Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
You are assuming that it was Daniel. And that's the stink point. Could have been anyone. And his brother would have to be seriously f'ed up to go after Owen that way.You know the rules: what you can, as you are able.
We free riders on this train can't get impede your RL circumstances.
Of course, knowing what Owen did w/ Daniel's remains would be OK too.
Well we know Derek and Gretchen were upstairs, but we don't know when, in relation to Violet getting up.
One would think the dogs would be making noise if the "kids" were currently involved.
Who were the red shirts in this corner of our tale?
Oh CCG you are good at making us squirm!!
One would think the dogs would be making noise if the "kids" were currently involved.
Who were the red shirts in this corner of our tale?
Oh CCG you are good at making us squirm!!
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
I'll guess wrong so, as its pretty nice again tonight, I'm going to load a meer w/ some replica Dunhill 965 (can't come close to affording an aged tin of the real thing) charge a glass & retire to the balcony for a bit.
I'm sure sometime in the next day or so, light will shine forth on this knotty little issue; all will be revealed in good time.
I'm sure sometime in the next day or so, light will shine forth on this knotty little issue; all will be revealed in good time.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Later, in the Garage
The mood at the evening meal reminded Violet of the formal dinner at the military school. It was the night before the enquiry to decide if she would get kicked out. She was sitting across from her father in his finest mess dress uniform who was working hard trying to act like nothing happened. He was ignoring her swollen face and blackened eye, trying not to look at her because he was upset about her getting into a fight and possibly getting thrown out. She was disappointed in herself that night long ago. She lost her temper and let him down.
It had the same tense feeling. As the real adults tried to act like nothing happened, making a point not to mention Daniel’s swollen nose and cheek. Everyone tried to play along but like the proverbial elephant in the room, it could not be ignored. They all knew it would have to be talked about but it would be just the three of them alone, without the kids.
The kids. That was a problem. They were trying to hide their animosity towards each other. They did not talk to each other; no food was passed among them only dirty looks. Good thing the adults were there to move the food around or someone might have gone a bit hungry.
Daniel finished eating. Pushing his plate away, he got up from table and left the table, never asking to be excused. He left the kitchen without a word instead giving everyone the nastiest glare he could muster up.
Owen started to get up and call him back. He was stopped by Violet’s hand on his arm. She did not want him to start a problem at the dinner table or make things worse. She hoped by letting Daniel go, the he would find a quiet place to think about what he did, maybe even work out a way to say he was sorry. The kids needed the opportunity to work it out among themselves.
Owen knew different. It wasn’t going to happen but he gave into Violet and sat back down
Once again, everyone tried to ignore what was going on, finishing their meals in silence figuring it was best to get done quickly and away from this uncomfortable situation.
It did not take long for everyone to start clearing the dinner table and cleaning up the kitchen of the cooking mess. It became chaos as Owen bumped into Violet not knowing yet where things went, Derick ran into Veronica and Gretchen purposely started to trip over the dogs.
Gretchen put on her most frustrated face proclaiming, “There are enough bodies in here. I’m going to take the dogs out to get them out of the way so at least no one else will trip on them. Senshi, Onna.” Obediently the dogs followed Gretchen out of the kitchen down into the garage.
In the Basement
Daniel heard the sound of the dogs on the stairway and figured the meal must be over. He needed to go back upstairs to get his pad he left on the couch. Hopefully everyone was busy so he could just come back down and ‘not cause problems’. Besides, he had some planning to do.
Daniel came up the stairs into the garage. As he turned to go up the stairs into the kitchen, he felt something slip around his neck and jerk him backwards. His hands flew to his neck. The rope jerked him backwards and upwards until his toes barely reached the ground. He fought to loosen the rope, to no avail. A person came into his dimming vision, it was Gretchen.
“If you ever touch me again, I will hurt you so bad, the beating my brother gave you will look like mercy. You put your ****ing fingers on my crotch again, I will hang you up on this hook and skin you while you’re still breathing.” She punched him in his broken nose, restarting the blood fountain.
The rope released. Daniel fell to the floor, gasping for breath. As his vision returned, he could see Gretchen’s lithe form walking to the stairs, a long thin naked blade in her hand.
A Tense Evening
It did not take long before Gretchen returned with the dogs. She was a bit shaken by what had happened, by what she did, but she tried to not let it show. Rushing past Derick and Violet finishing up in the kitchen, she raced toward her room with Onna close behind. This concerned Derick.
