The Castaway Hotel - 2 - 24. Chapter 24 - Looking Through A Crystal Ball

It was Sunday, January 13th, and some of the boys were reading the Sunday paper on the dining room table. “Listen to this,” Danny said, referring to a headline he was reading. “It says here that a ‘Father of two kills wife and self.’ I’ve got to read this story to you.”

“SCRANTON- A Japanese immigrant, who had married a US citizen, killed his wife and then himself shortly after noon Saturday. Another man was also injured in the attack. There were reportedly several witnesses to this crime.

According to police reports, Fumitake Yamada, 33, went to visit his wife Debra, 31, at her job. When he arrived where she worked, he entered her office and apparently discovered her having sexual relations with another man. He reportedly left the building, went out to his car, retrieved a revolver from his glove box and then he went back to her office. According to witnesses, he burst into the room the second time, screamed at both of them, then shot his wife once in the head. He then shot the other man, Steven James, 30, also from the Scranton area, once in the chest. James is reported in critical, but stable condition at the local hospital.

After Yamada had shot both his wife and the other man, reports indicate he then turned the gun on himself and fired a single shot through the side of his head. He and his wife were both pronounced dead at the scene by Joseph Bertini, county coroner.

Mrs. Yamada worked in a family owned and operated business, which police are also investigating. According to informed sources, while at the crime scene, investigators discovered the family automotive car care business was merely a front for a chop shop. This garage was being used to cut up stolen vehicles into parts, so those items could be resold on the black market. It is estimated this ring cleared hundreds of thousands of dollars a year from this illegal activity.

Government files indicate Mr. Yamada first came to this country to attend college and reportedly met his wife during that time period. After the two dated for a while, he suddenly dropped out of school and married her. He was currently employed as the produce manager at a local grocery store and had worked there for the past several years. Mr. Yamada has no previous police record and those who worked with him described him as a very likable and competent person.

The couple is survived by two children, ages nine and eleven, who were taken into custody by Child Protective Services later the same day. The children will remain wards of the state, until suitable placement for them can be made.”

* * *

“Daddy,” Graham said as Danny finished reading the article, “you’ve got to call somebody and get them sent here. They need our help.”

“Whoa there partner. They’re in a totally different part of the state,” I informed him. “I don’t even know if it would be allowed, even if I did make the offer.”

“But they need us, Daddy,” Graham insisted. “Their parents are dead and they have no place to live. They need us to take them in. I just know they do.”

“I’m sure they are feeling very badly about losing their parents,” I admitted, “but they do have other relatives in the area. It said so in the paper.”

“But they’re in trouble too, Daddy,” Graham persisted, “and the police aren’t going to let them have the boys.”

“How do you even know they ARE boys, Graham?” I pressed, totally perplexed by this whole situation. “The newspaper article didn’t say anything about their sex.”

“I don’t know how, but I just know it, Daddy,” he replied. “Promise me you’ll call Aunt Sally and have her check to see if they have a new home. I just feel they don’t and need us to help them.”

“I’ll tell you what, Graham. Tomorrow morning, after Aunt Sally and I are both at work, I’ll call and ask her to check on this for us. Will that make you happy?”

“Yes, Daddy. I just need to know they’re okay,” he agreed. “I just have this feeling they’re not.”

After this little discussion, the boys went off to do their own thing, but I began to wonder about Graham and the passion he felt about this situation. He was so insistent about what he wanted me to do and it was as if he had some information the rest of us were lacking. It almost made me wonder if he were psychic or something? I was definitely going to check this out with Sally, as I was curious to see if Graham’s intuition was correct.

The rest of day was somewhat strange, as Graham would mention other things about this family from time to time, before reminding me about my promise to check on them for him. After continually reassuring him I would, he finally let it drop.

Monday morning, after classes had begun and everything seemed to be running smoothly, I went to my office so I could call Sally.

“Sally, it’s Josh. How are you today?” I began.

