Joshua and I were again talking about various theories to each other. Apparently he had found out about some sort of an ornamental decoration piece that was there in the Vermonts' house, and gave a mirage of colorful patterns from a distance, when up close, the box was quite plain.
"What do you reckon about this box?" he asked.
"I don't know. What do the Vermonts keep inside it?"
"Well, I don't clearly remember. I've been to their house a couple of times, and I've noticed it is there. I'm sure that if we go again and have a close inspection of the box, we . . . might be able to find a little more about how it can be related to the case."
"Yeah, that'll be a good idea." I said, though I clearly seemed to not have my heart in it. "Joshua? The day of Eileen's funeral, I heard Mrs. Vermont – with your mother – mention these two people. Vera and Andrew. In fact, they also mentioned you and Eileen. But, the point is do you know who are Vera and Andrew?"
His face immediately darkened – to such a great extent, I almost regretted asking him that question. After a long pause of reluctance, he answered. "Vera Clarke was the name of my twin sister."
I was stunned, not knowing what to say next. "And, tell me if I'm wrong, Andrew was Eileen's brother."
Joshua nodded. "Do you know about the . . . scandal that had occurred in the family due to him?" I asked hesitantly.
"The Vermonts are a Jewish family very closely associated with God. Their children were forbidden to dress scantily, swear and get into relationships. So when Andrew raped the girl he was secretly dating, the family didn't take it lightly."
"They sort-of banished him, I heard."
"Yes." Joshua replied. "They did."
I felt bad for this Andrew kid. If he had been raised up to believe in Jewish and had been taught to live the way God would've wanted him to, then surely he wouldn't have raped someone for fun. Especially when he had known what a scandal it would've been to his family, and what a disappointment it would've been to his parents.
t_d2Ld
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The Mysterious Case of Eileen Vermont
Mystère / ThrillerDeath was a natural phenomenon of life. Eileen Vermont's death should not have mattered to me, but it did. Because 1. she was one of the few people I talked to in this town, 2. she was only 17 years old, and children of her age don't die everyday, a...
