The reporter reiterated, “Again, it has been confirmed that this is not the body of Owen Albright, the little boy, a special needs child who went missing from his school just over a year ago. At this time, what we do know is…”
Julien grabbed the remote control and shut the television off. He went to stand, but fell back down on the mattress. The smooth, dimpled scars running the length of his leg, caught the moonlight and he tried to convince himself the pain he felt was a figment of his imagination, a reaction to his dream. He reached for his cane and, moving slowly, left the bedroom.
With each passing night, his memories grew clearer, the physical effects grew stronger and his denial became less plausible. He wished now that he had handled it very differently with Rachael. In the beginning, she seemed to recall so much more than he, and, in an effort to move on, he tried tirelessly to convince Rachael that none of it ever happened. The more she talked about it, the more she lost control of her emotions. She became obsessed and that wasn’t helping them any.
It was not until shortly after Jessica turned two-years-old that they were aware of the little girl’s gift. Julien insisted they raise her to believe the power she possessed was bad, just as one would teach a child not to repeat bad words or aggressive tendencies. Soon Jessica’s autism seemed to worsen and as they lost aspects of their little girl somewhere deep within her own mind, they also lost control of her ability; an ability for which Rachael had become the prime target.
Rachael began to fear being left alone with Jessica. Perhaps it was Julien’s, more authoritative demeanor, but Jessica rarely used her gift in his presence and he could always tell when she was thinking about it. A dullness would come over her eyes, a sideways stare in his direction, as if to see if he were watching. Julien would give her one stern look and his daughter would cease the attempt. Only since the incident with Owen Albright, an incident he still struggled to believe could possibly be true, had he begun to worry when she was out of his sight.
Julien poured a cup of coffee. The clock read, 3:42 a.m.; another night of vivid dreams and little sleep. He found a sweatshirt in the laundry and pulled it on then grabbed three Advil and headed out to the balcony, swallowing them dry along the way. Just as he sat down to light a cigarette, the bird fluttered out after him.
“How are you out of that cage?” he whispered to the bird.
The bird landed, first on the table, and then hopped to the balcony wall. It would not fly away; he could never get that lucky. It would stay as a reminder of the atrocities Jessica was capable of and Julien’s inability to control them, regardless of what he told himself.
If I can someday reason with her…
Perhaps when she is a little bit older...
Seconds later, Jessica appeared in the doorway, startling him.
“Why are you awake?”
Jessica watched him silently.
“Come here to Papa.”
The bird flew to her shoulder. She approached her father and the bird returned to the low cement wall.
Jessica slipped in between his legs and leaned up against his chest. He hugged her.
“Did you have a dream?” he asked.
Julien often wondered if the little girl also experienced the dreams and memories, which plagued him and Rachael. He reminded himself how small she had been during their time in Kings Hollow and hoped this would save her from such a fate.
She shook her head and brought a hand up to rub at the stubble on his chin.
“The holiday is over, tomorrow is Monday, and you have school very early.” He gave her another squeeze, “Give Papa a kiss and go back to bed…and take the bird with you.”
He knew she would not go without him, but he could try.
Jessica wove her small fingers into his larger ones and gave a little tug, indicating he should follow. Julien suppressed a laugh then took Jessica back to her room, where he tucked her in and sat on the edge of the bed.
The bird fluttered past them to perch on the windowsill.
“Sleep Jessica,” Julien whispered, as he stroked her hair.
He remained by her side, humming softly until her breathing became slow and even.
CHAPTER FOUR
Julien scanned the impassive faces of the Cox executives. His pitch had been seamless and Phil’s customary wink assured him, regardless of the outcome, his boss was pleased. Like a relay race, the moment Julien’s pitch ended, Matt got to his feet. He launched into an energetic demonstration of the changes they suggested for the Cox website, followed by a potential viral video the agency had produced. Halfway through the video’s screening, Julien felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He ignored it, but no sooner had the called ended, when it began vibrating again. Discreetly, he slid the phone out from his pocket and glanced beneath the table at its screen; Jessica - School
What did she do now?
Julien tried to focus on Matt’s portion of the presentation, but the phone; now in his hand, began vibrating for a third time. He wanted to ignore it; this was the worst possible timing, but the rapid repetition of calls and a paternal sense within him, warned, there is an emergency.
By the fourth consecutive call, Julien felt sure this was not about a stomachache or disruptive behavior in class. Anxiety gripped him as his imagination took over and he envisioned the entire first grade class fluttering about the room, now somehow turned into a murder of crows. He knew Matt’s portion of the pitch was coming to an end, but he also knew the Cox executives would have endless questions. There was no telling how long it would be before he could return the call.
His phone vibrated for a fifth time and, although he knew it was his imagination, the juddering phone felt especially intense now, intensifying his panic.
Interrupting Matt, he got to his feet, “Excuse me.”
He stepped away from the table. Offering an apologetic glance to Phil, he passed behind him and apologized again to the rest of the room.
“I am very sorry. I’ll be right back. Matt, please continue.” Julien slipped from the room and out into the hall.
