When Opportunity Knocks - 16. Chapter 16

As soon as he sat down after being ushered into the room, Kyle’s knees bounced up and down, his nerves lending to the unconscious motion. Jett sat next to him and gently set his hand on the knee closest to him, somewhat calming him. Kim and Tater were seated on the other side of Jett.

The viewing room they were now in had a one-way mirror that looked into the conference room where the parole board had convened. They had just finished with another hearing and the committee members were being handed the files on their case.

Kyle was grateful for the glass that obscured them from view. He looked over at Kim and could tell she was a bundle of nerves. The poor woman looked a little pale and her mouth was set in a thin line. Both hands were buried in Tater’s fur as he sat quietly on her lap, doing exactly what he was trained to do, supporting his human.

They had met with Kim’s lawyer over breakfast and he explained the process. The parole board would interview Marc Greene, who would have the chance through his lawyer, to plead his case for why he should be granted parole. Kim’s lawyer would also have a chance to address the board regarding why he shouldn’t be granted parole. Greene or his attorney would have the final rebuttal before the board made their decision. The process was pretty regimented, specific time frames were given for each side to present their case, so to speak, and were adhered to pretty well. The board would have already reviewed the finer details of the case at a previously scheduled meeting.

Overall, no matter what, it was a nerve-wracking process. The fact that he was eligible for parole at all seemed to be a major flaw in the whole criminal justice system. Shouldn’t a life sentence be just that? Life. None of them really understood why they were in this situation to begin with.

A door in the conference room opened and Kyle got his first look at the man who was his biological father. He was just under six feet, and was lean, but not skinny. His hair was gray, thinning, but not bald and he was clean shaven. Wire framed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

He looked normal.

Kyle had pictured a monster in his head and this average looking man seemed out of place. He looked like he should be looking at retirement communities in Florida, not dressed in black prison coveralls, being directed to sit down by the corrections officer who was escorting him. It seemed odd to see someone so mundane looking with their hands cuffed in front of them.

Kyle watched as the corrections officer secured Greene’s handcuffs to the ring that was attached to the end of the conference table. Another man was let into the room and was seated next to Greene. Kyle assumed it was his lawyer. He carried himself with an air of authority. He looked like he was about the same height as Greene, although it wouldn’t hurt him to drop ten or twenty pounds. He sported a neatly groomed beard and moustache, the dark brown threaded with gray. Setting an expensive looking leather case on the table, he pulled out a file folder and legal pad.

The Chairman of the parole committee started the proceedings. There was a recap of the charges that he had been convicted of and a summary of behaviour reports from his nearly twenty-five years of incarceration.

Kyle felt a nudge and turned to find Jett watching him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it just seems a little surreal.” Kyle really thought that it was a lot more than just a little surreal, but he knew Jett understood when he nodded and then turned to Kim to ask her how she was doing.

She gave them both a wry, lopsided, half smile.

Marc Greene addressed the parole board. Even his voice was nondescript. That was what troubled Kyle the most. How plain and average this man was. There was nothing about him that would stand out in a crowd. That is exactly what enabled him to kidnap the girls in the first place. He seemed so non-threatening.

Greene extolled his own exemplary behavior and gave platitudes in the form of professing how sorry he was. He told the board that he was not the same man he was twenty-five years ago and had no desire to harm anyone else. Kyle wondered how many times these board members had heard the same thing from other inmates.

Greene’s statements were all supported by his lawyer who provided statements from the prison psychologist who Greene had been working with for many years. The psych doctor’s notes spewed the usual ‘he shows outward signs of remorse’ and ‘there have been no signs of abnormal behavior patterns’ plus a few others.

“I don’t believe one word of it,” Kim muttered. “He’s a sociopath. He’s incapable of feeling remorse.”

Kyle looked over at her. Man, if looks could kill, their problem would be solved.

Greene’s lawyer closed out his statement with a reiteration of Greene’s exemplary behavior within the confines of his prison walls.

Everyone knows reality is totally different.

Kim’s lawyer was up next and Kyle quickly discovered that he knew his business inside and out. The board was brought up to date on the latest research on sociopathic manipulation techniques and citing current studies from world-renowned psychologists that showed that narcissistic personalities were at high risk of repeat offenses. No matter how sorry they say they are, they really aren’t. Their primary focus is on anything that will be advantageous for them. It was well documented that the man was not only narcissistic, but has also been treated for schizophrenia too.

