Leaving the Border

By Joseph Walter

This book is a thriller about one family’s fight to get their loved one back after he was kidnapped by a band of drug dealers. With many twists and turns throughout it will play with your emotions. This book will restore your faith in your fellow man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665578844

Joseph Walter

I grew up in rural central Pennsylvania, a pretty average life working in my father’s coal business and helping my uncle on his dairy farm as a teenager. I’ve been fortunate to travel to many different places and meet a lot of nice people and always enjoyed hearing about their lives and culture. I love the outdoors and spend as much time as I can study-ing the woods and the creatures that live there. I worked as a taxidermist for 35 years and for the most part enjoyed the work and the people I’ve meet over those years. I am retired now and always had an interest in writing but never had the time. People who know me would never have thought I could write a book, I was not the greatest student in school. But never say never. This is the second book I’ve written and hope you have as much fun reading it as I have writing it.

Book preview

© 2022 Joseph Walter. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/20/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7887-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7884-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022923644

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Dedicated to

my parents

Bill and Ruth Walter

A special thank you to my wife Judy for her support

and putting up with me through this process.

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 Living The American Dream

Chapter 2 Life Takes a Turn

Chapter 3 Dealing with Criminals

Chapter 4 A Family United

Chapter 5 The Waiting Game

Chapter 6 No More Waiting

Chapter 7 The Hunt Is On

Chapter 8 One Family Reunited

Chapter 9 The Hunt Continues

Chapter 10 Time to regroup

Chapter 11 Back In the USA

Chapter 12 The Search Continues

Chapter 13 A Turn in the Road

Chapter 14 The Head of the Snake

Chapter 15 Good to be Home

Chapter 16 The Final Straw

Chapter 17 When One Door Closes …

Preface

For most of my adult life, I played by the rules. Now at age 58, I’m going to be a rebel. My government has let me down and law enforcement officials say there is not much they can do. My son has been kidnapped by a bunch of low life drug pushers from Mexico and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again. I’m not waiting any longer; I’ve got to try to find him. It’s been forty years since I’ve been to war, but now I am declaring war on the scum who have taken my son and to all of those who may be involved. I may be older, but I am angry, and somebody is going to be on the receiving end of that anger!!

Chapter 1

LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM

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H ere I am, living the American dream with a loving wife of thirty-two years and two beautiful children. Our daughter, Kara, is twenty-six, and our son, Vince, is twenty. My wife, Ann, and I own a construction business a little south of Phoenix, Arizona, that is doing well. The business is kept busy building homes, doing excavation work, and installing water and sewer lines.

Kara is married to a fine young man, John, and she is expecting our first grandchild in four months. In my mind the baby has to be a boy, but if Kara knows, she isn’t saying. She keeps telling me I just have to wait and see. Kara works part time in the office of our business. John is in his final year of law school and will probably join his father’s law firm after he graduates and passes the bar exam.

Kara was always a tomboy growing up. She spent more time playing with toy trucks than dolls and always enjoyed playing sports. She even got it in her head she was going to try out for the junior high school wrestling team when she was in ninth grade. Her mother put an end to that, refusing to sign the papers to allow her to try out for the team. Ann tried her best to interest Kara in girly things as a child, but the interest wasn’t there. She was more comfortable playing with boys than other girls. Kara was a very good field hockey player in high school and did very well in track-and-field events as well. After high school she decided not to go to college. She wanted to come and work for me as a machine operator. With some training, she became a very good backhoe operator.

She worked at that for four years and was accepted by the rest of the crew as one of the boys. All that changed when she met John. All of a sudden, she was putting on makeup and spending an hour doing her hair. She was cleaning the dirt from under her fingernails and letting her nails get longer. She took quite a ribbing from the work crew when she complained about breaking a nail. They would come to me and say, Bill, can I go home? I just broke a fingernail.

Then one day she came to me and said, Dad, we need to talk. I want to get off the construction crew. Can I maybe get a job in the office?

I said, What’s the matter, honey? Did you break another nail?

She smacked me on the shoulder and said, No, I just think it’s time I learn more of the business part of the business. You are always complaining you don’t like that part of it, so maybe I can do some of it for you.

I agreed, and Kara slowly worked her way into becoming the office manager.

To this day, four years later, I have John to thank for turning my daughter into an integral part of our business. Ann and I have often wondered what piece of equipment Kara would be running today if she had not fallen head over heels for John.

