“No, Father, I’m not hurt. I’m just fine. Can you come and get me?”
What a strange thing to ask. “Ford, can you talk?”
“Of course, Father. Please just come and get me. It’s okay.”
I muted the phone and looked at Bill. “Doesn’t sound to me like he’s in any imminent danger. He’d be scared and Linc would be coaching him not to tell you to come. I think we’re going in.”
I unmuted the phone and said, “Ford, are you able to go outside? Is it alright with the man with the beard?”
“Sure, Father. He won’t care. But please hurry. I don’t have a coat.”
Suddenly, there was a flurry of arms signaling from Bill’s men. We ran forward cautiously, and then in a full out run as we saw Ford emerge from the house, alone. One of Bill’s men reached him first and threw him into the snow, covering him with his body.
I caught up and grabbed Ford and held him up against my chest, shielding him as I headed to the barn. “Why are you running, Father? The man can’t hurt you.”
I stopped and looked down at him. “Why not, Ford?”
“Because I killed him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Worth
I handed Ford to Bernie, who headed back to the barn. Cautiously, we approached the house but Bill’s men eventually waved us in. I walked through the door that had always meant disapproval, punishment, and pain for me. I walked in and followed bloody tracks across the polished flooring, into my father’s study. There was Linc, lying over the desk, just as Father had. He was dead, a pocket knife embedded in his juggler. The knife was engraved, “Merry Christmas, Father. From your son, Ford.”
The men from Chicago were the only two in the room who weren’t mentally celebrating. Even they shrugged and then left for parts unknown.
Bill made a call and soon police were flooding the drive and yard, even back to the barn. Bill stood out front, giving a statement and I went in search of my son.
I found him behind the barn, wrapped in Bernie’s warm coat. Bernie was holding him and they were both sober-faced. We went back to the vehicles and I loaded them into mine, turning on the heat to warm them both. Bill came up to the window and asked us to go to the police station for a statement, but I shook my head. “I’m taking them home. There’s a doctor there and they’ve both been through a trauma and may likely go into shock. They can come and talk to us there, but we’re going home.”
Bill tapped the roof of the car to signal me to go on home and that’s where I headed. When we got there, Auggie was waiting at the door. She grabbed Ford up in her arms and cried unabashedly. Betsy was waiting with blankets and food and we wouldn’t even let go of Ford long enough for him to go and shower. The police arrived shortly thereafter, as did Bill and his men. They sat around the dining table and Bill gave them all the evidence and information he’d assembled. Then it was time to talk to Ford.
I held my hand up to the others. I would do the talking.
“Son, can you tell us what happened?”
“Sure. I heard you and Mother talking in your study and was coming to get you. I wanted you to see the presents I’d wrapped. The front door opened and a man was standing there who looked almost like you, except he had a beard and his eyes were like Mother’s and mine. I called out to him, thinking it was you in a costume, going to surprise me and he grabbed me. I still thought it was you but when we got in his car, I knew it wasn’t. I tried to yell, but you couldn’t hear me. I knew you’d be worried, so I sat really quiet and waited to see what he would do.”
I smiled at him. “That was very smart of you, Ford. What happened next?”
“He took me to that place where you found me. It was sort of like a farm and sort of like an office. He locked me in a room and went out to the barn. I heard noises like a gun shooting and I figured he went out rabbit hunting for food. When he came back, he didn’t say anything to me but made me a peanut butter sandwich and he ate something else from the refrigerator. We went into another room that had no windows and he turned on a big screen TV. We watched movies and I think I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, I didn’t know if it was daytime or nighttime because it was dark in that room.”
“You did everything exactly right, son. I’m very proud of you.”
“Thanks. The guy was dumb because he left my phone on the table. I found it and turned it on and used the light to look around. He was sitting at the big desk and was asleep. His head was laying on his arms. Like this.”
I smiled as he demonstrated Linc’s position.
“I knew he was planning to hurt me, Father, I just knew it,” he continued quietly. “So, I reached into my pocket and got out a pocket knife. I’m sorry, but when you took me shopping, it took me so long because I had to wait while they engraved a message on it for you. It was your Christmas present from me.”
“No reason to apologize, Ford. I’m really glad you had a way to defend yourself. But how did you know what to do?”
He nodded and went on. “Well, I’d seen plenty of movies on how to kill people, especially at school, so I opened up the knife and stabbed him in the side of the neck. He jerked a little and tried to grab me, but I knew he would so I had already jumped back. Pretty soon, his blood all ran out and his head just laid there on his arms. He didn’t move anymore and his eyes were open and staring.”
“That must have been scary.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I was just trying to figure out what to do next when my phone rang and it was you. I was glad you came to get me. I was getting hungry and I didn’t know where I was. I guess I could have called you, or Bernie. I wouldn’t have called Mother, though. She worries so much.”
I hugged Ford and Auggie in one huge grasp and the men all nodded, shut off their recorders and left us alone. I took Auggie and Ford upstairs and Ford took a long, hot bath, as did Auggie and I. By the time I got downstairs, everyone was gone and the equipment had disappeared. It was as if it had never happened. The Christmas tree was lit.
“Father?” Ford asked, fingering an ornament on the tree. “Could you take me back to the store again? I need to get you a new Christmas present. I don’t think those men are going to let me have your knife back again.”
***
Auggie and I began to suffer from nightmares from that night on. Ford, on the other hand, didn’t seem bothered by anything. I packed us up the next day and we moved temporarily into the condo. It seemed to be the only place where nightmares had not yet followed us. Auggie was content with the change.