Family Matters Page 2
Two cases that Jason and Daniel worked on over spring break resulted in further dividends for Daniel’s plan to form a band. During the break, Jason and Daniel traveled up to the Yosemite area to hike around the park and help Joe Connor remodel his cabin, which was located in a nearby town. While up there, Jason had agreed to check out the status of a distant acquaintance from school, Tim Wilkinson, who later became the band’s drummer.
Six months ago, Tim’s life was a total shambles. He was estranged from his mother and stepfather, his natural father had disappeared from his life, and Tim was very angry and bitter over the breakup of his family. Tim took out his frustration on everyone, causing serious problems at home and school, and alienating many of his friends. Finally, Timothy’s mother and stepfather sent him to Camp Chinquapin, a boot camp near Yosemite that was supposed to straighten him out. But the camp turned out to be Tim’s worst nightmare, and he was spending every waking moment trying to fight against a system that was determined to break him down or crush him in the process.
Luckily for Tim, he still had one true friend left, Teresa Barnwell, a girl his age living in a foster home, who had total empathy with the alienation and hurt that Tim was feeling. Because all outside communication was closely monitored, Tim could only express his anger and frustration through cryptic messages in the weekly letters he was permitted to write. Teresa was the one person who understood what Tim was trying to say. When suddenly all communication from Tim was cut off and his parents were told that he was being sent to anger management training, Teresa realized that he was in serious danger. She interceded with Jason, and begged him to investigate. When Jason and Daniel visited the camp and discovered that her fears were most likely true, they mounted a campaign to search and find Tim. (The complete story of this adventure is contained in the third Hunter & Holmes mystery novel, When The Chips Are Down.)
Tim’s nightmare at the boot camp did have the effect of changing his life. With the assistance of Jason’s Whatever Foundation and the reappearance of his father Jeff in his life, Tim had a new perspective on what was important in life. His physical and emotional scars began to heal, and he began to focus on being a positive force in other people’s lives. He moved in with his father, a talented building contractor, who built him a rehearsal and recording studio in the lower level of their house. Timothy began practicing and studying drums again, taking lessons, and successfully auditioning to be in Daniel’s band. Tim began to reconnect with some of his friends, and cleaned up his personal life. Because Jeff was a recovering alcoholic, they agreed that there would be no drinking or drugs in their house.
Tim didn’t need that in his life any more. He had no desire to escape from reality now that he was supported by his father, had his girl friend Teresa, his band mates, and other friends to hang out with, and could return to high school in the fall.
One obstacle Daniel needed to overcome in getting the band started was raising the money to pay for equipment and transportation. Thanks to the other case that Hunter & Holmes solved over spring break, the mystery of the hijacked computer chips at the DCC chip factory, that problem was solved. Jason, Daniel, and later Eric were briefly held hostage by the perpetrators of the hijackings when Jason was able to finally expose them to the police. Eventually the management of the DCC parent company decided to pay compensation to everyone who was harmed in any way by the criminals. As a result both Daniel and Eric received checks for $35,000. (Full details of the DCC hijacking case are documented in the third Hunter & Holmes mystery When The Chips Are Down.)
With the money he received from DCC, Daniel purchased a sound system, rehearsal amplifiers to leave at Tim’s house, and best of all a mini SUV that he could use to haul around his musical equipment. He and his dad, Gary, picked out a used one that was only one year old, so it wasn’t nearly as expensive as a new vehicle. Plus he could pay cash, so he didn’t have to worry about a car payment, just his insurance, gas, and servicing. Daniel already had two fine guitars, and he purchased recording software and hard drives for making digital recordings of the band’s music.
The money meant even more to Eric. For the first time in his life he actually had the ability to pay his own way. Eric spent some of it paying off his aunt and uncle’s credit card bills. They had taken him in, and generously agreed to raise him, without any concern about the cost or time it would take, even though Jorge was near retirement age, and his Aunt Marilyn didn’t have a job. They did teach Eric about frugality, and he put a good portion of it into savings for when he went off to college. He also was able to buy things that he had never had before, his own computer, a cell phone, an upright string bass, amplifiers, stands, and a van to haul his equipment around. Through his friends at work, Jorge had heard about a used van for sale that still had a lot of miles left in it. It needed some bodywork, complete maintenance on the engine, brakes, and transmission, and new tires. Jorge was a machinist and very mechanically inclined. He and Eric worked on weekends to fix up the van. Jorge was able to find a lot of replacement parts at auto wrecking yards, and after the bodywork was completed, they had the van painted so it looked like new.
Now it was time to put the past aside and look to the future. Daniel, Eric, and Tim were really excited about forming the band and were blessed with the best possible facilities, equipment, and conditions to work in for young musicians just starting out. At this point, Daniel didn’t feel that the personnel of the band was complete, but with his bass player and drummer determined, they could start to work out their sound and musical direction. Even with just a trio, there was a lot that they could work on. Their long term goal was to develop an original sound, compose their own songs, and build a musical rapport with each other. Their immediate goal was to learn sets of existing songs so that they could start getting some actual performance experience. Then later they could make decisions about what other instrumentalists or vocalists to add. Daniel’s girl friend Diana Miglione was someone they thought could help with vocals.
