THE HOUSE ON CABOT ROAD - PT 5 - THE END

                                                                      PART 5

Barry explained his idea to the Sheriff in rough detail.

"That's going to take some moxie on your part," The Sheriff said as he looked into the eyes of his friend. "You do understand that the D.A. will have to check you out if your plan goes into play.  We don't need the suspects crying planted evidence, understand?"

"I understand all too well.  Let me make that call in the morning and see if he'll do it."

"You keep me informed.  I'll touch base with the D.A. in the morning.  I want them involved from the git go." The Sheriff stands to leave.  "You have a nice night Thelma.  You, Frankie, I don't know what to do with you.  I think I'll leave that up to your dad to take care of.  I want you to know, however, that I have every right to arrest you for trespassing if I wanted to, but this case has been on the books for way too long. G'night folks...!"

Barry escorts the Sheriff out to his car.  "Thanks, Chad.  I'll call you tomorrow."

The following day was Wednesday and Barry didn't have to work so he prepared for the task that lay ahead.  He looked in the phone book for the number to Kevin Bradley's home.  After acquiring the number he sat and wrote down what he wanted to say.  It was then time for a relaxing cup of coffee.

Frankie joined him moments later.  "Morning Dad.  What are you doing?"

"Right now I'm having a coffee and getting ready to make that phone call that I told the Sheriff I'd make.  What are you up to today?"

"I thought I'd take a ride over to see Mr. Conway, or his ghost, and tell him what's going on.  I told him I'd come back if I knew anything."

"I still find it hard to believe that a ghost of my friend Conway was able to be both seen and heard, but I have no logical explanation for how you got those bits of information, son."

"When are you calling Mr. Bradley?"

"Around nine, why?"

"If your plan works, the earliest you'd be able to go over there would be maybe the middle of the afternoon.  Why don't I wait until after you've talked with the Sheriff and get everything set up and then you can come with me to see Mr. Conway? Then you could see for yourself."

By nine o'clock Barry made the call to Kevin Bradley's home and arrangements were made for around four o'clock that afternoon.

"That's great, dad.  What's next?" Frankie asked as his brother entered the kitchen.

"Good morning!  Where's mom?"  Johnny asked as he wiped his eyes.

"Your mom is still in bed.  Get yourself some cereal, Johnny," his father replied.

"What's going on?"

"Right now the less you know the better, son."

"Gee thanks...!" Johnny replied and set about to get his breakfast.

"Now be quiet.  I have to talk to the Sheriff."

Barry acquired the number for the Sheriff's office and dialed the number.

"Sheriff's office, Deputy Shawn Crane speaking.  Can I help you?" Came a quick reply.

"Good morning, Deputy Crane.  My name is Barry Devers.  Is the Sheriff in please?"

"He's been expecting your Call, sir.  One moment please."

A minute later Chad Connors grabbed the phone and said, "Give me some good news, Barry."

"Everything is all set for four o'clock this afternoon.  What's the next move? "

"I'll contact Ken, over at Riley's Garage, they are on retainer by the County and have him meet us at your place about three-thirty.  The District Attorney, Sid Myers and I will be there about three.  By now Kevin's forgotten about anything that might be in that car. How much did you buy it for?"

"I offered him fifty bucks for it.  He'll have a bill of sale ready for it when I get there.  I told him I wanted to fix it up for the Demolition Derby at the state fair next month and that I didn't need any formal paperwork outside of the proof that he sold it to me.  I didn't want him to have any reason to go in the car."

"Good thinking.  That gives him no reason to have to go to the car and clean it out.  We'll see you at three."

"I'll see you then."  Barry stood up and returned the phone back onto its hook in the hallway and then returned to the kitchen.  "When do you want to go to the Conway House, Frankie?"

"Whenever you're ready, Dad." Frankie replied.

"Can I go too?" Johnny asked.

"Not this time, son."

"Are you going to go and see this ghost?"

"I'm hoping to see my friend's ghost, yes.  I'd like to know for sure, that's all." Barry gulped down the last of his coffee, and asked, "Are you ready Frank?  Johnny!  Tell mom we'll be right back in a bit."

"Okay Dad..!

