It started as a one shot, honest, I laugh, you'll see why as the story unfolds
Revenge
"What's happened?" Sam ran to the front door asking his parents
"I don't know" his Dad replied as they watched him attempting to open the door, his Mom standing there white faced behind him
The deceivingly large cottage like house with it's high white wood slatted ceilings, large doors and low glass windows at the front, looked scary in the night with all the shutters down. The night crept n from the back with it's exposed electric glass doors and windows looking out over the lake a little way below it, the house stood at the end of their very private road. A boat tied to the safe but narrow pier rocked on the glistening water reflecting light into the house every so often, exposing in flashes the beauty of the wood and glass house, the night hiding the beauty of the spacious modern grey, black and white interior.
It had the usual rooms downstairs, with what used to be the second triple garage turned into a dated games room from when Sam and Dan were growing up, the space showing signs of being remodelled with instruments, weights and pieces of art scattered around the room in tidy chaos. All five bedrooms upstairs had been in use some time ago, when their Grandparents were still alive, the only evidence still visible of them ever being there, apart from the photos, was the lift that transported them daily to their bedrooms, it was a quiet house now with up until recently Sam and his Dad out working all day and his Mom, cooking baking and singing while doing her thing for the local church.
Dan; Sam's older brother, had somehow found a more attractive lifestyle, outside of the family Accounting business for the past five years or so, and since then they'd been having regular visits from the police. The visits were usually friendly, ending with whichever family friend was standing there, telling them to get Dan out of that company he was keeping. Try as the family might they couldn't get Dan away from the trouble, he'd somehow formed an alliance with this group of unknows he now thought of, and talked about, as brothers, his mind was never his own again once they were involved in his life.
Sam had caught him a few times taking hard drugs and really gone into him about it, he'd promised to stop, until the next time he was caught, he'd been to rehab about three times following threats from the family, plus maybe another four times after he'd returned home crying, begging for help and their Dad booked him into rehab centres at great expense, nothing seemed to work, and now they were standing here, at the front door at 3am looking at the door and expected the worst kind of news.
"Open the door" Sam shouted at his Dad who seemed to be stuck in the spot he was stood in "Dad" he called walking past his parents to wrench the door open
"Daniel" Gary the Sargent and family friend gasped, his face in obvious shock as he spoke past Sam to his Dad
"Don't tell me Gary I know, I felt it" his Dad grabbed hold of his Mom saying
"What is it Gary?" Sam asked wanting to get this over with, if Dan was locked up maybe this was a good move for a while, get him off the streets, they could all do with a descent nights sleep
"It's Dan" Gary's eyes moved from Sam's Dad and unto him telling him "I need to speak to your Mom and Dad"
"Just tell us" Sam huffed, at 28 he considered himself a grown man now, he'd finished college and gone back home to join the family business, and even if he said so himself, he was doing well, Dan; his brother, was a grown ass 32 year old that should know better but didn't want to, for some reason he thought he'd had a hard life, in their home surrounded by lake with boats and a few close friends, no one else could see it
"We have reason to believe, Dan was involved in some gang activity this evening, he was involved in an attempt to rob an ATM inside a shop, two victims were shot and killed" he looked at Daniel saying "One of those victims got a shot in too, and I'm sorry to have to tell you but Dan was shot, he wasn't breathing when we got to the scene, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital"
Everything seemed to go on forever as they stood there listening to what Sam could only explain as white noise, now and again he'd hear a scream and look down to see his Mom being held up and his Dad rocking her with tears down his face, people stood at the door watching them "What?" he finally asked when the noise stayed a little too long in his ear
"Dan's been shot dead" Gary's voice seemed to echo through the house, it seemed like all the furniture had been taken out and there was a resounding echo around the hallway the word "Dead" seemed to ring forever, like in some back in the day horror movie
Sam suddenly went into overdrive, a burst of something filled his body as it finally registered that his parents were on the floor at the door literally breaking down, all he knew at that point was that he had to take charge of this situation and create some sort of normality "Is there anything we need to do right now?" he asked Gary trying to block out his Mom's screams
"Not right now, but in a few hours, you'll need to come and identify the body" Gary replied
"Why, you know it's him don't you?"
"Yes but identification has to be done by the next of kin, it's just the way it is" Gary told him "I'll call when everything's ready and send someone to collect you all"
"Thanks" Sam walked towards the door to shut it, physically telling him the conversation was over "For letting us know so quickly"
"Sorry for your loss" Gary said before he turned to walk away
"Gary" Sam called after him "The people that were killed, did they leave any children?"
"Three young children, the eldest is 9, she saw it all"
"God" Sam gasped he was filled with grief for those children and shame for what his brother had caused "See you later" he closed the front door and turned to deal with his grieving parents
It was no secret Anne and Daniel had been extremely proud of their boys, both of them had achieved everything they'd set out to achieve in school, they were well rounded sociable boys that got on well with everyone. At the age of 21 Dan had started his internship, he wanted to be a Surgeon specialising in plastics and all his grades, were pointing in the right direction. In Dan's second year Sam happened to walk into his brother's room, nothing unusual for them Sam didn't have friends outside of home, Dan and he were best friends as well as brothers. He was shocked when he found him snorting drugs, the picture so odd he'd been stunned "What the fuck are you doing?" he'd asked him, knocking the stuff out of his hand all over the bed
"It's fine everyone uses it, it's to help with the stress, you'll find out" he told him. For some reason the words rang in his ears for days later at 17 year old Sam was very much influenced by his brother, he even got excited about reaching that milestone for a while
It had been a while since Dan and he were actually home at the same time, Dan had taken to missing holidays that second year and by year three he was stranger to family events, but when they finally did get together it was clear their parents were worried. Dan wasn't his usual jolly self, he stayed in his room and slept most of the day away, woke up in a fowl mood and wondered off most nights coming back drunk, swearing, argumentative and kicking everything in his path
"Bro" Sam caught him one night before he fell into bed "Mom's been crying again, she does that a lot when they talk about you, what's going on?"
