Understood

0:08 The chilly night air wafts in through the open front door. Liz sits on the couch with her hands folded on her lap. It's been nearly half an hour since it all began. Erin paces back and forth. She watches and listens. She's known Erin most of her life ever since he was a little boy. He even worked at her and her husband's furniture store at one point. Now he's holding her captive. She isn't allowed to move. Just sit on the couch and listen. She nods her head, agreeing with whatever he's saying. But then he tells her why he's there.

0:47 He tells her why he did what he did. She doesn't like what happened, but she understands. The two stand there staring at each other for a moment, letting the revelation sink in. A low, raspy gurgle breaks the awkward silence. Liz's eyes dart towards the front door as Aaron turns towards the trailer's small kitchen. She feels the floor reverberate with every step, but her eyes don't leave the front door.

1:21 A heavy thud on the kitchen counter finally draws her attention. His back is to her. She hears the clinking of heavy objects of metal. Then the sound stops and Aaron is still. She was afraid at first, but not now. Now she understands. Aaron turns to her and tells her not to call 911 until he's gone. She agrees. Then he walks out the front door. She glances at the kitchen counter as she hears his truck start. His gun lies there, broken down to pieces. She hears the truck drive off and fade into the distance. She looks back at the front door. The pale moonlight shines through, highlighting the frame, the floor, and her husband's body. Welcome to Sword and Scale Nightmares. True crime for bedtime. When Nightmare

2:39 begins now. Aaron drives down the road lit only by the headlights of his fiancée' s truck. His brows are low, and his lips are curled up into an unintentional frown. He catches a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror during the brief moments his headlights reflect off the street signs. He doesn't recognize himself. He doesn't feel the same. He hits the turn signal and starts to slow down. He turns onto his parents' street. He jostles from side to side, driving over the uneven surface. A sense of guilt floods over him. He feels bad about what he did, but even more about how it will affect his family. He thinks of his fiancée and his newborn daughter, barely six months old. He thinks of his mother, his father, and

3:51 his sister. He'd cry, but by now he's emotionally numb. He taps on the brakes and whips into his parents' driveway. He shuts the truck off and steps out. The cold February air bites at his neck as he hurries inside. He doesn't have a lot of time. Aaron's mother and father are sitting in the living room when he bursts through the front door. His mother can tell something isn't right.

4:19 Aaron just stands there, kind of slouched, with the saddest look he's ever had on his face. As if all the happiness has been drained from his body, She rushes to him, asking what's wrong. Aaron speaks plainly. I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you goodbye. What? Why? His mother asks, fear and worry instantly covering her face. She can tell he'd been drinking. Without making eye contact, he confesses to his parents. I shot Daryl. His mother covers her mouth in shock. She asks in disbelief. Aaron asks her to sit down and starts telling her about the fishing trip he went on when he was 11. Back then, they had lived next door to Daryl McNeil. He was their neighbor, a father, and a local business owner. He

5:19 volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America. So, when he came over that morning asking if Aaron wanted to come with them, on an upcoming two-week fishing trip to Oregon, they didn't think twice before saying yes. It was two months before his 12th birthday, and that trip would change his life forever.

5:44 Aaron collapses on the floor, the tears finally flowing. His mother, heartbroken, cradles her grown son in her arms. Aaron Vargas' life was going, eh, okay. He had a lot to be happy about. He had a six-month-old baby girl and a fiancée, Selena, who loved him. They were getting married in two weeks at Yosemite National Park. The only thing was, he didn't have a career to speak of. But he always found work here and there. Despite this loving family life, he had a rough childhood. He basically quit school right before high school. And then he fell in with the wrong crowd and eventually became entangled with drugs and alcohol. Now, at 32, he was turning his life around, but the choices he had made earlier were holding him back. For

7:20 the past couple of days, Aaron had been watching his daughter while Selena worked. Today, he didn't have to, so he was going to go out with some friends and blow off some steam. Selena was sitting in the living room, playing with their daughter as Aaron left with friends. Hours later, her phone rang. She hurried to answer it so it wouldn't wake up the baby. She puts it to her ear, and it's Aaron. He asks her to come pick him up from his friend's house. It took her a little while to get ready. She had to get the baby in the car along with a diaper bag and a change of clothes and a bottle, you know, all the whole thing. Just in case. She was a new mother and wasn't going to take any chances, even for a

8:02 short trip across town. When she arrived to pick up Aaron, he was waiting outside and jumped right in. It was late and already getting dark. But even in the dim light, she could see he was drunk and a bit emotional. Something was bothering him. eating away at him. As soon as he got in the car and she started to drive away, Aaron broke down crying. She turned the radio down and asked, what's wrong? But he refused to answer.

