Family Matters

by Aiden Vaughan

  “I guess when you are speaking of the ironies of this case, Captain, my appearance on the scene nearly messed everything up, as far as Sal’s plans for Nick were concerned. Instead of handing over Nick to Sal like he was supposed to, Angelo was getting ready to kill Nick when I was able to rescue him. Bobble-head Angelo was so enthralled with his new victim, he completely lost track of what Sal wanted him to do. I still feel some guilt about that; please never tell that to Nick!”

  “Don’t worry, Jason, I think Nick is going to do everything he possibly can to get this whole incident out of his head!” Captain Garcia replied. “Actually the person who should feel guilt for this situation is Enrico Feraducci. His harsh reaction to the Butera and Ciurro families had a lot to do with Sal’s desire for revenge by kidnapping his grandson. The reign of terror he set up in San Matthias was also a way to get even with the town for the cruel treatment that Angelo received and the lack of respect they were both given due to their social status. We now believe that all of the missing children’s cases over the past three years from here are the work of Sal and Angelo.”

  “This is quite a story, Captain. Every time I go through it, I realize what a tightrope I walked, and how many more things could have gone wrong! If this case isn’t like walking through a field of snakes, I don’t know what is!”

  “Jason, I want to personally thank you again for your incredible courage and guts to do what you did. On the one hand, I feel terrible for even letting you do the undercover operation, especially after all of the lectures I gave you about getting in harm’s way on your previous cases! My wife wouldn’t speak to me for a day after she found out that I allowed you to go undercover! ‘You would actually let a child be sent into the hands of a possible predator!’ she yelled at me.”

  “Captain, everyone from Daniel to my parents to the Navy SEALs to Joe Connor has said the same thing! And the fact is, I learned my lesson. I no longer think I am invincible, and it will take a lot for me to do another operation like this ever again. On the other hand, Nick and Ben Kessler were saved from a horrible fate! I don’t regret that one bit!”

  “You are absolutely right about that, Jason. That trench that Sal Butera was digging outside his home was where he was planning to bury Ben after he killed him that evening! He wanted to concentrate on molesting and torturing Nick to death, and he was going to leave the area the next day to finish the job!

  “The stories that Ben Kessler told us about his captivity were absolutely heart-wrenching. He told us that on the day we rescued him he knew that something horrible was about to happen to him. He said that normally Sal just left him chained to the bed in that basement room. The days where he would chain his wrists or gag him meant that Sal had something particularly nasty in mind for him. To me, the greatest dividend about our undercover operation is that we were able to rescue Ben before he was killed! That poor kid really suffered horrible abuse at the hands of Sal and Angelo!”

  “Ben Kessler will have a long recovery from the abuse he was given by those predators,” Jason said. “But already I have moved to provide him with counseling services with Dr. Agoura, and we will pay all of his medical bills. That kid was very brave, and as it turned out, very lucky!”

  “That is terrific to hear, Jason,” Captain Garcia replied. “So despite all of the negatives that everyone has said about the way it was accomplished, the bottom line is that two boys were saved from horrible deaths, two vicious predators are now being brought to justice, and their reign of terror is over!”

  “I had a long talk with my parents to work things out, and set up better communication for the future,” Jason continued. “How did you work things out with Mrs. Garcia?”

  “I am glad that you asked that, Jason. In my heart I was planning to do this all along, but I told her that to make up for putting a kid in danger, why don’t we take one out of danger! I told her that we should go ahead with the paperwork to adopt Arthur Vincenzo. I knew that she really wanted to do that, but was hesitant because we are expecting our first child!”

  At that announcement, both Jason and Daniel cheered loudly and punched Captain Garcia on the shoulder. “Way to go, Captain!” Daniel exclaimed. “I knew you would eventually do the right thing! Not only will you have a beautiful baby, but you will have a son who can be a real help to you and Mrs. Garcia around the house! And I know that Arthur will love having a baby brother or sister around!”

  “That is so awesome!” Jason added. “I’m so happy for you and for Arthur. When will he be back from camp?”

  “He should be back in the next two weeks. And don’t think that you guys are getting off easy on this! He is going to need some locals to help mentor him and get him acclimated to our Silicon Valley way of doing things. I expect you guys to be front and center on that team!”

  “No problem, Captain. It will be our pleasure!” Jason exclaimed. “You need to have a big adoption party to celebrate!”

  Just then, there was a knock on Captain Garcia’s door. When he opened the door, there were two policemen from the county jail. “Hello, I am Sergeant Cruz Romero and this is my partner Deputy Kevin Lowery from the county jail.” They showed Garcia their paperwork. “We are here to pickup Angelo Ciurro and Salvatore Butera to be remanded to our custody. However, the prisoners are no longer here. Do you know where they are?”

  When Captain Garcia picked up his telephone and called down to the lockup area, he was informed that the two prisoners had already been picked up earlier that day. “What do you mean?” Garcia said incredulously. “I have two deputies from the county jail here to do that. They have the proper paperwork.”

