“The woman is crazy,” Lucille said as she came in, handing each of them a mug. “It’s the fresh apple cider. I heated some up for you both.”
“Thank you.” Lucas sipped the warm liquid and sighed, it was so good.
Lucille smiled and then said she was going upstairs to lie down.
“Everything is ready for when Jenn picks up Jameson.” He checked the time. “Let me put the bag in her trunk. I want to see what she’s packed for herself. If she has a bunch of suitcases, then we need to be concerned, but if she has a weekend bag, then her story is more consistent with her actions.”
“Okay. And hopefully we can relax this weekend with her away.”
“Maybe. Once she’s gone, I’m going to put up the cameras, and we can learn to use them.”
Brendan nodded slowly.
“What does Greg think about all this?”
“He said to document everything. Put it in an email with times and her actions and send it to him. That way the email will have a timestamp. He also said to call the police about any incidents in the future. That way there will be reports to back up anything we have claimed. But it feels dumb to call them because the goats are out.”
“Then we take pictures of everything and include them in the notes to Greg. That way he has more to documentation with proof.” He was about to leave when one more thought occurred to him. “I’m not saying Jenn is a saint or anything, but what if she isn’t behind what’s been happening? I know we need proof, but are you prepared for the fact that all this may have nothing to do with her?”
“But you saw her car, and….”
“I saw a black car that could have been hers. I didn’t get that close a look at it.” He didn’t want to make Brendan upset, but they had to look at this logically. “I’m just saying that we need to prove it and try to take emotions out of the mix.”
Brendan’s cheeks bloomed, and for a second, Lucas thought he was going to explode. “How can I take emotion out of it when Jameson is the one at stake? He’s my son.” He began to shake. “If anything happens to him….”
Lucas couldn’t stop himself. He stepped forward and hugged Brendan. “I get it, I really do. And if she is behind what’s been happening, we’re going to get her. But if she isn’t… then someone else is doing this and we’ll find them.” There was something in the back of his mind that kept pinging. “You know, a lot of the things that are happening remind me of pranks that kids pull. The gates being left open—kids would do that crap. It’s the burn area that I found that really concerns me.”
Brendan backed away, sniffing softly. “God, I’m so sorry. I don’t normally get this upset. It’s just that she hasn’t paid much attention to Jameson for months, and now she’s determined that she is going to take him. If she was in town, I think I’d worry less. But they’re going to be three hours away.”
“She is his mother, and she’s going to be with her family. I would hope that there is an aunt around or that Jameson’s grandparents will be there.”
“They will. I’m sure.”
“And with the tracker, we can drill down to the street level. So we will know where he is, or at least where Roary and his luggage are.” There was little more that he could do. “She has a right to see her son, and she must bring him back by Sunday evening.”
“Yes. I can’t stop her without going against what the court ordered. She is also under orders that she cannot take Jameson out of the state.” He sighed. “I know I’ve done the best I can, but I guess I was really hoping that she was getting on with her life and had pretty much forgotten about Jameson. She was never an involved mother, and after a month with only a few texts saying that she was busy, I had hoped she was simply pulling away. That would have been so much easier.”
“What did she do on past weekends?”
“Spent them with her mother. Jameson pretty much stayed with her, so I knew he was safe and taken care of. Regina just doesn’t see that her daughter is bat-crap crazy.” He sighed and then called Jameson down to make sure he was ready.
“Is Mommy coming?” he asked.
Brendan nodded.
“Do I have to go?” he asked. “I want to stay here with the horsies and the goats. Can I take one with me?”
“You want to take a goat? I don’t think they’ll be happy in the car. Do you?” Brendan asked. Lucas liked how he easily managed to get through to him without getting angry or upset. “They’ll all be here when you get back on Sunday. I promise.”
Lucas handed Roary to Jameson, who cuddled it close and then set it carefully on top of his little suitcase. “You have a good time.”
Jameson nodded as the black car pulled into the drive. Brendan took Jameson’s hand and led him outside. Lucas carried the suitcase and waited behind them. Jenn spoke toBrendan, and Lucas waited until she popped the trunk. He put the suitcase in the back and closed the lid.
“See you Sunday,” he told Jameson, waving as the little boy grinned back. Lucas had work to do, so he went inside and got the cameras, reading the installation instructions, while Brendan said goodbye. He saw the car pull away and waited for Brendan to come back inside.
But he didn’t. The back door remained closed.
Lucas thought of seeing what Brendan was doing, but figured that maybe he needed some time to himself. This sort of thing had to be difficult, and the house seemed way too quiet without Jameson’s energy. Lucas worked out where he wanted to place the cameras and decided that now that he had something to speak to him about, he should find Brendan.
