Well another weekend is almost here, a new chapter will keep you going for awhile. Your reviews are wonderful, thank you everyone! I have a couple to answer and will do that today, but your comments are always so welcome, and often, educational. Anyway, here we go...
Return to Me
Chapter 12
Revealing the Truth
Maisie had cut Maggie some slack, seeing how upset she was the previous night about Mr. Jane's kidnapping, but by late afternoon, it was time for Maggie to come out of her room and help out around the motel. The Federal Agents had been joined by many more law enforcement officers and were using the empty room at the end of the motel as a conference room. Cho's texted list had caused a flurry of activity as there were far more people who now had to be checked out. Not all of Fred Murdoch's customers were farmers. Sadly, several of the names that appeared on the list were highly respected citizens of the town. A few teachers, a minister, quite a few teenagers who relied on Fred for their pot, and some farmers who somehow escaped a raid the previous night. As teams were organized to go and search homes, offices, businesses and more farms, every available cop was involved in the ongoing search.
Maisie almost had to drag Maggie out of the house to help keep the police and agents supplied with coffee, cold drinks, cookies and sandwiches. Maggie did as little as she could then would sneak off to hide in the office behind the curtain until Maisie pulled her out again.
"Maggie! This has got to stop! No one is mad at you and no one is going to hurt you! What happened to Mr. Jane has nothing to do with us, do you understand me?" Maisie told her sister in exasperation.
"But what if …"
"There are no 'but what ifs' !" Maisie interrupted. "I need you to help me around here today. As soon as these men find where Mr. Jane and the other men are, they'll all go back where they came from and life will get back to normal again. OK?" Maisie said, pulling her sister out of the alcove and away from the TV.
"OK…" Maggie said meekly, not really believing what her sister was telling her. Not after what she'd seen.
"Now I want you to go to the kitchen and bring over the cake I baked. We can slice it up and offer it to the officers while they work. It's the least we can do to be helpful" Maisie instructed her. "Off you go!"
Maggie slouched away from the office and took her time getting to the house. She couldn't wait for this day to be over.
Cho arrived back in Lost Wells in time to join the meeting in the motel room. The officers were going over the list of names to plan the best way to snare their suspects before they could leave town. Lisbon was sitting off to one side, the list in her hands.
"See anything interesting?" Cho asked her.
"Hi Cho! Based on this list, you must have scared the crap outta those men" she grinned.
"I hope so...it was kinda fun" he had to admit. "Got any ideas what we need to do now?"
Lisbon held out the list and grabbed another paper she had written on.
"I was just comparing the names of the people we raided last night to the list of names you got today."
"OK? What of it?"
"Well, there's some overlapping of names."
"I expected that. Those men would have been in contact with each other."
"True...but some of the people who got raided last night didn't have any drugs on their property."
"Yes.
"So, why are they on the list you got today Cho?"
Cho looked at Lisbon and the list of names taken last night.
"A mistake? Bad blood between neighbours? Maybe a way to waste our time by muddying the waters?" Cho guessed.
Lisbon bit her lip in thought. "I don't think so. The men sitting in custody in Houston don't have any idea who else got raided last night. They were offering up names of people that they thought were Fred Murdoch's customers. So why didn't we see drugs on those properties last night Cho?"
Cho grabbed Lisbon's list and had to agree, she had a point. Did the police raids miss something? And if they missed something after a thorough search, could they have missed someone as well?
"Cho, what if one of those farms does have drugs hidden on it. And if we missed the drugs in a raid, could we have missed a kidnap victim as well? What if we dismissed the person responsible for taking all of those men and killing them?"
Cho looked at Lisbon with a sinking feeling. Could they have walked right past Jane and not known it?
"I'll get Calderone and Abbott to arrange raids on all of the farms owned by anyone whose name appears on your list, anyone who looks clean" Cho told her.
