Missing - A Chroniclers Tale Pt. 02

Angela shrugged her shoulders, "We can help."

The rage sustained Jackson Davis for only a few days after his emergency surgery. But it evaporated, leaving a black well of despair he could not find a way out of. Alone in his private room, wallowing in misery, he tried to understand the myriad of storms lashing against him. His 68 year old body felt every year of his age. He had become frail and weak in just a few days.

The doctors could find no cause for his testicles to rupture as completely as they had. Pathology found no disease, toxicology found no poisons and his blood work found no viruses or bacteria. Medically, the was no cause or reason, yet, here he lay, his manhood shattered. His physical future a mix of supplements and pills.

Candy, his fourth wife, had only stopped in to see him once in the five days since the incident. A half hour visit of her, informing him, that she was going to Europe to escape the scrutiny of the press. Shortly after she left his room, a despondent Jackson whispered to his personal lawyer, William "Telly" Smith, to release the hounds of hell on Candy, to ensure she was sending him checks after all was said and done.

His criminal defense lawyer, Tony Sirrico, reassured him that the joint state and federal probe was old news and they were just making noise with an election coming up in a year. Tony was confident there was nothing of substance to the noise they were making and for Jackson to not sweat it. But Jackson knew Ricca's were fair weather only. If the going got tough, they would strike a deal.

His cabal of financial advisers were worried, as was Jackson. 1st Manhattan calling in loans was unusual, but Jackson had enough cash on hand to deal with it. The cash reserves would be low for a while, so they advised him to cut back his adult children's largess. He agreed that his adult sons would just have to deal with a shortfall, but he refused to cut off his daughter Melinda. She had always had a special place in his heart for her and, he had big plans for her. They did warn him that any other loans being called in would be ruinous.

Jackson tried to get comfortable but the drugs his night nurse gave him could only help so much. The hospital psychiatrist recommended therapy to help him deal with his loss, but Jackson scoffed at the idea. He believed, with money, especially his kind of money, anything was possible. But still, Jackson could not help but feel that the vultures were circling.

The opening of the door, flooded Jackson's private room with blinding light from the hallway. He tried to shield his eyes from the light, but his hand responded too slowly. The person had shut the door before his hand was half way to his eyes. His dim light vision destroyed, Jackson could only make out the shape of someone approaching him.

A tall man wearing hospital scrubs let out a sigh as he pulled up stool up next to Jackson's bed and sat down. There was a pity in his brown eyes as he ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair, then stroked his beard.

"Are you one of the night nurses?"

"For the most part, I don't interfere. I just observe and record what you do, both for each other and against each other. I found out a long time ago that interfering in your affairs did more harm than good. I had to learn to just let shit happen." The man took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders, "I always hope people will learn from the consequences of their actions, either good or bad. If they do? Good. If they don't, well, it sucks to be them."

Jackson fumbled for the call button, "Who are you? Where's the guard! Do you know who I am? I'll destroy you!"

The man's strong hands effortlessly pulled the call button from Jackson's feeble grasp.

"You never learned from your actions because you never faced any consequences Jack, until now. You got your claws into someone I actually care about Jack. Your actions have forced me to interfere in a big way, far more than I have in a very, very long time."

Jackson sneered at the man, "Guard! Nurse!"

"You remember Tommy O'Bannon? Your concrete guy? Seems he has terminal cancer Jack and, as a last act of contrition, he's confessing his sins,courtesy of the Ricca's." The man smirked, "Now I don't know if that will do anything for him in the hereafter, but now, he's going to make a big difference."

Jackson indignantly replied, "I didn't do anything anyone else wasn't doing! My lawyers will have a field day!"

The man ruefully looked at Jackson, "Only if you had money for lawyers Jack. Which in a few days, you won't. Well, not any decent ones."

Jackson sputtered, his face turning red and the beep rate of the heart monitor increased.

The man looked up at the heart monitor and smiled and evil grin, "Didn't you say money is power? I'm pretty sure you said that. But your problem Jack...you pissed off someone with a whole lot more money than you ever had." The man leaned in very close and whispered "Me."

