Please see Chapter 1 for warnings and disclaimers.
A/N: Just a short update...been struggling with this section but decided to go ahead and post it to force myself to move on.
Chapter 3
True, Rhianna, and Billy were all interrogated regarding the pranks but each child adamantly denied any knowledge of the mischievous occurrences. Though most of the adults involved silently agreed that True was the most viable suspect, a lack of hard evidence stayed Vin's hand. That and an unnerving feeling that there was more to this. He could tell that True was hiding something but when she looked him right in the eye and declared she didn't do it…with no-hair twisting or other of her normal tells, he couldn't help but believe her. Chris and Vin silently agreed that the guilty party would slip up at some point and then would receive her (or his) just desserts.
After a relatively quiet two days, Casey stormed into the boarding house. "Where is she?"
"Who?" asked Rhianna who sat reading a book in the parlor.
"You know who! True!"
"She's out playing with Creed. Why?"
"That little brat left pert near a bucket wortha worms in my things at Mary's. Ya know I ain't squeamish 'bout no little critters but she rifled all through my private things, not ta mention made a right mess of everythin'!"
What Casey didn't say but Rhianna was able to pick up using her unique abilities was that Casey's diary was included in those private things that had been disturbed.
"Casey, True knows as well as I do that a few megadriles aren't particularly going to bother you. Why would she put them in your things?" She wanted to add that True could care less about the secrets written in Casey's journal, but did not want to expose her own breach of privacy in picking details from Casey's mind.
"Why does the little brat do any of the stupid stuff she does? I don't know! Who else ya think would be able to coax that many night crawlers up out o' the ground in this cold weather, though?"
"That does definitely pose an interesting question," Rhianna replied thoughtfully.
"No big mystery so far as I'm concerned!" Casey huffed.
"Casey, despite what you think, True was not responsible for trapping you in the out house and I seriously doubt she did this either. I honestly think someone is framing her."
"An' who exactly would do that?"
Rhianna shook her head. "I don't know. I'll owe you one, if you let this slide, though. Don't tell anyone. I'll even read True to make sure she didn't do it."
"And if she did?" Casey demanded.
Rhianna looked into Casey's angry gaze. "Then I'll tell you and you can handle it however you see fit."
"You promise?"
"You have my word."
"I'll keep quiet fer now," Casey agreed reluctantly.
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"Why'd she think I'd wanna rummage through her stuff? And I know she ain't delicate enough ta get unsettled by a few worms. If I'm gonna pull a hoax, I'd plan a bit better'n that!" True huffed in offence later that night as the girls were getting ready for bed.
"I know. That is exactly what I told her. She agreed to keep it to herself for now. Hold still, you have more tangles in your hair than a briar patch and I do not want to scalp you."
Paying little heed to her cousin's injunction True continued her tirade. "I'm tired of everybody lookin' at me sideways! Buck ain't hardly talked to me since the poison ivy thing. It ain't fair! Even if I ain't gettin' licked for it everyone thinks I'm responsible!"
"I know, Ennoilid," Rhianna replied softly as she carefully worked the tangles from her cousin's hair. She well knew that despite True's 'tough gal' act she really was a very sensitive and caring person. The mistrust of her loved ones was hurtful…even if they had rather good cause for their suspicions. "But we're going to figure this out and when we do the actual perpetrator will pay dearly, I promise."
"Oh, yeah, that's fer damn sure," True answered darkly.
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The following morning an irate Mary Travis stormed into the boarding house looking as if she was quite ready to shoot someone.
"Mary," Chris said, in surprise. "Thought you were gettin' the paper out this mornin'," he said rising from his seat.
"I was. And I ran several pages of copy before I realized this!" she shoved a newspaper into his hand. "The entire typeset has been methodically reversed on page three! I checked it just before bed last night, Chris! This constitutes a huge expense both in materials and time."
Chris moved to take Mary by the shoulders in order to calm her down. "I understand, Mary and we will find out who did this and they will pay. I promise you," he said softly looking her right in the eye.
