Episode #11

Monday, 5/7/07

Same Day, Afternoon

Meg’s House, Living Room

“Mr. Harper, I have some news,” Lt. Alphonso spoke up. “I believe we’ve found the gun.”

“W-what?” Ben Harper quickly rose from his seat and went to the lieutenant. “Where? How?”

“That’s not important right now, Mr. Harper. This is still on ongoing investigation.” He pulled out a plastic baggie that contained the gun in question and preceded to hand it to Officer Granger, but not so swift as to prevent nearly everyone in the room from seeing the bag’s contents. “Make sure the lab gets that as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” Officer Granger replied, taking the plastic bag into his hands.

Across the room, Tom Crawford’s eyes grew wide with nervous anxiety. He’d only gotten the briefest of looks at the gun in the plastic baggie the Lieutenant had held on the other side of the room, but it looked very familiar…

Meg’s House, Foyer

“Do you have any idea whose gun that is?” Ben asked the lieutenant. “Any idea at all who’d want my mother dead?”

“We’re still investigating, Mr. Harper,” Lt. Alphonso replied as he headed for the door. “I promise that I’ll keep you informed of anything new that we learn, but I’m sure we won’t know anything until that gun has gone through the lab. After that, maybe I’ll have more to tell you.”

As the door closed behind the lieutenant, Ben spun around, running his hands through his hair. Today – hell, the last couple of weeks – have all been too much for any of them do deal with. How much more would they have to go through?

“Ben, I’m sorry,” Tom said as he came up to him, his eyes not looking at Ben, however, but past him at the front door where Lt. Alphonso had just exited. “I… I really had no idea about the endowment.

“It’s okay. I over reacted.” Ben wasn’t fully paying attention to Tom, anyway. He had far too many things running through his head at the moment.

“And I’m sorry that I have to take off so quickly,” Tom made the prerequisite glance to his watch, “but I’ve got a lot of things at the hospital I left hanging to come here.”

“That’s fine, Tom.” Ben waved him away. He was really one of the last things on Ben’s mind at the moment. “I’m sure we’ll meet later with Mr. Powell to go over the terms and administration of the endowment.”

As Tom made a hasty exit, Cal Latimer came into the foyer to speak with her brother.

“Ben, did the lieutenant tell you anything about the gun? Does he have an idea who might possibly have killed our mother?”

“No,” Ben sighed. “All he’ll say is that it’s an ongoing investigation and the he’s not at liberty to discuss all the details. That and they really won’t know anything until the gun is back from the lab. He did promise to keep us informed, though.”

“That’s good,” Cal sighed in relief before turning to head back into the living room.

“Cal, wait.” He reached out and grabbed her arm. “I… I just wanted to apologize to you for how I sounded in there. I came off like a jerk.”

“No more than usual,” she responded dryly. “Look, like I said, if it means that much to you, you can have the house. I don’t care. As you so eloquently put it, Rosehill hasn’t been my home in a very long time. My home is in Quebec with Rick and the kids.”

“She wanted you to have the house. I know it sounded like she was trying to control your life again, even after all these years, but I’d like to think it was her way of trying to reach out to you – to make some sort of amends – after all this time.” Ben walked over to the grand staircase and ran his hands along the banister. “Did you know how much she loved this house? Bruce and Aunt Van had moved back into their old house when he retired. After grandma died, it went to Meg because she knew how much she loved it. It only seems fitting that this house now gets handed down to her daughter.”

“Oh, Ben, I don’t know…”

“Yes, our mother made mistakes – a lot of them – but we’ve all made mistakes, Cal. I know that when I was young, I made a whole lot of them. You made your fair share, too. Can’t you finally let go of the past and forgive her? She’s gone, now. What harm can forgiving her really do?”

Cal stood in silence as she considered what he’d said. He’d made many valid points, but had too much happened and had too much time passed to really let it all go? Her head was spinning with all of those questions.

“I look at the girls and see what kind of a blessing they are,” he continued. “Even Megan. Betsy and I went through so much trouble to have the twins. I know we spoiled them, but it was hard not to. Vanessa seems to have taken it all in stride. I don’t think she ever takes anything for granted, but Megan, however… She’s so much like I was at that age and it’s starting to worry me.”

“What do you mean?”

“She has no sense of money. I swear she can run through it like it was water. And she has absolutely no sense of responsibility. For some reason, she seems to think that the world owes her something – that she deserves whatever she wants whenever she wants just because that’s the way its supposed to be. I just don’t know what to do with her.” He paused and let out a heavy sigh. “Why can’t see be more like Vanessa?”