  “The two deputies who picked up the prisoners earlier today had the proper paperwork, too. It looked genuine to me, and they acted like they knew the proper procedures.”

  “I want you to come up to my office immediately and bring the paperwork.”

  When they were compared, the two documents looked nearly identical, but upon further examination it became obvious that the first document was a clever forgery. “It’s clear that we have a security breach in our system here. Someone had to provide these imposters with the information and forms that they needed to take the prisoners out of here,” Captain Garcia concluded.

  “Jason and Daniel, as you can see, I have a lot of new work to do. Thank you again for your assistance on this case, and I will be in touch with you when Arthur gets back.” The boys shook hands with the captain, and then left.

  At police headquarters, a full investigation was implemented, surveillance tapes were examined, but the two fake deputies and more significantly the two prisoners were never seen or heard from again. Captain Garcia was pretty sure who was behind the abduction of Sal and Angelo, but he had no actual proof that would stand up in court. Two officers even went to question Enrico Feraducci, but he admitted no responsibility other than to say that he felt that the two men who kidnapped and terrorized so many young children, including his grandson Nicolo, deserved the death penalty. Ironically, their disappearance ended up saving the authorities millions of dollars in prosecution costs. Ben Kessler, Jason, and Nicolo Feraducci were also spared having to relive their ordeals in a court trial.

  Captain Garcia and his task force shed no tears for Sal and Angelo, but Garcia was determined to find the leak in the police department.

  Chapter 35

  Family Matters

  (Tuesday and Beyond)

  It was ten days since Nick was rescued from Sal and Angelo. He had completely recovered from his physical injuries and had come a long way in confronting the trauma of his experience and regaining his normal bright and outgoing personality. Just like it had for his grandfather Enrico, the experience definitely caused a change in his behavior and resolve. Over the weekend he had a long talk with his mother Caterina about the priorities for his life and musical development. He explained to her that their lives needed to go through some major changes.

  The first issue was Daniel’s band. “After what they did f
or me and how they have helped me to recover, there is no way that I am not going to become a member of that band! This is very important in my life and I want to be able to count on your support! Are you with me, Mom?”

  “Of course I am, Nicolo. Your friends have proven to be brave, honorable, and loyal.” Caterina agreed to make sure Nick could be at all of the band’s rehearsals and performances.

  Nick also told her that he would like to move away from San Matthias. “After what I have been through, I want to get out of here! I have some real bad memories of this place! I would like to move into the neighborhood where Jason and Daniel live. I would like to attend their high school instead of that stuffy private school I go to now. I hear there is a good music program there. I’m tired of being a lonely musical genius. I want to start having a social life and I want to help Daniel, Eric, and Tim make the band a success.” Surprisingly Caterina was in total agreement. She told Nick that she would put their house on the market and start looking for a new place in the Silicon Valley neighborhood where Jason and Daniel lived.

  With these important issues resolved, there was one more important piece of business that Nick needed to take care of. Tuesday was his fifteenth birthday, and he told Caterina that he needed to have a meeting with his grandfather.

  “I know you two don’t get along any more, and that you wish to keep him at arm’s length. Normally I would respect your wishes regarding Grandfather, but there are some important things that the two of us need to discuss by ourselves. I want to invite him for lunch tomorrow. I’m sure he won’t stay too long. If you don’t want to be here, that is okay also. I will order out sandwiches from our local delicatessen.”

  So it came to be that Nick had a private luncheon with his grandfather, Enrico Feraducci, on his fifteenth birthday. After they ate and made small talk, the discussion turned very serious. “Grandfather, today I have turned fifteen. While that is not very long in comparison to your life, in the past two months I have had to grow up and find out many realities regarding who I am and what is important in my life. I have been put through a terrible trial of torture and abuse not because of my personal conduct, but because of my family name and origin! I was made a target because someone wanted revenge against you, Grandfather! What happened to me is nothing unique; you had to undergo the same thing when you were young back in Sicily. Like you, I survived this horrible ordeal, partly because I do have Feraducci blood in my veins, and the will to fight back against my enemies! The other reason I survived was because good and honorable people made it their priority to look out for me and search for me after I was kidnapped. Jason Hunter courageously risked his life, going undercover to rescue me. The worst thing about my ordeal was that my enemies were actually my half brothers, although I didn’t find that out that until after I was taken captive by Salvatore Butera.

  “The problem, Grandfather, is that you did have this knowledge! You knew about my father’s affairs and according to Salvatore Butera, you not only refused to acknowledge their existence, but you cut them off from all family support, financial and personal. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Gilberto was seeing other women. At least while he was alive, he recognized that he had responsibility for his mistresses and the children they had together. After Gilberto died, all of this support was cut off. When Salvatore’s mother Angela came to see you, to ask for assistance in raising her son, you refused to acknowledge their existence and relationship to the family. Salvatore said that you called his mother a whore and had her thrown out of your house with a warning to never come back again. Why did you treat Salvatore’s mother so cruelly? Why were you so unwilling to acknowledge some of the truths about Gilberto Feraducci?”

