Staring at the enlarged photo of her troubled younger brother in the memorial display, Viki felt remarkably composed. She felt dry, wrung out, as if she'd cried every tear she had in her. Maybe she had. It had seemed like she could never cry enough tears to make up for what her brother suffered in his cruelly interrupted life, and now he would never be able to make up for that. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she thought of trying to go on without him.

Jessica, sitting next to her, took her mother's hand and squeezed it. Viki smiled at her, grateful to be around her family.

"How are you doing, Mom?" Joey asked, from behind her.

"All right, I think," she said, "Thank you so much for coming, dear."

"Well, he was family," Joey said with a sadly confused smile.

Tea wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Blair who was sitting at the opposite end of the pew with Starr beside her. Tea missed the little girl and was worried when Blair told her that she hadn't spoken or eaten much since the news of her father's death. Beside Tea, Sam stared ahead, fighting his own tears. Tina, who had flown in with CJ and Sarah to attend the service, sat on the other side of Viki, and she had been surprised and pleased that her younger sister and niece and nephew were able to make it.

Viki was also glad to see Bo, of course without Nora, sitting toward the back, and his prescence was somehow reassuring. It helped her to know that, in spite of the animosity between Bo and Todd, that he did not hate her brother, and was able to hold enough forgiveness in his heart to see him put to rest. She loved her former brother-in-law just a little bit more for that.

Besides family, she recognized some employees of the Sun, including Martin Briggs, there with his wife, who had actually shed a few tears, in spite of the abuse they suffered from their brash and often tactless young boss. There were some people she didn't recognize, but of course she didn't know everyone Todd knew. She was glad that there were people there to help remember him, and show that even a man as troubled as Todd had people who cared about him.

It still hurt her not to have recovered his body, not to be able to look at his beautiful face one more time so she could say goodbye. She desperately wanted to give him a proper burial, and couldn't stomach the thought of his poor, broken body rotting away somewhere where they couldn't get to it. But there was nothing she could do about that, and it filled her with a sense of futility that hung in her belly like a stone. This was the best she could do for him. It would have to be enough.

Andrew, with no love lost between him and Todd, had graciously volunteered to perform the service and gave a beautiful eulogy that was remarkably kind and insightful, then asked if anyone wanted to say a few words of remembrance about Todd.

Sam spoke, sharing what he knew about Todd as a boy, and moving everyone to new tears with how he'd felt like he'd lost one of his own. Viki shared her gladness that, although late in life, she and Todd had found each other and became family. Tea spoke of how she wished that she could have had the life they both wanted together, but that she would always keep him in her heart, as her husband.

Tina, stood at the podium with tears in her eyes. "I wish I could say something as beautiful as what everyone else has said," she sniffed, "But I barely knew him. I was his sister and I didn't know anything about him. I wish I had spent some time with him, getting to know him as a brother. I don't have any good memories to draw on, and I feel hurt by that. Viki, you have them all, even CJ and Sarah have more than me." The two kids, now young teenagers, nodded sadly to each other. "I-I just--" she waved her hands trying to think of something to say to show her despair and could only finish with, "I would give anything to be able to know him, to know my brother, and have some memories." Starting to cry again, she sat down.

Blair wanted to say something about the man that she had once loved as a husband, and would always love as a friend, and father to Starr, but she didn't want to leave her daughter who hadn't spoken a word the entire day, and who she'd become increasingly worried about.

All in all, Viki could say it was a lovely service, emotional, but cleansing. That was, until the woman spoke.

Andrew had asked if anyone else had anything to say, any other memories to share. “I do,” came a soft voice from the back of the chapel. Heads craned to look at her.

A slight woman with long, dark hair and a delicate face, stood up. She was the same age as Todd but the dark circles under her eyes, and the tired expression made her appear older. Viki squinted at her. The woman was familiar, but she couldn't quite place her.

“Im an old friend of Todd’s,” she said, walking to the podium. The young woman scanned the room, a benign smile on her thin lips.

“Well, as I say, I have a memory of Todd. I remember him very well.”

Just then Viki recognized her and she could hear a sharp intake of breath that she didn't realize was her own.

“I remember the night Todd Manning, the football hero, the big man on campus, the ladies man. I remember the night this man, Todd Manning, raped me!”

There were shocked gasps from among the mourners, but it didn't stop her. It seemed to spur her on.

"Todd Manning was a monster, don't you all know that? Oh, of course you do. I've been keeping up with what he's doing all these years, yes I have. After he raped me and got away with it. And don't tell me he went to prison. It wasn't enough, not nearly enough to pay for his crimes. How long did he spend in prison? Months? I wanted him to die in prison for what he did to me and Marty Sayebrooke, and who knows who else..."

As she spoke, her voice became inscreasingly shrill, her eyes wild. The mourners, seeming paralyzed by her hate, could only listen in shock to Carol Swift's tirade, until Starr spoke.

"Mommy..." she whispered and began to cry in big hawking gasps. Blair held her daughter against her chest, covering her ears and hurried with her out of the chapel. Tearful eyes followed them.

"Stop it! My god, just stop!" Tea screamed.

"No, not yet," She smiled gleefully, her eyes madly alight, "Not until I've said one more thing. I hate Todd Manning. When he broke out of prison, I thought he was going to come after me. I had to move as far away from him as I could get. I had to uproot my whole life for that son of a bitch. I hate him for that, and for everything he put me through, and I am glad that he is dead. Glad! And I hope he is burning in hell where he belongs!"

"Oh god, make her stop," Viki moaned.

Sam, his paralysis broke, lost all semblance of composure. "Get out!" he screamed wildly, standing up, "Get out! Don't you have any decency? We loved him! How can you do this? Get out or I'll have you arrested for...trespassing!" He moved toward her, preparing to show her the way out himself, but she held up a hand.

"Don't worry. I'm going. Enjoy the rest of the service." Smirking, she calmly walked out of the chapel without looking back, leaving people murmuring and crying in her wake.

"I don't understand." Jessica said, "Why would anyone do that at a memorial service? Why would she want to hurt us like that?"

Her only answer was the sound of sobs.

Back to Part FIVE
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