“I figured this might come in more use after the night you had.” She handed him a cup. “Ben told me.”
“Yeah, I was out. I’m just getting restless holed up here. Not that I don’t like it here.”
She smiled. “Why do I feel like there is a lot more to you than you are telling me Charles…or is it Braymond.” Jackson looked down and took a sip of the hot coffee. “I’m just kidding. Please just keep using the car as long as you need it. Just be careful out there, especially late at night. At least the frat boys didn’t keep you awake. Ben got complaints all night.”
Jackson smiled. “Yeah, I saw a few of them out and about when I got back. Some of them looked a little wobbly.”
“A little? Apparently they decided to have a water polo match in the pool last night at around 1:00AM. Poor Ben had to break it up. I wish he had called us. I think one of us will be staying here tonight, so if you’re out again we might see each other.”
“I hope things will be quieter for all of us. Thanks for the coffee.” She handed him a small brown bag that he quickly opened. “And the bagels.”
“Anytime.”
Jackson looked at the clock. It said 6:30 AM. He slept maybe three hours. “How come you’re off to such an early start today?” He smiled as he said it.
“Today is the big day. We have a contractor coming by to give us a quote to rebuild us into a first class place. I heard you saw the picture in the office.”
“Looks really impressive, I hope it works out.”
“Money’s going to be the issue. I don’t think we have anywhere near enough.”
“I will definitely spread the good word. This is the best place I have ever stayed including the best service and the best manager ever.”
“Oh stop.” She tapped him on the shoulder with her fist. “I think we need to take a look at that bandage again.” Jackson nodded and placed his coffee down and finished chewing the bagel. A few minutes later, Jessie had the bandage off and was examining the cuts.
“How’s it looking?”
“I think we need to remove the stitches. Why don’t you go to the ER?”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“I just can’t.”
She started laughing. “Are we a little scared?”
Jackson quietly laughed as well. “Something like that.”
“Okay…don’t you move; I will be right back.”
Jackson remained on the bed and flipped on the TV. He scanned through the news stations and didn’t see anything that Michelle and Stephanie had been found so he confirmed that the house was empty, but he needed to find them and soon. He hit the power switch when he heard her key the door. She had a small medical kit in her hands. He watched as she walked back towards his ankle and started removing items.
“Don’t worry tough guy, it won’t hurt that much.” She smiled. Jackson lay back as she cut and pulled. He winced a few times till she softly grabbed his hand and squeezed. It felt so good and natural. He didn’t want to let it go. He thought of Michelle till she let go and finished up placing a new fresh bandage on it. After she was done she sat next to him, and somehow their hands ended up touching each other, and before he knew it, they were holding hands and kissing. He didn’t want to stop, but the knock on the door quickly pulled them away from each other. They both stared at each other for a few seconds before Jackson held her back and looked through the peephole. He instantly relaxed when he saw her sister and opened the door. A few minutes later, they both said good-bye and left Jackson standing there not sure what had just happened. He wasn’t sure how he felt. He was surprised he had felt no guilt. He quickly dismissed what had happened from his mind and took a shower and dressed, then headed to the office and borrowed the keys from Ben. Ben said the two ladies were meeting with the contractor. He thought he heard voices behind him, but he headed towards the Ford and made his way back to Braymond Reynold’s house.
Michelle looked at the pancakes caked with thick maple syrup that Braymond had delivered to her and Michelle. She didn’t sleep more than an hour or two, but she was happy Stephanie had slept soundly. She watched her eat the pancakes.
“Mommy, these don’t look like ours. They have seeds on them.”
“Shhhh…” Michelle placed her finger to her mouth. “Those are blueberries sweetheart.” Mr. Bray got us special ones. Michelle tried to eat, but she had no appetite. She just watched Michelle pick up pieces of pancake and swallow them. “Don’t forget to drink your orange juice that Mr. Bray was nice enough to get.” She watched Michelle look at Bray who was standing next to the bed that they had slept in watching Michelle. She knew Michelle was still nervous, and she didn’t want her to start shaking again. She softly placed her arm on her shoulder to make sure she stayed calm and ate. She knew Stephanie had to stay nourished. She forced herself to take a bite despite the nausea working its way up her esophagus.
