A New Game

by Linda L Barton

  “What have you two been up to today?” Sharon asked as the girls ran back to the kitchen and sat in their chairs.

  “Hold on a second Mandy, I’ll get that for you. It’s hot, and you don’t want to burn your fingers,” Sharon said, stopping Amanda from pulling a hot piece of pizza from the box.

  “But I can do it!” Amanda whined.

  Sharon put the slice of pizza on the paper plate and cut it into small pieces. “Now blow on it before you eat it, okay?”

  “I will mommy,” Amanda sighed, blowing on the pizza before she took a bite.

  “We went to Mac’s place to check on the water situation, and then we dropped by the Afton’s,” Rick said before he took another bite of his pizza.

  “I feel horribly for them; I can’t imagine how they must feel. To have a child taken like that must be unbearable.” Sharon then sat in her chair, putting a slice of pizza on her plate. “I pray for that little boy every day.”

  “Yeah, they’re not taking it well at all, but if all goes well, we’ll have him home safe and sound soon,” Mac said as she reached for the glass of sweet tea.

  For the rest of the meal, the girls shared stories of their fun day at grandma’s house. Rebecca spoke of how much fun it was baking the sugar cookies, and how Mandy put the frosting on them all wrong. Ashley went on and on about how her cookies were the prettiest, and how she put the pecan on top of each piece of divinity. She also announced how grandma said that Mandy was too small to help much.

  Mac sat and watched as the girls told their stories and thought how lucky Rick and Sharon were to have such a wonderful family. She had often wondered if she would ever know the joy of parenthood, but when a case like this one happened, she was glad that she would never have to endure their pain.

  “Okay girls, you need to go take your baths and get all the frosting out of your hair,” Sharon laughed then gathered the paper plates and threw them in the trashcan.

  “But Mommy…,” Amanda whined.

  “But nothing, now get up and let’s get your baths done.” Sharon was tired and wanted to relax so the regular bath-time rebellion would not be tolerated tonight.

  “Now get to the bathroom, and I’ll be right there to start the water, and Rebecca, please remember to rinse all the shampoo out of your hair!”

  Now that Rebecca was older, she had insisted on taking a shower just like a grown up. The only problem was she still had not quite mastered the rinse process on her own. She would never admit it, but it still bothered her when the water got on her face, so she would end up with bubbles still in her hair.

  “I know Mom. Lean my head back so I won’t get the water on my face. I’m not a baby anymore, you know!” she stomped out of the kitchen, and down the hall.

  After the baths were over the girls were sleepy, so Sharon sent them on to bed. “I know you girls want to stay up, but you need your rest for church in the morning. Now go to sleep, and no more complaining.”

  Mac and Rick were in the living room when Sharon finally got the girls settled in for the night.

  “Those girls will be the death of me,” Sharon sighed as she sat on the sofa with Mac. “But you do have to love them. Even with all the bickering, we had a wonderful time at mother’s today. So, what are we watching tonight?”

  Rick laughed and tossed the remote to Sharon. “We were hoping you would choose something good to watch,”

  “Well, isn’t that a deal. First, I bring home a feast then I get the girls off to bed, and now I have to choose what we’re going to watch! Would anything ever get done around here if I didn’t do it?” Sharon teased.

  She then picked up the remote and aimed it at the television. “Let’s see, maybe a good old fashioned chick-flick would be something two hard-core cops like you would enjoy!”

  Mac had to laugh at the look on Rick’s face at Sharon’s suggestion, but before she was able to chime in an opinion her cell phone rang. “I’ll take this in my room. Go ahead and start without me.”

  She stood, and walked down the hall to her bedroom, “Hello.”

  “Good evening, Lucinda.”

  “What do you want?” Mac was in no mood to talk with him tonight. She was tired and wanted to relax.

