My Everything (19 page)

“Sit down, Paul, and shut up,” Tom said. “That’s a low blow. Ben was not responsible for Julie’s death. He’s suffered as much as you.”

Detective Byrne spoke up. “Mr. and Mrs. Smithson, regardless of who did what and who is responsible for what, as Mr. McCall said, we have a situation. Two men were shot to death last week. We believe your son is responsible. A woman was attacked and nearly killed early this morning. We believe your son is responsible. A young girl is missing, and her life is in danger. We believe your son is holding her. If you have any information as to his whereabouts, then tell us before anyone else dies, including Roger. I doubt your late daughter would want you to keep quiet.”

In the silence that followed his words, Paul Smithson sat down on the couch and put an arm around his wife.

Detective Byrne continued, “We’ll do our best to help your son, but we need to find him first. Do you know where he is?”

“You have no idea‍—‍” Paul’s voice cracked, “‍—‍what it’s like to lose a child to this disease. No idea at all. It’s worse than death. Roger had everything going for him. He was a talented child, a beautiful boy, a bright, happy young man. He could have done great things. Instead, he became a danger to himself, a danger to us. He had a wonderful future ahead of him. The best he can hope to be now is a busboy, if he’s lucky, on medication for the rest of his life.” His words faded away as he began to sob.

“Try to understand,” said Susan, “We couldn’t have him with us, at least not very often. We seemed to agitate him, make things worse. And I was afraid of him, especially after what happened. Julie saved our lives. She seemed to be the only one he listened to, the only one who could reach him. It was Julie who made us promise not to tell you. After she died Roger had nothing and no one to rely on. Please, Ben,” she pleaded, tears streaming down her face, “He was her brother. Growing up, they were as close as two people could be. She adored him. They were inseparable. She couldn’t do it to him. She couldn’t humiliate him or make him an object of pity or fear. Please, please tell me you don’t blame her for this.”

Ben sat down beside Susan and put a hand on her arm. Her hair was red, the same color as Julie’s. Susan was still a lovely woman. Julie would have looked very much like her had she lived to that age.

“I’m trying to understand,” he said, “I am. But what I need from you now is the truth. I lost Julie. I lost my child. You may be angry with me for what happened, you may even hate me, but you’re not going to come after me. Your son doesn’t feel the same restraint. He blames me, and he’s after me. He’s taken my little sister to get to me, and I want her back. I want her back alive. I’ll do whatever it takes. Time is of the essence, so I’m asking you again. Where is Roger?”

“We—we don’t know,” stuttered Paul. “He disappeared nearly a year ago.”

“What?”

“He was here one day, to do some laundry,” said Susan, her voice still shaky. “We went to a ball game and then out to dinner in San Francisco.” She looked down at her clasped hands. “I didn’t feel comfortable staying here alone with him so when he came by to do laundry or pick something up, we usually left the house. When we got home, Roger was gone.”

“Gone as in disappeared?” asked Detective Byrne.

“At first we just thought he’d gone home, like usual,” she replied, “But his clothes were still in the washer. And he’d been in Julie’s old room. He’d looked through her things, opened the boxes we packed up. Her possessions were scattered all over the room.”

“Did he take anything?” asked Tom.

“Yes, we think so,” answered Paul. “We think he may have taken her diary.”

Ben was stunned. “Her diary, Julie kept a diary? I didn’t know.”

Susan said, “I found it when I was helping you pack up her things. I’m sorry. I should have given it to you, but I was angry and hurting. I wanted to hold onto a part of her, hear her thoughts. Forgive me, Ben. I wanted to feel close to my daughter, to have something of hers, something very personal. Was that so wrong?”

“No.” Ben shook his head. “It’s not wrong. I miss her too, Susan. Barely an hour goes by that I don’t think of her. But you have to tell us if there was something in the diary that would set Roger off, that would launch him on this personal vendetta.”

Paul spoke. “I’m not sure. I know some of it would have seemed strange to Roger. He didn’t know you or understand your work.”

Tom scratched his chin. “What on earth would Julie say that Roger might find suspicious?”

“Julie talked about a hotel room in Pomona,” Paul said. “If I remember correctly, she actually followed Ben on several occasions.”

“Followed me?” Ben asked.

Paul shrugged. “I guess, well, I guess she thought at first you might be having an affair.”

Ben’s mouth dropped open. “Why on earth…”

“It’s all right, Ben, she realized it was part of your job. She mentioned an apartment too. She didn’t give the exact location, but she did write down the name of the street because there was a…” Paul looked at his wife.

Susan said, “It was… It was after she found out she was pregnant. She said there was a deli down the street from the apartment. She picked up lunch there a couple times. I guess she had a craving for something salty. To us, you know, considering what you do, it didn’t sound like anything that far out of the ordinary. Julie was feeling insecure maybe, suffering from newlywed jitters, that sort of thing. To Roger, I don’t know what Julie’s words sounded like.”

“What did you do when you realized Roger had vanished?” asked Detective Byrne.

“We checked his apartment,” said Susan. “He left his job, his cat, everything. I guess he took some clothes. Paul went to check on him when his boss called to let us know Roger had missed three days of work. I was afraid he was sick or worse.”

“Worse?” asked Tom.

“That he’d committed suicide. He tried a number of times over the years.”

“Did you file a missing person’s report?” asked Ben.

