Fatal Decision

by John Greenwood

  "Mr. Smith. Are you okay?" My head is filled with fog. It feels like I have been asleep for hours. "You passed out. Does anything hurt?" I shake my head.

  "I'm fine." I slowly sit up with their help and then begin to shake my head uncontrollably as my memory fills my brain again. "It wasn't him." I yell. "It wasn't him." They both pull me to my feet and place me in a nearby chair far enough away from the desk with the folder that I can’t see it anymore.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Absolutely." I say. I almost sense a slight smile coming from Stanton's face, but I'm probably seeing things because a child was killed here. Someone else has just lost their child.

  "Thank you Mr. Smith. Please stay right there for a few minutes before you leave. I need to run out." He looks at the other officer. "Officer Paulson can you get him some water or something?" I watch as they both leave the room. I immediately call Michelle and give her the good news and promise I'll be home shortly. I can almost feel her relief through the phone. After two or three glasses of water and some stale Saltines, they finally let me go. I slowly climb back into the Tahoe and begin the drive back home. The sun is just starting to rise and the light is pushing the darkness away and opening up a new and bright day. I don’t think I have ever really seen a sunrise. I'm awake almost every day when the sun rises, but I've never actually sat and watched one. Today it just seems so glorious. I watch as the amber sky finishes engulfing the rest of the night and then I thank God for not letting that boy be Tommy, despite the fact that now someone else is grieving. I can't believe how beautiful it is. I'll have to get Tommy up early when he comes back and have him watch the sunrise with me. I vow to watch it every morning. I jump when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

  "How did you like the good news? No worries Sheldon your property is still in good hands and in one piece unlike that poor soul you just laid eyes on."

  "You are a monster. That was just a little kid. Now give me Tommy back. This has gone too far."

  "Hang on Sheldon. I promised you I would deliver as soon as you fulfill your obligation…" I cut him off.

  "Then tell me what I have to do." I hear a deep breath.

  "In due time Sheldon…in due time."

  "Please let me talk to him at least to be sure he's okay." I look in the rearview mirror and can see the anger on my face.

  "After you complete your last job, you will have full access to it."

  "Then tell me what I have to do."

  "You will get instructions tomorrow. Enjoy the good news."

  "Wait…wait. Did you do that to that little kid?"

  "Why Sheldon, what kind of a person do you think I am? Or as you called me a moment ago, a monster."

  "I think it was you." I step on the gas pulling out onto the road.

  "Very well, I'll be in touch tomorrow. By the way, the boy's murder weapon is located in your house."

  "What? Where?" I yell into the phone but the call has already ended.

  Chapter 11

  I make it back home and find Michelle seated at the kitchen table. There is an unopened box of crackers in front of her. "Hi, are you okay?"

  She slowly turns her head towards me and her bloodshot eyes gradually open. "You sure it wasn't him right?" I nod.

  "It was definitely someone else. Same age, very sad…but it wasn't Tommy." I sit down next to her and take her hand in mine.

  "I miss him so much Sheldon. How much longer can this go on? I don’t think I can do this anymore." I hug her tightly.

  "He'll come home Michelle. I promise he'll come home." I place my hand in my pocket and make sure I have the iPhone with me. I wish the call would come and I can do the last thing and bring Tommy home.

  "I hope so." She looks at me. "Do I look as bad as you?" I shake my head.

  "No you look fine. Why don’t we get something to eat and go get some sleep?"

  She shakes her head. "I don't think I can sleep or eat or anything anymore Sheldon. How do people do this?"

  I raise my hands. "I don’t know how. I guess they just keep the hope alive, because that's all they've got."

  "I'm beginning to lose hope. I just don’t have the same feeling anymore. Ever since we got that call last night, I just keep thinking what if that had been Tommy." I watch her face swallow itself and tears begin to fall. I gently pull her close to me and hold her tightly.

  "I know he's alive and well Michelle. I know. I can’t tell you how I know, but I do." She squeezes me tighter.

  "I really hope you’re right. How did this happen? What did we do wrong?" I wipe the tears from under her eyes.

