by Ronald Craig
"I agree, but what bothers me, is why the parents didn't keep the tape of their children?"
"Unlike us, adding walls to hold pictures of our kids; and here is little Lauren at seven days old," he said in his best announcer's voice. "It looked more like a neighborhood home movie than a school production."
"I guess. I'd better get breakfast going, don't want you late two days in a row," she said, slipping on a robe.
"Yeah, Pop will start docking my wages," he said, heading for the shower.
"I recall that song, nothing from nothing leaves nothing…" she sang on her way to the kitchen.
When Charlie was dressed and walking down the hall Jenny had the video camera out.
"So, Mr. Watson, is it Sparky today or Pipes?" she asked from behind the camera.
"The electrician should have his help back today. I like Pipes better than Flush if I am plumbing today."
"Didn't think of that. Thanks, Flush," she replied, putting the camera down.
"I am my own worst enemy," he said eating his breakfast. When he was finished, he asked, "So we leave after lunch for the furniture show room, about 1:00?"
"Do you want lunch here or grab something on the road?"
"We'll get something in Marina on our way through town. Unless the Cancun catalog comes," he smiled as he headed to the construction site.
Charlie added 'laying tile' to his expanding skill set that morning. Working in their fourth floor master bathroom he found he really enjoyed cutting and piecing the tiles into place. The re-cutting and re-piecing of those tiles into place was not as much fun, but he knew it was all part of learning something new.
"You do realize, Junior, that, although there are five boxes of tiles here, they were intended for other areas also?" Bob said looking at the half-finished floor.
"I'm getting the hang of it, Pop. I've got the 'measure twice' part down, but it's still 'cut twice' also."
"Here is another rule: base-board covers a multitude of sins."
"It hasn't been a religious experience yet," Charlie said. "But that helps a great deal."
They both turned when Jenny entered the master bed room. "And here is daddy putting a pretty floor in mommy and daddy's bathroom," Jenny said from behind the video camera.
"Mommy and Daddy?" Bob asked with delight in his voice.
"It's not Grand Pop anytime soon," Charlie said facing him." Jenny is recording the rise of Watson Manor for our kids."
"So get back to work, mister. I don't want the kids seeing you just chatting away," she said laughing. She turned the camera off and added, "Will an hour be enough to finish?"
"If you're asking me…" Bob started to say when Charlie jumped in.
"Yes, because I have the miracle of base board," he said looking at Bob.
"I'll kick him out in an hour either way, Jenny."
"Thanks Bob. It looks wonderful, honey." Then she left the room.
Charlie and Jenny had pretty much decided on the style of furniture they would order. The trip was more of a formality, but they wanted to open the drawers and doors on the replicated solid wood antique furniture for Watson Manor to ensure the quality. It was important to them that their customers felt as though they'd stepped back in time upon entering Watson Manor without sacrificing modern features of bearing-guided drawers and self-closing cabinet doors. Armoires were being used to conceal a TV and mini refrigerator as well as for wardrobes in lieu of built-in wall closets in all of the customer's units. The surrounding room walls would have dark wood paneling with a light wall-paper running from mid-wall to the ceiling crown molding in off-white to match the ceiling. The top floor, their residence, would have the same dark sculptured mahogany door facing the stairs as the customer units had, but inside the space was filled with granite countertops, light-colored walls and modern furnishings.
They left the furniture wholesaler and were very pleased with the choices they made and that the delivery fit perfectly into the time table of their grand opening in two months. To celebrate their success, they decided to have dinner in San Jose and were seated in an Italian restaurant, 'The Taste of Italy'.
"This is so exciting, Charlie. We are so close," Jenny said with a bold grin.
"And you were smart enough to capture it's unfolding on video."
"It has been so much fun doing that," she said as her grin faded rapidly. "Why weren't they smiling, the kids in the video?"
"I know what you're saying. That crossed my mind a couple times today."
"Four and five year old kids would be acting silly and laughing. We didn't see much of it when I hit fast forward. Maybe it sounds silly, but I think we should take another look."
"As soon as we get home," he said as the waitress approached to take their order.
Chapter 4
After arriving home, Jenny went directly to the construction office to get the camera and cable. The drive home had been quiet as they both were deep in thought about what the first moments of their Watson Manor video would show them. Charlie watched from the couch as Jenny hooked the camera up to the TV and pressed rewind to return the tape to the beginning.
"Charlie, I've had the worst feeling all the way home about this."
"Jenny there's still a chance we have this wrong. Maybe the director was the neighborhood bully?"
"I know," she said and pressed play. She took his hand as she sat down beside him.
The screen showed a brick fireplace in the back-ground with garland draped across the mantel. A four-foot-tall Christmas tree was partially in view on the left side, the date 'Dec 28 1995' was flashing in the lower right hand corner. Initially there was no sound as five children, two boys and three girls filled the center screen. They all appeared to be between the ages of four and five and were all dressed up, the girls in frilly party dresses and the boys neatly dressed in pants and buttoned shirts. They were holding hands with one another with heads moving slightly left and right. All of them were without a smile and appeared nervous.