“I am tired I think I will go to bed” Derick said as he excused himself to go to his room. He really hoped to find out what was wrong with his sister.
Violet joined Veronica in the den after Derek and Gretchen went to bed. She passed Owen headed the other way.
“I know you want them to work it out, but I still want to know what happened. Maybe Daniel will tell me.” Owen said as he went past Violet.
Violet just shook her head as he walked on.
Coming into the den, she found Veronica grabbing a bottle of Scotch off the shelf, along with some of the good crystal. She looked around. Lying next to Veronica’s chair was Senshi.
Veronica saw the look and chuckled.
“I know, Violet. They seem damned determined to make me like and accept them. I have to admit, its working. If I know they are there, I don’t get as startled by them when I see them anymore.”
“You will be fine. They are a lot easier to figure out than people, especially these two.” Violet grinned.
“I don’t know what went down, but I know it’s not a good idea for someone to mess with Gretchen when Derek is around.” Veronica said as she poured some into the crystal bar glasses for both of them.
“I don’t know. I kind of got the impression there was more to it, but neither will talk about it yet.” Violet sat back in the recliner.
“Well, they better work it out before we have to get into the middle of it.” Veronica put her nose over the scotch and breathed in its peaty aroma. This reminded her to see if there was any left at the Class Six on base.
“We better get with Owen in the morning and hash this all out. A wagon train style road trip to the middle of nowhere isn’t the best place to have people at one another’s throats.” Violet sounded more concerned than Veronica expected.
“Thank God the dogs weren’t with them. Depending on how it started, it could have gotten really bloody very quickly.” Veronica shuddered as she considered her own words.
Violet reached down and scratched Senshi’s head, thinking of this sweet little ball of fur unleashed into his fully protective mode. She had wrestled and played tug of war with him in the backyard. She knew how massively powerful he could be. And if he was there, Onna would be as well. If they felt they were protecting Derek or, heaven forbid, Gretchen…
Deep in the Night
Veronica woke up. There was something wrong. The first thing she noticed was movement on her bed. Someone was on it. Correction, something. She could see the shape of one of the dogs, it was Onna.
Onna was on the end of the bed. She was alternatingly sitting on the end of the bed facing the door and turning tight circles on the bed. Whenever she was facing the door, her ears were at full attention and every now and then, a little whine came out. When she would turn her circles, she would pause when her eyes crossed Veronica’s.
Across the Hall
Derek woke up feeling someone climb into his bed.
“Derek, something’s wrong!” It was Gretchen. Senshi joined them on the bed.
“What do you mean, something’s wrong?” Derek tried to wipe the grit from his eyes.
“Senshi woke me up. He kept pawing at my arm until I got up, then he came this way.”
Derek looked at Gretchen, now that his eyes seemed to be working, he saw she had her pants in her hands, complete with belt and holstered pistol. Part of him thought it melodramatic. Then he remembered mom and dad.
“Let’s get dressed. I don’t like the feel of this.”
In Violet’s Bedroom
Violet woke up. She wasn’t sure why. She did that sometimes. When she woke up, she just knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. She threw on shorts and a tank top wandering down the hall to the kitchen. The house was quiet. Then again, this house was always quiet. You could have a gunfight in one of the bathrooms without disturbing the person in the bedroom there was so much sound deadening in the walls along with the super insulation.
In the kitchen, she could see the wind outside was whipping things around. She could hear it howling in gusts as it rearranged the snow in the backyard. She put water on for coffee. After she got it started, she looked around. She had expected the dogs to come investigate.
Violet started feeling off…The last time she felt like this, a rocket hit the tent next to hers downrange.
Later
Violet sipped her coffee as she stood in the kitchen trying to get a handle on her feeling. She could still feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up. It has been almost an hour since she woke up. It just wouldn’t go away. The weather radio on the counter told her it wasn’t much of a winter storm. The wind has died down, so that wasn’t it. Everyone else was asleep. It was only her wigging out, she figured.
She heard noise on the steps leading into the garage. She looked down at her hand. The coffee cup was gone and a twelve inch chef knife was in its place. She didn’t remember doing that.
The doorknob turned. When the door opened, she saw Owen standing there. He looked like he had just gone three rounds with Mike Tyson. His lip was swollen and bleeding. His face was wet with sweat or tears. His torn shirt had smears of blood across the front. His eyes looked empty and hollow, like two piss holes in the snow. He moved stiffly, like every movement was a struggle.
