Nightmare into Fantasy- Part 5

It was nearly two in the morning when Parker arrived at the hospital. It had been such a draining night. The mix of emotions from his family’s kidnapping, Anthony being hospitalized, the dismemberment of his girlfriend’s finger, and the disappearance of the chocolate cake were almost too much for Parker to bear.

“Parker!” Evy greeted him at the reception desk of the hospital. “You look like shit… are you ok?” His emotions continued to waver between rage and sorrow. It was sorrow’s turn and Parker burst into tears internally recalling the events of the evening. Evy was used to people crying in front of her, whether it was delivering life crushing news when the doctor couldn’t or being in the room when the doctor declared life for an exuberant family on the precipice of hope and despair.

But she had never seen Parker cry, even after it was alleged he raped her. She was still mystified how that stalker piece of shit and jealous harlot had managed to convince campus that Parker, the same Parker that had been severely thrashed by several significantly smaller women for inappropriate comments. Even when she was blackout drunk, Evy was confident she could toss Parker like her roommate did before Parker and Tanya started dating.

“Alright buddy,” Evy came around from behind the desk to comfort him. “Tell me what happened and let’s see if we can figure it out together”, she said as she rubbed his back, coercing his tears to stop.

He recounted the events of the evening for Evy as she listened carefully, stoically. She had trained herself to control her emotions and facial expressions. She needed all her training in these moments to help her friend and provide Parker with the appropriate amount of empathy to get him through this. Her friend had been taken, this shook her but she knew the solution rested down the hall, waiting for Parker’s arrival to be set free from the grips of the healthcare system. “Come on buddy, let’s go get Anthony.”

Casting an Investigation

Anthony was already dressed and pacing the length of his semi-private room. “What took you so long dude? I’ve been waiting here for hours”, Anthony pressed until he found his friend’s eyes. He saw it, the despondent look, the red and puffy eyes. He softened instantly and flipped into detective mode. “Oh buddy… what happened?”

Parker informed Anthony about the scene he left behind at his parent's place. There was a lot of coincidence in Parker’s story. For instance, the assailants waited for Anthony to leave Parker’s parents’ place before making a move. He suggested they go back to the ranch, maybe there was something there Parker missed that he wouldn’t.

Parker agreed it was the best course of action. “Do you remember anything else Parker? Did they say anything that caught your attention?”

“Huh…” Parker looked absolutely lost. The anger that filled him hours earlier had dissipated as the trauma of losing his family slowly seeped into possibility. “No, nothing”, he responded flatly. All emotion had been stripped from him. The man who was always laughing and joking, even in some of his darkest moments, seemed to be a spectre of his former self.

Suddenly though, he remembered the phone the kidnappers gifted him with Tanya’s finger. He started fumbling around in his pockets for the phone. This was the most lively Parker had been in the hours since they had reconvened at the hospital. “Holy shit guy, you’re alive?” Anthony stated, astonished. Parker had been slipping in and out of a catatonic state, this was one of his more lucid moments of the past hour. “I thought we were going to have to pull the plug.”

“I’m not dead yet but my family will be if we don’t hurry up.” He said as he finally fished the phone from his pocket. “They called me on this. The number was blocked. Do you know anyone who could track where the call came from?”

Anthony flipped open the phone to explore. “Whoa! Vintage. Isn’t this phone from 2003?” He questioned. The phone itself was a clue. Other than Amazon there was only one place in town where you could possibly find a phone like this. “Oh yeah, I know a guy.” Pieces had begun to shift into place as Anthony’s mind processed the information from the evening. There were three stops they needed to make. Parker’s parents’ ranch, Anthony’s tech guy, and the Hoarder- a rundown pawn shop that was a known front for the town’s most nefarious criminal syndicate. First stop, the ranch. He had to get a team up there to process the scene but he needed to see it first.

Rancho not so Relaxo

It was still dark when they arrived back at the ranch. The stillness of the night set an eerie atmosphere as Parker and Anthony entered the house. As Anthony surveyed the damage, he reminded Parker not to touch anything as this was an active crime scene. The chaos was oddly confined to the living room, kitchen, and hallway which connected the two rooms. Normally at a scene like this, he would find traces of evidence all over the scene but elsewhere in the house was untouched, almost sterile piquing Anthony’s interest.

