AUTHORS NOTE: Ok then, so a hell of a lot happens in the next two chapters. Two for one today as I just kept writing and there was far too much for just one chapter so I split it into two, but don't expect this as a regular thing. (Also FYI a flippant comment made by Gideon way back in chapter 96 about the whereabouts of Chris Vidal also comes to fruition at the end of the next chapter).

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 132

(GIDEON)

"Well, shit!" Eva says bluntly, which breaks the oppressive silence that has descended over us since Welch told us everything that Jerry Barnett – the man who gunned down Peter and Suzanne Martin in cold blood has revealed.

I sit with my head in my hands, how the fuck do I tell Jared all that? The truth along with the assumptions Welch and Angus have made to go along with what they now know as fact is worse than I imagined it to be. Far worse. Part of me is really hoping that this is Barnett exaggerating the truth and throwing Philip Martin under the bus to save his own skin.

"How the hell do I tell him that his uncle is responsible for the death of his parents and his aunt and uncle?" I say helplessly.

Eva wraps her arm around me and Ana who is sitting on my other side squeezes my knee.

"You do it how Jared wants it doing. You tell him the truth, you present him with the corroborating evidence which Welch has shown us and you make sure that Caroline is there to help you both for when he reacts badly to it" Eva says.

"I really don't think he should be told the full story" Christian begins but Ana shakes her head.

"No Christian, remember what Caroline said last night. We can't do that to him, he needs to know, and he is trusting us to find out and tell him the truth".

"It will fucking destroy him, how much more can that boy take before he breaks completely?" Christian exclaims.

I look up, "I promised him I would be honest with him" I say, "I won't break that promise" I add.

"Even if it means breaking him?" Christian says.

I think for a moment, I have no idea how to do this. Part of me is agreeing whole heartedly with Christian, but I don't want Jared to think I am lying to him or not telling him everything I know. Those people were his family and he has the right to know how and why they died. "If it were us, we would want to know everything, think about it Christian, if anything happened to Grace or Carrick… or Ana you would move mountains to discover the truth".

Christian nods in an acknowledgement of that, "Difference is I'm not a child" he spits.

I glare at him, "You were once and you only discovered the truth about your parent's death a few months ago" I snap.

Everyone gasps at that, "That's not fair" Christian replies, clearly hurt by my outburst.

I shake my head, "No… it's not… I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, fuck… I just know how I felt when I was a kid – much younger than Jared is now and nobody told me what happened to my dad when he died. I knew nothing and… look what happened to me" I say.

Christian's hard gaze softens considerably at that, "Jared is not us, and thankfully apart from the brief time with Philip Martin, he has been loved and well cared for his entire life. He is clearly very mature and pragmatic – Caroline said as much, perhaps we are trying to protect him too much… and perhaps it is our own experiences which are colouring that view. But we need to be careful and we need to do this correctly" he says.

I look up at Welch and then at Angus, "Would you tell him?" I ask looking towards Angus. The man who I have looked upon as a father my entire life.

Angus smiles at me, "Ay lad, I'll do it if you want me to but you and Christian need to be there. It might be the best way to do it because we are presenting the facts, and that leaves you and Christian to deal with the emotional side and the support that lad is going to undoubtedly need".

I think about that, and nod, "Yes, I think that would be best. Get Caroline here, sit Jared down and tell him. You can show him the phone records and all the other evidence you've gathered afterwards… after Caroline leaves, if you are concerned about her witnessing Barney's handywork". I turn towards Welch, "How did Barney get all that information?" I ask.

Welch smiles serenely, "I've said before, it's best not to ask those sorts of questions".

"This information we have… the information that is legally possible to send, is it being sent to Chicago for their investigation into the deaths of William and Angela Martin?" I ask.

Welch nods, "I've already given my contact in Chicago a heads up. He knows that how I get the information is unorthodox but he believes what we can legally give him will be enough. He did suggest that Jared go to Chicago and be questioned again in case he remembers any more about that day".

I feel myself stiffen at that, I don't feel inclined to put Jared through something like that and I shake my head. Eva places her hand on my arm.

"Just talk to him, don't make the decision for him. Don't ask him if he will go or suggest anything which makes him think he has to go, but just discuss it with him" she says.

"I…" I stop as the door bursts open and Jared is standing there, his eyes wild and a look of agitated excitement on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt Gideon but I remembered something it might be important the day mom and dad died" he says in a rush. "I've been wracking my brains trying to remember everything that happened that day and I remembered something" he says.