  "We didn’t do anything wrong. For some reason they picked Tommy. I wish I knew why." We both turn our heads as the kitchen door opens and Stanton enters. He is wearing different clothes. He has a light-blue polo shirt on with the word "Police" embroidered on it and a pair of fresh khakis.

  "How we holding up guys?"

  "Not well Detective…not so well." He sits down on a chair opposite us.

  "Thanks for coming out last night. Sorry to had to put you through that." He gives me a deep sympathetic look. "I can’t even begin to imagine what that is like?"

  "It was tough, but fortunately it wasn't him."

  "I wanted to let you know I was at your son's school and they are actively displaying the website your friends created." I nod. "They are doing the same at the high school as well. My kids were asking me about it last night."

  "How are they doing through all of this?"

  He looks down. "They're hanging in there, like all the local kids. Just trying to help in any way they can."

  "Please thank them for us." Michelle whispers.

  "Will do." He opens up his notebook. "The real reason I'm here is to let you know we may have a new lead to follow. They determined that the ballistics matches both the teller and the boy that was killed yesterday and we may have a print." Both Michelle and I quickly sit up straight.

  "What does that mean?" She asks.

  "It means with any luck we can find a match on the print and find out who killed those two and maybe who has Tommy, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up yet. What we really need to find is the murder weapon." I gasp remembering the guy on the phone told me it is in our house.

  "Are you okay Sheldon?" Michelle touches my hand.

  My eyes quickly dart all around the room hoping I don’t see a weapon. "I'm fine. Just happy we might be getting somewhere." I'll have to search the house sometime later.

  "What about them not contacting us by now?"

  Stanton looks at Michelle then his notebook. "I don’t have an answer for that. The only thing I can think of is the possibility of them contacting you in another way. Another cell phone? Email or anything like that. Please keep those devices available and let us know if you hear anything. Any strange email, hang ups or anything out of the ordinary."

  "You've been checking our email right Sheldon?" Michelle looks at me. I tap my pocket with my iPhone and avoid her eyes.

  "Yes. I've got all of our email accounts on here, so far nothing."

  "Well I'm going to head back out and see if I can find out any updates. I just wanted to keep you guys informed."

  "Thank you Detective." He stops and chats with one of the officers and then heads out the front door.

  "Sheldon, it sounds like these two people killed might be related to Tommy. What is going on? Does that mean he will kill Tommy?" I pull her close again.

  "No. I think they want something from us. The other's just got killed for another reason." I understand his motivation for killing the teller, but I can’t possibly think of any reason for taking the life of the young boy except to taunt us.

  "Like what? I thought we already went through this?"

