Mr. Brightside - 22. Chapter 22

Mr. Brightside
Chapter 22

A sneaky shaft of sunlight managed to creep through a slit in the blinds and strike Jason directly in the eyes. Grunting, he gradually woke; as he did so, he became aware of a numbness in his arm. Finally conscious, Jason realized his arm was asleep because of the weight of Shane’s head. Jason smiled through his increasing discomfort as he slowly and carefully slid the now tingling limb from underneath his companion.

Shane shifted and made a small sound of discontent; Jason held his breath not wanting to disturb the other man, but the sleeping blond settled back into sleep. Jason smiled down at the peaceful, handsome face. Shane was not a morning person, and Jason liked to let him sleep as long as possible. Dampening down the urge to whistle a happy tune, Jason crawled the rest of the way out of bed and headed to the kitchen. His man needed coffee first thing in the morning to be happy.

His man, Jason thought. Shane was his man now, and the thought filled Jason with joy. They hadn’t had an official talk yet, though Jason knew it had to come, and soon, but the last weeks had seen them living as a couple. They continued to sleep in the same bed, and Jason blushed thinking of some the other things they had done besides sleep.

Shane, though steadily improving, still wasn’t up to managing the steep, narrow flights of stairs to his apartment, but Paul who was subletting from him had brought over more and more of Shane’s possessions. Jason was planning on asking Shane in the next day or two to officially move in, and he wanted the moment to be memorable, to be romantic. Romance wasn’t his speciality, so he had asked Paul for some pointers.

Paul, for whom romance was definitely a specialty, was helping him set up an to evening to remember. Paul had even managed to help Jason find a silver key chain in the shape of a phoenix to put the key to the apartment on. Shane already had a key, Jason had protested. Paul had just shaken his head. “That’s not the point. He has a key; now this will be the official key.”

Paul had slipped the key ring to Jason at dinner the night before; neither wanted to ship it here in case Shane noticed the package. Jason’s smile deepened thinking of last evening. Shane was feeling so much better and so proud of Jason’s improved cooking skills, he had decided they should host a dinner party.

It was nothing major, just Viktor, Paul, and his date, Laurie. Apparently Shane’s cousin and the pretty nurse had taken a fancy to each other. Jason had made Chicken Picatta, Victor had brought some hideously expensive and very tasty wine, and everyone had an excellent time. Planning the menu with Shane, cleaning up the nicely decorated apartment, setting the table; it had made Jason feel like a real grown up. He did feel occasional pangs of guilt, though, every time he looked over at Shane’s beautiful face and thanked God that Shane, and not Denise, was his co-host.

Thoughts of Denise and then his mother continued to cloud Jason’s mind as he puttered around the kitchen, making coffee and toast, cutting up fruit. If there were gray clouds to be found in his sunny days, his guilt over his ex and his mother’s refusal to talk to him were the main ones. But, if he were honest, they were other clouds.

Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that he, that they were being watched. They would be outside sitting the porch swing or eating in the backyard, and Jason would feel a telltale prickle between his shoulder blades. A lift of the small hairs on the back of his neck. Looking around, he would always see nothing; not even a shift in the leaves of the banana trees, but he would know someone’s eyes had been on them. No matter how often he told himself he was being paranoid, Jason couldn’t shake the feeling.

Trying to fight the negative thoughts, Jason tried to concentrate on something more pleasant. His mind raced trying to land on something...his new job...but that was still a few days away from starting….Shane…..but that was too easy. He finally land on his dad. Teddy Reid had been much more accepting of his son’s orientation than Jason had ever expected. In fact, Mr. Reid planned to visit in several weeks, with or without his wife's approval, and they had started talking on the phone almost daily. Right now, though, he was on a sailing trip in the Caribbean, helping an old Air Force buddy sail his new ship home to Tampa, Florida, and was out of easy contact for the next 10 days or so.

Thinking of his Dad, Jason’s spirits had risen again by the time a showered and dressed Shane made it into the kitchen.

