Mason said as much as he could to her, but there were times when he would let the silence speak. If he didn’t continue talking, he thought maybe the silence would wake her. Like a bad dream in a quiet room, maybe the sounds of her dreaming would wake her. The night was getting long and with a still voice in a still room, Mason began to nod off. His head began to rhythmically bob every time his eyes would momentarily close longer than a blink. It wasn’t until there was a knock at the door that he was aware he had fallen asleep for some time with Orinda’s hand still clutched in his.
"How you holding up there, son?" Mr. Chandler stood in the doorway of the room. His face was bruised badly but not worse than Orinda’s. He had a hospital gown on with a large bandage that covered the gunshot wound of his shoulder. He too had an IV inserted into his veins that distributed pain medications directly to his system. He waited until Mason was awake and aware before entering the room. His room was in the same ward around the corner. It allowed to him to get to Orinda without having to travel too far. He also had law enforcement officers guarding his door, but when his wife fell asleep, he thought it would be a good idea to check on Orinda and see Mason since the other officer told him he was there.
"Mr. Chandler, what are you doing here? Are you sure you need to be up and about? Your injuries were pretty bad," Mason said slowly. He stood, grabbed another chair and moved it closer to the bed, so Chandler could have a seat and then returned to Orinda’s side. He took the liberty of moving a strand of her long, curly hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He would tell her again when they were alone how beautiful she was.
"I may be old and beaten, but I’m not dead. I know that’s what the bitch thought. I’m sure you know more about me than I wanted you to since you teamed with Griff, but what he didn’t tell you is how we used the same tactic to survive. The old play dead trick still works, I guess. I listened to everything, and I’m glad that you know I was in the clear the whole time. Sandy was my son, and we were never close," Chandler confessed and then paused. He bowed his head and had a silent moment. Even though his son used him as disposable bait, he still loved him because he watched him grow from a child. He heard his last words but couldn’t look at him because it would cause him death as well.
"I failed him. I know it, but I tried to make him understand that things didn’t have to be the way they were. He didn’t have to kill anyone, but he threatened to kill my wife and my other children. No, she didn’t give him life, but she gave him a better life. I would do anything for her because she did the ultimate for me. She allowed me the chance to try and correct a mistake I made and to prevent Karma from knocking at my door, but that bitch Karma doesn’t forget or make mistakes, does she?” Chandler asked out loud.
“He wanted me to give him 300 thousand to go away and I agreed, but know that I never gave him you. I knew you and Orinda would work best together to solve the mystery of the death, but I didn’t know my son was one of the orchestrators. He only threatened me with him knowing how to kill from war, but I never thought that he would actually do it. I swear I never gave him you. He must have known you worked for the Daily from one of your published articles from the paper. He knew you were there from the beginning, but it wasn’t from my account because I haven’t talked to him since he left for the Navy. We didn’t have the best separation, and that was the last time we spoke,” Chandler continued to ponder.
“I only wanted him to pursue being an officer. I didn’t have a problem with him joining the Navy. I just figured he would be a better leader than a follower. Please forgive me. Trust me. I know that all officers aren’t great leaders, and some of the most combat-knowledgeable people are enlisted men with firsthand on-the-ground experience. I just wanted him to make good use of the degree that I helped pay for. That’s all. He and my wife thought it was about something else,” Chandler tried to explain.
“When he left back in the late 90s,that was the last of everything. It felt like I didn’t have a son, and that made me regret more the way our relationship was. I missed him. I didn’t care anymore that he was more feminine than he should have been. I didn’t care. I just wanted to know how he was. I wanted to know how his life was. I wanted to know where life after the Navy had taken him and if it was what he wanted. That’s all, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. When someone wants to disappear in this day and age, they really don’t want to be found. It even started to take a toll on not only me, but also my wife, because she missed him, too. She always felt because of how things were before college that I pushed him away. That’s what I assume she thinks now, too,” Chandler continued. He couldn’t turn it off. The words spilled for the listeners.
"We began to argue a lot about how it was my fault that our first child could have been dead from war, and we would never know. Or how we lost our first child and never had a firstborn. In some way, I don’t think she ever forgave me for not giving her a child. She wanted to be able to be proud of him and his accomplishments, but he was a ghost from our past. When you guys were at my home, my wife told me you asked about the pictures on display. They were from our other adopted children. The reason why you didn’t see a picture of Sandy is that after he left, we had no idea who, where, or how he was and it was hard to explain to anyone including ourselves why we didn’t. When I said that we did it right with Jacob and Madeline is not just because we adopted domestically, but I didn’t make life harder for them by judging what I saw them becoming,” Chandler hoped out loud.
“I learned from my mistakes with Sandy. I learned. That’s why when we finally heard from him, I wanted to be as supportive of him as possible and show him that I was sorry for everything. I was proud of him. Watching him on stage talking about developmental pharmaceuticals to relieve the mental anxiety of posttraumatic stress disorder, I was proud. I wouldn’t have it any other way. My son used the degree that I financially sponsored and his military experience to advance in the ranks of the VA and presented his brilliance to the world,” Chandler’s eyes gleamed with tears and dignity.
