For Better or Worse

by Al Lamanda

  I pulled over, and Elizabeth rushed out and vomited on the side of the road. Jane got out, and when Elizabeth quieted down, they returned to the car.

  “Jack, give me that bottle of water you got there,” Jane said.

  I removed the water bottle from the cup holder and passed it to Jane.

  “Here, take this,” Jane said.

  I glanced in the rearview mirror and watched as Jane gave something to Elizabeth and she took it with a sip of water.

  About a mile from home, Elizabeth slumped over onto Jane’s lap.

  “What did you give her?” I said.

  “Valium,” Jane said.

  “Why do you have Valium?” I said.

  “You try being your girlfriend,” Jane said.

  By the time I reached my driveway, Elizabeth was out for the count. I carried her into the house and Carly opened the door.

  “She’s hurt,” Walt said as he rushed to us.

  “I gave her a Valium,” Jane said. “She’s not hurt.”

  “Jack, the bedroom,” Carly said.

  * * *

  We gathered at the picnic table with mugs of coffee.

  “Jack, after Walt takes the plea and you get Regan back, I’m going straight to the FBI,” Carly said.

  “I agree,” Kagan said. “They started this mess with their false information, they can end it.”

  “If I have one more night of freedom, I’m spending it with my wife,” Walt said, stood up and entered the house.

  “I guess we should meet at the courthouse around nine-thirty,” Carly said.

  “Try and get some sleep,” Kagan said. “Regan will be alright and you’ll have her back tomorrow.”

  I looked at Kagan.

  “You know, I have some Italian friends who owe me some favors,” Kagan said.

  “We’ll talk about that some other time, Frank,” Carly said.

  After Carly and Kagan left, Oz said, “I’m going to turn in. Bekker, you’ll get her back tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  Oz went inside, leaving just Jane at the table with me. “I have to make transport arrangements for Walt in the morning,” she said.

  “No,” I said. “You and I can bring him in my car. You’re the sheriff, you have the authority. Why make it a media circus?”

  Jane nodded. “Alright, but you drive and I sit in back with Walt,” she said.

  It was my turn to nod. “If Regan is hurt in any way, I will hunt him down and kill him,” I said.

  “And I will help you, but right now let’s try to get some rest,” Jane said.

  “All that’s left is the daybed in the basement,” I said.

  Jane stood up and took my hand.

  “That will do,” she said.

  * * *

  Reed may be an insane genius, but he wasn’t entirely wrong when he said much of Regan’s condition was my fault.

  When Regan was just five-years-old, Walt and I were part of a large task force investigating organized crime.

  I got too close and a killer was sent to my house to dispatch a warning. Except I wasn’t home and he took it out on my wife, Carol. He killed her, and Regan, hiding in a closet, had to witness it.

  It left her traumatized and she spent the next twelve years living in a hospital for traumatized children.

  I fell into a bottle of scotch, retired from the job, and neglected Regan for a decade.

  It was safe to say that Regan’s condition—and my lot in life—was mostly my fault.

  In the dark, Jane said, “Jack, stop thinking so much and try to sleep.”

  “If she’s hurt…” I said.

  “She won’t be,” Jane said. “You have to believe that. Now get some sleep or you’ll be useless come tomorrow.”

  I closed my eyes with the feeling I’d been useless most of my adult life.

  Chapter Forty-three

  Oz and Elizabeth rode with Carly and Kagan in the limo.

  Wearing a clean suit, Walt stood before Jane.

  “I’m ready,” he said.

  “Walt, I don’t know what to say,” I said.

  “For better or worse, right?” Walt said. “Just make sure you get her back safe.”

  “I won’t put the cuffs on until we reach the courthouse,” Jane said.

  “I appreciate that, Jane,” Walt said.

  * * *

  Walt, Carly, Kagan and Harry stood at their table and looked at Judge Foss, who was behind the bench.

  Napier stood alone at the prosecutor’s table.

  Jane stood off to the side with two court officers.

  “I’ve closed the courtroom to avoid a media circus,” Foss said. “However, I must caution you about grandstanding to the media afterward on the courtroom steps, both the People and the defense. Am I clear on this?”

  “Yes, your honor,” Carly said.

  “Yes, your honor,” Napier said.

  “Mr. Napier, are you satisfied with the defense’s plea?” Foss said.

  “The People are satisfied, your honor,” Napier said.

  “Captain Grimes, do you have anything to say before I close the book on this?” Foss said.

  “May I have five minutes to say goodbye to my wife?” Walt said.

  “I’ll allow it,” Foss said.

  “Thank you, your honor,” Walt said.

  “Captain Grimes, you are to serve a minimum of seven years and no more than ten years at a prison to be determined within thirty days,” Foss said. “Court is adjourned.”

  * * *

  While Elizabeth was in a Valium-induced sleep, Carly, Kagan, Oz and Jane sat at the patio table in my backyard.

  Finally, my cell phone rang. I motioned for everyone to be quiet and answered the call on speaker.

  “At least you’re a man of your word,” Reed said.

  “My daughter?” I said.

  “Unharmed and waiting,” Reed said. “Remember our agreement?”

