Chapter 14
Belinda wasn’t prepared for the three cars that pulled up in her father’s driveway. Abe answered the door as she re-entered the house from the side patio and was met with more O’Connors than she cared to meet. Front and center stood a short woman with reddish brown hair. Their eyes met and Belinda knew she was the matriarch of the family. Perhaps it was the stubborn tilt of her chin or the banked fire in her eyes, but Belinda knew she needed to be on her toes with this one. There was another black female with a warm smile who stood next to a similar version of Blaine and Donald. Then there was another male talking softly to Abe, who had to be the infamous Uncle Red.
“Hey,” she said, her normal greeting as she walked forward.
“Lindy, this is my mom, Allie O’Connor,” Donald said as he pointed to the petite woman. “This is my sister-in-law, Veronique and my brother, Frank.” He pointed to the mixed couple. “And this is my youngest brother, we call him Red, but his name is Benjamin.” He pointed to the one talking to Abe. “He lives here in town and the cook-out was going to be at his house.”
Belinda nodded. “Hello everyone, please take a seat.”
“It may seem strange that we are all here since you've only talked to Blaine about Adam missing,” Allie O’Connor said.
It was a bit unnerving with her dad in the other room, her son missing, and now a houseful of people. “It’s a surprise.”
“I know, but we all came to help and offer support. It would be easier if we all got the correct information upfront and not second hand, don’t you agree?” Allie asked with a smile that reached her eyes.
Belinda shrugged, she was too keyed up to deal in niceties. “My dad is on hospice care with a full-time nurse in the other room, so I may come and go if they need me.”
“Of course. We understand.”
“Alright, this is what we know...” Belinda repeated everything she and Abe had discussed as well as the conversations with Adam's friends. When she finished, the information sounded sketchy and if the teen were anyone but Adam, it would appear she was over-reacting.
“I take it he has never done this before,” Frank said into the silence.
“No, he hasn’t,” Abe said before she could answer. “He doesn’t go out social-wise. He stays near the house until he gets bored and then he goes walking. Not much since we been here though.”
“You think he’s with one of the girls he met at the party?” Red asked.
“Naw, she was still there after he left. And I doubt he waited around for her,” Abe said as he took a seat near her.
“He likes working with his hands, could he be doing a project? Working a job? Or something along those lines?” Donald asked.
Belinda glanced at a silent Blaine before answering. “For him to work legally I would need to be involved. He got into some trouble recently and has to clear all jobs with his caseworker. I don’t think he is working somewhere though. I want to believe he's hanging out and lost track of the time.”
No one spoke.
“That’s a possibility, how likely do you think that it is?” Veronique asked her.
Belinda met the other woman’s gaze. She had been pleasantly surprised to see the African American beauty on Frank’s arm.
“Not very, but then he’s never lied to me before either, at least not that I know of. He’s brutally honest.”
Abe nodded. “Yeah, he is.”
“Okay then, so if he’s not with friends, we need to check a few places and start searching for him,” Blaine said, standing and looking around. “Lindy, I have a couple of pictures Adam and I took this week, do you have a recent one with just him?”
“No, I don’t, just his school pic from last year.”
Abe stood. “I got one. We were goofing around a couple of days ago and I took his picture. I’ll get it.” He left the room.
“I have a couple of maps in my truck,” Red said standing. “I’ll get them and we can split up the area.”
Belinda exhaled as the men cleared off the dining room table. “Is it okay if we look at the maps over here?” Donald called out.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
It took a minute before she realized the two women had moved and now flanked her on the sofa. A soft hand covered hers and squeezed lightly. Belinda looked into eyes filled with concern and the same color as her sons' eyes. She hoped the woman didn’t say everything was going to be fine, or he’s okay, or something that she had no way of knowing. This was not the time for false platitudes.
“Do you want to join in the search?” Allie asked.
Belinda blinked a few times. “Yes, I am going to go searching.”
