Loving the Rain

by Jeff LaFerney

***

  Jessie stepped into the room and right into the arms of her boyfriend. The motel was a dump, but she didn’t care; she just wanted to see John and be held by him. The morning conversation with Clay and the kidnapping of Tanner had her needing some comfort, someone to make her feel secure.

  “What’s wrong?” John asked.

  “No questions right now. Just hold me. I need you to hold me,” and Jessie kissed him. She pressed herself hard against him, taking a break only to whisper, “I want you.”

  John led her to the bed, even as they kissed, and lowered her to the mattress edge. Jessie gave no resistance as he undressed her. John took complete control of the situation, something that Jessie found especially exciting. She gave herself to him completely and willingly, and he took full advantage of the passion of the beautiful woman on the bed beneath him.

  ***

  When they had finished and Jessie was as physically spent as she was emotionally, she began to weep. John was a little unsure of what to make of the tears, but he went to her and put his arms around her. “Do you want to talk?”

  Jessie grabbed her underwear, broke away, and went to the bathroom to rinse her face and regain her composure. When she returned to the room, John was sitting on the bed, fully dressed. Jessie sat in the chair opposite the bed. She needed to talk, to talk to someone she could trust, so she decided to start right in.

  “I kicked Clay out this morning…told him I wasn’t sure I loved him anymore.”

  John resisted the urge to smile. “Did something happen?”

  “He’s been lying to me, lying for over 20 years. He says he didn’t want to hurt me, that he loves me, but I just can’t accept that. Not right now. Not with you in the picture.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Explain…please.”

  “There was a message on our machine Tuesday. It was from some neuroscientist at U of M. He said something about an MRI. Clay never told me about an MRI, and when I confronted him, he wanted to avoid the topic. I pushed him, wouldn’t let it go. He told me that he was meeting to have some questions answered about his ‘mind-control’ powers, powers that Tanner supposedly has too. The MRI was a test the doctor ran.”

  “Hold on now. You’re saying your husband believes he can control people’s minds?”

  “Says he’s been able to do it since he was a kid. He says Tanner has been able to do it for just a few months, but he’s better at it than Clay.”

  John felt an anger building up inside him. “That manipulative jerk! He’s been able to manipulate,” he paused to get control, “to manipulate you your whole life? Do you believe it?”

  “He claims he’s used the power on me one time. One time only.”

  “But he’s had this ‘power’ since he was a kid?” John seemed to be having a hard time getting a grasp on what she was saying, but at the same time, he seemed to be getting angry.

  Jessie was looking into his eyes, and she didn’t like what she was seeing. There was a fierce anger there, anger above and beyond what she had expected. She had a quick flashback to Carlee warning her about his temper. She had just made love to him, and now he was scaring her.

  “What is it, John?”

  “He’s been manipulating people his whole life! Who knows how many times he’s gotten into people’s heads! Who knows what kind of havoc he has wreaked in his lifetime! He may have even told you to love him, for all you know.”

  Seeing him angry like this made her feel compelled to defend Clay. “I don’t think so. He says he didn’t. He seemed sincere. I want to believe him.”

  “He doesn’t love you, Jessie. He doesn’t love you like I do.” He walked to Jessie and grabbed her; he pulled her out of the chair and started kissing her. But there was still that anger in his eyes. Jessie tried to pull away. He grabbed her arms and squeezed too tightly.

  “You’re hurting me. Stop!”

  “Tell me you love me, Jessie. Tell me you love me!”

  “You’re hurting me. Let go!”

  She jerked away, and John released her. Jessie had kicked a man out of her house who loved her, a man that had the power to make her love him back, and yet he claimed he never did, that he would never take her choice away. And now she was in a motel room with another man, someone whose arms she’d run to, someone she thought she was falling in love with, and he was telling her to love him. He was angry, and he was scaring her. “What has gotten into you? I can’t tell you that, not right now. I can’t believe you would try to make me say it.” She started gathering the rest of her clothes up, and then she headed for the bathroom and locked the door. She began to cry again. She thought that she heard the motel room door open and close, and after waiting for other sounds, she was convinced that John had left the room. She finished dressing, reapplied some make-up, and opened the door. The room was empty.

