Jason shook his head sadly. “Not really.” His voice was rough, and I knew he was struggling to hold back tears.
“They found him.” It wasn’t a question, but Jason nodded anyway.
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. “I couldn’t help. Nothing I did made a difference.”
I allowed my gaze to drift away from Jason for a moment, giving a silent shrug to Jake in apology for the awkward moment. “You tried. That’s all you can do. No one in their right mind would blame you for what happened. Especially considering you came in a week after his disappearance.” My voice was low, urging him to believe what I said. “Go get cleaned up, and I’ll get something ready for you for supper.”
He silently did as I said, and I turned to Jake. “Sorry about that. He normally isn’t home this early. Give him a little time to relax, and he should be able to take you home.”
Jake gestured toward the stairs where Jason disappeared. “What happened today?” he asked softly, apparently a little apprehensive about Jason’s state of mind. “Did it have anything to do with Shawn Henderson?”
I looked up at him, my eyebrows raised in surprise. “You know him?”
He nodded. “Most of the kids know each other here. He’s a nice guy. Did a little assistant coaching for my baseball team last summer. Everyone in town knew about his disappearance.”
“I didn’t know him at all, but his mother hired my brother to help find him. They found him today.” My voice was soft. Even with our experiences, it was hard to deal with death. Jason especially would have a hard time, but I wouldn’t have thought finding the body would be enough to cause the kind of meltdown I felt earlier.
“Will he be okay?” Jake’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. He was trying to stay strong, but I could tell the news had hurt.
My lips twitched upward at his concern. “Jason is strong. He’ll grieve for a while, but he’ll bounce back. So will the town. I’m going to go make something for him for supper, or he won’t eat. You can watch some TV if you want.” He flicked through the channels a couple times before joining me in the kitchen, obviously uncomfortable, but wanting to help.
When Jason came back down he looked a little less traumatized, and a lot more fired up. “I’m going to the station tomorrow,” he informed me. “Detective Nickels is going to talk to his captain about letting me in on the investigation on a more official level.”
His drive was obvious, but I frowned. “What will you be doing?” And will it be dangerous? I wanted to add, but couldn’t. Hunting down a killer always held risk, especially without the protection of a badge. I knew helping people made him feel empowered, and more confident. After being a victim for so much of his life it was understandable, but, as his little brother, I had no desire to see any more harm come to him. Physical or otherwise. And I knew he took a huge emotional blow today.
I also knew, even if Jake hadn’t been there, Jason wouldn’t have shared any more about the experience today. Showing as much raw pain as he did today was strange for him. He normally at least tried to hide it from me, always striving to spare my emotions. My thought was that if he actually shared with someone, his emotions wouldn’t overwhelm me as much. If they weren’t repressed, and left to stew over time, it would be easier to handle. But I could be wrong. It’s hard to say, since I haven’t had any opportunity to test the theory.
“So what are you two up to this evening?” Jason asked after eating some of the grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup we made for him.
Jake shrugged. “Just studying,” he said. “Sam’s better with dates than me, so I wanted his help with the history test.”
He smiled slightly, “Yeah, Sammy’s pretty good at remembering important information.” I shrugged. In order to catch up with my peers after living on the streets for two years, I needed to work hard, and learn memory tricks to allow information to linger. At least long enough to pass the tests.
Of course that didn’t mean I was completely caught up, but I was pretty close. Close enough that the students I now went to school with had no idea I spent two years out of school, or that I once lived on the streets. Even Jake didn’t know, and he was my closest friend at school.
“Will you need a ride home, or are your parents picking you up later?” Jason asked Jake, while he finished his supper.
Jake met my eyes, waiting for my encouraging nod before answering. “If it’s not too much trouble, I could use a ride.”
“No problem,” Jason answered, rising from the table to put his dirty dishes into the sink. “Let me know when you need to leave. I’ll be upstairs.”
We nodded and Jason walked up the stairs. He had a pretty good lid on his feelings at the moment, so I consciously stretched my mind toward his to gauge how he was doing. It was not something I did often, since his emotional state was so easily read most of the time, but I was able to sense his anger about the day’s events.
Of course there was some sadness for the loss of life, but anger was his primary emotion. Shawn’s death dredged up the same sense of anger and loss I felt from him when Erin died, and when he went with our friend, Alice, to the morgue to identify our father. Although, his feelings for our father’s death were overlaid with relief, so it wasn’t exactly the same.
There was the steel edge of determination growing, strengthening with the power of his anger, and I knew he wouldn’t give up this case until the killer was stopped. All I could do was hope nothing would happen to him.
FIFTEEN
Hunter
The boredom was overwhelming. Even after a successful hunting trip, and knowing my next victim was waiting for me to grab him. Being stuck in the office, making stupid phone calls to idiot people, was feeling like a complete waste of time. My wife was angry, because I never called to tell her I wouldn’t be home until late on Monday night. I also didn’t bother to tell her I took an extra day off work to stay at the cabin.
