Masked Ménage (Ménage Series: Book 1 of 6)

Chapter 12: Growing Up - Amy

Amy

As I drive down the road, I'm so beside myself with all of this and having a hard time processing all the lies.

Why did they all try to deceive me? Mom, Dad, Dave, and Paul were all keeping me in the dark, but from what? Does mom know something about the Roth murders or is she involved somehow?

Looking at the clock, I've been driving for only an hour, but I'm so tired and my mind is reeling. For years the Roth murders have been on the news, every anniversary of their deaths, and Joe Whitney is one of the ten most wanted criminals in New York. Many believe he must have died by now, but the body has never turned up.

I'm not sure if I can believe all that I've read, it's so far-fetched. This seems hard to accept as truth, but some of it must be to some extent.

I remember hearing the discussions about town, about the Roth murders, and thinking how hard it must be for Vin to listen to it so often. Everyone in school talked about his house being haunted and that there was the sighting of his father's ghost walking the grounds. Vin said it was all just talk and that he saw nothing out of the ordinary happening around his estate.

He never knew his parents and has no memory of them except for one where his mother was holding him, in a white rocking chair and singing him the lullaby, "Angels Watch over My Baby." Vin told me she was so beautiful and had a very soothing voice. He was very little when they died, so that was his only memory of her. I always felt bad for him, but at least it was a wonderful memory and she never let him down.

Now to find this journal from the man accused of killing his parents. And it's all so surreal. I know Vin never thought much of his dad. The rumors about him were true, but after reading this, so far and all it states, this will be hard for him to swallow. This is all just here, say, and I need actual proof before stirring up this hornets' nest. Also, I need to talk to Dave and find out why he and Paul lied to me.

"Wait a minute, what if Donald Millhouse was Joseph Whitney? They were close in age. Mom got upset and lied when I mentioned his name and he had pictures of Dave and me, then one of Paul and Dave at graduation, in his wallet. Maybe he is not Dave's father, but his friend. That would explain why he had the journal, why he was killed and there is the motive. I need to find a picture of Joseph Whitney!" I shout in the car to myself.

Pinerest Lake is a sleepy little hamlet to some extent. It's full of affluent people who are rather shallow and full of themselves. Their families have all lived there for several generations, and they don't take kindly to outsiders.

I did not know they were all into kinky sex games. If I had, it may have changed my opinion of some of them and I may have liked these snobs more.

Thinking back to growing up in Pinerest, it was very hard on a foster kid. Being poor and not a part of their crowd made me stick out like a sore thumb. Therefore, I never liked to be in the spotlight. I kept myself closed off and hid up in my attic from everyone, as much as I could, never to be hurt again. My heart needed to stay hidden from the world so that no one could stomp on it ever again.

My mom, back then, was unreliable. She always came to see me every other weekend or whenever I needed her to visit, but she was always very sad. Her life was a mess, and she had made some terrible decisions when I was young. One of which changed our lives forever.

When I was 3 and a half years old, my mom helped me get ready for bed, like she did every night. She put my hair in pigtails after my bath and we would snuggle before bed. I had on my pretty little two-piece pajama set, with little pink roses and white ribbons. Whenever I wore it, I felt like a princess. I'd dream that my dad was really a prince and he just lived far away. That someday he would come and take me and mom back to his kingdom.