The Mark and the Mole
by: E Walk

(© 2007 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 14
Death Times Two

For some reason I had been awakened early by some noise.  Michael was still asleep so I cuddled as close to him as I could without awakening him.  There was a soft knock on the door. “Dads, may I come in?”

Chad was standing there with tears streaming down his face.  “Dads, turn your television on to Channel 7.  There is some awful news on it.  I need to go back and take care of the boys.”

I quickly got out of bed and turned the television on to Channel 7 which was the station I worked for.  The Sunday morning newscaster Ted James was sitting behind the desk.  He started the broadcast,

“The lead story this morning comes from Iowa City.  Police found two people dead in a house on Clark Street.  The victims are identified as Mr. and Mrs. Harold Harmon.  Neighbors reported that they heard what sounded like gunshots shortly after midnight last night.  The police were called and the couple was found dead shortly after one o’clock this morning.  They are calling it a case of homicide/suicide.  Police speculate that Mrs. Harmon shot her husband and then turned the gun and took her own life.”

“What has the police concerned is the whereabouts of the six young children who were living at home.  Anyone knowing anything about the children is asked to contact the Iowa City Police Department.”

To say that Mike and I reacted quickly, would be an understatement.  We both grabbed our robes and went to check on Chad.  Chad was sitting at the kitchen table staring at the television with the Jon and Mark sitting beside him.  Tears were streaming down his face.   He looked at Mike and me, “Dads, this is my fault, isn’t it.  I must be cursed and cause people to die.”

I went and pulled Chad up and held him, “Chad, you did nothing to cause this to happen.  Your former parents caused this tragedy to happen.  Please don’t even think that it was your fault in any way what so ever.  Right now we need to worry about how to tell your brothers and sisters what happened.  I think that we should just tell them that their parents have died for now.  They do not need to know the details.”

The conversation was interrupted by the phone; Mike answered and put the phone on speaker so we all could hear what was being said.

“This is Mike Long. How can I help you?”

“Mike, this is Jerry Stone.  Have you seen or heard the news about Mr. and Mrs. Harmon?”

“Mr. Stone, Doug and I were trying to reassure Chad that he had done nothing to cause this to happen.”

Mr. Stone asked, “Chad, can you hear me.  You and your brothers and sisters have done nothing to cause this unfortunate incident.  Do any of your brothers and sisters know what has happened?”

“No sir, everyone else is still in bed.  I was feeding my sons when it was on the news and I woke my two Dads to tell them.”

“Good, so the three of you are the only ones who know.  Please keep it from the other children until Mrs. Young gets there.  She will be calling you shortly.  I am going to call the Iowa City Police Department and tell them that the children are safe, but I am not going to tell them where you all are.  I’ll also call Father Leahy and talk to him.  Again Chad, none of this was caused by you.  I'll be talking with you soon.”

I looked at Chad, “Chad, Mike and I are going to go get dressed.  We’ll wake my Dad and Grandmother.  You stay by the phone, and if any of the children should appear, make sure that they don’t hear what you might be talking about.”

Mike and I were going up the stairs when the phone rang.  We could hear Chad talking, “Good morning Mrs. Young.  … Yes, we just finished talking to Mr. Stone. … Okay, I'll tell the Dads that you will be here at 10:30.   … I’ll make sure the children are all up and dressed.  See you then, Mrs. Young.”

Mike and I had just gotten in the shower when there was another call.  Since we were wet we decided to let poor Chad take it.  There were two more calls in quick succession.

When we got downstairs, Chad was explaining to Dad and Grandmother what had happened and Grandmother was standing with her arm around Chad.  Chad saw us enter, “Dad Mike, Father Lawler would like for you to call him.  Uncle Frank called and asked that you return his call and your parents would also like for you to call them.  Oh yes, Mrs. Young will be here at 10:30.  Now for the good news, someone needs to go to the grocery store and get some more basic food like bread, milk and cereal and some fresh fruit. We are totally unprepared to feed this many people.”