“My wife and I were both proud. My wife more so because she also had her baby back. She was also able to tell her friends that her lost child who joined the Navy had traveled the world to find himself and had finally come back home. She was able to confide in him finally if she needed to. She was able to know that he was okay. She was able to touch him and love him again. The dead had resurrected. He was no longer a ghost from our past hunting us through memory. He was a living being again with a voice and with a purpose. It was great to have him around again. For a week, he would come over to the house and laugh and have a great time. We would talk about his travels throughout Europe and Central America. He and I would talk about combat while he and his mother would talk about locations and the people and the smells of different villages. He had enough conversation in him for the both of us. It was beautiful. I didn’t see the son that left who was indecisive about life. I simply saw my son,” Chandler paused sadly.
“We all ate dinner together every night. He would even lead us in saying grace, taking the man’s lead role at the dinner table. It made me proud. I felt like my past discretions of not handling his differences were erased because he was home and he was a man who had grown out of the odd phase that he was in when he was younger. Then it all changed. It changed from one day to the next. I believe it was a week after he had spoken at the Marriot, and he asked me if we could speak alone. I figured that it was because he wanted to have a talk man to man, a one on one. You know, some father-son time, but that wasn’t the case,” Chandler sighed heavily.
“When we were alone, he turned from the charming, seasoned, traveled gentleman to a dark-eyed monster. He wanted me to give him 300,000 dollars from our publication’s revenue, so he could move away to a country that does not have an extradition treaty signed with the United States government. He wanted to live freely elsewhere because he knew what he was a part of. I told him that I was not going to do such a thing. That’s when he told me how
experienced he was with killing and combat. He brandished a .45 caliber handgun from under his shirt. That’s when I knew how he was serious. He let me know that he was in control, that he was the boss and a killer. That he made the rules. I could do nothing but concede because then he let me know that if I didn’t give him what he wanted, he would kill my wife, his mother! And that he would kill my other children,” Chandler continued, his voice changing to a more determined tone.
“I couldn’t let either happen because I would never forgive myself if something happened to them, and I definitely wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t save their lives when I had the chance. They saved ours when we thought we lost our first child. I know how it affected her, and I could only imagine how it would affect her if she learned of their expiration. That’s why I took such offense when you and Orinda made the insinuations that I helped plot the murder of the man in Pennsauken. I had no idea who he was. When Lieutenant Gutiérrez reached out to me, I only knew the information she gave me. I had a lot on my mind. It was a very stressful time. I know how I come off to people and for that, a lot of people won’t give me the benefit of doubt. That was why I didn’t come into the office for a while; I just stayed away. I needed to figure how to make this whole thing go away. I still needed to issue assignments to the staff because the show still goes on. Then the other day I received a phone call. It was from Sandy. He told me to come to the hotel because we needed to talk. He said that while he was there, he got a call from an Investigator from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service who was based out of a joint military base in New Jersey. I knew of Lt Gutiérrez because she called me about the murder, but I had no idea who was calling Sandy and what for. He said that if I didn’t come, he would make a visit to my home when my wife was home alone. So I agreed to meet him. When we I arrived at the hotel and came up stairs, as soon he opened the door, there was a gun drawn pointing right at me. I couldn’t do anything but follow his orders. That’s the last thing I remember before the darkness. I don’t know how long I was there, but when I did wake up a few times, I was hungry and in a lot pain. It seemed like I was there longer than a few hours. I heard Sandy’s voice but then I heard a familiar voice in the room as well. She was talking about leaving the country together and traveling to Eastern Europe. She sounded flirtatious like she was trying to get his attention, but her advances weren’t working. She talked of proving herself to him because there was something about him that she needed. My guess is that she didn’t know who she was working with. I don’t know what their relationship was, but it wasn’t what he wanted. She wanted something she thought was obtainable, and she didn’t think that it wasn’t. Her ego was the death of her," Mr. Chandler finalized.
He made the entire thing all come to a close, the background events that made a major impact on one. The things that were going on, taking place while Mason and Orinda were making their bond stronger. These events lead them to Detective Griffin. The events that would change his approach to life as well. Vernon Chandler tied it all together in one story.
"I’m so sorry for your loss, Mr. Chandler," Mason said looking at Orinda and then back to Vernon Chandler who still sat at the edge of the bed. "Your loss was more than what we knew at the beginning and can’t be replaced. For that I’m sorry. No matter how dysfunctional your relationship was, you lost a son."
"I wonder why she did it. Like I said, she wanted to be with him. She wanted them to be a pair, but he was not what she thought. Of course, he didn’t tell her because he probably would have ultimately received the same punishment. She killed him to prove a point! That’s the only thing I could think of." The pain in Chandler’s voice was more than noticeable.