Jackson sneered at the man as he struggled to sit up in his bed, "I'm going to enjoy watching you die prick. You've fucked with the wrong guy! I've been wiping the floor with you low life pieces of shit for years!" Jackson was surprised the guard had not entered the room yet with his raised voice. He yelled out "Guard! Guard!"

"Tsk, tsk, Jack. The guard isn't going to come in here, so save your breath. Every action you've ever taken has consequences." The man leaned back crossing his arms over his chest and chuckled, "I just want you to know that I've been fucking your wife all across Europe for the last month. Not that it means much to you, but, I've rarely come across a woman as turned on getting airtight as she gets. I can see why you snatched her up Jack. I'm just wondering what kind of kinks Melinda has. It will be interesting to find out though. If the rumors are true, you should know."

A vein popped out on Jackson's forehead, "You touch Melinda and I'll rip you apart!" His breathing became ragged and his heart rate monitor beeped at an increasing rate. The man touched Jackson's head and shushed him, like a parent to an upset child. Jackson instantly felt at peace and began to drift off to sleep.

Through the gathering darkness of his mind, he struggled to hear the man, "I'm done for the moment Jack. Taking your balls is just the beginning of the pain you're going to get for what you've done to Sara. You are going to watch your whole world fall apart and you'll know who's responsible for it's destruction. Good night Jack and, sleep tight."

Jackson Davis woke in a foul, desperate mood. He only recalled images from the his nightmares; people pointing and laughing, dollars falling from the sky and a nude Candy whispering sultrily words he could not hear. He could not put any context to the nightmares, but he knew the man who visited him in the darkness had to be found. He wanted his scalp.

The nurses bore the brunt of his initial onslaught as he lay there in his bed. The doctors on their morning rounds threatened to sedate him if he didn't calm down.

Telly Smith arrived shortly after morning rounds bearing calamitous news. Before he could relay his bad tidings, Jackson launched into a fresh tirade, demanding Telly find the man who was in his room last night and that he be held until Jackson could be deal with him personally. He also told Telly to get bodyguards on Melinda and that she not be allowed to be alone with anyone.

With an evil glint in his eyes, he growled to Teddy "Find that bitch Candy. Send Marcus to get her. Tell him, she's fair game now. That should motivate him."

Telly looked at Jackson, fearing what he had to tell his boss would do to his mental state, "Jackson, things just got worse."

"What?" Jackson snapped.

"Two more banks called in their loans. There's no capital to cover the costs."

"Have Simon get a loan to cover the differences. We're good for it."

"They tried Jackson. No one, not even the Russians are willing to loan any funds. They say the risk is too great."

Jackson snatched his phone off a bed side table. He could feel his blood pressure rising as he waited for Simon to answer. At first, Jackson reacted with disbelief as the call switched to voice main. His rage became apoplectic as he left Simon a message.

Jackson stared out the rooms huge windows at birds flitting on branches. Once his rage subsided, he turned to Telly, "Find the man who was here last night. He was white, had a beard, older, wearing hospital clothes. Find him Telly."

Jacob glanced at his watch as he sat on the edge of the Bethesda Fountain looking out over the Central Park lake. The text he received on his phone, just after the 6PM news began was short and simple. All it said was a place, time and was signed "Patrick O'Connell". He was at the right place, but his watch was telling him it was now 10 minutes past the time on the message.

Looking around the thinning crowds around the fountain plaza, Jacob noticed a middle aged man striding toward him with purpose. His salt and pepper hair was a bit longer than his pictures but the beard gave him a rather distinguished look.

The man held his hand out to Jacob, "I'm terribly sorry I'm late detective. A meeting ran later than I expected."

Jacob stood, taking the man's hand, "Patrick O'Connell I presume?"

The man smiled, his grip firm, "Of course Detective Jakubowski. In the flesh. I'm sorry you were brought into this mess Detective. I would have reached out sooner, but other priorities demanded my attention."

Jacob felt strangely at ease in Patrick's presence, but also intensely curious, "I have some questions, they will help close out the paperwork on your case. Some things I'm pretty sure I know the answer to, but others...I just need clarification."

