Stranded at Romson's Lodge

by J. L. Callison

  “No, Ma can get them out the door for me. I will be pleased to make the calls for you.”

  “Thank you so much, Anh. You had better call Ziggy’s and reserve a room. We’ll meet there. Ask Ziggy to fix a buffet. I think if we try to meet at the plant, we will be interrupted and won’t get things done.”

  “Okay, will do, Mr. Romson.”

  “Oh, one other thing. You’d better invite the maintenance team also. I don’t know Charles’s status, so we’d better prepare for his absence. Thank you so much. I’ll see you in the morning.” He hung up and quickly placed another call.

  “Police Department, Sergeant Donnelly speaking.”

  “Good afternoon, Sergeant. James Romson here. I’m trying to touch base with Officer Donovan. Could you ask him to either give me a call or stop by my house? I need to follow up with him on things.”

  “Stand by one.” The line went silent. James waited a moment until the officer came back on the line. “Donovan said he will give you a call within the half hour, unless he gets another call.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant. We’ll be waiting for his call.”

  James hung up, walked wearily to the couch, and sat next to his wife. With all the sleep he had gotten the night before, one would think he would be rested, but he felt like garbage. It seemed it took all his effort just to put one foot in front of the other. He put one arm around his wife’s shoulders, and she laid her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

  When the phone rang, James jumped up to answer.

  “Romsons’.”

  Mary hated the way he answered the phone. She said he didn’t know if he was at work or at home. He always answered the same way.

  “Officer Donovan here. I hope you got some good rest?” It was more of a question than a statement.

  “Yes, believe it or not, we really slept. We didn’t wake until one-thirty.”

  “Oh, I can believe it. You two were pretty tuckered out when I dropped you off. Almost thought I’d have to carry you in the house. Anyway, any chance you and your wife could meet me at the hangar? I know Charles Sitton is still at the hospital. He’ll be released this afternoon, but I think it would be better if he didn’t come out right now.”

  “Okay, we can do that. I was just waiting to hear from you before I called Charles. I wanted to be able to let him know what’s going on. His car is at the hangar. How will he be getting home?”

  “Not my department, sorry. If you want, you could pick him up and give him a ride home and then meet me at the hangar. Just give the Sarge a call at the station, and let him know what time you will get there. I have some reports to write up, so I’ll have plenty to keep me occupied. On second thought, I’ll just go over there and do my paperwork. I’ll be there when you get there. If for some reason I get called out, I’ll leave you a note on the door. Please don’t try to enter the hangar without me.”

  “Very well. I’ll give Charles a call and meet you in an hour or so. Thank you very much.”

  He closed out the call and then, looking at the number chalked on the message board, called the hospital.

  “Mercy Medical Center. How may I direct your call?”

  “Charles Sitton, please. I believe he is in Cardiac Care.”

  “One moment please.”

  “Hello?”

  “Hey there, Charles. I hear they are going to kick your ugly old self out of there for stirring up trouble.”

  Mary shook her head. One would never know how much the two men thought of each other to hear them talk.

  “Sounds to me like a skunk telling a possum his breath stinks. Yeah, I’ll be ready to go just as soon as the doc gets in here. My car is at the hangar. Any chance you could give me a ride over there to pick it up?”

  “Mary and I are walking out the door right now, and we’ll be there in a jiffy. Don’t be sparking up one of the nurses before we get there. We know how you are.”

  “Right! Like that’s gonna happen. It’s why I always carry a big stick with me, so I can beat them off.”

  James laughed. “We’ll be there in just a few minutes, buddy. Stand by.”

  Doctor Lambert was walking into Charles’s room when the elevator door opened and James and Mary stepped out. They followed him in, after asking if it was okay. They found Charles and Sue holding hands, sitting on the side of the bed talking. “Hmm, looks like you two are taking care of each other like I told you to,” said the doctor.

