Backyard Wonders

By W. S. Peter

Backyard Wonders is a pictorial and informational how-to-book that logs the journey involved in converting a backyard area into a tranquil retreat that would bring serenity to its owners for years to come. The converted area lies adjacent to a wooded natural boundary to a nearby reservoir in a city once know as the Paper City of the world. Each image contains objects that were created with the help of nature, a keen eye and some Old Yankee ingenuity. The impetus for developing this backyard wonder was not due to some stroke of genius but a stroke of lighting; literally a lightning strike that took down a mature maple tree on the top terrace. The solution for dealing with the storm’s aftermath was the creation of a pond and waterfall were the tree trunk of the great Maple once stood; now what stands in its place is an aquatic ecosystem that is self-staining. Over the years other areas on the property have been developed to provide various views of nature; backyard wonders and places of retreat. Our family members lovingly refer to these staging or viewing areas as a Table for Two.

• Language: English
• Publisher: W. S. Peter
• Release date: Dec 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370580590

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An Act of Revenge

By W.S. Peter

Copyright 2018 W. S. Peter

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

CONTENT

Prologue

Chapter One: Ten Years Pass

Chapter Two: Deerfield

Chapter Three: Hide and Seek

Chapter Four: The Chain of Evidence

Chapter Five: The Old Albany Cemetery

Chapter Six: Mashpee

Chapter Seven: Change of Mind

Chapter Eight: Follow the Money

Chapter Nine: Diaries

Chapter Ten: Research

Chapter Eleven: Evidence Doesn’t Lie

Chapter Twelve: Deliverance

Chapter Thirteen: Unlucky

Chapter Fourteen: It’s in the Research

Chapter Fifteen: Home Again

Chapter Sixteen: Artful Revenge

Chapter Seventeen: Home Sweet Home

Chapter Eighteen: Reconciliation

Chapter Nineteen: Pay Back

Chapter Twenty: Trouble at Home

Chapter Twenty-one: RetributionAbout the Author

Bibliography

Prologue

Ten years have pass since Becky and Suzy lost both their husbands and father. The murder of their father Jake Roi was a well-planned execution, but the death of their husbands came unexpectedly; and at the hands of Detective Richard Milneck. Jake Roi was murdered by Misha Prince while he was recuperating at a local hospital from his latest heart attack. Although Misha had just come back into Jake’s life she convinced her former lover to marry. The couple had been romantically involved just over eight years ago while Jake’s first wife lay ill in bed. Becky and Suzy always hated Misha but realized that she was their only chance at reconciling with their dad. The sisters would form an alliance with the very woman who did everything in her power to break their parents’ marriage apart. Misha’s return was part of a revenge plan conceived by Jake’s daughters and their husbands Elan and Tate. A plan that would avenge their mother’s death and make their dad pay for all his indiscretions; it was a plan that would allow the sister’s and their husbands to gain access to the family fortune. A plan that involved Misha convincing Jake to write his daughters back into his Will. A plan that would end with the murder of their dad, Jake Roi. The execution of Jake would involve the use of an air-filled syringe to induce pulmonary embolisms; a death that the doctors would determine natural because of Jake’s history of heart disease. With Jake’s death Becky and Suzy would inherit the family fortune and avenge their mother’s death at the same time. But Misha Prince had other plans. Misha would become the lone beneficiary by marrying Jake without his daughters’ knowledge; a double cross that would cost the girls their inheritance.

As the plan unfolded Becky and Suzy would discover that Misha had cut them out of the Will; and they uncovered the truth about their mother’s death. They vowed to make Misha pay for all her sins. Her death had to look like an accident as to not shine any suspicion their way. The sisters would make sure that Misha would never live long enough to see any of the money. Their desire for retribution against their father was replaced with a stronger need to avenge their mother’s death; a death at the hands of Misha Prince. The same air-filled syringe used to kill their father would be the murder weapon used on Misha; a death by multiple embolisms. But unlike their father Misha had no prior heart condition that would disguise the true cause of death; so, they came up with a way to hide the murder. Becky and Suzy planned to stage a car accident; an accident that would place Misha in her car at the bottom of a deep ravine. The autopsy would state that Misha died from massive blot clots caused by the accident. The burning wreckage at the base of the ravine would cover up all traces of a murder. Becky and Suzy thought it ironic to choose the same ravine where an ambulance carrying their mother to the hospital had crashed years before. And like then they knew that the authorities would conclude that Misha’s death was an accident; just like their mom’s. Misha’s death would make the sisters the beneficiaries of their dad’s Will. They would inherit everything; at least that’s what they thought. What Becky and Suzy couldn’t know ahead of time was the existence of another heir to the wealth and power; Jake Prince, the young son of Misha Prince and their father Jake. Although Becky and Suzy would be willing to share some of the family wealth with their newfound stepbrother their husbands Elan and Tate would have other plans. Elan and Tate never planned to share the wealth with anyone; including their wives. They had always planned on killing each other’s wives to gain possession of the Roi family’s fortune and businesses. But before they could murder their wives they had to get rid of the young boy named Jake Prince; a boy who was a well-liked chief of the Wampanoag tribe and a major beneficiary listed in both Jake’s and Misha’s Wills. Elan and Tate knew that they needed to make Jake Prince and their wives’ deaths look accidental. But what they didn’t count on was Detective Richard Milneck and a confession letter written by Misha Prince; a letter linking Elan and Tate to several previous murders and a line of evidence linking a major casino and hotel project to political cronyism and payola; Evidence that included bribes and illegal land trusts deals that could turn the local political and judicial world upside down; Evidence that was first uncovered by Misha Prince.