Instantly, struck with pain. He relied heavily on his cane as he leaned against the wall. He was about to dial the school when the phone vibrated again, this time the caller ID read, NYPD
Julien stared at the screen, instantly petrified. His heart raced. A wave of vertigo rushed over him. He took a deep breath, leaning his head back against the wall, and answered the call.
“’allo?” he said, keeping his voice low and trying not to draw attention.
“This is Detective Arden, of the New York City Police Department. Is this Julien Grenier?”
“What happened? Yes, it is. Why are you calling?”
“Mr. Grenier, we’ve sent a car to your office to pick you up. The school has been trying to reach you. There’s been an incident…”
“A…incident? What kind of incident? Is she alright? What happened? Where is Jessica?”
“Your daughter has been abducted from the playground at her school.”
“What are you talking about? What do you mean…abducted?”
Julien heard footsteps and looked up as a police officer, escorted by building security and a receptionist, headed up the hallway in his direction. He hung up the phone.
“I told you, there is no one we know who would do this.” Julien sat across the table in a small room, alone with Detective Arden. They had been taking turns, questioning him for hours, and making no attempt to conceal their suspicions. Julien’s frustration was mounting.
“Look, she is my child, yes, I have life insurance for her. Does she make me angry? Yes…all the times. Sometimes I want to go out of my head, angry because of the things that she do. But if you want to waste the time accusing me instead of being out there to find her, you better have something that is very sure to prove this.”
“We’re not accusing you of anything, Mr. Grenier, but we have to rule out everyone close to your daughter, and so far, that’s you.” Detective Arden leaned back in his
chair, “Can I call you Julien?”
“No. No you cannot.”
Arden continued, “Jessica is a special needs child, right? From what you’ve explained, you’re her sole caregiver. You wouldn’t be the first parent to reach the end of his rope. Quite frankly, sometimes it’s hard for us to cast judgment. I mean, I have kids myself. It’s not easy, and with Jessica being special…”
“You said it was a woman. The teacher…she sees it was a woman, no?”
“Julien…did you hire someone…a favor…a friend…a girlfriend?” Arden took the interrogation up a notch, all but accusing Julien outright.
“A girlfriend? Hire someone?” Julien shook his head, stifling a disheartened laugh. “No. There is none of this things!” He couldn’t bear another moment of questioning. “Please, go find her. I did not do this. I do not know who is doing this. I do not know why or who. Please…”
The door opened and an officer leaned in against the door jam.
“Sorry to interrupt… The teacher is here, where do you want her?”
Behind the officer, a familiar face passed by in the hall. It took Julien a few seconds to recall, Detective Ed Bale.
Julien jumped up, taking the officer by surprise as he rushed from the room. Detective Arden dashed after him. Julien called out to Ed Bale, who seemed to be in a tremendous hurry.
Bale heard his name and turned back to face the commotion erupting behind him. At first, he had no recollection of Julien, until he heard him speak. He had arrived at the precinct late for the briefing, but received the memo about the Grenier girl. He had not put two-and-two together until Julien’s accent triggered his memory.
Julien reached him, upset and rambling, “Detective Bale, do you remember me? My wife? Several years ago? Grenier?”
“Mr. Grenier… Julien, right?” Bale could see the determination in Arden’s face as he and the officer caught up to them. He acknowledged Julien immediately hoping to put the younger detective at ease.
Bale continued, “I just walked in. I was about to review the case. Missing child? Aw, geez, is this your kid?”
Arden eyed Bale impatiently and suddenly, what little Ed knew about the case and hotheaded Arden, began to make sense. He knew they had been questioning the father for hours and, having many more years of experience on Arden, from what he remembered about Julien Grenier, they were barking up the wrong tree.
“Can I talk with you?” Julien pleaded with Bale for his time.
The younger detective stood behind him, folding his arms and smirking.
Ed held up a pausing finger, “Julien, give us one moment.”
Arden nudged the patrol officer’s arm with his elbow then nodded, instructing him to keep a close eye on Julien.
Ed Bale led Arden a few paces down the hall. He did not wait for the young detective to explain where he was with the case; just by the look in Arden’s eyes, he already knew.
“Look, if you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, you’ve got the wrong guy here. I worked a case, his wife, some years back, a home invasion. This guy’s as clean as they come, but he’s got a way about him…quick to piss you off. I know him, he’s not your man, but he’ll talk to me. If he knows anything that will help find his kid, he’ll tell me.”
Arden stood before Bale, defensive and stubborn.
“There’s something about this guy, Ed. I mean, he claims no one else knows the kid, just him and the school; like he keeps her locked up or something. I think he hired somebody to take care of the problem. Kid’s a retard. Probably pissed him off.”
Bale, offended by Arden’s choice of words, snapped, “Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?” He glanced toward Julien hoping their conversation hadn’t been overheard.
Arden continued more quietly, “Special needs or whatever they call it now.”
Bale refused to hear another word, “Tell me where you’re at with this and I’ll tell Oswald I’m taking over the case. Send your paperwork over to my desk.”