"Certainly, ask away Detective. I'll answer anything I'm allowed to say. The FBI and your Attorney General's office want to be, understandably of course, tight lipped on some issues."

"First. You intentionally ghosted Sara, didn't you?"

Patrick sat down on the edge of the fountain, giving Jacob a sly grin, "Have you ever been in love with a silly, flawed girl Detective? One that drives you absolutely crazy? Usually in good ways I have to admit."

Jacob thought back to a girl he dated his freshmen year in college and nodded, "Once."

Patrick chuckled, "I think everyone has at one point or another. I've had more than my share, but this one brought out something I haven't felt in a long time." Patrick motioned for Jacob to sit, "Yes, it was intentional, but I did not intend for her to panic and go running to the cops. That was unexpected."

"And the meeting you told Sara about? With the 'connected' guys?"

"Oh, that was actually real. Just setting expectations and finalizing agreements with some, unsavory characters. Well, unsavory to most, but just another cog in the machine for me."

"Was telling her this all part of your 'plan'?"

Patrick raised his brows and shook his head no in genuine mirth, "Actually no. I had not intended to talk to her again, but I answered out of habit!"

Jacob was confused, "If you were cutting her out, why go through all this?"

Patrick gave Jacob a grim look, "Don't misunderstand Detective, I do love Sara, very much actually. Not having her with me is not pleasant, however, once I found out what Davis was doing. Well, I was not about to leave Sara trapped by Davis. He would have used her up, until she was just a husk."

Patrick looked out over the lake in the dying light of the day, "Davis is an evil, narcissistic piece of shit Detective, make no mistake about that. But, if he had not gotten his hooks into Sara, I would have left him alone." He looked at Jacob with a dark, predatory smile, "Now he is being destroyed."

He looked at Jacob seriously, "You know Detective, Davis was never subtle about anything. He did an amateurish job trying to hide because he has never faced consequences before. He would just buy his way out of any trouble and he paid far too many to look the other way. He is right though, money is power. It all depends on how one uses it."

Patrick stood up and extended his hand to Jacob, "I'm going out of the country for a while Detective. Close your case. I'm alive and moving about of my own free will."

Jacob stood and shook Patrick's hand. As he turned to walk away, Jacob said, "You know Sara's talking to the DA about all the things that went on in Albany."

Patrick froze, his back still toward Jacob and cocked his head, "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, she's agreeing to cooperated, but, since she was intimately involved, she's not going to get off scott free."

Patrick turned and smiled, "Thank you for the information Detective."

"Are you going to get in touch with Sara? She's pretty desperate to see you." Jacob could see a tug of war going on in Patrick's eyes.

"Live long and prosper Detective" he then turned and walked away.

Sara grinned as she sat with her legs tucked under her on her parents overstuffed couch watching the late news. Day by day, Davis world was collapsing around him. The sex corruption scandal she was intimately a part of, was hinted at during the lead story. The first weekend she was back from Albany had been horrible for Sara. Sitting her parents down and seeing their reaction as she explained how she had been a whore for Davis, gutted her. Talking with the police and the District Attorney the last few days had been wrenching for her but the pain of confessing her actions, paled next to the pain of understanding Patrick was gone from her life permanently.

Sara's dad tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of his stuffed recliner, waiting for the sports report to start. She could hear her mom moving around in the kitchen and fussing over the coffee maker. Sara looked up when the front door opened. Her sister Sandy, the last of her three other siblings still living at home, came into the living room from the front door hallway dressed in her fast food uniform.

"Tonight sucked." Exhausted, she droped her purse on the couch before plopping down next to Sara.

"How so?" their dad asked, his attention more on the baseball scores than them.

"Stupid people pop, just stupid people." She turned to Sara, "Anything new today?"

"I have meeting with the DA's people again tomorrow after lunch." She put her hand over Sandy's, "It's going to be crazy for a while. Once this gets out, the press people are going to be nuts."

Sara could see Sandy's lips move, but she could not hear a sound, all she could do was feel, something. Was it him? Her heart began to race and breathing became shallow, both calm and panic gripped her mind. After a few months together, Sara often just, 'knew' Patrick was nearby. She felt him in Albany with a strength and certainty she never experienced before. The feeling now was off the charts.