8:33 He was inconsolable. She concentrated on the road, driving with just one hand and rubbing his back with the other. She tried to get an answer out of him, but he didn't budge. As they got closer to home, he was starting to calm down, but she could tell he was still upset. So when he said he was going to build a fire, she left him to it. She went inside with their daughter, hoping he would sort through his feelings and return to normal. She watched through the window as he gathered sticks from the yard and piled them in the fire pit. She whispered to her daughter, That's your daddy, as she watched. But he never started that fire. and a short time later he came inside and told her he was going for a walk. He

9:20 wore an expression that said that whatever was bothering him was still there. She didn't question him. She just said, okay. And Aaron left, shutting the door behind him. Selena sat back on the floor and started playing with her daughter again when she saw lights shine through the window. She straightened her back, craned her neck, and saw Aaron drive off in her truck. She immediately started calling his cell phone, but he never answered. He drove across town, determined to protect his family and everyone else. His mind raced, thinking of all the harm Daryl had done. All the harm he could do. He glanced down at the gun on the passenger seat. It was a gift from Selina, a Civil War-era black powder replica revolver. As he drove, his

10:12 rage built. He thought about everything Daryl had done over the years. He remembered the time he moved, thinking it would finally stop. But no, Daryl just tracked him down. He tried to get away, but something about Fort Bragg always drew him back. It took until Aaron started a family of his own for Daryl to finally back off, but it didn't last long. Aaron found out from Selena that Daryl was stopping by unannounced with an armful of diapers and offering to babysit their daughter. He only came by when Aaron wasn't there. And it got to the point where Selena had to threaten to call the police just to get him to leave. That's when the phone calls started. Daryl would call a dozen times a day.

11:05 Aaron strangles the steering wheel, his rage seething inside. He wants it to stop. He wants Daryl to stop. He drives carefully down the road climbing into the wooded mountains. The streetlights fade into the rearview mirror, and the road ahead darkens. It takes some time to get there, but Aaron never loses focus. The truck lurched as he turned down Daryl's road. Daryl McNeil had long since gotten out of the furniture business and moved outside the city center.

11:39 At 63, he was still looking for a quieter life. He and his wife Liz move to a secluded little plot of land and into an RV. Aaron sees it as soon as he comes over the hill. A little trailer sitting some distance away from many neighbors. He stops and shuts off the engine. It ticks as it cools down. He glares ahead, his gaze on the trailer unbroken. Without looking, he grasps the revolver in the passenger seat and gets out of the truck. In the blink of an eye, he's at the front door and knocking. Daryl answers. He looks like a regular old man. He's wearing socks, pants, and a t-shirt. With anger in his eyes, Aaron starts to speak before Daryl can say anything. Stay away from me and my family, he says, trying to stop his

12:39 voice from quivering. I won't let you hurt them like you hurt me Daryl acts confused. He denies ever hurting Aaron. Aaron erupts. You know you hurt me. He draws the gun and points it at Daryl. Just stay away, he says. You're lucky your wife is here. Then the gun goes off. Daryl collapses in the doorway, holding his stomach and moaning.

13:13 Liz comes running around the corner to see Aaron's silhouette standing over her husband. A cloud of smoke dissipates around them. She recognizes the smell. Stunned, she just stares for a moment. Aaron looks down at Daryl and gives him a swift kick in the side. Blood has almost completely soaked his shirt.

13:36 You're never going to hurt anyone again, he scowls. Liz gasps and starts running towards her husband, but Aaron stops her. I'm glad I shot him. I hope he suffers, he says. Daryl's moans grow fainter and fainter as Aaron directs Liz to sit on the couch. Then, his phone rings. It's Selena. This time, he answers it. Selena starts talking frantically, but he stops her. I just shot Daryl. I'm sorry. I'm going to prison, he says with anguish. In the shocked silence that follows, he hangs up with his fiancée and turns back to Liz. Daryl's agony is a subtle sound in the background now. Aaron paces back and forth as if thinking of what to say or do next. As Aaron starts to tell Liz his story, her eyes widen

14:34 and her world turns upside down. Three days earlier, Aaron was at home when he got a late-night call. It was his closest friend, Michael. They had been friends since childhood, ever since they lived next door to each other. When Aaron answered the phone, Michael was crying. What's wrong? he asked. Michael choked back tears and explained he'd been having nightmares.

