They were at Dwayne's house the next Saturday afternoon. "Dwayne, I think I have finally solved the whole 'Tragedy Town' story. Do you want to hear?"
"Well, I had thought about making love with you all day, but if you'd rather talk about crime..."
"Dwayne Hayden, that is a mean choice for me to have to make! Nevertheless, this time I have to pick crime." She stopped for a moment. "Of course, we might be able to do both."
Dwayne came over to the couch, and sat by her. "Then, let's get this 'Tragedy Town' stuff out of the way quickly."
"Well, I don't know how quickly I can do it. Also, although I'm sure I'm right on all of this, it isn't something that Mr. Gumbrel could print in the paper, because of lack of proof. Sam probably wouldn't accept it, for the same reason."
"Well, I know you've been a master crime solver since you were 12 - you may have been born one - so fire away. I will ask questions as you go, if I have any."
"Okay. Well, we start with the murder of little Mary-Evelyn Devereau by her sisters, Isabel and Elizabeth. I don't know how this case is treated in the police files - since they didn't even know there was a crime before 'yours truly' uncovered it - but there's no doubt that Elizabeth strangled her, and the three sisters dumped her body in a leaky row boat. I've been thinking that the motive was that Mary-Evelyn was the daughter of Elizabeth, who had been made pregnant by a man that both girls wanted. Neither of them got him, and the little girl just proved to be a constant reminder of all that. It would have been the first indication - at least, that we know of - of how weird and crazy the whole Devereau family was. Now, I think maybe it was an accident - that Elizabeth got angry, and it went too far. Then, the sisters tried to cover it up by making it look like a drowning."
"That makes sense."
"Okay, next was the murder of Rose Queen. We know that Rose was killed by her daughter, Fern, but that Ben Queen, Fern's father, confessed to the crime, so their daughter wouldn't end up in jail. Supposedly - and whether Ben or Fern did the killing - the motive was supposed to be an argument over putting Fern in an institution. That never made sense to me. Here's what I think happened.
"Rose's father was Albert Souder, first husband of Rose's mother. Rose's mother later married Ralph Slade, and then a Devereau, Elizabeth's and Isabel's father. That's how Rose eventually 'became' a Devereau, a half-sister. She was quite a bit younger than them.
"Here's where the story gets complicated, but also makes later events clearer. Rose's mother presumably had a child with Ralph Slade. It would have been 13 or 14 years after she had Rose, which I guess is possible. However, the child - Morris Slade - wasn't Rose's brother. He was her son."
"Whoa, hold up there a minute. How did Morris become Rose's son?"
"Louise Landis told me. She knew it from Ben Queen. Ralph Slade molested his step-daughter, and she became pregnant with Morris. Rose was only about 13 at the time. Slade was known to be a 'drinker' and not a very reputable person. Therefore, people wondered why, when Rose's mother divorced him, Ralph Slade was given custody of Morris. I think it's clear that she wanted nothing to do with the baby who was the result of her daughter being raped by her husband. Morris told me that he hated his father, and that's why he named his son after his grandfather, Raphael - Fey, for short - not after Ralph. I thought it was because he had learned that Rose was not his sister. Now, I'm thinking he didn't know that until long after, and the 'hate' was just because his father was a mean drunk, who made his life miserable."
"Okay. That's a shocker, but that does seem right. So, how does this relate to later happenings?"
"We know Ben took Rose away from the Devereau household. Everybody assumed that they ran off because the Devereaus didn't like Ben very much. It was a very weird household, so that was probably true.
"Ben and Rose had their own baby, Fern, and I guess things went okay as she was growing up. Somewhere along the line - and I don't know exactly what went on - they became concerned about her stability, and they started thinking about putting her in an institution. One thing that worried them was that - like almost every girl and woman in the county - she became obsessed with Morris Slade. They had another worry, of course, and that was she was Morris' sister. Neither she nor Morris knew that, and so when Morris was making his rounds of every willing female in the area, they eventually got together. I think the argument that led to Fern killing Rose was about Morris, maybe that she was already pregnant by him. Maybe it was just Rose interfering with what Fern wanted.
