Nobody's Son (18 page)

Wayne stood on the tarmac at the Atlanta airport anxiously waiting for the plane to touch down. He'd been in Atlanta for several weeks prior to his abduction, so it had been over a month since he had seen his five boys. Immediately following his release the week before he'd talked to each of them by phone, but they were in Los Angeles. Hearing each of their voices made him long to see them again. He'd been away from them for as long as he could stand and any moment they would be walking down the steps of the private jet he hired to fly them to town and walking into his arms.

Trenton was the first to step off the plane, and he bolted across the lot into Wayne's waiting arms. The other boys rushed out just as fast. When they all jumped on him they almost tumbled to the ground in a pile. Wayne sincerely wished he had more arms as he tried to hug them all at once.

“I have missed you guys so much,” he said.

Squeezing tightly, he was filled with so much joy he didn't want to ever let them go. When they were finally able to bring themselves to break the six-way embrace, Wayne and his sons got into a waiting limousine and rode to the new house Wayne had rented in North Atlanta. His work required that he remain in the city for another three months, but he'd decided that he had spent too much time away from his sons and wanted them with him. He hired tutors for them so they could continue their education and rented a home large enough for them to come to the city and stay with him. It was a two-story home, with an open floor plan, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two fireplaces, two balconies, underground parking for four cars, and expansive views of downtown and midtown Atlanta.

As he sat on the sofa later that evening, Wayne was elated to hear the sounds of family all around him. His boys were upstairs unpacking their suitcases and organizing their bedrooms. They were all very loud and boisterous, and the noise that they made was music to Wayne's ears.

“Hey, Dad,” Jaden said.

Wayne turned around as his fifteen-year-old son came bounding down the stairs and walked into the living room.

“Trenton and Leo are arguing because they don't want to share a room,” Jaden said. “Can we switch out? Let Trenton share with Kelsey and I'll move in with Leo.”

Surprised, Wayne looked his son up and down trying to figure out what his motive could possibly be for volunteering to share his room with a four year old.

In their home in California, each of the boys had their own room. On such short notice Wayne wasn't able to find a six-bedroom home that he liked. Since there were only four bedrooms, he'd had to assign some of the boys to share. Of course, Wayne had his own room, and as the oldest, so did Stacy. In choosing the other roommates, Wayne thought it was best to group the boys by age. He assigned Jaden and Kelsey to share, and Trenton and Leo. Sitting quietly, Wayne pondered the idea for a moment of switching them around. Trenton and Leo were the two youngest boys, but Trenton and Kelsey were actually closer in age, with Kelsey being eleven and Trenton being nine. Pairing those two seemed as if it would work much better, and Wayne was about to agree. Then he remembered his original concerns.

“Okay, I understand that you don't want to share your room with your eleven-year-old brother, but why in the world would you want to live with a four year old?”

Jaden looked guilty but didn't say anything. He stared sheepishly at his feet.

“I'm waiting for an answer, young man,” Wayne said.

Jaden walked over to the sofa and sat down by his dad. “The truth is, whenever you're home, Leo likes to climb in your bed at night. He rarely sleeps in his own room. During the day, he spends most of his time playing, and this house has a playroom. I just felt that sharing with him was the closest thing I'd get to have my own room here in Atlanta.”

Wayne chuckled at his son's logic. “You are right about that. Sure, go ahead and switch. It's not a problem at all.”

The next two boys to come rumbling loudly down the stairs were Kelsey and Trenton. They'd just been informed that they were now roommates, and they had lots of questions, like could they take the bunk beds apart and make them twin beds. Since Kelsey liked Batman and Trenton loved Spider-Man they also wanted to know if they could decorate their room with both. They also wanted to know if they could sleep on the floor in their sleeping bags that night because they planned to build a fort with two chairs and a blanket.

Laughing heartily and basking in the joy of having them around him again, Wayne agreed to everything they requested without putting up a fuss.

