A Shadow of Death in The Woods (23 page)

“Point number five, I am your friend. You can talk to me about this any time that you wish. I will never tell a soul without your permission.

“Point number six, people say that time heals. That is more BS. Time does not heal. Time doesn’t heal but it blunts the pain. The pain fades over time. We have to learn to live with pain and have faith that it will fade with time.” When he had finished, Lydia’s head was spinning. She had never thought about it in this way. Plus she felt a tremendous relief in having told someone her secret. Maybe this was the first step in healing.

They talked more and drank more. She finally got sleepy. She woke up the next morning on Jack’s sofa with a pillow under her head and a blanket over her. She had never slept in a man’s apartment before. She thought some kind of milestone had been passed. It was an exciting feeling. It felt like a new beginning but she knew there was much more to do. Now she had a friend that she could talk with. Maybe The Cat was right all along.

Chapter 37

The West Virginia State Police Detective

I was sitting in my office thinking about a couple of assignments that Bob had given me when Mary, my assistant, knocked and came in. I could see that she was upset. She said there was a state police detective in the outer office, wanting to see me. He said it was personal and he wouldn’t tell her what it was about. He insisted on seeing me right away and that he didn’t have time to wait around. This was bad enough, but he was rude to her in the process. I didn’t recognize his name and I knew most of the troopers in the area because they came to The Cabin to shoot.

My first reaction was a deep concern that the state police finally had gotten around to investigating what happened in The Woods last fall. They might have suspected that the sheriff wasn’t diligent enough in his investigation. I hoped it didn’t show on my face. I didn’t want to alarm Mary any more than she already was.

My mind started going at what seemed like a hundred miles an hour. I decided that I should let Bob know what was going on before I talked with the detective. Besides the detective needed to cool his heels. I told Mary to tell the detective to wait. I was busy.

I got on the phone and called Bob. After listening to my spiel, he said he didn’t think it was related to The Woods. He told me to not to talk with the detective until he had gotten back to me. He was going to call the state police captain, who as it turns out was a friend of Bob’s. Bob asked me the detective’s name and I told him.

I waited for what seemed like hours. Bob called back. I checked my watch and it had been twenty minutes. The detective must be steaming by now. Bob said that the troopers were checking my whereabouts for yesterday. It sounded like they were looking for an alibi. It made no sense. Bob said it would be okay for me to answer the detective’s questions. He also gave me a message to give to the detective. I was to tell the detective that his boss wanted him to apologize to anyone at our company that he was rude to. He said if he did it now, it would save him a trip back to our offices later.

I phoned Mary and told her to send the detective in. As he came into the office I did something that I rarely do. When I went to meet him, I stood up straight to my full height and stepped up to him so that my height was up close and personal. Usually I bent over a little to lessen the effects of my size, to be less intimidating. He was a big man but I was able to look down at him and I had at least fifty pounds on him. I could see that it made him very uncomfortable. He was used to being the bully but he had just been bullied. Out bullied as it were. Some of us never really grow up. We just get older.

Having satisfied my teenage urges, I invited him to sit in my conference area in a comfortable upholstered chair. Before he could start I told him I had a message for him from his boss, the captain. I passed along the request that he apologize to anyone he had been rude to. I suggested that he start with Ms. Hatfield in the outer office on his way out. His face got red and he nodded. I thought it was best to set the tone of our meeting.

I said, “Okay, what is this personal business you claim to have with me?”

He said, “I need to know where you were the night before last and all day yesterday.”

“The day before yesterday was Sunday and I was at home. My neighbor can verify that up until 3 or 4 o’clock when she left to go back to her home during the week. We have closed circuit TV at The Cabin for security. We keep those records for a week and they can be checked if need be. Yesterday I got to work about 8 a.m. I was in the office until 5:30 p.m. Ms. Hatfield can verify that if she is willing to talk with you. She left about 5:00. I left about 5:30 and went to Momma’s Restaurant where I had dinner. Momma and her daughter will remember that because I talked with both of them. I left there about 7:00 and went to The Gin Mill where I had one or two drinks. The bartender, Red, can verify that since I spent time talking with him. Then I went home about 9:00, which can be verified on CCTV if needed. All of this is my standard operating procedure. I do pretty much the same thing every weekday.”