"Nothing why?" Dan snapped back at him
"Seriously, I'm not the enemy here" Sam held his hands up telling his older brother, as he moved slowly towards him and sat beside him on the bench at the bottom of his bed
"Sorry Dude, I just got this problem and ….." he stopped to look at his brother for a long while before closing his eyes, he couldn't look him in the eye and lie to him, that wasn't them. Sam was concerned when a tear fell, but he just sat in silence waiting for his brother to talk again "I'm addicted to drugs Dude" he cried at him "Mom and Dad are begging me to stop and I don't think I can"
"You can do anything"
"That's the problem Bro, I can't do anything, I'm addicted"
"You want to be a Surgeon, you need to be a Surgeon, is that not enough to stop you?" Sam asked, unable to believe this was his brother talking
"It was everything, it got me hooked onto this shit, the pressure" he threw himself backwards on the bed, he lay telling his brother his plight, falling in and out of sleep, the conversation slow and almost stopping at times, as he thought about what to say, he was being careful, making sure he wasn't giving secrets away.
The next day he woke up and went into rehab, when he came out Sam and he became best of friends again, out on the town doing their usual flirting, Sam learning the ropes but too scared to use it, it only took just over a week after he came out before he'd deciding his life wasn't with his family and what he called his crew became his focus again. He'd come back every now and again when something terrible happened and their Dad would send him off to some expensive clinic, he'd be Dan for a few weeks afterwards and then he'd go right back amid a barrage of cussing and last chance lost speeches from their parents. Sam did a lot of crying in those early days, nearly flunked on his finals because of everything going on with his family, but after a rude awakening from his Dad he pulled himself together and scraped through with some good references
"Dad" Sam called loudly the urgency for normality high on his agenda "Dad, take Mom upstairs" he pointed at the stairs eager to stop the noise
"I..." the shock on his Dad's face apparent, clearly confused
"I'll bring some drinks up, just get upstairs, I need to think" he told him trying to get the confusion out of his head, he sat in silence for a long while thinking nothing
A few hours later they did the formalities identifying Dan's body, their parents cried some more, but Sam could only feel anger, a strange anger that was alien to him, he'd thought he loved his brother, actually he knew it, he was his best friend, he'd always had trouble making friends and Dan had understood that about him and made it okay, but this feeling told him he hated him, for what he'd done to him, their parents, himself, for leaving them broken.
The funeral happened, a very public one with the family, his school friends and some faces they hadn't seen for a long while, everyone came out the woodwork, plus about 10 people from the neighbouring families who were close to their parents, at the wake more people turned up from the hospital and college, Sam had thought the whole thing would have been upsetting for his parents, but they seemed to be grateful for the concern, love and helpfulness of the people in the community, surprised that even he was grateful for the noise in the house again.
Their Dad stood up and said a very heartfelt Eulogy, Sam frowned as he started off with "I'm so incredibly proud of Daniel, some people might ask why" his eyes popped at his Dad's smile, watching as he paused taking a long look at their friends and colleagues "He murdered two people before he himself was taken away, I'm not denying that he did those things but that's not the Daniel I speak about as I stand here today" the relief on Sam's face apparent "That man was the Daniel that had been taken over by an evil substance, that took over his brain, body and destroyed his soul. We would never have thought Daniel, the boy who dreamed constantly about saving lives, could be laying here responsible for the death of two innocent people, leaving three children parentless. He might tell you different but he had no childhood drama in his life, no history of depression, he wasn't estranged from his family none of the so called classic traits you find in addicts, so let this be a warning to all parents, I don't care how old they are, you're children are never safe, we love you Daniel and we miss you so much" he hugged Sam and Anne as he spoke.
Sam stepped forward telling the crowd about their family and music, sharing the story of how Dan got them all rocking to an album that quickly turned into their family anthem, before singing a tear jerking, fitting version of 'Funeral' by Lukas Graham it was one song that reminded them all of Dan, he loved that particular song from the album, and he'd asked, on many occasions for Sam to sing it at his funeral, everyone was crying, but even now Sam couldn't find the tears to say goodbye to his brother, his heart wouldn't let him admit it was all real
Two months on and the pain was still very raw for Sam, Summer ended without so much as a dip in the pool, for him there was nothing to be happy about, his brother had been his wing man, the only person in the world he seriously confided in, he'd tried for weeks to believe his parents when they told him Dan was in a better place, of course he was, he wasn't plagues by drugs anymore but look at the price he had to pay to get there.
Everyone he came into contact with had kind words to say and always ending with 'the pain will fade', "I'm not promising go away but soon you'll be able to think happy things about your time together" their Minister told them one Sunday after service, Sam didn't have the heart to tell everyone he was still screaming inside at the happy stuff, the hurt wasn't fading, he was still feeling the loss in a big way. It was weird because for years they hadn't lived in each others pockets, but he always knew he was out there somewhere getting into trouble, keeping everyone awake at night and their Mom on her knees, prayer was important then. Now there was no conversation to keep about a child that needed to be home, remarks to make about his comeuppance if he didn't change his way of life, there was no life anymore all that hope had gone.
