Out of the corner of my eye, I see a glowing green light emanating from what must be the backyard, and I watch as the dog leaves my car to go check that out.
Is this my chance to try to get to that front door?
But the dog doesn’t stop me this time. Instead, I stop in my tracks as lightning strikes out from the green light, crashing into the home and engulfing it in flames. Sitting in stunned silence, I watch as the house becomes nothing but a giant ball of fire.
Is she in there?
Neighbors begin to come outside as the sound of the blasts has woken many of them up. One of them, an elderly lady, taps on my window, so I roll it down. “Lightning struck the house. Do you happen to know if anyone is inside?” My heart is telling me Bell isn’t inside. I know she can’t be. I know I’d feel it if she were.
“I saw the car come in, but the man who drives it got into his personal car and left. No one else got out of that car so I don’t think anyone’s home.” She straightens her black curly-haired wig just as the dog comes running back toward my car. “Jasper, you behave yourself.”
“So, you’re familiar with the dog then?” I ask as he comes to her and sits at her feet.
“Yes, the poor thing’s left alone here all the time. I’ve only seen the man who owns the house once when he bought the place.” She pets the dog on the head. “Well, boy, it looks like you get to come home with me until your owner shows up to see what’s happened to his house.”
I notice that even though the dog is good with her, he keeps an eye on me. I’m sure I’d be dog food if I tried to get out of my car. “How long has the man lived here.”
“Oh, not long. About a week. And he’s yet to move anything into the house, which is odd, don’t you think?” She waves at another neighbor and shouts, “It was struck by lightning, this gentleman’s told me. Has anyone called the fire department?”
“I did,” an old man yells back to her.
It’s only then that I notice everyone who lives around this place is elderly. Why would he buy a home in this neighborhood? And why hasn’t he moved anything in?
Nothing is adding up, and it has me feeling even more nervous than I was when I pulled up. “I’ll get out of the way now. Bye.” Rolling the window up, I slowly drive away, leaving behind the only place I thought I’d be able to find Bart Mason.
My head is a mess as I drive aimlessly until I find myself pulling up to Mom and Dad’s place. No one’s here. They all left, and I get out of the car and head inside.
It’s dark, and the smell of Italian food still hangs in the air. I walk over to the couch and fall down on it. Throwing an arm over my eyes, I fight the urge to cry.
Everything is going to hell, and I feel helpless to stop it. It’s like a roller coaster I just want to get off of.
Only a few hours earlier I was having a good time with my family, and Isabel and I were heading toward a real future together. And now here I am alone and afraid of what that man will do to her.
“Please just let her be at a hotel somewhere.”
I went to her place, and of course, she wasn’t there. I stopped by my place to see if she’d gone there to get her things, but she hadn’t. She has nothing with her at all. Just the clothes on her back. No money, no bank cards, nothing. She’s at his mercy, and I know he has none.
Bart Mason has wanted Isabel since the moment he laid eyes on her. And now he has her. Alone.
It’s all a little too convenient. He buys a house in town that he pretends to live in though he obviously doesn’t. And it seems he came straight to the club just after purchasing the home.
Did he know about our rule about checking out the address our members give us? Did he know he’d need that to gain access to our club? Or was he only at our club to get to Isabel all along?
Did he see her face on our website and develop a crush on her?
There’s one picture of her on the welcome page. Could he have seen it and made a decision to stalk her?
Everything just fell into place for him way too easily. He made sure it would. I know that now.
I know he sent that woman to kiss me and bait me. I know he made sure that Bell would see that and he made sure he was in her exit path to help her get away from me.
And I know that sounds completely paranoid and I don’t give a damn.
The sound of creaking steps has me opening my eyes. “Mom?”
I sit up and turn to look in the direction the sound came from and see nothing. But the air has gone ice cold, and I can see my breath when I exhale.
