Date: Mon, 4 Apr 2022 01:00:00 -0700 From: John Henry Subject: Growing Up Charlie Chapter 60 (Gay/Incest) DONATION: Nifty is a not-for-profit organization that heavily relies on our donations to keep the site free and accessible. Your donations pay for web hosting fees and other day-to-day activities for the wonderful staff of editors/publishers. You can donate on the website at http://donate.nifty.org/ Every little bit counts. DISCLAIMER: This story is a work of fiction, and contains explicit, sexual content involving adults over the age of 21 and minors under the age of 16, and scenes of incest involving step-parents/step-children. If viewing this material is illegal where you live, OR you're a minor under the age of 18, please stop reading this. If you're not sure about this legatilty, please stop reading until you have looked into your own, local laws. Any likeness or similarity between persons, places, products or concepts are purely coincidental. If you would like to leave any positive feedback, please let me know. Thank you. Chapter 60 Will picked Rick, Ry and Charlie up from the hospital the next day. Ry was in a wheelchair and put back on bed rest by his doctor. Charlie was very quiet, yet overly attentive towards Ry, who was grateful for the help. Unlike Charlie, Rick was very talkative; however, his talking was centered around Brenda and the baby. The nurses refused to give him an update on her condition, since they weren't married. An orderly had to be called after Rick threatened to go room to room. "Where are we going?" Ricked asked, as Will pulled onto the freeway. "The police station," Will replied. "Why?" Charlie asked. "The police need to talk to all of you, actually, so I thought I'd bring you down and do your interviews all in the one shot." "But, I don't want to talk to the police," Charlie complained. "Justin's dead, so why do I need to talk to them?" "Justin's dead?" Rick asked, shocked. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" "You were too busy crying about your girlfriend to care," Charlie snapped bitterly. "Charlie, that's enough," Will said, calmly. "We'll discuss everything when we're done with the cops." Nobody was happy by the time Will pulled into the parking lot, least of all Will, who had to juggle three separate interviews. "William Parker to see Detectives Haskins, Jenkins and Lot," he said to the officer at the front desk. Despite the confusion on the woman's face, she made the calls and then gave Will the floors and room numbers for all the interviews. Will escorted his clients first to the second floor, where they met Detectives Haskins and Lot, who would be interviewing Rick and Ry respectively. He asked the detectives to give him till the end of Charlie's interview, which he felt was more important. Once everyone agreed to wait, Will took Charlie to the third floor, where they were greeted by Detective Jenkins at the elevator. "Nice to meet you Charlie," said, Det. Jenkins. He was a tall, thin, attractive black man. The detective was very nice and polite, even offering Charlie some hot chocolate, which was greatly accepted. He led the pair to a private room at the back. Charlie was expecting the interview room to be dark gray with a steel table in the middle and a wall with a double-sided mirror; however, the room looked like something from a daycare, complete with toys and two comfortable couches in a corner. "Make yourselves comfortable, please, and we can get started whenever you're ready," Det. Jenkins offered. He had a fatherly tone that brought back happy memories of his own father...before Brenda entered their lives. It hurt Charlie as he tried to dismiss the memories. Will and Charlie sat on a couch with their backs against the wall, facing the door, while Det. Jenkins took the couch to the right of Will. Once Charlie said he was ready, Det. Jenkins asked Charlie about Justin. Charlie was nervous and was given all the time he wanted to make his statement. It was difficult to recall everything that had happened, especially in front of his uncle, since he felt ashamed of his actions and for letting Justin do those horrible things to him. Will sat quietly, allowing Charlie the space to tell his story. After his talk with Ry, Will checked the cameras he had installed in the Barton household. He hadn't bothered checking them since before he moved to Washington. He felt guilty for not checking up on the boys more often, since that was the purpose of the cameras, but he was too disgusted to keep watching Rick's and Billy's activities. He had more than enough evidence to sink Rick into the deepest recesses of the criminal justice system, but it wasn't time for him to strike against the man abusing his son. However, that unwillingness gave Justin an opportunity to victimize the smallest and most vulnerable Barton, and he knew that the guilt would never leave him. "I don't see why any of this matters," Charlie said, after he finished talking about Justin coming to the school then the house the afternoon before. "Justin's dead." "I'm sorry?" Det. Jenkins asked. Charlie looked at the detective and repeated himself. "My friend David said that they found his body in his trailer yesterday." Detective Jenkins looked through his notes and excused himself to make a call. "I'm very sorry, Charlie," Will said, once they were alone. "If I had known what Justin was doing to you, I would've stopped it." Charlie choked up a little and said, "It's okay, Uncle Will. It's not your fault I'm a coward." Will restrained his bitterness the best he could. "Charlie you are not a coward! Don't ever call yourself that." "But," Charlie said, unable to hold back the tears any longer, "I was too scared to tell anyone." "That doesn't make you a coward," Will said, pulling Charlie into his arms. "You are one of the bravest people I have ever met. You endured so much, suffered through so much, but here you are, telling everyone what happened, and making sure that justice is served. It takes real bravery to do that." "Really?" Charlie sobbed. "Really," Will said. "I would never lie to you, especially about something like that. Do you believe me?" "Yeah," Charlie replied, hugging his uncle extra tight, which was gladly returned. "I love you, Charlie," Will said, keenly aware that he had never really said it before. "I love you, too." Det. Jenkins waited to enter till after Will and Charlie had their moment together. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." He took his seat and handed Will a thin packet of documents. To Charlie, he continued, "Justin Roberts isn't dead." Charlie's eyes grew wide with fear. He was about to talk when the detective cut him off. "I can't go into details, since it's still an active case, but there was a shooting at Justin's residence last night, but the body they removed from the house was not Justin's." "Who's was it?" Charlie asked, almost demanded. "I can't discuss that at this time, because the next of kin hasn't been notified yet." Will finished going through the paperwork and asked Charlie to wait in the hall for him. Charlie began to protest, but Will asked a little more firmly and promised to keep him in the loop after he talked to the detective. Once Will was certain that Charlie was out of earshot, he turned to the detective and asked, "Justin's father was Mark Kovak?" "Yeah," Det. Jenkins confirmed. "We made sure his gun was removed from the house, but this was too close, Will. I can't believe you sent a man to kill his own kid." "Steve, I honestly had no idea he was Justin's father. If I had, I wouldn't have allowed him to date my son, let alone get anywhere near Charlie. I knew Mark had a kid, but he never talked about him much, and when he did, he made it sound like his kid was a grown adult." "That sounds like Mark," Det. Jenkins conceded. "Anyway, right now, there's an APB out on the kid, so the focus will be on him. What do you want us to do when we find him?" Will knew exactly what the detective was asking. "I don't know yet. I need to know what Charlie wants first. Either way, Justin has to pay for what he's done." "Got it," Det. Jenkins said, as he escorted Will to Charlie. Will and Charlie went to Ry's interview next. Charlie did his best to get what happened at Justin's out of Will, but Will said it wasn't the time just yet, which annoyed the boy, but not nearly as much as having to wait with his father. Det. Lot, Ry and Will entered a room very much like the one Charlie had first expected, except the table was made of wood. The three of them were there for about twenty minutes. Rick tried making conversation with Charlie, but Charlie ignored him. Rick wanted to yell at Charlie for the shade the boy was throwing, but he thought it wasn't right, given what Charlie had been through. However, he, too, had been through a lot, and he hoped for some compassion from his biological son. "Thanks, Detective," Ry said, shaking the man's hand. "Remember to keep an eye out for the summons," Det. Lot said, "but there shouldn't be a need to talk again, unless you remember something else." The portly, bald man walked down the hall and out of sight. Will said to Rick, "That just leaves you." "Good," Charlie mumbled pointedly. The adults ignored Charlie's saltiness and went down the hall, leaving the brothers to talk. "Mr. Barton," Det. Haskins said, "I'm glad you're able to come today. I was given the impression at the hospital that you might not be in the right headspace for this." "I'm fine enough, Detective." "Glad to hear it," the detective said, as he escorted Will and Rick into another room. Once everyone took their seats, Det. Haskins set down a file and turned on a tape recorder. After giving an opening speech declaring his intent and those in the room, he said, "First off, I would like to say how sorry I am to hear about Ms. Swanson. It can't be easy for you." Rick looked from the detective to Will then back. "You say that like she's dead." The detective looked confused and asked, "You're not aware that Ms. Swanson died early this morning?" "I--I--" "My client wasn't made aware of this, apparently," Will interjected. "Oh," Det. Haskins said, awkwardly. "I was assured by the hospital that someone had told you." Tears fell down Rick's face. "I kept asking but they wouldn't tell me anything, despite Brenda and I being engaged." "So you were engaged then?" "Yes. She proposed to me a week or so ago, I think." "Can you describe your relationship with Ms. Swanson?" Rick looked confused and asked, "What does my relationship with Brenda have to do with this?" "I'm just trying to get a picture of events, Mr. Barton." Rick looked to Will, who nodded, indicating that Rick should continue. Rick told Det. Haskins about how he and Brenda met, their relationship, the reason for their break up, and that he agreed to marry Brenda once he found out that she was pregnant; however, he left out that she was blackmailing him. "And you went out to dinner to celebrate your engagement?" The detective asked. "Yes," Rick replied. "But it was just the two of you, correct? Why not invite friends and family, especially your children?" "Brenda and my boys didn't get along." Det. Haskins opened the file, flipped over a few pages and continued. "According to an incident report in August, the police were called to a department store. Apparently, Ms. Swanson had walked in on your son, Charles, naked. Is that correct?" "It's Charlie," Rick corrected, "and yes. Brenda claimed that she was trying to help him and that he overreacted, causing the store manager to call the police." "I see," the detective said, taking some notes. "Another call was made a month or so later by your eldest son, Ryland. In that report, it was claimed that Ms. Swanson was naked in your living room, in front of Charlie and Ryland. Is