"Thanks Cho. I don't think we have much time left. Whoever has Jane isn't going to keep him around now that the police are out there searching so close to home. For all we know, the kidnapper could already have been tipped off."
Cho stood up and walked with Lisbon to his room where it was much quieter. A few rings of Cho's phone brought Abbott in on the conversation.
"OK, leave it with me. Our teams have been assembled to check out the new names on your list, but I'll call you back about re-checking the people named and already searched" he said, convinced this new idea needed to be investigated.
"Lisbon and I want to be on one of those teams Boss. We can't just sit here waiting any longer" Cho told Dennis.
"Done. Be ready to move when I call."
"Will do."
Lisbon looked at Cho expectantly. "We're up" he said, reaching for his gun and checking his ammo. "Abbott's getting a new team organized to search the names collated today. We'll just wait for his call."
Lisbon ran back to her room and grabbed her gun and extra clip. She hoped it wouldn't come to a fire fight, but she was ready to shoot if necessary.
All across Lost Wells, police were knocking on doors, interrupting coffee breaks and arresting people wherever they were. No home, schoolroom, business or church office was spared. So many upstanding citizens were led off in handcuffs that few good families were spared the shame of a relative or friend being detained. The scandal was historic in its scope.
(The Farm)
Jane drank water whenever hunger pangs were at their worst. Staying hydrated would help him survive for many days, even without food. There had been no movement from above for hours and while that meant he was safe, what else did it mean? What was his captor waiting for? He could hear cattle in the distance and sometimes the sounds of someone very close by the pit. So what was this guy's plan for Jane? Then he heard voices, a woman's voice. So the kidnapper wasn't alone here. Could he be waiting for this woman to leave, to deal with Jane without a witness? Being unconscious when he was dumped into the pit gave Jane absolutely nothing to work with, no clue as to where he was and what kind of person had clubbed him over the head and left him here to rot. But a woman was up above.
"Help me! Get me outta here! I'm being held hostage by that man up there! Hellllllllp!" Jane yelled, straining his voice to be heard.
Nothing.
If he could hear the woman, why couldn't she hear him? Even though it seemed hopeless, Jane kept calling for help long after the people above ground had left and gone inside. Jane called for attention until his throat was raw. Whatever chance he had to be heard was gone now, of that he was sure. Reaching into the bucket he drew out a handful of cool water and let it soothe his throat and fill his stomach. He hoped this was not going to turn into another long cold night in a hole in the ground.
(Mercury Motel)
Maisie and Maggie collected the plates and cups from the officers in the motel and walked back to the house to wash the dishes. Maggie took her time and was much quieter than usual. Maisie was worried about her sister and tried to think of something that would distract her. Of course...the perfect solution to her worries was so obvious.
"Maggie, how would you like to go and visit Mamma Jillie when we get the dishes done?"
Maggie almost dropped the plate she was holding. Maisie never suggested she go out into the country all by herself. She always had to sneak off and take the car!
"Uh...but why Maisie?" Maggie asked, confused. This week was getting stranger and stranger.
"Well, because you're not very happy being here right now and Mamma Jillie always cheers you up. And Poppa Gus loves it when you drop in to visit. I'm sure you could stay for supper tonight, and if you're real good, maybe even have a sleep over! How would that be?"
"A sleepover? Like when I was little?" Maggie asked, suddenly elated at the idea of such a girlie thing to do. She vaguely remembered having sleep overs with her girlfriends so many years ago. She wasn't sure considering all that was going on right now...but if Maisie thought it was a good idea…
"Do you think Poppa Gus and Mamma Jillie will want to see me so soon after my last visit?" Maggie asked.
"Sweetie, you could go and visit every day and they would be the happiest people on earth. Go on now, brush your hair and your teeth and you can go as soon as I'm free. Just drive with care OK? I'll call them and tell them you're coming."
Maggie put down her tea towel and headed off to her bathroom to get ready. Boy, Maisie sure was acting strange. 'Usually she wants me to stay home', thought Maggie. Sometimes people were so hard to figure out.