Vince is finishing up his sophomore year at the University of Arizona where he is majoring in geological sciences. It looks like his propensity for digging in the dirt since he was a child may pay off for him someday. Vince was always a quiet and sensitive child, maybe because Kara was outgoing and prone to talking for him when they were younger. He excelled in school, especially in science and math. As a child, he and Ann were very close. I was afraid at one point he was going to play with dolls, but that didn’t happen—thank God! As he got older, his interest in sports grew, but his love of books and studying always took priority over anything. It was hard for me to understand, but I was grateful he was such a good student. I realized Vince did things like hunting and fishing to please me and often told him it was OK with me if he would rather not do those things. He would always say he was happy to share the time with me. As he got older, Ann and I could see that Vince was definitely college material.

He visited a number of campuses and finally settled on the University of Arizona. He got a scholarship to pay part of his tuition and seemed to really enjoy the college life. I was pretty sure he would end up teaching or doing some kind of research in the field of geology. He had the brains to be anything he wanted to be.

My dream was for Vince to someday take over the business, but I think he may have other ideas. I’m OK with that. I have always taught him to think things through in his own mind before making any decisions. I’ve come to realize his plans may not be the same as my own. I was very proud of the adults both of my children had become. Although if someone would have told me twenty years ago that my daughter would be running the business instead of my son, I would have said they were crazy. It just goes to show you that you can make plans, but those plans don’t always turn out the way you want.

Ann and I have lived in this area for almost thirty years and have seen it grow by leaps and bounds. We were lucky to start a business in an area that is constantly growing and expanding. We started with nothing, and after years of hard work and long hours, things are going well for us.

Our home is on the outskirts of the city on a forty-acre lot overlooking a development our company completed several years ago. We have made a lot of friends over the years and enjoy the lifestyle we have created here. However, I have never quite been able to adopt the laid-back attitude of the southwest. I guess my formative years spent on a dairy farm in the east are embedded in my mind. I guess the farmer’s attitude that the work is never done is in my blood.

I grew up on a dairy farm in southern New York. I learned the value of hard work at an early age. By age ten I was driving tractors and milking cows every day. Along with shoveling manure, feeding the stock and chickens, putting hay away in the summer, and anything else my father would want me to do. It wasn’t that my father was a slave driver; there was just a lot of work to do, and he could not afford to pay to someone else to do it. Now I am glad my parents gave me a good work ethic; it has served me well in my life. I tried to pass that same work ethic onto my children—although I must admit, Ann and I have spoiled them a bit.

I spent a few years in the military from 1968–70. I served in Vietnam as a scout-sniper and saw quite a bit of action. I saw some things there that I never want to see again. When I came back home, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with my life and wandered the country for a while. With my military experience, I finally took a job with a private security company. For three more years, I traveled the world working as a cleaner, as it was known at the time. My job was to eliminate threats to private companies or local governments. This was a very high-pressure job, and after three years I’d had enough of it.

I came back to the States and did not want to be a dairy farmer the rest of my life. Previously, when I was touring the country, I liked the Phoenix area and decided to try to make a life there. That’s where I eventually met Ann. She was working at a local restaurant as a waitress, and I was hooked on staying in the area. We dated for a while, and I shared my dreams with her. We were married a year later and started our life together.

I could see potential in this part of the country. The climate was mild, thought hot in the summer, no humidity, and I wasn’t too far from a lot of open spaces. The people were friendly and made me feel welcomed. If someone asked you how you were doing, they actually waited for an answer. There were mountains within easy driving distance, and I was fascinated with some of the Indian culture that was prevalent in the area.

We started out with a landscaping business, making lawns and planting trees and shrubs. Ann worked right beside me daylight till dark, seven days a week. Eventually the business grew, she started having babies, and I started hiring help. All the years of our marriage, I have been the dreamer and—thank God—Ann has been the realist. She has had to pull the reins in on me quite often. We both relax by riding horseback and spending time together in the mountains. Now that the kids are grown, we’ve adopted two new kids, a pair of black labs, Buck and Bo, who keep us company most all of the time.

Ann’s mother and father live in the Phoenix area, and overall they are really good people, not the stereotyped in-laws. She has two sisters, Diane and Grace, who live out of the area, and they do keep in touch on a regular basis. Unfortunately, my family has all passed away. Usually we have all of her family here at our place at least once a year for a family reunion, and it’s a happy time for Ann. The kids get to know their family and everybody has a chance to catch up on things.