  “Seventy-two hours, yes,” I said.

  “I’m about to board a plane,” Reed said. “What airport and under what name, you’ll never know. I’ll call you after dark with instructions where to find your daughter.”

  The phone went dead in my hand.

  “Jesus Christ,” Kagan said.

  “What time is sunset tonight?”

  “Hold on,” Oz said and went inside and returned with a newspaper.

  “7:47,” Oz said.

  “He’s not flying to the Cayman Islands,” I said. “He’ll call when he lands. Where is he going that he’ll call in eight hours?”

  “It could be anywhere, Jack,” Carly said.

  “I have something to do,” I said.

  * * *

  I spread out all of Wally’s documents on the table outside the trailer. Jane looked over my shoulder.

  “Wally found all this?” she said.

  “Wally is a genius in his own right,” I said.

  I shifted through the papers.

  “Zurich,” I said. “He’s going to Zurich to close out his account. Then Switzerland and the big one in Prague.”

  “What about the accounts in the Caymans and the Bank of London?” Jane said.

  “He’ll keep those in reserve,” I said. “Between Zurich, Switzerland and Prague he has eight million dollars. He’ll set up a new account with that and keep the other accounts in reserve for an emergency.”

  “What are you planning, Jack?” Jane said. “You’re not going to fly all over Europe looking for him, are you?”

  “No.”

  I took a chair and Jane took the one next to me.

  “After I get Regan back, have a team of your deputies raid the girlfriend’s house, and the mother’s, too,” I said. “I doubt he left an
ything behind, but you never know.”

  “I’m going to the office to make arrangements,” Jane said. “I’ll meet you back here at seven-thirty.”

  After Jane left, I changed and went for an hour-long run along the water. Then worked the heavy bag and speed bag until I could hardly lift my arms.

  I took a breather to drink some water, and then did elevated push-ups until my arms and chest gave out.

  I returned to the heavy bag and beat on it until I had nothing left, and I collapsed to my knees in frustration.

  Once I regained my breath, I stood and removed the bag gloves. Knuckles on both hands were bleeding.

  After a shower and a change of clothes, I felt no better and still had three hours to sunset.

  If I was bound, gagged, and dying from a thousand small cuts, the time couldn’t have passed any slower.

  An entire pot of coffee consumed the rest of the afternoon, and around seven-fifteen, I spotted Jane’s cruiser on the sand.

  She parked beside my car, got out, walked toward me and took a chair.

  “As soon as we have Regan, two cruisers will respond to the girlfriend’s house and two more to the mother’s,” she said.

  “And you?”

  “I’ll be with you,” Jane said.

  I watched the sun touch down on the horizon, and the ocean glowed burnt orange for about ten minutes.

  The sky darkened and the ocean went black.

  Neither Jane nor I spoke until my cell phone rang. I hit the speaker button and Reed said, “At least Grimes has the balls to go down like a man.”

  “My daughter?” I said.

  “You might want to write this down,” Reed said.

  “I’ll remember.”

  “The Lock and Go Storage Facility, unit number thirty-seven. Bring a bolt cutter,” Reed said. “Keypad is 67681. Goodbye, Mr. Bekker.”

  The phone went dead and I hung up.

  “Do you have a bolt cutter?” I said to Jane.

  “Who doesn’t?” Jane said.

  “You have a GPS?”

  “Who doesn’t?” Jane said.

  “We’ll take the cruiser,” I said.

  “I’ll drive,” Jane said.

  Chapter Forty-four

  The Lock and Go Storage Facility was about an hour north and located at the end of a large business park.

  There were one hundred garage-sized units. The entire facility was surrounded by a chain link fence with a motor-operated gate.

  Jane pulled up beside the keypad. “What was that number?”

  “67681.”

  She punched in the number and the gate slid open.

  Jane drove us to unit thirty-seven. The facility was well lit with surveillance cameras in various locations.

  Jane gave me the bolt cutter as we walked to the roll down door. It was secured at the midpoint by a heavy padlock on each side.

  I sliced through the two locks and rolled up the door, not knowing what to expect.

  Relief washed over me when Regan looked at me from the comfortable chair she was seated on and set the Harry Potter book she was reading on the table beside the chair.

  There was a small refrigerator in the corner, and an overhead fan and cot with a pillow against the wall.

  Regan smiled, jumped from the chair, ran to me, then leapt into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist like she used to do as a child.

  I was expecting her to be an emotional mess in need of the trauma center, and thank God, I was wrong.

  “I knew you’d come,” Regan said as I set her down. “Did you get Aunt Elizabeth?”

  Choking back tears, I said, “She’s fine. She’s with Oz.”

  “I scratched him. Look. His skin is under my nails,” Regan said. “And this.”

  Regan stuck her hand in a jeans pocket and showed me a dozen or so hairs.

  “I yanked his hair from the roots,” Regan said. “That’s DNA, right?”

  “Right,” I said.

  “Like father, like daughter,” Jane said.

  “Hey, Jane,” Regan said.

  “Hey, Regan,” Jane said.

  “Let’s get you home,” I said.

  “Wait,” Regan said. She grabbed her book and then went to the small refrigerator and retrieved a six pack of root beer.