The detective duly noted all this in his notebook. He said that was all he needed and prepared to leave. I asked him why I needed an alibi and he said that he did not know. He was just told to determine my whereabouts. He did indicate that it was a request from Ohio police. He got up and left.

I called Bob to tell him how it went. I told him that it went as predicted. The detective just wanted to know where I was yesterday. Apparently, the request came from Ohio police. The whole thing made my stomach hurt. There was something wrong.

I said, “You know, Bob, this is not right. They have to be looking into a crime for which I am a suspect. The detective claimed he didn’t know anything about it and I think he was telling the truth. I am going to phone some people in Ohio and find out what is going on.”

*   *   *

Bob listened but didn’t say much. He told Jack to let him know right away what he learned.

Bob was a little concerned. Whenever the police start investigating your CFO, you have to be concerned. He couldn’t imagine Jack being in trouble with the law. That is, outside of their troubles last fall but clearly this had nothing to do with that. This smacked of domestic troubles. He could think of one possibility but it was a bad one and he wanted to wait to see what Jack found out. However, just in case he decided to call Mike Randall.

Mike answered his phone right away. You do that when your boss phones. Bob outlined what he knew and told Mike to be ready to come to Jack’s office and in the meantime try to find out if there was something going on in Ohio. Mike had lots of contacts in his security business.

*   *   *

I phoned my ex-father-in-law. I didn’t call Katherine because I knew she wouldn’t answer her phone. Bill Simpson answered. Right away I could sense the tenseness in Bill’s voice. His voice was tight, almost squeaky. My stomach tightened even more. I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

“Jack, it is very bad news. Will has disappeared. He didn’t come home from school on Monday. We can’t find him and the police now suspect that he was kidnapped.”

I wanted to scream. Why hadn’t anyone notified me? I realized right away that I was the number one suspect for a kidnapping. Statistically child kidnappings are done by a parent, one that has lost custody like me.

I tried to calm myself so I could think. I said, “Bill, I am disappointed that no one told me what happened. I had to find out when the police came to me for an alibi. They suspect me and they are wasting time investigating me. I had nothing to do with whatever happened. What can I do to help?”

“Jack, I have pulled every string. We have the police on this big time. They are sure it is a kidnapping. If you didn’t do it, then it is someone after money. We are waiting for contact from the kidnappers.”

I was so upset by these words that I almost broke my phone. First, he says, “If you didn’t do it...” which means he suspected that I was capable of doing it. Second, I never like hearing the word “waiting.” This wasn’t a time for waiting. It was a time for action.

I said, “Bill, I can’t tell you how disappointed to hear that you actually believe that I could do something like this. Where is the thinking? I wouldn’t take the kids away from Katherine and I certainly would not take one and not the other. You guys are not thinking clearly. I have to go.”

I hung up. I could scarcely believe what I had just heard. It sounded to me as if they were running around in circles, waiting for a miracle to happen.

I phoned Bob and told him what I had found out. He told me that Mike and Paul were coming to his office right away. I didn’t know why and Bob didn’t wait for me to ask as he hung up. He seemed intent on doing something. He said he had some calls to make and told me to come to his office just before he hung up.

Before going to Bob’s office, I sat and thought. My eyes were a little blurry but in my mind’s eye I could see little Will bouncing down the sidewalk with his backpack slung over one shoulder or perhaps on his back. He wore long pants and a shirt. It was early fall so he probably didn’t have a jacket on. If that was correct, he would be cold at night if he was out.

