The Kidnapping

by Aiden Vaughan

  “Just thinking about all of the things that happened in the past month reminds me how horrible it is to be a victim of violent crime. You remember what it did to me. And I was a lucky one. I had good family support and a network of friends that were there for me. I learned how important that was in my recovery and in my general wellbeing. I’m sure not all victims are as lucky as I was. I think I would like to focus on providing help to those victims, whether it is counseling services, sending them to a summer camp or someplace where they could meet new friends, or getting them involved in art or music—something to relieve the pain that they will all experience.”

  “That’s another terrific idea, Jason. I think you are starting to get the hang of this philanthropy thing.”

  The two continued to throw out ideas, and jot them on the white board. Then Jason copied the ideas onto Daniel’s computer and emailed it to himself.

  * * *

  That evening the Hunters went out to a fine Italian restaurant to celebrate. Just like Daniel, Edith Hunter was totally astounded by what happened that day. But she quickly recovered and got into a party mood. Later, when they had returned home, Jason told them what he was thinking about doing with the incredible amount of money that had just come his way. “I think that it’s great that you want to give the money away,” his mom said. “I’m really proud of you for putting your friends and family ahead of money and material gain.”

  “I know it isn’t going to be as simple as you think to deal with all of the details,” his dad added, “but I think that your great-grandfather would have been pleased with your intentions.”

  CHAPTER 40

  MR. CONNOR’S GIFT

  (The Next Day, Tuesday)

  The next morning, Jason spent some time taking the notes he had emailed to himself and organized them into a presentation that he could discuss with Mr. Chalmers. He called the attorney on his cell phone and set up a meeting for 11:00 a.m.

  He called Joe Connor after finding his telephone number by calling information. “Good morning, Mr. Connor, this is Jason Hunter calling. I’m sorry I haven’t called you sooner. As you probably have heard, many of the things we discussed at our previous meeting have resulted in the solving of my kidnapping case and the arrest of the criminals involved. Daniel and I never have gotten around to properly thanking you and were wondering if we could meet with you this afternoon? Would two work? All right, see you then.”

  After his work was done, Jason took some time to do his fitness exercises. Promptly at 11:00 a.m. the doorbell rang and Jason opened the door and invited Mr. Chalmers in. The attorney was much more casually dressed today in a polo shirt, tan slacks, and running shoes. Jason commented, “I see our California lifestyle has gotten to you already, Mr. Chalmers.”

  “I don’t have any formal appointments today, other than this one, so why not be more relaxed and comfortable. I figured you might feel a little more comfortable, yourself, if I didn’t appear as such a formidable attorney.”

  “You are seeing my dress code for the summer. The only difference in winter is I wear jeans and a hoody. Dressing up for me is nicer pants and maybe a sweater. I think it’s great to be more relaxed. Let’s go into the dining room. I think it will be easier to work at the table in there.”

  After they sat down, Jason presented Mr. Chalmers with a copy of his proposals for using the money from the sale of the diamonds. He tried to make it as clear as possible how he didn’t want the money to become a burden on his lifestyle or a barrier between himself and his friends. “As for the setup of the foundation, I am thinking about calling it the ‘Whatever Foundation,’ with the idea that the foundation would be designed to assist a crime victim or other person they wished to help, with whatever was needed, not something that fit a formula.”

  “I like your ideas about keeping this simple, and especially your own life. I’ve seen so many clients get totally bogged down in financial issues and worries. Your statement that you don’t want the money to be a burden on you or a barrier between you and your friends is surprising to me, because it is such a mature approach to life. That is a sophisticated attitude for an adult to have and quite rare I would think for a teenager.”

  “The events of the past month have forced me to examine my life and figure out what was really important to me. You can’t buy true friends and you only have one family. Plus I now know the pain and agony of being a crime victim.”

  “You have given me some good directions to go on. I am going to work up some foundation plans for you, talk to your accountant, and then I think the three of us should meet tomorrow. I will call you to set that up first thing tomorrow morning.”

  * * *

  After Mr. Chalmers left, Jason called Daniel. “I’ve set up a meeting with Mr. Connor this afternoon. We never did thank him for what he did for us, plus I want to run some of this foundation idea by him. Let’s do another ‘mall visit.’ ”

  It was roughly 2:00 p.m. when Jason and Daniel knocked on Mr. Connor’s door. The door opened and Mr. Connor greeted them, “Hi, Jason and Daniel. Good to see you again! Please come in and make yourselves at home.” After they were seated in the living room Joe continued, “I see from the news media that the two of you were quite successful as detectives. I would appreciate hearing an update about what happened.”

  Jason and Daniel took turns telling Joe how, after their meeting with him, they applied his approach to solving the ‘who and why’ of the case. They went through the entire sequence of events starting with what the criminals were really after in Bill Hunter’s safe deposit box and ending with the discovery of the kidnappers at the Encino duplex, their confrontation with them, and the arrival of help from Chauncey, his three friends, and the police.

