George Hartmann Box Set

by Kelly Utt

  “You know, the only thing I can come up with so far is that we need help. I don't see how the two of us are going to find Liam and Clive without some way to track either their license plate or their mobile phones.”

  "I have some old contacts I can reach out to,” Roddy says. "But I haven't been in touch with any of them in years. I don't know if they're still active. Even if they are, I don't know how long it will take them to get us what we need.”

  I'm not sure whether it's good timing or bad timing, but just as I am about to say their names, Duke and Taye walk out the back door of the house to greet us. I nod at Roddy and gesture towards our friends.

  “George, Roddy,” Duke says. He sounds cheerful, but also like he knows that's not the right tone to take under the circumstances. “How are you, my brothers?"

  "Yeah, what's up?" Taye adds.

  "Just taking a breather,” I say. “It’s been one hell of a day.”

  "Right, right," Duke replies.

  "What have you two been doing today?" I ask.

  "I've been out at the police station all day working on this case,” Duke says. "I've been wanting to fill you in, but it's been hectic. And I knew you were busy at the hospital. How is Ali doing?"

  "She's holding on," I say. "She made it through surgery and is in a medically-induced coma right now. Dr. Wong says if she makes it through the night, that will be very encouraging. Her brother, Nicky, is with her right now. He flew in from New York City as soon as he heard."

  "All things considered, that sounds like pretty good news," Taye says. "Our girl is strong. I have faith that she's going to be okay."

  "I sure hope so,” I reply.

  "Say, George,” Duke continues. "Did you hear there was an arrest made this morning?"

  Roddy and I look at each other. This is the critical moment. I haven't decided what to do yet. It’s not like I’ve had time to write down a list of pros and cons.

  "We did,” Roddy answers for me. "A reporter broke the news to us this morning when she approached George for an interview."

  "Oh, man,” Duke mutters. "I didn't want you to have to hear it like that."

  "It's not your fault," I say. "Don't feel bad, Duke. Really. "

  "But I definitely do,” he says.

  Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe a little guilt will make him want to help us.

  "How long are you going to be working with the South Lake Tahoe police department?” I inquire.

  "Looks like a couple more days and then I plan to head home, if that's okay with all of you," Duke replies. "If you need me, I'll stay longer. But I'm anxious to get back home to Jen as soon as I can."

  "You do what's best for your family,” I say. "We really appreciate everything you've done.”

  "How about you, Taye?” Roddy asks. "How have things been going for you?"

  "Pretty good," he says. “One of my contacts at the FBI has kept me in the loop as a courtesy. I'm not actively involved in the investigation since I’m no longer with the agency, but they're filling me in as a kindness. Same as Duke, I figure I'll head home in a couple of days unless I'm needed here."

  Roddy and I shake our heads yes and reassure both of them it's okay to leave whenever they like. I know they’ve had plane tickets already booked. There's no reason they should have to cancel their flights.

  "Hey, where is Liam?” Duke asks. “Is he with the boys at the hospital?”

  Roddy and I look at each other again. I don't think either of us has decided which way to go with this. Yet, it's time for one of us to say it and to put the wheels into motion. I want it to be Roddy who makes the call. But I can't let him do that.

  "Guys," I say. "I have something very serious to talk to you about. Sit down with us."

  Duke and Taye look curious. They follow instructions and sit down, waiting eagerly to hear what I have to tell them.

  “I'm talking to my friends and business partners now. I’m not talking to a cop and a former FBI agent, okay?”

  They both nod reluctantly. I can feel their resistance. I don’t blame them.

  “I wish this conversation didn't have to happen,” I continue. “But I don't think there's any other way."

  "George, you're beginning to scare me,” Taye says. "What is this about?”

  "We have a situation,” I continue.

  "What kind of situation?” Duke asks.

  "You guys know how things have gone for us and you know the danger my family has been in. You’ve seen firsthand the seriousness of the threat. And you’ve seen how much the threat is intensifying all the time. The harder they hit us, the weaker we become and the less able to withstand each new blow."