“Oh, sweet elixir of life, how I need you,” Shane said, lifting the mug Jason sat before him to his lips.

“Sad,” Jason said. “At this rate, you’re going to need caffeine rehab.”

“Yuck,” Shane said grimacing. “Don’t say that word, “rehab.” It just reminds me of the hospital. I have an extra long day of tests and therapy today, and I am not looking forward to it.”

“Oh, baby,” Jason said, walking behind Shane’s chair and hugging him. “I’m sorry. But it won’t be much longer.”

“I know, “ Shane said, relaxing back against Jason. “And I know how lucky I am. Without Victor paying for all this, I don’t know what I would have done. Sometimes it’s hard to be grateful.”

“I know what you need,” Jason said. “I know how tired you are after a long day at the doctors. Why don’t I pick up some Chinese food and we’ll Netflix and chill. And tomorrow night, when you’re rested, we’ll have a nice, romantic dinner somewhere in the neighborhood.”
“Oh, you want romance?” Shane teased, turning to kiss Jason’s cheek. “I guess I can get behind that. It sounds nice. I should be home tonight around 5.” A car horn sounded. “There’s Ramon now.” He forced himself up.

Jason fought the urge to help Shane, knowing the blond hated to feel dependent. He kissed Shane on the cheek and then watched the other man struggle to the door. Turning to the kitchen, he started gathering up the breakfast dishes.

As he cleaned the kitchen, he planned his day. The gym, then laundry. Then….maybe the library before picking up the Chinese. Honestly, as glad as he was for the time off this summer, time off that he had been able to use to help Shane, Jason was looking forward to the beginning of his job. This had been the largest amount of time he had been inactive since getting his first summer job at 15, and the long stretches of time when Shane was gone were starting to grate.

As he finished loading the dishwasher, his phone buzzed. He picked it up and was shocked to see the name on the i.d.

“Mom?” he asked startled.

“Hello, Jason,” she said. Her voice sounded odd somehow. Strained, maybe? But to be fair, he hadn’t spoken to her in weeks.

“Ummm…” he stammered, uncertain of what to say.

Before he could go on, she continued. “Look, Jason, I’m sorry I haven’t spoken to you lately. I can’t pretend I’m happy with the path you’ve chosen, but you are my son, and your happiness means everything to me. I’d like to see you and discuss things with you.”

“Sure..I have plans for the next couple of days, but I could probably drive up this weekend.”

“I’m here. In New Orleans. I drove down to see you.”

“You did?” he asked, and his heart lightened. His mom hated driving, and for her to drive the five hours from home to New Orleans by herself meant a lot. “I’ll text you my address.”

“I think it would be better for you to come to me,” she said. “I’ve gotten an Airbnb in the French Quarter. I’ll send you directions.”

“Okay, sounds good. I”m still in my pajamas, so it will take me a while to shower and get ready, but I’ll be over as soon as possible. I’m…...I’m glad you’re here, Mom.”

“It’s where I needed to be.”

With the whistle back on his lips, Jason headed to the shower.

Seven grueling hours later, Shane lurched toward the front door. He had endured an intense session of physical therapy, what seemed like an endless array of tests and scans, and an even more draining session than usual with his psychologist, but now he was home. With Jason.

Thinking of Jason made him come back to the present, and as Shane did so, he became aware that the apartment was empty. The strong late afternoon sun kept it from being dark even though no lamps were on, but there were no other signs of life: no music, no sound from a t.v., no clattering in the kitchen.

“Hello…” Shane called, but even before he finished speaking, he knew Jason wasn’t home. He pulled out his watch to check the time, maybe Jason was picking up the Chinese food. In fact…..Shane walked to the door and opened it, looking for Jason’s car. HIs usual parking spot was empty.

He felt better, but something made him want to hear Jason’s voice. He was being silly, but he’d call to check on Jason. As he checked the phone, Shane mentally kicked himself. No wonder. He had powered it off earlier, and with everything happening, he hadn’t turned it back on.

