Moments of Reckoning

by Savannah Stewart

  This side of Matthew was terrifying. He was furious, reckless, and hysterical all at once. He slammed himself against the cage numerous times and pounded his fists against the side table as I sat on the mattress curled up in a ball against the wall. My body was shaking as tears raced down my cheeks. His parents had died…Matthew was flipping out again because of seeing me and I didn’t know if I could help him anymore.

  My sobbing was uncontrollable now as Matthew continued to curse, kick the cage, and slam his fist against the table. I knew there was nothing I could say to make him calm down and it broke my heart. Closing my eyes I pushed my palms into them as hard as I could as Matthew began to speak again through gritted teeth.

  “I. Have. Got. To. Get. Out. Of. Here. Before. I. Hurt. You.”

  The cage door slammed followed by the warehouse door. The vehicle outside roared to life as I heard it speeding away. Matthew was gone while I was left alone and broken.

  Chapter 19

  Jason

  Today was Friday. The day most people looked forward to, because it meant the end of the work week. But to me, Friday was a reminder of losing Hannah. Every day I hoped and prayed to hear something—anything—that helped the case. But nothing ever came.

  The trip to the station a week and a half ago with Elliot was a bust. He gave Detective Cooper a bunch of information regarding a guy, by the name of Matthew Jones, who used to be in Hannah’s life years ago. But nothing much has come from it so far. Not to mention, a few days after the trip to the station Elliot had called to tell me that the sketch artist couldn’t get much from the witnesses due to the fact that they were too far away when they saw the incident in the alley. They did happen to get a pretty good sketch of the old truck he was driving though. He also informed me that Detective Cooper did some research into Matthew and his parent’s lives. Apparently the parents had died in a car accident a few years before he was released from the institution they had placed him in. Matthew, on the other hand, was harder to find, but Detective Cooper said he would not stop until he knew his current whereabouts. Pretty much we were batting zero yet again.

  Since I had decided to drop all my classes this semester I had nothing to do with my time. Elliot had offered me Hannah’s position at his practice until we found her, but I couldn’t bring myself to take it. He offered it to me because he needed the help and he knew I was going stir crazy sitting at home most of the time. I still turned him down because it seemed too personal—almost like making her rescue something that would never happen. But I knew it would happen. If I had to die trying to find her, I would.

  Xavier had called me earlier in the day to see if I wanted to grab a few beers tonight. I danced around the topic until he told me to call him later and let him know. After hanging up I had forced myself to hit the gym, where I overworked myself, and now found myself back home with nothing on my agenda.

  The news was on the television as I made myself a sandwich in the kitchen. Since the floor plan was pretty open in this smaller home, I could see the TV perfectly from the island in the kitchen. I pulled a soda from the fridge and sat down at the table. In the midst of devouring my sandwich I noticed Detective Cooper standing at a podium about to give a speech. Curiosity was killing this cat. I walked into the living room and picked up the remote so I could turn up the volume and hear what he was about to say. The camera then cut to the journalist covering the newscast.

  “Detective Cooper has been handling the case of missing college student, Hannah Davis. Hannah is the daughter of renowned psychologist Elliot Davis and his wife Lisa Davis. Hannah has been missing for three weeks with no leads regarding her whereabouts. San Diego Police Department announced only a half an hour ago that they would be holding this press conference regarding new information in the case. In just a few moments we will hear from Detective Cooper himself.”

  “There were new leads in the case?! Why the hell hasn’t Elliot told me!” the anger poured from my voice as I spoke to myself.

  “First, I would like to thank all of you for coming together so quickly for this press conference. As you know, Hannah Davis has been missing for three weeks now. We have gone over quite a bit of information from witnesses and people who have called into the hotline we have set up. Currently we are working on a couple of possible leads. The main reason we called this press conference together is to help us find an individual who may know something regarding Hannah’s disappearance.” Holding up a photograph, Detective Cooper continued on. “We are asking anyone who knows the whereabouts of this man, Matthew Jones, to please let us know. If anyone see’s him, please—and I repeat—please call the hotline which should be listed at the bottom of the screen as soon as possible. He is not viewed as a threat, so DO NOT take action into your own hands. We are simply just asking to speak with him regarding Hannah’s disappearance.”

