What Follows After

by Dan Walsh

“Well, keep watch of the time,” Rose said.

  “And can you pick up Colt on your way home?” Gina said.

  Vic and Nate got out of their car in downtown Orlando and hurried into the office building that housed the FBI’s Orlando office. Ed Foster, the special agent in charge as well as Vic and Nate’s boss, had called them in for a special briefing. Not only them but all the agents who worked out of the Orlando office. They rarely met all together this way, so Vic assumed it was something pretty important.

  As they entered the room filled with agents and Vic saw the man standing next to their boss, Vic knew his assumptions had been correct.

  “Okay, men,” Foster said, “I think everyone’s here that’s supposed to be. I’ll get a memo out to the few agents who couldn’t make this meeting. Needless to say, nothing that is said in this briefing can leave this room. You all know the man standing to my left, Associate Deputy Director Stanley Harbaugh. I’ll let Director Harbaugh take it from here.”

  Foster stepped to the side, and Director Harbaugh stepped forward. “Gentlemen, I don’t have to tell you very much about the state of affairs we’re in at this moment. How many of you listened to the president’s speech last night?”

  Vic looked around. Every hand was raised.

  “Good,” Harbaugh continued. “I can tell you that the federal government has been eyeing this missile situation for almost a week now. The president decided to go public last night because things have reached a critical stage. It is no exaggeration to say we are all in grave danger. By all, I literally mean every man, woman, or child living on the planet right now. As of this moment, we have no indication that the Soviets intend to back down and honor this blockade. I mean quarantine. But I am also reliably informed that the president was not saber rattling in his speech last night. He meant every word. The consequences of doing nothing are unthinkable. But as I see it, the consequences of a major confrontation between us and the Soviets is equally unthinkable.”

  Vic looked around the room. There wasn’t a sound other than the director’s voice. Every eye was fixed on his face.

  “For the first time in my adult life,” Harbaugh said, “I believe we are on the edge of a nuclear catastrophe. It could actually happen this time, gentlemen. And we don’t have much time. This is not something we can afford to play out over the next few weeks. I’ve been told the Soviets are just days away from their long-range missiles being ready to launch. The president, along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a host of advisors, have decided if the Soviets do not back down before that moment, we must do whatever it takes to stop them.”

  “So, we’re talking World War III?” one of the men said.

  Harbaugh nodded. “Yes, we are. Part of the reason I’m sharing all of this with you is because the situation is so grave. We think it’s only a matter of time before the general public begins to realize what’s at stake, what we’re really facing here.”

  “I think many of them already do, sir,” someone said.

  “I’m sure some of them do,” Harbaugh said. “Our job is to help maintain the safety and security of all our citizens . . . even during a time like this. Agent Foster here is holding a stack of special assignments, security matters we have thought through and anticipated back in Washington. And I’m sure a host of things will arise we haven’t anticipated. Each of you needs to take one and look it over carefully before you leave.”

  Vic looked over at Agent Foster, who was holding a small stack of paper. His and Nate’s names better not be on that list. He’d already been assured they would be staying on this kidnapping case. Foster noticed him looking his way. He pointed to the stack of assignments and shook his head no. Vic interpreted this to mean they were in the clear.

  When the assistant deputy director had finished and asked if there were any questions, Vic decided to be a little bold and raised his hand. “Excuse me, sir. Special Agent Victor Hammond here.”

  “Go ahead, Agent Hammond. You have a question?”

  “More like a special request, sir.”

  “Oh? And what would that be?”

  Everyone turned and looked his way. “My partner Nate Winters and I are already working on a kidnapping case, a child abduction that happened just north of Jacksonville yesterday afternoon in a diner.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Harbaugh said.

  “Thank you, sir. But as you know, if we weren’t in the middle of this major national crisis, this kidnapping would be front and center, and we’d be getting all kinds of help to find this little boy.”

  “That’s true.”

  “I realize these aren’t normal times,” Vic continued, “but I wonder if I could make an appeal on behalf of this little boy’s family . . . if any of you men find yourselves with any spare time at all in these critical next few days, could you give us a hand? I’ve got my own stack of copies here. A picture of the little boy named Timmy. He’s only six. And a sketch artist’s drawing of the kidnapper. Could you take one of these with you as well? I’m hoping they’ll be in every newspaper in the state by the end of the day or tomorrow morning.”

  “We can do that, Agent Hammond,” Harbaugh said. “In fact, why don’t you come up here and take a few minutes to bring us up to date. And Agent Winters can pass out those sketches.”

  Vic nodded and handed the stack of paper to Nate as the two of them made their way forward.

  “Men?” Harbaugh said. “Do anything you can to help find this little boy. Are there any more questions?”

  33

  Scott wasn’t too sure about this walk on the beach idea.

  If anything, the thought of him and Mike, alone, doing nothing but walking and talking on the beach for thirty minutes, made him feel more tense. What was relaxing about that? If Mike wanted to help him unwind, they should head down to one of the arcades at the boardwalk and play pinball. He and Mike hadn’t talked about anything, other than the necessary chitchat when planning family visits . . . well, ever.

