Published: 16 Jun 2022

From Previous Chapter:

Mark thanked his foster dad for talking with him. He said now he knew why Billy loved the one-on-one talks he had with him before bed. The two hugged and Mr. Ken told the boy to go drain his dragon and get to bed. Mark laughed at the ‘dragon’ comment.

Chief was waiting for her roommate when the new Cover returned to his bedroom. The boy scratched behind Chief’s ears and then climbed into his bed. Because of everything the boy did that day, he fell right to sleep.

The Cove was quiet the entire night.

Mr. Ken woke up about his usual time. He used the facilities, dressed in his regular morning attire and headed out for this morning newspaper. Momma Maria was just coming to work.

The two met in the Kitchen Nook and Momma prepared her employer’s first cup of hot coffee.

Mr. Ken asked Momma to get breakfast ready, but he asked her not to cook it until all the boys were down. He said Mark might still be getting used to his change of venue and he would like all the boys to eat together.

Momma said that wouldn’t be a problem, and then started fixing the things she wanted to serve that morning. As she did that, Mr. Ken opened his paper and separated it into the sections as he usually did.

As the man read the front page, an article about the home invasion caught his attention, so he read it in order to be up to date on what was being said about it.

The article focused on the capture of Weston and how he tried to have his gunshot wound taken care of out and away from the area. The news piece stated that he was shot by Mr. Golderson when he was distracted by another member of his group.

The news report continued and reiterated what they had said about the home invasion and that it started at about 8:30 Sunday evening and lasted for about two hours before gunshots rang out inside the Goldersons’ home.

The article went on to say that Levi Golderson was shot at least two times, his wife, Miriam, was shot multiple times and her injuries were such that she may need physical therapy before she could resume her teaching position at the community college and take care of her family.

That revelation caught Mr. Ken off guard. The only way they could have known that was the Oxtter’s would have told them. The man was not too pleased that they would give away such personal information without coordinating with their son. He made a mental note to call them and ask them about it.

The newspaper piece also stated the teen who was shot still hadn’t awakened from his being shot in the back. It said that originally it was thought that Mr. Golderson had shot the boy, but the police clarified that the man had shot his weapon only three times and had hit two of the three men, one of which died at the scene. Now, Mr. Ken wondered who was giving out information about patients that they shouldn’t have.

The boys began to arrive for breakfast. Amongst them was Mark, and that surprised ‘dad’ Ken.

“Good morning boys. I’m surprised to see you up so early, Mark. I thought you’d sleep in,” offered Mr. Ken.

“Well, my mom … she always wanted us up before nine, so she didn’t have to make two breakfasts,” explained the new Cover. “Billy liked to sleep in. He said he loved that firm bed he had in his room, but after mom asked him to be down before nine, he set that alarm clock you gave him to get him up about 8:30. He really loves it.”

“Well, thank you Mark for telling me that. You see boys … being down for breakfast before nine o’clock isn’t just required in this household,” chuckled the man, but was making a statement especially for Kevin, who wanted to sleep as much as he could during the summer.

Momma Maria began making breakfast as soon as the boys began to appear in the Nook. Today, she made French toast, something she didn’t make all that often, scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and sausage. She also had maple syrup and powdered sugar with whole, white milk for the boys to wash it all down.

As the boys were eating, Mr. Chris and Mr. Wayne magically appeared. They sat down to fresh cups of hot coffee and were then talked into a few pieces of French toast and some crisp bacon and/or sausage.

“Mark … when you go up for your shower, your clean clothes are laying on the chair in the MRS Room. So, don’t forget them. Also, I won’t have access to your home until tomorrow, so if you would, please make a list of the things you want me to get for you, besides your clothes,” asked the boy’s foster dad.

“Mr. Ken … why … why can’t I go with you to get my things? You can be packing Billy’s clothes, while I get all the things I’ll want. Billy doesn’t have much, and besides his clothes, the only other things he has are his cell phone, skateboard and helmet and pads and that clock.

“Oh, and I have his coin. I bet he’ll want that back. … And, Mr. Ken … will … will I get … get my own, you know, ahh … my own coin?” timidly asked Mark.

