospitals we had issues with some of the ovens.”

Officer Mae said, “Help run the hospitals?”

Steed said, “Yeah, my father owns Lovin Care For All Inc. which owns several hospitals including the Hearthville Hospital. One year, I was executive of the year. Hell yeah. And I don’t think dad arranged the award for me. I think I earned it.”

Deven said, “You were an executive and now you are a really bad mechanic at the Hearthville Garage. Does your father own that also?”

“No. I got that job on my own. I am kind of proud of that. I am trying to be more independent.”

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Deven said, “And not let people like Judy know who you really are.”

“I guess that part of it makes me sound kind of shitty but it is true.”

Officer Mae said, “I’ve seen you with Judy Duddley. You are a pretty couple. So cute. It pisses me off every time I see the two of you together. I am horny and lonely and bitter. It is sad.”

Officer Doug Robinson turned to Deven. He said, “Your chaturbate profile says that you are straight but at times in chat you kind of come across as gay though I know that is how you make money. You wouldn’t make much money if you didn’t flirt with the dudes. But, so, which is it? Straight or gay?”

“I am straight.” Thinking back to what Steed had said, Deven asked, “Does my kind of pretending to be gay offend you?”

“No. Not at all. That is cool that you are straight. I was just curious. It is not a shocker.” Officer Doug Robinson was not totally sure Deven was being honest, even to himself, about his sexuality. “So do you have a girlfriend.”

“I was dating Trish Ireland.”

Officer Mae said, “Oh, I hate that girl. I hate her even more than I hate Judy Duddley.”

“Well. I was in love with her. Steed broke us hope.”

“How, why, did you break them up?” Officer Doug Robinson thought he saw a sexual chemistry between Steed and Deven. “I am intrigued.”

Steed said, “She was using him. She was not treating him right. I thought I was doing a good thing.”

Deven said, “But I liked having sex with her. I liked it a lot.”

Officer Doug Robinson said, “I know what you mean. My first boyfriend was a total shithead but my God he could suck dick good. I stayed with him longer than I should have, just because of the good sex. My current boyfriend is kind of stupid but he is a darling. He is so kind. But we are both basically tops and the sex is not great. Still, I prefer my current boyfriend to the shithead. Sex really isn’t everything. You will find someone new. Better.”

Officer Mae said, “I don’t know. I haven’t found anyone yet. I am not a total dog, am I?”

Officer Doug said, “Don’t be insulting dogs. No. Just kidding. You are beautiful. You know you are beautiful. Deven, don’t you think she is beautiful?”

“Well, yeah. Of course she is beautiful.”

Steed said, “You two should date.”

“I do chaturbate. My stepfather may not be a gangster but he does get in trouble with the law. And I am not the most manly man around. She could do better than me.”

Officer Mae said, “Oh shut up. You and I are going on a date. It is settled.”

“Okay.” Deven looked around as if silently asking the ether, “What just happened. I just killed a man and now I am going to be dating a police woman who is tougher than me.”

Officer Doug Robinson slapped Deven on the butt. “You are going to love dating Officer Mae. She is the best.”

Deven rubbed his butt. He smiled. Deven said, “Besides Chaturbate I should tell you that I also work at the Purple Bird Billiard Club. I just started there.”

Officer Mae said, “That does not bother me. I love to go there. Daniel has never given me any grief about that even though he and Roy are something else. They do not exactly get along. But I don’t have a problem with Roy.”

Steed’s phone began to ring. He answered. It was his father Arthur Ramsey. Arthur said, “I talked to Mayor Racoon. It was not his son. His son and the real Jess had been sent on some kind of red herring which had taken them where their cellphones did not work. Then their car broke down. So far, we still have no idea who the fake Keith Jr. and Jess are. We don’t know what this is all about. I’ve sent security to the mental hospital to watch your mom. Do you want a security detail?”

“No. No. We have two police officers with us now. Tomorrow I want to start the day fresh and act like nothing has happened. I don’t want a security detail.”

“I figured as much. Stay in touch. Learn anything I should know, give me a call and let me know. Please. And by the way, I love you.”

“Love you too dad.”

Steed and Arthur hung up.

Steed said, “I want to get to bed. Everyone take whatever bed they want to take but I sleep alone.”

Officer Doug Robinson joked, “Well, that hurts my feelings.”

Officer Mae said, “We have to stay awake and keep watch. Otherwise Deven I would totally be doing something with you besides sleeping.”

Officer Dough Robinson said, “I can keep watch. You two can go at it.”

“I don’t think anything else is going to happen but I didn’t think anything was going to happen earlier, either. I am not really sure what is going on. Regardless, I have got to get some sleep.”

Steed left the kitchen to go upstairs. Deven followed. He looked back at Officer Mae, halfway expecting that she would follow but she didn’t. He continued up the stairs behind Deven.

Deven said, “This has to be the most weird day of my life. I am not sure I could take many days like this.”

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“You did good.” Steed walked into his bedroom and closed the door.

Deven felt somewhat disoriented as he looked at the doors. “You could have pointed me to a room.” Deven opened a door. It was the door to Rachel’s room. Deven threw back the covers to the bed. He stripped naked and crawled into the bed. He accidentally bumped the headboard to the bed and a song came on. The song was “I’m Only Joking,” by the Kongos. Deven spoke to himself. “That sounds like some kind of war song.”

Deven turned off the light switch next to the bed. He sensed that he was not alone in the bedroom. “Oh fuck.”

The ghost Nanny Ogleby stood in the corner of the room. Her breaths were deep and loud. “Take care sweet boy, friend of Steed.”

Deven turned the light back on. He looked about the room. He saw no one. He turned the light back out.

The ghost Artorious Ramsey came into the room. He kissed Nanny Ogleby on the cheek. Music from the bed headboard began to play a different song. The song was “Sex on Fire,” by Kings of Leon. Artorious said, “I shall turn you into a beautiful woman for the young man.”

“He is so scared. I don’t want to scare him more. You know, he killed a man tonight and the man’s ghost is about.”

“I didn’t know. So is Steed’s friend a good guy or a bad guy.”

“I think a good guy. But maybe capable of bad as we all are. He killed a man but it was self-defense.”

Artorious walked to stand at where Deven lay with the covers pulled up over his nose. “I can hear you ghosts,” Deven whispered.

Artrorious put his hand on Deven’s forehead. “Boy, there is no reason to be afraid. We mean you no harm. I suspect we shall be friends.”

“Death scares me. I don’t want to be dead. I don’t want to be drawn into the worlds of the dead.”

Nanny Ogleby crawled into bed with Deven. She cuddled with him. “We understand.”

“Do you understand that I am petrified with fear.”

“Calm down as I become more real to you.”

“You feel too real to me as it is.”

Nanny Ogleby transformed into a beautiful woman but in the darkness Deven could barely see her beauty. It was enough that Nanny Ogleby could feel her own new beauty and the touch of the flesh. She tugged at Deven’s cock. She licked at his face. She whispered, “We shall have sex. You will like it.”

“Sex with a ghost. I don’t know.”

“But you feel my flesh. You feel my hand. You feel my wet tongue. And when I ride you, you will feel your hard cock in my tight vagina. It shall feel good. It shall feel wonderful.”

“I don’t know.”

“You know.”

