Disclaimer:  In first chapter.

Chapter 19

Running past Parker, Jarod ran back to the area they just vacated.  He hoped that Brandon just wandered off somewhere, which his son did have a knack for, but the black and white photograph kept flashing through his mind, reminding him of the deadly threats against his youngest child.  If something horrible did happen to Brandon, he would never forgive himself. 

Breathing heavily, Jarod skidded to a stop.  Staying in place, he spun around frantically, scanning the area in hopes of spotting his son.  He looked to his right to find Parker searching the stands, hoping to find Brandon among the thriving crowd.  He could see the panic and worry radiating from her as she ran a frustrated hand through her dark tresses, cursing to herself at coming up empty.  Seeing this only made Jarod guiltier.

Yes, maybe he should’ve told Parker about the threatening picture he received about Brandon, but in the end, he decided to keep this information to himself.  After telling her the gruesome details about her mother’s death he figured that was plenty of bad news to receive in one day.  He knew he would eventually have to tell her, and that he was dreading because he knew she would be furious with him for keeping this from her.  So lost in his thoughts, he didn’t realize Parker was standing beside him until he saw her fingers snapping in front of him.

“Hello?  Earth to Wonder Boy,” she said, trying to get his attention.

Flinching, he shook his head, trying to get back some composure.  “What?” Jarod asked in slight confusion.

“I said, do you have any pictures of Brandon with you?  That way we can show people what he looks like, so in case they do see him they would know who he is,” she suggested.

“Oh yeah, good idea,” replied Jarod as he dug in his pockets, looking for his wallet.  Seconds later, as he pulled out his wallet, the folded black and white picture fell out onto the ground.  Before he had a chance to bend down and pick it up, Parker bent down to get it.

“What’s this?” she asked as she unfolded the crumpled photo.

“Oh, it’s…it’s nothing,” he answered as he tried to take it from her fingers.  But, as fast he was, she was faster as she turned away from him, trying to get a better look at the photo.  Swallowing down the huge lump in his throat, Jarod prepared himself for the wrath of her fury.  When she whirled back around, he took a step back as he came face to face with the angry sea of blue that danced within her eyes.

“Jarod, what the hell is this?” she growled out, trying her best to keep her anger in check, so she wouldn’t cause a scene.

“Parker…I thought…I mean…I…I thought that it was best…” he stumbled out.  He was truly at a loss for words, knowing there was nothing he could do or say to calm her down.

Smiling at the curious onlookers that passed by, Parker grabbed Jarod by the elbow, and steered them away from the prying ears an eyes that lurked nearby.  Once they were a good distance away, Parker dropped her smile.  Taking a step closer to him, she said through clenched teeth, “I’m so sick of this, Jarod.  I’m tired of being some sick little game piece on your quest for the truth.  Besides, the only person who knows what’s best for me is me.  Got that?”

Straightening his stance, Jarod adjusted his jacket angrily.  “Yeah, I get it,” he replied back bitterly.  “I’m sorry that my concern for you is hampering your life.”  Opening his wallet, he took out a picture of Brandon and handed it to her.  “Here, you start your search on the east side and I’ll start on the west side.  We’ll meet back here in fifteen minutes.”  When he was about to leave, Parker grabbed his arm and whirled him back around.

“You are some piece of work, you know that?”  Pinching the bridge of her nose, Miss Parker began pacing back and forth.  “Why do you have to have this control over people’s lives?  You always assume you know what’s best for people.”  Stopping in front of him, she clasped her hands under her chin.  “Jarod, when will you realize you’re not God, but just a man who has flaws like the rest of us?  You can’t be a one-man judge, jury, and executioner.”

Jarod gave her a puzzled look.  “What are you talking about?’

Miss Parker let out a sardonic chuckle.  “Well Jarod, it was always my job to try and predict your next move, and knowing you I’m guessing you planned on taking Mr. Raines and his slew of men on by yourself, am I right?”

Folding his arms across his chest, he responded back, “Mr. Raines?  Why would he have anything to do with this picture…or your mother’s death?”

Miss Parker took a step back, giving him an incredulous look.  “You’re kidding me, right?  I can’t believe I’m standing here listening to this.  How can you stand here and defend that murdering ghoul?  After all the awful things he’s dished out to us, how can you stand there and not be angry at him?”

“Parker, I don’t understand where all this hostility towards Mr. Raines is coming from?”

“He killed my mother,” she whispered out as a lone tear made its way down her cheek.  “Jarod, he killed her in cold blood.  Every fiber of my being knows he killed her.”  Locking eyes with Jarod she added, “Aren’t my words enough for you to believe me?”

