Published: 2 Oct 2025

Chapter 19 – Finals and Accusations

Devin and I took the boards back to the house and headed directly to the laundry room so we could wash them off. Pops had a huge freestanding plastic utility sink next to the washer and dryer and we decided to use it for this purpose. That’s because we didn’t want to leave any of the dirt residue in the kitchen or bathroom sinks, or even in the tub. Devin and I each took one of the boards to wash, and I let Devin go first. He carefully ran water over the length of the board and used this hand to loosen and removed the dirt on the side with the writing, and then he did the same thing with the other side. Once he had removed all of the dirt possible while using that method, He moved aside to let me go next.

Just after I started, Devin made a comment. “Most of the dirt washed off the surface of both sides of the board, but there’s quite a bit of dirt packed into the grooves that form the letters. That’s not going to wash off as easily, so I’m going to go look for something that we can use to clean those areas as well.”

After he left to discover an answer for this problem, I spent my time washing off the top of my board. Once I’d washed off the dirt that was clinging to it, I was able to make out most of the letters, although some of them still had a crust of dirt that covered the area between the various sections of the letters. For example, the space between the loops on the a, e, o, and u, as well as the b, g, and capital D had a hard packed crust between the lines forming each letter, as well as embedded in the grooves. There were also similar problems with the numbers 4, 5, 6, and 9, which I was now able to recognize on my board, as well as the letters m, n, and h.

I tried to figure out if there was something I could use to clean these areas, since Devin hadn’t returned yet, but I had few options. I didn’t want to use my fingernails to loosen the dirt and end up getting all that gunk stuck under them or cause them to break. I also didn’t want to use anything hard for this purpose either, like a nail or the head of a screwdriver that might accidentally damage the wood. I opted to wait for Devin to return instead, so I could see if he had discovered something to help with this problem.

When he returned a short time later, Devin had a huge grin plastered across his face, so I knew he was successful in finding something. “I looked in the drawers under the counter in the bathroom first, and then I looked in the cabinet below the sink, to see if Gramps and Pops had anything in those places that I could use. There didn’t seem to be anything that would do the trick, so I searched the medicine cabinet next, but I didn’t find anything there either. As I was closing the door of the medicine cabinet, I happened to glance down and spotted the toothbrush holder sitting on the counter. It’s when I knew that I’d just found the solution that I was seeking, and since I could use a new toothbrush anyway, I brought down my old one for us to use to clean out the grooves in the letters.”

Devin quickly started doing that, but since only one of us could work on our board at a time and it was such a time-consuming process, I knew I was about to have a lengthy wait. I also noticed that the bristles on his toothbrush were slowly bending out of shape and realized that it wasn’t going to hold up so I could also use it. That’s when I made up my mind to go upstairs to get my toothbrush so I could use it on my board.

I’m glad that Pops and Gramps keep a supply of new toothbrushes in the house for when ours wear out or when we have guests that need one, like when Clint stayed here after Thanksgiving. He’d forgotten to pack his toothbrush in his overnight bag, so I gave him one of the new ones to use.

By the time I returned to the laundry room, Devin had finished with his board, so I took his place at the sink and began working on my board. When I finished, we arranged the two boards together on the dryer to see if we could tell what it said. Although the break in the boards had damaged the bottom of some of the letters on the top board, and the tops of some of the letter on the bottom board, we were still able to make out what it said. It read as follows:

“The earthly treasures of Johnny Logan December 11, 1954 – December 8, 1969”

“Damn, the kid died three days before he turned fifteen!” Devin gasped.

“Yeah, I wonder what he died from? Was it an illness, a disease, or some type of accident that killed him? Whatever it was, someone really loved him to carve this into the board and then coat it in sealant so it wouldn’t rot. The same person must have also placed the board on top of the chest when he buried it as a sort of memorial to the young man. Then, when the tree was blown over and the roots dragged the chest to the surface, it must have also broken the board at the same time.”

“I wonder if his parents did all of this, or maybe it was one of his siblings.”

“We’ll probably never know, but whoever did it might have been hoping that someone would eventually find it and see the things that meant the most to him.”

“How are we going to find out how he died. We won’t be able to search for his name online, because he died before stuff like this was put on the internet, plus there must be a ton of Johnny Logans out there.”

