The Disappearing Read online

  Saying the words made Tim feel better.

  “Look,” he continued. “Let’s just all go back to the water and forget about this for a while.”

  Everyone eagerly agreed.

  The rest of the day was spent eating, swimming, and laughing. In fact, they were having so much fun, it was easy to forget that Eva was still gone.

  Chapter 4

  Party Games

  That night, the boys met up at Luke’s house. His dad was back in town and had invited everyone over for a last day of summer feasting.

  “Hope you guys are hungry,” Rusty called out as he balanced several plates of marinated meat and headed out the back door to the grill.

  They most certainly were.

  The girls would be arriving soon, as well as most of their other friends from school.

  All the kids loved Rusty’s house.

  Actually, ‘house’ was probably not the right word. It was a huge, rambling estate where one could easily get lost. But not Tim. He knew every nook and cranny of the house and every trail, path, and hill on the land where it sat.

  They had all shared a lot of great memories at this place.

  As young kids, they spent hours upon hours playing outside—games like tag, hide and seek, or some other crazy made-up game. They had a lot of those.

  Some days they could be found climbing the massive trees that dotted the property, and other days they explored the massive spider web of nature trails spanning the grassy acreage.

  But truth be told, the best times were had inside.

  The massive house smelled of fresh wood. It had three floors as well as an attic and an enormous basement. Its long hallways led to room after room just waiting to be explored.

  During one particularly intense game of hide and seek, it had taken his friends over an hour to locate his hiding spot.

  There were just so many good places to disappear in this house.

  Everyone had started to arrive for the last gathering of summer. In a few days, it would be back to school.

  A huge bonfire roared. The flames from dozens of torches staked out across the property rose into the air.

  Typically, there would be music from some local live band. But tonight’s cookout was a quieter, more somber event because Eva had not come home yet.

  “I thought of canceling it,” Rusty had said to them earlier. “But I think it’s good for everyone to be together, to have a little fun, and get their mind off everything for a night.”

  Within about an hour, dozens of kids had arrived. Some were eating hot dogs and hamburgers, a few had started up a game of volleyball, and others were milling around talking and catching up with friends.

  But everyone had the same thing on their minds—Eva.

  It was dark now and a full day had passed since she had gone missing.

  “Hey,” called out Max as he rode up the path on his skateboard, kicking it up into his hands as he reached Tim. “Want to go get some food?”

  Tim nodded in agreement. The two headed down to the massive grill, selected two juicy burgers, and then proceeded to fill the remaining space on their plates with beans, potato salad, and some sort of marshmallow fruit thing.

  Luke ran up behind them and grabbed a roll.

  “Where are the girls?” he asked.

  “Not sure, should be here somewhere,” Tim responded, wiping barbecue sauce from his chin.

  He needed a napkin; a bit of the sticky sauce still clung to his face. As he turned to grab one from the table, he was face to face with Nina.

  “Hey you,” she whispered.

  How could two little words sound so perfect?

  “Hey back,” he tried to sound as sultry as she did, but quickly remembered the sauce on his face and felt like a jerk.

  “I was looking for you . . .” he continued, but noticing Emily standing there, too, changed his wording mid-speak.

  “I was looking for you girls.”

  Nina smiled and gazed up at him with those eyes, those perfectly green eyes.

  “I made cookies,” she teased. “You have to try them.”

  She didn’t have to ask twice.

  Tim felt light-headed. Or maybe it was just love.

  It started when they were young kids. Their parents had shipped them off to a sleep-away camp just beyond the mountains north and to the west of Briny Deep. It was a week in the woods: fishing, hiking, swimming in the lake, and telling stories by the bonfire. It was by the light of one of those bonfires that he saw her eyes for the first time—really saw them—and how impossibly green and beautiful they were.

  Underneath the starry sky, they had shared their dreams of the future. He aspired to be a doctor, and her a scientist like her parents. They had laughed and talked for hours, brushing each other’s hands as they spoke. She had gently pushed his shoulder and tugged his sleeve when he would say something particularly funny.

  Since that night, their relationship had changed. There was a tender undercurrent of attraction. But through the years that followed, and as they got older, he had been unable to express to her what he felt. Every day that he remained silent made it tougher and more impossible to ever approach the subject with her. He was sure he would carry this agony to his grave.

  “Let’s play hide and seek!” someone yelled from across the yard, rousing Tim from the fog his mind had suddenly gotten lost in.

  “Inside!” called Luke pointing a long finger toward the imposing house.

  About ten of them ran inside . . . and the game began.

  Chapter 5

  Hide and Seek

  They hadn’t played for a long time. Not inside.

  Everyone scurried off in a different direction.

  Luke was “it” and he began the countdown.

  “1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .”