Suddenly Deven and Nanny Ogleby were transported to a green meadow. Artorious stood naked above them as they lay naked in the tall grass and bed of flowers.

Nanny Ogleby asked Artorious, “What have you done?”

“It wasn’t me and I don’t like this. I don’t know where we are. This boy is a witch.”

Deven said, “I am not a witch. I didn’t do this.”

There was an evil laugh. “Boy, you should not have killed me.”

The man that Deven had killed appeared next to Artorious. “For what this boy did to me, I will put him in a cage.”

Deven screamed, “It was self-defense. Why were you trying to kill me? Why were you trying to kill Steed?”

Fire sparked from Artroious’ body. “You tried to kill my great-grandson?”

“It wasn’t personal. It was just a job.”

Deven asked, “Who hired you?”

Artorious said, “Yes.” He asked, “Who hired you?”

The man said, “I am in charge here. The three of you aren’t.”

Artorious snapped his fingers and tossed Deven a gun. “Shoot the bastard again.”

Deven did as he was told. This time the bullet struck between the man’s eyes. Deven returned to Rachel’s bed. He turned the light on. No one else was in the bedroom that he could see. “Was I dreaming?”

Artorious whispered, “It was not a dream but I have been weakened. We will meet again. Please keep this a secret.”

“Sure. Like anyone would believe me if I told them.” Deven rolled over and fell asleep.

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Excerpt:

Officer Ellie said, “That is surprising.” There were moments of silence as Officer Ellie listened to someone talking into her earplug. Officer Ellie looked at Deven and considered Steed’s nudity. “Was this all some kind of lover’s spat.”

Deven screamed, “What? No?” Then Deven looked at Steed. “Why in the hell don’t you go get dressed rather than having people think something.” Deven looked at Officer Ellie and said, “For the record, I am totally straight.”

Earl winked at Deven. “She is pretty, but proclaiming you are straight probably does not matter. I don’t think you stand a chance with her.”

Officer Ellie said, “You never know. I like men who are both tough and sensitive.” Then she looked at Steed. “Get dressed. You are making me horny and at a crime scene that is even too perverted for me.”

Hearthville Serial 3
What Happened To Victor:
A Paranormal Suspense Gangster Horror

By Charles Peters

Copyright 2019

All Rights Reserved

This Story is Not Free, Purchase For Your Kindle, $2.99

Chapters

 
Unit Price – e2 – (Paid by Informal Community buying eBooks and making purchases after clicking a link on sayata.net/m/. If you have cookies turned on and the click is tracked then even if it is not the product you clicked on, I will get credit for whatever product you put in shopping cart and purchase. See in top Menu Tip Jar / Content Goals. Also see Shop.)

Chapter 14

Deven looked around Steed’s single wide trailer, as Steed kicked off his shoes and socks. The trailer had the kitchen in front end. A bar separated the kitchen from the living room area. Off from the living room were the guest beds in something similar to a room. The beds were similar to full size stacked bunks in a camper. There was storage beneath the bunks. A closet reached halfway the length of the bunk beds. Then there was a privacy curtain that stretched from the closet to the foot of the bunk beds and then curled around to lock against the wall. A bathroom stood between the guest bedroom and the master bedroom.

Deven commented, “Cozy.”

Steed pulled off his shirt. “I considered a small double wide but I can pull this trailer myself. It is basically a large camper locked down to suit city code.”

“I like it.”

Steed then walked over to his gun cabinet at the foot of the guest bedroom, to check out his guns. He pulled out a pistol and some cleaning supplies to clean the pistol.

Deven looked at the guns. “Do you think those two men, Jess and Keith Jr., will be coming for you?”

“Not really. I think they got the message. I texted the hit man to let him know the situation. I then called my father and he said he would talk to Paulster and handle things. Unless there is something else going on that we don’t know about, the situation should be over.”

“But you have to be careful.”

Steed began cleaning a different pistol. “Right. Make yourself comfortable, the same as if you were at home. We are about the same size. My clothes are your clothes if you want to take a shower.”

“Why are you being so friendly?”

“Ah yes. That which I wanted to talk to you about. Here is the thing. Victor does not seem to remember me but I think for real. I don’t think the situation is an act in the same way that you pretended not to remember me. Has Victor ever said anything to you to suggest that he does know me from the past?”

“No.”

“Has he ever mentioned me by my other name, Mark Ramsey, who he knew me as?”

“No. But there would be no reason for him to mention you to me. Why do you not just tell him that you are Mark Ramsey?”

“I was so relieved when he seemed to not remember me. His sister is dating the son of a mob boss. Me. And she doesn’t know who I am either. Their not knowing was kind of like a godsend. But it is a godsend that is bugging the hell out of me.”

“Well. You may have changed a lot from when Victor knew you.”

“I have changed a lot from when the rest of Duddley family last saw me. But Victor hugged me at Jossette’s funeral. He knew me at the funeral. I have changed some since the funeral but I don’t know. It bugs me.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Well, I am going to tell you something. It is horrible.”

“Okay.”

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“I don’t remember the details clearly. But mom caught Victor and Jossette naked up in the attic room of the Ramsey Mansion here in Hearthville. It was awful. Dad never told me where he found Victor or the details but I am fairly certain that Mom and Rita had planned to kill Victor. I think Victor was psychologically affected by what happened.”

“Victor has never told me about it.”

“I am not sure Victor even remembers it. And oddly Jossette and I were foggy on the events after the events happened. It was weird. Mom and Rita both say they were bewitched. I am not sure that we all weren’t bewitched that night, as weird as that sounds.”

Deven said, “I totally believe in witches and ghosts and all that stuff.”

“I don’t know. Understand my mom is in a mental institution but she has mentioned a warlock more than once. This sounds crazy. I know. But has Victor ever mentioned a warlock?”

“No. But let me remind you, we are friends but it is not like I am his best friend.”

“But you could get closer to him. You could ask him questions.”

“I don’t know about that. Even if he told me anything I wouldn’t want to betray his confidence.”

“I don’t want to hurt Victor. I want to help him.”

“Remember that you are talking to someone who you seriously hurt by trying to help. I could still be having sex with Trish if you had not decided to save me from myself.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I did do wrong when I talked to Trish. Maybe I should leave Victor alone.”

“I am sorry that I am not being of any help.”

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“No. That is cool.”

Deven asked, “So do you secretly live at the Ramsey Mansion and just pretend to live here?”

“No. What kind of question is that?”

“I would love to live in a mansion. That would be so cool.”

“I don’t want to live there.” Steed continued cleaning on his guns.

Deven sat down in a large oversized orange chair next to the gun cabinet. “Okay.”

Steed said, “I am worried about Victor. Being around Judy I have noticed that Victor is not always the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“Judy said that when Victor was little he had an imaginary friend by the name of George. She said that when Victor sleep walks, he sometimes introduces himself as George. I have been researching disassociation or multiple personality disorder. I think that event up in the attic and whatever followed may have triggered that with Victor. I think the imaginary playmate he had as a small child became an alternative personality.”

“I’ve seen no sign of that.”