Moments later both Johnny and his dad pulled onto Cabot Road and Barry followed it to the last house on the left.  "I haven't been to Abbott's place in over twenty-five years, Frankie.  It almost feels funny coming here again."

"The inside is empty, except for the ghost, so it won't look the same as it did back then," Frank stated and opened the car door.

Barry looked at the house as he exited the car.  "Wow!  This used to be a beautiful house back then.  Come on, let's go!"

Frankie led the way and up the rickety steps to the porch where the floor boards once again creaked eerily.  Without thinking about it he turned the knob and went inside with his father right behind him.  Within a minute the two were at the bottom of the stairs that led to the second floor.  Frank stepped on the first step and then skipped the second, but his father failed to miss the second step as Frankie looked on.

"Hey, what happened?" It didn't do it this time," Frankie said as he turned around and headed up the stairs. "Mr. Conway?  Where are you Mr. Conway?" Frankie asked as both he and his father reached the top step.

In a deep voice that Frankie was familiar with, he heard, "I'm here my dear friend."

"Is that you, Abbott?" Barry asked as the grayish form floated like a helium filled figure of a man, out from the first room that Frank knew as the bedroom.

"It's been many years my dear friend.  Did you not believe your son when he told you he saw me? The ghost asked.

"I found it hard to believe, yes, and I find it even harder now, here, both seeing and talking to you, my friend."

"Why then did you come?"

"To tell you that we're working to get the evidence we need to arrest Kevin.  He may have been the brave one that night, but he had thrree others with him then.  We're hoping he don't want to go to jail alone.  Of the three brothers, he's the weakest one.  If Sheriff Connors can break him he's sure he'll give up the names of the other three."

"Your son has done you proud, Barry.  As your friend, I ask that you not punish him for entering my home without being invited.  Thanks to him it's possible for my spirit to finally rest and be with my wife Mona."

"I won't Abbott.  We've still got a lot of work to do to get these guys, but we'll get them.  Count on it."

"I know you will.  Take good care of your son.  He has a lot of his father in him."

"I'll do that.  Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Just give me what I need so I can rest in Peace."

                                                                              *

At three o'clock sharp Sheriff Connors pulled in behind Barry's car with the District Attorney right beside him in the passenger seat.

Barry met the two as they approached the porch. "We can go and sit down by the picnic table and talk, if you want to," he said and stepped down from the porch.

"Lead the way, Barry," Sheriff Connors said and the two of them followed Barry to the back yard.  I'd like you to meet the District Attorney, Sid Myers, Barry."

Barry looked at a six-foot two man dressed in the finest of suits.  "Good afternoon Mr. Meyers," Barry said and shook his hand.  "Please sit down."

The D.A. was all business and he started right in.  "I have to ask you to completely empty your pockets, Mr. Devers.  The Sheriff will give you an official pat down and frisk," the D.A. said as he took a seat.  "I don't need our suspect crying that the medal was planted by you.  I am going to film the pat down and frisk for evidence, should I need it. He pulled out a camcorder and filmed the frisk by the Sheriff.

"He's clean, Sid," the Sheriff said as he took a seat at the picnic table.

"From this point on, until after we have the car in the possession of the Sheriff's Department, you are not to be out of my sight.  When you go to the Bradley home do whatever business you have to outside the house.  We will be filming everything the whole time.  Do not go inside the car.  Let the tow driver hook it up and get it out of there.  He will drive the vehicle to the impound lot where we will have a detective waiting to go through it with a fine toothed comb."

"Then my job is to get the receipt, get the car and then get out of there, right?"

"Exactly!"

At three thirty the tow truck arrived and Barry climbed into the passenger seat.  Nothing was said, but the Sheriff and the D.A. went ahead to get the spot they wanted to film the entire scenario.

At ten minutes to four the tow truck pulls up to the front of the Bradley home and Barry exits the vehicle.  He heads to the house but the door opens as he approaches.

"You must be Barry Devers,"  the five-foot six almost scrawny looking man said, as he held a piece of paper in his hand.

"That's me, sir.  Are you Kevin Bradley?"  Barry asked.

"I am.  If you've got the fifty bucks, sir, I have the receipt for the vehicle in my hand.  You can have your tow truck pull around the back and haul that piece of junk out of here."

