Young Squatters (17 page)

***

Harper felt a sigh of relief having evaded the madwoman Nora. She did not understand where the truck driver was taking her, but anywhere was a destination to her so long as it did not involve the presence of Nora.  She was led to a rental apartment downtown where she was helped to unpack several of her belongings inside. It seemed like Bradford had it all figured out when it came to her, but still it felt like she was learning things she didn’t know about him.

He was now this ghost that did not want to show up in public but only lived in the shadows. She opted for a morning stroll in order to clear her head of the recent drama.   She then heard a voice behind her, which caused her heart to skip a beat.

“Where the hell have you been Bradford? Leaving me worried sick to my stomach and now the police are looking for you everywhere.”

Bradford gently zipped her mouth with his hands, not wanting her to draw any more attention.

“I am okay love, I just need you to assure me that you got the letter I left at the reception desk.”

“I have the letter but I am yet to read it.  Just tell me what is in it.”

“When you read it you will understand. Listen Harper, my presence of even talking to you is a risk to your well-being because I do not want anything to do with the house issue coming back to you”

“Okay, I understand” Harper replied.

“You might not be hearing from me in a while just promise me to follow up on the letter and every instruction written and everything will be alright.”

“Okay, Bradford, you just make sure that you come back for me.”

She quickly gave him a goodbye kiss and a hug when she realized he was about to leave the public scene. She never wanted him to leave but there was no other way.

The two love birds were busy saying their goodbyes when the words
freeze police!
were heard.  He could have made a run for it, but he had someone dear to protect and all he could do was just raise both of his hands up in astonishment.

She grasped the letter tightly in her hand as she proceeded to the newly rented apartment, desperate for some level of privacy so she could read the letter from Bradford.

***

Nick was a happy man, slightly pleased with his endurance skills in the prison chambers. He was now a free man and as the prison gates opened to release him once again to the world, it felt like a second chance to do right by his children. The incident with the kid Bradford was more of a lesson than a challenge to him.

Life in prison taught him a lot, and he could not afford to be angry at anyone even if the dismissal of his case led to his freedom. This taught himself the virtue of appreciation.

***

Harper carefully opened the sealed envelope with tears now oozing through her eyes as if trying to prevent her from revealing the only words of connection left between her fiancé and her. The letter was brief and straight to the point, just like typical Bradford.

Babe,

If you are reading this letter now then I am afraid that there are only two possibilities in place; I am either in jail awaiting my prosecution or something terrible has happened to me. In the event that some something terrible has happened to me, do not worry.  I will be okay.

If by chance I have gotten myself in trouble with the cops, then this is the part where I need you to be strong.

I left some money under the mattress when I was booking the place for you. I managed to rent the place. After that if am still hopefully around we will be able to find a more permanent solution to our problems. Take care.

Love

Bradford

That was it. Just a week to sort out her priorities for she was pretty sure Bradford was not going to be out of police custody in a week’s time.  She then looked under the mattress, and found five hundred dollars.

***

Nick entered the house feeling proud of what Nora had done to the place, she had polished everything clean and there was no doubt about it since every shiny object in the house seemed to portray some level of a refractive index. He had missed the place very much and only the joy on his face could express his lack of words.

Colin and Clara ran into the living room to hug their father as their reunion was unified by shades of tears.  Clara was more beautiful than he had remembered.  She was his princess and he missed that beautiful smile that always left a statement of love and beauty on her face.  He was proud of Colin, especially when he heard that it was he who offered voluntary assistance in the retrieval of their home. The boy had learned how to step up and be a man at an accelerated pace.

Sarah looked pleasant too, happy to be back working with the family again. Their eye contact also exchanged a quiet moment of secrecy that neither ever wanted to reveal to the public. It was their way of keeping the family together for another breakup might not be so easy to mend.

Nora also looked more beautiful than ever and the exchange of their glances only revealed a tale of second chances. They were both tired of fighting and all they wanted out of the picture was to set better examples to their children and help them to become better members of the society.

It was quiet unbelievable to say that the situations they both faced had contributed greatly in their growth. Nora was a mother who now saw more out of the positive in regard to Nick.  Perhaps they can mend their marriage; their lives.

***

Bradford was quiet the whole time, as if not intending to utter a single word. He had not even asked for a lawyer, all he wanted was for the Forbes guy to show up in the interrogation room and get the interrogation over with.

“Do you know why you are here Mr. Bradford?” he started.

“I believe so,” Bradford replied

“There are some very serious charges against you son, starting from drug trafficking to Internet fraud.”

Bradford understood the concept of Internet fraud, but the drug trafficking ordeal was news to his ears. He did not understand the source of the charges.

“What do you mean drug trafficking sir, am I being redirected to something else?”

“The sooner you stop being smart with me son, the faster we will be able to get this over with.”

Bradford needed some leverage. Forbes then informed him of Abe and his recent activities in the drug war that led to his downfall in the playing field. He was caught trying to sell off the pack of cocaine he had taken off with earlier at a throw-away price just to get something to sustain him on the streets.

Before he could start appealing for his rights, Forbes flipped out a photo of his late son and showed it to Bradford and let him figure it out on his own. The face seemed familiar to him, but Bradford was taking too long to pinpoint it.

“He begged for his life alright, when he took an overdose of the stuff you were distributing. All I need is a name and nothing more. Just give me a name of your supplier and I’m pretty sure we will figure out how to assist you.”

Bradford was shocked, yes, he knew that kid.

“You mean to tell me sir that Mark is dead?”

“Was he alive, I wouldn’t be wasting my time here with you,” Forbes replied.

Bradford was now connecting the dots and realized the reason behind Forbes’ current obsession with catching him.

“You do understand that your product ended up taking the life of a kid in the process or are you just pretending to be deaf? Either way you are going in the hole for a long time with the two charges at hand. You need to be wise and help yourself here, son.”

“I believe this is the part where I ask for my lawyer.”

Forbes slammed the table in front of him as he left the room, slightly annoyed by the kid.  His level of arrogance had no limits and he was not going to walk away from this scot-free.

Bradford was a squatter, and to that he nodded his head in agreement, but never in his life would he confess to murder.  He did not kill that boy; the drugs did.

THE END