Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 45

        Alison was preparing for her first and probably her only night at work.  She had discussed some of her options for procuring Sam for Miles and they had decided a quick snatch and grab would be the quickest way to handle things.  Millicent Bulhummer wasn’t going to be working at the hotel for long.  Alison knew there was at least one person at the Metro Court who could recognize her, so it was essential to complete the job without dallying.

`       She wandered down to Miles’ study and knocked on the door.

        Walker quickly ended his conversation with Calmar.  “Someone is here.  Listen, I don’t care what you have to do, but distract my wife.  Scare Dani, that should keep Tea occupied. Tomas is right, Tea could throw a monkey wrench into everything if she decides to get nosy.  Get back to me later.”  He hung up and answered the knock.  “Come in.”

        He smiled as Alison walked in.  Luckily he had shut the door before the call had come in from Calmar.  “My dear Alison, how charming you look.  Are you sure you want to undertake this?  I realize this isn’t the legal way to go about things, but I simply must get Sam away from that woman.”

        “Miles, I agree wholeheartedly about Blair Cramer.  The boy would be so much better off with you, than around Blair and her crazy family.  Do you know she leaves Sam with her mother?  That woman is a loon.”

        Walker knew Addie was much more perceptive than Alison realized and definitely back among the sane people, so he cautioned.  “Be careful of Addie Cramer.  She’s not the woman you used to know.”

****

       Jack opened his laptop and went to his MyFace page.  He put Molly Lansing into the search bar and was pleased to see her name come up.  He sent a message to her and hoped she would friend him.  He was searching for more information on Alcazar when a note popped up on his screen saying he had a message.  It was from Molly.  Hi, I was wondering if you made it back to the hotel okay.

      Jack quickly wrote back:  I did, thanks.  Say do you remember that guy we saw on our way to Kelly’s?  I saw him again on my way back to the hotel.  I’m certain it’s the guy from my hometown but I found out something strange last night.  There’s a man who used to live here that looks exactly like Tomas.

     He waited a minute and Molly responded:  You don’t say.  What’s the name of the guy?  Maybe my mom knows him.

     Jack continued the conversation:  It’s some guy by the name of Lorenzo Alcazar.

     Jack, my mom just came in.  I told her what you wrote and she got this weird look on her face like she was getting sick.  She just said that the Alcazar guy was bad news and that he was dead.  When I told her about your friend Tomas, she got real white and just left.  She said she needed to talk to my uncle.  We need to talk face to face, this has my mom really spooked.  Maybe you could come to my house.  We’re on the lake.  We could swim and talk this over.  What do you say?

      Jack replied:  You bet, I want to get out of here anyway.  I’ll need to tell my grandma, but she’s cool.  How do I find the house?

       A short time later, Jack exited the hotel.  With his laptop in hand and a bag containing his swim trunks, he hopped into a cab and gave the address.  Several minutes later, he arrived at the Davis lake house.  Molly was waiting.  She was already dressed for a swim.  Jack couldn’t help but admire how cute she looked in her pink bikini and cover-up.  He thought the color was nice with her long brown hair and eyes.

    “Hi, you didn’t have any trouble with your grandma, did you?”

    Jack smiled. “No, she’s really great.  She was curious how I met a girl so quickly, but she said I should have some fun since I am on vacation.  Besides, she knows I’m trying to avoid my dad right now.”

    “You mean you still haven’t seen him?  I don’t understand that, Jack.  I never get to see my dad and I’d love to see him right now.”  She laid a gentle hand on Jack’s arm. “I know what you told me at lunch, but he is your dad.  I really think you could cut him some slack.  You miss the guy you told me ended up being your uncle.  Maybe if you gave your dad a chance, you wouldn’t feel that grief so bad.”

    Jack had started to get angry when Molly began talking about his father, but when she put her hand on his arm, it sent a little shock through him and he found himself lost in her expressive eyes.  He felt tongue-tied and tried to gather his thoughts.  “Uh, I hear what you’re saying.  Molly, I really don’t want to talk about my dad right now.  If that’s okay?  This is a nice house.  Do just you and your mom live here?”

    “Yes, my sister Kristina is away at college, and my oldest sister, Sam, is married.  It’s just my mom and me for the time being.  Come on inside.  You can put your laptop on the table and the bathroom is through there.  Get your suit on.  Let’s go swimming while it’s hot out.”