The older woman nodded, patted her hand and sat back without releasing her. Belinda glanced at Veronique, who sat next to her, texting.
“I need to see who I can access in the justice department in this area. I’ve met a few people through my son-in-law of course, but I need to find someone with some street sense,” Veronique said, looking up as Red returned with the maps. She followed him into the dining room.
Belinda stood and walked to the table to join in the search for Adam.
Five hours later, Blaine, Donald, Frank and Red sat in the suite of the hotel room, hungry and exhausted. No one had seen or knew anything about Adam Moore. It was as if he'd vanished. Blaine sat in the leather chair, staring at the wall while his brothers talked about their next step. Where could his son be? Had he been taken by a gang? If that was the case, why did he take his back pack? It didn’t add up.
“You up for it, Blaine?”
He looked up and met Donald’s gaze. “What?”
“Talking to Julio, asking him for help to get information from people we can’t. Red says if there was anything foul that went down, Julio could find out,” Donald said.
“Yeah, but he’s a little ticked at me right now, I did something and he probably won’t help if I ask. He may not help you either, being my brothers. I can ask Smoke to ask him, but I’d rather not do that if I don't have to. It’s kind of touchy right now,” Red said.
Blaine watched his younger brother’s jaw clench as his face reddened. No telling what the hot head had done and the timing sucked. It would be a bonus having the kind of assistance Julio could provide. “Smoke will help us if I ask, he told me he owed us for when we helped before,” Blaine said reminding them all of the time Red had been shot.
“Yeah, he will but I’d rather you didn’t,” Red said, meeting Blaine’s gaze.
“Okay, we do this cold. You have a number I can call for an appointment with Julio?” Blaine asked while tamping down his anger over Red’s stubbornness.
“Yeah…and thanks. We’re having some problems between the three of us right now, and if things don’t go down right when you talk to Julio, then I’ll involve Smoke and Ross. But I’d like to keep them out of it for now,” Red said handing him the piece of paper he had just written on.
“No problem,” Donald said into the quiet as Blaine called and made an appointment to see Julio. When he gave the person their last names, the call was immediately sent through.
“This is Julio Cardenas, this is Red’s brother? One of the twins?”
Blaine met Donald’s gaze and exhaled. “Yes it is. I wanted to discuss a problem I am having and need your assistance. Is there a time we can meet and talk?”
“We are talking now.”
Blaine nodded. “Yes we are. Do you have a few minutes so I can go over what is happening?”
“No. Just tell me the main points and how you think I can assist you?”
Something in the tone of Julio’s voice alerted Blaine that this was not going to be easy, but it was his son. He had to try every avenue.
“My son is missing. We have gone everywhere, talked to hundreds of people, showed his picture and nothing. Most of all, few would even talk to us. I would like your team to ask questions to help me find him. He’s only sixteen.” Blaine hoped that was short and concise enough to gain Julio’s assistance.
&n
bsp; “I am sorry to hear of your troubles, and I wish you and your family well in your search. But I am cannot help you in this search.”
Blaine waited for an explanation. None came.
“Okay, well thank you for your time,” he said, resentment rife in his voice.
“You are most welcome.” The line disconnected.
Disappointed, Blaine removed the phone from his ear. Donald closed his eyes as he sat back and looked up at the ceiling.
“He said no?” Red asked in a soft voice.
Blaine nodded.
“Okay, we hit the streets again after we eat. It’ll be dark and maybe someone will tell us something. We keep at this,” Frank said, as he picked up the hotel phone. “We are going to find my nephew.” He paused. “Room service?”
Chapter 15
Belinda picked up her phone as soon as it rang praying it was Adam needing a ride or something.
“Hello?”
“Hey Belinda…you okay?” Pam asked, her tone of voice changing from happy to curious.
“No, not really. My son…he hasn’t been home since the day before yesterday. I filed a missing person’s report and have been out searching, but…” Her breath hitched as she tried to explain.