I knew Will was a little absentminded. If the teacher gave him a note for us, we might find it in his backpack a few days later. He never remembered to pass on a message when asked. He was a bright boy, just a little distracted. He would never go with a stranger willingly.

He probably stopped to kick all the leaves that had fallen on the sidewalk. He might have stopped to stare at a bird. He might be a few minutes late getting home but he would never run off. He wouldn’t fail to come home on his own.

That meant that Will had been kidnapped. Kidnapping for money was a high probability because there was a lot of money in the family and people knew it. On the other hand this was a long time to wait for a ransom note. That didn’t feel right.

I didn’t want to think about other possibilities for a kidnapping. I got up to go to Bob’s office.

Chapter 38

The Phone Calls

Bob’s office was the size of a small apartment. Like me, he didn’t have a desk. Both of us chose to work at a solid wood table, the kind they used to have in libraries. They are big and heavy and have lots of character. The table was on the left as you walked in. On the right was a sofa, a coffee table and several stuffed chairs. Straight ahead was a door that went to his private conference room with a long table. His office reminded me of a study in an older style house. It didn’t look like an office at all. There were book shelves with books but there were no filing cabinets and there was no paper lying about.

In fact, we used very little paper in the offices. Everything was done on computers. Any paper that came into the office was scanned into a computer and then destroyed. Bob made it clear that we were not to use paper. This kept the offices neat and tidy. When we went home there were no papers lying around and the computers were locked. All data on the computers was encrypted.

Another pet peeve was wires. Bob didn’t like the looks of a lot of computer cables so our computers were connected wirelessly with encryption. His only wire concession was a charger for the laptops. He had outlets in the floor under the tables near a leg. An extension cord was plugged in and run up inside table leg so a charger could be plugged in. The wires were almost invisible. I liked the setup. It made the offices very neat.

The floor was covered with wall-to-wall carpeting on a thick pad. It felt like you were walking on a cloud crossing his office.

Bob was sitting on the sofa with a phone against his ear. When he turned to wave me over, I could see that he was using a phone that I hadn’t seen before. It looked like a cheap prepaid phone. I sat down to wait.

*   *   *

Ever since Jack had told Bob about Will’s being missing, Bob had a bad feeling. He decided to make some calls, calls to guys that he hadn’t seen in years. They were guys who he had done a lot of business with years ago. The type of business that doesn’t get talked about. Talking about it could mean your life.

The first call was to Mr. Blackman. He didn’t have a proper phone number for him. What he had was a answering service number—if it was still in business. Bob went to his safe and took out another prepaid, untraceable phone and dialed the number that he had memorized and written down nowhere.

A young lady with a nice sounding voice answered. Bob told her that he needed to talk with Mr. Blackman. She said she was sorry but there was no one there by the name of Mr. Blackman. She hung up.

Next, he called the sister of a guy called Snake. He was a hard core biker and the last Bob knew he was sent up for a drug bust. That was a couple years ago and Bob was gambling that Snake was out on parole by now. Snake wasn’t the kind of guy who had an address but he had a sister in Utah. They were close in spite of the fact that she was a citizen and Snake was a hardcore biker. He dialed her number and her answering machine came on. She would be at work. Bob left a message for her brother to call him on his throw away phone.

He then called Mike Randall. He briefed Mike on what he knew and told him to get some guys investigating what was going on in Ohio. They needed to know what the police were doing and more importantly what they were not doing. Mike swore and said he was on it and would get back to Bob as soon as he had things going. Bob told him to come to his office.

Lastly, he called Paul and after telling him what was going on, told him to come to his office right after he told the company pilot to get the plane ready in case they needed it. And Bob was sure they were going to need it.

While on the phone Jack walked in. He didn’t look well. His face was pasty white and he looked like his mind was a million miles away. As soon as he got off the phone he faced Jack.

Bob said, “I have been phoning people, lining up some guys just in case. I have Mike Randall getting some guys in Ohio checking things out. He’ll be here as soon as he has things going. Paul is on his way over. He is alerting the pilot that we may be flying out soon.”