    Jack went into the bathroom and got into his trunks.  He came out carrying his bag and set it down by the table.  “Are you sure this is alright?  Your mom won’t get mad will she?”

    “I don’t think so.  It’s not like we’re doing anything wrong, we’re just swimming.  Besides like I wrote on MyFace, she left to go talk to my uncle.  I see you brought one of the hotel’s towels, I wouldn’t have had the nerve to even take it.”  Molly took a moment to get her breath.  Jack Manning was beautiful.  His dark hair was full and wavy and his light eyes seemed to stand out in contrast to the dark hair.  His body was great, too.  The girls in school would have called him “hot.”

    Jack laughed and slung the towel over his shoulder.  “Hey, I’m not stealing it.  It’s going back to the hotel when I do.  So, I usually swim in pools.  What’s the lake like?”

    “Get ready, because it’s a lot colder than a pool.”  She led him down to the lake and dove in.

    Jack followed her and suddenly came up gasping as the cold seeped straight to his bones.  “Boy, you weren’t kidding.   It’s summertime, I would have thought the water would be warmer.”

    “No, this lake is fed by some Canadian rivers so the water temps are colder this time of year.  It will warm up more as we get into August.  We can stay in a little while longer, but you have to swim in spurts so you don’t get hypothermia.”

     Jack smiled at Molly.  “You really know all your facts.  I like that.  So it’s possible to be in the water too long, huh?”

     “It is, the water temp varies around the lake, too.  Michael told me it’s even colder around Spoon Island.   He said he never realized how much until he jumped in to help your father.”  Molly realized her mistake as soon as she saw Jack’s face.  “Oh my God, I’m sorry I said that.”

      Now the cold in the water really chilled Jack as he started swimming back to the dock.   As he hauled himself out of the water, he imagined Michael and Starr pulling his father out of the lake.  He reached for his towel and wrapped it around him, trying to dispel the chill.  He sat down on the dock letting the sun shine down on him, and he slowly began to warm up.

       Molly swam back and clamored up onto the dock.  She went and sat down next to Jack. “Jack, please don’t be mad.   I really am truly sorry.  You said you didn’t want to talk about him and I turned around and brought him back up.  Forgive me?”

     “You know, ever since my Uncle Victor was murdered, I’ve wanted my father to pay.  Uncle Victor raised me, he was my dad.  Only last year it turned out he wasn’t.  I didn’t want to have anything to do with my real dad.  I felt I would be disloyal to Victor if I let myself feel anything for my dad.”  Jack turned and looked into Molly’s eyes.  They were open and friendly and he needed someone to talk to.  “Can I tell you something?”

      Molly could see Jack needed to talk. “Go ahead.  I won’t tell anyone.”

      Jack looked out at the lake.  “I hated my dad when he reappeared.  All of a sudden my sister was on his side, even my mom, and to top everything, my little brother even liked him more than his own father, my uncle.  I was mad.  I thought they all deserted Victor.  In trying to stay true to Victor, I threw something in my father’s face and used it to keep myself mad at him.”

       “What did you do, Jack?  What did he do?”

         “My dad delivered me when I was born, but he believed I was another man’s son and he gave me away and told my mom I was dead.”

        “Jack, that’s awful.  How did you end up back with your mother?”

       “When he found out I was his son, he went out and got me, but he was too cowardly to tell my mother the truth.   He brought me back and let her think I was someone else’s child.  When the truth came out, Mom kicked him out and told him to leave.  That‘s what my father does; he lies.”

       Jack kicked at the water.  He was finding it harder and harder to stay mad.  “When he came back, he told us he had been held a prisoner for eight years.  He also said the only thing that kept him alive was his love for us.  I thought he was lying. He said he had been tortured and I figured he was just making up a story to make us all feel sorry for him.”

       “He said he had been tortured?  That’s a pretty big lie.”

       “That’s just it, he wasn’t lying.  I sat in on his trial and he had a witness that swore my father was suffering from PTSD.  Of course, I didn’t believe him then either.  Then my sister told me what happened in the hospital yesterday.  He’s been having real flashbacks of his time in that prison.  Starr told me he didn’t even recognize her and he thought he was being held by those men and they were going to torture him some more.  My mom tried to tell me I was wrong about him, but I didn’t want to accept the fact that she was right.  Now, I don’t know what I feel.  On one hand, he killed my Uncle Victor, his own brother and I want to hate him.  But now I know he didn’t know what he was doing.  He’s sick.  How can I stay mad at him when he’s sick?”   Jack stood up and looked down at the water.  “He.. he almost died.  All he’s wanted since he got back, was to get to know me.  I don’t know what to do.” His eyes followed the waves hitting the pilings.  His thoughts were in turmoil.  Then he felt a small hand take his and he looked to find Molly standing there.