  Tim took to the stairs and ascended quickly to the third floor. He spotted Emily running into a room down the hall and a brief glimpse of Nina’s foot as she climbed the last set of stairs leading to the attic.

  . . . Nina . . .

  No time for that now, he thought, and ran to the end of the hall. He turned the corner and sprinted up the second hallway to an area that was rarely visited. It was used mostly to store big pieces of furniture and other knickknacks Rusty had collected in his travels.

  Large armoires; oversized canopied beds; huge, exotic looking trunks and wardrobes—there were just so many places to hide.

  It had been awhile since he was last here. Tim wandered down the vast hallway, peering into the rooms with open doors as he passed. He walked slowly, almost forgetting he was in the middle of a game.

  It was just so odd to be here again.

  From somewhere far away, he barely heard Luke’s call.

  “Ready or not, here I come!”

  Tim picked up the pace.

  As he neared the end of the hallway, he noticed something he hadn’t before.

  A door . . .

  . . . and it was closed.

  Curious, he put his hand on the knob and turned. It was locked.

  Strange.

  He looked up at the wall to the right of the door. A framed photograph hung there. It was of two small children—two boys.

  It was grainy and faded. Tim squinted and tried to make out the other two people beside the boys in the image.

  Wait . . . isn’t that . . . Rusty?

  Yeah, it was Rusty . . . and his wife Lenore. They were much younger in this photo, but Tim was sure now that it was them.

  He looked closely at the two boys.

  With an unmistakable black mop of hair, one was clearly Luke, but who was the other?

  Footsteps . . . he heard footsteps . . . Luke.

  Tim spun around, retraced his steps up the hallway, and slipped into a familiar room. He climbed i
nto the giant wardrobe and quietly closed the door, leaving it open just a hair so he could hear if Luke approached. He certainly did not want to be the first one found. He had a reputation and a record to uphold.

  After what had to be thirty minutes, Tim’s foot was asleep and his back hurt from crouching over.

  This was not as much fun as he remembered.

  He cracked open the door a bit and peered out . . . no one there.

  Tim climbed out of the wardrobe—he couldn’t breathe in there anymore—too musty.

  “Gotcha!” Luke screamed at the top of his lungs.

  Tim shrieked in surprise.

  After the shock wore off, neither could stop laughing for several minutes.

  “Last to be found again, huh?” Tim chortled. “I’m still the reigning hide and seek champ.”

  Luke eyed him up and down.

  “Sorry, champ, but there’s another. I haven’t been able to find Anthony yet.”

  Tim frowned.

  “Ugh, my record is broken by Anthony? The kid already wins like every award in school.”

  Luke laughed, and the two headed down to the bottom landing where Max and Nina were waiting. Luke continued on alone down another flight of stairs to the basement where he was sure Anthony must be held up.

  Everyone else headed back outside.

  Nina grabbed Tim by the hand and led him away from the group.

  “Walk?” she suggested. “It’s such a beautiful night.”

  He felt light-headed again.

  The couple strolled along a path, past friends playing Frisbee and others running around trying to tag each other.

  “So, are you looking forward to school starting up?” she asked jokingly because she already knew the answer. No one looks forward to school after a great summer break like they had just experienced.

  “Uh, sure,” he laughed.

  Nina looked serious now. She leaned close to Tim’s ear, “What do you really think happened to Eva?”

  He stopped and turned to face her, taking both her hands in his. If he answered wrong, he knew he would just upset her.

  “She’ll come back. In fact, I bet she’s already back home, apologizing up and down to her parents for making them worry so much.”

  Nina stared into his eyes.

  “I don’t think so, Tim.”

  He had never seen her like this before. She was really scared.

  The flames from a nearby torch blazed behind her in the distance, illuminating her hair, giving her an angelic glow. It reminded him of the first time he ever noticed her at summer camp—really noticed her.

  She leaned in closer, and the next thing Tim knew she was clinging to him.

  He hugged her back.

  “Nina,” he said softly. “Everything will be okay.”

  That’s when they heard it.

  Several voices were calling out.

  “Anthony?”

  “Anthony!”

  The panic was evident.

  Nina and Tim released their grip on each other and ran toward the commotion.

  “Can’t find Anthony anywhere,” Luke said breathlessly. “He’s just gone.”

  Chapter 6

  Vanished

  The little girl kicks the ball. Tim chases after it, but the bright yellow orb goes flying under a table in the back part of the playground.

  Laughing.

  The voices of children everywhere.

  A tall, leafy tree hangs low over the table, obscuring it from sight.

  Tim is on his knees now, crawling under the table, extending his hand toward the ball. But it’s just out of reach.

  Creeping further into the darkness, he feels the fabric on his pants tear away at the knee.

  But he will not be deterred.

  Further under the table he goes, stretching his arm until he can feel the smooth surface of the ball.

  He grasps it with his fingertips, pulling it toward him.