“Yes, you’re probably right about that, but there are still a couple of different ways we might be able to find out that information. One way would be to see if we could get a copy of his death certificate, and the other would be to locate his obituary in the local newspaper from when he died, now that we know when that was.”

“And how are we going to get a hold of a fifty-six-year-old death certificate or a newspaper from 1969 that would have the information we need?”

“Let me get my laptop and we’ll do some research to find out if we might be able to get his death certificate or find a way to read his obituary.”

After doing a quick search, I found the answer to the first question, about how to get a copy of his death certificate. “It says here that we would have to order it online through VitalChek, or we can mail the request to Larimer County Vital Records Department, or go there in person. Larimer is the county where Fort Collins is located, but it says we’d need a valid photo ID and proof of relationship, or a legal interest in the record to obtain it.”

“That too fuckin’ difficult and I’m not sure they’d think we had a legal interest in the information anyway,” Devin stated. “We’ll have to see how difficult it will be to get a look at his obituary then.”

I immediately started a second search and discovered this might be a better option. “It says here that to see old copies of the Fort Collin Coloradoan, the local newspaper, we’d merely have to go to the Old Town Library.”

“And how far away is that?”

I read on and discovered the answer to that question. “The Old Town Library is located in downtown Fort Collines, near College Ave and Mountain Ave. It says they have copies of several newspapers from around Colorado on microfilm and that some of them date back to the late 1800s. That means we should be able to find the information we’re looking for there.”

“Yeah, that would be easier for us, but we’re not going to have time to do it now, because we have so much other stuff going on. We both have major assignments coming due and we’ll have to start studying for finals as well. We’ve also got to do more shopping for the visit to the hospital, as well as shopping for presents for our families and each other.”

“Yeah, you’re right, so we’ll just have to wait and do this after we get back from Christmas break. That will also give us a chance to do the research on the baseball cards before we find out what happened to Johnny Logan.”

Now that we knew what had been carved into the boards, we placed them with the chest so we could take them back to my house when we went home for Christmas break. We’d have a lot of research to do, both before and after we returned to campus, but for now we put that issue aside and went to work on the projects that we had coming due in a week’s time.

We did, however, make time to go to the dog park on Monday, and then Preston and I watched as Bear, Bailey, and Finn stayed together like a pack of wolves, with Bear taking the role of Alpha male. Seeing this also made me grateful that Bailey was spayed and Finn will soon be spayed as well, since I didn’t want to test my bi fiancé’s will power while he was Bear. Female dogs give off very strong pheromones when they’re in heat, and I didn’t want to see if Devin was strong enough to resist the temptation as Bear.

“I take it that Bailey and Finn are getting along well at home,” I said.

“Yes, they’re terrific with each other. Bailey pampers and looks after Finn like she was Finn’s mother.”

“That’s good, because we won’t be here on Wednesday, so that will make a three-day test for how they’ll react without Bear around before we leave for Christmas break.”

“Is something special happening on Wednesday?”

“No, it’s just that we need the extra time to work on the projects that are due on Friday.”

“Ah, I totally understand then, and these two should be fine. It will, however, be the first time for Finn without Bear being around while she’s here, so I’ll be interested in seeing if it has an effect on her.”

“Let’s hope they’re both able to handle it.”

“Yes, I totally agree with you.”

What I’d told Preston we’d be doing was exactly what Devin and I did during the rest of the week. Every free minute we had was either spent working on our projects or studying for finals, so when we showed up at the dog park on Friday, I transitioned into Devin first, as was usual. I then asked Preston how Bailey and Finn had handled Bear’s absence the previous three days.

“Bailey was used to Bear not being here on Tuesday and Thursday, but Finn kept running over and looking at the gate each day, as if she was waiting for him to show up. Bailey would eventually run over and bark at her, to get Finn’s attention, and then they’d run off and play, so they should be fine when you go home for Christmas break.”

“That’s awesome and I’m glad this is working out for you.”

“Yes, and it’s all thanks to Michael. I was thinking about getting a puppy to keep Bailey company, but I didn’t want to go through the puppy stage again with the chewing and accidents in the apartment. That’s when Michael suggested that I think about getting a dog closer to Bailey’s age and letting her choose her own companion to replace Bear while you’re gone. Finn should make the summer easier for us as well, since we won’t be seeing either of you around again after you and Michael graduate.”

