Jump When Ready

by David Pandolfe

“Is it forever?”

  Martha couldn’t quite look me in the eye. “Well, as we discussed, no one situation really lasts forever.”

  But one could last long enough, I knew. An eternity, more or less. She didn’t need to say any more.

  We walked in silence the rest of the way, the neighborhood and our house in view again now. It was still overcast and rainy but I heard the kids playing and cars rolling past on streets I couldn’t see. I wondered if for those others it remained sunny and bright. My guess was that it did.

  Just before she opened the front door, Martha turned to me. “There is one thing you should know. The power you have can do damage to the people you love. You realize that.”

  “I understand,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

  When I expected Martha to scold me for being an idiot, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. “Bear in mind, it can do the same kind of damage to people you don’t know or love. Not that I said anything. That’s totally off the record.”

  10

  A Cockroach Driving Dangerously

  Martha had convinced me to get some rest and let Jamie and Nikki continue looking after Bethany. She’d told me I’d know when I was strong enough to go back and she was right. After our walk together, I slept soundly and I took it as a good sign that I didn’t have any bad dreams. By the next day, simply concentrating on Bethany landed me right outside the cabin.

  Will and Karen stood on opposite ends of the front porch staring straight ahead, neither speaking while Jamie and Nikki watched them. It seemed like I’d landed in some weird moment frozen in time where no one was talking or moving.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “They’re arguing,” Jamie said.

  “Again,” Nikki said.

  At that moment, Karen turned to face Will. “It isn’t right!” she said. “I never would have signed on for that! And you knew it, didn’t you?”

  Will smirked. “Well, when you think about it, what about this is right? I thought we both agreed that some definitions of right and wrong need to be redefined. For example, is it right that one percent of the population is three-hundred times richer than the rest? Is it right that people in this stupid country are slaves to their jobs just for health insurance? Corporations are criminals but all their crimes are legal. What’s right about that? How is this crime any different?”

  Karen rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Don’t play that card right now. You know what I mean.”

  “I know exactly what you mean. I also know how you’d like it to be. Easy. That’s how you always want it to be. But I’m almost ready, okay?”

  Karen exhaled and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, what’s the deal now? You have some sort of algorithm or code or something that determines how long it takes before her parents finally think she’s dead?”

  Those words hit me like a punch in the stomach. Why would they want my parents to think Bethany was dead?

  “Wish I did,” Will said. “Now, that would make things easy. But I did a study.”

  “You did a study.”

  “Yes, I examined cases. Typically, those who waited until the trail went cold got their money and didn’t get caught. Those who moved too quickly didn’t fare all that well. Since 2002, there were ten cases where—”

  “Wouldn’t it just get riskier?” Karen said, her voice rising in pitch. “That’s what I’m thinking. We need to get this done!”

  “No, you’re wrong. Here’s the deal. After two weeks, the cops start to pack it in. They don’t say it, of course, but they assume it’s a lost cause and turn their attention elsewhere. They’re spread thin—everyone knows that. They keep telling the family they’re working on it but they’ve written the victim off as dead.”

  “Then what happens?”

  “Usually, nothing. Because the cops are right, the victim’s dead. Meanwhile, the family is having a total meltdown. They’ve lost a kid, the police have bailed. Worst case scenario nightmare.”

  “But she’s not dead,” Karen said.

  “Exactly. So, we wait until our girl is written off. Then we make our move. At that point, it’s too late for the cops to get their shit together again to set a trap. Her parents feel abandoned by the police, the same people they were looking to for all the answers. What do you think they do?”

  “Let me guess, they pay,” Karen said.

  “Bingo. They pay. So, we have about a week to go. It’s not like it’s going to kill anyone.” Amazingly, Will found that to be funny and laughed.

  Karen stared at him and he turned to face her.

  “Okay, sorry.”