A knock at the front door startled Sara, her eyes widened hearing her mother say she was getting the door, a part of her afraid to budge yet another, begging her body to respond and move. Sara caught her breath when she heard the front door open, but she could not hear any voices. She should have, but she heard nothing. Then, she heard soft footfalls on the hardwood floor of the front door hallway heading toward her.

Her eyes were glued to the corner where the living room turned into the front door hallway, shadows playing on the far wall. She closed her eyes afraid to see who would come around the corner from the front door.

She heard her father's voice, "Sandy, why don't we give these two a few moments alone."

She felt her sister pat her hand gently and felt her get up from the couch. Sara could hear their steps as they left the room. Her breathing was short and she could feel her pulse racing. She wondered if the condemned felt this way waiting for execution. She could feel the wet streaks of tears finding their way down her cheeks.

Sara heard a throat clear and she slowly opened her eyes. She could see him standing across the room through tear filled eyes. All the speeches she had rehearsed for this moment, which she was never sure would ever occur, fled her mind. Sorrow and sadness filled the space.

His hair was a bit longer and the trimmed beard was new. She had never seen him with one, he had always been fastidious about shaving. She liked it. Somehow, it suited him. Patrick was dressed casually, a light blue, crew neck tee shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Not high end sneakers, just practical ones.

In the few moments he had been in the room, she had been unable to say a word. The only sound that passed her lips were soft sobs. He crossed the room and knelt down in front of her.

Taking Sara's hands, his voice firm, he asked, "Are you ready to stand up for yourself or are you going to allow Davis to continue to dictate your life?"

Sara looked at Patrick with surprise in her eyes.

"I'm not going to apologize for my actions Sara. Once I learned what Davis was doing, I had to plan an appropriate response. Not telling you what I knew or when was my decision and I own it."

Sara thought Patrick suspected something was going on in Albany, but she didn't know what he knew. Was he going to hate her even more than she already suspected?

"I...I, what?" She burst out in tears, "I'm so sorry Patrick! I know you hate me!"

Patrick pulled Sara up from the couch and wrapped his arms around her, "Hate you? No. Supremely pissed off at you? Abso-fucking-lutely. To be honest Sara, your vanity and need to be seen or admired started you down this path. You had every opportunity to come to me after the first time. You should have come to me when Davis started to blackmail you."

"I was so scared" she mumbled, clutching onto him. She relished the feel of him against her. His arms wrapped around her did more than comfort her. Sara felt safe, safer than she had in a long time. Each moment she held him, reminded her of what she had foolishly thrown away. For what? Because she wanted people to see her? See how important she was or the famous people she was around? She kicked herself at her selfishness and stupidity. Chasing something that wasn't worth what she had found when she ran into Patrick in a Manhattan bar.

Patrick pulled back from Sara and sat her down, "Sara, the sex was never an issue. Goodness knows I've been with more women, in more situations and combinations than I can count. I'm certainly not proud of everything I've done in my life. Your deception and lack of trust in me is the issue."

"I don't even remember what happened the first time." Panic washed over her. How could she explain all that went on? She couldn't remember the night Davis took the video and from what she saw, it seemed to her that she was enjoying it. "I was so embarrassed, scared, I couldn't let you find out because I would loose you forever!"

"I'm told that you've told your story to the cops and the DA? Are you cooperating fully?"

Sara nodded. "It just spilled out after I saw you. Why did you leave? I looked everywhere and I couldn't find you!"

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you that you are going to see this whole mess through. You aren't just doing this for yourself, you're doing it for everyone else that's fallen into Davis's clutches. He's not getting a free pass this time. Davis fucked up involving you. Because of that, I'm personally seeing to it that he's utterly destroyed."

Sara's parents and sister came back into the room.

"We didn't hear any yelling or furniture crashing, so we thought it would be OK to come in" Sara's dad said with a grin.

"Well, what I have to say will affect all of you really" Patrick replied. He handed Sara a card, "You have an appointment with my law firm at 8AM. They are going to represent you here on out. When you meet with the DA again tomorrow, they are going to be with you."