"Ready?" a female voice was heard from behind the camera.
"Rolling," a male voice replied. The reaction from the children was instant and they all looked directly into the camera.
"Ok, boys and girls: remember, after our show we all get to go to the play room for cookies. We're making this movie for Santa, so be very good," she said in a soft voice. The camera zoomed in on a little boy on the far left of the group and she continued, "This little man is Billy, from San Jose, California. He is five years old and has been with us over 7 days, a code 326." The camera moved to the right and the female voice came back. "This pretty lady is Lindsey…" Jenny jumped up, hit stop and the screen went blank.
"From San Jose, a code 326?" she screamed. "I can't look into those precious little faces without it breaking my heart." She was crying uncontrollably and fell into Charlie's arms on the couch.
Charlie held her but was so shocked himself that he couldn't find words to comfort her.
"No, No, No…" she pushed between sobs. It was ten minutes before she stopped shaking.
"Jenny, look how the kids were dressed up, the Christmas tree. Could it be an orphanage looking to find homes for these kids?" he asked.
"You'll have to answer that question because I can't watch another minute until you can confirm that."
"It's late. We should go to bed and leave this until tomorrow."
"Charlie it kills me to ask, I need you to watch this and tell me what it is. I need to know but I'm sorry, I can't watch it."
"I will, honey," he said and walked her into the bed room. He turned on the clock radio beside the bed to a soft rock station. "I'll be back as soon as I know." He kissed her again and closed the bedroom door behind him. He knew he had been reaching in naive hope when he offered the orphanage as an answer and reluctantly hit play and sat down on the coach.
"…is from Stockton, California. She is four years old and has been with us 8 days, a code 418," the female voice continued. Charlie felt tears running down his cheeks
as the camera swept across each face and the woman continued her report. The next two children, ages five and six were brother and sister from San Mateo, California. When the camera zoomed in on the last little girl the female voice continued, "Our last little lady is Judy. She is almost five years old from Concord, California…"
"I'm not Judy, my name is Leann. Where's my mommy?" and then she started to cry. A woman ran into view, showing the camera only her back side as she quickly moved to calm the small girl.
"Shit. Cut this out before posting it Lew," she said.
"I guess so. Can you calm her down or do we cut?" the male voice said.
"Ok, Leann, we were just playing a game by calling you Judy. If you can stand here one more minute we will be all done and then it's cookies in the play room." She turned sideways and backed off screen. "Re-shoot Leann then do the regular zoom out and fade. I'll announce and we'll splice it later. Roll it."
"I never…," he began then went quiet. With the focus on Leann, the female voice went through the introduction without incident then zoomed out to show all five children. A few minutes later the screen faded to black.
"Ladies and gentleman that concludes our after Christmas show. Bidding closes December 31st at midnight."
Charlie dropped his stare to the floor not believing what he'd seen. He wiped his face with his sleeve and jumped when the screen again filled with him framing on the construction site of Watson Manor. He stood up and stopped the camera then rewound the tape. He plugged the camera cable into the VCR and pulled a blank VHS tape from the cabinet below the TV. Charlie set the blank tape to record what he'd just seen, turned off the lights and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Jenny was sitting up in bed when he opened the door. All she needed was to see his face to answer her question. "Just tell me there was no nudity."
"Nothing like that. No indication of abuse, but also no question as to what was happening," he told her. She was crying softly as Charlie undressed for bed and slipped in beside her. He pulled her into an embrace.
"Maybe…"
"Just hold me, Charlie, "she said, cutting him off. We'll see Chief Walker in the morning."
"I know it won't be easy, but try to get some sleep, sweetheart," he said.
"You too, honey."
They only managed a few hours of sleep and had a quiet breakfast.
"I'll go tell Pop I won't be working this morning and will be right back," he told her.
"When you get back I need to see the tape," she said.
"It's just more of what you saw. I don't want it to upset you."
"But it's not worse than what I saw, right?"
"No…maybe the end when the last girl gets upset."
"If there is something I see that could help… Don't you understand? I can't not see it."
"I knew that last night. I just didn't know how soon you'd realize it. I copied the whole tape not just the video you took."
"Thank you. I love that you understand me."
"I didn't say that, but you're welcome. I'll be right back," he said leaving.
Jenny cleaned up the dishes, took a quick shower and got dressed. When she walked to the living room she saw the VHS tape sticking out of the machine. She pushed the tape back in and rewound it. She unplugged the camera and checked the tape. The camera had an automatic rewind and the tape was set to go. She poured herself another cup of coffee and one for Charlie then waited on the couch for him to return.
"Are you sure you're ready to see this?" he asked sitting beside her.
"It's not so much I'm ready, but prepared. I want to watch our copy before we give up five months of you on video to the police."
Charlie pressed play and they watched the screen. He kept looking at her to make sure she was holding it together and her strength surprised him. He jumped up the moment the screen started to fade and hit fast forward.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"I just want to make sure we got the video you took," he told her.