As the announcer at the football game asked everyone to rise for the playing of the national anthem, Jarod’s eyes took in the vulnerable woman before him.  He couldn’t shake the uneasiness that crept within him when she said Mr. Raines killed her mother.  There was so much conviction in her voice that he began to question his trust in Mr. Raines.

He could still remember like it was yesterday when he went to work for Parker’s father.  He graduated early from law school.  All the top law firms wanted him to work for them.  When they heard the score on his bar exam and the grades he received in school, firms knew he was an asset they simply couldn’t pass up.

Just like it is today, the law firm of Parker and Raines was powerful.  They had offices located in Washington D.C., which was their busiest section, probably because of all the political scandals that brewed within that area, New York, London, Toronto, Los Angeles, Paris, and Chicago.  But, their main office was in Dover, Delaware, which was where Jarod wanted to be.

Unlike Parker, Jarod loved working in law.  It was a chance for him to help the little guy find justice, and as an extra bonus, maybe Mr. Parker and him would eventually get along with each other. 

When Jarod and Parker got married, he was surprised by the wedding gift Mr. Parker gave them.  He was floored when Mr. Parker offered him the opening in the Delaware office.  When Jarod shook his father-in-law’s hand, sealing the deal, he thought for sure things were only going to get better between him and the elder Parker.

Well, two years passed by and everything seemed to be going great.  Parker and he were parents of three month old twins.  His relationship with Mr. Parker only seemed to get stronger with each passing day.  Then one day while they were at lunch, Jarod and two new associates, Andrew Cox and Alex King, were asked to join Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines on their biggest case yet.

At first, Jarod was excited to work on such an extensive case, but once the evidence started pouring in his excitement soon turned into agony over the case.  Their client was the son of a respected politician, who was charged with date rape of a female college student at nearby Georgetown University.  Since Mr. Raines was called away to New York, Mr. Parker was left in charge. 

Alex and Cox were eager about the case, while Jarod wanted nothing more to do with it.  One day, while they were going over the case with their client, Jarod came across some damning evidence against the politician’s son.  When he showed it to his father-in-law, he thought Mr. Parker would do the right thing, sharing this new evidence with prosecutor, however, Jarod was to naïve for his own good.  When he left the office, and came back a few seconds later, he found Mr. Parker lighting the evidence on fire, throwing it into the fireplace.  Jarod watched as Mr. Parker patted the congressman on the back saying he didn’t need to worry about the evidence as long as he was on the case.

As Jarod sat in his car, he knew what he had to do.  He would have to put the girl on the stand even though she was against it.  It was the only way to throw this scumbag in jail.  Jarod knew the son had an unusual looking birthmark on his right hip, if the girl described it somehow, everyone would know that the congressman’s son would be guilty.  As he drove home, Jarod knew his relationship with Mr. Parker would be dead, but that didn’t matter to him.  All that mattered was getting justice for this young woman.

The next day rolled around, and Jarod was the next one in line to defend their client in court.  He fumbled his way through the proceedings, purposefully damning their client in the jury’s eyes.  Unfortunately, he knew it was time to pull out his secret weapon.  When he told the court that he would like the young woman to take the stand, the courtroom erupted in surprised gasps.  Mr. Parker bolted from his chair, demanding a recess.  His recess was denied.

The young woman described the birthmark so perfectly that there was no way for Mr. Parker to argue their side on this one.  With that, the jury came back with a guilty verdict, placing the politician’s son in prison for rape an assault.  Five minutes later, Jarod was fired.

The next day as he was cleaning out his office, Mr. Raines dropped by saying how sorry he was about the way things turned out.  When Jarod told him he was thinking about opening up his own law office and running things his way, Mr. Raines offered his support and help.  With Raines’ help, Jarod and Parker’s brother, Bobby, were able to open their own small firm and run things their way.

Jarod always wondered why Mr. Raines never left his job, and was going to ask this on the day when Mr. Raines’s house caught on fire, killing his wife and daughter in the process, and severely damaging Mr. Raines’ lungs.  The man now carried his breath of life in a squeaky oxygen tank.  Till this day, Jarod always wondered if the fire at Raines’ house was retaliation for helping Jarod, but he would never know, since Raines was transferred to the office in London, never to be heard of again.

And that was the one question that always plagued Jarod’s mind about Mr. Raines, why did he stay with the law firm?  But could it be that maybe Raines had as much to hide as Mr. Parker.

As he looked down upon Parker’s defeated form, he was beginning to believe that there may be something to Parker words.   Could Raines had a hand in Catherine Parker’s death?  As he stood there and thought more about it, he realized he had been played the fool the whole time.  Jarod unfolded his arms and stood behind Parker.  Looking over her shoulder at the photograph he whispered in her ear, “I believe you.”

