Jake was choosing his words carefully. He needed to be sure no harm would come to the Brubakers while they were in his company.
“I never said I forgave them but I do promise to behave. I don’t want any harm to come to Megan, she’s completely innocent of any crimes or atrocities her family has committed. You have my word, Jake.”
“Okay, Lloyd, that’s all I needed to hear.”
Duke stood up and walked over to the window.
“I don’t suppose we could get Radar out of here before we have a lockdown, could we?” he asked.
“Technically, I am one of his guardians. The fact that the wrong boy was sent to us with Paco is irrelevant. All of the paperwork has Radar’s name and number on it.” Lloyd took out his phone as he was speaking. “I can get Estelle to send me a copy of the documentation and use it to take Radar with me. How about we stay at the Brubaker ranch for now and ask one of the nurses to accompany us. Maybe we can do a bit of snooping around before Grant gets here.”
Jake opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.
“That sounds like a plan to me,” he said. “Come on Duke, let’s go talk to Radar’s doctor.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Where are you taking me, I thought we were leaving?” asked Harley.
“You’ll see, we have a surprise for you,” Tuck knocked on the door before entering the room. As Wolf opened it he stepped aside so that the person in the bed came into full view.
“Radar! We thought you were dead.” Harley ran across the room to embrace his friend. “Although, you’re not looking so hot. What’s with the turban?”
“Okay, okay. Let go of me, I can’t breathe,” laughed Radar.
The boys filled Harley in on what had been going on in the secret chamber below the clinic. They told him about finding Radar about to go under some sort of surgery but left out the part about any hint of medical experiments. It wasn’t the right time for Harley to go searching for information about his brother. They needed to leave the clinic as soon as Radar was discharged.
The door of the room opened, interrupting the boys’ reunion and Lloyd entered with two orderlies. He instructed them to wheel Radar’s bed out of the clinic to a waiting ambulance. The young patient was transferred to a stretcher and gently lifted inside. The nurse accompanying them made sure he was comfortable before sitting alongside him. Tuck jumped in, too, refusing to get out.
By the time the ambulance arrived at the ranch Jake and Wolf were already there, having explained to Isabella and Pedro the reason for their visit. When they were told that Grant and Lydia Brubaker where on their way, they both relaxed telling their guests to make themselves at home. Isabella prepared lots of food and left it in the kitchen for everyone to help themselves. Radar was in the downstairs guest room where Wolf had slept on his last visit.
After questioning Isabella and Pedro as to any knowledge they might have of the whereabouts of their employer, Jake gave them the rest of the day off. The couple had worried looks on their faces as they drove away, under protest, in spite of Wolf’s assurance that he would take care of the premises in their absence.
When he came back inside, Wolf joined the others in the kitchen. Harley handed him a plate and said he should get some food before it was all gone.
“I feel bad lying to Isabella and Pedro like that. They are nice people,” said Wolf.
“You mean pretending that I’m still a law enforcement officer,” said Jake. “What choice did we have, we need to search the house before the Brubakers arrive. You want to find Megan don’t you?”
“Yes, I do and if you don’t mind, I would like to look in her room right now. I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Lloyd put down his plate, “I’ll come with you, son. The sooner we get started, the better.”
Just before he left the kitchen, Wolf looked back at Jake and said, “Did you know that Megan had burnt her arm, Radar said she scalded it and her grandfather had given her a machine to help the skin heal. He asked me to let you know about it as he wasn’t sure if he had mentioned it to you.”
“No, that’s news to me, but it explains this,” Jake pulled a small tube of ointment from his pocket, “It was in the room she shared with Radar. I was going to have some tests run on it.”
Wolf threw a ball of rolled up gauze at Jake.
“You might as well hold onto this, too. I found it in Brubaker’s car. I almost forgot I had it. Megan must have driven to the clinic when she scalded her arm and her grandfather spotted the car there.”
As evening drew near, everyone gradually came out onto the porch. Wolf was exercising Pharaoh and Harley had been asked to sit with Radar, as the nurse had gone home for the night. If he needed medical attention the clinic was only a short drive away.
“We all know that Harley is going to put two and two together soon, don’t we,” said Jake.
“I think it would be better to talk to him about the possibility of his brother’s DNA being found at the clinic, before he asks the question,” Lloyd said.
“Do you all think I’m stupid?” Harley shouted as he came out of the house. “Of course the thought crossed my mind that Leo might have been brought here from Antarctica. After seeing what happened to Radar, anything is possible. Sure, I want to go down there and pull that place apart - maybe even burn it to the ground - but that would only destroy the evidence. I want justice for my brother, more than I want revenge.”
Duke put an arm around Harley’s shoulder in a rare display of affection. “Come and sit with us. There’s a lot we can do to find out what happened to your brother.”
“Thanks but I would rather leave it till morning, if that’s okay. I’m pretty worn out, probably from all that acting today,” Harley gave them a weak smile, “I only came out to see if someone would sit with Radar. He’s asleep and I feel like I’m going to join him any minute.”
“I’ll go,” said Tuck, “I’m still running on adrenaline, it will be a while before I need any sleep. Come on, I’ll tell you a bedtime story but not a scary one, we’ve had enough of those already.”
