“They put her through school and when she graduated they sent her immediately to Viet Nam. My mother was so upset, but your mother reassured her everything would be fine. She would be away from the fighting, in a field hospital taking care of the wounded. That’s where she met your father.”
“My dad was a Marine,” Jaxon said. “How would he have met my mother?”
“She told me that they were in Saigon for some R&R and had met her in the street outside of a bar. Your father and William Rothstein.”
Aunt Tami’s face scowled at the mention of his name and somehow Jaxon had figured he would play into this story before it was over. Still, it gave him an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“The two Bills,” Jaxon said.
“Yes. They were very close. But that all changed.”
She sipped her coffee then pushed it away. The frown on her face deepened.
“The three struck up a conversation, William Rothstein doing most of the talking, but your father was all she had eyes for. He was quiet, good looking and had an appeal she liked in a man. William Rothstein was the polar opposite of your father and though she could tolerate him, she had no feelings for him. He, on the other hand, had his sights on her and would not let up.
“The pursuit of your mother went on for a few days until she grew weary of Rothstein and shunned him. He did not take it well. Your father tried to console him, but he grew angrier and refused to accept the fact she wanted nothing to do with him.
“That night, he went to the hospital and waited for her to get off duty. William Rothstein confronted her outside, she rejected him and then he forced her into an empty vehicle and raped her.”
Jaxon felt like he had been punched in the stomach. His hand shook as he set the coffee down. The little boy in him was back and it wanted this woman to stop. He could see her mouth moving, sound coming from it, but his little boy mind was shutting it all out. He took a deep breath and forced himself to listen.
“Your father knew that Rothstein had gone to the hospital to see her and he talked himself out of getting between them thinking that his best friend would get the message and finally back down. When Rothstein did not return, he went to find him, thinking him drunk on the side of the road or maybe injured from a fight in some bar.
“He found the two in the vehicle, hearing her muffled cries, and pulled William off of her. They fought and your father was able to subdue him. Then Rothstein ran off.
“Your father took your mother inside where she seemed inconsolable, but then she pleaded with your father to say nothing. She clung to him like a scared child and he held her as she cried for hours. She finally asked him to take her home and he walked her to her place. There, they made a decision that many would say should never have been made, but it was one she wanted and your father agreed. They would never speak of the rape or William Rothstein again.
“Rothstein and your father did not talk for years. As you can imagine, the crime was something your father could never condone no matter who or what Rothstein was to him. Your father and mother grew closer and when she discovered she was pregnant, they decided to get married. You were born shortly thereafter.”
Jaxon stood.
His whole body seemed to vibrate and the world had a red tinge at the fringes of his vision. He moved quickly to the sink, thinking he was going to be sick, but he choked it down and took deep breaths trying to calm his nerves. Aunt Tami was next to him, holding his shoulders.
“I’m sorry I’m the one to burden you with this, but your father wanted you to know. Your mother felt it was something you should never hear, but he came to me despite your mother’s wishes. I’m disappointed he never found the courage to tell you himself, but it doesn’t make him any less of a man. He carried that terrible burden for so many years and I guess it was too much.”
“I’ve got to get out of here,” Jaxon said. “I’m sorry. I have to leave.”
He moved for the door and she let him go.
“Jaxon,” she called as his hand touched the doorknob. “He doesn’t know.”
Jaxon turned to stare at the woman who had caused the world to come crashing down around him. His pause made her speak once more though he never wanted to hear that voice again.
“William Rothstein doesn’t know you’re his son.”
* * *
Jaxon burst into his parents’ home and found his stepmother at the kitchen table reading the paper. She smiled as she recognized him, but then frowned when she saw his face.
“Did you know?” Jaxon asked, his stepmother’s face fearful as his voice carried his anger to her.
“Did I know what?”
“Don’t lie to me,” he said. “Did he tell you I’m not his son?”
“Jaxon, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re frightening me.”
Jaxon took a couple of deep breaths and moved into the kitchen.
She watched him with wary eyes, and it pained him to see her look at him that way. He needed to get his shit together. It would do no good to frighten this woman who had raised him and she did not deserve to be the brunt of his fury.
“Jaxon, please, tell me what’s wrong.”
He sat down in front of her and took her hand in his.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he said. She looked shocked, because he never called her mom. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m just upset.”
“Tell me what happened.”
He told her and her face drained of color.
She stood shakily and went to the coffee pot where she poured more coffee into her mug, realized what she was doing and then put the mug down. She turned to him and he saw tears in her eyes.
“He never said a word. Not one. All these years and he never talked once about it. I can’t believe this. Are you sure?”
Jaxon was. He knew that he had no proof yet, but the story his aunt had told him held a truth he could feel. Deep down, he knew it to be, no matter how painful it was.
“Yes. I am.”
She put her hand to her mouth and he could see it shaking.