  Sue flushed, but she didn’t let go of Charles’s hand. “We have been talking about when Jimmy was taken by ‘the-one-whose-name-will-notbe-spoken.’ I was just trying to help him deal with things.”

  “Um-hmm. I thought you might be able to help him. Now, Charles, I don’t want you going to work, to the hangar, talking with the police or anyone else about this for at least forty-eight hours. You will take the sleeping aids I prescribed for you, beginning just as soon as you return home. Is there anyone you could have stay with you for a couple of days? I’d be a lot more comfortable if you had someone available.”

  Mary spoke up. “Not a problem. He’s coming to our house for a few days, ’til we get things sorted out.”

  “I think that’s a good idea. Just don’t discuss the situation extensively for the next two days. I want Charles to get some real rest and not to have his mind and nerves racing continuously. Do I have your word on this?”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  “Good. Here is my personal contact info in case you need me after hours. I want to be called immediately if anything comes up.”

  “James, did you know the doc here and Sue are the ones who put me back together in Tokyo General?” Charles interrupted.

  “No, I didn’t! Thank you! Charles wasn’t a very good spotter, but he did a good job of catching grenade fragments that might have messed up my good looks.”

  “You caught your share of them, too, James. Charles was my last patient, but I worked on you while they were trying to stabilize Charles for surgery. I’ve been watching both of you, and I want you to know I’m proud of what you’ve done with your company. I know you’ve provided employment for quite a few wounded vets who wouldn’t have found work otherwise. Now get out of here, and Charles, I mean it. Use those meds I gave you and rest. I don’t want to see you professionally again.”

  “Aye aye, Doc. Thanks from all of us.”

  Doctor Lambert reached to shake Charles’s hand but was surprised by an embrace instead. He turned away from it only to receive another from James, and then Mary, who had tears running down both cheeks.

  “Thank you, Doctor. He may not be much, but he’s all the husband I have. Jed would have been fatherless had it not been for you.”

  Doctor Lambert was visibly moved. It wasn’t often he was thanked for his work so profusely and particularly not for the work he did while in the military. He nodded wordlessly, afraid his voice would crack, then turned and walked out of the room. Sue remained behind.

  CHAPTER 28

  Jed and Lizzie spent some quiet time together after breakfast. They didn’t have a preacher, a choir, a piano, or an organ, but they opened their Bibles and spent time trying to place their thoughts someplace other than in their circumstances. It wasn’t the same, but for two young people who loved God, they found it quite refreshing. This established the pattern they maintained the whole time they were at the lodge.

  They spent a good bit of the afternoon going through the clothing stored at the lodge, and, as Jed had guessed, some of the clothes he had outgrown would fit Lizzie well enough. She wouldn’t win any fashion prizes, but she would be clothed. Much of what was there would be too warm for summer wear, and they had a good laugh at some of the things she tried on. Jed found a few items to help stretch his wardrobe also, but he was going to be in need very soon if something didn’t happen. Afterward, they pulled out some board games that were kept there for those using the lodge. All in all, they had a lazy, pleasant day, knowing it was going to get serious fast.r />
  Jed planned to go hunting early the next morning to see if he could find a deer. It would have to be a buck because he didn’t want to leave an orphan fawn that could not fend for itself. Lizzie decided to sleep in, and then she was going to try to hand wash some of their clothing from the last two weeks. Jed rigged up a couple of lines for her to hang the clothes on to dry.

  CHAPTER 29

  James and Mary got Charles settled in the guest bedroom, agreeing to stop by his house to pick up some items when Mary drove his Oldsmobile to the Romsons’ home from the hangar.

  When they arrived at the hangar, they found Officer Donovan waiting. Yellow crime scene tape still surrounded the building, and Officer Donovan cautioned them not to enter the building without an officer in attendance until the site was released. An evidence van was there, and a team was scouring the building and the surroundings for any evidence that might have been missed during the first inspection. Officer Donovan filled them in on what was known at this point.

