George Hartmann Box Set

by Kelly Utt

  “Caller ID, sir,” she replies. “No need to be concerned. We’ve had your number saved in our system since we spoke with you a few days ago. It’s standard procedure.”

  I’m hesitant to tell her more. I wonder if I can even trust my instincts at this point. My entire body system seems to have its wires crossed. I quickly try to calculate the risk versus reward in this situation, but my mental processing is sluggish. I look at Liam for help. He’s busy talking with Officer Dunley and isn’t paying much attention to me.

  “I see that you’re staying in a vacation rental home that our company monitors,” Louisa continues. “Things are quiet at the property. It doesn't appear that anyone is home right now, but I don’t find evidence of a breach.”

  “Oh,” I say, a shudder moving through me. That’s good news on one hand. But it’s bad news on the other. If my family left the house to go to the grocery store as they planned, that means they’d be completely vulnerable. Anything could happen to them. I place my hand over the mic on my mobile phone and call out to the rest of the guys.

  “The alarm company says no one’s home and that there’s no evidence of a breach at the house,” I announce.

  Roddy growls again, in an even lower and more guttural tone. His speech is unintelligible. I’ve never seen him like this. He was far more composed the night he killed a man with his bare hands in our front yard. And that’s saying something. His level of alarm only serves to heighten my own.

  Taye winces when he sees Roddy’s reaction. He’s no longer trying to look on the bright side and tell us Ali and Marjorie are probably busy and not answering their phones. He knows Roddy well enough to realize the seriousness of what’s happening here.

  None of us doubt Roddy. Although, he must have been off the mark a few hours ago when he assured me it was fine to leave the ladies and kids alone while we went out on the boat. I’m not sure I know what to think anymore.

  “Thank… thank you,” I say to Louisa.

  “Sir,” she continues. “Would you like me to send a patrol car by your rental home to make sure everything is alright?”

  “They already know,” I stammer. “Local police called me. But call them yourself. Work together. Please. I think my family is missing.”

  I hang up the phone before Louisa can reply. I sit hard against the back support on the boat’s bench. Every movement I make seems somehow off. I move too fast and overshoot. Or too slow. My limbs don’t feel coordinated. I smooth the hair on top of my head absentmindedly, wondering what to do next. The scene in front of me starts to blur and I can tell that a memory from Ancient Greece is about to surface. I’m beginning to recognize the feeling I get in my chest just before it happens.

  In a flash, I’m there. I’m lying alone in some sort of barn or outbuilding. Straw covers the dirt floor. I’m situated on a thin, white sheet or blanket. I remembered this place during hypnosis at Dr. Epstein’s. I remembered being with Ali here and making love to her. I don’t know what this place is, really. I don’t think it’s my home. It’s certainly not Ali’s luxurious home. I get the idea it’s a place where we could meet up and sneak around together. Someone allowed us to stay here together. I feel like someone good and kind owns the farm this building sits on. I get a sense of a farmhouse, almost at the edges of my consciousness. It feels sort of like peripheral vision. I can almost remember it and see it clearly, but not quite. I do see my immediate surroundings clearly though. It’s nighttime. The stars are bright and the moon is full. The light of the moon shines in through the open windows in this building. The moonlight seems like it wants to soothe me. But I’m inconsolable.

  I know, somehow, that I’m experiencing a time after Ali and our baby, Ethan, have been sent out of the city. I’m left here within the boundaries of Ithaki to continue my duties as a soldier. I don’t have any choice in the matter. Ali is gone. Ethan is gone, too. They’re… just gone. Tears pour from my eyes like they’re waterspouts. My arms ache for my love and our innocent child. My pain is sharp, acute. It feels like it will never subside. It feels like it might destroy me.

  I remember both Ali and Ethan being here with me only a few days prior. We laid together in a cozy cocoon of utter contentment. I cradled my newborn son as Ali curled up beside me and tucked one of her arms into the hollow of mine. We were as happy as any three human beings could be. We didn’t care that we were sleeping in a barn on someone else’s farm. We simply wanted to be together. We didn’t yet know that the decision makers would vote to send Ali and Ethan of the city. We expected sympathy. A chance to be together. We would have suffered any other fate, as long as we could have remained together.

