by Jason Davis
Robyn pulled away and nodded. “Okay.” She sniffed back a tear, Rob feeling the wetness on his t-shirt. He hadn’t even realized she had been crying. She was just as worried about Jake going to the park as he was. She was just better at hiding it. He kissed her forehead, then headed to the living room to find his phone.
* * * *
Rob waited for a car to pull out of the driveway before he pulled in behind a late-model SUV he thought he recognized. The glowing orb of the sun had started to creep behind the trees. It had been a long day, and with his nap, even as short as it was and split into segmented parts of tortured nightmares, it felt like days since the last time he had been at this house. He wished he were coming here with news. Even the worst news would be some kind of closure, although no one ever wanted to hear they had outlived their child.
He knew it was too soon to think that way. The child had only been missing since yesterday. The last thing he wanted to do was go in the house thinking the boy was dead. He had to stay positive so Wendy stayed positive. There was always hope.
As he reached the door, even he could smell the bullshit of which he was trying to convince himself. Yes, he knew the numbers were in their favor…out of the nine hundred thousand juveniles who came up missing each year, typically only a hundred were murdered…but that didn’t change the fact only sixty-two percent were recovered alive. The first three hours a child was missing were the most crucial.
He hadn’t even been called within the first three hours. They had been trying to find the chief during that time. Could he really believe the two weren’t related? They had to be. Had the chief tried to stop something and been killed? Had the boy seen it? Maybe he had gotten away and was hiding.
Oh God, please let that be the case. Let the boy be okay and just hiding somewhere. The last thing I want to deal with is coming across the little boy’s body. A boy Jake knows and goes to school with.
He knocked on the front door. It didn’t take long before a young black woman opened the door.
“Hello. Is Wendy Taylor available?”
The woman opened the screen door, then stood there, arms crossed. She scowled at him.
“You the town bumpkin who’s not finding her son?”
Rob’s mouth dropped open, taken aback by the hostility. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Hey, who is it?” he heard someone call from inside. Another young woman came up and stood behind her friend. Her eyes were puffy, but not wet. The girl must have gotten past some of her grief, although Rob knew it was only a calm spot in the storm.
“Hello. I’m Rob Alletto. I’m the deputy in town.”
“Lea, let him in. He may have some news.” The black woman stood aside, allowing Rob to enter. “Do you? Have you heard anything about my brother?”
“Not yet. I just checked in with county. They questioned your father and searched his residence. He-”
The young woman started toward the living room. “That was a waste of time. That piece of shit wouldn’t have had anything to do with Bobby.”
“Well, its best to search rather than assume he had nothing to do with it.”
She nodded as they stopped.
“Who is it?” Rob heard Wendy call from the other room. He saw her lying on the couch, a blanket covering her. Tissues covered the floor, and it looked like she hadn’t moved recently. He guessed she had been up all night, which must have taken its toll. It could not be easy to go through the loss of a child.
“It’s the deputy,” the woman called, then turned back to Rob. “I’m Allison, Bobby’s sister.” He nodded, shaking her hand. “So you don’t have any news for us then?”
“Not yet. If it’s all right, I wanted to talk to your mom. Ask a few more questions, see if there is anything else she might be able to tell me about where Robert liked to go. There might be somewhere we haven’t looked yet.”
Allison rolled her eyes. “I doubt it. She’s graduated from drinking amaretto to whiskey. She’ll be passed out in about an hour.”
“Do you really think you’ll find him now? You’ve had twenty-four hours. Aren’t those the most important?” Leannette asked, her tone openly hostile.
“The first three hours are the most important, but I hadn’t been called in yet. I’m doing everything I can.”
“Obviously, it’s not enough.”
Rob tried not to show his frustration with the truth in her statement, but his gaze dropped, finding it hard to meet her glare. He avoided looking at her as he turned toward Allison.
“May I speak to your mother? We have to hope that maybe your brother is just hiding somewhere. There is also the chance he is hurt and is in need of medical attention. At this point, we can’t rule anything out.”
Arms wrapped around her waist, as if to keep herself warm, Allison stepped back, letting Rob walk into the room.
As he eased himself into the chair next to the couch, he heard Allison tell Leannette she should head back to the city before it got too late. The door opened and closed quietly.
“Hello, Ms. Taylor.”
Her eyes opened slowly. She pulled herself up and reached for another tissue.
“Have you found him?” Her voice was shaky.
“Not yet. I wanted to ask you some more questions.”
“I had a dream you found him and he was sleeping in his room.”
“Hopefully soon.”
She smiled as she blew into the tissue, then placed it on the pile on the table. “Okay.”
“Is there anywhere your son might go to hide from someone?”
“Bobby? He would always go to his grandmother’s.”
“Anywhere else? Anywhere he would go to play with other kids or whenever he was in trouble? Just somewhere he would run off to?”
“Not really. Whenever his dad yelled at him, he would go to his room to play Xbox.”
Rob opened his mouth, trying to ask the same question another way, when the radio on his shoulder crackled.
“Officer Alletto, copy?”