She shuffled slowly back to the table and sat down. She stared at the paper on the table and then her face changed as something surfaced in her memory.
“He came here,” she said. “He came here and your father wanted him to leave.”
“Who? Mother, who came here?”
“William Rothstein. And two other men. I recognized him from the paper and was very surprised he was here. He said he was an old friend of your father’s and I let him in.”
Jaxon grabbed her hand. It startled her and he eased up on his grip.
“Why was he here?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened, Mother? Why did William Rothstein come to this house?”
“Your father asked him to leave. He was angry and I tried to play the good host and calm him down. He convinced your father to talk and they all went into his office. I heard arguing and then William Rothstein left. I went in to find your father visibly shaken. He wouldn’t say what happened.”
“When was this?” Jaxon asked. “When was he here?”
“The day before your father died.”
Jaxon stood. “I have to go.”
He turned to leave and she grabbed his hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to go,” he repeated and he moved away.
“What are you going to do?” she asked as he walked from the room.
“I’m not sure,” he lied.
“Please be careful.”
He was going to do no such thing.
He was going to find William Rothstein and he was going to kill him.
* * *
Ray’s phone rang and he grabbed it quickly.
It was Jaxon. His heart sank and he held the phone in his hand not wanting to answer it. She had been gone for over an hour now and she would not answer his calls. He had hoped it would be her.
The phone went to voice mail when h
e did not pick up and then it started ringing again immediately. Jaxon was not going to be discouraged.
“What?” Ray said into the phone, his anger and frustration clearly evident.
“Be out front,” Jaxon said. “I need you with me.”
“I’m not working today, Jaxon. You can do whatever you need without me.”
“Did you hear me? I need you with me today. Be out front.”
The line went dead.
Ray cursed and almost threw the phone through the window.
He did not need this right now and was in no mood to drive around the city looking for God knew what. He sat on the broken couch and fumed. Jaxon could go screw himself.
After a few minutes, pounding on the door brought him out of his stupor and he could hear Jaxon yelling on the other side of it. He thought if he just ignored him he’d go away, but the pounding continued and only grew more insistent. He got up and threw the door open.
“I said I wasn’t working today.” Ray stopped.
The look on Jaxon’s face was one he had never seen and as Jaxon pushed past him into the apartment, he grew worried for his boss and friend.
“Where’s Laurelyn?” Jaxon said.
“She left.”
“Good. I don’t want her with us today.”
“What’s wrong, Jaxon? What the hell is going on?”
“Get your clothes on and let’s move.”
Ray got dressed without any more questions and they left his apartment. Jaxon remained silent in the car.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Ray asked.
“We have to find Rothstein.”
“He’s gone. You know that.”
“I think he’s here and we’re going to find him.”
Jaxon said nothing more as they drove over the Buckman Bridge into Mandarin.
Ray rode silently, checking his phone every few minutes, but Laurelyn had not called or messaged him. He sent her another text, hoping she would text him back. Jaxon finally noticed and glanced at him.
“Why do you keep checking your phone?”
Ray sighed. “Laurelyn left this morning all pissed off. I was hoping to hear from her.”
“We don’t have time for this today.”
Ray grew angry.
“Listen, I didn’t ask for this. I told you I didn’t want to work today.”
“She’s pissed. So what? She’ll come around.”
“Michelle showed up at my apartment this morning.”
“And she couldn’t handle that?”
“She walked in the room as Michelle was kissing me.”
“Why would you let her do that? No wonder she’s pissed.”
“I didn’t let her. She surprised me and I stood there, like a dumbass, shocked.”
“Are you going to be able to put this aside for now? I need you on your game.”
“What the hell are we going to be doing?”
Jaxon mumbled something Ray couldn’t hear and he asked him to repeat it.
“We’re jumping into the hornets’ nest,” he said, and Ray did not like the sound of that.
Before he could question him more, Jaxon took the turn into the Rothstein estate at high speed and did not slow down for the gate. He broke through the automatic arm and sped down the driveway toward the house.
“What the fuck, man?”
Jaxon said nothing.
He skidded to a stop at the front entrance and jumped from the car. Ray followed not sure what the hell was going through Jaxon’s head.
At the front door, he didn’t knock. Pushing the door open, he walked in as a bell chimed and the huge guy in the suit came out of a room on the left and approached rapidly.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” suit said. “This is private property. I suggest you leave now before the police arrive.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Jaxon said, looking around the open entranceway.
Suit started to reach inside his coat and Jaxon never hesitated. He stepped to the guy and slammed his elbow into his throat. The gun clattered to the floor as suit bent over clutching at his neck.
Jaxon stepped to the side and brought his leg up, then jammed his foot back down into the side of suit’s knee. The fragile joint snapped with a loud crack and suit cried out through his damaged vocal chords, collapsing to the ground and grabbing his knee, the throat long forgotten.
