Executive Privilege, Ch. 03
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I woke up and knew right away that I was in a hospital room. I could hear the buzzing and beeping from instruments attached to me, and I saw the plastic IV that was in my arm. My mouth was dry, and my head hurt something awful.
I looked around and saw my Dad sitting in a chair next to my bed. He heard me stir and looked over at me. He looked like he hadn’t slept in ages. He saw me try to speak and called for a nurse. A young woman in a nurse’s uniform came into the room and checked my vitals before giving me an ice chip to suck on. She gave me another after the first had melted. After I had a couple more chips, I licked my lips and tried to speak.
“How long?” I croaked.
“You’ve been here for about four days,” Dad said as the nurse left the room to get the doctor.
“Four days?” I asked, shocked. “That means this is...”
“Tuesday,” my father said. “I got a call from the hospital late Friday afternoon. They said you were dumped in front of the Emergency Room. You’ve been out ever since. What happened to you, son?”
“Later,” I said, seeing the doctor come into my room.
“Good afternoon, Mr. West. I’m Doctor Pierce,” he said. “I’m glad to see you back with us. How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a truck,” I said. “I hurt all over.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he said. “You took quite a beating. Nothing’s broken, but you have a couple of bruised ribs, and you had a slight hematoma. We were concerned that you might have suffered a concussion.” He checked me out and made notes in my chart. “We’re going to get some X-rays done, and I want to keep you over one more night for observation. If all goes well, we’ll be able to let you go home tomorrow. I took the liberty of calling the police. It was quite obvious to me that you had been attacked, and we have an obligation to report possible criminal activity. I know they want to speak with you. Do you think you’re up to that?”
“Yes, doctor,” I said. “Most definitely.”
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll call them, and maybe they’ll be here by the time you get back.” He motioned to the nurse, who made a call. A few minutes later, I was taken to Radiology for X-rays. When I got back to my room, a man in a suit was talking to my Dad. After I was situated, the suit pulled out a set of credentials and introduced himself.
“Mr. West, I’m Detective Ryan Blackstone,” he said. “Can you tell us how this happened?”
“Yes, I can,” I told him, taking a sip of water. I told him everything I could, then remembered my phone. “Did you find my phone?” I asked my father.
“Yes,” he said. “Your mother brought a charger and plugged it in. I figured you might need it.” He unplugged the phone, which had been sitting on the table next to my bed, and handed it to me. I noticed some text messages from a couple of numbers I didn’t recognize and decided to check them out later.
I found the audio I had recorded and played it back for the detective. We could hear everything, including the blows to my body. I paid special attention to what happened after my beating.
“Alright, get him outta here,” we heard Henderson say to the two guards. “Take him out the back way and drop him off at the hospital. If anyone asks, just say you found him that way, understand?”
“Got it, boss,” I heard Lenny say. We heard movement, probably from the guards moving me. Then we heard them talking as they tossed me in the back of the car.
“Careful,” Harvey said. “Don’t wanna get blood on the seats.”
“I’m trying, but he’s one heavy son of a bitch,” Lenny said.
“Aren’t they all?” Harvey said, laughing. We heard doors slamming shut, then the recording ended.
“We have video from the hospital security system,” Ryan said. “According to that, they drove up, opened the door, and tossed you into the parking lot before driving away. A couple of ER techs saw you there and brought you inside. We were able to make out the license plate of the car. It’s registered to Ryder Industries.”
“I called your HR Monday morning to let them know where you were, and they told me that Henderson already said you’d be out on sick time for a week,” Dad said.
“Any word from Katie?” I asked.
Dad shook his head. “No, son,” he said. “None. I’ve been trying to call your house and her cell ever since I got the call from the hospital. I left voicemails, but I haven’t heard anything from her.”
“She’s probably still in New York,” I said. “God only knows what they’re doing to her.”
“I’ll put an APB – All Points Bulletin – out for her,” Ryan said. “Do you have a recent photo of her?”
“I do,” I said, pulling up my photos.