Kim’s lawyer drove home what was in the victim statement letters that Kim and Nikki had written. Their lives had been irrevocably changed and they had to live with the consequences of Greene’s actions for the rest of their lives. He also recapped what Kyle and Megan had written regarding the discovery that Greene was their biological father and how it has affected them in the months since they found out, and the detrimental impact it had on their family.

The rebuttal remarks that Greene’s lawyer gave seemed to be more verbal vomiting of what he had already brought up. As soon as his time was up, Greene and his lawyer were removed from the room, the speakers to the observation room were shut off and the blinds pulled down.

Kim’s lawyer came into the room and greeted them.

“How do you think it will go?” Kyle asked him.

“I’m pretty confident that parole will be denied. The charges are too serious. He does, however, have a decent shot at being transferred to Osborn.”

Osborn Correctional Institute was the state’s medium security prison. It was the largest correctional institute in the state. Easy for a man like Greene to blend in and get lost in the shuffle.

Kim had been pretty quiet this whole time, Tater pressed up against her tightly. She finally put in her two cents. “If he gets transferred do you think he’s going to be better off or will he have a harder time being in such a large prison environment?”

“It’s hard to say. Someone like him, definitely knows how to manipulate and charm people to get what he wants. My best guess would be that he would be in an environment that was more suited to him and he’d be better off.”

Kim’s brows drew together, but she remained silent.

It was only ten minutes later when the blinds were pulled up again. Greene had been brought back and was standing on one end, his lawyer on the other, with the guard in between them. Kyle mused that they looked like a sandwich cookie. Greene and his lawyer were the same height and built similarly, the lawyer had worn a black suit and Greene had on a black prison uniform. The guard was at least two or three inches shorter and his white uniform shirt contrasted starkly, bookended by the black on each side.

The chairman cleared his throat and addressed Greene. “Mr. Greene, your petition for parole has been denied.” Kyle noticed Greene’s eyes narrow slightly. It didn’t escape Kyle that he had been addressed as ‘Mister’. It seemed fitting that the one thing that must have been so important to him, his status as doctor, was easily negated.

Kyle, Jett and Kim all let out their breaths that had been holding and then quickly tensed at the chairman’s next words.

“However, your additional request for a transfer to the state step down facility has been granted. You will be transferred to the Osborn Correctional Facility in Danbury no later than one week from today, pending required paperwork completion. You are dismissed.”

Greene thanked the committee and turned. As he did so Kyle watched his face intently. Even though Greene could not see past the mirrored surface of the window, Kyle swore he saw a smirk and the briefest flash of a grin. His eyes seemed to bore straight through and lock onto Kim. One eyelid snapped shut, the wink lasting a mere fraction of a second. Because his back was to everyone in the room the only ones who saw it were Jett, Kyle and Kim. Her lawyer had already turned to gather his things.

“That bold son of a bitch!” Kim seethed.

Her lawyer glanced up in confusion. “What happened?”

“The bastard winked at Kim,” Jett answered. “You’re right, he’s an unrepentant psycho.”

“He’s still going to be locked away. Yes, he will be allowed more privileges, but freedom is not one of them,” Kim’s lawyer reminded them.

The group was silent as they left the facility. Kim stopped to speak to her lawyer for a moment while Kyle and Jett got into his truck.

Jett reached over and took Kyle’s hand. “I think overall, even though he’s getting transferred, what’s most important is the fact that he will still be locked up. I can’t say that he will be forever, but what aggravates me the most is how his lawyer was able to get his felony abduction and kidnapping charges reduced. If the charges had stuck, he never would’ve been eligible in the first place. I just don’t understand it.”

“Maybe his lawyer got lucky and got a judge who didn’t give a shit?” Kyle guessed.

Kim got into the back and hooked Tater’s harness to the seatbelt. They started the ride back to Maryland quietly as there really wasn’t much else to say. They could rest easy knowing that it would be several years until he could petition for another parole hearing.

Kim called Nikki to let her know how things went. Their conversation was brief and Kim promised Nikki she’d let her know if anything else came up.

They made a stop for a bathroom break and once they got past the mayhem of New York City traffic, Kyle got off the highway and stopped so they could eat. He was surprised that they all had appetites, as they all managed to finish their meals. It felt good to stretch their legs a bit too.