  It didn’t happen. The powers that be were cold and compassionless. The made their ruling almost vengefully. What had we done to provoke them? Again, I see shaky scenes of the council of elders who sealed our fate. I can’t quite make out any of their faces. I swear I know them though. I sense it even more strongly now than the last time. If I could just see their eyes, I might be able to recognize them. I get the feeling that I know at least a few of them in my current life. I want to find out who they are. I want to understand. I think I need to understand in order to keep my family safe in the here and now. I wonder why my subconscious mind is revealing some of this, but not all of it. I wonder how in the hell I can find out more.

  As the rush of that memory passes through me, I’m moved to the night Ethan was born. It happened right here in this building. Someone helped us with the delivery. I can’t tell who it is, but I see an older woman wearing a dark colored dress with some sort of rope belt tied around the waist. She has long, medium brown hair braided neatly and wrapped around one side of her head. She’s kind and loving to us. I see her wiping Ali’s brow with cool cloths, then alternately applying warm compresses to Ali’s perineum as the skin stretches to accommodate baby Ethan’s journey out of the birth canal. This woman is a midwife of sorts, although I don’t think that’s all she is. Maybe she lives here on this farm. The details are fuzzy.

  As she rinses out one of the cloths in a basin, the woman turns to face me and smiles. I get a glimpse of her eyes, and… I recognize her! It’s our very own Marjorie Dyer! Ali’s mom from our current life is right here with us in Ancient Greece as well. Oh, how happy I am to see her here and to know that she cared for our beloved Ali in her time of need. She feels like the very same Marjorie we know now. No wonder my mother-in-law has that old hippie vibe in our current New York life. She was certainly on the alternative end of things in Ancient Greece. I can tell she would have been in trouble if she’d been caught helping us. Yet, she couldn’t have cared less. She was devoted to Ali and was committed to caring for her lovingly regardless of any official instructions to the contrary.

  The realization gives me comfort. It grounds me to know that there are goodness and relief, even in a distant past life that took place thousands of years ago. But remembering the searing pain of living without Ali and Ethan rattles me. My God, the pain is almost too much to bear.

  I feel my body being hurled forward, then whipped in the opposite direction. I open my eyes and am jolted back into to my current reality. We’ve arrived at the vacation house. Roddy has docked the boat and is moving quickly to disembark. It’s time for action.

  As I look up at the lake house in front of us, everything seems quiet. Just like Louisa at the alarm company said. It's the middle of the afternoon so it's hard to tell if there are lights on inside, but it doesn't look like it.

  We bolt out of the boat and onto the dock, our feet pounding the wooden planks harder than they’ve probably ever been pounded before. When we reach the grass, we quickly scurry up the back lawn, paying little attention to the stone path and series of incremental steps. I'm reminded of Navy SEALs as they pop out of the water and low crawl around, ready to complete their top-secret missions. We‘re no Navy SEALs, exactly, but we are strong, determined men with a wide array of tactical backgrounds and areas of expertise. We’re physically fit. And we’re tall,
with solid builds. We look like a formidable group. At least I hope we do. This, too, gives me a measure of comfort.

  The back lawn sits at a pretty steep angle. I didn't notice just how steep it was before, but I'm noticing now as I heave my body up it. My feet poke and jab into the ground below me. The sandals I'm wearing are not meant for this kind of activity. I wish I had boots, or cleats even. I feel unprepared for what I’m facing in so many ways. Then again, I suppose I’m more prepared for it than lots of other husbands and fathers would be. If I expressed my doubts right now, Roddy would tell me to think tactically. He’s right. At least I’ve been trained to think tactically. Surely, that’s a huge advantage.

  Roddy is running fast beside me. I'm moving as quickly as I can to keep pace. Liam is close behind us. Taye and Duke seem to be trying to stay out of our way, but they’re with us and ready to help any way they can.

