The ‘den’ Triplets
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2011 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 24

Oh, What A Night!

 The first person to arrive was Todd‘s brother, Davon.

“Hi Davon, this is quite a surprise.  If you're looking for a space to crash tonight, you’re out of luck.  We just picked up to two new boarders today, and one of them has the chicken pox.”

“I’m not looking for a place to crash.  I need some cool green cash in order to pay the bills or we’re going to lose our pad.”

Todd answered, “Davon, you flat came to the wrong house.  I still haven’t seen the money that you borrowed last time.  Check next door with Aunt Millie, or have you already exhausted that supply, too.  The best thing for you to do is go back to St. Joseph, find a job and then you and Glory need to live within your means.”

“Some brother you are.” Davon sniffed.  He started toward the door as the door bell started to ring.  I went to open it and it was Sheriff Pat Patrick in his uniform.  Boy did Davon take off without even saying hi.  Pat looked at him as Davon exited, “What’s his hurry?  Did he do something wrong?”

Todd answered. “That was my brother.  He was trying to do what he does best.  He was trying to borrow money.  He struck out here.”

Mother directed us to the dining room, “Pat, we haven’t eaten yet. Perhaps you’d like to join us?”

“Nope, I’ve already had dinner.  You’re running a little late tonight.”

I nodded my head in agreement, “One of our visitors has come down with the chicken pox.  We were trying to stop the pox from itching.  Why don’t you sit with us until Gene Sunday, from CPS, gets here?”

“I’m surprised that he’s coming today since the CPS people had a family of six children dumped on their laps today.  They were having a difficult time finding foster homes that would accept them.”

The doorbell rang again, and I went to answer, “I’m Mike Naylor.  I assume that you’re Mr. Sunday.”

“Good guess.  Did you notice the cross that runs down my back or the nail piercings on my hands?  Seriously, you mentioned that two young boys had found their way to your residence.  What can you tell me about them?”

“About the only thing that I know for sure is the younger of the two has come down with the chicken pox.  Why don’t you come and talk to the boys while we’re eating?   I’m dying to know their story, as well.  Todd has spent the afternoon with the two boys.  He may be able to provide some additional information.”

Gene and I walked into the dining room and Gene acted surprised, “Sheriff, what are you doing here?  Linda, do you live here?

Mother answered first, “Gene, Mike is my son.  Ever since his three sons made their appearance on the planet, I spend as much time here as possible.”

I was surprised that Mother knew Mr. Sunday.  I continued the introductions, “Mr. Sunday, I’d like to introduce my partner, Mr. Todd Stodola, and our three sons Aiden, Jaden and Kaden..  We have two visitors, Billy and Bobby Barnes.  Why don’t you sit down and visit with us, to save you time?”

Mr. Sunday sat down between Sheriff Patrick and Mother so he could look at the two visitors.  “Gee, you guys are looking good.  What grade in school are you in?”

Billy giggled, “We ain’t never been to school.  We never lived in any place long enough to go to school.  We always had to keep head of them government people so Dad and Mom wouldn’t be put in jail.”

That caught everyone’s attention.  Sheriff Patrick asked, “Billy, why did you need to keep moving?”

“We had to keep moving so the feds wouldn’t find our shine operation.

Sheriff Patrick asked, “Billy, what do you mean by shine operation?

 

Billy looked disgusted, “You know, that stuff people drink and get drunk.  Daddy would sell it and make some money so wez could eat.”

Mother looked at the boys, “Where are your parents, now?”

Billy answered, “These people in a black cars came and took the still and the trailer away.”

Sheriff Patrick asked, “Billy and Bobby, where were you when they took you parents away?”

Bobby sobbed, “Pop and Mom, always told us to hide when there were any strangers in the area.”

I could tell that Mother was upset, “Do you mean to tell us that your parents left you in the middle of nowhere to fend for yourselves?”

“Before when the people came, they would destroy the machines and shine, but this time it was different.  They didn’t destroy anything.  They loaded it onto a trailer and pulled it away.  These people were different.  We waited for the parents to come back.  When they didn’t, we started walking to find some place to stay and find something to eat,  Mister invited us in and gived us some lunch.

Sheriff Patrick asked., “Why did you stop here at Mr. Naylor’s house?”

“He was the only person we saw outside.   Bobby was really shivering when we saw Mister getting out of his car.   He didn’t ask any questions.  He just invited us in.  We didn’t know that Bobby had chicken pox until later this afternoon when Doctor Naylor came for dinner.  Mister took Bobby and gave him a bath and put pink stuff on him so he wouldn’t scratch his marks.”

