Sebastian Schultz had been reunited with his father and so far they stayed with his parents till the insurance came through. He hadn’t suffered any abuse or neglect while he was kidnapped according to the doctors. I hoped the boy was too young to remember what had happened to him when he grew older.
To my joy, Shannon had decided to stay in Cocoa Beach for a little longer. To get back on her feet, as she explained to the press, who soon got to hear about the entire kidnapping story and plastered it all over the newspapers and magazines. It was harder for her to avoid the spotlight now, but they still didn’t know about her hideout in my apartment, where we were all staying, since my parents’ motel wasn’t done being examined. So far, we weren’t getting on each other’s nerves. I actually enjoyed having all of them close to me immensely. Especially after what had happened. Family was my top priority. And Shannon and Angela had quickly become a part of ours. Joe wasn’t too happy when she told him she wasn’t coming back to Nashville anytime soon, and they were facing a custody battle. It wasn’t over yet. Far from it. But, we decided not to worry about it. Now was the time to heal our wounds.
I hadn’t told the twins or Emily that Arianna had died yet. I would get to that eventually, and I was waiting for the right moment. First, I needed to come to terms with it myself. Yamilla had already identified the few bone-parts of the other body found at the motel as belonging to Arianna. A DNA-test confirmed it. So, it was official now. I was a widower.
“I have a surprise for you,” Shannon said, when we came back to the apartment after the ceremony. She told me to close my eyes while she led me by the hand into the living room.
“Open your eyes,” she said.
My eyes landed on the most beautiful orange and black 7.0 foot fun-shaped board I had ever seen in my life.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s for me,” she said. “I found a local shaper to make it for me.”
“For you?”
“Yeah. I thought you could teach me how to surf while I’m here.”
I laughed and kissed her. The twins made yuck-sounds behind us. They loved Shannon, and liked having her and Angela around, but didn’t like it when we kissed publicly. They would have to get used to it.
“On one condition,” I said.
“And what’s that?”
“You teach me how to play the guitar.”
Shannon smiled, then reached out her hand.
“That’s a deal, Detective.”
* * *
THE END
Slip Out the Back Jack
Jack Ryder #2
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
~Paul Simon 1975
Prologue
May 2002
Four bodies cast four shadows on the barren walls behind them. The scarce glow from the candle placed on the table in the middle lights up their faces. They take turns with the knife, cutting their thumbs open. A drop of blood lands on the dark wooden table. Eyes meet across the room. Determined eyes. All four thumbs are pressed against each other, one by one. Blood is shared, secrets buried. The pact is made. The four of them know that there is no way back from here.
This is where it begins.
Chapter One
November 2009
“Hurry up. We’re going to be late.”
Maggie Foster’s daughter looked impatiently at her mother. Maggie was getting her two year-old out of the Toyota. “I’m doing this as fast as I can,” she groaned.
“We’ll miss the movie,” her daughter continued. “We need to get popcorn too.”
“Hey,” her father, Dan, said. “You be nice to your mother or we’re not going to the movies at all.”
Maggie sent her husband a friendly smile. Her oldest daughter had been giving her mother a hard time lately. She was fifteen and acting like a real teenager. Maggie often wondered if it was just due to the fact that her baby sister took up a lot of the attention that she was used to getting or if it was just an age thing.
Her oldest daughter groaned and rolled her eyes at her father.
“Watch it,” he said.
Maggie managed to get the baby out and put her on her hip, while Dan took out the stroller from the back. It was late Friday afternoon. The parking lot was already packed behind the mall. There were a lot of people that—like the Fosters—had chosen to spend their Friday night at the mall. Maggie hoped not all of them were going to the movies. A two year-old made a lot of noise and had a hard time sitting still, even if it was The Princess and the Frog. Hopefully, there would be other young kids present, so they wouldn’t be the only ones destroying it for everyone else.
It was the first time Maggie had taken her youngest to the movie theater. And she did it only to please her oldest daughter, who constantly complained that they never did anything fun anymore—not since the baby came into their lives. Maggie wanted to prove to her daughter that they could still do the same things as they used to.
Now, as she walked towards the colorful building housing the mall and movie theater, she wasn’t so sure it was a good idea anymore. She had this feeling in the bottom of her stomach that wouldn’t leave.
Maggie stopped as they reached the front doors of the mall. The baby was already fussing in her arms. She was sweating from holding her. It was another hot afternoon in Boca Raton, north of Miami. Usually, Maggie loved the heat, but today it had been bothering her. Maybe she was coming down with something.
“Maybe we shouldn’t…” she said.
Her oldest daughter growled. “I knew it!”
Dan looked at Maggie. “Are you not feeling alright?”
“But…but, you promised!” their daughter whined.
“I know, sweetie,” Maggie said.
“You can’t break a promise. You just can’t.” Their daughter was holding it together, but Maggie could tell she was about to crack. She looked at her husband. Everything inside of her screamed that she didn’t want to do this, that she had to get herself back into the car and drive home, but how could she? How could she break her daughter’s heart like that?