“Fine, Josh. How are you and my favorite group of young men doing?” she asked, being polite.

“Everything is going quite well right now and the boys are fine,” I agreed. “Thank you for asking. The reason for this call, however, is that I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Well that sounds fair, after all of the favors I’ve asked of you,” she joked. “What may I do for you today?”

“This favor involves a situation the boys read about in yesterday’s newspaper,” I explained. “It was an article about a murder-suicide in Scranton. The column stated that the deceased couple had two children, nine and eleven. Graham made me promise to check on the children’s current status with you, to make sure they had a home and decent family they could live with. Graham seems to feel they need our help and he wants them to come live with us. Would you be able to check on this for me? I know I’m asking a lot, but this is very important to Graham.”

“Certainly, Josh, I’d be happy to help,” she assured me. “It just so happens I have a friend who is head of the children’s unit in that office. We once shared a room together at a professional conference and have stayed in touch ever since. I’ll call her immediately and then get back to you.”

“Thanks, Sally. I wouldn’t ask, but it was so very important to Graham,” I told her. “It was as if he had a sixth sense about these kids. In fact, he said they were two boys, even though the paper didn’t give that information.”

“It’s no problem, Josh. I’d like to chat with Ann anyway,” Sally replied. “Even if this turns out to be nothing, it’s a good excuse for me to call her at work.”

“Thanks again, Sally. Please, call me as soon as you learn anything,” I added.

“I will, Josh. Good-bye,” she stated, before hanging up.

Well, now I’m covered. If I happen to run into Graham in the halls, I can at least tell him I’ve spoken to his Aunt Sally and she’s agreed to check into the matter for us. Damn. I suddenly realized the boys have BOTH Sally and me working for them.

It was after lunch before Sally called me back, and I was curious to discover what she had learned.

“Josh, you won’t believe what I found out,” she began. “Graham was correct. The children are both boys and they most certainly need your help. Ann was delighted that I called, and she was ecstatic when she learned that the family she had been reading about in a magazine and admired from a distance, was one of my foster homes. Are you definitely interested in taking in these boys, because Ann would love your assistance?”

“Well, yes, Sally. If they need us, we’ll take them in,” I agreed. “I’m confused, however. The paper said they had relatives in the area. Why aren’t the children being placed with them?”

“They do have relatives there, but according to Ann, the whole extended family is under investigation for illegal activities and the authorities want to remove the boys from their influence,” she explained. “In fact, when Ann had the chance to send them here, she jumped at it. They wanted to move the boys as far away from that group as possible, at least until they determine their fitness to raise the boys.”

“Then this would be a temporary placement?” I asked, as I wondered if I wanted to become involved in something short term.

“It’s possible,” she admitted. “We just won’t know for some time. Ann was wondering if you might be able to travel there this Saturday, to meet her and the two boys? If things go well, she indicated you might even be able to bring them back with you when you return.”

“That would be fine, Sally,” I agreed. “I’ll drive up Friday after school, with all of the boys, and we’ll spend the night in Scranton. That way we can meet them fairly early, spend the day with the boys and make our return trip on Sunday.”

“Josh, you and your boys are amazing,” she told me, sappily. “I can’t even begin to tell you how many people are indebted to all of you for your generosity and caring nature.”

“Sally, you’re making me blush,” I teased. “If you would just ask Ann when and where she would like to meet, we’ll be all set. I’ll call and make the hotel reservations in Scranton.”

“I’ll call her back, and then I’ll let you know what she has to say,” she confirmed. “Thanks, Josh, from both of us.”

Now, I just sat in my office and thought about the remarkable coincidences between what Graham had said and what turned out to be the truth. The children WERE both boys and they DID need our help, even though they had relatives in the area. How in the world could he have possibly known that?