  "We did, but there's got to be something we're missing." She begins to sob again and hastily heads upstairs. I look over at the two officers seated in chairs typing on their laptops on the coffee table. I wonder how much longer they will be here. I wonder if our case is going to
be low priority since there are now two murders. I haven’t seen Adams in days, so I guess he's wrapped up with the other cases. I decide to take a look around the house. I start in the kitchen. I look through all the cupboards and cabinets, nothing. I keep searching through drawers and in the pots and pans. I'm not sure where someone would hide a gun and even if he is telling the truth, but I know I would much rather find it then one of the officers. We have a fairly small kitchen, so it doesn’t take long for me to go through most of the obvious places. I move on to our dining room, which is off to the other side. It's a fairly large room with a big mahogany table in the center and two hutches on the opposite walls that my parents gave us when we were married. Michelle has them filled with mostly dishes and silverware, so I quickly look through those and don’t see anything. I move on to the downstairs bathroom; there's only one cabinet in there and it's empty. I walk through the living room where the officers are. I figure there's no reason to search in there with the officers there all the time, so I head upstairs. I get to the top of the stairs and start in the guest room right at the top of the stairs. I can tell Michelle was in here today, because it smells fresh and looks neat. Her parents are coming tomorrow. I check under the queen -size bed and the closet, nothing. I continue with all the rooms upstairs, even Tommy's. I pause in there for a while, lying on his bed and closing my eyes. I can’t help but notice how much it looks like the room on the video. I even click on the video and watch him a few more times. After a little while, I head downstairs and double-check a cabinet in the kitchen just in case. As soon as I close the door, I feel my phone vibrate. There's a text message. I open the message and it reads "keep checking, you’re getting close." I slam the phone down on the counter and begin looking at the ceiling. A half an hour later, I get the step ladder from the garage and find what I've been looking for. There's a small wireless camera mounted next to the kitchen light. I pull it out of the ceiling and unhook the wires wrapped around the light's electrical system. As expected, I feel my phone begin to vibrate. There's another text message, "very good Sheldon, keep looking." I go back to each room I already checked and remove six more cameras. There was even one in our bedroom, luckily Michelle is sound asleep. I gather them all up in my arms under my jacket and take them out to the garage. I place them in the front seat of the Tahoe and get ready to turn the key when I see my model car sitting on top of my tool cabinet. I jump out of the truck and grab the car. The last time I saw it, Stanton was holding it in the living room with Sorenson's address. I quickly turn it over looking for anything, there's nothing. I begin to take it back to the truck, but stop, turn around and go back and open up the tool cabinet. It's a small wooden cabinet mounted to the wall above my tool bench where I keep all my tools handy. As soon as I open it, I feel my heart begin to lunge. There's a small black revolver hanging from the hook where my hammer usually hangs. I don’t know what to do. I just stand there and look at it. Instinctively, I grab a piece of cloth nearby and grab the gun and carry it back to the truck. I can’t believe I’m holding the murder weapon. I look next to me on the passenger seat and there are six cameras and a small gun. I don’t know what to do; they may have fingerprints on them that could lead the police to Tommy. I'm tempted to drive right over to the police station and give everything to Stanton, but if I'm wrong then Tommy's life will probably end. I slowly back out of the garage keeping my eyes on the seat next to me. I have the gun pointing towards the passenger door even though I know a revolver is one of the safest guns around. I was in the Army for a few years so I'm familiar with guns, but not one that may have taken two innocent lives. I pull out of the driveway, I'm convinced one of the officers is going to stop me before I get too far, so I quickly accelerate and head down the street. I don’t even know what time it is anymore, but it is pitch black. It seems darker outside than any night before. I'm not really sure why and I'm not really sure where I’m headed. I make a few turns and I find myself on the street Douglas Sorenson lives on. I slowly pull by his house. It's a large colonial, probably close to four thousand square feet, but I'm not sure because of the lack of light. It just appears large, much larger than ours. I look over and see a few lights burning in the downstairs floor and I'm almost tempted to stop by, but I keep on driving staying on the back roads so I won’t get pulled over. The last thing I need to do is to get pulled over with the murder weapon in my front seat. About fifteen minutes later, I’m driving by the station that Stanton and Adam's work out of. I want to pull in the parking lot and hand them everything. I slow down when I pass the entrance, but I don’t turn. I feel my phone begin to vibrate as I watch the police station disappear in my rear view mirror. It's not a text, it's an actual call. I quickly answer.

  "How are you Sheldon? Great work in finding all those cameras. I'm impressed."

  "Why are you spying on us? Why did you leave that gun in the garage?" I pull over onto the side of the road.

  "Why Sheldon because I like you my friend."

  "I'm not your friend and don’t even think about calling me that. Now what about Tommy? What do you want from me?"

  "Slow down Sheldon. I can only answer one question at a time. First of all…how do you know I left the gun? I am going to fill you in on your last job in a moment."

  "What kind of games are you playing and why are you playing it with my family?" I feel the anxiety attacking my body and causing tingling all over.

  "My…we are inquisitive tonight. I chose you because you are the most capable and you have done a beautiful job thus far and I expect you to continue. By the way, I'm very impressed you haven’t turned anything over to the police officers. I know you were near the police station earlier. Fighting off temptation is one of life’s most difficult tasks." I watch a car drive by wondering if that could possibly be him. "Do I need to remind you what happens if you give in to that temptation? Did you enjoy the photographs last night of the poor boy? I'm guessing that should be enough to keep you away from the police. If not, please let me know and I can arrange more." I feel my anger growing as he keeps talking.

