The Day After
The night of the explosion, the Richardson’s headed back to Kevin senior’s place where they all spent the night together in the living room. Maybe they were afraid to let each other go after coming so close to losing one another. There was a creepy, odd quiet that filled the family the next morning. It was as if finally, everything that had happened began to sink in.
Kevin senior barely slept a wink that night; he stayed awake, staring at his family as they all slept on the floor like a litter of kittens. AJ and Stacey holding onto each other as if their bodies were velcroed together were off sleeping to the side. Brian was sleeping on the couch and Nick and Kevin slept right next to each other on the floor right beside Brian.
He came so close to losing them last night, if one of them had been home, if he had gotten a call saying that his son’s had died, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Thank God he didn’t have to worry about that now.
He was going to walk into his best friend’s office tomorrow morning and demand to be in charge of this investigation, knowing full well it would be taken over by the FBI.
“I don’t see why I have to go to school.” Nick said, breaking the silence at the table. “No one is going to work today so why should I have to go to school?”
“I’m going to work and besides…it’ll do you good. This place is currently too crowded for you to just stay home anyway.”
“I’m going in too.” Kevin said as he walked in from the bathroom. “I have work to do.”
“But Kev…” Brian’s eyes met his brother’s sympathetically. He could tell that his oldest brother was in a state of denial. “We need to talk to the insurance people about everything we lost, all the survivors are supposed to meet at 10.”
The word survivor made him shudder. He didn’t want to think about it, being one of the lucky ones. Especially when he knew that most likely Jo was among the dead, unless she went out for garlic too.
“Son?” Kevin looked up from his thoughts to see his dad staring at him, “Brian is right. I think it’s a good idea if you stayed home today.”
“I’ll be at the meeting at 10. I have some leads I need to follow for my own case. I’ll see you later.” He said, placing his jacket on and walking out the door.
“I can’t believe everything is gone.” AJ said as he still held onto his fiancé. “Everything I ever owned was in that building. Everything…”
“Me too.” Brian replied as he looked at his brother and nodded.
“We’ll get to the bottom of this boys, don’t worry.” Kevin senior said now putting his jacket on, “Nicky get your backpack, you’ll be late for school.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“Enough arguing! Come on, I’ll drive you.” He started out yelling but quickly controlled his temper.
“Go kiddo, we’ll talk when you get home.” Brian said winking at his brother. He kind of hoped his dad would let Nick stay home because in a way, Brian felt the need to be close to him today. He wanted to be close to everyone he loved today. Life was precious, life was also short.
Nick nodded and then walked over and gave Brian a hug, followed by Stacey and AJ, “I’ll see you guys later.” He said with a half smile.
Kevin senior turned to his boys, “I’ll let you know the minute I find out anything, okay?”
“Thanks dad.” AJ said as he picked up his coffee and blew on it.
Once they were gone Brian looked over at AJ, “I still can’t believe that happened. I mean thank God that we…”
“I know.”
“What do you think happened? Do you think it was an accident?”
“I hope so man…I would hate to think that someone did that on purpose.”
“Why would someone intentionally blow up the apartment building?” Stacey asked as she grabbed AJ’s hand into her own.
“It was probably a gas leak or something.” Brian answered, trying his best to push the thought that someone could have intentionally killed members of his family to the back of his mind.
The agent in him was always skeptical though. Maybe there was someone who lived right above him who was into shady dealings, or maybe part of a mob or something. He started to feel guilty about not going into the office, especially since Kevin was adamant about going himself as was his father. He was still on leave for his injury but he probably could be utilized at the office even if it was to just answer phones.
“Maybe I should go in too.”
“No way man. Stay here and relax…I kind of want us to stick together today.” When Brian saw the seriousness in AJ’s face he nodded.
“Okay.”
“I wish you would consider staying here with us too Stace.” AJ said to his fiancé once he noticed his brother settle back into his chair.
“I know, but I’d feel weird. Besides, it’ll be fun bonding with my mom again…that is until I’m ready to kill her but by then hopefully we’ll have a new place.”
