Chapter 1

I'm Terry Bell and this is my story. It's funny how lives can be changed so quickly. It all started the day I went on a fishing trip with two of my friends.

My wife Abby was sitting in her office for about an hour when she received the phone call. "Is this Abigail Bell?" the caller asked.

"Yes it is, how can I help you?"

"We've abducted your husband and holding him for a two hundred fifty thousand dollar ransom. You have twenty-four hours to get the money together or your husband dies. If you notify the police, he dies. I'll call you again at three o'clock at your house and give you directions for getting me the money."

"Is this a joke? Who are you?" Abby was scared and stunned. She wasn't sure what to do. I went fishing with my friends on Lake Erie for three days. I didn't even take my cell phone, because we didn't want anything interrupting this fishing trip with my two friends.

Me and my friends were out on my yacht on Lake Erie drinking beer and fishing, having a good old time. We never got away that often and all of us really enjoyed fishing. My yacht was a pretty good size, a 35-footer that could even sleep six if they were friendly, although we rented a cabin to stay in at night. We took this camping and fishing trip once a year for the last six of years.

As I was sucking down another brew, the Coast Guard came toward us at a high rate of speed, stopping next to the yacht. With weapons drawn they asked, "Is one of you men Terry Bell?"

"That would be me," I answered. "What the hell is wrong that you need to pull guns on us?"

"Sorry Sir, but we were asked to locate you. We were told that you were abducted and there is a ransom being asked."

"I can assure you that I am well and good. These are my two friends Joe and Al. They are also two of my employees. We came out here to fish for a few days. We decided no cell phones. We didn't want to be bothered, just wanted to fish. Would you mind pointing your weapons in another direction?"

"Sorry, Mr. Bell. We would like to board your yacht and take a look around. Do you have any weapons on board?"

"Just the standard flare guns and other emergency items you would expect on a yacht. You're welcome aboard."

They gave a quick search of the boat and checked the ID's of the three of us. Afterward they apologized but asked me if I would go with them. The police needed to talk with me at my house.

"Joe, Al, go ahead and enjoy the fishing. I'll see if I can make it back to the cabin tonight or tomorrow. No use in ruining your vacation. If for some reason I don't make it back, make sure the boat is docked and tied down securely. Clean and lock up the cabin and drop off the keys."

I left with the Coast Guard and headed to shore.

I met Al and Joe in prison twelve years earlier. I was convicted of accepting stolen property, which I'll explain later. Joe and Al also met up in prison. They both did time for assault and battery. It seems each had found their wives cheating on them and beat up his wife's lover. They could have been put in prison for attempted murder, but plea bargained it down to assault and battery. Needless to say they both got divorced.

While in prison the three of us had become good friends and had each other's back.

When I was soon up for parole, I told them that after I got out that I would do whatever I could to help them out when the time came for their parole. I had served three years before being released on parole.

My dad owned a salvage yard. I'd worked for Dad ever since high school, and eventually took over the business when Dad became ill and passed away.

A year after I was released from prison, Al and Joe were both up for parole. At the hearing, Dad and I told the Parole Board that we had jobs for both men in the salvage yard.

They needed a place to live and Dad mentioned to the Board that next to the salvage yard, he owned a mobile home court and that he would rent Al and Joe each a trailer to live in. Since they had a job offer and a place to live, they both got out of prison.

The paroles happened eight years ago and both men had Dad and me to thank. They were great employees and also now good friends of mine. They were each able to buy a used car at a good price at the salvage yard.

They became mechanics and tow motor drivers. They were Jack of all trades, there wasn't anything that they couldn't do at the salvage yard. All they needed was a new beginning. They even began dating and eventually got married and had homes of their own, each starting a family. There was no doubt that they were grateful to Dad and I for helping them out. They continued to work for us and were well paid.

The police took me home since I didn't have my vehicle. As I walked in the door, Abby ran up to me and hugged me. "Thank God, you're safe! I was so worried about you. Where were you?"

"Out on the damn lake fishing until the Coast Guard came up to the boat with weapons pulled! What the hell is going on?"

A man stepped forward. "I'm Detective Able; I'm in charge of this case. We need to know your whereabouts for the last twenty-four hours."

"Bullshit! You guys took me away from my fishing vacation and I want to know why before I tell you a damn thing."

"Fair enough. Your wife called us this morning and said she got a call at her work and that she was told that you were abducted and a ransom of two -hundred-fifty thousand dollars was asked. The caller said he would be calling at your home at three o'clock. We're set up and waiting for the call."