Three months on and he still hadn't allowed himself to outwardly grieve his brother, Christmas had come and gone, and by New Years Day he was getting over his mad enough to venture into his brothers room, he sat out on the balcony looking in at his brothers room, the bed neatly made waiting for him to return home, grey and white pillows placed on it by their Mom, he knew she'd been crying again when she'd done that, his dresser littered with spray's, caps, cologne, gifts stretched all along the longest wall, opposite the king sized bed, with draws covering the entire base of the maybe 36 foot long room. Trophy's from every game he'd ever played at school, college and summer school, his stomach churning as he looked at the proud pictures of his brother after the kill, he smiled at his excited brothers face before the reality of the waste of such a promising life, brought down a sadness he'd never experienced before
"Sam" his Dad walked in as he struggled to hold back tears coming for the first time, a black sack in his hand "I didn't know you came in here"
"It's the first time" his voice broken but stern
"Sorry, I'll leave you to it" he left the sack on the floor and backed out of the room
Sam walked over and picked up the sack, frowning when he saw more black sacks inside, his Dad had come to clear Dan's things out the room, he took a bag out and started packing his brothers folded clothes into the sack, if this was really the last thing he was ever going to get to do for him he was happy to do it. He set about clearing cupboards, draws, cabinets blasting Dan's tunes in his ear as he worked surprised when 'Skankin Sweet' by Chronixx came to his ears. He didn't know his brother was even into that kind of music, he tended to listen to pop and slow groove when he was home, nevertheless this was his brother's thing, whether he understood that about him or not, it was a part of who he was, he listened as he cleared the room. Opening yet another bottom draw to scarp Dan's folded underwear out the draw, he smiled at his Mom still doing that stuff for them even though they were grown men, frowning when his hand hit something hard, he pulled his hand out quick
His first thought was gear, he wanted to slap Dan for keeping his shit in the house, he'd sworn he'd never do that and here he was dealing with his brother's shit, he lifted the clothes on top of it and smiled when he saw a diary "Dan you dog you kept a diary?" he asked as he picked it up. He walked over to Dan's bed and threw the underwear in his hand on it before sitting on the bench to open the diary, expecting to maybe get some real laughs about their childhood that he was too young to remember, Dan was always bullying him back then
'This is the private diary of Dan-iel Raven Evans AKA Raven'
he read and laughed at Dan giving himself some sort of superhero sounding street name, he read on
'29th December Crab was shot dead by the police during the raid, I guess life just got serious for me, no going back, from this point I can no longer fear death, because I have been a party to making that happen for another, I became a part of the fam'
"Dan" he gasped thinking back to one Christmas when Dan had come home crying wanting help, he was sure it was around that time but he couldn't be sure, he sat wondering why he hadn't said anything to his family about that "We could have helped" he turned a few pages to see what else happened, he really wasn't expecting this
19th March 'Low Key - Today is just another day of mixed emotions. no one knows my struggles, I fight with fear, depression and anger. I once had so much to offer but now I race towards having the life of a fugitive, what the hell am I doing I need to change my life"
he flicked over a few more pages to read more
11th June 'I miss my bae, that depresses me I should be in bed with her every night, instead I'm out with the squad doing shit I have no control over'
"You had a girl you didn't even tell me about?" Sam giggled at his brother's diary, neither of them had ever brought anyone home, the most they'd allow was a phone call to their home, but back in the day Dan played the field a hell of a lot, he himself just played safe with one girl at a time, Dan usually fixed him up "History" he frowned at the memory before he flicked more pages
27th November 'Today I got mad and hit my bae, we're having some problems, real life issues, because she makes me happy but I make her sad. she's scared of all this shit I'm bringing, but no need for throwing shade'
he flicked the pages, rolling his eyes at his brothers life, they'd been through girl drama so many times it wasn't even surprising anymore, but to hit a girl that was a new shade of Dan
9th December 'I've lost my bae today, I have nothing to live for, she asked me to stop, I told her I would if she did what I wanted, and then I find myself using again, TBH I can't blame her, she has a life too, and that child needs a good start in life, but without her what does all this mean, nothing'
"A child" Sam gasped "You have a child you didn't even fucking tell us about?" he looked at the picture of his brother on the dresser asking "You are unbe-fucking-lievable" he told him as he sat wondering what to do, reading more as he realised although Dan had started off willingly his hands were being twisted up his back as time went by, for that buzz he was addicted to he was doing things that were way out of character for him, he was being led into uncomfortable places for the love of that damn shit, hurting him, and his family so much.
3rd February 'I killed today, I went to a place I have no reason to be, I'm a killer, doomed to hell for eternity, I want to die, I need to die, God help me die, I don't want to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego I need to burn'
"He'd killed before" Sam gasped "And why is he quoting stuff from the bible?" Sam flicked through the diary seeing those names over and over again, his mind finally clicking that his brother might have been talking about actual people, maybe members of that squad he was following "Maybe I could find them..." he lingered off as his eye caught some words on the page that had fell open, significant because it was dated the day he'd passed "We didn't even know you'd been home" Sam gasped
25th July 'I know Shadrach and Abednego have decided this was my last fuck up, I'm on my own, I'm guessing I have today to make this right or I'm going to pay with my life, a human sacrifice, but I have not a chance in hell of raising £35K in a day, I hope my family forgive me, and I wished I'd have lived to see my baby girl grow up, and if you ever find this diary, I love you guys and I'm sorry'
"You went in there to die?" Sam asked the diary before closing it to take in what he'd read, the only thing he wanted to do right now was find Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego and kill those mothers for taking his brother away from him, his angry face soon softened as he saw the door opening, he, threw the diary in the black sack in front of him
"Everything alright Son?" his Dad's face popped round the door asking
"Yeah I was just getting Dan's things packed, that's what the bags were for yeah?" he turned off the music in his ear
"Yeah" his Dad walked into the room and picked up an empty black sack to help, they sat almost in silence packing his brother's clothes and belongings away for an hour before Sam got up grabbed the bag with the diary in and left the room
"I'm keeping this bag" he told his Dad as he walked out, he needed to find a few things out before he told his parents anything about Dan's diary, if those three guys were responsible for his brother's death he'd want blood, plus Dan had talked about a baby girl, was she born or due to be born and who by, but the first biggest question was where, Dan had been to so many places Sam had lost track of all the stories, and he had to admit, he'd lost interest after a while they seemed so far fetched .