Of course her anger was shared by not speaking to me, so I had more time to dwell on my complete disgust for the dullness that was everyday life. Was it only yesterday that I was in the woods, watching the police find my most recent prey? Where I discovered the identity of the detectives haunting my path, but failed to discover the identity of the mystery man who came so close to my hunting ground, and acted so oddly? I’d left shortly after the detective’s arrival, since I needed to get home. As much as I wanted to watch more, there simply wasn’t time. One day at work was enough to detract from the thrill of the chase, and the excitement of the unknown.
Even the idea of meeting with one of my affairs didn’t appeal, so I ignored them and continued with my calls. How could I hope to discover the identity of the stranger if I was unable to be in the town to find him? The best way to search would be to stay at the cabin. More and more I was determined to figure out who he was, and discover what it was about him that drove me to near madness trying to find him.
Sure, I have an obsessive personality. But this was the first time I fixated so strongly on a person, and I hadn’t even laid eyes on him yet. There must be something drawing me to him, and I was unwavering in my desire to figure out what.
The day finally crawled to its end and I headed home to figure out my next step. Somehow I needed to go back to that little town without anyone missing me. My wife, dull as she is, would definitely start calling around, and drawing attention if I went to the cabin indefinitely. And there were some of my coworkers who would probably report me missing if I didn’t have a valid excuse to not be there. I sighed. Maybe it was too soon to consider completely dropping off the radar. As fun as it might be to disappear and be myself at all times, it could be too risky.
It was definitely something to consider for future reference, but for now… “Hello, dear,” I said as I entered the house, holding the bouquet of flowers I picked up on the drive home. “How about we go out to dinner tonight?”
SIXTEEN
Jason
Nickels was as good as his word. Wit
hin the week he got approval from his boss for me to help with the case. They also hit the dead end I predicted with the DNA found on Shawn’s knife. There was no sample available for a match. They began the slow process of running it though every database the precinct had access to, but almost a week passed with nothing positive to show for it. So far no one else was reported missing. Although, with his time frame so far, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t grab someone else soon.
We were at a standstill, so most of my time was spent at home or wandering the woods. I didn’t expect to find anything, but walking the trails helped to familiarize myself with the normal traffic in the woods. That way, if an unfamiliar set of prints turned up and someone went missing, I might stand a chance of following them to their hiding place. There were several times I was able to put faces to the prints, and that was helpful as well.
The week was difficult. I met with Shawn’s mom—who looked like an empty shell after the death of her son—and finally realized how much Shawn meant to her. She wasn’t putting on a show, pretending to care only while other people were watching. She truly loved her son, and wanted him happy and safe. My heart broke for her and Shawn. It wasn’t fair. A caring family shouldn’t be ripped apart by this senseless act of violence. There was no purpose to his death, nothing to be gained by it.
She didn’t blame me. Sam was right about that. She thanked me for my time and wouldn’t let me refuse payment, even when she paid more than was owed. When I tried handing it back to her, she gave me a hard look. Nothing was said, but the look told me not to fight her on it. So I nodded silently, and put the money into my wallet.
I tried to leave. The meeting felt awkward, and I wanted to get away from her grief. Before I could get away she grabbed my arm, and pulled me in for a hug. “Thank you for caring so much,” she whispered into my ear, tears dampening my shoulder. I froze when she hugged me. The look on my face must have been one of shock, because when she pulled away she gave me a small sad smile. It seemed that her sadness wasn't only for her son. I stared after her as she left, and wasn’t sure what to make of the exchange.
But that was two days ago, and there was no more movement on the case. Nothing new popped up in forensics, no name appeared on the DNA registry, and no one else disappeared.
That’s how I found myself once again wandering in the woods. Sam was at school, and Nickels told me to take a break from staring at the files again. There was nothing to be found. Besides the missing boys being from this area, they had nothing else in common. They went to different schools, had different interests, and were different ages and ethnicities. Including Shawn, there were two Caucasians, one Hispanic and one African American. They ranged in age from fifteen to twenty. But I was convinced they were connected. All had knife wounds, and were found in the woods near the area Shawn was found. All were missing for at least a week before they were killed, and were all found holding a knife.
“Who’s doing it?” I asked out loud, no one to hear me but the trees. “Why?” Needless to say, the trees didn’t answer. Speaking out loud broke me from my thoughts, and I turned back toward home. It was later than I intended, and I wanted to get home before Sam was done with school. Until this case was solved, I didn’t want him to walk home alone. Once again, I wasted most of the day on the trails, nothing to show for my time but a headache.
My phone rang when I got to the edge of the woods. When I picked up, Detective Nickels sounded relieved. “Jason, I’ve been trying to get in touch. We have another missing person. A boy disappeared from school. He was at all his classes in the morning but didn’t show up to any of them after lunch. Some of his friends got worried because he didn’t mention leaving early.”
“Where? Which school?” I asked, feeling a little panicked.
“Lincoln Middle School. The kid’s only fourteen. Come as soon as you can, I’m already here.”
