Chapter Four

 

It felt as if something went wrong with the design of the world. It was as if something had come into Ronald’s life and rearranged everything that he knew and it wasn’t comfortable anymore. That’s how Ronald saw it a few years later. William’s schedule home hadn’t changed. But Ronald felt something had happened.

Sometimes the military said one thing but did something completely different. Ronald was an adult, an intuitive man, who knew practical things got in the way sometimes and made it impossible for someone to make real plans. When William didn’t arrive home after he’d scheduled to land for assigned furlough, Ronald didn’t panic. It was one of those annoying things that happened to people in the military.

Two hours later, Ronald sent his third text to William. It was a casual reminded that if he needed any help, Ronald was available to do as he needed. An excellent tactic to offer assistance was a better way to reach out than sound needy and demanding. But William didn’t return a text.

Ronald called the cell phone a little after eleven when he climbed into bed that night. The line went directly to voicemail. He left a social message, tried not to sound desperate, and eventually found sleep. The military didn’t advertise to civilians their flight schedules. Any number of regular occurrences delayed flights, and he didn’t want to think anything drastic.

But when he woke at three in the morning and William wasn’t in the apartment and he hadn’t received any text messages, Ronald found it impossible to sleep the rest of the night. By morning, when he moped around the apartment, Ronald felt ill at ease with getting ready for work, to keep going like nothing happened or there was something wrong with his immediate life.

He checked the text messages the rest of the day. When he finally sat down at the end of the day in the newspaper office, Ronald had no time for anyone who loitered around the desk, asking for his opinion or advice on the copy before it went to final prep. Unable to concentrate, Ronald needed time alone. He took the cell phone and wandered to a part of the building where it was less likely he’d get interruptions and made a phone call.

“I’m looking for information regarding Lance Corporal, William Blankenship.” He had called Quantico’s phone center and hoped dispatch would filter him to the right person regarding William’s recent deployment. “I’m just inquiring if he’s returned to the base since his last assignment?”

“And what is your relationship to the Lance Corporal?” the dispatcher asked in a flat tone. It was the one question Ronald didn’t want to answer immediately and thinking he’d make it by the switchboard wasn’t going to happen before they posed the question.

“We’re not related.” There was a moment when he wanted to flash the reporter moniker, but Ronald knew the military didn’t like media attention.

“I’m sorry sir,” the monotone voice answered. “We’re not at liberty to provide information about military personnel to anyone outside the immediate family.”

Ronald ended the call. He stood there for a long time. He felt fear bubbling in his stomach. It was a saucy panic that burned when it reached his throat. If something happened to William, the base wasn’t obligated to give him information because they weren’t related.

Quickly, he dialed Renee’s number.

“Hello?” the female voice said on the other end. Ronald felt this was odd because if she didn’t save his caller ID that meant he wasn’t crucial to her.

“Renee, this is Ronald,” he said.

“Oh, hey Ronald,” she said after a moment as if trying to remember the face that went with the name. “What’s up?”

“I’m wondering if you heard anything from William. He was supposed to return yesterday, but he's not back yet.”

She didn’t answer immediately. The reporter in Ronald counted the seconds before she said, “Well, you know how the Marines are, maybe he’s just busy somewhere.”

“I suppose,” Ronald said. It was impossible to convey concern if William’s sister didn’t see the urgency in knowing her brother’s whereabouts. “But it’s not like him. And I don’t know what to think.” He set it up with a pause before asking, “Do you think you can find out what’s going on? To make me feel better. I’m sure it’s nothing. But, you know.”

“If you don’t think it’s anything to worry about, why not wait to see if he gets back to you?”

It was a strange statement. It made Ronald immediately uncomfortable. There wasn’t a hard line of animosity. But he felt Renee didn’t have any consideration for him. The cold words added a chill to his already sour stomach. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Talk to you later.” He said it through his teeth.

Renee said, “Bye,” and abruptly ended the call.

She had been distant, Ronald knew, throughout his relationship with William. William and Renee got along like cordial siblings, but there was no added tenderness in their relationship. Smiles when she visited the apartment he shared with William didn’t mean she liked Ronald. But he was savvy about people because he made a living following not only body language but inflections on dialogue. Renee was a woman who had an aggressive attitude, cut to the chase and leave out the niceties. 

When William’s phone eventually stopped going to voicemail and the line disconnected, a week later, Ronald was beyond upset. He reached out again to Renee. But her number, it turned out, was disconnected as well.

He wasn’t a fool. Ronald called in some favors. No one had any information on William. No one on Quantico could tell him anything because he wasn’t related to William. They assured him, as many of his friends tried, nothing had happened to William. Maybe it was just easier to leave Ronald that way.

The personal belongings in the apartment didn’t add up to very much. William admitted he wasn’t a packrat; he didn’t like to attach emotions to stuff. Most of his belongings consisted of clothing, books, a few private files that were dead ends, and little else.

Heartbroken, without direction, his mother was unable to console him. There were no disasters in the military, nothing on public record. With the disappearance of Renee following the disappearance of William, Ronald felt he had a story. But his editor thought otherwise.

“It’s weak,” Shao Lan told him after she read the detailed outline for the exposé on military secrets. “You’ve got nothing here.”

“I’ve got a missing lance corporal and his sister.” He’d looked into the apartment Renee had in Alexandria. The lease was up, and she moved out.

“You’ve got no quantifying evidence that suggests anything happened to William.” She thought for a moment and added, “Or his sister, Renee.”

“They’re missing.” But it was a lost battle, Shao was shrewd and had limits to get through the thick skin. He felt the story bounced off her crusty shell.

The door closed when he got to the meeting. So Shao relayed information in a manner that was straight to the point without mincing too many words. “I get that you’re upset. But it’s reasonable to think William moved on. Doing it this way probably felt better than prolonging the inevitable.” She sighed when Ronald’s shoulders shook from his tears. She leaned forward, moved the facial tissue closer to him. “Didn’t you say that he was getting another assignment shortly?” Before he said anything, she referred to his notes. “And on page six you mentioned his sister wasn’t exactly warm to you. I think some people find it easier to move on if they cut their losses.”

Ronald left out William’s proposal because it seemed empty and desperate since there was nothing tangible to hold true to his words. And with the final word from his editor, Ronald tried to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and moved on.