I Know What I Saw

by S E Cunningham

  Numbers shook his hand. "Whew! I feel better already! Carry on!" he said and started laughing this high-pitched maniacal laugh as he went up the stairs.

  Brennan took one more look at Rodney, shook his head and turned off the light, leaving Rodney to console his pain.

  As soon as Rodney heard the door close and lock, he sat up and cried silent tears. What am I going to do to get out of here? Sighing heavily, he wiped his face and did his best to clear away the ice cubes that were soaking up the thin mattress. He was so cold. He gripped the blanket, wrapping himself up in it.

  He wished he had listened all those times his father took him to church on Sundays. He said a prayer out loud for his aunt Nina and father to please come get him before he was dead and buried.

  Probably never to be heard of again.

  Chapter Five

  I chatted it up with Mom for a bit who told me not to worry. I told her I would keep her posted and she promised to let me know when a flight was available since hers was canceled due to the Nor'Easter. I stood in the middle of my kitchen, staring at my door. Luckily, I had some pieces of board and a lockset in my toolshed. Pulling my hair back, I went to work by first dusting for fingerprints with a kit I had brought with me from the city. I guess out of habit, I packed it. I don't know if Sergeant Castillo would let me run these, especially since they were out of the jurisdiction. It was worth a try. I knew it was a long stretch since only myself and Rodney used this back door. The perp was probably slick and had worn gloves.

  After dusting for prints, I repaired the door as best as possible and installed the lock and doorknob. I made a mental note to contact a security company to install some cameras. Moxy watched me the whole time, putting her paws over her face whenever I turned on the drill. She followed my every move, I guess feeling guilty that she did not alert me when the perp got in the house.

  I was about to nail another piece of the board where the windowpane was when I stopped. Looking at Moxy, I had just thought of something that I hadn't earlier. I was so taken aback by that slick-mouthed Bly, I should've known the obvious. Should've spoken up about it. How did the person get inside without Moxy making a sound? Surely I would've woken up to her barking like she did this morning, right? I looked at her, taking a step around her lying near the cabinet. She stood up and yawned.

  I looked around on the floor, blinking, trying to recall what was the last thing Moxy ate. I usually fed her around five and then walked her at eight. I remembered I fed her some dry food in her bowl. I had run out of the organic wet food she likes.

  Bending down, I examined her bowl. It appeared to have dried lick marks on it. As if she had just chowed down on some sort of meat. Picking the bowl up, I smelled beef. Moxy liked beef, but the dry kind.

  Someone deliberately broke in here, gave her fresh meat with probably some sleeping medicine and took Rodney out of my house. All under my snoring nose.

  Reaching back, I rubbed my shoulder. I cursed the day that Oz shot me. But I was wrong that day, too. Had none of that happened, I wouldn't have run out here. And my brother James wouldn't have thought it was a good idea to have Rodney away from bad influences in Maryland at his school.

  Dang, it. How things came back full circle. I knew one thing. I was determined to get my nephew back. And when he did come back, he was going into a program to get himself together. At the rate he was going, his life was in a downward spiral, just like my brother Matt.

  Speaking of brothers, I knew I needed to call James. Mom said she tried but he didn't answer. I ate a banana and drank some coffee. I turned on the small flat screen in my kitchen to the news thinking something, anything would pop up. Nope, the meteorologist was too busy talking about the upcoming snowstorm this week. Great, that was just what I needed.

  Before dialing his number, I looked out the front bay window at the small lake. I wonder if I should call a dive team? Did Rodney go outside and fall in the water? I was panicking. Of course, he didn't go outside and take a swim in twenty-degree weather. Turning around, I held onto the edge of my plush sitting chair. I took deep breaths in and out, trying to control myself.

  I dialed James, getting that weird sound that lets one know you're being recorded. The beeps are extra long. Finally, he answered.

  "Nina, what's up? How's everything in Snowville?" James answered, chuckling.