It seemed to take forever for the screen to light up, and in his hurry, Shane’s thumb fumbled as he looked for his text messages. He had missed several, including two from Jason. The first one read: My mom’s in town and wants to talk. Heading over now. Wish me luck.

Shane smiled, knowing how hurt Jason had been about his mom’s reaction to his coming out. The smile faded when he read the second message: Going home with mom for a while. Need to rethink what I’ve been doing. Please respect my decision and give me space.

Paul had responded immediately to Shane’s frantic call and had rushed over, not even stopping long enough to drop off his date. Laurie had sat beside Shane comforting him as Paul paced listening to Shane.

“But it doesn’t make since,” Paul said for the umpteenth time. “I mean….it’s obvious he’s crazy about you. I mean…..look, it was supposed to be a surprise, but I’ve helping him plan this big romantic evening for the two of you. He was going to take you to Rue 127 and ask you to move in officially. He even got you….wait a minute….” Paul rushed off to Jason’s room.

He returned in a minute with a small jewelry box which he handed to Shane. With a trembling hand, Shane opened. A silver key chain lay on a bed of black velvet holding a single house key. It was a disc with a delicately engraved phoenix on one side, the other side was flat, engraved with the words: You have the key to my heart, Jason.

As Shane sat stroking the engraved words, Paul spoke. “Does that look like something somebody needing space buys? Something is up. Have you called his parents?”

“His day is out of touch. He’s off sailing somewhere. I don’t know his mother’s cell number.”

“Did you call Viktor?”

“No, not yet.”

“I’ll do it,” Paul said. Continuing his pacing, he walked from the living room to the kitchen, and was soon out of Shane and Laurie’s earshot, but he returned quickly enough, shaking his head.

“Ramon checked the GPS on his phone and his car. They’re at his parents address. It looks like he did go to Springhill.”

“Wait,” Shane said. “Viktor put tracking on Jason’s phone and car? Are you serious?”

“You’re surprised? Honestly?”

“I guess not…...but that means….it’s real…. He left.”

“Did he take anything? I mean….are his clothes gone, his laptop, that sort of thing?” Laurie asked.

“I didn’t check,” Shane said. “I was so upset, I didn’t think.”

“Y’all check that,” Paul said. “I’ll look at the security camera footage just to see if anything looks odd.”

Shane and Laurie rejoined Paul who was looking at the monitor in the kitchen.

“Everything’s still here, including his toothbrush.”

“And nothing’s here,” Paul said, indicating the monitor. “I mean, I just scanned it, but I saw Jason leave, and that’s it. There doesn’t look like any activity till you showed up. All we really know is that Jason went to meet his mother, and his car’s in Spring Hill. I don’t know what to think.”

“I’m calling Detective Venturi,” Shane said, opening the junk drawer and searching for the detective's card. “He said to call if anything weird happened, and I’m not taking chances. If Jason really is having second thoughts, that’s fine and I can deal with it, but I can’t take the risk of it being something else.”

“Well, you do that. I think I’m going to take a ride to Springhill and see what is happening with a certain Mr. Reid.”

“Want a co-pilot?” Laurie asked smiling at Paul. “I’m off tomorrow, and I have the sudden urge to go see beautiful, scenic Springhill.”

“I’m going, too.” Shane said.

“No, sweetie, that’s not a good idea,” the nurse said. “That ride is going to be murder with a broken leg, and it may all be a wild goose chase. Besides, we need somebody at home base. And Paul,” she said turning to him, “we should probably wait and head out first thing in the morning. It will be after midnight before we get there, and a confrontation in the middle of the night is never a good idea.”

After much protesting, the cousins accepted Laurie’s advice, with Shane agreeing to stay in New Orleans and Paul agreeing to wait until morning to head to Springhill. While they waited for Detective Venturi to arrive, Laurie made a pot of coffee.