  "Sure, but…" Taye begins.

  Roddy raises his hand in the air, telling Taye to stop and listen. Taye does exactly that.

  "When we learned that there had been an arrest, it was the first real lead we've had to go on. Roddy, Liam, and I discussed it and decided that if we could find the man who was arrested, Clive Roland, we could question him.”

  "Oh, no,” Taye says. "Please tell me you didn’t grab that man and try to interrogate him yourselves."

  "We needed to find out if he was the person who ran Ali, Marjorie, and the boys off the road. We needed to know why. We also needed to know why the hell he would claim to be Ethan's biological father. You did hear that part, right?"

  "We did, "Duke says. "What did you do?”

  "We decided to go looking for Clive,” I continue. As it turned out, we got lucky and found him almost right away. He had returned to the scene of the crime in the Bi-Mart parking lot. He was just sitting there in his truck, up for grabs, if you will."

  "Oh, George,” Taye says sympathetically.

  He seems to feel genuinely sorry for me. If nothing else, maybe they'll consider it a crime of passion and I'll get a lighter sentence.

  "So, yeah, I say. "We grabbed him and took him to an old motel for questioning. We never intended to hurt him. We only wanted to talk with him."

  Duke and Taye look very serious. They're beginning to understand the magnitude of what we're dealing with.

  "Where is Clive now? Taye asks.

  "That's the thing,” I say. "We don't know."

  "And Liam?” Duke asks.

  "We don't know.”

  "Wait. How did…?” Duke begins.

  "Dr. Wong called while we were questioning Clive and said Ali was out of surgery so we should come back and talk to him about her condition. Liam offered to stay with Clive and assured us he could handle himself alone. Clive was tied to a chair and gagged when we left. And he was unconscious.”

  "Do we want to know how Clive came to be unconscious?” Duke asks.

  Well, the first time was because Roddy choked him out in the B-Mart parking lot” I explain. "The second time was because he provoked me and I tried to choke the life out of him."

  "He deserved it,” Roddy adds.

  I appreciate his support.

  “Were you trying to kill the man?” Taye asks.

  "No, definitely not,” I say. "I was so angry that I felt like I wanted him to die in the moment. But I didn't actually. I stopped short and released him. He was breathing when we left."

  “I’ve got to go back and clean the hotel room before morning though,” Roddy says. “Clive’s blood is on the carpet. We can’t let anyone find it there.”

  “You need your rest,” I say to my father-in-law. “You shouldn’t be out cleaning hotel rooms late at night. I can go.”

  “Stop it,” Roddy says to me quietly, but firmly. “That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to treat me any different.”

  “What?” Duke asks.

  “Another time,” Roddy replies.

  I raise my eyebrows to let Duke and Taye know to drop it. I can tell Roddy doesn’t plan to go any further with that topic. Instead, he jumps in to tell the rest of the Clive story.

  “We had been gone a few hours when I got a call from Liam’s mobile phone,” Roddy explain
s. "I could hear a scuffle happening. I heard Clive's voice. And I heard Liam cry out like he was in pain. The call disconnected and then it seems like the phone went off-line. When we got back to the hotel, the door to our room was ajar. Liam and Clive were gone."

  Our friends can tell what we're about to ask. I don’t have a read on what they're going to say yet, but at least they're taking it very seriously.

  "You need help finding them,” Duke says somberly.

  Taye stands up and paces back-and-forth on the dock a few times. I knew he'd be the one to have the biggest issue with this. He's more straightlaced than Duke. It's going to be a harder sell to get him on board.

  "Yes," Roddy says. "We do."

  "Do you have anything to go on?" Duke inquires.

  I like that he's already thinking about action steps.

  "Yeah, we actually do," I say. "We have a license plate number and a description of Clive's truck. We also have both of their mobile phone numbers."

  "And we have Clive's DNA,” Roddy ads. "I cut a tuft of his hair."

  "Dude, "Duke says. "That's intense."

  Roddy shrugs.