Maisie got busy with her motel guests and didn't get around to Maggie again for another hour. Finally she left the office and found her sister waiting on the front steps of the house, car keys in hand.
Walking Maggie to their old red car, Maisie gave her the usual warnings about driving carefully. That out of the way, Maggie eased the car out onto the road and waved goodbye to her sister from behind the wheel. For a moment, just a moment, the old Maggie seemed to be waving at Maisie, a woman eager for a new adventure. As soon as the car was out of sight, Maisie turned back towards the motel to continue her chores. She got swept up into her work and completely forgot to call Mamma Jillie. When she did remember, she just brushed it off. Jillie and Gus would be pleasantly surprised at Maggie's arrival, as usual.
Maggie drove down the street feeling free. The car gave her a taste of life that everyone around her took for granted at her age. But being in her fifties chronologically didn't change the fact that she was a youngster at heart. She saw the town she loved slide by as she left the outskirts of Lost Wells and headed towards the highway. She knew every inch of this road, and felt happy to be away from the craziness back at the motel. The farm was a long way off so she turned on the radio and relaxed as the miles rolled by with almost no traffic to slow her down. Eventually she turned off the main road and took the dirt road that led into the backcountry. Maggie was both excited and apprehensive about dropping in to visit Ben's parents. What if they were busy? What if they weren't home? What if…
Maggie let her mind roam as she contemplated thoughts that a woman of her age shouldn't have had to worry about. She was a child, after all.
(Raids)
Within minutes of being organized, teams of police started back out into the town and country to raid the farms and homes of people they had missed the previous night. Armed with new names, the arrest count was sure to rise by the evening. With luck, no one would fight back and everyone would be home safe in their beds tonight. Some of the farms that had been searched the night before were to be checked again, much to the anger of the owners who were fed up with all of this nonsense. The searches took much longer this time and everything was opened, overturned and dug up. Within an hour, the police found their first cache of illegal drugs on a farm they had previously inspected. And so it would continue for hours and hours to come.
(The Pit)
Jane had spent his time all afternoon trying to make handholds in the earthen wall so that he could climb up and out of the pit. How he would raise the roof if he managed to get to the top of the pit was questionable, but he had to try nonetheless. With only one good hand, he scraped and gouged the moist earth and made some holes in the wall deep enough to get a toe hold. When he had reached as far up as he could, he realized that without the use of both hands, he could go no further. Even if he got both feet lodged in the holes he had dug into the slick wall, he had to hold on with one hand in order to dig out the next hole. He tried to jam his left elbow into the handhold while he continued to dig another hole above it but his broken arm screamed at the pressure he was putting on it, and he had to drop back to the ground. Realizing the futility of his escape attempt, he stopped this useless exercise and sat against the wall in frustration. What was the kidnapper waiting for? Why was he being ignored? Judging from the sun coming through the slats in the ceiling boards at an slight angle, it was mid-afternoon and soon it would be evening. His stomach rumbled in distress but Jane steadfastly refused to consider eating the bug infested food that sat on the other side of the pit.
"Hello! Hey you up there! Let's talk! Let's get to know each other!" Jane yelled. Either this would speed up his rescue, aid in his escape, or cause his death. Who knew? But he had to move this along.
"Hello! What do you want?" he yelled. Silence reigned. He now wished he had his jacket with him to wrap around his chest. The dampness and his fatigue were getting to him. If he could just get some good sleep…
Scraping noises alerted Jane to activity overhead. He stood up and gazed at the ceiling, expecting the small door to open and another handful of food to be thrown down. Instead, he heard the sound of a small tractor revving close by. His heart pounded in anticipation. What was happening up there? Had he been found? He hoped the first face he saw was Teresa's. As the tractor engine got louder, he noticed the wooden roof above him start to slide to one side, suddenly revealing a blue sky. When the opening was wide enough for a slim man to pass through, a slender ladder was dropped down into the hole.