Ray stood stunned.
Ben Rothstein ran out of some side hallway and burst into the foyer. He looked at his employee on the ground, Jaxon standing over him with his face set in a grim mask of anger, and yelled.
“What the hell, Jaxon?”
Jaxon moved quickly to Ben, grabbing him with both hands by the shirt and slamming him up against the wall. Ray moved to grab the gun off the floor so suit couldn’t get to it, though Ray was sure he was preoccupied with his pain right now.
“Where is he?” Jaxon said through clenched teeth.
“I don’t know,” Ben said, looking back and forth between Jaxon and Ray. The look in his eyes betraying the fear he was trying to hide.
“Bullshit!” Jaxon said. “Tell me where he is.”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me everything.”
Jaxon shook Ben, slamming his head against the wall again, and Ben closed his eyes.
“I swear, Jaxon. I don’t know where he is. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t believe a fucking thing that comes out of this family’s mouth. Why are you protecting him? He’s done nothing but bring pain into your life.”
“He’s my father.”
“He’s a murderer! You don’t see, do you? Think, Ben. Who would have a reason to kill Moore and Mason? Who would he send to do the job? Hubble and Parks are his paid assassins and your wife was a convenient casualty.”
Ray watched Ben’s face as it sank in. He didn’t want to believe, and he struggled against Jaxon’s grip.
“No! He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t.”
“Think, Ben. He hated your wife. Thought she was a disgrace to this family. He called her a whore and even asked her to get out. That information packet he gave us the other day was filled with surveillance on her and her activities. He never showed it to you, did he?”
Ben shook his head slowly.
“He loathed her and when the opportunity presented itself, he took care of two birds with one stone. No, he didn’t pull the trigger, but he might as well have. He’s a monster and he has to be stopped.”
Jaxon slowly let Ben go, pushing him away with one hand before releasing him. Ben sank to the floor, put his face in his hands and wept. Jaxon showed no emotion.
“You tell him I’m coming for him,” Jaxon said. “You tell him that for me.”
Jaxon turned and walked out of the house. Ray stood there for a moment, unsure what to do, then Jaxon yelled from outside.
“Let’s go, Ray. Move.”
* * *
Jaxon drove straight to the warehouse as Ray rode along arguing with him.
He could not figure out what was going on in Jaxon’s head and no matter what he said, Jaxon refused to talk. Ray finally shut up and pulled out his phone. He did not have any messages. He dialed her number and listened to it ring. When it went to voice mail he left another message pleading with her to call him.
He knew that what she saw had hurt her, but he really hadn’t expected her anger to hang on this long. His rational mind kept telling him he had misjudged her and she really was that tough bitch she portrayed at times in her work, but his heart was telling him something else was wrong. She loved him and he loved her and though it had happened fast, the bond was so strong this thing with Michelle should never have broken it. He stared at the phone in his hand and willed it to ring. When it did not, he dialed another number. Tate answered on the third ring.
“Tate. It’s Ray. I need to speak with Laurelyn.”
“She’s not here. She never came in today. I figured she was sick or something.”
“Did you try
her phone?”
“Yeah. I left her a message, but she hasn’t called back.”
Ray was stunned.
It wasn’t like her to skip work and not tell anyone about it. The panic bell in his chest was starting to ring and he couldn’t seem to get it to stop.
“Listen. Can you go by her place and see if she’s all right? She was supposed to be with us this morning and she didn’t show.”
“Sure. I can do that. You sound worried.”
“Call me if you find her. As a matter of fact, call me if you don’t.”
Tate said he would and Ray hung up. He turned to Jaxon.
“Something’s wrong. I need to go home.”
“She’s fine. She’s cooling off. I need you with me.”
“Dammit, Jaxon. I know something isn’t right. She would have called me by now.”
“I know you’re freaking out because you had a spat with her, but I can’t do this alone and you’re all I’ve got. Let her cool off and you guys can kiss and make up later.”
Ray wanted to punch him in the face, but he pushed it down and sat in the seat fuming. They arrived at the warehouse five minutes later.
After parking in front, Jaxon walked straight to the loose board at the entrance and pulled it free. He disappeared inside and Ray followed behind him.
Jaxon was being reckless. Ray worried they would be walking into something they weren’t prepared for and it was going to get them killed.
Inside, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust as he heard Jaxon move away deeper into the darkness. He followed his footsteps and heard them stop a short distance in front of him. Light seeped in through the dirty windows from above and as Ray’s eyes fully adjusted, he could see Jaxon standing next to something hanging from one of the chains in the middle of the open space. It was Papa.
He was dead.
Ray went to use his phone to call the police but Jaxon put his hand on it and shook his head.
Father Figure (A Jaxon Jennings' Detective Mystery Thriller Series, Book 3) Page 22