Mary was so angry a lone tear trickled down her left cheek. Chris reached down to kiss it away and drew the frustrated newspaperwoman into his arms, in an uncharacteristic public display of affection. Taking a deep breath, Mary pulled away, well aware that they had an audience.
"Thank you, Chris." She turned then, eyes narrowing. "Do either of you know anything about this?"
"No Ma'am," both True and Rhianna replied quickly, though Chris didn't miss the look that they shared.
"Well, I had better not find out that you had anything to do with it," Mary threatened. "I suppose I had best go reset the type if I'm going to get this paper out today."
Chris turned to the girls, Rhianna in particular. "I get the impression maybe you know something about this."
"No," Rhianna shook her head.
"You've helped Mary out enough to know how her typesetting works and you're good with your letters. It wouldn't be the first time you've snuck out at night, either."
Rhianna looked Chris straight in the eye, "I did not do this."
"If I find out you've lied to me…"
"I know," she answered quietly, not needing him to finish his statement.
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"Okay, spill," True demanded as soon as the girls were away from the boardinghouse. "I kin see it in yer eyes. Ya know somethin'."
"It was staring us in the face from the very beginning."
"Okayyyy," True replied.
"The go juice. A prank war. Using all of your pranks and targeting you. It didn't strike me until the typeset, though."
"So enlighten me, will ya?"
"It's Naomi, True."
"Naomi?" True's brow furrowed as she considered her cousin's words. "The guppy?" She queried skeptically, using her old nickname for the girl from their clan.
Well, that would explain the go juice - definitely pay back and sure enough True and the other girl did have a prank war or two back in the day. She and Naomi had a bit of a rivalry within the clan. True started her training extremely early because of her gifts and took pleasure in teasing the other girl, who was exactly the same age but had not yet started her training. Naomi was somewhat jealous of the attention True got by being the best runner in the clan. True in turn envied the fact that Naomi actually got a chance to know her parents before losing them to the war. The two age mates had gotten into it many times, though they'd also had some fun together as well.
"But ya kin read her," True reminded her cousin with a shake of her head, "And all that sneakin' in and out without gettin' caught…she just ain't that good."
"But she is not nine anymore, True. More than two years had elapsed after you left before I came back and we don't know how much time has passed since then in our world. Though she didn't start her training as early as we did, she was a natural navigator, True. Shortly after you were caught they sent her to train with the Eiyrt Fer Caggee (shadow warriors). She would have learned stealth and it was rumored the Elder Eiyrt Fer Caggee had in his possession an Eiyrt crystal."
"A shadow gem?" True let out a low whistle. "I didn't think those were fer real. So she can block yer gift?"
"And yours."
True shook her head, "But what makes ya so sure?"
"Because when she was acting as messenger for the Elder's, before she started training, she once reversed all the print in several of Elder Cyric's daily correspondences. He was livid and insisted I use my abilities to find out who had done it."
"Damn! Cyric was never the one to screw with," True cringed. The oldest of the clan elders had been a crotchety old cuss with very little tolerance. "Bet he flayed the skin right off 'er."
Rhianna just pursed her lips, not even responding to her younger cousin's comment. "If I don't miss my guess, some sort of irrefutable evidence will show up implicating me in resetting Mary's type," Rhianna stated grimly.
"Unless, we find the guppy first," True replied resolutely.
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Casey sat comfortably in the warm water, her eyes closed as she hummed, "Molly Do You Love Me". She and JD were going out on a "proper" date this evening. He was going to take her to the restaurant for supper. Mary had promised to help her get ready. Not that she and JD hadn't done lots of things…fishing, riding, or just going for a walk…but this was different. This was something folks actually did when they were truly courting. Yes, most people pretty much took it for granted that she and the youngest peacekeeper were a couple but this was special and Casey couldn't quell the butterflies in her stomach.
A sound caught her attention and she sat up with a start, looking around to see if anyone was there. Seeing no one, she settled back into the water, but found it impossible to relax again so she quickly washed her hair and grabbed her towel. That's when she noticed that her clothes were missing. Certain that she had finally caught True out she wrapped the towel about her and rushed out to catch the brat only to run smack dab into JD.
