That was Yesterday
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Alexis answered her front door. Lanie was at work and she started school again next week. Time was flying by.
"Hi, Jim. Any trouble?" She looked past him but saw no one so closed and locked the door.
"Piece of cake." He pulled the little flash drive out of his pocket and handed it over. "I threw the box it came in away at the border. It wasn't much bigger than this thing." Jim followed her over to a sofa, sat down next to her, and watched her plug it into a laptop.
"I need to scan it for any viruses. I'll make a copy then call Black Pawn and set up a meeting. Thanks." Alexis let it run the virus check and leaned across and kissed Jim on his cheek. "Dad and Kate could really use this money. They're still living without a sofa." She thought Kate was being stingy but it was their money.
"That was a nice hotel. You didn't have to splurge for that much. Nice car, too, by the way." Jim was sure she had done too much and spent too much but it had been easy.
"Yes I did. And it's clean so let's make a copy first." Alexis plugged in another flash drive, copied it onto that, ejected it, and set it aside. "One more. …I've gotten paranoid in my old age." Alexis grinned at Jim.
"Having someone want your family dead will tend to do that." Jim knew she wasn't old or even close to being old. Just very mature for her age. "Have you heard from them lately?"
"Not yet, no. Done. This one is yours to hang on to." Alexis handed it over and saw him look it over and pocket it. "I have to get the SATPAQ. Be right back."
Alexis was soon back and turned it all on. "Anyone home?"
It took a minute. "We all are. Kate is nursing Katarina. Did you get it?"
"Jim just came home with it. It's clean and I've already made 2 copies just in case. I'll call Black Pawn tomorrow and make an appointment with their president. I'm skipping Gina for now." Alexis said.
"She will probably be assigned as editor so be ready for that. Tell Jim thanks for us." Rick asked her.
"You just did. He hasn't left yet. I'm going to talk him into waiting for Lanie to come home then we all go out to eat to celebrate." Alexis had just informed Jim of her plan and saw him smile.
"How much do I ask for? You are dead, after all. This will be your possibly very last book." Alexis asked him.
That had Rick thinking and looking at Kate. "Don't look at me. What do I know about books or how much you made writing them?"
"It's not the last one but maybe they don't know that." Rick tried to think. "Start at 4 million and take nothing less than 3.3 million." Rick said.
"WOW!" Jim saw that number.
"Dad's rich. Well kinda rich. He makes good money. I guess I can start at four million." Alexis was willing to try it. "Okay, 4 million it is."
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
"You ready for this, Bro?" Javi questioned Kevin as they entered the 12th Precinct, a place they both know or knew well. They had just left their nice hotel rooms. It wasn't 4 Seasons but it wasn't Motel 6 or even close, either.
"Looking forward to giving as good as I got." Javi was ready to charge inside and lay down the law.
They recognized a few people as they walked through. Kevin waved but Javi didn't since he was on a mission.
Kevin knocked and they both saw a man look up. He was sitting behind the captain's desk and it wasn't Victoria Gates from Internal Affairs. "Sir, Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito, my partner. AG's office from Buffalo. We were told you need help." This was a surprise.
"I do. Please have a seat and let me find the files for you two." He opened his desk drawer and started searching to make sure he had the right two.
"We were told Victoria Gates was Captain for the 12th." Javi wanted to rub her nose in it.
"She was or still is, pending a review. Word got out that she didn't send a detective to a dead body site. The Mayor and Police Commissioner knew about it but the press got hold of it. She was suspended for two months without pay pending a formal review," he explained.
"Didn't you two used to work here?" The names were familiar but he had done so much reading of late.
"Yes, sir. We applied for jobs with the AG's office and we work there now. We saw a few new faces on the way up," Kevin mentioned.
"There are a lot of new faces in this Precinct. Here we are." He handed out two large folders. "Read those and come back with any questions. Find an empty desk and get started." It was just two but he needed those two solved.
"Is Lanie Parish still the ME we speak with?" Javi queried. He wasn't sure how he felt about seeing her again.
"She is. You should know where she is. Get to work, gentlemen, and thank you." He might have to get the Police Commissioner to send these two again or have them stay for another two.
"Yes, sir." Kevin and Javi exited his office. "My old desk and your old desk?" Kevin asked him and watched him drop his folder on his old desk.
"You think the coffee here still stinks?" Javi questioned him.