“Okay. I’ll be there shortly.” Lincoln was Sam’s school, and I tried not to worry that it was him, but I sprinted the last couple blocks to my house. I also sped the entire way to the school, where I saw Nickels interviewing a teacher.
“Who’s missing?” I asked Nickels as soon as he was done.
“Kid named Caleb Larson. He was last seen at his history class. None of his friends remember seeing him at lunch, and nobody has come forward to say he said anything about willingly leaving early.”
I let out a sigh when he said the name, and he looked at me oddly. “Something I should know, Jason?”
“Sorry. My brother goes to school here, so when you said someone was missing…” I trailed off.
“You thought it might have been him. Gotcha. Does your brother know Caleb?”
I shrugged. “The only friend of his I’ve met is Jake. He’s never mentioned Caleb, but he’s nearly the same age.” I felt myself begin to shake, knowing it could easily have been my brother missing from the school instead of another boy.
“It wasn’t your brother, Jason,” Nickels assured me.
“Jason!” Sam’s voice broke though the quiet murmur of voices in the hallway. He made his way toward me, and paused at seeing me next to a police officer. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.
I looked at him in confusion. “I’m fine, Sammy,” I answered, aware of Nickels’ close scrutiny. I asked, “Do you know Caleb Larson?”
“Sure. He was in my history class this morning. Haven’t seen him this afternoon. He’s supposed to be in my Geography class, but didn’t show up.”
“Did you talk to him at all today?” Nickels asked. I glared, but he ignored me, focused on Sam’s answer.
Sam glanced at me before answering. “I talked to him after class. He seemed upset about something, and was way quieter than normal. I don’t know. I guess he might have been nervous or scared. I couldn’t tell for sure. When I asked what was wrong, he brushed me off. Not like he didn’t want to talk, but more like he didn’t believe I cared enough to listen.”
“Why would he think that?”
“Because we aren’t really friends. I’ve only talked to him at school, about school related stuff. Did something happen to him?”
Nickels looked at me, allowing me to tell Sam whatever I wanted him to know. “We think he’s gone missing. Nobody’s seen him since before lunch, and he’s not at home.”
Sam looked at me like he wanted to ask more, but refrained when he saw how closely Nickels was watching our interaction. “Anyway, I should let you guys get back to work,” he said with a wave. “I have to get to my locker and put my stuff away. See you at home?” he asked.
“Yeah. See if Jake’s parents will give you a ride. Let them know I can pick you up from their house later if they don’t want to take you home, okay?”
“Yup. See you later,” he said with a wave as he headed to his next class.
“What now?” I asked, returning my attention to the oddly patient detective.
Before answering, Nickels returned his notebook to his pants pocket and looked around thoughtfully. “Now we’ll leave some officers here to continue getting statements, while you and I go talk to Caleb’s parents. They know we’re coming, and I want you to look around the yard and neighborhood to see if you notice anything that could indicate someone watching him.”
“No problem,” I hoped my relief didn’t show too much. Since Caleb disappeared today, his prints should be easy enough to pick out from his yard. The echoes would be of sufficient strength to pick out the unique pattern. Nickels handed me the perfect opportunity to find Caleb’s prints, without letting the detective know what I was doing.
We decided to take Nickels’ squad car, and he would drop me off by my car later. I could feel him sneaking peaks at me as I looked out the window at the passing scenery. “What?” I finally snapped, looking at him. “What is it you’re so interested in?”
“That was your brother, huh?” he started. “I didn’t know until the day in the file room you even had a brother.” His tone was nonchalant, but the relaxed attitude was so obvio
usly forced that I wondered why he bothered.
Wondering where he was going to go with this I said. “Yeah, I have a brother. Never said I didn’t.”
“Never said you did either,” he shot back. “Why so secretive? It’s not like you having a brother is a big deal. Most people talk about their families, at least a little, but you make it a point to never mention anything personal. I’ve been trying not to push, but I am a detective. Curiosity is part of the gig.” He shrugged apologetically, and I squirmed in my seat looking away from him to the passing scenery.
Hiding my past was almost as natural to me as running. If no one knew, it couldn’t hurt me anymore. I shrank down in the seat, and looked down at my feet. “I don’t like to talk about the past. It’s over. Nothing worth retelling.”
Nickels snorted, “I doubt that. Whatever you’ve been through that you don’t want to talk about, I bet it’s something people who care about you would like to hear.”
It was my turn to snort, as I met his gaze and said, “There aren’t many of those around.”
Luckily for me, our conversation ground to a halt when we parked outside the missing boy’s home. I expected the car ride to consist of a back and forth about what might have happened to Caleb, but once again Nickels showed more interest in my past. “What do you want me to do?” I ignored the concerned look in his eyes, and got down to business.
“Look around the property, and any surrounding properties that have any kind of view of Caleb’s house. See if there’s any sign of a lookout station or perch where someone could have been watching this kid before grabbing him.”
Hunter Page 6