The Chardon Chronicles: Season One -- The Harvest Festival (23 page)

He got back in the car and headed toward
Windham. He called Robbie on the way.

“Yello.” Robbie answered.

“Hey, Robbie Wells?”

“Oh hey! Keith! I remember you, just
barely.”

“Yeah, I was in Matty’s class. But not in
many classes with Matty. Smart dude.”

“No doubt. My brother is a genius.”

“I was a dumb jock… Somehow my daughter ended
up with some smarts.”

“Chloe’s a really special girl. You must be
proud.”

“Thanks! That means a lot. Tracy seems like a
really sweet kid.”

“She really is a mix of Matt and Telia… but a
little more fun loving and wild than they are.”

Keith thought it was a little weird he kept
using the present tense about Tracy’s parents but let it go. “So,
Chloe said to call. What’s up?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want it to seem too weird. I
assume the girls filled you in?”

“No, not really, just said Tracy’d be staying
a while. It’s fine with me. We have plenty of space.”

“Ahh. Yeah. Say, I wanted to ask you a favor,
and believe me, I’m happy to reciprocate in any way.”

“Oh speaking of, Chloe told me about her car.
That’s really exciting. Thanks!”

“Sure… So, Chloe’s mentioned some of the
skills you’ve taught her.”

“Yep… Like?”

“Driving… She knows Judo.”

Keith laughed. “Yeah, that’s our
daddy-daughter bonding.”

“Any firearms training?” Robbie asked matter
of factly.

“Umm. Just a little. To the range a few
times.”

“I was wondering if you’d get Tracy over to
the range… teach her the basics. I haven’t had a chance to do it.
I’ll talk to her about it so it’s not totally out of left field. I
am completely tied up here.”

“Yeah, OK. I guess so.”

“Great! I hope we get a chance to meet
soon.”

“Likewise. Take care Robbie.” He hung up.

He was intrigued about the request, but put
the thought out of his mind and focused on the upcoming meeting. He
hoped to get a sounding from Dickie Parsons about the account if he
could. Any other information would be a bonus.

He pulled into the driveway and honked the
horn. He stepped out of the car. He held a briefcase and tried to
exude officialdom.

Dickie opened the door. He had mutton chops
that were only about 2 inches apart from being a full beard. His
hair was black and wavy and close to his head, like a helmet. One
of his eyes squinted habitually. He had on overalls and a green
T-shirt and was carrying a pet ferret.

“Mornin’ c’mon in. Don’t mind the mess.”

The house was stacked with several boxes,
some opened, some still taped shut. The boxes were from different
online retailers, and Keith noticed they all had different
addresses--none of them to Dickie. The stuff would soon be sold
online. He was a small time thief.

Keith looked around for any weapons, but
didn’t see anything. Dickie cleared off a spot on a chair for him,
and he slumped down onto the couch.

“Mr. Parsons, I was wondering how you knew
Mz. Cantoe. You must be important to her in some way to be her
beneficiary.”

Dickie smiled. “Oh, I can’t kiss and tell,
now, can I? We wuz friends at work years back. Stayed in touch all
this time. She’d crash here when she wuz still married. Them days
are long gone. That man’s longer gone.” he laughed.

“Did she ever mention anything about her
parents?”

Dickie laughed, “oh yeah… Rich bitches…
freaks. Did you know her dad raped her?”

Keith was genuinely shocked. “No. Goodness
no.”

“Yeah not just once… Like all the time. Can
you imagine the sick mind? Anyway. She told me about it when she’d
get stoned. Not only rape, but weird shit, too. Killing animals.
Weird costumes and robes and shit. Oh yeah, and locking her and her
sister up in the basement.”

“My goodness. That’s an amazing story. You
mean, down in Hudson?”

“Yeah… family was in a cult or some shit. She
called it something…” He held up a finger. “Jupiter something…
Anyway, some weird shit happens.” he laughed.