  “What…the hell…just happened,” I muttered out loud. Stomping back into the kitchen I snatched my phone off the table and angrily pushed Elliot’s name in my recent calls list.

  “I had a feeling you would be calling me, Jason.” Elliot spoke calmly.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about the press conference, Elliot?”

  “It happened so fast, son; I didn’t have the chance to tell you before it was going live.”

  “Well what the hell is going on Elliot?!” my voice rose with aggravation.

  “First things first, calm down. I know you’re upset with me and I’m sorry you had to find out about the press conference the way you did. When I received the call from Detective Cooper regarding new information it was a short time before the press conference was about to air. Trying to get things situated left me with no time to call you before it went live. Detective Cooper said that the description of the truck from the two witnesses could possibly be tied to the vehicle Matthew was last seen driving a few months back. The witnesses couldn’t give an exact description on the color—; they did, however, say it was a darker color, but the make was around a 1970-1980 Ford F250 crew cab. Matthew was last seen in a truck very similar to the one described. This alone is enough to bring him in for questioning—if they can find him. There hasn’t been any trace of his whereabouts, unfortunately, which is why Detective Cooper jumped on the chance to get his name and face out there.”

  Holy shit! Matthew might actually be Hannah’s kidnapper… I couldn’t believe what Elliot was telling me.

  “We are closer than we have been, this is good, Elliot! This is good.”

  “Yes it is, son, really good!”

  “Sorry for…uhm…freaking out like I did. When it comes to Hannah, I can’t seem to control how I am feeling about everything. My nerves are shot; my mind is always in a craze, and I just can’t seem to control how I handle things right now.”

  I felt better confessing how I have been handling things to Elliot because I knew he understood completely. Not just because he is a psychologist, but simply because his daughter is the one missing.

  “It’s fine, Jason. I understand completely what you are going through. Remember, I am here if you want to talk about it. It might just help you cope.”

  Beep… Beep…

  Glancing at my phone I saw Abby’s name flash across the screen.

  “Thanks, Elliot, I really do appreciate it. A call is coming in. I should probably take it, it’s Abby.”

  “I’m sure she just witnessed the press conference herself. You can tell her everything I told you, just please keep it as quiet as you can because Detective Cooper didn’t want all this information out there. He is afraid that it might cause Matthew to disappear altogether and we can’t afford for that to happen.”

  “Yes, sir. Talk to you soon.”

  For the next half an hour I explained everything Elliot had told me to Abby. She was upset just as I was about how we found out about the press conference—during it—but her attitude changed quickly. She was in shock about Matthew being Hannah’s possible kidnapper. Apparently Hannah had mentioned Matthew to her over th
e years, which kind of pissed me off, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Abby told me that she was having dinner with the Davis’ tonight so I decided to take Xavier up on his offer of having a few beers.

  ∙∞∙

  “Let’s get another pitcher!” Xavier yelled over the music as he slapped me across the back.

  We had been at the bar for well over three hours and saying that we were sloshed is an understatement. I lost count of how many pitchers we had run through at that point and another one sounded like a horribly—great idea. I agreed to another pitcher and Xavier leaned across the bar to the bartender and asked for one.

  “Fellas…Do you really think that is a good idea? I know you aren’t causing any trouble but you’ve had five pitchers between the two of you at this point and I don’t want to have to call somebody to come get you when you pass out on my bar,” the bartender smiled sweetly at us as she threw a hand towel over her shoulder.

  That was all Xavier needed to turn on his charm.

  “Come on now, darling…We are just two guys here trying to let off some steam. What is another pitcher going to hurt?” he replied with his usual “panty-dropping smile” while leaning in closer to the bartender and brushing his hand across hers.