The rest of the ride was a little more animated as they came to grips with the fact that Marc Greene was denied parole and was still going to be locked up.

“I feel like I can breathe a little easier,” Kim commented as they cruised down the interstate.

“Good! I think we all can. I know you’ve been stressed out over this. Let’s try to put all the negative energy from the past few months behind us and focus on what lies ahead. You got anything new on your agenda Kim?” Jett asked.

“As a matter of fact, Joyce just sent me over a draft of her next ‘Lucy’ story, so I’ll be working on the illustrations for that. I also have a few other odd jobs to finish up too. I’m thinking about doing a ‘Best of’ series for Joyce. I’d like to put a storyboard together that ties together all of the books in her ‘Lucy’ series, taking a few illustrations from each book, updating them a little and creating a timeline of Lucy and her boys,” Kim’s voice got animated as she further described the project.

Kyle smiled. “Do it! You have to do it. Lucy is such a lovable beagle. I’m not ashamed to admit that even though I’m an adult, I look forward to every new book that comes out. I’m sure Joyce would agree.”

“Kyle’s right. It sounds like an amazing project. You should definitely do it,” Jett added.

Kyle glanced in the rearview mirror and was happy to see that for the first time in a while there was a smile on Kim’s face.

Jett pulled into Kyle’s driveway in the late afternoon and they both got out of the truck. Tomorrow was Saturday and Jett had promised to come over when his shift was over so they could spend the rest of the weekend together.

“Don’t be late. I’m taking you on a date tomorrow. We need to get out and have a little fun,” Kyle said as he kissed Jett goodbye.

“That sounds awesome. What do you have in mind?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Kyle teased. He was rewarded with a quick ‘pop’ of Jett’s hand smacking his ass cheek.

Kyle kissed him again. He watched as Jett got into his own truck before backing out of the driveway. He knew Jett was heading over to his barracks to get Bruce. He still needed to go get Rosie. Knowing his dog was probably missing him, he whistled a random melody as he got into his own truck and headed out. At the exit to his neighborhood, Kyle turned left to go to his parent’s house. Jett drove out of sight, having turned right as the barracks was in the opposite direction.

Kyle couldn’t help but smile when Rosie greeted him as if he had been gone for a hundred years instead of a day and a half. It was what he loved best about dogs, their devotion and unconditional love that they gave their humans. He gave his parents an abbreviated version of the day’s events and while they were happy that parole was denied, they were also disappointed that he was going to be moved to a facility where he would be granted more privileges.

That seemed to be the general consensus as well. Megan had expressed those sentiments when Kyle had called her during their first rest stop to touch base. He promised he would call her later this evening. Lynn asked if he wanted to stay for supper, but Kyle declined. He was still full from the late lunch they had.

He gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and hugged his dad. It was so nice to be back on better ground with them. Everyone has their own flaws, but it seemed his parents were willing to own up to their mistakes and try to move past it and most importantly of all, learn from it.

Rosie was still wiggling excitedly during the short ride back to his house. He took her for a really quick strut through the neighborhood as the temperature had plummeted once it got dark. Back in the house he called Megan and invited her over.

Rosie got all excited again when Megan walked in the door. Megan of course fawned all over the fur face. Kyle made a gagging sound as Megan pulled out her baby voice, asking Rosie, “Who's a good guuurrrrrlllllll? Who’s the best pupper ever? Such a pretty girl, yes you are!” Rosie, of course, beamed with all the attention. Spoiled mutt.

“Stop with the voice Megs!” Kyle admonished as he scooped out some kibble for Rosie. The dog trotted over and sat, waiting for Kyle to put her food down. As soon as it was on the floor she nosed the metal bowl a few times, pushing it across the tile floor, generally making a racket.

“Rosie! Knock it off. Eat your food.” Kyle nudged her bowl back into place and the dog started happily munching away. The bowl pushing was just one of those weird quirks that some dogs have. Dog behaviourists theorized that it was a holdover from their wild ancestors who would nudge their prey repeatedly before eating it to make sure it was dead. Even if it wasn’t true, it sounded valid enough to Kyle. As a vet, he had heard of so many weird things that dogs did from their owners.

Kyle gave Megan a rundown of their trip to Connecticut, including his impression of the man who fathered them. “I still can’t get over how absolutely unassuming he is.”

“Do I have any of his features?” Megan asked curiously.