"Morris had a wife by this time, Imogen Woodruff, but that apparently didn't slow him down with other women. He and Imogen became pregnant about the same time Fern did. The story gets a little confusing, here. I remember deciding that Imogen was not Fey's mother, but I can't remember why I first thought that. Later, I asked Ben Queen, and he said it was true. Imogen didn't give birth to Fey."
"Hold on, again, Em. Did she know that? I mean, doesn't a woman know if she gave birth to a son? Why would she have gone along with it?"
"She didn't know, at first. I think that Imogen's baby was stillborn. Everybody says that, in addition to being a 'playboy,' Morris was quite a gambler, and risk taker. With Fern giving birth to an unwanted baby at the same time as Imogen was delivering, he somehow convinced the nurses to give Fey to Imogen, of course not telling her he was a substitute for her dead baby."
"That sounds impossible, Em. Would a hospital do something like that?"
"Certainly not officially, but Morris was a charmer, and Imogen's family name - Woodruff - carried a lot of weight. I assume that Morris came up with a story about how hard it would be on poor Imogen to know she'd lost her baby. Fern didn't want a child, so Morris just made it happen.
"Imogen found out pretty quickly about the switch. I don't know if she ever knew it was Fern's baby, but she was crazy mad at Morris. You remember when the Slade baby was believed kidnapped from the Hotel Rouen? He never was. Imogen had arranged for someone to take Fey, and leave him somewhere to die in the woods. The man who took him crashed his car and died, but Fey survived, and was adopted by a couple in Philadelphia. Morris wasn't involved, and didn't know what happened to Fey."
"Good lord, Em. You know this for sure?"
"I do. Well, Imogen and Morris broke up, and Fey grew up in Philadelphia. Somehow, he learned that his parents abandoned him, and he grew obsessed with making them pay. I don't know how he found out, or how much he knew. He discovered that Imogen was not his mother - he never knew that she was the one who sent him to die! - but he found out who was, and found out about Morris. He killed his mother - Fern..."
"God, that's right. He was Fern's and Morris' baby. So it was Fey who shot her?"
"And nobody suspected him, because nobody around here knew of his existence, or any connection he could have had to Fern.
"I suspect he arranged to meet her, and she was at Mirror Pond when he got there and shot her. I assume he arranged to meet with Morris the same way. Morris didn't even know he was alive, so it must have been quite a shock. They were to meet at Brokedown House - presumably to keep it secret - but Morris told Ben Queen about it. I couldn't figure out why Morris went to see Ben. Maybe by that time he knew he was Rose's son, which would make Ben sort of his step-father.. Anyway, Ben didn't like the idea of Morris meeting with Fey alone, followed them, and ended up shooting Fey to save Morris' life.
"So, once again, Ben was the scapegoat, and got another prison sentence, for saving a man's life - manslaughter! Morris was cleared of any charges. Imogen - the real villain in this particular part of the story - probably isn't even mentioned in any police reports. The person she hired to kill or abandon Fey was dead, and Imogen's father would have made sure that the Woodruff name didn't get any bad publicity."
Dwayne looked at her with what was clearly love, but also something close to awe. "Em, you are a wonder! You really brought it all together. I don't think there are many who could have done that."
She gave him a smile of pure appreciation. "Thank you, but I didn't quite get it all. I was never able to fit The Girl into the puzzle. Clearly, she goes in the family somewhere. She was a mirror image of Rose Queen, she was at the Devereau house at least twice, and Ben Queen either knew her, or knew where she'd come from. He didn't want her involved in any of the Devereau-Queen business, and asked me to forget I'd seen her."
