Three Finger Cove: The Twins ~ Book Four

Chapter Sixty~Seven

Sheriff's Deputy George Carrillo led the three vehicles over to the hospital. Lt. Fischer, Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne parked in the patient parking spots, while Deputy Carrillo went directly to the Emergency Room entrance.

Mr. Ken and Mr. Dan, along with Mr. Wayne, with the lads following along, caught up with George Carrillo and they all accompanied Matthew into the E.R. Lt. Fischer explained what they were doing there and that Judy Turner, the CPS Director, would be there shortly.

The ER nurse took Matthew into an examination room and asked him to change into a gown, but the boy wouldn't do it. Kyle heard the youngster arguing with the nurse, so he slipped away and went to where Matthew was. Kyle explained to the lad that when he had broken his arm, he was brought to the ER, and there was no one to help him. Kyle offered to help him change into the paper like gown.

The nurse appreciated Kyle coming into the examination room, even though he shouldn't be there. She told the boys she'd be right back, and hoped that Matthew would be changed. Then the nurse walked out.

"Come on, let me help you get into this thing," said Kyle. The twin then had Matthew jump down and start taking his clothes off, down to his briefs. Matthew was somewhat embarrassed, but he was glad there was another boy in the room with him. Kyle then held open the gown for Matthew to get into. It was when the lad tried to put it on like a regular robe that Kyle had to tell him he had to slip his arms in from the front and that was why he knew he needed the help.

While Kyle was helping Matthew, Ms. Judy arrived and she, Lt. Fischer, Deputy Carrillo and Mr. Ken talked about the lad. As they were talking, the doctor came over to them. Mr. Ken recognized the man, Dr. Doug Selwyn, and introduced the people he was with to him.

"Mr. Ken, it has been a long time since I'd last seen you here. How's Collin? Is he here with you?" asked the doctor.

"He was sent to live with his Grandmother, and he is a BMOC (Big Man On Campus) freshman in college now," chuckled Mr. Ken.

"Wow, time sure goes by fast, doesn't it? Ok, how can I help you all tonight?" asked Dr. Selwyn.

Ms. Judy told the doctor about why they were there, and she asked him to do a foster care intake physical with emphasis on the lad's back. While those two talked, Lt. Fischer had pulled his credentials out and then showed them to the doctor and told him about what happened when he touched Matthew's back. Judy said they'd need pictures if there was anything wrong.

While the adults were talking, Robert asked Mr. Wayne if he saw where Kyle went. He then asked his ' brothers' if they knew where Kyle was. The four went looking for the missing twin not thinking to look back in the examination room where Matthew actually was.

When the nurse returned to the room, Matthew was changed and sitting up on the bed. Kyle was still there sitting there on the stool. She smiled at both lads. Then she left, this time to get the doctor.

Dr. Selwyn called the hospital photographer, but since it was a Sunday night, he was only on-call and said it would take him about an hour to get there. The doctor told him to stand by and that he would call him if he was needed to come in. The doctor turned to Ms. Judy and told her, and the three men standing with her, that he was going to start the exam and if there was anything to be photographed it wouldn't change that much in an hour.

The nurse and the doctor walked into the exam room to find the boys exactly like the nurse had left them.

"Son, you can't be in here when we do the exam," said the doctor to Kyle.

"Why? He needs someone he knows so he won't be scared," argued Kyle. "I was here back when I broke my arm, and I know how scary it is when there is no one there that you know. So, I'm staying!" Kyle sat back down on the stool.

The doctor laughed and then introduced himself to the boys and then began talking directly to Matthew. As he talked, he told the lad what he was doing for his examination and the nurse took down the information. The doctor checked the boy's eyes, his ears, his reflexes, and everything else, except the lad's back. He knew that was where the people who brought him in said was probably an area of interest.

Doctor Selwyn had the nurse draw two vials of blood and rush them to the lab. After the woman had left, the doctor told Matthew he had to check all over his body which was why he sent the nurse away. The doctor then checked the boy's chest, arms, legs, back and then he looked at his boy-parts to make sure there was nothing apparently wrong there.

"Son," the doctor said to Kyle. "Can you help me?"

"My names Kyle, and yes, I can help you. What do you want me to do?" said Kyle.

"Kyle, help Matthew, here, take the gown off, so I can check the lad's back," asked the doctor.

"You don't really want to see his back. He's been ... beaten, it looks like. I saw it when I helped him get into his gown," honestly offered Kyle.