“Good,” he said. “Send that to me along with a copy of that audio recording. I’ll send the picture to the NYPD and ask them to do the same. I’ll also swear out an arrest warrant for Henderson and his goons and forward it to the NYPD. I’m assuming you want us to press charges.”
“Absolutely,” I said.
“Alright,” he said. “We’ll take it from here, Mr. West. You just rest and let the professionals do their job, okay?”
“Okay, Detective,” I said. “Thanks.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Ryan said. “We may have some questions later.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to me. “Call if you think of anything else.” After he left the room, I looked at my Dad.
“Is what Henderson said true?” I asked.
“Yes and no,” Dad said. “It’s true that his father had his way with your birth mother, and it’s true he made me watch. But it turned out your mother was already pregnant when that happened. She just didn’t know it at the time.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well, after it happened, I filed for divorce,” he said. “She kept telling me it was just a mistake, that she still loved me. You know, all the usual bullshit cheaters spout. I wasn’t about to hear it, though. I moved into the guest bedroom and refused to have anything to do with her. I also filed an alienation of affection lawsuit against Henderson and the company for allowing it to happen. You could still do that back then. Shortly after that, she learned she was pregnant, and the court made us wait until after you were born before going any further.”
“Couldn’t you get a DNA test done?” I asked.
“You were born in 1982,” Dad said. “That was before they used DNA for paternity. We had blood tests done, but those were inconclusive. It turned out that you, I, your birth mother, and Henderson all have the same blood type. I won’t bore you with all the details, but things just got worse around the house. Your birth mother started abusing alcohol and drugs and died of an overdose about six months after you were born.”
“Damn,” I gasped.
“The lawsuit against Henderson and Ryder went on, and we settled out of court,” my father said. “That’s where I got the money to start your trust fund. As part of the settlement, I agreed not to disclose any particulars of the case. To anyone, including family. That’s why I couldn’t tell you anything. About a year after all that, I met Patricia. She fell in love with you the moment she laid eyes on you. Insisted on adopting you after we got married. She wasn’t able to have kids of her own, but in her mind, you were, and ARE, her son.”
“So how did you learn that I really am your son?” I asked.
“You remember that motorcycle accident you had when you were 16?” he asked. I remembered that all too well. I was riding on the back of Jimmy Riordan’s bike one day. He was usually very careful, but that day he hit a slick spot on the road, and we took a tumble. Fortunately, we both wore helmets, and that’s what saved our lives. I still got banged up pretty good, though.
“Yeah, I remember,” I said.
“Well, I had the hospital do a DNA test,” he said. “I just HAD to know the truth one way or another. The test came back and showed there was more than a 99 percent chance I am your father. Which means that your birth mother was already pregnant with you when Henderson took her.”
“Well, as far as I’m concerned, you ARE my Dad, no matter what any test might say,” I told him, causing him to smile. “What happened to Henderson?” I asked.
“He died of a stroke about the time you went to college,” Dad said. “His son stepped up and became the CEO. I had hoped the younger Henderson had learned from his father’s mistakes, but it seems I was wrong.”
“That’s why you weren’t too enthusiastic about my going to work there, isn’t it?” I asked.
He nodded his head. “Yes,” he said. “I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t. I wish to God I had now.”
“It’s not your fault, Dad,” I said. “I just don’t know how Katie could’ve fallen for his bullshit. After all these years, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
“Who knows? It sounds like she was drugged and had no control.”
“She may have been drugged, but something just doesn’t sound right,” I said. “What was she doing there in the first place? And wearing that dress?” Just then, we heard a tap at the door. “Yes?” I hollered out. The door opened, and Brenda popped her head into the room.
“Can I come in?” she asked meekly.
“Sure, Brenda,” I said. “Come on in. What do you want?” She held a vase full of flowers and a large card.
“I wanted to bring this by,” she said. “Everyone in the office chipped in and bought it for you. They also signed the card.”
“Thanks, Brenda,” I said. “Set the flowers down over there,” I added, pointing to the counter next to the bed.
She handed me the card and set the flowers down. Then she turned to face me. “I want you to know I’m really sorry about all this,” she said.