  ***

  Pete Piggott had waited outside the motel room for nearly an hour and a half and was getting hungry. Just as he began to wonder if the motel office might let him use their restroom, the door to room twelve opened, and Pete’s hairs literally stood on end. Pete, while working at Harding Metals, had come across some pretty shady people, some pretty bad people. He knew some people in the city of Flint that he would have been shocked to find were having an affair with someone as fine as Jessie Thomas, but the one person who would have shocked him the most was standing outside the Super 8 Motel, room number 12, right then. Pete snapped several pictures. The man drove away, and eventually Jessie Thomas exited the room. He had his hand in his coat pocket, feeling the metal of the .22 caliber handgun as he watched to make sure she safely got in her car. As she pulled away, Pete followed temporarily, just to be sure she got away from the motel safely. By doing so, Private Eye Pete never saw a different man enter the vacated motel room. He was carrying a small bag, and he had a camera hanging from his neck.

  CHAPTER 27

  Pete went to Walmart to print the pictures and then began calling Carlee. After many hours and several attempts, at eight o’clock that evening, he finally got an answer. Heather answered the phone. She explained that her mother was at the hospital, and she gave Piggott her mom’s cell phone number.

  Carlee answered the phone on the second ring. “Hello.”

  “Carlee, it’s Pete. One of the twins gave…”

  “They’re not twins, Pete.”

  “Well, one of your daughters gave me your number ’cause I’ve been tryin’ to reach you all day. Said you were at the hospital. You all right?”

  “I’m okay. Mark’s not in such good shape.”

  “What happened?”

  “Well, he was working in the garage—more heaters and lights and saws and what not going at the same time than you can imagine. He didn’t just trip a breaker, he literally completely blew the fuse for the garage. So now the garage door opener doesn’t work. I needed to get my car out, so Mark lifted the door manually for me. He was just standing there, and it crashed back down right on top of his head. Knocked him completely unconscious. He fell, and then the door fell on his leg and trapped him on the floor. By the time we got the door up and Mark pulled away, he was conscious but pretty woozy. I brought him to emergency to check for brain damage. Figured he had a cracked skull and a broken leg, but all he has,” she said sarcastically, “is another large knot on his head and a minor concussion. The leg is fine too. Maybe it knocked some sense into ’im, though. Sure hope so, anyway. He thinks he’s Tim the Toolman and acts just like him…. You ever gonna have some news for me?”

  “Yeah, I got some all right. I got some pics to show you. You’re not gonna be happy. When can I bring them to you?”

  “We’re gonna be here a while, I think, so bring them over sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Do you want me to keep following her?”

  “Do you think you need to?”

  “You asked me to find out what she’s doin’ and who she’s doin’ it with. I got that figured out.”

  “Then you
can stop. Call me tomorrow at home.”

  ***

  Clay stayed late and was going to have to spend the night in his office. He’d see Jessie at Tanner’s game the next day for sure, but he hoped for another chance to talk to her before then. He was worried who John was and what was going on, but whether Jessie had strayed or not, he knew he would love her anyway. He wanted their relationship to be right, so if Jessie could choose to love him back, he would certainly overlook anything she had done wrong. He had been able to forgive her before, so he knew he could do it again.