He keyed the mic. “Yeah. Go ahead.”
He stood and nodded his apology to Wendy, who grimaced and lay back down as he stepped away.
“Officer Alletto, we have another missing person. A John Amery. His wife said he was at his parish, but is no longer there. Can you take the report and follow-up, or do we need to dispatch another officer?”
“I can check it out,” he said into the radio.
“That asshole can go straight to fucking hell.”
Rob turned to see Wendy sitting straight up, looking at him vehemently.
“Ma’am?”
“That son of a bitch Amery can burn in hell. That lying, cheating asshole had better stay missing.”
Rob nodded. She must have heard about the earlier incident involving the pastor. He would probably be pretty upset himself if it had been said about Jake. The good pastor would probably have a big ol’ fat lip, as well as a few bruises.
“I’ll keep looking for Bobby, ma’am. You try and get some rest.”
She nodded and reached for the bottle of dark liquid on the floor. He walked to the door. Allison opened it for him.
“Bobby liked to play up at the coal dump.” Rob looked at her. “Mom always told him not to go there, but he never listened to anyone.”
“Well, we’ve already searched most of it. I can’t imagine there is anywhere up there we haven’t looked.”
“He had a special spot. It was close to the top and hidden from the trail. I had to go get him a few times and bring him home.”
His heart sped up at the possiblity. “I have to take this report, but is there any way you can show me as soon as I’m done with Amery’s wife?”
“Sure.” She quickly wrote down her phone number and handed it to him. “Call me when you’re ready and I’ll walk over there.”
Rob nodded and left. He stepped off the porch and walked down the stairs, the shadow of the house seeming to follow him, keeping him in its dark
ness as he walked toward his car.
He shook his head. Shadows reaching for me… He really did need to get more sleep.
CHAPTER 12
“I really don’t think we should. If my mom comes to pick me up and I’m not here, I’m dead,” Jake said. Chris stood right next to him, as if they were conspiring some secret plan. There were other kids around who could hear them, but it was more that there could be adults who would hear. Just because Jake and Chris didn’t see them didn't mean they weren’t there.
“Come on. We’re gonna go as a group. We’ll head to the dump and just walk around. What’s the harm in that? Maybe we’ll find Bobby. You want to find him, don't ya?”
Not really. He knew Bobby and didn't really care if they found him. Bobby always pushed him around at school, and Jake had to take back hallways instead of main stairs just to avoid running into him. The thought of finally not having to worry about him made Jake not dread going to school. Sure, there were the other kids in Bobby’s group, but without him, they weren’t as bad. Most were actually decent kids. It was only when Bobby was around that they were all jerks.
If he helped find Bobby, though, maybe he would lay off. Then perhaps Jake would be part of their group. It would be nice to have a few kids he could hang out with. Chris was all right, but the others… They were the cool kids, the tough ones. The ones who stood up to the teachers. They didn’t even call on them in class. The teachers always picked on him, asking him questions, making him solve problems and write on the whiteboard. It was like they had it out for him.
If he went off with the cool kids, maybe they would accept him. Maybe they would ask him to hang out with them more often, teach him how to be cool.
Jake looked past Chris at the group of four kids, all of them taller than either of them. Two were supposed to be in the next grade, but had been held back. They were all intimidating compared to Jake. He was taller than Chris, but not by much.
“I guess. We’d better not get into trouble, though.”
“We are just going up there to check it out. Then we’ll be back down before it gets dark. Your mom won’t even know.”
Jake nodded. They’d just rush to the coal dump and check it out, then come right back. They would be quick. What trouble could they get into? They were only trying to help find a kid from school.
He looked at the sun. There was another hour before it started to set, then they still had time before it really got dark. It was only a short bike ride there. So why did he tell himself it was a good idea, but still not believe it?
Chris led him back over to the group of kids.
“Yeah. We’ll come with you guys.”
“Cool. Alletto, you lookin’ a little pale. You're not scared to go up there, are ya?” Joel, a thin, rough-looking kid, one who had been held back a grade, stood with his elbow on top of another kid’s head.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Really? It looks like a cat is trying to scratch its way out of your stomach,” John said, frowning, pushing Joel’s elbow off his head.
“That’s a good one,” Joel laughed as John pushed him away. “You never know what might happen up there. There are ghosts, ya know. You might go up there and never come back down.”
“If that were the case, you wouldn’t be going up there, either,” Chris said.
“Nah. I’m not afraid of no ghosts. They won’t bother me.”
“Yeah. He’s too ugly for them,” John teased. Joel tried to push him, but John dodged, the others giggling.
“Like you’re any better,” said Julie.
“At least my nose doesn’t take up half my face.”
“Guys, he said he would come. Just leave him alone,” Chris said, finally coming to Jake’s defense.
“Yeah? What you going to do about it? Get your dad to beat all of us up?”
Jake smirked. He had met Chris’ dad and the man was a monster. He reminded him of those old black-and-white Frankenstein movies where the man towered over everyone else. Chris wasn’t that tall yet, but everyone knew he’d eventually be huge. It was just taking a long time to happen.