15:01 But it was the same nightmare every night. He would snap awake from a dead sleep thinking someone was just in the room, fondling him. Aaron's hair stood up on his neck as he listened. Michael continued. I started to realize that my dad used me when I was a kid to get my friends to sexually molest them. Aaron told Michael to sit tight. He was coming to get him.

15:30 He picked Michael up and they went straight to their other close friend's house. John Clemens was Michael's half-brother. He answered the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was the middle of the night. Before he could ask his two friends why they were there, Michael started talking first. Did my dad ever sexually molest you? He asked matter-of-factly.

15:55 Aaron and Michael waited quietly for an answer. John stared back at them. Finally, he muttered under his breath. Yes. Michael let out an uneasy sigh with the realization of what this meant. He and John then looked to Aaron, who had been standing silently nearby. John asked, It happened to you too, didn't it? Aaron looked like a deer in headlights as he nodded yes. It was the first time he had ever admitted it, even if it wasn't out loud. Back in Daryl's trailer, Aaron watches Liz as the story sinks in. Her eyes are brimming with tears.

16:43 Her lip quivers. She looks up at him. Michael, she questions, but then trails off. Yes, Aaron said, your son and John, your stepson and me. We were all his victims. Just then, Daryl lets out his final breath, and Aaron knows that it is his cue to leave. He quickly dismantles his weapon and leaves it behind. He has to go tell his mother goodbye. Aaron Vargas was taken into custody without incident and charged with first-degree murder, false imprisonment, and dissuading a witness. He potentially faced life in prison. He claimed he only went to Daryl's house to scare him off, and that he never meant to shoot him. But when he was asked if he remembered telling Liz that he was going to kill him, He was glad he shot

18:07 Daryl and that he hoped he suffered. Aaron admitted that he didn't remember much of the event. Aaron certainly felt like he was going away forever, but he stood by what he did. And when the people of Fort Bragg found out about the man who killed his childhood abuser, they stood behind him, too. There were petitions, fundraisers, and advocacy campaigns all in support of Aaron. The consensus was that the district attorney should let Aaron go on probation.

18:40 The court of public opinion found Aaron justified in his actions. The actual court, though, had a different opinion. They couldn't prove that Daryl did what Aaron claimed, and even if they could, they certainly couldn't support vigilantism. That's when over a dozen people came forward saying they, too, had been molested by Daryl McNeil. Some even said that they had gone to the police before, but nothing was ever done.

19:10 Twelve men and one woman shared their trauma in support of Aaron, the man who killed their abuser. Even Liz, Daryl's wife of 25 years, supported Aaron. She said publicly, my husband had a secret life that was unknown to me. I believe my husband sexually molested Aaron when he was a child and may have also molested other children in Fort Bragg. I do think Aaron needs to spend some time in jail, but not a lot. I can understand being driven to the edge, but I do not condone what he did. He just needs help. I've known him...

19:50 most of his life, and I still love the kid. The public applied a lot of pressure on the court, but the district attorney couldn't let a confessed killer just go. I mean, how could they know if he would never snap again? After his arrest, many of Aaron's family said that the little boy who disappeared when he was 11 had returned. At the time, they just thought puberty made him moody and distant. But now they understood. They really understood.

20:26 In the end, the public pressure did succeed somewhat. Aaron was offered reduced charges. He pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter. During the sentencing hearing, the courtroom was packed with supporters. His family, the community, and his fellow victims all were there. But the judge, in his ultimate wisdom, decided that Aaron did go there with the intention of killing Darren McNeil, and that he desired that he would suffer. There was no way Aaron was going to get probation. When the sentence was delivered, the room was disappointed. Aaron Vargas was sentenced to six years in prison, with an extra three on top for using a gun. Aaron Vargas suffered over 20 years of abuse in the hands of a trusted friend,

21:19 Daryl McNeil. Only at 32 did they realize there were others. When he looked into the eyes of his newborn daughter, he knew he had to protect her. by any means necessary. And he did. And to Aaron, the consequences were worth it. If you enjoyed the show, please consider joining PLUS at swordandscale.com slash PLUS. But if you can't, consider leaving us a positive review on your preferred listening platform. Sweet dreams, And good night.