She’s here, I know it. “Mom, I need your help. You want me to help Dad, and I want you to help Isabel, the woman you saw with me here earlier. I have a deep suspicion the man who took her isn’t a thing from this world. I have a feeling only you can help her, Mom. She’s with a man who’s tall with dark hair and eyes. I don’t know where he’s taken her, but I fear it’s to a place she can’t leave.”
A light flickers in the kitchen and I get up and go into it. It’s dark in here and I can’t see a thing, but hear something heavy hit the wooden dining table. Flipping on the light switch, I find it was the sugar bowl that had been on the counter top. Now it’s on its side, and the sugar has spilled out.
Walking over to look at the mess, I find something is written in the sugar. ‘Evil.’
My knees buckle as I know Mom knows who has Bell. I pull a chair out and take a seat before I fall down. “I know, Mom. Can you get to her and help her get away from him?”
The back door opens and slams shut, and the cold leaves the air. I’m in shock. I can’t feel a thing.
All I can do is hope that was my mother’s spirit leaving this house to go help my Isabel. And if she’s returned to me, I will make her mine in name. Fuck all the other shit I’ve been thinking.
If I want to make sure she’s respected and untarnished by my history as a player, then I need to marry the woman. What’s more respectable than that?
My eyes are drawn back to the word written in the sugar, and I drop my head into my hands and cry. I can’t help it. I can’t take it anymore.
If I lose her…
“No, don’t even think it, Grant Jamison. You will not lose her. Mom will find her and bring her to safety. You have to believe. You can’t lose hope.” And as I say the words to myself, I think about what else I need to do.
I need to go home, just in case she does come back. I need to get some sleep because I have a lot to do tomorrow. Like getting my mother’s body out of that grave and into the hands of people who can tell us what the hell was wrong with her and settle once and for all if another person could’ve possibly inflicted that fatal wound on her wrist. And I need to go see my father and talk to him.
Chirping birds wake me up as the first rays of light pour into my window. I left it open last night. I can’t explain why—I just felt like it needed to be done. Like Bell might come through it or something. Stupid, I know.
Taking a quick shower and throwing on jeans and a t-shirt, I put my running shoes on as I plan on having one hell of a busy day. Taking my BMW, I make my way to my first stop of this busy day. The coffee shop. I’ll need my brain sharp today.
A blueberry muffin will help too so I order one of those then head to the club. It’s come to my mind that I should’ve written down Bart’s phone number too. I’ll give him a call and give him the heads up that I’m going to the police if I haven’t heard from Isabel by noon today.
That should spur him into doing the right thing. But my hopes aren’t really high about that, I have to admit.
The club is completely empty as I go inside and go to my office. Turning on my computer, I wait for it to start up, sipping on my coffee and eating the muffin while I wait.
Once it’s up and running, I get into the member’s area and find Bart Mason’s file. Printing out his profile picture so I can take it to the cops if he doesn’t do as I say, I put his phone number into my cell and shut the computer down before leaving.
As I
walk to my car, I make the call. ”This number is no longer in service,” a robotic voice tells me.
“Fuck!”
Speeding up, I get into my car and head straight to the police station. Now I know something is up. With the destroyed home and the deactivated phone, along with Isabel’s purse and phone and her disappearance, I think I have enough to file some kind of report.
Pulling into the parking lot, I get out and take long strides to toward the building, wanting to make this report as quickly as I can. As soon as I enter, I see a woman wearing a uniform sitting behind a glass window.
Pushing it open as I approach her, she gives me a smile. “And what can I do for you today, sir?”
“I need to make a report. Someone’s been abducted.” I find I’m shaking and she can see that too.
I hear a buzzing sound then she says, “Come back here, sir. I’ll get one of our detectives to help you.”
Finally, I feel like I’m doing something about this whole thing. Asking my ghost Mom just doesn’t feel like enough.
The woman leads me down a hallway and into a small room. “Thank you for your help. I’m beginning to lose my mind over this.”
“You just take a seat.” She goes over to a small fridge and pulls out a bottle of water and gives it to me. “I’m sure Detective Jones can help you.”