Dwayne got a big grin on his face. "I think I can make a pretty good stab at her identity. If the stories of Morris are even partially true, a lot of girls and women spent up close and personal time with him. With the nature of his liaisons, I doubt he spent a lot of time worrying about birth control. A Morris child could look a lot like a Rose child. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a number of Rose look-alikes, scattered along the route of Morris' amorous travels. Your Girl may have been one whose mother finally told her who her father was, or she knew and had come to the area to learn something about her family history."
Emma just stared at him. "That thought never crossed my mind!"
"Em, when you were 12 year's old, you probably had no idea what people implied when they called Morris a 'playboy.' You probably still thought the Stork brought babies."
She stuck her tongue out at him, but then looked serious. "I'm not sure I even knew about the Stork at that age. I know I had no idea what people were talking about when they mentioned 'sex' - which they tried hard not to do around my 12-year old ears."
Dwayne got up off the couch, and held out his hand. "Well, Emma Graham, if we're through talking about crime, perhaps you'd like a lesson in the Facts of Life."
She took his hand, and stood up. "That sounds educational."
***
For her fourth story, Emma switched from "Mel's" wanderings to "Bill's" (her stand-in for Sam) pursuit. She had some trepidations about how she could make this one interesting, because much of it was what you might call "police procedural" - a lot of following clues, without a lot of excitement. Nevertheless, it was necessary to tie the two "searches" together, so she forged ahead.
The one "clue" Bill had to Mel's disappearance was a postcard she sent, telling where she was, and that she was stopping to "look around." However, her planned destination was several hundred miles farther along, so there was no immediate way to know the card's significance. That changed when one of the police stations Bill contacted told him that a local man had asked if there had been any reports of missing women in the area. There hadn't been any, so there was no follow-up. The police station was in the same town where Mel's postcard had been sent!
Bill checked the local bus station, and found Mel's suitcase was still there. He got the address of the man who had made the inquiry, and found that he had been visited by a young friend (Mary, identified in an earlier episode) and an older girl who apparently had amnesia. Bill found Mary - who confirmed that the handwriting on the postcard was identical to that of her amnesiac friend. Mary's trip with Mel had been covered in an earlier column.
Since the girls had followed the few meager clues they had for Mel's abductor, Bill went directly to the place where they had found him. As already reported, the kidnapper had been killed before he gave Mel any information on her origins. With no clues left, Mel seemed to have disappeared. Bill found himself in the same boat, and had to return home for the winter.
He found out later that Mel had been only a few miles from him, working in a diner. The local police had seen a girl matching Bill's description, but they didn't get word to him until the next spring. He raced back to the location, but she had moved on during the winter. One of the other waitresses helped him trace her a little farther along, but then the trail went dead cold, again. He stopped at a motel to collect his thoughts, and try to decide what else he could do. He couldn't think of anything.
Suddenly, in classic Greek style, a deus ex machina dropped into his lap. He had been reading a news story about a meat packing plant fire, when Mel's name seemed to leap from the page,. The company had accused Mel of starting the fire, because she had been involved in some animal rights business at one of their local farms. She had a solid alibi, so was cleared of any investigation. The town where she was living was less than an hour away from Bill's motel.
Next morning, Bill had driven to the town mentioned in the newspaper. Mel had been there, taking care of horses on a local farm (mentioned in an earlier episode), but had moved on just a few day's previous. He followed in the direction she was thought to have gone. A day later, he had caught up with her, as she walked alone along a country road. A major thunderstorm was almost on them, and he offered her a place in his truck. She was hesitant, but he said he would park the truck until the storm passed, and let her hold the keys. She agreed, and climbed in next to him. From only a few feet away, he was looking happily at a face he had longed to see for two years. From the same distance, she looked at what appeared to be a friendly face, but not one that was in any way familiar to her. She had no idea who he was.