“You knew what Henderson planned to do?” I asked.
“I knew he was planning something with your wife,” she said. “I didn’t know about… this,” she added, pointing at me.
“What happened?” I asked.
“He gave me a company credit card that morning and told me to pick your wife up,” she said. “Said she was expecting me. He instructed me to take her out, buy her the shortest, sexiest dress we could find, and take her down to have her hair done. He also insisted that she have a bikini wax. A full Brazilian wax. I had a pretty good idea what he intended. It’s not the first time he’s done it.”
“So your boss uses you to prepare his whores?” Dad asked. Brenda’s face turned red, and she had the good sense to look down. “Did you know he drugged her?”
“He drugs all the women he sleeps with, Mr. West,” she said. “He likes to experiment. Said he wants to create a ‘Super Ecstasy’ or something.”
“Has he ever used it on you?” Dad asked.
She nodded her head. “Once,” she said. “He gave me a tiny bit. Said it was just a quarter of a dose. Had me going for an hour or so.”
“You know how much he gave my wife?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t,” she said.
“He said he gave Katie three times the normal dose,” I said.
Her eyes widened, and she brought her hands to her face. “Oh my God,” she said. “I had no idea. Your poor wife was probably climbing the walls for hours. I’ll bet she didn’t even know you were in the room. That stuff really does a job on you.”
“When I came into your office, you knew what was going to happen, didn’t you?” I asked.
“I knew,” she said. “But I didn’t know he was going to have you roughed up like this. Honest.”
“Do you know where Henderson and my wife are now?” I asked.
“The last I heard, they’re still in New York,” she said.
“Would you be willing to talk to the police?” Dad asked.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she said. She looked back at me with a tear in her eye. “I’m really very sorry about this, Mr. West.”
“Just one thing, Brenda,” I said.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Did my wife know what was going to happen?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure she did, Mr. West,” she said. “I know Mr. Henderson talked to her several times over the last month or so, and he took her out for lunch quite a few times. Long lunches. I don’t know if they did anything or not, and he never told me.”
“But you think they did?” I asked.
“I’d say it was very likely, but I really don’t know. Not for certain,” she said.
“You do this sort of thing for Henderson a lot, do you?” Dad asked.
“Often enough,” she said quietly.
“You approve of his actions then?” he asked.
She shook her head. “You don’t understand, Mr. West,” she said. “I’m a single mother with a special needs child, and Mr. Henderson pays quite well for my assistance. And my silence.”
“Well, this time, your silence put my son in the hospital, young lady,” he said, his temper beginning to flare. “And God only knows what’ll happen to his wife. I promise you, if any harm comes to her, you and everyone involved will be held responsible just like Mr. Henderson.”
She backed away as he glared at her. “Honest, Mr. West,” she said. “I didn’t know they were going to hurt your son. I would’ve warned him if I did.”
Dad sat back in his chair and looked at her without saying anything.
“Brenda, I’m going to have a police detective contact you about this,” I said. “I suggest you make yourself available and cooperate fully. They will probably charge you as an accomplice. Do you understand?”
She nodded her head. “I understand, Mr. West,” she said.
“Good,” I said. “And tell everyone I said thanks for the flowers and the card.”
“I will,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. “Again, I’m sorry.” With that, she turned and left the room.
After the door had closed, I turned and looked at my Dad. “That explains some of it,” I said. “Katie’s been acting a bit strange ever since school let out. At first, I thought it was just because Jim had left for West Point.”
“Well, we’ll get to the bottom of it,” he said. There was another knock on the door, and a hospital orderly came in, wheeling a cart full of food. Dad smiled and stood up.
“Looks like it’s supper time,” he said. “That means I’d better get home before your mother sends out the National Guard looking for me,” he joked. “Take care, son. Get some rest, and we’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I said. “Tell Mom I said hello and make sure to tell her I love her.”
“I will, son,” he said. “And for the record, I love you, too.” He smiled as we did a fist bump, then left the room.
…
More to come.
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