*   *   *

All of this caught me by surprise. I didn’t expect Bob to take over like this. Plus I had no idea what we might be doing. Flying to Ohio sounded good because I wanted to see things for myself. I also thought it was a good idea for Mike Randall to see what he could find out.

Bob said, “Look, I know you phoned your ex-father-in-law but I was wondering if you would be willing to phone him again on the speaker phone with me. I would like to ask him some questions.”

I could see no harm in this so I dialed Bill’s number. Bill answered and I introduced Bob. Bob started in with his questions. He wanted to know specific things like times, names of the police investigators, name of Will’s school teacher, specifically the last known sighting of Will (when and where and by whom) and what he was wearing. He asked questions about how they had searched, where they had searched and if they were still searching.

Before Bob could finish his grilling of Bill Simpson, Mike Randall and Paul walked in. They sat down. Paul had his laptop with him and a big roll of paper. As soon as we got off the phone, Mike gave his report.

He said he had a private detective working on finding out what the police knew and what they were doing. So far it didn’t sound good. It sounded like the cops had hung their hats on the idea that it was an abduction and that either Jack was behind it or someone had abducted Will for ransom. They were waiting for a contact from the kidnapper(s). This was consistent with what I had gotten from my ex-father-in-law.

Paul said he had some material he wanted to discuss. We moved to Bob’s conference room and Paul rolled out his papers. They were maps of where Will lived and where he went to school. I didn’t bother to ask how he had found out Will’s address and school. However he had done it, it was correct.

His map showed Will’s house and the school. Paul wanted me to show them on the map how Will would have gone home. I showed them the route that Will would have taken. They traced out the route and marked it on the map. The map was so detailed they could count the number of houses Will would have passed. It was about one hundred houses. One hundred chances for someone to have seen something.

In the middle of the map discussion Bob’s phone rang. Bob answered it. It was Mr. Blackman.

*   *   *

Mr. Blackman’s voice was the same. He said, “Hey, Captain, what’s up? Long time, no hear.”

Bob filled him in on what was happening and then got to the point of the call. “Mr. Blackman, I am not sure how this thing is going to play out but we may need your help along with the other guys if you are still in contact with them.”

Mr. Blackman said, “It is great to hear from you, Captain. Yeah, I hear from the other guys from time to time. I have some contact information. What’s the deal on this Jack character?”

“Well, Jack saved my life and my wife’s life. He did it the hard way.” (The hard way was an euphemism for he killed.) “He works for me now as my CFO. He is as solid as they come but limited experience in wet work.”

“What’s a CFO?”

“A CFO is a chief financial officer. He manages my company’s money.”

“You must trust him then.”

“I do.”

“Well look, I’ll give the other guys a call for a heads up. You let me know if we have to get together.”

Bob and Mr. Blackman broke off the connection. It brought back memories for Bob just talking with Mr. Blackman. They had done important, sensitive work together along with Mike and Paul.

When Bob got off the phone, he told Mike and Paul that he had been talking with Mr. Blackman. They nodded.

Paul said, “While you were on the phone we talked about the map. Will would have passed about one hundred houses. Jack’s ex-father-in-law didn’t mention the police interviewing the residents of these houses and even if they did, we think we should canvass the route to see what we might find out.”

Bob said, “Okay, let’s go. Paul, is the plane ready?”

“Yes. It’s ready to go.”

Bob said, “Okay we are on our way. Let me grab some more throw-away phones and some cash from my safe and we’ll go to the airport. I’ll have Sarah phone ahead and have a car meet us. We can buy clothes and toiletries there if we need to stay a while.”

Jack said, “That is okay for you guys but I can’t buy clothes. I have to have them tailored.”

Bob said, “Okay, give Mary your house key. She can pick up some clothes and FedEx them to us in Ohio if needed. Let’s go.”