by Larry Brown
Betty arrived at seven as planned and was surprised to see the house dark with no visible lights. Her first thought was that she had the time wrong and that maybe he had run an errand. But even then he would have left some lights on. She walked to the front door where she could see light for the first time. There was a small amount of light coming from the kitchen or maybe his office. Her next thought was perhaps it was candlelight. Maybe Harry had planned a romantic setting. She rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. Harry’s doors were always locked, but she tried the handle anyway. The door opened, it had not been locked. Maybe this was his surprise for her. She walked in and toward the kitchen calling, “Harry it’s me, I’m here.” When she reached the kitchen, she could see the light had come from his office. “Harry, are you there?” she said as she entered the office doorway. She immediately saw his desk chair sitting sideways across the room. Then she saw one of his legs on the floor sticking from behind the desk and not moving.
“Harry!” she screamed as she rounded the desk and saw him lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He was on his side and his face, neck, and front of his shirt were soaked in drying blood. The side of his face had a huge blue bruise, and his bloody nose was no longer straight. She was immediately beside him trying to get him to speak. She got up and grabbed a pillow from his couch and placed it under his head. He was breathing, he was alive. Finally, he opened his eyes, tried to speak but could only moan. She grabbed her cell phone, dialed 911, and explained the circumstances. They all knew Harry and set in motion the ambulance and the officer on duty. Betty hung up and called Clay. When he saw it was Betty, he answered immediately, “Hello beautiful, I was just thinking about you.”
“Not now Clay, I am at Harry’s, and it looks like he has been beaten badly. There’s blood everywhere, and he is barely conscious. If you have any influence over the ambulance, make sure they hurry.”
“Done, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
Harry’s quiet street was once again a parade of flashing lights. Clay first, with flashing lights and siren blasting, followed by the EMT’s and a second deputy’s car.
Clay tried to talk to Harry, but he was unable to speak, only moan. When they loaded him into the ambulance, Betty insisted she go with him. As she started to get in beside him, she turned to Clay and said, “The front door was not locked.”
Clay knew that something was wrong. He walked back into the house and straight to where Harry kept the gold coins. They were gone. Clay kept everything in the house sealed off. He had a team there to check for prints and any other clues that might identify the attackers. Clay was furious and frustrated. He felt he might have let his friend down. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, but he did. He had begged Harry to secure the coins, but his friend was a hard-headed man. Maybe some guilt came from the way he was beginning to feel about Betty.
He called her at the hospital to check on his friend. Betty said he was now in ICU with a broken nose, cracked cheekbone, one rib broken, one cracked and a possible concussion. The doctors were keeping everyone away from him until the next day. They wanted him to have complete rest. She told him she was taking a taxi back to Harry’s house to pick up her car. She convinced Clay to call either Millie or Sally to let them know what had happened.
Chapter 61
It was New Year’s morning, and Jack’s plane was already in the air. This special New Year’s Eve party had been a bust. His girls had hardly spoken to him. They were mad about his obvious affair and they, at least partially, blamed that for Andy’s decision to go back home. They left the party around ten o’clock. They not only avoided talking to their father but also hardly spoke to Andy.
Andy felt like she was the odd person out and left shortly after the girls. This left Jack and the flight crew for the band and the food. Jack was ticked, but Ms. Squeaky voice made his troubles disappear.
Andy moved from her seat and asked Jack if she could join him. She had a topic she hoped he could explain. She told him about the plane, the two men, the white van and the fact she was almost sure they were the abductors from the mall. Jack responded, “I hardly think that they were the same men. One of my clients asked if he could send some materials for one of his jobs to our place. He promised he would have someone there to pick them up and he would make sure they caused us no inconvenience. I talked to Dax, and he said it would be no problem. I didn’t know they had come and gone until Dax informed me. Maybe you have a little paranoia after the incident. That’s understandable, but I don’t think you should worry. Especially now, with you going back home. And, by the way, I am so sorry this did not work out the way we had all hoped. I have your transportation lined up from the airport to your house.”
“You think of everything, but, let me set the record straight. I have no paranoia! Thanks for everything Jack. You have been more than generous.”
Before he could respond, she was up and back to her original seat. When they had landed and walking to the FBO, she heard her phone buzz. She had missed a call, and it was from Clay. She listened to the voicemail and heard Clay describe the attack on Harry and that he was in bad shape in the hospital. She needed to be back as soon as she could get there.
Chapter 62
Betty picked up her car and went straight back to the hospital. She had brought a change of clothes for New Year’s Day, so she changed to be more comfortable. She checked in at the nurse’s station and said she would not be leaving until she could talk to a doctor and see Harry. She said she was representing his family who all lived out of town.
A nurse came to the ICU waiting room and told her that they had taken him to the surgical floor. They were going to work on his nose to try to improve his ability to breathe. She said his vitals were stable, but at his age and the beating he had taken, they were being extra cautious. She moved to the surgical waiting room and stopped at the chapel on the way to say a prayer for him.
