by Peter Ponzo
of pain, in memory of the only woman I ever loved; Norah Fenton, beautiful in pink. Connie Fenton, her child, my child, born in an act of passion at a time when we loved one another with such eagerness. Now is my time to act. Now.
Terry Cleaver: One Year Later
Okay, so it's finally over. It took nearly a year, but now it's over. I never suspected old man Broden. The trial lasted just one day. Clem Broden admitted to everything, his love for Connie's mother, his eventual anger at the evil committed by Connie's father, Benjamin… and his decision to end it, to protect Connie. He killed Benjamin Fenton in the Fall, last year and that was the end of all the pink letters. It's surprising, now that I think of it, that Mr. Fenton was never suspected. He hated his daughter? That didn't seem real.
Anyway, Clem Broden is now in Haversville prison. He'll be there for his remaining years. He never admitted to being Connie's biological father, but he did tell Connie and Connie told me and Rita. I don't think that Ian Woolner ever knew the true story. He was just happy that he had solved the case of the pink murders, even though he had little to do with the solving: Clem Broden actually went to Woolner and confessed.
Connie is still living with her two jays in the cabin near Dunnborne. Connie told me that they sold the house because it had such awful memories. She always believed that Benjamin loved her dearly. It was difficult for her to learn that he actually haboured such ill feelings. However, Connie Fenton is such a curious person. She sucks up life in all its wonder, spits out the bad stuff and tastes only the good stuff.
Connie's brothers, the two jays Jonah and Joshua, they had admitted to Connie that they had killed Father Pollicciano in order to protect their sister. They were never brought to trial or anything. Why? Because good ol' Clem Broden said he did it. In spite of his being a murderer and all, I got to like that Broden guy. So did Rita.
When we learned that the pink killer was Benjamin Fenton, Rita jumped for joy.
"See? I told you so!" She said. "I knew the minute I saw all them words circled in that bloody big bible. Them 'evil' words circled in red and stuff like that. Actually, it mighta bin pink. That guy's some kind of weirdo."
Well, Rita was right on the button, as usual.
Rita and I still live in her Aunt's house. Rita is my kind of gal. She says what she thinks, does what she wants and although she always shudders when I hold her close, I think she really loves it. In fact, I think she really loves me and I'm sure that, one day, we'll be man and wife. Who knows, it's a nice day today, the wind is warm even though it's almost October, the leaves are gold and red and I know we'll be sitting together on the porch after work. She still works for Buck Tormin who, by the way, is a nice guy. I still have my job at that law firm, Sawyer and Mask-something. Why do lawyers have such weird names?
Anyway, as I was saying, it's a nice day today. I think I'll ask Rita to marry me.