  I swallowed hard. "Well brother, I wish I could laugh with you, but this isn't a laughing matter," I said solemnly.

  He got quiet for a second and then, "What's wrong Nina, everything okay with Mom? Rodney? I just got off the phone with him."

  My heart started racing. "Wait you spoke to Rodney? When?" I asked him in a rush. I sat down in the chair, clutching at my sweater's collar.

  "Uh, well not just spoke to him, but that was yesterday evening. He said you guys had just finished dinner, he washed the dishes and he was going to bed early since he had been up all night watching some hacking tutorials," James explained. "Why, is something wrong Nina?"

  I let out a small frustrating sigh, careful that he didn't hear me. "Yes, something is very wrong. Someone broke into my home between last night and this morning and Rodney is not here. He's missing."

  "What? Missing? How? I just spoke to him. This is insane, around what time was this that you discovered he was missing Nina? Are the police involved? James asked me, rattling off questions. I could hear his footsteps signifying that he left the office.

  I nodded my head. "Yes around eight this morning, Mom had called me. I went to get Rodney up to walk Moxy while I cooked breakfast and discovered he was gone. I checked everywhere, came to the kitchen and saw that the back door was broken into. He was not outside around the house, but-" I said.

  "But did you check with the neighbors around the lake area? Surely they saw him, he might've sneaked out and couldn't get inside, broke the door and left out to go buy tools to repair the door, right?" James asked me, hope fading from his voice.

  "James I'm sorry, I wish it were that simple, but it's not. I think he was deliberately stolen because Moxy was drugged with some sort of sleeping medicine. I didn't hear a thing because this medicine I'm taking makes me knock right out soon as I take it," I said to him sympathetically.

  He scoffed. "Oh yeah, I forgot you're a cop. I wish you had joined the military like myself."

  "Ouch," I said. That really was a low blow but didn't surprise me. James and my father both thought that they had mapped out mine and Matt's lives for us, but we chose different paths. I worked so hard trying to save the world and got so tired of hearing these jabs from my brother whenever we spoke.

  "Look, James now is not the time to talk about this. We need to find Rodney safe and sound. You said you spoke to him last night?" I asked.

  He cleared his throat. "Yes, he seemed to be in good spirits. He told me about the run-in with the police a couple of weeks ago. I told him he had to stay out of their hair. He asked about his mother, I told him she was fine. He said you make a mean spaghetti and I told him you learned that from me. He said he wanted to go to this mini-concert this week and was going to ask you if he could attend. He aced his chemistry test before school let out. Spoke about hacking and that was it. Said he was tired. He didn't seem high, drunk, nothing. I don't get this. Nina, who out there is your enemy? Did anyone follow you from the city?" James asked me, his voice shaking.

  I ignored the jabs again and answered him truthfully. "No James, there aren't any enemies of mine out here. Listen, I'm going to keep you posted. As I said, I've already called the police and they're going to put out an alert. I plan to conduct my own search with a volunteer group through the police force. I already looked them up. Mom is going to try to come out here, but she can't find a flight. Unless she flew into Laguardia and drove the rest of the way. I don't want her having to do all of that." I told him. I rubbed my fingers through my hair, wiping the sweat from my brow.

  "I agree, Mom shouldn't have to come out there alone, going through all that trouble. Rodney is
my son. Okay, I'll tell you what. It's snowing out here right now, but I'll try to get a flight out even if it's through Dulles. What about the police? I know you mentioned them, but why aren't they using a search party?" James asked.

  I told him all about Bly and Stevens. James didn't seem to like Bly's tone. I told him I would post on social media with Rodney's picture to see if anyone heard something from him.

  "While the search party is conducting their search, I will drive around town and will check with people he knows. He doesn't know many honestly. He just wants to be cool, that's all," I said in Rodney's defense.

  "Nah, Rodney is a nerd at heart. That loves hard rock music. It's his mother. He misses her. I thought maybe she had something to do with this, but she knows better. Besides, she's five months pregnant. I doubt if she has time to bring her swollen feet to the states to kidnap her child. She knows I would fight her tooth and nail over Rodney," James said in a gruff.

