The Disappeared

by David B. Silva

  Quiet.

  Comforting.

  Peacefulness.

  [88]

  The phone rang half-a-dozen times before Teri gave up.

  “Not there?” Walt asked.

  She shook her head and slumped back against the couch. She had been trying to reach Michael for the past two hours, getting nothing more than that irritating ring at the other end that went on and on, unanswered.

  “Worried?”

  “A little,” she said honestly. A lot had happened the last few days, and she had wanted to catch Michael up on everything. Even more than that, if she were going to be honest with herself, she had silently held out the hope that Michael might volunteer to fly back and help out for awhile.

  “Is there someone else you can call? Maybe someone who could check on him and make sure he's all right?”

  “No, no one I can think of. We haven't exactly kept in touch the last few years.” Michael had left because he felt like he had not only lost his son, but he had also lost his wife. And to a large extent, he had been right. Teri had never missed a beat. She had gone right on looking for Gabe, barely noticing Michael's absence. But it hadn't been because she didn't love him. She did. Even to this day, she felt she loved him. It had simply been a matter of priorities. That's why she had let it happen, and that's why they had never gotten a divorce. In the back of Teri's mind, she had always thought that once Gabe had come home again, then Michael would eventually follow him back and things would return to the way they had been before.

  “I might be able to get someone from the department to call back there tomorrow,” Walt suggested. “Maybe have a patrol car stop by and check his place.”

  “Have them check with his office. When I talked to him the other day, Michael said someone had been watching the house. I told him to spend a couple of days at a motel just to be safe. Maybe he actually listened to me.”

  “I'll see what I can do.”

  “Thanks,” she said softly.

  “Hey, what are friends for?”

  [89]

  Dr. Timothy Childs, who had been stooped over a microscope the last thirty minutes, sat up and stretched his arms. The effort wasn't enough to satisfy the stiffness that had taken control of his body, though. He stood up, arched his back and stretched again, letting out an audible groan this time. When it had happened was hard to tell, because in his head he was still a young man, but sometime over the years his bones had grown into the bones of an old man. Less flexible. Noticeably more defiant. And nearly always cranky.

  He removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes, then put them back in place, and grabbed the empty Styrofoam cup off the counter next to the microscope. It was a few minutes past eleven, the lab quiet with the blanket of night. It would remain that way until well past seven in the morning when the receptionist would be the first to drive into the parking lot and the sounds of the back door heavily creaking open would mix with the beeps of the alarm pad as she pressed the keys. Her high heels would echo sharply off the hollow walls downstairs, and if he were still here at that time, he would be able to hear them as clearly as if they were marching right down the hall outside the lab. But for now ... the building had given itself to the night, and Childs supposed he liked it that way.

  He poured himself his third cup of coffee, added a single packet of sugar, took a sip, and felt some of the tension ease out of his body. Anything to keep going a little longer, to keep him from having to go home to an empty house and a lonely bed.

  As he passed by his desk on his way back to the microscope, he absently ran his hand across the photograph of his wife, Audrey. It was a habit he had acquired shortly after her death. An act of appreciation for the better times in his life, he supposed, though he tried not to allow himself to dwell upon it any longer than necessary.

  The photo had been taken just before they had gone ballroom dancing while on their cruise to Alaska last year. She was wearing the white-and-pink floral gown she had bought especially for the occasion. Her eyes seemed not at all to reflect the pain she had been going through in her battle with cancer at the time. They were bright, even hopeful. It was the way Childs wanted to remember her, the way she was before the cancer: resilient, confident, optimistic, and incredibly beautiful.

  The hole her death had left had gradually consumed more and more of him as the months had passed. A cancer of its own, it had begun metastasizing to other parts of his life, sending his thought processes on wild manic-depressive swings through the darkness of suicide to the elation at the potential breakthroughs of his work and back again.

  Home had become a reminder of the times he would never have again.

  Childs sat on the stool again, his energy mildly recharged.

  The quiet of the night moved silently in around him.

  And that was just fine.

  [90]

  “Know what's wrong with this shitty world?” Richard Boyle asked.

  The bartender, a heavyset man in his late fifties who had heard it all before and had little appetite for venturing down this particular road again, looked at him over the top of his glasses without answering.

  “Everyone thinks they're fucking untouchable. That's what's wrong.” Boyle finished off his fifth beer, and slammed the mug down against the counter with a gleam in his eyes that dared the man to say anything about it. “They think they can send you to hell and back and... you... you're just gonna take it. Like a fucking Twinkie. You're gonna let 'em suck your insides dry without doing nothing.”

  It had been nearly a week since Boyle had last shaved, a little longer since he had taken a bath. There was a dark desperation in his face that had been taking form there since early childhood and though it was often masked by the man's meanness, it was not invisible. He looked up from his glass, one eye slightly off-center, both eyes dead to the alcohol, and winked.

  “One more,” he said.

  The bartender thought about it, decided it wasn't worth the hassle, then poured him another tap.

