Published: 2 Feb 2023

With Mark’s departure from The Cove, it took a few days for the boys to get back into a normal routine. Sure, they missed their youngest ‘brother’, but they knew he was back with his mom and dad and they came to realize that that was the best for him.

Kevin, Kyle and Matthew, too, stopped lamenting what happened to their parents, and just moved on knowing they had no control over what would happen to them in the future.

During the week after Labor Day, Bill Jackson, the lawyer for Ken Thomas, completed the out of court settlement between George Bush International Airport in Houston, Mr. Thomas and the other travelers who were inconvenienced after their emergency landing at that airport last December. The lawyer received the checks made out to the adults in their names in the amount of $125,000.00 and the children’s names in the amount of $50,000.00 with Mr. Thomas as their guardian.

Mr. Jackson mailed Collin his check and he took the others over to The Cove to personally give them to Mr. Ken and Mr. Wayne. Mr. Ken showed the boys their checks, so they could see them, and then told the boys he would create a Trust Fund Account, in their name, and then, give them the five hundred dollars, he promised them from the settlement, that they could use as they saw fit.

Mr. Ken had his meeting of his amusement park operators that following weekend. As promised, he not only told them who would help him operate the amusement parks, he announced Ben Walthers as the new President of Three Finger Entertainment, LLC and his position of actually running all four amusement parks.

Mr. Ken also mentioned the former operator of Mountain Top Park would be moving to the area and would be working from the office building right next door to the hotel. He added that his assistant, Clayton Williams, would be taking over the park’s operations. Jason Zimms was disappointed he wasn’t asked to run that park.

They all heard of the accident investigation’s preliminary findings of the Rocket’s mishap and that was one of the topics of discussion during the meeting. Mr. Thomas wanted his park operators to know that he would not tolerate that level of disregard to safety in his parks.

Mr. Ken did tell his park operators what success Jason had at Crystal Lake in cleaning up the areas around the food stands, in and outside the restrooms and the park entrance, as well as other areas in the park.

The owner of the parks told them that Jason bought two 3500 psi pressure washers and hired two men who manned them every day and their work made a difference that their guests made comments on. He told the other operators to do the same and talk with Jason about what he did and any special cleaning solutions he may have used.

Mr. Ken also told his park operators about a park employee who did not replace a drink because he did not see it spilled. He told them how the man argued with him personally, even though he was wearing a park supervisor’s shirt. He reiterated their Park’s policy of replacing food or drink items if they are dropped within a few minutes of the guest leaving the food stand.

Ken Thomas told his operators that if any employee has a problem with that policy, then they need to be reassigned within the park, or they need to be told to find another job. Mr. Ken told them their guests are in their parks for fun and if an employee does not exude a friendly smile and treat the guests with respect, then they were not the type of person he wanted working there. The park operators understood from his tone of voice and how strongly he felt about that subject, that they knew how to handle that directive.

They also talked about the soon to happen Spook-Tac-U-Lairs and how they could enhance them. Then they discussed the Celebration of Christmas Wonders and what they could do to improve on that successful endeavor. They all discussed their ideas on both added attractions and since they were essentially identical, Mr. Ken had them vote on the additions they liked the best and then he approved the added funding to make them happen.

Mr. Thomas then announced he was buying Wild Mouse type roller coasters for three of the parks. He told them Crystal Lake already had one and would get something eventually. He added that he would be visiting the parks at the end of September, or the first week of October, to talk about the siting of the new coaster.

Friday night, late, Mr. Ken received a phone call from the owners of Edgewood. They asked him if he would consider buying their park, at the price he quoted them last February, when he inspected the park himself.

Mr. Ken told him that since the Rocket’s accident and then the inspectors shuttering a few of their rides that the park wasn’t worth near that amount. He did tell them that he was still interested, though, and he gave them a price he was now willing to pay, but they hung up on him.

Saturday morning, while in a meeting with his park operators, his phone vibrated telling him he had a call. He looked to see who it was and seeing it was Collin, he called him at the next break. It was then he learned the Edgewood Park owners called the teenager asking him if he would buy the park. Mr. Ken now knew the owners were getting desperate.

The week after his meeting with his amusement park operators, District Attorney George Morris called Ken Thomas to let him know that the trial for the four men, who tried to rob the armored truck back last Christmas, would begin the first week of October. Ken Thomas had to plan to visit his parks that last week of September now, so he could be available to support Matthew if he was called to testify

Also, during that same week, the owners of Edgewood Amusement Park announced that they were filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. They also announced that their park was now closed for the season and would not reopen until they could ‘reorganize’ their business and establish better business practices to become profitable again.

