Chapter 8

"Mom's coming home next week," Melody announced one day as they were sitting around the living room. As usual Malinda was curled up next to Marlin squeezed in as tightly against him as she could without actually interfering with his reading, writing or whatever else he was doing at the time. Melody, on the other hand, was propped up against his chest totally heedless of the fact that he couldn't possibly turn the page in his book with her there.

"She's bringing Tess with her, of course," she continued. "That's Maggie's little girl," she looked back over her shoulder at Marlin. He nodded to remind her that she had already told him about her.

"I hope I won't cause any trouble," he said.

"She already knows you're staying here with me," Melody shrugged, "and I don't think she believes we're just roommates. Of course she doesn't know you're fucking Mandy blind every night in addition to me but I suspect she'll get over it soon enough."

"I can go back to my room..." Malinda began.

"Bullshit!" Melody snorted looking at her sister with narrowed eyes. "You're right where you belong and that's where you're going to stay. Final word! If mom gets her panties in a wad then we'll just move out and find a place of our own."

"Yes, ma'am," Malinda grinned. "She's getting to be a real bossy little bitch isn't she?" Malinda looked up to Marlin.

"I generally find it's just easier to do what she says since she's always right anyway," he winked.

"Damn right I'm right," Melody mumbled. Suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door. Both girls jumped up followed slowly by Marlin.

"Who could that be?" Melody demanded.

"Well we could stand here and guess but it might be easier if we just answer the door," Marlin said mildly. Putting actions to his words he strolled over and opened the door. Standing there looking slightly disheveled and clearly unhappy was the truth-teller that had visited him earlier.

"Finally!" the truth-teller hissed. "Took me long enough to find you! I'm going to have a hell of a time making it back before the last coach leaves."

"I'm sorry," Marlin answered placidly. "Won't you come in? We can make this quick and I believe you will have plenty of time to make it back. Please, sit down. Would you like some lemonade? I'm sure it was a dusty walk out here and it will be just as dusty going back. It won't take you any longer and Melody makes some of the best I've ever had."

"Well, I suppose so," he grumbled. He came in and sat down in a chair. Pointedly he looked at Malinda who was just standing and again at Melody when she returned with his glass.

"Oh," Marlin waved. "They know who I am and what I do. At first it was a bit of a shock but it doesn't seem to bother them all that much now."

"Well, okay," the truth-teller relented. "Oh, this is good," he said taking a sip.

"Thank you," Melody replied cheerfully.

"No, thank you," he nodded. "I suppose we should get started." They quickly ran through the standard questions although this time Marlin didn't try to be such a shit.

"I suppose I should be getting back," the truth-teller finally said.

"Sure and like I said you have plenty of time. I've never known the coach to leave early before," Marlin said. "Do you mind if I walk with you for part of the way? I have a question for you."

"Ah, sure," the truth-teller muttered. "Got to head that way anyway. Ladies, it has been a pleasure. Thank you for the drink."

"You know," Marlin started as they began walking down the road. "If you let me know ahead of time I could meet you in town and we could get this over with right there at the inn. It would save you a lot of time. Actually if you let me know far enough ahead of time I could met you in End-of-the-Line and save you the coach ride. Of course I don't have the allowance for that but if I did you could pop right off the train and right back on."

"Well, these inspections are supposed to be a surprise," the truth-teller muttered.

"I don't know why," Marlin continued evenly. "I can't lie to you, anyway. If I was hiding something you'd find out right away not that I can think of anything I'd want to hide. We both know I'm not exactly busting my ass out here but I am doing my job."

"True. It really shouldn't matter if you knew I was coming or not," the truth-teller answered thoughtfully. "And it certainly would be more efficient. I'll bring that up. Maybe something can be done about it."

"I wouldn't mention that it was my idea," Marlin chuckled.

"No. Your name is still permanently printed on the shit list," the truth-teller smirked. "And those reports of yours don't help. They give the clerks spastic diarrhea every time they see one of them come in. It's actually kind of funny. One of the clerks wanted to submit one of them to a writing contest as the longest and most well written prose that actually said nothing at all. I don't think he could find a category for it though. That, and since it might have brought you some recognition, the idea was shot down immediately."

"I'm just trying to be diligent," Marlin said with a straight face.

"That came damn close to a lie," the truth-teller chuckled.

"Well there is the truth and then there is the truth," Marlin admitted. "However that's not what I really wanted to ask you about. What I want to know is how the Agency interfaces with Imperial Justice." The truth-teller gave him a sharp look.

"I know how it's supposed to work," Marlin continued. "But I have a feeling you know more about how it actually works."

"Mmm, probably," was the reply.

"You see I've been made aware of a rape that took place about seven or eight years ago. The girl identified the rapist but the Shire-rief refused to bring in a truth-teller."

"Why?"

"Because it was the son of the largest land owner in the shire," Marlin answered.

"Who gives a shit if he owns more dirt than anybody else?" the truth-teller snorted. "You remember that nephew of the Emperor's? It happened about a month before you were sent out here. Caught him didling little girls under ten years old. He was dancing at the end of a rope soon enough. New rope, though, so I guess that was something.

"Have you talked to the girl who said she was raped?" he asked.

"Not yet," Marlin shook his head. "One of the reasons I haven't said anything to anybody. There was also something strange that happened to the girl's father. He went out that same night to confront the alleged rapist but was found in a ditch the next day with a broken neck. The Shire-rief said he was drunk and must have stumbled but the funny thing was this man was never known to take a drink."

"You think he was killed?"

"I can't know for sure but there are certainly questions that should be asked," Marlin nodded.

"Justice usually needs a signed complaint," the truth-teller mused. "Especially if there is a possibility of complicity on the part of the Shire-rief. I'll look into it and see what Justice might want to get involved. They do love a good hanging and if they can get a hold of a rapist or even a murderer that could make them happy for a couple of weeks. I'll write you and tell you what they would be looking for. Where should I send it?"

