by Jack Hunt
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
He sighed. “Alex. We tried. If the police haven’t found anything…” He stumbled over his words.
I snorted. “Thanks for nothing.”
I hung up and tossed my phone on the bed. I ran a hand through my hair and stood by my window looking at his house. All the curtains were drawn.
“I guess I’ll have to do this myself.”
Inside my father’s study I went to his drawer and took out a set of keys. I opened the cabinet and pulled out a small metal box. I unlocked it and lifted the lid. Inside was my father’s Glock 17 that he always took to the gun range. Back in the cabinet was a box of ammo. I stood for a moment looking at it and contemplating what Eric had said.
“Alex,” my mom called up.
What I was thinking? I closed the box and stashed it away. My mother called out to me again and I shut the study door. I ambled downstairs lost in thought. As I came down I saw their legs first. Two officers were in the home.
“What’s going on?”
“Alex, does this belong to you?”
Officer Parker held up my bag.
“Yeah, where did you get that from?”
“Mr. Castle informed us that he believed you were responsible for the break-in the other day and that you stole several items belonging to him.”
“I never stole shit.”
With that said he opened the bag and inside were a number of items that I didn’t recognize but looked as if they held some value.
“That’s not mine.”
“Then how did it get in your bag, Alex?”
“I wasn’t in his house, I swear.”
“Like you never made a phone call to Mr. Castle from the mall?”
“No.”
He sighed and muttered something into his radio.
“Alex, you are being placed under arrest for breaking and entering your neighbor’s home and for harassment. I’m going to have to take you down to the station for further questioning.”
“Are you serious?” My eyes darted to my mother. “Mom?”
I glanced at my mother but she seemed as dumbfounded as me.
“But I haven’t done anything.”
“Alex, the call was traced to the mall and surveillance shows you at the phone booth at the time when the call was made.”
Before I knew it I was being escorted out towards an idling cruiser. Outside in the morning sun, I glanced over towards my neighbor’s home. He was wiping down his car and looking pleased with himself.
I yelled at him as they strong-armed me towards the cruiser. “Go on, tell them what you have planned for today. I’m telling you, if you don’t stop him, he will kill Loretta Dempsey.”
Mr. Castle stopped wiping down his car and looked over. My mother was saying something but I barely heard her. It was something about following me down to the station and how everything was going to be okay. Several other neighbors came out and watched the spectacle. Kelly was one of them.
A hand was placed on my head as I was eased into the back seat of the cruiser. I couldn’t believe this was happening. When the door closed and Officer Parker got in, I asked for Kelly to be left out of this. I told them that she didn’t know about the phone call. He said he couldn’t guarantee anything but he would be having words with her later that day.
“You have got this all wrong. I’m not the bad guy here.”
Officer Parker leaned over in his seat. “Is this about your father, Alex?”
“No. Yes. Maybe?”
I didn’t even know where to begin. In the eyes of the law my credibility was already shot from the account I’d given three years ago about my father’s murderer. My mind was doing backflips. I was thinking of any way to get out of this.
“Look… look… I have proof. On my phone there are photos of what he had in his house.”
“You’re admitting you were in his house?”
Oh shit, this was going from bad to worse. No matter what I said I was screwed. If I said nothing, they would charge me. At least if I was going to be thrown under the bus I was going to make damn sure that Castle came with me.
As we pulled away I glanced at my neighbor. He stood beside my mother, cleaning his hands with a rag. Why had he waited this long to react? How the hell did he get my bag? I hadn’t even taken it with me when I entered his home and I certainly didn’t take anything out.
I looked at the clock in the car; it was a little after nine. Four hours until the next president would give her speech. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. My entire life had taken a nosedive and I was about to crash and burn up what little remained.
I was grilled for over an hour. The cops retrieved my phone and were going through the photos. Seated inside a four by four room with a one-way mirror, a clock on the wall and a camera facing me, I’d never felt so depressed. Alone in the room I stared at the clock and watched the hands tick over. I knew what his game was. He was hoping to keep me distracted long enough that he could execute his plan without any further interruptions.
When Officer Parker came back into the room he took a seat across from me and scribbled something down on the paper in front of him.
“There was nothing on the phone.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Of course there is. I took at least six photos.”
He dipped into the brown envelope that held my belongings and handed me my phone. I flipped through it and they were gone. Not even my own phone numbers were on it.
I scratched my head. “He must have gone back in time. Erased them.”
“What?” Officer Parker asked.
“No, that’s impossible. Why would he do that and not change something else?” I was speaking to myself while I continued flipping through my phone.
“Alex, I think it might be best if we get you seen to.”
“Seen to?”
“Medical attention.”
I frowned. “I don’t need medical attention. I need to get the hell out of here.”
I screeched the chair back and he told me to take a seat. He repeated himself again and I reluctantly sat down.
“Look, your mother is here. Now because of the department’s relationship with your father and because we don’t consider you a flight risk, we will be releasing you into her care under the agreement that you will appear in court in a few days regarding the charges.”