  “We have gone through the Bronco, Jed’s, I believe?”

  James nodded.

  “We dusted for fingerprints, and we found three sets, two in the front and one in the back, which is consistent with what Teddy Baldwin told us. We found a scrap of cardboard in the back end, where we assume they had their luggage. It said ‘Pete plane lo’ and a vertical mark, and there was a broken pencil next to it. Do you have any idea what he would have been trying to say? It looked like it was written hurriedly.”

  James shook his head. “Sounds like he was trying to tell us something, but I have no idea what. Pete—we already know he took them, and it’s obvious he took them in the plane, but I have no idea what it means. Do you, Mary?” She shook her head, puzzled.

  “Okay, if you come up with any ideas, we want to hear them. I don’t care how farfetched you think they are. We found some footprints over here, where the plane was parked. Two sets got into the back door of the plane, one large and one small, indicative of a male and a female, presumably Jed and Elizabeth. There was another set of prints shuffling around over the first two that look like someone supervising what the first two were doing, and then they went to the hangar door where it looks like he opened the door and pushed the plane out onto the ramp into the lake. Outside, there were a number of tracks of the same individual consistent with pre-flighting the aircraft. It appears he then started the engine and took off.”

  James nodded his head. “That would be the normal procedure, except we would normally board the plane outside so as to make it easier to push out of the hangar. I don’t suppose Pete would want anyone to see the kids in the plane, though.”

  “We checked with air traffic control, but there was no flight plan filed. Is that unusual?” Officer Donovan asked.

  “No, not at all. Taking off from the lake is uncontrolled, and I’m sure he was flying VFR, which would not necessitate a flight plan. Normally, we would contact air traffic control upon takeoff, just so they would know we were in their airspace, but if he stayed low until he got away from town, they probably didn’t even know he was there. He could have gone anywhere from here. With the modifications we have made on the plane, he could go seven hundred fifty miles, give or take, without refueling.”

  “Okay, good. Good to know. We have an advisory out to all airports telling them to be on the lookout, but those can be iffy. We’ll follow up to be sure they pay attention. This will give us an area of focus. Is there anything else we need to know about the plane or people?”

  James shook his head. “Nothing I can think of. This just seems like a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’ll need a copy of your report for my insurance company. They will want to be notified right away.”

  “Right. I’ll have it finalized within the day. I’ll leave a copy for you at the front desk if you want to stop by and pick it up tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Thanks, Officer. We appreciate your help very much.”

  “Keep your hopes up. We’ll find them.”

  CHAPTER 30

  Jed slipped out the door just as the sky was lightening in the east. He carried an old WWII military surplus M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, 30.06 caliber, expertly worked over to make it extremely accurate. The rifle had been fitted for a scope, but Jed would not use one today. For what he was doing, he preferred to shoot over open sights. Jed was raised to revere life, and he believed to kill an animal, even for meat, without honoring it by pitting his skill against the skill of the animal was wrong. He thought hunting deer over open sights was more sporting because he had to work to get close enough to be certain of his shot. More modern hunting rifles were available to him, but he had always liked the old M1, heavy though it was.

  Jed headed toward a meadow about half a mile from the lodge where there was a good chance he might find deer feeding early in the morning. To stalk them on the ground would require him to use all the woodcraft his father had taught him since he was a young child.

  To see Jed working his way through the brush would have looked humorous to anyone who didn’t know what he was doing. Continuously, he turned, sidestepped, and crouched, pausing and listening and timing his moves to the sounds of the breeze rustling the leaves. He knew he was not as good as his dad, but he tried. James Romson won a bet with one of his managers one year by stalking and killing a buck with a knife.

  Jed frequently hunted with a bow, but today he was more concerned with getting a buck for the meat and hide. He would save the bow hunting for fun times or for when he ran short of ammunition, if they had to stay that long.