“I saw someone at the Lion’s Lounge who greatly favored Victor. I asked Victor what he was doing there. He told me that I had mistaken him for someone else and that his name was George. He didn’t behave anything like I would have expected Victor to behave. He was practically having sex with two women right there on the dance floor. A friend had got stranded at the club by her then idiot boyfriend and I had gone there to pick her up. When I was leaving with her, I heard George tell one of the women that he was with that he hoped Judy would catch me cheating. No matter what he told me, I know he was Victor but he was calling himself George.”

“I don’t want to spy on Victor for you. And look, you are talking about Victor pretending to be some imaginary playmate from his childhood when you are pretending to be someone else. You are like, ‘Oh Victor doesn’t know who I am,’ when you are going around intentionally looking different and going by a different name. You don’t want Judy to know who you are. On some level you are feeling guilty about that. So you are complaining that Victor hasn’t either caught you or simply called you out for it.”

Steed stared at Deven. “You are such an asshole.”

“Yeah. So. I am glad you are giving me a bed tonight. I would be totally glad to be your friend; platonic friend, but I am not going to be used by you to spy on Victor. That shit is not happening. Tell Judy who the fuck you are and talk to Victor as the real you.”

“I am not ready to do that.” Steed changed the subject. “So if you are really totally straight how do you flirt with men on chaturbate the way you do.”

“It is acting. I am playing a role. It is kind of fun.”

“Isn’t your pretending kind of insulting to gay men. Isn’t that kind of like dressing up in black face.”

“I don’t think so. They don’t think so. I mean, they know part of the men on there are really straight and just pretending to be gay. But you have seen my chaturbate profile. You know that it clearly says that I am straight.”

“I didn’t really pay much attention to what it says. I do know that most of the people in your chatroom were men.”

“Yeah. I am not denying that or that in chat I pretend to be gay but my profile makes clear that I am straight.”

“I understand.” Steed put his guns away. “I don’t think we are going to be messed with tonight by Keith Jr. or Jess. I am going to bed. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

After Steed went to bed Deven went to the kitchen to get a drink of water. He noticed a couple of hooks next to the refrigerator that had keychains hanging from them. There was one keychain that was attached to a small golden globe that appeared to have a diamond at the top and at the bottom. There was only one key on the chain. The key itself had a curly R on one side and a curly M on the other side. Deven touched the keychain as he wondered, “Is that the key to the Ramsey Mansion?”

Deven looked around. He examined the keychain more closely. Deven pulled his phone from his pocket. He again looked around. Pouting his lips and frowning at his own behavior he took a picture of the key. He turned the key over and he took another picture. Then he took pictures of the thin sides of the key. He hung the keychain back up on the hook. He put his phone back into his pocket.

Deven turned and walked to the bar and sink to get a glass of water. He opened cabinets looking for the drinking glasses. He then noticed a dispenser with large paper cups in the door of the refrigerator. Deven shook his head as he examined the refrigerator more closely. “The dude has a fridge that probably cost more than our trailer.” Deven put the cup into the ice dispenser to get ice. He then pushed a button to fill the cup the rest of the way up with water. He began to drink the water. “Damn, that is good water. Why does our water not taste this good?”

Then Deven heard something. It was a noise at the front door of the trailer. Then there was another noise toward the back. Deven called out. “Steed. Something is happening.”

Naked, Steed came out of the master bedroom. “What?”

“I heard a noise at the front door. Then I heard another noise at the rear.”

Steed rushed to his gun cabinet. He pulled out two guns. He had already loaded them earlier. He tossed one of the guns to Deven.

Deven caught the gun. “I have never fired a gun, much less shot anyone. I will be of no help to you.”

“Number one rule. Don’t let yourself get killed.”

The man called Keith Jr. broke in through the front door. The man called Jess broke in through the back door. They both held guns and they both appeared to be aiming their guns to kill.

Steed screamed, “You two are crazy. Get the hell out of here.”

The man called Jess said, “We have our orders.”

The man called Keith Jr., in a dastardly voice, said, “Yeah. Orders. But killing always gives me pleasure.” The man called Keith Jr. began aiming his gun at Deven.

Steed asked, “Orders from who? Mayor Keith Racoon because of my father’s accountant? That does not make sense.”

Deven realized the gun was pointed in his direction and began to dance in a fashion trying to find something to hide behind. “Son of a bitch. Fucking hell. Point your damn gun somewhere else.” Deven darted to try to hide behind the kitchen bar.

The man called Keith Jr. shot at Deven. He missed. The bullet split wood in the upper kitchen cabinet. If it had been a hair lower it might would have struck Deven in the head. But Deven was speedily bending down, trying to break aim and hide.

Deven flipped around and peeped over the sink at the man called Keith Jr. who was positioning to take another shot at Deven. Steed aimed to shoot at Keith Jr. but the man called Jess grabbed at his arm. He said, “I am going to take you alive and fuck you every which way but loose.” Steed and the man called Jess began to fight for each other’s gun.

In horror at seeing the man called Keith Jr. creeping around, Deven sank back lower behind the bar. He stared at the gun in his hand. Shaking, he opened the lower cabinet door beneath the sink. He attempted to cower behind the cabinet door and partially in the cabinet itself. On his knees he looked up at the man called Keith Jr. and stared at the barrel of the gun pointed down between his eyes. “Jesus and mother Mary, I don’t want to die.”

The man called Keith Jr. seemed to enjoy Deven’s desperation. “You worthless coward punk, I am going to enjoy killing you.”

Deven flipped to roll on the floor away from the cabinet. Prone on his back he aimed the pistol in his hand like he was in a Clint Eastwood movie. The man called Keith Jr. moved to stand directly over him to insure his own aim. Deven again positioned his aim and kicked up, striking the man called Keith Jr. in the balls. As the man called Keith Jr. grimaced with a look of pain and surprise, Deven pulled the trigger of the gun in his hand. Deven felt like he was in a slow motion movie. Would the bullet strike or not strike? His aim had missed.

Deven screamed. “Son of a bitch. How in the hell could that shot not have struck you?”

Steed, naked as a bluejay, and the man called Jess rolled on the couch. They continued to fight for control of their weapons.

The man called Keith Jr. attempted to kick Deven in the crotch but missed as Deven was inching and squirming and dodging on the floor like a slippery snake. The man called Keith Jr. moved his arm around as he attempted to keep aim, even as he again kicked at Deven’s crotch. Deven felt the kick to his balls but he didn’t grimace. He didn’t show pain. Deven lifted his gun. “When we are in hell together, you can kiss my hurting balls.” Deven kicked at the gun aimed at him as he squeezed the trigger of the gun in his hand. The man called Keith Jr. squeezed his trigger as he felt Deven’s foot to his hand. Deven’s bullet struck the man called Keith Jr. in the chest as the bullet fired at Deven missed by inches, striking into the floor. The man called Keith Jr. fell on top of Deven.

The man called Keith Jr. raised his gun to Deven’s right temple. He whispered in Deven’s ear. “In hell, it will be you kissing my sweaty, hairy balls.” Then the gun fell from the man called Keith Jr.’s hand. The man died.

For a moment Deven stared into the lifeless eyes of the man who lay on top of him. Then roughly, Deven pushed and kicked at the body as he crawled to stand up. He looked at the blood on himself for moment and then looked at Steed and the man called Jess fighting.