  “My, my but you’re in a cranky mood this evening. I only called to tell you how beautiful you looked on the news this afternoon and how much I admire your dedication to your job.” Erebus closed his eyes, envisioning the fire burning in her green eyes at his words. “So, how did your visit go with the Afton’s?”

  “It would have gone much better if you would let Joey come home!”

  “I’m sure that’s true, but then it would change the rules of our game, and we wouldn’t want to do that, would we?”

  “As a matter of fact, it’s just what we need to do,” she answered flatly.

  His tone suddenly grew serious. “I’m sure you do, but we have much more ahead of us before the boy returns home to his parents,”

  “So, is that all you called about tonight? If that’s all, you have to say then I think this conversation is over. I’m in no mood for your taunts tonight. I had to watch a man grieve today because you want to play games. I don’t understand your sick fascination with destroying people’s lives, but I promise you that I will do everything within my power to stop you.”

  It delighted him to hear the frustration in her voice. “As you wish, Lucinda and I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening with your friends.” He hung up the telephone without saying another word.

  Mac stood with her body shaking from anger. She knew Erebus had the upper hand on her for now, but she had to believe that somehow she would be able to turn the tables on him. Today, when she saw the look of despair on Brian Afton’s face, her heart broke for him. She knew with every passing hour, the chances of Joey returning home safely became an issue.

  John Cooper had told her how Erebus would kill the pieces in his games without a second thought. He said Erebus had told him they were not important, and their lives had no meaning to him. They were only necessary to set up the different moves in the game, so once the move was complete, he would dispose of them.

  Mac took a deep breath and walked back to the living room where Rick and Sharon were already watching a movie. She sat on the sofa without saying a word.

  “Is everything all right,” Rick asked. He could tell something was wrong by the look on her face, but he knew not to say too much in case the call was from Erebus.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine. So, what did you decide on for tonight?” Mac tried to change the subject.

  “She’s making me watch some love story, but I have to admit it’s not too bad.” Rick chuckled, before taking another drink of his tea.

  “Hey, how about some of that sweet potato pie we have left over from Thanksgiving?” Rick said with a big grin on his face.

  “That sounds great. I always did like sweet potato pie. I hope you have whipped cream to go on top of it,” Mac said, trying to push the memory of the telephone call with Erebus out of her mind.

  “Here Sharon, you relax, I’ll go get it for everybody.”

  “Are you sure? I can help,” Sharon said as she began to stand.

  Mac was glad to have something to do. “That’s not necessary. You sit there and relax. You had to fuss with the girls all day and get them to bed, so the least, I can do, is get the pie.”

  The rest of the evening went uneventfully as they watched the movie and enjoyed the pie. Once the movie was over Mac excused herself and went to bed. “Good night you two love birds, I’m sure you would enjoy some time alone after that movie.”

  Chapter 11

  “Where is he?” Erebus turned the camera to scan the small room. He had just hung up from his call with Mac and decided to check on the boy, but to his horror, the boy was gone.

  “How did he get out of the room?” Then a horrible thought entered his mind, What if somebody found him?

  “No, that’s impossible. There is no way he was found, unless�
��,” Erebus typed the rewind command for his camera, and what appeared on the screen caused him to explode with rage. As the boy lay unconscious on the floor, Tyrone rushed in to find him. Erebus watched as Tyrone scooped the boy up in his arms, and then ran out the door with him. “What have you done?”

  For the first time in all the years, Erebus had played his game; he was at a loss as to what to do. “This has certainly changed things. Now I must reevaluate this particular move.”

  He thought for a few moments while glaring at the screen. “No problem, as a matter of fact this may work out for the best,” he smiled with anticipation.

  “My Dear Lucinda, let’s see how you handle this new development. I’m sure you will find it extremely motivating,” he laughed as he turned off the monitor.

  ***

  Mac had tossed and turned in her bed for quite some time before she finally fell off to sleep. The day’s events kept replaying in her mind, and she worried that she would not be able to save Joey. She awoke to the sound of the girls giggling in the hallway and Sharon telling them to go get their coats, so they would not be late for church. Mac decided to stay in her room until they left because she knew the girls would want her to go, but she wanted to be alone to think of the best way to handle Erebus.