  There’s the old Xavier I know so well…To my surprise the bartender fell for Xavier’s antics and slid another pitcher across the bar to us.

  “Thanks…” Xavier arrogantly said with a wink at the bartender.

  Xavier has always been a player but since Abby came along and drop-kicked him on his ass I hadn’t seen this side of him in a while. Seeing him acting like this again caused me to roll my eyes and want to punch him for being such a jackass.

  “What the hell was that, man?!” the annoyance in my tone was obvious.

  “What was what?”

  “Flirting with the bartender…I thought you were a one girl kind of man now, since Abby came into the picture.”

  Pouring beer into both of our fresh mugs, Xavier let out a laugh before setting the pitcher back down on the bar. Looking straight ahead, he sighed before replying to me.

  “You know…I never thought I would be a one girl kind of man. But Abby has made me that way now, huh? I seriously think I am in love with her.”

  That comment had my mouth hitting the floor but before I could say a word Xavier turned to me and put his hand up to stop me from talking.

  “Me, actually in love with someone...How fucked up is that? I can’t seem to understand it myself but Abby has changed me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still notice beautiful women—like the bartender over there—and when I drink I tend to shadow some of my old ways. Just don’t take that as me being the old Xavier. That guy was a womanizing dickhead and I will be the first to admit that.”

  “Damn, Xavier…I never thought I would ever hear you say any of that. I’m happy for you, man.”

  And with that, we got up from the bar—and made our way outside to flag down a cab.

  ∙∞∙

  Spending a night out drinking with Xavier was exactly what I needed. I couldn’t remember the last conversation I had had that didn’t bring me close to tears due to Hannah’s disappearance, but last night I managed to feel a little like my old self. Waking up at my own place was bittersweet. I had been spending so much time over at Abby’s with her and Xavier that I hadn’t crashed here much. Now I could see why—the silence was deafening.

  Another day filled with nothing was before me. Xavier mentioned me spending the day with Abby and him but I felt like I constantly invaded their privacy anymore so I declined his offer. Times like these made me hate being so far away from my mom and sister. They lived half way across the country in a small town outside of Charlestown, Missouri. Not long after my mom caught my father cheating on her when I was a freshman in high school, she packed up and moved in with my older sister, Elizabeth. Realizing that I couldn’t remember the last time I had spoken to my mom I picked up my cell off the coffee table and tapped my finger on her photo icon.

  “Hey, baby boy, how are you?”

  “Hey, momma…I’m doing alright I guess. How are you and Elizabeth?”

  “Oh, honey, we are wonderful! I’ve been keeping up with Hannah’s case through the media. Jason, how are you honestly doing? I know the two of you were inseparable.”

  Letting out a sigh I told her everything that the media had and hadn’t reported. She was just as shocked as everyone else who knew about the Matthew situation. I even confessed about the night in the alleyway with Hannah and how I told her I loved her finally.

  “Baby boy, I knew you loved Hannah the first time I saw you two together. That spark in your eyes wasn’t hidden very well from your mother.” I could hear the amusement in her voice. “They will find her, darling; you just have to stay strong until they do.”

  “Thanks, momma. I don’t know why I hadn’t called you sooner. I’ve missed your insight on things.”

  “I had a feeling you were a pretty busy man right now Jason, so I left you be. I knew when the time was right I would hear from you and as you can see, your mother was right.”

  The smile in her voice was obvious. My momma was a wonderful woman; I just wished we lived closer to one another, since I had no relationship with my father anymore. He is a big reason why I never went down the path Xavier had. After seeing what he put my family through I knew I could never be that kind of man.

  “Tell Elizabeth that I love her and miss her. I’ll talk to you soon, momma, love you.”

  “I sure will. Love you too, baby boy, take care of yourself.”

  “I will. Bye, momma.”

  “Bye, darling.”