As she turned around, Jarod found the faintest smile grace her lips.  Cupping his cheek with her free hand she said shakily, “Thank you, for saying that.  I wasn’t for sure if you would believe me.”  Once she took her hand away she added, “Now, tell me about this picture.”

XXXXXX

Once Jarod told her the story about the photograph, they split up with Parker taking the east side and Jarod taking the west side.  Taking out his cell phone, Jarod called Sydney who was still sitting in the bleachers with Sam and his wife.  With Sam’s help, there were a couple of security guards and police officers located at all possible exits in case someone should take off with Brandon.  Jarod just hoped that it wasn’t too late.  With Sam scouring the area, Jarod told Sydney to stay in their seats in case Brandon came back.

After ten minutes of searching Jarod was becoming frustrated.  He checked the restrooms, under the bleachers, and the concession area, but no one spotted the small red hair boy.  Jarod was making his way out into the parking lot to check for any clues when something caught his eye.  Off to the side by the equipment building, Jarod found a small black glove.  When Jarod flipped it over and saw the number eight written on the top he knew who the owner was.  Brandon.  As Jarod stood back up, he was slightly startled by the ringing cell phone in his jacket.  Pulling it out he answered, “Hello?”

“Jarod?”

Knowing who it was Jarod scanned the area, looking for the obtrusive caller.  “Where is he?” he barked into the phone.

“Where’s who?”  Jarod could hear the delight in the caller’s voice which only angered Jarod more.

“You know who you bastard!  Where’s Brandon?”

There was a pause as the caller drew out agonizing seconds making Jarod grow more agitated.  “Jarod, do you like games?”

“My son’s life is no game,” Jarod warned.

“Ah Jarod, is that any way talk to the person who holds your son’s life in their hands?  Now, let me ask again, do you like to play games?” the caller asked with more seriousness.

Jarod didn’t know how much more he could take.  Running a worried hand through his hair, he began pacing back and forth.  After some time he finally answered, “Yes.”

The caller was obviously enjoying himself as Jarod heard him chuckling on the other end.  “Now, was that so hard?  Well, since you’re obviously not listening to my employer, he’s decided it was time for more desperate measures.  So, let’s begin the games, shall we?  Okay, here’s your clue, if you want to find your son all you have to do is look in the palm of your hand, the eagle knows where your son is.”  The line then went dead.

“Hello?  Hello!” Jarod shouted into the phone.  “Damn!” he muttered to himself as he hung up his cell.  Letting his eyes roam the area, Jarod found Parker running towards him with someone on her heels.  ‘What the hell is he doing here?’ Jarod thought to himself as he saw Bobby running behind his sister.

“Jarod, any luck?” Parker panted out, trying to get control of her breathing.

“What’s he doing here?” Jarod indicated with a nod towards the man he once thought of as a friend.

“He’s here to help us,” replied Parker. 

“Jarod, I know we haven’t gotten along since…”

Before Bobby had a chance to finish, Jarod cut him off, “You killed my brother and you expect me to just forgive and forget…?”

“Jarod…”

“No!  You should be the one six feet under, not my brother.”

Jarod stood firmly in place as Bobby stepped up to him.  “You don’t think I relive that horrible night day in and day out.  When I go to sleep, if I’m lucky enough to get that, I hear the screams of your brother and Timmy.  When I wake up they’re still there.  Try as I might, I can’t escape that day.  You are right about one thing, I should be the one dead, not your brother, but you have to remember Jarod, Timmy or Kyle could’ve been the driver also.  If Kyle survived would you feel the same way about him?”

With Kyle’s death being brought up to the forefront and his missing son, Jarod snapped.  Grabbing Robert roughly by the shirt, Jarod slammed him against the wall.  “I’ll never forgive you for killing my brother.”  Slamming him against the wall again he repeated, “Never.”

“Jarod let him go!” Parker demanded, trying to release Jarod’s firm grip on her brother, but Jarod remained in place, ignoring Parker’s pleas.

“He killed my brother, Parker.  Kyle’s dead because of him,” Jarod said through clenched teeth.

Placing a hand on Jarod’s upper arm, Parker whispered to him, “Jarod, I know you and my brother don’t get along, but now is not the time for this.  Listen, we all three have one thing in common; we want to find Brandon.  I’ve seen how Bobby treats Brandon; there is no denying the fact that he loves Brandon with all his heart.  Now, let him go so we can find our son.”  Trying to drive her point home, Parker gave him a reassuring squeeze on his arm.  “Let him go.”

Jarod didn’t miss the double meaning behind Parker’s words.  Let him go.  If only it were that easy to let Kyle go, but how could he when his pain and grief consumed him whenever Robert was around.  Looking at the man before him, Jarod eased up, letting Bobby go.  Slowly stepping away from him Jarod said, “I will never forgive you.”