He scribbled a few more things and then closed up the folder.
“Okay, come with me.”
As I came out of the room, I saw my mother sitting in the waiting area just beyond the glass window. Kelly was also there. I knew that this wasn’t going to end well.
I glanced at Kelly on my way out the door. A look of embarrassment and guilt flooded my cheeks. I hated the fact that I had drawn her into all of this.
Chapter 12
The journey back home was filled with awkward silence and the occasional outburst by my mother.
“I can’t believe you would do such a thing.”
I remained silent. There was no point arguing with her. I had been down that road many times before and I always lost. And this. She would never understand this. I could barely wrap my head around it. I kept thinking about my phone. How the hell could he have erased the photos? Perhaps he snuck into our house in the night? The fact that I was even thinking this was time travel was absurd. I slowly felt as if my mind was unraveling as I tried to get a grasp on the harsh reality of the morning. I was going to end up in court, probably be required to pay a hefty fine, which of course I wouldn’t be able to pay because I’d lost my job. No doubt they would require community service or a short stint in jail. It wasn’t good either way.
“I want you to go over and apologize. Poor man moves into a new neighborhood and has his house broken into by his next-door neighbor. What has come over you lately? I barely recognize you.”
“Mother, I’m not fifteen.”
“No, you’re twenty-one. That’s what makes this so embarrassing. You sh
ould know better.”
She was right. By now I should have been out of the house, in my own place, holding down a steady job while I progressed through the university to what I really wanted to do. I shouldn’t have got caught up in this crap.
When we arrived I got out and looked over at Mr. Castle’s home.
“Well go on then,” she said gesturing with her hand.
I swallowed hard and ambled over there. It didn’t matter how old I was. I imagined when I was fifty my mother would still rake me over the coals if I got out of line. I gave a short knock on the door and took a few steps back. I shot my mother a sideways glance. She was leaning against the car with her arms folded. Not impressed. I had no clue what I was going to say to him. There was no answer. I knocked again and this time I rang the bell. I looked back at her and shrugged. In all honesty I was kind of relieved. The time showed a little after ten-thirty. Two and half hours and the next president would be giving her speech. I wondered if he’d left already. Perhaps he was already there setting up his rifle, getting ready to take the shot like Lee Harvey Oswald.
Even as we went inside my mother continued ranting about how she didn’t raise me to be a criminal and how my father would have turned over in his grave if he knew about today. If her words didn’t make it clear that she was pissed, slamming doors did. Another hour flew by, then it was twelve.
I retreated to my room and lay back on my bed wondering if Eric was right. Perhaps I had overstepped my boundaries and taken things a little too far. Now I would reap the repercussions of my actions. I’d have a criminal record. No police department in all of the United States would touch me after this. I flipped on the TV in my room and watched the news. There was a lot of coverage. The crowds were already beginning to gather at the stadium, thousands of people arrived early to get a good seat. I spent the next quarter of an hour watching intently. Every time the camera panned across the field and I caught sight of the tiered parking structure in the distance, I tried to see if I could spot him. But it was too far away.
On any given day my mother was out showing homes and sealing deals with clients. Today, it was quiet. No phone calls, no requests to see a property. I let out a heavy sigh.
I switched off the TV. It only irritated me. I thought again about my father and wondered what he might have done. As nuts as it may have been, I wasn’t going to sit back and watch the next president get shot. Assassination attempt or not, if there was even the slightest chance that my hunch was right, I had to do something. It’s what he would have wanted.
I went to the door. I could hear the TV downstairs. I grabbed up my bag and went into my father’s office. There, I took his Glock 17 and tucked it into my bag. I was in enough trouble as it was; a little more wasn’t going to change much. I slung the bag over my shoulder and crept downstairs. I peered around the corner. She was drinking tea and had the TV turned up quite high. I glanced over to the key rack. Her car keys were there. Moving ever so quietly I made it to the front door, scooped up the keys and eased the door open. As I closed it behind me I didn’t wait another second. I dashed to the car and placed it in neutral. It rolled down our driveway and out across the road a little before I started it. My eyes darted to the mirror to see if my mother had heard me. Nope. I was golden. I tore out of there with the parking structure as my destination.
On a regular day, the journey from my house was a ten-minute drive to College Town Drive, which encircled one half of the university and Hornet Stadium. Today however the roads were clogged up with traffic as everyone and his uncle wanted to catch a glimpse of the soon-to-be president.
Loretta Dempsey had just won election as the first female president of the United States. I recalled the election and all the hoopla surrounding it. Some vehemently opposed having a woman for president. I didn’t see what the problem was. Most of the smartest people in the country were female. The woman had a good track record in politics and the largest majority of America liked her.