The man called Jess saw Deven walking toward him. Deven still held the gun in his hand and he began to point the gun. Deven began screaming, “Do you want to die? Do you want to die? Do you want to be like your fucking friend? You son of a bitch. You two sons of bitches, breaking in here like idiots. Do you want to die? My finger is itching on the trigger?”

“You don’t have the nerve.”

“Like I didn’t have the nerve to kill your friend. Think fast to come up with some poetry for your dying words because your friend’s dying words were shit.” Deven began to scream in tears. “I am just a white trash killer. That is all I am. I am just a worthless piece of shit. But by God, I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you just like I killed Keith Jr..”

The man called Jess broke away from Steed and threw his gun at Deven. The man called Jess screamed, “I have no gun. Kill me now and it will be murder.” The man called Jess jumped through the door from the trailer and took off running into the night.

Deven fell to his knees and lay his gun on the floor. Looking at the gun he screamed in tears. He touched the gun and then quickly pulled his hand back away from the gun. “I’ve killed. I have actually killed. What if they charge me with murder. I don’t want to be on death row.”

Steed rolled off the couch and fell down on the floor with Deven. He grabbed Deven into his arms. He held Deven close. “It is over. You are okay. You are okay. It is going to be okay. You didn’t have any choice. It was self-defense. You saved your own life. And you saved my life. We are okay now. Right? Now I need to call my father.”

“Right. Okay.”

Steed stood up and went to get his phone. He called his father. “Hey dad, those two dumb asses broke into my trailer. They were going to kill Deven and me. Deven killed the one called Keith Jr.. It was clearly self-defense. The doors were obviously broken down. I don’t think we will have any trouble with the law.”

Arthur said, “I talked to Mayor Racoon earlier. This does not make any sense. I will call some people on my end and try to find out what is going on. I may even try to talk to Mayor Racoon again.”

“Okay. I will call Lilly Bare and then she can call Daniel and help handle the law for us though I can’t imagine we will have any legal problems from this.”

Arthur said, “Yes. You do that. Maybe she can help keep this as quiet as possible.”

Steed disconnected from his father. He called Lilly. “Lilly, those two clowns from earlier broke into my trailer. The one called Keith Jr. tried to kill Deven. There was some fighting. Deven killed Keith Jr. in self-defense. The one called Jess took off running when Deven came to my defense.”

Lilly said, “I will call Daniel and I will make clear we need to keep the incident out of the police blotter because of mob involvement out of Backdoor.”

Steed looked at Deven still down on his knees on the floor. His arms were crossed as he cradled himself, shaking in tears. Steed said, “Deven is pretty shaken by it all. We may go over to the mansion to sleep tonight. I will wait until the police get here and then Deven and I will go.”

Lilly said, “What if Jess tries to finish the job?”

“I don’t think there is much chance of that but Deven and I can take care of ourselves.”

“I have no doubt about that but the mansion might not be the best place to avoid any additional incident.”

“No. I think that other dude, Jess, is probably still running. I don’t think there is any chance he will try anything.”

Deven shook himself like a dog shaking water from his fur. He was snapping out of the shock from what had happened. Pale and looking weak, he stood up from the floor. Gathering his thoughts, he looked about. He said, “But why did they try anything to start with. I thought this was about your father’s accountant and some money he owed . I thought it was all settled earlier. Then here those two are and I am killing one of them. Man, I don’t even like to kill spiders.”

“I don’t know why they came here. I really wasn’t expecting it. I thought I had it taken care of.”

“Jess was fighting with you but Keith Jr. was trying to kill me. Why?”

Lilly heard what Deven was saying. She said, “And they work for Mayor Keith Racoon?”

Steed said, “That is what my father’s picture id system sent back. If the information is correct the Mayor’s son is laying dead in my kitchen.”

Lilly said, “We don’t need a mob war.”

Steed said, “I understand. But they broke my doors down. Keith Jr. was trying to kill Deven. The one called Jess stopped me from defending Deven and we started fighting over the weapons. Deven is right. Jess didn’t actually try to kill me. Though I am sure that was his eventual intent. There is no doubt that Keith Jr. was trying to kill Deven though.”

Lilly said, “You two go on to the mansion. I will get Daniel or Johnny to send someone over to the mansion to help provide security until your father gets his security in place. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Earl walked up into the trailer and saw into the kitchen. “What the fuck?” Some other people who had heard the gunshots began to gather around the trailer.

Deven walked to where Earl stood. He looked at the body of the man called Keith Jr. on the floor. He took a deep breath. He said, “Keith Raccon Jr. and Jess broke into the trailer. Keith Jr. was trying to kill me. I killed him. It was self-defense. Dad, it was self-defense. Please know that I am not a killer.”

Earl whispered, “You called me dad.” He grabbed Deven to comfort him. “Son, I know you are not a killer.” Earl walked into the kitchen and looked at the body on the floor. “I don’t know who the fuck was trying to kill you but that is not Keith Racoon Jr..”

Steed walked into the kitchen and cocked his head. “Are you sure?”

“I am positive. I go over to Backdoor sometimes and work for Mayor Keith. I know him and his son.”

Steed called his dad. “Dad, I have someone here who says that the person that was killed is not Keith Jr.. Did you talk to Mayor Racoon again?”

Arthur said, “Not since earlier but what was said earlier made me think there was nothing to worry about. He said he had a problem with Paulster paying some debts but it was not a big deal. He did not know why Keith Jr. would have accused Paulster of being a bank robber. He said he would put an end to it but the last time I talked to him he had not been able to reach his son to find out what was going on. I hope your witness is right. I pray that is not Keith Jr. who was killed.”

“This is so weird. Your computer system identified him as Keith Jr. and the other guy as Jess Smith.”

Earl said, “I may be a drunk and not always reliable but I am telling you that is not Keith Jr..”

Police Detective Daniel Bare with two uniformed officers walked into the trailer. “Take pictures of the doors that were broken down. Bag the gun from the corpse.” Police Detective Daniel Bare asked, “Deven, you were shot at, right?”

“Yeah.”

Deven and Steed both looked at the area where Deven was hiding. Steed said, “There is a bullet hole there in the cabinet. I would guess the bullet is somewhere in that area.”

Deven said, “And there should be bullet in the floor near his body where he shot at me there as well. After I shot him in the chest he fell on top of me. As he lay dying he put his gun to my temple. He died with the intent to kill me but he died before he pulled the trigger.”

Earl and Steed both stared at Deven. They realized how close Deven had been to being killed. Officer Daniel said, “When you get that close to facing death, it is hard. I know it is hard.” Officer Daniel patted Deven on the back.

One of the uniformed officers nodded. He rushed to follow the trajectory from the hole to find the bullet. He quickly found and bagged the bullet. He then found the other bullet in the floor next to the body and bagged it.

Police Detective Daniel Bare said, “I need the gun that you used to kill Keith Jr.”

Deven walked from the kitchen to the living room and picked the gun up. He handed the gun to the uniformed officer who bagged it.

Earl, Steed, Deven, and Police Detective Officer Bare stepped out of the trailer and onto the concrete pad in front of the trailer as more uniformed officers went into the trailer to begin their work. They walked toward a picnic table away from the activity at the door.

Police Detective Daniel Bare said, “We will need to start a man hunt for Jess Smith. I understand that you two are planning on going over to the Ramsey Mansion. I will provide some security for you. This all seems clear cut.”

