KJ Griffin

Ryan's Disappearance - Sample

Chapter 6

The Manhattan traffic was bumper to bumper. If you were in a hurry to get
to work, you might as well call in late. Everybody was in a hurry to get
somewhere, probably somewhere they didn’t even want to go. I was
massaging my temples, and my head was pounding. Tony was staring out the
window, but it was obvious that the silence was killing him. My stomach was
growling, and I remembered the sour milk from this morning.

“Hey, Tony, I’m starving. How about we stop to get some thing to eat?”
I asked in a calm voice.

“Yeah, I’m kind of hungry, too. Want to go to Bean O’ Rama?”asked
Tony. The Bean O’ Rama is our usual hangout in the mornings. They have the
most delicious donuts, and their coffee’s not bad either.

“Sure.” When the light turned green I made a left on 34th street. I was
thankful that we were close to the café. I didn’t think my stomach could go
much longer without food. In case you didn’t figure it out—I love food! We
drove in silence until Tony could take it no longer.

“So are you going to sign the papers?” he asked somewhat meekly.

“No, I don’t think so,” I replied after thinking for a moment.

“You’re just prolonging the inevitable,” said Tony kind of matteroffactly.

“I just want a reason, that’s all.”

“I bet you she’s seeing another guy.” Tony looked at me with a smile. He
loves to bet—on everything. Looking at him, I shook my head.

“You’re wrong, dude. Clair wouldn’t do that.” I laughed a little.

“Sound’s like a bet to me,” Tony said with a broad smirk on his face. I
thought to myself for a moment. Ah why not take the bet—Tony’s wrong half
the time anyway. There was a nagging thought that maybe, just maybe, Tony
was right. I quickly dismissed the thought.

“You’re on. Ten bucks says she doesn’t have a lover on the side.” Tony
reached out his hand, and we shook on it.

“Well, looks like I’m going to be ten bucks richer.”

Before I had a chance to respond, a shrill scream erupted from the street. There was a large crowd forming
on the sidewalk. Quickly, I parked the car next to the curb. Tony and I ran toward the
large crowd. I had my hand on my holster—just in case.

It was definitely a woman, and she was in a panic about something. The
woman was calling for someone named Ryan. Pushing the people back, I
recognized the distraught woman’s face. It was a waitress who worked at the
Bean O’ Rama Café. What is her name? I asked myself. Karen,
Kathy,…Kristy. That’s it. Kristy.

“What’s the matter, Kristy?” I asked. Tony came to stand by me. He had
been working crowd control.

“Ryan’s gone…missing!” she wailed at me.

“Okay. Um, who’s Ryan?”

“He’s my son. Ryan’s 11 years old, dark brown curly hair, brown eyes,
and about this tall,” she replied, showing me his height with her hands. I
estimated it to be about fivefeettwoinches.I took out my notepad from my
belt and began to write the description down. Tony continued the
questioning.

Chapter 7

We were finally able to coax Kristy through the crowd and back toward
the café. We needed to get out of the cold. What we really needed to do was
go somewhere where we could talk in private. The café was as good as any,
and I am still hungry.

Walking through the front door of the café, Frank, the manager was
anxiously waiting by the counter. I pulled a chair up to the table, and Kristy
took a seat. Frank came over and tried his best to comfort her. I motioned for
Tony to meet me in the back by the phones.

“What did she tell you?” I asked eagerly.

“She says that Ryan never showed up here for lunch. She got worried,
went to the park to look for him, and he was nowhere to be found,” the
carefree mood from earlier was gone. He was all business now. I shook my
head. This was not a good sign.

“It’s 1:30 now,” I said, looking up from my watch. “Did she say when he
went to the park?” I need a rough idea as to how long he could be missing.

“Um…he left for the park at 10:00.”

“Three and half hours. We got to get a search going soon, time’s ticking.”

I had one more question that I had to ask Kristy. Tony and I went back to
the table where she and Frank were sitting. Frank had his arm around the
distraught woman, but it had little effect.

“Kristy, what do you think happened to your son?” This was an important
question. I knew she would say that he was kidnaped, but I needed to hear her
say it.

“He’s disappeared. I think…someone has taken him.” She began to cry
again. Getting up, I whispered to Tony that I was going to call the precinct.
We decided that while I tried to get help from the department, he was going
to get a picture of Ryan and see if anybody remembered seeing him today. We
were going to meet back at the café in an hour.