  I'm again struck by the fact that I've never seen Roddy like this. He ran just as fast the night of the break-in when we were racing to save Ethan. But his demeanor is different this time. It’s harsh. I know he's worried about more of his family members. Rather than just one grandson, now it’s his wife and his daughter and three out of four of his grandchildren. I, of course, share in the fear. But I'm not sure the number of family members at risk is the only factor to be credited for Roddy’s escalated intensity. I suspect it has something to do with new information about the seriousness of the threat we’re facing. And that terrifies me to the core.

  We've reached an entirely new threat level. One where the Hartmann and Davies families may not be safe anywhere. Here we are, many miles away from where the attempted kidnapping took place, yet criminals are tracking our vehicles and God knows what else. It's downright sickening.

  We race up the stairs of the back deck and onward to the back door of the house. I fumble for the keys in my pocket, but Roddy beats me to it. He has his own keys out and is unlocking the door before I can make sense out of mine. He inserts the key and twists vigorously. His every movement carries such force that it seems like he may shred anything he touches. Roddy pushes hard and the door opens with a bang and a puff. The cool air-conditioned air seeps out and clamors against the hot outdoor temperatures. We rush inside, Duke trailing behind to close and lock the door after us.

  "Ali?" I yell.

  "Marjorie? Ali?" Roddy echoes.

  “Boys?" I ask, my voice breaking. “Anybody here?"

  No answer.

  We divide up and search the house systematically. Roddy turns to look at us. With a few quick hand motions on his part, we have our assignments and we understand them. Taye and Duke fan out into the upstairs bedrooms while Roddy and I search the main level. Liam heads down to the basement.

  We all know they aren’t here. But we have to be sure. Oh, how I wish they were here. I'd like nothing more than to open a bedroom door and see my family happily playing together or taking a nap. I'm afraid I'm not going to be that lucky today.

  “Clear,” Roddy yells out. My heart sinks.

  “Clear here, too,” Taye calls down the stairs.

  “Clear,” Duke adds.

  I look around the master bedroom frantically, opening closet doors and checking every small crevice where a person could hide. I'm not sure what I expect to find, but I have to check thoroughly.

  They're not here.

  "Clear," I say despondently as I walk back to the living room where the others are standing. "Anything in the basement?" I ask my uncle, knowing the answer before he says it.

  "I'm sorry, George," he says. "Nothing."

  I wonder what the others are thinking about me right now. I wonder if I look like a complete and total mess or if I look even remotely prepared to face what I'm facing.

  "Let's check the garage and the front yard," I say.

  "On it," Liam confirms.

  Roddy moves in bursts. He doesn't say anything. I can tell he's thinking. I can also tell he has huge amounts of adrenaline pumping through his body. His senses are heightened. His muscles are primed for a fight.

  We rush out to the front yard, glancing around the garage along the way. It's an empty space, so it's easy to see that nothing is there. The Honda Odyssey minivan which was parked there a few hours ago is gone. I knew it would be, but it pains me to see the emptiness.

  When we arrive outside, the sun’s light is merciless. It feels scathing, like a new assault to my senses even though I have only been indoors for mere minutes. The black Suburban that Duke and Tae rented sits in the driveway untouched.

  No sign of Marjorie, Ali, or the boys anywhere.

  "No sign of a disturbance," I say, my voice breaking again. "The alarm company was right about that."

  "Yeah, nothing here to go on," Liam says.

  “Duke?” I ask. “Were you able to reach Jen or Mom? Sorry, but I think I was out of it when you were making those calls.”

  “No worries,” he replies. “Your mom didn’t answer, but I was able to talk to Jen briefly. She’s going to keep trying to get ahold of Linette.”

  “Okay,” I say reluctantly. I wonder about Mom and whether or not she’s safe. If she doesn’t respond soon, we’ll need to send a police officer to check on her as well.

  “I talked to the agent who rented you the vacation house,” Taye offers. “She was shocked and appropriately concerned. She didn’t seem to know anything, but offered to help in any way possible.”