"Definitely." Kevin had no doubt. "We can stop and get something when we go visit the site."
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
Jackson was waiting. He had already made sure that all the doors to his car were unlocked so when he got in to leave he was going to be right behind him. If he followed his pattern he should be out today to go grocery shopping so he waited.
Finally, just as planned, he came out and didn't even bother to look around. No one knew he was there as far as he knew. He hadn't flown to this town. He had flown into Belgrade then drove all the way out there on his own. Didn't take no for an answer and bought this house. He still had millions of dollars to live on as he pleased.
He opened the door, got in and closed the door, and was just reaching to insert the key when the passenger door opened. In got an older man with a fair amount of silver hair. Silver stubble for a beard and really dark eyebrows. He was all set to demand, "WHAT THE HELL!" Then he saw he had a weapon in his hand; something hit him and whatever it was it hurt. Everything went black.
Jackson got out, went around and pushed him over, got behind the wheel, and drove away. He saw Jean going into the house to search it for him in the rear view mirror.
Jackson already knew the way since Jean had shown it to him. He parked the car off of the road and pulled into a bunch of bushes. He found the wheelbarrow and moved it to the passenger side. He opened the door, moved it closer and pulled him out into it, then began moving it, leaving the door open. It was a bit of a distance and it definitely wasn't a house but it was tall enough and everything he was going to need was already there. It was also drafty, not that he cared.
He put Bracken's hands through the loops and pulled the chain. He didn't trust rope so he had a light chain. He didn't stop till Bracken was off the floor, then tied it into place. The wire was already cutting into his wrists and blood was flowing down his arms. Jackson picked up his syringe then injected him to keep him asleep for now.
He got to work. He had a lot to do before he woke him up.
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
Jackson had him just the way he wanted him. He picked up his glass of water, splashed it in his face, and watched him wake up.
The first thing he did was try to move which had him screaming into his gag. Jackson hit him with another blast of water to get him fully awake.
"Your name is William H. Bracken. Ex-Senator for the State of New York. You threatened people I care very much about so you have to die. You will note that the wire at your wrists is biting into your wrists. It will never break and the chain that holds that wire will last even longer. You're naked and your feet aren't going to move because of the same wire." Jackson listened to him mumble.
"I'm not interested in your money, though I'm betting your account numbers are in the house so that money is now mine regardless. I'll be happy to put it to good use.
"If you'll look down you'll see a plate. Under that plate is a pressure trigger. The second you hit it, two things will happen. It will start a timer and if you roll off the plate it will release and you'll blow up. Eventually the wire will slowly cut through your wrists and when that happens you will fall. Fall off the plate and you blow up. If your bones hold up long enough the timer will end and you blow up," Jackson explained.
"I've already killed your hired killers, making you the last one. Should for some unforeseen reason the device not function, you will bleed to death with every beat of your useless heart.
"The only thing I expect from you is to die. Enjoy your stay. No one has been here in years." Jackson turned to leave. "Oh and for your information you were never going to make President of the United States. You would have been executed well before that happened. You were doomed from the start. Hopefully the people whose lives you have ruined will find peace after they identify your dead body." Jackson left and listened to him try to say something, then tried screaming because he moved and the wires dug further into his arms.
"One last thing. I need a picture. You'll be immortalized." Jackson snapped a number of pictures then finally left. He walked to where Jean was picking him up and taking him to Bracken's house. Once there they picked up where Jean left off.
They needed to figure out where his money was and how he planned to contact anyone. They didn't leave till they solved it.
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
"Hey babe?" Kate called out since she needed something from him.
Rick showed up. "What can I help my beautiful wife with?"
"We need a sectional and I'm tired of waiting. We only have the two red seats in the media room, the dining room table, and the breakfast bar. A living room is meant to be lived in and ours is just collecting dust.
"Alexis has your book so we should have money soon."
"You grab the credit card and I'll drive." Rick was ready to buy a sectional.
They had to drive to Blenheim to find a furniture store. Eventually they selected a sectional made by Jade Furniture that was made in Christchurch in New Zealand. It was local and Kate liked that. It was a four seater. It was a Bosari and came with a matching chair since they had the space. They passed on the ottoman for now. It would be delivered within five days. They would be called the day before to verify someone would be home within their time frame.
"Eat at home? Take-out or eat at a restaurant. We haven't eaten out since we got here," Rick mentioned.
