Ring in Mine #3: Nephi & Jerome: Chapter 35
I hope you are still reading my story and haven't given up on me.
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Thanks Zach for your editing skills. Here is Chapter 41.
----------- Chapter 41
Early morning came. The thought of going to school was more than Jared could handle. He heaved into the toilet, having already lost what remained from dinner.
After a search Drake had found Mary, "Mary, Jared is sick. Will you check on him? I'm worried."
"Drake, I'll be there as soon as I can. I am sure I know the problem and the solution." Mary reassured the worried boyfriend.
Mary sat next to her sweating son. "Jared, you can quit worrying about school. We put our heads together and decided for your safety you should attend classes here." Jared's rigid posture melted into a relaxed puddle supported by his mother on one side and Drake on the other. "Drake, Kenton, and Kyle are in similar situations. Grandma Grace made it so you don't have to worry about a scholarship to attend college. I will be homeschooling the four of you working toward the GED exam."
Jared had spent the end of the last school year in misery after being outed. Thanks to Yancy's mother everyone would know he was gay. "
"I have invited Margaret for dinner on Thursday and she will meet with each of you." Jared didn't mind he had to see a shrink.
Mary had decided that all of her students would learn Italian. During the morning session Mary only spoke Italian. For Mary it had been a second language growing up. For the twenty years of her marriage her husband refused to have that `damn Catholic language' spoken in his house. Looking back her husband had always been small minded and never open to new ideas.
The littles were picking it up faster than the teens. For the older boys she started with reviewing math concepts so they could get used to the Italian terms before she started harder concepts. They read with the littles from Italian primer books Mary had translated from English. Reading, writing and literature were in the afternoon when Mary allowed English.
After the first week, Italian became the required language during morning chores. Mary moved classes to the old boy's dormitory so Nephi could help and learn Italian with the others. Being only a week into the new quarter Jerome added an Italian class to his college schedule.
Nephi continued physical therapy in the afternoon.
"If you want to get out of that chair you need to work harder!" Nephi was having an apathetic afternoon. He didn't care. "Your upper body needs to pick up the slack."
Nephi stood halfway between two parallel sets of handrails. "It feels like I'm just dragging it behind me."
"That's because you are. You need to swing it forward. The brace will keep your knee from buckling."
"But it's too hard."
"You don't want it enough!" The therapist provided a new source of motivation. He left Nephi standing where he was and took a chair near the end of the rails. He had a magazine open but always kept an eye on Nephi.
"Are you going to leave me here?"
The therapist looked up. "Yes!"
The bars were tall enough that if Nephi pushed his arms straight he could lift his feet an inch off the floor. Now Nephi was angry. He lifted himself from the floor and swung his legs forward at the same time. He moved his hands in front of his body and did it again. As Nephi neared the end the therapist picked up the box of brownies and moved to the other end near Nephi's wheelchair.
"Those are my brownies." The therapist licked the fudge frosting from his fingers finishing the first brownie.
Nephi's anger grew. He made the difficult turn to face the other direction and having figured out a way to move at a respectable speed he forced his way past his screaming muscles and made it to the end. The therapist was still out of reach. Holding on to the bar with one hand he transferred to the wheelchair.
"That's what I've been talking about. You must care enough, be angry enough, to make yourself move beyond the easy and do the difficult." The therapist allowed Nephi only half a brownie. Nephi lay face down on the massage table. It always seemed odd knowing his leg was being touched but not feeling it. "Rollover!"
Nephi managed the maneuver. "We will try something different today. The therapist put a towel over Nephi's face. I want you to feel each part of your body as I work on it."
The therapist kept up a running monolog. "Today you've earned a reward."
There was silence as his fingers traced their way up the insides of his legs. Nephi grew hard. The towel over his midsection fell to the side exposing his hardness.
"This isn't right. I'm married." Nephi tried to remove the towel from his face to find his arms secured to the table.
A pair of soft lips surrounded Nephi's rampant manhood. "You can't do this."
A husky whisper drifted through the towel. "Today I can!"
Nephi gave up and enjoyed his reward. He felt a rubber rolled over his dick. Followed by the pair of lips. Feeling a lubed finger working his hole pushed him over the edge. He filled the rubber. The door opened and closed leaving Nephi naked on the table.