The doctor said he understood, but he had to check everything, so he had Kyle slide the gown off the boy's back and the doctor took a look. He saw what Kyle meant, so he asked Kyle to go get the lieutenant. Kyle ran to the front of the long corridor looking for Mr. Dan and his 'dad'.

"Mr. Dan, the doctor, he wants to see you," called out Kyle, when he saw the man he was looking for.

Lt. Fischer and Deputy Carrillo started back to the room, led by Kyle, where the abandoned boy was. Ms. Judy wasn't going to be left out, so she quickly followed along.

"Dad, we couldn't find Kyle and all along he was back there with Matthew," said Robert.

'Dad' Ken smiled at his three boys and told them they would all wait for Kyle to come back from the exam room.

The doctor called the photographer to come in while he waited for Lt. Fischer. He was surprised when three people walked into the room. Ms. Judy saw the question in his eyes, so she reminded him she was the Director of CPS and was going to be the intake caseworker for the night and she needed to see for herself the damage that was done.

Dr. Selwyn slipped the gown off Matthew's back and all three adults winced. Lt. Fischer took out his cell phone and began taking pictures. The doctor objected, but Dan told the man they would only go into their file on the lad, and these and his clearer photos would be used to prosecute whoever had done that.

The doctor then asked Matthew to turn over. The boy was reluctant to do so, because he knew the doctor was going to show them his butt. Kyle saw his friend was scared, but he told him he'd be there for him and it would be okay. Matthew turned over.

Dr. Selwyn slipped the boys briefs down the lad's butt and the three adults saw evidence of old welts and light scarring. Lt. Fischer took some more pictures. When he was finished, Mr. Dan asked the doctor if there was any further evidence of present or past trauma on the boy. The doctor indicated there wasn't anything else he could see, except the blood work, which wasn't back yet.

Doctor Selwyn said he needed to admit the lad and treat him for his welts and scars and observe him overnight for any signs of internal injuries. Judy Turner agreed and she and the two Sheriff's representatives walked back to the front area.

Kyle figured he'd better go too, but he did stop first to tell Matthew that he'd try to get his 'dad' to bring him over to see him tomorrow after school. The two then hugged.

"There's my missing 'son'," teased 'dad' Ken, when Kyle came over to him.

"'Dad', they're going to keep him overnight. I told him I'd try to get you to bring me over to see him tomorrow. Could you? Please?" asked a very serious Kyle.

"Yes, Kyle, I'll bring you over here right after school. You can do your homework after dinner," said 'Dad Ken'.

"Thanks 'dad'. ... 'Dad' ... when Kev and I were talking to Matthew, he told us he hasn't been to school yet this year. He's afraid they'll keep him back if he can't make the work up," revealed Kyle.

Ms. Judy heard that comment and made a note in her folder.

The Lieutenant and the Deputy talked, and it was decided George Carrillo would start the initial investigation. The Deputy would go back and talk to Matthew and gather as much information as he could. He'd then turn it over to the detectives, who would then do the follow-ups and attempt to find the people who did that to the 10 year old boy.

Lt. Fischer wasn't sitting idle. He asked Ken if there were security cameras at Four Corners they could access to see if there was any record of Matthew being dropped off. Ken said there were and they could head over there and he'd retrieve it. But first, he told Dan; he needed to take the boys home.

The boys all wanted to go with him and watch, but 'dad' Ken told them it was getting late and they needed to get ready for bed and try to relax after knowing what happened to Matthew. Mr. Ken then asked Wayne if he could stay with the boys while he and Dan checked the security cameras. They all headed to The Cove and after the boys were out of the vehicles, Mr. Ken and Mr. Dan headed over to Four Corners.

"That sucks!" offered Kyle. "I wanted to see who dropped Matthew off."

When the two men arrived at Four Corners, Mr. Ken's first stop was at the Miniature Golf stand. It was getting late, but they were still open so Mr. Ken let himself in and went to the back of the stand. He checked one camera footage after the other, four in all to see what the cameras recorded from about 9:30 AM through 10:30 AM. Ken told Dan that his manager said he was told the lad arrived around 10. That was when the first manager noticed the lad.

The first camera did show Matthew arriving at the bench, but there was no one with him. Mr. Ken checked the second video feed. There, he and Dan saw Matthew get out of a dark-colored sedan and then the boy went to the passenger side window and talked to a woman the men figured was his mom. The focus wasn't all that good at the distance the camera was looking at, but they could make out the features of the woman. Mr. Ken pulled up the third camera, and they didn't have anything showing Matthew arriving. The fourth camera video was about the same.