"Climb up!" a man barked.
Jane's hands started to sweat. Someone had heard him, apparently. Well he had no other options left, so he grabbed onto a rung with his good hand and slowly made his way to the surface where he was dragged roughly by his shirt over the lip of the pit onto the hard warm earth above.
"Stand up!" a man commanded him.
Jane struggled to stand and eventually got to his feet, his captor glaring silently at him. An older man stood facing him with a rifle in his hand. He looked just like any other farmer of a certain age, weathered, strong, fiercely independent, and fully armed. Jane raised his one arm high in the air, his other arm useless in its current condition. He tried to remember if he'd seen this man in town or the restaurant, but so far, his was a new face.
"Hello...thanks for letting me out of the pit" Jane said amiably.
"Shut up and go over there" the farmer indicated, pointing with his rifle towards a hay bale set under a portico by the barn furthest from the house.
"Ok...on my way…" Jane said. He walked to the shady spot and the man indicated that he should sit.
Jane sat and looked around. He was on a nondescript farm far from town. It had once been well maintained but now it just looked worn out, like the man holding the gun on him. He spied the outbuildings and the small barn, it's door wide open. Inside, between the discarded farm equipment and old furniture, he saw a small flash of blue. Tucking that information away, he turned back to the man standing 6 feet in front of him.
"So what's this all about? None of this was necessary" Jane said cautiously.
The old farmer spat on the ground and seemed disappointed in Jane's statement.
"How's about you tell me what this is about?"
Jane didn't know how to proceed, but he felt strongly that whatever he said in the next few minutes could be the difference between life or death.
"You know me, and I know you…" Jane began carefully, guessing. The old man seemed surprised at this response and smiled slightly. Jane had to cold read him from now on as it could save him from a bullet to the brain.
"Go on…" the old man said. "Tell me where you are, then tell me who I am."
That statement gave Jane a lot of information to use. This guy thought Jane would know this place, so it had to be familiar to his captive. Jane was supposed to know his name as well, so in the old man's mind, they both knew each other. A lot of good information to work with. Jane looked around and tried to pick up any useful clues that he could use. Against the barn leaned an old green bike, with a folded piece of cardboard stuck in the wheel with a clothespin. If you rode it, the sound the cardboard made was like an engine sputtering. Typical boyish fun for boring rides. A childish painting of a scarecrow was barely visible on the side of the small barn, the paint so faded only the echo of the drawing remained.
The flash of blue in the barn intrigued him and he felt it was important too. He gazed around the other side of the property and saw the house in the distance. Music was coming from an open window, music that a woman would like, Engelbert Humperdinck if he guessed correctly. Why would a single man be listening to that cheesy music? He was correct earlier in the day, a woman did live here, an older one based on her taste in music.
"Well...talk!" the man yelled, raising his gun higher.
Jane turned and faced the old man. Now he had to stall for time and do the best reading of his life.
"Yes, this is the farm...you and the missus have been here a long time, haven't you?"
"We sure have."
"And your son, he lived here too. That's his green bike over there" Jane indicated, pointing at the bike against the wall covered in a heavy layer of Texas dust. The old farmer almost dropped his rifle when Jane said this.
"He loved that bike, didn't he? He loved to ride it and make it sound as loud as possible with a paper flipper on the spokes. Drove his mother crazy!" Jane hazarded.
The old man smiled in spite of himself at the memory of his child doing that. "Yes, he did."
"He was your best friend, still is, always will be, no matter what, isn't that right?" Jane said soothingly. "And you want to see him again very much, don't you?" he said, hoping he was right and not way off base in this assumption.
Seeing the light in the old man's eyes at the mention of his son, Jane knew he was on the right track. The gun wielding farmer said nothing to affirm Jane's guess.