“I had to. It was all my fault.” He said as he stumbled and fell onto the floor.
Dawn
Sunrise saw Derek and Gretchen headed to the base with Senshi and Onna. Veronica had them get dressed , grab their gear and go meet up with Bron at the base golf course to do some snowshoe practice. Felicia was going to join them and take over. Veronica needed Bron to work another matter, off the books.
When Derek and Gretchen asked why no one else was coming, Veronica invoked the ‘just trust me and obey‘ clause.
With them out of the way, she could get down to the serious problem at hand with Owen.
The mood at the evening meal reminded Violet of the formal dinner at the military school. It was the night before the enquiry to decide if she would get kicked out. She was sitting across from her father in his finest mess dress uniform who was working hard trying to act like nothing happened. He was ignoring her swollen face and blackened eye, trying not to look at her because he was upset about her getting into a fight and possibly getting thrown out. She was disappointed in herself that night long ago. She lost her temper and let him down.
It had the same tense feeling. As the real adults tried to act like nothing happened, making a point not to mention Daniel’s swollen nose and cheek. Everyone tried to play along but like the proverbial elephant in the room, it could not be ignored. They all knew it would have to be talked about but it would be just the three of them alone, without the kids.
The kids. That was a problem. They were trying to hide their animosity towards each other. They did not talk to each other; no food was passed among them only dirty looks. Good thing the adults were there to move the food around or someone might have gone a bit hungry.
Daniel finished eating. Pushing his plate away, he got up from table and left the table, never asking to be excused. He left the kitchen without a word instead giving everyone the nastiest glare he could muster up.
Owen started to get up and call him back. He was stopped by Violet’s hand on his arm. She did not want him to start a problem at the dinner table or make things worse. She hoped by letting Daniel go, the he would find a quiet place to think about what he did, maybe even work out a way to say he was sorry. The kids needed the opportunity to work it out among themselves.
Owen knew different. It wasn’t going to happen but he gave into Violet and sat back down
Once again, everyone tried to ignore what was going on, finishing their meals in silence figuring it was best to get done quickly and away from this uncomfortable situation.
It did not take long for everyone to start clearing the dinner table and cleaning up the kitchen of the cooking mess. It became chaos as Owen bumped into Violet not knowing yet where things went, Derick ran into Veronica and Gretchen purposely started to trip over the dogs.
Gretchen put on her most frustrated face proclaiming, “There are enough bodies in here. I’m going to take the dogs out to get them out of the way so at least no one else will trip on them. Senshi, Onna.” Obediently the dogs followed Gretchen out of the kitchen down into the garage.
In the Basement
Daniel heard the sound of the dogs on the stairway and figured the meal must be over. He needed to go back upstairs to get his pad he left on the couch. Hopefully everyone was busy so he could just come back down and ‘not cause problems’. Besides, he had some planning to do.
Daniel came up the stairs into the garage. As he turned to go up the stairs into the kitchen, he felt something slip around his neck and jerk him backwards. His hands flew to his neck. The rope jerked him backwards and upwards until his toes barely reached the ground. He fought to loosen the rope, to no avail. A person came into his dimming vision, it was Gretchen.
“If you ever touch me again, I will hurt you so bad, the beating my brother gave you will look like mercy. You put your ****ing fingers on my crotch again, I will hang you up on this hook and skin you while you’re still breathing.” She punched him in his broken nose, restarting the blood fountain.
The rope released. Daniel fell to the floor, gasping for breath. As his vision returned, he could see Gretchen’s lithe form walking to the stairs, a long thin naked blade in her hand.
A Tense Evening
It did not take long before Gretchen returned with the dogs. She was a bit shaken by what had happened, by what she did, but she tried to not let it show. Rushing past Derick and Violet finishing up in the kitchen, she raced toward her room with Onna close behind. This concerned Derick.
“I am tired I think I will go to bed” Derick said as he excused himself to go to his room. He really hoped to find out what was wrong with his sister.
Violet joined Veronica in the den after Derek and Gretchen went to bed. She passed Owen headed the other way.
“I know you want them to work it out, but I still want to know what happened. Maybe Daniel will tell me.” Owen said as he went past Violet.
Violet just shook her head as he walked on.