  Before the evening was over, however, Clay began to feel incredibly anxious and unsure of himself, so he decided to give Tanner a call. He explained to Tanner about his trip to U of M and his meeting with Dr. Frauss. He tried as best as he could to explain about the research that Frauss had done in the field of parapsychology. He told about the medulla oblongata, and the theory that their traumatic childbirths had opened their medullas to some extra sensory abilities. While most of the human race cannot control those abilities, somehow Clay and Tanner could. Clay explained that there are other abilities beyond mind control like ESP or telekinesis or clairvoyance, among others. He believed that Tanner had experienced some sort of clairvoyance when he found the house. “I believe I’ve experienced at least two examples of telepathy—I’ve read a person’s mind. Dr. Frauss theorizes that our powers are improving and expanding because we are close to each other.”

  Tanner accepted the explanation without question. That was the easy part of the conversation. The hard part was to come. “Dr. Frauss called the house on Tuesday. He left a message and your mother started asking questions. I had to tell her, Tanner. She knows.”

  “Did she freak out?”

  “She threw me out of the house. She figures I’ve been lying to her our whole marriage. She figures I’ve been manipulating her for 20 years.”

  “You told me you haven’t! Didn’t you tell her?”

  “Of course, but she wasn’t listening. Remember when I told you about the girlfriend in high school that I made like me? There was no joy in that. I vowed I’d never do that again. If someone loves me, I want to know that they love me of their own volition. I swear to you, Tanner. I’ve never forced her to love me.”

  “She’ll get over it, Dad. It’s a lot to take in. You were right when you said that these powers in a way were a curse. I’m starting to understand what you’ve gone through your whole life.”

  “I’ve been praying it’ll all work out. Maybe you should too. I’m going to try to drop by the house tomorrow after you leave for your game. Maybe she’ll talk to me again tomorrow. I’ll let you go, Tanner. Good night…and it sure is nice talking to someone.”

  “It’s nice talkin’ to you too, Dad. G’night.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Pete called Carlee Friday afternoon after getting a little bit of sleep. She was home and asked him to stop over. He put his gun, illegal activity as it was, back in his coat pocket. He no longer felt comfortable without it. He gathered his pictures up and headed for Carlee’s, arriving about 15 minutes after the phone call.

  “How’s ‘Tim the Toolman’?” Pete asked, showing only the second hint of humor that anyone’s ever recognized.

  “Sleepin’ like a baby. Finally, peace in the house for a change. Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Coffee’d be good if ya got it. Got a brutal headache.”

  They continued some small talk while Carlee poured a cup for her cousin. Eventually they got down to business. “So what’d you find out?”

  Pete extracted the pictures from the photo envelope and returned her camera. “Took these yesterday afternoon.”

  After flipping through the photos, she asked, “You think she’s having an affair with this guy?”

  “I know I missed a couple a meets. This is the first time I got evidence. She drove up alone, made that call…” He pointed to a picture. “Then she got out the car and walked right into room 12.” He pointed to another picture. “Was in the room for an hour 20, maybe an hour and a half, and then he walked out of the room.” He pointed to yet another picture. She walked out after him maybe five minutes later.”

  “You told me I wasn’t going to be happy. You know this guy?”

  “Yeah, I know him all right, and it’s not good news. He’s a crook. He’s controlling and selfish and mean and as lowdown bad as a man can get. Can’t see what a babe like that would see in him.”

  “What’s his name, and who is he?”

  So Pete told her.

  ***

  Carlee called Jessie. There was no answer at home because she was back at work again, and her cell went directly to voicemail. Carlee simply told her, “Jessie, we need to talk about your boyfriend. It’s an emergency. Call me back.” Pete Piggott had told Carlee to keep her 200 bucks. He didn’t want any more part of the craziness. He was truly worried about Jessie, and that had scared Carlee.

  ***

  After wasting time around the office, Clay called Jessie’s cell phone as well. No answer—straight to voicemail. His message was, “I’ve talked to Tanner and told him what we talked about yesterday. Please let me talk to you before the game tonight. I love you, Jessie.”

  ***

  John also called Jessie late in the afternoon. He called her prepaid phone, however, and left a message. “I’m very sorry about getting angry yesterday. There’s no excuse. I have something special to give to you if you would meet me. I know your son has a game tonight. Please come by my office after the game, so we can talk again. Yesterday should have been very special—actually part of it was very special. I’d like a chance to redeem myself. Please come after the basketball game.”

