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Evan's Residence
June 27, 1982
After 9 PM

Marie was in a substantially better mood following dinner. Her car problems had been completely forgotten, at least for now. Their little intervention meeting had been a good distraction. Right now, Marie's full focus was getting to the bottom of what was going on with Jerry and getting Starla and Tabitha away from those dorks.

After Felicia dropped her off, Marie headed straight for the kitchen where the phone was. Her parents were watching television in the living room, so she stretched the cord for the receiver around the corner into the dining room and dialed Pete's number. It only took him a moment to answer.

"Pete," Marie said, her voice dripping with sweetness. "Hey, I talked to your friend Jerry and I have some concerns about multiple issues, including him. I need you to have a little talk with him..."

*Tag Pete*
When Marie called, Pete was sitting on a couch in the den watching MTV on the small television there and munching on Jiffy Pop popcorn. The big TV in the living room was unavailable since his parents had grabbed it earlier that night to watch 60 Minutes, and were now watching Alice on it. Pete didn’t care about either of those shows, so he had settled on using the smaller TV in the den. The video for "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band was playing when the phone rang. He got up and turned down the volume before picking up the receiver and plopping back down on the couch. The phone was on an end table next to the couch, so it was in easy reach. “Hello?” he said. When he heard Marie’s voice, he said, “Oh, hey there, Angel! What’s up?”

He paused, listening to what Marie had to say. The smile dropped off of his face as he sensed trouble brewing. “Uh, you talked to Jerry? About what?” he said. A note of jealousy entered his voice; why would Jerry and Marie be talking to each other? He didn’t really think Marie liked Jerry, and the fact that Marie had assigned Jerry a mission to spy on Starla and Tabitha had completely slipped his mind. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was pretty sure he didn’t like the way this conversation was going.
“Hello?” he said. When he heard Marie’s voice, he said, “Oh, hey there, Angel! What’s up?”

"Pete," Marie said, her voice dripping with sweetness. "Hey, I talked to your friend Jerry and I have some concerns about multiple issues, including him. I need you to have a little talk with him..."

He paused, listening to what Marie had to say. The smile dropped off of his face as he sensed trouble brewing. “Uh, you talked to Jerry? About what?” he said. A note of jealousy entered his voice; why would Jerry and Marie be talking to each other? He didn’t really think Marie liked Jerry, and the fact that Marie had assigned Jerry a mission to spy on Starla and Tabitha had completely slipped his mind. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was pretty sure he didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

"Well," Marie began. "I'm not quite sure where to start actually..." Marie paused a moment mostly to be dramatic. "You remember our little chat a week ago when you introduced Dori to Jerry?"

*Tag*

"Right, I had a little 'task' for him," Marie reminded Pete. "He was supposed to get the goods on those dorks. Well, there have been some rather disturbing developments."

*Tag*

"First off," Marie began. "He went boating with them Saturday. While they were out, they just happened to conveniently find my car at the bottom of the lake. You know that part already, but what you didn't know is it was those dorks and Jerry that were the ones that discovered it. At least, I hope you didn't know about that, Pete. I would be very disappointed if you knew that and hadn't told me."

*Tag*

"So, anyway... several things bother me. First off, Jerry apparently didn't have the... smarts to phone me the minute he got off the boat," Marie said with a hint of anger in her voice. "Instead, he decided to sleep on it and let the cops call me the following morning. Do you have any idea how pissed I am about that, Pete?"

*Tag*

"But wait, it gets better," Marie continued. "That reporter girl Felicia was talking about was with them. So, they did some kind of weird game and were at Chuck E. Cheese. I assume you heard about someone jumping and robbing Sharon McLeod Friday? Well, they found her behind the restaurant and that reporter girl was there to be the big hero and get the story. She was also there with her little camera to cover the police getting my car out of the lake and interview her friends who got to be the big heroes."