A few minutes later the door opened again. "Nephi, what's going on in here?" Jerome tried to sound upset.
"You sound nothing like my therapist. What's with the rubbers?"
"I'm saving your cream for my coffee." Jerome answered.
"You don't drink coffee."
"I'm using it on my cereal in the morning?" Jerome tried again. This had been the fourth time Jerome had collected Nephi's load.
Jerome almost said something about cloning but that was too close to the truth.
"I'm glad it was you and not my therapist." Nephi had a kiss for his partner.
By the end of the third week the crowd at the front gate had disappeared. As much as Yancy's mother tried to keep it in the headlines, people moved onto other things.
Drake and Kyle had to stay on the property for their safety until they settled things in the courts, Kenton and Jared stayed close to home. Groups of people, even family triggered Jared's anxiety attacks. Part of Jared's therapy was to be in crowds of increasing size. First it was the family at dinner. Then they would invite people over from the extended family. Sean suggested they invite one of the work teams and their family each weekend to use the pool.
During the first of these Jared scanned the crowd never leaving Drake's side. Drake noticed unfamiliar teens and adult men made him the most nervous.
An officer from internal affairs wanted Jared to come to the station to answer questions. Margaret insisted Jared's lawyer be there. Adam had the day off and insisted on driving Drake, Jared and Mary to the station. Early that morning the station called and moved the appointment ahead an hour.
When Mary was out of sight Nephi declared an extended recess at the compound's playground as long as they only spoke Italian.
As they approached the police station there was a crowd with anti-gay placards and a tv reporter. In the middle of the group Yancy's mother was playing ringmaster. Mary wanted to know who informed the press. Jared ducked down in the backseat. Mary rolled the window down. Yancy's mother's voice projected over the crowd with the trained ease of a stage performer.
"Today, they will ask the hard questions about the viscous attack that left my son without the use of his thumb." She held Yancy's bandaged hand up for the camera. Mary rolled the window up cutting off her impassioned speech. "How does she find out where and when Jared will be?" Mary wondered.
Adam pulled around the back of the building into the secure inmate transfer area. When the gates were closed Adam opened the door first for Mary and then for Jared. Adam led the way through the secure areas of the station. Jared's lawyer was livid. If Mary hadn't called him he wouldn't have known about the time change. At least one person in the police department was leaking information.
They hadn't even sat down. "After the show in front of the police station, I am ready to take my client home. If the questions branch away from what we discussed, we will leave." The lawyer let Jared sit first.
"I've read your statement and it leaves a lot of questions unanswered." The officer shuffled through his papers.
"Why did the boys stop if it wasn't because of car troubles?" Jared's lawyer stood up. Jared we are leaving.
"No, we are just getting started." The lawyer tried the door and found it locked. "The boy may be a hostile witness, but he will answer my questions before he leaves. Sit down!"
"How many men have you seduced into having gay sex?" The officer waited for an answer. "I have only had sex with my partner, Drake."
"Did you have sex together before you were sixteen?"
"That is enough. Jared you will not say another word. They brought us here under false pretenses."
"How many times did you make sexual advances toward Yancy before you attacked him?"
"Are you afraid to answer because it will show your guilt?"
Chief Thompson found Adam and Mary sitting on a bench in the hallway. "Why are you here so early? Your appointment with internal affairs isn't until eleven." After a brief discussion and a lengthy search through interrogation rooms they found Jared.
The Chief opened the door with his master key. "What is going on?"
"We are investigating a series of illegal gay behaviors that ended in the attack against a young man costing him the use of his thumb." The officer answered. Detective Scott is on the other side of the glass recording the interrogation.
The recording equipment was still on but the room was empty.
The search was on for Detective Scott. There were interrogation rooms to check, plus all the offices.
"He left the building, handed the loud TV lady a tape and they left together." The officer at the front reception counter informed the Chief. The investigator from Internal Affairs had his hands full without questioning Jared at length. His questions were about Detective Scott.
That night Nephi and Jerome snuggled on the couch not paying attention to the evening news until a familiar name popped up.
"This afternoon during what appears to be a routine traffic stop a car struck and killed Officer Detective Scott of the Salt Lake Police Department." The reporter stood on the sidewalk near Pioneer Park downtown, an area known for drug activities and a homeless hangout.
