Rolling The Dice

[Caspin]

The Aftermath

Styles' unfortunate and slightly untimely demise left the Valentine household with one or two problems that would require careful attention. But everyone was too exhausted to deal with anything else that night. Leaving the gravestone under those fateful trees, surrounded by still-smoking heaps of deadly leaves, they went up to bed.

Vanessa stretched out in the otherwise empty bed. She did not often get to sleep alone and enjoyed having all that space to herself. But after falling into a deep, troubled sleep, she spent the final hours of the night struggling with nightmares in which Grim rose up and gravestones were all around.




She got out of bed, her heart beating fast.

"It's not that I'll miss him", she thought. "It's not that I feel guilty. It's the fact that it's not quite over. I need to tidy up the loose ends."




In the next room, Vicky was plagued by similar dreams and similar thoughts.




"Got to tidy up......" she muttered in her sleep. "Got to get away with it."

Vanessa went downstairs and fuelled up for the day ahead.

"Styles would never approve of me eating cookies for breakfast", she mused, gleefully. "He was always such a dick about me eating cake. Sometimes women eat cake for breakfast. He was so clueless! Ha!"




Vicky came into the dining room and tucked into a couple of cookies.

Vicky: What's up, Mum? You look worried. I have to go to school, but you have all day to sort out the..... er..... mess in the garden. Right?
Vanessa: Yes, I'll sort it out, don't worry. I just feel uneasy. Like there's a loose end that's going to be difficult to tie up.
Vicky: I have the same feeling. But the important thing is that we continue as normal. Act normal. Say normal things. Do normal things.
Vanessa: You're right. We must not look like psychopathic murderers. We must look like a normal, grieving family.
Vicky: Right.
Vanessa: It's Veronica's birthday - we will throw a party tonight. That is the normal thing to do. Right?
Vicky: Right!




Vanessa made some calls, inviting the neighbours over for a dinner that evening in honour of Veronica's birthday. The friends of the family sounded taken aback that Vanessa was holding a party the day after her husband being burnt up in a fire, but agreed that for the children's sake they should carry on as best they could.

The birthday girl woke up from an apparently untroubled slumber, and immediately started screaming her head off and bending her head round like something satanically possessed.

Vanessa: Morning, Chucky! Er, I mean Veronica!
Veronica: FooooooooooOOOOOOD!




Vicky handed her little mad sister some porridge and headed out to catch the school bus. "Don't forget the garden!" she yelled to her mother as she dashed through the front door.




Vanessa stood under the trees of doom, staring at Styles' grave and trying not to inhale the noxious fumes from the gunpowder and rotting vegetation.




It took the best part of the day to bag up the rubbish and drag it to the bins at the front of the house.




From the next house, someone stared out of the window, watching her work......

It's All In The Book!

Caspin stared. It was just like the book she'd read. Just like the book she'd described to Vanessa. Just like the plot that Vicky had insisted she write out for her. In great detail. All those piles of leaves...... poor Styles!




Caspin ran into the kitchen.

Caspin: Minty Minty Minty Minty Minty!
Minty: What is it?
Caspin: I think Vanessa is a murderess!
Minty: And I think you have an overactive imagination and read too many cheap crime dramas.
Caspin: No, really! The death of Styles is just like the book I read!
Minty: Which book?
Caspin: I can't remember. I have so many.... I think I donated it to the library!

Ollie ambled in.

Ollie: What is happening here? Caspin's hair has gone all frizzy. She's overexcited!
Minty: She thinks that there has been a murder because the neighbour's death resembles a plot in a book.
Ollie: Which book?
Caspin: I can't remember! It's in the library! Let's go there at once!

Minty and Ollie sighed. "OK, get the car then." "Yes, let's go."




They read dozens of books in the crime drama section. Hours passed by, with Caspin's hair growing more and more out of control. "I know it's here. Please keep reading!" The boys' patience was slightly stretched, but they could see that something was genuinely wrong.




Suddenly Minty threw down a book on the table. "It's this one."

They all stared at the volume on the desk. "The Case of the Crispy Husband"




Ollie skimmed through it quickly. "OMG, it's just like the death of Styles. Caspin, Vanessa is a murderess! What will we do?!"