Mr. Ken figured that all the multi-million-dollar lawsuits filed after the Rockets accident, may have pushed the owners to the point they needed to count their pennies. He figured if the lawsuits went against the Edgewood Amusement Park, it would eventually be placed under a trustee, who would be appointed to ‘liquidate’ the company’s assets and use the money to pay off the debt, which may include debts to creditors and the lawsuits.

Mr. Ken quickly called Bill to have him find a local lawyer near the amusement park to keep him abreast of what was happening there, and to let him know right away if a trustee was named. He wanted to be prepared so he could go in with a full purchase offer for the park when the time was right.

The School Board had asked and Abigail Chadwick accepted her appointment as the interim principal at Alvin York High School. The high school Vice-Principal immediately resigned, as he said he would.

Dan Chassen was appointed to take over as acting principal with Principal Chadwick’s departure. His long-time teaching there earned him much respect from the other teachers and, of course, the students, so his filling in as acting Principal was virtually seamless.

During her first week at the high school, acting Principal Abigail Chadwick coordinated with Sheriff Barnes to have the drug dogs go through the high school searching for any illegal drugs. The Deputies and their canine companions searched the entire high school, with a focus on the lockers of those students, who were identified by Kaden Stylers, as the ones he provided drugs to, while in the employ of the three men who invaded the Golderson’s home.

Of the thirty-six lockers they found illegal drugs in, two of the lockers belonged to students who were involved in Principal Stanley’s attempt to railroad Billy into a suspension for fighting last spring. The two students, a senior and a junior, were football players and were immediately suspended from the team. The senior, Timothy ‘Tim’ Simmons, would probably lose his college scholarship.

Joanna Schwimminger was not happy to learn that her former Principal was now the acting Principal at her high school. She now knew how to be careful with what tormenting and harassing she tried against any students who didn’t like or follow her. She also knew she better stay away from Robert Thomas and his friends because his and her dad had now become friends and she knew that would not work in her favor.

Due to the trial beginning the first week of October, Ken Thomas made plans to visit his amusement parks that last week of September. When he went to Crystal Lake Amusement Park, he made sure to call Kate. He met her mom during that visit, then he and Kate went out to dinner, without the boys, or her mom.

The two talked about many things and eventually they talked about her, her mom and the boys coming out to The Cove to visit during the three-day weekend in October and then going with the boys and their friends to Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ Fright Fest. She then wanted him to come there for Thanksgiving.

Ken Thomas now had a dilemma. He was beginning to like Kate and he didn’t want to disappoint her, but he had to be up front and honest with her. He told her that with six boys to take care of, he had already made plans with them for Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the way up through Spring Break. He explained to her that with them, he has to know well in advance what they are going to do and that he won’t disappoint them.

Kate was disappointed with Ken not wanting to be with her and her family for Thanksgiving. She did, however, admire him for making the boys a high priority in his life. She wanted to know when he would be back that way again, and he told her right after Christmas. She smiled and told him she hoped they would see one another then too, and for more than one day.

After he returned from visiting his amusement parks, Mr. Ken, Mr. Wayne and the twins went back to the Parchsons’ home one last time. The courts had ordered the house sold and the belongings liquidated, so the boys were being allowed, to go through the home and take whatever memories of their childhood they wanted. Kevin and Kyle told their ‘dad’ there wasn’t anything there that they wanted. Their ‘dad’ insisted there was, but they wouldn’t know it until they saw it.

Unbeknownst to the twins, back when their parents were sentenced, Children’s Protective Services (CPS) contacted their parent’s families to ask them if they had any intentions of raising the boys for Parker and Vivian. Parker’s dad had passed away and his mom was living alone and said she wasn’t prepared to raise the boys by herself.

Vivian’s mom told CPS she was still fighting cancer and that she and her husband were preoccupied with all the doctor appointments and after effects of the treatments. They told CPS they didn’t feel they would have enough time, or energy, to devote to the soon to be teenaged boys to raise them properly.

Parker’s brother, Reynolds and his wife Sylvia, even though they had two children of their own, indicated to CPS that they were interested in raising Kevin and Kyle, but had some questions they needed answered before they could commit. Children’s Protective Services suggested they travel to Texas and talk to them and get their questions answered. They also suggested that they then visit with the boys and get to know them, since they hadn’t seen them in quite some time.

Once at the Parchsons’ house, ‘dad’ Ken pointed out pictures of the boys at different ages that they should take because once they had families of their own, their kids would want to see them.

