Fatal Decision

by John Greenwood

  "Mr. Smith. Please step over here." Stanton is waving me to the other side of the bed. I slowly step around the queen sized bed being careful not to look at the blood on the sheets. Once I get to the other side, both detectives take a step back. They are both staring at the floor. There is a stack of at least three dozen large-sized photos of Tommy.

  Chapter 17

  "What are these?" I kneel down and start to touch them and then I suddenly stop.

  "It's okay, they've already all been dusted for prints and the only ones we found were your brothers." Stanton is whispering. I begin to pick them up and the first thing I notice is that they are all taken in the same room from the video and the FaceTime chats we have been having. I can see all the video game equipment behind him. I pick up one up and just stare into his eyes. He doesn’t have that foggy look. He looks just like Tommy. "Any idea how recent these are?" I look at the pictures then at the detectives.

  "I'm not really sure, but they look recent."

  "How about where they were taken?" I shake my head. "The room resembles your son's room at your house don’t you think?” I nod. “Do you think there is anything going on here?" I throw the photo down.

  "Are you kidding me, you think Lawrence is involved in this?"

  "I'm not saying anything. It's just odd that we found these photos here." I look back at the photos.

  "They were obviously placed here by the person that killed him." I quickly stand up and begin walking towards the door.

  "There's also this." I look back and Stanton is holding Lawrence's cell phone. It's one of those large Android phones. He clicks something and I see Tommy in the same room talking about a book he is holding.

  "Let me see that." I grab the phone from his hand and start the video over. I can’t believe it, it's an edited version of the FaceTime session I had with Tommy the other day. I look at both detectives. They both look back at me waiting for an answer. I don’t have anything to say. I'm not sure if I’m in shock or just mad. I watch the video again and recognize the whole conversation.

  "We're thinking he may have been involved somehow. This video show's he was having conversations with Tommy." I hand him back the phone.

  "No it doesn't, it just shows a video of him." I want to tell them that it was me he was talking to, but I know I can’t, so instead I turn around and begin walking for the door. I stop in the doorway and turn around. They are both still standing there looking at me for an answer. "Can you tell me where my brother is?" Stanton walks over to me and whispers to me where Lawrence's body is and warns me not to go. He also apologizes to me about the video and pictures, but he wanted to let me know. I nod and head back out the door past the Arlington officer standing at the bottom of the stairs who writes something in his notebook after I walk away. I get back in the Tahoe and feel another message on my phone coming in. I click on my email and read, "Sorry about Lawrence, just wanted to let you know I am serious about Sunday. You know failure will not be accepted. How about that for a twist in the case? Did you see those detective’s faces when they saw your reaction to the FaceTime chat? They don’t know what to think now."

  I bypass the address Stanton gave me and drive straight to the storage facility. I place the gun back into the container and close the door. I can't stop thinking that I could have prevented Lawrence's death had I gone through with what I was supposed to do. I climb back into the Tahoe and begin dialing my parent's number. I'm dreading this but I know it is something that has to be done. I spend the next ten minutes crying and agonizing with my Mom and Dad over both Lawrence and Tommy. They vow to fly out immediately. I try and convince them otherwise, but it is useless so I hang up and drive over to the park. It's totally dark and the sign says do not enter after hours, but I pull through the gate anyway and end up sitting on the same bleachers. I have that sixth sense feeling that I'm being watched but I don’t care. I really don’t care anymore about anything except getting Tommy back. Too much has happened these last few days. I don’t think I'll ever be the same again even if I get Tommy back, which I promise myself I will do no matter what. After a while I think I hear someone walking in the woods beside me, but I don’t even look. Sometimes I wish someone would come just put me out of my misery, but I know I can’t give up, not now. Not until I get Tommy back. I feel my phone buzzing again. I look down at the number. I don’t recognize it so I answer it.

  "Hey Sheldon, Doug Sorenson here." I press the phone to my ear.

  "How are you doing Doug?" If he only he knew I had a gun pointed at him just a short time ago.

  "I wanted to let you know, I've been doing some digging and I found out some interesting things about Frank Harris that I thought you should know." I step up off the bleachers and begin walking back towards my truck. I stop and lean against the driver's door

  "So what did you find?"

  "Well as you know Frank has a brother Shane. Apparently, they are fraternal. Shane is a little bigger and stronger." I immediately think he must be the one who took Tommy from school. "And Frank is a little smarter and personable." The one who is calling me I imagine. I pull the door shut.

  "How did you become their attorney?" I turn the key to the ignition.

  "I wasn't actually representing them, I was representing their mother and then they just started showing up every time she did."

  "Do you know where she is?"

  "She died right after the case was over, a mysterious car crash. I remember her car caught on fire and the doors malfunctioned and she couldn’t get out. After that I lost touch with what happened and who ended up with all the money."

  "That sounds suspicious." I back out of the space.

  "It was, but the police ruled it was just a freak accident."