Coming into the den, she found Veronica grabbing a bottle of Scotch off the shelf, along with some of the good crystal. She looked around. Lying next to Veronica’s chair was Senshi.
Veronica saw the look and chuckled.
“I know, Violet. They seem damned determined to make me like and accept them. I have to admit, its working. If I know they are there, I don’t get as startled by them when I see them anymore.”
“You will be fine. They are a lot easier to figure out than people, especially these two.” Violet grinned.
“I don’t know what went down, but I know it’s not a good idea for someone to mess with Gretchen when Derek is around.” Veronica said as she poured some into the crystal bar glasses for both of them.
“I don’t know. I kind of got the impression there was more to it, but neither will talk about it yet.” Violet sat back in the recliner.
“Well, they better work it out before we have to get into the middle of it.” Veronica put her nose over the scotch and breathed in its peaty aroma. This reminded her to see if there was any left at the Class Six on base.
“We better get with Owen in the morning and hash this all out. A wagon train style road trip to the middle of nowhere isn’t the best place to have people at one another’s throats.” Violet sounded more concerned than Veronica expected.
“Thank God the dogs weren’t with them. Depending on how it started, it could have gotten really bloody very quickly.” Veronica shuddered as she considered her own words.
Violet reached down and scratched Senshi’s head, thinking of this sweet little ball of fur unleashed into his fully protective mode. She had wrestled and played tug of war with him in the backyard. She knew how massively powerful he could be. And if he was there, Onna would be as well. If they felt they were protecting Derek or, heaven forbid, Gretchen…
Deep in the Night
Veronica woke up. There was something wrong. The first thing she noticed was movement on her bed. Someone was on it. Correction, something. She could see the shape of one of the dogs, it was Onna.
Onna was on the end of the bed. She was alternatingly sitting on the end of the bed facing the door and turning tight circles on the bed. Whenever she was facing the door, her ears were at full attention and every now and then, a little whine came out. When she would turn her circles, she would pause when her eyes crossed Veronica’s.
Across the Hall
Derek woke up feeling someone climb into his bed.
“Derek, something’s wrong!” It was Gretchen. Senshi joined them on the bed.
“What do you mean, something’s wrong?” Derek tried to wipe the grit from his eyes.
“Senshi woke me up. He kept pawing at my arm until I got up, then he came this way.”
Derek looked at Gretchen, now that his eyes seemed to be working, he saw she had her pants in her hands, complete with belt and holstered pistol. Part of him thought it melodramatic. Then he remembered mom and dad.
“Let’s get dressed. I don’t like the feel of this.”
In Violet’s Bedroom
Violet woke up. She wasn’t sure why. She did that sometimes. When she woke up, she just knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. She threw on shorts and a tank top wandering down the hall to the kitchen. The house was quiet. Then again, this house was always quiet. You could have a gunfight in one of the bathrooms without disturbing the person in the bedroom there was so much sound deadening in the walls along with the super insulation.
In the kitchen, she could see the wind outside was whipping things around. She could hear it howling in gusts as it rearranged the snow in the backyard. She put water on for coffee. After she got it started, she looked around. She had expected the dogs to come investigate.
Violet started feeling off…The last time she felt like this, a rocket hit the tent next to hers downrange.
Later
Violet sipped her coffee as she stood in the kitchen trying to get a handle on her feeling. She could still feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up. It has been almost an hour since she woke up. It just wouldn’t go away. The weather radio on the counter told her it wasn’t much of a winter storm. The wind has died down, so that wasn’t it. Everyone else was asleep. It was only her wigging out, she figured.
She heard noise on the steps leading into the garage. She looked down at her hand. The coffee cup was gone and a twelve inch chef knife was in its place. She didn’t remember doing that.
The doorknob turned. When the door opened, she saw Owen standing there. He looked like he had just gone three rounds with Mike Tyson. His lip was swollen and bleeding. His face was wet with sweat or tears. His torn shirt had smears of blood across the front. His eyes looked empty and hollow, like two piss holes in the snow. He moved stiffly, like every movement was a struggle.
“I had to. It was all my fault.” He said as he stumbled and fell onto the floor.
Dawn
Sunrise saw Derek and Gretchen headed to the base with Senshi and Onna. Veronica had them get dressed , grab their gear and go meet up with Bron at the base golf course to do some snowshoe practice. Felicia was going to join them and take over. Veronica needed Bron to work another matter, off the books.