  "Guys, guys,” Taye begins. "The best move here may be to go to the local police. Duke has friends within the department. Maybe they'll let you off easy. You certainly have reason to be passionate about getting justice."

  "We don't want to do that, "Roddy says. "But to be clear, if anyone is going to police it's me. I'll deny that George had any involvement in this. I won’t allow him to be taken away from his family. They need him."

  Roddy narrows his eyes and looks hard at Taye.

  "Under no circumstances will George take the fall for any of this. Is that understood?"

  Taye nods in agreement. He still seems a little afraid of Roddy. That’s probably a good thing. He walks over and sits back down, a sign that he's willing to cooperate. He and Duke look at each other and make a few bewildered sounds to express their shared concern about the situation. I know it isn't easy for them. Taye has a son who needs him and Duke has a fiancé and a baby on the way. We're asking them to take a huge risk for us.

  "Do we know for sure that Liam is in trouble?" Duke asks.

  "No, not for sure," Roddy says. "It seems like he's in trouble. But it's possible that he has the situation under control and is still holding Clive somewhere."

  "Alright,” Duke says.

  He’s made up his mind quickly. I'm impressed with his decisiveness.

  "I have a buddy who works in the network operations center for one of the major wireless carriers," he says. "Give me Clive’s mobile phone number and my buddy should be able to triangulate the signal and pinpoint their location. I'll give him a call right now. Shouldn't take long if the phones are in an area that has cellular coverage."

  "I sure do appreciate you, man," I say to Duke as I text him Clive's number.

  "I want to help," he confirms. "But George, do me a favor. Next time, write the number down instead of text it, please. Let's try and keep the record of our nefarious activities to a minimum."

  Good point. I should be more careful.

  The sun makes its final departure behind the hills as Duke turns and heads inside to make his call. I hate can't help but wonder if he's definitely going to be loyal to us. It would be easy enough for him to play along and act like he was going to help, but then turn us in at the local police department. I wouldn't fault him if he did it. If the situation was reversed, I might even do it that way myself. I've been a law-abiding citizen all of my life. I never thought there would be a circumstance which would make me break the law like this, yet here it is.

  Roddy and I stay put, watching the water on the lake shift and slosh. It's soothing to see. We’re giving Taye some quiet time to process this and decide what he's going to do.

  It seems like we should be moving fast to find Liam. But we don't know where to move to. The best case scenario is that Liam is still in control of the situation and is holding Clive. If that were the case though, it seems like he would get in touch to let us know his plans. Although, maybe he thinks we’re still at the hospital and he doesn't want to bother us. My uncle is loyal to a fault. He’ll take one for the team any time.

  My thoughts drift back to my most recent Greek memory and the realization that Clive was Ali’s more socially desirable lover. I can't help but wonder if he might have been Ethan's father back then, too. I don't think so. I knew Ethan to be my boy, just like I do now. Maybe Clive wanted to be his father. I begin to speculate about his motivation.

  I still believe that Ali and I belong together and that we are each other's one true love. Greek culture allowed for multiple sexual partners, but Ali and I had a connection like no other. Maybe Clive was jealous of that connection. From what I can tell, both Clive and Isabel desired Ali and were in love with her. But I think I was the one who held her heart. I can see how that would make them jealous. Maybe, Clive was jealous enough to use his social clout to have Ali banished. This seems like a reasonable theory.

  "Hey, Taye," I inquire.

  I want to ask him what he knows about Clive. I figure this is a good tactic to get his mind off the legality of what we're doing.

  "You and Ali have stayed in pretty close touch over the years, right? You’re good friends, after all."

  "Yeah, that's right," he says. "Why?"

  "Because you surely know about the hard time she had when I was away in Korea."

  "I know a little," he says. "But, George, I don't want to get in the middle of your marriage. It's none of my business, really. I've always liked you and I've always told Ali so. I've never let her talk badly about you to me. "

  That's interesting. I wonder if she tried to talk badly about me to Taye.

