STOLEN (24 page)

A nurse Marty didn’t recognize was changing the gauze
bandage on Troy Blakey’s abdomen. He caught a quick glimpse of the wound. The
wound was seeping pus and it immediately turned his stomach and bile seeped
into his throat. Marty tried to be inconspicuous when he turned away to hide
his discomfort, but he was pretty sure that Jean caught on.

The nurse finished up and gave Blakey a flirtatious smile
before she left the room. That also did not go unnoticed by Jean or Marty.

“Did you find my brother?” His eyes passed quickly and
without recognition over the gray-haired woman who stood quietly by the
doorway, her eyes riveted to the man in the bed. Her hand flew to cover the
gasp that came out in a short uncontrollable burst from her throat.

Marty couldn’t hold it in for a second longer. He was angry
and he was scared. He was also conflicted. Now every time he looked at the man,
he saw the child that was stolen from his front yard. He wanted to haul off and
slam his fist into his jaw, but a vision of T.J. riding his fire engine red
tricycle appeared before him.

“Blakey, your brother is in my home, he has taken my family
hostage and you need to get him to let them go.”

Troy looked at him as if he had three heads.

“No way, Shane wouldn’t do that.” He looked around the room
as if he was looking for someone to back him up. When no one spoke, he turned
back in Marty’s direction.

Marty pulled out his iPhone and placed a video call to
Hope’s phone.

While he anxiously waited for the connection, Marty
explained to Troy what was going to happen.

“My fiancé has an iPhone, Troy, and I’m going to set up a
video connection between you and your brother. Your brother wants to know
you’re okay. So you need to tell him that you’re fine and he needs to let my
family out; and he needs to surrender his weapon and lay down on the ground
with his legs and arms spread out and wait for Sanders to come in and get him.”

The room was silent except for the sound of Marty’s
cellphone ring coming through the speaker.

Marty was surprised to hear Hope’s voice on the other end.
He was expecting to hear Shane Blakey answer. The moment he heard her voice, he
was overwhelmed with a sense of relief. The tension slipped from his body for
just a brief moment, like a hiccup. He was able to see her lips briefly flash
in front of the screen as someone moved the phone into position.

“Hello.”

She sounded calm, which gave Marty some assurance.

“Hope, are you alright? Is everyone okay?” Marty asked her,
trying hard to keep his own anxiety from escaping.

She moved the phone’s camera into a position so that Marty
could see both his father and Dylan seated on the sofa. She was trying to be
inconspicuous, but he knew it was intentional. Marty’s dad looked pale, but no
worse for wear. Dylan was adjusting a pillow behind the Captain’s back.

“Yes, Marty, we’re fine. Everybody is okay.”

Suddenly the screen went out of focus. Someone grabbed the
phone from her and all Marty saw was a blur.

Marty shut his eyes, trying to keep his anger at bay. He
turned towards Troy and carefully manipulated the camera so it was focused on
his whole body, and then slowly settled on the area around his head and face.
Marty nodded to the man in the bed, signaling him to talk.

“Shane, Shane, buddy, it’s me. Are you there?” Troy looked
around as if the whole experience was something from a science fiction movie.
Apparently, the technology wasn’t familiar to him.

“Troy, man, is that you? You’re awake. You’re okay man,
you’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

Marty was taken by the emotion in the man’s voice. He wasn’t
expecting to hear Shane Blakey close to sobbing, but there was no mistaking it.

Troy moved Marty’s hand so he could see the face of his
brother who now was looking directly into the camera’s lens.

“Yeah, bro, I’m fine. Everything is going to be fine.” He
looked up at Marty and then at the phone. “Where’s Tristan, Shane? Is he with
you?”

The second Tristan heard the sound of his father’s voice, he
rushed over and climbed over Shane’s arm, nearly toppling the man over in an
effort to locate where the familiar voice was coming from. He was so stunned
when he saw his father’s face, he froze. His mouth and eyes were left wide open
as if he was paralyzed. It was like a still photo taken from a video. The
shutter closed and time stopped.

“Hey, buddy, how are you doing?”

His son’s silence didn’t seem to affect him at all, and then
Marty realized the little boy’s lack of communication was something uneventful
for the man he called Dirtee.

Marty didn’t have to prompt Troy, what came next was
spontaneous.

“Shane, you need to let those people go. It’s over, Shane.
He can’t hurt anyone anymore.” He told his brother, referring to the old man
who now rested in the morgue.

“I can’t, man, you don’t know what I did . . . I
shot him, Troy, I shot the old bastard. I killed him, Troy. They’re going to
arrest me. I can’t let them do that, Troy. I can’t go to jail.”

Marty was holding the phone as Troy spoke, but he was still
in a position so that he could see. For a brief moment, Shane turned and looked
around the room. Marty could see his eyes start to fill with tears; and he
feared that he was beginning to panic.

“I still don’t know who I am, Troy. But I was right, wasn’t
I? He stole us, didn’t he? I was right all along. I’m not that bastard’s kid.
He stole me, right? He stole you, too!”

