Chapter Twenty:

A Trip To Brutus's

On the way to Brutus' house both children were silent. Violet led the way, plunging through the darkness with her usual confidence while Gregory stayed a few steps behind her, wondering why she had gotten him out of bed at 6:00 in the morning to hurry over to Brutus'

By the time they got there it was almost seven o' clock. Brutus' lights were on and the screen door was slightly ajar. Gregory took in the scene with a great deal of wariness. Even Violet paused for a moment and stared at the house with something like dread, before regaining her composure and stepping up to the front door and ringing the bell. (Although, giving the circumstances, it hardly seemed necessary.) There was some fumbling from farther back in the small house before Brutus's large frame silhouetted in the doorway.

He pulled the screen door back all the way and stared at Violet for a moment before seeming to wake up fully. His eyes narrowed.

"What the heck do you want Violet?"

"To talk to you about something."

"Were you in my house a couple hours ago?" Brutus looked at Gregory briefly before his gaze focused back on the older girl.

"No." Violet said shortly.

Brutus stared at her for a moment, deciding whether or not he should believe her.

"This is important Brutus and I don't have all day." Violet said icily. Brutus stood up to his full height and shook his head.

"I don't have time to play your games Violet. Go get into trouble somewhere else. I'm busy with something. and I'm sick of looking the other way with you and your brother." He grabbed the door and started to close it.

"Jack's still alive." Violet said quickly before he could get it closed all the way. Brutus paused and then the gap in the door widened again.

"What?"

"Jack…he's still alive."

"That's impossible." Brutus said. Gregory noticed that his face held a certain amount of uncertainty despite the fierceness in his words.

"It's true." Violet pulled out a picture. Gregory looked sideways at it. It was one from the back of the album. She handed it to Brutus who grasped it and looked at it with something like hope and terror. He held it for a moment, his jaw dropping slightly.

"It…it can't be. They said he was dead…years ago."

"There's something else." Violet was already holding out another picture. "I want to know who this guy is and if he's still alive."

Brutus took the other picture from her, without taking his eyes off of the one of Jack. Finally, after he managed to tear his eyes off of the first one, he looked down at the one in his hands. He looked up at Violet darkly.

"Are you sure you weren't the one in my house earlier."

"I already said I wasn't." Violet snapped at him.

"Why?" Gregory asked quietly from beside her.

"Someone broke into my house earlier and got onto my computer. This here," He rose the picture of the young red headed boy at the two children with something like contempt in his eyes. "This is Alexander Skellington. He was Hectors youngest son."

"How come my dad never talked about him?" Violet asked while taking the photograph back from Brutus.

"Well…he wasn't much like his siblings…or anyone else in town…for that matter. He left as soon as he turned eighteen. A lot of people thought he was always sort of broken up about his mother and sister's death. The last time I saw him was at his brothers funeral. He had to drop Jack off and take him back home because Jack's mother was ill. Didn't see him again after that…either of them actually…" The shadows on Brutus's face seemed to grow.

"Everyone's assumed that they were dead...but apparently...well now there's this..." He held up the picture of Jack. "And...my computer...well..." Brutus frowned

"Come on in and I'll show you."


Edward woke up suddenly from a very odd dream that he couldn't seem to remember. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before looking at a clock on his bedroom wall (That incidentally had looked as though it had been through hell…and had picked up a few things along the way.) It was seven o' clock. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. In onesense it was way too early to be getting up, but Edward was aware that there were two times during the day that were great for maximum mayhem. These were early mornings and late nights.

He pulled on a pair of shoes and crept down the hallway to Violets room smiling wickedly to himself. He loved it when he was given the opportunity to wake her up. He could think of so many ways to do it that would absolutely make his day. When he got there he opened her door slightly and peeked in. He was disappointed. She wasn't in her bed.

Out of habit he turned around swiftly to make sure she wasn't behind him. All he got for the effort was a view of the empty hallway. He shrugged. Maybe she was in the tree house. Violet slept in the tree house a lot. Edward didn't really understand it, especially on cold nights…he had once taunted her by saying accusing her of doing it because of fear and that sleeping up there was the equivalent of going to mom and dads room in the midst of a thunder storm…but had instantly regretted it…and hadn't raised the subject with her much after that.

He stepped outside the back door of their house and walked quietly to the tree house. The ladder they used to climb up hung pale against the dusk. He grasped the worn rope and began to climb the tree house. A more observant and emotional person might have been captivated by the beautiful sunrise and the excellent crispness of the October air. They may have been filled with joy as they climbed up into the comfort of a tree house built by someone who cared about them and excited at what the rest of day might bring. But as it were…all Edward was thinking about was scaring the crap out of his sister and having her in a choke hold before she had a chance to react…he couldn't have cared less about all of that other stuff.

He stepped up into the wooden interior of the club house and was immediately puzzled at the lack of residence in it.

"Where is she?" He asked the emptiness of the obstruction. He sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. Violet almost never got up this early…and she wouldn't have gone out to do mischief without him…would she?

She had been acting very strange lately. The last couple of days she had spent a good deal of time in their fathers study. The evening before he had caught her in there with a very old book he had never seen before. He had tried to wrestle it away from her to make her angry but had instead received a nasty bruise on his arm and a busted lip. The lip had come from her, the bruise on his arm had come from falling off of the desk after the shock of actually getting punched in the face by her.

He rubbed his arm at the memory and sat back in the chair. He supposed he would just have to wait for her. If she wasn't back in the next hour or so…he would probably get up and look for her. It wouldn't be hard, he knew all of the places in town as well as she did. By the time the sun was all the way up…Edward was already fast asleep the chair.

"I don't get it…" Violet said bitterly. "If this guys obviously alive…why didn't he just get the town when Jack was presumed dead…I mean…the files are right here." She was staring at the computer screen.

"Well...as far as I know...they didn't ever actually find Alex, but if this says he's still alive then he must still be alive. You would think the people searching for him would try to find an explanation for it." He frowned in distaste.

"I mean, I would assume that whoever was in charge of taking care of who the town went to would have thoroughly looked up all surviving relatives before selling it to someone who wasn't related." He said the last bit with a frown. Violet and Gregory exchanged a similar look.

"Man I hate that guy." Violet and Brutus said almost in unison.

"So why didn't they?" Gregory, who had been fairly silent up to that moment, asked quietly.

"I don't know. It doesn't make since. Unless Alexander just didn't want the town."

"Or…" Gregory said slowly…working the idea that had just sprung up in his head through it thoroughly. "Someone else didn't want him to have it."

Brutus raised his brow.

"If you mean Jeff…nothing he could have possibly done could have…" Brutus started. Gregory interrupted by shaking his head.

"No…I mean Hector. Didn't he have a Will?"

Brutus's eyes lit up.

"That would have done it. That's the only way that makes since. But no ones seen his Will for years. It disappeared with all of the original information that belonged to Pumpkin Town and a large map of the neighborhoods and lots."

Gregory's eyebrows scrunched up for a moment. Violet frowned at this…it made him look a bit like Edward when he was trying to think about something.

"This map…er…was it really big."

Brutus nodded, giving Gregory a look of interest.

"Didn't have too many lot numbers…names instead…and the town printed at the top."

"Yeah…you've seen it?" Brutus said, his eyebrows up.

"Yes…I think I have."

Well, we're definitely getting to the end of this story now. Hahaha! Then I'll get back to my other stories and finish them. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will update soon. Once again I am grateful for your reviews.