Previous chapters of the Vista Falls story:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

How should the story continue? Voting is open on the current chapter!

Last time, Mr. Francis, the theater manager, tried to intimidate Blaine, but Blaine managed to calm the angry man. Mr. Francis and Blaine talked about Trey’s scheme. Trey created the whole Red Rose Rascal persona to get revenge on the famous DeLorca family and also to get the attention of Jenny Littlepoole. Jenny and Trey had both attended Vista Falls High School where Trey had developed a crush on Jenny. Many years later, Trey hoped to come back to town to tell Jenny how he felt about her. However, he soon found that she was engaged to Sam Colbert. Furious, Trey schemed to stop the wedding. He enlisted the help of his cousin, Declan Bauer—Blaine’s father. Declan had a scheme of his own. Mr. Bauer wanted to take over control of the museum. The only way he could do that was to discredit Mrs. DeLorca. Declan Bauer forced Blaine to assist with their plans. Furthermore, Trey, tricked Trippy and Bette Trellis into participating, too. Mr. Francis became involved after Trippy Trellis (who owned the theater) blackmailed him. Mr. Francis realized that what he was doing was wrong and encouraged Blaine to find Mr. Jaquith and get help. Blaine hurried off and found his friends. Meanwhile, Jenny Littlepoole and Mr. Dinello were following Bette Trellis who insisted that she would help them find Chief Colbert. They were interrupted by a very angry Trippy Trellis. Bette told her brother that their scheme was over. Then, she told Mr. Dinello and Officer Littlepoole that Chief Colbert was locked up in the Wildlife Sanctuary. What did Mr. Dinello and Officer Littlepoole do? Here’s what you decided.

Chapter 38: Scheme Team
By Joseph Crisalli

“It’s over.” Bette said. “Trippy, this is over. I don’t care if we lose the flower shop, the house and the theater. I’m not doing this any more! I’m not doing it! I don’t care what HE says, I won’t do it.”

“How dare you!” Trippy shouted.

“No.” Bette snarled, “How dare you?” She turned to Mr. Dinello and Jenny Littlepoole. “Your Chief Colbert is tied up in the Wildlife Sanctuary. Hurry to him.”

“Bette! What are you doing?” Trippy shouted.

“I’m telling the truth!” Bette Trellis shouted back. “Something I should have done a long time ago.”

She looked at Officer Littlepoole and Mr. Dinello again. “Go! Go find your friend. Leave me alone with my brother!”

Jenny looked at Bette Trellis, tears streamed down her face, but she still managed to smile. “Thank you. You’re very brave.”

“I’m not brave, Officer.” Bette Trellis shook her head. “I’m a coward. I was weak and foolish to get involved with this. I tried to convince myself that I was doing it to help my brother, but, really, I acted out of fear. Fear of poverty, fear of change, fear of making people angry. You—you’re brave. You didn’t give up the way I did. You kept going—hoping to find your fiancé. Now, go find him. You’ll also find your teenage friends there.”

“What?” Mr. Dinello’s eyes widened.

“Yes, my dear brother, Trippy, convinced William K. Francis to force them to go to the Wildlife Sanctuary. Don’t worry. They’re not hurt. Trey just wanted them out of the way. So, of course, Trippy complied. Well, at least, he made William comply. Poor William. He, too, acted out of fear. The threat of losing the movie theater was too much for him.” Bette Trellis explained.

“Stop it, Bette!” Trippy shouted.

“Don’t shout at her.” Mr. Dinello said in an uncharacteristically firm way.

Trippy backed off.

“I have to go.” Jenny looked at Mr. Dinello. “Sam and the kids…”

“I know. Find them.” Mr. Dinello smiled.

“We’ll come back here.” Officer Littlepoole said as she backed away.

“Good.” Bette smiled. “When you do, you can arrest me. You see, I’m the female Red Rose Rascal. Now, go.”

With that, Jenny Littlepoole rushed toward the Wildlife Sanctuary to find Sam Colbert.

“You’re a fool, sister, dear.” Trippy growled at his sister.

“No.” Bette Trellis shook her head. “This is the wisest thing I’ve done in weeks.”

“So, you’re the lady rascal?” Mr. Dinello asked gently.

“Yes.” Bette Trellis nodded. “Trey Dusay is the real Red Rose Rascal—the mastermind behind all of this. Trey wanted Jenny Littlepoole’s attention and affection. So, he plotted to stop her wedding. You see, Trey knew Jenny in High School.”

“Yes, we saw a photo of Trey from that era. Jenny didn’t even remember him.” Mr. Dinello said.

“Why would she?” Bette shrugged. “He was forgettable. He never did anything worth taking notice of. He never had a kind word, a nice gesture, a gentle thought for anyone. Why would anyone notice someone so incredibly self-absorbed?”

“So why did you help him?” Mr. Dinello asked.

“Why don’t you answer that, Trippy?” Bette looked at her brother.

”Never! Traitor!” Trippy hissed.