He sat trying to remember some of the areas he'd heard Dan talk about, "Barrington" he smiled remembering Dan's tale about the hookers he didn't pay "Lincolnshire" he frowned as he remembered the last time he came home strung out and in need of help "Arlington Heights" he remembered them hanging out a few nights together when Dan had been clean for a couple of weeks, they'd been to some bars and met a couple of girls there "Riverwoods" he sat wondering why that place had popped into his head. There were too many, he needed to take time out and go look, someone had to pay, plus if there was a blood relative out there belonging to his family they all needed to know, if she existed that child was the only thing left of Dan they'd have to cling to
Tuesday 2nd January
A day later he couldn't wait anymore he had to make a move something needed to be done because someone needed to pay for his brothers death "Mom, Dad I need some time out, I'll maybe take a hike or something, I just need to get away for a week or so" he announced as they sat in the kitchen, the place that had long become the centre of their home, with it's black marble worktops, white cabinets and grey stools and modern accessories eating a late dessert
"I know son, everything says Dan around here, It's hard for us all" his Mom smiled
"You filling the garage up with his things doesn't help any of us either" Daniel added looking at his wife
"The stuff's alright for now Dad, I don't think I'm ready for him to be completely gone" Sam replied
"He'll never be completely gone son, and I don't actually think it will get any easier, it's just when I try to dull the pain that stuff brings it back for me"
"Sorry Daniel but I'm just not ready for that, not just yet" Anne replied her face genuinely sorry
"Can we just leave it like that before this turns into another argument please?" Sam stood up asking his parents rolling his eyes, it seemed like that was the way they dealt with anything Dan nowadays by having some sort of verbal disagreement
"Sorry son" Daniel looked up at him a small smile on his face "Go have your break, I can deal with things at work for a while"
"Thanks Dad, I'm going tonight if you don't mind, I just need to get out of here"
"I'll pack you something to eat later"
"I'm fine Mom, I've got money" he walked out of the kitchen telling them, descending from the black curved glass staircase nearly 20 minutes later packed and ready for a journey to where he really didn't know "I've got my cell, charger and laptop so contact me in the usual way" he smiled kissing his Mom and hugging his Dad before making for the door. He jumped into his 1957 Ford Thunderbird and sped off, he needed to make some time tonight and find somewhere to sleep.
Barrington
A hour later he was standing outside the Holiday Inn, smiling when he saw it included a gym, he was used to that at home, he booked in and done an hour in the gym, grabbed and sandwich before he took a long soak, Dan had talked about night life in this place so he went out to see what that was about, unfortunately he'd seen nothing but hookers and dealers, felt well out of his comfort zone and abandoned that search heading back to the hotel, ordering a bottle of his favourite tipple some Tennessee Whiskey to his room, and drinking alone until he finally fell asleep in front of the TV, he'd had a long day.
Wednesday 3rd January
The following morning he was up early, he had people to find, he really hadn't thought past finding them, he wasn't of that life, knew nothing about it, but if he was going to find out exactly what happened for his brother and where his niece was he was going in as hard as he knew how. He drove to the gas station and filled his tank up he had some driving to do around this town "Excuse me" he pulled up to a group of around seven African-Americans standing on a doorstep, some maybe older than him, but most around his age "I'm looking for a man called Meshach do you know him?"
"Who's asking?" A shabby haired, youth with an afro comb sticking out his unkempt hair stood up quite quickly asking
He hadn't even thought that far ahead "Rev err Chord" he thought better of calling himself Revenge, that was a dead giveaway
"Well Rev err Chord, you're out of luck, there ain't no one called Meshach here"
"Would you tell me if there were?" he asked cheekily seeing the road ahead of him was clear and his foot was ready on the gas
"What business do you have with him?" a guy that seemed like the youngest of the seven guys asked him
"If you don't know him you don't need to now" Sam replied, he didn't want to seem green, he was sure his face was bright red as he spoke
"Stop playing with the boy" the shaggy haired guy smiled at Sam telling everyone "Sorry, we don't know your friend"
"I don't think they're from around here, we'd know them" another softer spoken guy told him
"When you say around here, how far afield are we talking?" Sam asked, trying to focus his search
"Barrington" the guys laughed
"Thanks" Sam smiled before driving off, he was glad to get out of there
There really was no reason for him to stay in this town, but he took the extra night anyway and visited the gym again before booking out of the hotel the following morning, to make more tracks, taking a slow drive around some of the quieter streets before finding himself in Riverwoods, maybe his search was closer to home.
Thursday 4th January
Riverwoods
It took just over 20 minutes from Barrington to Riverwoods, he'd made quick ground, this place had just jumped into his mind, he rarely had intuition like that so he had to follow it. He was driving around the streets like some detective trying to find tiny clues in this giant haystack, with not even so much as a real name to go by, finally deciding to grab a coffee and people watch. The café had classic leather benches in booth style around the curved glass front and tables with two or four chairs around them in the centre. tastefully decorated in brown furniture and cream walls, authentic pictures on the walls of famous African-American Jazz players, ball players and musicians. He was lucky enough to grab a two seat table with a good view of some Latino guys that had caught his eye across the road "Hi" he heard above the shouting, music and banging going on in the very busy café
"Hi" he looked up for a second remembering to smile
"Can I have this seat, the place is seriously full today"
"Yeah go ahead" he looked up at the elderly African-American woman standing in front of him "Do you need any help?" he asked standing up to grab some bags
"I'm fine" she smiled "Thank you anyway" she sat down and let the bags fall on the table as she settled into her chair "You're not from around here are you?"