Then, Mr. Ken remembered he saw the boy from the Go-Kart Track, so they headed over there to check their cameras. The manager was surprised to see the owner arrive so late at night, but he saw the man was there with a purpose on his face, so he didn't bother him.

Mr. Ken led Dan to the back of the building to where the video camera feeds were located. Mr. Ken sat down and pulled up the first camera's video feed. That one was pointed in the opposite direction, so Ken went to the second camera. They could see the Miniature Golf stand, but it was so far away they couldn't make anything out. The next camera was focused on the street and parking lot and they dismissed that one because it didn't show what they were looking for. The fourth camera was focused on the people in line to watch for pickpockets and trouble makers.

Dan asked Ken if he could get a copy of what they could see from the golf shack, so the two men went back over there so Ken could copy the video. Ken tried to clear the focus some of the two videos that showed Matthew arrive in the car and the woman, but he wasn't too successful because of the distance.

Dan thanked his friend for doing that for him and then Dan said he needed to go to the office and download the pictures he took and then add the videos. The two shook hands and then departed to go their separate ways.

The Cover lads were waiting for their 'dad' to get home. When he arrived back, Mr. Ken thanked Wayne for staying with the boys. He then asked the boy-wrangler if he'd been paid yet. Wayne said he hadn't seen anything in his mail. Ken asked him if he gave his banking information to Mr. Chris. That's when Wayne realized he needed to check his bank statements. He told his boss he'd check tomorrow and let him know. The two shook hands and Wayne departed the estate.

"Dad, did you find any video of Matthew and his mom?" asked Robert, while his 'brothers' looked on.

"Yes, son, Mr. Dan and I found two videos showing Matthew sitting on the bench all day and the time when he arrived. When he arrived the video shows him getting out of a car and then going to talk to a woman before she sent him to go sit on the bench."

"We also went over to the Go-Kart Track to check their videos. The one that showed anything was too far away to make anything out." Mr. Dan went over to his office to download the video and some pictures he took to Matthew's file. The detectives will now take over the investigation.

"So, what have you four been doing while your 'dad' was gone, may I ask?" teased 'Dad' Ken.

"We've been talking about Matthew. I told them what his back and butt looked like 'dad'. It was terrible," said Kyle.

"And why was it you were back there seeing all that, young man?" asked 'dad' Ken.

"Well, I heard him arguing with the nurse about putting that paper gown on, so I went back there to be a friend to him. I told him about when I had my broken arm and they had to put one on me, so I offered to help him get changed. The nurse said I could and when the doctor came in, he wanted me to leave. I told him Matthew needed a friend to be there for him, because no one was there for me when I had my broken arm, so I knew what it was like. The doctor didn't make me leave," explained Kyle.

"That was really nice of you to do that Kyle, but you should have told someone where you were going. Mr. Wayne and your 'brothers' ... they went all around the first floor looking for you. You had them worried when they didn't know here you were. Do you understand what you did wrong, Kyle?" finished a straight-faced 'Dad Ken'.

Kyle looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He heard what his 'dad' said. He knew his dad was mad, no, that he was disappointed in what he'd done. His 'dad' told him he did really good for being a friend to Matthew, but he messed up by not saying something to him or his 'brothers' as to where he was going. And, he made Mr. Wayne and his 'brothers' look all over trying to find him. He knew he messed up.

"I'm sorry, 'dad', I ... I told you I heard Matthew arguing with the nurse, and I knew he needed someone to be there for him. I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone where I was going. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing 'dad'. I really am sorry and I won't let it happen again," offered Kyle as his apology.

Then, Kyle looked to his 'brothers' and told them he was sorry for making them run around looking for him, and he will tell them where he is going the next time. Kyle then waited for them to say something.

The three lads just stared at him, not saying a word. Then Robert jumped on him, took him down to the floor, and started tickling him. "I looked all over for you and I was afraid someone took you," said the teen, as he tickled the young twin.

Kevin and Charles joined in the ruckus going on the Foyer floor and all four boys were wrestling and trying to tickle one another. After about three minutes of the mayhem, Mr. Ken told them that that was enough and to get up off the floor.

When all four Cover boys were off the floor, Robert looked at Kyle and said, "And let that be a lesson to you. I don't know what lesson that was, but learn from it."

Kyle was flabbergasted at what his older 'brother' just said. He didn't know what to think or say. He was confused, and it showed on his face. It was Charles who told him that was what 'dad' always says when he's trying to make a point. Kyle then laughed and thanked Robert for the 'lesson'.