It was now after midnight. She knew because all of the people at the nurse’s station were toasting each other with coffee and water. At near one in the morning, Clay showed up. She stood up when he entered the waiting room. She spoke first, “Oh, Clay, I’m so worried about him. He looked so bad,” and then she broke down and began to cry.
He put his big arms around her and did his best to console her. “I know, I know. He’s too damn old for this. He is just such a damn hard head. But I promise you this. I will find the bastards, and they will be punished.”
She was regaining her composure and trying to separate herself from him when he spoke again, “This is probably a bad time, but I have had this on my mind for a while now. I want you to know as I have gotten to know you better, I have started having some strong feelings about you. I know when we went out before, I was sort of cocky and said I had three other women and all that, but I now see how much happier I could be with just one woman. I have been very envious of you and Harry and the things you have done together. And, by the way, Andy will be back tomorrow. She’ll be back permanently. I was thinking the four of us could really have some good times together. I want you to think about it.” As soon as he said this, he realized it was a mistake. Awful timing.
Her mind went into overload. Harry was in surgery. She was beginning to be so attached to him. Andy was coming back. Clay wanted her. It was too much for her to handle. “Clay, not now, please.”
She held up both hands in front of her and nodded her head negatively. Just then the nurse came in and said Harry was out of surgery and his breathing was much better. The doctors had still said no visitors until morning. She suggested they go home and come back then.
Clay thought that was a good idea and offered to buy her breakfast before he went back to work. He wanted to apologize for his bad timing.
She absolutely did not want to be alone with Clay now. She said she was not leaving and wanted to lie down on the waiting room couch and try to rest. As hard as he tried, he could not change her mind. Before he left, she asked him which of Harry’s daug
hters he called. He told her it got late and he decided to wait until morning to call when they had more definitive information on his condition. He said he was going to call the oldest, Millie.
Chapter 63
Andy was packed and ready to leave. She had one more task before she left. She had asked Dax to stop by so she could tell him goodbye and ask him a question. He showed up right on time and met Andy by the pool where she was having a last cup of coffee.
As he approached, he removed his straw hat, “On your way huh? Sorry it didn’t work for you. I’m sure the girls will miss you.”
“I’ll miss them too, but they are young and adaptable, they will be fine. I wanted to tell you goodbye and say it has been interesting meeting you. I also have a question.”
He didn’t speak, he just nodded.
“The plane that landed here before we left town was met by a white van and two men who were wearing dark suits and no ties, do you remember?”
He again nodded.
“I believe they were the two men who were our abductors. Did they identify themselves to you?”
“They did,” he said now grinning.
“Do you find this humorous?”
“Well, I do. You see, they showed me their IDs. They are detectives working for the Tampa police,” he said ending with a chuckle.
“I seen their badges and IDs.”
“Are you sure?”
“O’ course. I wouldn’t have said it unless I saw ’em with my own eyes.”
Andy was stunned. She got up from the table, told him to have a nice life, and left.
When she landed in South Carolina, she instructed the driver to take her straight to the hospital. She called Clay to tell him her plan. Clay was just entering the hospital and said that he would wait for her. She wanted to know about Harry, but he said he had not talked to anyone yet. He told her he would stay until she arrived.
Earlier in Harry’s room, Betty had pulled a chair up close where she could hand him his water. His arms worked fine but when he moved his torso, the ribs were painful. He was trying to limit his pain medicine to be able to stay alert to talk to Clay about the attack. He had tried to get Betty to go home and get some rest assuring her he was fine. With all the bandages and tubes in his body, he wasn’t very convincing. Clay had posted a deputy and told him nobody but medical staff and Betty were to be allowed in his room. The press had already gotten wind of the attack and two different reporters had attempted entry.
Clay finally arrived. He nodded at Betty and said, “Old man, you look like hell. You are too damn old for this lifestyle you’re living.”
Betty said, “Clay.”
Clay smiled and said, “I’ll say one thing for you, friend, you have the prettiest nurse in the building.”
Harry tried his own humor, “Have you caught the bastards yet?” He said it smiling even though you could not see it through all his bandages.
“Can you tell me what happened? The only thing I know other than the obvious is your gold is gone, and Betty said your front door was unlocked when she got there.”
Harry spoke in a stilted speech. “Two men, Hispanic, heard them talk, accents, one man, big, had a hose like thing weighted on one end, hurt like hell.” As he talked more his mouth and jaw loosened so he could talk almost normal. “The man with the hose kicked the crap out of me. He wore black cowboy boots with silver tips on the points of the toes. His right boot had a rip in the side of the sole. The other one told him to stop because the ‘man’ said they could not kill me. They came in through the front door. Thought it was Ruth. Thought she must have forgotten something. They were on me before I could get the gun out of the drawer.”
Harry’s body went limp, he was obviously exhausted even though his speech had gotten better.
She said, “I think that’s enough Clay, he needs to rest.”
“One more thing. Has Ruth ever left the door unlocked before?”