  “Good,” I say. “Thanks, guys.”

  Roddy stands still as he continues to think as hard as he can muster, his feet in a wide stance stabilizing his tense body. We all look at him, waiting for him to tell us what to do.

  "Where?” I ask, looking at Roddy. “Where do we go?”

  He doesn't answer right away. He hasn't formulated a plan yet. We stand silently for a few minutes, looking at him.

  The silence is broken by Duke’s phone ringing in his pocket.

  "Answer it!" I say. "It might be something we can use."

  Duke pushes the button to answer the call and holds the phone up to his ear. Taye, Liam, and I watch expectantly. Roddy doesn't shift his gaze.

  "Duke Hale," Duke says into the receiver as he answers. His eyebrows raise immediately upon hearing the person’s voice on the other end of the line. His eyes open wide as he listens, taking it in.

  "Who is it? I say.

  Duke turns a half turn away from me and puts a finger in one ear.

  "Come on, Duke, " I exclaim. "I've got to know what's happening. Put it on speaker."

  Duke gives me a reluctant look. He's considering it.

  "Duke!" I yell at him, exasperated.

  Roddy turns and looks at me.

  "Leave it alone," he snaps.

  Roddy has a plan now. And it apparently doesn't depend on whatever it is that Duke is hearing on the telephone. Liam, Taye, and I gather around Roddy, ready to receive our instructions.

  "We have to start at the grocery stores. It's the only logical thing to do," Roddy says. "There aren’t that many of them in town. This is a small place. We’ll communicate with the police, but I want to do my own investigation. I'm sure as hell not going to sit around here and wait while my family is missing."

  "Good," Liam says. "Let's divide up.

  "Actually,” Roddy interjects. "Duke will stay here at the house in case they come back home, but I want the rest of us together right now."

  Duke is still listening to the person on the other end of the telephone, but he hears Roddy. He turns towards us and motions for us to go ahead.

  "I'll stay put," Duke says, covering the microphone with his finger. "And I'll keep working my connections."

  Roddy nods his agreement, then quickly moves to get into the Suburban. I suppose, technically, Roddy isn’t supposed to drive the vehicle since he didn't rent it himself. But we're not worried about technicalities right now.

  "The keys?" Roddy asks Taye. Taye pulls the keys out of his pocket and tosses them to Roddy in a quick motion over the top of the vehi
cle while getting into the passenger seat. Liam and I climb into the back. Once buckled in, Taye immediately tries calling Ali and Marjorie’s phones again. I appreciate his diligence.

  “George, man,” Taye says. “I’ve got calls into several of my connections at the Bureau. They’re working on this. Top priority.”

  I nod sheepishly, then turn and look out the back window of the vehicle as the Suburban roars out of the driveway. Duke has already gone back inside. I sure wish I knew what the hell he was talking about on the phone. I like the idea of him staying at the house though. Someone needs to.

  I wonder where we're going. It feels like we’re on a top-secret mission, like back in my Air Force days. It’s been a while, but I’ve moved through that routine so many times, it’s etched into my memory at a visceral level. Often, the higher-ups wouldn't tell us where we were going until we were already on the plane. We were expected to show up ready for anything. I always wanted to know where we were going back then, too. It's only natural. Our human minds want to prepare us when we think difficulty lies ahead.

  "Roddy?" I ask. "Which grocery store are we going to? And how do we know that's the one they’re at?" I catch myself, then correct the tense. “Or, the one they were at earlier this afternoon?”

  "There's a Bi-mart right up the road from here,” Roddy answers. "It's the logical place to start."

  At least Roddy is talking now. That makes me believe he has a plan.

  "How do you want to run this?" Liam asks Roddy. The tone of his voice makes me think he knows something I don't.

  "You mean how closely do we want to work with local police?" Roddy replies.

  "That's right," Liam says. "I can give officer Dunley a call right now and let him know what we're up to."

  "Don't," Roddy answers emphatically. “Not yet.”