I stand up and go to him and he reaches for me, gripping my forearms tightly, "I remembered something" he says.

"Ok, calm down. Come and sit down and tell us what you remember" I say gently.

He nods enthusiastically as I lead him to the sofa. "I've been thinking about it over and over until it made my brain hurt but then I was down on the beach and I saw this bird and it reminded me… it all came back to me" he says.

"The gunshot happened and it sounded funny like it had hit something it was like a distorted noise, mom grabbed me to her and as she did and dad covered us both I looked up and saw this bird on the sidewalk and Uncle Phil was looking towards a car… I followed where he was looking and it was his car, it was his car – the man who was here in Seattle who shot uncle Pete and Aunty Suzy, then there was another shot and that's when dad went heavy on us and that was when I couldn't breathe and I passed out" Jared gabbles out in a rush as everyone is hanging on Jared's every word.

Welch, Angus and Christian all smile kindly at Jared, "Good boy" Christian says and he reaches for Jared, "Do you remember anything else?" he asks as I sit silently with my arm secured around my son's shoulders.

Jared nods, "The day I saw the man at Uncle Phil's he gave Uncle Phil a package and Uncle Phil gave him some money… I don't know if that is helpful?" he stops and looks at us questioningly.

Angus leans forward, "Tell me lad, was it a small package or big package?" he asks.

Jared swallows and measures out with his hand, "Small, really small" he says.

Angus nods, "And what colour was it?" he asks.

"White, it looked white, in a clear plastic bag" he says.

Angus and Welch exchange a significant look, before Angus leans forward again.

"Jared, the man who is being held for killing your aunt and uncle is a known drugs dealer in Chicago".

Much to my surprise Jared just nods, "That doesn't surprise me, Uncle Phil drank heavily but sometimes he behaved oddly but I knew he hadn't had anything to drink… so do you think the man was selling him drugs?" he asks.

Angus shrugs, "From what you have said and from what the man has admitted to police, I would say that is a very strong possibility".

"So… you've found out some more stuff?" Jared asks in a small voice.

Angus leans forward and touches Jared's hand, "Ay lad we have, we've found out a lot of things and none of it is good. When you came in, we were just discussing how we were going to break it to you and we decided that myself and Geoff here would tell you," he says waving his hand towards Welch.

Jared nods and looks up at me, "I'd like Caroline to be here as well" he says and I nod.

"Definitely" I reply.

Welch now leans forward, "We will make the authorities in Chicago aware of this information you have remembered" he says.

Jared nods again and then he looks up at me, "Would… would it be possible to go back to Chicago? Could we go back and… and look at where it happened it might make me remember something else?" he asks hopefully.

I hesitate, as I don't want going back there to trigger a negative response.

"Please" Jared asks.

"Alright, on the condition that we go with you and at any point you feel you can't deal with being there we leave" I say.

Jared nods, "I can do that, I want to tell the police as well… the police in Chicago what I remembered" he says.

Everyone is smiling at that, and just like that that is one less thing I have to discuss with him.

oooOOOooo

Caroline has arrived, and we are all sitting in Christian's sitting room. I'm on edge but trying desperately to keep my own roiling emotions under control. I need to be there for Jared, I need to hold it together.

Jared is sitting beside me and he is fidgeting a little as we wait for Angus and Welch to come in. Christian is sitting next to Ana across the other side of the coffee table and Eva is sitting on my other side.

"What's taking so long?" Jared asks impatiently.

"They are getting everything they have found together, to present it to you, so you can clearly see exactly how events unfolded" I explain.

Jared nods, "Ok, sorry" he mutters and I give him an affectionate squeeze in response.

I look up as the door opens and the two stoic security men appear both carrying folders and they wordlessly sit down in front of us.

"Ok then lad, we are going to go through this slowly as there is a lot to take in, if at any point you want us to stop or you want to ask a question just speak out" Angus says gently.

Jared nods, "Ok" he says with a nod. I notice he shuffles closer to me and reaches up for my hand which is wrapped around his shoulder and he grips my pinkie finger tightly.

Welch places a manila folder on the table and opens it, "Ok then" he begins. "The man who you saw at your uncle's home and who you then saw here in Seattle when you raised the alarm is called Jerry Barnett. He is a known drugs dealer in Chicago", at that Jared lets out a small gasp and everyone looks at him.

"Uncle Phil often talked about someone called Jez and I heard him arguing with Aunty Bev once as she said he owed Jez a shit load…" He pauses and flushes slightly as he realises he has said a curse word, "…and how the… erm… she said the f word there, were they going to pay it back" he says.