The detective looked more rumpled than ever, with huge bags under his eyes. Accepting the offer of coffee, he looked at Shane expectantly.

“Okay,” Venturi said. “Spill what’s up?”

Shane, with several interjections from Paul, told about Jason’s sudden departure. “I don’t think it’s anything nefarious. I don’t know….but you told us to call if something strange happens. I don’t know what else to do.”

Venturi sighed. “Look, there’s a limit to what I can do. I mean...shit, this isn’t enough for a missing person, especially since the guy’s car and phone are at his parents’ house. And you don’t have the mother’s cell number. What about the house?”

“Here,” Shane said, pulling a scrap of paper out of his pocket. “I called and left several messages, but I haven’t received a call back.”

“I’ll look into it, and see what I can find out. I know some guys up in the Shreveport area that owe me a favor or to. Just hang tight, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I have something to report. Okay?”

“Thank you,” Shane said, tears in his eyes.

It was a long, sleepless night. Paul and Laurie refused to leave Shane alone, Laurie sleeping in Jason’s room and Paul doubling with Shane. Paul held his younger cousin as he cried throughout the night, finally crying himself to sleep toward dawn. Jason, Paul though, You better be in some sort of trouble, because if this really is some cold feet bullshit…..you’re going to regret the day you were born….

Finally, morning came. Laurie ran to the nearby drugstore to buy toothbrushes and some other toiletries for she and Paul while he made coffee and toast. Just as they were finishing up and preparing to leave, a knock sounded on the door. It was Venturi.

If he had looked rough last evening, in the grim light of morning he looked like the walking dead. But he had information.

“I asked around everywhere I could think off, and I finally landed on a friend who works for the FBI out of Shreveport. He’s been working on a case for a while involving Senator McAlpin...”

At the name, Shane gasped audibly, interrupting the detective, who smiled grimly, “That’s right, your friend Thomas’s daddy. Among the associates they’ve been looking at is a certain Judge Caldwell. They’ve been going over his dealing with a fine tooth comb. That’s why this,” Venturi held up a photocopy, “caught their attention. It’s an order for protective custody, that’s basically involuntary commitment, for a Jason Reid. It was filed two days ago..”

“Involuntary commitment? What the….” Paul said.

“According to this,” Venturi said, “Mrs. Barbara Reid, the subject’s mother, and Ms. Denise Johnson, his fiancee, are afraid Jason is delusional and a threat to himself. They requested an evaluation by the LaSeur Parish coroner, another McAlpin crony to determine whether or not involuntary commitment in “a private, fully licensed clinic chosen by Mrs. Reid” was necessary. The coroner’s report stating Jason was, indeed a danger, was filed last night.”

Shane said. “That’s impossible. And a coroner? What does any of this have do with a coroner?”

“In this state, it’s the coroner’s office that you go through. This asshole’s not even a licensed physician! He’s a former pastor.”

“But...he’s over 21 and not married to Denise---how can they do this?” Paul asked.

“In this state, you don’t have to be a spouse or even a relative. Any legal adult citizen of the state can request an order…..having it carried out it is different, but it can be requested.”

“Does it say what clinic? Where? He could be anywhere?” Shane began tearing up before he could finish his last sentence. “How can this happen?”

“It was odd enough to catch my friend’s eye, but shit like this does happen more often than it should. Now, there’s nothing really I can do officially; in fact, the powers that be found out I was sniffing around the general area of Senator McAlpin, and I have been placed on leave, but if y’all were to pay Ms. Johnson a visit and ask her what the hell is going on, there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”

Venturi reached into his pocket, and pulled out a slip of paper. “By an amazing coincidence I happen to have her address. On the bottom of the phone number is my FBI friend’s number. Call him directly if you find out something. If he could link McAlpin and his friends to a kidnapping….it could be a game changer for the investigation.”

“Thank you, detective,” Shane said, wiping his eyes..

The detective's features softened. “Good luck finding the kid.”