Chapter One

Ten Years Pass

With her wavy auburn hair and smoky hazel-blue eyes it was said that Becky looked and acted much like her mom. She was the same height, about five foot eight with a very athletic body; even now at the age of forty some would say she had a knock-out body. Suzy on the other hand always looked more like her dad Jake with her dark hair and chestnut brown eyes. Even at thirty-six her eyes maintained a youthful gleam, but her hair started to show a few strands of gray. Suzy was still every bit the passionate woman that her father called his Queen of Hearts. Becky on the other hand was colder and more calculating like her mother. She possessed a fiery temper that matched the reddish tones in her hair, yet her overall demeanor was cool as reflected by her piercing blue-green eyes. Becky could be downright frigid at times; no wonder her parents called her the ice princess. She was always the analytical one and the first to stir up trouble. For most of their adult lives Becky and Suzy considered themselves to be Wampanoag by assimilation and marriage. It was not long after college that Becky fell in love with Elan, a Huron from Southern Quebec. Suzy on the other hand met her husband Tate at Becky’s wedding reception. Tate was a strong good looking Huron from the same area of Quebec as Elan. But their lives as husbands and wives ended abruptly when the two young men hatched a failed plan to access to the family’s wealth for themselves; a plan that started with the abduction of the boy Chief, Jake Prince. At the time Detective Richard Milneck was assigned as a caretaker for the young eight-year-old Wampanoag Chief by the Council of Elders. For Elan and Tate to secure their future they needed the young chief as leverage; a bargaining chip to gain access to his mother’s confession letter; a letter that Misha gave to Detective Milneck for safe keeping and as an insurance policy on her son’s life. The letter contained evidence of murders committed by Elan and Tate; a letter that could be used to blackmail the two men or send them to jail. At a predetermined meeting place the boy would be exchanged for the letter containing incriminating evidence. The letter that Milneck would be responsible for delivering. But Milneck was a detective for over thirty years and knew that he and the boy would not be allowed to leave the meeting alive. So he planned to double cross the two men. Milneck hid a 38 Special in a briefcase containing the evidence and an unloaded gun strapped to his ankle holster. When Milneck arrived at the exchange point Elan took the unloaded 9 mm gun from the detective’s holster; a gun that had no ammo in the chamber. Tate jumped from behind a tall bush and held the detective while Elan pointed the 9 mm gun at the detective demanding the evidence. Tate let Milneck’s arms go so the detective could open the briefcase as directed. But when Milneck’s hand came out it was holding a 38 Special; he fired two shots into Tate. As Tate lay dead, Elan returned fire using the 9 mm gun he took from Milneck earlier; but there were no echoes of shots; the gun was unloaded. Milneck pointed the 38 Special at Elan and demanded the 9 mm gun. Milneck placed a full ammo clip into the chamber and fired two shots into Elan’s chest. As the two men lay dead Milneck wiped both guns clean then placed the 38 Special into Elan’s hands and the 9 mm into Tate’s. Milneck knew that he would get away with the murders; the guns couldn’t be traced, and the only fingerprints were that of the two dead men. Milneck’s only concern would be with convincing Becky and Suzy to go along with his double cross. But Milneck knew he could convince Becky and Suzy that their husbands deserved their fate; he possessed a recording of a conversation between Elan and Tate; a recording that outlined their plan to murder their wives. And he had Misha’s confession letter. After Becky and Suzy heard the recording of their husband’s plans and read Misha Prince’s letter, they agreed to go along with Milneck’s double cross and how justice was served. In one short night Milneck had managed to bring justice without the help of the courts or attorneys; and in the process he managed to save the lives of the two sisters and the life of the young Wampanoag Chief named Jake Prince.

