Shattered Lives (13 page)

When they broke apart, there were tears in their eyes.

Tim nodded at George, didn’t say anything, then embraced him and whispered, “I promise.”

“I know.”

Tim faced Brett and again the two of them stared at each other without exchanging a word, but that didn’t prevent them from
communicating
.  George had noticed that Randy and Billy had done the same thing over the short time he had been with them.

Finally, Tim and Brett hugged each other fiercely with Tim rubbing Brett’s back.  Before he let go, he kissed Brett’s cheek and then gently held Brett’s face in both of his hands.

“I’m going to miss you the most, Brett.”

“Me, too.”  Then he added, “I love you, Tim.”

“I know.  I love you, too.”

They embraced again and this time, both boys kissed each other’s cheek.

They wiped tears away, and Tim said quietly, “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Can you wait fifteen or twenty minutes before you leave?  I don’t think I can say goodbye again.”

“Me, neither,” Brett said thickly.

George said, “In my language, there is no word for goodbye.”

The three boys looked at him waiting for an explanation.

“The closest word is ‘
yá'át'ééh’ . . . a greeting.”  He shrugged.

The three boys smiled at him, and George smiled back, blushing deep crimson, even noticeable under his copper-colored skin.

“So, we don’t say ‘goodbye’,” Tim said, smiling first at Brett, then at Randy and George.

“Sounds good to me,” Brett answered.

Tim joined his parents and the three of them left the room, leaving Brett, Randy and George watching them leave.

“I can call you guys, right?” Brett said, not taking his eyes away from the doorway that Tim had just walked through.

“Absolutely,” Randy said. “Anytime.”

“I hope you do,” George added.

Brett turned and smiled at him and said, “I will.  I was just being polite.”

George and Randy laughed.

“Can I say something?” George asked.

Brett nodded.

“I know you are angry, but when you face him, and I think you will, you cannot be so angry that you lose focus.  You have an advantage because he sees you as just a kid.  It is the same advantage I had when I faced that man sent to kill us and with the agent who had Tim.  Do not lose that advantage.  You have to keep your focus.  You have to remain calm.”

Brett nodded, hugged George and Randy one more time.  Then he joined his
parents and left the sun room and the hospital, leaving Jeremy, the twins, George, Jeff and Danny, and Pete.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Chicago, Illinois

“May I talk to you . . . all of you?” George asked.

Jeremy said, “Sure.  What’s on your mind?”

“Can we sit down?” George asked. 

Billy helped George onto a harder, wooden chair, because it would be easier for him with his bruised ribs.  Jeremy and Jeff wore a look of concern evidenced by their wrinkled brows.  Danny, Randy and Billy looked at George expectantly.

“I was thinking,” George said quietly, gathering his courage, “that maybe I should go to Arizona by myself.  I could take a plane or bus,” George said, first looking at Jeremy, then at Jeff. “It might be safer for everyone.”

“No!” Billy said, leaning forward towards his father. “No way!”

Randy placed a hand on Billy’s arm to quiet him and to allow George to continue.

“If there are men after me, I could be putting you in danger.  I do not want that,” George pleaded.

“No!” Billy repeated. “You’re not getting on a plane or a train or a bus.”

“But-“

“-But nothing,” Billy shouted, shaking off Randy’s hand. “We’re family.  Families stick together.” He looked from Jeremy to Randy and then back to Jeremy and said, “Dad, tell him!”

“George,” Jeremy started. “We can’t let you deal with this by yourself.”

Frustrated, George said, “Do you not understand?  These men sent someone to kill me once before. They will not stop.”

Pete leaned forward, his forearms on his knees and said, “George, Jeremy and I have come up with a plan.  We believe everyone is safe for now because no one will know where you are.”

“For
now
. . . until we get to Arizona where these men will be waiting for us.”

“George, do you trust me?” Jeremy said softly.

“Yes, but-“

“-Billy’s right,” Randy interrupted. “Families stick together.”

George looked from Randy to Jeremy and then to Billy.

“What he said,” Billy said, nodding towards Randy.

George tried to stand up and when Billy went to help him, George shrugged himself out of his grasp, wincing at the pain on his right side.  He gave up and sat back down.

