Episode 29: Desertion

CHAPTER 1: RERUN REMEMBERED

Rerun was being laid to rest this particular day. He was in a coma for a few weeks after Schroeder's prison sentence, but succumbed to his illness. Charlie was busy dealing with Kevin's desertion that he had to put Rerun's situation on the back burner, but Lucy and Linus understood he had serious business he was attending to. Pat came to visit the hospital in his place. But Charlie was there for the funeral. He told his superiors that he had to go, and they agreed to continue the search for Kevin in his absence.

Lucy and Linus were devastated by the loss of Rerun, as was his parents Larry and Lacey. As the rule usually was the parent was supposed to go before the child, but sometimes, fate has other plans, as Larry and Lacey found out. Derrick and Mary Jo were there to comfort the Van Pelt siblings in their time of need. The pallbearers carried Rerun's casket to where he would be buried. The cemetery was called Oak Meadows. The reverend said some words of comfort, a final prayer was spoken, and hugs were exchanged. Then everyone headed for the Bronze Beagle for the repass.

At the Beagle, everyone was talking about their memories of Rerun and how he was different from his siblings in every way possible.

"He didn't believe in the Great Pumpkin like I used to when I was a kid," Linus was saying to some of the guests. "I even tried to make him a believer, to no avail."

"He was more even-tempered than me, and even Linus," Lucy said to other guests. "I was the crabby one, Linus was the eccentric, but Rerun was the middle ground."

"I remember how he always wanted to buy Snoopy off of me," Charlie was saying to Larry and Lacey. "From what I understood, you guys never wanted to get a dog."

"Well, with your dog at our house constantly, we always thought of him as everyone's dog," said Lacey. "While you were the primary owner, everyone seemed to take care of Snoopy."

"Touché!" laughed Charlie.

Shermy was behind the bar with Thibault helping with the service when the phone rang. Shermy went to answer the phone.

"Bronze Beagle, this is the owner Shermy," he answered. "Yeah, he's here. I'll get him right now." He walked over to Charlie and Pat, who were still chatting with Larry and Lacey. "Hey, man, someone on the phone for you. A Colonel Clarke?"

"You better get that, Chuck," said Pat.

"Definitely," agreed Charlie. "Might be information about Kevin." And Charlie went to the bar and picked up the phone. "Colonel?"

Over at the recruitment center, Colonel Clarke was behind Charlie's desk, holding down the fort for him while he was at Rerun's funeral.

"Sorry to disturb you, sergeant, but this couldn't wait," said the colonel. "A man fitting Private Ray's description was spotted in what looked like a stolen pickup truck. The truck was found at a Colorado motel. They suspect the police may had just missed him as the clerk at the motel recognized him. When they got to his room, he was already gone. That's where the trail went cold. The M.P.'s aren't leaving that town. They are turning it inside out until they find him, or find out where he went next."

"Okay, thanks for the update, sir," said Charlie on the other line.

"No problem, sergeant. I'll let you get back to your loved ones. Just figured you'd want to know what was happening."

"I appreciate it, sir. Definitely keep me posted." And Charlie hung up the phone and rejoined everyone at the repass.

NEXT CHAPTER: WHAT'S NEXT FOR MONICA?