  I nodded my head. "I understand. I didn't even think about her, to be honest. But will still keep her on my radar. Are you going to tell her?"

  James paused. "No actually. I will wait. She is living her blissful life, the one she said I couldn't give her. So I won't disturb her."

  My brother was still bitter over his ex-wife and her infidelity with a younger man from Spain. I sighed, knowing that type of betrayal, too.

  "Well James, I gotta go so I can post this on my page. I'll keep you posted and do let me know if you're coming out here," I said, getting up from the chair to go back to the kitchen where my laptop was at.

  "Okay, thank you and please keep me in the loop, Nina. Next to you guys, Rodney's all I got," James said in a low worried whisper.

  "Trust that I will find him, safe and sound James," I answered confidently.

  Chapter Six

  After driving around town to spots where Rodney could'€™ve gone to, I came up short. I checked the skate park, where I took Rodney once. No one was there since it was full of snow and ice. I did talk with two park workers who were shoveling snow with big machines. They told me they'd never seen Rodney but would definitely call if they saw him. I thanked them and left, heading over to the recreation center. I spent about fifteen minutes passing out flyers I made at home with Rodney's picture on it to the kids playing hockey and basketball. Only a few of them recognized him but said they hadn't seen him since he didn't come to the rec. They did recall seeing him in the halls at school, but that was it. One girl got him mixed up with another kid who was actually in jail. Ironically, I wished it was Rodney, but I knew he wasn't him. They just had a similar hairstyle.

  I drove to the liquor store where Rodney got caught buying booze. He admitted to having a fake ID to purchase the beer. I never told James about it because I didn't want him to send Rodney home. I wanted to give the kid some time to get it together and prove everyone wrong. From the looks of it all, he was not winning. But who would want to take him if he barely knew anyone out here? Was I that absentminded about him that I might have missed it?

  What was he hiding from me?

  The store clerks were an East Asian married couple and told me they had seen Rodney before and were sorry that he was missing. They were also sorry about him buying the beer. They were the ones who actually called the police. I asked them why did they sell it to him. The man asked me, "Do you know what it feels like to get robbed?" I told him, "Actually I do, I'm a cop." He stared at me and then said, "Well you're you and I am me. I have to protect my family. Sell the beer, call cops later." He took the customer behind me, dismissing me altogether. I was amazed at his arrogance but didn't say anything. I made a reminder to have him investigated for selling alcohol to minors. Before leaving the store, I took a glance back at his wife. She averted her sad eyes from mine. I noticed a purplish bruise on her cheek. Scoffing at him, I left out of the store.

  I stopped at a gas station which was crowded with truck drivers making a rest stop. I gave all of them a flyer. One of the drivers, an older guy, told me he would pray for me and I thanked him. The cashier there said she had never seen Rodney come in there, but she did see him recently on the news. Surprised, I asked her when was that. She said it was on TV a few minutes ago. I thanked her and left out of the store to go to my car. Getting inside, I looked at my phone and saw that I hadn't received any messages from Bly or Stephens or anyone. What was going on? I took out the card Bly gave me and dialed his number only to be met with his voicemail. I hung up without leaving a message.

  My phone rang as I was driving through the town, searching for the next spot kids these days hung out at. I heard that they're going to each other's houses to party hard, but Rodney didn't have many friends. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Mom. I swiped the screen's button to answer. Her strong voice was loud in my Honda CRV so I turned down the volume, while still driving handsfree.

  "Any word on Rodney, Nina Belle?" Mom asked me. She was holding it together, but I could detect some worry in her cadence.

  "Nope, not yet Mom. But I did speak with James," I said, stopping at a red light. I glanced over at the bright red and white university's arrow signs. I knew Rodney couldn't have been here, but it was worth a try.

  "Oh, really? What did he say? Is he coming to help you? Any tips on where his son could be?" Mom asked, bombarding me with a slew of questions.