“Yes, that’s true, and we won’t be here on Sunday through Friday either, because we’ll be studying or taking finals all next week. Mac will bring Bear here on Friday morning, so he can say goodbye before we head home.”

“Thanks for heads up, but aren’t you coming with him so you can say goodbye too.”

“Mac doesn’t have any exams on Friday, but I do, so I won’t be able to join him. When I finish my exam, we’ll be heading to the hospital with Santa, and then we’ll pack up the SUV on Friday night so we can leave for home in the morning.”

“That’s right! I forgot you do that too. You and Michael certainly do a great job keeping up with your classes and all of the other things on your plate.”

“Thanks. We do our best.”

“Good luck on your finals then, as if either of you need any luck, from what I understand.”

“Thank you, and it never hurts to have a little luck on your side, just in case.”

“Yes, I suppose that is true.”

We dropped off our projects at our professors’ offices after we left the dog park, and it felt good to have those monkeys off our backs. After that, we went to the dining hall to get something to eat before we returned to the house and started studying. We took a break to go meet up with our elves-in-training at the newspaper office at 3:00 to see if there were any last-minute monetary donations that had been dropped off during the previous week. If there were, then we’d go shopping for more presents, but we’d also tell our replacements what the schedule would be for the following Thursday and Friday.

“Do you think they’ll have much money today?” Liam asked when we reached the newspaper office.

“I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out, so let’s go inside and see how much money was dropped off during the week.”

As soon as we entered the newspaper office, Ken spotted us and came over to greet us. “I take it this will be your last stop to pick up donation money before you visit the hospital?”

“Possibly, but even if no more money is dropped off after this, we’ll still have to stop by next Thursday so we can pick up the donated toys for our visit to the hospital the next day.”

“Ah, yes, I almost forgot about the toys. Let me go get the money for you, and then I’ll look for you again on Thursday.”

“Do we have to meet you when you pick up the donated toys on Thursday?” Chuck quickly asked.

“Yes, because we’ll take them to our house and sort them into the various sacks to take to the hospital the next day. I’ll have a list with the name and ages of the children that will be there on Friday, so we know how many and what types of toys to pack in the sacks, and you’ll need to be here to see how it’s done. I’ll also give you the contact information so next year you can request a similar list to work with, and after we select the items for each bag, we’ll put the extra toys in boxes to take with us as well.”

“Why are you going to take the extra toys with you.”

“It’s because after we leave the hospital, we’ll drive over to the Toys for Tots donation area and drop them off, and you’ll need to know where that place is for next year as well. It will also allow the Marine Corps to distribute the extra toys to other children during the following week.”

“Ok, it’s neat that you do that too,” Liam stated.

“We thought so as well.”

When Ken returned, he didn’t have a lot of money, but there was enough to buy a few more toys. “Seeing we only have enough money for a few more presents, you guys won’t need to go with us today.”

“Great!” Liam stated.

“Come to think of it,” Devin added, “I hope one of you will have a vehicle to use next year.”

“Yeah, my dad is going to buy a new SUV and he said he’ll let me have his old one. He also said that since I’ll be a senior next year, he’ll agree to let me have it while I’m here, and seeing I’ll be living at the frat house, I’ll be able to park it there.”

“That’s good, otherwise you’d have a problem shopping for the toys next year.” And just as Devin finished saying that, Anna Franklin showed up.

“I’m glad I got here in time to catch you this week,” she said. “I missed you last Friday, so I made sure to get here earlier today. What time do you want me to meet you at the hospital next Friday, because I’ll be writing the article about your visit again.”

“Devin has his last final on Friday morning, so we’ll plan on meeting you there around 2:00.”

“That sounds good.”

“Does that work for you guys as well?” I asked as I faced Liam and Chuck.

“Yeah, that’s fine with us,” they agreed.

“Who are these guys,” Anna asked.

“They’ll be taking over for us next year, because Devin and I will be graduating in the spring.”

“Ah, then it’s a good thing that I got to meet them, because I’ll be here to cover the visit to the hospital next year as well. What about Santa? Will the same guy still be playing Santa today and next year?”