Steed said, “Here is the thing. Earl here says that the man who tried to kill Deven is not Keith Jr. but my father’s system identified him as Keith Jr.. My father had talked to Mayor Racoon earlier and he didn’t know what was going on.”

Police Detective Daniel Bare said, “Well. So. We need a clear identity on the body. And also the person we are looking for may not really be Jess Smith. Son of a bitch.”

A female uniformed officer came to the picnic table. She looked at Steed standing there naked. She said, “Daniel, is there any reason for him not to be getting dressed.”

“Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was naked. I was in bed when Deven yelled to me from the kitchen that something was happening; the break-in was happening. I am sorry.”

Daniel glanced at Steed’s genitals. “I had not noticed your state of dress or undress. Sorry. You can get dressed.”

Officer Ellie May said, “Well make me feel like a pervert for noticing. I have not had sex in three months. I tend to notice when men are naked.” Officer Ellie walked to the door of the trailer and looked into the kitchen at the corpse. “Wow. Someone is an expert who knows how to aim to kill. I guess for Mafia kids that kind of shooting is taught in kindergarten.” Officer Ellie May walked back to the picnic table.

Steed said, “I know how to shoot but Deven is the one who shot him.”

Deven said, “I’d never fired a gun before in my life.”

Officer Ellie said, “A natural born killer.”

“No. Hardly. I seriously want to go throw up.”

Officer Ellie smiled. “Sure. I was sick for a week after the first time I killed someone. I understand. I did not mean to suggest that you enjoyed it. I was speaking of how you hit the right place.”

Detective Daniel said, “Yeah, you may need to talk to someone. Some people get over situations like this with no problem. With other people, coming to terms with killing someone or being almost killed is not so easy.”

Earl said, “He will be okay.”

Deven said, “He didn’t die right away. He came close to killing me even after I shot him.”

Officer Ellie said, “That is surprising.” There were moments of silence as Officer Ellie listened to someone talking into her earplug. Officer Ellie looked at Deven and considered Steed’s nudity. “Was this all some kind of lover’s spat.”

Deven screamed, “What? No?” Then Deven looked at Steed. “Why in the hell don’t you go get dressed rather than having people think something.” Deven looked at Officer Ellie and said, “For the record, I am totally straight.”

Earl winked at Deven. “She is pretty, but proclaiming you are straight probably does not matter. I don’t think you stand a chance with her.”

Officer Ellie said, “You never know. I like men who are both tough and sensitive.” Then she looked at Steed. “Get dressed. You are making me horny and at a crime scene that is even too perverted for me.”

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Excerpt:

Roy walked up. He looked over at a tough looking man sporting a buzz cut. The man wore a suit with the arms cut tight to reveal he had muscles. Then he looked at another man seated at a different table with a similar haircut and suit. They weren’t twins. They probably weren’t related. But they had the same look.

Roy poked Deven. “They are still here?”

Deven said, “Irish Coffee light on the Irish but heavy on the sugary donuts to dunk into the coffee. I figure Dolly had them pegged right.”

“Yeah, many of my customers had them pegged the same way. That is the reason this place is almost empty right now.”

Steed looked around. He discreetly eyed the men and even more discreetly pulled out his phone and took a picture of each man. He sent a text message.

Roy asked, “Do you think people finding out who you are is the reason they are here?”

“My father is mostly legitimate now.”

“That is what they all say.”

“I guess.” Steed took a drink of his beer and broke off part of a pretzel to put in his mouth. “So, Roy, what is your story.”

Hearthville Serial 3
What Happened To Victor:
A Paranormal Suspense Gangster Horror

By Charles Peters

Copyright 2019

All Rights Reserved

This Story is Not Free, Purchase For Your Kindle, $2.99

Chapters

Unit Price – e2 – (Paid by Informal Community buying eBooks and making purchases after clicking a link on sayata.net/m/. If you have cookies turned on and the click is tracked then even if it is not the product you clicked on, I will get credit for whatever product you put in shopping cart and purchase. See in top Menu Tip Jar / Content Goals. Also see Shop.)

Chapter 13

After Roger left to go back to Atlanta, Steed returned to the Purple Bird Billiard Club. Clyde and Don had already left. Dolly had gone. Wade and Tiffany had gone. The place was a lot less crowed than earlier.

Steed walked up to the bar and sat down. There was no one on either side of him.

Deven walked up. He asked, “What can I get you?”

“A beer. A pack of pretzels.” Steed pushed the money across the bar to Deven. Deven quickly got him the beer and pretzels.

Behind the bar Deven pulled up a stool across from Steed. Deven said, “I am sorry about earlier. I pretended I didn’t know you because I thought that way I would not lose my temper. But then I lost it. Really lost it. I am sorry.”

“Not a big deal. I knew you knew me. We are both around the Duddley home enough at the same time, even though we never spoke other than a nod.” Steed thought Deven might provide more insight into Victor. It bothered him that Victor didn’t know who he was. And Steed was almost sure that unlike Deven, Victor was not pretending. But then again after the game Deven played, Steed kind of wondered if he was wrong. “So you are good friends with Victor?”

“I am not his best friend. If he had a list, I probably would not even make the top twenty but yeah Victor is a friend. I don’t have many friends. On my list he would definitely be among the top 3.”

“Victor has always been popular. I am going to tell you some stuff later, but it is important to me that you do not tell Victor or use the information to hurt Victor.”

“I would never intentionally hurt Victor. Now you. If I were to start dwelling on Trish, I might go crazy again. I am not sure I would trust me with any of your secrets.”

“Oh yeah. I am going to trust you.”

Deven nodded. “So you saw me on Chaturbate. That is kind of embarrassing. Do you often look at dudes?”

Steed laughed. “You were right there on the front page with 3,000 viewers. I was looking for a girl to watch while jerking off and there you were. Curiosity got the better of me so I did watch you a little bit. I even tipped you 1000 tokens.”

“I thank you.”

“Sure.”

Roy walked up. He looked over at a tough looking man sporting a buzz cut. The man wore a suit with the arms cut tight to reveal he had muscles. Then he looked at another man seated at a different table with a similar haircut and suit. They weren’t twins. They probably weren’t related. But they had the same look.

Roy poked Deven. “They are still here?”

Deven said, “Irish Coffee light on the Irish but heavy on the sugary donuts to dunk into the coffee. I figure Dolly had them pegged right.”

“Yeah, many of my customers had them pegged the same way. That is the reason this place is almost empty right now.”

Steed looked around. He discreetly eyed the men and even more discreetly pulled out his phone and took a picture of each man. He sent a text message.

Roy asked, “Do you think people finding out who you are is the reason they are here?”

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“My father is mostly legitimate now.”

“That is what they all say.”

“I guess.” Steed took a drink of his beer and broke off part of a pretzel to put in his mouth. “So, Roy, what is your story.”

“I used to box.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, I worked in a warehouse. I put things in boxes.”

“Funny.”

“I had a good day in Las Vegas and bought this billiard hall.”

“Oh. So you own the place. I wasn’t sure. Tell me more about you.”

“I was once married. We were in a car wreck. I survived. She didn’t. When I heard about Jossette, it brought back memories. Eventually we all die, but death is hard when you love someone.”