*Tag*

"So something is up with that chick," Marie said. "But that's not why I'm calling you. That information was actually useful, so your little friend scary Jerry did something right. I'll give him half credit. However, things go downhill from there." Marie waited for Pete to inquire about what she meant.

*Tag*

"Well you know that satanic game Dungeons and Dragons? It involves witchcraft," Marie asked.

*Tag*

"Well, not only is this reporter girl living with an unmarried older man," Marie said, her voice filled with drama, "but MY cheerleaders, Starla and Tabitha are going over there with their dorky friends to engage in that shit. The thing is, apparently, Jerry took part though. I don't fully understand what happened, but he was kicked out and told to leave. Anyway, the point is while he did confirm my worst suspicions about those dorks and their reporter chick friend, Jerry is apparently into some very disturbing things as well. I can't have someone like that associated with us, especially dating Dori. I need your help Pete..."

*Tag*
"Well," Marie began. "I'm not quite sure where to start actually..." Marie paused a moment mostly to be dramatic. "You remember our little chat a week ago when you introduced Dori to Jerry?"

“Oh, yeah, sure. I think he’s was hoping to ask Doreen out,” said Pete, still not sure where Marie was going with this.

"Right, I had a little 'task' for him," Marie reminded Pete. "He was supposed to get the goods on those dorks. Well, there have been some rather disturbing developments."

“Right, right,” Pete said nonchalantly. About a week ago he’d spent a couple of afternoons riding with Jerry in his father’s car to spy on Starla and Tabitha. One day they’d tailed the car the girls and their dorky friends were in to somebody’s house. Pete didn’t know whose house it was, but there had been one of those Bandit Trans Ams sitting out front. Felicia had said it belonged to that mystery brunette carhop they’d seen working with Starla and Tabitha at Speedy’s the next day. He wished he’d gotten a better look at her, but he’d only glimpsed her a few times from a distance as he and Jerry sat in the adjacent parking lot watching the two cheerleaders. From across the parking lot, the brunette had appeared to have a hot body and a really great pair of legs, and he kind of enjoyed watching her skate around the restaurant in her little carhop outfit, though he’d never tell Marie that. Whoever the brunette was, he was sure she couldn’t measure up to Marie. Too bad the skirts on those carhop outfits weren’t a little shorter, he thought. Unfortunately, he and Jerry’d had to leave in a hurry when Tabitha apparently took notice of the car they were in.

And then, Monday night at the club, Marie had asked Jerry to basically go undercover by befriending Starla and Tabitha and those dorks they hung out with. Pete was glad he wasn’t involved in that part of it. It was one thing to watch pretty girls from a distance, but actually interacting with underclassmen and nerds was something else. The fact that Marie had asked Jerry to do that had slipped his mind until Marie brought it up, but now he remembered that awkward conversation when Jerry had brought up the Hardy Boys and Marie had just about blown a gasket. “Uh, disturbing developments? What kind of disturbing developments?”

"First off," Marie began. "He went boating with them Saturday. While they were out, they just happened to conveniently find my car at the bottom of the lake. You know that part already, but what you didn't know is it was those dorks and Jerry that were the ones that discovered it. At least, I hope you didn't know about that, Pete. I would be very disappointed if you knew that and hadn't told me."

Those dorks were out boating? Somehow that didn’t fit his image of them. “Uh, Jerry was the one who found your car? No, I didn’t know anything about that. Of course I would have told you if I’d known, but I haven’t heard anything from Jerry since Monday night.”

Pete was surprised that in just a few days Jerry had already gotten in with the dorks to the point where he was going boating with them. He’d thought Jerry was mostly just going to go to Speedy’s and try to strike up conversations with the girls, but apparently he was going much further with this mission of his. He supposed he could understand why Jerry would go to such lengths; that Doreen was a pretty hot little piece of ass, though not as hot as Marie. And who knew? If things didn’t work out between Jerry and Doreen, maybe Jerry would get a shot at that brunette carhop with the sweet Firebird.