Both Angus and Welch look at each other and a significant look passes between them and I realise this clearly corroborates something.

"Thank you for that Jared" Welch says, "That explains a number of things" he adds.

"Anyway, he has claimed that your uncle owed him… which considering what you have just said would support that claim. Jerry demanded payment and your uncle was unable to pay. We have reason to believe that he then turned to your father on a number of occasions for money to pay Jerry making the excuses that he was having a cashflow problem with his business".

Jared nods again, "He phoned dad a few times just before mom and dad died, asking for money again" he says.

"From what Jerry said it appears that your father discovered the truth about why your uncle needed the money. In so far as that your uncle had a problem with drugs, your father told Jerry that he would pay him everything Philip owed him if he in return left Philip alone. Your father had good intentions but his naivety brought him on to Jerry's radar. Jerry claims that Philip then concocted a scheme whereby he would lure his brother and his family to a location and Jerry would snatch you and hold you as ransom to extort more money from William, which would then be shared between Philip and Jerry. Jerry agreed in principle to this and that was the plan on the day of the shooting. However, I believe that they were equally responsible for this plan as Jerry was now aware of your father and that he was wealthy and he possibly encouraged Philip with this idea and your uncle agreed. Things went wrong on the day the plan was executed as when Jerry arrived to snatch you he fired the warning shot which was supposed to result in causing a diversion so you could be snatched it ricocheted off something which caused your parents to panic. Jerry fired again and as he did so he accidently hit your father as he moved in the line of fire".

"What about mom? Mom was shot too" Jared asks.

Welch nods, "Jerry is adamant he only fired twice, and that is corroborated by police forensics as the bullet that hit your father was different to the one which killed your mother. Which corroborated their theory of a gang related shooting and your parents were innocents caught in the crossfire. So, our working theory is… Your father was dead and you were unconscious so I believe that is when your uncle's plan changed, you have told us that your uncle owned a gun so we believe he killed your mother whilst under the assumption that he would then be a beneficiary of your father's will".

Jared stares at Welch in horror, "You think Uncle Phil killed my mom?" he croaks.

Welch sighs, "We have good reason to believe that" he says.

"Do you need to stop?" I ask but Jared shakes his head.

"No, tell me everything" he says but his voice is wavering and he is starting to tremble.

"So… your uncle believed he as his brother would be a beneficiary of your fathers will. You would be claimed by Peter and Suzanne and his debts would be cleared. Things didn't work out that way though, first of all Child Protection Services decided that it would be in your best interests to stay in Chicago, so they approached Philip. After protesting against this, we believe it occurred to him that it could be in his best interests to take you as he could then gain control over your inheritance. What he wasn't prepared for was the fact when your fathers will was read, you were the sole beneficiary due to the fact your mom was also dead and there was a clause which held the money in trust for you until you turned twenty one. This is when we believe a new plan began to form in Phil's mind as Jerry claims Phil approached him with the idea of him killing you, so that he as your legal guardian would then stand to inherit your father's money".

"So, he was going to get this guy to shoot me?" Jared asks in a small voice.

Welch shakes his head, "No, that is what the drugs were for… the drugs which we believe you saw Jerry give to your uncle that day. He claims that your uncle wanted the drugs to feed to you and overdose you. He would then play the distraught uncle of the teenage boy who had turned to drugs upon his parent's death. You saw Jerry that day and he freaked out as you had seen him, knowing that if Philip's plan failed and you told the police he would then be implicated as the supplier of the drugs. Your uncle intimidated you with the gun to frighten you and it worked. So, the plan was in place for him to kill you, but then you decided to want to discover where you came from and that changed everything".

Jared's eyes widen with comprehension that his decision to trace his birth family probably saved his life. "I told him I wanted to find out where I came from and when he realised that Gideon had been involved with Corrine, and so could be my dad he decided to explore that avenue instead, as Gideon is much richer than my dad was" Jared says.

Welch nods "That is what we believe happened, he decided to explore this avenue and either keep the drugs for himself or keep that as a plan b should your biological parentage not pan out as he hoped. Gideon did turn out to be your father, and so Philip encouraged you to meet him. But in doing so, that backfired severely as you told Gideon what your uncle had done and he got you away from him. So, now knowing he couldn't implement the drugs plan as Gideon had taken you away from him he returned to his original plan for Jerry to abduct you but this time for a ransom to be sent to Gideon".