“I won’t, “Maggie said, sounding as reassuring as possible. “I’m just tired. It’s okay.”
Her daughter’s eyes lit up. “So, we can go see the movie?”
Dan looked at Maggie. She smiled to convince him it was all right. He would cancel the entire thing if he suspected she wasn’t well. The baby was crying. Maggie shushed her to make her calm down, and then gave her the binky. It was going to be hard with her inside the movie theater, but she was going to do it. For her daughter’s sake.
“Are you sure?” Dan asked.
Maggie forced a smile and grabbed the door. “I’m sure. Let’s go. I can’t wait to watch this movie.”
Chapter Two
November 2009
The mall was crowded, as always. Teenagers were everywhere, hanging out in the food court and by Claire’s. Brad Schmidt remembered when he used to be one of those teenagers, hanging out on a Friday night, looking at the girls. He still liked to look every now and then at the young girls, but made sure his wife didn’t notice.
“You want more?” Gabby asked their daughter, Ally.
Ally shook her head.
“Eat the rest,” Brad said.
“I’m full,” Ally said.
“We paid for this sandwich, so you eat the rest,” Brad continued.
“But…” Ally looked at him, but he wasn’t going to cave. And she knew it. Brad felt his face turning red in anger.
“Eat it,” he said, raising his voice.
Ally looked into her father’s eyes and knew there was no way she was winning this. She looked at her mother, who turned her face away, avoiding the glare of the other people in the food court. Brad clenched his fist under the table. He couldn’t believe she would defy him like this in public. She would have to hear about this later.
Ally picked up the sandwich and took another bite.
Brad felt the blood calm in his veins. He t
ook in a deep breath and smiled.
“Good girl,” he said.
When she was done, Gabby crumbled the Subway wrapper and threw it away. Brad swallowed the rest of his sandwich and washed it down with his Coke. He was looking forward to an evening in the movie theater, just stuffing his face with popcorn and soda. He would probably get a candy bar or two as well, while he was at it, and hopefully without Gabby seeing it. She hated how much weight he had gained over the last couple of years and was always on his case about it. He didn’t mind too much. After all, he had nailed the girl, he had a great job where he didn’t have to move much, but could stay behind his computer all day, and he had a beautiful daughter. He was happy and wanted to enjoy life. It wasn’t like Gabby was that slim anymore either.
They got up and threw away the trash, then walked towards the theater that was already packed with people. They got in line, and when it was their turn, showed the usher their tickets to The Princess and the Frog, the movie Ally had been asking to see for several weeks now. Brad didn’t care what movie it was, as long as he could sit in the dark and eat without anyone demanding anything of him.
“Anyone need to pee?” Gabby asked, looking at their daughter. Ally nodded. “Good. Come on,” Gabby said, and pulled her daughter towards the restrooms.
Brad sat down on a bench to wait. He looked at his watch, wondering if he should just go inside and get some seats while there were still some good ones left. He looked at the popcorn boxes and drinks that Gabby had put down on the bench next to him. He could hardly carry it all on his own, and there was no way he could leave it out here. Someone might take it. No, he had to wait. They would be quick if the line wasn’t too long in there.
Brad grabbed his phone and silenced it. Might as well do it right away. A couple walked past him and smiled. He nodded.
“How’re you doing?”
A couple of teenagers giggled as they walked past him and disappeared into another movie. Brad wasn’t looking forward to his daughter reaching that age. He couldn’t bear to think of her as this monster, this erratic creature who would hate her parents and the world they lived in. He hadn’t been too good himself, the way he had behaved back then. But she wouldn’t be like that. Not his Ally. He had raised her better than that…with tough love, the way his own parents had raised him. It was for her own good. To keep her out of trouble later in life.
Brad’s eyes met those of his daughter as she walked out of the restroom. His heart melted. No, Ally wasn’t going to be anything like those girls. She was Daddy’s girl. She was going to remain that way always.
She bumped into him and almost made him drop his candy. He felt the anger rise in him and was about to yell at her for being so clumsy, but controlled his anger for once. This was not the time or the place.
He looked up and his eyes met with Gabby’s. She was always on his case about him being too harsh on Ally, but she knew he loved her.
“Let’s go watch the movie,” Gabby said, and grabbed the boxes of popcorn in her arms. Ally took her own box and soda, while Brad grabbed the rest. He followed them inside the theater, where Gabby found seats next to a family of four. Brad grumbled a little when he saw the girl in the seat next to him, who could be no more than two years old. The theater was almost empty, why did they have to sit right next to them? Young children were always trouble in a movie theater. Why did people even bring them? They didn’t watch much of the movie anyway. It was a waste of money, in his opinion. Now, he just hoped the little girl in the seat next to him wasn’t going to ruin it all for him.
“How are you doing?” he said, and nodded to the parents who seemed vaguely familiar. A daughter who looked like she was teenager peeked over as well. He smiled at her. She didn’t smile back.
