Kayla - It Ends

"That's from the computer inside your basement?"

"Yeah, I put another hard drive in its place yesterday after Kayla left. I imagine it's the first time she's actually used the back door of the house. Reporters are camped out in front of the house like a bunch of vultures. I'd sure like to listen to what's on there."

"I'm not sure I can arrange that. I might be able to do something about some transcripts, if we need confirmation of facts."

"I'll take what I can get. Can you tell me who they are?"

The first part of what Bailey told me wasn't much different from what I expected to hear. I knew very little about Brent. Some of the television reporters had some details correct and others would never figure it out.

Brent Jamison Harriman was the oldest child of Jewel Adams, from her first housekeeper--pregnancy swindle. Jewel was never married to the child's father, but used his name when Brent was born and it was shown on his birth certificate. Brent's first job after high school was with a travel agency in the town where he grew up. He was a good looking young man and learned to please women.

Kayla Marie Rogers was the second child of Jewel Adams. She was the daughter of Herman C. Driscoll. Jewel used the name Rogers when she returned to live with her parents, claiming she was a widow. Kayla was a wild teenager whom her grandparents never managed to control. She was too pretty and easily got her way. Despite a few minor problems with law enforcement, she was able to avoid a criminal record.

Bailey and I were lucky no customers were coming into the tee shirt shop. As the lunch hour approached two young women, who looked like they might be secretaries in one of the nearby office buildings, walked in to ooh and aah over some newly arrived merchandise. Bailey Bledsoe and I took our conversation out to the front porch of the building.

"Okay, I understand Jewel is her mother, but why did Kayla come here. The few times I was around the two of them together, they acted like strangers."

"Yeah," Bailey agreed. "They never were together when Kayla was growing up. As you know, Jewel isn't a gregarious person."

"That's an understatement," I said. "She seems to enjoy making people dislike her."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Bailey wasn't very complimentary about Jewel, her treatment of her children, or her parents. She never went to see her children, nor did she send any money to help with the children's care.

Bailey chuckled but it wasn't a happy sound. "According to the old police chief in her home town, Kayla wasn't really wild. She just never learned any discipline. I don't know if he was sweet on her, or was only trying to keep her out of trouble."

"Would his name be Ben or Benny?"

"Oh," Bailey asked, "Do you know him?"

"No, but Kayla had a habit of muttering under her breath, 'Ben wouldn't like that,' or 'Ben would insist I fix that.' It was her way of chastising herself when she did something she was displeased with, or couldn't get something straight. I always thought it was the man who taught her what she knew about hanging wallpaper."

"I see," Bailey nodded. "I guess he may have been her teacher, for things like that, too. He kept a few of the minor troublemakers busy in the summer, helping older people around their homes. He did it, like community service work, instead of sending them through the juvenile legal system."

"Ah, this Ben, you said he might have been sweet on Kayla?"

"Maybe, but he says she has a mean streak. No matter what you do for her, she's still going to stab you in the back the first chance she gets. She shows no remorse, doesn't ask for forgiveness, and cannot be trusted."

"I was learning that, particularly about financial matters."

Upon the death of the older couple, Jewel arranged for her daughter to move and gave her a few jobs, setting her up in a small easily-managed business of hanging wallpaper. However, Jewel was able to control the young girl, probably from fear or intimidation, but she also saw that Kayla stayed busy, which kept her out of trouble.

About two years after Jewel had settled Kayla into a business of her own, Brent needed rescuing. An outraged husband threatened to sue his wife for divorce, claiming adultery along with a lawsuit against Brent for alienation of affection. Jewel brought him to town and reunited him with his half-sister, Kayla.

Bailey put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Son, you're lucky to be alive. Do you know that?"

"Yeah, sort of, I guess. I thought I was going to expose a plot against me, but it didn't turn out like I expected."

Bailey dropped him arm and looked at me, "It's probably one of those things, like 'Only mad fools and Englishmen going out in the noonday sun.' Sort of, 'It takes one to know one.' The rest of us stand around and shake our heads in confusion."

"Can you ... if you know ... can you tell me, so I can understand?"

"I'll tell you some of it. The rest is up to the courts."

If Jewel was aware of the incestuous relationship between her son and her daughter, she was not going to admit it. Instead, she pushed Brent to marry the daughter of his employer, telling him there was money there for the taking. Jewel knew Patrice's grandfather, Sherwood Appling. He and Herman K. Driscoll had been the very best of friends.

When Herman K. Driscoll died, Jewel tried to purchase the townhouse where she had lived off and on for almost a dozen years. Although a bank would lend to her for the construction of someone's home, she could not obtain a loan to purchase a home for herself.

In an interview, Kayla admitted Jewel told her about the job at the old Driscoll townhouse. Yet, Kayla believed she secured the job on her own merits.

Instead of waiting for Sherwood Appling to die and Hollis to arrange for Kayla to have control of my assets, they tried to rush their plans because Kayla was pregnant. They planned to catch me in a compromising position with Brent's wife. In a rage, Brent would shoot me, accidently killing his wife at the same time.

