Double Trouble (19 page)

Abe shrugged. “Same as me. There are a lot of them, they seem cool, down to earth. Especially Uncle Red. He's funny.”

She nodded, processing the information. “How did he feel about Blaine, his dad?”

“I’m not sure. He changed his mind a lot on that. Sometimes he likes the idea of having a dad, other times he completely rejects the fact of him having a dad. I think he’s confused, but I don’t know why.”

“Confused?”

“Yeah, like that time he heard about the pastor going to jail, remember?”

She nodded slowly. “He couldn’t put the two together, a pastor and criminal behavior. But he eventually understood. He told me he read the newspaper and listened to the news. Plus, he was friends with that young girl’s brother too, right?”

Abe nodded. “Yeah, but he still had a hard time believing it. That guy had been his idol, as far as he was concerned, pastor was right about everything.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

There was nothing she could say to that. Whereas Abe shut down and didn’t allow others close, Adam had constantly sought attention and affirmation through the church members. She blamed her godmother for that.

“Hey, maybe he left with that girl he was talking to, they were whispering and laughing a lot. But she was still there after he left, so I guess not.” He shook his head and leaned forward in the chair. “I don’t know Mom, he told me he was coming here. He seemed okay.”

Belinda nodded, completely tossing the comment about Adam and some girl leaving together. Her godmother had made it her life’s obsession preaching chastity and purity to her sons. Adam had lapped it up like cream in a bowl, earning the old woman’s approval. Abe asked too many questions and was often ignored. As far as she knew, unlike his twin, Adam never broke that chastity promise and was still a virgin.

“Okay, maybe he’ll be home soon,” she said, trying to mask her unease.

“He’s fine, Mom. I would know if he wasn’t. I would feel it in here.” He tapped his chest.

Her brow rose. “Oh yeah? Since when?”

His face reddened slightly. “Well, I think it’s always been the case, I just ignored it. But I’ve been re-evaluating and I want to change some things.”

“Like what?”

“I need to be a little more open, express myself better. The world does not revolve around me, I know that. So I need to loosen up some. You know…” His words trailed off as he looked forward, not meeting her eyes.

“So you and your dad, you okay?” She knew that had to be the reason for this turn around because as much as she loved her son, he was the most self-centered person she knew. For years she'd argued, fussed and threatened him over his selfishness. And in a few days, Donald had proven to be the key to unlock her son’s private walls. Go figure.

Abe nodded slowly. “Yeah, it feels strange but kinda right too. We spend a lot of time just talking about all kinds of stuff. He said I reminded him of himself when he was younger.” Abe met her gaze with a slightly crooked smile reminding her that he was a young man on the cusp of manhood. “We talked about college and things I want to do with my life. I think he meant it when he said he would support my decisions regarding schools.”

Belinda nodded, forcing herself to remain still and listen to Abe when she really wanted to start searching for Adam. The heavy feeling in her gut had only grown worse.

“We’re going to Uncle Red’s house later today for a cook-out, dad… I mean.” He turned red at his comment.

“You can call him dad, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Abe nodded as his gaze slid from her to the floor. “I know, it just feels… you know, strange calling someone dad after all these years. Sometimes I don’t believe he’s real. I guess I dreamed it so many times…well, it just does.”

She nodded, pleased he was opening up. “It’s a good thing, though. A really good thing that he’s here now.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. Adam should be back in time for the cook-out, we talked about it. We’re going to meet more O’Connors. You should come.”

Belinda smiled at his enthusiasm even though she couldn’t share it. “I’ve got something planned later, otherwise I might take you up on inviting me to other people’s party’s.” She turned toward her room, her mind already on the upcoming conversation with Adam’s former boss.

“Dad said he and Uncle Blaine invited you but you said no already.”

“So why’d you ask?” She threw over her shoulder as she reached her bedroom.

“Because I’m cuter than them.”

She laughed and closed her bedroom door.

Three hours later, Adam still hadn’t come home. “Maybe we should call dad and Uncle Blaine. I mean they are going to be here in a couple of hours to pick me up, what if Adam isn’t back by then?” Abe asked, concerned.

Uncertainty had taken residence in her chest. She had contacted the few friends Adam had and they hadn’t seen or heard from him in a few days. Their comments surprised her since Adam had told her he had been hanging out with those guys three times in the past week. Her son had lied to her, and for him to do that was big.

Unable to reach Adam’s former boss, she contacted the supervisor. Based on what his former supervisor said, Adam was friendly but not really close with any of the other employees. Partially because of his age and partially because Adam didn’t do the things the other guys liked to do. She refused to apologize that her sixteen-year-old son didn’t drink, smoke, do drugs or chase women, so she thanked him for his time and called the other few places he may have gone. Something was wrong, she could feel it.

“I'm calling Blaine now,” she said, dreading the conversation, but she knew it had to be done.

“Okay I’m gonna hop in the shower ‘cause they’re going to be here soon.” Abe stood and ran to the bathroom.

Exhaling, she wasn’t surprised when Blaine answered before the second ring. “Hello gorgeous.”

Closing her eyes, she told him that his son hadn’t come home last night and she was concerned.

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?”