Just as the man was stepping past the corner of the house to get a better vantage point, he suddenly encountered another man crouched low below a window, dressed in black, a hood covering his face. He was startled and the man’s presence caught him off-guard.
“What the hel…” was all he could mouth before the man brought a crushing blow down on his skull. He immediately crumpled. The man in black searched him quickly, confiscating his wallet, and then dragged him around the side of the house, hiding him beneath the bushes. The assailant happily noted that his quarry’s head was bleeding profusely, which assured he’d be no more bother. He would survive the assault, but would need several stitches to close the wound when he awoke.
The man in black swiftly resumed his surveillance along the side yard of Dr. Jarrod Conrad’s house. His original assignment had been to kill Conrad, making it look like his cousin Ryan Marshall had committed the crime, but the order had drastically changed. His new orders were to have no contact with either man until the time arrived to bring Conrad to the Bayshore warehouse, which seemed simple enough, until these additional people complicated the matter. First it was the big fella; but now two unexpected bystanders, with a tail, had also descended on Conrad’s house. He didn’t have the luxury of consulting with Kilmer as the Livermore job was already underway, but conditions here were rapidly deteriorating. He would have to improvise and deal with the consequences. No other choice, the man thought. Just the way I like it.
Jarrod Conrad had closed his office door to further silence Ryan’s muffled protests on his way to answer the doorbell. He was troubled by the interruption, wondering who could be calling at such a late hour. Leaving Ryan unattended in the back room was not a welcome idea. He planned to quickly dismiss whoever was the cause of this untimely disturbance, and resume the startling discussion with his unruly captive.
“Yes,” he said opening the door to the two people standing on his porch. “What do you want…it’s awfully late…don’t you know what time it is?” he asked inhospitably. He flipped on the porch light as he spoke.
“Jarrod, its Sarah and Jeremiah. We apologize for bothering you. Can we come in?” she asked, stepping closer to the doorway.
“Wonders never cease!” Jarrod exclaimed, trying to disguise his utter shock at finding Ryan’s ex-wife and son standing on his porch. Even though he fought to maintain his composure, a frightened look betrayed his distress. His heart was racing as he exclaimed, “My goodness, what a surprise! Yes, by all means…please come in.” What the hell! How can they be here, too?
Sarah and Jeremiah stepped hesitantly into the coziness of Jarrod’s living room. One could immediately tell he lived alone and loved to read. There were stacks of medical journals on the couch, end table, and at several locations on the floor next to what was certainly his favorite reading chair. While the room didn’t look overly untidy, it definitely had the feeling of a bachelor’s quarters. There was an open pizza box that contained the remaining half of a vegetarian pizza alongside several crumpled diet Coke cans, and a framed autographed photo of the women’s gold medal volleyball team prominently displayed on the wall. Several articles of clothing were draped carelessly over the dining room chairs. Only one person lived in this home.
“What brings you to Stanford?” Jarrod asked, nervously rearranging the stacks of journals on the sofa and offering a seat with a wave of his trembling hand. He felt flushed; perspiration was breaking out on his forehead.
“Have you seen Ryan?” Sarah asked, hoping her question didn’t set off any alarms.
“This isn’t a social visit, Uncle Jarrod,” Jeremiah cut in intemperately, interrupting his mother. “We know about what’s happened at Dad’s job site in Taos, and the accusation that he broke into your lab. He’s on his way to confront you and I’m here to stop him from doing something stupid. It’s time this idiotic hatred you have for each other is brought to an end,” he said, wildly gesticulating and pacing the room as he spoke.
“Listen, Jarrod, this feuding between you and Ryan has got to stop,” Sarah said, stepping between Jarrod and her son as she spoke. “For years it’s been eating at both of you and tearing this family apart. When’s it going to be enough? Now the authorities are involved. I’m so upset, I could just strangle you both. I’m sick of it,” she said, lashing out with her arm to emphasize her contempt.
“Both of you need to just settle down,” Jarrod said, offering up a meager defense. “I don’t appreciate your insinuation that I’m responsible for what happened at Ryan’s job site. I can assure you…I had nothing to do with anything that happened in Taos. Your blame is misplaced. On the other hand, the police have found evidence placing Ryan in my lab, and very valuable research is missing. Now you tell me…” he paused, “what would cause Ryan to come after me when he’s created this problem?”
“I don’t know, Uncle Jarrod, but we know he means to confront you. That’s what he told Mom and that’s why we’re here. If we don’t stop him, something much worse is likely to happen,” Jeremiah said, the emotional strain cutting deeply into his face.
“So you haven’t seen him, then?” Sarah asked hopefully.
“I didn’t say that,” Jarrod replied.
“What do you mean…what have you done to him?” Jeremiah demanded, clenching his fists. “You’ve known all along why we’re here.”
“I haven’t done anything with him. It’s what he tried to do to me that should concern you. Follow me…both of you,” Jarrod said, waving his hand and guiding them down the hallway to the backroom of the house.
“Pop!” shouted Jeremiah, entering the back bedroom to discover his father tied to the chair, a swath of tape across his mouth. He hurriedly tore off the tape and pulled at Ryan’s restraints, only to find the snap ties much too strong to break by hand. Ryan sat silent, a dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at his wife and son.
“For the love of God, look at you two,” Sarah began, shaking her head at the pitiful sight. “Do you have any idea how pathetic you look at this moment? You should both be ashamed, but unfortunately you’re not even smart enough to know that. Jarrod, cut him loose…immediately.”
“Hel…hello, Sarah…Son,” Ryan said sheepishly. Wha…what’re you doing here?”
“Sarah, I can explain this,” Jarrod interjected, moving toward Ryan with scissors to cut the restraints.
“Oh, shut up…both of you,” Sarah replied in as shrill a voice as the three men had ever heard. “I don’t want another word from anyone right now, is that clear?” She closed the door of the office. “For once in your lives you’re going to listen to someone with some common sense. That goes for you too, mister,” she said, pointing to Jeremiah. “Now, get comfortable…no one leaves this room until we work this out once and for all, capisce?”
AUGUST SIXTH
THIRTY-ONE
Stanford University
Midnight
Sarah Marshall glowered at Jarrod, who cut the snap ties restraining Ryan’s hands, and then leaned over to cut the remaining ties from his ankles. She watched as Ryan vigorously massaged the blood flow back into his hands, fighting back thoughts of what could have happened if Jer hadn’t convinced her to come to California. The cousins’ years of bitterness was starkly dramatized before her disbelieving eyes. There was no possible way to grasp the depravity of their behavior: Ryan, breaking the law to hunt down his cousin, and Jarrod, holding Ryan captive by tying him to a chair. My God, she thought, this is much worse than I ever dared imagine.
“Okay, Jer, it’s your show now. You insisted on this confrontation…what’s next?” she asked, enthralled by what her son would do. She was certain he never considered that both men would be together in the same room. With no place to sit, Sarah plopped herself in front of the door, creating a blockade against anyone trying to leave the room.