Dad started to laugh, “Leave it to a teenager to get the priorities straight.  Chad, why don’t you go make sure that Tim is up, and he and I will go get whatever it is that you and Mother want and think we need.  I think your Dads should stay here with you and the rest of your brothers and sisters.”

Chad looked at Dad, “Granddad, Mrs. Young asked that we not say anything to the other children until she got here.  Please don’t say anything to Tim.  Grandmother, please watch the boys while I go get the rest of the young people started for the day.  Dads, I hope you have enough dishes or we are going to be eating in shifts.”

As Chad was leaving, he turned, “Dads, you probably should use the phone in your bedroom so the children don’t accidentally hear what they shouldn’t hear.”

Mike and I each poured ourselves a cup of coffee and went the bedroom.  I was making the bed while Mike made the first call.  He set the phone on speaker so I could hear what was being said.

“This is Father Tom Lawler.”

“Hi Father Lawler, this is Mike Long.  Doug is with me and we are calling from the phone in our bedroom so we can talk freely.”

“Mike and Doug, I am sure that you have already been advised as to what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Harmon.”

Mike answered, “Yes, Chad saw it on the early news and woke us.  We have already spoken with Mr. Stone and he is calling the police department.  He said that he would try to talk to Father Leahy also.”

“Mike, Father Leahy called me, and that’s why I called you.  I think that at the least, Doug, Chad and Tim need to come to Iowa City to make the arrangements for the funeral.  Both Father Leahy and I think that perhaps Chad and Tim should be the only ones who need to know what really happened.  I know it might be hard to keep the story from the other children.  Is there any way that you and the boys can get here today?”

I spoke for the first time, “Father Lawler, this is Doug.  Let me talk to the guys.  Mrs. Young will be here at 10:30 and she has asked that we not say anything to the children until she gets here.  I’ll call you after we speak with her.”

Father Lawler must have been watching the clock, “Guys, I need to go get ready for the next mass.  Call me anytime after 12:00 on my cell phone.”

Mike looked at me and shook his head as he dialed the next number.

“Hi Dad, this is Mike, Chad said you called and wanted us to call you.”

“Thanks for calling, son.  First, I’m sure that you have already heard about the unfortunate incident in Iowa City?”

I answered, “Yes Dad Long, Chad was feeding Jon and Mark when he saw it on the early news and woke us.”

Mike added, “We have already spoken to Mr. Stone, the Head of the Children Services Department, and the caseworker who will be working with the children since they are all going to be staying with us, at least temporarily.  She will be coming by here about 10:30 this morning to break the news about the children’s parents to them.  We just got off the phone with Father Tom Lawler who has also been involved with the children.”

Mike’s Dad was quiet and then spoke, “It sounds like you have that situation under control.  Now here is a second problem, we received word this morning from the hospital that your brother is in a coma and we have no idea where Jason and Jeremy are.”

Mike started to laugh, “Dad, we also have that under control.  They arrived here right about midnight.  They had a note from Tommy, telling us that he was dieing and he had everything in order, for me to become their legal guardian.  It was rather hectic this morning, as I am sure you can imagine, and we didn’t want to disturb you last night.”

“Dad Long, this is Doug.  Why don’t you and Mother Long come down to our house as soon as you can?  We are probably going to need a bunch of legal advice. We need to call Frank.  Just be prepared for the zoo when you get here.”

“Okay guys, see you shortly.” 

Mike dialed Frank's number, “This is Kevin Wilkins, how may I help you?”

Mike started to laugh, “Good morning Kevin Wilkins, may I please speak to your father?  This is your Uncle Michael.”

Kevin yelled, “Dad, phone for you.  It’s someone calling themselves Uncle Michael.”  Kevin came back on, “Tell Tim and Chad that we’ll be over after we go to the early church service.”