"This has got to be some kind of sick joke. Who the hell would try and abduct me? I own a goddamn salvage yard and a trailer park. You think they want car parts or a used single-wide? Abby, did they say anything else?"

"They said, 'You have twenty-four hours to get the money together or your husband dies. If you notify the police, he dies. I'll call you again at three at your house and give you directions for getting me the money.' I was so scared."

"They told you if you called the police they would kill me and you went ahead and called them anyway. Jesus Christ, if this was for real I could be dead!" Abby started crying.

"Mr. Bell, your wife made the right decision. She didn't know what to do. There is no way she could have handled this on her own."

"It's easy for you to say, it wasn't your fucking life in jeopardy. Mother fuck! What happens now? I'm fine, can't you all just get the hell out of my house? You can see I'm ok."

"Mr. Bell, we have to take every threat like this seriously. We will stay here and see if another call comes in. Now could you tell us about your whereabouts for the last twenty-four hours?"

"Sure! Joe and Al picked me up early yesterday morning. We rented a cabin on the lake for four days. We drove over and got my boat and headed out to fish. We came in last evening and cooked, ate and relaxed at the cabin. This morning we ate breakfast and headed out again until we were accosted by the Coast Guard. You know the rest."

It was almost three and the detective and officers set up a phone tracer on the kitchen table. He was going to have Abby in there to talk to the possible suspects if a call came through. I sat in the living room with two other detectives and drank coffee. They had a speaker phone on the coffee table so we all could hear any conversation.

Detective Able mentioned to Abby to say that she contacted her lawyer so she could get help getting the money together in case the call came through. The Detective was going to play the part of the lawyer. I just sat back and shook my head. I told the other officers, "dammit, I could be fishing."

The phone did ring at exactly three o'clock and Abby answered it. "Mrs. Bell, nice to see you went home early to take my call. Do you have the money ready?" asked the caller. The voice was disguised.

"Not yet, I contacted my lawyer to help me get the money," replied Abby.

"What? I told you if you contacted anyone your husband would be dead. Did you contact the police too?"

"No, no, just my lawyer. I'm sorry but I wasn't sure how to get this money together. You just told me not to notify the police. Please don't hurt my husband."

"Put the fucking lawyer on." She did as she was told and Detective Able took the phone.

"This is John Wells, I'm the attorney for the Bells. What do you want exactly?" We knew he was just wasting time and trying to get a trace on the phone.

"What the fuck is this! We want the fucking money or Bell dies! Is that plain enough? If we find out either you or Mrs. Bell called the authorities, he dies. This isn't some fucking game."

"I'm not playing a game either. Before we give you that kind of money we need to know you have Mr. Bell and that he is alive."

We could hear commotion on the other end of the phone. Then we all heard a voice. "Abby, it's me Larry. These masked men came in an abducted me right after you left the hotel this morning. Please give them what they want. Please!" Next we heard a thump and a groan. It sounded like someone was hit in the stomach.

"Mother fuck," I said. "That's my fucking loser brother Larry. What the fuck does he mean you were with him this morning?"

"As you see, Sweet Abby. We know you've been lying to us. Was that your husband yelling in the background? Does he know you've been fucking his brother? It seems that we got the wrong Bell. You see we went to the salvage yard yesterday and were told that Mr. Bell went on vacation for a few days.

"We went by your house yesterday morning to see if he left yet when we saw that you were leaving. We followed you to the hotel. Your room was registered to Mr. and Mrs. Bell, so of course we assumed it was your husband. After you left the motel this morning we abducted the wrong Mr. Bell. He told us over and over that we had the wrong man. We didn't believe him till he told us he had a twin brother."

"What do you want now that you don't have Terry Bell?" asked the Detective posing as the lawyer.

"Three hundred thousand dollars by nine tomorrow morning or Larry Bell dies. The extra money is for the fucking lies and trouble we went through. We'll call you tomorrow morning where to bring the money. No more games, no money, he dies!"

The caller hung up and I got up and started yelling at Abby. "You goddamn fuckin' slut! So now you're fucking my brother! I won't give a damn dime to save his ass! The creeps that got him will just save me from killing him myself."

Two officers got between me and Abby and asked me to please sit down. I went to the fridge and got myself a beer and turned on the TV set. "I'll have nothing to do with my gigolo brother or my whore of a wife. As soon as this charade is over, we'll be getting a divorce."

The detective told Abby that he needed to know if what the abductors said was true. He needed to know her every move from the time she left her house the morning before. She was really upset and crying but I acted like she wasn't even there. I didn't care anymore.