However, Patrice left town to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding; then broke her leg when she fell down the stairs during the reception. I went on a trip to research my book and after almost two months, it didn't look like I was in any hurry to come home.

The police had my signed authorization to place recording devices, along with several cameras, in my home. The evidence they collected would be used in a trial on charges of conspiracy to murder and several different types of fraud.

After everything exploded, Jewel stated she entered the townhouse through the housekeeper's apartment after she drove down the lane at the rear of Craftsman Row. Yesterday's long, contentious meeting involved discussions and loud arguments with Kayla and Brent in the formal dining room, one of the few rooms without a recording device. Bailey hoped the device in the kitchen had picked up the loud voices.

According to Jewel, Kayla knew I was not the father because she and I only had sex one time after she returned from the weekend warehouse sale. That one time was the evening her period started. She inserted a tampon after we had sex that night because she did not want to stain the sheets on the bed.

I knew it would be many months before any kind of trial to decide if there actually was a conspiracy. There had never been an actual attempt to kill Patrice or me. It was possible there might never be a trial for those charges, depending on the skill of the lawyers Jewel, Brent, and Kayla managed to hire. I just knew I would be divorced by then, or as soon as possible after the birth of Kayla's child and a paternity test. Long before then, Patrice would have also gained her freedom from Brent.

I listened to everything Bailey could tell me, but I did not have a clue to figuring out why everything had gone so wrong. "Okay, I guess I'm ready to hear why Kayla is in intensive care, my lawyer's sitting in protective custody, and Brent's been arrested."

"When the reporters started asking questions, Kayla thought Jewel and Brent would try to squeeze her out so she told Hollis to come by the house to protect her interests. She'd been playing both sides against the middle, meeting him when Brent was too busy to watch her. He really is an extremely jealous man."

"Yes, that's what Patrice said."

"Hollis walked in and kissed Kayla on the cheek. Brent was so proud of the gun he'd bought he had been carrying it regularly. He pulled the gun out, threatening Hollis, a scuffle resulted in the gun being discharged, and Kayla was hit. Jewel used the house phone to call 9-1-1. End of story."

* * *

I was still reeling from all the publicity caused by the disclosures I had made. Kayla was in intensive care, partly because it was easier to keep her from being disturbed. Jewel found enough money, or Kayla did so, to post bail for Brent. He was being watched and not likely to cause further trouble.

Hollis was no longer my attorney and probably hadn't been for some time, I just didn't know it. The evidence I could use for a divorce wasn't much more than a few photos and some sloppy recordings that were much lower quality than the police equipment had obtained. The file folder with the corrected deed he tried to slip in with the documents he wanted me to sign was still in my suitcase. I had not decided if I was going to pursue some kind of action against him. Although I was having the book and movie contracts reviewed, I already knew he had done a good job.

I had returned to the fishing lodge. It would probably be a couple of weeks before I would care to return to my home. I had not been to see Kayla and had no plans to do so. I was considering hiring someone to pack her things and get them out of the house before I went home. The police were still developing their case and questioning everyone involved in the shooting and the multiple incidences of fraud.

"Wendell, are you alright?"

"Hello Dad. Yes, I'm just fine. What a mess, huh?"

"You're not going to let them get away with it, are you?"

"I hope not."

"Hope not?"

My voice was getting louder and the ache in my jaw was back. "Hell, I want to file a lawsuit against my soon to be ex-wife or whatever she's called. I want every penny she took from me, including everything that went into that worthless store she opened. I want every dime she has, every nickel she could ever hope to get and the same thing from her half-brother."

"Easy, Wendell, easy."

"Not this time, sir. I want recovery from Jewel Adams, too. Yeah, I know, I'm a little wimp, and I can't be a macho man who gets his revenge with his fists, so I'll use the methods available to me. That's what I pay lawyers to do. Jewel Adams will never put another nail in a piece of wood, because I'll make sure she never gets the chance."

"You're sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm certain. Because of them, I've lived like a hermit for too damn long. My beard is long enough to comb and I am sick of feeling like I did something wrong."

"You're right."

"I know, but I want to be there the day those three walk into the courthouse. And I want that jury to know how near they got to actually killing Patrice and me. I will not let this get swept under some rug."

"I hear you and I understand and perhaps I feel the same as you do. Now, the next subject, when are you coming home?"

"I don't know. I kind of like it up here. The fishing's good and the eating is better."

"Patrice wants to know where you are?"

"Is it safe ... I mean, should I ... is it okay to tell her?"

"I sort of cheated. I gave her a map. She's already there in town. She called a few minutes ago. I told her to stop at the grocery store for the steaks and anyone there could tell her how to get to The Gannaway Fishing Lodge."

"Good-bye, Dad."

"Hey Wendell, I need to tell you ..."

"Good-bye, Dad."

"Wait ...wait ..."

"Dad, I have company coming and I need to shave. Don't call me. I'll call you. Good-bye."

THE END