that also correct?" "Yes," Rick said. "You're making her sound like a pervert." "Again, Mr. Barton, I'm just trying to figure things out." "What is there to figure out from all of this?" Rick snapped. "Brenda was gunned down by a mugger! None of this had anything to do with my boys..." Rick's eyes widened. "You think I did it, don't you? You think I killed Brenda?" "I never said that," Det. Haskins said calmly. "You don't have to," Rick said, panic rising in his voice. "I can see it on your face! You think I killed her!" "Rick, calm down," Will said, putting a hand on his co-parent's shoulder. "Det. Haskins," Will continued, "your line of questioning is clearing upsetting my client, who just witnessed the murder of his fiance and the mother of his unborn child about 12 hours ago. Unless you have a reason for asking these questions, I suggest you move on or this interview is over." Det. Haskins looked at Will, plainly annoyed, and said, "There is a reason for these questions, and no, I don't think your client killed Ms. Swanson; in fact," he said, pushing a stack of papers from the folder over to Will, "I think she may have been plotting to kill your client and Charlie." "What?!" Rick said, as shock started to settle in. "That's crazy!" "I'm afraid Ms. Swanson was the one who was crazy," Det. Haskins said. "I got back from her apartment a couple hours ago. The evidence hasn't been fully processed, but from what we found, I'd say, you and your children are lucky to be alive, Mr. Barton." Will reviewed the stack in his hand. They were copies of photos taken at Brenda's apartment. Some of the items seemed innocuous and unimportant, such as clothing and personal items, which Rick assumed he had left behind. However, Will began to hand Rick pictures of Brenda's diary. "As you can see in this entry," Det. Haskins said, pointing at the picture in Rick's hand, "this was written around the time of your break up. In it, Ms. Swanson discusses sending Charlie to a reform school in New York; however, we did some quick digging and discovered that the school was closed down decades ago, after several children died there. We also found out that Ms. Swanson's brother was one of the victims of the school. We believe that she was planning to kill your son. "And if you look at his entry," the detective said, pulling out another photo, passing it to Rick, "Ms. Swanson made remarks about getting rid of all your children at some point or another. In the entry from the second time the police were called, she referenced wishing to have crippled your son Ryland. "In an entry from the summer, she mentioned being jealous of a possible affair you were having online. She said that you were a coward for being in love with a man while being with her." "That's absurd," Rick hastily interjected. "I was being trolled by someone, and she took it the wrong way." "I don't care if you're gay or not, Mr. Barton," Det. Haskins said, "but in that entry, she mentioned murdering you if it were true." "Holy shit," Rick said. "Most of the entries, thus far, haven't been threatening, but they haven't given us any indication that she was stable, either; in fact, are you even certain that she was pregnant?" "We were given test results from her doctor," Will said, hiding his amusement at Rick's discomfort. "Here," he said, handing over his copy of the results, "I think you'll find these helpful." Det. Haskins took and quickly reviewed them. "Thank you, Mr. Parker." "So," Rick said, trying to make sense of everything, "What you're saying is that Brenda might not have been pregnant?" "No, Mr. Barton," Det. Haskins said, "I'm telling you that Ms. Swanson could not have been pregnant in the first place." Before Rick could respond, the detective continued, "The officers who tried talking to you last night followed up on Ms. Swanson's condition after you said she was pregnant, as that would add a charge murder if the baby died. According to the hospital, Ms. Swanson showed no signs of pregnancy. To verify, the officers contacted Ms. Swanson's family, who gave us all kinds of information about her, including that she had ovarian cysts as a teenager and her ovaries had to be removed. She was barren, Mr. Barton, and very much unable to be the mother of your unborn child." "I don't understand any of this," Rick said, shaking his head. "Why would she do this?" "She was obsessed with you and, according to her sister, she was also in denial of her condition. In another entry we found, she discussed purposefully getting you drunk and trying to have unprotected sex with you." "I remember that night. I wore a condom, though." "Yes, and it pissed her off, so she vowed to try again until she got pregnant," Det. Haskins said. Rick remembered Brenda's insistence that they use her condom the last time they had sex. He explained the events of the night and how it ended with him kicking her out. "She knew then that the condom would break." "According to her journal, she poked a hole in the condom with a needle." Grief was replaced with anger and rage. "That fucking cunt," Rick spat. "Yes, well," Det. Haskins said, "is there anything you would like to add that we may not already have? We know she's dead and this matter is being treated as a homicide, but anything else you may know might help us. If this was a simple mugging, we might not ever catch the person; however, if this was an ex that she's burned in the past..." "I think my client will need some time to process all of this," Will said, "in the meantime, you can call me with any further questions, and I'll make sure to do the same, should Rick remember anything else." "Thanks for coming in, Mr. Barton," Det. Haskins said, shaking Rick's hand, though Rick didn't say anything in return; instead, his mind was racing. Will and Rick walked down the hall towards Ry and Charlie. "Let's go home," Will said to the boys. ***Coming Soon, Chapter 61***