  They were on the beach now, after crossing A1A and heading down the approach. It was a beautiful day, nice and sunny, very uncrowded. Pretty much just them, the seagulls, and after a few blocks, some sand dunes, at least on this stretch of the beach.

  “How about here?” Mike said.

  “Good a place as any,” Scott said.

  Mike turned left, pulled the car into a spot just before the line where the sand became soft. Both men got out.

  “I’m guessing you weren’t thinking about the two of us building a sand castle,” Scott said.

  “Not exactly.”

  “You want to talk about me and Gina?”

  “Ouch . . . am I that predictable?” Mike said.

  “Well,” Scott said, as they made their way across the flat sand toward the waterline, “how long have we known each other, Mike?”

  “A little over five years, I guess.”

  “Two things we’ve never done in that time . . . talk about anything meaningful and take a walk on the beach. Put that together with the fact that I screwed up my marriage in a major way and that I’ve been expecting God to appoint someone to take me out to the woodshed for quite some time, I guess it might as well be you.”

  Mike smiled. “I forgot I’m talking to an engineer. You’re close, but you’re wrong on one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I have no plans to take you out to the woodshed. Seriously, that’s not what this is about.”

  Scott looked out to the water. “Well, somebody better do it.”

  “Maybe somebody will. But it’s not gonna be me.”

  They walked a few steps in silence.

  “I just figured with all you’re going through, you might need a friend. I know guys don’t typically have friendships like that, unless they’ve been fighting in a foxhole together for a while. I thought I’d take a chance and just jump in, see what happens.”

  Scott took a deep breath, like he was bracing for something. “Guess you better just jump in then. Wha
t’s on your mind?”

  “Well, not sure exactly where to start,” Mike said. “Obviously, it came as a bit of a shock that you and Gina were separated. We could kind of tell, for at least the last year or two, that you guys were having problems. We just didn’t know things had gotten this bad.”

  “If you knew that,” Scott said, “you knew more than I did. Until that Christmas party last December, I thought Gina and I were doing fine. At least as good as we’ve been doing all along.”

  A slightly bigger wave than the rest rolled in, forcing the two men to scamper out of its way like a pair of sandpipers. “Rose told me about the party, what happened with you and that secretary.”

  “Then you haven’t heard the full story, just Gina’s version.” Scott stopped walking and turned to face Mike.

  “Fair enough. What’s your version? She says she walked in on you making out with a young redhead. And that this redhead said the two of you were in love.”

  Scott felt so frustrated he could scream. “That’s not what happened, Mike. Not even close.”

  “She didn’t see you kissing another woman at that party?”

  “She did see that, but what she saw wasn’t what she saw.”

  “Okay . . . care to elaborate?” Mike began to walk again.

  Scott did too. “She kissed me, this secretary. I didn’t see it coming, and she caught me off guard. I could tell she liked me. She had been trying to flirt with me for months. But I never did anything to encourage her.” Scott stopped walking again. “Look at me, Mike. Look me straight in the eye. I’m telling you, I wasn’t cheating on Gina. This girl and I were not in a relationship, on any level.”

  “What were you doing with her then, alone in that office during a company Christmas party?”

  “She told me my boss had some papers I was supposed to take home with me, and she’d forgotten to give them to me. She asked me to come back to his office and she’d get them. It’ll only take a moment, she said. I looked around for Gina, to tell her where I was going, but I couldn’t find her. I guess she was in the bathroom or something. So like an idiot, I followed this secretary back to my boss’s office, and that’s when it happened. But it was just one kiss, Mike, we weren’t making out. And I instantly tried to push her away. That’s what I was doing when Gina walked in.”

  They started walking again. “Does Gina know all this?”

  “Does she know? I’ve tried to tell her, a dozen times. She won’t believe me. Of course, it didn’t help that Marla lied to her. Right there, that night. She said we’re in love. I said, we are not, as loud as I could. This woman’s delusional, Mike. But Gina believed her, and she wouldn’t listen to me. That’s the reason we’re separated right now. And I haven’t been able to get her to reconsider, no matter what I’ve tried.”

  “Where are things at between you and this girl?”

  “There’s nothing going on between us. There never has been. She doesn’t even work in our office anymore. I told my boss what she did when we got back from the Christmas holiday and he had her transferred to another building.”

  Scott had to calm down. He hadn’t talked about this with anyone for so long, he didn’t realize how upset it made him that Gina refused to believe him. “Do you believe me, Mike?”

  Mike didn’t answer right away. “I do, Scott.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, I do. I can see how something like that could happen.”

  “Then will you talk to Gina? She won’t even talk about it with me anymore.”

  “I can try to, Scott. But have you asked yourself why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why she doesn’t believe you?”

  “I don’t know. I guess for starters she saw that kiss, and she’s always been the jealous type. Ever since we got married, she’s been that way.”

  “Have you ever given her any reason to be jealous?”

