Olympus Drive Book 3: According to Plan

Chapter 51

Detective Stamos

"Good news—"

"All of my kids are accounted for?" Basil barely glances up as I walk in his office at the University. He's actually using his desk for it's intended purpose, for once. Grading papers.

"Not that good—"

"You arrested whoever it is Luna has a vendetta against?"

"Again---not that good----"

"You didn't arrest my dad again?"

"Not entirely--- he kept hanging around—"

"Thyme is far away from me on another continent another planet if we can manage it?"

"You really might wanna stop guessing it'll be less disappointing," I say, wincing a little.

"What's good about today then? Another one of my kids tried alcohol last night, I'm having an entire guilt experience and have been for seven hours," Basil groans.

"I found out who Gale's mother is," I say, ushering the boy into his dad's office using a coin as a lure. He likes money almost as much as Jasmine's little kid does.

"Oh really? Any chance I haven't met her?" Basil asks, tiredly.

"None what so ever, used to be the RA in the freshman dorm you lived in for a week----,"

"Oh---oh yes," he says, nodding a little, "I don't remember that week."

"You were high on crack the entire time—,"

"That would be why—,"

"Yeah I wound up pulling you out of the dorms, me and your mom, anyway--,"

"Wait college was longer than twelve years ago---?" Basil says, pointing at the boy, "College was---wait Dean was early college, College was twenty six years ago??? Fuck I feel old," Basil sighs. He doesn't look a day over thirty, despite being past forty. Neither do his sisters. Luke's a bit younger but he still looks decently younger than he is. They aren't aging normally. Someday Rhea and I are gonna have to tell them because they completely do not notice.

"Dean is twenty two. Thyme and Jasmine are twenty-seven," I say, helpfully.

"So what he was----oh that RA. The one who wore red nail polish—",

"I absolutely don't have that information—,"

"She came back and tried to get a job at the college ---she'd dropped out. She did get a job but the administration fired her because she was 'sleeping with the gender studies professor'  'during work hours' 'in the faculty lounge'," he says, disgustedly like that's not at all him and it's not true when it clearly is.

"Yeah, so she had the kid, moved out of town, his name is Mason Travors, he was in school for a very brief period, then she pulled him out. Neighbors had seen him up till two years ago, she told everyone he'd died. Turns out he was chained up in her basement. Local authorities arrested her. I'm working with CPS, she put you on the birth certificate so shouldn't be a problem for him to remain in your custody and so what story are we telling Helen because we sure as hell aren't going with the truth," I say.

"What year was this?" Basil asks, pointing at the boy.

"He's thirteen, he's like five or six months younger than Elena."

"Fuck that is not gonna go well-----that's fine we'll say he's Luke's he looks a bit like him—,"

"He does not at all. Luke is mulatto. This child is not."

"We're going with that, good story, best part, we never have to tell Luke it will never come up naturally in conversation—,"

"Um---- it might???"

"You've heard our conversations detective---come here Gale, now we're so glad you're not in a basement don't cry we're not sending you home you get to live with us now that might be a reason to cry but still," Basil says, beckoning the boy over to fix his hair, "There there, Detective Stamos won't send you back there.----How did you find all that out anyway?"

"He was in the newspaper, his local paper, he ran and pushed a little kid out of the way of a car speeding through the neighborhood. No one could believe how fast he was. Paper chalked it up to adrenaline, but his mom knew different. That was when he was ten. He 'disappeared' meaning got locked up, not long after. I think she didn't want anyone knowing what he was," I say.

"Poor thing you can race anywhere you like now—,"

"No, he can't!"

"---it's not stranger than your brothers and sisters here want some candy?" Basil gives him a handful of candy from his desk drawer. Gale takes it, while sniffling. He's been miserable all day, handcuffed to Rhea in my office. I think I'm really smart it was a great way to keep them both in place at once and they spent more time distracting each other than trying to escape. I needed to run DNA tests I'm not sorry.

"Do you want to be called---whatever your old name was that your Uncle Detective said?" Basil asks, politely.

"Gale," the boy says, really quietly.

"Okay then, we'll get you enrolled at the school with your sisters who never fucking go, dare I ask where they are detective?"

"Your mom said junkyard I didn't question it."

"Fair they can be there. It makes them happy," Basil says, "What about this person that Luna thinks killed her friend?"

"Forensics got nothing on the car, kids are too sick to be questioned, can you possibly have Sol stop plaguing us?" I ask, my own chest is still boiling with Helen's magic. Also, I still can't keep food down.

"Oh, yeah sure, whoops forgot about that. Let me text Lisa."

"Isn't she across the hall from you?"

"Let me text Lisa," not getting up.

"Thank you," I have no confidence that this will end the plague.

"Why would she do that? Rosa, his mom, why would she chain him up like that?" he asks, tossing jolly ranchers at the boy who leans happily to catch them, "Why not bring him to me? She knew who I was---what is wrong with people? I get the kids freaking them out---what I don't get is why they won't tell me?"

"I don't know, people are sick, Baz. But I'm gonna find out. They're arresting her, she's going to be prosecuted. He tried to bite three CPS people and zip away a number of times," I say, "They weren't at all pleased with how he'd been kept."

"Well he's safe now," Basil says, "They won't try to take him away, will they? I'm not letting them."

"No, no, they were content since you're on the birth certificate that you have custody of him, there'll be some paperwork to get you full custody as well as change his name if that's what he wants," I say, shrugging.

"Whatever, I'll do whatever. He stays with me."

"Yeah," I say, nodding. Happy ending? Maybe for once that's gonna be a yes.