  Today was a good day. As he neared the meadow, he could see several deer grazing on the new grass. He stood concealed in a small copse of trees and shrubs, certain, without even thinking, he was downwind.

  Off to his left, Jed saw a black bear sow cropping grass and snuffling around small boulders. She hooked a claw under the edge of a rock and flipped it, revealing bugs, grubs, and ants, which she ate. Once she flushed a mouse, which she chased after and finally swatted with a paw before she ate it. The old bear was gaunt from a long winter’s hibernation. A yearling cub by her side learned from his mother how to find delicacies beneath rocks and logs. Jed decided they were far enough away and settled down to choose which deer he wanted from the herd.

  He knew deer were out of season, and he had no license, but due to the circumstances he felt it was necessary. Normally, he would follow the law to the letter and was very concerned about conservation. He understood, though, the law was for pleasure hunting, not for subsistence hunting. The Native Americans were not limited by game laws, and he felt he fit such a category. If a game warden came by to give him a fine, he would gladly pay it, for that would mean they were found!

  Slipping his rifle from his shoulder where he had it slung, he adjusted the sling and crept to the edge of the brush to get a clear shot. He knelt, wrapped the sling around his arm, and took careful aim at a large buck on the far side of the meadow. He quietly slid the bolt back enough to see the brass of a cartridge in the chamber, then slid the bolt forward and bumped it with the heel of his hand to be certain it was closed. Then he raised the butt of the rifle to his shoulder again. Jed took a deep breath, let half of it out, and gently squeezed the trigger. At the crack of the shot, the meadow cleared except for Jed’s buck, which leapt forward twice and tumbled to the ground.

  Jed field-dressed the deer and cut out some choice cuts of meat, making a good-sized pack to carry back to the lodge. With a rope he’d brought along for the purpose, he threw an end over a tree branch and hoisted the remainder of the deer out of reach of the old bear and any coyotes that would try to get to it. The whole deer was just too much for him to carry in one trip. He would bring Lizzie back with him for the rest.

  CHAPTER 31

  James Romson sat in Ziggy’s Restaurant at five-thirty Monday morning, well before the rest of his management team was expected to arrive. He needed the time to put his thoughts in order before the meeting. Ziggy, a friend of his from way back,
knew him well and set a coffee carafe on the table after greeting him with a hug, without words telling him how sorry he was to hear the news. While James was appreciative of the concern and care shown, he was also embarrassed by the attention. He knew Jed and Elizabeth would soon be recovered and would not bear the thought of their deaths. Therefore, his thoughts and focus were totally on doing all he could to find them while maintaining as normal a life as possible.

  Anh Nguyen, James’s longtime secretary, swept into the restaurant to find her boss already at a table drinking coffee. “Why is it I never beat you to work? I wanted to be here before you!”

  James just laughed. “Come on, Anh. I keep telling you, you don’t have to be here first.”

  The cultural differences had been a challenge in the early days after James sponsored the Nguyen family to immigrate to the USA, shortly after the fall of Saigon. Anh’s husband, Tran, had been one of the ARVN, or the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, soldiers who worked closely with James’s Force Recon team, and his escape from Vietnam had been harrowing. Tran was fortunate. He had been able to bring out his wife and mother-in-law, although he lost his eldest son.

  Anh, who spoke some English, had immediately become James’s secretary, working closely with Mary in the early days of the company until her English improved enough to function on her own. Her devotion to her job and to James was second only to her devotion to her husband. She revered James to the point she would never call him by his first name, no matter how many times James told her to. Anh felt firmly it was her responsibility to care for all of James’s needs at work, and she felt shame that she was not at the restaurant first to ascertain all was prepared properly.

  Tran, who served Romson Industries as a roving manager overseeing all of the plants, followed his wife into the restaurant. He walked over to James and embraced him. “I am so sorry, my friend. Let me find this so-and-so who took them. I will get them back for you!”