Chapter 26
Past
Abunch of teenagers decided to vandalize private property one time. Burn the lawn, create chaos, distract security, and indulge in a car chase.
Aariv had a mind-blowing escape plan. I used a wire cutter and cut the barbed meshed fence toward the exterior of the building.
Inside the envelope were photographs of my father, alive and breathing, and then I found the USB stick.
Mason sent me a text that read: Party starts in seven minutes exactly. Music is ready and off the charts. Get your ass back here.
Meaning in seven minutes Mason and Jake would start throwing Molotov cocktails close to the fence on the west wing of the school as a distraction.
There were three security guards positioned on the campus and they would team up to put out the fire.
This would cause the diversion I needed to escape from the south side of the fence. The only fence that had no cameras.
Aariv’s plan was bulletproof. I could have easily escaped if I hadn’t stopped to entertain myself for a couple of minutes. If I hadn’t challenged Ishika to call the cops. If I had taken the time to snatch her phone and toss it away. But I wasn’t thinking really. I was riding the high.
I kissed Ishika for the first time that night.
Probably, shouldn’t have.
But did I regret it? Hell no!
She was the girl who reigned my dreams. She was the girl who was so beyond my reach. For a small fraction of that night, she was mine.
I locked the door, hoping that would delay her.
That she was probably all talk and she wouldn’t call the police, after I hinted that I knew where she lived.
I was running as fast as I could when I heard the chaos on the other side of the school.
The cops had arrived before our estimated time.
They watched the blaze of firebombs light up the green lawns of the administrative building.
Mason and Jake had narrowly escaped. And now it was up to me.
I had to find a place to hide the USB stick, I couldn’t risk getting caught with it.
I needed to know what secrets it contained.
I found the old music room that had a vent and climbed the wall to slide the USB into hiding.
The blast of the police sirens filled the air as I made it to the arranged exit.
There was an unmarked police car waiting in the dark spot of the road outside the school.
I had failed to notice it. Inspector Scooter was sitting in that car waiting for me.
I didn’t fight him when he secured my hands in a zip tie.
Scooter interrogated me for hours and kept asking me if I had an accomplice but I kept denying it.
I was charged with the break-in and vandalism.
I showed him the watch, explained where I found it, along with the photos of my father.
He said the photos and the watch wouldn’t prove anything, but he would take them as evidence and look into it.
Bolton and Wendy came to the police station later that night.
When Scooter questioned them, they both denied knowing anything about the watch.
Bolton accused me of planting evidence in his office as entrapment.
He said I had been acting up and picking fights with him since my father’s death.
He said I was doing that because I was hurting and needed someone to blame.
Inspector Scooter took down Bolton’s statements and let him go.
“Why did you let Bolton go?” I yelled at Scooter.
“Ryan, you broke into his private office. Went through his personal belongings. Did anyone see you find the watch? Can someone vouch for you that you really didn’t tamper with the evidence?
The thing is, Ryan, what you did was unlawful.
What you should have done is come to me, we could have gotten a search warrant.
I can’t arrest Bolton. I have no proof.”
“I’m not lying,” I screamed. “My father didn’t take his own life. And he didn’t fall off the roof accidentally. There’s some foul play involved.”
“You are not exactly helping your case. Bolton’s willing to not press charges if you cooperate and apologize to him. Your words against the words of a reputable principal. Who do you think the jury will believe?”
I refused to talk to Scooter anymore and I sure wasn’t going to apologize to Bolton. The USB stick was my last hope.
My three best friends, along with Aariv and Jake’s parents, came to the station the next day and bailed me out. I got away with community service because the judge knew my father and he went easy on me.
Later, Mason paid the guards to allow us into the schoolyard while Jake and I hunted for the USB everywhere. But we came back empty-handed. It was as if the USB never existed.
Someone had found the USB and I had a feeling Bolton would have searched for the missing piece of evidence soon after my arrest. He obviously didn’t want anyone to find out what was on it.
I wanted to confront Bolton but my lawyer had advised me to cease all contact with Bolton and Wendy immediately.
I knew there was no point in clashing with Bolton unless I had something hardcore against him.
Mason, Aariv and Jake went back to their own colleges by the end of the week. I was once again on my own. I promised Aariv to stay out of trouble. Mason told me to be careful and not get caught again. Jake told me it was time to find allies.
I started following Bolton closely. I dug up all his contacts and started a background check on them.
I snooped around, asking for information.
Why was he hiding photographs of my father?
What did Bolton seek to benefit from my father’s death?
He was a partner in the business. Did he fight for more partnership share?
Did he disagree with the terms of the business?
Was someone blackmailing Bolton? That would explain the photographs hidden in his safe.
But why? The questions frustrated the hell out of me. They drove me crazy.
A week after my arrest and release, life went back to being as normal as possible.
I went back to working three jobs and my community service.
One evening, I had finished my shift at the repair shop and I was going to head to the gym when I received a text from Owen.
This was the first text he had sent me since he left home.
Can we meet? I have something to tell you.
Where?
The bridge. See you in fifteen.
The bridge was the arch overpass connecting the two sides of town. Ishika’s and mine. Bolton’s house was in Ishika’s neighborhood. I was anxious to meet Owen. Maybe he was finally willing to forgive me. I missed my brother. I wanted to hear him call me his Big B again.
I saw Owen on his bicycle, I saw him climb the incline of the bridge.
I saw his smile as he found me waiting and peddled faster to reach me.
I smiled too. Only wider as he came closer.
I longed to throw my arms around him like old times.
I longed to wrestle him to the ground and recreate those fond memories again.
I was determined to make things right between us tonight.
Owen inched closer and closer toward me and then suddenly his smile fell.
Fear and dread overtook his features and I mirrored those emotions without comprehension at first. A scream left my throat even before the collision happened.
A car came out of nowhere and rammed into Owen. Then it sped away without stopping. There was so much blood everywhere. Owen’s limp body and his head on my lap, my repeated screams into the night. An ambulance and blue lights. I can’t recall exact details, I was numb.
Owen had lost a lot of blood. He had multiple fractures, including a broken kneecap and a dislocated shoulder. But after forty-eight hours, the doctors told us he would survive. It was the hardest forty-eight hours of my life.
Scooter came to take Owen’s statement. The car was a stolen vehicle that was found abandoned in a dark alley two towns away. The hit-and-run driver was unidentifiable. I lost trust in the police department that night once again.
Scooter took me aside. “Do you know why someone would want to hurt Owen?”
“No, I don’t know that. But isn’t that your job to find out?” I said agitatedly.
“You have made new enemies is what I think. I suspect that hit-and-run was intentional. Someone wanted to hurt Owen. They are sending you a message. Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” I lied
“Well, I can’t help you if you don’t want to be helped.” Scooter sighed.
After everyone had left the hospital, I sat beside Owen that evening. This was my fault, my punishment for going after Bolton.
Owen’s face was swollen and he had difficulty speaking up. I felt him trying to hold my hand. His lips moved as he whispered something incoherent. I tried to listen, moving my ear closer.
“Aunt Wendy lied to you. She’s scared of him.” Owen’s voice was groggy and small but it was clear.
It was time Aunt Wendy and I had a chat.