The plan was to rehearse several times a week, but because it was summer, be flexible when one of the band members would have an opportunity for a short vacation trip. On their days off, they decided that each of them would put in individual practice on the music they were learning, or work on original tunes. But the most important thing was to have fun making music and work together on a regular basis. Daniel was looking forward to this afternoon with great expectations.
Chapter 3
A Trip to the Magic Kingdom
(Wednesday and Thursday)
It was about ten o’clock Wednesday morning when Jason received a cell phone call from Joe Connor. “Joe! What a pleasant surprise to hear from you. What’s going on?” Of all the adults that Jason and Daniel knew, Joe was the most trusted. When they were first trying to figure out the mystery behind Jason’s kidnapping, Joe was the man who steered them in the right direction. When they went to intervene with Eric Acosta, Joe was right there with them, driving them around and providing moral support. Eric was forever grateful for the advice and words of encouragement he received from Joe at that time.
Joe was an ex-special services case manager before he retired and took over his father’s army surplus store in the Silicon Valley. He had spent twenty years of his life involved with covert operations, many of them in Latin America. His personal contacts from his special service days were invaluable in the rescue mission of Tim Wilkinson and Cody Johnson. Joe was great to work with because he had the ability to cut through veils of deception and get to the bottom line of a situation. Jason often used Joe as a sounding board when he was trying to figure out details of a case. Joe was very good at sifting through descriptions of events, analyzing what was said, and finding out the truth of the situation. In fact, Jason was so impressed with him that he asked Joe to serve on his foundation board. Jason had him check out many of the people asking for assistance from his foundation to see if their requests were legitimate.
“Jason, I am planning to go to Los Ang
eles tomorrow to see my daughter and take my three grandchildren to Disneyland. But something has come up with my daughter, and for some reason she seems angry with me, and I’m not sure if she will even let me in her house when I knock on the door! I have these special two-day park passes that are only good for tomorrow and Friday. I would hate to see them go to waste. If you and Daniel can arrange it, I would like you to fly down there with me tomorrow. If you can purchase your airplane tickets, I’ll cover the rest of the costs of the trip,” Joe told them.
“That sounds like a great offer, Joe. I’m sorry to hear that you are having family problems. Is there anything that Daniel or I could do to help out?”
“I don’t know, Jason. Colleen and I have had a somewhat rocky relationship ever since my wife Estelle passed away. It seems that no matter what I do to make us a family again, there is always some hitch on her end. It’s frustrating for me, because I really want to spend time with my three grandchildren.”
“Will it be an awkward situation for us to be there?” Jason asked. “I know I’d love to go to Disneyland. Right now my parents can’t schedule any kind of vacation for us because my grandmother is very ill. At any time the family may have to get on an airplane to New York.”
“No, I don’t think Colleen would pick a fight with me in front of you or her children, but I am afraid that she may tell me that her kids can’t go to the park with me! I would like to smooth things over with her. That will depend upon her mood at the time. I really would like you to meet my grandchildren. I think that you would hit it off together and at least you kids could have a good time while we are down there.”
“I’ll ask my parents if it is okay. Did you already talk to Daniel about going?”
“Yes, he said that he could go since it is only for two days. He told me that he is just getting his band started into rehearsals, and that it is his main focus for the summer. He said they worked out a flexible schedule so that the band members could have vacation days. Eric was scheduled to go on a visit with his aunt and uncle to see their son who now lives in Santa Rosa for the rest of the week, so those were already days off for the band.”
“I will talk to Mom and Dad right away to get their permission. When I do, I will call you right back. Then maybe you could tell me more about your family and the situation that we will be facing.”
“Sounds great, Jason. I will be home most of the day. Call me any time.”
Jason’s mom Edith was at her desk when Jason called. Jason was able to talk to her right away and get her permission to go on the trip. “I’m glad you got this opportunity to have a short vacation,” Edith told Jason on the telephone. “You know we are unable to plan anything ourselves due to your grandmother’s condition. I’m sorry we can’t have any kind of family vacation for the time being.”
“I understand, Mom. What’s the latest word on Grandmother?”
Edith told Jason the latest update from her telephone conversation with her mother that morning. “She is stable for the time being, so keep your fingers crossed that she will start to recover. Do you need some money for your trip?”
“All I have to come up with is my round trip airfare to the John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Joe said he has the rest covered. I’ll go over to the bank and get money for that and incidental expenses later today.”
After speaking with his mother, Jason called Joe back. He asked Joe if it would be okay to drop by his condo to have their discussion since it would take some time, cover some personal and confidential information, and Joe’s condo was only a few blocks away from Jason’s bank. Joe readily agreed to Jason’s plan, and a couple of hours later, Jason was knocking on his door.
“Come in, Jason!” Joe Connor said with some enthusiasm when he answered the door. He had Jason sit down and got both of them soft drinks.
“Before I forget, here is the money for my airfare,” Jason said getting out cash from his wallet. Joe had already made the flight reservations for Jason and Daniel to make sure that they could be on the same flight. Joe then took a long sip from his drink and began to tell Jason about his daughter Colleen.