The Covers went to the Kitchen Nook to get their bedtime snack. They talked some more about Matthew and what it had to be like to be beaten so bad that left marks on his body. Robert then told about his own foster homes and how they used food as punishments. Charles said they did that to him, too. The older lads told the twins that if you don't do what the foster parents want you to do they keep you from eating dinner or breakfast. The twins were astonished at hearing that and said they were real happy Mr. Ken didn't do that.

They cleaned up their mess so Momma Maria wouldn't have to do that in the morning. Then, the lads all headed off to bed.

As the boys headed up to bed, Mr. Ken pulled his son aside. He told him he wanted to talk to him one last time. He told his son he wanted to warn him that because of what was revealed in court about his parents, on Friday, he'll probably hear some very cruel and deep cutting remarks about them and what they should do with him.

Robert said he already figured he'd be the brunt of lots of jokes and tactless words about him and his parents. He told his dad that he'd already heard some disparaging remarks about his being adopted. Robert assured his dad that he would keep his cool, and Eric would make sure of it. The two had a good laugh over that.

When he went to bed, Robert called his big 'brother' Collin, and told him about what happened with his friends. Collin told him that his friends were probably shocked when they heard about his parents and that they didn't know how to react. The much older teen told his younger 'brother' that he had good friends in Eric, Logan and even Cooper who stood up for him and made the others realize that you are a good person.

Robert felt much better after his talk with Collin, and he slept very well that night.

The Covers were all up on time and in the Kitchen Nook having a good breakfast that Momma Maria had prepared for them. They continued to talk some about the adoption and then they moved on to what happened yesterday at the Miniature Golf Course. Momma always listened to what the boys had to say in the morning, and when they came home from school. Most times what they said was broken into pieces and tidbits and only they knew what they were talking about. She never asked them what they were talking about as it was not her business.

After the boys left for school, Mr. Ken told Momma Maria about the old, worn clothes that were in his Study. He asked her if she knew anyone who would need gently worn clothes. Then he laughed. Momma said it would be best to donate them to a charity or a clothes pantry who are always looking for clothes like the boys wear. Mr. Ken thanked her for that information and then headed back to his en suite to get ready for the day.

As soon as Robert got off the school bus, the harassment started. First, it was laughter that Robert's parents were in prison, then some of the kids started to harass him for being adopted. Eric walked with his Best Friend and talked with him to help Robert ignore them.

Brad and the rest of Robert's friends came up to the two Best Friends and told Robert they had his back. The six real good friends walked as a group and were soon joined by Logan, Cody and Josh. The kids kept yelling cruel things about Robert's parents and Robert's friends kept telling the kids to stop being such jerks, and to leave Robert alone as he wasn't the one in jail.

Joanna and Kaelyn and their clique of girls couldn't resist the opportunity to cause Robert some more troubles. They already heard about the blowup at the courthouse with Robert's uncle and what the man said about the teen's parents. They'd talked about it all weekend and they knew they had to act fast.

"Hey, Bobby ... we heard your uncle wanted to stop the adoption, but he was too late. Too bad, too. We also heard he wanted your money. Too bad you don't have any," laughed Joanna.

"Hey, Bobby ... I understand your mom is going to be executed next weekend," laughed the two girls, who were accompanied by Skyler, Nora, Callie and Sarah and who laughed right along with their leaders.

"Yeah, Bobby ... we heard about your dad. That he was given a life sentence ... for having you as his baby," yelled Kaelyn, who broke out in a hard laugh.

Charles didn't have it much easier. Leah got right in his face and called him Charlie and told him he has a jailbird for a brother. She then said it was too bad the kidnappers didn't take Bobby away, then he'd wouldn't have a convict for a brother. Leah and her posse all laughed at Charles and he ignored them.

The twins did get some harassment after they got off the bus, but their friends, who were at The Cove on Saturday, stuck up for them telling the others that his older 'brother', Robert, hadn't done anything wrong. The twin's friends explained they were only staying at The Cove until their parents were out of the hospital and then they'd go back to their real home.

Dan Chassen heard what was being said out in the schoolyard, so he took out his cell phone and turned on the recording function in order to get what the girls were saying to Robert and Charles. He saw a few boys near Kevin and Kyle, but they were mostly the lads who hung out with the twins. He told himself he needn't worry about them.

Joanna and her band of followers were relentless. They followed Robert wherever he went and continued to throw the same insults at him. One girl, Skyler, picked up on what Leah had been saying to Charles, but turned it around some.

