Skylar sponged his upper body with extreme gentleness, taking care not to rub the minor scrapes and wounds that had almost healed. “Your upper body has healed well. In a few days, you’ll be perfectly fine.”
“I feel better already. Maybe I’ll start working from tomorrow.”
“Are you out of your mind? How can you even think about it? You still need rest, Christian,” she scolded him, helping him into a fresh shirt. Lillian knocked and came in to check.
“Perfect. I think that’s all for today. I’ve arranged for a nurse to come over tomorrow to change your dressing.” Christian looked a little disappointed but smiled at his sister’s efforts.
“You should rest now, Chris. Ever since you arrived from the hospital, you haven’t had a minute’s rest. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to get you discharged so early,” scolded Grandpa Ben, walking into the room. He looked very stressed and Christian nodded, to ease his worries. Skylar went away to clear the mess while Grandpa Ben and Lillian helped Christian to the bed.
“I’ll rest now, don’t worry.”
“You’d better! Or else I’ll give you a sedative, Chris,” said Lillian.
“No need to get so hyper. I’ll sleep now. Good night!” He closed his eyes, and the others left the room with a chuckle. Christian wanted to ask Grandpa Ben about the case. Had the cops arrested Steele yet? Were they now free to move about without their bodyguards? Maybe he would talk to him the next morning.
Skylar came in and changed for bed. In a few minutes, she joined him, but he had already fallen asleep. She gazed at her husband, her heart filling up with relief to see him improve. She had been traumatized since the accident, praying every minute for his recovery. It seemed her prayers were heard now.
As long as the criminal was roaming free, she wouldn’t allow him to risk his life again. She was willing to stay here until he recovered completely and Steele was arrested.
The next morning, however, they received the greatest shock of their lives. Grandpa Ben was missing, and they had no clue to his whereabouts.
“He hasn’t slept last night, I think. His bed looks unused,” said Lillian.
“Call him,” suggested grandpa Phil. Sebastian called him but his phone was switched off.
“Check with his friends if he has gone out on a walk,” said Granny. Lillian called his friends, but no one had seen him around.
“We’re at the Joggers Park. Ben isn’t here with us,” said Ferdinand Anderson, Grandpa’s lawyer friend.
“I think we have to lodge a missing report at the police station,” suggested Sebastian. It was a serious situation with Desmond Steele, desperate for a comeback. His actual grudge was against his father. So had he finally sought him out? A sense of dread clutched at their hearts. Sebastian and Caleb went over to the police station to meet Officer Stewart, who was investigating their case.
“You have to lodge a missing persons report, Mr. St. James. In the meantime, I’ll ask my team to track your grandfather’s number.”
While they were busy lodging a report, Officer Stewart returned to them. “We have tracked your grandfather’s number. It was last used nearly an hour ago in Brunswick, 26 miles from here. Does your grandfather know anyone there?” asked Officer Fred Stewart.
“No, he doesn’t. Why did he go to Brunswick so early in the morning?” asked Caleb.
“We’re trying to get access to the call registry to monitor all incoming and outgoing calls on his number.” They waited at the police station for a breakthrough. No one knew what Grandpa Ben was up to. Was he abducted? Was he in danger?
“I’m not getting a good feeling out of this. I just hope he is safe,” said Caleb.
“What’s his car number? I’ll seek help from the traffic control,” asked Officer Stewart, returning to his office. Caleb gave him Lillian’s car number, which Grandpa used whenever he was in town.
“It’s my wife’s car he used whenever he visited us.”
After five minutes, Officer Stewart returned with a grim look on his face.
“The traffic department found your wife’s car near Brunswick Auto Mart. In fact, Benjamin St. James left his phone in the car.”
“That’s strange. Why would he do that?”
“The Brunswick police are trying to hack into the device. Do you know his password?” Sebastian nodded and told him his password. Officer Stewart collaborated with the Brunswick Police to crack the case.
“Your grandfather received a call from Desmond Steele almost two hours ago. Maybe he left home immediately after getting the call. We’re tracking Steele’s number to locate his whereabouts.”
After the officer left to coordinate with his team, Caleb received a call from Lillian.
“Cal, I just checked my phone and found a message from Grandpa send almost an hour ago. I’m forwarding it to you.” His phone vibrated with the message and both of them checked it out.
Desmond wants to end the enmity with me. He wants 10 million dollars in return. I’m on my way to Brunswick to see him.Grandpa.