“Come on. Let’s just go,” Danny said, pulling his bike from the rack. Julie had already pulled hers out of the other side, scowling at them for not moving quicker.
“So where are we going to go?” Jake asked as he picked his bike up. He hadn’t had the chance to rack it because they had just gotten to the park when they saw the other kids getting ready to leave. He had just dropped it, knowing his dad would complain about him not taking care of it.
Joel glared at him. He opened his mouth, but Julie cut him off.
“There’s a spot up there near the top. Bobby would go there.”
“Don’t you think the cops know about it already?” Jake asked.
Danny shook his head. “Doubt it. It’s kinda hard to find and looks like it’s covered in thorn bushes.” He pushed off on his bike, done waiting.
“Shouldn’t we tell the police?” Jake asked as he turned and pedaled to catch up. Joel was quick to ride up next to him.
“What? You wanna run and tell your daddy?” he sneared.
“I’m just saying we should tell them. They’re looking for him.”
“You can do what you want, but you won’t find it without us.” Joel pedaledhimself into the lead.
“Yeah.” John took his position next to Joel. They both shook their heads. Jake sensed they were mocking him.
He knew there was no use arguing with them. If he went with, he could tell his dad where it was later. What if they found Bobby? Either way, Jake would be in trouble, but at least he had CPR and first-aid training. If Bobby were hurt, he could help.
The kids around him probably went hunting and fishing with their dads and had all kinds of survival training, though. He was still the “kid from Chicago” who everyone thought was some kind of thief. No one expected him to know anything about the woods. He had joined the Boy Scouts, but was still that kid who didn't know how to tie knots or use a fishing pole. He was amazed to see that it wasn’t like in the movies…swinging the fishing pole back and forth, instantly catching a fish. It was much more boring. You just flung it out there once, then sat there and watched your floaty thing. That was something else he got made fun of for. Always forgetting it was called a “bobber”.
“No, I’m coming with you guys.”
“Cool,” Julie said as she caught up, giving him a little smile and a nod. He felt his heart flutter a little, his face heating. Had she really just smiled at him?
He gave her a brief one, quickly turning back to watch the road as they all rode toward the large, wooded mountain all the way across town. It was nowhere close to where he was supposed to be.
He was definitely going to get caught. This time, he was certain his mom would deliver on her promise of an ass whipping so hard, he wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week.
But he was with the cool kids. They were laughing, making him feel like a part of them. He actually got to be there. All of that made whatever his mom did to him a fair price to pay.
* * * *
Rob closed the door and took a long, deep breath. He shut his eyes, not wanting the setting sun to blind him as he took another deep breath. In and out, trying to slow his racing heart and quell the migraine pushing at his temple.
For the last thirty minutes, he talked to the pastor’s wife, having to listen about how he was a heavenly man who was taken by some evil that was loose in this godforsaken town. The sinners, the whores, the corruption, and the police were responsible for the man going missing.
The woman, having heard about what happened between Rob and her husband, wasn’t happy he was there to take the report. She almost accused him of taking the man. He sensed it was on the tip of her tongue, and he was certain she truly believed it. In her eyes, he was part of the evil because he allowed the sinners to propagate the town, allowed the vileness to spread.
Rob wasn’t sure, but he felt like that had been the longest t
hirty minutes of his life. He was convinced it had been longer, but his phone confirmed it had only been a half-hour.
It must have had something to do with all the yelling. He never understood why people thought yelling and accusing him of something was going to get him motivated to do what they wanted. Out of the three people missing, the pastor was not one he was eager to find. Something about the man made Rob wonder if he acted like a godly man in public, then screwed a bunch of mistresses in private. He would never voice that opinion to anyone, but every time he saw the crazy look in his eyes, it struck him as cunning.
What was more alarming was that he now had a third missing person, one Rob had seen only a few hours ago. None of this made any sense. Either there was some psychopath out killing people and hiding bodies, or the pastor was just using the missing kid and the chief for his own ends. Maybe he wanted to get some sympathy from the community after Rob had mistreated him this morning.
He wouldn’t put it past the man.
Rob was just glad to be back in the squad car, looking over the notes he had taken from the woman. He would have to call county in a minute, get the word out so a larger search could be set up.
Mrs. Amery said he had gone missing from the church shortly after Rob had dropped him off. When she arrived to prepare for the bible group tonight, he wasn’t there.
Normally, she wouldn’t have been suspicious of this. He could have just run out for a moment, but what made her uneasy was when she had arrived, the back door was wide open. When she went inside, she found the pantry door open, a stepladder sitting in the middle. She called out for her husband, then walked around the church, finding his wallet in his office. The man never liked to keep it in his pants, hating to sit on it, so he always placed it in his desk drawer. She called his cell, the ring echoing. Following the sound, she noticed his suit coat still there, hanging on the back of his office door, his cell phone in the pocket. She hadn’t thought about it earlier, but walked back outside, seeing his car parked right next to where she had pulled in.