“Yes, he’s agreed to do it for a few more years, so only the elves will change as they graduate from CSU.”

“Or we drop out of college from embarrassment over wearing the elf outfits,” Chuck opined, and then we introduced Anna to our frat brother replacements.

“Does this mean there will be four elves this year, or won’t they do it until next year?”

“They’ll be with us this year so they can see what to expect and what they need to do when they take over next year.”

“Neat, so I’ll see all of you guys there next Friday,” Anna said before say goodbye and leaving, and then I turned back to continue what I’d been telling Liam and Chuck before Anna showed up.

“As I was saying before Anna interrupted, we’ll pick you up at the frat house at 12:30 on Friday, and we’ll load Santa’s SUV first. We’ll put the boxes of extra toys in the back of the SUV, and then we’ll load the sacks in after that, since those will be taken out first. Just make sure you bring your outfits with you, because after we load the SUV we’ll change into them. We’re doing it this way because we didn’t think you would want to wear your elf outfits while you were still at the frat house.”

“That would really suck,” Chuck responded. “it’s going to be bad enough without the bros at the frat house ragging on us about dressing up as Santa’s elves. We tried on our outfits already to make sure they fit, and we both thought we looked ridiculous in them, so we don’t want to give those guys any reasons to give us shit.”

“We thought the same thing the first time we wore them, but you’ll forget all about that when you see how the kids react when we get to the hospital. Oh, and if you haven’t figured it out already, there will be plenty of people at the hospital that will be using their phones to take photos and videos of what we’re doing. The parents and nurses, and even some of the doctors, have done it every year that we’ve been doing this so far.”

“Oh, great! Just what I wanted to hear,” Liam groaned.

“And there will probably be a couple of photos in the newspaper on Saturday, but if you don’t live locally, that shouldn’t affect you. We should also warn you that the campus newspaper will run Anna’s article about the visit, and probably add some photos as well, when they print the first issue after classes start again in January.”

“Great, then I’ll be dropping out of school after that issue comes out,” Liam and Chuck both groaned.

Now that everything had been covered, we all went our separate ways. Liam and Chuck said we didn’t have to give them a ride, since if wasn’t a long walk from the newspaper office to the frat house, so Devin and I went out and got in the SUV to do some shopping.

We bought a few more toys, but our choices were greatly limited this time, seeing how close it was until Christmas, and if we’re lucky we won’t have to do more shopping on Thursday. After we checked out, we carried those items out to the SUV and locked them inside, and then we shopped for presents for Lonny and Clint, since they’ll also be joining us for Christmas.

When we reached the house, we carried our purchases inside and set them down in the dining room, since we didn’t have enough energy left to carry them upstairs. We’d barely taken off our jackets when there was a knock on the door, which caused Devin and me to look at each other, since we weren’t expecting any visitors, and then we went to see who was there.

“May we help you?” I asked, totally puzzled when I saw it was an officer from the Fort Collins Police Department and another officer from Campus Security.

“Yes, you may,” the cop responded, “and you can begin by telling us your names.”

“Uh, I’m Devin McCaskill,” Devin answered first.

“And I’m Michael MacPherson. Is there a reason you need to know our names?”

“Yes, there is. Are you both students at the University,” the campus cop followed.

“Yes, we’re both seniors and due to graduate in the spring.”

“May we come inside, because we have a few more questions to ask you.”

“Sure, come on in,” Devin said as we both stepped aside and allowed them to enter. We then led them into the living room and told them they could sit on the couch, while I sat in the chair and Devin sat on the armrest beside me.

“What is this all about?” I asked.

“We have a few more questions for you first, and then I’ll explain why we’re here. Can you tell us what you were doing on Thanksgiving, as well as the next two days?”

“Uh, we spent most of the week at home for Thanksgiving, but we returned here on Friday, because we were expecting friends that were going to stay with us and then we’d all go to the football game on Saturday.”

“What time did you arrive on Friday?”

“I think we arrived in Fort Collins around 1:00, but we stopped at the grocery store fist to do some shopping before we came here.”

“And what time did your friends arrive?”