My life is pretty simple, go to work everyday and spend some time with my family. Every year I think about slowing down, but it never seems to happen. Although, at my age, I am beginning to think some of my Mexican employees are right, a mid day siesta is not such a bad idea. For now I am content to spend a few evenings a week walking with Buck and Bo or riding my horse Spook to relax. It’s like my Dad used to say sometimes you have to get along with other people, but I always enjoy getting along with the animals.

After 30 years, I’m still learning Spanish. When I get to thinking I know it all somebody throws some words at me and I just have to say what? It reminds of my grandparents who used to speak Dutch when they didn’t want us to know what they were saying. I know my Spanish speaking friends mock me because I talk very slow. I’ve resigned myself to the fact there is no way I could speak as fast as they do. I can always tell when I’ve pissed one of my employees off, because they walk away from me gibbering as fast as they can in Spanish.

Ann and I have truly been blessed with a wonderful family, good friends and a group of hardworking, dedicated employees. We live in a place that has a varied landscape and a multi-cultural background.

Chapter 2

LIFE TAKES A TURN

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W hile Vince was on summer break, he was working for me running a backhoe and doing some surveying, but mostly still doing what he loved most, digging in the dirt.

One day as I was looking over a house we were building, my excavating foreman called me and asked if Vince was coming in to work that day. It was 9am and he should have been there at 7am. I told Mike the foreman as far as I knew Vince should be on the job. I told Mike I would try to track him down and send him to work shortly. I called Vince’s cell phone and got no answer. I then called Ann to see if she knew where he was. She told me he spent the night camping out with a couple of friends, but he should be at work now. I was getting a little pissed because I figured he and his buddies were probably doing some drinking last night and were sleeping it off somewhere.

I drove over to Vince’s friend Jeremy’s house to see if maybe his parents knew where the boys were camping last night. When I pulled into their driveway, Jeremy was cleaning out the back of his car. Jeremy greeted me and asked what I was doing here? I asked him if he knew where Vince was. He said as far as he knew, at work. He told me Vince left their campsite around 6am saying he had to get to work. Jeremy said he had not seen Vince since then. He told me that he and Josh left around 7am and he then dropped Josh off at his house and got home around 7:45am. I asked Jeremy to call me if Vince contacted him this morning and he said he sure would. Jeremy told where they were camping and maybe Vince forgot something and went back to get it. I was familiar with the area and said maybe I would check it out later.

I thanked Jeremy and thought to myself, where the hell is that kid screwing off at. Vince was normally very reliable and not prone to going somewhere without telling Ann or me. I figured if he had trouble with his truck he would have called me to come and get him. I was getting a little worried and tried his cell phone again, no answer. I called Josh’s house and he told me basically the same thing Jeremy told me. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I called Ann back to see if she had heard from him and she said she had not.

I went back to the jobsite and finished up some things I had to do. All the while I was thinking of how I was going to kick Vince’s butt when he finally showed up with some lame excuse.

At lunch time I went home and Ann asked me if I found Vince. I said no, I was just about to ask you the same thing. Ann said she was afraid something had happened to him. I told her not to worry; he was a big boy and could take of himself. I said he probably met up with someone and got distracted by something more interesting than work. In my heart I did not believe that, but it seemed to calm her down a bit. I was getting more worried all along.

I drove out to where Jeremy said they were camping and looked around. I found two sets of tire tracks in the sand. One was probably Jeremy’s car and the other I knew was Vince’s truck because I had just bought him new tires for it a week ago. I could also see that both sets of tracks left the area and out onto an old mining road. Where in the hell did he go? It just didn’t feel right. It was out of character for him to just take off without letting someone know what he was doing.

Out of frustration, I drove back to the construction site and immersed myself in some carpentry work. I was hoping this would turn out to be nothing more than a good old fashioned ass chewing on my part and something we would joke about later. In an hour or so, Mike called me back and asked if I found Vince. I said no, I didn’t have any idea where he was. Mike said I just found Vince’s truck about a mile from the site where I’m working. I told Mike I would be right over.

When I got to Vince’s truck, his water bottle and lunch were still on the front seat along with his hard hat. He must have been on his way to work, but where the hell he is now. Mike and I found several sets of boot prints around the truck, so Vince must have met someone here. Something wasn’t right because the keys were still in the ignition and Vince would never let that happen. It was an old truck, but he was proud of it and wouldn’t let just anyone mess with his truck. Just then my cell phone rang, it was Ann, and she said I needed to come home right away. She was sobbing and I asked her what was wrong. She said Someone just called and said they have our son and were holding him for ransom and they would call back in 30 minutes with some instructions.

