When I was three I had no worry
My goals were small I wasn't in a hurry
to please the masses or fill a role
to please the world
or lose my soul
~Admiral Twin~I'm No King~(Carr)
twenty two
Last nite was a long one. I squint at the rays of golden light shining through the blinds of my room. The clock reads 11:15, it was past 4am when I finally got in. Beside the original breakdown Tay had when he found out that Bonnie was actually missing, I thought he was handling it amazingly well. He sat down with her parents and laid out a timeline of the last day with her. Lacey was another story. She cried until I thought the couldn't be any more tears, I hadn't realized what Bonnie had meant to Lacey until this point. She was a friend, a mentor, a coach and nearly a sister.
I sat on her bed with her until the wee hours of the morning, just going over memories of her. It was rather grim, almost like she didn't think she'd ever see her again. She finally fell asleep and I wanted to stay, but I felt like I needed to see Tay as well. Knowing she'd be asleep for many hours, I headed home in hopes that Taylor had actually made it there himself. He had, but was fast asleep still in his clothes on the couch, the TV still on.
"Zac?" Taylor's tired voice sounded from outside my door with a small knock. He trudged in. He evidently had already showered and was put together for the day.
"I...I have a list, I woke up early and made a list, it's too much for me to cover today and I need your help..." His voice was tired, but that old hardheaded, driven Taylor was underneath there.
I rolled out of bed taking a page of the many he had written to look at.
"The police should be doing all this Taylor, that's what they are trained for." I looked at his determined face.
" I know, her parents are there now, but they won't, they won't do everything they can. She's just another of many that are missing every year, there isn't even anything say that there could be something wrong." His words were calm, betraying the panic stricken look he had on his face. It wasn't long before Dad and Ike were also at the front door being handed instructions like a military regiment.
Betrying my promise to Taylor that I would start immeadiatly on the list of tasks that he had assigned me, I headed to Lacey's to make sure she was doing okay. Seeing that we only really had one day to stay in town before we were due in Detroit, well, we might be able to stretch it to two if we flew in and sent the busses on ahead.
Lacey sat crosslegged in the sun on the top step of the porch, leaned back on her elbows with her eyes closed. It was one of those picture that you never want to forget. My heart jumped into my throat and if I didn't know any better I'd have thought that I was going to spill a tear or two from the emotion that flooded me. I brushed away the feeling telling myself that it must be all the emotion that eveyone else had been showing the last 24 hours, however, I tucked away that mental image for future memories.
Twenty three
After Taylor's initial breakdown, he came out of it really quick, taking on almost a commanding role trying to get a handle on this whole thing. There were timelines and lists and plans for the next day. About 2 am Mom sent Ray and Georgia to the guest room, and sent Taylor home. I thought that a bit odd at first that she just didn't have him stay there, but then I realized. An early morning confrontation between Ray and him was a definite possibilty. That's my mom, always thinking ahead about every possible pitfall in the potential future.
In the shower I let the water just run over my head for a long time. Questions ran through my head. Why would she have left? Tay said they had talked and said they were okay. Why hadn't her parents gone to the police right away?, Why hadn't they gotten ahold of Taylor right away to see if she was with him? I had the feeling that there was alot more to this than what was visible from the surface.
"I'm headed to Tay's" I gently shook Kate to let her know I was leaving soon. She looked up at me sleepy and kind of confused, looking around. I had to laugh. Even after all the travelling she had done with me, it took her a while to orient to her surrounding each morning. A big smile overtook her face. Leaning down to give a quick kiss before I headed out, I was pulled off my feet and back onto the soft blankets with her, Well, I guess they could wait a little longer.
Twenty four
I neared the house and suddenly was astounded at all the cars, police cars no less, parked about the street, but the shear numbers of people that had gathered for the spectacle. Then I saw it. yellow crime scene tape blocking off the house and the entire yard and surrounding areas. I parked further back down the block and came around the back through the alley, I doubted any of the people milling about the street were fans, but there was sure to be press there soon if there wasn't already.