  The remainder of the morning was spent with me lying on the couch falling in and out of consciousness due to the slight hangover I was rocking from all that draft beer the night before with Xavier. I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep when my cell phone started ringing off the hook. I managed to ignore it the first two times it rang without even as much as glancing at the screen to see who it was, but as the third time rolled around I knew I better answer it.

  “Hello?”

  “Jason! Where the hell have you been!? We’ve been trying to reach you!”

  “What!? Calm down, Abby! What the hell is going on?”

  “They may have found Matthew!!! The police called the Davis’ while Xavier and I were over there about half an hour ago. They said someone had seen a truck that looked like the one described in the press conference with a man who looked a lot like Matthew driving it.” Elliot and Lisa are on their way down to the station because Detective Cooper took some officers out to investigate the spotting.”

  “You’re kidding!? Where are you and Xavier now?”

  “About to pull in your driveway! Get your ass in gear and come on!”

  “I’ll be out in a second…”

  Jumping up from the couch, my phone landed on the floor as I sprinted down the hall and into my room to change.

  ∙∞∙

  “Jason, will you please sit down…You’ve been pacing the floor for almost thirty minutes now,” Abby begged.

  “The Davis’ and Detective Cooper have been back in his office long enough. When are they going to tell us something?” I complained while running my hand over and over through my hair.

  “Come on man, sit down…They should be out anytime. Plus I’m almost positive you’re about to wear a hole through the tile,” Xavier chimed in.

  We had been sitting at the San Diego Police Department for over an hour. Detective Cooper, along with a few other officers, had come in almost half an hour earlier. Without saying a damn word to us, he pulled Hannah’s parents, Elliot and Lisa, into his office and shut the door. I was about to lose my damn mind if they didn’t come out soon and tell us what was going on. About that time the door to Detective Cooper’s office opened and out stepped a very distraught Lisa Davis. The look on her face was like a hard punch to the gut.

  Please don’t tell me they found her body…
<
br />   One of the officers took the Davis’ into the conference room across the hall as Detective Cooper made his way over to us.

  “Can you all please follow me into the conference room right down the hall?” He spoke with little emotion, which was never a good sign.

  I looked back at Abby and Xavier, who looked as frightened as I felt. My stomach was turning upside down and I felt like I could lose my lunch on the shiny white tile floor in front of me any second. The ringing in my ears drowned out the noises around me, leaving my heavy breathing as my main focus. Turning into the doorway of the conference room I locked eyes with Elliot who gave me a sad smile that didn’t touch his eyes. I instantly knew we weren’t about to receive good news.

  “There is some water at the back of the room if anyone would like a glass and feel free to sit wherever you’d like.”

  Skipping the water, I sat down in the first seat I could find. Abby and Xavier followed suit and sat next to me with Lisa and Elliot on the other side of Xavier.

  “As you all know, earlier today we received a tip about a truck that was possibly Matthew’s. I had sent a couple officers out to investigate the tip and found that the truck was indeed the same make and model as the one the witnesses gave us previously. It was parked outside a local bar on the outskirts of downtown. Instead of entering the bar I had the officers hang back and surveillance the truck in hopes that the driver would exit the bar shortly after. A few hours passed before we sent an undercover officer inside with a photo of Matthew. After scanning the inside perimeter he realized Matthew was not within the establishment even though the truck was still in the parking lot. The officer showed Matthew’s photo to the bartenders on duty and they did identify that he was in the bar not long before the officers showed up. The bartenders said they stopped serving him because he was carrying on a conversation with himself and was soon distraught over something. Apparently he had seen the police car and escaped out the exit by the restrooms without being noticed by the officers. He must have either traveled by foot or caught a cab because we canvassed the area in a four block radius and found nothing. After the crime scene investigators arrived they searched the vehicle and found the handbag Hannah had been carrying the night she went missing. Unfortunately, this is all we have right now. Matthew is our prime suspect now and we will stop at nothing to bring him in and locate Hannah.”