  As he begins to inch his way back out, he is startled by a noise.

  Did someone just scream out for help?

  The man pursuing him is close; he can hear twigs snap under heavy feet, pounding into the grass just behind him. Ahead, a patch of flowers and a yellow house, if he can just get there . . .

  Tim’s eyes pop open as he quickly sits straight up in bed, covered in sweat, his heart racing.

  It was the same nightmare with the same yellow house . . . but not exactly the same.

  This time there was a bit more.

  The ball, some girl, and a scream?

  “Ugh, whatever,” he sighed with disgust.

  He felt as though he hadn’t slept at all. It was the first day back at school, and for the first time he could remember, Tim was not looking forward to it at all.

  Eva was still missing.

  And now Anthony was gone, too.

  What was happening?

  At the party two nights ago, they had searched everywhere. But Anthony was nowhere to be found.

  He wasn’t home. He wasn’t anywhere.

  The police had been called and arrived on the scene within minutes.

  They searched, they questioned everyone. Anthony was gone.

  Once the sun had come out, the grounds were searched again, but to no avail. And another night passed with no answers and no sign of Eva or Anthony.

  Tim dragged himself out of bed and headed into the bathroom for a shower.

  He let the hot water wash over him. This was going to be a long day.

  After a quick change into khakis and a white shirt, he leaped down the stairs two at a time. He blew past the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast.

  “Tim?” she called to him. “Eat something.”

  He breezed past her, planting a small kiss on her cheek, before hightailing it out the front door.

  “Not hungry, Mom. See you later.”

  “Tim, be careful!” she called out just before he hopped on his skateboard and headed down the winding road to school.

  The school was a large, two-story brick building with stairs leading to a massive entryway. But he was early—not time to go inside yet. So he headed to the common area out front and sat along the edge of the fountain, a meeting spot for students.

  He put his backpack down and surveyed the crowd. There seemed to be even more people than usual milling about.

  Oh, and Nina was here already, several dozen feet away, her back turned to him. She was talking to some guy.

  Who was that?

  He couldn’t quite make him out.

  Tim craned his neck a bit to see . . .

  “Hey, bro.”

  Luke had sidled up right beside him and he hadn’t even noticed.

  Tim turned to him and laughed.

  “Geez, man, you’re like a phantom.”

  Luke chuckled back, but his eyes took on a serious note as he looked around.

  “Do you see them?” he asked.

  “See who?”

  Luke turned back to his friend.

  “The men,” he whispered. “The police, I guess. They’re everywhere.”

  Tim looked again.

  How had he not noticed them before?

  He suspected it was probably because he had only been interested in what Nina was doing and with whom she was talking at the moment.

  There must have been at least ten of them, talking to students and teachers. Two of them were stationed right by the school’s entrance just observing the crowd.

  Max motioned a greeting from across the lawn and jogged up to his friends.

  “I think someone else is missing.”

  Tim and Luke looked up at him in disbelief.

  “You mean Anthony, right?”

  “No, man,” Max replied softly. “
I don’t.”

  The boys stared at each other in silence for a moment.

  Tim was afraid to ask, but of course he had to know.

  “Who?”

  Max lowered his face.

  “It’s Emily’s sister. It’s Isabelle.”

  Tim’s throat tightened. He tried to respond, but it took everything he had just to breathe.

  The school bell rang out, signaling there were seven minutes left to get to class.

  The day went by in a blur. The only part he really remembered was the morning announcement that curfew was now in effect; no one allowed out after dark.

  Emily was not in school that day or the next.

  On the third day, she came back, her eyes red and swollen.

  They had all promised to be there for her, whatever she needed.

  At lunch, they all sat at the same round table they always did. Emily’s food went untouched, and she rested her head on Nina’s shoulder.

  “Who could have taken Isabelle?” she said through tears.

  “Isabelle will be fine,” was all Luke could think to say.

  “They’ll find her,” Max added. “I know they will.”

  Tim was at a complete loss for words.

  He had no idea what to say—or what to think. So he just put his hand on Emily’s shoulder and squeezed.

  Later that night, he sat out on his front porch swing, the front door wide open so his parents could see him at all times per their request.

  Who could be doing this? He thought hard. He knew everyone so well. It had to be an outsider.

  Then he thought about the stranger he’d seen, the man with the short, yellow hair, standing outside of Luke’s house.

  But now that he pondered the question for a few moments, he had to admit there were a few “weirdos” in town—people he knew less than others.

  Like the strange woman who always stared out her window and hardly ever came outside. Or Mr. Kull, who yelled at any kid who tried to cut through his yard, a shortcut to the beach.

  But why?

  Why would anyone be taking the kids of Briny Deep?

  Tim was so lost in thought, he hadn’t seen Luke approaching the house until he was standing right in front of him. He had clearly been running and was visibly shaken.