  “I don’t think so. Gina’s the only woman I’ve ever loved. I’ve never even been with anyone else. Even when I was in Korea. Lots of guys, even some of the married ones, were playing around. But I never cheated on her. So you tell me, Mike, why she’s having such a hard time believing me.”

  Mike looked at his watch. “Maybe we should turn around now.” They did, and started walking back toward the car. “I want to say something to you, Scott. But I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Just say it, Mike. Whatever it is.”

  “I’m almost positive, if Rose walked in on me being kissed by a young secretary at a party and I told her it wasn’t what it looked like, that she’d believe me.”

  “Even if that secretary lied and said you were having an affair.”

  “I believe so,” Mike said. “She’d believe me over the girl. It’d be a rough night, but yeah, I know she’d believe me.”

  Scott had a hard time believing that. But only for a few moments. As they walked together in silence a little while and he thought about what he knew of Mike and Rose’s relationship, he had to admit . . . he really could see Rose believing Mike on something like that.

  And that really started to bother him.

  They didn’t say too much until they got a little closer to Mike’s car. Scott broke the ice. “Thanks, Mike.”

  “You mean it?”

  “Yeah, I do. And I might regret this later, but right now I’m thinking I’d really like to hear what’s going on with you and Rose. What’s different about your relationship, why would she believe you if you got in the kind of jam I’m in.”

  “I don’t know, Scott.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

  “I don’t know if I want to get into that right now. That would be a hard conversation.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it would . . . I’ve had this same talk before with a few guys in my church back in Savannah. I definitely would like to talk with you sometime about it. But I don’t know if now’s the right—”

  “Mike . . .” They had reached Mike’s car. Scott sighed. “I really want to hear it. If it’ll help me close this mile-wide gap between Gina and me . . . then I want to hear it.” And maybe, Scott thought, it’ll finally give them the kind of home life Colt and Timmy would never want to run away from.

  34

  “What in the world is she doing?” August let the living room curtain slide back into place. He thought he’d heard a strange noise. Wasn’t the boy; it came from outside. One look out the window confirmed it. It was his nosy neighbor trespassing on his property, heading right this way. He had to deal with this. Wouldn’t do following his old plan of just ignoring her till she went away. Not with the boy in the house.

  Bobby was back in his room after spending two hours in the dark place for running off like he’d done. He promised he’d never do it again and begged August not to put him in there. Pitched quite a fit talking about how afraid he was of the dark. But the boy had to be taught a lesson, for his own good.

  Now August was gonna have to put him back in there again. And quick.

  He rushed back to Bobby’s room, found him sleeping, laying right across his bed. He thought about leaving him there, see if maybe he’d sleep right through this upcoming intrusion. But it wouldn’t do any good to have him wake up while she was here. Might come right out of his room and surprise them before August had a chance to send her on her way.

  For a moment, he entertained the notion of chasing her off with his shotgun. It was sitting right there in the corner, all loaded and ready to go. That would certainly get her moving, but he couldn’t take the chance that she’d complain about it to the police. They might come out here to give him a lecture and accidentally see the boy.

  He walked over to the bed and shook Bobby awake. Bobby didn’t respond. “Bobby, wake up.”

  “What? What is it?”

  “Shhh,” August said, holding his index finger up to his lips. “Sit up, right now.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “You need to get out of bed, that�
�s what’s the matter. Do it now.”

  Bobby rubbed his eyes and sat up. “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Somebody’s coming. Stop asking so many questions and do as you’re told.”

  Bobby slid out of bed and stood by it.

  August reached out his hand. “C’mon, follow me.”

  “Where we going?”

  “I said stop asking so many questions. Do I need to give you a swat?”

  “No.” Bobby stepped closer and took hold of August’s hand.

  August pulled him through the hallway, then the kitchen, toward the back porch.

  “Where we going? Where are you taking me?”

  As they got to the back door, August said, “You know where.”

  “No!” Bobby shouted. “Not the closet! Please. I’ll be good. I promise.”

  “Hush!” August pulled harder and squeezed his wrist harder. “It’ll just be a few minutes this time, till I get rid of this busybody. But I’ll leave you in there another two hours if you make a fuss about it.” The boy was still pulling away, trying to dig his heels in, but he found no purchase on the wooden floor. And he didn’t weigh nothing, so it was a fairly easy chore getting him across the porch.

  “Please don’t make me go in there. I promise I won’t say anything.”

  “I can’t take that chance.” August opened the padlock and flipped open the latch. He swung the door back and pushed the boy inside.

  “But it’s too dark in here. I’m afraid.”

  “Well, that’s just something you’re gonna have to get over. There’s nothing in there gonna hurt you. But if you don’t hush, I’ll put a hurt on you. You keep quiet, I’ll be back to get you as soon as she leaves. I might even give you one of those comic books. But you make a racket, and I’ll leave you in here all night. You’ll get no supper.”

  As August closed the door, he could hear the boy starting to cry. “You remember what I told you last time. Nobody can hear you crying in there. You’re just wasting your time.” He locked the door back up and headed toward the living room to intercept his neighbor.