Chapter 11

Mom was waiting for us. We were close and she rushed up to us. She hugged me first. After kissing my cheek, she moved to Agnes saying, “You’re even more beautiful in person. You’re tall, too.”

“It’s good to meet you, Missus Daniels. I appreciate your son. He’s a great guy.”

Mom was surprised a bit. Dad came up from a room. He and I exchanged man hugs before he went to Agnes. “Agnes, you’re gorgeous. My son is showing good taste.”

“He’s my personal Viking. I like it that way.” She smiled impishly.

Mom and Agnes walked toward the room arm in arm. Dad and I followed them. Dad said, “Son, you should have warned us better. She is gorgeous, seems to have a real personality, too. I think you should try to hang on to this one.”

“Dad, she’s the first one who was worth hanging on to and I have that plan.” We all went into their room and sat in the sitting area that was there.

Mom said, “We’re going to take you two to dinner tonight.”

Agnes grinned, “You mean in public?”

Dad said, “Is that a problem?”

“I didn’t bring Eric’s bib.” She said it with a totally dead pan look and sound in her voice.

It caught both my parents by surprise. They spluttered a bit. Finally, Dad gasped out, “You’ll just have to be diligent with a napkin.”

Agnes and I were laughing as we sat on a couch there. We were holding hands. After a few minutes, Dad said, “We have time before dinner. I want to be serious about tomorrow’s hearing for a moment. I want to hear the complete story from you two and get your thoughts on why you think this is occurring the way it is.”

Agnes spoke. “Melody is my roommate and was Mike’s girl. He had controlled her in high school including forcing her to have sex with friends of his. Complaints filed by Melody went nowhere because Mike’s father is police chief where they’re from. It had gotten violent. Here, Mike decided that he wanted to add me to his ‘harem.’ I objected and he tried force. I put him down. Eric took care of his buddy. That was the first confrontation. The campus police took them away.”

Agnes looked emotional. “The next day, he returned somehow and was beating Melody in our room. Eric, some of our friends, and I heard the commotion down in the common room. We went up. When I opened the door, Mike charged me. He hurried me and I killed him. Eric took care of his accomplice again. The campus police came again. The campus police didn’t understand how he was out so fast. They weren’t happy.

“The next thing was Eric receiving a phone call for a hearing tomorrow. I think he expected that since Mike died. What neither of us expected was no attempt to contact witnesses and the potential criminal charges against us. I think someone in the D.A.’s office was trying to warn Eric. It worked. That’s where we are now.

“Melody thinks Mike’s father is the source of this. He has always protected Mike which encouraged him to think he could get away with anything.”

Dad smiled grimly. “That’s a concise explanation. Thanks, Agnes. I would never permit my office to call a hearing with so little investigation nor fail to call witnesses. I expect some fireworks tomorrow. You two need to expect that. I have a feeling that the local D.A. will have news media present. You will have no comment until after the hearing. That will continue depending upon how it ends. If you are freed, we will talk first. If it gets more serious, continue not to talk.”

Mom said, “Fred, someone is pushing hard on this.”

“I agree and we need to get their cards on the table before revealing too much. I don’t believe the judge knows about the lack of witnesses or has heard from the campus police.”

He gave his body a slight shake. “Now, back to happier subjects. What is this about Eric being your personal Viking?”

Agnes grinned. “Well, Eric the Red was a famous Viking and that fits my Eric. Of course, he is much more civilized but the times are later. I feel safe with your son, Mister Daniels.”