Joe and his wife Estelle had Colleen after Joe had been in the special services for about four years. For much of his daughter Colleen’s youth he wasn’t home very much, due to his covert operations work in Latin America. When he retired from the service, he came back to San Jose, and gradually took over his father’s surplus store business. By this time, Colleen was a teenager, and was pretty independent. Without her father at home during her developmental years, they never were particularly close. After graduating from high school, Colleen went to college in the Los Angeles area, training to be a nurse. Around this time Estelle contracted breast cancer, and within two years was dead. This was devastating to both Joe and Colleen, and ended up having a negative impact on their family. After his wife died, Joe could no longer stand living in their family home, so he sold it off and moved into a condominium.
With her mother gone, and not being that close to Joe, Colleen ended up staying in the Los Angeles area and eventually married a businessman named Everett Whittier. They soon had three children, Paul, now 15, Desiree, 14 and Steven 12. For a while, everything was fine. Joe would make regular visits to see Colleen and his grandchildren.
About ten years into their marriage, Colleen and her husband began to drift apart, and eventually he filed for divorce. The three children stayed with Colleen. While they had occasional visits with their father, as the years passed by he basically checked out of their lives, later remarrying and moving away from the Los Angeles area. Colleen was totally swamped with the care of her kids, managing the house and finances, plus working in a nearby hospital. Although Joe volunteered to help out by inviting his grandchildren to come spend time in the Bay Area so Colleen could have a break, she never took him up on his offers of assistance. Their contacts became more and more limited over the past few years, to the point where it was just a few perfunctory telephone calls on major holidays and for the kids’ birthdays.
“Now when I talk to her, it is almost like we are acquaintances, not family,” Joe said with a little hurt in his voice. “When I go to visit, I end up staying in a motel room nearby, because they really don’t have any room for me to stay in their three bedroom house. If I did, probably one of my grandkids would be stuck sleeping on the couch.”
“Wow, Joe. That just doesn’t seem right to me!” Jason said. “One of the most fun things about someone coming to visit is that they stay with you in your house, not at some motel! I’d happily give up or share my room if it would mean company coming to stay for a while!”
“Well, that would work for a short visit, but if you are going to stay for a longer visit, you don’t want to take someone out of their room. That would be too disruptive for a kid, and my grandsons already share a room.”
“I hope that you can figure out a solution. There has to be a way to improve relations with your daughter and have more time to spend with your grandchildren!”
“I hope to accomplish that during this visit. They are all I have left for close family!”
The next morning, Joe picked up Daniel and Jason and drove to the airport long term parking lot. They got on a shuttle to the terminal and were there in plenty of time for their flight. The flight was quick and pleasant, and soon they were at the airport car rental place. Joe had reserved a van, so that everyone could fit in one vehicle. After signing the paperwork, Joe drove them to the motel where they would spend the night. He was able to reserve a suite with two bedrooms. Jason and Daniel had their own bedroom and bathroom plus there was a nice sitting room.
“This is great, Joe!” Daniel exclaimed. “Thank you for thinking of us. I have never been to Disneyland on the west coast!”
“I hope our reception at my daughter’s house is friendly. Otherwise it will be just the three of us!” Joe replied.
“You underestimate the power of kids!” Jason exclaimed. “I can’t imagine your grandchildren are going t
o say no to a chance to go to Disneyland. Even if your daughter refuses to come along, I’m sure they will persuade her to let them go to the park with us.”
“I hope you are right, Jason,” Joe said. “But I really want my daughter to come with us also.”
“Don’t worry about a thing, Joe,” Daniel said enthusiastically. “You work on your daughter and we will work on your grandchildren!”
Joe and the boys finished unpacking their luggage at the motel, then went off to Colleen’s house and knocked on the door. When Colleen opened the door, her reception of them was frosty.
“Hello, Dad,” she said in a perfunctory voice while giving him a light hug. “Who are these boys?” she asked looking at Jason and Daniel.
“Colleen, I want you to meet two very special friends of mine, Jason Hunter and Daniel Holmes. We met over a year ago when they were trying to figure out the mystery of why Jason was kidnapped early last summer. Not only did they figure it out and bring the criminals to justice, they have become quite successful as amateur detectives, and have helped out other young teenagers who have been the victims of crime.”
When Joe’s grandchildren heard that there were other kids at the door, they hurried over to see who it was. “Jason and Daniel,” Joe continued. “I would like you to meet my three grandchildren.” First he pointed out the oldest boy, who was Jason’s height, with sandy brown hair, hazel eyes, a pug nose, an athletic build, and a big smile. “This is Paul, who is your age, Jason.” Next he pointed to a slender girl with brunette hair in a page boy cut, pretty brown eyes with thick lashes and also a nice smile. “This is my favorite granddaughter, Desiree, who is a year younger.” He then went over and put his arm around the younger boy, who was shy in disposition, had long brown hair, a pug nose similar to Paul’s and braces on his teeth. “This is Steven, who is now twelve and about to become a teenager!” Joe’s grandchildren were barefoot. The boys were wearing tee shirts and brightly colored shorts, while Desiree had on a royal blue sun dress.