  “You should be. This isn’t like when you’re writing one of your little viruses or hacking someone’s system for kicks. This is something way bigger than that, don’t you get it? This is kidnapping.”

  “Actually, I don’t think it’s all that different,” Will said. “I like to think of it as hacking into someone’s life.”

  Karen’s eyes went hard. Suddenly, she went inside the cabin, then came out again carrying a sketch pad and pencil pouch. “I’m going for a walk.”

  She walked down the front porch steps and set off towards the woods.

  “You didn’t forget your weed, did you?” Will called after her.

  Karen flipped him off and kept walking.

  I felt sick with anger. My heart was pounding, my vision blurred.

  “Are you okay?” Jamie asked.

  I shook my head.

  “Right, stupid question.”

  Nikki put my feelings into words. “How can he be so cruel? What does he think this is, some sort of game?”

  The fact was, Will did seem to think of it that way. It didn’t matter that he was torturing my family with fear. In fact, making them as afraid as possible was his entire plan so he could score high in the end. That was obviously the only thing he cared about.

  We stood there a few moments without speaking, then Jamie said, “So, where did you go? Did you have any luck?”

  I understood. He was hoping for some sort of good news. Unfortunately, I had none to offer. “Home, and not exactly,” I said. “Actually, you could say it was a total fail.”

  Jamie and Nikki glanced at each other and I could tell what they were thinking. The same thing they’d told me from the start, that there wasn’t anything we could do to help my sister. But at least they didn’t say it.

  “I need to check on Bethany,” I said.

  I soon saw that nothing had changed. Bethany sat on the bed, this time staring at a magazine. There were a few more on the bedside table—People, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, stuff like that. I could only guess that Karen must have picked them up to give Bethany something to do. I looked into Bethany’s eyes but they appeared dull and unfocused. She was looking at an advertisement and I kept waiting for her to turn the page. Every so often she’d cough and take a deep breath. How long could this go on? Had it never occurred to Will and Karen that Bethany might overdose on the drugs they kept giving her?

  I turned to Nikki, who shook her head. “I’m sorry, Henry. She’s totally out of it. They’ve kept her like this the entire time.”

  “Him or her?” I asked, not sure it really mattered.

  “Both of them,” Jamie said. “Mostly, it’s his deal. Three times a day the freak crushes up pills and mixes them with water. Sometimes it’s just one but other times it’s more. I don’t know what the deal is with that. But he does it every morning, then in the afternoon and again at night. But usually he has Karen give it to Bethany.”

  “And Karen does what he says.” I needed to be sure about that part.

  “Yeah, she does,” Jamie said.

  “Then I guess she really isn’t all that different from him, is she?”

  For a moment when they’d been arguing outside, my hopes had risen. But my guess was that she’d come back soon and sign on again. Karen might see herself as being nicer, but she’d still abducted my sister. I didn’t want to forget that part.

 
We left the room where they kept Bethany prisoner to find Will siting in the living room, perched on the couch with his laptop on the coffee table. I looked at the screen but all I could see was code that meant nothing to me.

  “I’ve been reading him and I’ve definitely been getting things,” Nikki said. “Stuff about his past, mostly. He thinks about it a lot, which is understandable. He had a crappy life. His parents were abusive and he was taken away from them when he was really young. After that, he went into foster care. The thing is, he’s smart but he never learned how to trust anyone. As for what’s going on now, nothing’s connecting. I don’t see what any of it has to do with you or your family. Just to be sure, what did you say your father does for a living?”

  “He teaches college,” I said. “Sociology.”

  Nikki thought for a moment. “So, he’s not involved in business or anything like that? Does he wear suits and ties?”

  “No, he just teaches. No suits and ties.” In fact, my father hated ties. If he owned any, I’d never seen them.