“No,” Paul said, “No. We waited to see if he’d return. We took his cat and kept the lease on his apartment for six months. But he didn’t come back. We figured maybe it was for the best, for everyone.”

The room fell silent.

Paul glared at the three men, the tone of his voice defensive. “What gives you the right to judge us? Put yourselves in our shoes for a minute. You try living with the nightmare of this disease then see how you feel. You try putting one foot in front of the other every single day knowing that your only daughter is dead and your only son might as well be.”

No one contradicted him.

“We knew Roger wouldn’t starve,” said Susan. “He cleaned out his bank account before he left.”

“Do you have any idea where he might have gone? Do you know of any friends he might be living with?” asked Tom.

“None,” replied Paul. “We did check with some of his former friends in the area. They hadn’t heard from him. For a while, we waited to hear from the police somewhere, thinking he’d get into trouble again. But nothing happened. After six months, we told ourselves he must be dead. That he’d killed himself or ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people and we’d never learn what happened to him, and we’d just have to live with that.”

“I’m very sorry,” said Ben. “I wish you had confided in me. It didn’t have to be this way. If Roger had known me, understood a little about me, I suspect we could have avoided all of this.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Paul replied. “It’s hard to say with Roger. And I guess now we’ll never know. I’m sorry about your sister. I’m sorry for everything. I wish we could be of more help, Ben.” He glanced at his wife. “Do you want us to fly to Los Angeles with you? Perhaps we’ll have some influence with him, but I can’t promise anything.”

Ben jumped at a buzzing sound.

The detective pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket. He glanced down. “It’s a text from my partner.”

Ben rose to his feet.

“The police in South Central just picked up your sister. Apparently she was able to escape. She’s all right. My partner is driving Mrs. Adams to her location right now.”

“Thank God.” Tom clapped Ben on the back.

“Your son is still at large,” Detective Byrne said. “I’m not sure how safe you’ll be if he decides to come home. I suggest you pack up and go stay with friends or relatives. We’ll arrange for the Sheriff’s Department to keep watch on your house.” He headed out the front door to update the sheriff’s deputy.

Tom followed him, already texting the pilot. He looked back at Ben. “You coming?”

“In a minute,” Ben said. He turned to his former in-laws. “If you’re serious about helping Roger you can fly back to Los Angeles with us.”

Paul and Susan looked at each other. Ben saw some unspoken agreement pass between them.

Paul shook his head. “Call us when it’s over,” he said, “Then we’ll decide what to do. Thank you. Your understanding is more than we have a right to expect.”

Ben nodded. He embraced Susan, and she kissed him on the cheek. He and Paul shook hands. Paul escorted Ben to the front door then shut it behind him.

The three men climbed into the SUV. As they pulled away, Ben allowed some of his elation to show. Angel was alive. She was safe. Grace would take care of her. He wanted to laugh out loud, but he couldn’t. His entire being was sad for Susan and Paul. No matter how things turned out, a happy ending wasn’t in the cards for them.

Grace held tight
to Angel’s hand as they walked through the house where she’d been held. There was no way she was letting the girl out of her sight. Grace praised her, assuring Angel she’d been very brave and she was the most resourceful girl she’d ever known.

Their police escort was equally effusive and protective. Nobody expected Roger Smithson to return, but they didn’t want to disturb the crime scene. The team of investigators questioned Angel and now they searched for any clue Roger may have left behind.

Angel calmly showed them the bedroom, still littered with his personal items, where he had tied her to him when he wanted to sleep. She led them to the basement closet where she’d been held when he was away and showed them the cellar door she kicked open to escape.

Grace was shaken to the core at the thought of what might have happened. The two were led outside where they watched as an investigator used bolt cutters to remove the lock from the garage. Angel showed them where he’d thrown the keys to the van.

The police had the license number of the sedan. Angel described the vehicle as best she could, but in the dark, it had been hard to tell make and model.

Grace thanked whatever spirits above had looked out for the girl. Her arms and legs were scraped, but otherwise she was unharmed. She wanted to contact Angel’s parents and Ben to give them the good news. The police were still trying to find out which flight Monica and Mark were on, and apparently both Ben’s and Tom’s cell phones had no service.

Grace decided she’d fill the role of a big sister as she had years ago and keep Angel glued to her side for the duration. At last, exhausted, she and Angel crashed in the back of an ambulance.

It wasn’t until Angel sat down that she began to cry again. Grace held onto her until the shaking subsided. Finally, the two of them leaned against each other and fell sound asleep.

Grace woke when a police officer poked his head into the vehicle.

“We have a lead,” he said. “Roger Smithson may be headed for Bakersfield.”

“Does Ben, I mean Mr. McCall, know?”

“Yes. We got word to him. They’ll be meeting up with the police in Bakersfield in a couple hours.”

Grace nodded.

“How’s she doing?” The officer gestured at Angel.

“She’s tough,” replied Grace. “She’ll be all right.”

“We’ll have someone drive you back to your hotel in a few minutes.”

“Thanks, officer, and thanks for filling me in.”

On the way
to Bakersfield, Ben managed to reach his mother and stepfather. Thanks to a bank of thunderstorms, it seemed their jet still languished on the tarmac in Dallas. At least they knew Angel was safe. Their impatience to see her for themselves mirrored his own. But he had things to do before he saw Angel with his own eyes, things that would not only ensure her safety, but his and that of his former in-laws. Not to mention remove the threat Roger posed to the general public.