“Please listen,” George said, frantic with worry, frustrated that no one was listening to him. “I have already lost one family.  I do not want to lose another.”  Billy sat back down and exchanged a look with Randy.  “I do not want to lose you too.  Any of you,” George said looking from one to the other.

Jeff, who had been listening quietly with interest put his arm around Danny, gave his shoulder a squeeze and both smiled at George.

Jeremy leaned forward and said, “George, I need you to trust me.”  He paused and said, “Can you do that for me?”

George looked to be near tears, frustrated that he wasn’t being heard and embarrassed that he had lost his composure once again.  No one should be able to tell what a Navajo was thinking.  He felt that his grandfather would be disappointed with him because he had lost his composure far too much in one day.

He took a deep breath and slowed his breathing down, placed his mask back in place, and looked at Jeremy intently.

“We’re going to go on vacation.  We all need one, especially after all we’ve been through,” he paused and looked at the twins and then back at George. “In, I don’t know . . . nine or ten days, we’ll be in Arizona.  Our plans are pretty fluid, but when we get there, we have a plan,” nodding in the direction of Pete and Jeff. 

Jeremy looked over at Pete and then back at George.

“Pete and our friend Detective Graff are working on protection also.  George, we have a plan that will keep us all safe until we’re done in Arizona and back home in Waukesha.  We . . .” indicating Randy and Billy, “hope you’ll come back home with us, but if you don’t, Pete will arrange protection for you for as long as you need it.”

George tried to put on a brave face, but his chin trembled and his mask was in danger of slipping off.

“I . . .” he stopped, unable or unwilling to continue.

He cast his eyes down and shook his head solemnly.

In the end, they left the hospital together.  Pete said goodbye to each of them, hugging each of the boys and then turned around and walked back into the hospital.  Billy told the group that he and George were going to ride with Jeremy, leaving Randy and Danny to ride with Jeff.

There was as much said and felt as there was unsaid and felt by each of them. 

Jeremy figured it would all come out at some point during the trip.  He just hoped that the plan he, Pete and Jeff had come up with would work. 

If not, there would be more dead bodies, his own and the twins included.

PART TWO

RE-ENTRY INTO THE WORLD

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Waukesha, Wisconsin

Before leaving the hospital, Pete gave each set of parents a script to be used when the families got home in case media was staked out on their front lawns.  There was little doubt that there would be because each of the other boys who had left the hospital in Chicago or in Kansas City or Long Beach experienced a media circus like none other.  Most of the kids and parents had held press conferences at their local police or sheriff departments with the guidance of FBI or departmental PR people to help run interference.

There were offers of movie deals, book deals, TV interviews, and TV specials.  There were agents, PR firms and managerial firms trying to recruit them, each promising the best representation.  None of the boys were interested, and their parents, taking the lead from their sons, weren’t interested either.  As Brett had put it before they had left the hospital,
I want to forget what happened to me.  Why would I want a book or a movie to remind me? 
All the boys had agreed with him.

Stephen counted six TV trucks with news crews and even recognized one or two from the Milwaukee stations he and his family watched.  There were other interested folk milling about as well as photographers trying to take their pictures as they pulled up.  As instructed, the Ericksons and the Baileys pulled into the back of the Waukesha Police Station and were hustled inside by a phalanx of officers where they were met by Captain Jack O’Brien and Detective Jamie Graff.

              O’Brien was a bald, fit and square-jawed fireplug of a man, stocky and chiseled.  His arms bulged out of his short-sleeved navy dress uniform.  His dark eyes bore deep into your soul, and that was the first and lasting impression left on Mike.  Normally slow to speak, a man of few words, he was the first to shake the boys’ hands in a grip that could have easily broken fingers and knuckles with one squeeze.

              “Boys, we met in the hospital.  Let me say once again how happy we are to have you home safe and sound.”

              Mike and Stephen nodded tentatively.

              “Mr. and Mrs. Bailey,” he said as he shook their hands in the same manner as he did the boys.  “Mr. and Mrs. Erickson.” 

After acknowledging the parents, he turned back to the boys.  “Here’s how we’re going to do this.”