“I’ll tell him, then.” Bette sighed. “Trey was a friend of Trippy’s from when Trippy left Vista Falls. Trey lent Trippy some money. You see, we are really quite poor now that Trippy lost our family fortune. We needed the money to keep our properties—our home, our shop, the movie theater our father built years ago. Trey knew that. But, Trey also knew we’d never be able to pay it back. So, when it came time for Trey to collect on the debt, he took advantage of the situation and used us to further his odd scheme. It’s not all Trey’s fault. We agreed. Trey needed my help with the flowers. I helped. At first it wasn’t so bad. Then, came the incident at the movie theater. We needed more help with that. That’s when Trippy convinced Mr. Francis that if he didn’t help us we’d have to sell the theater and kick him out on the street. Still, I thought, this isn’t so awful. But, it got worse and worse. Declan Bauer…”

“Bette, please keep quiet.” Trippy shouted again.

“No.” Bette shook her head. “It’s time for all of this to be over.” She continued, “Declan Bauer, Trey’s cousin, saw this as an opportunity. Suddenly the schemes got stranger and stranger. He even forced his teenage son to help Trey by spying on all of you and causing trouble for the other teenagers in an effort to distract Sam Colbert. Meanwhile, we were leaving weird notes with flowers all over town, Then, the worst of it came. I knew Trey was confused, but I didn’t know how sick he was until he made me construct that shrine to Jenny Littlepoole—complete with giant photograph. Next, he insisted that Trippy and I kidnap Chief Colbert. I hated doing it!”

Bette Trellis began to cry.

Suddenly, Trippy rushed to her side—for the first time aware of the pain that his sister was in.

“Don’t, Bette.” Trippy said gently. “You’re right. It’s over now.” Trippy looked at Mr. Dinello. “Jeff, my sister is right. It was awful. I only made it worse. I forced William into helping us. I followed orders—Trey’s orders. I knew what he was saying was wrong. I knew it was strange and wicked. But, I did it anyway. I, too, was a coward. I also acted out of fear.”

“For once,” Mr. Dinello said, “I don’t know what to say. Of all the strange things I’ve seen in this town, this is by far the oddest. So many people are involved. I can understand why you wanted to protect your property, but to get those teenagers wrapped up in this. Declan Bauer was incredibly wrong to insist that Blaine do his bidding—spying on us, bullying Kate. To involve the kids…”

“You’re right. It was unthinkable.” Trippy nodded, continuing to realize what had happened and the seriousness of it.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a familiar face. It was Officer Fairholt.

“Officer Littlepoole radioed me to come here.” Officer Fairholt explained. “She told me to thank you, Miss Trellis, for telling her where the Chief was. Jenny found him and the kids near Old Martin Creek. They had managed to escape the Wildlife Sanctuary.”

Mr. Dinello exhaled with relied.

“I’m so glad.” Bette said.

“I am, too.” Trippy nodded. “I really am.”

“Bette and Trippy Trellis,” Officer Fairholt said, “You’re under arrest.”

“We understand.” Trippy Trellis nodded.

The officer read the Trellis their rights. Then, he added, “You’ll have company at the station. Your friend, William Francis has turned himself in.”

“Oh,” Trippy nodded.

“It’ll be like a big reunion,” The officer continued. “Declan Bauer was just arrested as well.”

“Poor Blaine.” Mr. Dinello shook his head.

“And,” the officer continued, “you’ll all be with your leader. Trey Dusay was found on Pine Street harassing Mr. and Mrs. DeLorca and their friends. He’s confessed to his crimes. I’m sure we’ll all have a lot to talk about.”

Mr. Dinello didn’t stay to hear any more. He ran as fast as he could toward Old Martin Creek. He rushed up the hill and, there, he saw Jenny Littlepoole in each other’s arms with the teens standing by, smiling.

“Touching, isn’t it?” A voice behind Mr. Dinello said. Mr. Dinello turned around to see Mr. Jaquith, Blaine, Kate and Vera.

“Yes, it is.” Mr. Dinello answered Mr. Jaquith. “How long have you been here?”

“We were just behind you. You were going so fast you didn’t see us.” Mr. Jaquith smiled.

Mr. Dinello looked back at the happy couple. He smiled. Then, he turned back to Blaine.

“I already told everyone everything.” Blaine said nervously.

“You’re not alone.” Mr. Jaquith said. “Bette and Trippy Trellis confessed on their own. So, did Trey.”

“What about my dad?” Blaine asked.

“He was arrested a few minutes ago.” Mr. Dinello said softly.

“Good.” Blaine muttered. “It’s the only way he’ll ever learn.”

“What will you do, Blaine?” Kate asked.

“I don’t know.” Blaine said. “That depends on what happens. I guess my dad will go to jail.”

“Probably.” Mr. Dinello nodded. “I’m sorry.”

Blaine’s eyes widened. “Will I go to jail, too? I helped them.”

“No.” Mr. Dinello smiled. “You won’t go to jail. But, you will have to tell the police what you know. You’ll probably have to answer a lot of questions. It’ll be hard.”