  "So where did all the rest of the money end up?" I pull past the dark sign and onto the main road. I turn in the direction of our house.

  "That's the thing, no one really knows. I've been trying to look into it, but it just comes to dead ends. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know."

  "Thanks so much for the information."

  "Any time, remember if you need anything please let me know." I catch my reflection in the rearview mirror and almost swerve off the road seeing the man who is going to kill this guy in a few days. I thank him again and hang up. I turn the wheel and begin heading back home. I pass Sorensen's place on the way. I stop in front of the house just out of view, and watch a small child and Sorensen's wife run around the front yard chasing a friendly black Lab. I quickly pull away from the curb and make sure not to look back. I keep telling myself at least I'll get Tommy back. A few minutes later, I pull back into our garage. It's already mid-afternoon, and I feel as though I've been punched and knocked out by the time I enter our living room. Michelle is seated on the couch alongside her mom and dad. She immediately jumps up and gives me a hug telling me she's sorry about Lawrence. I fill her in about my parents coming here and that we're going to have a service shortly. Her parents both nod at me. Buster comes running to me from the kitchen.

  "He's been waiting for you all day Sheldon." I quickly rub his neck with my hand and he sits down at my feet.

  "I'll take him out in a minute."

  "So what did Stanton want you to see at Lawrence's?" I look around for the leash. It isn’t where it was this morning.

  "They found a bunch of pictures and video of Tommy."

  "What? What do you mean?"

  I keep looking around. I don’t see the leash. "It's just a setup. The guy who took Tommy left them there to screw with the police and us."

  "Are you serious? That's why Lawrence was killed." I nod my head. I reach in my pocket and hand her one of the pictures of Tommy. She grabs it in both hands and begins crying.

  "At least it shows he's alive and well." Buster is nudging my feet.

  "How do we know when this was taken?" She puts the picture close to her face.

  "Look at him and where he is." Her mom jumps up and stands next to her. She places her hands on her shoulders.<
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  "It looks a little like his room except all those game things."

  "Sick guy isn’t he? Do you know where Buster's leash is?"

  Michelle doesn’t take her eyes off the photo. "Dad do you remember where you left it." She looks at me. "Dad took him for a walk earlier." I look at her dad and he doesn't appear to hear us or is ignoring us.

  "It doesn't matter. C'mon Buster let's go." I walk towards the front door followed closely by Buster. I open the door and he flies outside running to the first tree to mark his territory. We spend the next half an hour walking up and down the street. As we near our house, I can see a car in the driveway. I recognize it as Stanton's cruiser. I quickly open the front door and let Buster in. He runs to the kitchen, I can hear him lapping up water from his bowl again. I walk back into the living room and see Michelle holding a blue-striped shirt and standing next to Stanton.

  "What's that?"

  Stanton steps forward. "We found this in your brother's apartment after you left." He points at the shirt. I recognize it as one of Tommy's.

  "It's Tommy's, Sheldon. What's going on?"

  "We believe your brother may have been involved in this. We obtained a copy of his bank statement and he has received two large deposits in the last week of over a hundred thousand dollars." I look at Stanton and Michelle holding the shirt.

  "Look, there's no way Lawrence would do anything to harm Tommy. Why can't you see he's just messing with us?" I stomp my foot in frustration causing Buster to come out of the kitchen.

  "Regardless, we need to look at every angle, and there is too much evidence to ignore this." Stanton looks at the shirt.

  "Do whatever you want, but you’re wasting your time with Lawrence. Hasn’t he had enough? I mean they killed him." I feel my anger creeping in my lungs.

  "I would agree with you about everything except there is no way you can explain away the video. I mean we have video evidence with FaceTime of Tommy and Lawrence speaking. You saw it."

  Michelle leans forward. "Do you have the video here?"

  "No, sorry it is being processed. I'll get it to you as soon as we are done so you can watch it."

  She clutches the shirt to her face. "How does he look?" Stanton looks at me.

  "He looks fine, just like the picture." I look down at Buster. He is stretching his legs out in front of him.

  "My technicians believe that FaceTime is the real thing. It isn’t doctored." I shake my head.

  "Lawrence wasn't involved." I keep shaking my head. I feel Buster's head on my feet.

  "I'm so sorry about your brother, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. There's no other explanation, unless you can think of something. We're going to contact Apple and see if we can get a full copy of the session." I look away and begin to walk up the stairs. I can hear them saying something to me, but I just continue. I feel Buster right behind me. I whisper to Buster that I need to tell him everything. I fall down on our bed and feel Buster snuggle up next to me. I place my arm around him and confess everything I have done in the last week. He licks my face.