"I like it. Pick a restaurant that looks good. We have Katarina's carrier. She's not old enough for a highchair yet." Kate liked the sound of it. Katarina was being a good girl of late. She didn't cry that often any longer and she was sleeping the night through.
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
Alexis found a FedEx envelope at her door when she got home from school. Lanie hadn't called about a dead body she could do an autopsy on for some much needed practice so she was done for today save for her homework. She would get it out of the way before starting on dinner.
Alexis Castle That was her. She unlocked the door, locked it behind her, and walked into the living room. She dropped the FedEx package and put her books and homework on the dining room table. Then she sat down and opened her package.
She couldn't believe it. "HOLY SHIT!" The first thing she saw was a picture of a naked man hanging from a ceiling by wires around his wrists. There were three wires holding his feet together and in one place and he was hanging over a plate elevated off the floor. Then she found three more from different angles. She set those aside and dug into the package again to see if there was anything else. She found a letter folded at the bottom.
She opened it and five pieces of paper fell out. She started with the letter first.
Alexis,
This is William H. Bracken. I found him in a small town in Serbia along the border with Bulgaria. By now the wires will have cut through his wrists where he will land on a land mine and blow himself up. All of his hitmen I know about are dead.
I know that Richard and Kate are still alive. The fact that even I can't find them speaks highly of how well they've remained hidden. I'm hoping that you have a way to contact them.
They now have a choice to make. Stay wherever they are using their fake names or come home and come back to life. You'll need to work out what that means since they're legally considered dead. Regrettably I can't help you with that.
Tell Martha I'm sorry and wish I could have been there for her. I made a mistake and her beauty was irresistible. I've watched from a distance and helped when I could. My job does not allow for a family.
The checks are yours if you can get them to them.
Stay safe,
Your Grandfather
"GRANDFATHER! …I have a grandfather?" Alexis scrambled for the pieces of paper now in her lap. "TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS!" She found three with her name on them. One with Martha Rodgers and one with Jim Beckett. "HOLY CRAP!"
Alexis had to reread the letter and search for any hidden meaning then looked for the pictures again and studied them closely.
It all got stuffed back into the FedEx envelope and set aside while she ran to her bedroom.
She was back with the SATPAQ and hooked it together. "Is anyone home?"
Alexis waited and waited. "Sorry, pumpkin. We went out and bought a sectional and ate at a restaurant instead of cooking."
"You're never going to believe this. I got something FedEx. Inside are pictures of a naked Bracken hanging from a ceiling by his hands. A letter states he was found in Serbia." Alexis started with that.
"Try that again." was what she got back.
"The letter states that the wire will cut his writs off and he will fall onto a land mine that will blow up, killing him. He states that he can't find you two so you are still safe and here's the kicker. He says he's my grandfather. I'm supposed to say sorry to Grams and that he isn't a family man." Alexis waited for an answer to that.
"Alexis, I don't know what to say or believe." she read.
"There's more. There are five checks included. Three have my name on them. Grams has one and Jim has one. Each is for 20 million dollars. The bank is in the Caymans." Alexis sent that and waited.
"Twenty million apiece?" Kate was reading once Rick had called her over. "I thought you didn't have a father. I mean you don't know who he is."
"I don't. Apparently he knows me, Mother, Alexis, and Jim. Twenty million times five." Rick questioned that just as much.
"If it is Bracken that might be his money that he got from who knows where. Or at least part of it. How do we know it's really him?" Kate looked at Rick anxiously.
"If the CIA are doing their job and watching him from time to time, they might find his body. Or Serbia announces it and it makes international news after his body is identified," Rick suggested.
"He says you can come home now or stay hidden. He can't find you. That might be why I got three in my name. He suggests you returning to life might lead to trouble. I do have your money, Dad. Being alive again is going to lead to complications. The IRS might crucify us." Alexis was willing to admit he had a point.
Rick and Kate tried to think about that. "If we believe him she can tell our friends that we're not really dead. I just don't want to be there when Lanie screams." Kate wanted to keep her hearing.
"What do we do? If this is a Bracken trick, we're dead. If Alexis cashes those checks she might find herself arrested," Kate pointed out.
"We need verification. Have her contact Jordan directly. It's been close to three years now at least for me," Rick said.
"He states that all of Bracken's hitmen that he knows about are all dead." Alexis added.