“Do you think he’s okay?” asked Lloyd, when the boys were out of earshot.
“Who? Radar?” asked Wolf.
“No, Harley. He seems too calm about all this.”
“That’s just his way of coping. He did the same in Antarctica when his brother was in that accident at the mine. Ash told us about it. Harley goes all quiet and sleeps when something overwhelms him. Wish I could do the same. I feel like punching someone right now. I think I’ll go for a run, to burn off some of this anger.”
“Mind if I join you, Wolf? I could do with the exercise.”
“Sure, Duke, though I’m not sure how far you’ll get in those shoes.”
As they jogged around the paddock the lights of a car approaching the house caught their eye.
“That will be the Brubakers. I didn’t want to be there when Lloyd and Grant face each other. Jake is much better at handling awkward situations than I am. Besides, it’s been a while since I had any decent competition on a run,” said Duke picking up the pace.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jake shook hands with Grant while Lloyd stood back and barely nodded, his facial expression conveying how he felt inside. Grant couldn’t look him in the eye. They were in Henry Brubaker’s study, waiting for Lydia, who had gone to get a glass of water. When she stepped through the doorway the tension in the room eased a little.
“Lloyd, it’s good to see you. I’m so worried about Megan - but then, you of all people know how I feel, don’t you?” Lydia put her hand on his arm.
His body stiffened at the touch and she quickly moved away, understanding his reaction.
“Your father’s little Alliance seems to be unravelling, Grant. I knew something was up,” said Lloyd, “it was too easy getting Paco and Hunter out of your father’s prison in Antarctica.”
The tension in the room was building up again so Jake stepped forward and stood betwee
n the two men, his arms raised.
“Let’s all sit down and put our heads together. An innocent girl’s life may be at stake here,” he said, looking at Lloyd as he emphasized the word, innocent.
“Do you think Henry is capable of harming his own granddaughter?” Lydia asked Jake.
“Of course not. He idolizes Megan, he would never harm her or allow anyone else to,” said Grant.
Avoiding Lydia’s question, Jake took out his phone and played a video he had recorded on it, earlier. When the clip ended, Grant sat back in his chair, a puzzled look on his face.
“Have either of you ever been in this chamber?” asked Jake.
The couple shook their heads.
“Where is it and what has it got to do with Megan?” Lydia’s heart was racing.
“I recorded this in an underground chamber at your father’s clinic, Grant. None of the staff knew about it and some of them have been working there for more than ten years. They thought the door led to a private lab that Henry and his assistant used for their research.”
“I swear to you, I have never seen that place before. I knew about my father’s experiments. A lot of people knew and chose to say nothing, including you, Jake.”
“I didn’t know anything about Henry’s research. Not until Grant told me recently,” Lydia said. “It almost ended our marriage. You have to tell them what you did, there’s no need to keep it secret any longer,” she looked at her husband.
Grant nodded his head and took a deep breath. When he spoke it was in a subdued voice.
“When Kaden went missing…”
“Was abducted,” Lloyd spat out.
“You’re right, he was abducted,” said Grant. “It made me snap out of whatever idealistic fantasy I was living in. Jake, you know what I mean, you must have felt the same way.”
“I’m as guilty as you are for keeping quiet about what was going on. I had convinced myself that what the Alliance was covering up was for the so called ‘greater good’, until it involved Kaden. That was when I decided to become a private investigator, so I could do something to help the rest of those young prisoners in your father’s mine. What did you do about it?” asked Jake.
“He told me first, then went to an investigative journalist he could trust. That’s what he did,” said Lydia, taking hold of her husband’s hand.
“I knew there were cracks forming in the Alliance. So it was you that started it,” said Jake.
Grant nodded. “It was because of Kaden, really. Until the program affected me personally, it was easy to justify what was going on. I have been having meetings behind my father’s back, helping to expose those who were involved. Only a few where in it for financial gain. Most were like you, Jake, saving the life of a loved one bought their silence and cooperation. I am truly sorry for that.”
Lydia looked at Jake, her eyes pleading. “Please tell us the truth. Was our daughter in that chamber?”
“Yes, she was. A teenage boy who had been abducted with Kaden was found there. He was the last person to see her,” Lloyd said, his voice flat and unemotional, devoid of any trace of sympathy.
Lydia gasped and put a hand over her mouth. Tears spilled from her eyes as Grant drew her into his arms.
Lloyd had never wanted to hurt anyone in that way before. He felt a coldness toward the couple in front of him that was unsettling.
“I’m sorry, I should never have blurted it out like that. It was uncalled for and callous,” Lloyd said.
“Look, tensions are running high, understandably,” said Jake, “Why don’t we get an early night and see if we can have a look inside the clinic in the morning?”
“I want to go down there now, if that’s okay with you. I need to see the place where my daughter was held,” said Grant.
Lydia said she felt the same way, so Jake made a call to the officer in charge. After a lot of haggling, he got permission for himself and Lloyd to accompany Megan’s parents to the clinic. As the car carried the four of them away from the house, it passed Duke and Wolf, who had just returned from their run.