That night, Wayne walked from room to room to say good night. As always, he sat on the side of their individual beds, and he allowed each one to choose a Bible verse they'd like to read. When they were done, they prayed together, and he tucked them in. This was a ritual he'd begun with Stacy when he was only two years old, and he'd continued it as the boys grew older. He started in Leo and Jaden's room. Then he moved to Kelsey and Trenton, and finally Stacy. He tucked them all in, including Leo, who he encouraged to stay in his own bed for the night, although he suspected that he would not.

Returning to the living room, Wayne decided to watch the nightly news. The lead story shocked him as he sat staring in disbelief at the screen. He turned up the sound so that he could hear the reporter better.

“Atlanta's favorite son, Semaj Matthews, was arrested earlier this week and charged with kidnapping in the abduction case involving Wayne James,” the reporter said. “As we first reported, Mr. Matthews led police to the abandoned warehouse stating that he'd located abducted four-year-old Aaliyah Breasia Murphy. When police arrived they also discovered Wayne James who was being held in the same warehouse. Sources within the police department who spoke on condition of anonymity have advised us that the discovery apparently was not a coincidence. Atlanta police believe that Mr. Matthews and his accomplist not only had prior knowledge that Mr. James was there, but that they are the ones who'd been holding him captive.

“Also charged in this case is Marion ‘Rip' Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer made headlines a few years ago when his apartment in Sand Poole Manor projects was raided by DEA agents who suspected him of running a large drug ring. He was shot several times by the agents, but subsequently recovered from his injuries. Mr. Sawyer did not receive any jail time for that incident following his testimony. Stay tuned to this station for more information on this breaking news story.”

Wayne was stunned. He could not believe what he'd just heard. After he was rescued he'd spent several hours at the police department answering questions. They told him that they did not believe the guy they'd arrested was the same person who had imprisoned him. Reggie Murphy was wanted on separate charges. He'd consequently been arrested and jailed.

Although he was anxious to see justice be served, Wayne was thankful to be free and didn't lose any sleep wondering who was responsible for his abduction. He'd given the police detailed information on his time as a captive, as much as he could remember. After they'd told him he was free to go he had not spoken with anyone at the department again.

Early the next morning, Wayne decided to go to the police department and get some answers. This whole situation had been confusing, and for the life of him, he couldn't fathom why the same man who'd saved him was now accused of committing the crime. He didn't know Semaj very well, but he believed that he was an honorable man. After all, Wayne reasoned, he had his blood running through his veins. He was his son. Brushing aside how badly he'd treated him, Wayne simply refused to believe that Semaj was guilty of anything beyond being the victim of extremely overzealous police officers with overactive imaginations.

He was escorted into a private meeting room as soon as he arrived. Quietly he sat waiting for a detective to speak to him. After about fifteen minutes, a short, stocky black man walked into the room and introduced himself.

“I'm Detective Sheffield. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. James. I'm the lead investigator handling your kidnapping case.”

Wayne politely shook his hand. “Excuse me for just showing up like this, but I saw on the news that Semaj Matthews was arrested for my abduction. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how did you come to that conclusion?” Wayne asked.

“The perpetrator we arrested that evening gave us information that connected Marion Sawyer to the warehouse. I'm sure you are not aware of this, Mr. James, but Marion at one time was responsible for a large amount of drug traffic in and out of the city of Atlanta. After years of work, this department finally had enough evidence to arrest him, but the DEA took the case over. He gave up the names of his suppliers and a few other people, and the DEA allowed him to walk.”

Detective Sheffield stopped talking and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Do you mind if I smoke?” he asked.

“Actually I do. Can you just finish answering my question?”

The detective put the cigarettes back in his pocket and continued talking. “I've been trying to get Sawyer off the street since that time. He claimed to have gone legit, but I knew it was just a matter of time before he'd slip up.”