Kate shook her head, not ready to trust whoever the man was. "We still need verification. We don't even know who this man is or if we believe him."
"Contact Jordan Shaw directly and send her copies of what you have. Maybe just not the checks or maybe you do include copies of them as well. We do nothing until she can verify somehow. Kate might be right. This might be a Bracken trick or something one of his killers has sent to have us walk out and get killed." Rick sent it to her.
"Okay, Dad. This may take some time." Alexis warned him.
"We have time. We're not going anywhere maybe even after Jordan confirms that he is dead." Rick sent back.
Rick began pacing. "So what do we do if Jordan can confirm this? What if he didn't find all of them. The IRS is going to have a field day. Especially if they find out about those checks."
Kate had questions. "Your father did this? Who is he? He's been missing all this time so why now?" Rick could only shrug.
"We wait and we talk till Alexis tells us Jordan knows he is really dead." Rick couldn't think of anything else. "I'm not risking our families over some piece of paper and a few pictures that we can't see." Kate nodded in agreement.
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
It is now 3 months later.
"Our little girl is getting closer and closer to being one year old," Rick said as Kate sat there and fed her some baby food. Breastfeeding was over and she was sitting in her brand new highchair.
"She's my good girl and I love her to bits." Kate cleaned up her mouth since she didn't get all of it. Katarina smacked the highchair's tray and squealed.
"She's gorgeous. I see a lot of you in her. She's going to break hearts left and right some day." Alexis had indicated that she was dating but nothing serious so far.
"You know, we could discuss expanding our family." Kate wasn't working outside their home at all. What she did do was run their home with Rick, raise their daughter, and keep track of their finances. They were officially rich now.
Alexis had gotten Rick's four million dollars for his supposedly very last book. Alexis had put the money into their account so they were now doing really well financially.
His TV and sound system was getting put to good use. Their DVD movie collection was growing. They had sheets, pillows, and a comforter for all of the beds.
This was still a big if, but if Bracken was actually dead they wanted Alexis, Jim, and Martha to fly out and visit them for as long as they wanted. They had replaced the red love seat in the fourth bedroom with a twin size bed since that was all that would fit in that room. They could argue over who got what bed after they got there.
A ping got their attention so Rick picked up the SATPAQ before he could respond to Kate wanting another baby.
Rick read it out loud to Kate. "Jordan has confirmed it. Bracken is dead. They have DNA evidence to support it. He was found in a run down shed that showed signs of an explosion and his dead body was officially identified. IT'S FINALLY OVER!
"His hands were not attached to his arms. It's exactly like what was in the pictures. It's actually over. Almost 3 years later." Rick kept reading what Alexis had sent.
Kate couldn't help it. After all this they were actually free to live their lives and she began to cry. In a round about way they had a good idea who had had her mother killed so that had been solved.
Rick huffed out a laugh and felt tears starting. They had already agreed on one thing.
"Cash the checks and get here, pumpkin. All of you. Fly first class and get all of us first class cabins on a cruise ship that leaves Auckland. We'll meet all of you there." Rick told her. "Kate says tell Lanie and have her come too."
Even if Bracken was dead they were staying. This was home now. A few more months and they would apply for New Zealand passports using their fake names that were their new names now.
They were now Richard and Katherine White with baby girl Katarina White and perhaps a baby boy or girl in their future. Rick was still writing and Kate was content to be Mommy to her family.
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
I thought I knew you well
But all this time I could never tell
I let you get away
Haunts me every night and every day
You were the only one
The only friend I counted on
How could I watch you walk away
I'd give anything to have you here today
But now I stand alone with my pride
And dream that you're still by my side
But that was yesterday
I had the world in my hands
But it's not the end of my world
Just a slight change of plans
That was yesterday
But today life goes on
No more hiding in yesterday
'Cause yesterday's gone, ooooh!
Love, my love I gave it all
Thought I saw the light, when I heard you call
Life that we both could share
Has deserted me, left me in despair
But now I stand alone with my pride
Fighting back the tears I never let myself cry
But that was yesterday
Love was torn from my hands
But it's not the end of my world
Just a little hard to understand
That was yesterday
But today life goes on
You won't find me in yesterday's world
Now yesterday's gone
Goodbye yesterday
Now it's over and done
Still I hope somewhere deep in your heart
Yesterday will live on, ooooh!
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
C -.-. A .- S … T - L .-.. E .
The divider was CASTLE in Morse Code.