The phones were in the back by the restrooms. The wood paneling and soft
light gave the false assurance that it was a private place for a chat. Picking up
the phone, I dialed my precinct number and asked to speak with the Lieutenant.

“Lieutenant Barker speaking, how may I help you?” asked the Lieutenant,
obviously unaware that it was me. His voice was gruff, but relaxed. I could
picture him in his office with his feet propped up on his large wooden desk.

“Hey, lighten up, it’s me, Aaron,” I said with a chuckle. We can’t stand
formalities.

“Oh, I should have known you were up to something. What’s up?”

“Well, I need to talk to you about a missing 11yearold.”

“Well, get on with it. I don’t have all day.” He has a blunt way of speaking.
You wouldn’t know it by the way he talks, but he loves kids. He has three little
grandchildren of his own. His office is crawling with photos of them. He’s a
proud grandpa.

“The child’s name is Ryan Andrews, and he’s gone missing from the park.
The kidnaping happened between 10 and 1:00.”

“Are you sure it was a kidnaping? What proof do you have?” asked Barker
(we never use his first name—I don’t even know what his first name is) with
suspicion in his voice.

Oh great, now I have to convince him. “Well, for starters, Ryan’s nowhere
to be found. His mother searched everywhere, and Tony’s out there now.
He’s definitely missing, and Kristy is dead certain that he’s been taken. Call
it mother’s intuition—I don’t care. The more time we waste the worse it is for
Ryan.”

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, I believe children run off all the time. How do
we know that he hasn’t gone somewhere else to play?”

“No! That’s not what he did. He’s 11 years old, and I doubt that he just ran
off without telling his mother.” I was getting a little pissed off at the
Lieutenant.

“Either way, he hasn’t been gone long enough to determine if he was
kidnaped—not without a witness or some kind of indication. No way we’re
not going to put an alert out. Call me back in twentyfour hours.
 Until then don’t call me again or else. Oh, and while I’m at it, you were late today, again.
If you try any more shenanigans, I’ll have you placed on suspension.”

I didn’t even have a chance to protest. He hung up on me. Can you believe
it? My own boss hung up on me! I slammed the phone back on the hook and
I might have slipped and said a few muffled profanities. I was clearly
defeated.

Hanging my head down, I walked back into the room. It was apparent that
everybody else had over heard my temper tantrum because they wouldn’t
look at me. Their eyes never met mine. Taking a deep breath, I calmed down
and began to think. What was my next move going to be? This was my first
kidnaping case, and I was lost.
    
Sitting down at the table, I explained to Kristy that the police department
would do nothing until Ryan was missing for twentyfour hours, which meant
that we had a while to go. At least everyone was calmer, and no one was
crying. I was thankful for that because I can’t stand when people cry.

“What do we do next? You know, I don’t think I ever got your name?”

She looked at me with bright blue eyes.

“I’m sorry, how rude of me. I’m Officer Aaron Parker.”

“Nice to meet you, Aaron.” She propped her head on her elbow and looked
at me.

“What?” I asked, confused. I hate it when people stare at me. It makes me
feel like I did something wrong.

“How did you know my name? I don’t recall you asking,” she asked,
confused.

“My partner and I come to the café at least once a week. You don’t
remember seeing me?”

“No, but I do remember seeing Tony,” she replied.

Oh great! Not only can I not keep my wife I can’t even be remembered. I
laid my head on the table and felt sorry for myself. Where’s Tony anyway?
Thought he said he’d be back in an hour.

“Aaron, what do we do next?” she asked again.

This of course was the million dollar question. Honestly, I didn’t have a
clue, but being good under pressure I thought of something quick.

“Is there anyone that you can think of who would kidnap Ryan? Anyone
at all? Where’s his dad, have you told him that his son has gone missing?”

She seemed to ponder this for a moment and then spoke. “Dave, his father,
died two years ago. He was killed in a plane crash.” Tears welled up in her
eyes as she said this. Poor woman.

It was late, and therefore I decided to walk her back to her apartment (I
only offered after I got a donut). I told her she should wait there in case
someone tried to call. Of course, she protested, but I promised to go to the
station and get started on the missing person’s bulletin. Sitting in her living
room, we talked and soon she fell asleep on the couch. Standing over her, I
brushed a curl of red hair from her cheek. Her skin was soft and pale.
Grabbing a blanket from the closet, I covered her up. She was exhausted and
needed the rest. Locking the door, I made my way down the street. Getting
into the cruiser, I began driving toward the precinct. 

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