"So, anyway... several things bother me. First off, Jerry apparently didn't have the... smarts to phone me the minute he got off the boat," Marie said with a hint of anger in her voice. "Instead, he decided to sleep on it and let the cops call me the following morning. Do you have any idea how pissed I am about that, Pete?"

Pete was starting to wonder if he was in trouble himself just by being associated with Jerry. “Yeah, I can imagine. He should have called you as soon as possible.” It did seem a little strange that Jerry wouldn’t have called her as soon as he could get to a phone if he’d found her car.

"But wait, it gets better," Marie continued. "That reporter girl Felicia was talking about was with them. So, they did some kind of weird game and were at Chuck E. Cheese. I assume you heard about someone jumping and robbing Sharon McLeod Friday? Well, they found her behind the restaurant and that reporter girl was there to be the big hero and get the story. She was also there with her little camera to cover the police getting my car out of the lake and interview her friends who got to be the big heroes."

Pete was struggling to assemble the things Marie was telling him into some kind of cohesive story. So after they found Marie’s car, they went to Chuck E. Cheese to play some kind of game? Why would Jerry go there with them instead of calling Marie? Wasn’t that place for little kids? And what was Sharon doing messing around behind Chuck E. Cheese’s the day after she’d been robbed? For that matter, he actually hadn’t heard that Sharon had been robbed Friday night, because he hadn’t been paying attention to the local news and he didn’t have the same kind of gossip network that Marie had. Gossip was for girls, after all; guys didn’t do that sort of thing. Still, he didn’t want Marie to know about his complete lack of knowledge of current events, so he just said, “Wow, yeah, that’s pretty weird.” He might have to actually read a copy of the Chronicle the next time it came out to try to catch up on this robbery story.

"So something is up with that chick," Marie said. "But that's not why I'm calling you. That information was actually useful, so your little friend scary Jerry did something right. I'll give him half credit. However, things go downhill from there." Marie waited for Pete to inquire about what she meant.

Pete was still trying to fit the pieces together. Wasn’t the reporter chick Marie was talking about the same girl as the brunette carhop? He thought so. He wasn’t sure he liked Marie referring to his friend as “scary Jerry”, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut about it. He also wondered if half credit would be enough for Jerry to get Doreen in bed. Somehow he thought it would take more than that. “Downhill from there? Why? What happened?”

"Well you know that satanic game Dungeons and Dragons? It involves witchcraft," Marie asked.

“Uh, I think I’ve heard of it,” he said uncertainly. He wondered if that was the weird game Jerry had been playing at Chuck E. Cheese’s with the others the night they found Sharon snooping around out back, for some inexplicable reason.

"Well, not only is this reporter girl living with an unmarried older man," Marie said, her voice filled with drama, "but MY cheerleaders, Starla and Tabitha are going over there with their dorky friends to engage in that shit. The thing is, apparently, Jerry took part though. I don't fully understand what happened, but he was kicked out and told to leave. Anyway, the point is while he did confirm my worst suspicions about those dorks and their reporter chick friend, Jerry is apparently into some very disturbing things as well. I can't have someone like that associated with us, especially dating Dori. I need your help Pete..."

“Ummm…” Pete paused, trying to figure out how to respond to all that. “Well, I mean, Jerry was probably just doing it to, uh…” What was the phrase he was looking for? “…keep from blowing his cover? I mean, I really don’t think Jerry is into witchcraft or whatever. He’s just a normal guy.” Pete knew right away that wasn’t going to be enough to satisfy Marie. “Look, I’ll talk to him and try to get the whole story from him. I’ll make sure everything’s cool. Sound good?” He didn’t know what all Jerry had been up to, but the two of them were definitely going to have to get together and get Jerry’s story worked out if he was going to have any chance of getting into Doreen’s pants. Pete’s earlier thought that the brunette carhop might be a good “Plan B” for Jerry if things didn’t work out with Doreen no longer seemed like a viable option, not if Jerry had been kicked out of her house.
“Ummm…” Pete paused, trying to figure out how to respond to all that. “Well, I mean, Jerry was probably just doing it to, uh…” What was the phrase he was looking for? “…keep from blowing his cover? I mean, I really don’t think Jerry is into witchcraft or whatever. He’s just a normal guy.” Pete knew right away that wasn’t going to be enough to satisfy Marie.

