Porterville

This story is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to person's living or dead, or to events that may have occurred, is purely coincidental.

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Mark Stevens

Porterville 21

The two men left the house in Britt's car. He drove them downtown. The Williams family had used one particular Pharmacy for years to purchase what little medicine they had needed. Britt parked in front of the establishment and they hurried inside, where a man behind the counter greeted him.

Britt told the pharmacist he needed to have one of his mother's prescriptions refilled.

"She had a really bad migraine this afternoon, and I had to take her to the hospital ER. She had forgotten to have her script refilled."

The man typed something in his computer. "It has been a while since she had this refilled."

"She's coming home in about an hour or so. Could you refill it for me?"

"No problem, Britt. Just give me a moment."

While they waited on the pharmacist, Devon pulled Britt to the side and whispered, "Are you going to show him what you found in the sink?"

Britt shook his head. "I thought about it," he whispered back, "but it occurred to me that I could pull one of the capsules a part and check for myself to see if it's the same thing. If it is, then we'll know for sure your mother is behind this."

"And if it's not the same stuff?"

"Then we'll have to look in a different direction," Brit finished.

"Here you go, Britt. I'm really sorry about your mother. I would have been more than happy to deliver it to her, had I known."

"I know, and thanks; however, I don't think she realized it until it was too late."

"Give my best to her."

Britt paid for the medicine, and the two men returned to Britt's vehicle. Once inside, Britt hastily pulled the plastic bag from his pocket. He handed it to Devon and told him to open it. He then popped the lid off the medication bottle and knocked a capsule out, letting it fall in the palm of his hand.

Britt quickly pulled the capsule apart. Some white powder fell out and landed in his hand. He leaned over and ran his tongue across his flesh. It left a bitter taste on his tongue.

"Pull the paper towel out of the plastic bag, Devon."

The man did and handed it to him.

Britt swished his tongue around until it felt clean once more. Then he ran his tongue across the paper towel in the same way. The taste was exactly the same. The powder in the capsule and the grainy substance found in Catherine's sink was the same thing.

Devon looked at him closely. "Well?"

"Of course I'm only guessing, but they taste the same to me."

"Damn! Now what do we do?"

Britt was thoughtful for a moment. Then he said, "I'm not sure." He eyed the clock on the dash of his car. "First thing, I guess, is go pick Mom up. I'm sure she's been discharged by now. Let's get her home. Then we can decide what our next move should be."

"I think we need to confront my mother," Devon declared.

"I'd love to do exactly that, Devon, but what the hell would we say? We have no proof that she actually did anything to Mom. Or even tried," he added.

"What about the powder in the sink?"

Britt shrugged his shoulders. "Your mother would just deny everything."

"What about the police?"

"Soon, I think. Still, for now, as for the powder in Mom's sink, well, that could be argued that some of the powder escaped from the capsule when she took it."

On the way to the hospital Britt said, "Devon, I want to spend this evening with my mother. I know she's going to object, but I'm not going to leave her alone."

"I don't blame you. I've been thinking about something. Why don't you take a few minutes and run me out to my car? We never had lunch, and I `m sure you're starving. I know that I am. I'll pick us up something and meet back at your mother's. If you're okay with me coming over," he added.

"That's a very good idea. I need to stop by the Tribune and pick something up. After we eat, and after Mom's settled in, I have some things I need to talk over with you. Some files for you to see," he added.

"You know I'll help in any way I can," Devon reminded him.

Britt nodded and said, "I know that, Dev. I just hope."

"What do you hope?" Devon asked when Britt didn't finish his thought.

"I just hope you don't end up despising me."

Alarm showed on Devon McKenzie's face. "Despise you? Britt, I love you with all my heart. I could never feel bad towards you!"

"I hope you're right," Britt said softly.

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Catherine pushed her plate back and smiled at Britt and Devon. When she had been told of their plans to spend the evening with her, she had objected. She had told them she was old enough to take care of herself, and that she did not need a keeper.

Now, she said, "I know, I told the two of you I was quite capable of taking care of myself. And I am," she added. "Still, it's been nice enjoying a meal with you guys."

"I don't think you could have said a thing, Catherine, to keep us away this evening," Devon replied. He looked at across the table and said to Britt, "Am I correct?"

Britt nodded and said, "Most assuredly. Mom, there was no way we were going to leave you home by yourself."

She gave them each a sweet smile. "My two sons," she said, "Whatever would I do without you two?"

When she stood to her feet and reached for her plate, Britt stopped her. "You head for the living room, Mom. Devon and I will clean things up."

"I am quite capable of cleaning up," she informed them.

"I'm sure you are, Mom; still, why don't you just humor us this evening? Please," he begged.

She gave her son a smile and said, "All right, just as long as you admit my capabilities."