When Derek and Gretchen asked why no one else was coming, Veronica invoked the ‘just trust me and obey‘ clause.
With them out of the way, she could get down to the serious problem at hand with Owen.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
In the Basement
Violet and Owen were sitting in the living room area of the basement ‘mother-in-law’ apartment. Violet was focusing on letting Owen talk. She didn’t want to change or manipulate anything storywise right now. She was just asking little prompting types of comments like ’what happened next’ and tell me about it’. By keeping her questions short, she could hide the growing sense of horror in her. All the while, she kept an eye on the little audio recorder Veronica had palmed her as she went downstairs with Owen.
It took a bit of work and a few early phone calls, but Veronica got the kids out the door without too many questions. She needed them gone while she worked on this. Part of her brain kept asking her when she was calling the police. She knew she should. There was a dead body in her basement. The other twenty-seven parts worried about all the issues and questions interfering with them heading north to Paige’s. Was she really considering disposing of a body and covering up a murder?
Veronica trusted Violet to keep the basement bottled up until she could get down there. She needed to be methodical. She needed more answers. It was pure reflex and instinct that made her hand Violet the audio recorder. She wanted as much information or evidence depending on what they figured the next course of action to be.
Veronica grabbed her work bag. Digital camera, zip-locks, labels notepads, gloves, everything she needed to start digging into the what the **** event in her basement. When she thought she was ready, she went downstairs.
Violet heard Veronica come down the stairs. She glanced over at her. Veronica motioned for Violet to stay where she was and keep Owen talking. This wasn’t really what she wanted to do, but…
Veronica went into the bedroom Daniel had recently moved into. The first thing she noticed was the smell. Sweat. Blood. Some other funky smell in here as well. Veronica walked along the edge of the room, looking at everything and touching nothing. As she did, she started taking pictures with the digital camera. The base photographer she normally worked with would be proud of all her attention to detail with framing and exposure in her shots.
She was taking all the pictures she wanted first, before anything was moved. Sometimes the exact position or placement of an object on scene can make a huge difference. As the shutter fired again and again, she relived a couple of the training sessions with the photographer, including her candid observation about the camera being a psychological shield between the photographer and the horror on the other side of the lens. Now she was looking at a mental puzzle instead of a horrific death in her own home.
Daniel’s body was sprawled on the floor among debris from the shattered furniture and belongings slung everywhere. Severe signs of a struggle were everywhere. Looking at the body, Veronica’s first thought about actual cause of death was a broken neck, judging by the unnatural angle of Daniel’s head on the floor. Regardless of intent, somewhere in the fight, Daniel got his neck broken. From the tiny blurb Violet told her, it was deliberate.
Violet and Owen were sitting in the living room area of the basement ‘mother-in-law’ apartment. Violet was focusing on letting Owen talk. She didn’t want to change or manipulate anything storywise right now. She was just asking little prompting types of comments like ’what happened next’ and tell me about it’. By keeping her questions short, she could hide the growing sense of horror in her. All the while, she kept an eye on the little audio recorder Veronica had palmed her as she went downstairs with Owen.
It took a bit of work and a few early phone calls, but Veronica got the kids out the door without too many questions. She needed them gone while she worked on this. Part of her brain kept asking her when she was calling the police. She knew she should. There was a dead body in her basement. The other twenty-seven parts worried about all the issues and questions interfering with them heading north to Paige’s. Was she really considering disposing of a body and covering up a murder?
Veronica trusted Violet to keep the basement bottled up until she could get down there. She needed to be methodical. She needed more answers. It was pure reflex and instinct that made her hand Violet the audio recorder. She wanted as much information or evidence depending on what they figured the next course of action to be.
Veronica grabbed her work bag. Digital camera, zip-locks, labels notepads, gloves, everything she needed to start digging into the what the **** event in her basement. When she thought she was ready, she went downstairs.
Violet heard Veronica come down the stairs. She glanced over at her. Veronica motioned for Violet to stay where she was and keep Owen talking. This wasn’t really what she wanted to do, but…
Veronica went into the bedroom Daniel had recently moved into. The first thing she noticed was the smell. Sweat. Blood. Some other funky smell in here as well. Veronica walked along the edge of the room, looking at everything and touching nothing. As she did, she started taking pictures with the digital camera. The base photographer she normally worked with would be proud of all her attention to detail with framing and exposure in her shots.
