Chapter 7

Kensi and I got on the motorcycles just outside of Sid's Garage. Sheriff Ramos didn't want to alert Mallory to our plan. That way she couldn't call Bobby and let him know we were coming. We drove around town enjoying our ride, however while enjoying, we were building a cover of a young, hip couple out to see America from the back of motorcycles.

Kensi, having the technical knowledge of motorcycles, rigged her bike to sputter and fail just as we approached the house where we knew Callen was being held. We needed to know why he hadn't escaped or just plain left. He's quite capable of that.

Mesa Street ran parallel to Linea Street where Patricia's house is located. We turned onto the far end of Linea Street and Kensi's bike did just what she wanted it to, die right by the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Nice.

We could see the windows were open and the front door opened to the screened door. "Hey Fern, I'll see if we can use the phone here, Okay?"

I walked up to the door and knocked. Callen walked to the door in a slow crawl. He usually ambles but this was more like how an old man walks. It hurt to see him like that and I almost called him by name, but remembered what we were there for.

"Can I help you?" He slurred his words and that even added more to the worry I felt. He looked at me and I saw no signs of recognition.

I schooled my response and answered him. "My wife's bike died. Can I use your phone to call for help? Our cell phones don't work out here." I turned away from him before he could see the concern on my face. "Hey Fern, honey, I'm asking for help."

Kensi chose that moment to come up to the porch and remove her helmet. I watched his eyes for any signs that he knew her; none. I thought for sure he'd remember her eyes. They are different, but no. While looking at his eyes I noticed some pupil dilation that could be drug induced. Maybe that was his problem.

Nadine came to the door and stood beside him. Callen reached out and pulled Nadine to his side. She stiffened as if it were unusual for him to do that. I watched him. He looked like he used her for a support. "I'm sorry we don't have a phone."

I turned to Kensi and nodded for her to really look at G. "Fern, they don't have a phone."

Kensi climbed up onto the porch and sidled up to me. "That's okay. Hon, I need a bathroom. Let's go find one and send someone back for the bike."

Nadine slipped out from Callen's grasp. I swore I heard a sigh of relief from her. I wanted to know who the captive was here. "Use our bathroom. It is cleaner than any public restroom." Kensi went through the screen door and down the hall to the bathroom. It seemed to be taking Kensi a while to get done in the bathroom. I wondered what she was doing. When she came out I heard her chatting with Nadine as if they were becoming besties.

I turned to Callen and introduced myself. "I'm Max Gentry and she's my wife Fern as you know. We live in Los Angeles. We got married a week ago and are taking a tour of the Southwest as a honeymoon. It has been a blast so far."

Callen's eyes squinted a bit for some reason. I took it as a good sign. "Greg Wilson and that's my wife Nora. We are originally from Los Angeles. We got married there six months ago and right after that we moved back here. Nora's from here."

"I work in the motor pool for the LAPD. What do you do for work?" I needed to open up some memories for him somehow. Nothing was working.

G just laughed. "I used to work at the trucking company here in town. They began downsizing and I got let go last month. I'm looking for work. The area here is a little depressed so I need to go further out to look. I just totaled my car so that can't happen."

"That's tough but I understand. Fern worked as an insurance agent and they closed her office last month. It's tough for her. Her Aunt Hetty is helping her find a new job." I used all the words that I thought would jog his memory but none seemed to be working.

We stepped out onto the porch and Callen sat in a chair. Not his usual style. He looked exhausted. "You okay man?"

He smiled a weak smile and chuckled. "The accident took a lot out of me. It is taking forever to get back on my feet and I'm beginning to feel antsy."

This was the first real sign of Callen that I'd seen. Callen is always playing with something or moving. He's like one of those kinetic machines that never wind down. I could still hear Kensi inside talking with Nora. The two of them came out the door carrying iced tea for us. "Isn't this the nicest thing for them to do Max?" I nodded and while I nodded I watched Callen slipping off to sleep.

Nora tended to be reserved and a wee bit shy. She only spoke when spoken to and Callen seemed to protect her. He kind of hovered over her. This was getting weirder by the minute. It was very strange to watch him do that because he never hovered over Sara, his real wife. She was an independent woman; not so Nora. You could almost sense the abuse she must have taken in her past. From what I'd heard of Bobby, I'm guessing he's the one to blame.

Kensi talked with Nora about what other exciting things there might be to do in this corner of Arizona.

As we listened Callen fell deeper into his nap. I have to admit it worried me as to how we were going to get him out of here. "Well Fern let's leave these nice people to their afternoon and find someone to come back for the bike. We need it to move on to the Grand Canyon. It was nice to meet you Nora." Callen woke up. "Yo Greg, go take a good nap man." Thanks for the tea and the company.

We walked down the driveway, got on the other bike and rode off to meet Sam at the diner. He wouldn't like this because I know we didn't. Just as we pulled away from the curb Bobby's Dodge Laramie came down the road.