***
The episode was much more enthusiastically received than she thought it would be. It seemed like everybody was well into the hunt, now. The cliffhanger ending was a real winner. Now, she had to decide if she was going to write just one more column, or if she was going to extend the series another week, so she would talk more about amnesia. Well, she'd start writing, and see where it took her.
***
Since September was not far away, Emma, Maud and Sam had been talking about Emma going back to school. They had shared a few ideas, but really felt they needed some expert help. Emma arranged for her and Dwayne to visit Louise, to talk about it. Dwayne picked her up after work, they stopped for a quick restaurant meal, then drove to Cold Flat Junction. Louise had coffee, and a little dessert, waiting.
Emma began. "We've been talking about me going back to high school, and also about getting ready for college. I haven't been to school in two years, and my life has been so different, that I'm having trouble with the thought of going back. I'd probably start in 11th grade.
"I've heard that you can take a test, and get a certificate that says you've met the requirements to graduate high school. Is that good for getting into college?"
"Yes, and no," Louise replied. "Most colleges accept the test certificate, but I think most of them prefer a high school diploma. It just seems a better guarantee of what they're looking for in a student. Getting into college these days is somewhat of a competition. Not everybody who applies is going to be accepted. If the school has two applicants who seem pretty much the same overall, they'd probably take the one with the high school diploma. Also, if you're thinking of applying for scholarships, or want to take specialized courses, the diploma is a much better choice."
"Okay, that makes sense. Dwayne thinks I could go direct to the 12th grade if we were just talking about English, and History, and such, but he thinks the math and science in 11th grade may be pretty important to have before trying the 12th grade courses. I've had Algebra and Geometry, of course, but only really basic science - no chemistry or physics or anything like that."
"Well, let's take the basic question of school, first. You haven't been in school, but the life experiences you've had have been pretty mature. Even though 11th graders aren't much different in age than you, I think you may find them pretty immature, and find school in general feeling pretty much like 'kid stuff.' They're still going to be silly teenagers as Seniors, but I think you'll find the environment has a lot more adult feel to it, by then. I'm sure you can handle either, and also keep yourself busy and challenged. I'm just pointing it out.
"Now, about the classes. Dwayne's right about needing the 11th grade math and science before you do the 12th grade. You know, don't you, that you don't have to take most of those classes to graduate? There are plenty of other good electives. You probably should take some of them, if you're thinking about anything in the way of a science career - laboratory research, medicine - I know you've been interested in animals - maybe a veterinarian? Oh, the other thing is that college admissions boards always like to see 'college prep' courses on lists of classes taken.
"Another thought that might be useful: If you didn't want to sit through all the 11th grade stuff that you really don't need, you might consider sitting out this next year, and hiring a tutor for whatever math and science you want to pursue. Then, you'd be more than ready to complete your Senior year."
Emma looked at Dwayne, who nodded. "That sounds interesting. Can we find tutors around here?"
"Oh, sure. There are quite a few retired teachers, and still employed people who might have the time. I still have quite a few contacts around the county. Do you want me to do a little preliminary checking?"
"I think so. Getting back to school, do you think they would let me sit out the year, like that?"
"I don't think there'd be any problem. I'd be glad to go with you to the school board, and help you explain your life experiences the past two years. Your news stories speak for themselves, as far as your writing, research and comprehension skills. No, I think they'd agree, readily."
"Well, okay, let's go in that direction."
"Okay, I'll start some checking. If I may ask, how do you and Dwayne being together fit into the long-term education scheme?"
"Oh, he's just a stand-in, until I find a nice high school or college boy I like better," Emma said.
Dwayne and Louise both smiled at that. "Well, in the long run," said Dwayne, "I'd like to be able to see her every day for the rest of our lives. Despite her last comment, I'm fairly confident she feels the same. However, in the real world, people do go off to college, or have to work away from home, or get drafted into the Army. We'd be like any other couple. We'd come up with the best scheme we could. Then, if the relationship was supposed to last, we'd make it last.
"And it will," he finished.
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