Promised Box Set

by James Kipling

  Shelley and Brad spent the rest of the evening looking at different angles of the case. They agreed that it would require patience and some aggression to find the answers they wanted. After supper, Brad escorted Shelley to her doorstep and made sure the place had not been broken into from outside. Fortunately, Shelley had not given Matt a key to her main door.

  Brad bade Shelley goodnight and went back to the hotel. He drove his hired rental slowly as he pondered the strategy that they had adopted to rein in Matt.

  Chapter 3

  Despite his humble beginnings, Brad had accomplished much for himself in the past five years. Life had come with several challenges, but thanks to Brad’s burning ambition to settle down in life and not make the same mistakes that his parents made, this was his main driving force. Of course, he still loved his parents and sympathized with their plight.

  All the success had not gone to Brad’s head, and that is why he became a volunteer to help homeless kids like him make something out of their lives. Brad knew that, if he had lost hope and given up altogether, he would not have become the journalist that he was today. Of course, there were times when he would wish the earth would open up and swallow him. Losing both parents to alcohol was one of the worst things that could happen to anyone, but thanks to the social worker assigned to his case, Brad was able to pick himself up and move forward.

  Jerry was fond of Brad and they developed a strong bond through Brad’s trials and tribulations. What made it easier for them to relate was the fact that Jerry had also suffered the same fate earlier in his life and was also fortunate to be put under the watch of a caring social worker. This made it easier for Jerry to understand Brad’s plight as well as his needs and challenges. They formed a partnership of sorts, with Jerry constantly encouraging Brad to keep going and making him stronger mentally so that he could cope with the challenges of life.

  Brad became mentally stronger than the average kid living at home with both parents. His personal experiences humbled him and made him appreciate family more. He developed a burning ambition to become successful at whatever he did. He was not willing to wait for success. Brad pursued it with a relish and was rather impatient with positive results. He wanted more.

  This burning desire to succeed made Brad a much sought after journalist. The present feature he was working on regarding the automotive plant in Savannah was of particular interest to him because he had worked at the same kind of factory installation when he was studying to become a journalist. It would be akin to writing a biography of sorts. Developing the story would not require much effort. This is why, when he met Shelley, an opportunity to give the story a new angle appealed to him suddenly. It would liven up the whole experience and give a deeper insight to the lifestyle of workers at the automotive plants in a region that was famous for its specialization in the manufacture of vehicles and their spare parts.

  Meeting Shelley was like a bonus to Brad, because it would give his feature a humane side to the story. He could relate to her, and had taken a liking to Shelley as well. Despite his intention not to be tied down in a relationship with a girl, Shelley was different. However, he had not pursued her because it would have interfered with the focus he had on his job and feature. Perhaps, he thought, some day in the future, if she would be interested in him as well.

  Brad’s personal achievements were in stark contrast to Matt’s self-destructive lifestyle. Brad realized that Matt had a better opportunity at making it in life but he had thrown away the chance by committing recent crimes that would probably send him to jail for the rest of his life. From the little he had heard about Matt, he came from a stable family background and had no reason to be bitter with the world because of the family’s relative poverty. At least his parents were there for him. They may not have provided exactly what Matt desired, but they did what they could. After all, how many parents could provide everything their kids asked for? Moreover, with the state of the local economy, it made it more difficult to provide for family. One would have thought that anyone growing up in Savannah would understand such basic facts. This brought Brad to the conclusion that Matt may have been a mentally disturbed young man that vented his anger and bitterness on the wrong people. In fact, there was no need to be angry with anyone, because life was full of ups and downs. Even the rich had their tough moments.

  So, despite being a go-getter, Brad understood that any person needed to be patient in life. There was no way a genuine individual would make it overnight, especially under the current economic conditions in the country. Brad had learned these facts even as a new journalist. Despite getting the requisite skills in college, it took him the better part of his career to write features that would elicit sharp reactions from the public and create interest in the topics he chose. Brad relied on the mentorship of his boss, and, through experience, he came to realize that he would need time to grow in his career. There were ups and downs, starts, and false starts. At times, Brad would find himself in embarrassing situations where he would have information that could not be corroborated and had to start all over again, as his boss would not risk publishing material that was seemingly fictional. It would force Brad to start all over again and make sure that whatever information he collected, no matter how little it was, would be genuine and relevant to the story.

  Eventually, Brad began to understand and differentiate between genuine and false leads in a story. This made more of his stories feature on the local daily, and readers loved it. They knew Brad was a young and aspiring journalist that had displayed sharp skills and maturity in his features within a short time. Brad was now the star investigative journalist for his employers, and this had given him the benefit of travelling and covering features in different parts of the country.