The first question Graham asked me, when he and Cole met me at the van after school, was if I had checked about the boys. I told them that I had followed-up on that and would tell everyone what I found out at dinner this evening. He seemed satisfied just to know that I had called, and was willing to wait and learn what I discovered at the same time I told his brothers. It also made me wonder if he somehow already knew what I was going to announce.

After we got home, I prepared our meal and puttered around in the kitchen for a while. When we sat down to eat, Graham was about at the end of his patience. “Daddy, what did you find out from Aunt Sally?” he pleaded.

“Okay, here’s the whole story,” I began, before telling them how I had called Sally and how she, in turn, called her friend. I explained there WERE two boys involved and that the local welfare agency didn’t want the children to stay with their relatives, at least for now. Next, I informed them that we would drive to Scranton on Friday evening, spend the night there, and then meet the boys on Saturday. I explained we would spend most of Saturday with the boys, stay overnight again, and then return home on Sunday, possibly with the boys.

Everyone was excited about the trip, but they were totally in awe of Graham and his ‘ability’ to sense all that from the newspaper’s account of the tragedy. Suddenly, Graham found himself held in much higher regard by his brothers, but it seemed not to affect him at all, since he was incredibly focused on the plight of the two young boys, whom he had never met.

By Friday, I had all the boys excused from all of their other commitments for the weekend, so there would be no conflicts. When the final classes ended, we loaded into the van and were on our way to Scranton. I had planned out our trip the previous evening at home and calculated it would take a few hours for us to drive there from our home in south central Pennsylvania, not including a stop for dinner. After an exhausting drive, we rolled into the parking lot of our hotel sometime after nine that evening.

We unloaded from the van and took the suitcases to our rooms. I had the boys get their things together Thursday night and pack them by room assignments. Once they had completed that task, I immediately asked them to put their luggage into the back of the van, so we wouldn’t have to fool with it in the morning.

Ricky, Cole and Graham would be staying together in one room, and therefore shared a suitcase. Dustin, Kevin and Trey were in another room, so they had their own suitcase. That left Danny, Pat and me to team up in the last room, so we packed our things in the final piece of luggage. I had also arranged for me to be in the center room, so I could also monitor the others’ activities while they were in their own rooms. We were all very tired by the time we arrived, so we merely freshened up a bit and relaxed for a short time, before going to bed.

The next day we were up, dressed and ready for our 10:00 a.m. appointment, with plenty of time to spare. After enjoying a substantial breakfast, we drove to the county office building and had just barely exited the van, before a red haired woman, about my age, greeted us. “Hi, I’m Ann Getz, and you must be Mr. Currie,” she began.

“Yes, but please call me Josh,” I informed her, which caused her to nod, signifying her understanding. “If you don’t mind my asking, I’m interested in knowing how you concluded I was the person you were waiting for?” I asked this question rather naively, as it turned out.

“Well, I had seen your pictures in the magazine, but even without that I would have figured it had to be you,” she sort of chuckled. “Either that or I’d discovered the Pied Piper, with all of those boys following you.” I should have realized, before I even asked the question, we were not the type of family that could blend in, unseen, into any community.

“Quite right. I guess my question was rather silly,” I confessed. “I’m very happy to meet you, Ann. Sally told me a little about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you and your boys, Josh. Sally told me about you, as well,” she countered. “Needless to say, I’ve been hoping for this opportunity since reading about you and the boys in the magazine article that was published a few months ago. You’re all celebrities of sorts, especially with people in my profession.”

“Not too loudly, Ann. I’ve just managed to get the swelling in their heads to go down, so they can fit into their hats again,” I joked.

“Oh, Josh, I find that hard to believe,” he countered. “They look like such wonderful young men. If you don’t mind, I’d like to meet and chat with them all later, but for now, I need to speak with you alone. We need to discuss some background information about this case, in private. The boys may remain in the waiting room, if they wouldn’t mind?”

“They certainly wouldn’t and that won’t be a problem,” I quickly assured her, before informing the boys about what was expected. They had brought along the hand-held video games I bought them for Christmas, so I knew they’d keep occupied. Once they were situated, I followed Ann into her office.