"No, I don't think he's innocent," Marie argued. "There is more to this guy than you realize. Remember, you said yourself that you two went your separate ways for a few years and you only recently reconnected. Maybe once upon a time Jerry was a great guy with his cute little make believe games pretending to be The Hardy Boys or whatever the fuck ya'll did when you were little. However, I'm an excellent judge of character..."

“Look, I’ll talk to him and try to get the whole story from him. I’ll make sure everything’s cool. Sound good?” He didn’t know what all Jerry had been up to, but the two of them were definitely going to have to get together and get Jerry’s story worked out if he was going to have any chance of getting into Doreen’s pants. Pete’s earlier thought that the brunette carhop might be a good “Plan B” for Jerry if things didn’t work out with Doreen no longer seemed like a viable option, not if Jerry had been kicked out of her house.

There was a pause as if Marie was contemplating what to say next. "Okay, fine. I'll give you a chance to get to the bottom of this but I need answers soon, Pete. I'm counting on you," Marie said forcefully. "Do it in a natural way... you know guys stuff. Hang out. Shoot the shit or whatever you do when guys talk. Just get him on the subject and let him talk. I'm sure he'll open right up to you. If you need to guide things a long, use some lead in questions or whatever, but find out what the fuck happened. I don't think he knows anything about Sharon, but find out what happened over at the old guy's house and on the boat the day before. Just act curious... make him trust you because I need answers. We've already begun the process of an intervention with Tabitha and Starla and I need a better understanding of what happened. I also don't want to deal with the guy again and neither does Dori. Get the dirt and get back to me in the next day or so and we'll figure out our next move then. Capiche? Anyway, it's late and I gotta go. Love you!"
“Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll handle it. You can count on me. Okay…I love you too. Bye,” Pete said, and hung up the receiver. He groaned and raked his fingers through his hair. Damn, why did dealing with chicks always have to be so hard? Well, Marie was worth it, he supposed.

He glanced at the TV briefly while trying to decide how to handle the situation. He’d missed the end of the “Centerfold” video, and maybe one or two more videos as well. MTV was currently playing the video for the Hall & Oates song “Private Eyes”. It didn’t occur to him that he and especially Jerry had been doing private-eye work for Marie and Doreen by spying on those other girls.

He hesitated for a moment or two, knowing he should go ahead and call Jerry but not wanting to. He didn’t want to tell Jerry that Doreen was, uh, “making herself unavailable”. Well, he didn’t have to mention it tonight; that discussion could wait till tomorrow. All he had to do for now was set up something to get together with Jerry the next day. He picked up the receiver and dialed Jerry’s number.

It took Jerry a while to answer; Pete was about to hang up when Jerry finally picked up the phone. “Hey Jerry, it’s Pete…hope I didn’t disturb you...yeah? That’s cool…right…So hey, the reason I’m calling is, I got some free time tomorrow afternoon, and I was wondering if you’d like to get together and shoot some hoops. I couldn’t dunk on you when we were little, but I bet I can now…Have you ever played at the club’s gym? It’s pretty nice…Meet me there around noon tomorrow? Cool! Okay, see you then. Be prepared to get skunked! Okay, bye.” He hung up the phone and sighed. It’d been a long time since he’d played basketball with Jerry. It ought to be fun; he just hoped talking about Jerry’s spy mission and Doreen wasn’t going to ruin things.

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