“I think the first two showed up between 4:00 and 5:00,” Devin replied, “and our other friend arrived just before 6:00. I remember that because we were just about ready to take the food out of the oven so we could all sit down to eat.”

“Do all of your friends live around here?” he pressed.

“The first two live in Colorado Springs and the other one lives locally.”

“Will you tell me your friends’ names and how to get ahold of them?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but first I want to know what all of this is about,” I demanded. “We have been very cooperative so far, and now we’d like the same courtesy from you.”

“Ok, I guess it won’t do any harm to tell you that information. It seems that the homes of some of the people that live close by and had gone away for Thanksgiving weekend had their homes broken into while they were gone. Most left here on Wednesday, but a few left early Thursday morning, and none of them returned until late Saturday night or sometime on Sunday. A few college dorm rooms were also broken into during that same period, and it was reported that the two of you might have been involved in those incidents. So, now will you tell me the names of your friends and how we can get in touch with them?”

“Yes, of course, because they will be able to vouch for us for nearly the entire time.”

I then gave him Lonny and Clint’s names, as well as their phone number, and then I told him about Preston.

“And you don’t have a phone number for Preston Armstrong?”

“No, but he’s a professor in the CSU anthology department.”

“If he’s a professor at the university then I’ll be able to get that information,” the campus security guard said, and then he went outside to make a call.

“And we were also told that you’ve been bringing a lot of packages into the house recently. Can you explain that as well?”

“Yes, this is the fourth year that we’ll be making a Christmas visit to the children’s ward at the local hospital with Santa and handing out presents. We also donate the extra items that we collect to Toys for Tots, and those are the things we’ve been bringing here, until they’re needed.”

“Yes, I believe I’ve heard about that program,” the police officer responded, “and it’s a very nice thing you do for those kids. However, I’ll still need to be certain it’s what you’ve been seen bringing into the house, so will you please show me the items that you’re storing here?”

“Certainly, and we just brought some more bags in just before you arrived here and they’re in the dining room. Some toys for the children are in there, along with a couple of gifts for our friends. The other items we carried in here are only toys, and we’re keeping them in the attic, since we didn’t think anyone would look there if they broke into the house.”

“That’s fine, but will you please show me how to get to the attic?”

Just as we were getting ready to lead him there, the campus security guard return and spoke. “The professor verified their story.”

“That’s good to hear, so you can follow us as they take me to see the packages they were reportedly seen carrying in here.”

Devin and I led the way to the attic and allowed them to look in the bags containing the toys. After they’d inspected every parcel, the officer turned toward us and spoke.

“These don’t appear to be any of the stolen goods and I appreciate your cooperation in allowing us to inspect them, as well as for answering all of our questions.”

“You’re welcome, but now I’d like you to tell us the name of your informant.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give out that information.”

“I think Devin and I should be able to find out who it was, since the person made false and unfounded accusations against us. Do we have to hire a lawyer to get the information from you or would you prefer that we contact the local newspaper and the campus press so they can inform the local and college community about this situation?”

“It would be best if you just let this matter drop and didn’t pursue it further.”

“I cannot and will not just let this slide, since we’ve been accused of taking part in what happened in our neighborhood, as well as on campus! It’s up to you as to how we get that information, though. You can either tell us the name of the informant or we can hire a lawyer and seek that information in court. If we can’t get it those ways, then we’ll just use the newspapers to inform everyone about what happened and your reluctance to give us the information we requested.”

The policeman seemed to be mulling over what I’d just said when I had another Idea.

“Or better yet, what if I guess who your informant was? Will you at least confirm if I’m correct?” He thought about my proposition for a few moments and then nodded his head. “It’s my suspicion that it was our next-door neighbor, Louella Haskins. She’s never been very nice to us and has never liked us living here, so I believe she would be willing to stoop low enough to do something like this.”

“Ok, I’ll admit it was her. Have you given her a reason not to like you living here?”

“No, never! We’re very quiet and don’t bother her, but she claims she’s frequently seen a pack of dogs running around in our backyard and their barking bothers her, but they aren’t our dogs.”

“Look, I don’t want to make a bigger issue out of this than we already have, so I won’t do more than to confirm your suspicion about who called in the tip. However, I don’t want either of you to do anything to retaliate.”