      “You’ll figure it out.  I think you already have.”  She smiled and led him back toward the house.

****

      Alison pushed the cart.  She tossed in the dirty towels and checked her supplies.  The duct tape and chloroform were ready; she continued down the hallway.  She continued to watch her prey and had been since she had arrived for work.  She noted that Addie was alone with Miles’ nephew and the older boy seemed to be gone. When they left the pool area, Alison headed up to the floor and started her duties.  You need to do it now.  The older boy could get back any time, Alison.  Once she was outside the door she pulled the chloroform out and put some on a washcloth. She knocked on the suite door containing Addie and Sam.  “Maid service.”  Any minute now.  She held the cloth behind her back, in case Addie opened the door. 

       Inside the suite, Addie was finishing dressing.  “Sam, go let in the maid.  While she’s cleaning, we can go to the lounge for a sundae.”

      Sam opened the door.  “Come on in.  Grandma says you can clean.  We’re going  for a snack.”

      Alison moved quickly as the boy walked away from her.  She tucked the cloth in her pocket and grabbed a strip of duct tape, then caught up Sam, holding her hand over his mouth, “Don’t say a word, or your grandmother‘s going to be hurt.”

      Sam was struggling but stilled when the lady said she would hurt his grandmother.  He looked at her with wide eyes as she tape his mouth shut and then wrapped his feet and hands with the duct tape. 

      From the other room, Addie shouted.  “I’m almost ready, Sam.” 

     Alison ran to the other room pulling off sheets quickly.  She covered Sam who lay on the floor and went to her cart for some fresh sheets. She was walking into the second bedroom when Addie came out of her room.

     “Sam, are you ready to go?”  Addie looked around and turned to the maid.  “Did you see where my grandson went?” 

    Alison didn’t answer but waved her hand toward the front door.  As Addie made her way to the door, she passed the pile of sheets and noticed they were moving.  “What the... Sam, are you playing with me?”  She pulled the sheets off to see Sam tied and gagged.  “My God Sam!” She knelt to take off the tape from Sam’s mouth.

     Sam saw Alison coming toward them. “Look out, grandma!”  

     Addie looked over her shoulder just as Alison put the chloroform over her mouth.  She began to struggle but her arms and legs seemed so heavy.  She saw Alison’s face and realized she knew her, then darkness filled her vision.

     Alison lowered Addie’s limp form to the floor.  

     “Grandma!” Sam yelled, but before he could say anything else, Alison slapped some more tape across his mouth. 

      “I told you to stay quiet.  Now, you see what I had to do?  This is your fault.  If you hadn’t given it away, your grandma would have been fine.”  Alison got up and retrieved more tape.  She tied Addie’s hands and feet together much like she had Sam’s and placed a strip over her mouth.  Alison looked at the boy and saw tears running down his cheeks.  She sighed and knelt down close to him.  “I’m sorry.  Your grandma’s going to be okay.  She’s just asleep.  I only knocked her out.  I’m taking you to see your uncle, and I didn’t want it to go down this way.  Now you need to be quiet and not move or make any more noises.”  

        She wrapped the boy in a sheet and carried him to the cart dropping him down in it.   She looked at Addie lying in plain sight and pulled her to the back of the couch and tossed the second bed sheet over her and left the room.  With any luck, she would be long gone before the older boy returned and found his grandmother.  She started moving towards the elevator.  Suddenly, she found herself facing the hotel manager.

        “Ms. Bulhummer, you really need to pick up the pace.  You should be up on the last floor by now.” Olivia Falconeri looked disapprovingly at their newest maid.

         Alison took a deep breath and smiled.  “I’m sorry.  Someone had quite a party in suite 712.  I’ll get to the next floor on the double.”  She hurried to the elevator and pushed the up button.  As soon as the manager moved out of sight, she pushed the down button.  If there was anyone on the elevator, she would simply wait till they exited at the top floor.

       Inside suite 711, underneath the sheet, Addie stirred. 

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