There were other sundry knickknack items from their parent’s bedroom ‘dad’ Ken had them take. Then, remembering what Robert’s dad had done, he had the boys search the bottoms and backs of the dresser, the chest of drawers, the night stands and behind the mirrors for hidden money. There was none.

Ben Walthers and his wife, Addison, and his two children, Rylan, 13, and Ryleigh, 11, finally moved into the area, and Mr. Ken had them over to The Cove, so they knew what it was all about. He also wanted Ben’s wife and children to meet his boys, enjoy the Cove Skate Park and eat some burned burgers and hot dogs. The children also received those special Cove Skate Park helmets and pads.

Mr. Ken finally consolidated all of his holdings into his new office building. Besides Three Finger Entertainment, LLC, there was the Three Finger Real Estate Group, the Construction & Design Group, the Architect Group, the Travel Group, the Restaurant & Games Group and the Hotel/Motel Group.

A few of them overlapped for now, but they would expand as his holdings expanded near his amusement parks. That was already apparent with the number of contingency contracts he had just outside the Crystal Lake Amusement Park. Ken Thomas sat down with all the managers of the Groups and filled them in on his future plans and told them to be ready to act on a moment’s notice. He told them to just ask his Three Finger Real Estate Manager what he means.

The additional parking spaces outside the Main Gate at The Cove were approved and the construction had begun. It did cause headaches for the parents, when they dropped their sons off, as the usual parking spaces that were along the street were now being used by the construction trailer.

Commissioner and County Judge Joseph Barnneby did get all of the appropriate county departments to sit down and work with Mr. Thomas’ Architectural Group in establishing the linear park Mr. Ken talked to him about during the Labor Day Picnic.

The Commissioner explained that Mr. Thomas was funding his entire portion of the project and a good amount of the County’s portion as they completed the work. He told them he wanted them to plan the whole thing out, so it would flow seamlessly, starting along Mr. Thomas’ estate and continuing beside the lake and leading out towards the Four Corners area. They all got together, buckled down and got right to work.

Mr. Ken did have Mr. Chris schedule a Fire Drill with the Fire Chief during the month of October at The Cove. It wasn’t as encompassing as the first one, but the firemen did get another tour of the home to orient them to its layout and they got a full explanation of how the internal fire suppression system would work, if there ever was a fire.

The firemen were then invited to stay for lunch of burned burgers and hot dogs. They were also given the opportunity to try out the Cove Skate Park while they were there. The older teens let them use their skateboards.

Mr. Ken finally got his new office established in the new office building and then started looking for an executive secretary. He asked Ms. Jackie to fill in for the time being, but seeing he hadn’t passed out his new business cards yet, not many phone calls were coming in. Most were the ones forwarded from Mr. Chris, when he couldn’t handle them at The Cove.

The trial for Lincoln Redwingger, Carter Dunlapman, Lonny Charles Acheterts, and Benjamin Bateterson, the men who tried to rob the armored truck last Christmas, began the first full week of October. It took a week just to pick a jury, then the beginning of the second week was taken up by motions from the four defense attorneys to separate the trials from one another.

Also, during that same week, Reynolds Parchsons came to Texas to talk to Director Judy Turner and Children’s Protective Services about him and his wife taking custody of the twins. He also wanted to visit with Kevin and Kyle while he was there.

Ms. Judy called Mr. Ken to set up a meeting with the man and the boys. It wasn’t something Ken Thomas wanted to do, but he had to do it as CPS was chartered to reunite the family in any way it could.

That night, ‘dad’ Ken sat down with Kevin and Kyle after dinner and told them that their Uncle Reynolds was in town and wanted to meet with them one day when they returned from school. He told them that their uncle and Aunt Sylvia were talking with CPS about getting guardianship and raising them for his brother, their father, Parker.

The boys broke down and cried, hard. Their ‘brothers’ were outside the Study sitting on the stairs and they could hear them and they wondered what that was all about. They couldn’t fathom what could make Kevin and Kyle cry so much. It wasn’t until ‘Dad’ Ken opened the Study door and invited them in and told them what he just told the twins that they all cried right along with the twins. It was a very sad night in The Cove that night.

That night, when ‘dad’ Ken talked to the twins before they went to bed, Kevin said that they probably won’t ever get to see their mom again. Mr. Ken didn’t have an answer for the older twin. He told them he’d look into it, but depending on how fast their aunt and uncle plan to take them away, they may not get the chance to visit with her one last time. The man had to hug the boys one last time that day when they realized they may never see her again, even though she participated in what their dad did.