"No" he smiled looking up from his phone to answer "I'm from Edgewater, just looking for someone"
"Don't ask me I'm from Arlington Heights, I know hardly anyone round here" she laughed "My Granddaughter thinks I need to get out more, she takes me all over the place on her days off" she nodded towards the counter, there were too many people waiting to take the time to look for who she might be talking about, and to complicate things nearly everyone up there was African-American
"It's good to get out sometimes, I agree with her" Sam laughed, his attention going back to his phone "I know you said you don't come from around here but Arlington Heights isn't far is it?"
"Not really"
"You might know Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego"
"Oh yes I know them" she laughed, Sam sat forward in his chair to hear something he was longing for "The three Hebrew men that were thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, but when they refuse to bow down to the king's image; they are preserved from harm and the king sees four men walking in the flames"
"I'm familiar with the bible story, but I was talking about real people living today" Sam laughed
"You know the young men's names were changed to erase their attachment to their own tribe?" she smiled
"I know that too" Sam smiled back
"So maybe your guys changed their names to detach themselves, don't you have a picture?"
"No I don't, sorry" he smiled
"This place belongs to my son" she turned to look at the counter again
"It's busy" Sam looked around telling her
"He learned from the best" she laughed
"Grandma" a voice called from the counter making them both look "Come on" the girl beckoned her grandmother
"Sorry I have to go" she struggled to get up, Sam got up and helped her out the chair before handing her the bags off the table
"Nice talking to you"
"Good luck with your search" she called back at him
"Thanks" he smiled sitting back down to put his earphones in, he needed a distraction from all the damn noise, his attention drawn to the popping music coming through the speakers, it was new, he sat listening. He sat watching the woman walk out with her Granddaughter, who was, at a guess, around his age, thick weave, thick butt and some full breasts, 'Cause I may only speak English, but another language I know is body, you're speechless, but I can hear you calling me loud and clear' banging out, his head jumped backwards when his eyes finally reached her face and he saw her stood looking back at him "Sorry" he mouthed smiling because she was grinning, her face looked sweet just then, maybe cute. He sat thinking Arlington Heights was one of the places Dan had spoken about, he was unaware where his eyes were as he thought still listening to the music 'You seem tense, so come on over, let me know your body, cause I know your heart, I know your mind your soul, give me something I can hold, like your body' ringing in his ear "Sorry" he smiled mouthing when the girl caught him looking again, his eyes unable to leave her alone until she was out of sight. 'Body' by MNEK Then his attention moved to the guys across the road remembering to sip his drink every now and again as he looked over his cup at them until night threatened to come, there were too many of them to walk across and challenge, he was relieved when he heard them singing some Boyz II Men song in acapella, they weren't gangsters they were a wannabe band, making change in the evenings.
He took to driving around the streets and found very little activity, maybe the place was only good for shopping, he topped up his tank and made the twenty minute drive to Arlington Heights to find a hotel for the night, he wasn't far from home less than an hour but he'd gone on a hike and two days wasn't nearly enough time to convince his parents that was the case
Arlington Heights
It was late when he finally stopped cruising the streets suspiciously and stopped outside a motel he'd passed so many times in his lifetime, never thinking once to stop but tonight he was actually hoping this was the place that carried some answers for him, his brother has been up to something, and he needed to know what that was. He wasn't expecting to find Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego here, that old lady had already told him they didn't exist, so his mission had changed he'd find this niece of his and hopefully she would lead him to the killers of his brother, a needle in a haystack.
Dan and he had happy times in his place maybe he could find some of their old haunts and get some clue as to why he'd chosen to leave his comfortable bed and sleep in hotels for a week, he sat at the bar in the motel drinking his usual tipple and listening to the noise of the small groups of people making merry, somehow he knew he was going to find it hard to sleep tonight, his phone buzzing reminded him why
"Paige" he rolled his eyes
"Sam" she huffed down the phone "Three fucking days and then I have the embarrassment of having to call your parents to find out where my boyfriend is"
"I really can't deal with this right now, can we do this when I get back?"
"What's so important?"
"I'm doing something"
"Like?"
"Look Paige I said I'll call when I get back"
"So where are you?"
"Paige" he rolled his eyes at this girls need to control everything he did "I'll call when I get back" he said slower
"Why so patronising?"
"I can't deal with this right now"
"So I guess I don't have time for you either, I know your brother passed but you have taken this thing way too..."
"Please don't tell me what I do or don't feel about my brother" he butted in "And if you don't have time for me that's fine, lets call it a day on this, I'll grab my things when I get back"
"Fine" she slammed the phone down on him before anything else could be said
Sam sat thinking he'd been hard on her these past few months, but on the other hand she'd been not a single strand of sympathetic to his situation, his brother had died and the only thing she had to discuss was not cancelling some annual partners holiday, a crowd of couples on a damn yacht in the heat of a thousand daggers for two weeks. He smiled at the phone she never stayed mad long but he'd been thinking maybe she wasn't what he wanted for a while now so maybe she'd just given him the reason to call it quits for real on their relationship. He ordered another drink and sat mulling his life over, Dan had wasted his in the worst way imaginable but even with everything he'd achieved he could still end up wasting his too, if his parents weren't feeling that way already surely his failure would be the end of them, he threw the drink down his throat and went to his room, to bed, he suddenly felt so much pressure to be better now all his parents eggs were in just this one basket called Sam
Friday 5th January
The next morning he woke up to a ringing phone, surely it was his Mother at that time in the morning "Mom?" he answered without checking
"Sam, I didn't sleep last night, I don't want us to split up, you take as long as you need, I'm here" Paige responded
"Paige" he rolled his eyes "Okay" he smiled "I'm sleeping bye"
"Sam, Sam" she called down the phone to get his attention "Did you sleep with someone last night?"