“She’s still young, Ben. There’s still plenty of time for her to grow up.”

“Well, I need to get back in there and see if I can calm the masses.” He turned and walked towards the living room. “You coming?”

“I’ll be along in a minute,” Cal muttered as she stood in the center of the foyer, attempting to drink it all in. Her mother had left her the house. Now what in the world was Cal going to do with it?

Rita’s Diner

“I just can’t believe my mother freaked like that,” Joy Donovan said before taking a sip of her coffee. “How the hell would she even know about Rosehill?”

“I have no idea,” Chaz Aleata shrugged. “Maybe if you asked her about it, you’d find out.”

“Easy for you to say. Talking to my mother isn’t the simplest thing in the world. We don’t exactly have what you’d call a cozy relationship.” She paused to take a bite of apple pie. “I don’t think she really relates that well to other women – even her own daughter.”

“I can understand. My father and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on a lot of things, either.”

“Maybe it’s just the nature of parents and children. Maybe we’re not supposed to get along.” She put her elbow on the table, leaned forward, and propped her chin in her hand. “But she gets along really well with my brothers, though – even my snot of a step-brother.”

“Has your mother ever mentioned Rosehill to you before?” Chaz asked, trying to steer the conversation back on topic. Joy’s mother’s reaction had peaked his curiosity, as well. “Maybe in passing?”

“Not that I can remember,” she sighed. “Hell, I hadn’t even heard of Rosehill until my editor brought it up because of the Meg Marriott murder and I make several trips to New York a year. This place just seems so removed from everything else. It’s like a little Peyton Place town.”

Suddenly, a familiar sound drew Joy’s attention to the television that sat on a shelf up in the corner of the diner. “Shhh… It’s ‘Light of Love’! I haven’t seen it in weeks. I really need to get caught up. Natalie’s been in a coma. I read online that she’s supposed to be coming out of it next week.”

“You watch soap operas?” Chaz eyed her with a sense of both shock and amusement.

“Not really – just this one. I got hooked on it when I was in boarding school in Switzerland. One of the girls was from Chicago and her mother would mail her video tapes every week and we’d sit around and watch it.” Enrapt by the goings-on on-screen, Joy shoved another piece of pie into her mouth. “Natalie’s been in a coma because the actress who plays her has been off somewhere filming a movie. I just adore Galen Sterling. I think she’s going to be a big movie star.”

“Sterling?” Chaz covered his mouth in surprise and anxiousness. He had a sudden feeling that Joy was going to become much more interested in the residents of Rosehill than she ever thought she’d be.

Meg’s House, Foyer

“John, where are you going?” Suzanne Prentiss asked as she followed her husband out of the living room and into the foyer.

“I was just going to go outside and make a phone call.” John Prentiss pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and held it up to his ear. “I want to check in with Andy and see how things are going.”

“Can’t you forget about Beaver Ridge for one day?” Despite her best efforts, she knew the irritation in her voice was evident. “We just read my grandmother’s will. Her memorial service was only a few days ago.”

“Honey, I know and I’m sorry, but this is business. I thought you understood why I’m putting so much energy into this. It’s for us and our future.” John opened the front door and stepped outside, Suzanne quickly behind him. “Damn. No answer.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Maybe I should drive out there and see how things are going.”

“John, everyone’s getting together at Aunt Van’s. I thought we’d go and be with the rest of the family.” She grabbed his arm, almost pleadingly. “I haven’t had much of a chance to catch up with Rick and Cal since the funeral – I have no idea how long they’ll be in town – and I want to spend time with my sisters. I hardly ever get to see Vanessa or Megan since they moved to New York.”

“Well, you go right ahead, honey.” He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek, oblivious to exactly what she was saying. “I know your family is important to you. I’ll stop by as soon as I get back, if it’s not too late.”

“Too late? How much time are you planning on spending there today, anyway? Don’t you spend enough time at Beaver Ridge as it is? You’re up at the crack of dawn every day and you don’t come home until it’s dark outside. I never see you. I’m not even sure Tess knows you’re her father!”

“Suzanne, that’s not fair and you know it!” Why couldn’t she understand? “You know Beaver Ridge is a huge project and there’s a lot involved with it. I explained that to you when I signed on. It’s a lot of work, I admit, but the payoff in the end is going to be huge for us.” He took her lovingly into his arms and kissed her tenderly. “I promise. I won’t be out there long. I just want to see how things are going. I’ll see you at Van’s.”

As John quickly walked down the drive towards his car, Suzanne folded her arms across her chest and fought back the tears that had started to well up in here eyes. What if by the time Beaver Ridge is up and running there isn’t an “us” left?