Moved On

Warning: Death of a child occurs

Janelle Greer swears she can hear her blood pumping through her body loudly in her ears.  The nightmare that changed the whole trajectory of her life five years prior came rushing back.  To her complete surprise, she had the evidence pointing to the culprit in her possession since the first week of the incident.  While cleaning out her attic and trying to move on as best she could, Janelle had accidently knocked over an envelope exposing the evidence that led to her current situation. 

The burgundy Toyota Camry housing Janelle and her volatile emotions was being pushed as hard as it could.  Janelle did not think about possible consequences as she drove over one hundred mph down the highway fixated on reaching her final destination.  She was clutching the steering wheel tightly, tears constantly blurring her vision.  Out of nowhere she was hit by a vivid memory.

Six years ago

“Mom, why did we move out here away from all my friends,” Jaylen asked his mother, pouting as they walked up to the country house that definitely needed some work done to make it more habitable?

Janelle looked into the beautiful light brown eyes of her only child and gave him as warm of a smile as she could muster. 

“Sometimes things happen out of your control and you just have to make do until you can do better,” she said, hoping to soften the blow.  She couldn’t tell him his father had lost another job this time because he had an affair with the administrative assistant who happened to be the owner's sister.  Jordan was fired immediately and blacklisted from many of the other construction companies in the area.  Before long they had to terminate the lease in the house they were renting.  

Janelle and Jordan had been high school sweethearts who married young after high school and had a son just a couple of years later.  Their relationship had been good until Jordan had gotten bored with being a young husband and father in the last year or so.  After the affair cost him his job, he confessed everything to Janelle and begged for her forgiveness.  He found another job but it was on a farm of one of his high school football teammates' family land.  They also had a house that needed minor repairs that he could rent for cheap while he got back on his feet.  

“You’re going to make new friends here and we get to live on a farm,” Janelle said, kneeling down to her son’s height.  “I think this will be a fun adventure,” she said smiling.

Jaylen looked at the house and all the land.  He didn’t understand why they had to move out of the city to way out in the country.  He had heard his mother crying sometime when she thought no one could hear.  He made a decision then he was going to be happy so his mother would be happy too.  He smiled back at his mom.

“It will be cool to see the animals everyday and I’m sure I’ll make friends at school.”

“I have no doubts J-Bug,” Janelle said, pulling Jaylen in for a hug knowing her son was going to try to make it work for her.

Tears were streaming down Janelle’s face at the memory of their first day on the farm.  Her son being the kind, intelligent, young boy he had been was always considerate of her feelings even at the tender age of seven.  She missed him so much.  They had been on the farm for a little over a year when he’d disappeared without a trace one day after school.  That had been five long years ago.  The police could never even determine if the boy made it home from the school bus stop or if something happened between the school bus stop and the farmhouse.

Now she knew her boy did make it back to the farm and who he had to have seen before he disappeared by seeing the one photograph.  Sergeant Gavin Powers had given her the envelope with photos law enforcement had taken at the bus stop and the farm as soon as they arrived after Jaylen had been identified as missing.  At the time she had been too distraught to look at the pictures.  Throughout the investigation the only person she thought was truly invested in finding her son was Sergeant Powers.  He continued to look for clues long after the case was closed.  Eventually he shared with Janelle that he had been a well known detective for one of Charlotte’s Police Departments until his own son had been abducted and murdered in retaliation for him solving a murder committed by a wealthy businessman.

After burying his son, Gavin had a mental break which resulted in him losing his wife, his job and parts of his sanity for almost a year.  Once he recovered from that ordeal he opted to work in Davidson County which was more rural and slower than Charlotte.  He remembers the day his life was turned upside down again over another child crime when he first met Janelle.

5 Years Ago

“Hello ma’am.  I’m Sergeant Powers, the lead investigator on Jaylen’s case,” he said looking into the shattered eyes of the woman in front of him.  He recognized the look as he’d seen it in his own eyes when his own son had gone missing.

“I know you are scared but I promise I will do everything in my power to find your son,” Gavin said, placing a comforting hand on Janelle’s elbow. 

“You’re the first one to use his name,” Janelle said, looking into Gavin’s green eyes and trusting him immediately.

 The case was investigated thoroughly but they never found any clues to Jaylen’s disappearance.  Throughout the investigation Gavin continuously checked on Janelle and was there to support her through all the suffering she experienced after.  Her marriage ended and eventually she moved back to Charlotte. For two years Gavin checked in on Janelle and visited her regularly to ensure she didn’t go down the path he did.  Bonded through tragedy they fell in love with one another.  Gavin even returned to Charlotte to marry Janelle and once again join the Charlotte Police Department as a detective.  

The first thing Gavin sees when he enters the barn is his wife with her hand gun pointed at farmhand Lucas Wislon.  Lucas looked frightened as the crying woman yelled at him.

“What did you do to my son,” Janelle screamed again?

“Hey Babe, I need you to put the gun down.  I will make sure he pays for what he did to Jaylen but you can’t kill him,” Gavin said slowly keeping his voice calm and his eyes on Lucas.

“You don’t know what he did,” Janelle said harshly.

“I do, I saw the miniature hammer in the barn in the photo.  I remember you telling me he only played with those tools with Lucas because he made them for him.  He kept them in his book bag otherwise.  Jaylen must’ve made it home but Lucas said he never saw Jaylen that day,” Gavin said calmly.

Lucas dropped sorrowfully to the ground and a sigh of defeat left him.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop myself,” he said, falling to his knees sobbing.  

“Janelle, please look at me,” Gavin shouted and Janelle looked at him immediately.

“We have moved on, there is a new life growing inside you that we will cherish for his or her lost brothers, but we can’t if you do this,” he pleads with tears in his eyes.

Janelle nods, lowering her weapon as Gavin quickly cuffs Lucas and runs to hold his wife as they see the lights from the Davidson County Sheriff's vehicles approaching.