"Mom, you possess capabilities that even I don't know about."

"But for tonight, let us spoil you," Devon joined in.

She threw her hands in the air. "Very well, then; As long as we're all in agreement that I am capable, I will allow you to spoil me. For tonight, only," she added and walked into the living room.

Because their meal had been brought in, there wasn't much to clean up, and a short time later Catherine's kitchen had been restored, everything back in its rightful place.

Britt asked Devon to take a seat at the kitchen table. "I'm going to check on Mom, and I'll be right back."

Leaving the man with a look of surprise on his face, Britt walked through the dining room, making his way to his mother's living room. He found her in her favorite chair, a book in her hands.

He gave her a smile and said, "Well, I see you have good taste in authors." She was reading his latest book.

"I have to admit, I really enjoy this fellow's books. He does such a good job setting everything in place before he fills the reader in on who the bad guy really is. He has such an element of surprise, and even though I've read all of his books, he still surprises me most of the time when everything is said and done."

"Mom, you are quite the BSer, aren't you?"

"Britt Williams, do not say my name and that word in the same sentence."

Britt leaned over and kissed his mother on the cheek. "BS is not always a bad thing," he told her. "Mom, I have some things I need to discuss with Devon. We'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"I am quite"

"Capable, yes, I know," he interrupted her.

"Just reminding you of that fact."

"Just call if you need anything," he said and walked down the hall to his room. He picked up his laptop and joined Devon at the kitchen table.

"Are you going to show me a power point presentation?" Devon asked when he saw him with the computer.

Britt pulled a flash drive from his pocket. "Something close," he answered.

While he waited for his laptop to power up, Britt said, "Devon, I have some things I want to show you. I've created a chart of facts put together best as I could, in a time-line order." He paused and studied the man who had come to mean so much to him. "All I ask is that you keep an open mind and not jump to any conclusions."

"Have you ever known me to do anything hasty?"

"Honestly, no, I have not. However, as you're going to find out, this may end affecting you personally."

Devon held up two fingers. "Scout's honor," he promised.

"Were you ever I n the Scouts?"

Devon shook his head. "I always wanted to when I was a kid."

"Let me guess: your mother didn't think the organization was good enough for her son?"

"Bingo."

Inwardly Britt thought, "Life is definitely going to change for this man." Then he was plagued by a second thought. "What if I'm wrong? What if I have my facts wrong, and everything I've uncovered is purely coincidental?"

The laptop opened to its desk top. Britt slipped the flash drive into the computer and opened the file.

"Devon, do you know a good lawyer?"

Startled, Devon asked, "Why would you ask that?"

As Britt opened the first folder, he said, "Because after tonight you might want to think about getting some legal advice, and something tells me you aren't going to want to use the same one your mother does."

Britt sat to the side and gave Devon time to read each page thoroughly, taking in each word, each fact he had uncovered, and the time line in which they had taken place.

"I confused, Britt," the man said more than one time. "What the hell does all of this mean?"

When Britt had returned to the kitchen with his laptop, he had also brought a file folder with him. Now he opened it up and placed it in front of Devon.

"Read this," he said. "It might make it easier to digest having the information in front of you."

For a time Devon McKenzie wasn't even aware that Britt still sat beside him at Catherine's kitchen table. He was so absorbed with reading the information Britt had discovered that he lost all presence of time. His face paled with each new page he read. Finally he looked up. His eyes locked with Britt's.

"My entire life has been a lie?"

Britt's heart went out to the man who meant so much to him; to Devon, whom he loved more than life. He searched for the right words.

"Devon, who you are, what you've become, how you live your life that is who you really are."

Britt couldn't continue. His words seemed to choke him. They made it hard for him to breathe. He leaned over and kissed Devon lightly on the cheek.

"Devon, for the moment, if you only remember one thing, then remember this: you are in the middle of a situation that was never your fault."

"How am I supposed to feel, Britt? You've just handed me information that makes it appear as if I'm a fraud; that my life is one fucking lie."

Suddenly remembering whose home he was in, Devon said, "Forgive, Britt. I don't mean to disrespect your mother."

"I know."

"This is a lot to digest."

Britt spent the next half hour explaining the facts as he had uncovered them during the last few weeks since returning home to Porterville.

"Is it possible that my last name is Cooper and not McKenzie?"

"The one fact that I am one hundred per cent sure of at very moment is that the grave in back of the Cooper home is empty."

"And the grave you were asking about in our family plot?"

Britt shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know," he answered. "That's where the ball lands in your court."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning you could ask your mother's permission to have the grave checked out."

"You know she would never consent to that."

"That's true, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't. Remember me asking if you new a lawyer?"