Steed nodded. “Yeah. There is not a day I don’t miss my cousin. Roger and I weren’t as close as I was to Jossette. But I love him. I would like to get closer to him.”

“Sure. I was an only child and so were my parents. Growing up, I didn’t have many friends. That is the reason I like owning this place. Being here gets me closer to people. My customers are characters, but I like them. That is mostly. Well. Some days I hate them all. But generally they are fun.”

“I like this place. I thought there might be someone in here to hustle a game or two of blackjack in the back. I don’t see anyone.”

Roy whispered, “The law is in here.”

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“I noticed the men you were talking about. I am pretty sure Dolly was wrong. They are trying to do that look though, that is for sure.”

“Well, they have definitely hurt my business. Some people come through that door. They look at those two men. Then they turn around and scoot the hell out of here.”

“Some gangsters son I am. I hadn’t even noticed them until you and Deven started talking about them. But let us change the subject.”

Deven asked, “So is the invitation to sleep at your place real.”

“Yeah.”

“But you aren’t planning on anything kinky, right?”

Steed laughed. “I am not gay. I am not bisexual. Earl suggested it because I guess he has plans with your mom and I said yeah. I meant yeah. I am not your enemy. I would like to be your friend. But just friends. No weirdness; not that there is anything wrong with being gay or bi.”

Roy said, “Ah shucks. Spoil my fantasy of you two having sex.”

Deven said, “I am straight.”

“Son, sure you are. Just keep telling yourself that.”

Deven smiled. “Whatever. Is it okay if I go on and clock out? Business doesn’t look like it is going to pick back up.”

Roy said, “You two go on and buy yourselves some whip cream and strawberries and lots of lube.”

Deven rolled his eyes and laughed. “I am pretty certain that I am going to crash and sleep. Since Trish broke up with me I doubt that I have slept more than two hours.”

Steed said, “Yeah. I have to work tomorrow. Another day. More unhappy customers bringing their cars back. So I am going to crash also. But Deven, before bed, there is something that I want to talk to you about.”

Deven said, “Sure.”

Roy said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t talk about anything important right now. This place has got ears.”

One of the men stood up. He walked over to the bar. He unfolded a piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the bar. On the paper was a picture of a man. “We are looking for this guy. He robbed a bank and there are reports that he is in the area.”

Roy looked at the circular. “Can I keep the paper?”

“Sure.”

The other man walked over. He tugged at his dick and shook his leg.

Steed looked at the picture. He recognized the man in the picture as Paulstir McCluskey. He worked for Steed’s father. In a knowing smirk, Steed nodded at the man.

Roy pulled a black magic marker from a glass on the bar. Roy took the picture from the man’s hand. In big letters he wrote on the picture. “Bank Robber.” He planned to hang it on the bulletin board on the far wall, at the end of the bar, before the corridor to the bathrooms. Steed took the picture from Roy. He took the magic marker from Roy. He scratched through what Roy had written. He flipped the picture over. On the back of the picture Steed wrote, “Accountant.”

Roy and Deven both looked at what Steed had written. They glanced at Steed and then they stared at the man. They both wondered what the hell was happening.

Steed said, “Paulstir would never rob a bank. The man is afraid of his own shadow.”

“I say he did.”

“I say you are a liar.”

“I could arrest you.”

“I’ve already sent a text message to a hit man. If they don’t hear back from me, you and your friend are dead. I strongly suggest you tell me the real reason you are after Paulstir and then get the fuck out of here.”

“You don’t know who you are messing with.”

“Your boss is Keith Racoon who is the Mayor of Backdoor. You have no jurisdiction in Hearthville are anywhere for that matter. You work for the Mayor but you are not regular police. Why are you after Paulstir McCluskey?”

Both men stared at Steed. One of the men said, “Jess, who the fuck is this little clown who looks like he crawled out of a vampire movie?”

The man called Jess said, “Keith Jr., I don’t know. He said, he has already contacted a hit man who will kill us if we try to arrest him.”

The man called Keith Jr. said, “He must be crazy. He is cute though. I bet he has a tight little ass.”

Steed said, “I imagine even a thimble wouldn’t be tight around your little pecker. I am going to ask you one more time why you are pretending Paulster is a bank robber and then if you don’t give me an answer, I am going to beat hell out of you.”

“You and whose army?”

Lilly Bare came into Purple Bird. She looked around. She saw Roy and Deven had scared looks on their faces. She saw Steed was looking angry. Furious. She also realized the place was nearly empty. “What is going on?”

Steed said, “These two clowns out of Backdoor are trying to saying Paulster McCluskie robbed a bank. There is no way he robbed a bank. He is an accountant for my father.”

The man called Jess’ mouth fell open. “Your father is Arthur Ramsey.”

Steed realized there was something odd about the man’s expression when he said that. Steed asked, “Why are you after Paulster McCluskie?”

“Shit. Keith Jr.. Let us get the hell out of here.”

“If Paulster is arrested or killed, you two are dead men. I hope you understand that. If I see any flyer anywhere suggesting Paulster is a bank robber, you two are corpses. Do you understand?”

Steed grabbed a bottle off the bar and broke the bottle against the edge of wooden counter. He grabbed the man called Keith Jr. and flipped him around to point the jagged glass to his throat. Steed asked, “Do you understand?”

The man called Jess said, “Yeah, we understand. The all points bulletin for Paulster will be lifted. There was no bank robbery. It was just a misunderstanding.”

Steed shoved the man called Keith Jr. Into the arms of the man called Jess. “I don’t guess you will tell me what this was all about.”

“Paulster owes Mayor Keith Racoon some money. A gambling debt. We didn’t know that Paulster works for Arthur Ramsey.”

“Liar. You figured out who I am when I said that Paulster works for my father.”

The man called Jess said, “At first we didn’t know.”

“If Paulster says he owes Mr. Raccon money, my father will pay the debt. But you leave Paulster alone.”

The man called Keith Jr. said, “Good enough.”

Steed said, “Get out of here.”

The man called Jess and the man called Keith began walking. The man called Keith reached for a donut off his table near the door. The man called Jess slapped his hand away from the table and they kept walking. They rushed out the door.

Lilly walked over to the bar. She gave Steed a look. “I see your father raised a tough guy. I never realized you could handle yourself so well.”

Steed put the broken bottle in a trash can that Deven had brought around. “No. Victor and Jossette raised a tough guy. My mother and father bullied a scared kid who didn’t have a clue.”

Steed and Deven began to clean up the mess from where Steed had broken the bottle.

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Lilly asked, “Victor?”

“Victor Duddley.”

LIlly said, “I have never met Victor. I have seen him around from time to time but we have never been introduced.” Lilly changed the subject. “I was going to shoot pool with Clyde Jr. And Don but I see they are not here.”

Steed said, “Deven and I were just fixing to head out. I would like to play pool with you some time but I really do need to get out of here.”

“I accept the rain check.”

“Cool.”

With a few towels Deven soaked up the liquor on the bar and the floor.

Roy said, “I will mop it up. Don’t worry about it.” Roy took the towels and tossed them into a bucket that Deven had. “You can go on and leave with Steed.”

Deven said, “Thanks.”

Deven and Steed left.

Lilly sat down on a bar stool. She ordered beer and pretzels. “It looks like your business got ruined today.”

“Yeah. Everyone thought those clowns from Backdoor were state law or someone Daniel had brought in to clean my establishment up.”