After the deaths of Elan and Tate, Milneck continued to serve as caretaker and advisor to Jake Prince until he turned eighteen. Jake continued to serve as Sachem of the tribe; he chaired the Council of Elder meetings, oversaw the finances with the aid of the tribe’s treasurer and dealt with all political matters with advice from tribal attorneys and accountants. As for the sisters, Becky and Suzy had their own children to care for; children who had survived the odds of inheriting a curse; the curse of a genetic blood disorder that their grandfather had carried. Ten years have passed since Becky and Suzy gave birth on the same day, February 29th of a leap year. Now Becky is the proud mother of a ten year old boy and her sister Suzy is mother to a set of twins; a boy and a girl. All three children turned out to be healthy and strong just like their step-uncle Jake Prince predicted. It seemed just like yesterday when Becky and Suzy entered Doctor Jacob’s office as he was scratching his head and murmuring. It was at that office visit when Becky’s blood tests showed normal levels of the HCG hormone; indicating that all is well with her baby; and other genetic tests indicating that her baby had little or no risks of carrying the blood disorder; a disease that once cursed her parents. On that same day Suzy learned that the genetic marker tests predicted that neither of her twins carried the blood clotting disorder either. Life was full for the sister’s as single parents with professional responsibilities related to the family businesses. As CEO Becky oversaw the day to day operations of all the family’s businesses while Suzy oversaw the family financial investment side as President of Davies Enterprises. There was little time for social events and a personal life outside the family businesses for the sisters; other than attending events sponsored by their businesses or charities they donated to. As it were Becky and Suzy had to hire nannies to help with the children and maids to carry out the daily house chores. At age ten all three children were enrolled at their mother’s Alma Mata; Deerfield Academy located just down the road from the Old Albany Cemetery. As for their step-uncle, Jake Prince, he had little to do with the family’s businesses due to his heavy commitment as Chief of the Wampanoag. But as a partner of Davies Enterprises his name appeared on all official business documents and the company letterhead.

As for the young chief Jake Prince who was saved by Detective Milneck, it was near late November and he was turning eighteen. Although the Wampanoag never celebrate birthdays the young chief’s birthday was close enough to Thanksgiving Day to hold a traditional celebration in honor of the season’s change, harvest times and Thanksgiving. As with Wampanoag tradition the celebration would include singing, dancing and the sharing of food to honor the Creator for providing the means for life. The celebration was attended by many members of the Wampanoag tribe including Becky, Suzy and their three children. Richard Milneck who was near seventy-five at the time needed the help of a cane to get around but still managed to attend. The celebration was held at the same lodge were Jake was nominated and elected as chief; the lodge near the tribe’s sacred burial ground adjacent to the Mackin Sand Bank area. During the celebration a tribal elder said some words of thanks to the Creator for the bounty that lay before them. As the members took their seats an Elder rose and said, The Wampanoag give thanks today and every day because every day is thanksgiving to us. We give thanks to the sun rise at it begins our day and the sunset as the moon takes its place; and to the clouds in the sky that provide our crops the rain needed to bring us a great harvest. Richard Milneck stood up and added, We also give thanks for the Creator for providing us a great Wampanoag Sachem, Chief Jake Prince. And with that the members raised a glass to toasts the birthday of the young chief. As the celebration continued Richard Milneck pulled Jake into an adjoining room. Milneck stood in front of Jake and pulled out an envelope; Richard held it out and said, This is yours now. What is it? Jake asked. It’s your mother’s confession. Jake took the letter out and began to read it out loud, "Dear son, I know that if you are reading this then I am dead and that these words will not be easy for you to hear. I just hope that someday you might be able to forgive me; forgive me for all my actions; knowing and understanding that I did it for you. I am guilty of loving too many men in my life. I fell in and out of love with your father, Steve Butler. He was a good man most of the time but he had a lifestyle that didn’t include women in his future. I fell in love with Jake Roi early on in our marriages and tried to convince him to leave his wife, but to no avail. In the process I committed some awful acts. I am partly responsible for the death of Jake’s wife, Samantha and for aiding in the death of Ted Davies as revenge for his part in the murder of Samantha Roi. I took blackmail money from Eleanor Davies and fled the country and authorities when I was pregnant with you. You were eight years old when I finally returned to the States to face the authorities. But knowing I might have to serve a long prison term I gave you up to the Council of Elders. They placed you with a Wampanoag family who lived on the Cape. They did a wonderful job raising you. Once free from prosecution I stayed in the area and plotted my revenge on the remaining members of the Davies family; a plot that involved your uncle Elan and Tate; a plot that saw them murder Mary and Kathleen Davies. It was my plan to gain access to the Davies fortune by convincing Jake Roi to marry me. As his wife he would have to write me into the Will; but then I would eventually murder him. All of this required the help of your stepsisters, their husbands and Attorney Downs.