“We won’t. We usually just try to ignore her, but sometimes she makes that impossible.”

“Ok, then let’s just drop this and I’ll leave word with my superiors that we should be reluctant to act on any more of the tips she gives us in the future.”

“Ok and I hope that ends this problem.”

After the police officer and security guard left, Devin made a comment. “I wish you hadn’t promised that we wouldn’t retaliate, because I’d like to get even with that old bitch. That’s why I let you do most of the talking, because I was afraid my dislike for her would alienate them against us.”

“Look, we won’t do anything directly, but it doesn’t mean that something won’t happen just the same.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Well, it would hardly be our fault if some birds crapped all over her car, would it?”

“No, they couldn’t blame us for that. Or maybe a raccoon scratches the hood of her car or breaks a headlight while looking through her trash.”

“No, I don’t want to do any physical damage to anything she owns. I just want to make it an inconvenience for her so she has to clean up the mess afterward, kind of like she’s made us do with her phony tip.”

“Ok, I get ya.”

“But we won’t do anything until just before we’re ready to go home for Christmas break. That way she can stew the entire time we’re gone while trying to figure out how we could have possibly pulled it off.”

“Sneaky, but I like it.”

We now went back to studying, because we had finals next week and we needed to do well on them to keep our GPAs intact and stay on the Dean’s List.

I believe Devin and I both dreamed about Louella that night as we mentally plotted our revenge, but I was also seething inside, knowing that she’d called the cops on us.

When we went to the dog park on Saturday morning, I did it as myself, since we wouldn’t be showing up on Sunday, and Preston had a question for me.

“Why did the campus security guard call me last night to ask if I’d seen you and Devin or been with you on Thanksgiving and over the weekend?”

“The old bitch that lives next door to us called the police department and suggested that we might have been involved with the break-ins at the homes in our neighborhood and at the residence halls on campus. She said she’d seen us leave the house multiple times and that we brought lots of packages into the house with us when we returned and she thought some of them were the items that had been stolen. What she saw us carrying inside were the toys for our visit to the hospital on Friday.”

“Damn, what did you guys do to piss her off?” he teased with a grin.

“That’s it, we’ve never done anything to her, but she blames us for dogs running around in our backyard and bothering her with their barking. And before you ask, I’ve never taken Bear to the house.”

“I’m glad you got that cleared up then and that I could help.”

“Yes, thank you for sticking up for us.”

“I heard about the break-ins on campus, but not about the break-ins to any houses.”

“Now that we’ve been cleared, Devin and I are considering helping the campus cops out.”

“I’m not sure if they’d accept your help, but if they do, please be careful.”

“Don’t worry. We will.”

We then watched Bailey and Finn go through the obstacle course with Bear, and Finn was no longer hesitant about using the doggy teeter totter any longer.

“Thank you for suggesting that I get a companion for Bailey. Now she won’t be so moody while you’re away.”

“I’m glad to hear that, and now we won’t feel so guilty about leaving.”

We talked about a few other things as well, and eventually I decided it was time to go. I said goodbye to Preston first and told him that I’d see him again on Friday.

“Don’t you have an exam that morning?”

“No, Devin does, but I don’t, so I’ll bring Bear to see Bailey and Finn.”

“Good, and I look forward to seeing you again.”

The rest of the weekend was spent hitting the books and studying for finals, except when we went to the dining hall for our meals. We didn’t even go to the hunting camp on Sunday either, since we were committed about getting good grades and possibly even making a run at becoming valedictorian of our respective colleges. Devin’s major is part of the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering and my major is in of the College of Natural Sciences.

We were both concerned that these finals might be even harder than those we’d taken during the previous years before the Christmas break, so we spent the entire weekend studying. It meant we either had our noses buried in textbooks or we were busy going over the notes that we’d taken during our classes as we prepared for each final.

After taking each exam, we were thankful that we’d buckled down to prepare for it, because they were just as grueling and brutal as we’d feared. Every evening while we were eating, we’d commiserate about how difficult the exams had been. That’s because some of our professors had thrown a few curveballs at us this time, which we believed were meant to differentiate the top students from the rest of the class. We were hopeful that we’d end up in the top group, since we both felt that we’d done well on each final, but it motivated us to study even harder for the next exam.

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