  I sat in back with Regan. The three of us drank root beer on the drive home.

  “You’re not hurt?” I said to Regan.

  “No,” Regan said. “When I woke up, I acted crazy to try to scare him. He slapped me, but he didn’t hurt me.”

  “He slapped you?” I said.

  “Uh-oh,” Jane said as she sipped root beer.

  “I pulled his hair and scratched him,” Regan said. “I think he just wanted to make me stop. Aunt Elizabeth fought him like a tiger when she woke up. He had to tie her up and drug her to make her stop.”

  “Any idea where he took you?” Jane said.

  “No, the both of us were asleep,” Regan said.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said.

  When we reached home and Regan hugged Oz, he broke down in tears.

  “I’m alright, Oz,” she said. “Hungry, though. I’m gonna take a shower and fix something to eat.”

  “Let’s order out,” I said. “Anything you want.”

  “Pizza,” Regan said. “Lots and lots of pizza.”

  While Regan took a shower and Oz ordered Pizza, Jane and I sat at the patio table in the backyard and I called Carly.

  “Thank God she’s safe,” Carly said. “That sick son of a bitch needs to be put down, Jack.”

  “Any word from Foss on prison selection for Walt?” I said.

  “Too soon, Jack.”

  “I’m losing track of time,” I said.

  “I’ll call Foss tomorrow and get back to you,” Carly said.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  After I hung up, Jane lit a cigarette and said, “So, what are you gonna do?”

  I heard the front doorbell ring and the pug bark.

  “Eat some pizza,” I said.

  * * *

  Jane’s deputies picked up Reed’s mother, who went kicking and screaming. A search of her house produced nothing.

  I went with Jane and a team of her deputies to Reed’s girlfriend’s house. She was gone and so were her clothes, along with the computer in the basement. Riker had either gone with Reed to Europe, or he had killed her and cleaned house.

  * * *

  I opted to spend the night at the trailer with Jane.

  “Is that thing on?” she said as she looked at the computer.

  “I unplugged it,” I said.

  “I’m not sure I forgive you yet for the video thing,” Jane said.

  “I haven’t forgiven myself yet for this entire mess,” I said. “Walt’s in jail awaiting prison, his wife and my daughter were the ransom to get Walt to confess to a crime he didn’t commit, and Reed is in Europe laughing all the way to the bank.”

  “Can’t he appeal now that his wife and Regan are safe?” Jane said. “I’ll testify to the kidnapping. Carly and Kagan can talk to the judge. There is enough evidence to have Walt’s confession overturned in court.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “And maybe Walt does seven years.”

  Jane looked at the computer. “Are you sure it’s off?”

  “It’s not plugged in,” I said.

  Jane took my hand. “Good, I need to relieve some stress,” she said, and walked us to my bedroom.

  * * *

  Carly, Kagan and I met with Walt at the county jail where he was being held in isolation.

  “We’re meeting with Judge Foss tomorrow morning to explain your guilty plea and request your release,” Carly said. “We have enough evidence for the FBI to pursue Reed for ever
ything. Extortion, fraud, kidnapping, all of it.”

  “And if he can’t be found?” Walt said.

  “After reviewing all the evidence, what else can Foss do but let you out?” Carly said.

  Walt looked at me. “Jack?”

  “The files Wally put together prove Reed’s guilt without a doubt,” I said.

  “Sit tight,” Carly said. “Let the system work.”

  “It’s done a great job so far,” Walt said.

  * * *

  “Oz, do you still have that shotgun?” I said.

  “It’s under my bed,” Oz said. “Why?”

  “Keep it handy. Keep it loaded,” I said. “I’ll be gone for a few days.”

  “I suppose it won’t do me no good to ask where?” Oz said.

  “I’ll call you and let you know,” I said. “In the meantime, take care of Regan and Elizabeth.”

  “You gotta ask?” Oz said.

  “No,” I said. “I don’t gotta ask.”

  We were at the patio table in the backyard. The kitchen door slid open and Regan came out, followed by Molly and the pug.

  “Honey, I need those hairs you took from Reed,” I said.

  “I put them in a baggie,” Regan said.

  “Can you get them for me?” I asked.

  “Sure. Why, what are you going to do?” Regan said.

  “See if an old friend is still an old friend,” I said.

  Chapter Forty-five

  Paul Lawrence lived in Alexandria, Virginia, about forty minutes south of D.C.

  I flew into Regan International, rented a car, and drove to Alexandria.

  Paul lived in a nice house on a cul-de-sac in a quiet neighborhood.

  I arrived at his house around seven-thirty at night. A dark sedan was parked in the driveway. I parked behind it, got out with the thick file under my arm, walked to the door, and rang the bell.

  Paul was genuinely shocked to see me when he answered the door.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he said.

  “Good to see you, too,” I said.

  “Don’t give me that,” Paul said. “I told you no more favors, old friends or not.”

  “I’m not here for a favor,” I said.

  “Then what?”

  “Can I come in?”

  * * *

  Paul had a nice lawn in the backyard. We sat at the patio table and he read my files by the light from an outside floodlight. We each had a mug of coffee.