James: Is my pup with you?
Garrett: I swear to God, Salem, do not go near that man.
I didn’t know who to reply to first or what to say, but it was clear that Garrett knew where I was. Putting my phone in my back pocket, I walked toward lane four. I got Brandon into this, and I wasn’t going to let him do it alone.
Elijah didn’t even bother looking up from his cell phone until Brandon jumped into the small multi-seater boat. When Brandon sat, Elijah set his phone down inside the boat and looked up. Elijah hadn’t noticed me standing a few feet away, but even from where I stood, I could see the color disappear from his face.
“Well,” Elijah said, acting like he wasn’t surprised.
“Hi. Remember me?”
“I do, yes. Look at you. Aren’t you all grown up now?”
Before Brandon was able to say anything else, Elijah lunged forward, grabbed Brandon’s t-shirt, and hurled him over the boat into the lake. Stunned, I backed up as Elijah collected his phone and then jumped onto the dock. Elijah took off running, and I hurried to the edge of the dock to help Brandon. His head was above water, and with shaking hands, he used the edge of the boat to make it back to the dock. Brandon coughed hard but pointed to Elijah running.
“Go, Salem! Don’t let him get away,” Brandon panted.
“What about you?”
“Go! I’ll be behind you!”
I trusted Brandon and took off after Elijah. He was heading to the north parking lot, and if I caught up to him, I had no idea what I’d actually do. Elijah was in good shape and had physical endurance to match his mental endurance. Suddenly, Elijah looked over his shoulder and when he saw me, he stopped running.
Why did he stop?
Was he going to tell me that he was sorry?
I looked over my shoulder as I slowed my pace. Brandon had just about caught up to us.Anchor Bran.Elijah walked toward me, put his hands on my upper arms and pushed me into the lake.
“Salem!” Garrett’s booming voice echoed in the complex as I went under water.
When I resurfaced, Elijah had taken off running again. Brandon crouched on the dock, stretching his hand out toward me. I took it, letting him pull me to him.
“Brandon, go get him!”
Brandon nodded and then took off in a sprint.
“Brandon! Stop!” Garrett yelled as he approached where I was.
Garrett reached down and pulled me out of the water. He kissed me hard on the lips and told me not to move.
“Roz, stay with her,” Garrett instructed and then took off after Brandon and Elijah.
16
Garrett
On our wayback to the L.A. area, I decided to call the aquatic complex again. Roz had tried on our way down to San Diego, but no one had answered. While our trip down to San Diego had been a total bust, I was hopeful that someone from the Los Angeles Aquatic Complex would know who Elijah Hamilton was. At this point, I was pretty much desperate and hanging by the thread of info Brandon had given me.
“Terrence and William were going to check the place out this afternoon,” Roz said, referring to the L.A. facility.
“Good,” I said as I pulled my phone away from my ear for a moment. “I’m still calling to check if anyone can give us some further help. I’ll ask for a manager. They might be able to tell me more over the phone.”
I stopped talking to Roz as the recording for the place came on. I listened carefully, but when prompted, I selected the option to talk to someone who worked there. An employee finally answered, and I asked for a manager, but was told there wasn’t one available. Frustrated with the answer, I went ahead and introduced myself and informed him I was with the FBI.
“I’m trying to get information about a possible member,” I explained.
“Okay. Um, I’m not allowed to give information out regarding our members,” the young guy replied.