"Heck it's all I need.  I just want to get it running long enough to put it out of its misery in a demolition derby at the fair," Barry chuckles.

"Good luck to you," he said as Barry handed him the fifty dollars.  He handed Barry the receipt, and said, "Well she's all yours."

Barry quickly returned to the tow truck and the driver pulled around the back of the garage. As Barry got out of the tow truck he could see that the car was buried in weeds and that no one had been near the car in years.  The tow truck driver backed up to the vehicle and hooked the car up in a matter of ten minutes.  Barry once again climbed aboard the tow truck and they pulled out and away from the Bradley residence.

Fifteen miniutes later the tow truck pulled into the impound lot where Detective Scott Powers, from the FBI Crime Lab, was waiting.

"you must be Barry Devers," he said as Barry exited the tow truck.

"I am," Barry replied as he stepped down from the tow truck."

After producing his FBI Badge, he said, "I know the car is in our posession, sir, but before I can legally search it, without a warrant that is, I have to get your permission to do so."

"Wow, such legalities.  You have my permission, detective. Can I please stay to see if that medal is in the glove compartment.  I won't touch anything."

"After what you did, sure."

The District Attorney and the Sheriff arrived as the detective checked the glove compartment of the impounded car.

When he exited the car he had a handful of papers he removed from the glove compartment and placed them on the hood as the Sheriff and D.A. look on.

"There it is, Sheriff.  There's the medal," Detective Powers said and pulled a pair of tweasers from his pocket and lifted the medal by the cloth and took a close look at it.  "Sheriff!  It appears there's blood on the metal part, and from what I can see here, theres a fingerprint that smeared the blood as well."

"What does that mean, Sheriff?" Barry asked.

"Twenty-five years ago there was no such thing as DNA evidence.  Back then it was basic forensic evidence.  We should still have the bloody clothes of your friend.  If we do and we can match the DNA from the medal to the clothes, then we have him.  We'll have to take this medal to the lab, as well as the clothes, and see if we have a match."

"How long will that take?"

"No more than a few days.  The D.A. is going to stay here, so why don't I drive you home?"

                                                                           * 

Friday morning  Barry went to work, but Frankie and Johnny were outside getting ready to go fishing when Sheriff Connors pulled into the yard around noon.

"Howdy boys," the Sheriff said as he exited the car.  "Where's your dad?"

"He's working, Sheriff.  He won't be home until about five-thirty," Frankie replied.  "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I suppose you'd like to know.  The DNA that we got from Kevin Bradley's car was enough evidence to arrest him.  When we got him to the station, and we questioned him with his lawyer present, he gave us the names of the other three men.  A half hour ago we arrested the other two Bradley brothers and a guy by the name of Dick Savage."

"We did it," Frankie yelled.  "I've got to go and let Mr. Conway know.  This way his spirit can rest in peace."

"You do that, young man," The Sheriff said and shook his head as he returned to the cruiser.

"You want to come this time, Johnny?" Frank asked as he got ready to get on his bike.

"You go ahead.  I'll get everything ready and we can go fishing when you get back," Johnny replied and turned to go to the boat.

Frankie pedalled as fast as his feet could pedal and headed straight to the Conway house on Cabot Road.  He dropped the bike in the remnants of a driveway and literally skipped over the stairs to the porch.  He turned the knob and ran into the house and straight to the staircase.  After a quick run up the stairs, he yelled, "Where are you Mr. Conway.  I've got good news."

"Relax, young Devers, or you'll explode," a deep voice said as Conway's ghostly spirit exited the bedroom.  "Now what is it that's so important you had to run up the stairs?"

"I guess that when my dad bought that car from Kevin Bradley, they found the medal you told me about.  From what my dad said, they took it to the crime lab and tested it against your bloody clothes and found a match.  I'm not sure of the rest of it, but the Sheriff came by today and told me that they arrested Kevin Bradley and when they questioned him, he told them who the other three guys were that killed you, so they arrested the other men too."

"I hadn't expected to see you again, Frank Devers, but this is good news for me.  I can go and be with my wife.  You'll never see me again, young man," he said as his voice trailed off and the ghostly aparition that hovered in front of Frank, dissipated before his eyes.

"Bye Mr. Conway.  I hope your spirit can now rest in peace."

                                                                    T H E   E N D