  "I don't mean to put you in an awkward spot," I say. "But put yourself in my shoes with Clive saying he's Ethan's biological father. What if someone showed up and said that about Malcolm? Wouldn't you have questions?"

  "Yeah, that's hard-core," he says.

  "So, had you ever heard of Clive Roland before? Are you privy to any details from that period of time I should know about?"

  Tay begins to look very uncomfortable now. I'm definitely putting him on the spot.

  "George, man," he says. "Please don't ask me to get in the middle of your marriage."

  "This is about more than just my marriage," I say. " It's about finding my uncle. And understanding Clive's motivations so we can predict his next move. You know how this works. I shouldn’t have to explain it to you."

  “Yeah, I do," he says. "But it's personal for you. It's impossible to be objective when it's so personal. That's why I think you should let the authorities handle this."

  "Too late," Roddy nearly yells.

  I can see Taye's body language shift. He responds to Roddy differently than he does to any of the rest of us. He looks up to Roddy. He might not even realize it consciously, but he defers to him.

  "Look, Taye," I continue. "If Ali were awake right now, I'd be asking her. But unfortunately, that's not an option. The harsh reality is that doctors don't know when or if she's going to wake up. And when she does, this shouldn't be the first thing I bombard her with. I've already asked Roddy and Marjorie and they don't know anything about it. I suppose I could ask Jen and maybe I will. But she's pregnant and extra tired. I certainly don't want to get her involved with the nasty details of this situation. So, that leaves me with you. We're friends now, too, right? We're going into business together. I need you to trust me with the information. I can handle it."

  "To your point," he says. "If Ali were here I could ask her permission for me to tell you what I know. But she's not."

  "Taye," Roddy says. "This is not a betrayal. Don't think of it that way. If Ali could talk to us right now, I'm certain she would tell us what she knows in order to protect the family. I'm sure you've seen the surveillance footage from the Bi-Mart cameras. Did you see Ali’s face? In the parking lot. When she turned and looked at the driver in the black truck and clearly
recognized him? She was scared. Don't you think she would tell us why, if she could?"

  Taye again stands up and paces back-and-forth on the dock a few times. It seems like the pacing helps him think.

  The sun is almost completely gone for the night and the sky is lit up in a show of pinks and blues. It's beautiful. It's a reminder that there is beauty everywhere, every day. Even during the most difficult times.

  "I haven't had time to think in-depth about how this will affect our relationship,” I say. “But I'm sure Ali and I can find a way to work it out. I knew she was having a hard time when I was in Korea. I hated it. We had grown apart and there wasn't much I could do about it because my job required me to be halfway around the world. It's okay, Taye. I promise you. Please tell me what you know."

  I think Roddy and I are finally getting through to him. He seems almost ready to answer when Duke walks back out and joins us on the dock.

  "Success!" Duke says proudly. "I got in touch with my guy. He actually works in the switch for the cellular phone company now, which is even better. He can triangulate their phones himself without having to get anyone else involved. He's on it."

  "How soon until we hear something?” Roddy asks.

  "Should be real soon," Duke confirms. "I'll keep my eye on my phone, ready to pick it up the second it rings.

  Duke seems pleased with himself. He looks relaxed, like he's made the decision to help us. He has already helped us by contacting his friend, but it seems like he's ready to do whatever is necessary.

  "What did I miss?" he asks, sensing the tone amongst us.

  Taye sighs heavily. He's wrestling with his conscience.

  "I asked Taye to tell me what he knows about any relationship Ali may have had with Clive," I say. "I hate to put him in a difficult position, but it's imperative that we understand Clive's motivation so we can try and figure out what he's doing. You understand that. Right, Duke?"

  "Oh,” Duke replies. "I definitely understand your stance. I also understand Taye’s hesitancy. That is, I assume he's hesitant to say whether he knows anything or not. Am I on the right track, Taye?"

  "Yeah, man,” Taye says. "Ali is one of my oldest and dearest friends. I don't want to betray her trust. She might never forgive me. Hell, I might never forgive myself."