by Mimi Barbour
Jeff’s mind, still fuzzed up from the drugs, tried to decipher what the prick in front of him was talking about. Vague memories of a man he used to call Uncle Benny faded in and out, along with two youngsters his mom used to make him be friends with. The memories, once started, flooded back. He remembered the bigger boy, Troy. At least that’s the name that came to him, Troy and the smaller brother, Sammy. His one memory was being frightened of the older one. Troy liked to hurt things, littler things like puppies and kittens and most of all, his younger brother. Sometimes even Jeff became his target. Until one day, Jeff’s father told him that he had to stand up for himself. He needed to fight back. What was he, maybe three or four? Certainly not much older. As scared as he’d been, all it took was for Troy to hold Sammy in a headlock, refusing to let him go. Jeff had warned him that he had to stop, that Sammy was crying. That made Troy all the happier. When Jeff pulled Troy’s hair, breaking his grip, Troy turned on him and Jeff let him have it. All the fear and anger of a little four-year-old tornado came out. He hit, punched and kicked with all his might. Troy had more bruises than Jeff did that day and the fight had made a huge impact on Jeff. Never again did he let anyone push him around, him or anyone he cared about.
Soon after, the brothers and their family disappeared. His father refused to talk about them, His mother cried from missing her best friend and Jeff felt mostly relief. As much as he missed Sammy, Troy being gone had made life a lot easier. A slap on the side of Jeff’s head brought his attention back to the man who clearly didn’t appreciate being ignored.
“You aren’t going to talk with me? Jeffy?”
“Not if I can help it, Troyie.” Jeff watched irritation turn to glee.
“You’ve remembered. That’s so sweet.”
“Now how could I forget a loveable little prick like you? By leaving town, you made my life so much better.”
“Today, you’re a big shot with a big mouth. Should have known you’d become like Waters senior.”
“Speaking of fathers, how’s Uncle Benny? Is he aware you’re into kidnapping and extortion for a living?”
“And killing. Don’t leave out the fun part of my job.” A sneer accompanied the words. Thin lips and a nose too big for a skinny face added emphasis.
“Could have been more respectful and taken me out of my own hotel.” Jeff wanted Troy to know he’d recognized his surroundings.
“Now why would we do that? I happen to know Cascade’s reputation for businessmen away from home. Wild parties with booze that never stops, drugs if ordered and gorgeous women that rank as some of the most beautiful in a city where beautiful women are a dime a dozen. Hell, we’d be crazy not to take advantage of your hospitality now wouldn’t we?”
“Let me go and I’ll make all the arrangements.” Jeff only grinned with half his face, leaving his eyes hooded. Why use charm that would be wasted.
“Yeah, like that’s going to happen. I think we’ll keep you around to enjoy our fun. Make your old man squirm a little before we play out the hand. In the meantime, Sam will be your caretaker and you’ll find he’s changed a lot since that skinny little kid you remember. He’s harder, meaner and likes inflicting pain more than I do. And that’s saying a lot.”
Chapter Eleven
In the late hours when the city partied the hardest, Lisa headed to the office with all the material that Jim could remember about the man they were now pretty sure held his son. No other messages had arrived yet but Jim’s mind-set was such that the kidnappers were playing with him, wanting to make him sweat. Could be he was right.
They’d both decided it was money that drove this crime. Therefore, Lisa intended to organize a few of her personal friends on staff for a sting operation to try and catch the criminals when the time came for them to make a move. Right now, they needed to keep it quiet from the honchos at the top. Because once the word was out, FBI would step in. The note had specified no cops but when it came to a rich, prominent citizen, the feds would be on it like flies on horseshit. Then the media would step in. Christ, where was Cory when she needed him? She guessed keeping it under wraps would be up to her and Ham.
In the meantime, she wanted to have all the information on record about the Stokes family. Where they had moved? What Ben did to earn a living after he’d left Jim Water’s company? Where his sons were and their backgrounds to date? Once she’d accumulated as much knowledge as possible, she’d be more able to deal with the situation. Of course, this all had to be done on the sly. She’d already called Ham and asked him to meet with her in her office. The darling man asked no questions, all he’d said was he’d bring the coffee.