Chapter 51
Jackson parked the Ford in the same spot he had last night. Both cars were still parked there so he pulled in between them. The police cars were gone, so he causally stepped out of the car and made his way down to the house. He was aware of people coming and going, probably to work he thought, but he continued on like he knew what he was doing and where he was going. It always worked. He entered the property and went around back where the Warden’s man had gone last night. There was a back door, but he didn’t want to break any glass or cause too much commotion after what happened the other night when he broke into his own house. He knew he had to get in the house. He not only had to check for himself, but he also needed to look around for any clues that could lead him to his family. He thought about the kiss with Jessie again, but then forced himself to block it from his mind as he crept towards the front of the house. He tried the windows on the side, but they were locked so he made it to the front door and stood in front of it. He looked behind him and all around before he made his move. He kicked the door, just as they had done last night except for instead of just opening, the frame near the lock splintered causing much damage. Jackson frowned but he still entered. He noticed the deadbolt had been closed which had caused the damage. He kept going. He entered into a dark living room with standard beige paint on the walls and barely used off-color furniture. It looked like someone just purchased furniture because they had to. They put no work into matching anything or setting anything up in any sort of order. Jackson walked through the living room and entered a dining room that had a dark mahogany table with matching chairs. There was no other furniture in the room, just a few pictures on the wall of various flowers and scenery, nothing fancy. He breezed into the kitchen and was not surprised that it was decorated similarly. He kept going. He was looking for any trace of Michelle or Stephanie, so far there was nothing. It was if someone just existed here but didn’t live. He pictured his house in his mind. All the personal touches he and Michelle added. There were no family photos, no personal effects, just furniture and generic fixtures. He quickly scanned the rest of the kitchen and then slowly made his way up the stairs. He thought of the family pictures he and Michelle had demanded they get every few months. They wanted to document every change in Stephanie. He couldn’t wait for the next one. He thought of Jessie and the kiss again. He reached the top of the stairs. There were three bedrooms. He quickly walked through all three. Two were decorated with twin beds and a dresser full of empty drawers. The other was the master with a large king-sized bed in the center of the room. There were two dressers and a large mirror hanging between the two of them. He stood in front of the mirror and stared back at the man looking at him. It didn’t look like the man he had known all his life. It looked like a disheveled lost soul like you might see on a street corner holding a sign looking for handouts. He didn’t like the way he looked. He stepped back and stopped when he saw the access to the attic on the ceiling above the dresser. It didn’t look like it was disturbed so just maybe the police didn’t check it, but it probably meant no one
else has been up there either. Jackson jumped up on the dresser and nudged the panel open. He felt a wave of dust strike his face. He quickly wiped at his eyes till he could see again. He stuck his head into the opening and almost gagged when he smelled the moldy stale aroma. He looked around at the dimly lit space and nearly fell off the dresser when he saw the body. It looked like a man’s body, but he wasn’t sure. He had to check it out. He felt the sweat building up on his forehead and the tension increase in his body as he climbed up in to the attic. The closer he got the worse it smelled. He placed his hand over his mouth and arrived over the body quickly relieved it was a man and not Michelle or Stephanie. He could see a pool of blood near the man’s chest area and a stack of rumpled paperwork near his feet. He quickly examined the body and saw it was an elderly man; probably Braymond Sr. He looked at the papers, careful not to touch the blood. They appeared to be bills and mail. There were all the normal ones, utilities, mortgage, doctor’s, bills all addressed to Braymond Sr. at this same address. He rummaged through the rest of them and didn’t see anything of importance till he saw another small stack further in and closer to the blood. He accidently smudged his hand on the blood. It hadn’t dried yet. He wiped the blood off on his shirt. There were additional bills with another address, a Jennifer Reynolds. Braymond Sir’s wife, they were divorced. He grabbed the top one, climbed out of the attic and jumped down from the dresser and onto the floor. The address was only a few minutes away. He felt the excitement building as he stepped outside until he heard sirens getting louder quickly. He ran as quickly as he could towards the Ford. He saw a man and woman directly across the street outside on their front steps pointing at him. He kept running. His leg was beginning to ache, but he reached the Ford, climbed inside and pulled out just as saw the first police car coming directly down the road towards him. He tried to think of his next move, but at the last second, the police car turned and headed into the driveway. He saw the man and woman run down the driveway and point at him in the car. Jackson pulled out seeing the couple waving frantically at him. He could see the officer running back towards his parked car. Jackson stepped on the gas and gave the old Ford everything it had until he saw another cruiser turn down the same road. He stepped on the gas some more. He was borderline losing control, but he gripped the wheel as tightly as he could as he pulled onto Route 236. There was the usual heavy dose of traffic, but he blew by everyone in the left lane. He could hear the sirens coming behind him, but he continued to gun the engine until it conked out and died right there in the middle of Route 236.
Dever knew as soon as he saw Mitchell running to him in the hotel restaurant something was up. He gulped the rest of his coffee swallowing the remaining food.
“We got a problem.”
Dever quickly stood up. “What is it?”
“The house you went to last night. Stewart was just there and we got a dead body.” Dever signaled for Timmons who was just entering the restaurant.
“How do we know it was him?”
“Witnesses across the street and we already have his fingerprints being confirmed on a field test, one a bloody one.”
“Where was the body found?”
“In the attic.” Dever tried to picture the house as he informed Timmons of the situation and followed him out towards the parking lot. They would meet Mitchell and his team there who were assisting the police process the scene. They arrived at the house amidst what looked like hundreds of police cars waking up the sleepy quiet street. Dever noticed all the neighbors gathered outside on their front lawns wondering what had happened. He brushed inside past the police officers and back into the familiar house. He went directly upstairs where Mitchell was already in full discussion with a police captain about where and how the body was found. Dever insisted he wanted to see the body, but a large mustached officer with Captain’s bars on his uniform was denying anyone access except for those processing the scene. A minute later, Dever saw a woman’s gloved hands handing down a stack of paperwork from the attic.