  She stayed in bed until the house was quiet then she got dressed and walked out to the kitchen to see if there was any coffee left. It surprised her to see Rick sitting at the table reading the Sunday newspaper, and drinking a cup of coffee.

  “Good morning sleepyhead,” Rick grinned. He then folded the paper and laid it on the table. “I was wondering how long you were going to stay in bed.”

  Mac walked to the coffee pot and poured herself some then she sat at the table with Rick. “Well, I hate to confess, but I stayed in there because I didn’t want to go to church, and I knew the girls would want me to go. What are you doing here? I thought you went to church with them.”

  “I normally do, but I figured after your little phone call last night you might need to talk. What’s the asshole want now?” Rick took another sip of his coffee and waited for her reply.

  Mac had hoped she would not have to talk about Erebus this morning, but she had to admit she was relieved Rick stayed behind. “The bastard wanted to let me know how beautiful I looked on the evening news, and how he admired my dedication to my job! You know something; he sure does piss me off! He even had the nerve to act as if he cared about the Afton’s. My God, he’s such a sanctimonious asshole!”

  Rick could see the anger burning in her eyes, and he had to admit he felt the same way. To sit and watch Brian Afton reduced to the empty shell of a man he was yesterday made Rick want to inflict great pain on Erebus.

  “You’re right; he is that and much more. Now, we just need to figure out how to stop him. I called my friend and asked him if he could come and help me tomorrow with the cameras in your apartment. He said he would be honored to help if it meant saving the little boy.”

  Mac took a sip of her coffee and sat for a moment before she spoke again, “Rick, I have the strangest feeling this whole thing is about to change. I can’t explain it, but my gut tells me to keep my eyes open.”

  Rick looked at Mac, unsure of what she meant, and prayed whatever the change was it would be for the good. “Well, if all goes as planned once Erebus realizes he can no longer watch you in your apartment, he’ll come back, and we’ll be able to catch him with our cameras.”

  “I’m praying for that myself; nothing would make me happier than to get that asshole on camera. I hate to think of how many lives he’s destroyed over the years, and how many more he will in the future if we don’t stop him now.” Mac sighed then took another sip of her coffee. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what the Afton’s are going through right now.”

  Rick stood and walked to the refrigerator, “Hey, I’m hungry, how about you? Let’s see what we have in here.”

  Rick opened the door and looked inside. “We have eggs, bacon, and how about some toast to go with those? I hope you don’t mind scrambled eggs because those are the only kind I know how to make.”

  “Scrambled is great. How about I make the toast and a fresh pot of coffee while you cook the eggs and bacon?”

  ***

  It was a long night for Tyrone. He had stayed at Joey’s side all night, praying he would survive. “Please be okay. You need to fight this little guy.”

  Joey looked frail lying in the bed with the IV tube dripping the saline solution into his little arm. The doctor had said he was dehydrated, but for now, they seem to have the fever under control. He also said they would know more once his test results came back, but for now, he seemed to be out of danger.

  The doctor had asked numerous times when Joey’s mother would arrive because the boy kept crying for her in his sleep.

  Tyrone was relieved Joey had remained unconscious most of the time because he knew if Joey was able to tell the hospital staff who he was, all bets were off.

  The sun peeked through the curtains letting Tyrone know it was a new day. He wondered how long he could keep up this charade, and how long it would take before someone recognized Joey as the boy missing on all the news channels.

  He decided to go outside and smoke a cigarette while Joey was still asleep, and before the shift change. Not wanting to disturb Joey, he had turned the ringer off on his cell phone, so once outside; he decided to check if he had missed any calls. It was no surprise when he found two voicemails waiting for him. He held his breath and then dialed voicemail.