"What?" Sam's eyes opened at her question "Paige bye" he frowned slamming the phone down, shaking his head at that girl of his
She'd woken him up now so he got up, got dressed and had his breakfast before jumping in his car to search the streets of Arlington Heights, he needed answers "Hello" he popped his head out the car smiling at the elderly lady he'd met in Riverwoods "We met at your son's café yesterday" he looked at the puzzled woman telling her
"Yes" her eyes widened at the recognition "What brings you to my part of the world" she rested on the broom she was using to clear leaves and blown rubbish from her front yard
"Still looking for those survivors of the fire" he laughed
"Still can't help"
"I'll be making tracks in a while, there's nothing going on around here"
"Excuse my French but dogs never shit in their own back yards"
"Very true" Sam laughed
"The name's Maggie, Grandma Maggie" she laughed
"Sam" he smiled "I'll see you" he waved driving away from the old woman, he hadn't got to the main road before his radio started playing up, he messed around trying to get a decent signal as he drove, his attention drawn by traffic behaving erratically in front of him, he put two hands on the wheel and made ready to use his breaks 'This is going out to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, no fire for you guys' he heard the man on the radio shouting from the fast food dumpling shop beside him, he found somewhere close to park up, he hardly ever listened to reggae but he knew Dan did, so there must be a connection, he sat hoping for a clue frowning when he heard 'Love Like Ours' by Estelle & Tarrus Riley blasting out he sat at the side of the road listening to this song waiting for the DJ to say something at the end, that would make some connection to what his brother had written "It's a dedication Evans, get a grip" he told himself defeated. He spent the afternoon driving around before he finally gave up, decided he was going to Lincolnshire as the very last resort, and made the 30 minute journey
Lincolnshire
Dan had talked about some club, he couldn't remember the name of, he distinctly remembered something about there being a green door, they'd made fun of the song about the green door their Dad used to rave about, and Dan had talked about some explicit stuff that had got him into trouble with the heavies there once. It wasn't really club time yet so he went to find somewhere to sleep for the night, freshening up and changing off before grabbing something to eat at the lively hotel bar
"I've been told there's a club with a green door experience around here" he smiled at the bartender as he ate his burger and fries at the bar watching the game on the big screen behind the bar
"You don't even look old enough" the bartender laughed
"I can assure you I'm more than old enough" he laughed checking his phone as it buzzed "Excuse me" he turned his back from the bar before he spoke into the phone "Mom, I'm fine" he replied to her quick fire usual question
"Paige called, she's stressed, you need to treat her better or leave that poor girl alone" she told him
"So she's got you fighting her battles now?"
"Not fighting them, I'm just fed up of answering for you"
"Don't answer for me Mom, she's not going to be a problem for much longer, I don't need clingy, she's too intrusive"
"I'm not telling you how to run your life Sam"
"You didn't, I'm just letting you know, we're going to have that conversation when I get back, and she is going"
"If that's your choice, but don't stretch that out, it's not fair on the girl"
"I know, is Dad alright, did he get to move Dan's things yet?" he laughed
"Joke right?" she giggled "He thinks he runs this house, you know who does"
"Definitely a woman thing, I love you Mom but..."
"You'll thank me one day for learning you all this about women, mark my words" she laughed "Stay safe boy, love you, we both do"
"I love you both too, bye Mom" he laughed hanging up "My Mom" he turned to smile at the bartender
"As I was saying" he laughed "You remind me of someone" he looked up at Sam's laughing squinting eyes
"My... I have one of those faces I guess" Sam opted for, he didn't want to alert anyone to anything and put himself in danger, although Dan was older than him the only difference between them was that Dan had his Mom's mouse coloured hair and Sam had his Dad's blond hair, but they both had thick lips, green eyes, large hands, tall like their parents and apparently they were well endowed, in the where it matters department.
"That club you asked about with the green door, Tropical up the mile, it's a hangout so be careful when you go in, and any sign of trouble grab a cab and get back here"
"Tropical?" Sam asked for confirmation, watching the bartender nod "Thanks"
"Enjoy" he smiled watching Sam drain the cold glass of beer to wash down the last of his burger
"I will" he smiled slamming his glass on the counter before getting up to leave, he stepped outside and looked to either side of him "Tropical" he smiled ready to go see what his brother found so fascinating. He grabbed a waiting cab and gave his instructions, somehow he felt like he was getting close to the truth, his brothers life must be in this town, he smiled but a fear came over him as he wondered if he'd have to go where his brother went to find out the cold truth, concluding that he maybe wouldn't for his brother but for his niece he would go to the end of the earth.
"Enjoy" the cabbie smiled as Sam alighted the cab, it wasn't what he expected, the big black iron gates giving the building a feel of fear, but the queue to get in stretched across the front of four shop fronts, Sam left the side path, crossed the road and joined the queue, eventually paid his entry and walked into the surprisingly large club. As expected the area was dimly lit with tables and chairs scattered across the centre of the room, a dancefloor ahead with more tables and chairs after that and a stage with two polls on it, Sam smiled as he saw the green door to the side of the stage. The bar stretched across the entire length of the club and people filled nearly every inch of it sitting on stools or standing, Sam sourced an empty table and made for it, there were waitresses walking around he could ask them to get him a drink, he sat watching people again waiting to be served.