A group of men in suits stood outside the back gate to her yard. Looking up as I approched, they nodded, but didn't move aside.
"...there was police and official looking cars lining the whole block, there was press too..." I looked at dad over the counter,"Think we should call Christopher and warn him?"
I started breathing like I did to calm myself before a show, I had to get control, ....a show. a slow realization hit me...we had a show on Saturday, 48 hours from now. Ddad put the phone down and rested his hand on my shoulder.
"What's happened?" I questioned as I walked up. Four remained stonefaced looking straight through me . The fifth seemed to take charge and send the others back in.
"You're Mr. Hanson, correct?" He seemed pleasant enough, though I still felt like my soul was being searched.
"Um, yeah..." I held my hand out to shake his. "Taylor..."
"Taylor, as you know Ms. DeLaGarza is missing, her family came to us this morning asking us to look into the situation, I'm sorry that's all I can tell you"..I stood probably with my mouth agape more than likley coming to the realization at this moment that this was being treated as a crime, not a missing person's case.
"I came...I ...was going to go through some things ...try to figure out where she..." A thousand thoughts went through my head, none of them good. I never wanted to think this, but it was becoming more and more clear as the minutes ticked by. She wouldn't have left, not without letting someone know, not without letting me know.
"Mr. Hanson, this is being treated as a crime scene investigation until we have further evidence it is not. You can go and someone will contact you if any further information is needed." He pushed a clipboard in my direction pointing to the bottom where my name address and phone number was scrawled.
"This the correct information?" I nodded, and turned to shuffle down the alley, not thinking I came out the wrong end and dirctly into the glare of the local news crew. I turned quickly but not quickly enough and was spotted.
"Taylor...Mr. Hanson?...can we have a word with you...?" I shook my head and started to back around the corner from where I had come from. I stopped for a second when I saw another group of suited men taking to Marjie...Oh God, was she going to give them an earful. I had a chill suddenly run through me as I broke out in a trot back towards my car at the other end of the alley.
"Done, Taylor, I called him last nite when Ray and Georgia said they were going to the police."
"Why.. we couldn't have known they were going to go this direction...?" Dad's forhead strained to keep his worried frown from taking it's place on his head. "Taylor...you know that ..." he looked more worried than I had seen him in along time. "....You are going to be questioned Taylor, the police are going to want to...you are the last one....she was with..." I had known this in the back of my head, I would be spending some time going over the last day I spent with her, just as I had last nite with her parents. But that chill I had at her house returned in full force...Crime scene...further information.....the words of the officer echoed through my head.
"They won't....they don't..I'm not a suspect am I?" A loud knock accompaning the door bell rang through the house. A man's voice at the door asked for me...damn press! I thought, had they no dignity? I headed toward the door to put them in their place. I nearly ran into dad with one of the officers I recognized from Bonnie's house.
"Mr. Hanson, I need you to come with me to answer a few questions regarding the dissappearance of .........." Dad interrrupted him.
"Can he just sit here with you and talk or do we need to..."
"I sorry sir this has to do with Mr. Hanson, he needs to come to the office with us, we will get a warrant if necessary...."
"NO, jeez, No!...I'll come, I wasn't not going to, he's my dad, he just wanted to come with me..."
"Sir you may have an attorney presant at this questioning, but others are not permitted.." Oh my God...now this had gone from a nice come with us and answer a few questions, to having an attorney present... I reached for a chair.
"May I drive him...?" My dad. almost seemed to be getting a bit upset with him.
"Yes. of course..." I listened to this exchange going on around me...like I was outside of my body.
"Taylor, let's go. Chistopher will meet us there" I started towards the door..
"Sir, before we go I must advise you of your rights to make this legal.." I suddenly had the urge to throw up...right there in the hall.
"You have the right to remain silent........"