"Send it here in care of Melody Hawking. It'll get to me," Marlin nodded appreciatively. "Thanks. I know at least the girl's family would like to know what happened even if it was seven years ago. As they say, 'The wheels of Justice grind slowly..."

" ... but once caught they grind exceeding fine, '" the truth-teller grinned. "Yeah, it could be fun. Beats running around and chasing Talent Scouts all day. If you have anything else let me know. Send it to Dan Davies at the home office; it'll get to me."

"Thanks, Dan and have a nice trip back," Marlin shook his hand.

"Yeah, maybe next time we can meet at End-of-the-Line."

Marlin sat at the kitchen table scribbling the draft to his latest report and sighed. For some reason messing with the lower level geeks at headquarters just wasn't as much fun as it used to be. It just seemed like a waste of time when there was so much else that needed to be done such as fixing the stall in the milking barn and patching the roof on the old chicken coop to mention just two of hundreds. He still listed how many people he interviewed on his latest trip and what they did in general along with the fact that none of them met the minimum standards for the Agency. It was only going to cover five or six pages but he just didn't care enough to do more.

"Hello there!" he heard from behind. Turning around he saw a red-headed woman and a young girl enter through the kitchen door. He guessed the woman to be somewhere between thirty and thirty-five of average height and well built. She was pretty rather than beautiful and it didn't take a genius to see that she was related to Melody and Malinda.

The young girl was fair haired, fair of skin and came up to about mid chest level on him. Marlin didn't know much about children of any age but she seemed to be a good representative sample of the species.

The one thing he noticed right away as they approached was that both of them had Talent. The woman was comfortably below the minimum he had been sent to look for. However the child ... The child blazed like a lighted torch almost blinding him with her power. He knew immediately if she had the same level of power when she turned eighteen she would have been sent to the Agency without any delay. Luckily she was young and it was well known that power levels in children fluctuated dramatically until they reached maturity and a high level now didn't necessarily mean she would have it later.

Standing up, he stuck out his hand and said, "Hi there, I'm Marlin Cranson."

"Of course you are," the woman gushed rushing over and ignoring his hand threw her arms around him hugging him tightly. Carefully he folded his own arms around her and almost felt bad when the thought struck him that she was a pleasant, soft armful.

Taking a half step back while leaving her arms still at his sides she said, "Of course you are! As if I wouldn't recognize you after Melody described you just like she'd taken a picture. Goodness, it's nice to have a man around the house again. I'm Teresa Hawking and this little dickens is Tess, my granddaughter."

"You can't be Teresa Hawking," he shook his head solemnly. "Teresa Hawking is Melody and Malinda's mother. There isn't a chance in this world you are old enough to be their mother. The mysterious third sister maybe, but never their mother."

"Oh, such nonsense, and you can be calling me Trish and not Teresa or Mrs. Hawking. From what Melody has written you are practically family now." she playfully slapped him on the arm then she turned a little grim. "Melody said Malinda was back. Did she get in trouble again? Who is chasing after her now?"

Carefully Marlin reached out and placing his hands on either side of her cheek gently but firmly drew her face around until their eyes met. "I understand you have had some problems with Malinda," he started.

At first she tried to jerk free of his hold but after a few half-hearted attempts she just stared up at him with big round eyes.

"Malinda has changed, is trying to change. She knows she has hurt a lot of people in the past and I'm sure that includes you. What she doesn't fully comprehend yet is that the one she hurt the most was probably herself."

Teresa tried to snort but Marlin continued. "You don't believe that now and I understand. However, if you allow yourself it will become clear that she is healing. She is not healed yet, not by a long ways and honestly she may never be completely whole. But she is trying. She is trying so hard and it hurts her. It hurts her every day. I don't ask you to forget and forgive ― that's far too much and too soon ― but I ask that you give her a chance. Meet her with an open mind, open arms and an open heart. What she needs right now is support from the ones she loves and later we can work on the other things."

"Are you a doctor?" Trish whispered still staring up at him while placid and almost limp in his hands.

"No," he laughed. "Just somebody who's read too much and is trying to help a ... friend. But I still think it's true and I'll be willing to bet you will also pretty quickly."

"Okay, I'll try," Trish replied softly.

"That's all we can ask," he laughed again and leaned over to kiss her forehead. "Sisters and friends help but I think she is going to need her mother most of all." He dropped his hands to her shoulders and gave her another hug before pushing her away gently and looking down at the little girl.

"And this must be the beautiful Tess," he said with a chuckle dropping to one knee and holding out one hand to her. Tess took a step towards him but ignored the hand and just reached up and placed her hand on the side of his head. She closed her eyes for a second and almost sighed.

"Oh, Grandma," she giggled. "He's so pretty inside. It's all shiny and sparkly like little pieces of glass in the sun."

"Tess!" Teresa cried in horror. "You know you mustn't do that... !"

"It's all right, Grandma," Tess opened her eyes and looked at Teresa. "He knows what I am; he can feel me. It's so pretty and warm in there. He is very good, and kind. He is full of interesting things."

"Oh, Tess," Teresa moaned softly.

"Its okay, Teresa," Marlin smiled up at her. "She is correct that I know she has a Talent. I can't tell what it is but I know she has one."

"How... ?" Teresa blurted out.

"Ah, now that is a story in and of itself and probably we should wait for the other ladies to return before we get into it..."

They all heard the front door slam and Melody calling out, "Man of the house! Your worker bees have returned!" In less time than he could answer Melody and Malinda were at the kitchen door. Melody screamed and ran to her mother hugging her and picking her up. Malinda just stood in the doorway, not entering.