“Mark … we’ll talk about that after we know what your status is and how long you might be staying with us. If you were to return back home next week, I wouldn’t see a need for you to have one. Let’s wait and see, OK?” was how Mr. Ken replied to the new Cover’s question.

When breakfast was over, the boys headed up the stairs to get their showers. Mark did take his clean clothes up with him. But instead of taking his shower with the majority of the boys, he used the girl’s bathroom instead. He did ask Matthew to shower with him again, though.

Mr. Ken also went and got cleaned up for the day. Then, while the owner of The Cove was taking his shower and getting dressed for the day, Wayne briefed Chris on what he and their boss talked about last night. The Estate Manager was surprised that Mr. Ken wanted a part-time care-taker for the boys.

As the two employees waited on their employer, Wayne told Chris that Mr. Ken was concerned about all the time he was taking away from him. The Estate Master said he thought Mr. Ken wanted him to take more time off, and do things he hadn’t had the chance to do ever since he began working there.

Wayne also told the Estate Manager that their boss was afraid that with Mark there, the place may get really hectic. He also mentioned that with Billy coming back, Mr. Ken didn’t know what sort of care he might need, and that when they go on their trip, he also needed an additional adult to help care for the boys and be the adult in the third room.

“Good, you’re talking about me wanting to hire a part-time care-giver, or someone to help around here, so Wayne … so, he can have a life of his own. He’s what, twenty-two, twenty-three, and he’s not dating and enjoying all that money he’s earning,” laughed Mr. Ken.

“Boss, all that money I am earning … it is going towards paying off my student loans, thank you very much,” replied Mr. Wayne, with a smile.

“Chris … what do you think about me hiring another person to, you know, to help with the boys? That’s so I can give Wayne, here, some real time off for himself. I should also have a third adult for the third hotel room when we go on our trip in August. I was lucky that the hotel managers allowed me to have the three oldest teens in one room together,” asked the man’s employer, directly putting the onus on the Estate Manager.

“Mr. Ken, boss, the only time I see a real need for another person is when you all go on your trips. Maybe you can leave some of them home next time,” laughed, Mr. Chris. “But honestly … if you could take Dan with you, someone the boys already know, it would be much easier on you and them.”

“Yes, I hear you, Chris. But really, shouldn’t I hire a part-time person now, and let the boys get to know them before we go on our trip?” seriously asked Mr. Ken.

The three men talked about the possibility of hiring someone, but the next few questions that needed to be discussed were, what type of person, their age, education, moral turpitude, whether it should be a man or a woman and other such qualifications, such as medical training, concealed weapons carry and much more.

Robert and Charles came down the stairs and were just outside the Study when they heard the men talking about hiring another person to work at The Cove.

“Dad … you’re … you’re going to hire someone else? Are you firing Mr. Wayne?” asked an incredulous Robert, when he burst into the Study.

“No, no, son … I’m thinking I need to give Mr. Wayne more time off, and in order to do that I need someone else who can fill in while he’s gone and I can’t be here,” explained the boy’s dad.

“Oh, OK … ahh dad … ahh, when you go over to Mark’s house … can we, Charles and I, go with you?” now inquired the teen Cover.

“Boys … Mark … he asked me if he could go, too, but … well … the house is not in the right condition for young visitors to … ahh, see. Plus, you two don’t have a need to be there,” replied the boy’s dad.

‘But we went with you to Kevin and Kyle’s house to get their things. So, why can’t we go to Mark’s to help get his stuff, too?” argued back Robert.

“Robert, Charles,” began Mr. Wayne, “If Mark can’t go … and your dad lets you go then he … then he loses credibility with your newest ‘brother’. Plus … the house will still have all the … the … the mess from the shooting and it is not something young boys should see.”

“You mean there is blood all over, don’t you,” now spoke up Charles.

“Yes, son, that is what Mr. Wayne means. I’ve seen it and … well, it wasn’t pretty. And knowing what I saw, I don’t want you youngsters seeing it and giving you nightmares. So, the answer is NO! You cannot go with me. Even Mr. Wayne … he hasn’t decided if he’s going with me,” retorted the teen’s dad.

