Seth eyes widened and he began to get angry, "What did you say!"
Glen did not expect such a reaction from Seth but continued. "I have some items here you may find interesting." Glen pulled out a slightly browned paper folded into three. He handed it to Seth. It was a birth certificate from the state of New York and listed Ellen as the mother and Seth Hazlitt as the father. Seth at first thought it was an easy fake, but the paper was aged too well for it to be a forgery.
"I also have these." Glen handed some photos to Seth. They were the type with the scalloped edges, slightly bent and cracked. A few were of Seth and Ellen, smiling during a once happy time in his life. A few more were of a little boy, apparently taken professionally at a photo studio. This shook Seth to the core. The boy couldn't have been more than three years old, but it looked exactly like Seth when he was a boy. He knew it wasn't and deducted that it was Glen as a child. It was downright uncanny, and a shiver went up Seth's spine.
Meanwhile, Jessica had just walked into the living room. She heard everything from the hall but waited a few minutes before showing up in the living room. She was carrying the pot of coffee on a tray with some mugs.
"I heard someone at the door and thought I'd bring out some coffee. Hello, I'm Jessica Fletcher," she introduced herself.
"Glen Monroe. It's an honor to meet you. I've read so many of your books."
Seth was still sitting down, angry and speechless. "Mr. Monroe how about some coffee? Seth would you like a cup?"
"No… no thank you Jessica." He stood up and walked upstairs without even excusing himself. Seth entered his bedroom and walked to the closet. He pulled the chain on the dimly lit bulb and reached into the back corner of the top shelf. He pulled out a worn-out milk cracker tin that had seen better days. It was covered in dust and slightly rusted.
Seth managed to pry off the cover and inside was a plastic bag with a handful of photos. He took them and sat on the bed. He shuffled through the photos, occasionally smiling at them. There were Seth, Ellen and their friends Tim and Patty at the beach. Photos of Patty and Ellen sitting on the sand. Some photos of Tim and Seth trying to look cool with sunglasses and cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. Then Seth came across some photos of he and Ellen. One of them was a photo of them goofing around. The other was a photo of the two of them, kissing. Apparently, Tim snuck up on them and shot the photo before the couple could protest. Seth looked up for a moment and smiled. Everything presented to him today started to fall into place and the memories he buried came back immediately. Seth then reached a sad realization that Glen was most likely his son.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Jessica and Glen were talking over coffee.
"Glen, I've known Seth Hazlitt for years and I've never met a finer, kinder man in my life. He's a little rough around the edges until you get to know him."
"I understand Mrs. Fletcher. I know what I told him was a shock, but I didn't expect him to be angry."
"Well, you have to admit that what you told Seth was no less than Earth shattering. Seth tends to let his emotions get the best of him. When that happens, he likes to be alone and think. I just give him space and when he's ready he'll come around," Jessica said reassuringly.
"I'm sure you're right, it's just a little painful. I guess I was expecting some kind of Hallmark-card reunion. Well, I plan on staying a week in Cabot Cove. I was…hoping to get to know Dr. Hazlitt a little bit better. I'm staying at the Hill House. I should probably go and check in. I don't suppose you could drive me there?"
"I wish I could Glen but I don't drive. I'll call you a taxi."
"Thanks."
Jessica proceeded with the call and the Taxi was there in ten minutes. She wished Glen goodbye and as he walked out he glanced up at the stairwell, hoping Seth might come down and say good-bye but that didn't happen.