Page 36 of Jealous of the Clouds
I make a mental note of what door they go in. There were six entrances to choose from, so the choice was important. I take out my phone and take a quick shot of the doorway, with its number clearly visible. I don’t want to risk forgetting.
Alas, I can’t follow them in. That would blow my cover completely, even if I could sneak in behind them. But I have this little lover’s nest, this hiding place, whatever the fuck it is, narrowed down enough.
I’ll come back. I have to…I’m not going to be ignored, Ted.
Chapter 14
Podcast transcript, “Meat Locker: Cold Cases” Episode No. 48
True Crime Audio Presents: The Case of the Unsolved Hate Crime
(Opening Credits and intro music)
Bailey Anderson, Host:
It’s over, Joshua Kade. Come out, come out wherever you are. A lot of people want to talk to you.
Breaking news: I’ve just been informed by my sources within the Chicago Police Department that Joshua Kade is now considered a fugitive from justice. Due to this podcast and the testimony of several individuals, Kade has moved from a person of interest to a suspect.
Trouble is, he’s nowhere to be found.
His Edgewater neighborhood apartment was discovered empty early this afternoon, devoid of all personal belongings. His phone is apparently turned off, so GPS tracking has been futile. Credit cards, cash withdrawals, and other ways of tracking a suspect have come up empty. The only evidence that Kade may be on the run is his bank account—yesterday, savings and checking combined were emptied of about eight thousand dollars.
Kade couldn’t have made his guilt more obvious. Now that clues from the 10-year-old murder of my brother, Reggie Baker, are not only surfacing, but proliferating, Kade must feel the noose tightening.
My sources tell me that, despite checking with his employer, landlord, and coworkers, he seems to have vanished into thin air.
If only he would stay vanished, the world would be a little safer.
He’s a monster on the loose. If you’ve seen Joshua Kade, or know anything about his current whereabouts, please contact the Chicago Police Department or this podcast. The number is on our web page and in the description of the podcast on mobile devices.
I mentioned earlier the testimony of several individuals, well, I have a bombshell for you. One of those testimonials comes from Kade’s own sister, Shondell, and she agreed to speak with me, but only reluctantly.
Here’s what she revealed:
“I haven’t spoken to Josh for years. When we were growing up, we were close. He was my big brother/protector. He looked out for me. He played with me when I was lonely or feeling down. He babysat me when our parents were away and took care of me when Mom and Dad fought, which was often.
“When I reached my teens and began dating, everything changed. He didn’t like anyone I went out with. If a boy called and Josh answered, he’d take a message, but somehow that message would never get to me. He followed me when I went on dates.
“And when I became serious with a guy my senior year of high school, he stopped speaking to me. The guy was the man who’d become my husband. He was a good guy, smart, kind, generous. He loved me with all of his heart and became the father to our two children. Josh didn’t come to my wedding. If it weren’t for his name coming up in the news now and then, I’d have no idea where he even lived or, if in fact, he was even alive.
“He's there, though, in my mind all the time. You’d think I might have written him off and moved on with my life which, to some extent, I have. But because of what happened in our house,Josh stays a dark figure in the background of everything I do, everything I think.
“I have nightmares about him.
“Sometimes, when I’m alone, I imagine I see him, peering in a window, hiding behind a bush, watching me from afar as I have coffee or pick up groceries. I see him in the darkness of my bedroom closet, if I leave the door ajar.
“He’s a monster to me.
“You might think I’m being dramatic, but I’m not. The reason I called was to tell you about the death of our mother.
“She wasn’t the best. She did what she needed to for us in terms of feeding us, clothing us, making sure we were healthy. But she was a cold woman, brittle. It always seemed to me that she couldn’t wait to get away from us.
“And get away she did. I think my father stopped caring about her long periods of absence from our house when we were children. He retreated into a world of books and, oddly enough, stamp collecting. He spent hours in his den, poring over his collection.
“He had his own issues with anger, with drinking, as well.
“Mom was a drinker too, what some might call a barfly. And the more she drank, the more her reputation grew in the Chicago suburb we lived in. At first, it was just rumors, and then snickers behind her back.