The teenagers walked out of the study feeling rejected. They really wanted to help. But they also wanted to see what the house looked like after the shooting, too.

Mark saw them coming out of the Study. He knew why they went there, so he asked them what their dad said. When the newest Cover heard they weren’t going to be able to go either, he was disappointed. He had hoped that if they got to go, then he should be allowed to go, too. He too was disheartened.

The boys headed up to the Pavilion to meet up with the Cover’s friends. When they got there the friends were discussing what was reported in the newspaper about Mark’s dad shooting two of the three men who invaded their home and that he killed one. Mark listened to them, but he didn’t say a word.

The boys then asked about Billy and what type of injuries he had. That was when Mark spoke up. He told them he saw his ‘big brother’ yesterday and talked to him. The newest Cover told all the boys that Billy had two black eyes, a fat and busted lip, a broken nose that they fixed, a busted eardrum, that they also fixed, and cracked ribs. Mark also told them that Billy was bruised all over and that he might have internal injuries, which they are watching for now, to make sure he is OK to come home.

The boys talked about how good a shot Mark’s dad was, hitting his targets three out of three times and killing one. Mark defended his dad. He told them every month he and some of their friends went to the shooting range and practiced shooting their guns in case something like that ever happened.

Mark then told them that after Billy was only there three days, they took him with them to the shooting range and began to teach him how to use the guns they had in the house. The new Cover told the boys that his foster brother got to shoot all three guns at least twenty times.

“But, Billy …he didn’t have a gun that night,” spoke out one of the boys.

“That’s because my dad …he told him that once he knew how to use the gun really well, and they trusted him, they would give him the access code to the guns. That was why my ‘big brother’ didn’t have a gun that day,” answered Mark.

“Ahh, Mark … how … ahh, how are your parents?” quietly asked Logan.

“I got to see both my mom and my dad, yesterday. My mom … she was hooked up to all these machines that had these lines showing how she was doing. She also had a number of IV lines hooked up to her. She wasn’t awake yet.

“My dad … he was awake, and I got to talk to him. He was shot in his upper arm, and lucky it wasn’t his shooting arm. And, he was also shot in the side of his chest. It grazed his ribs and nicked his lung. He’s doing OK, but they have to watch out for infections.

“His head was also bandaged. He said they hit him across the side of his head two different times with the sides of their guns. He told me he has a slight concussion. If everything goes good for him, he should be out of the hospital in ten days to two weeks,” was how Mark answered the boys.

“Two weeks? That’s a long time,” spoke up Jamie.

“Well, it’s because of the lung that was injured, and he was shot twice. So, they have to monitor his breathing and make sure he doesn’t get an infection. Even after he gets out of the hospital, it could be another six to eight weeks for him to fully recover,” responded the newest Cover.

“What about your mom, Mark? Can you tell us … what happened to her?” asked Gabe.

“Well, my mom … she was hit three times for sure. My dad said the one man … he picked up the gun from the man he shot first and just shot it randomly into the bedroom until it clicked, meaning it was empty.

“My dad … he said he was hit by one of those spray of bullets and when he looked at my mom, he said he saw she was also hit. He said he couldn’t do anything to help her, as he had a difficult time breathing.

“I don’t really know exactly where my mom was shot. But I think it was around her hip, and she was also shot in her upper torso, but I don’t know where, and she was also hit in her leg. The thing is … she hadn’t awakened up yet when I was there. They told me that they were keeping her comfortable, whatever that means.

“Oh … and we also talked to Kaden’s mom,” added Mark, which caused the boys to ask why they would do that.

Mark told the group that Mr. Ken knew who she was. He told them that his foster dad reminded him that it wasn’t she who did what happened, and he wanted to know how Kaden was and about his injury. The Cover reminded the boys, again, that Kaden had been shot in the back. The almost ten-year-old then said the teen’s mom told them he, too, wasn’t awake yet.