She was taking all the pictures she wanted first, before anything was moved. Sometimes the exact position or placement of an object on scene can make a huge difference. As the shutter fired again and again, she relived a couple of the training sessions with the photographer, including her candid observation about the camera being a psychological shield between the photographer and the horror on the other side of the lens. Now she was looking at a mental puzzle instead of a horrific death in her own home.
Daniel’s body was sprawled on the floor among debris from the shattered furniture and belongings slung everywhere. Severe signs of a struggle were everywhere. Looking at the body, Veronica’s first thought about actual cause of death was a broken neck, judging by the unnatural angle of Daniel’s head on the floor. Regardless of intent, somewhere in the fight, Daniel got his neck broken. From the tiny blurb Violet told her, it was deliberate.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Well there's one issue 'dealt' with but it leaves a substantially bigger, dirtier one in it's wake. I'm not even going to speculate but I think this next few thousand words is going to be a very interesting little segment: v e r y interesting.
Thank you sir.
Thank you sir.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Body Disposal shouldn't be a huge issue on/near an Advanced Warfare Training base. There's substantial ethical/moral dilemma conversations looming before the mechanics of cleaning up gets on the agenda.....
Temps dropping here tonight so if I'm going out on the balcony it'll probably be with a large mug of Bush Tea.
eta: just went down to get the mail & stuck my head out the door
NO balcony sojourn tonight. Temp dropped about 18-20 degrees & the wind is up.
I'm going to watch the snow, IF we get any, from inside.
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Sportsman
Veteran Member
Okay, I waited all afternoon before begging asking for more. Is it correct to presume that time passes differently, more slowly for authors than it does for readers? What a cliff!
It's late enough, and cold enough for a touch of whisky now. I prefer the Scotish version without the "e" though.
It's late enough, and cold enough for a touch of whisky now. I prefer the Scotish version without the "e" though.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
As long as its a quality beverage, call it/spell it as you see fit.
I gave in & poured a couple of ozs of plain old JD over a couple of rocks, added a dash of Ginger Ale and sipped. DW went to bed early so I might go wild & have another .....
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Out in the Backyard
Violet and Veronica both grabbed the coats from the hooks by the backdoor as Veronica led Violet out into the middle of the wind and snow-filled backyard.
“Couldn’t we have done this in the garage or upstairs, V?” Violet asked, the cold biting into her in the not yet warm jacket.
“No. No one to hear us, no one close to us, no electronics around us. First give me the super condensed thumbnail picture of what happened.” Veronica replied, not enjoying the sudden cold either.
Violet was confused by Veronica’s secrecy all of a sudden, but maybe she was just as on edge like she was.
“OK, V, short answer is Owen killed his brother to protect us. His brother had an escalating series of issues Owen thought he had under control and would grow out of. The Gretchen incident made him think otherwise. I seems Daniel touched Gretchen inappropriately. Owen confronted him downstairs, it escalated, it got physical. Evidently, Owen finally got it out of him that Daniel was trying to figure out how to either kill us in our sleep or burn the house down with us trapped inside.”
Violet stopped talking. The expression on Veronica’s face made her. She knew the horror Veronica was feeling. She herself felt it as Owen described it to her not long ago.
They stood there in the cold saying nothing. Violet could see Veronica’s wheels now turning. Finally Veronica seemed to come to some calculation, some conclusion.
“Here’s the problem, Violet. If we call the cops, even if the killing was in self-defense or not, a bunch of things will happen. First, we won’t be able to go anywhere until the whole mess is concluded in court. Second, we are Gretchen and Derek’s court appointed guardians. Do you think they will let them stay here with us while a murder investigation is ongoing? They will get taken away, shipped to some cookie cutter shelter. Even if they ran away from there, the first place they will look is right back here. They sure as hell wouldn’t be able to take the dogs or the weapons. Never seeing the dogs again would destroy Gretchen. You know how the dogs bond to their people. We would lose all of them, and they will get destroyed in the process.”
Veronica could see all of this was hitting Violet hard. She hadn’t even thought forward to any of this yet. The dogs, those beautiful dogs. Not the dogs!!