  Chapter 18

  "Sheldon." I hear Michelle calling me. It sounds like her voice is coming from downstairs. I fold the laptop up, place the address in my pocket and head downstairs. It’s dark outside, so it must be Friday night; though I'm not sure any more about time or days. It all just seems to blend into one long nightmare ever since Tommy was picked up at school. I walk downstairs and enter into the living room. Michelle and Buster are sitting on the couch. Buster has his head on her lap. I try and smile, but I'm not sure what my face does. I think Michelle does the same. She's holding Tommy's shirt and she has the picture on the coffee table. "Jim called. He wants you to meet him at work sometime in the morning. He said both he and Brian will be there all day." I nod and take a seat next to them. Buster lifts his head and looks at me. I rub the top of his head lightly. "He came down a little while ago. I let him out earlier."

  "Where are your parents?"

  "I sent them out to dinner. They tried to get me to go, but I can’t go out, not until Tommy's safe and sound." I take her hand in mine.

  "You saw the picture and Stanton told you about the video, so you believe me he's okay right?" She leans over causing Buster to adjust a little and picks up the picture. We both stare at it.

  "He looks the same Sheldon. Why are all those things around him?"

  I lean over and take a close look at the picture. "That's to keep him busy until he gets home. If you look close you'll see a couple of books. He read those too." She snaps her head away from the picture and looks directly at me.

  "How do you know that? You're just saying that because he doesn't like to read."

  "I think there was something about it on the video or something." Buster slides himself forward so his nose is now touching my leg.

  "Do you really think he is okay?" I grab hold of her hand and squeeze it gently. I look at Tommy in the picture.

  "Yes. I really do. I think he'll be home very soon."

  "I really hope so Sheldon. I really do." We both fall asleep on the couch a few hours later. We wake up Saturday morning. There's a blanket over us and a box of Danishes on the coffee table. We both look at each other.

  "My parents, "Michelle says. I grab a Danish and actually enjoy the sweet taste filling my stomach. I haven’t really enjoyed eating anything in almost a week, but this Danish tastes so good. I grab a second one, it looks like apple, but I can’t tell until a take a deep bite. Michelle is watching me curiously. I head for the door and let Buster run out into the crisp air. One more day until I pull the trigger and get Tommy back, I think as I watch Buster run through the yard leaving his scent. I finish the Danish about the same time he comes back to me and we both head back inside. I head upstairs for a shower and afterwards tell Michelle I'm going to work to meet with Jim and Brian. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do today, but for some reason it feels like my last day, so I figure I better get as much done as possible. I have convinced myself I am going to go through with it tomorrow. I even had another dream of myself pulling the trigger, but this time it wasn't Sorenson that falls backwards it was Tommy. I think I woke up four or five times last night with the same dream. Each time I felt Buster snuggle a little closer to me. He really is a great dog. It makes me wonder why we never got a dog before. Tommy had asked about it a year ago and both Michelle and I immediately nixed the idea thinking it would be too much work with our busy schedules. Just maybe things will be back to normal once we get Tommy back tomorrow and we go back to our normal routines, though I don’t think that is ever going to happen again. I think we are changed forever, no matter what happens. I back the Tahoe out of the driveway. I think I can see Buster's head looking at me through the living room window but I'm not sure. I slowly drive down the road. It's early Saturday morning, so there isn’t much traffic, but I do pass a few cars on the way. None of them look familiar. I have begun to look at almost every car behind me to see if I have seen them before, so far I haven’t noticed anything unusual. I pull into my usual parking spot. There aren't any other cars here yet, so I must have beat Jim and Brian. I enter through the side entrance again since there is no one out front at the receptionist desk. I walk down to my office. It feels so strange going here now. It used to be my second home, but now it feels like some strange far-away place I have never been to before only imagined. I unlock my door and enter my office. It looks so odd. Everything just doesn’t seem right anymore. The desk isn’t in the right place, the books on the bookshelf don’t seem to be the right books or in the correct place. The pictures behind me are all wrong. I sit down at my desk and power on my computer. It turns on way too slowly. Nothing is right. I feel my forehead filling with moisture. It feels way too hot. I go and open my window and pull a Diet Coke out of a small refrigerator I keep tucked in the corner. After a few minutes things seem to feel a little more normal, so I sit down and log in to the computer. I wonder if I'm starting to have panic attacks. I have hea
rd about them but I have never experienced anything like that before. I look around my office again and things appear to be back to normal, maybe I shouldn’t have come in today. I look out in the parking lot. I still don’t see any cars. I quickly look up when I hear the knock on my door. Jim is standing in my doorway. I didn’t even hear him come in.

  "Hey Jim, come on in." He slowly enters and sits in one of my chairs. I can immediately tell there is something worrying him. "What's wrong?"

  "It's Brian. I haven't been able to get a hold of him since the other day, and you know how he is with his phone." I nod.

  "He's probably just caught up in something."

  "That's what I was thinking too, so I stopped by his house this morning before coming here and it looks like he hasn’t been there in days." I lean forward.

  "What do you mean?"

  "The mail is there from the last two days, newspapers are lying on the porch. I knocked for like ten minutes and no one answered so I finally went in. He gave me a key." I feel my hands and feet begin to tingle. "Then when I went in the place was trashed and you know how neat he is." I nod again. "What do you think that means?"