  “Nicolo, I know that you have been through a terrible time, and I am truly sorry for that, but tragedy has struck all generations of our family. I know you have experienced a lot of pain, Grandson, but you have no idea of what the pain is like for a father to bury his son! Many times I would wake up in the middle of the night and ask why I wasn’t taken instead! I would have gladly sacrificed myself so that my son could live to raise you, Nicolo! Yes, your father was untamed and wild at times, but he still was my only son! I loved him as only a father could, despite his flaws and philandering. After he died I could no longer deal with anything or anyone who would further tarnish his reputation and the family name!

  “Throughout my life I have fought those who would try to blackmail us, or extort money, or even try to harm the members of our extended family. When Angela Butera came to me demanding money, all the rage and anger about what happened to Gilberto rose up inside me. There was no way that she or her son could ever replace Gilberto or you in my life, and there was no way that I wanted to be reminded of the things that had ruined his life and reputation.”

  “I understand that you have your code of honor and your beliefs about things. But this is America, Grandfather! People are a little more accepting of things. Sure by normal standards of decency and morality Angela and Angelo’s mother Lena, would be considered low life, but in all honesty weren’t they victims, too? Grandfather, in the olden days maybe the villagers would throw stones at Angela and Lena, but who are we to cast the first stone? Worse yet, this rejection sent them spiraling on a downward path to even worse behavior. You wouldn’t have had to do anything publicly, but don’t you think that if you had been honest and fair with the Buteras and the Ciurros, Sal and Angelo might have turned out to be better people, instead of being obsessed with getting their revenge on the Feraducci family?”

  Enrico Feraducci looked at Nicolo with newfound respect. “You are wise beyond your years, Nicolo. I wish I had your counsel back then when something could have been done about it! That took a lot of courage to tell me that. No one but an inner circle family member would ever dare talk to me like that in the olden days!”

  “I didn’t tell you this out of disrespect, Grandfather. If I had no respect for you, we would not be having this meeting! Since Gilberto’s death, we seldom have had an opportunity to interact because of my mother’s wishes, and this is the first time we have ever had a serious talk, man to man. But Grandfather, I went through hell because of what happened with the Buteras and the Ciurros. Cutting them off from the family was the start of a series of events that turned my two half brothers into dangerous predators! I know what Angelo was capable of from first hand experience. I don’t even want to think about what Salvatore was capable of!”

  “You have suffered greatly, Nicolo. I am truly sorry for that. And know this, Grandson. Those two will never harm you or any other kid again!”

  “I must admit that I am grateful for that development, even though it is another example of how our family has put itself above the laws of the state. But Sal and Angelo tortured, abused, and murdered defenseless kids. They were starting to do the same to me, Grandfather, and wanted to send you pictures of it! They were the scum of the earth and deserved to die for their actions! I may be young and idealistic, Grandfather, but I have no remorse for predators who strip kids of their self-respect and innocence! Once a child has been touched by a predator, he or she can never return to a normal childhood! So in all honesty I am thankful for what you did!

  “But dealing with that type of evil is the exception rather than the rule for me. Please understand that I cannot continue to follow in the Feraducci way of doing business through violence on a regular basis. After what I just experienced, I realize that I have a duty to my future children or grandchildren to not live a lifestyle that could put their lives in danger! The old ways and traditions of the family must end with my generation.”

  “The old ways and traditions did serve you well, Grandson. I did the best I could to get help for you when I found out that you were being attacked. After all I did arrange for you to meet Jason Hunter and Daniel Holmes and I pleaded with them to look out for you.”

  “There again the Feraducci heavy-handed way of doing things almost prevented that from happening! I was really embarrassed and appalled when J
ason told me that you actually kidnapped them to have that meeting! Didn’t you understand how frightening that must have been for Jason and Daniel to be kidnapped, bound, gagged, and blindfolded, and spirited away not knowing why they were being targeted. I know how scared I was and how I hated it when I was tied up and gagged by Sal and Angelo! You had to know that Jason was the victim of a kidnapping just over a year ago! It’s even more appalling that you would intentionally do this to young boys after you had the same experience when you were growing up!”

  “I told them over and over again how sorry I was for their rough treatment. But I had to meet with them and tell them about the peril you were in! I couldn’t figure out any other way to engineer our meeting! Let’s face it, Nicolo, Mafia dons and young teenagers from the suburbs don’t exactly run in the same circles! Ironically, the very things that made Jason and Daniel so useful to you were the reason my men had to restrain them when they were brought to my house. Your friends are real fighters, Nicolo, and in the long run it was easier for my men to bring them to my house by force than try to reason with them!”