Minty: Shall we call the police?
Ollie: I guess so.
Caspin: I don't know if that will help. The police in this town are so incompetent. Remember when we were burgled and they watched the burglar leave and then fined us for calling them?
Minty: Crap. True.
Ollie: But she's dangerous!
Caspin: And she knows that I know about the book. Because I told her about the book.
Ollie: Arrgh!
Minty: We must act normal. Stay calm.




Caspin tried to act normal. It was hard.




Minty suggested that they go home and eat pancakes until normality was restored. But as they were leaving, Caspin's phone started ringing.




Caspin: Oh no, it's her!
Ollie: What an awful ringtone, Caspin!
Caspin: Focus, Ollie!
Ollie: Sorry!
Minty: Answer it and act normal.




Caspin cowered in a corner of the library, attempting to have a normal conversation with her nemesis.

Caspin: We're invited to her little girl's party! I had to act normal so I agreed we'd go.
Minty: A party? Her husband just died!
Ollie: None of this seems normal.
Caspin: We can do this, guys! We just go and act like we don't suspect anything, then maybe we'll be safe.

Minty: OK, let's go home and cook some nice things to take with us.
Caspin: PANCAKES!
Ollie: Calm down. Think of your hair.
Caspin: Oh yes, sorry about the static.




Veronica's Very Normal Party

Vanessa was just finishing up clearing the garden when guests started to arrive for the birthday party. Peggy was first through the door, bring gifts and a smile for Vicky.




They embraced and started the dancing. "I think I'm in love!" thought Vicky, genuinely amazed that she had non-murderous feelings for someone.




Caspin watched Vanessa load the last of the bags into the bin. It appeared to contain an enormous streichholzschachtel. She tried to adjust her face into that of a concerned friend.

Caspin: How are you feeling, Vanessa?
Vanessa: Fine, great, looking forward to dinner! Peggy brought loads of food!
Caspin: Erm. I meant about your husband's recent, agonising death.




Vanessa: Oh yeah.

She immediately collapsed into Caspin's arms, pretending to bawl her eyes out. Caspin patted her back and felt increasingly sure that there had been some foul play here.




Minty arrived at the party, bringing an unnaturally cheesy plate of naan bread and an unnaturally cheesy grin.

Minty: Hi Vanessa! Everything is completely normal here!
Vanessa: Er, yes! Totally normal!

They grinned at each other like lunatics.




Vanessa: Hi, Ollie, thanks for coming to see Veronica's age up.
Oliver: Er, that's all right. It's the normal thing to do.
Vanessa: Quite.

Ollie worked hard to look unconcerned.




Caspin: Minty, why are you grinning like a maniac? And Ollie, what is going on with your face?
Ollie: I thought it looked normal.
Minty: Me too! It's my best effort.
Caspin: Oh dear gods. Vanessa looks suspicious. I will endeavour to participate in some normal party behaviour to distract her.
Ollie: OK, what will you do?
Caspin: I will dance!
Minty: Oh my word, there's no need for that, Caspin! Such drastic measures are surely not yet needed!
Caspin: Don't worry, I've got this. I learned to throw shapes in the 1990s.
Minty: Yes, but which shapes?!
Ollie: Normal ones I hope.

Caspin headed over to the stereo, where Vidkid was already dancing or skipping, it was hard to tell which.




Ollie and Minty looked on as Caspin got groovy.

Minty: Be careful, Caspin - your back!
Ollie: Yeah, you're not as young as you were!
Caspin: Thanks.




Fortunately at that point the birthday girl started yelling for food again, so the family and guests moved into the dining room for dinner. Minty cleared the plates to make way for the birthday cake, still struggling to control his goggling eyeballs.




And so, without further death or ado, Veronica aged up from an obnoxious little crapping toddler into precocious brat of a child.




Vanessa: Party's over, thanks for coming. Everyone out!
Caspin: Thanks for the party, terrific fun. Superbly normal. (Ollie, for heaven's sake, act normal!)
Vanessa: Yeah, thanks for coming over. I'll be seeing you soon. Very soon.

She stared hard at Caspin, who could not now help but look worried (that's my worried face, right there).




Caspin: Let's get out of here.
Ollie: Crap, yeah - run from the pscyho!
Minty: Already running.......!

Vanessa watched them dashing off down the road. Something would have to be done. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started dialling.

"Hello, is that the police station? Yes, I need to report a murder. I think my neighbour killed my husband."






An aside:

In case there was any doubt that Veronica is the most awful sim I've ever had the misfortune of the game creating for me: these are now her traits!