"Good evening Sir could I get you anything?"
"Large Tennessee on the rocks please" he smiled at the girls cute smile, he was finding cute smiles all over the place, he was used to the attention, but this wasn't the place to form any sort of attraction, he chose to ignore the come on thing he was about to embark on and focus on the green door. It wasn't long before the lights went down and he realised he needed to be closer to the stage, he sat waiting for his drink and the opportunity of a free seat closer to the stage
"Sir" he heard looking up to see his drink had finally arrived "Sorry we're busy tonight" she looked back at the stage telling him
"That's fine, thank you" he took the drink as she lay the napkin on the table in front of him and walked away, he got up as soon as she walked away spotting another chair and smiled when he got there before the couple trying to head him off, sitting like he hadn't seen them coming
"Can we share?" the woman asked
"Sure" Sam smiled watching as the guy pulled across another chair
"These shows are good" the woman flashed her hair off her shoulder telling him as she sat on the vacant chair
He wasn't really there to enjoy himself he was investigating the death of his brother and maybe the existence of his niece, he smiled rather than engage in conversation. Suddenly the stage went black, the crowd went silent and all that could be heard was this voice in the dark singing "You love is bright as ever, even in the shadows, baby kiss me, before they turn the lights out" then suddenly a spotlight came on revealing a woman in a cage singing, draped in Purple lace dress suggesting everything but revealing nothing, her voice almost as beautiful as her body, the tempo went up a bit as they heard "Your heart is glowing, and I'm crashing into you, baby kiss me, before they turn the lights out, before they turn the lights out, baby love me lights out" obviously giving everyone time to take in the woman singing before spotlights started coming on all over the stage and women were dancing, laying down, on poles, his eyes were all over the stage as he marvelled at the things these women could do with their bodies, while listening to the singer's version of 'XO' by Beyoncé
It took him more than a few minute to realise that the girl on stage was the one he'd seen with her Grandmother back in Riverwoods, she was made up and her hair was blond now, which meant it had to be a wig, but when she came out that cage and turned around he knew instantly that was the butt that had caught his attention a few days back. He smiled at the challenge before he remembered why he was there, and although his mind was telling him that, he couldn't help but smile again when she caught him looking yet again "Hi" he waved a bit embarrassed at his obvious drool, she didn't say anything back just smiled and walked off stage. The reggae music thumped out the massive speakers and dancers filled he stage before making their way out into the crowd, suddenly he knew he'd sat in the wrong place as some fit looking blond started in on the lap dance in front of him, it didn't take him long to get into the swing of things and enjoy the night. The green door was well used throughout the night as he watched people being escorted by the dancers to activities he really didn't want to get into, 'Dan was a dirty dog' he thought smiling as he watched.
It was way past 3am when the crowd got rowdy, there was suddenly lots of activity at the entrance door, he sat wondering if that was his cue to leave. "Notes" someone shouted across the room, Sam's head turned at the husky voice "Over here" the tall dreadlocks man's voice echoed over the new beat coming through the speakers, he hadn't noticed him before but now he stood out. His beard ragged compared to his attire, his locks bundled up and wrapped with a thick lock so high off his head you couldn't help but notice it, his voice aggressive but his face as he looked at his friend coming towards him was soft, friendly and his skin shiny
Sam's attention quickly turned back to the noise at the door, watching as two rather large dreadlocks men glided across the dancefloor and over to the darkest area of the club, a flock of girls following, it was obvious by the attention and their attire they had some clout in the place. He felt the need to get up and walk out, but his mind was telling him maybe these guys knew Dan, maybe they were the ones and how would he feel having come so close and walked away, he sat watching discreetly as the guys openly smoked weed, touched the girls very suggestively, drank and made merry, no cash passing hands.
"Fresh drink?" the waitress blocked his view asking
"Tennessee" Sam looked up at her smiling, he'd been pacing himself all night, just as his drink arrived there was a change in the music and hardcore reggae started pumping out, it wasn't his preferred music but he couldn't call it offensive either, he sat sipping his drink and watching as the women moved to the song as if nothing had changed, eventually finishing his drink and getting up to make tracks back to the hotel, sad he'd had yet another unproductive night.
He was sat on his bed thinking he'd exhausted all his hunches and still nothing no child or smell of the reason his brother had been taken away, he opened Dan's diary for the first time since he'd read those few pages at home, there must be some clue in there he'd skipped. In several of his entries Dan spoke of narrow escapes he'd made from the police, as well as other times when the crew had closed everything down and fled, only to learn later that it was a false alarm, or arguments that scared him and made him want to get out of the situation, somewhere in that diary he must have slipped a name in, he started reading
9th April "My life is full of shit, I long for a real good, long sleep, just to lay down in a soft bed and sleep the night away. But this lifestyle doesn't give me that luxury, all because of the path that I chose to walk on. I'm not sure if I chose this though it feels like Cash made sure he'd reeled me in with all his get rich quick shit, and now I can't allow them to get my family involved in this shit"
"Cash, that's another name" he smiled, turning the page
4th July "I wish I'd gone straight to AH and took Michelle with me, things could have been lit without all this shit going on, and now she's scared and I'm at risk and it's all my fault, my family's at risk, stupid move Raven happy 4th July"
"Michelle, we have a name" Sam smiled as he read through, the entry at last he had something to go on, "Why hadn't I thought of reading the damn diary before now" he carried on reading, making sure to read every page, at the end of it he knew that Michelle originally lived in Arlington Heights, that Cash was the name of the main man of the gang he was walking around with and that Shadrach, Meshach and Abenego where Dan's nick name for the three guys that run the show for or with this Cash. He'd been given names now, he thought it might be a lot easier to find that particular needle in the haystack he was busy looking in, plus Dan kept referring to Rasta, which loosely indicated that the guys might be of Caribbean decent, "Like the crowd at the club" he smiled he was closer to the truth, he could feel it. By the time his head lifted out of the book it was daylight, he ordered some breakfast, ate it and went to bed
Saturday 6th January
He woke up to ringing in his ear, looking around the unfamiliar place before grabbing his phone "Hello?"