  ***

  The University of Michigan head basketball coach called Clay at his office and identified himself.

  “Hi, Coach. I appreciate the call. What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted you to know that we’re very impressed with Tanner, impressed enough that we’re giving a lot of thought to offering him a scholarship. We think he’d fit into our system nicely, and our point guard is graduating. We’ll be needing a replacement, and we think Tanner’s a good candidate. Do you think we could set up an appointment to get together with your family and Tanner? Just to talk. Get to know each other better.”

  “Sure, Coach. I’m sure we can arrange that. I think Tanner would be really interested in meeting with you.”

  So they set up a meeting time. Not everything was going wrong in their lives. Big Ten, Division 1, full-ride…it was exciting to think about.

  ***

  Detective Hutchinson was accumulating evidence. First Financial Credit Union owned the house that Tanner had identified. It had been a rental house starting about five years back that went unoccupied for close to a year. Then approximately four years ago, the owner, with no rental income, simply turned the house over to the bank to get out from under the debt. The house, Hutch discovered, was a foreclosed property that had been sitting unsold for nearly four years. However, the name of the previous owner raised some eyebrows.

  It wasn’t easy, but someone on the investigative team who had more techno-smarts than Hutch also managed to get some interesting information from phone records. Based on the exact location and the exact time of the call—which Tanner had pinpointed when he made his 9-1-1 call—the detective was able to determine that the kidnapper’s outgoing call came from a prepaid phone purchased in Inkster, Michigan. The cell-phone provider was Arch Wireless Holdings. The interesting discovery was to whom the call went. It was to the same person that had turned over the rental property to the bank, Jack Harding. It was a five-second call—probably plenty of time to say, “We got ’im.”

  The Burton and Flint Police Departments already had their eyes on Jack Harding. Could he be a kidnapper? Sure. Jack was suspected of illegal gun sales and illegal gambling activities. They were certain he was involved in loan sharking, but they hadn’t been able to pin charges on him yet. According to the I
RS, his books always seemed to stand up to their scrutiny. Hutch’s opinion was that Jack Harding was capable of just about anything. Maybe they had finally caught a break and could nail him for kidnapping. The big question was why would he be involved in a kidnapping? Maybe Clay Thomas would have an idea.

  Since it was Friday, Hutch decided he would head to Flint Southwestern Academy for the basketball game that evening. He’d been hearing that Tanner Thomas was one of the top players around, maybe even around the whole state. He could take in the game and then talk with Clay Thomas to see if there could possibly be any motive for Jack Harding to kidnap his son, Tanner.

  ***

  Clay tried Jessie’s cell phone one more time, and again, it went straight to her voicemail. Once he was sure that Tanner was gone, he drove toward home, hoping that Jessie would be there. When he saw her car in the garage, he had second thoughts, and he started to wonder what to do. He finally decided to head into the house, and he prayed for wisdom. What could he possibly say to her to make things right?

  CHAPTER 29

  When Clay entered the house, Jessie looked up at him, surprised. She had been crying. Clay felt sorrow that he should cause her any grief. He wanted desperately to make things right.

  “Hi, Honey,” he said softly. “Are you all right?”

  Immediately, Jessie began crying again. Clay wanted to go to her, but he held back and waited. Jessie’s green eyes were always so expressive, and what they suggested as Clay gently looked at her was guilt.

  “Clay…you said that you only manipulated my mind one time?”

  “Just in the hospital that one time. That’s the truth, Jessie. I wish you would forgive me.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  Clay took a deep breath. “You were so distraught about what might happen to Tanner and about not being able to get pregnant again. I hated seeing you that way. You said it was your fault. You were blaming yourself, and I didn’t want you to feel that guilt the rest of your life.”