“What? You didn’t call me to help you search? What's wrong with you? Just one minute.”
Belinda sat on her bed with her head down. Visions of Adam lost and alone troubled her every second. She and Abe had walked blocks, talked to everyone, some a few times in their search.
“Is it Abe or Adam?” Pam asked when she came back to the phone.
“Adam. But Pam, I don’t want to bother you with this, you're still honeymooning. Just hearing your concern and knowing you want to help is great. I need a sounding board for when my thoughts scream too loud.”
“You’ve got that and anything else. I’m going to have Julio send some guys out to look and if Adam is in the city, they’ll find him. Do you have a picture?”
Taken aback by Pam’s certainty, Belinda hesitated a bit. “Yeah, but it’s from last year.”
“Tell me about him, he’s sixteen, I know that. How tall?”
“A little over six feet.”
“Weight?”
“He has a slim, wiry build similar to Tex.”
“Hair and eyes?”
“Short reddish brown hair and whiskey-colored eyes.” She responded to Pam’s no-nonsense, rapid fire questions with a feeling of hope.
“Any tattoos or birthmarks?”
“No. At least he didn’t the last time I saw him.”
“Okay, I am going to pass the information on to Julio and I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’m not going to tell you to take it easy, I know that’s impossible. Just breathe. Inhale and exhale, calm your thoughts so you can see your next step clearly. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Okay, and thanks.” Disconnecting, she was thankful to get more feet on the ground searching for Adam and hoped Pam’s certainty paid off.
An hour later there was a knock on her front door. Eager for news regarding Adam, Belinda opened the door to Tex, Pam, and Julio. Pam walked in with a large container of something that smelled divine. Belinda’s stomach rumbled in acknowledgment. Tex had two large bags and both of Julio’s hands were in his pocket.
“Aw, thanks, Pam. It smells too good for me to say you didn’t have to do that,” Belinda said, following the tantalizing aroma to the kitchen.
“I know you aren’t eating, so I whipped up something while Julio looked into a few things.” Pam glanced over her shoulder. “Honey, bring Belinda up to date on what we’ve been doing.”
“We?” Tex said, laughing. “You’ve been ordering everyone around.”
Pam slapped his shoulder lightly. “Brat. I had to make sure you understood my writing. Anyway, I was talking to my husband.”
Belinda chuckled as Pam unpacked the bags as if she had been in the kitchen hundreds of times when this was her first visit to Belinda's home.
“First I must ask you, who is your son’s father?” Julio said in a soft voice.
Pam looked at her and shrugged.
Belinda wondered why it should matter, but since he was going to search for her son, she answered. “Blaine O’Connor. Why?”
A grimace flew across his face so quickly she thought she had imagined it.
“What’s wrong? Have you met this guy? You know him?” Pam asked.
“Nothing is wrong, I do not know him personally and I have not met him. I will need to find another way to teach an important lesson. That is all. Now Belinda, I have sent men out to gather information regarding Adam. I will have some news for you tonight. My wife intends to spend time comforting her best friend and I would ask if I could join you for supper. Otherwise I am afraid I’ll starve.”
“Oh stop,” Pam said, smiling at him. “I left some at the house. Not to mention we have a chef on staff.”
Julio spread his arms open. “Okay, I just want to be with you. And this is the only way to do so.” He looked at Belinda. “She was very determined to be here, to wait with you. Is the father out searching as well?”
Warmth curled in her chest, taking the edge off the block of ice that had been lodged there since Adam’s disappearance. “I appreciate you coming, Pam. I had no idea how much this meant until you walked in the door with food.” They all laughed at her emphasis on food. “Yeah, Blaine has a large family and quite a few of them are here visiting. They’re hitting the area hard. I think a few more will be flying in this weekend.”
Julio wore a strange, almost pleased, expression on his face as he nodded.
