Family Matters

by Aiden Vaughan

  When she arrived at the Hunter home, Caterina got out of her Cadillac and came inside to thank Edith, Bill, and Jason for their hospitality and concern over her son. “I am so grateful to you all for helping us in our time of need. Your concern for Nick, your hospitality and generosity with your time makes me realize what caring and special people you are!”

  “Nick has been a perfect house guest,” Edith replied. “You have really raised him well. Nick, feel free to come back and stay with us any time if you need to!”

  Nick flashed his big smile. “Thank you Mrs. Hunter. I just met Jason and Daniel a couple of weeks ago, but it feels like we have been friends all of our lives. And Jason has been so supportive, with his good advice and assistance from his foundation.” With hugs, handshakes and smiles all around, Caterina and Nick took their leave.

  On the trip home, Nick talked about his experiences practicing with Daniel’s band. “I’m telling you now, Mom, that I want to be a permanent member of that band. Those guys are awesome musicians and for the first time in my life, I have a means to pursue one of my dreams, which is to write and perform original music. Plus Jason and Daniel have been so supportive of me through the aftermath of the attack on me. Jason has personally pledged to help me fight back against the predator and he has the means to do so through his foundation.”

  “Nick, I know that you are grateful to Jason and Daniel for their support, but your musical future should be carefully weighed and considered before you make any long term decisions. Remember what Mr. Ponticelli said, ‘You can’t serve two masters’.”

  “Mom, I think I should be the person who determines my life, not you or my piano teacher. Yes, I appreciate everything that you have done for me, but you know, spending eight hours a day practicing on pieces written 150 to 200 years ago isn’t all I want to do in life! I want to explore other areas of music before I make my final decision on my career goals.”

  “Mr. Ponticelli thinks that you can become a major figure in the classical world as a soloist and performer of great literature. Now you are telling me that you want to give all of that up just to be a piano player in a rock band?”

  “I don’t know what my ultimate destiny in life will be, Mom. I do know that I don’t want to just play music from the past. I want to be involved in the creation of new music and I want the opportunity to compose and play modern music. I think that you can be a huge success in anything you choose to do if you apply yourself. And for the first time in my life, I have friends who want to look out for me, and help me defeat the predator who has been attacking me. And they are thrilled that I want to work with them and play in their band. Now we actually have a playing job coming up. I want to be there with my friends and play that job!”

  “I understand your enthusiasm for your new friends, and they seem like nice people. But they are just kids, like you are Nicolo! Before you make any major decisions about your future, you need to hear all the points of view about it. I think we need to have a serious meeting with Mr. Ponticelli before I agree to anything.”

  “Right now, I am off for the summer, Mom. I am not scheduled to start up lessons again until September. In the meantime, I see no harm in trying to fulfill one of my dreams, which is to play in a band. What is wrong with that? I am more than willing to have the meeting with Mr. Ponticelli, if that is what you want me to do. But for now, I am committed to play in Daniel’s band. Why are you so opposed to me doing something I want to do? If necessary I will ride my bike to rehearsals!”

  “You are passionate about this, Nicolo. I have never seen you so worked up about something before!”

  “That’s because this really means something to me, Mom. Can’t you see that?”

  “What kind of commitment have you made to these boys?”

  “They aren’t just boys, Mom, they are my new friends. They are all very accomplished in what they do. You should be happy that I have been able to make new friends, considering how isolated we are most of the time. As far as the commitment goes, I need to be at all of the band rehearsals and at our first playing job, which is at a private party about a month from now. I don’t think that that is too much to ask for!”

  “All right, Nicolo. Play in the band for now. Just remember that once the fall comes around we will have a serious meeting with Mr. Ponticelli about your future. Then we will decide whether it is appropriate for you to continue to play in the band. Be prepared to deal with it if the answer is ‘no’! Agreed?”

  “Okay, Mom, I agree to have the meeting! But Mom, I want you to understand and be on notice that right now there is nothing more important to me in my life than playing in Daniel’s band and keeping in contact with Jason! For the first time in my life, I have a team of friends who want to support me and work with me not only in the area of music but to help me deal with the attacks of that evil man! Can’t you see the importance of that?”

  * * * * *

  Sunday was very pleasant and relaxing at the Hunter household. Bill and Edith did some errands and worked on the house. In the afternoon, Jason went over to Laura’s house to go swimming. Around 5:00 he returned home for dinner. Bill Hunter fixed a great barbeque and Edith added salads and fresh fruit to the mix. After dinner Jason went over to hang out with Daniel.

  Daniel was still pumped up about the band getting their first playing job. “This is the first real test of the band. I really want us to make a good impression.”

  “I’m sure you will, Daniel. If what I heard earlier this summer is any indication, you guys will make everyone at that party happy. Will Nick be joining you on this gig?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact. He called me today and told me that he had a talk with his mother, and she agreed that he could be in the band for now. So he is in and planning to be at all of the rehearsals from now on. I am pumped up about that!”