During that week, the Bandera courts also had accepted Bill Jackson and Stewart Russell’s argument that the monies Parker Parchsons had in his bank accounts, were actually earned by Kevin as proven during the man’s trial, and should be awarded to the boy, and not used to pay any more of the man’s or woman’s attorney’s fees.

Parker and Vivian’s lawyers argued strenuously that they earned their fees and by law should be paid from the money in their client’s bank accounts. But the courts ruled that the money was in fact being held by the father for his son, and thus they could not claim it. Kevin was then awarded what remained in all of the joint parent’s accounts, $63,496.37. Bill Jackson then asked the judge to have the money sent to the boy’s guardian, so he could put it into the boy’s Trust Fund.

Hearing that the boy already had a Trust Fund, the judge had Bill Jackson clarify that. The lawyer explained the boy was one of nine people in a class-action lawsuit that was just recently settled. The lawyer explained the boy’s guardian placed the proceeds into a Trust Fund that he could use for college or a trade school when he graduated from high school. The lawyer added that if the boy didn’t go on to college, or take up a trade after high school, the money would not be available to him until he was twenty-five.

Reynolds Parchsons read about that court ruling in the newspaper, and took notice as to the amount of money the older twin was to receive. He also read with interest that the court had ordered the sale of the Parchsons home and everything they owned and the judge ordered he would decide what would become of those monies after the Realtor fees, federal and state taxes and sundry other bills were paid.

Reynolds talked to his wife that night and together they decided they would claim all of those monies to help them raise the twins, since they would greatly add to their expenses, as to what they would need to spend to raise the two fast growing boys.

The boy’s uncle met the twins at The Cove right after they came home from school on Friday of that same week. Mr. Ken let them use the Great Room to talk about what he and his wife wanted to do, and when they would come to take them home with them.

The boys told their uncle they didn’t want to go with him; that they wanted to stay where they were with Mr. Ken and their foster brothers. Uncle Reynolds told the twins that their Aunt Sylvia and cousins were looking forward to getting to know them and watching them grow. The meeting lasted two hours and Uncle Reynolds told the boys he’d see them in about two weeks.

When the separation of the armored truck trials was denied by the presiding judge, testimony was then heard. District Attorney Morris began by calling the Sheriff’s Detectives and Deputies to testify as to how they came to ascertain an armored truck would be robbed and then arrested the four men, as they attempted to actually rob the armored truck.

The defense attorneys, remembering what was reported in the newspapers back when the men were arrested, wanted to hear from the boy who supposedly dreamt about the attempted robbery and had reported it to the Sheriff’s office.

The District Attorney told the defense attorney’s that it was the detectives’ good diligence and hard investigative work that ascertained what the men were up to and sprung the trap that got them arrested.

The trial of the four men was widely reported. It was when Grace Turnsten was called to testify, and was identified as the love interest of one of the accused, her name was not only reported, but the trial was now picked up by a wider array of news media outlets.

They also reported that Grace was in prison for what she and her boyfriend had done to her son, and that reported tidbit caught the attention of the woman’s husband, Victor, who now came to the trial looking for his son.

Once at the trial, Victor asked DA Morris about visiting his ex-wife, Grace, and possibly finding where his son, Matthew, was. George Morris told the man he’d have someone contact him at the end of the day, with the information about his wife.

During the lunch break, DA Morris called Ken Thomas to let him know that Matthew’s dad had appeared at the trial, and he should be prepared to relinquish the boy.

Mr. Ken immediately called Ms. Judy with that information and the two decided on a course of action to make sure the man, who presented himself as Matthew Turnsten’s father, was indeed the man he says he is.

Mr. Ken decided not to tell Matthew until it was proven who the man was. He didn’t want to upset the boys any more than he had with the revelation that Uncle Reynolds wanted to take custody of the twins.

With four men on trial for the same offense it was a protracted trial. During that time Victor Turnsten did get to talk to his ex-wife, Grace, at the prison, and he learned why she was now in prison, and what had happened to his son.

Victor Turnsten went to Children’s Protective Services (CPS) to get his son back into his custody, but was rebuffed. They told him he had to not only prove that he was the father, but also that he was gainfully employed and could provide for not only himself, but his son as well with adequate shelter, clothing and food, and that he would ensure his son goes to school.

CPS also told Victor that since he was an absent father, he would have to go through the courts to gain custody. They gave him the name of the County Juvenile Courts Judge, where he is located and how he could be reached. They recommended he get a lawyer, as this could be an extended process, as he hadn’t been in the boy’s life for many years.

Victor did get himself a lawyer, something that he couldn’t really afford. But he knew if he wanted to gain custody, he had to do that. He checked with Legal Aid and Pro Bono programs that help low-income people with legal issues. They agreed to help since the boy’s mother was in prison and the father was there to gain custody and finish raising his son.