“Who all is in the house with you?’ Tex asked as he looked around.
“My dad and his nurse. Abe is out helping in the search.” She took a seat in front of the plate piled high with food Pam had set in front of her.
“Soul food, just what the doctor ordered,” Belinda said after she silently blessed her food. She eyed the baked chicken, greens, corn bread, homemade macaroni and cheese, and steamed carrots. “Thanks, girl.” She dug in, sensing Julio taking a seat nearby. Pam was the last person to sit.
“Where’s Tex? Is he going to eat?” Belinda asked around her food when she noticed he wasn’t at the table.
“Not right now, he’s coordinating the search,” Pam answered.
Pleased that the search was ongoing, she relaxed and ate every morsel on her plate.
Pam shook her shoulder, waking her. “Belinda, they found someone and need you to come verify if he is Adam.”
“Whaat?” she asked groggily, trying to clear her mind from the cobwebs of sleep. “Adam? Where?”
“I don’t know if it’s Adam or not. They found a tall teenage boy being held by a gang. They took him and need you to see if it’s him. Put on your shoes so we can go.” Pam held out the slippers she had been wearing while they watched a movie.
Had she fallen asleep? She looked at her watch, two and a half hours had passed. “Did anyone call while I was asleep?” Belinda asked to calm herself.
Pam shook her head. “No, it didn’t ring. You were tired and took a couple hours of sleep, you feel better now?”
Belinda stood and slid her feet into the shoes. After running her hand through her hair, she realized she felt more alert than she had in days. Smiling, she met Pam’s concerned gaze. “I do feel better. I’ll be ready to go after I freshen up a bit. Be right back.”
“No, no, that’s not Adam.” Thank God she thought, looking at the bruised and battered teenager who lay hooked up to numerous machines on the hospital bed. Pam had wrapped her arm around her before they walked into the hospital room and she leaned into her. Together they walked out into the hall. Pam shook her head at Tex who met them at the door.
“We’ll keep looking and searching for clues, Belinda. By the way I’m glad he wasn’t your son. All that damage is from a gang initiation.”
Belinda nodded, remembering the black and blue marks on the kids unbandaged arm. “That’s horrible.”
She nodded as they walked to the glass door. A dark Mercedes pulled up. Tex opened the back door so she and Pam could slide in. During the drive home, one question kept rolling through her mind, where was Adam?
Chapter 16
Belinda sat in the back seat of Blaine and Donald’s rental. Today marked day three and there had been no word or anything regarding Adam’s whereabouts. Over the past seventy-two hours, her world had crashed around her with her son missing. Donnie and Blaine had become her pillars of strength, keeping her safe and sane. The three of them had settled into a small unit, spending hours tracking down every lead. She knew they were just as concerned over her son as she was and that strengthened their bond. Being with both of them no longer worried her. When people reacted or looked at the three of them strangely during their search, she ignored them and concentrated on who and what was important.
They were returning from some abandoned mountain hideaway, a hundred or so miles away from her home, where someone claimed to have seen a teenager meeting Adam’s description. That lead was as dead as the town it was located near.
“I’m tired,” she said, turning slightly. “And hungry.”
“I’m hungry too, let’s stop and grab a bite to eat,” Donald said to Blaine, who was driving. Instead of answering, Blaine nodded. He had become more and more withdrawn each day, often not speaking for hours. His mother had spoken to her about it as if she could pull him out of it. Problem was, she knew exactly where Blaine was. If she didn’t have so many other responsibilities piled high on her plate, she would shut down as well. Unfortunately, that didn’t go over too well when she told Blaine’s mother that.
The roadside restaurant didn’t look like much from the outside, but she hoped the bathroom was clean since she had to go. If the food was hot and decent, she could deal until she got home. Pam kept her refrigerator stocked with made-from-scratch goodies that she and Abe gobbled with abandon. It was one of the few bright lights during this time.
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