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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
Shadows of the Past
Epilogue
By Jennifer DeNaughel
Jarod trudged through the pouring rain, the moisture from the saturated earth beneath his feet seeping into his shoes. He pulled the collar of his coat tighter around his neck trying to fend off the cold December wind.
As he walked, his mind drifted. He still had difficulty believing that it was all over, that he and the others were finally free. The Centre was out of their lives forever and with time, the scars of the past would heal.
For three months he, Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots had been in and out of courtrooms testifying to what the Centre had done, and how it had destroyed their lives, pulled their families apart. The truth finally revealed itself as the FBI sifted through the mountains of evidence gathered from the files Broots had sent them as well as what was confiscated the day Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines were arrested.
Sydney and Miss Parker were absolved after the FBI interviewed first them and then Jarod. Jarod told the agents, during his interview, that he did not believe they, in any way, had anything to do with the Centre’s criminal activities. That Miss Parker was just as much a victim as he was and that Sydney had done everything in his power to protect him during his years of captivity. Broots was also cleared of any wrongdoing. Angelo had been moved into a psychiatric hospital only until he could be released permanently into Sydney’s care.
Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines would be spending the remainder of their days in a maximum-security prison in North Carolina, with no possibility for parole. The rest of the Centre executives, whose identities were still unknown, would also be spending many years in prison.
Miss Parker showed no emotion through the memorial service for Lyle. His body had been cremated and a simple gravestone placed near their mother’s. She felt that, as his sister, she owed him that much although he did not deserve it.
The once formidable edifice that had been Jarod’s prison for three decades, now seemed diminutive and silent. But he still could not walk the shadowy corridors without feeling the bitter fear and loneliness he had lived with for so long. The memories he had there, both good and bad, though the latter greatly outweighed the former, would remain with him for the rest of his life. He could only hope that eventually the nightmares would cease.
Jarod’s pace wavered as he finally found what he had been searching for. He stopped in front of the tombstone and took a deep breath. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he sank slowly to his knees, oblivious to the fact that his pants were soaking up the dampness of the ground beneath him.
Leaning forward, he placed a bouquet of white roses at the base of the stone and choked back his grief.
“I am sorry it took me so long to get here,” he smiled gently. “I hope you like roses. I wasn’t sure. I miss you so much, Mom. I wish you could be here with me now.”
“Emily has told me all about you, what I cannot remember anyway, which is nearly everything. I do remember your warm smile and the sweet sound of your voice.” Jarod paused for a moment to gaze up into the overcast sky as icy rain pelted his face, mixing with the warmth of his tears.
“Mom, I am getting married. She is Catherine Parker’s daughter, Madeline and she is a wonderful, beautiful woman. She told me last night that we are going to have a baby. Our daughter, Jessie, is amazing and so smart. I want to be a good father to my children, to make you and Dad proud.”
“Dad and the boy, Josh, are spending the holidays with us. They arrive tomorrow. Dad did not take the news of your death well. I worry about him. Hopefully the news of the coming baby will help everyone begin to heal.”
“The Centre is finished, Mom. We are finally free of the evil web it has woven around us for so long. And the children, with the help of the FBI, have all been reunited with their families. It is over.”
Jarod traced over the intricately carved letters on the tombstone with his hand:
Margaret Elizabeth McKenna
July 24, 1936-June 14, 1999
Beloved Mother and Wife
“And under the hand of God
Ye little children shall never be lost.”
“I love you, Mom,” Jarod whispered.
As he stood and turned to leave, he heard her voice on the wind, ‘And I love you, Jarod, my son. I am the proudest mother in the world.’
Jarod nodded his head slowly and smiled, then walked away.
Epilogue
By Jennifer DeNaughel
Jarod trudged through the pouring rain, the moisture from the saturated earth beneath his feet seeping into his shoes. He pulled the collar of his coat tighter around his neck trying to fend off the cold December wind.
As he walked, his mind drifted. He still had difficulty believing that it was all over, that he and the others were finally free. The Centre was out of their lives forever and with time, the scars of the past would heal.
For three months he, Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots had been in and out of courtrooms testifying to what the Centre had done, and how it had destroyed their lives, pulled their families apart. The truth finally revealed itself as the FBI sifted through the mountains of evidence gathered from the files Broots had sent them as well as what was confiscated the day Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines were arrested.
Sydney and Miss Parker were absolved after the FBI interviewed first them and then Jarod. Jarod told the agents, during his interview, that he did not believe they, in any way, had anything to do with the Centre’s criminal activities. That Miss Parker was just as much a victim as he was and that Sydney had done everything in his power to protect him during his years of captivity. Broots was also cleared of any wrongdoing. Angelo had been moved into a psychiatric hospital only until he could be released permanently into Sydney’s care.
Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines would be spending the remainder of their days in a maximum-security prison in North Carolina, with no possibility for parole. The rest of the Centre executives, whose identities were still unknown, would also be spending many years in prison.
Miss Parker showed no emotion through the memorial service for Lyle. His body had been cremated and a simple gravestone placed near their mother’s. She felt that, as his sister, she owed him that much although he did not deserve it.
The once formidable edifice that had been Jarod’s prison for three decades, now seemed diminutive and silent. But he still could not walk the shadowy corridors without feeling the bitter fear and loneliness he had lived with for so long. The memories he had there, both good and bad, though the latter greatly outweighed the former, would remain with him for the rest of his life. He could only hope that eventually the nightmares would cease.
Jarod’s pace wavered as he finally found what he had been searching for. He stopped in front of the tombstone and took a deep breath. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he sank slowly to his knees, oblivious to the fact that his pants were soaking up the dampness of the ground beneath him.
Leaning forward, he placed a bouquet of white roses at the base of the stone and choked back his grief.
“I am sorry it took me so long to get here,” he smiled gently. “I hope you like roses. I wasn’t sure. I miss you so much, Mom. I wish you could be here with me now.”
“Emily has told me all about you, what I cannot remember anyway, which is nearly everything. I do remember your warm smile and the sweet sound of your voice.” Jarod paused for a moment to gaze up into the overcast sky as icy rain pelted his face, mixing with the warmth of his tears.
“Mom, I am getting married. She is Catherine Parker’s daughter, Madeline and she is a wonderful, beautiful woman. She told me last night that we are going to have a baby. Our daughter, Jessie, is amazing and so smart. I want to be a good father to my children, to make you and Dad proud.”
“Dad and the boy, Josh, are spending the holidays with us. They arrive tomorrow. Dad did not take the news of your death well. I worry about him. Hopefully the news of the coming baby will help everyone begin to heal.”
“The Centre is finished, Mom. We are finally free of the evil web it has woven around us for so long. And the children, with the help of the FBI, have all been reunited with their families. It is over.”
Jarod traced over the intricately carved letters on the tombstone with his hand:
Margaret Elizabeth McKenna
July 24, 1936-June 14, 1999
Beloved Mother and Wife
“And under the hand of God
Ye little children shall never be lost.”
“I love you, Mom,” Jarod whispered.
As he stood and turned to leave, he heard her voice on the wind, ‘And I love you, Jarod, my son. I am the proudest mother in the world.’
Jarod nodded his head slowly and smiled, then walked away.