“No doubt. Well, thank you Mr. Parsons. Down
to business! Here’s a check for the total amount from the
account.”

“I thought it was bottomless?” Dickie
said.

“Oh, really? How did you hear that?”

“Oh shit, ‘tween you and me we partied large
on that account for a long time… barely lived through that!” he
smacked his knee. “the balance was always the same.”

“Interesting. Anyway, endorse the check, and
I guess you can party with what’s left. Don’t spend it all at one
place!”

His eyes gleamed, “wooo woooo!” he fist
pumped and he danced in his seat. “I’m gonna get laid tonight!”

Morgan started the truck. He adjusted the
rear view mirror and the seat. He put it in drive and stepped on
the gas. It lurched away down the driveway.

“Whoa!” he said out loud. He stepped on the
brake and skidded to a stop. “OK. I need to be more gradual…” he
slowly accelerated up to a normal speed, then braked to an easy
stop. “Alright!”

He started the GPS and started following the
instructions. After about 10 minutes he felt comfortable--then he
got to the freeway. There were a few moments of terror getting into
the traffic, but once he merged he relaxed. He stayed over in the
right lane and went exactly the speed limit for the rest of the
trip.

He got to the airport about an hour too
early. He parked in the lot and walked to the terminal. He’d
arranged to meet Alfonse at a coffee shop on the main concourse.
They’d exchanged pictures of their faces to make the process
easier.

He had a cup of coffee and waited. 10:30AM
rolled around, and passed. He waited until 11:30AM and was getting
annoyed. He was about to get up and leave when Alfonse stopped in
the door. He was a short, thick man. His neck seemed to merge
directly into his bullet head which was bald, shiny, and polished.
His eyelids and earlobes and lips were thick.

Morgan waved. “Alfonse!”

“Morgan!” he smiled broadly. “What a long
flight… thank you for waiting.”

Morgan waved it off, “No problem at all. Do
you have any bags?’

“Just this one. I travel light.” He had a
wheeled carry on.

“Shall we?” Morgan started walking back
toward the car.

“Let’s go. I am eager to see the coin.”
Alfonse said.

“Oh, here…” Morgan dug the coin out of his
pocket and handed it over.

Alfonse hefted it in his hand and pulled out
an eye loop. He broke into a broad smile, then laughed for nearly a
minute. Morgan smiled back but furrowed his brow. He said, “Morgan,
you have a good eye. Can I ask how old you are?”

“Seventeen… I’ll be 18 in June.”

Alfonse laughed again. “Oh, to be 17 again!
Your research on this was really good.”

He handed the coin back. They walked out to
the truck and started on the way back to the Wells farm.

“Forgive me, Morgan, but I need to sleep
before we do business. I can never fall asleep on an airplane, but
this seat is very comfortable.”

“Be my guest.”

When Keith got back to the apartment, school
was out, and the girls were at the condo.

“Tracy, I talked to your Uncle today, and, I
admit this was a surprise, he asked me to take you girls to the
firing range to teach you some basics.”

Tracy blushed, she was a little and
embarrassed about her weird family. “Yeah, we talked about it… well
texted today.”

He asked Chloe, “You up for it?”

“Hell yeah!” she said. “It’s been a long time
since we did any shooting.”

Tracy put up both of her hands then slapped
her knees and stood up. “Mr. Marte, um, well. I don’t know how much
Uncle Robbie explained, so maybe I should.”

“I’m glad you brought that up… It was a
surprising request.” He had been mulling over how to broach the
subject all day.

“Well, my house has a lot of valuable and
rare things. My Uncle’s been worrying that someone is watching the
place. That’s why I’m here… and probably why he wants me to learn
gun stuff.”

“That’s prudent. I’m glad you’re here. Let’s
go shootin’!”

They drove to the range where Keith
practiced. It was outside, at a large field with a two story
earthen backstop.

Tracy said, “It’s not like TV. Where’s the
rope thingie that hangs the target?”