  The following morning, Brad decided to visit the local library. The general public and students in the small town used it. What struck Brad on his drive to the town center was the state of Savannah’s infrastructure. It was in disrepair. The downturn in the economy had left the local administration short of revenue. Businesses had folded and, as a result of the downsized budget, many social amenities, roads, street lighting, and sidewalks were in need of repairs and maintenance.

  The County Sherriff’s operations had been scaled down as well. It was not easy to undertake investigations because of the limited resources that Sheriff Riley could access. This proved another hindrance in pinning Matt. Matt knew that he could get away with what he did because it would be difficult to track and monitor his activities.

  There was a high rate of unemployment in Savannah. Many local residents had left the small town to seek greener pastures in other parts of the country. The automotive plant was among the few significant business operations that were still running. In fact, it needed to stay in business; otherwise, the town of Savannah would end up becoming a ghost town. It represented the heart and soul of Savannah. Most local residents worked at the automotive plant. The rest run a few businesses that provided essential supplies for the local community. There were very few bars and restaurants scattered across the town, and even fewer snack shops and cafes where one could get a decent meal. The fire station was barely operational. God forbid if there was a major fire outbreak in the small town of Savannah.

  Leisurely activities were restricted to Lake Ferguson, and as word spread around about Shelley and Matt, fewer people would frequent the place because of fears and suspicion. What if there really was somebody that took young ladies there to murder them? The townsfolk would have to look for a safer place to blow off some steam other than the local pubs. The last cinema theater hall had closed a few months earlier because the residents could no longer afford the ticket fees to watch their favorite movies. Theater halls had been the favorite social spots in the past for both the young and elderly, but with the onset of the depression, people had to spare every dime they could in order to make ends meet.

  Jim, the local mechanic and a good friend of Matt’s, owned a fuel pump station and ga
rage. It was the only one that was in operation, and he kept it open because he knew that it was the only place where the local residents could fuel up their vehicles and get repair work done on them. To an extent, it gave Jim an advantage because the next town, Jackson, was fifty miles away. Hiring his tow truck would make it too expensive for anyone in Savannah to afford the costs of towing and repairs, even though Savannah’s sister town’s cost of living was lower.

  There were only two schools where the town folk could get their children educated. One was a public school and the other was private. Most of the kids went to the public school because it was affordable. The few rich folk in Savannah took their kids to the private one, as they could afford a better education for their kids. The main difference was in the facilities and activities that the kids of the rich families had access to. Not that it mattered, especially if they were going to remain in Savannah. Skills or no skills, the economy would not absorb everybody, and there were very few jobs available even for the rich kids.

  Other folks made a living through small-scale farming in the outlying areas. They sold their produce to the few provision and groceries stores that remained open and tried to cope with the pressures of change. Of course, they could not make a large profit, but it kept the supply chain moving.

  Such were the conditions in Savannah. Mechanization had its advantages and disadvantages. Employees that were retained at the plant could look forward to better salaries in a year’s time because additional machinery, equipment, and robots had reduced the need for all the skilled labor that the town of Savannah offered. The reduction in staff is what affected the local town economy adversely. The local authorities could not collect sufficient revenue from the small-scale business enterprises, which resulted in the inability to repair and maintain public facilities and social amenities satisfactorily.

  The social pressures increased. There were a number of deaths by suicide. The rate of alcoholism and related diseases was on a steady rise. Several homes were broken and every one out of two marriages ended up in divorce. The rate of crime had spiraled. Matt’s behavior was becoming commonplace in the community due to the delusional nature of the younger generation. They had seen their parents struggle with the hopes of a better future disappear by the day. When the youth entered the job market, there were much fewer jobs and a lot of competition for them. The smarter ones left once they realized that opportunities would continue to dwindle, especially for the unemployed.

  Such was the state of affairs in Savannah, and there were no signs of improvement in the short term. Perhaps with the introduction of other industries, there would be a chance of economic recovery, but it all depended on what could attract investors from other parts of the country or world. It would require a few years before Savannah could become an attractive prospect again. A place where everybody wanted to settle and nobody wanted to leave. Till then, the local townsfolk would have only two options. One would be to dig in and find something meaningful to do, and the other would be to leave the town and seek greener pastures elsewhere.

  Brad took all this in and thought about it as he looked at the scenery during his drive into town. He headed straight for the library. Being a visitor in town, Brad headed straight to the librarian’s desk.

  “Good morning. I’m looking for some information about Savannah’s demographics and history. I’d also like to look at some old school yearbooks. Where can I find the books?”

  The librarian was seated squarely at his desk. He was in his mid-fifties, heavy-set, and friendly natured. “Howdy. You must be new in town. My name is Alan. Pleased to meet you and welcome to Savannah. I could take you on a tour of the library floor, but you seem to be in a hurry. We have what you need at the far-end corner to your right. I hope you find everything you need there.”