Kids today, Brad thought to himself, and grabbed his first candy bar as the previews came on. Brad smiled and leaned back in his seat as the chocolate melted on his tongue. He felt good at this moment. He had everything under control. He was doing okay for himself, his company was booming, and he had a beautiful family. Life was good.
He had exactly thirty-five minutes left to enjoy it.
Chapter Three
November 2009
As suspected, the baby couldn’t sit still for long. She kept crawling into Maggie’s seat and making loud noises. It was exhausting, and Maggie didn’t get to watch much of the movie. The man in the seat next to her seemed to be annoyed by the baby crawling up and down in her seat. The theater was almost empty, and Maggie wondered if she should take the baby up to the back row and sit with her there. But she would still make noises. Maggie closed her eyes and wished she were at home, where the baby could be as noisy as she wanted to and she didn’t have to shush her constantly.
“Sit down,” she whispered.
The baby whined and pushed her hand away, then continued to crawl up on the seat, then down on the floor, then back up. The seat squeaked every time, and people behind them were clearing their throats. The baby crawled up on the seat and jumped in it while laughing loudly. She stared at the people sitting behind them. They shushed her. Maggie felt embarrassed and pulled her down. As she did, she felt her diaper. She turned and looked at her husband.
“I need to change her,” she whispered in his ear.
Dan nodded, while stuffing his face with popcorn. He was all into the movie, unlike Maggie, who had hardly seen anything. She was just waiting for this entire thing to be over so she could go home.
Maggie grabbed the bag and swung it over her shoulder, then grabbed the baby, who started crying, since she wanted to keep jumping in her seat.
“Excuse me,” she said to the big man next to her. He pulled his leg to the side with an annoyed sigh and let her pass. The baby was crying loudly now, and Maggie hurried as fast as she could to get out of the theater. Once the door shut behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she could relax. Her shoulders came down and she held her daughter tightly in her arms. It would probably have been better if her oldest daughter had gone alone with her father. They would do that next time. There was no way Maggie was doing this again.
She took the baby to the restroom and put her on the changing table. She didn’t want to lay down, so she had to hold her with force. It had been like this a lot lately. She had started to get a will of her own and never wanted to do as her mother told her.
“Lay still,” she said with sweetness in her voice.
But the girl was still fussing and moving around while she pulled off her diaper. It was heavy with pee. She changed it quickly, then tickled her tummy and kissed her before she put her clothes back on. The baby laughed and grabbed her hair and pulled it. It hurt, but Maggie didn’t mind. She enjoyed these moments so much. It was completely different than when she had her first child. Back then, she had been so young, so constantly anxious about doing the wrong thing, it had made everything so hard for her. Plus, she had to deal with a mother-in-law who constantly implied she wasn’t doing anything right, with the result that her husband never thought she could do anything right either. Neither could their daughter, come to think of it. Lately, Dan had been on all of their cases, and it was exhausting.
Maggie decided she didn’t care about watching the movie and that she would take a stroll with the baby in the mall instead until the movie was done. Maybe the baby would take a nap. Give Maggie a little break.
She grabbed her bag and walked towards the theater. First, she needed to go back in and tell Dan her plans, and then get the stroller, of course.
The baby was laughing and hugging her head, and Maggie felt so cheerful as she opened the door to the theater, where the sounds of pure hell met her. At first, she thought they were laughing. She thought people in the theater were just laughing. Like laughing hysterically, but as she walked up the ramp, she realized the movie hadn’t made the audience laugh; it was something else that had made them scream in terror. The deafening sound of shots being fired made her realize the horror that was taking place.
Maggie’s heart stopped and she rushed inside, just in time to see her oldest daughter and Dan fall to the floor. By the exit stood the shooter, still firing into the crowd again and again while people tried to escape. Bodies were dropping to the ground like flies. Maggie stared at the shooter and the fire in this person’s eyes that seemed to be beyond this life. At first, Maggie couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t even scream. Instead, she grabbed her youngest daughter and held her tight as she turned around and ran out the same way she had come in.
Part One
MAKE A NEW PLAN
Chapter Four
March 2015
The noise was unbearable. Stanley Bradley had always hated Disney World more than any place he could think of. But the light in his granddaughter Elyse’s eyes when he took her there made it all worth it. Even the waiting in long lines while sweat ran from his forehead and stung his eyes, even the tasteless hotdogs they ate for lunch, even the constant music coming from everywhere and people cheering almost hysterically at the parade in the afternoon.
Just seeing her smile made it worth it.
It wasn’t often Stanley got to see his grandchild and spend time with her, since her mother, Stan’s only daughter, lived upstate and rarely came to visit.
“You never have time for me anyway,” she always grumbled on the phone. “Like you never had time for me while I was growing up.”
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Stan asked.
“Maybe not. But you have always been married to your work. Even when you were home, you always had your nose buried in some research material or some new article published in The Scientist. I think I saw the front cover of that magazine more than I saw your eyes, growing up.”