The Midnight Within

Chapter 3

Jackson Carver was a busy man who didn't have time for silly games and Jack had reached his breaking point. He had waited long enough and should have put a stop to it a long time ago. He should have sent a clearer message to the gutter punk that had caused his family so much trouble. He didn't have time to deal with his daughters drama when he was trying to reach his deadlines and with his business partners breathing down his neck he was out of time.

Outside his office window the sun was sinking, the buildings of downtown awash in the brilliant pinks and oranges that only autumn in Minnesota could create. It had been hot all week, hovering in the nineties, but inside his dark office Jack was almost cold. Turning his broad back to the window, he moved back to his huge oak desk and dropped into the soft leather seat with a quiet sigh. He watched the tiny droplets of water drip down the side of a glass of highball in front of him before bringing the amber liquid to his lips.

It had been a long day of meetings and interviews, some of which he found quite pleasurable, others not so much. He had several interviews with a dozen young, eager looking girls who dressed more like they wanted to work at a strip club than his office, all of them more than willing to do whatever needed to be done to get ahead. Leaning back in the big leather chair, he growled softly as he slowly tried to work the cramps out of his stiff fingers before rubbing fiercely at his temples. He could feel another one of his headaches coming on, the ones he only got when dealing with some nastiness or other, and this was looking like a real stinker. He was so close to closing a deal on a new property and now he had to deal with Britt's constant tears.

If only the boy had learned to stay away from his daughter there wouldn't have been a problem. Had he just slunk back to the gutter he'd come from, Jack would not have to take matters into his own hands. Not that he would ever dirty his own hands; he had other ways of getting it done. Britney was his princess after all, It was his job to protect her at all costs. What father wouldn't? She was the daughter he thought he would never have after having three boys before her. It broke his heart to see her cry and drove him crazy to watch her deal with such heartache.

Yes, he should have put a stop to it from the start, should have tried harder to keep them apart, but the harder he pushed her to stop seeing him the more she wanted him in her life. It was starting to affect his business. Diverting Britt's attention away from her job, and Jack could not have that. He needed her to keep working, but the gutter rat had made her doubt her ability at what Jack knew she was perfect for. Not even her sister brought in the amount of money that Britt could and it was all about to fall apart. If only there was a fix for raging teenage hormones.

This was a problem that needed to be dealt with carefully he could not risk being tied to whatever misfortune happened to the boy. Unfortunately he couldn't just disappear either. Too many people knew Daniel and knew how much Jack hated him. The kids of Disdain would start to talk if anything happened to one of their own. It didn't help that there had been a string of unsolved murders around their small community, making people see bogymen hiding in their back yards. The last thing Jack wanted was unnecessary attention.

Luckily he could call in a favor that no one could trace back to him. He didn't like going this far unless he had no other choice. Unfortunately he had to make sure no one knew what he was about to do. His phone rang and he snapped into the receiver.

" No! I need you back here." He scowled at the phone, eyes narrowing. "NO! I won't wait. I don't care who you want to check out. Come back right away." Jackson's cheeks burned as he stared at the phone. If only he could reach though the receiver and throttle the man on the other end. He was tired of their games and wanted them to do what he said without asking so many bloody questions. Well he would just have to make them want to come back. "Trust me, you will like this one and I won't tell you how to do it either, just that it needs to be done soon. I'll even double your money."
He rubbed at his temple again, eyes closing as his smile slipped. Perhaps it was time to end his partnership with them after all. He would decide after they arrived and after they had taken care of the gutter rat. Hanging up he went back to the blue prints spread out over the top of his desk. He had a meeting with Vlad and the others in an hour and as much as he wanted to skip it he couldn't ignore this one. There was a knock at the door, his secretary peered in at him with a meek smile.

" Sorry to bother you but there is a Detective Cooper here to see you. "

" Tell him I am busy."

" Tell me yourself. " Cooper pushed past the girl with a tight smile.

" I don't have time to talk Detective. I'm late for a meeting. "

" If you would return my calls I might be inclined not to bother, but you seem to always be busy Jack. "

" So tell me what you want. " Jack narrowed his eyes at the other man.

To say Jack hated the man was an understatement. Cooper seemed to be everywhere at once and Jack was beginning to think that Daniel was not the only one who needed to disappear.

" I just wanted to follow up on a few things. " Cooper opened his notebook to squint down at the notes he had jotted down. " The last time you saw your oldest son Sam was over a year ago? "

" I can't tell you the last time I saw him detective. We were not close. "

" From what I understand he was last seen out at the Haunted Farm. Your farm to be exact. "

" That's right. He and his brothers were playing in a band that night and he never made it home to his mother. "

" Now his mother is not the girl's mother? Correct? "

" No. And I don't have a relationship with her or my other sons. "

" Who still live in Disdain? "

" Do you have a point Detective? "

" Well it's really strange that your son vanished from your property and a few years later another young man also vanishes into thin air and he was also last seen at that same property."
"
" You know as well as I do that Thane had a history of run ins with the law. Are you really surprised he left town without telling his uncle? As I recall you were investigating him for Rape and battery correct? "

" Chester, The uncle is your hired hand? Who lives on the property right? "

" And was cleared if I am correct. "

" Yes. Did your son know Thane? Were they friends? Enemies? How did he get along with the other boys? "

" No one got along with Thane except that little twink he always ran around with. "

" Trez. His name is Trez and he's a good kid from what I've seen. "

" Don't you have better things to do, Detective? "

" If it were my kid that went missing...." Cooper stood up, tucking his notebook back into his pocket.

" I told you. My boys and I are not close. Brittney and Katie don't even know they have brothers."

" Isn't that a shitty thing to do? Keeping secrets from your own children? "

" Not when it's for the best. Now if you don't mind, I am late for my meeting. If you need me to answer anything else just call. "

" Yeah, I shouldn't need to contact you again unless I find out something else. "

Cooper paused to look at all the photos of the girls that were scattered around the office. You would never have known that Jaxson Carver had almost led the perfect double life. How far would he have gone to protect his secrets. He said it himself, he had not been close to his sons so how easy would it be to silence someone who might have wanted to strike back at the man who abandoned him?

" Good night Detective. "

" I'll be in touch." Copper nodded as he left the office.


Jack waited a few minutes before he reached for his phone. The gutter punk was not the only problem to be taken care of anymore. He slipped his coat on and stood up. He had a lot to figure out and the sooner he got the meeting over with the sooner he could focus on other things. It really would be taking out two birds with one stone. Rubbing absently at his temples he shut the lights off and left the office.