“But wait, there’s more. Say we do the unthinkable and cover this up. What about Owen? Does he come with us? Do we leave him behind and if so, where and how. I could maybe get him a job teaching hand to hand out by the range maybe, but what if his conscience makes him finally crack and confess, implicating us in the cover up? This is the part in the movie where the villain says ‘you’re right, do the witnesses’ and decide to kill him too, since covering up 2 murders doesn’t get much more difficult than covering up one.” Veronica saw Violet’s eyes get big as she was taking in what Veronica was saying. She had to continue.
“Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of villain. I say the best bet is to still take him with us. We can keep an eye on him, help him. When we get north, Momma Amber can work at piecing him back together. What we need to do is make the body go away, clean up the mess and have another long talk with Owen.”
“Mom is going to like that! Me bringing another crazy home for her to put back to together. It was bad enough me bringing you home.”
“Get serious” Veronica said as she picked a handful of snow throwing it at Violet.
“I guess I can work with him on the trip too. Maybe getting him back into the Zen stuff will help him. By the way what do we tell the kids?” Violet asked.
“For now as little as possible. I think we stick with ‘Owen talked with Daniel and he’s gone. We will explain more as we get more details from Owen. I say we hold off on most of the explanation until we are on the trip and away from anyone who could use it against us. Do you agree?”
Violet scooped up some snow and rubbed it on her face vigorously.
“How the **** did we get to this point, Veronica?”
“I don’t know, but its swim or drown time. Tell me if my thinking is wrong, Violet. From my calculations, we can either cover things up or destroy a lot of people’s lives over someone already dead.”
“Hell, let’s go talk to Owen.”
Violet and Veronica walked back towards the house as the snow started to fall once again.
Violet and Veronica both grabbed the coats from the hooks by the backdoor as Veronica led Violet out into the middle of the wind and snow-filled backyard.
“Couldn’t we have done this in the garage or upstairs, V?” Violet asked, the cold biting into her in the not yet warm jacket.
“No. No one to hear us, no one close to us, no electronics around us. First give me the super condensed thumbnail picture of what happened.” Veronica replied, not enjoying the sudden cold either.
Violet was confused by Veronica’s secrecy all of a sudden, but maybe she was just as on edge like she was.
“OK, V, short answer is Owen killed his brother to protect us. His brother had an escalating series of issues Owen thought he had under control and would grow out of. The Gretchen incident made him think otherwise. I seems Daniel touched Gretchen inappropriately. Owen confronted him downstairs, it escalated, it got physical. Evidently, Owen finally got it out of him that Daniel was trying to figure out how to either kill us in our sleep or burn the house down with us trapped inside.”
Violet stopped talking. The expression on Veronica’s face made her. She knew the horror Veronica was feeling. She herself felt it as Owen described it to her not long ago.
They stood there in the cold saying nothing. Violet could see Veronica’s wheels now turning. Finally Veronica seemed to come to some calculation, some conclusion.
“Here’s the problem, Violet. If we call the cops, even if the killing was in self-defense or not, a bunch of things will happen. First, we won’t be able to go anywhere until the whole mess is concluded in court. Second, we are Gretchen and Derek’s court appointed guardians. Do you think they will let them stay here with us while a murder investigation is ongoing? They will get taken away, shipped to some cookie cutter shelter. Even if they ran away from there, the first place they will look is right back here. They sure as hell wouldn’t be able to take the dogs or the weapons. Never seeing the dogs again would destroy Gretchen. You know how the dogs bond to their people. We would lose all of them, and they will get destroyed in the process.”
Veronica could see all of this was hitting Violet hard. She hadn’t even thought forward to any of this yet. The dogs, those beautiful dogs. Not the dogs!!
“But wait, there’s more. Say we do the unthinkable and cover this up. What about Owen? Does he come with us? Do we leave him behind and if so, where and how. I could maybe get him a job teaching hand to hand out by the range maybe, but what if his conscience makes him finally crack and confess, implicating us in the cover up? This is the part in the movie where the villain says ‘you’re right, do the witnesses’ and decide to kill him too, since covering up 2 murders doesn’t get much more difficult than covering up one.” Veronica saw Violet’s eyes get big as she was taking in what Veronica was saying. She had to continue.
“Don’t worry, I’m not that kind of villain. I say the best bet is to still take him with us. We can keep an eye on him, help him. When we get north, Momma Amber can work at piecing him back together. What we need to do is make the body go away, clean up the mess and have another long talk with Owen.”
“Mom is going to like that! Me bringing another crazy home for her to put back to together. It was bad enough me bringing you home.”
“Get serious” Veronica said as she picked a handful of snow throwing it at Violet.