“I was thrilled when Sally called me,” she began, “and told me about your offer. It couldn’t have come at a better time. I had just left a big meeting, where we had discussed the dilemma about placing the boys. The consensus of the agencies involved with this situation was that we did not want them to move in with their mother’s relatives, as we were concerned those people might try to flee, in an attempt to evade criminal prosecution. They still might take off, but this way they won’t have the boys and won’t know where the children are, either. I just want to make sure you and your family hit it off with Sammy and Andrew, first. Those poor little creatures don’t need any more unhappiness in their young lives and I want to be certain they fit in with your other young men.”

“A wise precaution,” I offered, “but I don’t foresee any problems on this side. Hopefully, Sammy and Andrew, I believe those are the names you just used, will bond with my boys when we go out later.”

“That would be wonderful,” Ann exclaimed. “Maybe I should start at the beginning and fill you in about what we know. This whole mess started because their parents had been having marital problems. From what we’ve discovered from other sources, that afternoon Mr. Yamada went over to where his wife worked, to make amends and ask her out to lunch. When he arrived, he went directly to her office and opened the door cautiously, in order to surprise her, but he was the one who was surprised. When he glanced in, he saw this other guy and his wife having sex on her desk. The husband left as quietly as he’d entered, and there is no indication his wife or her gentleman friend had even known he’d been there, before Mr. Yamada went out to his car, got his pistol out of his glove compartment and then burst into her office the second time.

“Apparently, the two lovebirds jumped off the desk and tried to cover the evidence of their indiscretion. According to witnesses, Mr. Yamada screamed at his wife, telling her that she had shamed herself, her family and him, before lifting his weapon and firing a single shot into her head, right between the eyes. The other guy tried to flee, but Mr. Yamada shot him in the back as he attempted to bolt through the door. The bullet did some damage, but he did survive. Maybe now he won’t be so quick to mess around with a married woman.

“Back to the story, however,” Ann interjected. “Mr. Yamada then lifted the pistol to his own head and pulled the trigger. One of the employees in the shop raced to a phone and dialed 911, but by the time the police and ambulances arrived, it was too late to save either him or his wife. The paramedics managed to stabilize the other man and transport him to the hospital, while the police went around taking statements from the employees who had witnessed what had happened.

“As an officer was interviewing one of the gentlemen who worked in the shop, but had been in the office at the time of the attack, he recognized an expensive vehicle that had been reported stolen earlier in the day. It was sitting in the back of the shop, only partially covered by a tarp. He called the station and had some detectives sent over, with a warrant, to check out his find. When they arrived, the investigators discovered another stolen vehicle and some other assorted property that had been reported as stolen from throughout the surrounding area.

“The business was immediately closed down and seized by the police department. One of the detectives then went to court to get an injunction to freeze all of the family’s assets, until things could be sorted out and the case was presented in a court of law. If the various law enforcement agencies now involved in this case can prove any of the business’ assets were acquired due to illicit activities, then nearly everything the family has could be confiscated by the state.

“It was left up to my agency to decide what to do with the two boys, who were now orphans. The mother’s family was immediately excluded as undesirable and unfit, some because of the current allegations and others because of prior criminal records. We tried to find out what we could about the father’s family, only to discover he had left Japan against his parents’ wishes and they had disowned him and still mourn him as if he were dead. They’ve had no contact with each other since that day, so his parents don’t even know they have grandsons.

“This meant the boys were now wards of the state and under my supervision. We were debating their future when Sally told me about you and your offer. The two boys are in an adjoining office, with one of my caseworkers, and I’d like for them to meet you and your sons. If you’re willing, they are prepared to spend the rest of the day with you.”

“That’s sort of what we had planned on too, Ann,” I admitted. “My boys are looking forward to meeting them.”

“Great! Let’s go out in the waiting room and I’ll fill all of you in about them.”