"Oh!" Casey squealed.
"Oh, ah, ah, ah…" JD couldn't put two words together as he took in Casey's near naked form before quickly turning his back to her.
Casey immediately retreated back into the bathhouse so embarrassed she never wanted to see anyone ever again. The teen was so intent on her own sense of mortification that she completely missed the faint snicker and didn't see the dark eyes dancing in delight before they disappeared behind the corner.
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True sat on a low-hanging branch up in a tree just at the edge of town. Creed had to help his Da with stocking at the store this afternoon and Rhianna was still working with Nathan at the clinic. Billy had asked if she wanted to shoot marbles but she really wasn't in the mood. She kind of felt like being alone. Getting blamed for all of the pranks around town bothered her more than she liked to let on. If she were honest with herself, she could understand why people thought she was to blame for the numerous mishaps of late, and she had to admit every one of them was something she might have done, or even had done at some point in time. Still it sort of made her insides twist and left a bad taste in her mouth to have people looking cock-eyed at her all the time. Though it was a long time past, True was really starting to feel bad about the time she'd gotten Billy whipped for that prank he didn't do.
She was so relieved that Vin and Chris had believed her – at least to some extent, though she was well aware that they were keeping a closer watch on her than normal. Vin knew there was something she wasn't telling him, and as much as she wanted to tell about Naomi and how the other girl was framing her, she wasn't quite certain that he would believe her. Besides, she wanted a piece of the little fish before the guys got a hold of her! She and Rhianna had been working on a plan and True couldn't wait to get her hands on the instigator of this most recent bout of chaos.
With a heavy sigh True looked up at the sun, which would soon be disappearing behind the distant hills. She should be heading back to the boarding house to start her homework. It wouldn't be long before supper. She wanted to kick herself as soon as the thoughts entered her head. Lately she couldn't seem to help but be a bit more concerned with keeping in everyone's good graces and adhering more closely to the rules. Damn it all!
Jumping from the tree, the small girl landed aptly on her feet and started toward the boarding house. She and her cousin really needed to figure out how to flush out the guppy and fast. Noticing Rhianna heading her way she paused and gave a half-hearted wave, her mind still on the problem of finding Naomi. Absorbed in her thoughts, True was taken completely off guard by the solid thump to her shoulder and stumbled a few steps before whirling around to find out who had had the audacity to strike her.
Casey stood before her - arms crossed glaring like some enraged bob-cat ready to pounce.
"What the hell?" True demanded.
"Thet's exactly what I'd like ta know, True? What have I ever done to you?"
"Well, damn near dislocated my shoulder for one," the younger girl griped assuming a fighting stance more than ready to retaliate.
Rhianna stepped between the two and faced Casey, easily picking up the details from the furious teen's mind. "She didn't do it Casey," she stated quietly, trying to diffuse the situation.
"So you say, but yer always tryin' to protect her. An' stay the hell outta my head ya freak!"
True had had enough. She was tired of being blamed for things she didn't do, and she sure as hell wasn't going to stand here and listen to Casey put down her cousin. Not to mention Casey'd had the nerve to push her. Sidestepping Rhianna, she took a swing at Casey, feeling satisfied when her fist connected solidly with the young woman's stomach, doubling the teen over.
"True stop, this is just going to bring more trouble," Rhianna pleaded.
"Ya know what? If'n I'm gonna get blamed fer stuff, I might was well get some satisfaction."
With an inhuman screech Casey ran toward True, using her body mass to ram into the younger girl and taking them both to the ground. True in no way taken by surprised this time, used the teen's momentum against her, landing a few good hits as she rolled. Within seconds True had Casey pinned face down with her arm wrenched painfully behind her back, blood was dripping from the older girl's nose and lip.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN' ON HERE?" Vin's voice thundered, causing True to loose her hold on Casey, which was just as well because his next move was to roughly grab the back of her overalls and yank her off the older girl.
TBC...