“What is that?”
That Captain grabbed the paperwork with his large gloved hands and placed it in a bag. He separated one sheet with a bloody fingerprint on it and placed it into another bag.
“I want to see that one.” Dever reached out and tried to grab the bag from the Captain who sneered at him, but he got the other one instead. He stepped away and read through a mortgage statement that had been torn in half. “I need to see the other half, the one with the print.”
“That is evidence.” That Captain answered. He reached out and grabbed the bag from Dever’s hand.
“I need to keep that. I think it might be important.”
“Not as important as solving this murder.” The Captain tucked both bags inside his jacket.
“Please Captain. We are trying to track down Stewart and there is a reason he grabbed that one. That was the only one with a print on it right?”
The Captain reluctantly nodded. “After we process everything, it will be available.”
Dever stomped his foot and looked to Mitchell for help, but he was talking into his cell phone and disappeared down the stairs. “Just let me take a look.” Dever wasn’t going to beg. He tried to reach for the edge of the bag sticking out of his coat.
“You do that again. I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a crime scene.
The Captain pointed towards the stairs. Dever held back his anger and trampled down the stairs and saw Mitchell speaking to a man and woman. He listened as they described man resembling Stewart kicking in the front door, and then five minutes later bolting back out of it and driving away in an old white Ford sedan that had apparently just been picked up by the police. He was trying to get more information but everyone was running toward their cars so he and Timmons followed them onto Route 236. He saw the white Ford parked on the shoulder. A group of four or so officers were approaching it from the back with their guns out. Dever slowly got out of the car and followed behind. It was difficult to hear with the screaming and shouting as well as the passing cars but he could hear the officers giving commands, but no one was responding in the car. Finally, two officers ran up to the windows and called out that it was clear. Dever quickly turned around slammed his fist into the nearest police car causing one of the officers to turn around. He looked back and shook his head in frustration. Jackson was long gone. He knew the officers would check the area, but they wouldn’t find him. He was too smart. Dever felt his insides burning up as he dropped back into the crown Vic and directed Timmons to the police station.
Chapter 52
Jackson couldn’t believe his luck was still hanging on when the Ford broke down and the police cars passed right on by. He quickly jumped out abandoning it on the side of the road. He ran into a large garden style apartment complex and found the leasing office where he was able to call a cab. He was currently on his way back to the motel. He wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Jessie about the car. He knew he had been pushing it too hard, but it had done the job and got him away. He was really getting tired of being on the run. He needed to find Michelle and Stephanie. He felt the piece of paper in his pocket with the address. He just had to come up with a plan. He couldn’t get the kiss with Jessie out of his mind. He wondered if Michelle had ever had the urge the last five years. He quickly dismissed that thought as the cab dropped him off across the street from Manny’s. He would walk the rest of the way. He watched the cab disappear as he stepped into Manny’s and ordered two cheeseburger meals. The waitress scurried into the back and handed one of the cooks the order. Another man who must be close to sixty, overweight, and with a large beer-belly talked to the cook. Jackson figured that must be Manny. He had a greasy but nice face from working in the diner for many years. Jackson watched as the news broke on a small CRT TV about the discovery of Braymond Reynolds Sr.’s body. The news station was showing chopper footage of the house surrounded by helicopters. Apparently, he had been a high school athletic director and soccer coach who was bel
oved by the community. He listened as they said their main suspect was Jackson Stewart. Jackson cringed when he heard his name. It sounded so foreign coming from the small set. He couldn’t believe it. They switched to a shot of Warden Dever leaving the house and waving his hand with a no comment sign.
“…Sir…Sir.” Jackson quickly snapped his head in the direction of the waitress and quickly looked away from the TV. “Your order is ready.” Jackson thanked her as she handed him the brown paper bag. He breathed normally again when she turned towards the TV and they were talking about the weather. He made the fifteen-minute walk towards the motel and was surprised at how well his leg was feeling. He needed to thank Jessie, but first he had to let her know about the car. He had no idea what her reaction was going to be when he walked into the office and found her alone behind the counter with a huge smile on her face when she saw the food.
“Oh Charles…you didn’t have to do that.” Jackson smiled and placed the bag in front of her on the counter.
“It’s the least I could do especially after what just happened?”
He watched her face grow in concern. Her eyebrows came together almost forming a perfect arc that he couldn’t stop looking at. “Are you talking about what happened earlier?” She looked down. “I’m sorry it was so out of line. I should have never done that. It just came over me. Please forgive me.”
Jackson softly grabbed her hand. “Believe me; I had just as much to do with it as you did. It’s not that.”
“What could it be?”
“It’s the car.”
“The car?
“The one you’ve been letting me borrow. It broke down about fifteen minutes from here.”
Evasion Page 21