  “You wanna survive; you don't let nobody get the best of you. Nobody. You see?” Boyle took an indulging swig from the mug and dropped it back to the counter, not as heavily this time, though a wave of suds made their escape over the rim of the glass. “My wife, she's gonna learn that lesson real well. So's that shithead of a detective she hired. They'll see.”

  The bartender nodded noncommittally, paying Boyle as little mind as he did most of the drunks who came in here with their stories of misery and promised revenge.

  “Know how to hurt a man so's he feels it?” Boyle asked.

  No response.

  “You get after the thing that's 'portant to him. That's what you do.” Boyle grinned and bobbed his head in perfect agreement with himself. Yup, that's what you do. You get after the thing that's important to him. That's what he was gonna do. Because that was what worked. Hit 'em where it hurts, his daddy used to say.

  Boyle finished his drink, mumbling incoherently into the mug before laying his head down to rest against the counter. His thoughts drifted lazily through the alcoholic fog that had become his companion and he gladly drifted with them.

  [91]

  The phone was ringing.

  A shudder rattled through Walt's body, and he opened his eyes, finding himself already sitting up on the living room couch. The room was washed in dark shadows, made all that more ominous by the ill-defined glow of the city lights slipping in through the window.

  He got up and fumbled his way into the kitchen, half-blind from sleep. He was still yawning as he leaned against the wall and brought the receiver to his ear.

  “Walt? It's Sarah Boyle. I didn't wake you, did I?”

  “What time is it?”

  “A little after midnight. I'm sorry.”

  “That's okay. What's up?”

  “Richard's in town.”

  “What makes you think that?” Walt came fully awake with the stark realization that he had never told her about the episode at the apartment the other night. He
should have called her immediately and warned her that her husband was back in the area, and that he might be dangerous.

  “He took his anger out on my car yesterday.”

  “Oh, Christ. Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm staying with a friend for awhile.”

  “Good idea. You'll be safer there.”

  “The police finally seem to be showing some interest.”

  “Well, that's good.”

  “Yeah, miracles never cease.”

  A moment of silence fell into the gap between them and Walt kicked himself for not having called her right away. “I'm sorry I've had such a hard time tracking down the children, Sarah.”

  “Any new leads?”

  “I can tell you that until a couple of days ago, he and the kids were living down in the Bay Area, under the name of B.L. Richards. I didn't miss him by much. My guess is he's probably just passing through on his way to somewhere new, and he's probably got the kids with him. Whatever he's up to, we'll have to start all over again from scratch.”

  “What about Garrett and Christy? Are they all right?”

  “I asked around and the neighborhood kids seemed to think they were doing just fine.”

  “Thank God.”

  “He's making mistakes, Sarah. He's getting arrogant and he's making mistakes and eventually that's what's going to lead us to him.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Trust me.”

  “I do.”

  “Good.”

  “Sorry about calling so late.”

  “Don't worry about it.”

  “You want my friend's number?”

  “Sure. Let me grab a piece of paper.”

  Sarah gave him the number where she could be reached, and said, “Okay. Well, I guess that's all.”

  “I'll call you if anything comes up; I promise.”

  For a while after the call, Walt tried to get back to sleep again. But every time he closed his eyes he kept thinking about how he should have called Sarah as soon as he had heard Boyle's voice on the answering machine. When that thought wouldn't let go of him, he finally pulled back the blanket, got up off the couch, his muscles stiff, and turned on the nearest lamp. The shadows that had owned the room quickly scurried back into the corners.

  It was seventeen past two.

  He wandered down the hall, used the bathroom, and splashed some water on his face. If he was going to be awake, he might as well be fully awake. On his way back, he stopped outside the bedroom door and wondered how Teri was doing on the other side. He had seen her angrier, especially in the early months after her son's disappearance, when it had appeared that he had simply vanished and no one had a clue as to how or why. But Walt had never felt her anger before. Not like tonight. What had hurt most was that she had been right. They should have seen the pattern. If they had, they might have been able to save some children.

  “I'm sorry, Teri,” he whispered into the door. “You've got to know I'm sorry.

  [92]

  The name of the store was After A Fashion. It was a small boutique in the Town and Country Village near the corner of West Lake and Lassiter. Teri only occasionally came by here, and most often that was to browse through the bookstore at the other end. She couldn't recall having ever noticed the boutique before.

  It was the kind of place she imagined she would want for herself if she were ever to go into business. Intimate and modest. A small, eclectic selection of styles (were the Sixties coming back?). And the atmosphere not so much that of a store as that of spending an afternoon over at a friend's, rummaging through her closet. It had a nice feel to it.

  A bell over the door rang as Teri stepped through. There was no one behind the counter. In fact, there was no else in the store, at least not up front. She sidled over to the casual wear and pulled out an adorable outfit with a smocked, high-waist skirt made with a two-tier flounce.

  “I'll be right out, if you need any help,” a voice called from in back.

  “No hurry. I'm just looking,” Teri said. She checked the price. $65.00.