The boys stood side by side to the right of the podium with their parents behind them.  To the left stood the Waukesha County Sheriff, Myron Wagner. He was dark-haired, rotund and middle-aged with jowls and a neck almost covered by two chins, and next to him stood Detective Jamie Graff.  Graff looked as though he’d rather be anywhere other than on the front steps under the glare of lights and media scrutiny.  He scanned the crowd that had gathered below and in front of them and in particular, the people on the fringe.  He knew there were two others in the crowd doing the same thing as he was.

At the podium, Captain O’Brien thanked the police and sheriff detectives and the FBI for the operation.

“Without this joint cooperative effort, these two boys and the other boys held in captivity wouldn’t have been freed.”

He asked for a moment of silence to honor Police Detective Paul Gates who lost his life leaving a wife and small child behind, and then after, acknowledged Police Detective Gary Fitzpatrick and Sheriff Deputy Ronnie Desotel who had been wounded freeing the boys.  He introduced Detective Jamie Graff who led the siege in Chicago.  O’Brien’s smile was meant to be warm and friendly, but it came across as menacing and threatening and actually, rather scary. 

Cameras snapped while the crowd broke into applause. 

After O’Brien finished, Jennifer Erickson spoke on behalf of her husband, the boys, and the Baileys.  She stepped forward, and the boys flanked her on either side.  Reporters yelled questions or otherwise told the boys to look this way or that way.  Not wanting to be there, the boys understood it was important for them to be.

“Before any questions, I’d like to say a few words,” she stated quietly.  “On behalf of my husband, Mark, and our son, Michael, and on behalf of Ted and Sarah Bailey and their son, Stephen, I want to thank the Waukesha Police Department, the Waukesha County Sheriff Department, and the FBI for rescuing not only our two boys, but the other boys held captive in Chicago, Kansas City, and Long Beach.  Without their quick action, I don’t know what would have happened to Michael and Stephen and the rest of the boys. Our hearts go out to the families of Detective Paul Gates, Detective Gary Fitzpatrick, and Deputy Ronnie Desotel.  No amount of words can convey what we truly feel, but we want them to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them.  We also want to thank the brave young man who recognized Michael and Stephen in the Amber Alert.  Without his quick thinking and his bravery, we would still be looking for our sons and the other boys instead of standing here in front of you.

In closing, my family and the Bailey family asks that the media respect our privacy, especially the privacy of both Michael and Stephen.  They went through a lot, more than any child should ever go through.  We will not answer any questions about injuries or anything that took place while the boys were in captivity.  Instead, we need to focus on their rescue and what we need to do as a society to make sure things like this don’t ever happen to our children.  As a society, we need to keep our children safe.”  She paused, scanned the crowd and said, “Thank you.”

When she stepped away from the podium, Stephen and Michael stepped forward.

“Were you scared?” one reporter asked.

She was the evening anchor at one of the Milwaukee TV stations.

Mike looked at Stephen, then stepped forward and said, “Yes.”

“At any point, did you feel your life was in danger?” asked a good-looking man in a suit.

Stephen recognized him from yet a different Milwaukee station.

Stephen stepped forward and said, “Yes, but Mike and I don’t want to talk about that.  What’s important is that we’re back home.”

The questions and answers went on for ten or fifteen minutes, including a summary from Jamie Graff.  He normally spoke even less than O’Brien did, though today both were front and center and uncomfortable in the spotlight.

Graff began his career as a traffic cop and then was assigned as an SRO at North High School and became friends with Jeremy Evans and Jeff Limbach, who together formed the three Js as the three of them were called.  Where one was, the other two weren’t far behind.  A thick head of dark hair and dark eyes and matching complexion, he came across as Latino.  Quick to smile and usually sarcastic when he had something to say, he was known for his quick mind and skill in the field.  A perfect leader, who didn’t really want to be, but accepted the leadership role because he knew he should.  Besides, he’d rather trust himself in charge than someone else.

              The anchor woman said, “Stephen, there are reports that the man responsible for having you abducted is still out there.  Is there anything you want to say to him?”

O’Brien stepped forward to answer, but Stephen held his arm out to prevent him from doing so.

“The only thing I want to say is that I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure he’s caught.  And when he is, I’ll do everything I can to make sure he’s in jail for the rest of his life.”

Again, silence.  Stephen didn’t realize it, but his hands were balled into fists, and he was glaring at the woman, who shrunk from his anger.