The man’s lawyers filled out a number of forms and presented them to the court. The court, in turn, set a date for a hearing. At the hearing, since Victor no longer lives in Texas, the Judge asked for work and wage history, a criminal background investigation report and a current drug test.

The lawyers balked at the judge’s ruling, but the judge told them he was not going to relinquish the boy into an unknown man’s custody without knowing more about the man. He added that he still wasn’t satisfied that the man was the father, as the man hadn’t provided any hard proof that he is the father.

The lawyers asked if a DNA test would be acceptable to the courts to prove paternity. The judge was agreeable to that and set another hearing date. Once the Judge ordered that, Mr. Ken had to tell Matthew about his dad, as the boy would be contacted by the lawyers in order to get a swab from the inside of his cheek.

Matthew was not happy to hear that his real dad had come to try to get custody of him. He had dreaded that this would happen one day, and now that possibility was very real. ‘Dad’ Ken explained to him that even if the DNA test proves Victor is his dad, that if he cannot show to the courts that he can provide for both of them and still give Matthew good clothes to wear and food to eat and see that he continues to get a good education then he would not gain custody.

Matthew told ‘dad’ Ken that Victor was his real dad’s name. He added that all he could do now was hope that his dad could not meet those requirements set by the courts. He then cried as he sat on ‘dad’ Ken’s lap.

The Cover boys were devastated when they heard that now Mathew’s dad was applying to gain custody of his son. It looked to them that they would be losing three ‘brothers’ and it all could happen before Thanksgiving.

In the meantime, the Goldersons did agree to do a three-part series interview with Rene Vaughn on their July home invasion. Rene let them tell their story in their own words and only helped them with the timeline and guiding the viewer through the home to show the important areas mentioned in the interview. Mark was never allowed to tell what he overheard and saw. The three ten-minute interviews received critical acclaim and a nomination for a Critic’s Choice Award, for Rene and the news station.

During Victor Turnsten’s follow-up court hearing, the judge reviewed all of the information he required the lawyers to provide. After his review and some hard questions of Victor, he approved supervised visitation rights with Matthew.

The judge told Victor he could have two hours one night a week and four hours one day on the weekend until the next court hearing and he was to schedule the time with his son’s court appointed guardian. The judge was adamant that it was not to interfere with the boy’s schoolwork, or the boy’s doctor appointments.

Victor’s lawyers protested the judge’s strict ruling, but the judge told them that since Mr. Turnsten had no history and no ties to the area, he was not going to give the man carte blanche contact with his son for the time being and to take it, or leave it.

Victor Turnsten and his son, Matthew, met at The Cove during their supervised visits. They used the Great Room during the week and they sat outside at the Pavilion on Saturday. It was awkward for the man, as he felt he was under the microscope.

But Matthew told him that they were his friends and they needed to meet him, especially if he was going to have to move away with him. That was the only saving grace Victor saw in doing that.

The armored truck trial lingered on and DA Morris was able to keep Matthew from having to testify, and that was a good thing for the boy. With the boy’s dad now in the picture, the boy was not in the right frame of mind to answer lots of questions about his dreams right now.

It took more than two weeks for Kevin’s check, ordered by the Bandera Courts, to arrive at The Cove. Mr. Ken was totally surprised at the amount the older twin received, but knowing what the boy had to endure he was glad he got it versus the lawyers. And since the check was made out to both of them, they each had to go to the bank to sign the back of the check, before Mr. Ken could deposit it into Kevin’s Trust Fund.

Kevin was also astonished at the amount of money his dad had made from him. He figured there was a lot more because his dad had paid his and his mom’s attorney’s fees, but at least he got part of the money, and it would be put away for him for when he was old enough and off to college, or a trade school.

The Cover boys and their friends did get to go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas over the three-day weekend in October. Even Mark and his friends were invited to go along. Mr. Ken did only invited Doctor Doug, Doctor Rick and Mr. Dan to go along as chaperones that time, so with him, Mr. Wayne, Mr. Owen and Mr. Nathan the seven of them were enough to satisfy the parents.

Mr. Wayne moved into his new apartment and Mr. Ken, true to his word, had a moving company do all the work carrying the furniture and boxes up the three flights of stairs. Mr. Wayne took two days off to make that happen and lucky for The Cove, Mr. Dennis decided not to quit after what happened to him during the Labor Day Picnic.

The saga of Three Finger Cove continues. Let Chowhound know you are reading his story: Chowhnd at Gmail dot Com

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