Leaving me alone, I gulp down half the water and try to stop my body from shaking. I’ve never been so afraid in my entire life. I can’t lose her.
A short man with graying hair comes into the room, carrying a yellow legal pad. “Good morning. You’re up bright and early, aren’t you? Need some coffee?”
“No, I just need your help. My girlfriend is missing. I know who has her, he took her with him last night…”
Holding up a hand, he stops me right there. “Hold on. Okay. First thing’s first. Your name is?”
“Grant Jamison.” I wait for him to get this shit out of the way.
“And the missing person’s name is?”
“Isabel Sanchez.”
“And who do you think took her against her will?”
“Bart Mason.” I take his picture of out my pocket and unfold, placing it on his desk. “This man right here.”
He gives it a look then looks up at me. “And what makes you think she was taken against her will?”
“Well, that’s the tricky part. You see, she actually went with him on her own. She was mad at me, and he happened to be the first person she ran into.” I place my hands on the desk as I can see he’s thinking I’m some jealous boyfriend making a false report. “Look, sir. I know how this sounds. Believe me, I do. But this guy’s been after her for a week. And things are happening that shouldn’t be. Like his house was burned down last night and I found out he didn’t really live in it at all.”
“And how did you find this out?” He makes a note of the fire, I suppose, on his pad of paper. “And do you happen to have that address?”
“It’s 1515 Sparrow Lane. And I was there when it happened. I went to look for Isabel there. Lightning struck the house, but there was this odd green glow. And there was this dog he had there. A German Shepherd. Anyway, an old woman came out, along with a lot of other elderly people to see what was happening and she told me he’d bought the place only a week ago and never moved anything into the house. Only he has this driver and the car the driver drives him around in occasionally is kept there…”
I’m talking so fast, he has to hold his hand up again. “Slow down, Mr. Jamison. Okay, so the house has burned down. Let me make a call really quick to find out from the fire department if there were any bodies in the home.” He picks up the phone on his desk. An old style phone I had no idea anyone used anymore. “Yeah, I’m calling about a house fire that occurred last night. It was at 1515 Sparrow Lane. Do you happen to know if anyone was found in the home?”
He nods as he listens and I can’t hear a thing. Then he hangs up the phone. “So?”
“So no one was inside, and the house was completely empty.” He looks up at me after he writes that down. “Do you happen to have a phone number for Isabel and Mr. Mason?”
“Isabel doesn’t have her phone with her. Her purse with her phone in it was left in my car. And I have his number, but it’s been disconnected.” I pull out my phone and show him the number then call it so he can hear that for himself.
He nods again and writes stuff down. “I know you probably have, but I have to ask. Have you been to her house to check if she’s there?”
“I have, and she hasn’t been there. All she has are the clothes on her back. She has nothing else. I find it extremely odd that the man’s phone has been turned off and his home here is empty and now burnt to the ground. Don’t you?” I sit back and hope he thinks it’s odd too.
“Well, we have this little glitch, Mr. Jamison. She hasn’t been missing long enough to make an official investigation. Chances are she’ll cool off and come back home today or maybe tomorrow. We’ll have to give her a chance to do that.”
Fuck!
I knew it. I knew I’d be alone in this. Shit!
“So you expect me to just be patient and wait? I can’t do that.” I get up and pace around the tiny room. “There’s something else you should know. The man’s into BDSM.”
With a chuckle, he says, “That’s not a crime, Mr. Jamison.”
“I know that. I just mean that I’m afraid he’s going to hurt her. He wanted to make her his submissive partner, and she turned him down. I’m afraid he orchestrated the whole thing that had her running right into his evil arms.” I stop and shove my hands through my hair as I feel utterly exasperated.
“Evil?” The man’s smile only serves to piss me off. “A bit close to Halloween, isn’t it? Maybe your imagination has gotten away from you. Maybe your girlfriend wanted to get away from you too. Ever thought of that? Maybe she wanted to accept the man’s offer. And from what I understand about some of those people, the man will provide everything she needs. She doesn’t need more clothing or money or a phone.”