“True…I’m just thankful I didn’t lose any of you, I don’t know what I would have done if…”
“Let’s not even go there AJ.” Brian interrupted. He couldn’t bring himself to even think about that. For now at least, it seemed like fate was on their side. Or maybe it was their mother who had them all leave in time. Brian couldn’t help but smile at that thought, picturing his mother looking out for them all from above.
“Kevin, I didn’t expect to see you here today.” Howie said when he saw his friend walk into the office with a cup of coffee in his hand as if it was any other day.
“Why wouldn’t I be here? We have lots of work to do.”
“But Kev…”
The look on Kevin’s face was enough to let Howie know that the discussion was to be dropped.
“I still haven’t found the brother yet, seems the mom hasn’t seen him since she told him about the sister.”
Kevin nodded, “Great…what about the school?”
“They know to notify us if he shows up.”
“I’m getting tired of all these dead ends D. Seems like this case doesn’t want to get solved.”
“None of them ever want to get solved Kevin.”
“My dad’s coming back to work today.”
“Really?”
Kevin nodded, “In light of what’s happened. He thinks the FBI will be brought into the apartment explosion case.”
“So he thinks it was deliberate then, what about you? Do you think it was a bomb?”
“It was a bomb.” Both Kevin and Howie looked over at Rob who had a huge file under his arm.
“We have results?”
“Not much but they found traces of C4 on some of the debris. Your dad is already on scene. When he called here I told him to just go there.”
“Why would someone intentionally want to blow up that building?”
“That’s what we’re going to try to figure out Howie.”
“I want on this case too Rob.”
Rob looked over at his best agent and shook his head, “No way Kevin, it’s too personal. Besides you’re doing great work on the case your on now.”
“Great work? We keep coming up with dead ends. Howie can very easily take over this case for me.”
“I need you to stay on that and speaking of Howie…” Rob then turned to Howie, “We need to talk in my office.”
“Is everything alright?” Kevin asked, concerned by the tone of voice Rob used.
“Hopefully…anyway, I promise to keep you updated on the situation, but for now you keep working that double murder case.”
“Okay.” Kevin wasn’t in the mood to argue, he knew that deep down Rob was right. It was a bad idea to let him work on a case having to do with his own apartment building. Besides, his dad was working on the case and if anyone could solve a crime, it was his father.
“Why don’t you come with me now Howie?” Rob opened the door and motioned for the Latino to follow him. He looked nervous and unsettled.
Once both men were out the door, Kevin got back to work on his own case, trying to figure out what his next move should be since no one could find that Charlie kid.
Charlie paced nervously in the small hallway waiting for the guy who hired him to come through with the money he was owed. It still hadn’t fully registered in his brain that he might be the one responsible for the explosion. Even when watching the news on a set of TV screens outside an electronics store broke in with a special report showing the very place he and his crew had been, now ablaze as everyone seemed to be running for their lives, still he thought, it wasn’t me.
The boys all slept in the park that night, out of everyone’s sight. All huddled together like the scared boys they were. He had to keep reassuring the rest of them, that it was some kind of coincidence, that he would have never agreed to a job like that one.
He didn’t sleep a wink that night, going over everything in his head, how maybe if he did open that briefcase he might have seen explosives and bailed on the job. That maybe he and his friends were too careless and perhaps left fingerprints at the scene of the crime. Most importantly of all, he thought about Patty. He had taken her to that place and told her it was going to be the start of a new life for them. What if she made the connection? What if she decided to go to the police and tell them what he had said?
All of those thoughts kept him up all night long and made him vomit more than once. Suddenly instead of thinking about the prospects of starting a new life with the girl of his dreams, he was thinking about ways he could shut her up if the need arose.
A creaky door broke him out of his thoughts as the shady outline of Jack Roberts started walking slowly down the narrow hallway of the homeless shelter they decided to meet at. Charlie thought about charging at the guy for a second but quickly changed his mind when he was certain he saw a shiny metal object protruding from the man’s pants pocket.
“You did well.” Jack whispered as he handed over a duffle bag to the kid. “You failed, but you did well.”
“Tell me we didn’t cause that explosion.” He was nervously stuttering and he hated that. He sounded about as nervous as he felt.
“Some things are best left unsaid.”