  The first call was from Ruth. She wanted to know when he would return to the hospital. She said his grandmother was still in the coma, and he ought to be there when she regained consciousness.

  The second call was from an outraged Erebus. He told Tyrone that he had put his sister’s life in jeopardy by removing the boy from the room. He said if Tyrone wanted to ensure his sister’s safety, he was to return with the boy immediately.

  “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get that done for you,” Tyrone said to himself, pressing the delete button for the message.

  “I’m sorry Jenni, I hope you understand, but I had to bring him here. I just couldn’t let him die on the cold floor with the rats all around him. No one deserves that,” he closed his eyes with the vision of the rats crawling on the frail little body.

  Tyrone smoked his cigarette, watching the people going about their daily lives, wondering what it felt like to have a regular life. For as long as he can remember he had chosen the difficult path and for once, he wanted to do something that would make his grandmother proud. “Gran, please hang on. I’ll be back with you as soon as I can.”

  He put out his cigarette and walked back inside the hospital, but as he walked down the hallway, he noticed a commotion coming from Joey’s room. His heart stopped for a moment, fearing something had gone terribly wrong. Oh my God, what’s going on?

  He ran toward the room, but as he got to the door, he noticed two police officers in the room talking to Joey. He stopped dead in his tracks when a nurse turned, and shouted, “That’s him! That’s the man who brought him in!”

  Tyrone panicked and ran back down the hallway, knocking a nurse to the floor in the process. He knew he had to get away from there before the police captured him. He could hear the yells behind him to stop, but he kept running to the door leading outside to the parking lot.

  There was no warning before the car struck Tyrone, tossing his body in the air like an old rag doll. The last thing, he heard, was the squeal of tires, and a loud thud as he slipped into the darkness.

  ***

  Mac and Rick had finished their breakfast and sat at the table drinking coffee while they waited for Sharon and the girls to return from church. Mac had just taken another sip of her coffee when her cell phone rang.

  “Crap, I sure hope that’s not Erebus. He’s the last person I want to talk to today,” Mac groaned.

  “Hell. You’re kidding! Where is he? Great, I’l
l be there as soon as possible!”

  The look on her face lets Rick know it was good news. “What’s going on?”

  Mac was overjoyed. “They found Joey! He’s in the hospital, but he’s safe. Come on Rick, we need to go!” Mac stood, and ran back to her room to get her sidearm and badge.

  “I’ll leave a note for Sharon, and let her know where we’ve gone. She’ll be thrilled to know the boy is safe,” Rick said breathlessly, as he waited for Mac by the back door.

  “We need to hurry and get to the hospital. I want to be there when Brian and Cheryl arrive,” Mac rushed past him, and out to his truck.

  As Rick backed out of the driveway, she told him what hospital Joey was in, and how he was alert and talking.

  “I can’t believe our luck. What happened, what did they tell you?”

  They said a young, black man had brought Joey in yesterday with a high fever. He had told the hospital staff that he was Joey’s stepfather, and his mother was out of town. Nobody was the wiser, until this morning during the shift change when a nurse recognized Joey from the news reports, and she immediately notified the authorities.”

  “What happened to the guy who brought him to the hospital? Did they arrest him?” Rick was thrilled this case was finally over.

  “Apparently he was outside when the police showed up and as he came back to the room, he noticed all the commotion. He tried to run, but a car stuck him in the hospital parking lot, and he’s now in intensive care. They’re not sure if he’ll survive, so I hope we get to question him soon.” Mac knew this guy was not Erebus, but she wondered how he was involved. “How far are we from there, Rick?”

  “We should be there in about fifteen minutes. Mac, this guy isn’t Erebus, is he?”

  “No, he’s not and I hate to think how angry this will make him. Joey was his pawn to use against me, so I have to admit I’m worried what he may end up doing because of this.”

  Mac tried to remain calm because she knew this was no time to show fear. The Afton’s needed to know they had nothing more to worry about, and they would be able to go on with their lives as normal.