The Four Sisters

Chapter 17

  Rose continued to have conversations with Martha, but Rose started to get frustrated as Martha was still holding back when it came to William. Martha was more than open about her Mom though, and she willing to share all sorts of ghastly details about how abusive she had become after their father died and even more so after William's murder.

  "Martha says that's why she never came to the funeral," Rose said as she finally dared to ask the question. "She says she didn't want to reminded of 'that monster' – her actual quote. I asked what kind of abuse it was, and she said it was more emotional abuse at first, but then she kind of alluded that it turned physical. I asked if she ever went to the police, and she kind of got angry with me. She said that kind of thing just wasn't done back then."

  "Well, she isn't wrong," Victoria said as she sat stretched out on the couch while Spencer sat on the floor braiding Charlotte's hair. 

  "Also she won't come right out and say it was physical, but she kind of alludes to it," Rose said with a long sigh as she sat on the big chair they'd recently found at an estate sale. The chair was so big that three people could easily sit in it, and it had a matching foot stool that Parker was now sitting on and rubbing Rose's feet as she had just gotten back from New York. She and her agent were busy trying to find a publisher for her story on William.

  "I just wish I had another viewpoint," Rose said and looked frustrated. "John is dead, your Mom is dead, and so is William. Martha was the only one in the house, and I can only see her side. I'm not saying she's lying, but I feel weird writing a book just from one perspective."

  "Well, Mom said Grandma was a piece of shit too," Parker said.

  "I can't verify that though or quote her," Rose said. "Investigating this old of a crime is incredibly frustrating. I think I'm going to leave another message for that Gary guy, and John's widow Gloria too. I'm sure they know some of what went on in the house. I have to get another side other than Martha's since she's still being so vague. She backtracks everything she says if she thinks she's told me too much. I feel like she's a little untrustworthy."

  "Not surprised," Parker said with a snort of laughter. "Our family is just full of winners."

  "Hey," Charlotte said from the floor.

  "Not us!" Parker insisted. "None of those weirdos raised us after all. Spence raised us right. Look at me. I'm super awesomely gay with purple hair, an awesome girlfriend who is basically Lois Lane, and I'm close to being a college graduate. Honestly, thank God Mom was a mess, and Spence never called Martha. We got out of that circle of dysfunction."

  "That's really not funny," Victoria said with a sigh.

  "It is to me," Parker said.

  Spencer went to work, and she felt happy as she'd had three dates with Dave. Three nights in a row actually. 

  On night two they'd went to a midnight movie screening and watched three in a row in the old movie theater downtown. They sat the old-fashioned balcony area all by themselves and made fun of the black and white movies that both admitted they didn't like. 

  It was fun getting all different kinds of candy and popcorn, and they talked through the movies as only three other people there were sitting down below. No one even noticed the couple in the balcony as they made out, and it got pretty hot and heavy so they finally decided to leave and go back to his townhouse.

  They had sex that night, and they spent the entire afternoon together until around five when he had to get to work so he drove her home. It had been a long time since Spencer had spent the night with anyone. She could barely remember the last time.