“But there were innocent people in that building how could you…”
Jack pushed Charlie up against the wall, “That’s enough boy…you have your money now I suggest you forget all about me, if you know what’s good for you.”
“You said we failed, how so?”
Jack was slowly walking away, trying to figure out the best method of killing this kid. He had the gun with the silencer and even though it was just a homeless shelter, it was too risky that he would be noticed. There was also the needle he had loaded with a fatal dose of heroine. That seemed more appropriate for the boy.
“You missed your targets.”
“Targets? I don’t understand.”
Jack turned to him, ready to take the syringe out of his pocket and stab Charlie with it. “You don’t need to understand. Our arrangement was quite simple…you do what I ask you to do without any questions and in exchange I give you $100,000. Now here you are asking me a ton of questions. I should just take the money since you aren’t living up to your end of the bargain.”
“No…please, forget I even asked.” The boy’s plea brought about a smile to Jack’s face. That’s why he loved employing children. They were so easy to manipulate….torture and kill as well.
He would wait until Charlie’s back was turned then make his move. He already took care of the other kids. It was simple…almost too simple. He pretended he was a drug dealer, they followed him to his car and he gave them pot laced with arsenic. Pot…they really were just children, kids who wanted to be badasses.
“Thank you for everything Charles…you did a fine job.”
Charlie had unzipped the duffle bag and was now in awe at all the money he saw inside. It made Jack happy that he had actually brought it along, he almost didn’t. He would have that money back in his hands in a few seconds anyway; let the kid be happy for a minute or two.
The kid zipped up the bag and turned to walk away, and as he did that, Jack made his move but before he could, Charlie turned around, “You told me you would tell me who killed my sister.”
Quickly Jack put the syringe in his pocket. That’s right…he thought to himself…maybe this kid will be useful a little while longer.
Nick glided through the day as if he was sleep walking. In and out of classrooms doing nothing but watching the clock and wondering when he could go home and be back with his family. He almost lost them all in one night. That’s all it would have taken, just one stupid night to lose everyone he ever loved and cared about.
He actually found himself thanking God that Brian was shot. If he wasn’t he surely would have been in that building. But that wasn’t the only thought that crossed his mind. The memory of Ariana sitting there on the bench with the guy she called Jack still danced on his mind. That and the huge amount of money the guy was sporting.
During his Calculus class instead of working on formulas and equations, he found himself calculating all of the possible things that the guy Jack could have been using that money for.
Was it possible that he was being paid off for blowing up the apartment building? That thought crossed his mind in the middle of fourth period as he was dissecting a fetal pig. Is it possible that he and Ariana planned an explosion? He knew he was being silly even thinking that way, but still…he knew what he was going to do.
He’d wait at the park again to see if her and her boyfriend showed up. He asked for a pass to use the boy’s room and then once out of the cafeteria, he snuck out of the building and sprinted over to the park.
Kevin didn’t get very much work done either. Like his little brother, he seemed to be focusing more on the clock than anything else. He would have almost missed the meeting with the rest of the tenants of the building if it hadn’t been for a friendly reminder from Ariana.
He showed up just as the guy was talking about lists. Kevin had a hard time trying to compile his list. It had to be as exact as possible the insurance adjustors said. They needed a final list by the end of the week so they could get things rolling. On that list needed to be all the items lost and their approximate value. How do you put a price value on pictures and high school diplomas etc…
Kevin looked around the sea of faces for his brothers and sure enough there they were in the very first row. There was no sign of Jo anywhere and that thought made him sad. Once the insurance companies were done talking he saw his father step up to the microphone. This was the part where they were going to be told that this was arson.
Sure enough there were gasps from the crowd when that information was shared. Brian glanced over at Kevin for confirmation. “They found traces of C4.” He whispered in reply to his brother’s questioning glance.
“We need a statement from all of you, thank you for your time.” His father said, concluding the meeting.
“How many deaths were there?” Came a question from the back of the room.
“It’s too early to say but we have at least 5 confirmed deaths.”
After the crowd broke off into small groups waiting to be questioned by the FBI, Kevin’s family gathered around their father who already looked exhausted. “So five deaths?”
“So far.”