They were just about to leave, when Anthony found Parker sitting on the couch crying into his hands. The box with the finger sat on the coffee table in front of him. He understood his reaction. With what Parker knew, it was completely rational. Anthony, however, recognized this was staged.

“Don’t worry buddy, we’re going to find them.” Anthony comforted Parker in his most conciliatory tone. “I have a scent and I’ll go to the ends of the Earth to ensure you and Tanya are happy together. But we gotta go. Forensics is going to be here soon.”

Sniffing deeply then wiping away the tears, Parker nodded in acknowledgement. He rose from the couch and followed Anthony to his car. They drove away as the forensics team was driving up the long dirt road to the main house.

“Hey buddy?” Anthony asked, attempting to get Parker’s attention. “Did you notice anything strange about the scene?” Parker turned to him, appearing puzzled.

“How am I supposed to notice anything other than my missing family?” He demanded, showing signs of the fighter Parker was. So his spirit was still there. “Are you talking about the blood in the kitchen or the blood in the living room? How about the blood in the hallway? Is that what you mean by strange?” His questions laced with belligerent sarcasm.

Anthony understood. His friend was in a lot of pain, traumatic pain. Raising theories off of hunches wasn’t going to keep Parker present where he was desperately needed. “I’m sorry Parker. I love your family too.” Affirming his supportive intentions with Parker. “You’ll see them again. I get a sense it’ll be sooner than you think.

“Hope is the only thing I’m holding onto right now.”

It was going to be a few hours until Anthony would hear back about the blood from the forensics lab. The pair still had two more stops to make. It had been a long night. Parker’s head bobbed up and down, attempting to mask the exhaustion he currently experienced. “Parker, why don’t you kick back and get some sleep? We’re still a couple of hours away from meeting up with tech support,” Anthony suggested.

Parker was always curious about why Anthony gave his contacts menial job related nicknames. Their good friend from university Dhruv is tech support. Why didn’t he just call them by their real names? Dhruv was a doctor for fuck sakes. Parker didn’t know where this idiosyncrasy came from but he found it more than a little strange for grown men to use codenames. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, failing to stifle a large yawn. He reclined back and allowed sleep to sink in.

Secrets have Secrets

As he drove toward their destination, Anthony already knew the outcome. This had been her plan from the outset. How was he supposed to keep this secret from Parker? The man had already been through so much. Despite Anthony’s reservations he followed. This was in Parker’s best interest, but he was going to be devastated and Anthony had to be there to pull him back from the brink.

Anthony was just pulling into Dhruv’s driveway when Parker was startled from his slumber. “Rise and shine sir, tech support is waiting,” Anthony prodded. Parker slowly rolled out of the car door as he attempted to shake the sleep off.

For a doctor, Dhruv lived in a modest-looking bungalow. He was never one to spend indiscriminately though he had a taste for lavish items. It was Dhruv’s wife Monique who managed to introduce a more conservative spending approach. It was one of the things he was most grateful for.

Anthony apprised Dhruv of the situation and handed him the cellphone. He examined it and quipped, “Hey Parker, the 90s called and want their phone back, they even left a voicemail.” Silence. Someone’s dad somewhere laughed. “Well let’s take a look under the hood. Fortunately, the old tech was incredibly basic and Dhruv discovered the origins of the call within a few minutes.

“I found the source of the outgoing call but you’re not going to like where it takes you,” Dhruv cautioned. Anthony leaned over Dhruv’s shoulder to get a closer look at the location. It was exactly where he expected it to be. “You sure you need to see him?”

“Don’t really have a choice, if I want to help Parker here save his family. Plus it’s been years since the tournament, he probably doesn’t even remember what happened.” Anthony brushed aside the concerned look from Dhruv.

“You sure Anth, the guy is like 300 pounds. He could eat three of me and still be unsatisfied.” Dhruv was right to be worried. Jacob, when they knew him in university, and before he became the Raging Bull was now the leader of the Animal Farm crime syndicate. If there was illegal activity happening, they had a piece of the action. Many had tried to muscle in on their turf yet every time they were gored by the Bull.

The Bull was well known for his temper. It wasn’t just inadvertent slights, he flew into a blind rage when an outcome didn’t go in his favour. It’s what led to Parker having a price on his head. He should have folded those aces. Yet this man was the only man who could help Parker find Tanya. The question they had to ask themselves was who were they going to get today? Jacob or the Bull.