“It’s not like that.” And just as I say that I realize that I’m wasting precious time. “I need to go. I’ll check back in what, a day or two?”
“Let’s give this two days.” He puts his pad of paper down and gets up to escort me out. “And try not to worry. I’m sure the man is standing by the SSC rules that the people who practice BDSM follow.”
I’m done trying to explain a thing to the man. His hands are tied. I get it. “Hopefully you won’t be seeing me in two days, Detective Jones.”
“Hopefully so, Mr. Jamison. Try to have a nice day.” He opens the door to let me out, and I hurry to get into my car.
Now to get to the coroner’s office to see about getting my mother’s body exhumed.
Chapter 26
Grant
One day later
Sitting in the visiting area of the prison my father has put himself in, I wait for him to arrive. I have no idea how he will take what I have to tell him. I have no idea if it will change him at all. But I have got to try. I did make promises after all.
I see an orange suit as the door opens and my father shuffles out to meet me. My heart is thumping hard in my chest as I hurry to him and throw my arms around him. “Dad, I love you. I’ve missed you so much.”
A lump has formed in my throat, and a tear gets away from me. But I forge ahead.
I let him go and we walk to sit at the picnic table I’d been seated at. The guard stands back, giving us some privacy. I lean my forearms on the table, clasping my hands as he looks at me. “Dad, Mom’s been communicating with me. She told me you’re innocent.”
Tears spring to his eyes and flow down his cheeks.
His lips are dry, and his jaw cracks when he opens his mouth. “Why?” his voice is weak and rough from not being used for so long.
I look at him for a long time then tears break free and run down my face. I cannot believe this is happening. The man hasn’t spoken in years. And I can’t believe
I took me so damn long to do this. “You spoke.”
With a nod, he says, “Yes. Why?”
“She came to ask me to help you, is why. She told me you’re innocent and I want to hear that from you as well. You see, her body is being brought out of her grave as we speak and the coroner is going to do an autopsy to determine if she was suffering from anything. We have reason to believe her stomach was an issue. Do you know anything about that, Dad?” I use a gentle tone and reach out to put my hand on his. “She wants us to help you. You know Mom. What she wants, she gets.”
“Cancer,” he lets me know. Then he runs his hand over his stomach. “Here. Female parts, you know?”
With a nod, my eyes droop as I feel even sadder about my mother’s passing. “I hate that she didn’t tell us she was suffering. And I hate that you guys didn’t tell me about it. I’d have taken her to see the best doctors in the world. She might have been saved if you’d told me.”
“Too late.” He seems to be grasping at the right words to say. It has been so long since he’s said anything. It’s to be expected I guess. “No more time.”
“Well, that’s the past, and we can’t change that. But we can change the future.” I take both his hands and make him look me in the eyes. “Did you cut her wrist, Dad? Was it you who ended her life? Or did she do that to herself?”
His eyes dart back and forth as he seems to be thinking about that time with deep concentration. “It was her,” he finally whispers. “I couldn’t do it for her.”
Finally, he admits the truth.
I sigh heavily. “I’m getting a lawyer to get you out of here. And then I’m getting you the mental help you’ve needed since this began.”
“I can’t go home,” he blurts out. “I can’t see that house. I can’t.”
And maybe I’ve just stumbled upon the real reason he took the blame for something he didn’t do. He didn’t want to go back to the house they shared for so many years without his wife, his true love.
“Not to worry. You’ll be staying with me,” I assure him. No way will I be leaving him on his own after the years we’ve lost. “I’ll hire a nurse to take excellent care of you, and you’ll have the best mental health professionals money can buy. You don’t have to worry about a single thing, Dad. I will take care of you. I promised Mom I would, and I will uphold that promise.” He gives my hands a gentle squeeze. “I’ll have you out of here as soon as humanly possible, Dad.”
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