“Do we know where the explosion came from?” Brian asked.
“They think the basement. Most likely the laundry room.”
Kevin let out a sigh, now knowing without a doubt that Jo was among the dead. He rubbed at his temples, pushing down his all too familiar feelings of loss.
“Are you okay son?”
Kevin nodded, “Yeah…just that, someone I knew was about to go down and do her laundry as I was leaving the building.” He looked over at Brian and AJ and elaborated, “Jo.”
Brian gave an understanding nod. He knew Jo as well and also knew that his brother had developed quite a crush on the girl. “So, what’s next?” AJ asked as he grew impatient and angry. “Are we going to find the ass who did this?”
Kevin senior rested his hand on his son’s shoulder, “We will and whoever it was will pay.”
That should have brought peace of mind to the firefighter, but it didn’t. He felt victimized, just like he did when he was shot so many years ago. He glanced over at Stacey who seemed to be in another world as she watched the FBI agents talking to the people from the building.
“Do I have to stick around or can you take my statement at the office?” Kevin asked when he saw how slow the entire process was taking. They had been waiting around for at least an hour already and he felt the need to get back to work.
“You can go, Stacey you’re up next.” He said motioning for Stacey to follow Frank, one of the newer members of the agency.
She nodded and kissed AJ before walking away with the agent. “I’ll see you guys later.” He said nodding at both of his brothers and his father before taking off to the office.
When Kevin got back, he saw Ariana sitting at her desk with her arms wrapped around her husband. They seemed to be sharing an intense moment that abruptly came to an end when they saw him approaching.
“Everything okay?” He directed the question to his best friend who wasn’t looking very good.
“We need to talk.” Was his reply as he kissed his wife, gradually moving towards Kevin’s office.
“Are you going to be okay baby? I promised I’d meet up with the girls for lunch but I can cancel…” She said which only peaked Kevin’s curiosity.
“I’ll be good, you go ahead.” She nodded as the two agents walked into Kevin’s office, and then she smiled as she grabbed her bag and headed for the park.
“So what’s up?” Kevin asked taking a seat behind his desk.
“Seems I was the last person to see Nadia alive.” Howie replied.
“Yeah, we already knew that.” Kevin answered, now knowing what Rob had called Howie in about.
“Well, apparently, the FBI seems to think there’s something slightly suspicious about that. Rob told me they are investigating me.”
“D, you know it’s only a technicality…”
“Until they’re done with the investigation I am confined to desk duty.”
“It won’t take long Howie…I wouldn’t worry.”
Howie let out a sigh, “I know, but still.”
“I’m sure I’ll be under suspicion as well.”
“I don’t think so Kev. Rob, wouldn’t elaborate, but he made me feel like I was his only option.”
“Don’t worry about it Howie, okay?”
Howie nodded. “I’ll try, but have you ever felt like everyone was out to get you?”
Kevin nodded, “Too many times.” He answered as he pat his best friend on the back.
“Well? Am I going to get the name or not?” Charlie asked when it seemed as though his boss was never going to answer his question.
Jack put his hands in his pockets and motioned for the teenager to follow him out of the shelter. He thought it was best if they didn’t linger in one place for too much longer.
Charlie anxiously followed, holding tight to the cash he had in his hands. “Why are you so curious?” Jack asked once they were clear of the smelly building.
“Because I want to know who killed my sister.”
“And what are you going to do once I give you that information?”
“I don’t know.” Charlie answered with his head bowed down.
“I know what I’d do. If someone killed my sister, and I found out who it was, I’d go and find the son of a bitch and kill him with my own bare hands. But you would never do that, you don’t have it in you.”
“I will do whatever the fuck I need to do.” Once again that answer brought about a smile to Jack’s face. Sometimes things were too easy.
Jack moved closer to the boy now and grabbed his arm, “Whatever you chose to do with this information is on you kid, but I stay completely out of it, you understand?”
Charlie nodded, “Who was it?”
“His name is Howie Dorough.”
Charlie nodded and then took off down the street like a man with a mission.
Jack smiled as he watched Charlie turn the corner, “Adios Howie…” He said laughing as he went to meet his girlfriend in the park.