"Hey, Robbie, I hear your mom is everyone's girlfriend in jail, now. They say she's the best bitch in the joint," yelled out Skyler, while Joanna and Kaelyn and some of the other girls laughed hard.

Then, Kaelyn continued to throw out more trash. "Hey, Bobby ... I heard your uncle only wanted you because ... he likes young boys!" All the girls laughed at what their girlfriend said.

The girls were persistent as they went after Robert and Charles. No matter where the lads went the girls followed along throwing more and more insults at them. The girls made their insults very personal and directed at Robert who was just adopted by his foster dad. Finally, the first bell rang and everyone had to go into the school to their homeroom assignments.

Robert felt relieved, when that bell rang. He knew he wouldn't have to put up with his nemeses until lunchtime. The trouble with lunch was that there were loads more kids in the cafeteria and they'd hear what Joanna and Kaelyn would say. He knew he'd have no defense, because many of the kids had joined in.

When Chris arrived at The Cove, and before he had the chance to have his first cup of coffee, his boss went looking for him. Mr. Ken told him about the load of clothes lying in the corner in his Study. He asked the Estate Manager to get rid of them before the end of the day. Then walked away.

That type of communication was totally uncharacteristic for his boss, but Chris figured he'd give Mr. Ken some time to settle down before he went and asked him what was wrong. That first cup of coffee didn't taste as good as it usually did to him. He knew something must have gone wrong after the adoption, and he hoped that Mr. Ken wasn't having second thoughts about having Robert as his son.

Mr. Ken was worried about Robert, and what he might have to go through at school that morning. Inside of him, he could feel how he'd like to throttle that uncle for being as crass as he was to reveal a piece of information that hadn't come out since his nephew came to live with him.

Mr. Ken figured Robert's Uncle Johnathan used that piece of information in order to persuade the judge to give his nephew to him. Then, Mr. Ken thought about how much he felt the uncle wanted to get his hands on Robert's money from the liquidation of his parent's estate.

Mr. Ken then remembered to call Wayne to ask him to pick Kyle up at school at 2 PM, and take the twin to his doctor appointment to get his arm looked at. Wayne said he'd have no problem doing that. The two men then talked about what happened at Four Corners the previous night and Mr. Ken told Wayne what he and Dan found on the videos. The owner of The Cove told Wayne what the cameras showed, and that they were disappointed they didn't give them enough coverage of the areas.

Wayne listened to what his boss told him about all eight cameras. It was after Mr. Ken had finished telling Wayne what they saw, that Wayne asked him if he watched the one Go-Kart Track's camera that focused on the street. The boy-wrangler suggested that they might have gotten a better picture of the car as it went past that street facing that Go-Kart camera. Wayne told Mr. Ken they knew what the car looked like and all they needed to do now was watch that camera footage for the particular time and they may have a great lead.

Mr. Ken thanked Wayne for that great thinking and then told the man he wanted to go over there and watch that video and that he'd see him after he brings Kyle home. Mr. Ken reminded Wayne to take his Power of Attorney that gave him authority to be there with Kyle. He also suggested he tell them to make a copy and put it in the lad's medical record. Wayne said he would get that done and see him later. The two then hung up.

Mr. Ken went back to his en suite to pee before he went over to the track to watch that one camera's video again. After he finished draining his dragon, he got his coat and grabbed his keys and rushed out the door.

Mr. Chris watched as his boss rushed through the Kitchen Nook with a determined face. After his boss left, Mr. Chris asked Momma Maria if she knew what that was all about. All Maria could tell him was there was some talk at the breakfast table about what the lad's friends said about Robert's adoption and that another boy was taken to the hospital.

Mr. Chris had no idea what to think. But if what Momma Maria told him was true, then he surmised that Mr. Ken was very concerned about the boy being taken to the hospital and was too focused right now. Chris decided to take care of the clothes and get that small task out of the way before his boss came back.

As Mr. Ken rushed over to the Go-Kart track, he asked himself if he should call Dan. Then, he figured he shouldn't bother the man until he knows what is on the disk. He also began second-guessing himself as to why he didn't think to try to follow the car from the miniature golf course to the track.

When Mr. Ken drove up to the Go-Kart Track, he was greeted by the morning manager who puts gas in all the karts and checks them for damage that needs to be repaired before they can be operated safely. The man asked the owner if there was something he could help him with, but all Mr. Ken told him was that he was there to check out the videotaping system.

