Jamie Garrett - Riley Reid 03 - Ends and Beginnings by Jamie Garrett Page B
Authors: Jamie Garrett
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and sleep-eyed, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen.
The whole Reid family was wide awake and at the table. I quickly discovered that Kevin had informed his family who I was. Just like that, overnight, they started treating me like family. All that kindness made me a little uncomfortable.
After we ate, I said my goodbyes and went out the front door. I needed to continue to search for my parents. Trouble was, I didn’t know where to go from here. I thought about my father’s invented alias. Maybe there was a record of Barry Porter buying another car after he sold the Trams Am, or renting something. I was willing to bet that security deposit was long gone.
Before I reached my car, Kevin came jogging out of the house. He had something in his hand. It looked like a letter.
“Wait up for a second!” said Kevin as he got close. When he reached me, he handed me the letter.
I looked at the letter Kevin gave me. It was unopened. My name was scrawled across the front. The white of the envelope was yellowing. That was a sign of age.
“What is this?” I asked.
“I got it in 2001, shortly after your dad vanished. It was in a bigger envelope that had a note in it. The sender was Troy Reid,” explained Kevin.
“What did the note say?” I asked as I stared at the envelope with my name on it.
“Not much. He asked that if I ever met you, that I give you this.”
I started to open the envelope. Not knowing what was inside was unbearable. Curiosity had always controlled me.
Kevin stopped me from opening it. He made sure to make eye contact with me. “As much as I’d like to know what’s written in there, that’s for your eyes only. And I’m willing to be bet that it was likely meant to be read in private.”
The Second Man
I found a nice place to park in Roanoke. It was downtown, near a fountain and a park. The weather was unseasonably warm. Lots of people were out. There was also a hot dog stand close by. That helped.
Alone in my car, I decided to read my father’s letter. It might’ve held a clue to further my search. And even though the trip had given me an uncle, I wouldn’t go home until I found my dad.
Hey baby,
I know you have some questions. Why did we leave you? Where did we run off to? Im sorry I cant tell you wear we are. And I dont think you will ever see us again. Me and your mother stole from a very bad man. He wont stop looking for us till we are dead. I know we have no right to ask you for a favor honey. But we need you to stay away from anyone that has anything to do with a man called Harlan Greene. I put a photo in this letter. I need you to look at it and then go there. You will find more answers. It is not safe to tell you what in this letter. When you get there you will know what to do.
Love your dad.
The grammar in my dad’s letter was pretty bad. That was good and encouraging. He never made it out of middle school.
There was a photo inside the envelope, just like my dad said. It was of a tall oak tree with gnarled branches that extended far out from its trunk. It was a tree that I recognized. When I was a kid, I used to climb it whenever my parents took me to Valentine Park in Stone Harbor.
I was hoping for something more. The note had no answers. But it did provide me with a name, “Harlan Greene.” I’d never heard of him before. If my dad thought it was important to mention him, then he was worth looking into.
Right there, in the car, I took out my laptop. The first thing I tried was to enter in the name into a search engine. Surprisingly, I got some results. And none of them were positive or encouraging.
The first article I opened was about Harlan Greene being arrested for racketeering. From what I read, he was suspected of having his hand in a variety of illegal activities, including extortion, drug trafficking, murder and even prostitution. He was not a nice man.
None of the other articles I read about Harlan Greene were any better than the first. They were
The whole Reid family was wide awake and at the table. I quickly discovered that Kevin had informed his family who I was. Just like that, overnight, they started treating me like family. All that kindness made me a little uncomfortable.
After we ate, I said my goodbyes and went out the front door. I needed to continue to search for my parents. Trouble was, I didn’t know where to go from here. I thought about my father’s invented alias. Maybe there was a record of Barry Porter buying another car after he sold the Trams Am, or renting something. I was willing to bet that security deposit was long gone.
Before I reached my car, Kevin came jogging out of the house. He had something in his hand. It looked like a letter.
“Wait up for a second!” said Kevin as he got close. When he reached me, he handed me the letter.
I looked at the letter Kevin gave me. It was unopened. My name was scrawled across the front. The white of the envelope was yellowing. That was a sign of age.
“What is this?” I asked.
“I got it in 2001, shortly after your dad vanished. It was in a bigger envelope that had a note in it. The sender was Troy Reid,” explained Kevin.
“What did the note say?” I asked as I stared at the envelope with my name on it.
“Not much. He asked that if I ever met you, that I give you this.”
I started to open the envelope. Not knowing what was inside was unbearable. Curiosity had always controlled me.
Kevin stopped me from opening it. He made sure to make eye contact with me. “As much as I’d like to know what’s written in there, that’s for your eyes only. And I’m willing to be bet that it was likely meant to be read in private.”
The Second Man
I found a nice place to park in Roanoke. It was downtown, near a fountain and a park. The weather was unseasonably warm. Lots of people were out. There was also a hot dog stand close by. That helped.
Alone in my car, I decided to read my father’s letter. It might’ve held a clue to further my search. And even though the trip had given me an uncle, I wouldn’t go home until I found my dad.
Hey baby,
I know you have some questions. Why did we leave you? Where did we run off to? Im sorry I cant tell you wear we are. And I dont think you will ever see us again. Me and your mother stole from a very bad man. He wont stop looking for us till we are dead. I know we have no right to ask you for a favor honey. But we need you to stay away from anyone that has anything to do with a man called Harlan Greene. I put a photo in this letter. I need you to look at it and then go there. You will find more answers. It is not safe to tell you what in this letter. When you get there you will know what to do.
Love your dad.
The grammar in my dad’s letter was pretty bad. That was good and encouraging. He never made it out of middle school.
There was a photo inside the envelope, just like my dad said. It was of a tall oak tree with gnarled branches that extended far out from its trunk. It was a tree that I recognized. When I was a kid, I used to climb it whenever my parents took me to Valentine Park in Stone Harbor.
I was hoping for something more. The note had no answers. But it did provide me with a name, “Harlan Greene.” I’d never heard of him before. If my dad thought it was important to mention him, then he was worth looking into.
Right there, in the car, I took out my laptop. The first thing I tried was to enter in the name into a search engine. Surprisingly, I got some results. And none of them were positive or encouraging.
The first article I opened was about Harlan Greene being arrested for racketeering. From what I read, he was suspected of having his hand in a variety of illegal activities, including extortion, drug trafficking, murder and even prostitution. He was not a nice man.
None of the other articles I read about Harlan Greene were any better than the first. They were
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