His speech became more rapid, and Marty started to fear that
he was losing his hold on reality. He remembered having a conversation with
Hope about how stress can cause a person to break from reality as easily as you
can snap a twig in two.

Troy looked up at Marty as if he was pleading for a way to
respond.

Marty nodded and took sole possession of the iPhone. He
turned the phone so Shane could see his full face. “Yes, Shane, you were right.”
Marty told him. It was the truth. “You were right all along. Archie Blakey
kidnapped you when you were three years old. He kidnapped both of you. We know
who you are, Shane. Your real name is Charlie Ward.”

The second he heard his name, Shane collapsed and crumbled
to the ground in a tight ball. Tristan, who was hanging over his arm, fell with
him. The little boy kept, unsuccessfully, trying to lift the man’s head up,
which was now lowered and covered by his arms. Unable to succeed, he just held
his face against the top of his uncle’s head and caressed him by running the
palm of his hands through Shane’s thick blond hair.

It was Dylan who saw the opportunity to help Marty’s father
off the sofa and led him quietly out of the room and out of the house. Marty
willed Hope to join them, but he knew better than that. She was never going to
leave the man in the state he was in. Marty could no longer see what was
happening in the room, something was blocking the camera lens, but he could
still hear. Marty closed his eyes as he thought he heard Hope walk over to take
possession of the pistol from the now spent and broken man, but Marty later
realized it was Sanders, who had rushed in as soon as he realized Dylan and
Marty’s dad were safely out of the house. Jean had been in contact with him
during the entire episode and the minute he was confident Hope or Tristan were
no longer in danger, he made his move.

But it wasn’t until Marty heard Sanders order Shane down on
his stomach, with his arms and legs spread apart, that he actually allowed
himself to breathe.

When
things calmed down, Jean introduced Troy to Mrs. Kolakowski, and explained, in
detail, to Troy who he was and what his relationship to the woman was. He
appeared overwhelmed, but took the news in stride.

Jean hesitated to leave the older woman there, but the lady
insisted on staying with her nephew. Marty and Jean set back to Marty’s house
so he could be reunited with his family.

Jean was so happy to lay her eyes on Dylan Silver that she
grabbed the kid and hugged him. She knew her daughter would never forgive her
if something happened to the boy; and she still wasn’t comfortable with the kid
and her daughter’s relationship, but she was getting used to it. Dylan was just
grateful he got his bike back in one piece, although she knew, he was glad Jean
no longer harbored such an intense distrust of him. What she learned later from
both the Captain and Hope made it even easier. Apparently, every time Shane
waved the gun around carelessly, Dylan would step in front of the Captain, Hope
or Tristan to protect them from the chance of the gun going off, putting
himself in the line of fire. Hot flashes or not, menopausal emotions out of
control, she was grateful the kid was there.

The next few days were as chaotic as per usual in the Keal
household. While Troy Blakey was recuperating from his gunshot wounds, Tristan
kept them company. Marty’s father and Tristan continued to bond by fighting
constantly over the remote control. He still wasn’t talking, but they learned
why.

Tragically, everyone came to believe that Tristan was the
only witness to his mother’s murder. The little boy was so traumatized by what
he saw that day, he lost his ability to speak. Hope felt, that with lots of
therapy and love, the little curly-headed boy would one day be able to find the
words he has been holding in for so long.

When Marty’s father wasn’t monopolizing Tristan’s time,
Marty was doing everything he could to keep him busy. He took him fishing one
day and to a Yankee game another. He expected the nine-year-old bundle of
energy to have trouble sitting still, but Tristan surprised him. He sat through
the whole game, only to be distracted by the food vendors.

Marty took him every day to visit with his dad; and Tristan
would cry every time they had to leave. Now that his father was awake and
responding, Marty thought that he felt guilty he had to leave, but he wasn’t
sure, that was just his own interpretation of how he felt.

He also thought that the kid was conflicted about who he wanted
to be with.

Hope had told Marty the story of the question of Tristan’s
paternity and he arranged for the boy and men to have a blood test. There was
no mistaking it. There was no possible way that Shane could have fathered the
little boy. Although a DNA test was taken to definitely prove Troy was the
biological father, it hadn’t come back yet; but they all knew. They compared
pictures of Troy, otherwise known as T.J., when he was a little boy and a
photograph Troy had in his wallet of Tristan when he was about three years old,
the same age T.J. was when he disappeared. The resemblance was uncanny.

Finally, the day came when Troy was released from the
hospital. He was invited to go and stay with Marty’s neighbors, his newly found
aunt and uncle, and he agreed, although he said he felt awkward. But he had a
kid to take care of and he was still too weak to travel, so he didn’t have much
of a choice. His brother was in custody, charged with several felony counts,
but the district attorney made sure he was given a fair shot because of the
unusual circumstances.

The day Troy was released from the hospital was the day
Marty had to accept the fact Tristan would soon be gone from his life. They
packed up the little boy’s clothes; and Tristan wore his new Yankee cap proudly
when Hope walked him over to stay with his dad and the family that was looking
forward to getting to know him.

Hope
and Marty had just sat down to discuss wedding plans when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Marty told her.