Kyle shook his head. “Not anything that stands out. I mean I could see vague resemblances in certain expressions and I think both you and I got our height from him. You may have gotten your hair color from him? It’s hard to tell, he was pretty gray, and Nikki had dark hair too, but from the picture Kim has, it seems her hair was darker. But honestly, he was just so ‘blah’, and nothing about you is blah, you’re gorgeous Megs.

Megan blushed at Kyle’s praise. They were used to teasing each other and a heartfelt compliment was rare. Kyle knew she appreciated his honesty.

“You’re not all that bad yourself,” she replied.

Megan stayed a little while longer before heading out. Kyle enjoyed the relationship they had now. Sibling rivalry as kids had given way to a mature sibling friendship that he took as a gift. So many people he knew had dysfunctional relationships with their families.

The following morning Kyle got up later than normal. It felt good to sleep in just a little bit. His sleep patterns had been all over the place the past couple of weeks and most nights he hadn’t gotten enough.

He spent the morning cleaning up around the house and went out to do some errands. He was excited for his date with Jett later and hoped that it was as fun as it sounded. Jett texted him to let him know he would be out on time for which Kyle was grateful. His plans required reservations and they were hard to change at the last minute.

Jett finally got to Kyle’s house around five o’clock. Kyle had told him to dress casual, but nice. He looked absolutely delicious in a pair of black jeans that showed off his assets quite nicely and a white button up Oxford with an emerald green t-shirt underneath as evidenced by the top three buttons being undone.Kyle had worn his favorite gray jeans and a black Henley.

“The suspense is killing me. Where are we going?” Jett asked after greeting Kyle with a long kiss, not skimping on the tongue that invaded Kyle’s mouth like an alien on a quest to conquer the Earth.

Kyle grinned at him. “I’ve got reservations at Illusions in Baltimore.”

Jett’s eyes lit up. “Really? I’ve been wanting to go there forever. Kim went last year and loved it. Bo even checked it out last time he was home.”

Illusions was a restaurant/dinner theatre/comedy show. The family that owned the place had been in the entertainment industry for decades. The owner’s parents had been clowns with Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey Circus. Their son now ran the business and had been doing magic since he was four years old.

Jett was animated on the ride to Baltimore. Kyle discovered that Jett had been fascinated with magic since he was a little kid.

“My Mom must’ve bought me dozens of DVDs of different magicians and illusionists. David Copperfield, Doug Henning, David Blaine, Penn and Teller, even Houdini. I spent so many hours watching them. My favorite was one where David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear.”

“You do realize it never did disappear right?” Kyle asked with more than a little humor in his voice.

Jett smiled over at him. “Yeah, years later I saw an explanation of how he did it, but when you’re a kid, well, it’s magical.”

The ride didn’t take long and both guys were more than impressed with the place. They each had a fantastic meal, during which various performers strolled about the tables doing card tricks and other sleights of hand. There was a stage in the center and that’s where everyone’s attention was focused for most of the evening. They were wowed by more elaborate magic tricks and illusions. The owner and his wife were not only masters of their craft, but quite skilled in the comedy department as well. Kyle had never laughed and held his breath in anxious anticipation so much in one night ever before.

Audience participation was a must and Kyle was thrilled when Jett was chosen to help out with one of the performances on the main stage. He wasn’t so thrilled when his boyfriend disappeared. Even though logically he knew it was just a trick, Kyle was both awed and relieved when Jett came through the door leading to the kitchen carrying a tray of desserts for their table.

The audience applauded enthusiastically when Jett handed out some of the pastries that he had brought out with him, saving a big piece of New York Cheesecake for Kyle. Jett was breathless with excitement when he sat back down after being relieved of the tray by one of the wait staff.

“Oh. My. God! That was so much fun!’

“So how’d you disappear? You were in the box on the stage and next thing I know you were bringing me dessert. C’mon, spill the beans,” Kyle cajoled.

Jett shook his head. “Nope. Never. A magician never, ever reveals his secrets.”

“You’re not a magician,” Kyle pointed out.

Jett merely laughed.

After the performance ended the owner and his wife made their rounds, thanking everyone for coming. They stopped to thank Jett for being such a good sport and letting them make him disappear. Kyle and Jett took a few pictures and selfies with the duo and in return thanked them for a wonderful evening of entertainment.