"He pulled up behind a green Buick. He was getting back in his car when another vehicle hit the officer." A homeless man explained. "It ripped the door right off the cop car . . ."
"It wasn't a traffic stop it was a drug deal. The cop handed the driver in the green car a duffle bag and carried a big brown envelope back to his car." A ragged woman leaning on a shopping cart interrupted.
"Both cars left the scene of the accident leaving Detective Scott lying in a pool of blood." The reporter continued.
"I turned him over to do CPR but half his face was missing. A metal shard protruded from his chest. There was no heartbeat." Another homeless man sporting a U.S.M.C. tattoo filled in important details.
The scene cut to an officer in uniform. "It's a tragic day for the department. Both cars disappeared from a downtown parking structure earlier in the day." The scene switched to a fire truck on the salt flats. "A Utah Highway Patrol officer discovered the cars on the west desert when he investigated a pillar of black smoke. With the intensity of the flames there is little hope of finding any evidence. Detective Scott was part of the gang task force. We are treating this as a gang related homicide. If you were on or near Stansbury Island this afternoon and saw a vehicle leaving the area please call the number on the screen."
Adam saw lights in the main house as he returned home after his shift. He heard the end of the story. "You've only heard part of the news. Someone has cleaned out all of the physical evidence and files about the gang activities on the east side of the valley."
"Damn, if they are cleaning up loose ends our boys are in danger." Jerome looked to Nephi. "How are we going to handle this?"
The phone rang. "Have you seen the news?" Benny sounded concerned.
"Yeah, we watched the news and Adam filled in the details. How do we keep the boys safe?" Nephi asked.
"The highway patrol has an officer posted at the gate tonight. You might see a security guard walking the perimeter. Lock all the doors and windows." Benny finished up.
"We won't worry the family by telling them tonight." Nephi decided.
Nephi couldn't settle into sleep. Jerome had school the next day. Nephi used the bars by his bed to maneuver himself into his chair. After a stop at the toilet he moved to the recliner in the main room. His clipboard in hand, he drew modifications he thought might make the compound more secure.
He wasn't sure how to pay for the changes. Being stuck at home he had looked at the income and expenditures. They were spending money faster than they were making it. The landscaping business was doing well but they were paying more workers. Jerome had an income from Grace's trust. Nephi's income covered the groceries not raised on the farm. The women did well with the booth they had at the farmer's market. They sold the goods and produce beyond what the family used. He had never asked where that money went.
With his mind going in circles about the money his eyes gave up. Jerome found his growling bear sitting in Nephi's chair the next morning. Jerome went about his morning chores leaving Nephi sleeping. When the tribe came in for breakfast would be soon enough for Nephi to start his day.
Nephi was watching the morning news. Kenton stopped to watch.
"They have identified one of the four bodies found in the cars used in the roadside homicide that left Detective Scott of the Salt Lake police department dead." The reporter went into the details of the accident. A mugshot of a young man appeared with the burned-out cars. "They have released the name of one victim, Toby Menaries. The police are trying to identify the others."
Kenton dialed the phone, waited for an answer, and hung up. "Where's Adam?"
Nephi turned the tv off. "He's already at work."
"I think I know who the others are." Kenton wanted to call right then. Nephi suggested waiting until after breakfast.
"They won't do this over the phone. Let's not call until after breakfast. They aren't going anywhere." Kenton provided a useful arm for Nephi's. journey from recliner to chair.
Breakfast was always a noisy affair. After breakfast Phil dropped Eve at the junior high on the way to school. Jerome had already left for college. Drake and Jared hadn't come to breakfast. They were stretching fence with Clark. Nephi looked around. It was only Kenton and him.
"Well we had better be on our way." Nephi could have found a driver. His car was an automatic. He wouldn't need his left leg. He was proving something to himself.
Kenton opened the car door. The seat was a little lower than the wheelchair. Nephi rolled the window down and used the door frame to pull himself upright. With a little shift in direction he lowered himself to the driver's seat. His arms and right leg were doing all of the work. Nephi shifted forward and lifted his bad leg with his arms and tucked it into the car.
It had been an ordeal, but he had done it. It was just like the therapist had said. He had to want it bad enough. Kenton closed the Nephi's door, folded the wheelchair and stuck it behind the driver's seat. Buckled in, it was time to start the car. It had been a while. Nephi hoped it would start.