Frank must have picked up an extension, “Kevin, I have it.  Good morning guys.  I guess you have already heard the news.  We’ll stop by immediately after church, and we can decide what to do.”

Mike looked at me, “Frank, thanks for thinking of us.  We have already talked to Mr. Stone, Mrs. Young and Father Lawler.  We’ll brief you when you get here.  It has been further complicated by the arrival of Tommy’s two sons, Jeremy and Jason.  We’ll also explain that, when you get here.  Dad and Mother will be here also.  Say a prayer for all of us.  I don’t think any of us are going to church this morning.”

We went to the kitchen and to say that it was pure pandemonium was an understatement.  Chad and Grandmother were trying to take care of the things that everyone needed.  Chad, looked at Mike and me, “You need to help yourselves.  We need to work out a system.  It was bad enough when there were just six of us kids, but now the house is busting out all over.”

When everyone was about finished eating, Tim and Dad returned from the store.  Chad stood, “Everyone needs to take their own dishes and utensils to the sink and Jenny, Dianna and Deanna will take care of the dishes while we go unload the groceries.”

Dad was having a field day supervising, as the young guys brought in the bags of food, while Chad and Grandmother were putting the food away.  Everything was finished and it was just about 10:00.  Jon and Mark started to stir, so Chad handed Mark to me and Jon to Mike, “Please change them while I fix their bottles.  Tim, please take everyone to the basement and watch the Disney channel until Mrs. Young gets here.”

Tim took the other young people to the basement and got them settled.  He came back, “Would someone please tell me what is going on?  Everyone is acting like we are walking around on a floor of uncooked eggs or something.”

Chad looked at me and I nodded for him to go ahead.  Chad was very forceful, “Tim, I want you to listen to everything I have to say, before you say or ask anything. Will you promise me you will do that?”

Tim nodded and Chad continued, “Tim, our biological parents are dead.  They were shot last night.  The police are conjecturing that Mrs. Harmon shot Mr. Harmon and then took her own life.  That is why Mrs. Young is coming.  She wants to explain what happened to the younger children.  It is going to be up to you and me to make the funeral arrangements.  I, for one, have no idea what to do.”

Tim looked like he was in shock, he started to shake and then he started to laugh.

Chad looked frustrated and asked, “Tim, how can you laugh at a situation like this?”

Tim looked at us, “Chad, just think, if that star hadn’t led you to Grandmother’s doorstep on Christmas Eve, the rest of us might have been at the house on Clark Street to witness what happened or maybe even worse.”

Chad went and held Tim.

The proceedings were interrupted by the door bell.  I looked at the clock and it was only 10:00 o’clock, I went to answer and Mike’s parents were standing there with Frank and Elaine and the twins.

There was the sound of footsteps coming from downstairs; it was Billy, Bobby, Jeremy and Jason.  Billy come to me and asked “Dad Doug, can we have something to eat please.”

Chad intervened, “Bobby, go tell the others that we have company and that they should turn the television off.  I’ll find a snack for everyone while the bosses have a meeting,”

Jason and Jeremy suddenly realized who was there.  Jason looked at everyone, “Hi Grandpa and Grandma, we have to go get something to eat. Come on Kevin and Kendra”

I watched the expressions on Frank, Elaine and Mike’s parents' faces.  They couldn’t believe that they had been swept under the carpet in favor of food.

Mike’s mother said, “Well, I guess we know where we stand in the chain.  It looks like we are at the bottom of it.”

Chad realized what had happened and he explained to Jason and Jeremy that  they should go properly greet their grandparents and their uncle and aunt.  He reminded them, “We’ll save you each a nice gooey donut.”

The two young guys came back and hugged their grandparents and Frank and Elaine.  Jason asked, “You are going to let us stay with Uncle Mike and Uncle Doug, aren’t you?  That is what Daddy wants.  He says that Grandpa and Grandma are too old to be running around after two young boys.  Daddy says that Uncle Frank and Aunt Elaine are going to have their hands full with Kevin and Kendra, so that is why we are going to stay with Uncle Mike and Uncle Doug.  Can we please go eat our donuts now?”

