“Electrocuted, hair dryer. Not a nice way to die.”

Jason looked up.

“Accident?”

“Not likely.”

“I agree, I think it was Michael Barton.”

“Nothing's been found to suggest him, but it makes sense. We know he was looking for her, but what's the connection?”

“I don't know yet. Any family to notify?”

“Yeah, brother lives on the other side of town. I sent two uniforms to the house.”

“Okay, drop me at my car?”

“Sure, I'm done here.”

****

Michael returned to the motel, satisfied with the way Stan had met his fate. He even thought Tammy would have approved. And now, his son was within reach. He had a name: Wade Duncan. It was only a matter of time.

He poured himself a drink and pulled out his laptop. A search for ‘Real Estate Agents, Springfield, Duncan, took only seconds to pull up the smiling face of Wade Duncan, complete with a short bio. Michael studied the photo for a long time. This was the face that his son called “Dad”. He hated him.

Sipping his drink, he read the bio.

Wade Duncan was employed at Golden Century Realty on Battlefield Road. Twice he had been top salesman of the year for the central division, and a member of the Million Dollar Club. He also was a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. The last line said that he was married with two children.

Michael stared at it for a long time. Two children. He knew that one child was his kidnapped son, but he couldn't help but wonder if the other child was someone else's missing baby. The Duncan’s had to be in on it; they had to know that these children were someone else's.

He sucked on his drink. Maybe he could return two children to their rightful parents. He was sure that Tammy would be very proud.

 

Chapter 8

Michael consulted his map of Springfield. The real estate office was at the south end of town, less than thirty minutes from his hotel room. After breakfast, he headed north on Highway 65 towards Wade's office. He couldn't decide whether to face Wade or just wait until he was out of the office to get the information he needed. A chance to confront the man who had his son might be too good to pass up.

The address was found easily enough, and Michael parked several rows away from the front door. Golden Century Realty took up one end of a ten-store strip mall. The glass windows were covered with pictures of properties for sale, some with large letters saying ‘SOLD’ across them. He could see a secretary inside, but she appeared to be alone.

He watched for twenty minutes but saw no activity inside, so he got out of his car and went in.

Coming through the door, he paused to look around. Ten desks lined the walls: five down one side and five down the other. Each desk faced towards the door and had two chairs in front of it. Michael imagined it looked like a gauntlet of sales people when everyone was there.

He walked past the desks, toward a glass-paned office with a conference table. Across from the office was a desk attended by a receptionist. As he approached, he was greeted by her smiling face. The nameplate on the desk identified her as Peggy, and she appeared to be in her mid-thirties, slim and fit. Dark eyes and dark hair added to her attractiveness.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I was looking for Wade Duncan. Is he in?”

Peggy looked around as if searching the office.

“No.”

She let a smile slip.

“Actually, they are all out on caravan.”

Michael smiled, acknowledging her teasing.

“Caravan?”

“It's a once a week trip to see all the new listings. They go out together and tour them. I expect them to be back in an hour or so. Can I have him call you?”

“No, I'm pretty hard to catch, I’d better call him. Do you have his card?”

“Sure, there should be one on his desk.”

She pointed at the desk directly in front of the door.

Michael walked over and retrieved a card from the tray on the desk. He paused and picked up a picture of a man, his wife, and two kids. They were all smiling.

“I've haven't met him in person yet. This is Mr. Duncan and his family?”

“It is. Really nice people, good people, you know what I mean?”

Michael could tell by the tone of her voice that she was fond of them. He stared at the picture of the two boys, one a near spitting image of his father.

Michael forced a chuckle.

“The youngest looks just like his father.”

“Yeah, a carbon copy, that's Jesse. The oldest is Jack. Jack was adopted as a baby. I still remember the day they brought him home, they were so proud.”

She said it as if adoption was a noble act.

Under normal circumstances, adoption probably was a great thing, but this was not a normal case at all. Michael thought she probably wouldn't have such a high opinion of the Duncan’s if she knew how it really happened. Of course, she would almost certainly defend them and say that the Duncan’s didn't know what was going on. He was sure that the Duncan’s would say the same thing to him, as well. He wasn't buying it.

Michael stared at the oldest boy in the picture.

That was his son. HIS SON! All the football games, picnics, birthdays, and hugs belonged to him. They stole them. Wade Duncan had taken his life as a father and lived it for himself. That woman had lived Tammy's life as a mother.

Michael wanted to take the picture and smash it.

“Sir…sir?”

Michael became aware that Peggy was talking to him.

“Yeah...oh, Yeah...just thinking about something.”

“Can I tell him who stopped by?”

Michael thought about it for a moment.

“Yeah, tell him Michael from San Antonio.”

“Really, Texas?”

It was Michael’s turn to make a face.

“Yes, Texas.”

He forced a smile, thanked her for her time, and left.

When he returned to his car, his head swam with anger. If blood really did boil, his would be frothing right now. His face was flush and he realized he was gripping the steering wheel hard enough to snap it.

“He'll know my pain. He is going to feel the loss I feel.”

Knowing what he had to do and that it required him to be calm and calculating made him struggle to relax. If the rage took over, he could make a mistake. He couldn’t make a mistake; he owed it to Tammy. He needed it for himself. He started the car and headed out of the parking lot, passing a van full of people in office attire.

As they passed, Michael locked eyes with the man in the passenger seat. He recognized him from the picture. It was Wade Duncan.

****

Wade got out of the passenger seat and opened the side doors for his fellow agents. They were still making fun of him. Wade had a reputation for lame jokes and his latest had caused  fits of eye rolling.

As they came groaning through the door, Gavin Newman summed it up for everyone.

“Worst yet, Wade; You've sunk to a new low.”

Peggy knew what it had to be.

“What did he say this time?”

Wade stood smirking while Gavin retold the joke to Peggy.

“So, Wade sees a cat and says, ‘Hey, that's a Himalayan!’, and Judy says, ‘How can you tell?’, and Wade goes ‘Cause him-a-layin’ right over there!’”

Peggy let a small laugh escape, mostly because of the look on Wade's face while the joke was relayed.

“See, what did I tell you? Worst ever.”

Peggy looked at Wade and smiled.

“Pretty bad, Wade, gotta admit. Oh by the way, there was a man here looking for you. In fact, he just left not five minutes ago.”

“Did he say if he wanted to look at property?”