  “I'm sorry. Things have just been crazy this morning.” The woman came bouncing out, her eyes bright, her smile wide, and Teri recognized her immediately. Judy had always been a fireball, full of energy and laughter, the kind of woman you enjoyed being around. Time had treated her well. She hadn't aged a day since Teri had last seen her.

  “Teri?”

  “Hi, Judy.”

  Her smile grew even wider. She opened her arms and gave Teri a hug that immediately closed the gap of time that had grown between them since they had last been together. There weren't very many people you met in your life who could do that. It had been twelve, maybe fifteen years since Teri had seen her, and yet instantly it felt as if it had only been yesterday.

  “My Lord. It's so wonderful to see you again,” Judy said.

  Teri didn't want to let her out of the hug, but she did, reluctantly. “You, too.”

  “How long has it been?”

  “Too long,” Teri said. Yesterday she had visited with Cindy and thought how much the woman had changed, how much—no doubt—they had all changed. But that wasn't as true today. Because somehow, Judy had managed to hold onto the essence of the old days. She hadn't changed much at all. “We never should have let it get away from us like that.”

  “Life does that, doesn't it? Just keeps us on the run all the time. Always busy, never seeming to get anywhere.”

  Teri smiled, thinking that was probably true for most of them, but she wasn't sure it was true in Judy's case. “I like your boutique.”

  “Do you? Eddie—he's my husband—he says there's not much money in it. And he's right. He's always right. But I like this place. I really do like it.”

  “I can see that.”

  The bell over the door rang, and a young woman with a little girl in tow entered. The woman smiled courteously, and wandered off to the other side to browse through some hand-knitted sweaters.

  “Just yell if you need any help,” Judy said.

  “Thank you.”

  Teri shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly feeling like an imposition. “Well, I don't want to take too much of your time.”

  “Don't be silly.”

  “I heard you had a little girl.”

  “Yeah, she's three. Her name's Genevieve. You think that sounds stuck-up? Eddie's mother says it sounds like some prissy European duchess.”

  “No, I like it.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Judy pulled a black jumper with a pink cotton T-shirt out from the nearest rack and studied it absently. “At least I didn't name her Moon Shadow, huh?”

  “I'm sure she'll appreciate that when she gets older.”

  “She better.”

  Another customer came in. She looked to be someone who had shopped here before. She was wearing a stretch, twill jumper with mock belt buckle and an acrylic knit T-shirt with padded shoulders. It was a 90's twist on the 60's revival that had only recently come into style.

  Judy put the outfit she had been studying back on the rack, and smiled at the woman. “Let me know if you need any help.”

  The woman smiled in return, without saying anything.

  “It's getting busy.”

  “We have our moments.”

  “Well, I won't keep you,” Teri said. “I just wanted to see you, and see how you've been doing. Find out if you've been in touch with any of the old crowd.”

  “A few. Most everyone scattered, you know.”

  “Did they?”

  Judy nodded, browsing through the rack as if she were looking for something for herself or maybe something she could put aside for when Genevieve was older. “Oh, yeah. Jack moved out to Boston to run a restaurant with his brother. I haven't talked to him in over a year. And Jeremy followed Michelle out to Chicago. They got married and had a little girl who must be twelve or thirteen now.”

  “You've kept track of everyone?” Teri said.

  “Most everyone.”
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  “How come I never heard from you?”

  “I sent you a card when your son disappeared,” she said, looking up, surprised. It was very nearly a look of accusation, and Teri felt herself immediately fighting off the guilt. “And I called, maybe half a dozen times. I always got your answering machine, though. You never called back.”

  Teri remembered those calls now, though only vaguely. There had been literally hundreds and hundreds of calls for several months after Gabe's disappearance. People offering their condolences. Psychics claiming they'd had a vision. Cranks that seemed to always call in the middle of the night with something sick to say. After a couple of days, she had quit answering the phone, and Michael had taken over the duty of listening to the messages.

  “It was a terribly difficult time,” Teri said, guiltily.

  “I can't imagine how horrible it must have been to lose your son like that.”

  “I'm sorry I never called you back.”

  “It's all right,” Judy said. “I understood. I just wanted to let you know that my thoughts were with you.”

  “That was nice of you.”

  She smiled, modestly. “You ever miss the old days?”

  “Sometimes,” Teri said. It wasn't often, though. The music usually brought it back for her, when she'd hear I Ain't Marching Anymore by Phil Ochs or Here Comes the Sun by Richie Havens or Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. The world had been a different place then. Time had moved slower. Life had been bigger and brighter, somehow. If she had it all to do over again, she'd do it exactly the same. But she didn't miss those days, not really, and how odd that seemed.

  “I still long for them,” Judy said.

  “Do you?”

  “I guess what I miss most is the feeling of family we had.”

  “Me, too,” Teri said. She thought how crazy the circle of life could be. The little girl she had once been was hardly more than a dream now, another spirit belonging to someone else's past. And it wasn't much different when she thought back to those high school and college years, either. The memories were fond, but they were memories pasted in a photo album, and sometimes when you flipped through them, it was hard to recognize yourself. She remembered the sense of family, though. That had never left her.