"You couldn't even really get too mad when your boy painted on the side of the barn. You thought it was funny even though you punished your boy."
The farmer had a strong urge to turn and look at the faded scarecrow now that this mysterious man had brought it up. But he held fast, his gun still aimed at Jane's head. For his part, Jane spoke as soothingly as he could to bring down this man's level of distrust.
"I bet if we went into the barn over there, we'd find something really special, wouldn't we?" Jane suggested, desperate to gain more information as his guessing had its limits. "Can I have a look?" he pressed the old man. "It's been a long time."
The old man was falling under Jane's persuasive spell.
"Don't you remember it? You loved it" the old man said, not realizing he had given Jane another huge indication as to his identity.
"Of course, but you must understand what it would mean to me to see it again" Jane cooed softly, standing cautiously. "Why don't we both go over and look together?" he asked.
The farmer studied Jane with suspicion. Was this a trick, like all the other tricks those other men had pulled on him? Was he being played for a fool?
"Of course I don't blame you for keeping your favourite gun on me, who wouldn't, right? You need to know if it's me or not" Jane said, taking a step forward to test the man's resolve.
"My arm is broken unfortunately, so you don't have to worry about me in the least. Please, can I take a peek? It won't take long."
The old man took a step backwards and waved his gun at Jane, telling him to move on and walk towards the small barn. Jane felt a surge of elation. Whatever was in the barn was very important to the old man and apparently, now, to Jane. They walked in silence towards the old building and when Jane reached the doorway, he found what he had hoped to see.
"It's a beauty, isn't it?" Jane said, turning to the old man, smiling broadly. "Who wouldn't love it?" he asked, luring the old man to talk.
"You tell me" the old guy replied, too smart to give much more away and too emotional to speak.
Jane stepped forward into the barn. "Can I take a closer look?"
"Go ahead, but don't touch nothin'" the farmer warned him.
Jane walked over to the crumpled and rusted blue convertible in amazement, noting the colour and make, then turned back to the farmer with a smile.
"You kept it after the accident. Thank you."
The farmer almost wept with emotion. Could this be the one? Was he looking at his heart's desire after all these years or was this man just a lying son of a bitch?
"Tell me. Tell me about this car. Tell me who you are" the old man demanded, raising his gun squarely at Jane's face.
Jane raised his hand above his head and backed off. Then he turned and looked at the car again. He studied every inch of it, what he could see of it. There was a fine layer of dust covering all of it but enough of the vehicle told a story that could save Jane's life.
Jane walked over to the car and smiled. Then he faced the man with the rifle and made the biggest gamble of his life. He had to become someone else.
"This is my car. My favourite car of all of them. I had a jeep too and it was strong and sturdy, but this was my favourite. I always wanted a convertible and I finally got one."
He spoke to the old man with a smile fixed on his face and a slight Texas twang in his voice. "I drove it every chance I got, even when I shouldn't have. That day, I should have taken my jeep, but I wanted to impress her. Stupid of me. We had such a nice time, cruising around. Then Maggie and me, we decided to get an ice cream cone from the Dippin' Dairy. As we drove outta Lost Wells towards the motel, we decided to come back out here, to see you guys." The information that Maisie had told Lisbon was priceless and Jane tried to remember every word Lisbon had said.
Turning to stare at the car, Jane played his biggest card, hoping it would be enough to save his life.
"I drove it until the accident, with Margaret. She loved this car too, didn't she? And now it's all I have left" Jane said with trepidation. "I've missed this car, this farm, this life." Turning to face the old man, he said the words the old man had been killing people to hear.
"It's good to be home again. I missed you and Mamma."
The old man shuddered in confusion and hope. He stood rooted to the spot and almost put his gun down, almost. As Jane watched the conflicted emotions play over the old man's face, he felt he had hit the bullseye. Maybe he had guessed his way into saving his own life.
The old man grinned slightly and sniffed back a tear.
"Ben? Is it really you?"