Mr. Ken let himself into the building and headed to the video consoles that recorded what the cameras see. He knew which camera he needed, so he immediately turned on that camera's footage. He watched it until he saw a vehicle that matched the description of the vehicle he saw Matthew get out of and talk to the woman. He copied the entire footage from five minutes before to five minutes after.

Mr. Ken also knew he needed a copy of the footage of before Matthew got out of the vehicle to after the car left. With those two camera angles, he figured he could show a continuous loop using the time stamps on both copied footage. But, to accomplish that, he knew he needed to go back to The Cove to use the equipment he had there.

The owner of The Cove rushed into the house from the garage through the Kitchen Nook. He threw his coat down on the floor outside his Study and headed down to the hidden computer storage room where all the estate's camera footage is recorded and editing equipment is located.

Mr. Chris heard the commotion and saw his boss act totally out of character for the man. He followed him down to the hidden computer room and walked in to see what he was doing.

"Mr. Ken ... is there something happening that I need to be aware of? You rushed out of here this morning and you didn't even say good morning to me, so ... so I figured you are either disappointed at my work, or one of the boys is in trouble and you may need my help," said Mr. Chris, as he approached his boss.

"Oh, Chris, sorry about that. I guess I have been a bit gruff this morning. Things happened this weekend that has me thinking about them," said Mr. Ken, without saying anything.

"Ahh, Mr. Ken ... is there something I can do to ... to help you?" asked Chris, in a soft voice.

"No, Chris ... something happened at Four Corners last night and ... well, I am trying to merge two camera angles together to show a timeline progression of events," explained Mr. Ken.

"Can I stay and watch?" asked Chris.

"Sure, why not? You then can tell me if I got the sequencing right," said Mr. Ken.

Chris looked over his boss's shoulder as the man manipulated the video footage from one camera angle into a split screen of a new disk and then the second footage to marry them together. When he was done with what he was doing, Mr. Ken asked Chris what he thought. Mr. Chris told him there was a slight gap in the timeline footage where the car leaves the golf course as it traveled to the track.

Mr. Ken looked back at what he just created and saw what Chris meant. It wasn't a significant gap, but he knew that any defense lawyer could say that they conveniently married two different camera angles to make it look like his client was there.

Mr. Ken then went back and worked his magic and married the two camera footage angles onto a split screen image. This time the screen showed from two minutes before Matthew arrived to two minutes after the car passed the go-kart track's camera. Both images on the screen were time stamped to the exact same one-hundredth of a second. Mr. Chris was impressed.

"I didn't know you could do all that," said Chris.

"Sure can. I took Computer Science in college. I had a minor in it. When I built The Cove, I placed almost 50 cameras through the house and there are 50 additional hookups for expansion. I loved working with computers and when I put in this room, I made sure I could copy and create what I just did. You saw the footage of Kyle falling. Well, I can use the computer in my Study to watch all of the cameras, but to do what I just did I needed the special equipment I have down here."

"When Robert was attacked by Mildred, Judy and I watched all the camera footage, 15 cameras if I remember right. They covered from the time Robert came home until after the detectives left. I made his disk from all those cameras," replied Mr. Ken.

"Has Robert ever seen his footage?" asked Mr. Chris

"Yes. Just before we went to court over the lawsuit Mildred served on me. I showed Robert and his 'brothers' the footage. The twins were impressed by the size of the spoon she used to hit him with and they made Robert show them the real thing," chuckled Mr. Ken.

Mr. Ken and Mr. Chris reexamined the split image footage to make sure it showed what Mr. Ken was attempting. After seeing it for the third time, Mr. Ken declared it good enough to give to Dan. The owner of The Cove straightened out the computer room, followed Mr. Chris out and he locked the room up so no one could gain access.

Mr. Chris told his boss he'd taken care of the clothes from his Study and would drop them off to a charity on his way home. Mr. Ken thanked him for taking care of that, and then told him he'd talk to him later as he needed to call Dan.

Mr. Chris still had no idea what had Mr. Ken so uptight. But the Estate Manager decided Mr. Ken would tell him what was going on eventually, so he went back to his office. He still needed to finalize the Holiday contracts, and he only had a few weeks to get them signed before Thanksgiving. That day was his self-imposed deadline to have everything in place and ready in case something went amiss.

"Dan ... I went back to the track and golf course and downloaded the footage of Matthew arriving and the car passing the track. I put them both together on a split screen with their time stamp running. I think we have a match. You want me to bring it to you or do you want to come over and get it," said a smiling and satisfied Mr. Ken.


All comments are encouraged. You may email Chowhound at: Chowhound