“I guess I can work with him on the trip too. Maybe getting him back into the Zen stuff will help him. By the way what do we tell the kids?” Violet asked.
“For now as little as possible. I think we stick with ‘Owen talked with Daniel and he’s gone. We will explain more as we get more details from Owen. I say we hold off on most of the explanation until we are on the trip and away from anyone who could use it against us. Do you agree?”
Violet scooped up some snow and rubbed it on her face vigorously.
“How the **** did we get to this point, Veronica?”
“I don’t know, but its swim or drown time. Tell me if my thinking is wrong, Violet. From my calculations, we can either cover things up or destroy a lot of people’s lives over someone already dead.”
“Hell, let’s go talk to Owen.”
Violet and Veronica walked back towards the house as the snow started to fall once again.
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Shotgun Willy
Contributing Member
I’m concerned about Owen’s decision making, at this point in time.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Family isn't always by blood; many here know that at our core.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Solutions and Problems
The next couple hours were tough. Veronica reviewed the written account, the audio tape and the pictures after talking to Owen. Between all the scattered parts to this tragedy, Veronica pieced together a better picture. It was, after all, her specialty.
Daniel had issues when he was younger. Moving all over the world with two military parents didn’t help his stability. When his father died in a training accident, he went a bit farther. Trouble in school and alienating his friends didn’t make things any better. His older brother had already moved out to go to school when his mother died. Owen didn’t want him to end up in a foster home, so he petitioned the court to let him be his guardian.
Evidently, his parents kept some of Daniel’s antics from Owen, things he found out about later. Between his manipulative nature and his violent and impulsive streak, he was quite the handful. Owen thought working with him in martial arts would help him channel and contain some of his impulsiveness. He was wrong.
Violet recognized some of the things Owen was talking about from the classes at school and the long conversations with her mother. Obsessive-compulsive with violent tendencies, with a touch of sexual predator in the rise. This was reinforced by what they found on his tablet. Stalker type photos, suggestively cropped, of many women, including Violet, Veronica and Gretchen. Bucket loads of straight up violent and degrading porn, including some deep fake style ones of Gretchen were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to disturbing items Owen found and confronted Daniel about.
“I kept telling myself I could steer him right, keep him on the good path. I was wrong. I guess the only way I could look at it as something not horrible is to ask myself if I would feel bad about strangling Ted Bundy as a ten-year-old.” was one of the comments that stuck with Veronica.
The next couple hours were tough. Veronica reviewed the written account, the audio tape and the pictures after talking to Owen. Between all the scattered parts to this tragedy, Veronica pieced together a better picture. It was, after all, her specialty.
Daniel had issues when he was younger. Moving all over the world with two military parents didn’t help his stability. When his father died in a training accident, he went a bit farther. Trouble in school and alienating his friends didn’t make things any better. His older brother had already moved out to go to school when his mother died. Owen didn’t want him to end up in a foster home, so he petitioned the court to let him be his guardian.
Evidently, his parents kept some of Daniel’s antics from Owen, things he found out about later. Between his manipulative nature and his violent and impulsive streak, he was quite the handful. Owen thought working with him in martial arts would help him channel and contain some of his impulsiveness. He was wrong.
Violet recognized some of the things Owen was talking about from the classes at school and the long conversations with her mother. Obsessive-compulsive with violent tendencies, with a touch of sexual predator in the rise. This was reinforced by what they found on his tablet. Stalker type photos, suggestively cropped, of many women, including Violet, Veronica and Gretchen. Bucket loads of straight up violent and degrading porn, including some deep fake style ones of Gretchen were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to disturbing items Owen found and confronted Daniel about.
“I kept telling myself I could steer him right, keep him on the good path. I was wrong. I guess the only way I could look at it as something not horrible is to ask myself if I would feel bad about strangling Ted Bundy as a ten-year-old.” was one of the comments that stuck with Veronica.
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Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
As we know how Bundy turned out, it sounds like an easy call; its not though.
I see lots of furrowed brows over this one but, I think our author is trying to stimulate some moral considerations.
Thank you sir.
Our brain is like the rest of our OEM equipment; if we don't stretch it, make it work, over time it loses some its basic strengths.
Not much danger of that here.
Shotgun Willy
Contributing Member
I was afraid they were going to come back in and find Owen hanging from the light fixture.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The day is young...
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
it depends