Keith said, “We have to hang it.”

Tracy asked, “Isn’t it bad to walk in front
of the guns?”

Keith nodded, “Yes and that’s rule #1.
Chloe?”

Chloe recited, “Don’t point the gun at
something unless you plan to kill it.”

Keith said, “Even if you’re absolutely 100%
sure the gun is not loaded, assume it is loaded. Never point a gun
down range unless we’re all clear.”

Tracy said, “Makes perfect sense.”

He went over the parts of the gun and how it
worked. He had the girls load up several clips. He took a pair of
pliers and pulled the bullet out of the casing and poured the
grains out in Tracy’s hand.

“Charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur combined in
the correct ratio. Very plain ingredients.”

“Saltpeter’s from bat shit.” Chloe said and
laughed.

“Hey! You stole my line!” Keith said.

Tracy flicked the gunpowder onto the ground
and made a mock “yuck” face.

“You ready?” Keith asked. Tracy nodded. “Eyes
and ears.” he said. They donned their safety glasses and earplugs.
He demonstrated. “Here’s how I learned. Hold the gun comfortably in
your dominant hand. Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re
going to shoot. Safety off. Support the gun with your other hand
cupped like this. When you’re ready to shoot, use your fingertip to
pull the trigger until you’re surprised by…” BANG.

He explained how to sight the target and
handed the gun to Tracy.

”Wow, it’s heavy!” she said. She pointed the
gun and squeezed the trigger. She shot. “Woooooo!” she smiled and
laughed in spite of her previous anxiety.

“Hey, you hit the target!” Chloe said. “Off
center, but for the first shot, that was excellent!”

Keith said, “I think you jerked the trigger a
bit… It’s tough, but try not to anticipate the shot.”

She breathed out and tried it again. BANG. It
hit in the circle.

Chloe said, “nice shot!” and clapped. “Try a
couple.”

BANG BANG. One hit, and the second was
off.

Keith said, “That’s much harder, right? So if
you need accuracy, then aim, shoot, aim shoot.”

Tracy went through the rest of the clip
methodically and hit the target each time.

“Wow!” Tracy said. “That is surprisingly fun.
I never knew…”

“Your turn, girlie.” Keith told Chloe. “Don’t
show off!”

Chloe loaded her clip and took aim. She stood
like a samurai holding a sword. She methodically went through the
clip and put each shot near the middle of the target.

“Holy shit!” Tracy laughed. “What are you,
girl?!”

Chloe smiled and shrugged. “Just a
natural.”

Keith had them run through a few more clips,
then had them shoot from a knee. By the end, Tracy had improved
significantly.

“OK. I’m exhausted!” Tracy said,
finally.”It’s fun, but stressful.”

“That’s a good description.” Keith said.

Morgan and Alfonse got back to the farm.
Alfonse woke up as the truck turned onto the gravel driveway.

“Here we are!” Morgan said.

“Oh goodness. I slept! Apologies for being
such bad company.”

“Don’t worry about it. Saves me from
apologizing for my driving.”

Alfonse rolled the window down. “Country air!
And what a wonderful place. Is this yours?”

Morgan laughed, “oh no! I’m a friend of the
family that lives here.”

They passed the Flying Fox and Morgan parked
on the driveway.

Robbie came out to greet them. “You made it!
I kept my phone with me all day!”

Morgan said, “it actually wasn’t that
bad.”

Robbie shook Alfonse’s hand, “I’m Robbie
Wells. You’re from Italia?”

“Si, yes, from Milano. The landscape in the
countryside there is much like this…” he gestured around.
“Beautiful.”

“You must be exhausted. I’ve got a room here
for you if you need it.” Robbie said.

“I am very much obliged.”

They walked inside. Alfonse eyed all the
tchotchkes in the house looking for any treasures, but nothing was
as extraordinary as the coin. Robbie showed him to a room. “We’ll
be down in the library whenever you’re ready. Make yourself at
home.”