  “As you should be. Nick is a great addition to your group! This week I will start working on some publicity materials for the band. I already have been making some sketches for graphics and a band logo.”

  The two friends then kicked back and played some video games. “This is great,” Daniel remarked. “It seems like ages since the two of us have had a chance to hang together and have a relaxing evening with nothing pressing to worry about.”

  “You are right, Daniel. It has been a while. I miss those carefree days when the most important thing in our lives was who would score higher on the latest game.”

  “Girl friends and teens needing help does take up a lot of time,” Daniel replied with a wry laugh.

  * * * * *

  Early Monday morning, Edith Hunter received a call from New York. Her mother had another stroke over night and was hospitalized in critical condition. The doctor said that her prognosis for recovery was relatively good, because the stroke was detected right away. What happened over the next few days would be very important and it would be good if a close relative was nearby to handle things and make decisions if additional surgery or medical treatment was required.

  Edith told the doctor that she would get on a plane that morning and fly to New York. “With the time change, I will probably not be there until late afternoon, your time.”

  By seven o’clock Edith had awakened Bill and Jason for a family meeting. After she relayed to them what the hospital had told her, Bill said, “I will go with you, dear. I think you are going to need some more support, and someone to help you get around and do things that are may have to be done. I can also meet with some art dealers there. I was actually planning a business trip to New York City later this month.”

  “Is Grandmother going to be okay?” Jason asked.

  “Everything is up in the air right now, but hopefully she will gradually be able to recover. The next several days are critical, according to the doctor.”

  “Should I go with you?” Jason asked.

  “I think at this time, it would be easier if you stayed here. You can watch things at our house and get the mail, etc. I will call Melinda Holmes and
see if it would be all right for you to stay with them while we are in New York. Your grandmother specifically told me that she doesn’t want you to see her in a hospital setting. She wants you to remember her as she was in better times. But if it looks like the end is near, we will have you get on the next plane to New York. You are old enough to travel alone. We will meet you just past the security checkpoint if you do have to do that. The other issue is that there wouldn’t be much for you to do except wait around at the hospital or at Grandmother’s apartment.”

  Edith then called Melinda Holmes and had a lengthy conversation with her, making arrangements for Jason to stay with them while she and Bill Hunter were back in New York. “Don’t worry about a thing, Edith. We would be delighted to have Jason stay with us. He is part of the family anyway, it seems, with he and Daniel being so close!”

  “Thank you so much, Melinda. That is a real relief knowing that Jason will be safe with you. I will send over some money to contribute toward his food, and of course he is expected to help keep things clean at your house. Two teenagers can make quite a mess!”

  “As do husbands,” Melinda said with a laugh. “You don’t need to send us any money! Like I said, we consider Jason family.”

  Later that morning, Bill and Edith took a taxi to the airport. As they were leaving, Edith told Jason, “We will keep you informed of the situation on a daily basis. Don’t hesitate to call me or your father if there are any problems here.”

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I will watch the house and enjoy staying with Daniel. Tell Grandmother that I hope she gets well soon!” After they left, Jason put on a backpack with some clean clothes and personal items, got on his bicycle and went over to Daniel’s house.

  Chapter 23

  Nick Goes Missing

  (Tuesday Evening)

  It was 7:30 PM on Tuesday. Caterina arrived home from a long day of work. After saying hello to Nick, she went to get her telephone messages. After listening to them she said, “Oh dear, I have to go out to the hardware store before it closes. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Sure, Mom. I have been cooped up here all day, and it would be nice to get out, even if it is just to go to the store. Can I get some dinner there at the hamburger place? I’m starving!”

  Feeling safe with the security car parked in front of their house and watching it 24 hours a day, Caterina and Nick got into her Cadillac to go to a local shopping center. Their gardening service had agreed to replant a flower bed for Caterina in the back yard tomorrow. She had told them that she wanted to pick out the plants herself, but with all of the disruption in their lives from the attack on Nick, it had totally slipped her mind. When she arrived home there was a telephone message reminding her that the gardening service was coming tomorrow and to leave out the plants where they could find them.

  Caterina and Nick drove to the main highway, which would take them to the large hardware and garden store in town. Upon turning right on the highway, they didn’t notice a man in a car at the side of the road who pulled out and began following them a few car lengths behind.

  Caterina soon arrived at the store parking lot and parked the Cadillac. Nick asked her if he could go ahead get some food at a nearby hamburger stand while she shopped in the store. “I can get something for both of us. As soon as I get the food I will return to the car and wait for you! Don’t worry, I’ll keep the door locked.” Caterina handed Nick some money and the car keys and they both took off on their errands. About ten minutes later, Nick had a bag of hamburgers, fries, and drinks and was seated back in the Cadillac.

  While he was eating his food, he heard a knock on the car window. There was a man there with a large cart containing large plastic bags of soil. “I’m from the hardware store customer service. I have some large bags to load into your trunk. Can you unlock it for me?” Nick nodded yes, got out of the car, and opened the trunk with his mom’s set of keys. “It looks like there are some things in here already” the man said. “Can you check it out? I need to know if it is okay to put these bags on top.”