As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, she ripped the pins from her hair and ran her fingers through the now puffed out mass of curls. The relief made her sigh and lower her head to the steering wheel. Keeping her personal anxiety hidden was beginning to eat away at her stress levels. Tension rode her hard to the point where she felt like a post with flopping arms and legs, not unlike one of those stick figures that Noel drew.
After today, when she looked at the big picture, the reasons for keeping Jeff in his place seemed ridiculous. Why had she thought that their differences were impossible to overcome? Good Lord, everyone had things to deal with in a relationship. His being rich and her being poor shouldn’t have mattered. It wouldn’t have if she’d reversed their roles.
Noel liked him and Lisa had no doubt that in time Jeff could have turned that liking into love. What a stupid bitch she’d been seeing all the insignificant crap as impediments to their being involved. If only she could have that time back, do it over again. A fervent prayer formed and she sent it out into the universe. Please. Let us have another chance… please!
Once back at the department, Lisa set about rounding up Ham and secluding them in her office to bring him up to date.
“Before we get started, how’s poor Francesca faring with the O’Hamptons?” Lisa used one of Aurora’s favorite nicknames for Ham and got a smile in return. “Your poor daughter seemed overwhelmed earlier.”
Ham passed her a cup of hot coffee and nodded while he spoke, “Are you saying my family is overwhelming?”
“Uh huh! That’s what I’m saying.”
“You think we scared her off?” he questioned.
“By the time I left, she looked pretty spooked to me.”
“Ha! You should’ve seen her when Mattie showed her the new room she’d fixed up. I thought Francesca would bolt then and there. I guess we’ll have to give my little girl some time to get used to us.”
“Little? She’s FBI, at least six feet and every inch beautiful.” Lisa smiled remembering the utter fear etched on the face of Ham’s newfound daughter when his three little ones were arguing over who got to sit next to her at the dinner table. “Might be a good idea to take things easy, Ham. The Hampton females are very affectionate and for someone not used to a lot of petting and hugs, panic can take over.”
“You saw it too.” Ham nodded again and Lisa followed suit.
“So… you didn’t call me in at this time of the night to discuss my family problems. What’s up at Cascades?”
“First of all, did you manage to get Ray to jump on board?”
“No problem. You know that guy is crazy over Aurora. When I told him Jeff was her friend, he took a couple of days leave for family reasons and high-tailed his scrawny little ass to the hotel. I called and set it up with Wimbly the manager. He said he’d make sure it went smoothly. From his voice on the phone, the fella sounds like a real number.”
“I know what you mean. Actually, he’s one of those people you have to get to know. His voice might squeak and he might look insignificant, but the man’s devoted to his boss and devastated about Jeff’s disappearance. According to my research on the hotel, he’s also a genius at management. Plus, he offered whatever help we need.”
“Guess I’ll have to cut the little guy some slack then.” Ham’s bushy eyebrows met over brilliant blue eyes full of regret th
at made her smile.
“Poor baby! Maybe there’ll be another asshole around that you can torment to get your jollies.”
His face brightened. “Sure an’ you could be right!”
Lisa giggled as no doubt he’d intended and started unpacking the notes and the plastic bag from her purse. “Think we can get that to the lab for fingerprint analysis? It’s been handled so it’s most likely a dead end, but we have to try. Also, Wimbly assured me that no one has touched Jeff’s room and we’ll need to get a team there to sweep the place. On the sly, you understand.”
“No problem. I’ll look after it. I’ve also got a lab friend who’ll do a rush job on the note if I were to call in a favor.” He caught her stare and added. “Which of course I will, Lass. That I will!”
“What do you think of the note?” Lisa had read him the words on the phone earlier and he’d said nothing then.
“Well now, I’ve been thinking on that. You’re right of course. You ask me, the past is coming back to haunt Mr. Waters.”