The heat of the day bore down on the car. Even with the air conditioning on I was sweating up a storm. I imagined the Secret Service or local police would be checking vehicles as I got closer to the stadium. I was ever mindful of the fact that I had a loaded weapon in my bag and I was already on their radar as being someone who could potentially be a threat. No doubt the Secret Service had been in contact with the local police to establish a list of people who might pose a problem. I was certain my name was right up the top and Harry Castle’s was nowhere to be found. The guy probably slipped in among the crowd without a problem. All that survey equipment was probably a good cover for an improvised firearm. Manufacturers were making all kinds now. I’d seen a flashlight that at the press of a button folded out into a machine gun. Then there were cell phones that fired several bullets. It was unreal. So the idea that Castle could have turned that tripod into a rifle wasn’t a far stretch of the imagination.
I decided to take a detour to avoid some of the congestion and main roads that cops were doing traffic stops on. I ended up taking State University Drive, a road that would take me past Sequoia Hall, Hornet Bookstore and up to the parking structure.
Before I even reached it I saw police cars. I knew it. Secret Service would be all over the place. The structure would definitely be an area they would have scoped out. Its height and location near the stadium made it a prime location for anyone looking to fire a round and then disappear. Though to take a shot from there, you would have to be one hell of a marksman. It had to be at least a thousand yards.
Making a quick decision I swerved into the Hornet Bookstore parking lot. I would go in on foot. The bookstore was directly across from the structure. Parking at the far end beneath a shady tree I grabbed up my bag and pushed out and darted across to the lot. For a place that should have been heavily guarded there was not a lot of police in the parking structure itself. I gathered they were doing checks on vehicles entering. No doubt they had a few members of the Secret Service in plainclothes positioned in various areas inside the structure.
I threaded my way around parked cars trying to look as if I knew where I was going. The last thing I needed was to get stopped and have my bag checked. As I went up one of the ramps I thought about Harry Castle. If he was a time traveler from the future, why didn’t he just come back on the day the speech was made so that he could avoid interactions with people? Why buy a house? Or spend time scoping out a place? Perhaps all he knew was the day and time when she would speak but not where people might be or the best place to take the shot. Maintaining a steady pace, I ascended the next ramp keeping my eyes peeled for police or Harry himself. There were a lot of vehicles inside. The place was packed. How easy it would be to park on the roof, set up a rifle inside a van or car, take the shot and then just vanish.
When I reached the roof, my eyes drifted over the cars. I kind of figured I would see him standing out in the open by the corner of the roof as he had done a day earlier. But that wasn’t the case. He had to be inside one of these vehicles. I went to the far end and began looking for his. But it was nowhere to be found.
From where I stood there was a great shot of the stadium. It was a fair distance but I could already hear the sound of the crowd going wild. It would be a full house and broadcast live on TV. Under the heat of the sun I felt my brow sweating.
“C’mon, where are you?” I muttered under my breath. I went back down to the fourth floor. All the while I kept an eye on my watch. It was now just a little after one o’clock.
“Sir, are you lost?”
I came to an abrupt halt at the sound of a gruff voice.
I turned to see what I assumed were two plainclothes officers. They had wire that went up to their ears.
“Yeah, I think I’m on the wrong floor.”
“It should be on your ticket.”
“Oh right, one second.” I opened my bag and reached in pulling out the one that I had from yesterday. I flashed it and smiled. “I would lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on. Fifth floor.”
I wandered off relieved that they didn’t ask to look in my bag. As I came up the ramp I noticed now there was a new vehicle at the far end. It was a white van, reversed in. Not wasting any time, I rushed down to it while keeping low to the ground. I used the rear of vehicles to block the occupants’ view of my approach. I yanked my bag off my back, reached in and pulled out the Glock. I checked the magazine and then slapped it back into place. Two vehicles down from it, I had a clear shot at the back of the van. My eyes darted across the field to where the stadium was. I pulled up the binoculars I’d been using the day before to get a better look at what was going on. The crowd were on their feet. I scanned the field and there in the middle of the stage near a podium was the next president. When I turned back to the vehicle I saw a barrel protruding ever so slowly from where there should have been a rear window. My eyes glanced around as I shuffled up to the van. I took a deep breath, slid up the side of the vehicle, and then turned to face the rear. Laid out in the back with one eye pressed against a scope was Harry Castle.
He must have heard me as he backed away from the sight slowly.
“I knew it.”
“Just hold on.”
“You made them think that I was mad but I knew it.”
“Alex, you have got this all wrong.”
I let out a slight chuckle. My hand was trembling slightly. “Yeah, and I guess you’re going to explain it.”
Harry’s eyes darted to his wrist. He looked panicked. I glanced at his watch. It was unusual; unlike any I had seen. Modern in design, metallic black and illuminated by a pale blue glow.
“What is that?”
“I’ve no time for this.”
“Back away from the weapon, Harry. Is that even your name?”
“Alex, if you don’t let me take this shot, bad things are going to happen.”
I snorted. “You must think I’m an idiot. You think I’m going to let you shoot the next president?”