  “That’s what I thought,” Nikki said. “But I keep seeing this guy in Will’s head. This whole deal is about his boss, some guy he worked for in the past. He kept helping Will, like he thought of him as a son or something. He helped him pay for college, stuff like that. Then he hired Will to work for him. Look, I don’t really get the whole computer thing but it had something to do with that. Do you guys really have to be scared all the time about people getting into your computers?”

  When she said it like that, it made sense. Why would Nikki get that people these days had to worry about people hacking into their computers?

  “It kind of depends,” I said. “But I guess businesses do. Is that what the sick freak does for a living?”

  “Yeah, something like that. He sets up—” Nikki turned to Jamie. “What is it again?”

  “Shit, I forget,” Jamie said. “System security or something like that. Whatever it’s called doesn’t really matter. Will worked for some company and he was the dude who was supposed to protect them from people looking at their information.” He looked at Nikki. “That part totally messes me up. Why wouldn’t you just write it down and lock it in a drawer or something?”

  “I know, right?” Nikki said. “But whatever. That guy I keep seeing is the same guy Will expects to pay the ransom. He’s totally sure he will too.”

  “But it doesn’t make any sense!” I said. Was it possible that Will and Karen had somehow kidnapped the wrong person? “What about her, did you get anything?”

  “She’s pretty much what she seems like,” Nikki said. “Kind of a stoner. She likes to draw and paint. She was working as a waitress when she met Will. He seemed smart and cool, all that. At first, she thought he was just kidding about this whole plan. But then she realized it was for real. At the same time, what he said before was true. She figured it for easy, like a day or two to score some big money and then they’d leave the country. He sold her on the idea of them moving to Iceland. I guess he thinks it’s some sort of cutting edgy, funky place where they’d fit in. Weird, huh?”

  “It’s also probably the last place anyone would think of looking for them,” I said. “Does she know the guy who’s supposed to come up with a million dollars?”

  Nikki shook her head. “She’s never met him. She doesn’t even know his name.”

  Which made me realize the most obvious question to ask. “What’s the guy’s name? Who is he?”

  “Richard. That’s all I’ve got. This Richard guy completely trusted Will. But Will totally betrayed—” Nikki cocked her head. “What’s going on?”

  “My father’s brother—his name’s Richard! That’s who it is. It has to be!”

  In that moment, I also realized Will was right. My uncle might not have a million dollars in his bank account but he could probably come up with the money. And he would for his brother. Somehow, Will had managed to tap into all of it. He’d learned how close my uncle was with my father. He knew how much my uncle cared, that he’d do almost anything. And when the ransom demand came through, who in the world could my father turn to? No one could have ever seen this coming.

  Jamie and Nikki watched me.

  “You just put it together, didn’t you?” Jamie said.

  “I think so.” It wasn’t like I felt good about it. Instead, I felt as trapped as my sister.

  A few feet away, Will kept typing code completely unaware that we stood right next to him. Something about the way he bent over the keyboard, his skinny tattooed arms reaching out, his thin fingers tapping away, reminded me of an insect. He looked like a cockroach to me, something that came out to feed at night and scurried away again when the light came.

  “There’s one last thing,” Nikki said. “I’m sorry.”

  I looked away from the cockroach to see Nikki’s eyes. Suddenly, I realized how tired she looked. I was afraid to ask but it wasn’t like I had a choice. “What is it?”

  “Henry, I think I need to go back.”

  Nikki’s eyes met mine once more, then she vanished.

  I turned to Jamie. “What just happened?”

  Jamie looked at the floor. “She just can’t take anymore right now. This whole thing’s been really hard on her. Not like reading her family, you know? Just totally dark.”

  “Is she coming back? I really need her help.”

  It took a moment before Jamie spoke. “Look, Nikki really likes you. You know that, right?”

  To be honest, with Nikki I never felt quite sure. “Seriously?”

  “Sure, of course. Nikki’s a loner. That she bothered at all says a lot. She really cares about what happens to your sister too.”

  “Then how can she just leave like that?”

