Chapter Twenty-Three
Chase
As we walked out to face my father, I could hardly see straight, I was so scared. Even after 29 years with the man, he still scared me to death. He certainly wasn’t the kind of man who hit us or even swatted our backsides, but he still had the ability to put fear into my brothers and me, as kids and as adults.
“Father,” I said as I met him in the lobby.
My father stood there with Captain Bastrop at his side. There was no denying that the Captain had in fact called him. But I couldn’t quite figure out why. There didn’t seem to be a benefit to the Captain if he called my father and got him involved.
“I tell you what, Reynold. This son of yours is one stand-up guy. There are not many men that would come to the police with the information he had. You should be really damn proud of him,” Captain Bastrop said.
I stared at the Captain and then back at my father. Then, I turned and grabbed Jordan’s hand and looked her in the eyes. We both didn’t know what exactly was going on, but it appeared that Captain Bastrop had just made me look like a stand-up, responsible person. I had no idea at all what he was up to, even less than when I believed the Captain had ratted me out to my father.
“Chase, Jordan, I’m so glad you are safe,” my father said as he hugged me and then turned and hugged Jordan, too.
“Chase, I think you need to tell your father about the money that Escabar needs,” Captain Bastrop said as he looked at me.
“Umm…I…well,” I stammered.
“Reynold, Chase borrowed some money from Escabar to start a club, but then the club fell through and Chase couldn’t pay him back. He’s going to need a quarter million to pay the guy off. I think you should do it, considering the information Chase turned into us. We will make sure you get your money back when Escabar’s arrested, but giving him the money will make things a lot easier on you all while we finish our investigation.”
“Your investigation?” Jordan asked.
“Yes, young lady. We have an ongoing investigation with Escabar, and with your help, we can move forward and hopefully catch him in a few months.”
It suddenly became really clear that Captain Bastrop had his own agenda, and I was getting in his way. At least he didn’t want me to get killed, I was grateful for that. But I could see very clearly that he wasn’t about to help me if it would put his own investigation in jeopardy.
“Well, thanks for the call, George. I can take it from here,” my father said as he shook hands with the Captain.
“Chase, can I talk to you for a minute?” Captain Bastrop asked.
I was reluctant to talk to him. He seemed to be into some dirty stuff himself. I had to wonder what exactly he and Escabar were up to. He seemed to be protecting Escabar and pretending to protect me. But I couldn’t resist and went to talk with him.
“Sure,” I said as I walked with him to the other side of the room.
“I didn’t see a reason to involve your father in all of this. I think you should give Escabar the money and then leave the country. It’s your best option. You are lucky that your family has the means to pay the man off. We just found a kid your age in the river, and we suspect he’s a casualty of Escabar’s.”
“Thanks,” I said and shook the Captain’s hand. “I appreciate you going to bat for me with my father.”
“I meant every word. You are a responsible and brave guy to have come here. I’m just sorry we weren’t able to help you any further.”
“Thank you again,” I said as I returned to Jordan and my father.
There was no need to get into things with the Captain. I would just have to take care of things on my own. I was fine with taking care of Escabar on my own, but I really hoped that Captain Bastrop didn’t think I was stupid enough not to know what was going on. I knew he was likely protecting some wrongdoing that was going on in his own facility.
I grabbed Jordan’s hand and leaned in to whisper to her.
“We are still going forward with our plan.”
Jordan just smiled at me and squeezed my hand. We both knew that paying Escabar off wasn’t going to keep us or our families safe. The only plan that would work was going to Ramos. I was confident in that.
As we walked outside, my father pulled his checkbook out and started to write me a check. It was the first time in a really long time that I felt like my father actually looked me in the eyes. At least I could thank Captain Bastrop for that. I had longed to see respect in my father’s eyes, and I welcomed every moment of it.
“How much do we need, son? How much to get this creep to leave you alone?”
“Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” I said quietly.
“Chase, I know you are a businessman. I know you want to do your own thing. I just wish you would have come to me to borrow the money instead of this criminal.”
“Dad, you cut me off. I hadn’t been respectful to you and your money. I knew that it wasn’t the right time to come to you for money. I’m sorry.”
“Chase, you did good by turning that man in. That showed some real guts. If you want the company, I would be more than happy to give it to you. Maybe a couple of the guys from the board could stay on as your support when I retire.”
It was the offer I had waited on for years. That moment was what I had dreamed about since I had started to work at my father’s company. But I didn’t want to accept it just yet. I didn’t want to accept it until Jordan and I had finished what we needed to do. There was no future for me with his company or with anything, if I didn’t get out from under Escabar’s control.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said as I hugged him. “Do you mind if I think about it for a little bit?”
I saw the shock in my father’s eyes and then a bit of a smile as he looked at my hand intertwined with Jordan’s. Something about his look showed me that he understood I cared about Jordan and I wanted to do right by her.
“Certainly, you two take your time and discuss things. We can talk in a couple of days.”
“Thank you, Mr. Foster,” Jordan said.
“Thanks, Dad. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you first.”
“I’m still proud of you, kid. It takes a lot of guts to turn in a bad guy like Escabar. You did the right thing.”
My father leaned in and hugged me before he turned and made his way to the car that was waiting for him.
It was a different kind of hug than I was used to. This hug seemed filled with real emotion. Real genuine emotion, and I almost started to choke up when I let go of him.
Being a Foster son had never really been that easy. I always had to live up to what my brothers were doing and never felt like I was good enough. I still didn’t really feel like I was doing that great at life, but hopefully once everything was settled with Escabar I would be able to move forward.
I could only imagine how perfect life would be with me in charge of Foster Industries and Jordan by my side. Maybe we would even have some babies or something like that. It was fun to fantasize about that kind of life, although I had never really done so in the past. Meeting Jordan had me thinking in a whole different way.
Jordan and I made our way out of the parking garage and drove around town as we discussed our plan.
“I’m scared, Chase,” she said.
“I know, but I think this is really going to work. It’s our best shot at ending this whole thing. And if we do it right, I won’t even have to pay Escabar back his money.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of not giving Escabar $250,000. I had technically already paid him back all the money I owed him, through his crazy high interest payments that he required over the last six months. I really didn’t want to hand over any more money to the man.
“Well, I’m ready if you are,” Jordan said.
“I’m ready.”