Lisa proceeded to tell him the full story and watched his head bob along as if in agreement with all her words. By the time she’d come to the end, she knew he’d picked up on her concern.
“You believe Jeff’s in danger. That somehow this Stokes family has enough of a motive to take him and hold him somewhere, maybe hurt him for old time’s sake?”
With trembling fingers, Lisa gathered her annoying curls to form a braid, something she’d seen Aurora do from time to time. Her eyes focused everywhere but on the man who could see right through her. “Yes, I do.”
“Then darlin’, I agree. We’ll run the names through our files and see if we can get a profile started on Ben Stokes. I’ll Email the files to you.”
“Don’t forget he has a wife and two sons, close to Jeff’s age now. Something may pop on them. I emailed you the information I took down from Jim Water’s statement. It’ll help start the ball rolling.”
Ham stood up and stretched. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, I’m on it.”
Lisa sent him a smile that shone from her eyes. “Perfect. I’m taking my office laptop with me so I can start a search myself. But send me anything you get.”
“Fine. I’ll co-ordinate things from here since I have no doubt you’ll be staying at the hotel until you hear from the culprits again.”
“Someone has to protect Jeff’s father. If their principle beef was with him, my theory is that they’ve only taken Jeff to rub salt in the wound. I’m worried they’ll be coming after Jim also.”
“Two great minds—I was thinking the same thing meself. Okay, so I’ll get a few of the staff to ask around town and see if there’s been any rumbling
“It wouldn’t hurt. But it sounds more personal to me. I’ll keep digging into Jim’s memories and see if he can come up with any place this family might have taken up residence. In the meantime, as soon as Ray gets working the video feed from Jeff’s room, tell him to call me. I want to see it immediately. According to Jonathon, the last time he’d seen Jeff, he’d been heading for his suite to hit the sack. He assured me that they’d searched the tapes and saw nothing but we both know Jeff didn’t vanish into thin air.”
“What’s he told the hotel staff—so they don’t question Jeff disappearance?”
“Because Jim Waters showed up unexpectedly, they’ve made a big joke out of saying that Jeff had gone home to surprise his mother for Mother’s Day while his father had arrived to surprise him. Mr. Waters will wait for the boss to return, and in the interim Jeff’s taking this time to spoil his mom.”
“It’s crazy enough that it should work!”
“This whole incident is crazy.” Lisa’s voice broke. She quickly turned her back to him.
Ham walked around and put his big paw on her shoulder and squeezed.
Chapter Twelve
Jeff finally got to meet Sammy. Funny thing, he no longer fit the nickname. Sammy was now definitely a Sam and not a happy camper. One look and Jeff knew his old playmate had ceased to exist. He’d been replaced by a man even bigger and meaner than the brother who’d probably tormented him all his young life. Guess he’d learned how to fight back. Maybe learned his lessons too well.
Of the two brothers, Jeff preferred Troy. His smile might be sarcastic and evil, but he did smile. Whereas Sam, he didn’t have one laugh-line on his pockmarked face.
Troy, getting a huge kick out of the fact that Jeff needed to piss and was in torment from trying not to disgrace himself, decided to give him relief at the point of a gun. “Just don’t want to smell you. Looking at your ugly face is bad enough.”
Jeff stumbled when he tried to stand and Troy’s helpful push landed him on his knees. Troy snickered, “Get the hell up before I change my mind.”
Anger he’d never before felt fueled his hate and drove Jeff to his feet. The gun shoved in his back stopped him from trying to beat the shit out of his antagonist. Throbbing nerves screamed for him to release his pent-up frustration but his will to live kicked in. He had to make sure these animals didn’t get at the man he’d always respected more than anyone else in his life. If they killed him now, who would protect his dad?
Once he returned to his chair and Sam made sure his bonds were uncomfortably tight, Troy went to replace the duct tape on his mouth.
“If I promise not to make any noise, can we forgo the plastic lipstick? Just for old time’s sake?”
Troy laughed like a hyena and Sam snorted but moved away. It was clear the younger brother still let Troy make the decisions.