I told Mike I had to go and would call him later. I told him to lock up Vince’s truck and I would pick it up later. My mind was racing; why Vince, why my family, we weren’t wealthy. Did I piss somebody off bad enough to kidnap my son? Was Vince ok, should I call the police?

When I arrived home 20 minutes later, Ann was waiting for me in the driveway. She was crying and asking me what we were going to do? We both hugged and cried and I honestly didn’t know what to do.

In 10 minutes the phone rang. I answered and the voice on the other end asked if this was Bill Wright? I said it is who is this? He said we have your son and if you ever want to see him again we want $100,000 cash, in small bills, by noon tomorrow. I told him we didn’t have that kind of cash. His response was get it. The caller said he would call back tomorrow morning at 10am with instructions. If I wanted to see my son alive again, get the money and don’t bring any cops into this deal.

This just didn’t seem real. I kept thinking someone was playing a sick practical joke. I was known for playing practical jokes on other people, but nothing like this. This was real, finding Vince’s truck, him not showing up for work, and it all added up now. Someone must have grabbed him on his way to work this morning. My head was spinning. I could come with maybe $50,000 - 60,000 cash but not a$100,000. Where was I going to get another $40,000? Ann and I debated about calling the police. I knew the local sheriff very well and decided to give him a call. I’d known Bob Tucker for over 20 years. We hunted together over the years and had become good friends. After explaining things to Bob, he said he would be right over.

It was about 4pm when Bob arrived. He was a straight shooter and didn’t mince words. He gave Ann and me a hug and said Let’s get moving on this. I told Bob the caller had a heavy Hispanic accent and I couldn’t here any background noises. A Hispanic accent in this area is not unusual. Half of my 18 employees were Hispanic and they were good people. Bob asked if I fired anyone lately or pissed someone off really bad. I said I had not fired anyone in over a year and didn’t think I got anyone mad enough to kidnap my son.

Bob said he had worked on some of these cases before and would like to bring in some help, but only if we agreed. I trusted Bob and asked him Please, be honest with me; what are the odds we will see Vince alive again if we pay the ransom? Bob said it would depend on who we were dealing with, maybe a 50% chance. That hit hard, it also meant a 50% chance these people would kill him.

Ann and I talked it over, between the tears and choking them back, we both agreed to let Bob make the phone call for more help. Bob made a call to the FBI and told us to try our best to stay calm. He said he would not leave until the FBI agents arrived.

I decided to make a few calls to try to raise the additional money I needed. I called my bank and they verified I had $62,000 in cash reserves from the business and $10,000 in savings from our personal account. I still needed an additional $28,000 to meet the kidnappers demand. I spoke with the bank manager and told her I would need to borrow $28,000 by tomorrow morning to buy some equipment at a sale. Bob told me earlier not say anything to anyone else about what was going on. The bank manager, Carol and I had done business together for years and she said no problem, she would draw up the papers

Today and have them ready for me to sign in the morning. She asked me what I was buying and I told her some excavating equipment. I thanked her and said I would see her at 9am sharp tomorrow morning. I felt at least I was doing something to help this situation.

It was now 5:15pm and two FBI agents had just arrived. Agents Hanson and Nicolas introduced themselves. Ann and I went through the same question and answer period as we did with Bob. They were very professional and to the point. They asked us if we intended to pay the ransom. I told the agents I could have the money by tomorrow morning and asked their advice on paying the ransom. Agent Hanson echoed Bob’s quote that we would have a 50% chance of getting Vince back alive if we paid the ransom. He did say If we are dealing with a ring of kidnappers working out of Mexico, the odds may be higher. These guys are interested in keeping a reputation of returning their victims. In a twisted way, it is better for their business if the word got out to the families of the victims that when they paid, they would see their loved ones again.

There had been a rash of kidnappings in the Phoenix area in the past year or so. The police and the FBI had not been able to crack the ring thus far. A lot of the kidnappings appeared to be drug related according to police reports. I was confident Vince was not involved in any drug dealing, but I also knew the FBI had to look at all the possibilities. They questioned Ann and I about Vince perhaps using or selling drugs and also if Ann or I had any dealings with drugs. We were a bit offended and denied any knowledge of drug use ourselves and by Vince as well. The agents promised they would do everything they could to get our son back to us safe and sound. They seemed sincere in their