“I can do it.” Blaine nodded. “Of course, afterwards, I don’t know. I guess I’ll go live with my mom in Valley Point. I should call her.”

“Use my phone.” Mr. Dinello said. “And, Blaine, just know that you’ve got our support.”

“Absolutely.” Mr. Jaquith nodded.

“Whether you want it or not.” Kate added.

Blaine glanced at Vera who rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Blaine,” Vera nodded. “You have my support, too. But, let’s not get all sticky about it.”

Blaine chuckled. “Thanks.”

“Hey!” Chief Colbert shouted. “All of you, come over here!”

Mr. Dinello went over and gave his best friend a hug.

“You had me worried, Sam.” Mr. Dinello said, holding back his emotions.

“By now, you should know that I get lost somewhere at least once every time we have some kind of adventure. I always show up again.” Chief Colbert joked.

Mr. Dinello frowned. “It just takes that one time when you don’t come back…”

Chief Colbert patted his friend’s shoulder. “Thank you for caring, Jeff. And, for being my best friend. And., my best man! Don’t forget, we’ve got a wedding tomorrow!”

“Oh, believe me, I haven’t forgotten!” Jenny Littlepoole shouted.

“We’ve got a lot to do,” Vera said. “Jenny, have you even laid out your clothes and make-up yet?”

“I’ve been a little busy, Vera.” Jenny laughed.

“Well, let’s not waste any more time.” Vera said. “Come on, girls!” With that, she took Jenny’s arm and led her off. Delia and Lucy followed.

“Vera,” Jenny protested, “I have to go back to the police station.”

“You’re taking the evening off.” Vera said. “I think you can arrange it with the chief of police.”

“Go ahead.” Chief Colbert nodded, winking at Jenny.

Jenny mouthed the words, “I love you,” to Chief Colbert.

“Come on, Kate!” Vera shouted.

“Just a minute,” Kate said. She looked at Blaine.

“Can you forgive me?” Blaine asked.

“Of course.” Kate said, squeezing Blaine’s hand for a second. Blushing, Kate ran off after the other girls.

“So much for my reunion with my fiancée.” Chief Colbert chuckled. “I suppose I’d better get back to the station anyway. There are a lot of people there that I want to talk with.” He looked at Blaine. “I do want to talk with you, but in a few days. You’ve been through enough for now. Will you be okay?”

“I guess.” Blaine answered. He looked a little overwhelmed.

“I have an idea, Blaine.” Mr. Dinello said. “Why don’t you call your mom and tell her what’s going on? Then, if it’s all right with her, we’ll get you a room at Mrs. Conn’s Inn just for tonight until your mom can come to Vista Falls. At least at Mrs. Conn’s, you won’t be alone. You know Mrs. Conn and she’ll be able to make sure you have everything you need.”

“Thanks,” Blaine said. “I…I…”

“It’s okay.” Mr. Jaquith said quickly. “Come on, let’s go make that call.”

“Hey,” TJ said quickly. “You know, I could call my mom and dad and ask them if it would be okay if I hang out with your for awhile longer tonight.”

“Me, too.” Ward said.

“Yeah, I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind.” Rick nodded.

Blaine smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Well, gentleman,” Mr. Dinello said. “Let’s go do this.”

“I’ll see you at the church at 9:00 sharp tomorrow morning.” Chief Colbert grinned.

“Yes, you will, Groom.” Mr. Dinello laughed.

With that, Chief Colbert went to the police station. It was a very long night—a night with lots of shouting, lots of questions, lots of finger-pointing and lots of confusion. But, still, the next morning, Chief Colbert showed no signs of not having slept.
He arrived at the church early and was happily surprised to see Mr. Dinello there equally early.

“I’m getting married today.” Chief Colbert said proudly.

“And, I couldn’t be happier for you.” Mr. Dinello grinned.

In fact, they both grinned—and kept grinning. Everyone who attended the wedding said they never saw Chief Colbert look happier. The wedding was beautiful. Jenny Littlepoole looked stunning in her long, white gown. Vera even cried a little when Jenny came down the aisle. Though later Vera would insist that she was crying because the dress was so pretty, she really was shedding tears of joy at the happiness of their friends.

After the ceremony, everyone headed back to the museum for the reception. Mrs. Conn had stayed up very late fixing up the reception hall and making sure that no signs of The Red Rose Rascal remained.

The ceremony was elegant, yet relaxed and everyone had a good time. Everyone, that is, except for one person. Mr. Dinello noticed her right away—a woman that he’d never seen before. No one seemed to know who she was. Though Mr. Dinello didn’t know her name, he knew immediately that she was going to be a lot of trouble.

Who is the mysterious woman?Email your thoughts. Have a great summer!

Thanks for reading this year’s Vista Falls Junior High! Come back on August 12, 2009 for another season with the newly wed Chief and Officer Colbert, Mr. Dinello, Mr. Jaquith, Vera, Lucy, Kate, Ward, Rick, TJ, Delia, and maybe even Blaine.