"What happened after the video faded?"
"The woman says the show is over."
"And?"
"It will upset you, Jenny."
"Tell me or I'm rewinding the tape."
Charlie stopped the tape and hit rewind until the screen was showing all five children and then pressed play. He sat beside her. Jenny glanced at him just as the screen was fading and saw his tears forming.
"Ladies and gentleman that concludes our after Christmas show. Bidding closes December 31st at midnight."
Jenny couldn't breathe from shock and collapsed into his waiting arms.
Chapter 5
"Charlie, I bought that camera five months ago, shortly after they filmed that," Jenny said.
"There's no way they took it to the pawn shop. It must have been stolen from them," Charlie concluded.
"It’s a long shot that the shop owner would remember who brought it in," she said.
"He might remember you Jenny. You have that effect of people. We can stop there before taking the tape to Chief Walker. Maybe we'll have more to give him."
"This is so upsetting, Charlie. God put this in our hands, we have to try. Why aren’t you trying to talk me out of looking for these animals?"
"I would stand a better chance of hitting the lottery, even without buying a ticket."
"I'm sorry," she said
"For what, caring? I couldn't see that and walk away, so there's no way in hell you could."
"Let's go then, I'll get the camera."
"Wait, did you ever take the tape out?" he asked.
"No, just opened the side door and saw it was there. Why?"
"You've handled the camera for five months but there is a good chance we have Lew's prints on the tape."
"Please, Lord. That would be wonderful."
*****
They drove to Second Chances, the pawn and consignment store where Jenny had purchased the camera. Jenny had put the camera in a clear plastic storage bag to preserve any evidence that might have remained there. As they passed the front display window, she paused and thought about how she loved places like this. The window showed a diverse offering of treasures to be found inside. Modern electronics to antiques were laid out neatly. She forgot for a moment why they were there as they walked into the store. The side walls were lined with six-foot shelves and great effort was taken to create sections with similar item offerings. Down the center of the store were four-foot shelves arranged back-to-back creating two aisles to the back of the store. The store was well lit and soft jazz softly played which seemed to encourage casual browsing. It amazed her that, with so much inventory, the store felt open and uncluttered. The owner was at the back of the store behind a glass counter featuring watches, jewelry and cameras.
"Hello, folks, can I help you find something?" he asked.
"I don't know if you remember me; I was here in January and bought this camera."
"The bed and breakfast, right?" he asked.
"You have a great memory! I'm Jenny and this is my husband, Charlie."
"I'm Frank, pleased to meet you…again. It would be hard to forget. It was comical watching you walk past the table and stop dead in your tracks when you saw the camera. You'd have thought it was the crown jewels, you got so excited."
"That’s my wife," Charlie said, smiling.
"Is it working OK?" Frank asked.
"Yes. We are hoping you can tell us who brought it in. There was a tape in it that had…" Jenny struggled to fight back tears.
"We were hoping to give the tape back to the owner," Charlie said quickly.
Frank saw the seriousness of their mood shift and asked, "That was a while ago. Did you pay cash or charge it?"
"I used my…ATM card," Jenny said, fighting for composure. "The first week of January."
He turned and went into the back room and returned after a few minutes. He checked the camera then said," My wife, Chris, took it in. The name on the card here is John Wilks, but she has a not
e: 'name on Chevron shirt, Rick'. No pawn ticket issued. Just wanted cash, so we could sell it right away."
"Do you think your wife might remember him?" Charlie asked.
"This must be important to you."
"Very," she responded.
"Chevron; like military stripes or the gas station?" Charlie asked.
"I'll check," he said and walked into the back room again. They heard him talking on the phone but couldn't make out the conversation. He walked back out after a few minutes. "She doesn't recall the guy. She wanted me to tell you she was sorry."
"Well thank you, Frank, for trying," she said as they turned to leave. They heard the phone ring as they were passing through the front door and stopped.
"Hold on," Frank called out. They walked back to the counter and waited. "That was Chris," he said. "He was wearing the gas station shirt with Rick on the name tag. He filled out the card John Wilks and when she asked him why his shirt said Rick, he told her he just started there and his shirts hadn't come in yet. She remembered him because he went through this long story that he bought a car from an auction and found the camera under the spare tire."
Charlie looked at the wall behind the counter and saw the video camera mounted. "Do you keep videos with that camera?"
"It’s a digital system and holds 3 months then starts over. December is gone. What's on that tape that is so important?"
"I'll be outside," Jenny said and left. When she was gone Charlie told him what was on the tape and that he should expect the police to follow up.
"I will have Chris write down everything she can remember."
"Thank you, Frank." Charlie walked out and found Jenny in the truck. She was writing an address on a note pad.
"Where's the Chevron station?"
"There's one on Reservation, the other is over by the highway," she said.
"We can let Chief Walker follow up."
"Let's see what we can get to help," she said.
"You're getting too involved, honey. This won't be like last time when nobody could help. This will get the FBI involved."
"That’s my biggest fear. Chief Walker's hands will be tied and it will get buried at the FBI."