“I bet they are on their way to the clinic. It’s the last place their daughter was seen. They might not be allowed in, though, until forensics have cleared it,” said Duke.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Next morning, having breakfast on the porch, Lydia was still upset over not being allowed into the chamber. The officer on duty said he had been instructed to show them around the clinic but until forensics gave the go ahead, nobody was to step foot inside the underground section.
“Maybe it’s for the best, hun, we might interfere with evidence that could lead to finding Megan. That poor woman is still down there, so there are doctors and nurses coming and going as it is, without us adding to the mix,” Grant said to his wife.
“I suppose you’re right,” said Lydia, turning to look at Jake.
“Would it be okay for me to bring some breakfast into Radar and introduce myself? The nurse is in the kitchen preparing some food for him. I promise I won’t tire him out.”
“I don’t see what harm it would do but try not to get upset in front of him, Lydia. That poor kid has been through enough,” said Jake.
As she entered the house, Duke was coming outside and introduced himself. Joining Lloyd and Jake at the table, the three men watched Wolf bring Pharaoh into the paddock. Grant arrived carrying a coffee and sat down.
“One thing puzzles me,” said Jake, “How come forensics are not crawling all over this house now that your father is missing, too?”
“Believe me they have been over every inch of the ranch, only a week ago. Isabella found a swarm of cockroaches in the kitchen and freaked. They had been planted there, of course, and as the phones were being monitored it was forensics who came as pest control. The house was closed up for two days and Megan stayed with Isabella and her family, while my father slept at the clinic. It didn’t arouse any suspicion, at least none that I am aware of,” said Grant.
“Don’t be too sure of that. I imagine as soon as you spilled the beans about the Alliance, somebody found out. Closing up the house here would have sounded alarm bells and probably set things in motion. Your daughter stumbled onto her grandfather’s little set up by accident and now both of them are missing,” said Jake.
“Do you think the Alliance took them? What can we do about that?” asked Grant.
“I would imagine those higher up in the Alliance are in it for the money alone. The small fry, like me, were drawn in because someone we cared about needed medical help. It’s likely that only your father knows who those people are and it may now be in their best interest if he was to disappear,” said Jake.
“Why don’t we go through the house ourselves, inch by inch, and see what we can find,” suggested Duke. “Maybe because you are Brubaker’s son you will see something they missed.”
By the time he reached his father’s bedroom, Grant was drained. Searching through his daughter’s room was so upsetting, he was forced to take a break. Lydia had insisted they sleep there the night before and the couple had sifted through it, desperate to find a clue as to where she might be. Holding his daughter’s belongings a second time had reduced him to tears. Jake stepped out of the room and called Lloyd upstairs.
“Grant is barely holding it together, is there any way you can be more supportive, as a friend? He could do with one now.”
“I’m doing the best I can, Jake, but I can hardly look him in the face. Kaden is handling it better than I am. Did you know that my son told Lydia this morning he didn’t blame her for what happened to him?”
“Surely you don’t blame Lydia, she didn’t have a clue about any of this. Things are okay between us and I knew what was going on,” said Jake.
Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck, confused as to how he felt.
“I know, I know. Of course I don’t hold anything against Lydia but Grant did nothing to free my son, at least you did.”
“He kept him alive and you know that. If it wasn’t for
him making his father promise not to harm him, Kaden would have been killed the moment they found out who he was. His body would have turned up with nothing to connect him to the Alliance. Megan is most likely missing right now because her father came forward with incriminating evidence - but she may not be as lucky as Kaden was. Grant will probably do time for his part in all of this and he knows it. The Alliance will look for a scapegoat and Henry Brubaker is not available.”
“I didn’t think of it that way, I’m so caught up in my own anger. Just give me a minute to gather my thoughts, Jake. I promise, I’ll be more charitable towards Grant when I join you.”
True to his word, Lloyd was much more supportive as they searched through Henry Brubaker’s bedroom. Grant picked up a musical jewellery box that lay broken on a desk and turned it around in his hands.
“Megan used to play with this when she was little,” he said, “Dad must have dropped it. The ballerina isn’t moving.”
Lloyd, trying to be friendly, pointed to a portrait on the wall above the desk.
“Is that your mother, she’s stunning?”
Grant looked up at the painting, gently touching the face smiling down at him.
“Yes, she certainly was a beauty. Megan looks very like her, doesn’t she?” he said.
“I suppose that’s why the painting looks so familiar to me, it’s like I’ve seen her before somewhere,” said Lloyd, standing beside Grant.
“My father was heartbroken when she died. He did everything in his power to save her but it was no use. I was very young at the time. I only remember her lying in the hospital on life support when Dad brought me in to say goodbye to her.”
Jake had crossed the room to stand with Lloyd and Grant, looking up at the portrait of the young woman.
“There is something very familiar about her but I don’t think it’s because of her resemblance to Megan. I feel like I’ve met her before, but that’s not pos…”
Jake froze before finishing his sentence. He ran from the room taking his phone from his pocket.
“What’s his hurry? I didn’t hear his phone ring. Did you?” asked Lloyd.
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