"Sam, it's Paige"
"Paige, what's up?" he replied his eyes already rolling
"I thought I could join you, I've got the weekend free, what do you think?"
"I'm too far up this track for you to catch up, I'll be back in two days anyway"
"I could drive"
"To be honest Paige I'm enjoying the silence, I need to clear my head"
"I can be quiet" she laughed
"Really?" Sam looked at the phone as he asked the question of this ridiculous woman
"Maybe not" she giggled "So you're back on Monday?"
"Yeah late Monday, so I'll see you on Tuesday after work"
"Are you alright anyway?"
"Fine" he looked at the phone again for her being so attentive, that was so out of character for her "I have to go I need to make time before night falls"
"Okay bye, love you"
"Bye" he smiled down the phone, she was definitely up to something with all that crap, maybe she wanted to talk babies again, he clipped the phone off before she could say anything else, he wasn't up for falling into that particular trap again right now. They'd only been together for three months the first time it came up, he was shocked to say the least, she'd sat in the restaurant talking about biological clocks, parenting and not being ready when the conversation suddenly switched, she brushed her long blond hair off her shoulders, their green eyes met and she started at him like someone possessed. Firing questions about fertility, parenthood, marriage, he wasn't up for any of that stuff, had no intentions of even thinking about it until he was at least 35, he had a life to live, there was too much going on out there to even think about tying yourself to one woman so soon
"I'm not ready" he'd told her before she burst into fertile in front of him
"When will you be ready?" she asked her face serious, it was a new relationship, he actually liked her, maybe not enough to think about settling down ever, but right now she was fine
"In about a year or so" he smiled, his mind doing overtime
"So 9 months time" she rubbed her hands together smiling, all he could think was when did a year equate to 9 months, happy she'd left it there, no way did he think he'd still be with her nearing a year now, so he knew she was going to bring that shit back up at him
"No" he shook his head as he threw the phone down on the bed, he was sticking to his plan she had to go, Tuesday as soon as they met, he jumped up headed for the bathroom, he needed to get to Arlington Heights before returning to Lincolnshire later tonight in the hope that these guys materialised again, there couldn't be many Jamaican gangs in the area he'd get his lead at some point, he grabbed a sandwich and was off to Arlington Heights
Arlington Heights
Sam already knew where he was going when he started his journey, Grandma Maggie might not know Shadrach, Meshach or Abenego, but she might have noticed some maybe Jamaican guys in the area, especially if they were making trouble, he needed to know. He pulled up outside the house and watched as people walked in and out like it was a shop, her house was obviously the hub of the family, he smiled when he saw her finally come to the door with a guy he assumed was her last visitor. He gave it ten minutes before he finally left his car and went to get his information, knocking the door he tried to think of something that wouldn't make him sound like he was stalking her "Grandma Maggie" he smiled as the door opened shocked when he was confronted by her Granddaughter "Sorry I came to see your Grandmother" he told her red faced
"You're the guy from the café, Grandma told me she saw you yesterday" she stepped out of the house acknowledging "Look" she walked towards him her lips tight for what she needed to say, he backed up to let her out "If you're looking for a fucking cougar to suck dry you can forget my Grandma"
"No" Sam held his hands up shocked at the suggestion "It's not like that, I'm looking for someone and she said she might know them"
"My Grandma don't know shit about shit" she shouted
"I just wanted to ask her about... I'm trying to find someone and I thought she might at least point me in the right direction"
"She won't, the only direction she goes in is the one I take her" she hissed
"Marcia" Grandma Maggie came to the door shouting "How are you talking to people that come to my door like that?" she pushed the girl aside asking
"You don't even know who he is" Marcia replied
"It's Sam, of course I know who he is, do you think he'd be knocking my door if he didn't know me?" her grandma asked, as Sam stood watching the exchange between the two women
"Sorry Grandma Maggie I just wanted to ask you a question" he smiled at the woman, watching her face soften
"Well tell him not to come back, we don't want no trouble" Marcia walked back into the house telling her Grandma
"It's my damn house young lady" Grandma called over her shoulder while she was still looking at Sam stood a the door "Excuse her, she thinks she'd my parent" she laughed "What's your question?" she smiled "I'd invite you in, but I can't let that one hear anything, she's the human social media around here"
"I wanted to know if there was a local Jamaican squad around here" he smiled
"There are two, but I think they're one really, they just work in different parts, why?"
"I just need to find them"
"You're not the police are you?"
"No" he laughed "They just have something that belongs to me"
"They're not nice people, you should be careful around those people" she warned "Between Lincolnshire and Riverside, you'll find them all" she looked behind her to see where her Granddaughter was
"Grandma" Marcia shouted through
"I better go" Grandma Maggie rolled her eyes telling him
"Thank you" Sam smiled walking away back to his car, at last he had something to go on, he knew there was a reason why that random place stuck in his head. He was going back to Lincolnshire anyway, he needed to do some background work to figure out how he was going to approach this situation and what he was going to do.