Chapter 25
Homecoming
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It was five-thirty pm in the evening when Joe Hardy and Simon Lee stepped out of Van Buren's police department with some additional information. They had found out that the red building, which was the town's new postal office, used to belong to a lady called Catherine Thompson. She lived there with her son, Robert Thompson until she died of cancer some years back. The house had been heavily mortgaged to the bank and Robert Thompson had not wanted to move out at all. In the middle of the night, some seven years ago, Robert drove back to town from a trip down to New York. Everyone thought he was considering relocating since he made such short trips with increasing frequencies but a fire that blazed like a cry of anger to the heavens destroyed the house and Robert Thompson perished in it.
They had identified him via his dental records. When Joe Hardy left the Chief police's office, he was ashen-faced. His palms sweated profusely and his mind was in a whirl.
At five forty-five pm, they reached the local high school and checked out the yearbooks for a picture of Richard Thompson. A dead man was what Joe thought of the moment he saw the brooding face with small, intense black eyes. They were chasing after a dead man.
"I know him." Joe announced quietly after he studied the small, passport sized photo among many others. The puzzles were all falling in place. He may not know the motive but he knew the guy. As for Richard Thompson's new identity, he had no idea at all.
"Impossible. He's dead." Simon Lee gazed at Joe quizzically but the blond-haired young man was stoically adamant. His narrowed eyes glared at the photo with promises of impending justice.
"He used to be a janitor at the place where I go for my anger management classes. A few months earlier, a new janitor took his place. Think he quit. Dental records can be faked. Maybe he switched his with somebody else's. Somebody no one would miss."
They thanked the teacher who had let them into the school's grounds and assisted them in searching for the correct yearbook. Once outside the staff's office, Simon Lee called the Bureau to check out the employment records of the Family Help Center where Joe went for his anger management classes and, with clipped efficiency, they obtained the name of a janitor who quit six months ago. Further checks revealed his current address and work place, the local hospital in Porters' Bay where he worked as a nurse.
At six fifty-eight, Joe Hardy called his brother with the information. The two brothers spoke and discussed options in low, somber tones. Finally, Joe Hardy disconnected the call and the two men booked the last flight out of Presque Isle to Bayport. Frank Hardy called Simon's mobile on their drive down to the neighboring city and informed them of the Bayport Police's course of action to arrest Terry Birch, a.k.a., Robert Thompson. Joe Hardy knew he couldn't make it home in time to join in the action but he crossed his fingers during the entire journey, hoping to return home to see his daughter running to him and the kidnapper caught behind bars.
At twelve-thirty a.m., they arrived in Bayport. Upon arrival, Simon Lee needed to relieve himself while his companion waited impatiently outside the johns. When Simon Lee exited from the johns at twelve forty-five, Joseph Hardy was nowhere to be found.
He then received a call from Frank Hardy that the plan had failed. The most difficult part of the conversation was telling Frank Hardy that there was no sign of Joe anywhere.
***
Frank Hardy pounded violently on the door of Ray of Hope, an orphanage in Port City where Stacey Bettis, the elder sister of Catherine Bettis whom he was sure was the same person as Catherine Thompson, worked in. Chief Collig was the one, with the help of Port City's police, who found out where she worked. However, when Joe called back with the groundbreaking information, all of them channeled their efforts to decide how best to capture Terry Birch alive.
"WHAT?"
"Joe's gone. I'm sorry. I stepped into the gents while he waited for me outside… and… he's gone… I announced for him to meet me at the information counter but he didn't show." Simon's good-natured voice had lost all the easy humor and from the heavy breathing, Frank knew that the agent was pacing hurriedly up and down the airport, searching for his brother who had just suddenly disappeared.
A quick but deliberated decision was reached by the Bayport Police Department to ambush the kidnapper instead of barraging into his flat in a destitute part of Porter's Bay because they had no way of assessing how armed he was though they were sure that this man was born with devious wiles. His current name was Terry Birch and he rented a room from a kind, old grandmother in a flat populated mostly by senior citizens. If Terry needed a hostage, he could find one easily.
They called the hospital and found out that Terry was working the nightshift which started at ten at night. His colleagues offered valuable information for the operation. Terry Birch was a man who kept to himself and hardly socialized. However, he usually hitched a ride to work from another male nurse who stayed near him. A quick call to the male nurse set the plan in motion. One of the police officer would masquerade as the nurse while he waited in the nurse's car for Terry Birch to show up in the parking lot near the block of flat which Terry stayed. When Terry appeared, the plainclothes policemen would swarm in and restrain him before he could make any attempts to resist.