  Jamie’s eyes seemed infinitely sad. “Because there’s nothing we can do.”

  “Come on, we can think of a way to help Bethany. I just need you and Nikki to help me.”

  Jamie looked back down at the floor. Moments passed, the only sound coming from Will’s fingers tapping at the keyboard and the cicadas outside the cabin. Then I realized.

  “You too?”

  Jamie waited before speaking. When he did, he spoke softly. “Henry, in this realm we’re ghosts. Spirits, nothing more. If there’s anything we can do to make a difference, we’ll try. I promise. We did our best to look after Bethany. I’m really sorry.”

  Jamie looked at me one last time, then he was gone too.

  ~~~

  I stayed with Bethany for the rest of the day and into the night, sitting on the floor beside her bed in that dark room where time was as lost to her as it was to us. Even more so, since on our side we still had sunrise and sunset. Maybe those events didn’t coincide with anything happening in the world of the living, but we experienced them all the same. In the place where they kept my sister, there was nothing to mark the time and the only light came from the bedside lamp.

  When Karen came into the room, I listened.

  “Are you hungry? Here, you need to drink this. I know, I’m sorry.”

  Bethany didn’t say much. She ate a little. She drank the water.

  Karen came back a couple hours later. “I brought you a clean T-shirt to wear while I wash your clothes. How does that sound?”

  “My clothes kind of smell,” Bethany said.

  “I know, I’m sorry.”

  Again, later. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

  Bethany nodded.

  Karen led her out and a few minutes later they came back. What choice did Bethany have but to allow it? They kept her so drugged she could barely think. She didn’t know where she was. And there was always Will nearby, watching. As soon as she left the bedroom, Karen guiding her, Will stared until Bethany was locked away again. “How’s your arm?” Karen asked.

  “Kind of stiff.”

  “I’ll switch the cuff to your ankle tonight, okay?”

  “Thank you.”

  It totally pissed me off hearing my sister thank someone for handcuffing her ank
le rather than her wrist. I knew Karen meant it to be kind but I didn’t see it that way at all. She could put a stop to it any time she chose. But she didn’t choose that, did she?

  ~~~

  Late that night, I couldn’t take it anymore and I went to sit on the roof. I had to get out of that room. Even though I felt guilty for going, Bethany didn’t know any better. She’d fallen asleep hours ago. When the sun cleared the horizon, I stayed there looking out at the mountains remembering different times when my family had made day trips to see the fall colors. I knew I’d never do that again with them, but I told myself Bethany would.

  When I finally dropped back into the room, I saw that Bethany was still asleep but it didn’t seem like she would be much longer—she was starting to toss and turn in bed. The cabin was quiet, and I suddenly realized Will and Karen were still sleeping too. Which meant they couldn’t possibly have given Bethany any drugs yet. Maybe last night’s dose had worn off enough for her to think. Maybe, just maybe, we still had time before the door opened and Karen came in with a glass full of sedatives. I went and crouched next to the bed.

  “Bethany, it’s me. Can you hear me?”

  At first nothing happened and I felt my hopes fading. I wondered if she might still be too groggy, Still, I tried again. “Bethany, try to hear me. I know you can do it.”

  Bethany didn’t open her eyes but after a moment she turned her head in my direction. She spoke softly. “Henry, I miss you. I wish you were really here.”

  “I’m right here!”

  Bethany smiled, her eyes still closed. “Henry, you can’t be. You died. Don’t you know that? I thought I heard you before. Just before…” The smile left her face. “…before this happened. Henry, I wish you were really here. I feel like I’m starting to lose my—”

  Suddenly, Will threw the door open. “Who the hell are you talking to?”

  Bethany blinked against the light streaming into the room. She raised her hand to block her eyes. “No one. I was just—”

  Will glared at her. “You were talking to someone. I heard you. Give it to me, now!”

  Bethany sat up, covering herself with the sheet. “Give you what? I don’t have anything.”