Sheriff Patrick asked, “Guys, what were your mother and father’s names, so I can have my people check to so see if they are in jail?

Billy was doing all the talking since Bobby had his head on the table.  He was complaining, “Mister, I’m starting to itch, again.  Can you put some more of that pink stuff on me?”

Mr. Sunday asked, “Would it be permissible for me to look around the house that would be a prelude for me to issue a license for you to be a foster home.  After all, you have the two boys already semi taken care of.”

.

I stood, “Come on, my little man, let’s put some more lotion on your ouchies.  Mother, do you have anything to help Bobby get to sleep, so he’ll forget about scratching?

I have a package of children’s Tylenol.  Bobby should take one to start with, and if that doesn’t stop the itching, he could have a second one.

Bobby leaned over to me, “Mister, would you carry me up the steps?  My legs don‘t want to move.”

I picked him up and he wrapped his arms around my neck.  “Mr. Sunday, the bus is leaving for a tour of the house, if you would like to accompany us.”

The first stop was what would temporarily be Billy and Bobby’s room. Mr. Sunday nodded, “These facilities seem quite adequate.  Where do the triplets sleep?”

After I had Bobby settled, I took Mr. Sunday into the triplets' room, His only comment was, “This certainly is the crème de la crème as far as facilities for the triplets.  Where do you and Todd sleep?”

“Todd and I share bedroom that is wired for sound to the other two bedrooms.”

“Mike, you’re avoiding the question.   Do you and Todd share more  than just a bedroom.?”

“Gene, we’re practicing, but the boys have to come first.”

“Mike, does your Mother live with you?”

“No, it just seems like it,  She usually eats breakfast and dinner with us.  She maintains her own apartment nearby so she can boss us around but still maintain some independence.”

After Mr. Sunday had looked around the downstairs, he announced, “Mr. Naylor, you are a certified foster parent as of now.  I’ll stop by your office, tomorrow, with some paperwork that you will need to sign,. The first thing that you will need to do after everything gets settled is to get the boys into school.  That may present a problem, since we have no paperwork on the boys’ past.  We’ll have to work around some loopholes, but stranger things have happened.”

Mr. Sunday and Sheriff Patrick were departing as David Lee and Jeff Hawkins were coming up the walk to the front door.  Mr. Sunday obviously knew the guys, “What are you two doing here?””

Jeff chuckled, “For starters, we work for Mr. Naylor and we are just returning from a secret mission in Las Vegas.  We have some information that we need to share with Mr. Naylor.”

Sheriff Patrick smirked, “I guess you had to come back early, since you gambled all your money away.”

Both guys shook their heads.  David had a funny look on his face, “That's not true, Sheriff.  We agreed that we would each only spend a dollar's worth of dimes on the slots.  Jeff won a jackpot of $250.00 on his first dime, so he quit.  I kept feeding the machine I was playing for almost an hour, and walked away with $15.00.  We were able to have a nice dinner and saw a great show and it didn’t cost Mr. Naylor or the office credit card a cent, other than our flight tickets and a night in the presidential suite at the Bellagio.”

The Sheriff asked, “You guys didn’t really stay in the presidential suite, did you?”

David nodded his head, “Yep.  There was a mix up in reservations when we arrived.  They had given our room to another David Lee.  The manager came out and when I started to complain, he had the clerk give us the presidential suite for the same price as we had been guaranteed in print for a regular room.”

The Sheriff shook his head, “Some people have all the luck.”

After we were inside, I explained, “Guys, we have a visitor who has the chicken pox.”

Mother added, “I think you should have said we have two visitors with the chicken pox.  I just looked at Billy’s tummy and it looks as if the pox are getting ready to pop out.   Someone needs to give him a bath, put some calamine lotion on him and give him some Tylenol, so he doesn’t start scratching.  I’m going to leave now that my relief is here.  I’ll check the boys in the morning before I get ready for work.  All I need now is not to infect new born babies.”

Todd shook his head, no, “Mom, I think it would be wise for you to not even take that risk.  I’ll be able to handle the situation.”

Jeff interrupted, “I’ve had the chicken pox.  I can help take care of the boys.”

David added, “As have I.  We’ll get Jeff’s Mom to fill in for the rest of the week.  Poor Todd is going to be exhausted if the triplets get the chicken pox at the same time.”

