I just gave her a grin. We teased each other for a few more minutes, and then logged off.
Thursday January 16
MY PHONE WAS RINGING as I rushed to my first class. I looked down and it was Clare Thomas from Ford.
“Hey, Clare, what can I do for you?” I asked.
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
“No, I’m late for class. Can I call you at lunchtime?”
“No, we need to talk now. There have been some threats made, and we need to have you meet with one of our security team,” Clare informed me.
That stopped me dead in my tracks. A fellow freshman behind me about ran me over. He gave me a sheepish grin as he hurried off to class.
“Can they meet me after school at my house? Say, five o’clock?”
“I’ll get it arranged. In the meantime, make sure your family is aware that there’s a threat. No one goes anywhere alone until we figure this out.”
I hung up with Clare and stopped to tell Ms. Lowden why I was skipping the first few minutes of her class. She gave me a hall pass so I could find Greg’s first-period class and get him out in the hall.
“Hey, something’s come up. Clare Thomas just called and told me that there’s been a threat made. She’s sending a security person to meet with us at five. She wants us to make sure we’re with someone at all times.”
“Do you know what the threat is?” Greg asked.
“No, but can you call Angie? Better yet, you might want to go home.”
He gave me a skeptical look.
“Greg, I’ll admit that I don’t take this security business as seriously as Clare and Kara tell me I need to. However, we’re talking about the safety of Kyle and Angie. I don’t think we should mess around with it until we know how serious this is.”
Greg thought about it and decided to go be with his fiancée and child.
My next call was to Dad.
“Hey, are you alone?” I asked.
“No, hang on a second,” Dad answered. I could hear a door close. “What’s up?”
I gave him a rundown of what Clare told me.
“So as of right now, you don’t know what the threat is?”
“Sorry, I was late for class. Let me give you Clare’s number so you can talk to her directly. I’ll head back to class. Greg went home to take care of Angie and Kyle.”
This was the last thing I wanted to dump on my Dad right now, but he’d kill me if I didn’t fill him in and something happened.
When I got back to math class, less than twenty minutes passed before I was called to the office. I was met by the principal and Coach Hope. My dad had called after he talked to Clare. I was told that they were aware of the threats and that someone would escort me from class to class. Coach Hope had volunteered to take me home after our workout tonight. Coach then walked me back to class.
WHEN CASSIDY FINALLY finished our workout, I was ready to go home. Coach Hope and Cassidy gave me a ride. I invited them in because Coach was concerned. I found our house packed. Tami had sent her mom, and my dad invited Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. Of course, Beth, Suzanne and Cindy showed up. I was surprised to see Lily.
Mary and Tracy Dole were making dinner with Angie’s help. I found Greg and Tom Dole in the office with a middle-aged woman. Coach Hope came with me and we shut the door for some privacy. Tom introduced the woman.
“This is Barb Knoll. She’s in charge of security for Ford’s Chicago branch. Barb, this is David, and I haven’t met you,” Tom said as he put his hand out to Coach Hope.
“Tony Hope, I’m David’s football coach.”
Barb took over the meeting.
“Kendal shared with Clare some postings and emails that have been sent to your social media pages. The early postings are somewhat funny. They claimed that you weren’t a better football player than Tom Brady at the same age. Tom was a three-sport star in high school. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 draft in the 18th round.
“Mr. Brady decided to go to the University of Michigan. His freshman year he was seventh on the depth chart. So it’s clear that your stalker didn’t do their research. Mr. Brady didn’t start to shine until his junior and senior years at Michigan.
“Then it takes a strange turn. Your stalker becomes obsessed that you’re going to steal Mr. Brady’s wife, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen. We’ve also warned the Brady family about the potential threat.
“Now for the part that concerns us: the stalker started posting pictures of your public appearances. We found many of the older ones on the Internet. We assume these were taken by fans. When you came back from Colorado, the photos changed. There are now pictures of you and your family. Especially disturbing are pictures of Angie and her son at the junior college.
“Last night there was a posting that said that you and your family must die, and they know where you live.”
Greg was about to explode. I reached over and put my hand on his arm to calm him down.
“You have our full attention. How bad is it, and what do we need to do?” I asked.
She gave me a reassuring smile.
“First of all, we don’t know if this is just a hoax being played by some kid, or if we’re dealing with a deranged individual. Most of the time it’s nothing serious, but there are some red flags here that have us concerned. The escalation of threats over a period of time is one. Another is the sudden focus on your family. For those reasons, we’re concerned.
“I’d like to secure your home first. We need to install tamper-proof locks on the doors and windows. We’ll also install a security system and motion-sensor floodlights. While we investigate, we’ll need to put security people in place. David, Greg and Angie will each have someone assigned to them.”
“You said you can investigate this?” Tom asked.
“Yes, we’ve already started. The IP address of the person posting is local. We’re working with the local police to get the Internet company to provide us with a physical address. I’m confident that we’ll shortly find out who this is.”
There was a knock at the door and Uncle John walked in. I gave him a hug and Greg did too. I think we were both relieved to see him there. Dad had called him to make sure we were okay. Dad had also given Uncle John authority to do what was needed while he and Mom were in California.
Everything seemed to be going well until Barb found out about my trip to California tomorrow. She wanted everyone contained until the stalker was found. Tom and Uncle John put their collective foot down and said I needed to make the trip. Barb finally relented when I agreed to let them hire a security person to go with me.
Uncle John got Coach Hope to help review Barb’s security plans. Coach’s military training was helpful in assuring Uncle John that she knew what she was doing.
Once the drama was over, I went and found Mary to see what she was making. She put me to work on large salad to go with her baked spaghetti and garlic bread. Angie had made an antipasto platter of olives, pickles, artichoke hearts, salami, prosciutto, smoked peppered turkey breast and a variety of cheeses.
Everyone stayed to hang out after dinner. Cassidy told stories about her dad. He got into the spirit and told us some embarrassing stories about her. They seemed to be fitting in. Somehow, it didn’t turn into a ‘pick on David’ session. Cindy did corner me and inform me that I was going to have to fulfill my obligations to her soon.
When Cassidy was leaving, I asked her why her brother hadn’t come over. She just shrugged. I wasn’t going to push it, but didn’t want Coach and Cassidy to feel like Brad wasn’t welcome.
When I got ready to go to bed, Uncle John told me I had to sleep in the house tonight. My apartment was being fitted with a new steel door and it wasn’t ready yet. After everyone left, an off-duty police officer camped out in our living room. I slept in my old room with Kyle, and Uncle John took my parents’ room.