Some of the boys said that he got what he deserved. Others said he didn’t deserve being shot in the back. Charles spoke up and said Kaden didn’t need to frame their older ‘brother’ by planting the drugs in Billy’s room, in the first place, so he could then take those men to find him for whatever reason and then beat him up so badly. That shut the majority of the boys up.

After all the discussions, some of the boys went out to skate. A few played the games. Others wanted to go swimming, a few wanted to ride the WaveRunners. Mark just wanted to walk around and see everything that his ‘big brother’ told him about. Matthew saw him walking around and looking at things, and went over to him to ask if he had any questions.

Mark asked his new ‘brother’ to explain what everything was to him, and show him around, so he knew what everything was. Matthew did just that.

The two Covers walked all around the Pavilion and Matthew showed his newest ‘brother’ the 6-foot grill, explaining that every day a team filled the dispensers and the ice machine. The Cover then showed his new ‘brother’ the different rooms they stored the food and other things in. Mark saw the huge TV up in the rafters, the boys and girls restrooms and the lockers. Matthew then told Mark they needed to get him a locker for his skateboard.

Hearing he could store his skateboard up there, he told Matthew he needed to make a list of the things he wanted Mr. Ken to bring back from his house. Matthew asked his new ‘brother’ if he could go with them when they go. Mark reluctantly told Matthew that Mr. Ken won’t let any of the boys go because of all the blood and stuff still in the house.

It was getting close to lunch time, so Mr. Ken called Robert to ask him to bring Mark down to eat, then they would be going over to the hospital to visit with his mom, dad and Billy.

Robert went over to his new ‘brother’ and told him what his foster dad wanted to do. Mark told Matthew he’d see him later, and then went with his older ‘brother’ to the golf cart and the two went down to the house.

Momma Maria was waiting on the new foster boy and when he arrived, she had him sit right down for a light lunch. The boy was surprised that not only were his foster dad there, but also Mr. Chris and Mr. Wayne. He was going to ask, but thought better of it, thinking he needed to learn how things were done at The Cove first, then he could ask why.

As the Covers ate, Mr. Ken had turned on the Nook’s TV to the news channel to see what, if any, other developments had been reported on the home invasion at the Goldersons. The man was in luck as the Sheriff’s Information Officer (IO) was at a podium giving a noon-time briefing.

“We want to bring you up to date on what we now know about the home invasion that occurred at Levi and Miriam Goldersons’ home last Sunday night. As you know, at approximately 8:30 Sunday night three men, and a teenager, forcefully entered the Golderson residence.

“We still do not know the reason for their invading the Goldersons’ home, but what we do know is that at about thirty minutes prior to the family returning from dinner, the men cut the phone and internet cable lines going into the house. We have video from the neighbor across the street showing that’s what they did. We surmise that this home invasion was a pre-planned act and not a random one.

“We have also learned that as the perpetrators entered the house, the Goldersons sent their son up to what they called the Safe Room, where he remained until after the house was cleared by Sheriff’s Deputies.

“The culprits knew the Goldersons had a son and when they asked them where he was, they told the malefactors they had dropped him off at a friend’s house to spend the night. The men accepted that.

“The men then demanded to know where they kept their guns. Miriam told them that they didn’t have any because of their nine-year-old son. The man, known as Santiago, Santiago Sanchez, then went over to Mrs. Golderson and pointed his gun at her head, then demanded to know where the guns were.

“The woman’s husband, Levi, reacted immediately and rushed the man, grabbed the man’s gun arm and pushed it away from his wife. It was said that Santiago threw the lighter man off of him and he beat Levi across his head with his gun. The man received a slight concussion for defending his wife.

“The invaders … they then took Mr. Golderson into his office. There, the leader of the group, Bennett Grafflers, had the man open his computer and show him the file folder containing the home surveillance videos, which he watched to see if they were seen on them.

“When Bennet was satisfied none of them were on the videos, he had Mr. Golderson delete the files and then the folder. But unbeknownst to them, the neighbor across the street also had outside cameras and we were able to obtain video of the home invaders from the neighbors showing their arrival.