Lilly said, “I didn’t realize Steed is tough. He kind of comes across as soft.”

Roy said, “He is a good kid. I only learned today that Arthur Ramsey is his father. That kind of shocked me. Roger Ogelby was in here earlier with Steed. You know, they are cousins.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Until today, I didn’t know. I also didn’t know that Jossette Ogelby is dead. That news kind of broke my heart.”

“Yeah, it was at Jossette’s funeral that Steed’s mom Rachel tried to kill herself. That is how she ended up in the Hearthville Mental Institution.”

Roy said, “Well. But for you, I don’t have any customers so what do you say that you and I shoot some pool.”

“That sounds like a winner. But I must warn you, I am good.”

“Hell yeah. I’ve seen you play.” Roy cleared his throat. “Have I ever thanked you and Johnny for being my first customers.”

“Roy, you never have to thank us for anything. That you are a thorn in the side of our cousin Daniel is thanks enough.”

Roy laughed. “Daniel is a character. But he is a good guy. Nothing like those clowns from Backdoor.”

“Don’t be fooled. Johnny and I love Daniel but he can be something else.”

“I am going to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

“Steed told those Backdoor clowns that he had sent a text message to a hit man and that if he were arrested that the hit man had orders to kill them. Do you think that was a bluff?”

“Probably not.”

“Does that make him a bad guy?”

“Would letting them threaten him and his friend have made him a good guy?”

“I guess not. But to text a hitman! My God!”

Lilly laughed. “I don’t think I could be trusted with my own personal hitman. Bitch just pulled in front of me to beat me to a parking space. Okay. I am calling my hitman. Bitch just entered speedy checkout line with her shopping cart full. Okay. Let me call my hitman.” Lilly laughed.

Roy laughed. “Remind me to never make you or Steed angry.”

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Excerpt:

A man entered the room. His name was Bert Mixby. Bert asked, “Steed, have you been keeping up with your mom’s finances.”

“Not much to keep up with. Aunt Terence helps and dad helps pay the bills here but mom doesn’t have any money.”

Roger felt sure that Rachel did have money. But he kept quiet. He did not want to argue with his cousin.

Bert said, “Well, I found a company called Selmedox Inc. taking money out of my mom’s account. I can’t figure out what the hell the company is or if mom actually owes them money. Regardless, I put a stop to it. Then after I stopped that company from making withdrawals, another subscription type billing began pulling money out of the account. It is called Medocseltech. I stopped it. Just thought I’d let you know. I have no idea if the withdrawals are connected to this hospital or not.”

 

Hearthville Serial 3
What Happened To Victor:
A Paranormal Suspense Gangster Horror

By Charles Peters

Copyright 2019

All Rights Reserved

This Story is Not Free, Purchase For Your Kindle, $2.99

Chapters

Unit Price – e2 – (Paid by Informal Community buying eBooks and making purchases after clicking a link on sayata.net/m/. If you have cookies turned on and the click is tracked then even if it is not the product you clicked on, I will get credit for whatever product you put in shopping cart and purchase. See in top Menu Tip Jar / Content Goals. Also see Shop.)

Chapter 12

Steed and Roger walked into Rachel’s room at the mental hospital. Steed closed the door to the room. Rachel’s room looked more like a bedroom than a room in a hospital. Rachel rested in a white canopy bed with a black and yellow striped canopy above the bed. The blanket on the bed had the picture of a large tiger in its design. Her sheets were black. The bed stands next to the bed were black.

There was music playing. The song was by “Cage The Elephant.” The song was “House of Glass.”

Roger stared at Rachel who seemed to be sleeping. He looked around. He took notice of her open roll top desk and another desk next to it that had a desktop computer situated on it. Roger whispered, “Cool music.”

Nurse Shelby Winters opened the door. She looked at Steed and Roger. She whispered, “Your friend did not sign in.”

Steed said, “Yeah, he did. Roger Ogleby.”

“These dang computers. Sometimes the names get deleted. I have no idea why. I will update the record.”

“First, come on in and talk to me for a minute.”

Nurse Shelby entered the room. “Your mom had a pretty good day. She played Trivia with an imaginary friend. There were times she was fairly lucid and there were other times that she was not.”

Steed said, “Nurse Shelby is Bert’s girlfriend. She was actually a nurse at the Atlanta hospital when Jossette died.”

“Sure. I think I remember you.”

Nurse Shelby said, “It is okay if you don’t. Watching Jossette die was so heart breaking for everyone.”

Roger said, “Yeah.” Roger turned his attention back to the computer in the room. “Is that for the nurses or does Aunt Rachel use the computer?”

Nurse Shelby said, “The nurses’ computer is over there close to the bathroom. The one on the desk is Rachel’s.”

Roger asked, “Does she use it?”

Steed said, “At times she is fairly lucid. She plays games on it.”

Nurse Shelby said, “And sometimes she goes to look at chaturbate models doing what they do there.”

Steed and Roger both laughed. In unison they said, “I wonder if she watches Deven.” They laughed again.

Nurse Shelby cocked her head. “Are you talking about Deven Raven? I go to church with him.”

Steed said, “Please do not cause him any problems.”

“No. Of course not.” Nurse Shelby did a motion like she was zipping her lips. “He is a sweet heart. I would never intentionally cause him trouble. But now his girlfriend is a bitch. I hate her with a passion.”

Steed said, “They broke up because I did something bad.”

“What?”

“She was using Deven. She was being mean to him. And he would not listen to Victor or Judy.”

“I know what you are saying.”

“So I told her that he does a cam show on chaturbate. I also told her where he lives. He lives at the Hearthville Lake View Trailer Park which is the same trailer park where I live. That was enough to cause her to dump him. So basically I broke them up.”

Nurse Shelby said, “Well, we will see if we can find him a nice girl.”

Roger said, “One who likes chaturbate?”

Nurse Shelby laughed. “Other than Trish, as I now understand, who doesn’t like chaturbate?”

Roger laughed.

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Nurse Shelby said, “I’ve got to get the computer record right and then I’ve got to start my rounds. Roger, it is was really nice seeing you again. Tell your parents hey. I have not seen Terence in forever and I was not on duty the last time or two that Lawrence visited Rachel.”

“I will tell them that you said hey. It was good seeing you.”

Nurse Shelby left the room.

Roger and Steed sat down. Rachel seemed to be sleeping. Steed started to wake her but Roger stopped him. We can just sit here and talk until she wakes. I have heard father say she gets less agitated if she wakes on her own.”

“That is true.”

A man entered the room. His name was Bert Mixby. Bert asked, “Steed, have you been keeping up with your mom’s finances.”

“Not much to keep up with. Aunt Terence helps and dad helps pay the bills here but mom doesn’t have any money.”

Roger felt sure that Rachel did have money. But he kept quiet. He did not want to argue with his cousin.

Bert said, “Well, I found a company called Selmedox Inc. taking money out of my mom’s account. I can’t figure out what the hell the company is or if mom actually owes them money. Regardless, I put a stop to it. Then after I stopped that company from making withdrawals, another subscription type billing began pulling money out of the account. It is called Medocseltech. I stopped it. Just thought I’d let you know. I have no idea if the withdrawals are connected to this hospital or not.”