"So, I retain a lawyer, give him the facts and hope he doesn't think I'm absolutely crazy? Are you forgetting the power my mother..." Devon paused and then said, "Elaine McKenzie has? I'm not sure I could hire an attorney period. Around here, they all depend on her for a living."

Devon was struck with another thought, and he said, "Tell me, other than a lie, for whatever reason about who I really am, just what crime has been committed?"

Britt weighted his words carefully. "There's Margaret Cooper's death," he reminded. "I'm not sure that was a complete accident. Neither does her two sisters," he added.

"You think my mother was responsible for Mrs. Cooper's death?"

"Fact is a diamond that you yourself identified as belonging to Elaine was found at the site where Margaret's death occurred."

"I had forgotten about the damned diamond," Devon groaned.

Britt had another thought weighing heavily on him, and he voiced it now.

"Devon, I realize I've dropped a lot on you this evening. You do realize, don't you, that it's very possible that you have a twin sister living in this town?"

"Alice. Does she know anything about this?"

"Well, of course there's the matter of the check her family has received all of these years," Britt reminded. "Not to mention the empty grave we found in her back yard.

"Damn," Britt continued, "I just remembered something. I promised to return Alice's car back to her this evening."

"Are you ready to hand over this same information to her?"

"I did tell her I hoped to have some information when I saw her tonight," he remembered.

"So what do we do, Britt?"

Britt was lost in thought for a moment. Then he said, "What about that lawyer? I would think that would be your first step. I can go with you and we can present the facts as I've uncovered them. Then, depending on what he advises, I think it's time to let the police in on our situation."

"You do that, and they will just alert my mother. Elaine McKenzie," he corrected.

"That might not be so bad, Devon. Perhaps that would get things out into the open."

"And what about Alice Cooper?"

Damn!" Britt swore softly.

"How much are you going to tell her for now?"

The longer he thought about it, the more confused he became. What could he tell the woman? After all, what proof did he have about any of it? Other than the empty grave in her yard being empty, he didn't have much.

Just then Catherine came into the kitchen and joined them at the table.

"Am I interrupting anything here?" she asked.

The appearance of his mother helped Britt to make up his mind.

"Mom, are you feeling okay now?"

"Of course I am," she answered. "You should know that once the headaches are gone I am back to normal fairly quick. Why do you ask?"

Britt studied his mother closely. "Mom, did you ever suspect anything that might have taken place between the McKenzie's and the Coopers?"

Her face turned pale for just a few seconds. Then she returned to her normal self, and she asked, "Why would you ask something like that, Britt?" She allowed her eyes to travel across the table where they locked with Devon's.

When she didn't continue, Britt said, "Okay, Mom, I'm going to tell you something here, and I want you to pay close attention to see if I have the details correct.

"Once there was a town picnic and almost everyone in the town attended." He paused and asked, "Am I correct so far?"

"Everyone knows there is the annual picnic that kicks the summer season off. That's no secret," she added.

"And lots of drinking at the picnic?"

"Britt, would you please just say what's on your mind?"

"Tom Cooper was driving his family home after one of the picnics when he ran a stop sign and caused an accident."

"That is common knowledge, Britt."

Britt paused for a moment and then said, "But is it common knowledge that he caused the death of a child, other than his own?"

This time Catherine's face paled and the color refused to return.

"Oh, dear God."

"And is it common knowledge that in order to keep from being sent to prison, Tom agreed to hand his son over to the McKenzie's? And that the Coopers would be paid for the rest of their lives to keep quiet about what took place?"

Catherine forced herself to look at Devon. She tried to give him a smile, but her face refused to relax and let her. "I'm sorry, Devon," she whispered.

Devon suddenly felt full of compassion for a woman whom he had become quite fond of. He reached out and took both her hands in his.

"Catherine, you have nothing to be sorry for. You have done nothing wrong."

Catherine finally managed a feeble smile. "I never actually knew for certain that anything happened. I was sure something had taken place between the two families, but I was determined not to get involved. After all, I had to live in this town," she added quietly.

"A town where all of its citizens had to bow down to my family," Devon said with a sigh. "Only now it appears it may not have been my family at all," he added.

Catherine gave his fingers a gentle squeeze. "If I know nothing else, Devon, I do know that Elaine loves you with all her heart."

"Yeah, I was fortunate to have her love." The words were bitter that Devon uttered.

"I'm positive she loved you the only way she knew how."

"You don't need to defend her, Mom."

Catherine looked across the table at her son. She opened her mouth to say something, then changing her mind, she clamped her lips shut.

"There's something else," Britt said. He took a deep breath and continued, "I've looked up all the information I could find about the accident that took Tom's life. Not one fact pointed to or even suggested he had been drinking."

"I thought you said it did," Devon said.