Arden leered at Bale, shaking his head in disbelief, but knowing he didn’t have the seniority to argue.
Bale pretended he didn’t notice, fumbled with the briefing notes in his hand, “Get me that paperwork,” he repeated to Arden, as he walked away from him and motioned for Julien to follow.
Ed Bale led Julien to his desk with two cups of coffee in his hands.
“So, a little girl, huh?”
A sullen Julien took a seat. Exhaustion and the stress of hours of interrogation had left its toll. He nodded and sipped at the cup Ed handed to him.
“I’m told there was another child that went missing from the same school, a while ago. A classmate of your daughter’s? What do you think? Could there possibly be a connection?”
No, that child is now a bird...
Julien, lost in thought, did not respond.
“What do you think about that possibility, Julien?” Ed asked again as he pulled a bag of peanut M&M’s from his desk drawer. He offered it to Julien, who declined.
“I don’t think…I mean, I doubt there is a connections,” Julien said.
The candy wrapper refused to tear so Ed gave it a hard yank with his teeth. M&M’s spilled across his desk. He collected them, one-by-one, as he continued.
“Why is that? What makes you feel there isn’t a connection?” he asked.
“I don’t know…” Julien looked him straight in the eye. He wanted Ed to go in the right direction with the case, but couldn’t possibly admit the missing boy was most likely a bird sitting in a cage in his daughter’s bedroom as they speak. “It was over a year ago, that is why I do not think so.”
“I heard about your wife,” Ed admitted, out of the blue.
Julien reluctantly responded, “Oh?”
“I’m really sorry, Julien. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot since we last spoke.”
Sorrow had settled hard on Julien’s spirit. “Ouai…yeah,” he said with a somber air, which suggested Bale did not know half of it.
Bale never doubted his gut instincts. He sat quietly snacking on candy, glancing over case notes and thinking. He felt sure, Julien not only had nothing to do with the abduction of his daughter, but he had no clue who had done this or why.
The detective twisted the bright yellow bag tight then tossed the half empty package of candy back in the drawer.
“Julien, the entire department is out there looking for your little girl,” he vowed.
Like they look for the prick who attack my wife?
Bale continued, “We have a description of the car and the woman. That’s more than we sometimes have in these cases.”
“They will not tell me anything.” Julien sipped his coffee again. “What type of car was this? What did this woman look like? Can you tell me?”
Ed nodded, “A silver Mercedes. Don’t have a confirmation on the year. One teacher said it looked new. Another said, she thought the model was about ten-years-old. The woman, older, pretty covered up, big sunglasses, a blue or gray scarf tied over her head, possibly a redhead or strawberry blonde, wearing a long, tan coat. Might have been a trench coat.”
Julien’s distant stare made Ed wonder how much he was actually absorbing from their conversation.
“Julien, does any of that sound familiar?”
“No.” He placed the Styrofoam cup, now empty, back down on Bale’s desk. “Can I smoke?”
Ed shook his head, “No, not in here. Laws.” They sat quiet for a long moment, until Bale got up, “Let’s go for a walk.”
Julien, having left his cane behind in Arden’s office, held tight to the railing as he followed Ed down a back stairwell to an exit door. Together, they stepped out into the alley for a smoke. Ed kicked off a shoe, using it to hold the door open. He stood there on the pavement, wearing one black sock and one loafer, and lighting a cigarette. Julien, as downtrodden as he felt, could almost laugh at the quirky detective, who didn’t seem to care about the things most others would. He shook his head and suppressed a ha
lfhearted smile. He could not help but like Ed Bale and was relieved to be standing there with him.
“Julien, Jessica’s teacher said she went with the woman willingly, like she knew her. She said she looked up and saw Jessica at the far end of the playground, holding the woman’s hand and, I quote, skipping to the car.”
“Ed, my daughter is not like most children. She has a form of autism.” He waved a dismissive hand back and forth through the air, “They don’t know…they are not sure what it is…sometimes they say it is autism and sometimes something else, but she knows very few people. She is coming in contact with very few people in her life. If she knows this woman, she knows her from the school. That is all that can be.”
“Two kids disappear from the same school, only a year apart, no connection. Hmm…” Ed stubbed out his cigarette against the brick wall. “They’ve already tapped your phone line, but no calls have come in. We should probably get you home, in case whoever has her, calls.”
Julien assumed this was Bale’s attempt to have a look around the apartment without appearing suspicious. He flicked his cigarette across the alley, “They search the apartment this afternoon, Ed. Do not waste your time.”
“I’m giving you a ride…no agenda.” Ed held the door for Julien as he wrestled his foot back into his shoe.
Julien got out of Bale’s car and closed the door then leaned back in through the window, “Thank you for the ride. If you want to come in…”
“No, no need. They did a thorough sweep earlier, as you said. If there was anything there, they would have found it. We have a tracer on the line, if the abductor calls, keep them talking for as long as you can. If you change your mind and want us to place an officer at your door, call me directly.”
WISHBONE II: ...Some Wishes Should Never Be Made Page 4