This is not a standalone story; you need to have read the previous three stories in The Summer of... series for any of this to make sense. All characters are over 18, and you should be too if you are reading this. The story dipped into the noir, and this one continues -- for a while.
When part 3 -- The Rock -- ended, Caelan had staggered through the house about being knocked unconscious, only to find that his friends and girlfriend had engaged in an orgy that included a man and woman from France and two men from Germany.
"He turned, found his way to the door, and left his former girlfriend and former friends lying there naked, intermingled with their lovers."
The Summer of '67 Thru '68
*** Some roads lead forward, some roads lead back ***
In spite of early morning hour, Deputy Ramos opened the door as soon as he knocked. "What's going on man? Oh, shit! What the hell?" He escorted Caelan to the kitchen table, examined his bleeding scalp, poured him a cup of coffee, and asked, "Are you all right?" "Good enough to tell you a story you won't like," he answered, and began to lay it out.
Ramos stopped him almost immediately, got a tape recorder and told him to begin again. After five minutes, he stopped Caelan and called the local judge. He gave him enough details for a search warrant, then called the sheriff's office in Corpus Christi and asked for assistance with a potentially dangerous drug bust. He then called the other deputy assigned to the island and told him to come over immediately. After that, he informed the PAPD of the situation and asked for additional backup.
When he returned to Caelan, he brought aspirin and a glass of water. "Let me take some pictures of you before Lori, my friend who is a registered nurse, gets here to check you over. You are a bloody mess, you have a hellacious cut, and it's still oozing blood. I don't think it's more than a concussion, but Lori will know, so we'll wait for her and Deputy Jackson.
The deputy arrived first; Ramos gave him an outline of Caelan's tale, and then told Caelan to continue. Just as he was finishing, Lori arrived to check the damage to his head. Ramos and Jackson went into the other room to talk. Jackson left to get the warrant, and Ramos used his police radio to check on the location of the officers that had been dispatched from Corpus.
Caelan refused to go to the hospital, so Lori bandaged him and told him if he didn't get it x-rayed by noon she would send Ramos to get him. He laughed and promised, with his fingers crossed behind his back. He got back in the Woody and went to the beach house.
*** Some roads are bathed in light, some wrapped in fearful black***
Barbara Ann awoke when a flash of light made its way through to her confused brain. She shielded her eyes and saw someone in uniform taking pictures with a flash camera. The lights in the room were turned on, and she saw that there were several other uniformed police officers in the room, with their guns drawn and pointed at the bed she was on.
She was dizzy, sick to her stomach, disoriented, and her brain refused to process what she was seeing; 'Why are police in my room pointing guns at me?' she asked herself, but her befuddled brain had no answer. She raised her head slightly, saw a woman's head lying by her pussy, and a hand laying on her chest covering her boob. None of this made sense, so she struggled harder to focus, and propped herself on her elbows.
The headache was excruciating, but when she rose up she discovered that she was naked, that there were naked men on either side of her, and a naked woman was sleeping between her legs. She screamed and tried to push the others off; that's when she discovered that Yves' blood was all over him, her, and the bed, and her screams became hysterical!
The screams woke all the others in the room, except Yves, of course, but none was cogent enough to respond to her terror, beyond raising their heads and staring at her. The cops closed in on the bed and began handcuffing each person. There were no clothes nearby, so they found sheets in the closet to wrap around them. Bridget was composed and defiant; Barbara Ann, Danny, and Marc were cowering and sobbing. They were removed to the dining room and told to take seats, after which the officers again covered them with the sheets.
Within an hour of entry, a team of crime scene investigators had taken over examination of the scene, and the eight sheriff's deputies were attempting to question the five very confused and distraught subjects while medics assessed the condition of each.
Before the raid, ambulances had been summoned 'just in case'; after examination, the five seriously disoriented 'guests', who Caelan had said were drugged by the hosts, were transported by ambulance to the hospital in Corpus Christi. No ambulance was needed for Yves; he was dead when they arrived. Bridget, Hans, and Ernst were arrested, and the movie cameras and eight canisters of film found in a closet were taken to be processed.
The crime scene crew and deputies found a plethora of drugs, tentatively identified as LSD, cocaine, MDMA (aka Ecstasy), and marijuana cigarettes laced with a white powder believed to be opium.
***
Caelan had hired a helper recommended by Ramos; by mid-afternoon, everything in his house belonging to Barbara Ann, Paula, Danny, and Marc had been boxed and/or dumped on chairs on the deck. The windows were boarded up, and padlocks had been installed on the doors; the shed was padlocked, and Carlos was winterizing the faucets.
Before he locked the final door, Caelan called Peggy's attorney in Corpus. His legal secretary, Gail, answered, greeted him pleasantly, and asked what she could do for him. When he asked to speak to Mr. Jameson, she explained, "He isn't available right now, Caelan; may I take a message?" "Yes, you may. Please inform him that Peggy's niece and four of her friends are in Spohn Hospital due to their use of drugs last night. I have no idea when they will get out, but I've removed everything belonging to them from my house in Port Aransas. Someone needs to come get it off the deck because I've boarded everything up and am leaving in an hour. I have someone watching it, but he gets off at six tonight."
"You aren't with them?" she asked, confused by Caelan's harsh words and callous attitude. "No, they belittled me and sent me away before using the drugs and engaging in hardcore sex with their hosts. I was attacked from behind and knocked out because I refused to participate.
When I awoke, I summoned the Sheriff. A raid was conducted and they were all arrested. Paula, Judy, Danny, Marc, and her niece were taken to Spohn due to concerns about drug overdose; I assume they are still there and the parents have been called.
Regardless, the purpose of my call is to let Mr. Jameson know so he can arrange to have their clothing and personal items picked up before six pm. I'm sure Peggy would want that for her niece and friends."
"Caelan, please wait just a moment; he's in a meeting with Peggy and the McLaughlins. They all need to know! I'll butt in and you can tell them directly!"
"No, I don't need to talk to them; just give them the message," Caelan replied coolly. "Please!" she pleaded. "The McLaughlins and Peggy helped you in your time of need; please repay them by letting them know what happened and where Barbara Ann is!"
He knew she was right; it was his moral obligation to them, but he did not want to tell them the story -- let the cops do that! Or better yet, let Barbara Ann do that!
Still, he very reluctantly agreed.