Britt shook his head. "Now, it definitely said alcohol played a strong part in the first accident; the one where the child was killed. But as for the one that took Tom Cooper's life, nothing points to that. Just that he lost control of his car and went off the road. One article said it might have been caused by icy roads. However, there was a second article a few days later that reported ice was not the cause of him driving off the road."

Catherine brought her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Dear Lord," she said.

"You're thinking Tom Cooper was murdered?"

Britt was silent for a moment, trying to make up his mind what his next move should be. Finally he said, "My gut says something happened, but there is absolutely no way to prove a thing now. It's been too many years."

"Do you still think I need to consult a lawyer?"

"I've been thinking about that, Devon. I tend to agree with you, in that it would be hard for you to find one around here that's not already tied in with your family in one way or another. I have a lawyer in Oklahoma City who handles all of my legal affairs. If you are okay with the idea, I could give him a call. He might even come down here if you needed him to. At your expense, of course," Britt added.

"That would not be a problem for me," Devon replied. "The expense, I mean."

Britt had another thought hit him. "Devon, I have another suggestion for you. I would never get in the middle of your business, but not knowing how your finances are set up, I have a concern. Is your cash flow independent of your mothers? Or is it all mixed in together?"

"There are several accounts," Devon answered. "I have access to my own funds, as well as those of the companies. Why do you ask?"

"I have a feeling that once your mother suspects that you are up to something she will try and yank all monies out from under you."

"I have personal accounts, but she is on those along with me. According to her, done for good business and safe keeping," Devon replied.

Once more Britt appeared to be lost in thought. Then he said, "I hate to suggest this, but it might be smart for you to close out whatever accounts you have and reopen them without anyone else's name on them except yours."

"That's probably a very good idea. I've been thinking about adding you to one in particular. Just in case anything should ever happen to me. Would you be okay with that?"

A look of shock appeared on Britt's face. He said, "Hell no, I would not be all right with that. Your mother would draw all sorts of wrong conclusions if that."

"Britt Williams! Such language is uncalled for."

"Sorry Mom. Just sort of slipped out," he said.

"So Britt, tell me, what should I do. I really need your advice," Devon said.

"Well, it's not really an emergency yet, so as for giving Glenn a call, I think we can wait until in the morning to do that."

"Glenn?"

"Glenn Redding, my lawyer," Britt answered. "Besides, we have to decide what we want to tell him and get everything organized before we have him on the telephone."

"That sounds like a plan to me," Devon agreed.

"As for this evening, we have a car to retrieve and deliver to Alice," Britt reminded. "And before we do that, we need to decide what, if anything, we're going to tell Alice." Britt looked at his mother and asked, "What would you suggest, Mom?"

"Oh, Britt, I have no idea. I beg of you to be very careful. There are so many lives involved here,"

"I know. Maybe we should not tell Alice any of our suspicions until after we talk to Glenn and see what he suggests."

"You promised to have something for her," Devon reminded.

Britt stood to his feet and began pacing across his mother's kitchen floor. Several trips later he stopped and looked at the others.

"I don't see how we can tell her anything tonight. We just can't afford to," he said coming to a decision. "We'll take her car to her as I promised her. I think I'm going to tell her I have a couple of meetings tomorrow and that I will definitely know something then."

"But will you? Know something, I mean." Devon spoke the words softly.

"I'm hoping Glenn with have some good advice for us," Britt said. "Also, I want Devon to get his finances in order before any of this gets out."

Britt suddenly had another thought. "Devon, the accounts that are in your name; is the account yours with your mother as an add on signature? I sure as hell hope it's not the other way around. Because if it is, there is no way you can have her name removed from the account."

"I'm not certain, but there may be a couple where she is the actual account holder. The rest are mine," he supplied.

"Well, even on her account or accounts, if you can write checks on those, you have the right to take however much you want out. The only problem with that, you do that, I'm sure someone from the bank would get hold of her immediately and fill her in."

"Shouldn't matter," Devon decided. "Once her name is off my account, I can transfer funds and she can't touch them."

"That's true. It's not like you need money this very moment, but if you have to retain a lawyer, and if Glenn agrees to come down and help us out, you will have to have access to your funds."

"I'll go to the bank first thing in the morning and take care of that," Devon decided."

"That's our plan then. You can go to the bank and I'll get hold of Glenn. I'll fill him in on the basics and make arrangements for the two of you to get together and talk over the telephone."

Britt and Devon left to pick up Alice's car after Catherine assured them both she would be fine and for them not to hurry back on her account. She promised to lock her doors and not open them for anyone.

Britt was glad he had decided not to give Alice very much information when he saw her. He felt uneasy about leaving his mother alone in the house and was determined to get his errand over with quickly as possible and return home.