Nephi waved at the security guard parked by the front gate. His emotions soared. He wasn't a prisoner of the chair. He could drive anywhere. Nephi looked at the fuel gauge and knew the first stop would be the gas station. He chose a real gas station rather than a convenience store.
Nephi honked twice. "George would you mind filling it up with regular." Nephi hoped George was wearing his own shirt. George noticed the wheelchair in the backseat. Their pumps were self-service. The sign on the pump said, `Honk twice for handicap assistance.'
George swiped Nephi's card and filled the car. He even washed the windows and checked the oil, just like the old days. "There you go sir. Come in again." Nephi slipped George two dollars. "We don't expect tips."
"It isn't a tip. It's lunch on me." Nephi waved as he left. He didn't need to tip, but he wanted to show George his appreciation. He knew if George was working the next time, he would get the same level of service.
At the police station things were a little harder. Kenton had to hold the door open while Nephi used it to stand up. Kenton pushed the wheelchair in place. With a sigh of relief, he settled in the chair. He now understood why he had to work on upper body strength and promised himself he would work harder for the therapist.
Nephi allowed Kenton to push him into the police station. Getting through security was an ordeal. The next step was getting to see the Chief. Nephi didn't know who else to ask for. Their names weren't on the clipboard, the officer on duty wouldn't let them off of the first floor. Jerome had told Nephi of the dream about the clipboard.
"Would you let Chief Thompson know Nephi and Kenton need to see him." Nephi hadn't gotten this far to give up.
"The Chief is a very busy man. He is in a meeting this morning." The officer turned to assist the next in line.
Benny was a major influence on Nephi. Nephi listed the people he knew. There were the official channels, Leonard or Adam, but Benny often used the back door.
"Sister Thompson, I'm not sure where to turn. Kenton and I are at the police station. Kenton is sure he knows the other three boys on the west desert." Nephi paused.
"We aren't having much luck getting into see your son and after yesterday with Jared I'm not sure who else we can trust." Nephi nodded as he listened to Sister Thompson on the phone.
"It's just the two of us . . . I drove . . . Thanks for your help." Nephi looked at Kenton. "Help is on the way."
A female officer stepped off the elevator. "I'm Cindy. I hear you have information about the bodies on the Salt Flats."
On the fourth floor Cindy opened a door and motioned the pair into the room. Twenty pairs of eyes turned in their direction. A detective in a shirt and tie stood in front of photos holding a pointer.
"Chief, this young man thinks he can tell you about the other bodies." Cindy introduced Kenton and Nephi.
The officer with the pointer picked up a clipboard. "What is so important you are interrupting our briefing?" Nephi already didn't like the man. Maybe it was because he hid behind a clipboard.
"If one wore a skull ring he is Peewee, Peter Harrison. If there was a chain around a neck with a small padlock that would be Marty, Martin Madison. Nick . . ." Kenton paused, ". . . Nicholas Parson always had a dagger in his boot. Those were Toby's top guys."
"How do you know these people?" The clipboard carrying officer demanded.
Kenton explained his brother was part of the gang until Toby killed his family. The Chief reminded officers in the room about the rape and the shooting.
"And where were you yesterday? It seems you had reasons to see these boys dead." What was it about a clipboard that affected the thought process.
"I never leave the compound. From noon until three I was in class. From three to five I was working with a sick alpaca. Then I had to help with milking. My brother Jared was pretty messed up when he left here yesterday. I had to help with his chores." Kenton answered the same question asked in different ways.
"Who would have carried a gun?" The Chief asked.
Kenton looked worried. "If he is missing a front tooth, it's Rico. I never met him. From what I heard through the walls at home, Rico is a hit man from the parent gang. Everyone feared RICO. He would kill anybody for enough money."
They asked for everything Kenton could remember about Rico, which wasn't much. "Do you think it was him that shot at you?"
Kenton explained if it had been Rico, he and his brothers would be dead. He did not leave witnesses.
They asked more questions but Kenton only knew what he had heard. They weren't willing to tell Kenton details about the bodies they had found. The information had been a one-way street.