  “You two are amazing. I hope you realize how lucky you were at the end there. Your kidnappers revealed themselves to you as true predators. That had to be really scary, especially for you, Jason. It’s interesting to me how the two of you ended up acting like some of the other agents I worked with. Many times their daring actions would break open a case, or get our mission accomplished with their individual bravery. A few times, however, the agents ended up dead. Like I said, you guys were lucky. I do like the fact that you remembered at least to have some sort of backup before you went charging into their hideout.”

  “If it wasn’t for you, Joe, we probably wouldn’t have figured out all those things so fast. That’s one reason why we wanted to drop by today, to thank you again for helping us get started.”

  “You two are certainly welcome and you did exactly what I asked you to do, which was to leave my name completely out of the investigation. So you don’t owe me anything.”

  “Joe, there’s now more to this story,” Jason said.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Joe said with a chuckle.

  “Yesterday the elusive treasure that the kidnappers were looking for suddenly appeared and was dropped into my hands. Due to the plotting and cleverness of my great-grandfather, sixty years ago, I am now the owner of over $100,000,000 in diamonds!” Jason then explained more about what had happened yesterday.

  “Jason, what a roller coaster ride your life has been lately! I sure hope you don’t get sucked into the whole money thing, with its associated power, arrogance, and loss of creativity and soul. You are such a nice person now—open, enthusiastic, friendly, and respectful of others. I would hate to see that changed into smug laziness and lack of ambition!”

  “I don’t want to change, Joe. I am very content with the carefree life of a normal teenager. I had just finally regained it and then this comes along! I am committed to giving away the money through a charitable foundation being set up for me. I would like to help other teenagers that have been victims, like myself, but don’t have the same wonderful support from family and friends that I did. And I am here today to ask for your help in this endeavor. You have such a good mind for determining the truth about things and whether people are lying or not.

  “After my experien
ce with the kidnappers, I know that there are criminals and scam artists who specialize in trying to manipulate people’s minds and bilk people out of their money. I’m sure their targets include charitable foundations. I would like you to serve as a consultant for my foundation. I want you to be the fresh pair of eyes looking at the stories that people will submit asking for money or services. If they can convince you, then I would feel safe giving them the money. Of course, you would be paid for your time, not a lot mind you, but certainly fair compensation for your expenses. I don’t believe this would violate your agreement with the government. What do you say, Joe?”

  “I’m honored that you think so highly of me and I definitely am willing to join your foundation board. Does this mean I get to hang out with the great philanthropist and humanitarian, Jason Hunter?”

  “Of course it does, Joe. I consider you a good friend now!”

  “And will your friend, Daniel, be participating in this also?”

  “Definitely! He’s my great sounding board, conscience, and bubble popper when I get too out there,” Jason said.

  “In that case I am really looking forward to it.”

  Joe continued, “Jason and Daniel, I am glad that you decided to drop by today because I have something for you. You know that I used to run the surplus store and we sold Chuck Taylor shoes. Well, the last year or so I was in business, there were all kinds of rumors that the Converse Company was going bankrupt. I really liked the shoes and wanted to have some to give to my grandchildren. So the last couple of orders from the factory were actually double sized, because I wanted to have them in case they weren’t going to be made again. When I closed the store, I kept all the inventory, plus what I had stashed away earlier.

  “Things didn’t pan out the way I thought they would. My daughter and grandchildren moved away and they never indicated any interest in additional pairs of chucks. So now I have a closet full of great, ‘Made in USA’ high-tops in all sizes and colors. They have the pure rubber soles and real canvas uppers. Now, they are collector’s items. Since you guys are such enthusiastic wearers of chucks, I wanted to give each of you a pair. I’m sure I have your sizes. Do you know what they are? Yeah, just look on the bottom of the outsole for the size number.

  “Jason, you look like a size 9 or 9 ½ and Daniel, I’m guessing 10 or 10 ½.”

  Joe brought out a brand new pair of size 9 ½ red high-tops for Jason, and size 10 black high-tops for Daniel. They both opened the boxes and started to lace them up.

  “Wow, these are great, Joe! Thanks for thinking of us.”

  “It seems a waste for these to be sitting on a shelf when they could be put to good use by you guys. Enjoy! Here are a couple plastic bags. You can take the boxes and your old shoes home with these hanging off your bike handles.”

  The three sat around talking and joking for another fifteen minutes before Jason and Daniel had to leave.

  “Take care, guys. It’s a pleasure to know you!” Joe said.

  “Thank you again for helping us on the case,” Daniel said shaking Joe’s hand. “Did I tell you that thinking about the Sherlock Holmes quote you told us was what broke open the whole Victor Encino thing, and led us directly to the kidnappers?”

  “Here’s another quote for you then, Daniel. ‘This case deserves to be a classic.’ ”

  “Is that for real?”

  “Yes, Daniel, it’s from the story, The Adventure of the Priory School.”

  Jason came up to Joe, shook his hand and gave him a hug. “Your advice on the whole kidnapping scam was so shocking to me at first! When we got back from that session with you, we both fell on the floor in almost a daze. But you got us steered in the right direction and as a result, you helped me to get my life back. Also, you might not remember this, because you said it to Daniel not me, but I used it! You said, referring to me, to ‘never leave him unprotected during your investigations.’ Remembering that probably did save our lives, because after I got Daniel to start checking out the other duplex unit, I said to myself, ‘I’m quite possibly putting Daniel in harm’s ways and definitely myself too. We need some extra protection.’ That’s when I called my friend, Chauncey, and his buddies to come and be my enforcers! Believe me they were needed!