  I begin to scream into the phone. "Why did you have to do that and the teller too? They are innocent people."

  "To prove a point Sheldon. Sometimes there are innocent bystanders who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, happens in every major conflict."

  I'm start screaming. "You are a very sick person. You need help."

  "You are quite right Sheldon and that is exactly what you are going to do for me next, help me and then I will help you. Remember our deal. You do for me and I return what's not mine."

  I try to speak as calmly as I can…I take a deep breath. "Just tell me what I have to do." I watch another car's lights dart past me in the other lane.

  "First of all, I need you to secure that gun, because it may come in handy in a few days."

  "What are you talking about?" I slide the volume button all the way to the top.

  "I'm getting to that. Oh and by the way don’t worry about getting fingerprints from anything you have because they have been thoroughly cleansed." I shake my head and look at the cameras and gun. "You're going to take the gun to a storage unit until we need it."

  "What are you talking about?" I look at the clock on the dashboard and it reads 11:00PM.

  "As a matter of fact, I have already rented a unit and it is open twenty four hours. It is just a few blocks from Sorenson's office. The one you entered a few nights ago, so why don’t you head over there and drop it off." He gives me the directions and code so, I pull the Tahoe off the shoulder and back onto the road and head in the direction of Sorenson's building. As soon as I secure the door on the box my phone vibrates again.

  "Did you get it in there?" I'm really beginning to hate his voice. It has a nasty ting to it.

  "I'm surprised you don't know."

  "Let's not develop an attitude now Sheldon. Are you ready for your last job?" I nod to myself and look in both directions as I pull out of the empty storage facility and head
back in the direction of Sorenson's office. "On Wednesday of this week, three nights from now, I need you to go get that gun again from the storage facility and point it at Mr. Sorenson and pull the trigger."

  "What?" I almost drop the phone. "I'm not shooting him or anyone. You’re crazy. Just give me Tommy, the deal is off."

  "If that's what you want Sheldon. I hope you enjoyed the photos last night because next time they will be of something that belongs to you." I can’t talk. I can’t even move. I'm not sure how I'm even driving any more or anything. There's no way I am going to kill someone.

  "Look, I'll do anything but I can't kill someone. I'm sorry. Isn’t there something else I can do?"

  "We made a deal. What should I tell your property that you wouldn’t do anything to get him back?"

  "You're a monster. I hate you. I'm going to kill you."

  "Save that anger for your job Sheldon. Are you up for the task or no?"

  I don’t say anything. I just stare at the lines on the road and keep driving. I look at the empty seat where the gun was.

  "I need an answer Sheldon." Somehow the word yes comes out of my mouth. I have just agreed to kill an innocent man.

  Chapter 12

  I spend the next few hours driving around. I had to stop for gas, but other than that I feel as though I have been driving in circles. I know there is no way I can kill an innocent man, but I can’t let anything happen to Tommy. I look at the clock; it's nearly three in the morning. I aim the Tahoe back towards our house and pull into the driveway and garage. I sit in the garage so long that one of the officers opens the door going into the house and waves at me. I wave at him to let him know I'm okay. He walks back inside. I wait a few minutes and then get out of the truck and enter the house. I look at the toolbox and grab the model car and place it in my jacket pocket. I nod to the officers in the living room and catch my reflection in the large mirror hanging on the living room wall, three more days until I’m supposed to murder an innocent man. The man looking back at me in the mirror does not look like someone capable of murder, but then again I have deposited a million and a half dollars of stolen money, and broken into an office in the last few days so I don’t know what I’m capable of anymore. I head directly upstairs and see Michelle sound asleep on our bed. I climb in next to her and within seconds I am drifting off into another world. I'm not sure how long I actually slept, but when I wake up, the sun is out and Michelle is not lying next to me. I look for the alarm clock behind me, but it's not there, so I reach for my iPhone, but it's not there either. I quickly jump up and start jogging down the hall. I stop, seeing Michelle seated on Tommy's bed. She has all his clothes lying next to her. I walk into the room. I can’t help thinking about the video again.