When Marty opened the door, Troy was standing there with
Tristan’s hand securely held in his. It had been a few days since he had seen
either of them.

“I just wanted to stop by and say thank you.” He looked down
at his son. “Thank you for taking such good care of Tristan. I know he can be a
handful at times.”

“Hey, no problem.” Marty told him. “Come on in.” Marty
looked over his shoulder and noticed a yellow cab waiting at the curb.

“We are on our way to the airport. We’re headed home to
Oregon. We’ve got some things to straighten out there. Seems like my fath
—
” he stopped and changed what he was going to
say in mid-sentence. “Apparently, the old man left all of the property to me
and Shane. I want to clean up the place. Take the place me and Shane used to
call dysfunction junction, and turn it into something good, something I can be
proud of. Sanders said he thinks I may be able to sell off some of the property
and use the money to build something. Maybe turn it into a therapy horse farm
for kids like Tristan.” He lifted Tristan’s hand and held it to his chest.

“What about your brother? How’s he doing?”

Tristan let loose of his dad’s hand and ran past Marty.
Marty realized why when he heard Hope behind him. He ran up to her and wrapped
his arms around her waist.

“Shane’s okay. He pled guilty; and the District Attorney let
him plea down to a lesser charge. The judge sentenced him to two years. Seems
like the judge took pity on him, considering the circumstances. His real family
has come out to support him. I think he’s in good hands. Anyway, he’s happy
he’s finally getting to know who he is.”

“And you?” Marty felt Hope’s hand on his back.

“Tristan and I have been getting to know Mrs. Ko—my real
dad’s sister, my aunt Peri. It’s kind of weird being called a different name
after all these years. She keeps trying to call me Troy but keeps slipping. I
guess I can get used to T.J.” He put out his hand, letting Tristan know it was
time to go. “My aunt Peri and her husband are going to follow us and come out
to Oregon; help us get our things in order. Apparently, there is a lot of legal
stuff to deal with. I don’t know where to even start. My social security
number, my driver’s license . . . I guess I have to figure
out who I am; and who I’m going to be from now on. Lieutenant Sanders said he
would get me some help. Says his brother-in-law is a lawyer and they will help
me try and straighten things out. Oh yeah, and he got in touch with
M’leigh’s . . . I mean Donna’s mom in Scotland; and she’s
coming out to visit. We spoke to her on the phone.” He glanced down at Tristan
who had now walked back and was holding his dad’s hand again.

“Tristan’s pretty excited about getting to know all his new
family. He is really looking forward to meeting his grandma and grandpa from
Scotland. He is already being spoiled rotten by his Aunt Peri and
my . . . wow. Who would believe I had five older sisters?
There is one in Seattle and one in California. But I guess you already knew
that. They said they’re going to come out and visit, too.”

The cab driver signaled he was getting impatient and tapped
on the horn.

“Well,” he held out his hand again. Marty grabbed it firmly.
No words were needed, but he wished him good luck anyway.

It was obvious he was still suffering some discomfort from
his recent wounds when he leaned over and gave Hope a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, thank you both.”

She gave him a warm smile in return. “Stay in touch,” Hope
told him.

He nodded in reply.

They started to walk away when Tristan broke away one last
time. He stood there for a second and then ran into Marty’s arms. Marty lifted
him as he felt Tristan wrap his arms around his neck. Tristan pulled his body
away and extended his arms so he was able to cup Marty’s face, both of his
cheeks, in each of his hands.

Tristan’s big green eyes looked directly into his, and Marty
watched as his lips parted slowly.

“Marty.” he said, in a whisper.

Then he spoke slow and clear. This time his voice was
stronger. “I love you.”

He jumped down, not waiting for a reply, and ran back to his
dad. Marty turned away quickly, he didn’t want to see him leave; and he
certainly didn’t want Tristan to see him cry. He thought Tristan heard him when
he answered him, but he wasn’t sure. “I love you too, kid.”

Marty heard Hope shut the door as he walked back into the kitchen.

“Are you okay, Marty?”

“Yeah, honey, I’m fine.” Marty stopped just before he
entered the kitchen and waited till she was next to him. He put his hand on the
back of her head, his fingers sliding in and out of her shoulder-length hair.
He felt comfort in the silkiness of her hair, like a child caressing a security
blanket. Once again Marty noticed the color; the shade was so close to the
color of Tristan’s curly locks.

“Come on, we have a wedding to plan.” Marty told her as he
led her back into the kitchen. “Do you think we can make room for two more
invites? Maybe we can send them some airline tickets and they’ll come back for
the wedding?”

She gave Marty one of those smiles of hers. The one that
caused him to have this warm sensation from the top of his head and traveled
down to his heels.

“Yes, Marty. I think that’s a great idea.”

Marty sat down at the table with her and opened the bridal
book to the page on tuxedos.

He was going to miss that little boy. He was going to miss
him like crazy. But then he remembered what a great future he was going to have
with this lady as he listened to her as she talked about the color scheme for
the wedding. He didn’t tell her, but while she was picking out the colors, he
was picking out names for their firstborn child. No, he didn’t tell her, but he
thought she knew!

The End