“What the invaders did next was they took the Goldersons’ foster son, known as Billy, no last name as he is a minor, up to his room. While they interrogated the fifteen-year-old, the men left their teen accomplice to watch over the husband and wife who they had tied up with wire ties and duct tape and put on their bed.

“For reasons still not known, the men … they asked the teenager questions and when they didn’t get the answer that they were looking for … they … they beat him. The teen took a severe beating and is now recovering, in the hospital, from two black eyes, a busted eardrum, broken nose, split and swollen lips, cracked ribs and possibly many internal injuries.

“While the three men were mercilessly beating on someone a third their age, the Goldersons got the men’s partner in crime to talk to them. The teenager told the man and woman about his life and that no one had ever really talked with him about anything. The Goldersons somehow asked him to tell them how he got involved with those men.

“We learned that the teen explained how it was only he and his mom and that he was basically on his own for as long as he could remember, and he never had someone to do things with him or even sit down and talk to him about anything, especially about growing up.

“The boy told the parents how money was tight … and when he had the chance to earn some … such as delivering drugs to the high school students for Bennett, Santiago and Weston, he took the opportunity.

“What you may not know is that Santiago Sanchez, Weston Thrumble and Bennett Grafflers were the three men we arrested a few weeks back for illegal drug distribution. The teen was also arrested with the men and was charged as being the front man for the illegal drugs distribution at Alvin York High School.

“We also learned that as the teen told the Goldersons about him, and why he was working with the men, Levi somehow was able to free himself from his bonds and waited for the right time to attack his jailer. When the time was right … the man jumped off the bed, pulled the alarm clock off the nightstand and slammed it against the teen.

“The teen’s yell from being hit drew the three men’s attention and Santiago Sanchez went down to the master bedroom to investigate. When he arrived, he saw that Levi Golderson had freed himself, and his wife, and had retrieved his gun from a gun safe. The two exchanged fire.

“Both men hit one another, and Santiago retreated behind the door frame leading into the bedroom. Santiago shot once more at Levi who withheld his fire. Levi Golderson then decided to shoot through the wall hitting the man one more time. The man dropped his gun and fell over. He died where he fell.

“During that exchange of gunfire, Weston Thrumble came racing down the stairs only to find his partner in crime either dead or dying right there at the entrance to the master bedroom. That man saw their teen accomplice over in a corner trying to stay out of the line of fire.

“We were told that Weston then yelled at the teenager something to the effect of, ‘This is what you get for not doing your job’. The man then shot the teen … in the back. The boy fell down right away and was still in the same position when the EMTs entered the premises.

“Mr. Golderson, situated behind the master bed, then took advantage of the distraction and shot Weston from where he was. He hit the man. But by then Bennett Grafflers had come down the stairs, saw that Santiago was lying there, not moving and possibly dead, and that Weston was also hit.

“Bennett … seeing Santiago’s gun laying on the floor, quickly grabbed the gun and then told his injured partner, Weston, to get out to the car. The leader of the group then began shooting the remaining bullets in Santiago’s gun into the master bedroom, not caring where they went.

“The man continued to fire, emptying the gun, which then clicked, telling him he was out of ammo. At that time, Bennett ran out of the house, jumped into the car and drove away.

“Somehow you all have learned that Levi Golderson … that he was shot in the arm and the chest. The man received a collapsed lung from that second shot. His wife was also hit during that spray of bullets and was hit in the leg, hip and upper torso. And, as you know, their son was uninjured.

“Then early yesterday, Weston Thrumble presented himself to a Texas Med Clinic about ten miles away from the crime scene. While the doctors took their time treating the man, they called the Sheriff’s office and we dispatched Deputies who subsequently arrested him without incident.

“Bennett Grafflers is still At Large and is considered armed and dangerous. And should anyone notice the man they should call 911 and report his whereabouts to authorities. They should NOT approach this man for any reason.

“Now … are there any questions,” finished the Information Officer.

The reporters wanted to know the first name of the teen accomplice, but the Information Officer (IO) would not provide it as the teen was still a minor. They also wanted to know the extent of that teen’s injuries, other than being shot in the back, but again the IO told them that only family can give out that information to them.