Wayne tried his best to ignore the smug smile that was plastered on the detective's face. “That still doesn't explain why Semaj Matthews was charged. What evidence do you have that connects him to the crime?”

“To be honest with you, we don't have a lot. The most compelling thing is that Sawyer is his cousin, and the two of them were together the night you were found. Matthews is the one who called the cops and led them to the warehouse. We are still working on the case, and we should have all the pieces of the puzzle together soon. There's nothing for you to worry about.”

“I'm not worried,” Wayne shook his head.

“That's good. While you are here, I need to go over something with you from your statement that wasn't clear.” Detective Sheffield flipped pages in his folder. “It says here that one day your abductor stuck a stick down your throat. Do you know what kind of stick it was? Was he trying to make you gag?”

Wayne tried to remember that day the detective was speaking about. “It didn't go down my throat. If he'd had a flashlight I would have thought he was examining my mouth. He ran it along my teeth and over the inside of my cheek.”

As he said those words, Wayne suddenly had a flashback of the incident. The flashback triggered another memory from several years prior.

Being a celebrity who adopted children from the foster care system Wayne felt that he experienced lots of joys and blessings. It also had a downside. It opened him up to scams and people looking to make a quick buck. His oldest son, Stacy, knew that his biological parents were in jail. Jaden's mother was in a mental health care facility, and his father did not want the responsibility of raising him, so he signed away his rights. Leo's mother was a prostitute that died shortly after his birth from infection. She'd delivered him while homeless and on the street without any medical care. Kelsey's parents were a different story. He'd been taken away from his mother after child protective services deemed their home unfit. It was infested with roaches and rats. Kelsey slept on a dirty mattress on the floor surround by human feces.

A year after his adoption was final, Wayne's lawyers received a phone call from a man claiming to be Kelsey's biological father. In an extortion attempt, he demanded that Wayne pay him to go away. Wayne wanted him to go away, but he also wanted to make sure that he didn't bother them again. He didn't believe for one moment that the man was really Kelsey's biological father, so he requested a DNA test. After their nightly Bible study and prayer, Wayne had swabbed Kelsey's cheek. When he asked the extortionist to give his sample, he left town with no forwarding address.

All at once, Wayne came to the realization that his abductor had not tried to strangle him with a stick or examine his mouth. He'd swabbed his cheek for a DNA sample. He felt like rocks were rumbling around in his stomach as he realized that no one but Semaj would want to do that.

Detective Sheffield was asking Wayne another question, but he was not listening. He interrupted him mid-sentence.

“Are the culprits still in custody?” Wayne asked.

The detective shook his head. “A judge granted them both bail a few hours after their arrest. I don't think either of them is a flight risk, though. I've just got a few more things to clear up with you.”

Wayne left the office abruptly without allowing him to finish. He began walking toward the front entrance, then suddenly noticed a swarm of reporters camped outside. Instead, he asked a police officer to lead him out the back way. When he finally arrived at his car, Wayne tried to leave but realized his hands were trembling and sweaty. He sat still for several moments trying to collect his thoughts.

Since he realized that a DNA test had been done, he was sure that Semaj now knew that his denial was a lie and that he was indeed his biological father. It astonished him that Semaj had gone to such drastic measures as kidnapping in order to obtain his proof. Yet, it also shed light as to the reason his abductor had not treated him cruelly. The only thing that Wayne did not understand was Semaj's actions when he was released. When he'd tried to thank him, he noticed that Semaj acted very distant toward him. At the time, he attributed it to their earlier meeting when he'd denied Semaj's paternity. Now he realized that Semaj knew that truth, but he had not confronted him or demanded he admit the truth. Instead, he'd allowed Wayne to walk away and kept the personal information totally to himself. After speaking with the detective, Wayne also realized that he had no idea of his connection to Semaj. Apparently he had not talked upon being arrested. Regardless of what he had done, Wayne could not help but continue to believe that his son was still an honorable man.