  Brad felt the warmth in the librarian’s voice and thanked him for his assistance. He went straight to the area of the library that he had been directed to and started digging. There was a lot of material to read through, but Brad had always loved research. At least it was not a huge location that required shuttling from one end of the city to another. He found some good materials and got down to work. Brad also pulled out some yearbooks to find out more about Matt. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but would give it his best shot.

  The research on Savannah went well and Brad was able to understand how the town had come to be what it was. It had started as a little rural farming community that grew over time and evolved into an industrial zone because of the cheap labor and abundance of raw materials. With time, immigrants from different parts of the country came to settle in Savannah because of the various economic opportunities that were springing up. Factories were being built, and soon the automotive plant. All these plants required semi-skilled and skilled labor. The little farming community found a large market to absorb their produce as well, and the combination of agricultural and industrial activities resulted in speedy growth of the local economy.

  Brad came to understand the genesis of Savannah’s story. Immigrant laborers would move from one location to another in pursuit of work. Savannah was no different from the town that he had grown up in. The modernization of industrial operations resulted in a lot of layoffs in the country and workers were left with very few options. Many were past their youth and would find it difficult to move from one location to another in pursuit of work.

  The downturn in the economy reduced, and in some cases, completely eroded the markets in the town. Savannah suffered the same fate as Brad’s hometown and he was able to understand the fate of the local residents fairly well. Many were forced to live off welfare assistance from the government. The rest moved in pursuit of employment in other locations. Businesses that were open struggled to stay open because the market was shrinking continuously, and nobody could predict with accuracy when this downturn in their fortunes would end.

  With that bit of the research complete, Brad focused on the high school yearbooks that he had found and checked for Matt’s name or photo anywhere. There was something unusual about Matt. He did not feature in any of the high school yearbooks that Brad had found, considering the age group that Matt was in. Brad made another check on the yearbooks and even looked through the private school copies, even though it seemed highly unlikely that Matt’s photo or name would be in one of them. After another hour of combing the library for information on Matt’s background, Brad realized that it was an exercise in futility. He realized that it would be better to go straight to the public school and make enquiries with the school administrator.

  On his way out of the library, Brad enquired from the librarian about the directions to the Savannah Public School. The librarian was once again glad to give Brad the directions.

  Brad drove to the public school and got there in less than thirty minutes. It was conveniently located a few miles from the town center. He went straight to the school administrator’s office where he met her secretary. Brad apologized for not making a prior appointment and explained that he needed some urgent information about an old friend that he was trying to trace. He could not disclose the true nature of his enquiries. Ms. Parks was willing to help and cooperated.

  “No problem dear. I will go in and see the administrator. She is not too busy these days with the number of students dropping, if you know what I mean.”

  “Of course, ma’am, and thank you,” responded Brad.

  After only a few minutes, Brad was seated with the school administrator, a Mrs. Smith, who seemed overly friendly. Brad was genuinely handsome but had a boyish look. He was used to many women making passes at him. He felt a little uneasy at first, considering that she was married. He learned later that day that Mrs. Smith was a widow and would not have minded a man’s company, even after work.

  “Looking for an old friend, Brad?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Oh, don’t call me that. Call me Becky,” she purred.

  Brad went straight to the point and told her tha
t he wanted to find his friend urgently because of an investment opportunity that had come up, and there was little time left to seal the deal.

  “Matt dropped out of high school before graduating, so if you were childhood friends, I suggest you go to his home if you can remember the directions there,” Becky said.

  Brad explained that he could not remember the directions, as it had been fifteen years since they last met. He knew Matt had moved house and he could not reach him on phone either. However, Matt had gained some useful pieces of information and knew that he would have to change his investigative strategy about Matt if he was going to get more on him.

  He bade Becky and Ms. Parks goodbye on his way out and went back to his hotel room to piece all the information that he had gathered together.

  Chapter 4

  Shelley hoped that she would have a better experience on Tuesday. She remembered Brad and was glad to have met him at the café over lunch. Brad’s actions were noble, if not commendable, and Shelley had developed a liking for him, even if they had only just recently met. His willingness to help Shelley and his commitment to justice were qualities rare to find in anyone in a world full of untrustworthy people like Matt.

  Shelley was not going to keep crying over spilt milk. She decided to put the previous day’s incident behind her and move on with her life. At the same time, she would do all that was possible to avoid Matt at work. The conscious effort required made her a bit nervous, as she did not know if they would meet and if they did, what the outcome of another encounter would be. For Shelley, Matt was the loser and he was going to lose big.