“You think we should cut you some slack so the first chance you get, you yell for help?”
“Listen moron, this hotel is built with acoustics equal to any top-secret government building. No one can hear through these walls and if someone comes to the door, you can tape my mouth again.”
Troy let loose with his hyena impersonation again. “Guess with all the partyers and big-shots that stay here, you have to provide some level of privacy to keep them happy.”
“That’s right. It’s in all the brochures. People come to stay at Cascades just so they can have quiet in their rooms.” The sarcasm wasn’t lost on Sam if the very slight tightening of his lips was a smile but it totally flew over Troy’s head.
“So what’s the story here? You’ve kidnapped me for a reason and I still have no idea what that is? Any hints to stop me from going crazy with curiosity?”
Sam looked toward Troy. Jeff did also. Then he waited until the asshole figured out how to answer. Finally, Troy sighed long and loud before words exploded. “You wanna know what this is all about, pretty boy?! Guess it’s time to let you in on our plans. Do you remember your Dad’s partner, Uncle Benny?”
“Definitely, he used to give us kid’s candy all the time and tell us to go play.”
“Yeah, well your old man made sure he couldn’t afford that candy anymore. Instead, he forced our family to sneak away in the middle of the night like criminals. We had to leave everything behind. Do you know what that was like?”
“Hey, my dad wouldn’t do that. He loved your family. Don’t you remember our trips and the two of them playing golf and hanging out? They were good friends. You guys just disappeared. Ben didn’t give a shit about the business. Guess who had to work double time for years to—”
A slap across the face stopped him in midstream. “Shut your lying mouth. We had nothing. While your family became millionaires from the mine my dad helped build, we lived like poor folks. Sam and I worked from the time we started our first paper routes.” A sneer enhanced his anger. “Hey Sam, bet this little rich dude didn’t have to earn money to buy food.”
Sam glared at Jeff and said nothing.
Troy continued. “Your prick of a father took away our lives and we’re here to get back what he owes us. Let him see what it feels like to worry, to fear the unknown. He’s a bastard! And he deserves everything that’s coming to him. Let me tell you this you puffed up little, rich prick. We’re gonna make sure he
suffers.”
Jeff felt the hatred pouring out of Troy and it was sickening. He’d had enemies, of course. What businessman didn’t? However, this disgusting emotion was visceral venom pouring out of a man who was dangerous, even deadly. A shiver ran over his body that left him shaken to the core. Until now, he hadn’t truly believed his death was a very real possibility.
Chapter Thirteen
“Are we going to stay at home now, Auntie Lisa?” Noel was ecstatic when Lisa showed up at the Hampton’s to take him back to their apartment. From the back seat, his voice rang with excitement and it opened a few more cracks in the heart she’d always shielded. He’d been taking photos out the half-opened car window but she saw him put the cellphone down and wait for her reply.
“No, little guy. I wanted to bring you with me because I don’t know how long it’ll be before we can spend time together. I’ve been put on a special assignment and might be away for a few days. I thought you might like to come back home with me so you could pack your favorite toys to bring to Auntie Mattie’s.” Lisa pulled into her parking spot and stepped around to open the back door and unhook Noel from his car seat. His little arms wrapped around her neck which differed from his usual independent habit of getting down by himself.
“You’re going to leave me? What if you don’t come home?” Wobbling, near to tears, his voice pierced Lisa’s cool armor. She bit her lip and squeezed him hard until he whimpered.
Then she backed away and looked Noel in the eye. His globs of moisture did her in and she hugged him again and almost ran them into her suite. Once there, she set him on top of the kitchen island so he sat at eye level. In a very serious manner, she dealt with his rightful and natural concerns. “Baby, I won’t tell you that nothing will ever happen to me. No one knows that for sure, especially in my line of work. What I will tell you is that if I was to be hurt your Auntie Rory gladly put up her hand to look after you. Plus, you know that Mattie, Ham and the girls will always be in your life. You will never be left alone.
