Chapter 8

When I left Paul’s office, I found Suzy and Jim at the truck. The sun had come out, but the weather was still a bit chilly. Suzy had built a fire in the fire pit, and it was burning merrily. They had the camp chairs set up, and it looked like a fresh pot of coffee was brewing.

As I sat down, I kissed Suzy and smiled at Jim. Looking at his new clothes and grooming, I commented. “Looking good, Jim. Not quite up to Marine standards, But a heck of a lot better than yesterday.

Jim blushed and said, “Suzy said that you’ve paid for this. I want you to know. I’ll pay you back, every penny.”

“No problem, Jim, bread on the water, so to speak.” I turned to Suzy, “So what else have you been up to?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Once we got that mop of hair off his head, he started looking like a right handsome fella. How about you? What did Paul have to say?”

I turned to Jim, “Jim, how can I say this? Have you been in trouble with the police? There seems to be a lot of people interested in you.”

“I was afraid you would find out. I’ll take off now. You don’t have to ask.”

Suzy spoke up, almost yelling. “Like hell, you will. Matt, what’s going on?”

“Well, when we ran an NCIC check on Jim, it rang all sorts of alarms. The FBI, Homeland Security, and the Navy want to talk to you. There’s even a missing person’s report from Oregon. Nobody said anything about any crimes, But I need to ask. Is there any reason that you are wanted?”

The concern on Jim’s face was obvious and somewhat heartbreaking. “I don’t know for sure, Matt.”

“When I got home from Iraq, I had problems with some dangerous people. Including my brother. That’s why I took off. I don’t think the cops are looking for me. That is in general. There is at least one who might be looking for me, might be more.”

He started telling us about his problems with the neighbors and local cops.

When he finished, Suzy and I sat there, speechless for a minute. Finally, I spoke up. “Jim, I don’t quite know what to say. I do know that you didn’t commit any crime. But you do need to know that very soon, probably tomorrow. There are going to be some government cops showing up. They’ll be wanting to talk to you.”

I could see the panic starting to show in his eyes. “Settle down, Marine, with your permission. I’ll stand up for you. We’ll keep you in the shadows; they’ll have to convince me that they have your best interests in mind. If not, well, there are some deep, dark woods around here. We already know you can disappear. Just wait until I can scout the enemy first. Then we’ll decide what to do next.”

He sat there for a couple of minutes; there was still the look of a scared deer in his eyes. But the set of his shoulders changed. “Matt, I trust you. I think you and Suzy are my friends. You talk to these folks. If you think they are on the up and up, I’ll see what they want.”

“Good man, we’ll be a team, Us three.” Suzy chimed in, “Damned straight. Now Matt, what’s for dinner. I ain’t cooking. So, unless you’ve got plans, I suggest we head over to Mabel’s. I hear she’s got pot roast for the special tonight.”

“Well, that does it for me. How about it Jim, Pot Roast sounds good?”

“If you’re waiting on me, you’re wasting time.”

While we were walking to the diner, Suzy linked her arm with mine and held me back. She leaned over to me.

“Matt, I had to put all of Jim’s new stuff on our card. It surprised me that Jim had a credit card, but when he handed it to Gilbert, he ran it, then called the bank and talked to them. I don’t know what was said, But Gilbert refused his card. He agreed not to cut it up when I told him that I was paying.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Damn, I should have thought of that. But it didn’t cross my mind that he would have a card. It’s probably frozen because of the missing person’s report out of Oregon. I guess we’ll have to carry his load for a while. Think we can handle it?”

“He’s a good kid, Matt. I have a feeling that he has been through some things that nobody should have to go through. We can handle his weight, and then some. I want to get him back on his own two legs.”

“I agree, Honey, as they say. ‘He ain’t heavy. He’s my brother.”