On the way home Jett reached over and took Kyle’s hand. “Thank you. That was amazing. You are amazing. With everything you’ve been worrying about lately, you still took the time to plan such an awesome night for us. You’re forcing me, you know.”

“Forcing you to do what?” Kyle said, confused.

“Forcing me to fall even harder for you.”

Kyle’s heart thumped erratically. Christ, this man was going to kill him. “I can’t help it. I feel the same way.”

Jett moved his hand so that it was resting on the top of Kyle’s thigh, his fingers dangerously close to his junk, which, by the way, was quickly making his jeans uncomfortable. The steady heat from Jett’s hand got him hotter in more ways than one. He may have driven just a wee bit over the speed limit to get them home a little quicker.

Waking up the next morning, Kyle stretched languidly, his lower back twinging just a bit. Jett had been creative in professing his thanks last night. Kyle smiled as he recalled burying himself as far as he could into Jett’s depths.

He turned his head and was pleased to see Jett awake and staring at him. Kyle at some point had ended up as the little spoon. He turned over so that his head was resting on Jett’s furry chest, absently running his hands through the strands.

“Good morning, how’re you feeling?” Kyle asked, his voice still husky with sleep.

“Mmmm, I feel fine, a little sore, but in a good way. I like waking up like this,” Jett replied.

Kyle enjoyed just laying there for a while. They both lazed into that sort of half sleep, half awake stage until they were interrupted by Rosie’s nose nudging his half exposed foot that was sticking out of the covers.

Kyle looked at Jett and declared, “Morning lazy time is over. I think the dogs need to go out.” They both heard Bruce’s tail as it thumped the floor where he was sitting patiently in the doorway.

Sundays were Kyle’s favorite day, especially when he got to spend it with Jett. They went out for breakfast and then headed to the gun range for some target practice. It was the first time Kyle got to use his own gun. The piece felt comfortable and Jett was patient with him, giving pointers and making good suggestions on how to better hit the target. By the end of their session Kyle was getting much better at hitting the inner rings on his target.

Both men had a busy week ahead of them, making up for the time off they had taken. Kyle was on surgery rotation for the week and was up to his eyeballs in spays and neuters. They texted often during the day when they could and talked every night. Jett’s parents were going to renovate their kitchen and Jett had been over almost every night helping to clean out the cabinets and get things ready for them to deal with being without a functioning kitchen while the renovations were being done. Piper was out of town and Skye was working late all week. Bo was still settling in at the Academy and was busy with planning lessons and grading.

Kim had texted them both, letting them know that Marc Greene’s transfer was scheduled for Friday. Kyle hoped it wouldn’t get postponed as a Nor’easter was brewing and it looked like the seaboard was going to get hit late Friday evening and go through a good chunk of the weekend. Kyle and Jett had decided to spend the weekend holed up at Jett’s place and Kyle was planning on heading over there after he got out of work on Friday.

By the time Friday rolled around the expected storm had sped up a little bit and snow was coming down lightly, but steady by the time Kyle got out of work. Jett had sent him a text to say that he was stuck at work for a few extra hours. There had been several fender benders once the snow started to stick to the ground.

Kim’s car was parked in her driveway, a light dusting of snow just starting to build up. Kyle hoped that Jett didn’t have to stay too much longer. He had faith in Jett’s driving ability, it was the other people out on the road that he didn’t trust.

He let himself and Rosie in, and Rosie bolted for the back door as soon as she was inside. Kyle glanced over and saw Tater’s nose pressed up against the glass. His black fur was frosted with white snow.

Rosie bolted out when he opened the door and Tater promptly pounced on her. The backyard was a Family Circus maze of pawprints and footprints leading up the stairs to Kim’s door which was slightly open, just not enough for Tater to squeeze through. She must’ve gotten distracted and not closed her door all the way after playing with Tater.

Kyle went over and knocked on the glass, calling out, “Hey Kim, you left your door open!”

A muffled reply came from the direction of her bedroom.

Kyle slid the glass door shut behind him, leaving the dogs to play in the snow that was just starting to come down a little heavier. It wasn’t until he stepped over the threshold into the living room that he realized he may have just made a mistake.

His brain registered the fact that while there were footsteps leading up the back stairs, there weren’t any leading down. Too late he caught sight of Kim tied up on her bedroom floor and before he could react there was an explosion in the back of his head and all went dark.