Steed said, “I don’t know. Thanks for telling me about it. I will mention it to Aunt Terence and father just in case they come across something similar.”

“So how is your mom doing?”

“About the same. I understand earlier she was playing trivia.”

“Cool. So I am about to take my mom outside. If your mom were awake I thought you might want to join us, but I see she is sleeping.”

“Yeah.”

The music changed. “I’m Only Joking” by the Kongos began to play.

Bert turned to notice Roger was in the room with Steed. He stared at him for a moment and then his mouth fell open wide with a look of surprise. “Oh my word. I have been so rude. I didn’t see you sitting there. You are Roger Ogleby, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I have not seen you in ages. It is so good to see you again.” Bert grabbed Roger’s hand and gave him a firm handshake. “I hope what I have heard is true. I hope you are planning on playing football for Hearthville.”

“I am not sure. My dad and granddad would love it but I am busy in business and I am not even sure college is my thing.”

“Well. You have to do what is best for you. But still. Go Hearthville U.”

Roger laughed. “They are a good team. I am just not sure.”

“Well. It was nice seeing you again. And you two say hey to Stewart for me. I miss our games in the park.”

Roger agreed. “Those were good times. So what are you doing now?”

Bert said, “I work in public relations for Dirk Stowe and I wrestle some when I am in shape and in practice but training is a lot of work and I am lazy. All considering, Dirk has been good to me. I take some classes out at Hearthville but I am not going full time.”

“You are good at football. You are not going to try out for the team?”

“My grades are not that great even with the low number of classes I take. And like I said, I like working for Dirk and Sandy Stowe. Besides wrestling they handle some racing teams at the mud track. I’ve done that some. Working for them is a hoot.”

Steed said, “And Bert does a lot to take care of his mother.”

“Yeah, she is my priority.”

“Understood.”

“Well, it was really good seeing you again. I didn’t see you sitting there to start and then I had to do a double take. You’ve changed some.”

Roger said, “I am not quite as skinny. I didn’t place you right off either, but I remember you were a good football player when we played in the park.”

Bert said, “Oh yeah, I thought I was just as good as you and Stewart but of course I wasn’t. I wanted to be. Then I saw the fun Victor was having with his gang of goof-offs. They were funny. Such nerds and misfits. I enjoyed playing with them and that kind of changed my attitude. I was able to step back and I realized me taking the game too seriously was silly. I realized my limitations. Hell, Victor was a better player than me.”

Steed said, “Yeah. That is who I played with mostly. Don’t sell Victor short. He was actually pretty good. And so were you.”

“Oh, I know. I remember when you would come and stay with your granddad and play with us. You kind of idolized Victor.”

“True. I did. And now I don’t understand why Victor doesn’t remember me. It bugs the hell out of me.”

Bert said, “Well. Sam said he practically had a nervous breakdown after Jossette died. But in fairness you look a lot different from when you were that little nerd playing football in the park with Victor. I only realized who you are because of your mom and a nurse told me that you are her son. I almost didn’t recognize Roger either. But yeah, Victor changed when Jossette died. He became more reclusive. His main outlet became working on cars with Sam and Sally. Sam told me that there was awhile there Victor struggled to stay in focus on what he was doing. And knowing how brilliant Victor is, that worried his father. Sam says Victor is doing better though at times when he starts talking about Jossette he will take off running. Sam guesses that he does that so he can cry in private.”

Roger had to fight back his own tears. He said, “I didn’t even know that Victor was at the funeral, much less that he took her death so hard.”

Bert said, “Yeah. I remember watching them and thinking that if ever two souls were one, it was Victor and Jossette. I don’t know why they parted ways but he took her death really hard. Do you know that most of the town does not even know she is dead. Stewart and Judy don’t know. I started to tell them but Victor told me not to tell them.”

Roger said, “I guess to most people that would seem odd, but I don’t want her death to feel real either. I still have her picture and phone number on my phone. When I run into people who don’t know Jossette is dead, I can’t bring myself to tell them. I know to some people that might seem weird.”

Bert said, “I will be honest, when Sam told me about Jossette dying and Victor trying to kill himself, I had to get somewhere and cry in private. It broke my heart. So no, it is not weird. It is upsetting but you can not spend your entire life crying, so you deal with it the best way you can. A lot of people don’t know that mom is here. I don’t tell them. It is not that I am ashamed or anything. I just see no reason to tell them. Of course, I am not dating them.”

Steed laughed. “Shut up. I know what you are saying. I just don’t want to have that conversation with Judy yet.”

Roger sniffled but didn’t say anything.

Bert nodded. “It is none of my business. I will not tell her who you are, but at some point you are going to bump into someone who knows who you are. Anyways. See you. I need to get back to mom. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Bert left.

The music changed. “Forever & Ever More” by Nothing But Thieves began to play.

Roger took a deep breath and composed himself. He said, “Bert is a good guy.”

“Oh yeah. He and his girlfriend Shelby are nice.”

“You know, I think Shelby was friends with Jossette even before Jossette got sick. I could be wrong on that. I was not really close to some of Jossette’s friends, but I am thinking Shelby was one of them.”

“I think you are right. But Shelby didn’t grow up here in Hearthville. She grew up around Atlanta. Shelby has never told me that she knew Jossette before Jossette got sick but I think you are right. Though I have never questioned Shelby about it.”

Roger looked at his Aunt Rachel. He stood up and kissed her on the forehead. He whispered, not intending to wake her. “When you get better, I am going to make you go to a Falcon’s game.”

Rachel opened her eyes. She took Roger’s hand. “I would like that. We could bring Steed and Victor with us.”

Roger smiled. He nodded.

Steed stared at his mom. Her mentioning Victor surprised him. “I thought you hated Victor.”

“No.” Rachel said, “I was crazy that day. Rita and I were bewitched.” Rachel looked around. “I am crazy most days. I belong in here.”

Roger said, “You are going to get better.”

Rachel closed her eyes. She whispered, “Jossette has told me how much in love with Stewart you are.”

Roger turned a bright red. “No. We were just friends. But we don’t even talk any more.”

Rachel whispered. “You will talk again. You will love again. It will be good.”

Roger laughed. “Not with Stewart. I don’t think so.”

Rachel said, “You know I once had a lesbian affair. She was just a crazy bitch using me and trying to steal from Arthur. But Stewart is a good boy. And Victor is a good boy. I was just crazy and bewitched by the warlock.”

Steed puzzled on what he should say.

Roger took his aunt’s hand. “What warlock?”

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Rachel said, “Just the talk of a kooky woman.” Rachel turned to Steed. “Jossette wanted me to warn you about two men. You must be tough. Don’t show weakness.”

The music changed. “Broken Machine,” by Nothing But Thieves began to play.

Rachel turned over. “I am just a broken machine.”

There were moments of silence.

Roger said, “I want to visit you more. I will come back, if that is okay.”

Rachel whispered, “Of course it is okay. Bye.” Rachel began to snore.

Roger took a deep breath. He and Steed left Rachel’s room and began their walk to the elevator. Roger said, “I have goosebumps. I feel chills. And I feel confused. What happened that I don’t know about?”

Steed said, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Roger nodded. “Later. Sure. But I am going to ask. Why did you think Aunt Rachel hates Victor?”

“Later.”

“Okay.”

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