Todd took Billy to give him a bath and had a similar experience as I had had with Bobby, earlier.

When it was just David, Jeff and me, Jeff suggested, “Mr. Naylor, I think it would save all of us time if you could get Mrs. Stocker and have her here when we tell you what we found out, because it directly affects her.”

“Guys, she’s moving in with Jacob and Nia.  I’m hesitant to invite her here.  I wouldn’t want to be accused of exposing her granddaughters to the chicken pox.  I’m not even sure where she’s residing at the present time.  I’ll call Jacob and see if I can get in touch with her and see what she wants to do.”

I called Jacob’s number and Nia answered, “This is Antonia Stocker.”

“Nia, it’s Mike Naylor.  Do you know how I can get in touch with Jacob’s mother?”

“Mr. Naylor, Mom Stocker and Jacob just walked in the door.  They’ve been moving her things tonight.  Would you like to speak to her or Jacob?”

“May I speak to Mrs. Stocker, please?”

“This Elaine Stocker.”

“Mrs. Stocker, this is Mike Naylor.  My guys just got back from Vegas and they have some news for you, so they say.  They think it would be best if they tell you in private.  I’d invite you here, but we have two visitors who have the chicken pox, and I wouldn’t want to be accused of causing Tina and Nina to come down with the pox.”

“Mike, you have my curiosity raised, now.  I’ll be there as soon as we get this last load of my junk unloaded.”

We were feeding the triplets, hopefully for the last time, before we put them to bed for the night when the doorbell rang.  Todd was the odd man out who wasn’t feeding one of the boys so he answered the door.  He returned with Mrs. Stocker.

“My, what a busy bunch of beavers we have here.  Perhaps you'd better introduce me to these two handsome young men.”

I introduced Mrs. Stocker to David and Jeff.  After the introductions, she asked, “What is it that you think is so important that I need to be out running around on a cold winter night?”

David asked, “Mrs. Stocker, does the name Miriam Elder mean anything to you?”

“Yes, that was the name of my mother’s sister who married some rich dude from Las Vegas.  I’ve lost contact with her.  She’s got to be in her nineties by now.”

Jeff shook his head, “Mrs. Stocker, Mrs. Elder died four years ago.  She had been living in a condominium in Vegas.  Does the name Fairway mean anything to you?”

“Fairway makes me think of golf, but I don’t play golf.”

I interrupted, “Jeff, are you saying that the name of the condominium is The Fairway?”

“Yes.  We checked with the management office of The Fairway and the condominium where Mrs. Elder lived until she died, is now listed as being owned by Mrs. Elaine Stocker.  It also happens to be the same condo where Mr. Stocker and Mr. Hooper were arrested.  The report that Mr. Hooper’s body was found in a hotel room was erroneous.  He hung himself in jail.”

Mrs. Stocker was shaking her head, “How could I own a condo and not know it?”

I took a deep breath, “Mrs. Stocker, this information explains some of the information that the church provided me, today.  Mr. Stocker was writing checks to The Fairway for maintenance fees each month from the church’s account for the last several years..”

Mrs. Stocker stood, “Damn that man.  How did he know that I owned a condo in Las Vegas, and I didn’t?  This explains where he would go each month for a week and claim it was for church business.  I certainly don’t need a condo in Vegas.  I’m still confused as to how that man could know about the condo and I didn’t.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Mrs. Stocker, I don’t know the answer to that question.  We can wait until Mr. Stocker goes on trial to find out the answer, or you could go to Vegas and see what happened.  I suggest that you go back to the manse and see if you can find some clues as to how you could be the owner of a condo and not know it.  Why don’t you take my two best detectives with you and perhaps they can help find out the answers to your questions?”

David added, “One last piece of information that might prove helpful.  Mr. Hooper’s autopsy revealed that he was HIV positive.”

Mrs. Stocker put her hand on her mouth, “Are you suggesting Mr. Stocker was having a relationship with Mr. Hooper?”

David shrugged his shoulders, “Ma’am, we don’t know that for sure, but the condo owner said that there were two men who spent a week each month at the condo.” 

To be continued...  

Editor's Notes:

I think they are going to need a bigger house, what with all the added family. 

Why am I not the least bit surprised that Rev. Stocker was having an extra marital relationship with another man?  It seems the ones who shout the loudest about other people doing things they think they shouldn't are the very ones who are doing things they would be screaming from the rooftops about if they knew about it. 

I am ready for the next chapter!

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 03/25/11