He shook his head no.
“Freddy Lopez’s sister, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well he is Hispanic and the SOB is a crook. It’s a place to start.”
“Hello everybody. I’m back.” Andy was standing in the doorway. “Harry, Harry, look at you.” She was tearing up and walking toward the bed and kissed him on the head and picked up his hand.
“Hello, Andy, it looks worse that is.” His last words before he drifted off.
Clay looked at Andy, “You look good, it’s great to have you back. I’m sorry, but I have a lot to do so if you want a ride, we need to go now.”
Andy looked disappointed, Betty spoke, “If you want to stay for a while, I will take you home.”
Clay had not been gone five minutes when the nurse came in and said, “You need to go now ladies. I’m going to increase his meds so he can get some rest. The doctors have done all they needed to do, and now it’s just rest. These bodies take longer to heal when we get older. He should probably be able to talk much better by tomorrow or maybe even tonight.”
They left and loaded Betty’s car with Andy’s bags and headed to Andy’s farm. “We didn’t talk before you left, but Clay told me about your great opportunity. It must not have been so great.”
“Oh no, it was great, too great. It was beyond my capabilities. I jumped too quickly. I didn’t do near enough homework. You know me, sometimes I just kind of leap before I look.”
Betty didn’t respond.
“Tell me about you and Harry. You must have made a move before I landed in Florida.”
“That’s not fair and not true, you actually made it possible for me to get to know Harry.”
“How so?”
“You set him up as the speaker for our women’s group. Without you to be his host and show him around the task became mine. His talk was so impressive, I asked if he would do a consulting job for my business. He agreed and we spent a lot of time together. He did an amazing job.”
“I didn’t know he was doing consulting.”
“I’m not sure he had ever intended to, but with the response he got from our group, I think it got him back in business mode. I think he truly enjoyed his work at my business. And then one thing led to another, and I volunteered to help him with his Christmas decorations, and then the winter storm hit and the next thing you know, we have spent two days and two nights at his house.”
“Was he a good lover?”
“Whoa, I’m not saying that we slept together. But even if we did, I would not tell you.”
“A simple yes or no was all I wanted.”
Betty, shocked, “Everything between him and me is strictly our business.”
“I’ll ask him, he will tell me.”
“Are you still interested in him? You just dumped him pretty abruptly.”
“It was part of my overall mistake. It was wrong but, yes, I am still very much interested in him.”
The rest of the trip was silent. When they arrived, Betty helped her get her things into her house.
“It’s nice to have you back. I’m sure we will see each other soon.”
Chapter 64
Betty called Clay on her way home to inquire about his call to Harry’s daughter. He told her he had left a message telling her that her father had been assaulted and was in the hospital. He said he had not heard back from her.
He also said, “I was just about to call you about dinner tonight. We could either go before or after we go to the hospital.”
“No, not tonight. I haven’t had much rest and I think I need to spend some time with the daughter if she comes. Give me her number so I can call her.”
“Well, you have to eat, I don’t see why we can’t eat together.”
“No, I’m going to offer my time to the daughter, or I’m going home to rest.”
He gave her the number, and his last words were that he would probably see her at the hospital. As soon as they hung up, his phone rang again, this time it was Andy. “Hello, brother, are you glad to have me back?”
&nb
sp; “Lord of mercy, yes, I am.”
“Good, I’m glad to be back home. Let me buy you dinner, my pantry is empty. We can catch up, and I have some interesting things to tell you.”
“Well, at least someone will have dinner with me.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Do you remember I told you about the two guys and the airplane that landed at the farm and I told you I thought they were our abductors?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Well listen to this. They identified themselves to the farm manager as two Tampa police detectives. He saw their IDs and badges.”
“What? What’s that about?”
“I don’t know, but it’s starting to smell like a day old fish.”
“Hmm, I’ve got an idea. I’ll tell you about it at dinner.”
They set the time and place and hung up.
Meanwhile, Betty made a call to Millie, Harry’s oldest daughter who was now on her way to Lakeview. She gave her the latest update on her dad and offered to take her to dinner so she could give her a detailed account of everything she knew. Millie was hesitant at first but then agreed. They would meet at the hospital first and then have a late supper.
Clay and Andy had settled into their table at the restaurant and Clay opened a file folder and handed it to her. “These are pictures of all the non-uniformed officers at Tampa PD. See if you recognize anyone.”
There were four pictures per page and on the last page she said, “Here they are, it’s them, these two,” and she pointed at two of the pictures.
“Are you sure?”
“99.9%, I know it’s them.”
“What the hell has Jack gotten himself into?”
“Why do you say, Jack?”
“The plane, his airstrip, the abduction of you and his daughters. The abduction and nobody hurt. Too many coincidences. You have to be positive of the men, that’s critical.”
“I’m sure ,but I have an idea. I’ll put the pictures on my phone, and I’ll send a text to Jane and ask if she or Jenny recognize anybody in the pictures, and that’s all I will say.”