  When Nick bent over to look inside the trunk, the man slugged him with a club, knocking him out. He quickly shoved the unconscious Nick into the trunk of Caterina’s car, closed the lid, got in the front seat and drove the car around the corner of the parking lot into a more secluded area away from everyone’s view. He drove right next to a beat up tan pickup truck. Inside the truck was Angelo Ciurro who handed him a roll of duct tape! The man opened the trunk of the Cadillac and taped Nick’s wrists, ankles, and mouth with duct tape. Angelo then got out and helped the man place Nick inside a large burlap sack. The sack was tied off at the top and the two men lifted the sack into the back of Angelo’s pick up truck. Angelo then drove away.

  The man then got back inside the front of the Cadillac, and returned the car back to where it had been parked in the main parking lot. He got out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition, and casually but quickly brought the cart with bags of soil back to the front of the store. He then got back in his car and drove away.

  The kidnapping was particularly brazen and opportunistic, and luck was on the kidnapper’s side. Nobody saw the actual kidnapping although a few witnesses did observe the beat up pickup truck driving away from the shopping center parking lot. No one paid any attention to the man pulling the cart of soil bags around the parking lot.

  When Caterina came out of the hardware store and didn’t find Nick waiting for her, she ran over to the hamburger place. They had seen him, and sold him an order of food, but he had left the store right after his order was ready. A feeling of dread and panic started to set in. Caterina quickly ran over to he car. Finding the keys in the ignition, and also the bag of partially eaten fast food, she realized that something had gotten Nick’s attention for him to leave his dinner and get out of the car. But what could that have been?

  Caterina went around the parking lot asking people if they had seen a teenaged boy. Unfortunately no one had noticed anyone matching Nicolo’s description. Caterina got out her cell phone and dialed the police department. When she explained that her son Nick was missing and that he had been the recent victim of a masked predator, they agreed to immediately send over a patrol car. The two officers who responded systemically went through the parking lot asking people if they had noticed anything suspicious. The only thing that people noticed was a beat up looking tan pickup truck leaving the parking lot around the approximate time that Nick disappeared.

  One of the police officers told Caterina that since it seemed like a probable kidnapping had taken place, he was going to call in the task force led by Captain Garcia that had working on the other recent disappearances of kids in the San Matthias area. Garcia was off duty at the time but he said that he would drive down to the station their as soon as possible. It was about forty minutes later that he arrived there. By now it was approaching nine o’clock, and it was getting dark outside.

  Captain Garcia interviewed the very distraught Caterina. He asked her to review all of the events that had occurred that evening from start to finish. After Caterina finished, Captain Garcia asked her, “Did you notice anyone following your car when you were driving home, or driving to the store?”

  “No,” Caterina responded, “but I wasn’t really looking. With the security car at my house, I assumed that their presence would scare away anyone from hanging around my house. Periodically they sweep the neighborhood looking for exactly that — anyone suspicious or loitering around.”

  “Your trip to the hardware store garden shop was completely on the spur of the moment?”

  “Yes, Captain. I had totally forgotten about the gardeners coming tomorrow. It wasn’t until I listened to the message on my telephone that I remembered that I was supposed to provide the plants for the new flower bed.”

  “Did anyone else know about this?”

  “Not to my knowledge, other than the gardening service, of course.”

  “And Wednesday is their normal day to work at your place?”
>
  “Yes, they have been coming every Wednesday for years.”

  “So unless someone was actively following you, the only way that someone would have known that you were going to the hardware store was to overhear your conversation.”

  “How would that be possible? There was a private security car in front of my house. I am sure that no one got in. Nick was inside the house most of the day. He didn’t mention that anyone had been in the house.”

  Captain Garcia thought about things for a minute. “I think we need to go back to your house and check your telephone. I think I have a pretty good idea about how the kidnappers knew your every move!”

  Captain Garcia and Caterina got in their vehicles and drove back to her house. When they arrived, Captain Garcia asked the private security people if anyone had come to the house, or if they saw anyone loitering around. The security people said that no one had come to the house all day, other than the mailman. They hadn’t noticed anyone lurking around or repeatedly driving by the house.

  Inside the house, Captain Garcia asked Caterina to show him the telephone where she had her answering machine. It was an older telephone with a round mouthpiece that unscrewed. When Antonio unscrewed the mouthpiece there was an extra disk inside, a phone tap!

  “That intruder was one clever criminal! While he was here, he tapped your phone. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t other bugs in the house.” Captain Garcia then put in a call to Samuel Washburn, who was a technical assistant in the Silicon Valley Police Department. “Sam, I need you to get down here to Caterina Poulos’ house in San Matthias. The house needs to be swept for bugs, and you need to set up communication lines in case she gets a ransom call. Her son Nick has apparently been kidnapped.” Washburn agreed to come down there right away.