The whole situation revealed a lot about their lives. It revealed a lot about everyone involved. There were so many parallels to their stories and so many differences all at the same time. One of the many parallels is that loved ones were lost for eternity while others were struggling to survive.
"I want you and Orinda to get better. I didn’t mean for you be involved with this. My son wanted me dead, but he instead fell victim to his own demons. His demon being that he trusted someone else who was willing to kill in order to prove something. I at least know he won’t have the internal conflict he had throughout his life. He is free. It broke my wife’s heart when she heard, but when she was informed about how he was in cahoots with a serial killer, she was more concerned about my survival than his demise. She was also glad to have met you and Orinda. She thinks you two make a beautiful couple. I think you may have me to thank for that. I used to see you look at her in the office. No one else was blind to it," Chandler said with a smile and then a wince of pain.
"She even told me how Griff was adamant to get to the bottom of things. I have been so embarrassed about some things that happened during my younger days that I haven’t reached out to him in a long time, but when I heard about the situation in Pennsauken, I knew that I should reach out to him. I’m very glad that Orinda did what she did considering that the NCIS investigator was at the helm of death the whole time. I’m gonna reach out to him to say, ‘Thank you.’ I saved his live before. I guess he was just repaying the favor and for that, I at least owe him a face to face meet and greet for the first time in years," Chandler said and then slowly began to stand. This was the first time that he looked his age.
Like the father figure that Mason never had, Chandler always appeared larger than life in his role, but now he looked every bit of his age. There were times in the office when his voice was stronger than the loudest of loud, but now his whisper was aged as well. His posture once erect and strong, now slumped over to brace himself closer to the ground in case he were to fall. He looked frail the way he took one half step to equalize each movement.
He adjusted his gown and the tubes in his IV mount, so he could move forward without tripping over either and made his way over to Mason. Mason attempted to stand in front of him but before he could, the strength he always saw reappeared when Mr. Chandler placed a gripping hand on his shoulder, causing resistance from Mason’s attempt to stand.
"Like I said earlier, son, I want you and Orinda to get better. This was a pretty traumatic experience for the both of you. So I would like to do something. From here on out I want to change how people would see me. I want to be remembered for how I feel instead of forgotten by those who thought I was heartless and never felt at all. I want to give you and Orinda some off time. I want you to take at least two years off. I want you to take the time and use it for whatever you want. If you want to travel, travel. If you want to live day to day and play each day by ear, do it. We all know life is short. I will get the documents drafted up and send them to both of your addresses, so you can review them and confirm them with a signature. I don’t want you to go work for anyone else because you two are too vital to our team. If you did and I find out, the contract will be voided. While you’re taking the time for what you want, you will still receive your full salary plus an incentive of a 23% raise. This is under one condition. I want you to chronicle it all with a journal. You have a gift, Mason. I knew from the very beginning when I hired you. You have a gift, and that’s communication. You may speak slowly and sometimes have a hard time getting your words out but when you do speak, it makes sense, and it makes the time taken to listen and hear worth it. The articles you have written for us are why I came into the publication business to begin with. You may not know this about me, but that’s what I did in Vietnam. I was there only to chronicle stories of combat. You remind me a lot of what I wanted to be but never was, a great communicator. That may have been my greatest weakness. I need you to do this. Okay? Can you?" Chandler asked.
Mason could only shake his head to accept the proposition offered. What he thought was his greatest weakness, others saw as his greatest strength. The only thing that would make this deal sweeter was a guarantee that Orinda would be okay. Mason looked at her and gently squeezed her hand again to will her condition better after hearing t
he most recent assignment given to him by his boss. This would allow them to get completely better together.
No more prescription drugs, no more guilt about not speaking up, but the opportunity to speak up for those that perished. To avenge his comrades of war. To speak about the damages of war. Not just the injuries that one can see with open eyes but the ones that happen in the silence of darkness, in the black of a full mind. The damage of a man leaving and a shell of a man with a damaged soul returning.
After a silent acceptance to his proposal, Vernon Chandler slowly made his way toward the door. The strength that appeared when he placed his hand on Mason’s shoulder vanished as quickly as it suddenly appeared, and the fragile old man returned. Mason bowed his head to say a quiet thank you and a prayer for Orinda at the same time while Chandler walked away.
"One more thing, son," Mr. Chandler turned around and said as he made it to the door to exit the room. "Before I get back to my sleeping wife, there’s one more thing. Sandy wanted me to give him $300,000 for him to flee the country. As I mentioned, I would do anything for my wife who has done everything to show she would do anything for me over these years. I prepared the money to be withdrawn from my some of my lucrative investments and from my much endowed retirement accounts. The funds are ready to be disbursed, but since he’s gone, I figured I could present it the man and woman who saved my life. You and Orinda. I will prepare to have the funds deposited into the same account you receive your direct payroll deposits," Chandler said and then opened the door. Mason was speechless, but his face and eyes said it all, and Mr. Chandler knew what it meant.
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