The reporters asked how many gunshots there were fired inside the house. The IO said that Levi Golderson only fired his gun three times and hit his targets all three times. The IO added that forensics was able to confirm that, and that the man was not responsible for the teen being shot in the back. The IO said that the teen was lucky he didn’t receive additional gunshot wounds from the spray of bullets Bennett sent into the room.

One reporter asked how the Sheriff’s Department was notified. The IO stated that they received numerous phone calls from the neighbors who called 911, and they also received a call from the Goldersons’ alarm company saying they had received a signal from the home.

The Reporters wanted to know what sort of questions were asked of the teen who’d been beaten. The IO said that he didn’t have that information at that time. Mark looked at Mr. Ken and said he told them what questions they asked Billy, so he wanted to know why the man answered that he didn’t know.

Mr. Ken told his foster son that if the man told them about ‘Smokey’ and ‘Greaser’ it would only cause more questions and possibly bring attention to The Cove and Billy and maybe the other boys here. The foster dad said he was always trying to protect his ‘boys’ from the media and that the less they know about them, the better it is for all of them at The Cove.

“Does that go for me, too?” asked Mark.

“Yes, Mark. If you remember when we first met, I told you not to ask the other boys why they were living there. The same goes for you. Unfortunately, because this is a high-profile case the boys’ friends will know more about you than they do their other Cover friends. But that doesn’t mean you need to answer any of their questions. That is if you don’t want to,” explained Mr. Ken.

“So … you don’t want me to tell them anything about me?” asked the foster boy.

“That is strictly up to you. But … I’d suggest you wait until you get to know them better. … Not to change the subject but … have you started making that list of things you want me to get for you from your house tomorrow?” inquired the foster dad.

“Not really. I know that I want my clothes, skateboard and cell phone. And there is a book out in the garage I was using to help build my arm, leg and shoulder muscles. I want to be a pitcher and my dad bought that book for me and Kieran to use. He wants to be a catcher. Oh, yea, I’d want my glove and ball. And, could I also get my bike?” replied Mark.

“Mark, when we get back home after visiting your parents and Billy, let’s take a look at Kyle’s bike and see if that will work for you. OK? But Mark … the boys … they don’t go outside the estate to ride their bikes,” counseled the man.

Mark didn’t understand why the boys don’t go outside the grounds, but again he told himself that he needed to know why they do things there, before asking a bunch of questions. He figured he could ask his new ‘brothers’ and they might tell him.

When everyone was finished eating, they all thanked Momma Maria for making them something, by going over to her and giving her a hug. Mark liked that they did that. He wondered why he never did that for his own mom after she made something for him to eat.

Mark did think back to what his ‘big brother’ was trying to teach him and get him to understand that he needed to help around the house. And that no matter how little he did, that it did help towards letting someone have more time for themselves.

Mr. Ken asked Mark to use the bathroom and wash his face and hands and then meet him in the Kitchen Nook and then they’d leave for the hospital soon thereafter.

Up at the Pavilion, the boys who were playing the games had the TV on, and when the Sheriff’s Office began their update on the home invasion, the TV station broke in with a Breaking News Segment.

The boys under the Pavilion called out to the rest of their friends to come over and listen to see if there was something new being reported about the home invasion. All the boys listened with rapt attention and none of them talked during the whole briefing.

When the briefing was finished, they all talked about what they heard and what they thought was new. After their discussion, they figured all of the important stuff about the invasion was revealed and they would have to talk to Mark and then Billy when he finally came home.

As the boys talked, they saw Mr. Ken and Mark drive out of the estate. They knew they were going over to the hospital to visit with the boy’s parents and hopefully Billy. Many of the boys hoped they’d be home before they had to go home themselves.

The boys then went back to either skating, playing the games, riding the WaveRunners or swimming. Some of the boys even went out on the WaveRunners and a few asked Russell to take them out on the towing tube. When two o’clock came, the barbeque team would burn the burgers and dogs and they’d all eat. Then, after that, they all went back to doing what they were doing.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhound at CastleRoland dot Net

87,079 views