The next message was sent after twenty-five minutes.
Edge brookGrandpa.
Caleb and Sebastian frowned and eyed one another. Why did he type such a weird message? Was he in some kind of trouble?
“Was that where Steele took him?” asked Sebastian. They joined Officer Stewart outside and showed him the messages.
“This should be our clue. I’ll update the Brunswick Division of Police.”
He called them and turned towards them after disconnecting the call.
“Edgebrook Village is a low-cost housing society in suburban East Brunswick. I have a feeling Desmond has put up there. Maybe that’s where Benjamin St. James is. Let’s go, he might be in danger.”
Within minutes, they were on their way to Brunswick. Caleb followed the police patrol car, while Sebastian coordinated with Officer Stewart over the phone.
“Why did Grandpa Ben leave his phone behind? It would have been so easy to locate him,” said Sebastian as they reached the sparsely populated city on the outskirts of Cleveland.
“Maybe Desmond forced him to.”
“Maybe. Officer Stewart wants us to follow him to Edgebrook Village.”
Caleb followed the police to a sprawling housing society, teeming with small single-family row houses. They were met by two officers from the local Brunswick Police station.
“There are almost 200 homes here. How will we ever find the one where Grandpa is?” asked Caleb, stopping at the security kiosk. They all walked over to the kiosk where Officer Stewart was interrogating the security guards.
“No, Officer. There’s no resident called Desmond Steele living here. Here, you can check the register.” They checked the register carefully. There was no entry under that name!
“Maybe he has changed his identity. I’ll show you the man’s photograph. See if any of you can identify him.” Officer Stewart showed the guards a photograph of Steele they had found in his house when they raided the place a couple of months ago.
“Yes, that’s Nate Frankfort. He has rented villa 30B for a month. Is something wrong, Officer?” asked a guard.
“Yes, he’s a criminal, bluffing the cops for the last few months. He has been involved in murder, hit-and-run, and extortion cases. Have you seen Frankfort today with this man?” asked Officer Stewart, showing them Grandpa Ben’s photograph.
“Yes. That’s his father. I met them outside villa 30B when I went on my rounds today in the morning,” said another guard.
“Great! Can you take us to Villa 30B? The man is in grave danger. I just pray he is still alive,” said the Officer. The guard led them to the villa as discreetly as possible. The main door was closed and not a sound came from inside. Were they really inside?
“We have to break open the door.” Two officers kicked open the door and barged in. There was no one in the eerily quiet house. Sebastian and Caleb waited outside since they weren’t allowed entry inside. It was too dangerous, and they waited outside for the raid to end.
“Are you sure you didn’t see them leave?” asked another officer.
“I’m sure they didn’t leave the house,” said the guard.
They stealthily went inside the kitchen, the dining room, the laundry room, and the two washrooms downstairs. There was no one! Where could Steele have taken Grandpa Ben?
“Let’s check the bedrooms upstairs,” said Officer Stewart, leading his men up the wooden staircase. At the landing, a muffled groan alerted them. It came from the master bedroom on the right.
They rushed in to find Benjamin St. James on the floor, clutching at his bleeding chest and groaning in pain. It was clear he had been shot brutally. A little further from him lay Desmond Steele in a pool of blood. A few officers checked Steele’s still body carefully.
“He is dead!” said one of them, checking the five bullets lodged in his body.
“Mr. St. James! How did this happen? We’ve got you. Derek, he needs to be taken to the hospital right away,” said Officer Stewart to his team member.
“I k-killed him. He threatened to kill us if I didn’t sign everything to him,” said Grandpa Ben, making a valiant effort to speak. There was a gun lying beside Grandpa, which he might have used.
The ambulance arrived, and they carried him outside the house. Sebastian and Caleb gasped with panic at seeing Grandpa’s critical condition. Caleb checked him and gave him the first aid he needed. With three bullets lodged in his body, there wasn’t much he could do. They accompanied him inside the ambulance.
“Why did you leave without informing us or the cops, Grandpa?” scolded Sebastian with tears in his eyes.
“I wanted to put an end to it,” whispered Grandpa closing his eyes. “I love you all! I can’t see you suffer because of my misdeeds!”
“Please grandpa, don’t blame yourself. We love you. We won’t allow anything to happen to you,” said Caleb.
“I can’t make it, children. Be happy and be there for one another. May God bless you.” The last few words were uttered in a soft whisper as Grandpa Ben closed his eyes forever!