  “I also am so pleased that you will serve on the foundation board,” Jason continued. “Thank you again for agreeing to help me out with it.”

  “I am really happy that things have worked out so well for you, Jason. I feel privileged to be a part of it!”

  CHAPTER 41

  THE WHATEVER FOUNDATION

  (Two Weeks Later)

  Jason’s week was busy as he had several meetings with his transition team. Prescott Chalmers designed a board structure that would support Jason until he reached the age of twenty-one. At that time, the board could be restructured if Jason so desired. Besides the board, there was an employee structure of just a few, full-time employees that included office staff and a webmaster to run the foundation web site, which would be one of their main ways of communicating with the outside world.

  Sydney Cartier appraised the diamonds, got each of them separate identification numbers, and arranged for a private auction among the top buyers in the industry. He felt that there would be a lot of interest in the diamonds due to their size and high clarity. Also, he was sure that they would all sell for well over one million dollars each and even after sale costs and commissions were deducted, they would still net the foundation about 100 million dollars.

  Randall Lloyd filed the paperwork to set up the non-profit status for the new foundation and made sure that all the proceeds were attached to the foundation and not Jason personally. He also set up the payroll structure for the foundation employees. Then he arranged for the investment of the diamond sale proceeds into an endowment fund so that the foundation could run on the interest received from its investments.

  Jason met with the last person, public relations specialist, Ruth Fiorre, at the end of the week. Ruth was surprised at how young Jason was and how accomplished he was for his age. He explained to her how he wanted the foundation to be introduced to the public.

  “Let me get this straight, Jason. You want to go on national television, one-on-one with a top interviewer celebrity, and tell your whole remarkable story. You are willing to reveal what you went through as a kidnap victim, how you and your friends were so offended by your brutal treatment that you decided to go after the kidnappers yourselves, how you discovered the scam they had put over on everyone and what their real motivation for the crime was, how they were captured due to your efforts, and then after receiving a remarkable fortune, which was what the kidnappers were really after, you have decided to give it all away through a charitable foundation that helps other victims of similar crimes.”

  “Yes, that is what I want to do.”

  “This is such an amazing story,” Ruth went on. “If I can’t successfully pitch this to the networks, then I shouldn’t be in the business!”

  * * *

  Two weeks later Jason was in New York City to videotape his interview. He had chosen a famous interviewer, who usually interviewed show business celebrities, because he liked her personality on the air. “I think it would be like talking with my grandmother,” he explained.

  His mother had insisted that Jason dress up for the interview. So he was wearing a pale blue polo shirt, off-white long pants, and his new pair of chucks. The production team fitted Jason with a portable microphone on his shirt, checked his hair, and made sure his face was washed so the camera wouldn’t reflect back from any skin oil.

  Earlier, Jason had met briefly with his interviewer so they could go over the ground rules. She wanted to make sure that he was willing to talk freely about everything. Jason told her, “I am. And in a way, this would be the final step in finishing the entire incident of my kidnapping.”

  She then reassured him, “Remember, this is just a taping session and we can stop and restart if anything becomes too upsetting or painful for yo
u.”

  After that, the producer showed Jason where he would sit and where to look when he was talking.

  The taping session began with this introduction—

  “I have interviewed many celebrities in my career, including some child actors about the age of my guest tonight, Jason Hunter. But I have never met anyone who has had such an unusual odyssey in his life recently as this young teenager. Jason is very polite, outgoing, intelligent, athletic, and nice. The kind of kid you would want in your family or have your kids be friends with. A couple of months ago he was another, carefree teenager living in the Silicon Valley in California, just starting to enjoy the summer when he became the victim of one of the most cruel crimes of all, kidnapping.

  “Jason, what was it like to be kidnapped? Would you describe some of the ordeal you were put through?”

  “Being kidnapped was the most terrifying experience of my life. It happened so suddenly and unexpectedly. I was walking through City Park in broad daylight...”

  As Jason outwardly was relating the horrible experiences of his ordeal, his mind was also working. While thinking, he suddenly realized, This whole interview process is liberating me! I am now able to open up and discard all those troubling images and experiences—like tossing playing cards into a fire. Especially the nausea and then the physical pain I experienced as I went in and out of consciousness those first thirty hours—gone. The panic and fear, as my body shut down due to the tightness of the ropes, lack of food and water, and urgent bladder signals—are now fading memories. Plus, the humiliation of the blindfolds and gags, the intimidating manner of my captor, the isolation in the dimly lit basement room from the outside world, and the loss of my clothing and personal possessions—I endured all those indignities and survived all their attempts to break me!

  “The key to my survival and not allowing my spirit to be broken came from many small victories during my captivity.” Jason told her. “Doing exercises to keep my body fit, even while restrained, thinking of my family and friends, and even my attempts to spy on the kidnappers all helped me to not give in but to carry on!”