They didn’t drive around the neighborhood or pass Jason’s family home. At this late hour, it would only draw suspicion. Instead, Jason instructed Angela to park two blocks away.
With his computer tucked away inside his backpack, he climbed out of the car. Angela followed close behind. They kept a brisk pace as they crept down the sidewalk of the tree-lined street, careful to stay in the shadows.
In a few hours, Jason thought, the sun would rise, throwing light on a lot of memories. Even in the dark, the area looked and felt so familiar. As they passed the house where Colin used to live with his dad and two older brothers, he recalled that he’d been jealous of Colin and his family back then. They used to spend entire weekends wrestling on the floor, or catching tadpoles in the creek behind their house, while Jason was usually stuck with his sister. Tracy was three years older, and was forced to spend a lot of time watching over him. But although he was ashamed to admit it, even if only to himself, he’d never realized until this very moment how good he’d had it growing up. Both of his parents had doted on him, and of course, Tracy resented the attention he got. He wondered now if she’d finally gotten the recognition she’d craved once he’d been carted off to prison.
A dog barked in the distance.
They remained silent, careful not to step on a twig or anything that might make a noise. Even from here, he could make out the large brick chimney, which had served as a marker when he was younger, jutting above all the other houses.
Relief set in when he realized that the next-door neighbor had brought in the dogs his mom usually complained about. It only took him a minute to find the loose board in the wood fence.
He crawled through the opening, then helped Angela through.
Neither of them said a word as she followed him to the base of a large oak tree. Looking up, he could clearly see the window to his old bedroom. The tall pines surrounding the property kept him well hidden from the federal agents, who were more than likely on the other side of the fence.
Mom had no idea he was coming. He figured it best if she didn’t know.
“I’m going to make sure I can get the window open,” he whispered close to her ear, “and then I’ll come back to help you up.”
She nodded.
He took his time climbing the tree, making sure not to crack a limb and alert anyone that he was here. Climbing that tree felt like riding a bike. Once learned, never forgotten. Level with the window, he grabbed the screwdriver from his back pocket and slid it into the area still dented from years of coming and going.
Click.
He pushed the window open and crawled inside.
His eyes had already adjusted to the dark, and he realized instantly that nothing had changed in his bedroom. Shelves lined with old trophies, a mini basketball hoop on the back of the door, an old model airplane he’d watched his dad build. He turned back to the window, surprised to see Angela almost ready to climb in. He reached out a hand and helped her inside. Her hands were still shaking a bit, but she helped him remove his backpack.
“I’m going to let Mom know we’re here.”
“Should I try to boot up your computer?”
He nodded. “Do you have your flashlight?”
She pulled it from her bag.
“Probably a good idea to use that instead of turning on any lights. Might want to use a pillowcase or something to muffle the light from the screen.”
Before leaving the room, Jason went to the shelf lined with all of his old movies. He grabbed the Star Wars movie, opened the case, and pulled out the disc.
“What’s that?”
“All the passwords should be on this disc.”
“Perfect,” she said. “I’ll take it from here.”
Jason made his way down the carpeted hallway toward the stairs. Mom’s bedroom was downstairs next to the kitchen. He didn’t like the idea of giving her a fright in the middle of the night like this, but he didn’t have much of a choice.
The stairs were carpeted, too, but the floorboards beneath creaked with every step. Before he reached the bedroom, he heard his sister’s voice come from behind.
“Put your hands up where I can see them.”
He did as she said, slowly turning her way. “Tracy, it’s me, Jason.”
She didn’t lower the gun, not until a light came on and Mom walked out of her bedroom.
“Oh, my God!” His mom rushed forward. “Jason.” Her hands cupped his face, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “You shouldn’t be here. The authorities are outside.”
A knock on the door stopped him from saying a word.
“Go to my room,” his mom whispered. “Hide in the closet until I come and get you. Now!”
“And you,” she said next, pointing to Tracy. “Put that gun away.”
Before Jason disappeared into her room, he watched her flip the lights on in the kitchen and family room as she made her way to the front door. Inside the bedroom, he stayed close enough to the doorway so he could hear what was going on.