Dad Long looked at the boys, “Okay guys, you go eat, while we visit.”

The young people were all in the kitchen when Mrs. Young arrived.  I took her to the living room and started to introduce everyone.  She stopped me, “I know everyone here.  Where are the children?”

 

Dad Long spoke for us, “Rosa, how is Don doing and why are you working on Sunday?”

Mrs. Young smiled, “When the boss speaks, I jump.  It is not every day that seven young people get dumped in the laps of two eligible bachelors.  Now may I please speak to the Harmon children?  I have no problem if you adults would like to stay.”

Mike spoke, “Mrs. Young, just so you know of the latest development, “My brother, who is in a hospital as we speak, in a coma, dropped his two young sons off here last night and made me their guardian.  The two young boys are the same age as Bobby and Billy.”

Mrs. Young was laughing, “There is no way to sort this all out this morning, may I speak to the Harmon children?”

I went and got the seven Harmon children.  Chad and Tim brought Mark and Jon with them since they were feeding them.  I had asked Kevin and Kendra to stay and take care of Mike’s two nephews while Mrs. Young talked to the others.

Mrs. Harmon started, “I want to tell you something that is very important.  Your Mother and Father have died.  They won’t be coming back to see you anymore.”

Bobby interrupted, “Does that mean we can stay here with Dad Doug and Dad Mike?  They need us to help them take care of Jason and Jeremy and we need to help Chad show Mark and Jon how to be men.”

That was almost more than any of the adults could take without laughing, but somehow, we were able to maintain our composure.

Jenny, who was fourteen, spoke, “We need to stay here and help Grandmother Walker.  Now that there are thirteen of us living here, she can’t be expected to do everything.  This house is like a dream compared to where we lived before.”

Mrs. Young held up her hand, “I need to go now.  I am sure that you people have things to do.  I will be back to visit you on Tuesday, since tomorrow is a holiday, so it will be almost impossible to get anything done.  You all have a good day and I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

Billy went to Mrs. Young, “Mrs. Young, please help us stay here.”  He kissed her. 

The adults had tears in their eyes as I showed Mrs. Young to the door.  When I came back into the room, Dad Long started, “Okay everyone, we need to make plans.  Chad and Tim, we need to take you to Iowa City to make arrangements for the funeral.  Mike, you need to stay here and help take care of all of the children.  Doug, you drive the van, since you have the power of attorney for both Chad and Tim.  As of now, Chad and Tim, you have two lawyers.  Kevin you can come with us if you would like to keep the guys company.”

Chad looked like he was going to start to cry again, “But, I need to stay and take care of Jon and Mark.”

Grandmother stopped any more complaints, “Oh fiddlesticks, Chad, the guys will be okay.  Didn’t you hear Bobby say that they need to stay here and show Jon and Mark how to be men?”

Chad started to laugh, “I guess by the time I keep running back and forth to Iowa City, the twins will have beards and look like Rip Van Winkle.  Can we just go and do what it is that we need to do and get back.  I want you all to know that I am going, under duress.”

To be continued...

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Editor's Notes:

Poor Chad, that was not a very nice thing to see on TV. I sure wouldn't want to wake up and watch a news report about my parents being dead, even if they were not very nice people. And of course for them to speculate that they had died in a murder suicide situation may have made it even more stressful.

It seems that Chad's life gets more and more complicated every day. Even though he is stressed, he has done what has to be done, and seems to be taking the responsibilities that have been thrust upon him as well as can be expected. In fact, I would say he has done a wonderful job so far.  Thank goodness that star led him where it did, and when it did.  I certainly hope everything will work out well for everyone concerned.  I am sure that the children will receive all the love and attention they can ever use, now that they are with Mike and Doug.

I'm ready for the next chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 03/28/08