Back in the car Nephi decided Kenton deserved a reward. Sitting in front of Bertram's, Nephi faced an unforeseen problem. His wallet was in his back pocket. Nephi squirmed and wiggled. This was harder than it used to be. Nephi got his right cheek out of the seat far enough that Kenton could get hold of the wallet.
"I'll have a brownie mega-deluxe supreme sundae. You can choose what you want." Nephi handed Kenton a ten-dollar bill.
The store was busy. A kid just out of high school was working the counter. Kenton waited behind a pair of girls that spent more time flirting with the guy behind the counter than ordering. He delivered their sandwiches that were more substitution than menu item.
"I need a peanut butter hot fudge sundae and a brownie mega-deluxe supreme sundae."
The guy behind the counter worked on the order and placed one peanut butter hot fudge sundae on the counter. "That will be $4.95."
"What about the other sundae?" Kenton asked.
"We don't have that on the menu and we don't do special orders." The guy stared at the girls chatting at their table.
"I need both sundaes. Nephi used to work here. It has to be on the menu." Kenton answered. "Is Bertram here?"
"Do you want the sundae or not?" When Kenton didn't answer right away, the guy picked up the sundae and gave it to the girls `on the house.'
Kenton walked out to the car without the sundaes and handed the money back to Nephi. "The clerk wouldn't make the sundae. He was a real ass. Can we get shakes at Arctic Circle?"
Arctic Circle had an advantage. They were the first drive-in in town to install a drive through window. It was perfect for Nephi. The cups were still in the car when they arrived home. Jerome was waiting for his missing partner with the physical therapist. Jerome was of a mixed mind. He worried about Nephi driving on his own, Nephi pushing the envelope pleased him.
Nephi explained driving Kenton to the station. He didn't mention Bertram's after. Jerome picked up the Arctic Circle cup. "So, you are now frequenting the competition?"
Nephi offered to tell him about it after physical therapy. Since Nephi was still in the car, that became the ordeal for the day. The therapist showed Nephi tricks to make getting in and out of the car easier. Nephi showed a high level of motivation about the day's lesson.
Jerome didn't ask about Bertram's after therapy. Nephi refused to bring the subject up. Kenton had succumbed under pressure and spilled the beans. Jerome wasn't sure what he should do about it. Mary found Jerome holding the Arctic Circle cup and staring into space.
"That must have been a special shake to deserve such intense thought." Mary said joking.
"Nephi took Kenton to Arctic Circle when the new guy at Bertram's wouldn't make him his brownie sundae. I don't know if I should say something to Bertram. Nephi has enough hurdles to overcome without family making it harder." Jerome worried about his guy. Mary, suggested Jerome not to do anything for now. It might just blow over.
Kenton wanted to watch the news after dinner. He wondered if he had helped at all and it didn't even make the news.
Night after night Kenton watched the news and there was no mention of the bodies on the salt flats.
On the fourth night Adam saw Kenton staring at the blank screen of the television. "Most people turn it on first. It's more entertaining, but then again with the stuff on TV I could be wrong."
"I turned it off. I was wondering if my trip to the police station had even helped." Kenton realized he was still holding the remote, which he sat on the coffee table.
"Kenton, you were spot on. You saved them days of following leads looking for the identity of the bodies. The state police have taken over the investigation. It looks like there are more officers hindering the investigations into gang activity on the east side."
Kenton nodded. "With their leadership gone, won't Yancy and his goons step into the leadership?"
The state police tried talking with Yancy only to find out his parents had sent him to a private school in Europe. His parent's response was contradictory. `Yancy does not belong to a gang. We sent him away for his safety.'
His two goons were off the radar. The police were hoping they didn't show up as another pair of bodies. They needed living people who could answer questions.
Kenton found himself mired in an internal struggle. The gang members his testimony could convict were in the morgue. Was it safe for him to go back to school? Did he want to go back to public school? There were other gang members out there. He felt safest at the compound, and he would be there if an animal needed him.
Nephi faced physical therapy with a renewed vengeance. His trip in the car had given him a taste of success and freedom. He understood that the chair would always be part of his life, but it didn't have to be his life.
Nephi had just finished helping the boys with their math lessons when the phone rang. It didn't ring often in the middle of the day and when it did it wasn't good news.