  The light had turned green and I relayed the conversation I had with James as I drove through the quiet college town. She listened intently without interrupting.

  "So I'm out here before the storm hits to hand out flyers of Rodney and his description. Some kids said they recognized him from school, but didn't know him like that," I said, sighing.

  "Nina, don't beat yourself up about this. You couldn't have known Rodney would just disappear like this. I know he'll be found," my mother said, trying to make me feel better.

  I nodded to myself. "Yeah, but James still thinks that joining the police force was a bad idea. Will he get over that already? That was almost fifteen years ago." I stopped at another red light, feeling a sharp pain coming on. I winced, trying not to sound too agitated by it.

  "I know sweetie. I know. Your father and I always clashed about my career. He didn't want me out in the field. I wanted it all though. A marriage, a career, children. And now grandchildren. And now my eldest is gone. For now. Look, Nina, I know James means well, so ignore his sly jabs for now. When you find Rodney, then you can go back to your sibling spat," Mom said with a light chuckle.

  I went through the next light and came upon the restaurants near the school. I was going to start there.

  "Yup, you're right Mom. I gotta stay focused on this boy or else I'll go crazy. Look I have to go. I'm about to hand out some more flyers. I'll keep you posted," I said to her. I parked the car near a pizza shop and a CVS and inhaled a deep breath and exhaled back out.

  "Good. You do that. I will stay on social media, of course, to check for a flight opening and for any updates you posted online. I also let Stephen know. He wants to come here, but he's all the way in Nicaragua conducting a study. You know how your father is though, he'll find a way. And you're just like that. You will find a way Nina Belle," Mom said.

  "Thanks, Mom, I appreciate that," I told her before hanging up.

  Before getting out of my car, I checked my phone. I had several notifications. Feeling my cheeks go hot, I couldn't believe what I was reading.

  A lot of people connected the dots of who I was when I posted Rodney's picture and details. Realizing I was that disgraced cop placed on administrative leave for accidentally shooting two innocent bystanders in the middle of my sting, the public was not taking my post too well.

  "Who does she think she is? This pig shooter? #notmyissue

  "I know right? She can get the In-Why-Pee-Dee to help her ass!"

  "She's a mass shooter and now she needs our help? Fuck outta here!"

  "I hope she finds her boy, but that's #notmyissue!"

  And countless others that I didn't want to scr
oll through to read right now.

  My phone rang again, taking me away from my cyberbullying thread. Looking at the number, I groaned.

  "Hello, this is Westbrook," I answered.

  "Westbrook, you want to tell me what the hell is going on? I send you on a one-way ticket to get some relaxation and your name out of the papers, and already there's trouble. And why is your name trending with this stupid hashtag "not my issue"? Why didn't you call to tell me what's going on?" he asked with a gruff.

  I told him all the details from the time I discovered Rodney was missing, to me calling Bly. I told him that Bly must've posted the short clip on the afternoon news because I didn't see it again nor heard from him. I explained that I was searching for him myself and that I had driven almost everywhere looking for him.

  "So what's your next step? And you don't sound too good. You took your medicine?" he asked with concern, bringing it down a notch.

  "Honestly? I don't know. My brother is trying to catch a flight out of Dulles. Mom wants to come here, but she's having the same issue. Snow is delaying a lot of flights across the country." And no I haven't taken it," I replied. I was starting to feel woozy. I hadn't eaten since I left out.

  Lieutenant Ben paused. He was generally a good guy, but he really needed things done his way most of the time. So I listened up.

  "Okay, I'll tell you what. I know some groups over in Watertown who volunteer for unfortunate cases like this. I'll talk to the head sheriff out your way to let him know that this is a search party who won't get in their way. I know how those guys out there can be. They don't want anyone to think they can't do their jobs so they just go ahead on and do it. I'll try to get a couple of our spokespersons to clean this up on social media. We can't control what they say, but we can control how we respond."