"Which also failed because I phoned Christian and your security guys came and caught him" Jared says.

"Can all this be proved? Can Uncle Phil be put away for all this?" Jared asks.

Angus leans forward now, "We have gathered all the… viable evidence and we are in the process of making the Chicago police and Seattle police aware of it all".

I watch Jared closely, wondering what the hell is going through his mind right now.

"Jared" Caroline says gently.

He looks up at her, but still doesn't say anything.

"How are you feeling upon hearing all that?" she asks.

Jared shrugs, but still doesn't say anything. Then he simply stands up and walks out of the room.

My heart lurches at that, and I leap to my feet to follow him but Eva grasps my hand and shakes her head.

"No Gideon, leave him" she says.

I shake my head, "No, I'm not fucking leaving him there is no telling what he will do" I snap.

I leave the room looking for Jared, but there is no sign of him, it is as if he has disappeared into thin air. I search the adjoining rooms pausing as I hear my name.

"Gideon". I turn and see Gail standing hesitantly in the doorway.

"If you are looking for Jared I saw him running down to the beach".

I nod, "Thank you Gail" I say and that is when I spot the huge glass doors which lead out to the covered outdoor area which looks on to the sound are slightly open and I make my way outside. I take the path down to the beach and I see the solitary figure sitting hunched close to the shoreline.

As I get closer, I hear the sobs, and I slow down and carefully make my way closer to him. When I reach him I silently sit down beside him and wrap my arm around him, not saying anything but just letting him know I am there. He doesn't respond at all at first then slowly he leans towards me.

"I've got you" I whisper as I tighten my hold on him. He looks up at me and much to my surprise he smiles through the tears.

"My dad always said that to me… whenever I was scared or hurt. He would just hold me in his arms, much like you are doing and he'd just say I've got you… Christian said it as well, when he rescued me, when he helped me out of the crawl space".

"I've got you, now and until I draw my last breath" I say adamantly.

At that Jared turns and flings his arms around me and sobs uncontrollably into my chest.

oooOOOooo

The Next Day…

"How long will it take to get to Chicago?" Jared asks.

"About four hours" I reply as I take a gulp of my coffee and Jared nods.

"Which explains why we are up at stupid o clock" he says as he continues to eat his plate of pancakes, which Gail had provided for us.

I smile at him; I have been watching him closely ever since the revelations of yesterday. After his massive breakdown, something seemed to change and he became even more determined to go to Chicago today to do whatever he could to help to strengthen the case against his uncle and Jerry Barnett. I marvel at him; he is just thirteen years old and considering everything he has been through he is dealing with it unbelievably well.

Caroline had told us that we needed to be aware that he was focussing on getting his parents and aunt and uncle justice for their deaths and once that was done that could be when a full breakdown would occur. While she was there yesterday, I had pulled her to one side and asked her opinion about the party and outlined the events of that morning.

She had listened and smiled at me, and her words echo around my head once more as they have done at various points throughout the day as events unfolded.

'It appears you handled the situation very well. I understand your concerns but Jared also has a valid point. He doesn't want to see you changing established plans on his account. That will just make him feel like he is intruding on your family, and not being a part of it. It is definitely a delicate balancing act but as long as everyone is fully aware of the situation then it could prove to be very beneficial as Jared would feel more included and part of the family rather than an outsider looking in'.

Those words had resonated with me like nothing else. The last thing I ever want is for Jared to feel like an intruder as that is exactly how I felt my entire childhood. It had also helped to calm the reservations I had.

"Gideon" I am pulled from my thoughts by Jared's voice.

He is looking at me somewhat anxiously and he leans towards me.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He shakes his head, "Nothing but you said today was Ana's birthday" he whispers as he glances around us.

I nod, "It is" I reply.

"While we are in Chicago… can we make time to go to a mall so I can get her a birthday card or something?" he asks nervously and I smile.

"Of course we can" I say immediately, this question brings it home to me just how young he is as he views the thought of marking Ana's birthday as important as the other things we need to do while we are in Chicago.

At that moment the door opens and Christian appears and he breezes in heading straight for the coffee maker and pours himself a mug full.

"Good morning" he says generally to us both.

"Good morning, are you coming with us to Chicago?" Jared asks and Christian nods.

"I am" he replies as he sits down next to Jared.

Gail appears and asks Christian what he would like for breakfast and he glances at the pancakes Jared is currently working through and points at them.

"Those look good Gail I think I'd like some pancakes this morning, please" he replies.