Straightening his shirt and jacket, Bobby looked at him with solemn eyes.  “Then you’ll never heal.”  With that said, Bobby slipped past Jarod giving his sister a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as he left to search for Brandon.

When he was out of sight, Jarod turned to Parker.  “I know he’s your brother, but I can’t help the way I feel when he’s around.  My brother’s dead because of him.”

“I know, Jarod, but you can’t keep dwelling on the past.  You’ll never live life to the fullest if a part of you is still back there entwined with your brother’s death.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jarod held out Brandon’s glove.  “I found this over by the stairs that leads down to the basement in the equipment building here.  I was on the phone with one of the people that’s associated with sending Brandon’s threatening photo to me.”

“What did he say?” Miss Parker asked as she looked down at Brandon’s glove.

“Well he said, and I quote, ‘If you want to find your son all you have to do is look in the palm of your hand, the eagle knows where your son is,’” answered Jarod.  “I have a feeling the glove answers the palm part, but I’m having trouble with the eagle part.”

Miss Parker closed her eyes as she mumbled the words, “The eagle knows where your son is, the eagle knows where you son is.”  Opening up her eyes she scanned the area, looking for any clues.  As she looked up at Jarod again, a painting on the back of the wall caught her eyes.  Walking past Jarod, she took a step closer.

“What is it?” Jarod asked with concern.

With a triumphant smile plastered across her face, she turned back around to face him.  “You said you found the glove over by the stairs?”

“Yeah,” Jarod replied with hope.  “Did you figure out the clue?”

Pointing to the painting on top of the wall she said, “What does that painting look like to you?”

Turning his head slightly upwards, his gaze wandered over the painting.  Grinning he replied back, “The Blue Cove High mascot, the eagle.”  He paused for a moment then looked over at Parker.  “This building has ten rooms located down in the basement.”  Grabbing the glove from Parker’s hand, he continued, “The rooms are numbered from one to ten; I bet the key to finding Brandon is in room 8.”  Grabbing Parker’s hand, they rushed down the stairs, looking for room 8.

Once they found it, they tried the knob to find it locked.  “Brandon, are you in there?” Miss Parker shouted over the banging of her fists on the door.  She paused, hoping to hear something.  She was about to start shouting again, when she heard his voice.

“Mom, is that you?” asked a frightened Brandon from behind the door.

Relief rushed through Miss Parker as she answered back, “Yes, it’s me.  Your father is out here also.  We’re going to try and break down the door, so step aside so you won’t get hurt.”  Stepping out of Jarod’s way, Jarod kicked the door open. 

Seconds later, Brandon came barreling through the doorway with tears streaming down his face as his mother wrapped him in a warm embrace.  “I…I was so scared.  I was helping…this guy look for his dog…I…I heard a dog barking down here…so…so I came.  When I stepped into the room the…the door closed, locking me inside.  It was so dark, but I…I knew you would come,” he choked out as he buried his face in Miss Parker’s waist.

Miss Parker didn’t realize she was crying until a few tears ran down her own cheeks.  Hugging the boy more tightly, she tried to sooth his fears away.  “Everything’s okay.  You’re safe now, but you can’t wander off like that without telling someone.”

“I know.  I’m so sorry.  I just wanted to help the man find his dog,” he replied through his tears.  “It will never happen again.”

“Sshh, it’s okay.  The only thing that matters is that you’re safe and sound.”  Wiping his tears away, she playfully ruffled his hair.

Smiling at his mother, Brandon looked over at his father, somewhat shocked to see him crying.  “Dad, are you alright?” he asked with worry, he never seen his dad cry before.

Grinning down at him, Jarod answered back, “Yeah, I’m okay.  I…we were just so worried about you, but don’t worry, these are tears of joy not sadness.”  Walking over to Brandon, he picked him up and held him in his arms.  “I love you so much,” he whispered to his son.

“I love you too, Dad, but…can you put me down.  I’m kind of old for this,” Brandon slightly teased.

Jarod let out a soft chuckle.  “Sorry, I sometimes forget how fast you’re growing up.”  Putting Brandon back down, Jarod commented, “Now, why don’t we go watch a football game.”  With that, they headed up the stairs, making their way back to the bleachers.

XXXXXX

From afar, the man smiled sardonically at the recent happy family reunion.  He loved playing with people’s minds, and Jarod’s, well; it was the cream of the crop.  “Enjoy it while you can, Jarod, the fun is only just beginning,” the man whispered out to the cool, October air.  Putting his hat back on, the man exited the football game, passing the police chief and security guards on his way out.  He chuckled to himself; sometimes it was just too easy.

XXXXXXX

To Be Continued…