Frank Hardy had sat low in a wreck excuse for a car he rented to blend in with the destitute surrounds, observing the scene. At nine-thirty, which was the time Terry would meet his colleague for the ride, nothing happened. They waited until ten before moving up to his flat, fearing the worst, whatever that may be. Terry's elderly landlord told them that he left for dinner and never came back. Frank tried calling Simon and Joe but they were already on the flight back to Bayport.
And then it was with a heavy heart back to his parent's house to discuss alternatives but everyone was exhausted- his father, Chief Collig and Vanessa were showing signs of defeat. Simon joined them soon, his cheerful countenance replaced by a portrait of apology. Feeling stifled by the lack of enthusiasm and not wanting to join in the anxious ramblings, Frank slammed a fist on the coffee table after a spell of silence when tired minds refused to work and set out on his own to find Stacey Bettis. Kathryn had mentioned a girl looking like Catherine Bettis loitering outside the clinic on the night when Catherine was undergoing her abortion which led Fenton Hardy to contemplate the possibility of a twin or sister. He hit jackpot when he did an online people search for Port City and discovered the address of Stacey Bettis and had Chief Collig find out all he could about this personality. Frank had gone to the whitewashed house initially but no one was around. So he figured that she should be in the orphanage.
The door opened and a stern-looking woman with graying blonde hair and serious brown eyes who could have been pretty in her youth glared hard at Frank, "What do you think you're doing? You're disturbing the children."
Frank was not intimidated. If anything, he was infused with a new burst of hope. He had seen the picture of Catherine Bettis and the resemblance between the photograph and this woman was startling.
Exhaling heavily, Frank stood with determination in front of her. He could not blow this- it was only then that the full gravity of everybody's predicament weighed down on his aching shoulders. First Hallie. Then Callie and Elle. Now, his kid brother who he loved above all others. It added to the stress and also, to the resolve.
"Stacey Bettis? I'm Frank Hardy. I'm looking for your sister's, Catherine Bettis, son. I hope you can help me because he has killed many children in the past and is now holding my brother, my niece, my fiancée, and my friend captive."
Stacey Bettis' severe expression switched to a blank, confused look. It was not everyday someone introduced himself to her in that manner. Frank could understand but he hadn't the patience to linger.
"If you'll give me some time, I'll summarize events for you. But none of them can wait. For all I know, they…"
No. NONONONONONONONO!
Frank couldn't bring himself to voice out the possibility but it was something that the pragmatic side of him had started preparing him for in the recesses of his mind. Whatever it was, Frank knew his heart and spirit could never take a blow as dire as that.
"Please… just some time." He pleaded desperately, gazing beseechingly into her eyes as he grabbed her right wrist for emphasis.
With her free hand, she shut the door gently behind her. Her mouth gapped open as if she wanted to say something but was suddenly devoid of language. Fear and anxiety choked up Frank's chest, he could no longer think of anything else to say that could prompt her out of her shock.
"Follow me to the backyard. We can talk there." Stacey Bettis spoke monotonously as she led Frank to the back. There was a stone table with chairs around it illuminated by a garden lamp. Stacey ushered him robotically to a seat and sat down, two chairs away from him.
Her stunned expression had melted away to one of deep concern and cautious. Focusing on Frank with a scourging look, her question came out tersely, as if she was affronted by his begging.
"You do understand that Robert died shortly after Cathy died of cancer, right?"
"I have reasons to believe that he's not." Frank calmly broke the news to her and she shook her head vehemently, nostrils flaring at his insinuation. He had dredged up an awful part of her past that she was most probably still grieving from.
"Are you delusional? He burned to death! I buried charred skeleton!"
"And I may never get to bury my loved ones which he took if you don't help me out because I don't know where they are. Just some help from you and they can be save. Surely, after helping all these homeless kids to find their place in life, you don't want to be damning four innocent people to untimely deaths! You have nothing to lose, I'm the one with so much at stake and I'm begging you to help me here!" Frank hissed sharply and gripped her wrists tightly. She tried to pull away but was unable to break from neither the physical contact nor his consuming gaze.
Her cross peeped out from her collar. It seemed to be a cue. Frank prayed silently before he spoke next.
"Mam, please! Hallie's only six. Joe, her father, only just managed to come home to us. And Callie's my fiancée… we are going to be married in two months time. Elle's a dear friend too. I'm not delusional and I'm not crazy. You may not have any reason to help me out but by God's grace, I hope you do."
"Do not use the Lord's name in vain." Her voice was faltering and Frank relaxed his grip a little.
"I'm not. I'm really putting faith in the hope that there's still some goodness left in the world. Help me…" He whispered softly as his heart pounded against his chest, almost exploding with the fear of failure, "Please."
She tore away from his gaze and curled her lips inwards. Just as Frank's head drooped down with shattered hope, she turned to him and nodded.
"All right. What do you want to know?"
