CHAPTER 3: HOT ON THE TRAIL
Charlie, Sergeant Donaldson, Colonel Clarke, and General Upton had made their way to Veronica's house. After knocking on the door, she answered it, surprised to see military men there. She still had no idea that Kevin was in the Marines.
"Ms. Carter?" Upton began.
"Yes?" Veronica answered.
"My name is General Jackson Upton of the United States Marine Corp. This is Colonel Yancy Clarke, Master Sergeant Peter Donaldson, and Staff Sergeant Charles Brown. We are looking for someone you may know. A Kevin Ray?"
"You know Kevin? You just missed him, he was here!"
"He was?! Sergeant Brown, you want to explain everything to her?"
"Yes, sir," said Charlie. "Ms. Carter, Kevin was in my command, and he started out as a Lance Corporal. We was recently demoted back down to Private First Class when he fled the corps. He is wanted for desertion."
"Oh dear!" said a worried Veronica. "He asked me for money. He said some guys were after him, but never told me who."
"He must've meant us," said Charlie. "We are after him, but not to do him any harm, but to arrest him for desertion. Any idea where he could have gone?"
"He talked about fleeing to Canada. He really didn't share much with me, let alone tell me he was in the Marines."
"Are you sure that's all you know, ma'am?" asked Donaldson.
"I swear to you, that's all. He didn't divulge any other information."
"Okay, thank you for your time, ma'am," said Upton. "Here's my card. If he gets in contact with you, give me a call immediately."
"I will, sir," said Veronica. And the men left her house.
"Kevin can't be too far from here," said Charlie.
"I will have the M.P.'s turn this town inside out until Private Ray is found," Upton promised. "In the meantime, we better head back to base and plan our next move." And they headed back to the base camp to see if and when Kevin would turn up next.
Kevin was back at the abandoned barn getting ready for the big bank job. He wrote his parents a letter and would mail it, rather than go back there lest they got in contact with the Corps. He also wrote a letter to Veronica explaining his actions and asked for all of them to forgive what he was about to do. After writing the letters and placing them in envelopes, he waited until nightfall to mail them out. When it was dark out, he managed to make it back to town and mail out his letters. He managed to stay out of sight and avoided any kind of contact with people. He then made his way back to the barn to sleep, as the next day would be busy for him.
At the Marine base, Charlie was getting ready to sleep, but decided to call Pat back home and update her on what's happening.
Back in Sparkyville, Pat was also getting ready for bed when she heard her cell phone ring. She looked to see it was Charlie calling, and answered it.
"Chuck, is everything okay?" she asked concerned.
"Everything is fine, Pat," assured Charlie. "We talked to Kevin's parents and an old girlfriend of his, and he's been to both places. I think we could be narrowing in on him."
"Just be careful. I hope nothing bad happens."
"Don't worry, Pat. We'll be back in Sparkyville before you know it. Anyway, how's our baby doing?"
"Went to the doctor's office today. Things are looking good. He said I should have an easy birth if things keep going well."
"Great. Anyway, I'm about to sleep. We're going to resume the search in the morning. Though the M.P.'s are still searching and will alert us if Kevin's found. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Good night. And Chuck?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Pat."
NEXT CHAPTER: THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF KEVIN'S LIFE BEGINS…