275 Where is Jackson? (1/2)

Saturday

7:21 AM

Mr. Adams woke up and did his morning routine in the bathroom. After dressing up, he went to the dining room for breakfast and checked his phone.

”Paula…” Mr. Adams called his wife stiffly. ”Where is Jack?”

Mr. Adams shrugged. ”In his room, maybe. You know that he had a date with Sabrina. Maybe things went better than we expected.” She said happily while bobbing her head.

”What was he wearing?”

”A suit.” Mrs. Adams narrowed her eyes at her husband. ”What is the meaning of all those questions?”

Mr. Adams gave her his phone and she gasped at the photo which shows a heavily beaten man (if that is a man) in some dark place, surrounded by black trash bags.

”What is this?” Mrs. Adams asked in outrage.

”Look at the text…”

It took Mrs. Adams a second to realize that there is a text under the photo: ”Your son ordered us to take care of Ashton Grant. He didn't pay us after the job was done, so we did to him the same as what we did to Ashton Grant.”

”This…” Mrs. Adams was not sure how to react. ”Is this real?”

Mr. Adams eyed his wife suspiciously. She is always the scheming one, pushing Jackson to do things and he was not sure if she is really surprised by this or is she faking it. ”You tell me.”

”Why do you think I would know? Did Jack really hire some guys to take care of that boy? And did he not pay them? And is this person on the photo him? When did you receive this? … Two hours ago! If this is Jack, he is probably dead by now!”

”Calm down…” Mr. Adams urged his wife. He can't think with all the yelling.

”How can I calm down!?” Mrs. Adams screamed while her body shook uncontrollably. ”There is a chance that Jack is dead! No. No. There is no chance this is him. How can he hire anyone? He didn't leave his room until last night.”

Mr. Adams rubbed his temples.

”Call the police!” Mrs. Adams screamed. ”Someone wants to blackmail us! What kind of a sick joke is this?”

”Calm down!” Mr. Adams shouted. ”Stop panicking and use your head!” He took a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone. ”First, let's check if this is Jack. If he really hired someone and the word spreads, we should not be hasty to call the police. There is a chance that he is fine, and someone is playing a game with us in order to get money. You see that the text is talking about money. You check if he is in his room, we should check if he is in his apartment… I will call him. Go, check his room.”

”He went on a date with Sabrina. We should call her…”

”Let's check our side first.” Mr. Adams said.

Of course, Jack was not in his room and he didn't answer his phone.

They sent a maid to go and check his apartment, and fifteen minutes later, she responded that Jack is not there. She has the key because she is tidying up his place once a week.

”Yes, Mrs. Adams?” Sabrina answered stiffly.

”Do you know where Jackson is?” Mrs. Adams was not in the mood for pleasantries.

”Why would I know where he is?”

”You had dinner with him last night.”

”No, I didn't.” Sabrina denied it.

Mrs. Adams paused. ”Are you sure? He went to have dinner, with you.”

”Why would I have dinner with my ex-fiancé? I was nice to call him when I heard that he returned from the hospital, but that's it. We broke up and I moved on. I hope that Jackson and you can do the same and don't find various excuses to call me.”

Mrs. Adams could not believe this. Jackson came to her gloating that Sabrina called and invited him for dinner. And now Sabrina says that she was not with him? If Jackson was not with Sabrina, where was he?

Mrs. Adams remembered how she spoke with Jackson before he left the house and they were coming up with various scenarios on how he will win Sabrina over. ”You are lying!”

”Why would I lie? I will tell you where I was last night.” Sabrina said irritably. ”I was in the Franciscan Medical Center next to my boyfriend who was beaten up on Thursday afternoon. Do you really think that I will abandon my boyfriend who is in the hospital in order to have dinner with my ex? And if you need further proof, three other people were here, and none of them was Jackson. Anything else, Mrs. Adams?”

”Uhm… no…” Mrs. Adams ended the call and looked at her husband helplessly. ”What do we do now?”

Mr. Adams listened to the conversation over the speaker. He lifted his hand, indicating to his wife that he is onto something. ”Sabrina said that she was next to her boyfriend, in the hospital. That confirms the information in the text, Jack hired someone to attack that boy.”

Mrs. Adams shook her head frantically, unwilling to accept it. If that text is true, it means that there is a chance the person in the photo is Jack. ”How can he hire someone? He didn't leave his room. Is he stupid enough to do an online transaction and leave a trail that police can find?”

”No. He should know that the Anderson family is watching him… Someone was here and helped him set it up…”

Mrs. Adams' eyes flashed when she realized: ”Rita. She came to visit Jack.”