Eve had fallen on the front steps. She swore someone had pushed her. She made a comment on the girl's gym teacher's intelligence. Clark was in the back fields. Nephi borrowed Jared and drove to the school. The principal wasn't expecting a chair bound young adult with an attitude.
"I need to speak with her parents." Principal Gallagher insisted.
"You haven't even taken the time to look at Eve's file, have you?" Jared handed a folder to Nephi. Nephi pulled out a single piece of paper. "Eve lives at the Samaria Foundation. You will need to speak with me."
"This is not acceptable. If I cannot speak with her parents, I will suspend her until they come in. That wheelchair carries no weight with me; I am not dealing with a twenty something cripple."
"Jared, do you have a quarter with you?" Jared nodded. "In the hallway there was a pay phone. Call the Foundation's lawyers. We will let them call the judge and DFS. Make sure you mention the twenty something cripple. Suggest we take this to the media. The Kazoo Day Event could use free publicity." Jared left the office.
The principal called the shots in his school and refused to back down. "Take Eve home. She is not welcome at school until I can speak with her parents or real guardian."
"I'll just wait here for the call." Nephi announced.
"You will leave my office now or I will call security." Nephi didn't move. The principal made good on his threat to call security.
Jared had finished his call with the lawyers and had Benny on the phone. "The assistant principal dragged Nephi out of the principal's office. There are at least a hundred students in the hallway. Nephi has locked the wheels on his chair. They're leaving black marks on the tile floors. Uncle Benny, I've got to go. He dumped Nephi over the edge of the handicap ramp."
Jared ran for Nephi. "Great job asshole, you dumped a paralyzed man on the floor. The media will love this. Leave him alone; you've done enough." A student set the wheelchair back upright. Another student that could have been on the football team helped Jared get Nephi back in the chair.
"You're that guy that saved the life of that kid; I saw on TV. You are a real hero. May I have your autograph?" The boy offered his notebook and pen. "My name is Anthony. I'm the quarterback on the 9th grade team. I hope I can be as brave as you are."
The news spread through the student body. One student after another asked for Nephi's autograph. The bell rang but the crowd didn't thin.
"Students get back to class." The principal shouted.
"Principal Gallagher, this is the guy that runs a place for kids that have nowhere else to go. He cares so much for his kids he took a bullet protecting them. It's cool they go to school here." Anthony shared his feeling about one of his heroes.
"Principal Gallagher, the President of the School Board is on the phone. He doesn't sound happy." The secretary called out across the students in the hall.
"We are signing Eve out." The secretary checked Eve's file for authorized adults. Nephi's name appeared on top of the list. With Nephi's signature in the log book. They left the school. As they drove away from the school, Eve told her side of the story.
Eve was heading to class when she felt a shove from behind and a foot tangled in hers. As she picked herself up on the bottom of the steps the junior high cheerleaders stood at the top of the steps laughing.
"Looks like the 7th grader fell over her own big feet. You need to watch where you are going." You didn't survive in a dorm full of half-sisters if you didn't stand up for yourself.
"Great, now I have a bitch at school and at home. The one at home is furry, Ill-tempered, and ugly. At least she is loveable and house trained." Eve called back.
There was some snickering from the students watching the drama unfold. The head cheerleader couldn't let her grip on the student body slip. She closed the gap between them and slapped Eve.
Eve hadn't had time to return the slap when the girl's gym teacher intervened. She bought the cheerleaders story about Eve tripping and calling her a bitch.
"Apologize for calling her a bitch." The teacher demanded.
"I didn't call her a bitch. I said at least my bitch at home is loveable and house trained." It wasn't snickering in the crowd but laughter and applause. The students didn't like the head cheerleader or the teacher. "I can't believe anybody could be so blinded by this self-centered princess, just because she's a cheerleader, unless you're her evil queen."
Eve realized she had taken things too far as she sat waiting for someone from home to come get her She sighed with relief when Nephi arrived and not her big sister. Even though he was in a wheelchair he wouldn't let anyone push him around. Eve chuckled to herself at her terrible pun. She would get right to work on homework before anyone else found something for her to do.
Eve had a creative writing assignment due next week for English, it would be a fairy tale set in the present. A self-centered princess seeks the evil queen. Each thinking they are using the other to achieve their goals. Eve would have to change the names, but she wanted her readers to know who the story was about, but still maintain deniability.